The Last Fifteen Years

Silence is the only thing I hear. Loneliness is the only thing I feel. It's been fifteen years since anyone came to Last Chance. The buildings on Main Street are crumbling or covered by weeds. My house is the only one in town still habitable. The only one that has not been touched by the curse. I'm not sure why I'm still alive or why my house doesn't crumble into dust.

I've spent the last fifteen years living in the only house in town, perhaps on the planet, The Others didn't enter. I remember the day they came to Earth. The news media was atwitter with glorious news of contact with extraterrestrials. We weren't alone in the universe. There was another humanoid race contacting us, promising to help us restore the ecological balance of the planet. Even President Kent, who had sworn before Congress and the people of America that Earth was the only inhabited planet in the universe, was thrilled to see them.

I suspect Kent would have been happy with any story that overshadowed his failing plans for making America the leader of the free world again by restoring the ecosystems of the planet. He had managed to kill every insect on Earth, including cockroaches, with his Miracle Food that was supposed to help restore the honey bee population. When the alien craft landed in New York and Washington, the military responded in full force. Then President "I don't believe in extraterrestrial aliens" Kent and greeted the aliens as if they were long lost brothers.

They promised to decontaminate every house and city on the planet. The only catch was that we every human on the planet had to enter their decontamination chambers. They said that the Miracle Food that had killed the insects had saturated the cells of our bodies. They emphasized that the best way to make sure the entire planet was decontaminated was for the citizen of every country to enter the chambers.

I fully intended to enter the chambers with the rest of the town. I had gotten up, bathed and dressed. When I went to leave the house my front door was locked and the key wouldn't work. I tried the back door with the same results. Then I heard something from outside. I went to the front room and looked out the window. The aliens had begun spraying the town with some sort of fog producing gas. I watch as they passed my front gate. I swear one of them waved at me when he or perhaps it was she passed my house. After the fog cleared every creature and plant outside my yard was dead.

I watched in horror as the plants and birds in my yard began to die. I waited forty-eight hours before going outside. When I finally left the house, by breaking the lock on the front door, I was the only one left in town. That was fifteen years ago and I'm still alive. At least I think I'm still alive. The problem is that I can't remember the last time I ate or drink anything. Perhaps I'm dead and just don't realize it.