Apocalypse
Every TV in the world flickered on. Video boxes popped up on every computer in the world. Cellular devices shut down. The same face appeared on every single screen. The director of Itex smiled venomously and announced, "Hello, people of Earth." Families across the world leaned in towards the screen. Neighbors called each other.
"Jan? Are you seeing this?"
"Yeah! Rachel, this is so weird!"
"For years, this planet of ours has been on a downward spiral," the Director continued. "This once beautiful and peaceful Earth has become a breeding ground for misery and misfortune. As the leader of Itex, I am happy to tell you that we are on a mission to solve that. We have developed a plan to cut the Earth's population down to a fraction of what it is. Earth will rise once again to the powerful, beautiful planet it was meant to be. Our plan is going to proceed in a matter of hours. America, prepare for the new world!" With this final sentence, TV and computer screens resumed their regular appearance. Cell phones all over the world automatically turned on. The world resumed as if nothing had happened.
Women screamed. Men put their heads in their hands. Children cried. People were hurrying, arranging flights, packing. It was no use. The world would be completely different in a few short hours.
We all gasped. Nudge was shaking uncontrollably, while Iggy looked horrified, and Gazzy looked confused. Fang's face was grim and Angel looked around at all of us in shock. I punched the off button on the TV in our hotel room and turned to face them. I couldn't think of anything to say. Nudge burst into tears. Iggy reached out for her and wrapped his arms around her. No one said anything. Fang finally spoke up.
"Well this sucks."
"You got that right." I croaked. Angel turned to me and said, "Max? They forget to tell everyone how many people would die." A lump rose in my throat. "They did that on purpose, sweetie." Angel frowned and her lip quivered. "That's horrible!" I nodded. Nudge sniffed and rasped, "I can't believe they're actually going to do it!" Gazzy still looked completely lost. But he was nice enough not to ask about it. I stood up. "Well…" I didn't really know what to suggest. Fang looked at me intently, waiting to hear one of my brilliant ideas. I opened my mouth, but didn't say anything.
Later that night, as everyone stuffed their faces with pizza, I sat on the couch and thought. I was wound up, trying to think of how we could get away. An hour ago, a timer had come up on TV, going until the plan would begin. We were thinking bombs. And fire. We definitely didn't want to be in any city. The timer had about three hours left. I paced. Fang walked in and leaned against the wall.
"You might wanna take it easy on the thinking."
"Why?" I asked.
"I can smell your hair burning from the kitchen."
I tried to force a smile, but as hard as it is to believe, I couldn't. Fang sighed and went off to him, Gazzy, and Iggy's room. I went online and looked up the Director's speech. Videos of it were posted everywhere. I listened to her disgusting voice say how nature used to be beautiful. Suddenly, it hit me.
"GUYS! Pack your bags! Hurry!" The timer was on its last hour and a half.
Everyone ran out. "Where are we going?" said Gazzy excitedly.
"It's simple!" I explained, "They want to get rid of people to make the world beautiful again. They're not going to go and bomb the forests! So we just have to disappear into a place where they won't look for people!" Comprehension flickered into all their faces. Nudge threw her arms around my neck and yelled, "Max you should be on, like, Jeopardy or something! You're so smart! You're like, um, Albert Einstein!" I laughed and pushed her off. Fang was already packing food into a pack. I rolled my eyes. Leave it to a guy to think of food first.
