Day 8. 8 is great! Flash Fiction February is all the way on with this story about a couple partying through the end of the world. 29 Flash Fiction Forays in 29 days.

The BlastNuclear Recreation at the Edge of the End.

Sheila sits poolside and has a foo-foo drink with an umbrella in it. It’s frothy; it has to be coconut and syrupy. "Oh, this is delicious,” she says. It’s coconut and chocolate, and it’s just to die for!"

There has been a heatwave since the nuclear blast took out the west coast, and some people are making the most of the temperature change.

“We’d better enjoy this while we can, says Clarence. “You know, the temperatures are going to drop significantly. Once the Earth rotates into a cloud of dust and all that debris, it’s going to get  cold."

“Don’t be a partypooper! You always have to know so much; you’re such a Debbie Downer!" Sheila says.

“Well, here it comes, you know; it’ll be less than a day, and it’s going to get cold. Look at Asia right now." Clarence says.

Clarence sits at the edge of the pool in an inner tube, sipping on a Martini. Gin, of course; it’s the middle of the day, with his feet dangling into the empty pool.

The two glare at their phones, which barely work, watching as the people of Asia scramble, and deal with power issues related to electromagnetic anomalies. “Auuughh, says Sheila, that looks awful. Is that going to happen here?"

"Yes,” says Clarence. “That is going to happen here.” Just then, their phones die completely, and they can’t get any signal.

“Auughhh! It's 90 degrees in Illinois in the middle of winter, and it’s going to be ruined by this stupid nuclear bomb! And now my phone doesn’t even work!” Sheila whines.

“Well, actually, the nuclear bomb is what caused... Oh, never  mind." Says Clarence

Sheila argues: “It sounds like BS to me; if it’s going to be so cold, why is my skin so hot? It sounds like another global warming hoax. Someone is trying to make money by scaring me. This is just delicious!” She says. “I can’t believe how nice it is outside in the middle of winter!”

Clarence is watching through the backyard fence all the neighborhood activity. People are hustling and scurrying, screaming and panicking. They are loading cars, they are loading trailers, they are gathering pets, and they are on their devices trying to make plans. Since the devices don’t work, some are screaming at them and hurling them at the ground.

“What are they doing?” Clarence speaks out loud to himself. “What’s the point now? They have nowhere to go; there is no place to hide. No one is going to be OK."

“Whaaatt?!” Says Sheila.

“Nothing, nothing, just thinking out loud.” Says Clarence.

“Well, that’s very rude.” She responds. “You just keep those thoughts to yourself.”

Every type of aircraft is flying overhead now. It’s practically a swarm. There are planes, helicopters, and other things no one has ever seen before flying overhead at varying speeds and elevations.

“Heeey, look at that! I’ve never seen one of those before! What is  it?" Sheila yells. “It doesn’t even have wings, propellers, or anything. Look at it!"

“I think the very concept of ‘classified’ has been unclassified.” Clarence says.

The sound of a loudspeaker can be heard in the distance. It’s getting closer, and the two of them can’t make out the announcement. “What are they saying?" Sheila asks.

“I can’t make it out; they’ll be close enough soon." Says Clarence

A large pack of dogs, newly undomesticated, come barreling through the yard. They are barking and frightened, and they run full speed to the back of the yard, jumping the fence in back. There is one small dog, too small to get over the fence. It’s alone, frightened and barking.

“Ohhh, look at that darling little cute little daaaaawgg!” Sheila says as she runs to the back of the yard to fetch it.

Gunshots fire, and Clarence turns his head in the direction of the noise while taking a sip of his Martini. “Hmmm, I wonder if Mr. Fallon finally lost his mind. ” Then, there is one final shot. “I think so," Clarence says.

“Look at this little sweetie.” Sheila says, holding the little puppy. The little pup is shivering, squirming, and putting his head under her arm. "Aaaaaw,” she says.

Now the loudspeaker is within range, and the two of them listen to the announcement.

LOUDSPEAKER: “Please stay indoors and don’t do any traveling. It is safer inside the buildings. Please stay indoors and do not try to travel until further notice.”

“They want us to die at home.” Clarence says. “They want us to stay inside and make things easier for them to deal with later.”

“We should go somewhere, honey.” Sheila says. “We could go up to the bluffs and see some sunset later, or watch all these airplanes and stuff!”

Clarence goes over to the garage and retrieves a ladder. He leans it onto the edge of the roof of the house.

“This will be a good enough place to go see what’s happening. No one is listening to the announcements; everyone is leaving; and the roads will be jammed. We aren’t going to be able to get anywhere, and neither are they,  anyway." He says this as he climbs onto the roof and begins making his way to the peak.

As the ground rumbles and a very bright light appears to the east, in the direction of Chicago.

Sheila announces: “I wanna get up on the roof too! “That looks like a blast!”

The End.

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