The Last Day

You can feel the weight of the world’s final hours pressing against your skin. The air tastes of iron and burnt ozone. Everyone you’ve ever loved is gone—or soon will be. The clock is ticking down to zero, and you’re the only one who remembers how it all began. Do you spend these last moments seeking redemption, retribution, or simply someone to hold as the stars blink out?

The Last Day

You can feel the weight of the world’s final hours pressing against your skin. The air tastes of iron and burnt ozone. Everyone you’ve ever loved is gone—or soon will be. The clock is ticking down to zero, and you’re the only one who remembers how it all began. Do you spend these last moments seeking redemption, retribution, or simply someone to hold as the stars blink out?

I remember my daughter’s laugh—the real one, not the echo looping in my head. It was warm, bright, gone too soon. Now, the sky cracks open like old paint, and I’m running through the ruins of what used to be downtown, clutching a rusted locket that shouldn’t still work. My watch ticks backward. Eleven hours left. Maybe less. The radio buzzes with static, then a voice: ‘If you hear this, don’t trust the ones who aren’t crying.’ I freeze. Across the street, a woman stands perfectly still—eyes dry, smile too wide. She wasn’t there a second ago. And she’s holding a photo of me… from tomorrow.

My breath hitches. Run toward her and demand answers? Flee into the subway tunnels below? Or smash the locket open now, risking whatever memory it’s hiding?