Numbered

Chapter 20 - Last Breath

The woman was not wearing any clothes, not that they were necessary. Sure, you could see all the female parts, but they were not exactly defined. They looked more or less like small bumps; it sort of reminded him of a statue. She leaned against the door, looking at him with, what he presumed to be, a cocky sort of attitude. It was not possible to tell because she did not have any eyes, or even sockets for that matter. Placing Jake's diary back on the desk, he turned to the blue woman and decided to get some answers.

"Who are you?" Zeke asked in an annoyed flat tone.

"Oh, I'm hurt that you don't recognize me. I believe you saw me at the Los Angeles airport, though you questioned if what you saw was real."

"Wait, you're the spirit. You are the one behind all this death."

"Bingo," the blue spirit cried, throwing her hands into the air. She pushed herself off the door and placed her hands on her hips, becoming extremely serious all of a sudden. "I have many names, but the most common one is Mother Earth, or Gaia if you prefer."

Go figure, Zeke thought to himself. Of course the one behind this genocide was the earth spirit. His face must have reshaped itself into something of an angry look because the spirit simply shook her finger at him. Yet, it was the way she shook her finger that seemed to piss him off even more. It was like she was daring him to do something, anything that would give her a reason to end his life. Then again, why did she even need one? She could just walk over and break his neck just like a toothpick. He relaxed his face, knowing full well that being angry was not going to accomplish a thing, not with this entity.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Don't play dumbass," he burst. He regretted saying it, but he pushed on anyway. "Why have you been killing the human population?"

"Oh, that. You see, I decided it was time for a change for the world and in this change, humans could not exist."

"That is a lie."

"Fine. You want the truth," she sneered. "I killed every last one of you vermin because you were contaminating every last corner of this precious planet. With your filthy cities and factories and sewage plants, you were choking this place. I am surprised she survived as long as she has. The waters and lands are polluted beyond belief, but not repair. It will take a long time, but if you SCUM are out of it, then I won't have to worry about any backward progress. How's that for your truth?"

"Certainly explains a lot and how such a sentimental entity could turn out to be such a lowlife bitch?"

"I beg your pardon." Her voice sounded taken aback, liked she was shocked anyone would, or even could, call her that. "I am quite caring, but you humans began to overrun the place. It was either save this planet or let everything on it die together. So, I chose the more logical option."

"Just out of curiosity: why are you telling me all this if you are just going to kill me?"

"Isn't it obvious? Or have you not watched enough films? The bad guy always reveals his plans before he kills the hero. Well, that does not apply to this situation, but you get the idea." 

"Why me, though?"

"No clue. I did not exactly plan who would live and die on a day to day basis. It just happened that way. Consider yourself lucky or unlucky, depends on how you wish to look at it."

"I have only one thing to say."

"And what might that be?"

"If you want to kill me, you are going to have to catch me." With that, he leapt through the open window, falling two stories. Some would think twice about jumping, considering they might die, but given the blue spirit, it seemed like a good idea to him. As he approached the ground, he bent his legs, sending him into a forward roll. After a few revolutions, he sprung to his feet and dashed away from the house. Glancing back, he did not see Gaia in the window. As a matter of fact, he did not see her at all in the bedroom. Bringing his head around, he crashed face first into a rock hard object, which sent him sprawling backward. Rubbing his face, he looked up to see Gaia standing over him. No doubt there would be a smile on her face, if she had a mouth that is. 

Reaching down, she wrapped a small hand around his neck and hoisted him into the air. Instantly, he began to feel himself choking from the lack of oxygen. With a flick of the wrist, she threw him over her head and he landed several feet away onto the asphalt road. He felt a loud crack in his back as he crashed down, an explosive pain shooting throughout his body. He let out a cry and tears rolled down his face. Rolling onto his side, he let out a shallow breath as the pain eased slightly. After laying there for a few seconds, he rolled again, this time onto his hands and knees. With every movement forward, he felt a sharp pain in his back. It had to be cracked; that much he was certain. If it was broken, he would not be moving, though standing was completely out of the question. 

Another inch forward brought into view a pair of blue feet. No surprise she would be standing there, just waiting for him to give up. He wondered if she was smiling at his suffering or if she felt sympathetic. Given what she did over the past month and a half, he highly doubted option two was in her vocabulary. Gaia knelt down, again wrapping her hand around his neck and lifting him into the air. As his back straightened, immense pain wracked his body. He tried not to scream, but the pain was unbearable and he could not take it. His body hung limply in her grasp and he waited for her to chuck him again, but, to his surprise, she did not. Instead, she brought him down, so her gaze was level with his.

"You are the last human being alive. You know what is coming don't you?"

He took back what he said. She did know what sympathy was, he could hear it in her voice. Afraid he might scream if he opened his mouth, he simply gave a short nod of his head. In a smooth, swift motion, she brought his mouth to her face. To him, it felt like the perfect kiss, one that only true love could give. Slowly, she brought her face away, though not alone. He could see a blue stream of smoke flowing from his mouth to her face. He felt himself becoming weaker and his eyes were closing on themselves. His view was fading into a black background. So, this is what dying is like, he thought. 

The funny thing was he did not feel regret or pain...he only felt peace.