Chapter 19

“Hospitals across the globe have been targeted with no end in sight to the largest scale nuclear war in all of history. Please –” the voice breaks into static.

Red. He swallows a Valium.

Sirens sound, as the screams of his neighbours fill his ears.

Red. He downs another Valium.

“You’ll be great, no matter what you do, son.” He remembers his father’s last words before leaving him under a mountain of debt.

Red. Blotches of red fill his vision.

He’s hyperventilating, but he needs to know more.

He takes a small peak out his curtain to survey the situation.

Red. Decline.

Bodies are splayed across his neighbour’s driveway.

Red. Another Valium.

Red. Decline.

Decline.

He throws his curtain close, barricading himself inside his room.

Coward till the end, the voice of his manager drowns his mind.

Red. Decline.

Red. Valium.

Red. Decline.

The sound of death approaches him; the screams outside have faded into an eerie silence.

Red. Valium.

Red. Decline.

In his last moment, his last breath on Earth, he remembers nothing from his years of therapy.

Red.

Red.

Red.