[PROMPT] The asteroid was hurtling straight for Earth…
“30″… Blares the speakers, loud enough to be heard over the panicking crowd.
“29″… The scientists all said we had more time, time to figure out a solution. Time to figure out what to do. Time to say goodbye.
“28″… People are weeping, holding their lovers, their children, themselves.
“27″… People angry, shouting at each other, the tension that had been building for months finally coming to a head.
“26″… I stood in one place, feet firmly planted on the ground. Wishing for more time.
“25″… The scientists were wrong, it was heading for Earth faster than they estimated.
“24″… We are almost out of time. We didn’t get to say goodbye.
“23″… I feel oddly calm, at peace with our imminent death. I can’t do anything, so why panic?
“22″… The loudspeakers are starting to grate on my nerves, cold and robotic sounding.
“21″… I see a child crying. But no one is comforting her. She is all alone in the sea of people, pushed back and forth, stumbling, almost falling.
“20″… I reach out my hand to her, she flings her arms around my legs and howls. “MOMMY!”
“19″… I stroke her hair off her face, gathering her up into my arms.
“18″… I look around, catching glimpses of faces twisted in anger and sorrow. No one is looking around for her.
“17″… Her tears are soaking my shoulder, I’m desperately turning back and forth, looking for her parent.
“16″… I lock eyes with a heavily pregnant woman, a girl really. She gasps and reaches out.
“15″… We’re rushing towards each other, parting the crowd of desperate people.
“14″… The girl stops crying so hard, wraps her arms around her mama.
“13″… I feel my heart breaking as I look at them, child and mother, her belly swollen with another.
“12″… Those children will never play together, never fight, never grow up knowing they have each other.
“11″… That mother will never get to see her children grow up, have children of their own.
“10″… The tears well up in my eyes, this small piece of humanity has shattered my peace, my calm, my acceptance.
“9″… I glance up at the sky again, this black looming shadow feels so close.
“8″… My heart is pounding, pulse drumming in my neck, my wrists, my chest.
“7″… I hear a sudden shout, a man has a gun, he’s waving it around.
“6″… He takes aim towards the little girl’s mother.
“5″… My mouth dries up, I choke on my breath.
“4″… They can’t die like this, not from something I can stop.
“3″… I lunge towards him, pressing the barrel of the gun against my stomach as I knock him to the ground.
“2″… The gun discharges, slamming a bullet deep into my insides. I gag, feeling the sudden burning pain inside of me.
“1″… A bright light opens in the depths of that looming black shadow, a silhouette highlighted against it.
“0″… Nothing happens, I am still bleeding out on top of this man. That asteroid wasn’t an asteroid at all. It was a ship.
My vision fades to black, I’m losing too much blood.
At least they are safe.