I woke sharply out of my R.E.M stage of sleep. I couldn't get past the multitude of cars honking loudly outside of my bedroom window. I got out of bed, turned off my fan, put slippers on, and looked at the time.

It was noon on a warm Sunday afternoon in May. I know I turned on my TV before going to bed, but what caught my attention was the noise coming from it, and the message that followed. The letters on the screen read ‘EMERGENCY BROADCAST’

Moments later i quickly reached for my remote and turned the volume up as the annoying ringing changed into an address from the President. I stood not moving, jaw dropping in the process due to the fact that this was a re-run from 20 minutes ago. I listened closely to the deep, terrified voice coming from Barack Obama.

“My fellow Americans. It is of my deepest regret to inform you, that the world as we know it, will shortly come to an end.” The President sheds a tear. “At the end of this address, the sun will send massive solar flares, completely penetrating the Ozone layer, and by the end of this day, destroying our world. I'm sorry I could not give you more time. God be with you.”

“No! This can’t be happening!” I yelled at the top of my lungs as I quickly put on my shorts from the previous day and a T-shirt depicting a gangster Spongebob Squarepants. Looking through the blinds in the living room, I nearly p***ed my pants. Traffic ran from as far as I could see and mass amounts of people were flocking and running in all directions. Abandoned cars and trucks were sprawled out along the sides of the roads. On the sidewalk, garbage, suitcases, and other small belongings scattered in the wind. Though everybody was doing something different, they all had something in common. They were all looking up.

As I put on my shoes, I looked up as well.

Terror. Absolute terror.

The sky had an enormous section sliced out; it looked like a bloody ripple coming straight from hell. Right above the massive New York City skyline was future death and destruction.
I couldn’t move. My knees turned to jelly, pressure built up in my stomach, and I vomited. At that moment I realized something:

I’m going to die today.

I had to do something, I had to find my relatives, and we had to survive. I found my sister in her room.
“Bell, pack your s*** were leaving, hurry!”
The redness around her eyes told me she had been watching the news as well, and I could tell she was just as terrified. She came out of her room 5 minutes later, holding a small duffel. Since our parents had passed two years earlier, my little sister and I had grown incredibly close. At that moment I burst into tears and held her close. However, the hug was cut short from a knock at the door.

I quickly went to the peep hole on the front door and peered in. There was a man, roughly in his twenties standing there with a backpack over his shoulder, and a Colt .45 in his left hand. My first glimpse at anarchy, and I didn't know what to do.

Dad would know what to do, I thought quickly. “Bell, we have to leave right now.”

She needs me.

Knowing what I had to do, I grabbed the keys to my van and went out the back door.
“Call Uncle Geoffrey” I boldly said. Bell smiled proudly at me. I was handing the apocalypse.

I searched my pocket for my cell and gave it to Bell. She punched in the numbers as I swerved around hundreds of cars, trying to get out of the city.

The phone rang. And rang.

“Please answer the phone…” I said as I looked up again. The dark red rip in the sky was getting bigger.

“Bell? Are you safe!? ” He answered the phone after the ninth ring.

“Uncle Geoffrey! Its Nick, where-”

He began to scream. The apocalypse had officially begun.

My blood curdled, and tears spilled down mine and Bells face as we realized what just happened.

“Uncle! No! You can’t be dead!” Bell sobbed.

But he didn’t answer; my Uncle had perished to the suns destructive forces.

She stopped crying after 10 minutes.

“Bell, get down.” I said, holding back a sob. “Whatever happens, I love you.”