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'Meeting The End', A Story About The End Of Earth.
Written Entirely While Listening To 'Testify' - Rage Against The Machine, On Repeat.
One Chapter.



A Slight Metallic Clang, And A Biting Hiss.
She Was Groggy, Her Vision Was Hazed. Her Newly Awake Mind Raced With Thought.
Where Was She?
Everything Was Just A White Haze. Her Body Was So Stiff.
It Hit Her.
She Was Back To The World. The World She Had Left So Long Ago.
Cryogenically Frozen To Avoid The Risks Of Being The Daughter Of A Wealthy Man.
Her Vision Returned. The Haze Had Faded, But She Wished It Hadn't.

What Was This?
This Wasn't The Clean, Sterile-White Lab That She Had Last Seen.
This Was So Much Worse.
Twisted Iron, Heaps Of Rubble, Filth, And Shattered Tile Lined The Room.
She Had Begun To Panic, This Was Not Home.
This Was Not Where She Was Supposed To Be.

She Ran Immeadiately From The Remains Of The Once-Functunal Lab.
She had Gotten About Halfway Out Of The Sad Skeleton Of The Hospital Before He Blocked Her Exit.
He Was Filthy. He Wore A Thick Oversized Coat, Despite The Obvious Heat.
His Pants Had A Huge Tear Down The Legs, And Were In Much Worse Condition Than The Coat. They Were Spattered With Stains.
Blood, Dirt, And The Usual Stuff One Would Get From Sifting Through Garbage.
His Shirt Conceled His Starved Frame, And He Walked So Hunched That It Appeared He Was On All Fours.

His Voice Was Dry And Rasped,
'W-well Hello... Hello There.'
She Was Nausiated By The Sight Of Him, And Slowly Backed Away.
'I Wouldn't Go Out There. Not You. Especially Like That.'
The Filthy Dog Of A Person Unfurled A Gnarled, Grimey Finger Towards Her.

The Girl's Voice Was Wrought With Fear.
'Where Am I, And Why Am I Not Home?'
Her Question Was More of A Scream.
'Home?'
The Dog Let Out A Eerie Laugh, That Was Just As Repulsive As Him.
'Home Is Where You Make It.'
He Laughed Hystericly At Her, Letting Pitted, Worn And Chipped Teeth Show.

The Girl Had Pushed Herself As Far From Him As Possible.
'What Are You Saying?'
She Screamed In His General Direction, Trying Her Best To Advert Her Gaze From
His Grinning Visage.
'You're Not Familiar? How Could You Not Be? It Must Be That Bottle.'
He Aimed The Same Knotted Finger That He Has Directed Towards Her To The Tank Where She Had Been Alseep.

The Girl Shoved Past Him To The Cryogenics-Pod.
Yes, That Must Have Been It, She Must Have Missed Whatever He Spoke Of.
'Yes...Yes It Must Be That.'
The Dog Gave Into Another Uncomfortable Fit Of Laughter.
'I Pity You. I Pity You, Yes I Do!'
She Gasped, Her? Pity Her? She Was A Celebrity Compared To Some Grotesque Ruffian On The Streets.
'You Missed It All!'
He Was Fighting Back The Urge To Scream At Her.
'You Didn't Have To Suffer Like The Rest Of Us...'

The Girl Pushed Herself Into A Corner.
'You Are Making No Sense!'
The Person Stood Up In Full Height,
'Really? I Think You Make No Sense!'
He Angrily Threw A Ruined Tile Into A Crumbling Wall, Where It Shattered.
'You Missed The End Of Life. We're All Dead Now.'

He Looked In His Early Twenties, But Whatever His Employment Was,
It Left Him Battered, And Looked Starved, Tired, And Dirty.
'You're Not Dead, You're Clearly Alive...'
He Glowered At Her.
'I Might As Well Be. I Should Be Dead...'

'What Do You Mean The End Of Life?'
She Was Starting To Feel The Tightening Grip Of Fright Around Her.
'Words Cannot Describe...'
The Man Motioned Her To Follow,
'What We Lost Those Years...'

The Once-Beautiful City Was Now A Graveyard.
A Few Building Jutted Out Like Teeth, Decaying, Clinging Desperatly To The Ground To Maintain Shape. Filthy People, Most Resembling The Dog, Lined The Streets.
The Girl Yanked A Clean-Shoed Foot From Touching The Streets, Which Were Coated In Soaked Newspaper, The Stench Of Death, Rubble, And The Gnarled Framework Of What Might Have Been A Car, Or A Sign.

'Oh My God...'
The Girl Gasp Inwardly,
'What...What Happened?'
The Man Shook His Head,
'Hate! Hate Happened...'
The Girl Fought Back The Urge To Slap Him,
And Tell Him To Stop Speaking In Riddles.

'Weapons...Someone Invents A Good One, Like The Nuclear Warhead'
He Swallowed His Laughter,
'The World Gets Ahold Of It, One War Leads To Another...'
The Man Threw His Arms Out As If To Say 'Behold!';
'And This...This Is The Beautiful Thing You Get!'
He Gave Into Laughter,
'This Is How Weapons Bring Peace!'

The Girl Could Make Out The Stripped Frame Of A Wrecked Airplane From Across
The Rubble. Then The Wood And Metal Makeshift Homes People Had Constructed Out Of Whatever The Wars Had Left Them With. The Rusting Metal Was Probably Stolen From The Aircraft.

The Girl Straightened Out Her Hair,
'Well, Where Do You Get Food?'
The Man Shook His Head,
'Radiation Kills Crops...Did You Know That? Radiation Kills Everything'
He Pointed To A Group Of Dogs, Their Bodies Were Almost As Starved As His,
And They Dug Through The Trash Lining The Streets In Search Of Scraps, Or A Meal.
'You Do What They Do, You Try To Find Something.'
He Pointed To A Piece Of Sheetmetal.
'There's People Too, They Are Everywhere, Here.'
She Could Vaguely Make Out A Naked Human Form,
Stripped Of Anything A Corpse Wouldn't Need.

The Girl Screamed, The Boy Laughed.
'I'm Merely Toying With You...'
The Scream Stopped, But Echoed Throught The Barren Remains Of The Town.
'We Don't Do That, Not Here...'
He Picked Up A Metal Post And Walked Out Into The Streets.
She Followed Him, What Else Could She Do?
She had No Home, Her Relatives, Probably Just like The Man Under The Grime-Encrusted Sheetmetal.

'No! You Can't Come Here! Not Like This!'
He Had Already Said That Before.
She Slapped Him Across The Face,
'What Do You Mean I Can't?!'

The Man Recoiled At The Sting On His Face,
'I-I Should Let You Now, Now I Should.'
He Hunched Back Down And Attempted To Run,
'When They See How Clean You Are, You'll Stick Out, And They'll Take Everything Away.'

She Grabbed His Overcoat.
'No!'
He Bit Her Hand And Ran Out Of Reach,
'If I Were You, I Would Really Ditch Your Clothes, You'd Lose A Lot Of Added Problems.'
And With That, The Man Ran,
Vanishing Into The Crumbling Skeleton Of Her Beloved City.

The Girl Picked Up The Rusted Post The Man Who Had Now Sprinted Away Once Carried. She Had Already Filled InThe Blank, That He Was Going To Use It To Fend Off A Person, Or Animal, If It Had Chose To Attack Them. Why Used Violence To Fend Off A Problem, if This Is Where Violence Had Landed Humanity?
'Hypocrite'
She Muttered.
'Who, Me?'
An Unknown Voice Presented Itself.

It Was A Young Man, Probably No Older Than Seventeen.
She Dropped The Post, And Turned To Scream, But He Pressed A Hand To Her Mouth.
'Don't Try It...'
He Produced A Glint Of Metal From A Coat Pocket.
'After All, Who's Going To Help You? The Government? The Police?'
The Stranger Allowed Himself To Give A Low Chuckle, That Was More Of A Sadistic Growl.
'I Notice, You Have Some Very Threads.'
He Held The Piece Of Metal Up.
A Knife.
'I Suggest You Give It Here. It'd Make Me Some Nice Money At The Markets.'
He Waved The Knife Through The Air To Voice An Unspoken Threat,
'It Might Be Benificial To Us Both...'

There Was A Dull Thus That Echoed Throughout The Alleyway.
The Kind Of Sound You Get When You Drop A Piece Of Fruit, Or Drop Something On A Bed.
The Strange Man From Before Stood In Place Of The Armed Stranger.
He Let Out The Same Disturbing Laughter.
He Had Caught The Mugger In The Back With A Plank Of Splintering Wood.

'You Owe Me.'
He Spoke In A High-Pitched Falsetto Tone, That Was Unsettling.
'Didn't I Warn You, That They'd Take Everything?'
The Strange Man Tugged Lightly At Her Clothing,
'They Just Tried, No?'
He Flopped Backwards Into A Pile Of Old Papers, Laughing Loudly.

'Why...Why Do You Laugh So Much?'
She Inquired.
He Stood Up From The Papers,
'I Suppose Because I Can...Plus, Why Not At Least Sound Happy, If You Can't look It?'
The Girl Inspected Him Again,
'And Why Do You...People...Wear These Coats?'
She Tugged Back Rudely On His Oversized Coat.
'I Have Nothing. I Can Carry All my Belongings With me In This.'

The Strange Man Burst Into Spontainious Laughter Again.
The Girl Sighed,
'Then What Is Your Name?'

The Strange Man Lifted A Pack Of Cigarettes And The Knife Off The Unconcious Man. 'Hmm...If I Had One To Give I Suppose It'd Be...'

He Paused, In Three Attemptes To Light A Cigarette,
Then Inhaled As A Tiny Wisp Of Smoke Curled Away,
'I Suppose It'd Be Mason.'
He Punctuated His Sentance With A Cloud Of Smoke.

'And, Yours?'

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Yes, There You Go.
I Know It's Probably Not Good,
But That's Okay.
I Just Felt Like Writing Something Like This...
Maybe I Needed To Vent Or Something.
And Yes, I Changed The Man's Name...

Now Testify!!!