The sky burns a fiery red as deep black clouds drift over my head. Thunder booms ahead of me, the bass line to a violent symphony of chaos. Flashes of lightning makes the colours around me pop, as if it were a dissonant chord that highlighted the clashing tones of grey and red. At my feet, the concrete pavement juts out, not dissimilar of the Arctic Spires that had melted years ago. Green gas seeps through gaps in these protrusions, hissing malevolently as they build up in my throat, prompting a series of violent coughs.
As I continue walking, taking in this dejected world of pain, I hear a deep rumbling before me. A large building, as tall as ten stories, collapses as its bricks slide over each other. I see a flash of neon as the HSBC sign hoisted atop the structure plummets to the ground. Now, only a few buildings remain, scattered across the barren landscape. Empty McDonald’s bags and crinkled crips packets litter the floor, fallen soldiers of the past. A single Coca Cola can rolls in front of me, thrown up with every irregularity of the asphalt. I don’t remember the last time I drank one.
Turning a corner, I see a body on the floor. Most had been buried or burned, but a few still remained. It was a man who looked around his early thirties. He wore a torn and creased suit, its pearl white colour stained with blood and dirt. His skin was blistered and burnt, a result of the fires that had only died down a week ago. I found a pen in his pocket, along with a piece of dog-eared paper. I tossed the pen into a nearby drain, hearing a light splash as it reached the bottom. Unfolding the paper, I saw a faded image of the man, along with a woman holding a baby. These were the worst kind of bodies to find. People taken too soon from lives which they should have lived to the fullest.
With this thought in the blank canvas of my mind, I made my way to the tallest building I could find. I squeezed my way through the collapsed doorframe and started carefully walking up the carpeted stairs. I was certain that I was the last alive; most world leaders and wealthy figures had starved weeks ago, running out of food in their bunkers. I had watched my friends and family die before my eyes. And, as I stood atop the building, I knew that I could join them up above. I had nothing to lose. I took one final look at the burning world around me. The green smoke, the red sky, the black clouds, were all meaningless to me now. I sucked in a final breath of the choking air and stepped off the edge of the building.