Struggle

The apocalypse took many lives. Destroyed structures, cities, downs, strongholds, as if to mock what we built, vanquished even the concepts that we created for ourselves, civilization, morals and all.

Continents were split and divided, others being claimed by the seas for good.

Of the over 8 billion people on earth, a measly 2 million remained. 2 million humans at least.

Naturally, even that number sounds too optimistic when you account for the disaster that befell humanity, however, hope descended when all was almost lost.

After 15 days of continuous destruction, the world suddenly started to stabilise on its own. The remaining continents did not split or get submerged.

The atmospheric conditions became better. No more acidic rain or lightning. The gravity returned to normal and the air became breathable again, for the most part.

However, even though it was good, the damage was irreversible. The land seemed dead. Nothing could grow. The wreckage from the buildings remained ever-present for all to see and mourn.

Earth was akin to hell.

Where was I? I never left where was I was. The pit I dug for myself. I stayed holed up in there. I had thought that I was going to die from starvation, but strangely, my body kept getting nourished mysteriously. I ignored it for a time because, despite my internal outburst about not wanting to die, I found myself questioning why I wanted to live.

What was the point? My family was gone. Wouldn't it be better to just leave this planet and reunite with them? Escape this hell hole and find peace in the afterlife that we believed in my culture?

Yes. That was for the best. I had no idea why I was so hard to kill right now, but I then thought. That outrage earlier was just me in denial. You know what they say. Da Nile is just another river in Egypt.

The dice I had with me.... was another unsettling issue. Ever since I got them I tried to look for what was special about them but to no avail. I tried throwing them away on account of how useless they were, but .... they just reappeared in my hand. Great. Now I have something that reminded me of my favourite memory and I couldn't get rid of it.

One might ask, why didn't I kill myself if I wanted to die? Surely those mutants were looking for humans with a death wish like me. Yes, they were. Some passed by where I was and I was shaking like a leaf the entire time.

The answer is simple.

I am a coward and a hypocrite. At least in that regard. That's the fantastic side of being able an author. Being able to get away with adding in gory elements, death, a self-sacrificing protagonist and brutal creatures they have to face in a piece of writing, without having to think twice about how it would feel to be in that situation.

I had the urge to go out and find my family, but..... would I survive. Even if I reached there, what if they were dead, which unfortunately they most likely were.

And thus, I just lay in that hole and waited for my demise, while being stared at the white holes on the red dice.

Weeks passed.

I was almost starting to lose my mind. Yes, let's get to the madness. We're so close.

A month.

Damn it! Come on! My stomach should be like a deflated whoopee cushion by now! Why the heck aren't I dead?

Two months.

Grrrrrrraaaaah! Fine, give me the gauntlet and the infinity stones, I'll do it myself! Wait for what? Wrong line. My head hurts. Can I really walk out and subject myself to being swallowed whole, or chewed slowly and tenderly like a Salisbury steak, bones crunching, juices gushing out as the monster sits in a restaurant with the banner 'Le Suicidal Human Cuisine' with a fork and knife in hand, savouring my flesh as.... okay okay ... I'm losing my mind now. Relax.

I stayed in there. Memories bombarded my brain. Happy ones, bad ones.

Slowly, I felt my selfishness. Yes, I had been grieving and in pain, but was I the only one? What would those who wished to be alive despite the world's state be saying if they were watching me dig deeper into stupidity? A burning fire of life was within me, but I was wasting it, waiting to die instead.

What would my family think if they saw how the son they thought was capable of making his own life better despite the odds think? My siblings looked up to me as a hero. What would they think when they saw their brother, one with the earth like a worm?

I took a deep breath. All of this wasn't enough to make me feel braver or to instantly shatter my shell, but I decided to take a leap of faith. If I'm gonna die, at least let me die with dignity right?

The whatever amount of holes on the die's surface were looking at me as if to emphasise that I should make a ....gamble.

Fine. I waited a few weeks and then started climbing out. I poked my head out a little to check out the situation. There was nothing in sight. All I could see was wreckage. Torn down cable lines, chunks of buildings, charred ground, smoke, ash and a terrible stench.

I saw nothing move, and I hesitantly popped out of what had been my abode for months.

I heard a sound from far away. It was not a muffled thud of beasts moving above me, or of fire crackling on the surface. It wasn't the shuffling of a next-door snake trying to see who was digging deeper into its territory. No.

It was the sound of spinning blades in the air. A helicopter!

It was black, its visage giving hope to me. It seemed to be searching for something while flying at a fairly high altitude.

I started to desperately wave my hands.

"HEEEEEY! HEEEY OVER HERE!" I desperately used my parched voice to try and draw its attention. Then I realised something. Was I this desperate to live all along? Why am I trying so hard?

I even tried running. My jelly legs did the best they could to carry me forward. I stumbled and I fell but I still went on.

Suddenly, from the nearby wreckage, 30 meters from my position, of what looked like a skyscraper, a large beast emerged.

It tore away the chunks of cement and roared into the sky, where I could see a visible sound wave travelling upwards, agitating the atmosphere. I closed my ears and knelt, my insides feeling like they were about to explode.

The creature was purple-ish in colour, veins protruding from all over its body. It looked like a cross between a whale and a lizard.

Unbelievable? Let me explain.

Picture a 40-meter long whale, with giant scaly lizard legs under its body and a very long tail extending up to 10 meters from its large body. Its huge mouth opens and closed as if to consume all the atmospheric gases for itself.

Its height was staggering, being almost 15 meters while it was standing on all four legs. The sheer mass of its body rocked the earth underneath it as it raised its head to gaze at the helicopter with its beady eyes.... and then at me.

All my hairs stood on end, including the ones that surrounded young master Bernard between my legs.

I felt the malice and the level of threat that threatened to threaten my already threatened existence.

I took off running. It was like watching a clown wearing oversized shoes running around. My legs wouldn't listen to my command and for the first time in my life, I was cursing at why my continent never adopted leg day.

I ran. But the thundering behind me told me that I could never outrun this beast. It was not even running, only striding slowly as if relishing in the chase.

Good, God! Did that restaurant exist?

I turned my head to look at the towering demise that was behind me and I saw the helicopter flying directly above the creature while decreasing its altitude.

Between the creature's noisy steps and my fear, I forgot that the helicopter was here.

I tried yelling again. Desperately asking for help.

What happened next, I will never forget till the day I die.

From the helicopter, a figure jumped down. I couldn't see properly, but it seemed like a woman.

She was donning a black suit. From afar it looked glossy as if made entirely out of steel.

She dropped down like a bullet, her shoulder-length hair done into a high low bob, rustling in the wind. She cocked her arm and balled her hand into a fist as she descended onto the creature's head.

I saw a ripple as her fist shot down at the creature's head.

BOOOOOM!!!

WHAT ON EARTH???

A massive shock wave, with her and the dinosaur wannabe in the centre, exploded outwards from the impact. I was dumbfounded, seeing the creature fall from the human punch!

Was this real?!

Was this freaking real?!!!

The creature's legs sank into the ground as it staggered. The woman didn't continue her assault. She jumped down from the creature and bolted at an unreal speed right up to me and swung me over her shoulder.

I was still in a daze.

Had I been Princess Fiona I would have been kicking and screaming saying stuff, 'This doesn't feel right.'

(A/N: Shrek Reference)

As if all the stuff I had seen wasn't enough, the woman crouched down and then jumped. I felt the immense strength building in her legs as she took off.

The helicopter swung our way, fixing its angle such that the entrance was facing us. The woman and I got on.

We just jumped... ahem.. she just jumped almost 20 meters!

She dropped me on my backside and took a deep breath.

The next second she gave me a nasty glare. It was as if she was reprimanding me for something, only, I was sure we had just met and I hadn't done anything wrong.

What on earth was happening??

What the hell, Wonder Woman?????