"May you never take one single breath for granted… and promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance… and when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance." –Lee Ann Womack
On the plane ride to Los Angeles the team talked amongst themselves. Stalker was busy cursing at himself for leaving his wife, Shock Blast had a terrified look on his face, Zap and Rock N' Roll were debating about the next day, Barbeque was annoyed by their conversation, Breaker was whispering something to Beach Head, and Scarlett sat off to the side confused.
"Man! I'm telling you Rock N' Roll it's the end of time, homes!" Zap shouted out.
"Don't say that!" Shock Blast shouted back.
"Shock Blast you're a sad story! Man, don't fear it! Embrace it! God will take the ones who did good in their lives!"
"Don't sit here and preach to us Zap." Breaker cut in.
"I'm not preaching! I'm just saying..."
"Well no one cares about what you're saying. No one wants to hear it."
"Aye Breaker, don't get your panties in a bunch." Zap said with anger.
Breaker had a mean look on his face, and it was clear that Zap wasn't too happy with him either.
"That's enough both of you. I'm not gonna hear you two bickering over something as stupid as this. Enough!" Beach Head clenched his mask in frustration.
It wasn't that Beach Head believed that the next day would be the end, but it made him think. He hadn't exactly lived the right kind of life, and there were a lot of things he wished he could take back. He looked around at his troops, wishing he got to pick his crew. Stalker was mad at him, Shock Blast was a cry baby in his eyes, Zap had a bad temper, Rock N' Roll was an instigator, Breaker was a know it all, Barbeque was a quiet guy, and he hardly ever talked to Scarlett. He glanced at her noticing she was oddly quiet. He didn't exactly know Scarlett, but he knew of her, every time he seen Scarlett around the PIT she was either smiling or laughing. Beach Head stopped himself from thinking any further. His troops finally quieted down, and they were less than twenty minutes from their destination.
"Now that all the arguing has stopped, I can tell you all what's gonna happen. We'll be watchin' the Pacific Coast Highway starting tomorrow at 6 a.m. This is just a safety precaution to make sure that people don't start bundling up on the freeway. I know sounds weird… but orders are orders. I expect you all to get a few hours of sleep, straighten up your act, and meet me down stairs in the lobby at 5:30. Any questions… No… Good."
By the time they reached the hotel everyone was tired. Most of the guys headed straight to their rooms, and passed out. Scarlett checked her laptop only to find that Snake-Eyes hadn't messaged her yet. She frowned and headed to get some ice. To her surprise she saw Beach Head sliding his card to enter his room. She smiled at him and proceeded on with getting ice. He threw his things in his room, and went by her.
"Duke messaged me about his progress, turns out Snake-Eyes is with him."
"I know he messaged me before he left. How are they doing?"
"They won't be gettin much sleep. The riots in San Francisco have already started, a bunch of people wavin' signs, and churches crowded with people. It don't sound too good."
"No, not at all. Do you think that might start up here?"
"Maybe… you never know."
"Why are people getting so crazy over this?"
"Well people get crazy over anything that disrupts their normal way of life. Most people are scared of death."
Scarlett leaned against the wall and thought about that for a moment. Then she looked at Beach Head and asked:
"Are you scared of death?"
"I think deep down… everyone is."
"What do you think happens once you die?"
"I don't know."
"Well what do you think?"
"I think that you jus' die."
"What about heaven?"
Beach Head looked at her uncertain of what she was getting at. He wasn't raised in a religious family, and nothing happened in his life that made him feel the need to attend church. In fact he had never set foot in a church. He knew that wasn't a good thing, and he knew some things couldn't be explained in a science book. However he never felt close to God. His life wasn't the best, and there were times that it seemed awful. It wasn't that he blamed God for that, but if God was real… why wasn't the world a better place?
"You wanna know what I honestly feel about that?"
"Yes."
"I don't believe in heaven, and I don't believe in hell. I don't believe in a lot of things… I've never had a reason to."
"Well… I'm very sorry to hear that."
Scarlett started to walk off, and Beach Head watched her then shouted out:
"Why? Why are you sorry to hear that?"
She turned around and faced him from a short distance, and then answered:
"You should give faith a fighting chance… you shouldn't fear, or settle."
"You've made quite a judgment in such a short amount of time."
"I'm not judging you."
"Well then… what would you call it?"
Scarlett began to walk off:
"Goodnight, Beach Head."
"Are you really gonna go to bed?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I seen you on the ride here… seems like we both need someone to talk to."
They ended up outside of the hotel, sitting on the curb of the quiet street. Beach Head took off his mask, and gave a faint smile. Scarlett noticed it and asked:
"What are you smiling about?"
"Do you think tomorrow is the end of the world?"
"I don't think so. I honestly feel I was put on here for a purpose… to live a full life, and to love and cherish every moment of it."
"You give yourself a lot of credit."
"It's not that I feel I'm special. I just found my purpose… unlike a lot of others."
"Yea, well what's your purpose?"
Scarlett half smiled at his question then said:
"That's enough about me. Do you think it's the end?"
"I think it should be."
"You don't mean that."
"Yea I do. This world is so corrupt; it's so wrong, so filthy, and so cruel. The sad thing about it is… it's the people. It's all of us who make it so bad. Like the music and TV now… talkin' about sex, drugs, and money. It's all gettin to be so bad. I think it's time for all this bullshit to be over with."
"Not everyone is bad, Beach Head."
"Well I think everyone is. I haven't met a good person, and I doubt there is anyone truly good livin. I'm not even close to bein' a good person."
"Yes you are. You're just confused… You have a lot to live, and be thankful for."
"Tell me one thing."
Scarlett looked at him and stood up:
"I think deep down you know."
Before Beach Head could respond the ground beneath them began to shake, and then the screams began.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was mainly about the things most people think about when we talk about the end of the world. Or what a person really thinks about themselves. Please review, and tell me your thoughts!