2032: End Days

Chapter One: Before it Began

Eight Months Earlier, June 2031:

Beep! Beep-Beep! Beep!

"Hmm..?" A groan escapes my drooling, open mouth.

Beep! Beep-Beep! Beep!

The alarm from my phone blares again, louder this time, in a desperate attempt to wake me, perhaps the fifth attempt so far this morning.

Alas, still half-asleep, I throw my hand over my phone and snooze the alarm, eyes still closed and mouth still open and drooling. Almost immediately, I fall back to sleep, my hand still covering the phone, as if in preparation for the next alarm.

This happens a few times over the next couple of hours, causing me to miss roughly over ten alarms in total. 

The light from the window grows during this time, pouring into the room now, falling on my face, it too, trying to move me to consciousness. Yet I sleep through it, too, comfy, cosy and contented in my warm bed.

An hour or so later, my stomach roars out. I wake up almost immediately with a smile on my face, in excitement for my breakfast. Hunger is the winner this morning. (Hunger is the winner every morning.)

I quickly and easily slide out of my small, single bed, allowing myself a big stretch, a yawn escaping me in the process, almost sending me back to sleep.

Rumble rumble, my stomach gurgles again. 

Obeying my stomach's demands, I skip to my quaint kitchen happily and begin preparing breakfast.

Todays breakfast menu consists of a number of delicious foods I love; my favourite cereal, fruit juice and even a luxurious chocolate muffin for afterwards!

I smile even more as I finish preparing my breakfast, stopping for a second to contemplate just why my breakfast today is so delicious and so much nicer than usual. My smile falls and a small frown forms on my face as I contemplate just what is special about today.

No special event comes to mind, however, so I push the notion out of my head and sit down to watch something while I eat, assuming I simply must have wanted to treat myself. 

It has been hard recently, after all, I nod, breathing out,Thank you, past Alex!  I grin, stuffing some cereal into my mouth as I press play.

Brring! The alarm of my phone interrupts my morning ritual. Lifting my phone with one hand and my spoon with the other, I check my messages while eating, half-choking as I read:

Dear Ms Carter,

You were scheduled for an appointment at 11am this morning for your vaccination against the Cholerica Membranacea virus. You did not attend this appointment and so you have not received the vaccination. We are urging all individuals to get vaccinated so that we can return to normal life again. If you would like to book another time to get vaccinated, please use the following link:

www.bookvaccinenearyou.com

Yours Sincerely,

The Government.

"No! No way... Ugh..." How, how could I forget, again - how could I forget again about my vaccine!

"Dammit Alex..." I follow the link and book another slot, the only available slot being in two months time. 

I hope I have enough money to actually pay for the vaccine in two months time...

Keeping a job has been very difficult recently. More-so than usual, given the global pandemic; a lot of the population have lost their jobs or had to close their businesses. It has been a horrible time, with most of the population isolating for over a year, but at least we have the vaccine now. We can look forward to the future once again, and hope that everything will return to normal.

Regarding jobs though; I am actually lucky enough to be able get jobs, I generally do pretty well in the interviews, and employer's usually like my CV, but the same thing keeps happening; I make it to work, I work hard and am praised for my work...

But the problem is, it's hard to actually make it to work on time... or at all, really.

It's not that I don't want to go - I actually like working, and I never mean to miss it, I just sleep in sometimes without realising, or I somehow just forget...

I sigh in resignation, trying to not get upset with myself for my poor time management, before checking my phone to see when my next shift at the local grocery shop is. 

Thursday at 2pm, I can make that, right? I usually don't sleep past 12.. Yeah, that should be fine.

Inputting the date and time into my calendar, I close my phone and try to enjoy my delicious, although slightly wasted breakfast.

Two Months Later, August 2031:

"I have to cancel my vaccination :(" I write to Sara, my closest friend since moving to this giant city.

"Oh no, really? Why? D:"

"I can't afford it, I barely have enough for rent and bills, never-mind a vaccine..."

"Alex, did your job fall through again?"

"..."

"You are a disaster lol"

"I know :(( And I was enjoying the last job so much too :(("

"So what are you going to do?"

"Idk. I'll keep looking for jobs. When I get one, I'll book my vaccine again."

"I wish I could help you out with the money for the vaccine, but I have no money myself. Why is the vaccine so expensive? I could barely afford my own, and that's even with the reduced price for being in the vulnerable category. What a joke."

"Nono, don't worry at all! I really appreciate the thought though, thank you! I'll get it figured out somehow anyway :) And yeah, it's nuts. I have no idea why it's so expensive honestly, given it's the only real option we have right now? You would think they wouldn't try to capitalise off of it lol."

"God I have no idea. The government said something about it being expensive to make? How about maybe tax the millionaires then? Use that money to pay for it, no? Ugh, anyway, can you ask your family for help with money?"

"No, sadly I can't - it's only my mom and baby sister, and they need all the money they can get right now. I'll be fine Sara, don't worry, okay? I'll keep you updated though." 

"Okay, well, if you ever need to talk or even a place to stay, let me know!"

"Thank you my love! Anyway, I should try to find more jobs now. Talk later?"

"Of course! See you later will take the first job I can get.

Though, it's even harder to get a job now than it was two months ago, for me, anyway; most of the population have been vaccinated, so employer's aren't generally accepting employees who haven't been vaccinated. I'm mostly searching for online work now, but there are so few online jobs... 

In the meantime, I have a couple of 'side-hustles' that I'm using to make rent, food and bill money. Though, they barely cover those bills as is...

I'll just hold out and hope for the best. On the upside, at least everything is reopening again now and I can actually go outside and meet my friends again... And I mean, I am lucky to have never contracted the virus...

One Month Later, September 2031:

Sara and I make our way along the cobbled path of the shopping street, the early September sun pouring down on us, glittering the streets, as a slightly cool breeze wafts in the air. 

"It feels like the world is finally getting back to normal again," Sara exhales happily, reaching her bare arms up to the sun.

"Yeah, it does, it's amazing," I grin, "Man, how long has it been since we last hung out like this? In public, no masks, as if the virus never even happened."

"Ugh, don't even talk. We probably would have been able to hang out a whole lot earlier if the government had actually even pretended to care about the public." Sara grunts, annoyance plastered over her face.

I wince a little at her words, remembering what a difficult time she has had because of the virus.

"Well, hey, now that we are finally free, do you wanna go grab a donut and some coffee? It's been so long!" I chime.

"Yeah sure, I would love to!" She smiles, her mood shifting quickly, "My appetite has been huge recently. I'm honestly worried I could be pregnant." She looks pensively, as if trying to calculate if she actually could be pregnant.

"Hmm, I mean, is there a chance you could be?" I ask as we make our way to the coffee shop.

"I mean, yeah, technically, but it's a pretty small chance. Like 0.1% maybe?"

"Unlikely... Well, I mean, you have been working out a lot more recently, right?" I consider, "Working out does increase your appetite, so it makes sense that you would be more hungry." 

I glance at her body, "Honestly, you look so strong at the minute, your muscles must be growing fast!"

"Yeah," Sara laughs, "Well, I've been taking a lot of protein and some supplements, and I'm lifting a lot of weights and doing a lot of intense cardio. It is strange though, I never used to enjoy working out, I mean like, I hated it... but over the past month or two I just can't stop," Sara contemplates, "You're right though, I'm probably not pregnant."

"Mm... I don't know, maybe you're working out as a way to cope with all the s**t that's going on. It's a pretty healthy way to deal with it," I ponder.

"Yeah, that's probably it, I do feel great after a workout."

"Do you want to be pregnant?" I inquire.

"Hm... I don't know honestly. I don't think I'm ready yet though, I want more time to grow up first and get my s**t together, I think."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be a wonderful parent. Also uh, about the working out stuff..."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sure you're fine, but I worry because I've been there before; please be careful," I note, checking her face for some queue that she is comfortable for me to continue. Sara nods, so I continue, "It can be so easy to get caught up in dieting and exercising and the whole culture around it, especially with social media and photo editing technology. It can be so dangerous and so damaging... I don't know how you are feeling about it at all, but if you are ever feeling any negative way about it, I am always here for you, so please talk to me!"

Her eyes are glazed over, and one twitches quickly, so quickly I'm not even sure it happened. Within a split second, her face snaps back to reality and she regains her normal composure. She grants me a kind, warm smile, linking arms with me and pulling me close to her as we continue walking.

"Thank you Alex, I really appreciate it. But don't worry. I've been there before as well, and this is... so different? It's like a primal need, it's not really even something I've thought much about, I just have a desire to work out and eat this way, so I do." Sara smiles, "Honestly, it happens when I'm shopping for groceries as well. I have a much stronger desire to buy higher protein foods, vegetables etc. than I did before. Plus, I'm still enjoying a lot of snacks. I think it's all pretty balanced!"

I smile in relief at her words, reassured by her honesty, "I'm so glad."

"You know, the same thing has been happening with my grandma recently?"

"Wait what?" I laugh, a little worried at the idea of Sara's grandma, a typically un-athletic person, lifting heavy weights and doing sprints.

"Yeah! Though, without the gym. She has been going on walks and talking part in different workout classes for the elderly though. But mostly she's also been eating a lot healthier, and taking supplements herself!"

I stare at her in brief amazement, "Can I visit her again soon?"

Sara laughs, "Yeah sure, we can even join one of her elderly workout classes," She says, mockingly.

"Honestly I would love to."

We laugh as we approach the coffee shop, heading inside to order.

Sara treats me to a copious amount of food, and our day out ends.

I return home and get into bed, still wondering about Sara's grandmother...