Running out of Time

Feet hit the pavement. Heel pressing through the worn-out cushion of sneaker sole, lifting as toes press through the motion to spring from the cement. Wind whips through her hair, tangling curls into knots of regret. She should have brought an elastic, she cursed herself. Ashley could have thought this through better: Converse weren’t meant for anything but casual walking, and her hair kept getting in her mouth. At least she wore shorts and a tank top in the hot summer heat, instead of something less suitable for the exercise. She dodged out of the way of someone pushing a shopping cart down the sidewalk, going to fast to see who it was.

She was almost out of time.

Ashley checked her watch. She cursed. The end of the world was in fifteen minutes. Well fifteen and a half, but she felt that rounding down wasn’t unforgivable given the circumstances. The streets were desolate, quiet in a way she had never seen the city before. It should have been rush hour. She should have gotten hit by a car as she jumped in the street to avoid a blockade of wooden pallets and plastic milk crates on the sidewalk. The parking lot of the grocery store on her right should have been packed. It normally was at this hour; between people who don’t know how to park and people who just wanted to cut through to avoid turning at the light. Instead, Ashley saw a tumbleweed blow through. She didn’t think tumbleweeds actually existed outside of cartoons. It was a very odd realization and caused her a brief moment of disassociation before she had to duck under a light pole laying across the street.

Her lungs were burning, but she couldn’t stop. Ten minutes left until the end of the world and she still had a way to go.

“…in other news, everyone else has left the station. It’s just me here. Alone. Maybe if we had been given better warning, I would have been at home with my family. Instead with the half-hour notice, I didn’t have enough time to drive home. A reminder: the authorities have told us not to evacuate the city. There is not point…”

Ashley slowed for moment to hear some of the report from a forgotten TV. She remembered this bar; it was where they had their first date. They had sat at that table in the corner on the left, close enough to the misters that her bag had gotten wet. The margaritas were only ok. The TV had played a sports game, so they were surrounded by the type of people that watch sports in public with alcohol.

“So… um, are you into sports?”

Ashley blushed from forehead to neck. “No, not really…”

“Margaritas then?”

“Honestly, this place is halfway between my house and the school. I passed it on the way to pick you up. That was… ah… before the game started. There weren’t this many people then.”

“You planned our date… on the way to the date?”

“Yeah… is that a red flag?”

It had still gotten her a second date, though not one she was allowed to plan. It was better that way, anyway. She didn’t do well with plans.

Ashley resumed her breakneck pace, cursing herself again for the distraction. At this rate she wouldn’t make it in time. It was a miracle she had made it this far in this short of a time span, most of the time her house was an hour walk from the university. It was one of the reasons they had talked about moving in together: Ashley didn’t drive and trekking to school for every date was exhausting. Ashley wished that she had caved sooner. They could have been home together now, instead of this.

It dawned on Ashley that Joan could have been on the way to her house.

The announcement of the End of the World had happened with little fanfare, just a small new announcement, not even an emergency broadcast. Something about a giant asteroid from the bottom of the ocean or a giant sea monster from space, or maybe both. Ashley hadn’t been paying attention past the inevitable death part. She had barged into her neighbor’s house, Clyde, to ask if his family had seen it. They were watching a children’s show. Clyde was such a good stay-at-home dad, especially during summer break. The news broadcast hadn’t even interrupted kid’s channels. No point panicking them, there was nothing they could do, nothing their families could do. Clyde had asked her to watch his kids while he went in the other room and called his wife. Ashley had heard him crying. It had cost her time, but if she couldn't have a little empathy during the apocalypse what was even the point? He was just trying to do the same thing as her. Ashley wondered if Clyde's wife had made it home in time to say goodbye. Ashley realized she was probably a terrible neighbor for only knowing Clyde's name, not his wife or kids'.

Ashley tripped over a rock.

She screamed as she dropped both knees, her right elbow, and left hand on asphalt and skidded over the ground. Somehow the entire city had turned into a war zone and a wasteland in under fifteen minutes. Debris littered streets, bullet casings sparkled in gutters, and barricades made her memorized path more treacherous than usual. As mysteriously, the city had been emptied just as quickly. No one responded to her scream. Both knees bled freely, Ashley didn’t even want to look at her hand or elbow they hurt so bad, and pieces of gravel were embedded in her skin. She tried to continue at her pace and cried out as it turned into a limp. She checked her watch. Five minutes left. She kept limping.

She wouldn’t make it. Ashley knew she couldn’t make it at this pace. There was no way. She would die alone, in the street, during the end of the world. She had hoped it wouldn’t end this way, had hoped that it would all work out. Most of all, she had hoped that it was all an elaborate prank. Like when "War of the Worlds" had aired on radio that time and people sat in their front lawns with loaded shot guns waiting for the invading army of aliens. This time they had repeated reminders that it wasn’t a play, not a radio show, not a hoax. This was the real deal. This was the end of life on Earth.

She cried, slow tears dripping down her already sweaty face. Despite the ever stacking odds against her favor, Ashley kept limping down the road. She’d throw rocks at Joan’s window like she had after their first date. She had let Joan go upstairs without kissing her and immediately regretted it. After about a minute to let her get up the stairs, Ashley had started throwing pebbles.

“What in the… Ash?”

Ashley lowered her arm to avoid hitting Joan in the face with another pebble. “Is it too late to ask for a good night kiss?”

“You already let me walk upstairs.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“So you want me to walk back down, get a kiss, walk back up, and then hope you haven’t forgotten anything else to throw rocks at me for?”

“Um… yeah?” Ashley said, hopeful.

“You know that’s crazy right?”

“Um… also yeah?”

Joan had still come back downstairs for the kiss. Ashley wasn’t sure how after that awful date and that awkward conversation it had worked out in her favor. A year later, they were still dating; talking about moving in together. She wasn’t sure how someone as amazing as Joan could still fall for her, but it kept working out. Then the end of the world had to go and ruin all of it. Ashley continued limping, trying her best to at least power walk.

She heard someone shouting at the end of the block. One minute until the end of the world. The sound of pounding feet grew louder as the shouting person moved closer. It was Joan. Joan was running towards her.

Ashley caught Joan in her arms, burying her face in Joan’s shoulder as the tears continued falling. Joan looked amazing.

“You idiot. You texted me to wait there and then didn’t pick up when I called you.”

“Started running. Left phone at home,” Ashley mumbled.

“I would have driven to meet you. It’s a five-minute drive with the streets this clear. We could have spent twenty-five more minutes together. You crazy person,” Joan was crying too. Tears hit the top of Ashley’s hair.

A rumble echoed through the ground, but Ashley didn’t even raise her head. She kept her forehead pressed against Joan’s shoulder.

“I started running about ten minutes ago. They blockaded my garage about five-minutes after the notice. I got worried when you weren’t there.”

“Don’t worry about me. Just fell a little.”

“I see that. Did you know you’re trailing blood on the ground? We’re going to have to clean those scrapes really well or you’ll get infected.”

Ashley noted the waver in Joan’s voice. As if disinfecting was going to matter, Ashley found herself nodding.

“Hey, Joan? Do you want to move in with me, maybe?”

“Of course, silly. I’ve been waiting for you to agree.”

Ashley giggled through the tears. Around them, the world ended.

#Running #Contest #Apocalypse #lgbt #scifi