beyond our universe || markle/rucas

riley matthews

I flipped through the scrapbook, from photograph to photograph. The wrinkled pictures that were stored in little plastic covers had a smear of white, most of the brilliant and clear colors faded.

My family to I, to the pictures of a soothing beach. I remember, the warm sand crumbling beneath my feet, the sun shining, giving the breathtaking ocean a beautiful radiance that bounced off of the camera's lens.

I ran my fingers over the smooth surface, admiring the wonderful scenery and all of its glory. Sighing, I set the crinkled and old book filled with my memories, on my nightstand, and slipped into the comfortable and soft white covers, before closing my eyelids and falling asleep.

I snapped awake, the sound of discordant winds jarring me awake. "Okay.. I'm awake," I mumbled, throwing off my covers. Disoriented as I was, I wouldn't go to sleep with that going on. I ruffled my brown locks, which unfortunately resulted in making it even more disheveled.

Once again, I exhaled, limping to the bathroom on the right side of my room. Switching on the lights, the lightbulb crackled, before shutting off again. I rolled my eyes in exasperation, and blindly turned on the cool water. The clear liquid came rushing out of the faucet, rolling down the smooth stone and flowing into the drain.

I held my palm underneath the faucet, the water gathering on it, and dripping of the sides of my hand. Slowly adding my left hand to accompany the right, I collected as much of the refreshing liquid as I manage. Splashing it on my face, I mindlessly grabbed a towel, drying my hands.

I stumbled out of the restroom, over to my cabinet with clothes. Usually, the moon's light shone like a lamp into my bedroom, lighting up most of the features, but I guess not tonight, since it was pitch black. I rummaged through the soft cloth, desperately searching for my favorite hoodie and leggings in the dark.

Pulling out two pieces of clothing, I smoothed it out, taking off my pajamas and slipping into the comfortable outfit. Strutting out the door, I used my sense of touch to navigate my way around me.

"Oh, you're awake," The voice of my mother echoed through the hallways of the apartment, a small flashlight the only beam of light, along with her phone's screen and its own light. "Did you hear about the news of Hurricane Ezoic?" My father asked, his face glowing with a buttery yellow as a result of the night shift program on his phone.

"It cut all of the signals in town," My mother sighed, as she flopped down onto the couch. "Anyways," Dad continued, recovering from the blinding light near his eyes. "It's said to be hurling towards the US, as it's already accomplished its mission in Hawaii."

"What a shame," My mother added, genuine empathy laced between her voice. "We couldn't sleep due to all that havoc," Dad admitted, glancing at my mom.

"What about you, Riley?" She questioned, her face barely an outline. "The winds," I muttered, walking to the kitchen to grab some cereal and hopefully not spoiled milk, since the refrigerator wasn't quite working. My mother pursed her lips, a silence gathering between us.

I licked the lower bottom of my lip, as I curled my fingers around a half-filled water bottle, and bringing it up to my lips. It was warm and metallic, like it had been out on the desk for a long period of time, which it probably was. A loud crash erupted in the opposite side of the room.

Sighing, annoyed, I slowly turned to the sound that was bound to happen. "Cory, what are you doing?!" His wife snapped, rolling her eyes and mumbling things like, how can you be so playful when the world's about to end? "Sorry," He muttered, and he really didn't seem like he meant it.

"I was just surprised that it finished conquering Asia about an hour ago." My father said calmly, swiping his finger against the screen of his phone. "What?!" My mother hissed, slamming her hands against the table (therefore creating the exact noise she had just scolded her husband for) and swiftly rising up from the sofa, grabbing my dad by the collar.

"That's nothing to be calm about!"

"Meh. It's not us."

"Cory!"

I turned my back on them, plugging in headphones. I couldn't listen to music, but it was enough to drown out the tiny little argument my parents were having. Pulling strands of hair around my ear, I opened the emergency cabinet and grabbed some imperishable food.

Chewing on a packet of mini Oreos, I traced my fingers along the table. The lights suddenly flickered on for a moment, before turning completely dark again. What did the ND scientists get us into now? Rubbing my temples, I tried to calm down.

It would be over soon.

Well, that was what I thought that until the sound of an amber alert blared in my ears.

AMBER ALERT

HURRICANE EZOIC,
the most destructive disaster known to man. Please stay indoors at all times, away from windows and in a safe shelter under or in the middle of your home. This is not a drill. It is not fake, and it is not a joke. This hurricane has wiped out most of the world. Calculations believe that this is a 50+ level natural disaster. Please pray to whatever or whomever that you survive.

I gently set down my phone, fumbling with my fingers. Biting my lip, I stared directly at the darkness, and focused completely on the noise of the winds.

/WHISH/

/CRASH!/

/BANG!/

I opened my eyes, looking down at my feet. Combing my fingers through my had to straighten it, I wriggled my hands, stuffing them into a hoodie. Wiping the sweat off of my forehead, I whispered to myself, ".There's no way that it's dead yet."

Actually. There's a huge possibility— it was the year 6014. Records show the sun's energy decreasing. It's slowly becoming nothing. It's like a fire bomb. Once it explodes, snap. We're dead. It's gravity had grown weak, and as a result, Pluto, the dwarf planet had drifted away from the sun, into the restless universe.

As if it weren't far enough. I rested my head on the table, fumbling with my phone.

Not yet.