Ending Time

by Nichole Haines

There are seventeen different Science Fiction Stories in this book. There were red squares on the ground everywhere. If you stepped on one or drove over on with the car a red laser would shoot up from the ground. These red squares were everywhere so people were starting to get scared to even leave their houses. "The red squares are going to kill us!" someone shouted. People started to panic and run around in circles. Some ran out of the city and some stayed behind. It was like a game of chicken, if you stay inside then you're safe but if you go outside then you die. I decided to take my chances and went outside. I could hear gunshots coming from the direction of the city center. I walked out into the street and saw several men in black clothes shooting at each other with pistols. They were all armed with guns that looked like AK-47s. There was blood everywhere and bodies lying on the ground. The men who were shooting were wearing masks. One man came running towards me with his gun raised high. He had a large knife in his hand and he was shouting something about "the red squares." Then he shot at me. Luckily I ducked down before he hit me. I ran away as fast as I could, hoping to find help. When I got back to my apartment I called 911 but there was no answer. All I could do was wait for someone to come and rescue me. *** It's been a few days since the red squares started appearing. Every day more and more people are dying. The government is trying to control it but they can't stop it. It's like a disease. People are afraid to leave their houses because they don't know what will happen when they step on a red square. Some people have gone crazy and started killing others just because they wear a mask. I'm lucky I didn't see anyone wearing a mask today. The only thing that makes me feel better is knowing that I'm not alone. That I have friends who are still alive. A few days ago I found a group of people hiding in an old abandoned factory. We've been living together ever since. We've been surviving by eating canned food and drinking water we brought from home. I wish I knew why this happened. Why did everyone start wearing these strange masks? And why did the government try to hide it? The only good thing is that we've been able to talk to each other. We have a radio and we listen to the news every night. Yesterday the president gave a speech saying that everything was under control and that the country was safe again. But how can he say that when people are dying every day? How can he tell us that there's nothing to worry about when people are being killed? My name is Mike and I'm 18 years old. I live in New York City. I'm writing this story because I want people to know what's happening here. I hope you'll read my story and think twice before stepping on a red square. *** It's been a week since the red squares appeared. I haven't seen any of them myself but I heard that they've started killing people in the streets. It's getting harder and harder to survive. Every day I wake up and wonder whether today will be my last. Will I be able to eat? Will I be able to drink water? I've never felt so helpless. Last night I woke up and saw a man wearing a mask standing next to my bed. I thought he was going to attack me but instead, he just "Good morning, Michael." He didn't look dangerous. In fact, he seemed kind of nice. He smiled at me and asked if I wanted some coffee. I sat down and drank the coffee he offered me. I was surprised that he had a mug with his name written on it. He told me that his name was Jim and he was the leader of our little group.

282 pages, Paperback

Published August 31, 2022

Reviews

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dreamlike

This is a collection of short stories. A couple of them tie together. The name of the book is great, because most stories were apocalyptic. They were interesting. Some of the wording was repetitive, but it didn't detract too much. The stories had a dreamlike feel. I recommend this book to people who like reading about the end of the world.