Jayme L Miller
THE DEMISE OF HUMANITY
Dedication
Day 1:
The sun warms my body as I exit the wooded trail and enter into a huge field. I exhale and run with extraordinary speed across the beaten down grass. My feet move over uneven ground and I notice the sun feels different today. I look up and squint my eyes at the red fireball in the sky. My eyes burn as I stare at the orange-red colors it illuminates. I continue to run. The field normally takes less than two minutes to cross but today I make little progress with my sprinting. My body is covered in sweat and a strange feeling comes over me. Uncomfortable heat moving throughout my body. The sun’s rays are thick and the heat makes my lungs fight for air. My skin starts to tingle and burn. I move forward to the shaded trail ahead. All around me the grass is smoldering from the red sun. I realize I am no longing running; I have halted. I am standing in the middle of the field, Smoke is rising in all directions. Smoke pollutes the air and I cough. I take a step forward and feel my foot sink into the soft ground. I am sinking into the ground of fiery flames. My body is consumed in fire and my ashes fall to the earth.
I woke with a start and felt pain and agony spread through my body like nothing I’ve ever felt. My body was burning from the inside. A fire flowed through me like a raging river. The fire racing through every vein in my body. My heart was a bomb. Only this bomb was set on repeat, exploding over and over. My entire body was being blown to pieces. The pain was unreal and worse than any nightmare I could have imagined. A steady stream of blood drained out of my nose, eyes and ears. I coughed and blood exited my mouth. I knew this wasn’t good. I was dying, slowly and painfully death had come for me. Then for the briefest moment in time, came complete darkness and paralyzation. I felt nothing. I was nothing. I longed for these moments. I didn’t know where I was or how long it had been. I only knew I was alone and longed for an ending…
I slowly moved my eyelids and when I opened them, I felt they were wet like I had been crying. My body was trembling and I slowly moved my hands to my eyes. It was too painful to move. My muscles were tense and shook in protest. My fingers gently rubbed my eyes. I pulled them away and saw my fingertips were covered in blood. My hand moved to my nose. It too was bleeding or had been bleeding at some point. I coughed and the metallic taste of blood entered my mouth. I spit onto the floor and observed the dull color of the blood. I slowly moved my body. It awakened with a fight. I crawled. Actually, it was more of a slither across the floor. My eyes slowly came into focus. I was in a bathroom. I was in my bathroom at home. I was home! I tried to call out for help but the effort of moving and trying to speak was too painful. My throat was dry and all I could taste was blood. My heart was pounding in my head and I wasn’t able to speak. I couldn’t move anymore. The pain was coming back with pure fury. It was sudden but I knew what was to come. I felt my body involuntarily tense when the fire and pain flowed through me again. Everything in the room turned red before blackness erupted.
Day 2:
“Darkness! It was dark. All I could think was I was blind. No. It was dark outside. It was night time.” I had to calm myself. I could make out the hallway window. The moon was shining bright outside. I must have made it into the hallway before everything went dark. I tried to clear my head. I needed to focus. I needed to process what was happening to me. I remembered waking up feeling sick. I jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom in time to vomit in the toilet, then nothing. I must have passed out. The next thing I remembered was waking up on the bathroom floor. Where were my parents? It was dark outside and they should have been home by now. They should have been here when I woke up that morning. I didn’t understand what was happening. I’d never been so sick and in so much pain. I used all my strength to crawl into my room. I made it to my bed and with everything I had in me, I pulled myself up and onto my bed. I fell into the soft blankets and found I was winded like I had ran a marathon. My muscles were burning and sore. I barely made it into my bed before I felt the fire starting. I wanted to cry out but my voice was being seared by the fire. The fire exploded inside me, it left me helpless and begging for death to take me and free me from this hell.
Day 7:
My body was sore and shook uncontrollably. I gently moved my limbs around in bed. I wanted to get up and move but my body protested. I settled with waking my muscles slowly. A terrible stench entered my nostrils. My weak stomach tightened and the stench made me want to vomit. I realized the foul odors were coming from me. I was covered in dried urine, vomit and blood. I think there may have been other bodily fluids too but I was too embarrassed to inspect myself too carefully. I didn’t want to look at the mess I had made. I was determined to get up and out of bed. I prayed the fire and agony the sickness caused would stay away. I called for my mom, but all that came out was Mmm… I was unable to speak and put words together.
I saw light peeking through my bedroom window and wondered what time it was. I saw my cell phone on my nightstand and I reached for it. The movements hurt but were doable. I heard birds chirping outside and thought a dog was barking in the distance. Otherwise everything was still and quiet. The screen came to life on my phone. I looked at the date and time. I scowled in confusion. It read July 5th, 9:10 am. How long had I been sick? The last day I remembered was a week ago. According to my phone I had been down for the count for a week. I tried to call my dad but there was no service. I dialed my mom’s number buts again the phone wouldn’t connect. I slowly moved to the edge of the bed and tried to stand. My legs were weak and shook like a newborn foal standing for the first time. Only I was seventeen and had stood endless times. I put the full weight of my body on my feet. It hurt to stand but it wasn’t unbearable. I was tired, weak, hungry, and so very thirsty. I could not believe how thirsty I was.
I made my way down the hallway and conquered the stairs that lead down to the kitchen. I was winded and shook but there was no searing pain. I made it to the sink and filled a glass cup with water. I consumed many glasses full of water. I had always loved to drink water but now I had an overwhelming craving that seemed impossible to satisfy. Amazingly I felt revived and strong. My muscles once sore and tired seemed flexed and ready to move. My eyes once blurry, could now see clear and were alert. I took in a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. I felt incredible and strong. I had no idea what was happening but I was happy to be pain free.
I darted back up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I searched every room in the house for my parents. I looked outside and saw my parents vehicles were parked in the driveway. I called out for my mom but was meant with silence. The house was empty. I went into the bathroom and started the shower. I had never felt so dirty in all my life. I stepped into the steaming shower. The water felt incredible on my skin. I washed away the blood and filth. The hot water covered my body and I felt renewed.
After I was dressed I grabbed my dad’s truck keys and climbed into the driver’s seat. I decided in the shower I would go into town and see if I could find my parents. My cell phone said it was 2 pm. My dad should have been at the police station. He was usually working this time of day. It was odd he hadn’t taken his truck to work. I started the twenty mile ride into town. The truck trudged along over the dirt road. I avoided the numerous potholes left from a recent rain storms. I passed the old farm house down the road from us and noticed the cows weren’t out to pasture today. The horses were also missing. Mr. Martin was always out on his tractor or tending to the animals. I drove by slowly and noticed the house seemed to be empty.