The World Is Doomed Then
“It’s up to you to save the world!” She exclaimed, jumping around like an excited child.
“I guess that the world is doomed then.” My gloomy reply immediately dampened her spirits. She swivelled around, and jabbed her finger to my nose.
“No! I refuse to hear that! You will save us!” I shook my head and turned away. When a woman made up her mind, what could a man do? It was even worse if the man’s sister made up her mind; there was no escape from a sister’s unwavering decisions.
“Janessa, I quit for a reason. I’m not going back there.”
“Oh no you don’t!” I fell to the ground, having gained the extra weight on my back. “You are not running away from here! From your destiny! From me! What about me? If you don’t do this, I’ll die! You can’t live without me!” I sputtered, drawing in fresh breaths of oxygen, knowing full well that I would be sporting blue and purple spots tomorrow. My sister fondly seemed to forget about my injuries, and that I’ve only been able to get out of bed during this past week.
“Janessa Virginia Williams, are you trying to kill me?”
“No, of course not. I need you too much.”
“Well, then. Get off of my broken back, if you would be so kind!” She swung herself off of me and apologized, but I just brushed it off. “Now, I think it is time that you go home. You are evidently tired.”
“What about the world?!” She grabbed me by my shoulders, almost as if to shake me awake.
“Let go of me...Thank you. Now, I’m definitely not going to save the world in this condition, okay? We can talk about it again in...three years? Thirty?” I offered, even venturing to smile, though my whole face felt like I just set it on fire.
“THIRTY YEARS!!!!” I covered my ears and retreated; I was already half-blind and lame, I honestly didn’t want to go half-deaf as well. “THIRTY YEARS???!!!! ANTONIO, ARE YOU INSANE?!! DID YOU HIT YOUR HEAD OR SOMETHING???!!” I took a few more steps backward, safely placing myself behind the desk.
“Please stop screaming. This is a respectable neighborhood, with a lot of children that should be trying to sleep now. Also, yes. I did hit my head. Remember? When I was trying to save the world? Only six months ago? I hit my head so hard, I actually suffered some memory loss. Do you remember that, my dear, calm and gentle sister?” She glared at me. “Also, yes, to your other question. I am insane. I’ve always been. You told me that fifteen years ago, and I don’t see anything that has changed, do you?”
“Yes, I do!” She spat out. “You!” She marched closer, and once again her finger was jabbing at my nose. “You have become a COWARD! You have become a FOOL!! You have -” I grabbed at her finger, pulling her into my chest. She wriggled like a worm, and I suddenly remembered her fondness for those creatures. Unfortunately, she didn’t allow me more time for fond memories (memories that I only RECENTLY came to remember again). She pushed against my shoulders, and the burning fire seared through my whole body.
“WATCH IT!!!” I thundered, and she took five steps backward.
“Don’t you dare yell at me! It’s not my fault that you gave up and didn’t complete your mission! And I won’t take anything back! I am ashamed to call you, yes you, my brother.”
I ducked behind the crate, grimacing. This...was not a good idea. My whole body was screaming at me to go home. Take a nice hot shower and go to bed. Die in peace. Die in your sleep. There was no greater prospect than that for me.
I peeked around my hiding place, analyzing the environment. I would only have one chance. It would be a run-and-grab. Fighting would have to be avoided at all costs. Sisters are the curse that we men have to live with...
Okay...Two guards at the east gate. Three at the west. There is one at the north...Strategy...I sat down, resting my head for a little bit on the object behind me. It felt like a swarm of bees had attacked my head. There was fire burning on my chest and shoulder area. My legs were jelly. In the words of my doctor, uttered only the week before, I was not in the physical condition to go back to work; if I had wished to do so, of course.
I retrieved my handgun. I actually had no idea what I would use it for...It only had three bullets left...Strategy: Pull together your courage. Rush out from behind the crate, running towards the launching pad. Grab the key, and pull the ‘abort’ lever. Evade the shots fired by those at west and east gates. Rush towards north, saving three bullets for shooting the guard there. The building will go into lockdown by then...Scrape through underneath the closing door. Run towards exit, hurdling the key into the waterfall. Lastly, jump down waterfall and pray not to die the death offered by crushing water.
I shot out from behind the crate, running towards the pad. The yells reached my ears, and I felt a few bullets whizzing past me. I tumbled over into a roll as one hit me in the stomach. I had reached the key though. I heard a scraping sound, but my attention was at retrieving the key and pulling the lever.
The yells continued, as I struggled to bring the lever down. Finally, it clicked onto the ground, but just as I turned around, ‘slam’! A cage fell over the spot that I was standing on. The guards approached. This is it...
One of my pursuers suddenly tripped over his feet, and two more bullets hit my chest. I dropped down, and knew with certainty that this was the end.
It’s up to me to save the world?! Seriously, sis, the world is doomed when I walk in...
You Don’t Know Anyone But Yourself
Evenlyn gasped for air as the wind was taken out of her. She coughed and pulled her self up back to her feet. She could hear a female voice cheering her on as she stood. She looked behind her to see her best friend behind her prison bars. The sight broke her heart.
Evenlyn looked back in front of her to see the woman she despised the most; Lady Diana. Evenlyn hated her with every bone her body.
She watched as water particles conjoured in her hands. This was a battle between life or death. She could hear several people cheering for her behind their bars. If she didn't beat Lady Diana... The world might as well end. Everyone believed in her but herself. She knew she couldn't do it, no matter how much she tried.
Lady Diana bowled a laugh. "Do you really believe you can defeat me?" She laughed.
No. Evenlyn thought. The words that came out of her mouth were different. "Of course I do." Evenlyn didn't even believe herself. She was suprised that everyone else did. She could hear the roaring approvals of the inmates all around her.
Lady Diana laughed again. "You are nothing but a mortal being. How do you believe to defeat me?"
I don't. "With sheer force, of course. How else?"
Her enemy's eyes narrowed. "You're becoming full of yourself. You underestamate me."
I'm not underestemating you. I don't even believe in myself. "I don't underestamate you. I am just a perfect match."
Lady Diana walked forwards, not paying attention to the water cannons that were already forming in Evenlyn's hands. "Then it's up to you to save the 'world'."
Evenlyn's breathing hitched and she spoke before she thought.
"I guess the worlds is doomed then."
"It's up to you to save the world!"
He was almost excited as he exclaimed this new and apparent fact. Lysander was ecstatic. Never had he thought he would live through an actual fantasy story. But there he was, in the middle of it all with a demon at his left and an immortal before both of them. The immortal, Mansa, was completely and utterly unfazed. His eyelids hooded his eyes in such a way where one could have mistaken him for sleeping. It was a load of [malarkey]. There was no way in [heck] that he had to save the world. He could barely wake up in the morning, let alone tolerate the idiots otherwise known as Lysander and Tem. What made the universe think he could save the [fricking] world? The universe has seen his work. He assumed it would have known better by then. It did not.
Tem could sense Mansa's relunctancy and crossed their arms, eyeing the old, bitter man. They were uneasy theirself, actually. They had uncovered something not too long before the shocking revelation of why Mansa was still alive.
Now is as good a time as any. "Oh, yeah, by the way, kiddo... I did some digging - not on purpose or anything! - I was actually looking for something else. But, ahaha, anyway... Sandy, I mean, Lysander, kid, you are a, ah, you're an angel."
Mansa raised an eyebrow, intrigued and relieved for the focus to not be on himself for the time being. Lysander was not intrigued so much as confused.
"Well, thanks, my mom used to call me that... B-But it's not the time for that. Mansa, how are you going to do it?"
"Hm. Huh, what?"
"Save the world..."
"Oh, that. Ah... Tem was about to say something else. Let her - ack - them speak."
"Thanks, Mansa. Listen to me carefully, Sandy."
"Yeah?"
"You are an angel. Like, an actual celestial being from Heaven. With God. Mr. Big G. You are an angel from Heaven. You came down here by accident and when you crashed you hit your head too hard. That's all I know."
Lysander was stunned. The three stood silently for moments. Silence was a thick bubble that Mansa was pleased to let swallow him.
"So, and I know this shouldn't be the first thing I think about but... do I have powers or something?"
The bubble was popped. "I guess the world is doomed then," the immoral muttered, rolling his neck.
*This is based on a story that I am writing and I would rather this not be used outside of the challenge I am submitting it in.*
Encores are for people who can’t let go
I’m the chosen one,
The hero,
The protagonist,
The subject of the prophesy,
The seer of sights and receiver of messages,
The one who slipped through a secret portal,
The one who found something,
The one who was told,
"It’s up to you to save the world!"
As if it was a good thing,
to
be
singled
out.
I burned down my metaphorical house when I was born,
And since then,
I’ve burned down millions more.
My world is already ashes.
That’s the point, isn’t it?
You build the block tower, admire it, and knock it down,
Revelling in the crash and tumble of clattering wood.
It’s up to me to save the world,
Maybe because I know it’s not worth saving.
It had its time on the stage, and now the curtains are waiting to
Close.
So here I am,
Waiting in the wings,
Hand on the rope,
My eyes trailing up the pulley,
Head tilted in the dark,
Fingers tightening,
Muscles contracting,
And with just one tug,
And another,
And another,
The curtains sweep across the border and
With just one press of a button
The lights go down,
And with just one smile into the darkness,
"I guess the world is doomed, then."
And the house lights come up.
And the audience disperses.
And after the actors take off their makeup,
And the band packs up their instruments,
And the crew tidies everything away,
We’ll disperse, too.
Leaves on the wind.
The tree has died, and now it’s our turn
To find out where we go when we decompose.
Save the World, Change for the Better
“What are you doing here?” Wyatt asked as Della walked into his apartment, not phased by his clutter and mess. In light of the news she had, this was the least of her worries.
“It’s up to you to save the world,” she said, very calm in her tone while she picked at her fingernails and kept her arms close to her body.
“I guess the world is doomed then.” Wyatt sat down on the couch, took a drag of his lit cigarette, and searched for the tv remote. She glanced at it sitting on the back of the couch right behind him while he reached in between the cushions and moved around empty bottles on his coffee table.
“You can’t run from your responsibilities forever.” She walked around the table while he looked under the couch and grabbed the remote. Held it tight in her hands and close to her chest, eyes narrowed as she looked down at him. When she got the assignment, she knew it would be a challenge. After all, apples never fell far from the tree.
“I’ve done it this long. I’m gonna keep going.” He went back to his comfort, his couch, and sighed. He didn’t even try to take the remote from her, it was too much of a fight and not worth it.
If you could keep doing what you’re doing, I wouldn’t have to interfere, she thought. “You’d let the whole world be destroyed so you can have what, another month, maybe, of your hedonistic lifestyle?”
“Hmm... a month of doing whatever I want and the world ends or a month of trying to save the world and it ends anyway? No brainer, I’m not helping.” He scoffed and rolled his eyes and put out his cigarette in the ash tray then began to light another one.
And Della sighed, heavily and deeply in an effort to stay calm, and she chose to keep trying to get through to him. There was so much more to life than seeking pleasure all the time. “So you’re just like your mom. And your dad. And your whole family line. Content with your complacen—“
“Don’t.” It was the first time he looked at her and she could see the rage that came up to the surface. The anger, the bitterness, the pain from a family that hurt him and all he was trying to do was numb it. She hit his pride on purpose, and she was not done.
“The only reason the world is falling apart is because they denied their calling and sat on their hands while drowning in the world’s pleasure, blind to how it killed others. There’s blood on their hands. Don’t make the same mistake.”
Silence filled the room. She sensed the noise in his mind while she awaited a response. Any response. He tensed up and his mouth remained shut except to put the cigarette in his mouth again and she counted the bottles on his table to occupy her mind.
When she had enough of his silence and the stench of tobacco, she reached into her pants pocket. “If you change your mind, and you want to break your generational curse, here’s my card.”
She set it down on the cushion next to him and walked out of the apartment. Once she made it out of the building, she exhaled and prayed fervently and earnestly that Wyatt might change his mind as she got into her car.
—
Five days later, when Della was beginning to lose hope, Wyatt called.
“Hey... is this Della? I uh, I changed my mind.”
Sorry...
"It's up to you to save the world!"
That's all they yell. Calling me to fix their problems, not even lifting a finger to clean their messes.
Who chose me, huh? That's what I want to know. Why am I the one burdened with the lives of everyone? Why do I have to do it alone? They never asked me if I wanted to be the saviour. I just want to enjoy my life like everyone else. Is that really too much to ask?
I can't save everyone. And, even if I do, who's there for me. Who will save me when I'm dying on my knees, torn apart by my "destiny" that you cursed me with ? I have no one by my side yet I'm supposed to be there for everyone. The world has done nothing for me, yet I'm supposed to surrender everything for the world. That's just messed up...
I can't do it. I'm sorry. I'm just... tired. I'm sorry.
I know it's up to me to save the world, but I can't.
I guess the world is doomed then.
I guess, when the world is up in flames and about to crumble into ashes, you can blame me if it makes you feel better.