Fortnightly Writing Contest 2-16th Sept - Alternate Apocalypse

[Creed Malay]

 What if, when the end of civilization comes, it's not quite what was expected?

What if cats get psychic powers and force everyone to do thier bidding?
Or zombies rise up, but they just want toast?
Or gravity was reversed, so the earth suddenly pushes away at 1g?
Or if eating anything all of a sudden made you die?
Or SOMETHING?

No restrictions on length or form.

[Alun]

Of course, it can't be an entry for the contest for at least two reasons, but given the subject I can't resist sharing a 24-hour comic I did once about an alternate apocalypse...

[Oliwerko]

Somehow I get a lot of ideas these days...

Sunlight gone

The music was pouring throughout the apartment.

I was lying on my bed with my arms stretched wide and the silhouettes of my surroundings were my only company. It was dark. Only the blue light of a distant lamp cast shadows on the bedroom floor.

I realized that the darker it is, the more I notice the music. In the silent darkness, I could hear even the slightest changes and variations of the sound, all of the little details that I usually don’t notice at all. It was almost as if I could touch the sound itself travelling throughout the room.

Maybe it was also because I tried to focus. Maybe because nothing else mattered at the moment.

The night already lasted for too long. All of the plants in the window were slowly dying, leaving only a dry, dead, brown paper-like leaves as a memory of something that was once green.

Two days ago, I knew something was wrong when I woke up. Not only I felt rested suspiciously enough, but when I looked out of the window, there was no sign of sunrise coming up. I looked on my watch â€" according to them it was noon. I figured they were broken, so I checked the living room clock.

Cold shivers ran up my spine as I realized it really was noon like every other, except one thing â€" there was no sun outside. I didn’t know what to do. Panic? Act like nothing happened? I wasn’t prepared for anything like this. Nobody was.

It all went downhill since then. People were confused, scientists came up with pretty much nothing, everyone was just observing the night all around, everyone was just…waiting. Waiting for what’s coming, and fearing that there’s nothing coming at all.

Now it seems it’s going to be just like this. The question is for how long. I’m no optimist when it comes to matters like this, and indeed, it’s not at all optimistic situation. Every other dark minute is a nail to the coffin of mankind. But what can we do? All we are able to do is wait. And pray, if we still have the balls to believe.

Maybe when I wake up I’ll be blinded by sunlight. Who knows.

All I can do now is to lie here like this and listen to the music. Maybe these are one of the last minutes of music I will hear, so I’ll try not to spoil them with dreadful thoughts.

There’s nothing more I can do.

[Lad]

 I'm tired, and thought that I should give this competition a try once. Well here is my pieces of master.    At first I thought about the extinction of muffins, but then I thought to go for something serious.

NOTE: Warning! Please do not read this if you have the tendency for depression!
           Reminder! This is just fiction and my imagination, so don't take it seriously



                                                                                 Chain Reaction

The small amount of scientists who are still alive think that all this started mostly when the mosquitos became extinct. I think that they are somewhat right - the extinction of any living organism played a big role in this downfall.

The downfall had started even earlier somewhere around 20th and 21st century. Noone even remembers it nowadays. It seemed that all was going fine, though there were some troubles with the climate, no politician saw it as a real threat. And the climate wasn't a problems to us, we began building houses that were stronger and could stand against ferocious weather and natural disasters. All mankind thought we were safe from extincion, but it seems that in all that scientific advancement we had in that time, we did not see what was coming to us. We hadn't built shelters for animals.

More and more of wild animals became endangered species, most of them carnivours. This ment a broken link in the food chain. With little time small critters, rats and other animals grew in numbers. All sort of diseases, old and new, spread fast. So we stared to kill all kind of animals or bugs that seemed to be able to carry any illness.

Then, too late we understood what we had done! We, humans, the supposedly most advanced species, had in a long period of time cut out most of the links from the food chain. When we realised it, we went berserk. People started protesting and, then in a matter of days, rioting. In every country their own citizens rose agains their goverment and each other. Soon there was shortage of food and water. And there were no ways to start producing as much as needed. The cultivateable lands were soon dead. Mass suicides started to occure from one place to another.

There were only about 100 000 of us alive 5 years ago, and it seems we have only decreased in numbers. I think I could last about another 4-5 years. Then I will die, like all of my close friends and family.

[Dualnames]

Apartment complex ZXC-23

"There are times, I wake up in the night like there's something after me. It's the same kind of feeling, every human-being ,that gives a damn about anything, has experienced. It only takes a little while to calm down. To realize that it was just a thought."

"Just a thought."

"I think I'm just watching too much TV. Those recent reports or whatever they call them, about resources on electricity not being enough due to overpopulation just make me wonder."

"The fact that all human beings require a machine to regulate the heat condition, makes me wonder."

"We're all depended. I think its something that makes the humans as a race so bloody brilliant and stupid at the same time. Personally I just don't care anymore. My life is a misery on its own. Perhaps over-heating may give it some interest. Perhaps when I'm sweaty a guy will look me up."

"I think I should go back to sleep."

[Oliwerko]

I'm already depressive from the entries, guys 

[kconan]

Artie, being recently captured, had no idea what was going on in the controlled areas.

“So I’m new here…run this by me again.”

Clay sighed and responded, “See these bunk beds?  That’s where we sleep and eat.  See those toilet-like porcelain outcroppings with the vent attachments that all connect to the big centralized vent?  That’s where we drop ass.”

Artie briefly reflected and then asked, “So is it true, do we really give them air?”

Clay patiently explained, “The Windeaters can’t breathe anything that has been created in a lab, it has to be organically made hydrogen sulfide gas from Humans.  And whatever you heard about them using cows is just the propaganda those alien bastards play through the loudspeakers in the uncontrolled areas to get you to surrender.  Just keep your head down, eat your beans, cheese, eggs, and bean flavored cheese-eggs and you’ll be fine.  If you are lucky and the Windeaters are in a good mood, you may get a prune every now and then.”

While investigating his bunk bed Artie inquired, “Doesn’t the methane harm them?”

Clay replied, “Nope, they separate that out well before it gets to their portable breathing apparatuses and the artificial atmosphere in their living area.  Ok…So tell me, what’s it like outside this place?  I miss not hearing my gut rumble.”

Still looking over his bed Artie lamented, “My gut rumbled for a different reason, as there is no food left in the uncontrolled areas.  The Windeaters have scorched the Earth.  Being enslaved here might actually be better than continually scrambling for something to eat and running for my life.  Mankind, outside of these gas collection facilities at least, is coming to an end.”  Artie fought back tears while testing, or perhaps pretending to test, the springyness of his new bed's mattress.

Just as Artie was finished evaluating the state of affairs in his sleeping quarters, a huge Windeater guard walked over.  Artie looked it up and down, glanced at the gas tank strapped to it's back, and joked, “Man I can’t imagine how bad your home planet smells.” 

Using the automatic translator built into its helmet the guard replied, “HA HA HA, AT LEAST I HAVE A HOME PLAN…” and was not able to finish the comeback before a furious Artie ripped out the breathing tube from it’s portable hydrogen sulfide tank.  The Windeater’s life-sustaining gas spewed out with a loud hiss, causing Artie and Clay to cover their noses while the guard began flailing its tentacles and screaming in it's alien language.

Clay exclaimed, “Don’t let him get to the door!”  Other people started gathering around to watch just as the guard stumbled for the door.  Artie and Clay quickly prevented it’s escape by leaping onto the Windeater and hammering its unarmored areas with closed fists.  Amidst the fray, Clay grabbed one of the guard’s tentacles and forced the business end on it’s face while repeating, “Stop sucking yourself!  Stop sucking yourself!”

Among the crowd of onlookers one man asked, “So what has Gaseous Clay gotten himself into now?”  Another replied, “Hey Pooter, what nickname should we give the new guy?”  Pooter McGee answered, “His name is Artie, what do you think!?”

The door to the room suddenly burst open spilling forth ten Windeater guards, which caused Clay and Artie to stop their hail of blows on the downed guard.  As the tentacles closed around their windpipes, Clay struggled to reassure Artie, “Don’t worry, they need us.”

Artie awoke strapped to a grimy porcelain outcropping with a feeding tube in his mouth that smelled like baked beans.

[Atelier]

I'm a Human, Mechanised

It is a cold day, but the weather is forecast to improve further into the week. Large Ben strikes seven, and across Lundun everybody awakes routinely. An Enforcer patrols the streets in his magnet car.

"Seven AM! Seven AM!" he shouts through a gigaphone as he goes.

On the 2589th floor of the 2589th tower block, and in room C2589, a man hears the Enforcer and wakes.
Metal arms present him with breakfast.

"Good morning sir, did you sleep well, sir?"
"The temperature is a balmy -30º today, sir."
"It's your favourite again, sir!"

He finishes the breakfast, taking abject care not to spill any tea on the electric duvet. The metal arms whisk away the dirties, and promptly clothe him.

"Just a trim?" asks the barberbot.
"Would you like vanilla or chocolate flavoured floss, sir?" asks the dentabot.
"What colour sponge would you prefer, sir?" asks the bathingbot.

The man doesn't answer.
Something catches his eye.

A bird is on the windowsill.

A bird with bright blue feathers. It sings a sweet song - cocks it head, and surveys the man through the perspex. What a strange sight. The bird with bright blue feathers scampers about - levitates for a second or two. The man has never seen this before.

But the curtains are jammed closed.

"Oh, that's nothing, sir!"
"Indeed, merely a trifle!"
"Don't worry about that, sir!"

So the man robotically resumes choosing dental floss.
And the robots grimace mechanically.

[Creed Malay]

Oops, I forgot about this! I guess it is voting time, people.
Who foretold the foremost fascinating and fantastical fictional fall?
YOU MUST DECIDE.

[Atelier]

Oliwerko please.

Incidentally over the past few days I have compiled an almost complete list of FWC entries. Ever.
I have updated the neglected wiki page with this, so if you're ever short of something to read, you know where to go! =)

[Oliwerko]

Duals gets my vote.

Atelier - thanks for compiling that up, great idea!

[kconan]

Oliwerko

[Dualnames]

I'm in between Lad and Oliwerko, cause they actually set the mood for my entry.

I'm gonna say Lad though. It may seem less of a story, but it somehow gives me a vibe.

[Creed Malay]

My votes for kconan, I really like stuff that sounds silly and absurd, and slides from that to horrific the more you think about it.
If there's no more votes, then oliwerko won my my count?
Thanks for entering, everyone! Some real fun stories.

[Dualnames]

My votes for kconan, I really like stuff that sounds silly and absurd, and slides from that to horrific the more you think about it.
If there's no more votes, then oliwerko won my my count?
Thanks for entering, everyone! Some real fun stories.

Seems like it. Congrats to all entrants!
And Oli!

[Oliwerko]

Thanks everyone for votes, I'll post the next topic as soon as I come up with a topic.

I really liked all the entries, it's really great to see Fortnightly Writing still alive at this level, yay! 

[Lad]

 On shoot! Didn't had the time to vote. Still, congrats Oliwerko!