Short Stories

1. The Prize

Today is the day I have always been waiting for. It's prize giving. My legs twitch nervously under the table, palms sweaty and eyes darting around looking for something; not knowing what.

"And now for the Up and Coming Engineer prize!" Booms from the speakers.

I had spent the last 3 years working under industry experts developing a piece of tech that will change how humans live, forever! It's currently in its final stages before the first test. The whole team are receiving prizes this evening for our great development.

Suddenly, I'm holding the framed certificate with my name on it. Adrenaline starts pumping through my body, driving out my impending nerves and a huge grin spreads across my face. I did it! I really did it!

Just as I'm basking in glory (and adrenaline) the world gets plunged into darkness. Is it a power failure? I wonder. The air seems to press around me, so heavy it's almost suffocating. It is deadly silent, even though (I think) there are people in the room with me. I start to panic, when are the lights coming on?

After a while, the world spins back into light. Everything is back. The room, the stage, the lights, everything. Except, it doesn't feel right. Was the audience always this small? I shake off the bad feeling tugging at my gut and make my way off the stage.

I follow the crowd outside in a daze, but when I get outside I'm hit with a disturbing scene. There are no trees, just the skeletons of trees once past. I'm sure there were trees out here just 1 hour ago... My mind races. I look up and I'm shocked with a completely different sky. The sky is grey/yellow with smog, where's the blessed atmospheric layers? The sun glares down, as if you stole its diary and were peeking at the secrets inside, so bright, with possible killing intent.

As I come out of the dead courtyard, all around me the world is in ruins. Rubbish piled at every corner. More plastic than sea, nothing alive to be found except a few poor creatures bobbing inside a bag, dead. I run around the town in a panic, how can people be alive when nothing else is? And then I realise, they're also dying. Under the perfect clothes, they are wasting away from lack of water and food. Disease ridden with no access to cures, because everything else is also dying.

As I look around at this dying world, I sink into the rubbish covered ground and think:

What even was the point of the prize?

End.

a/n this is the first time back to fiction writing in many years and I did it as an assignment (it has been revised since the initial marking) I hope it's enjoyable!