Fourteen days.

We had fourteen days until the world would end.

No one would believe this. I don't blame them for not believing when they were told the world would end before. There was no actual proof that the world would kill us. I mean, that's what everyone hoped; that the world wasn't ending soon.

I looked at the TVs through the glass, the words white on the black screen.

It said, "Emergency Alert System. We advise everyone to head indoors or underground. End of the world scenario. This is not a drill."

I read over twice, three, four times. No matter how many times I read it, my body didn't move. My brown eyes just stared at it, refusing to look anywhere but the words. Around me, people kept screaming and running, trying to head into any buildings. They pushed others, even jumping onto the cars on the street to run to buildings.

It wasn't until someone pushed me I could move again. I caught myself with my arms, protecting my face from hitting the cold hard concrete. The sirens weren't as loud as the screams surrounding me.

I pushed myself back onto my feet, trying to look around at my surroundings. People had broken windows to shops, broken down doors, some even just stood there, bleeding or confused. The once busy street was nearly empty. Listening to the loud sirens again, I tried running to the shop I was closest to.

As I was trying to run past the cars that people had left in the streets, I caught the sight of something bright on a building and had stopped running. I wasn't the first one to notice, as others stared at it, and some reporters had their cameras on the entity. One man even hid behind a car, watching the live news from his phone.

From what I could see, it took no definite shape but composed of red and orange flames. Some TVs I had stared at displayed the live recording of the mysterious shape. We stared at awe as the entity took a human-like shape; the flames grew smaller.

Except the where the arms should have been, looked more like wings. The flames disappeared and proved that the arms were a part of the wings.

As the fire grew less and less, I could spot that the figure had four arms, and eyes, which varied in color, covering most of every inch of skin showing.

The eyes stared in every direction, and some even glared at my two brown eyes. As more of the flames dissipated, the skin gained a golden glow from the sun, and his golden locks and eyes complimented their looks. From what I could see, the entity seemed masculine, but I couldn't quite tell.

I crept to the other side of the car to get a closer look at the figure. He, from what I could tell, wore a white and yellow ankle high dress. It flowed gracefully with the breeze and embraced his strong and tall stature. It was like every fold and wrinkle held a special meaning, held close by the golden belt around his waist. Even the once creepy eyes on his body looked normal as if it made him even more human somehow.

Everyone kept quiet, taking in all of his glory. He stood on the building, one pair of his arms crossing over his chest, the other pair attached to his glorious white and yellow wings, laid against his sides, his right arm holding an enormous sword.

Then suddenly, without warning, the entity began turning white at a rapid pace. My eyes widened, and without thinking, my body forced itself to hide behind the car.

A white flash passed through me, including the buildings. It passed through every car, tree, and other things. Through the quick event, I could hear screams of pain, then complete silence. I shut my eyes closed, pressing my back against the car door.

Air griped at my lungs, my breathing in too harsh. I started having a coughing fit as I lifted myself. I was coughing so hard that my eyes watered. The salted water fell from my eyes onto the ground as I regained my breath. The angel stood in the same spot as before.

The people didn't.

The people who once stared at the same angel as I was missing. In their places were sad piles of salt.

They laid in the daring sunlight, watching, waiting. Waiting for the next step.

The man who had been watching this unfold through his phone was also a pile of salt. I glared at it, thinking if others watching this turned, too. I redirected my glare to the entity that held the same pose above me.

My hands clenched and unclenched, feeling the tips of my nails dig into my palms. The people who were lucky enough to hide within buildings came crawling out. Their eyes held confusion, looking at the angel and the piles of salt that sat near me. I didn't remove my gaze from the powerful being that floated down onto the same road I stood on.

"People of Earth." The angel spoke out. His voice was gentle, yet held power and authority in it. Warm and cold at the same time. His voice phased everyone, making them freeze in their place.

"Fear not, for I am only the messenger." He bows his head, before continuing, "For those who had loved ones, that have disintegrated, consider them very lucky. We will take each one of their souls, I promise you that." The eyes on his face held truth, but I kept my stance up. If anything else were to happen, I would be ready.

"They have given me the message to tell you of your demise, or in another phrase, the extermination of all human beings." He paused, the eyes on his face watching everyone's reaction. "You will all die within fourteen days. But, in those two weeks; we allow you to do what you please."

"We? They? What?" I whispered to myself, taking each word carefully. As if he heard me, the being looked directly into my eyes. He opened his mouth, "For those who don't know who I am, I am the archangel, Michael. Some of you might have heard of me, others may have not. I work under the charge of God, as their right-hand man. I came to warn you before the real chaos begins tomorrow."

"Many of you will die even before the world ends. They will die by people like themselves. Other forces may even kill others. That is for karma to decide. If you have great karma, you have nothing to worry about, you will be safe." He spoke out, his eyes watching every inch of movement. Michael's (from what he called himself) face held sympathy, and at first, I thought he was looking at me.

When I noticed that his eyes locked on whatever was behind me, I turned to see what it was.

It was just regular people. Their faces all held anger, sadness, and confusion all at once. They had turned their lives upside down, and they could do nothing to stop it. They felt angry about what they stole from them. They felt sad that they knew that they couldn't stop the end. Most of all, they felt confused about why this was happening.

'Can't stop the end of the world? Wait, today is just the warning! I'm sure we can stop it... right?' I thought, shaking my head. We still had a chance. It will only take hard work and a tea-

Bang!

A loud gunshot pierced the air.

The noise had cut my thoughts off midway, and my head snapped to the noise as my hand covered my left ear. To my left, a man stood with a small gray gun in hand, pointed in front of him. By now, he had released the trigger, breathing in and out at a rapid pace. His face only said angry, and his eyes were even madder. Everyone had their eyes away from him, now staring at what laid in front of them.

My eyes slowly traveled to the same thing they stared at. A ruby red liquid slowly covered the black from the road; blood. It spilled all over the road, even traveling to my already dirty black shoes. A body. A human body. The blood came from the middle of the man's forehead, covering his surprised eyes. His cold, blue soulless eyes.

Within a second or two, I could spot the black blood that overflowed the bullet wound. As if it were a black-hole, it absorbed every bit of light in its path: that lifeless black.

This wasn't the first body I had seen. My grandmother was sick and had no chance to recover. I had been with her on her deathbed and tried my best to comfort her while she was still alive. Even when she was dying, she wanted to make sure I was okay. She was always so selfless.

I remember her smiling at me, right before passing on.

But this was different. No tears were coming from my eyes, and my thoughts went blank. Only fear.

Within another second, people threw themselves at the man, or even start throwing themselves onto others. The rest ran from the scene; I included. I did not want to get killed by these people. 

I pushed past people and the ruckus, running toward my apartment. Unbeknownst to me, the angel Michael silently glided behind me.

He needed to make sure I stayed safe from the dangers of the end. That was why he landed here, to follow his orders and shield me from what anything that threw itself at me.

I laid my arm against the wall on the side of me. My lungs burned and each breath I took felt like nails on a chalkboard if it was an actual feeling. I had been running for a good few minutes, at least it felt like a few minutes. I could have been running for a few hours, seconds, I didn't care at this point.

I was hoping to see the cars pass me, to see any sign of my normal life again, to see that I was just crazy and hallucinating. Apart of me wanted to believe that nothing was wrong, but I knew that was the truth. The truth that I couldn't stop, I couldn't stop people from becoming piles of salt, I couldn't stop literal angels from coming from the heavens.

I stumbled over more piles and walked around the cars that used to contain people in them. People who were alive and had families and had their own complicated lives.

I lifted my head as I walked, seeing all the ads on the buildings. They continued playing, which surprised me. That feeling quickly went away after realizing that people didn't constantly mess with them. Why would they work to change the ad every few seconds?

How would God be able to know everyone's sins? Are they constantly watching? Every second? I never understood that, even as a child. How would a single entity know literally everything? Did they have their angels report to them? Or do they just know?

I shook my head, the thought already giving me a headache. I've thought about it before, but I end up nowhere with it. I guess that's one of life's biggest mysteries. I wonder what we do if we had the answer? Would people become warier of what actions they did?

Maybe all this salt I'm inhaling isn't helping me think.

I turned the corner, and I spotted my apartment building. I was at least glad to see it after everything that happened. I could hear the gunshot ringing in my ears. I could also hear the commotion happening around town. Probably people breaking into the nicer parts of town, the opposite part of where I lived.

I wasn't that poor; it was just easier to pay for my apartment and have money for my own. I got a decent job, working as an editor for a variety of stories. It was nice, seeing what others could think of and put it into words.

I had a few other co-workers, some also edited, some illustrated front covers, others did the paperwork. I hardly ever talked to them, except for Britney. She did the most amazing work for covers; it was natural for her.

My eyes widened with fear. How could I forget about her?!

I ripped my phone out of my pocket, surprised that I still had it and that it didn't have a scratch from the incident earlier. I opened my phone, immediately opening my contacts. Scrolling past my co-workers and parents' contacts and clicked on Britney's.

Pushing the phone against my left ear, I listened to the ringing.

Ring. 

Ring. "C'mon..."

Ring. "Britney, please pick up the phone."

Ring. "Please..."

Ring.

"Hey!"

I breathed out air that I held in, glad to hear her voice.

That was until I realized that I was listening to her voicemail.

"You've reached the voicemail of Britney Shell! I'm very sorry that I could not answer! I'm either working or worse, dead! I'm joking, I'm most likely just busy, but please leave your voicemail after the beep!"

Beep.

I just stood there, barely holding my phone. No, she just had to lose her phone! Or she is busy!

I wanted to believe that, I did, but I couldn't. She would always call me after anything happened, even if she had to use a payphone. No matter what, she always did.

Maybe she just hasn't been able to call me yet, and I just lost all hope. I need to wait a bit before I can decide if she is dead.

I shoved my phone back in my jeans pocket, walking towards the entrance of my building. Pushing the door open, I realized how quiet it was. Most of the time, it was noisy, something that I got used to while living here.

Hell, maybe all it needed was the end of the world to make it peaceful.

I slapped my arm, getting angry at how I was thinking. Did all those people die for me to thank the lords for how quiet it was? For me, to sleep peacefully without hearing the neighbors?! I never thought like this before, and it wasn't right for me to think like that.

I looked around more, seeing how empty it was. There was only one person on the main floor, and they were dead asleep on the couch, their back towards the entry. I couldn't blame them. Seeing everything happen drained you physically and mentally.

Sighing, I forced myself up the stairs. Luckily, I lived in the first aisle, so I wouldn't have to walk up the three flights of stairs this place had.

I walked down the poorly lit hallway, hearing my sneakers drag against the cheap carpet. Room four, five, and here's room number six. Pulling my keys from out of my other pocket, I unlocked and opened my door. I breathed in the cleaner air, and almost immediately started coughing.

I placed my hand on my throat while coughing; it felt like my throat was being ripped out from within. I fell onto my knees, trying my best to get the air again. I placed my hand over my mouth, and I finally stopped.

Looking at my hand, I saw little white specs covering it: salt. Grossed out, I jogged over to my sink and washed my hands. That salt was once a person or multiple persons. The thought nearly made me gag, but I forced myself to open the fridge and drink milk from the carton. After a few gulps, I shoved it back in the fridge, slamming it shut.

I whipped my hands on the cloth that laid on my stove handle, ridding it of whatever water was still on my hands. I grabbed both my keys and phone and threw them onto the couch.

I rolled my shoulders and cracked my knuckles, satisfied with the pops of my bones. I threw my sneakers off and grabbed my towels. I definitely needed a bath.

I felt the water that poured from the shower head with my hand, feeling the warmth.

I jumped into the shower, already feeling relaxed once the water touched my back.

Getting my hair wet, I grabbed my shampoo and poured it on my hair. Scrubbing it in, I pondered on my thoughts.

Why wasn't I more reactive to all of this? I knew that people died and that we all had fourteen days to live, and I wasn't crying and screaming. Was I in shock still? Have I not processed it correctly? I guess it was both. It was just so much to take in at once. Maybe in a few days, I would crack, and just have a breakdown.

Finishing up with cleaning myself and my hair in the shower, I shut off the water and hopped out. Grabbing my towels, I tied it around my body and my drenched hair. I didn't have enough energy to keep thinking like this.

Drying myself off, I walked out of the bathroom into my room. I opened my closet, grabbing an enormous shirt and sweats. I threw my towels onto my chair and put my clothes on. I rubbed my eyes and grabbed my phone from the couch. It was already ten PM. It only felt like an hour or two, but in reality, I guess it was about four hours.

I threw myself onto my bed and scrolled through my notifications. There were news reports about the end of the world, multiple amber alerts, but no calls from Britney.

Fear flew through my veins, but I pushed it aside. Maybe she still hasn't been able to call me. I turned my phone off and placed it on the charger. I needed to get some sleep, I could already feel my eyes closing on me.

I laid my head on my pillow, staring at the ceiling. What a wild day, and I could still fall asleep. I closed my eyes, and my world went dark.

Unknown to me, a certain angel stared at me through my window, on the building across from me.

"So, she's the one?" Michael asked, sitting on the edge.

"I'm sure of it, she's the key. We just have to watch over and protect her." Another figure stood next to him, smirking.

Michael smiled, looking up to the figure. "Will the others get to meet her soon? I'm not sure how they'll react. I mean, they wouldn't be able to do anything, they obey only you, God."

The figure turned around, chuckling. "I guess we'll have to see, they wouldn't dare hurt our dear precious Ed."

Michael nodded, looking back to Ed, who laid in bed, before standing up and following the figure.