apocolypse

Darkling Days

Darkling Days

Some blamed it on the beetles, and the name stuck. It was an event they could point to and remember, instead of blaming themselves. Instead of blaming the quickening slide past the point of no return, to the end of everything. Well, not everything. The end of the age of humans. Humanity died long ago, the rest of us just waited for the inevitable.

Everything was already fucked before the beetles. We took down the climate, and so many species we couldn’t even keep track anymore. We made new ones, to help eat the plastic, clean the earth, eat the earth-cleaners, but we didn’t expect the side effects. We turned a blind eye to the warnings, the warming, the sea water. So here we were now, the darkling days. The next part of the end.

Hang the Ashes

Hang the Ashes

“Hang the ashes.” That’s what Katie told me. She turned her head as she coughed again. More blood rumbled up from her throat. “When it’s over, burn me up real good and hang the ashes.”  I wasn’t really sure that would keep them away, but I said yes, wanting to give her what comfort I could. I held her hand till it was over. I had to move fast once she quit breathing.