There are moments when the laws of science and human understanding fall short of a worthy explanation for events. In 2048 when the oceans dried up and people started dying, the scientists of this world could offer no explanation of the cause. They used all their knowledge and tools in an attempt to understand where the water went, but it seemed to have disappeared completely as if the earth now suddenly lacked crucial water in its usual weather cycle.
Alex Monroe was only 8 years old at the time, but he could remember the events as clearly as if they were yesterday. His mother yelled at his dad in panic, while his dad calmly got his gun from the gun safe. His neighbors had attempted to leave the neighborhood in a camper, but it was surrounded by military vehicles before it could leave the neighborhood. It was a time of much chaos and he was lucky to have survived till this moment.
And now he was able to witness a second unexplainable event during his life.
Alex watched a darkening of the sky as a wave as tall as the sky rose from the ground. It danced with red and blue colors, occasionally swirls of green were mixed in the liquid wave in the distance. Sounds of thunder and lightning crackled in the distance, the herald for the oncoming unexplainable disaster.
Alex looked at the tidal wave with tired eyes. There was no more room for despair in his heart, nor any desperate fear for his survival. Despite him being only 20 years old, his eyes contained the same gravity of a man who went through a 12-year war of survival. There was only exhaustion and acceptance. He wrapped his yellow turban tighter around his face and started walking across the desert sands, toward the coming wave.
An hour passed and the tall wave was now only a mile away from him. He could make out the details of the wave much easier now. The wave didn't seem to be made of any known liquid, but it resembled the viscosity of mercury and glowed with light and warmth as some kind of radiation.
Alex squinted his eyes and stood still facing the wave. He reached into his shirt pocket and took out a technology device that looked like a Walkman cassette tape, if not for the more futuristic touchscreen features.
"Memory Chronicle: #7779."
"A tidal wave of unknown liquid has risen so high I cannot see the skyline behind it. The atmosphere around the wave seems abnormally irritated causing sounds of thunder and lightning-charged nitrogen collisions."
"It's been... 94 days since... you left me alone... Sophia."
Alex paused, glancing at the approaching wave.
"This might be the final entry."
"I tried. I really did. Every step was hard. I tried to do what was right even when this world seemed to have no sweetness left. If there was a choice between kindness and cruelty, I chose kindness. Maybe it wasn't always enough, but I tried."
*Thunder crackling*
The wind blew across Alex's exposed skin and he had to hold his turban down.
"The people I met along the way, their faces and stories. Tom, Sophia... I remember all your faces. I tried to be the best I could be. You always told me that life should be more than survival. Those times I could laugh with you all, were the highlights of my life. Those memories got me through the difficult days."
Alex pulled off a small window-phone from his shoulder strap and lit up the screen on it. It displayed a picture of a beautiful girl smiling and an old man who looked to be in the middle of laughter. He pressed the play button on the picture and a video played of Tom and Sophia playing a board game, while the sounds of laughter came from the recording.
Alex's hands began to tremble and his vision grew blurry with tears.
"But I'm so tired. There's only so much one person can do, right? I tried to be a light in this dark world when I was in darkness myself."
Alex's eyes looked hollow as he recalled the years.
"I always wanted to believe that in the end, it would be worth it. That there might be a sanctuary, where I could finally be alive. But I realized it a bit too late, Sophia, Tom... why isn't my world sweet without the two of you?"
Alex sat in the sand and set the Memory Chronicle device in the sand next to him.
"So, this is it—the last entry. I'm just... too tired. Maybe in the next life, I'll be able to live properly. Maybe there, the world won't be so... sad."
A peaceful smile crossed Alex's face as the Unknown Wave was less than a mile from him.
Looking up at it, it seemed like the wave was a purely straight wall of liquid that stretched into space itself.
"It would do me good to rest. I think I've earned it... right Sophia?"
"This is Alex Monroe... and to anyone listening... Goodnight."
He pressed the end button on the device and left it in the sand next to him.
He waited a moment while staring at the wave before seemingly struck with a thought.
"That's right. I really should sing one last song with all of you..."
Alex stood up and pressed a few buttons on the window phone device. A hologram was projected onto the sand in front of him.
"Alright!! Let's try it one more time from the top!" The voice of Sophia sounded from the recording.
She was sitting behind a drum set while the old man Tom was holding an electric guitar.
"I'm surprised you like this music. It's old school- maybe more than me." Tom commented, getting himself ready.
"Alex~ Come On~" Sophia wined, looking into a corner of the room.
"You have the best singing voice out of all of us. You HAVE to be the lead!" Sophia wined, dragging a younger-looking Alex to the mic at the center.
"Sophia... fine." Hologram Alex replied.
"Hehehe! Ready Tom? Alex? 1, 2, 3, 4"
Alex steps into the position of his hologram self and gets ready to sing along.
*Song Intro Starts - 30 Seconds to Mars (The Kill)*
"What if I wanted to break?" - Alex
"Laugh it all off in your face" - Alex
"What would you do~" - Alex
"What if I fell to the floor?" - Sophia
"Couldn't take this anymore." - Sophia
"What would you do~ do~ do~" - Sophia
"Come, break me down." - Alex and Sophia
"Bury me, Bury Me" - Alex and Sophia
"I am finished with you~~~" - Alex and Sophia
The roar of the wave was now less than 800 meters from him. And yet, the roar of the phenomenon seemed to be drowned out by the music.
"What if I wanted to fight" - Alex
"Beg for the rest of my life" - Alex
"What would you do" - Alex
Alex looked into the eyes of the hologram Sophia.
"You say you wanted more." - Sophia
"What are you waiting for?" - Sophia
"I'm not running from you." - Sophia
"Come break me down~" - Alex and Sophia
"Bury me, Bury Me" - Alex and Sophia
"I am finished with you~" - Alex and Sophia
"Look in my eyes!" - Alex and Sophia
"You're killin' me, killin' me!" - Alex and Sophia
"All I wanted was you!" - Alex and Sophia
"I tried to be someone else." - Sophia
"But nothing seemed to change." - Sophia
"I know now, this is who I really am inside." - Sophia
"Why do I love myself?" - Sophia
"Fighting for a chance." - Sophia
"I know now this is who I really am." - Sophia
"Oh-oh, oh-oh~" - Alex
"Oh-oh, oh-oh~" - Sophia
"Oh-oh, oh-oh~" - Alex and Sophia
"Come, break me down" - Alex and Sophia
"Bury me, Bury me!" - Alex and Sophia
"I am finished with you you you~" - Alex and Sophia
"Look in my eyes!" - Alex and Sophia
"You're killin' me, killin' me!" - Alex and Sophia
"All I wanted was you!" - Alex and Sophia
"Come, break me down," - Alex and Sophia
"Break me down" - Alex and Sophia
"Break me down" - Alex
"What if I wanted to break?" - Alex
The music ended on a final note from the recording. The strange hot liquid tidal wave submerged Alex completely. Unfortunately for Alex, this strange wave would not be the thing to grant him rest.
The next time Alex woke up, he heard the sound of a military commanding officer.
"Head up soldier! The Germans are awake." -