An Acended's Journey

Logan stood outside Alex's room. 'What do I do now?' 

Logan was once again at the end of the large white hallway. Logan could see the bodies of guards stationed at each intersection. This place was like a big maze that endlessly repeated itself. 

In those thoughts, Logan felt so lost again. Where was he supposed to go or do? The fires that had once lit his soul seemed to have become the dying ash of a campfire. Logan knew he had potential, but at the same time, he was insignificant. How could he ever amount to anything!

Logan slid down against the black metal door to his friend's room.'Why does it have to be so hard now?' 

Logan had always switched from goal to goal, trying to find that purpose. As a child, he was aimless in his journey, but as Logan grew older, he found his goals and aspirations. In Logan's high school journey, he looked forward to hanging out with friends and grinding out games. As he entered college life, he started looking more towards the future. He wanted a wife and kids. He wanted to own a motorcycle and buy a house. 

After college, he got a small gig in a cyber security company that was giving out internships to colleges in his area. Working there wasn't the most enjoyable, but Logan could feel the future coming together. He had a job, he knew his purpose, and he knew that it would all come in due time; that's when his simple life took a turn straight into hell.

It happened on the weekend while he was chilling in his apartment cleaning up the dishes from his dinner. Logan's phone had started ringing. Wiping his hands with a rag, he turned turned the phone over. Across the screen was an orange alert from the Emergency Alert System. It warned about the imminent danger of a nuclear attack and wanted citizens to seek shelter. At the end of the message was this is not a test and to call local services for more information.

The message seemed like it had come from out of this world. How could the world be ending?

Logan pushed the notification out of the way on his phone and went straight to the web. Blue light covered his face as news articles filled the browser about the incoming missiles or about the end times. It seemed like it was happening. Logan left the kitchen and walked over to the couch. His face locked in a confused frown. He couldn't do anything about this. 

Slowly, the snake of anxiety wrapped itself around his heart. His heart rate raced, and his breath became shallow. 'This can't be happening.' 

Logan quickly pulled up his contacts, and he prayed for everything he held dear: His friends and his family. Logan tried calling his friends, and then he tried calling his family, but he kept getting denied and denied.

Logan's leg practically vibrated against the floor as he called both his sister, his father, and his mother again and again and again, aND AGAIN AND AGAI—

"Logan!" Behind Logan, a voice boomed.

Logan quickly turned around to see his roommate, a large-toned young man, enter the room with luscious brown curly hair. He was wearing a nice blue dress shirt with some black dress slacks. Sliding his black dress shoes off, Alex rapidly continued his sentence. 

"Have seen the news, man! It's like the end of the world. This is crazy!"

Taking a moment to think, Alex continued at a slower pace.

"Huh, guess that means my mom was wrong. She always said that the world would probably never end in her lifetime." 

Alex looked towards Logan's back and swallowed the words he was going to say next. Slowly, he walked around the couch and sat down beside Logan. 

"Hey man... are you good?" Alex's face had dropped from his excited state to one of solace. 

Alex looked over Logan and saw his shaking leg, his glazed gaze, and his phone grasped in his hand. Alex tried to speak, but the words were caught in his throat. Taking a moment to center himself, Alex spoke in a slower tone of voice; the usual mirth and mischievous gone. 

"Everything is going to be alright, man. We live in Kansas. This is like one of the least populated states in America. Plus, we even live in the more unpopulated west side." Alex's word seemed to phase through the distracted Logan.

Logan gazed out emptily into the floor. His hands were visible shaking and red with the amount of pressure he was holding his phone with, but then they relaxed.

Logan spoke breathily, "I can't get a hold of them." 

Alex looked down and away. For an eternity, it seemed like their only noises to be heard were the heavy breaths and the thrum of thunder from a heavy heart.

"I know." Alex sighed as the statement left his mouth.

Alex stood up from the couch and walked down into the small kitchen. It had the necessities for the two young men living there. A fridge, oven, microwave, sink, and two cupboards.

Logan sat in still defeat whilst Alex opened up the fridge and grabbed something. Walking back to the couch, he sat down and placed a beverage in front of Logan.

Looking up, Logan saw the beverage.

"A Caprisun?"

Logan's monotone face turned confused for a moment, and he turned to look at Alex. Alex, somber, smiled, glared toward something Logan couldn't see.

"I just thought you might need it," Alex replied while turning his head toward the TV in front of the couch.

Alex sat there for a second before he took a sip from the yellow little sippy straw and put it down. Alex shifted his body toward Logan. Alex glared down at Logan seriously.

"Logan, everything is going to be fine. Say it with me now." Alex's eyebrows raised in wait for Logan to start mouthing the words. In resignation, Logan sighed and began mouthing the words.

Together, they said, "Everything is going to be fine." 

Logan shook his head at the stupidity. 'What the hell does he mean everything is going to be fine?' Yet even though he knew that nothing would be the same and he might lose everything, that comment just made life feel a little easier.

Alex's fingers crossed themselves before he started speaking.

"My sister lives down in Wichita, you know? She means the world to me, Logan. I remember when we were just kids we used to do everything together. We played house together in our mom's daycare. I remember we would dress up and play as silly little characters that we saw around us. As kids, we always had some fixation about shops and jobs. Everyone always wanted to run the gun store."

Alex turned away from Logan at this point.

"My sister means so much to me, Logan. It's almost ironic. When we were born, the doctors had thought that I was gonna die from a bubble in my lungs, but I survived Logan. And now my sister is in the most populated city in Kansas while an all-out nuclear war has started."

Alex's arm rubbed across his face as he turned to face Logan. Alex's brown eyes glistened like a sparkling pool of water. 

"I love my sister Logan, and I'm worried to death about her."

Pausing for a moment, Alex continued.

"But death comes for everyone at some point. Don't let death hold you in the past."

"We must keep going forward no matter what. My mom used to tell me all the time she wouldn't want me to mourn her death. She wanted me to celebrate her passing and move on."

Alex closed his eyes as a single tear faded down his face. Sniffing a bit, Alex patted his legs and stood up. Alex strolled toward the door and turned to face Logan.

"Come on." Alex waved Logan forward and sniffled a bit.

Alex grasped the heavy suit jacket off the rack and donned it. 

"Let's go on a walk. It will feel better to talk outside." For a moment, Logan stirred at the last comment. 

Logan sat there for a moment, staring down at the carpet floor. Wiping his arm across his face, Logan got up and walked over next to Alex.

Alex grabbed Logan's favorite hoodie and told him, "It's gonna get cold after that sun goes down, so you might need something." 

Slipping on their shoes, the pair looked at each other for a moment. Alex smiled warmly at Logan and then opened the door. Outside the pair went.

A tall, slim figure with crystal blue eyes, bleached golden hair, and pale bronze colored skin walked out wearing his big baggy grey sweatshirt with his black sweatpants. While a man slightly taller than him with a huskier figure walks out in a big black overcoat with a blue undershirt along with dress slacks. 

Side by side, the pair walked. One in tennis shoes and another in Business dress shoes. Step by step, they left that small apartment behind. 

They walked in silence for a bit toward the edge of town. The town was uncannily quiet during this time of day. Streets rarely drove across the roads, and few people were out doing anything. The emptiness was almost peaceful as Logan walked along.

Finally, towards the edge of town, they crossed by an empty park and slowly crested upon their destination. Coming up above the path, they stood on a dike that surrounded the city. Outside of the dike in front of them was a highway road with endless fields in front of them. A calm wind rocked by the pair as they stood there admiring the view.

'Hah, we got lucky, huh?" Alex pointed towards the distant sunset. The sky and clouds near the horizon were painted from pinks to orange. It was gorgeous. The clouds had looked so calming across that sky. Just slowly floating on like nothing was going to change. 

"Did I ever tell you I love the sunset?" Alex asked Logan

Logan chuckled, "Only every time you open your camera roll or see the sun."

We stood there for a couple of minutes just admiring the beauty. 

Alex sat down on the dirty dike and sighed, "Logan, just remember that everything is going to be alright." 

Logan sat down beside him and in that moment found peace in living in that single present moment.

Logan wiped the tears forming in his eyes, and Logan had a silent chuckle. 'Yeah, everything's going to be fine."