Everything Will End

The bed was comfortable. The comforter was trapping body heat magnificently that morning. The window was still open from the night before, unfortunately, and the room outside of the bed was quite chilly. One could expect this considering it was the middle of December in Kansas City, Missouri. It tends to get damn chilly outside at six in the morning.

Something stirred beneath the covers. Nothing big, just a little shifting beneath the black comforter and gray sheets. The clock read 5:59 a.m. Of course, it was somewhere around nine or ten minutes fast. Another movement beneath the sea of black. There was definitely someone under there, and they were waking up.

The clock changed to 6:00 am, and a shrill alarm sounded through the air. Kind of like a foghorn shattering the stillness of the night with its horrible, low toned, mournful cry of loneliness, except high pitched and piercing. The person shifted uncomfortably for a moment, then again. A hand reached out from underneath the darkness and grabbed the nearest heavy thing he could reach. In this case, it happened to be a rather thick book.

The hand grasped the book with cold, long, youthful fingers. The volume lifted off the end table, and then flew across the room, slamming into the clock with considerable force. Upon impact, the glass and metal clock was pushed harshly against the wall, causing the glass front to shatter. The metal casing dented in the back. But, best of all, that annoying sound was ended.

The figure lay motionless for a minute or two, not wanting to get up and face another day of life. Alas, the entity realized that it was morally obligated to get up, and it did just that. Slowly, the blanket pulled down, away from the face. First revealed was black hair, a thin, dark blue streak of color shooting from forehead to the back of the neck on the right side of the scalp. Next, a slightly tanned forehead was revealed, followed by a pair of deep, solid dark green eyes. The nose wasn’t narrow or wide, just normal. The lips were slightly thin, attracting anyone of the opposite gender to them. The face was complete, and it was quite easy to tell that this was a male.

This boy could not have been older than 16. He sat up, turned, and set his feet on the cold floor. He now officially appreciated the harsh cold of the outside air. He let his head hang low, closing his eyes as a small sigh escaped his lips. It was as if he was declaring something about that day. Something that would be different. Something that would be…special.


The boy was found, after showering and dressing, at his dresser. The top most drawer was open, and an object was in view. Quickly, a hand grabbed the handle, pulling it out of the chest. The black item was held for a second, as if the boy was debating whether it was worth it. Apparently it was, as the object was quickly stuffed into his back pocket. The drawer was closed; a pair of headphones was donned, and the boy left his home without a word.


“I just don’t understand why they can’t accept me for me” were the words that came out of James’ mouth. Typical, always whining, always asking for attention. “What do you think Eric?” Our young, sixteen year old sophomore looked up from the book he was reading. The music he was listening to wasn’t that loud, so he could still hear. He wore a black hoodie with a red symbol on it. Many had asked him what that red printing actually meant, but Eric never gave an answer. Usually just a shrug or a grunt satisfied the nosy patron. His blue cargo pants didn’t sag, but they were baggy.

“I think…” Eric paused, as if trying to decide how to put it. Alas, James, being his impatient self, just waved the comment away and proceeded with his ranting. Eric shrugged innocently enough, then turned his attention back to the book, smiling. It always worked.

After arriving at school, and being greeted, as usual, with the customary hateful remarks toward his attire and attitude from the, “preps”, Eric made it to first hour, Gym. Not his favorite class, but not horrible. At least today they had to run on the track. Outside he could clear his head a little.

The coach blew his whistle, causing that incessant squeal that grinded on Eric’s nerves so much, and everyone set off. Of course, everyone stayed with his or her group of friends. There were the girl preps, headed by Mandy Salestone and Rebecca Lincoln, who were all mashed together while their jock boyfriends shot off down the track in order to impress them. Secondly, the Goths. They really didn’t care, so they all just went wide and walked in the outside lanes, talking quietly amongst themselves. Thirdly, there were the nerds. They jogged slowly, as for the most part they weren’t in very good shape, and were engulfed in a deep and passionate conversation about the newest game system out there in mere seconds.

Last, there were the quiet kids. The ones who had friends, but were just quiet, to themselves, and didn’t care either way about anything. Eric was among these, but unlike the rest of them, he kept a steady pace. The way he figured it, running helped clear his mind. It wasn’t hard for him either, as he had been graced with an athletic build and strong lungs. The coach was always asking him to join the football team as a wide receiver, but Eric always politely turned him down. He didn’t want to be around the jocks. They just aggravated him even more.


The day dragged on monotonously with second, third, and fourth period’s going by slowly. The day was uneventful, until passing period between fourth and fifth hour. As he was walking, Eric was confronted yet again by Will Ford, the quarterback and all-around jackass of the school. “Well, well, well, look what we have here boys”, Will said to his buddies George Stanford and Leonard Heret. “Seems our little Emo friend Eric is reading something new today.” The word cut through Eric like a hot knife through butter. That had been his tag since 6th Grade. He was always known as, “Emo Eric”. It dug at him even more than the alarm clock going off.

“Look Will, not today. Come on, have a heart” replied Eric, tightening his grip on his books and letting his left hand move just slightly toward his back pocket. He heard Mandy and Rebecca’s familiar voices come drifting loudly around the corner a few steps behind him. Great, there was no stopping it now.

Will grinned and grabbed Eric by the front of his shirt, slamming him against the lockers just as Mandy Salestone and Rebecca Lincoln turned into the hallway. “And what are you gonna do if I don’t leave you alone, Emo Eric? Huh? What, you gonna pull out your little knife and cut your wrists some more?” Will laughed along with George and Leonard. A faint giggle from Mandy and Rebecca caught Eric’s ear. Was this the time?

“Will, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll let me down right now” Eric told him, in a quiet, dark voice. Will just laughed harder.

“And what do you think your scrawny ass can do to me? I can bench 290. Look at these muscles!” At this point Will flexed, causing his already overly tight shirt to stretch out even more. Eric rolled his eyes, but Will caught it. “Hey! Don’t you EVER roll your eyes at me! You hear that!?” yelled Will, obviously trying to seem badass in front of the rest of his friends. Eric just stared at him, deciding. This was the time. He had to do it now, or else no one would ever do it. Eric laughed in Will’s face.

“You know Will, you have been pushing me around for, what, 4 years now? Its been great times and all, but I am beginning to grow tired of these little escapades of ours. They are losing their intellectual content, if there ever was any, and I begin to long for better days. Unfortunately, I fear there is only one way to stop you from insulting me, and anyone else, ever again. You know, I wish there was another way dear, but it seems to me this is the only way.” After saying this, Eric reached into his back pocket and pulled his black object out, bringing it around and pushing it softly again Will’s chest.

“Have fun without me honey”, was all Eric said. Before Will even knew what was going on, Eric pulled the trigger. The sound of the 9 mm’s auto-cock alone seemed to last forever. Then the bullet exploded from the barrel. The crack echoed through every hall, and every room in the building. Blood was starting to flow outward all over Will’s letterman jacket. Eric looked disappointedly at the blood. “Aww, Willy Poo, look at your jacket! You’re getting blood all over it!” He grinned and shoved the football hopeful backward, causing the grip on his shirt to release and allowed Eric to drop to the floor.

As soon as his shoes found tile, screams found their way out through Mandy and Rebecca’s mouths. There was no turning back now. Eric spun, not an ounce of happiness splayed across his features. “Now now ladies, we can’t have you screaming like that, can we? It just wouldn’t be good for our student-learning environment.” Eric brought the gun to bear first with Mandy’s chest, barely registering her horrified expression. The trigger was pulled, and another student fell. Rebecca met the same fate, but got the shot in the face instead. Eric walked over and kicked her body, “That’s for our entire 7th grade year, bitch.”

Then Eric remembered George and Leonard. He turned, expecting to see them both having fled, but was surprised to see them still standing there, stock-still. He sighed and let his head drop, shaking it slightly. “Boys, didn’t your mothers ever teach you to run when you see an Emo kid finally snap and go on a killing spree?” His head lifted, revealing a smiling, evil face. You could tell through his eyes. There wasn’t an ounce of sanity left in this poor soul. The gun came up and cracked twice, felling both of the linebackers. George’s bullet went all the way through him, leaving a rather large exit wound, almost as large and Will’s, which took up most of his back.

Blood sprayed backward, away from ground zero, from to two new dead bodies. Eric walked over and nudged Will’s body with his foot, “Aww, what wrong Willy dear? Don’t you want to play anymore? Oh, wait, I forgot, you need your heart in one piece to live, don’t you? Darn the luck.” Eric smiled at his malicious, insane humor, and heard a huge number of footsteps. The first people to enter the hall were at the far end. It was Principal Reyst and his secretary. The students came from a closer angle; they came from the corner that was a mere 15 feet from Eric. Everyone stopped dead as they saw Eric raise the gun to his temple, tapping it there slightly, finger loosely on the trigger. He grinned, “Ohhh how wonderful. An audience to my self-inflicted homicide. Well I hope you all enjoy it, it should be quite an amazing sight.” Eric stopped as a young 16-year-old girl pushed her way through the crowd to the front. His gaze fell upon her, and his breathing hitched.

She was about 5’7”, wearing small, oval glasses. Her face was fair and circular, her complexion light. She was femininely built, with perfect curves and soft skin. Her raven black hair hung to her shoulder blades. She was his secret love. His Marie. He smiled at her, unable to speak his eternal love for her as he was trapped in a pool of emotion. Hate, anger, love, sadness, depression, all of these things pushed at his brain from different angles. His last words would be forever remembered by all present that day, but especially by Marie. Eric’s finger tightened slightly on the trigger as he softly and passionately spoke, “I have dreamed a dream…but now that dream is gone from me…”

Eric’s life flashed before his eyes as he pulled that trigger. Time seemed to stand still. The bullet moved painfully slow. He relived every moment of his life with emotions multiplied 50 times. He felt Happiness, Sadness and Depression, Anger, Hate, Content, and every other human emotion all in that half second…and he loved it.

The last image he saw was Marie. Her eyes full of tears, her mouth open slightly, lips quivering. She looked so beautiful to him. He wanted to comfort her, hug her, hold her in his arms and whisper sweet nothings into her ear, but it was too late. It could never have been anyway, Eric told himself, I don’t deserve her.

Time shot forward. That split second was over, and the time had come for Eric’s falling. The crack shattered the sound barrier, killing Eric’s hearing even before he died. It shot through his skull, and then he fell. For everyone watching, that fall seemed eternal. His body was completely limp, and the gun fell with a clatter even before Eric had even hit the floor.