Me, You, and The End of The World

I took a sip of the scotch and felt the vibrant burn roll down my throat and into my empty stomach, like a warm hug from the inside-out.

"I just think it's really interesting and poetic, that's all," I said.

"No, I get it, I just think you're seeing a connection where there isn't one," Nicole said, sipping on her own glass of scotch.

"Well, think about it, 6143 Europa is not supposed to hit Earth, but then it collides with 5731 Zeus, changing the asteroid's trajectory, and now everything's fucked. It's like the story where Zeus turns into a white bull, which also happened to involve the goddess Europa. It's almost like she's getting revenge or something. I don't know."

"Right, I see what you're saying, but what does that have to do with anything?" Nicole asked.

"Probably nothing, I just thought it would make a cool story. Too bad I'll never get a chance to write it," I said, taking another thick gulp from my glass. It had this smokey flavor that sat on your tongue long after you finished drinking it, but otherwise just seemed like normal scotch.

"You know, for how expensive this shit is, you would think it would have something defining about it. Course, I can't complain, they were handing out everything for free at the liquor store. I suppose looting doesn't matter too much when everything's about to burn," I said.

Nicole set her glass down and laid back onto me. We sat staring at the horizon from the balcony of our neighbors lake house. They ran off to try and squeeze into some underground bunker that may or may not exist, so we decided to make ourselves at home for our last day on Earth.

It was a hell of a view. The sun was sinking towards the horizon, sending flickering colors across the surface of the lake, and in the sky, an equally large fireball descending slowly like a ticking clock towards the surface.

"Not a bad view, all things considered," I said, planting a soft kiss on Nicole's forehead.

"Are you okay with this, by the way? I never thought to ask, but you know there's people having parties and stuffing themselves full of drugs downtown, right? Is this how you want to go out?" Nicole asked.

I turned down to look at her as she met me with those gorgeous blue eyes. I could see the red hot embers of 6143 Europa reflected back at me, and I knew I was right where I needed to be.

"No, I think I'm good. I feel like I should be panicking, but I'm not. It could be the alcohol talking, but I'm quite content," I said, stealing a quick kiss on her half-smiling lips.

Nicole turned back to the horizon, nestling herself against me and pulling my arm across her like a blanket.

"I'm good too," she said.

We sat in silence for a moment before the inevitable question came up.

"Not to bring down the mood, but what do you think happens next?" Nicole asked.

"Next? You mean after our entire species is wiped out by an asteroid and a seriously shitty case of cosmic bad luck? I don't know, I've never died before."

Nicole laughed. "You know, come to think of it, I've never died before either."

I picked up my glass, and Nicole picked up hers. We loved cheesy toasts, and this would be one for the history books.

"To our next adventure, then?" She asked.

I nodded. "To our next adventure."

We clinked the glasses together, careful not to spill a drop of the liquid sloshing within them. We both finished off the last sips of our scotch as 6143 Europa passed the sun and barreled towards the horizon.

"You'll find me, wherever we end up, right?" Nicole asked.

"You know it, you're not getting rid of me that easily."

It was impossible to stop the tears at that point. Nicole spun around and wrapped her arms around me. I held her tight as the sound of the impact shattered my ear drums.

A dull ring filled my ears as the sky caught fire. We happened to be near the impact zone. A quick death was all we could hope for. I shut my eyes tight and held her close as the flames ripped across us and everything went dark.

***

Only a moment passed before I felt a cool breeze on my face. I slowly opened my eyes and found myself standing in a lush green forest. Beams of sunlight broke through the canopy, illuminating pockets of the underbrush.

It was stunning, like something from a painting.

I didn't know where I was, or what came next, but I did know that I made a promise. I thought our story was over, but as it turned out, it was just getting started.

A single tear rolled down my cheek, but I smiled nonetheless.

To our next adventure...