"Wake up, Nathan."

Nathan opened his eyes to the start of another day. He whispered his thanks to Borgina, thankful to have her there in his darkest moments. The events from Earth still haunted him like a plague. He didn't know what was better anymore. There was no respite from his suffering. His waking hours were plagued with questions and uncomfortable observations and his sleep was far from restful.

He rubbed his fingers up and down his exposed arm, trying to reduce the goosebumps that had formed from the dread he was forced to relive in his sleep. This time, he had seen his love in the midst of the chaos but unlike all the other times, he had more than just the natural forces to battle. She was badly injured from the explosions around her and while she called out to him for help, a force stronger than he could resist stopped him from getting to her. He watched as the earth opened up underneath her but it was the sharp teeth of the monster that lay waiting in the deep that got him to let out a terrified shriek. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him but couldn't get to her in time.

"Thinking about it will only make you feel worse." Borgina advised.

"It creeps up on me." He replied, not bothering to ask how she knew what his thoughts were.

It was crazy to think that just four days ago his life was perfect, thinking about it in retrospect. He had just begun his first job as a navigation systems programmer at TechnoDrills, a company which specialized in aeronautics. He was more than ecstatic to come home that evening to see that his girlfriend, Brooke had prepared a surprise candlelit dinner for two at his apartment, to celebrate. Once dinner was over, they cuddled up on the sofa in his living room and flipped the TV channels, looking for something suitable to watch. 

He remembered how alarmed they were to hear about the massacre at the Government Artificial Intelligence Institute by unnamed terrorists. According to the report, about a hundred people were killed in the attack, and the terrorists made away with tons of secret intelligence. The last thing he felt before the chaos began was a slight shock wave that was most likely caused by displaced electrons from a crumbling Earth. He let out a small chuckle as he realized just how inconsequential that mishap was now, when compared to everything else that had happened to the world around him.

Sometimes he wished he had been destroyed along with the Earth but Borgina always said it was better to be alive.

"Not that there's much to live for around here."