"Don't touch me."
"Codey I-"
"It's the sparkles."
Codey made me stay out of the bathroom. At sat their helplessly as he coughed up mouthful after mouthful of the sparkly dust. This wasn't the same as what was happening on the streets.
"Are you going to be all right?" I asked.
"No clue buddy. You make dinner tonight, I'm going to stay in here for awhile."
I went to make dinner. I grabbed the last of my chicken breasts, some broccoli, and rice. I couldn't help but wonder if I'd ever be able to get these things so easily again. (Maybe there aren't that many people dying. There are over seven billion people in the world. This can't be affecting everyone.) After giving a plate to Codey, I sat down to watch TV and do my best to decipher what on Earth was going on right now. Only a few news stations were left online, the same thing that happened to the local station presumably happened more than once. There was still no police response. A few decimated fire crews were attending to the burning buildings, most likely caused by runaway cars or people exploding while cooking. The Vice President was dead. There were still no estimates as to just how many people died. After hearing this, I turned off the TV and picked up a book. Upon hearing Codey's coughing, I turned the TV back on.
Codey drank ten glasses of water over the course of four hours. It was now 10:00 P.M. I gave him the one cough medicine I had on hand and asked if he wanted me to go buy some. He said it was too dangerous. "Are you going to sleep here tonight?"
"Yeah, just give me a blanket. Hopefully this'll be gone by tomorrow morning and I'll be able to come within six feet of you."
"Alright, that's a pretty damn hard floor though."
I tuned to the movie channel and laid in bed. I didn't pay much attention. I had so many questions. Then I remembered to call my parents. (Isn't it weird that they haven't called me yet?) After four tries, I had no response from either of their phones. "Well, maybe it's just too late, it's after 11:00 after all." On the inside, I began to fear the worst. Codey's coughing had calmed a little. The frequency seemed to be continuously declining over the past few hours. I scrolled through social media. It was filled with prophecies and predictions about the apocalypse. People were live streaming. There were endless videos of people exploding. It was all anyone could talk about. I calmed myself down by watching some old VR chat videos. These things could still make me laugh. Even when I could die at any moment.
Codey suddenly stopped coughing. I walked over to make sure he was still breathing, but kept my distance out of respect for what he wanted. I saw the steady rise and fall of his chest and relaxed. I grabbed some water and went to bed.
I woke up the next morning to an emergency alert on my phone. It ordered people to not congregate, to not go towards explosions, and to stay inside as long as possible. (It isn't a dream, damnit.) I turned over to look and see if Codey was up. All I saw was a pile of sparkles. I gasped. My heart rate probably went up to over two hundred beats per minute. (Maybe he's just... he must have left earlier to get back to his apartment.) Then I saw his keys in the dust. I buried my face in my pillow and cried. I'd known Codey since 4th grade. He went to the same high school and college as me. He was the closest friend I'd ever had. Now he was gone. I felt broken. I had no power. I couldn't help him. I couldn't help anyone. Turning over again, I saw that the sparkles had disappeared. The very last of Codey, gone. I was alone.