Dark Closing In

An infuriating beeping rang out, shadowed by a distant, bone-chilling siren. Dasha woke up abruptly, head pounding, heart thundering. As she recognized the pale lavender walls around her, the relentless beeping of her phone synced with the radio.

“What is it now?” groaned Dasha, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She grabbed her phone and her eyes glanced over the announcements popping up.

‘All citizens are to remain calm.’

‘A solution will be found.’

‘Do not panic.’

The original warning was long since buried by further notices and more kept pouring in. Most people would’ve been confused, but Dasha was not. She understood. Of course, why wouldn’t she? She was the domino that sets off the rest.

With a sigh, she stretched and got up to look through the windows. Sirens flashed in the distance.

“Dasha? Are you awake?” came a soft whisper from her door.

“Where else would I be?”

A small boy scampered across the room and hugged her legs.

“What’s happening?” he asked.

“Seven days.”

“Seven days until what?”

Dasha pressed her palms against her eyes and took a deep breath. “Until the end of humanity.”

“The end?”

“Yes, Odoxton. The end. Dammit!” shouted Dasha, knocking her laptop to the ground.

Odoxton flinched and looked up at her curiously.

“Why did I have to go and destroy everything?” muttered Dasha.

“Wait; is this because of that neighboring planet?” asked Odoxton.

“No… It’s because of me. I spoke to a man,” said Dasha, sitting down,” who said he could fix this. He said he could take all our problems away; no more working at that factory, no more being pitied, no more…”

“Did he?” asked Odoxton.

Dasha smiled and ruffled his hair. “No. I assumed he had wasted my time so I thought nothing of the note he left. That should’ve been my warning.” She chuckled. “‘The end of your problems, the end of everyone else’s, and the start of a new era.’ At first, I passed it off as some meaningless inspirational crap. Now, I see what he really meant.”

Odoxton stared at her with big, teary eyes.

“Do you want to go get ice cream? I’m sure the government will fix this before anything happens,” she lied.

“Yeah! Ice cream makes everything better,” exclaimed Odoxton.

Dasha stood and grabbed her coat.

On the walk, she made a silent pact with herself while her brother skipped along and chased stray cats into the alleys. The end would come, but they would not be there to see it. She wouldn’t let her baby brother watch the end of his world and happiness.

The day was uneventful; they got ice cream and walked back home. Odoxton put puzzles together while Dasha watched for updates.

Midnight came and the government still didn’t know what to do.

Dasha crept down to the kitchen, careful not to wake Odoxton who was sleeping on the couch.

“Six days,” she muttered, glancing at the clock.

She searched the kitchen silently, tears brimming her eyes. She found enough food to make a small pot of spaghetti. She made the meal as quietly as possible, thinking of the countless people she had condemned.

Under the sink, she found the arsenic she had accidentally fed her parents. Taking a shaky breath, she emptied it into the pasta. Once it had dissolved, she put the food on plates and set the table.

“Odoxton! Supper’s ready!” called Dasha.

About a minute later, he wandered in and pulled himself into the big chair at the head of the table.

After about a minute of eating, he looked up at her. “I’m tired.”

“Finish eating and then we’ll take a nap.”

Odoxton and Dasha ate all the pasta before Dasha finally let them go to her room.

“Aren’t you gonna clean up?”

“I’ll clean up when we wake up,” said Dasha, biting her tongue.

They lay down, curled up together, and Dasha’s eyes fluttered shut.

“Dasha, I’m scared,” muttered Odoxton.

“Just think, tomorrow you won’t have school, so we can go to the park. Maybe you’ll see that girl you’re so fond of.”

Odoxton whined and buried his face in the pillow.

Dasha chuckled.

After a few minutes of silence, Dasha was still awake, albeit feeling numb and a little nauseous.

It took her a half hour to fall asleep, and when she did, it was faint and she awoke after one hour.

“Odoxton?” she asked, feeling nausea starting to take over.

There was no response. She pressed her fingers against his neck and felt no pulse. She gasped and took a shuddering breath, tears welling up in her eyes. As the poison was being absorbed, she knew there was nothing to do but lay there and wait.

So she did.