A Very Short Story, Compliments of 2AM

It Ends with Marinara

I saw the end of the world today. Funny. I always pictured the apocalypse would be abrupt; a screeching halt on existence. It wasn’t. In fact, everything was slow and gentle and felt really calm even though I was terrified. I was driving home from work, I usually finish my shift around 1am, but the slot floor was empty today. Not a lot of players, maybe they knew the end was coming. Anyway, I left early; around midnight. I remember looking at the moon, just a little nub of a moon and it was so yellow. I had my sun roof open on my new car and I was enjoying just watching the bright nub of moon get smaller and smaller and – woah. I have never seen a moon just shrink to nothing like that. See, when I got out of work it was a full half – you know what I mean, a good wedge of moon. But the closer I got to home the thing started shrinking! I have never seen anything like that before in my life. The moon can’t shrink! All around me cars kept driving like nothing was wrong and all the while that moon kept disintegrating. For a moment I was able to convince myself that the moon wasn’t disappearing. I told myself it was just dipping behind the mountains where I couldn’t see it. Soon enough though, I knew that wasn’t true. The moon wasn’t hiding, it was getting the Hell outta here. So that’s why I’m just hunkered down in my house right now. Just waiting for the end. I mean, it’s gotta come soon. With no moon there’s nothing regulating gravity and the ocean tides are going to get all messed up and there’s going to be tsunamis and hurricanes and tornados and all kinds of scary disasters. I don’t know much about astronomy or geology or any kind of science but I do know we are in serious trouble without the moon. I can’t believe its still so quiet outside. I thought surely by now, all of Las Vegas would notice the moon was gone. I’m looking out the window and the lights of the strip are still blazing. As if a billion watts of neon light are going to replace the moon! To quote Shakespeare, what fools these mortals be! I feel like a character in an Edgar Allen Poe novel, trying to figure out why the rest of the world has gone insane while I am all alone. Ah well, no sense worrying about everyone else. They can’t be helped now. I think I’ll help myself to whatever provisions I have stashed in my pantry. My last meal will be a good one. After all, the power company and the gas company haven’t seemed to notice the missing moon. I can cook up one last feast and dine in peace before the impending mayhem breaks loose. I’m stunned I have an appetite at all, but the human body is a remarkable thing. Instinct for survival always reigns supreme in a crisis. Crisis. I knew there would come a day. I knew it, I knew it, I have always felt I would witness something great and terrible. I think I even knew what I would witness would be the ultimate, the end of all things. I am afraid, but I am hungry too. I think I’ll make spaghetti.

Yes, spaghetti. Maybe, if there are survivors they'll find my body stained with tomato sauce because I know I was meant to die with the world. I've known that long before the moon disappeared. I'm scared but I'm ready to eat now. Ready for spaghetti and the end. And maybe some garlic bread too.

The End.