Stranded on a Dying Planet

On the night prior, the world was a different place. The day had been uneventful, as most days were. People went to work and school, people went to parties and bars and home to their partners or whatever they did. I didn't care. The world went on, I went on.

The first warning came in the form of an earthquake in California. Small, barely noticeable by anyone who lived outside the state. I was in Ohio at the time it happened, and no one was worried. It was large enough to be felt in most of the western United States, but that's all; a blip on our collective radar.

Then came the twist. A small tremor occurred six hours later in Colorado, which was followed by four more across the western regions of America, then Canada, then Mexico, then the eastern United states began experiencing them too. As this continued, the tremors increased in both frequency and size until finally we found ourselves with a full-blown disaster on our hands. Buildings crumbled, highways cracked and split open like giant gaping wounds in a slab of meat; people died left and right from heart attacks or from being crushed under falling debris. Eventually, after many of us had thought these events to be natural disasters - that things would return to normal eventually - the unthinkable happened: The ground in New York City shook violently; it broke apart like a waterbed and spewed black smoke into the air as if it were bleeding oil through holes cut into its surface. Then suddenly there were tears in space itself around Washington D.C., Chicago, Portland. At what I can only assume to have been once thought to be safe locations throughout North America, South America and Europe appeared massive rifts in reality where we saw glimpses of other worlds beyond ours before they closed again seconds later. Our satellites stared out into space at extraterrestrial stars moving heretofore undiscovered within our own galaxy; one thing became evident quickly: we were not alone on this planet anymore...

It seemed like an eternity passed before anyone could react. Governments tried desperately to evacuate their cities for fear of further disasters occurring without their presence; millions left their homes for safer ground elsewhere only to find that those places were equally as dangerous when faced with such unimaginable circumstances as they were at home - or worse: entire countries suddenly disappeared off of maps altogether after tremors ripped them away from reality entirely! Terrified people fled further inland hoping that they might find someplace safe while others simply accepted their fates and waited quietly for whatever might come next hoping it would be painless as opposed to quick but otherwise painful; some even chose death over life because why not? This was certainly life-altering enough to make that choice seem appealing for once! For weeks this went on until finally there was nowhere left for these people to go except underground or up high so far that the likelihood of ever seeing daylight again was slim - but still worth it for many who realized that even if they couldn't see it directly from where they were now at least they knew it wasn't gone forever...

For me though? I just kept going about my day like nothing had changed at all - I suppose there are certain types of people who suffer from apathy when faced with such catastrophe while others decide they want to do something about it instead! When faced with such an impossible situation as this I decided that perhaps my best bet at survival would be to stick close to home where I knew I could always find safety somewhere nearby should something happen - at least until I could figure out how best to move forward... That's where I started though - wherever home happened to be at the time... And there's nothing quite so scary as having your entire home collapse beneath you only minutes after you arrived back inside! It felt like hours before help arrived but when you're stuck surrounded by rubble thirty feet deep with no way out but up you tend not to think about time very much anymore... It's funny what happens when all you can think about is making your loved ones proud enough so that maybe when you die you'll know that your life meant something more than just another statistic if you know what I mean... When you find yourself wondering if maybe someone somewhere will miss you after all...

When help did arrive however? Well let's just say it wasn't pretty - or human for that matter... When the military showed up twenty minutes after the initial tremor had taken place looking less concerned than confused I knew that whatever this was happening outside my window now? Well let's just say I'm lucky they weren't carrying weapons capable of shooting bullets anymore! They marched past me into my house looking as disoriented as everyone else who'd been rescued alive today while others searched through rubble searching for any sign of life remaining among us trapped beneath all this rubble - if only they knew how few souls remained here now... After they'd finished searching and moved on another group arrived following shortly behind them wearing strange suits made out of metal armor whose faces were covered by helmets with red visors staring down at me; a third group came shortly thereafter dressed all in white who looked like angels sent straight from heaven itself dressed head-to-toe in pristine white robes with golden crosses dangling from their necks like charms begging God himself to intervene on our behalf - if only he could have found a way... An alien ship landed nearby soon after where more alien creatures disembarked down long metallic ladders extending from its belly towards us humans now standing before us like gods themselves stretching out their arms towards us as if asking for an embrace we wished we could give but couldn't muster because there wasn't anything left here worth saving anymore... They looked at us with eyes of pity with faces full of sorrow confused why we had abandoned each other during times like these but also angry because we hadn't done so sooner when things were still salvageable! To them this was our fault not theirs! We'd allowed this world - our world! - to fall apart slowly over time while they'd watched idly from afar seemingly uncaring until it was too late! Only now did they seek intervention when everything was already lost forever! And yet despite the fact that we may never understand why this is happening now? We are grateful nonetheless because perhaps what we do not understand? Perhaps God himself has masterminded us into accepting their help regardless whether or not we deserve it! Because ultimately isn't that what matters most anyway? Isn't that what humanity is really all about here? Accepting whatever chances are handed our way without hesitation without question without fear? Because if given a second chance can we ever really afford not taking advantage of one again lest we lose everything else precious to us? So now here we are huddled together in fear waiting for salvation from beings far advanced beyond our own understanding eagerly awaiting delivery into a new world filled with new wonders unknown by even ourselves waiting patiently for whatever fate awaits us beyond these gates which lay before us opened wide ready to accept any foolish enough enter inside hoping beyond hope that maybe this time things will be different somehow better than what became of our earthly existence before them...? And while some among us wonder aloud why God himself would allow such destruction upon his own creation? What answer shall these creatures give them when asked why such destruction must happen again and again throughout history whenever man decides he is tired of living well enough? Their answer is simple: so he does not have to make another universe again himself... Because man does not learn otherwise until forced by nature herself onto his knees begging forgiveness from above begging forgiveness from those around him begging forgiveness from his creator begging forgiveness from himself begging forgiveness from anything willing take pity on him begging forgiveness perhaps too late now asking "Why?" Where "Why?" must lead then is hopefully acceptance once again should fate decide tomorrow begins anew tomorrow begins anew tomorrow begins anew tomorrow begins anew today ends with hope tomorrow begins anew hope endures tomorrow begins anew hope endures tomorrow begins anew hope endures tomorrow begins anew hope endures hope endures hope endures hope endures