• “Recently, a meteor dubbed ‘Luna’s Sorrow’ collided with the moon. Contrary to prior reports this collision has not merely shifted the moons orbit, but has sent the sphere hurtling towards the planet. Due to the moons increasingly close proximity, the Earth’s eco-system has not only suffered irreversible damage but has risen up against the planet itself. Shorelines have been steadily pushing inland. Mountaintops are becoming coastal. Waves are only newsworthy if they aren’t tidal. Simply put, this truly is Earth’s final hour. Adelle Hunter reporting, Channel 2 News.”

    Maru flicked the switch on the edge of the T.V. to end the recording and was somehow comforted by the soft buzz of the display tubes cooling off behind the monitor. His paw like hand hovered beside the knob for a moment as he lost himself in thought. Maru’s eyes closed behind the stripe of dark fur that made him look something like a masked avenger as his tail swayed softly behind him. The large rings of alternating pattern of dark and light fur made the bushy mass of fur seem much longer than it actually was but in an empty room no one noticed the illusion. The generator continued to hum softly nearby, providing the only source of electricity left to those still breathing. Silently the raccoon snuck across the desolate living room floor. Despite all that had happened he was determined not to let himself go to waste as much of the remaining population had. While by no means was he holding out hope for salvation, he was intent on going out as he had lived, civilized. Even at 1:00AM on the brightest night in history his fur was well groomed, his house was spotless, and his conscience was clear. Maru continued searching his empty condo for the only person he knew was still alive.

    On a well kept bed in a newly cleaned room lay a small pup dreaming, lost in its innocence. Its knees pulled tightly to its chest and its arms wrapped tightly around his knees, small furry ball. Its black fur would have made it near invisible if Maru hadn’t cracked the light deafening blinds and let the outside world flood through slivers into the window. The flexible shutters were one of the first methods of dealing with the slowly approaching sphere. The closer it got, the brighter it got, and instead of figuring out a way to change the situation people decided to find ways to cope. Quietly, Maru sat beside the boy and sweetly petted his ears. Even the dark glove like fur pattern of Maru’s paw was nothing compared to the midnight soul tint of the pups body. If he’d had a choice, the wolf would have slept through the entire event and woken up someplace better. But Maru had promised, and against his will nudged the child awake.

    “Zerink, it’s time to wake up…” the words were whispered. Maru thought if he was lucky he could say he tried to wake the wolf but to no avail. Who he would say it to was beyond him. Zerink stirred and opened his brilliant purple eyes. Maru had always thought the boy had jewels for eyes but in the awkward light of a descending moon he was entirely convinced. Zerink sat up slowly and stretched silently, his version of a yawn. Fresh white bandages were wrapped around his muzzle holding it shut. They were unnecessary being as the wolf was mute but it was easier than explaining that he couldn’t speak. Or at least, it had been back when there were furs to explain it to. The boys small paws brushed the bandages as he entered the waking world and looked up at Maru. Somewhere deep inside a flash bulb went off and twinkled in the recesses of purple that gazed up at the raccoon who smiled back accordingly. “The fireworks are going to start soon kiddo. You should be getting ready.”

    Maru moved over to the curtains and put his paw over his eyes, an action Zerink imitated. A string tightened and the blinds burst open. The two saw their paws glow red as light forced its way through their fur covered skin and squinting, they embraced it. The wolf walked across the room and placed his paws on the glass with a shiver. The moonlight didn’t offer any warmth and frost had covered the outer surface of the viewport. His tail hung behind him as he stood on his toes and peered into the raging sea below. The pup was searching for something and Maru could see it in Zerinks eyes the way he had seen it as it happen every day they’d been together.. The pair was fortunate to live on the 57th floor of a high rise. Everything below the 52nd floor was now water front property. The raccoon sat in a nearby chair and watched as Zerink scanned the sea. Why the wolf pup insisted on searching the waters every morning was something that Maru could only pretend to understand. Being grown already, Maru understood more, or at least assumed to understand more than the wolf pup did. However, he was certain that unlike himself, Zerink hadn’t given up on the hope that someone he knew survived. More importantly he assumed that Zerink spent his days at the window in search what most children search for when left alone. Maru’s musings were interrupted by a tap on the window. Zerinks eyes had caught a drifter, a body, clearly deceased, floating by on what could have been a billboard. He looked over at Maru with desperation flooding his childish features. Even if it was a lie, Zerink needed for the body to be identified. Maru rose and perused the turbulent waters till he saw the form.

    “Uh…Cameron Barns. Age 22. Lived in an apartment with his girlfriend Sarah. Engaged, scheduled to be married in two months…” Even though the raccoon fumbled over words in an attempt to create an entire life for a body he’d seen all of two seconds ago, it seemed enough information to appease Zerink who turned away and wandered to the kitchen where he stood waiting. A backpack, stuffed with things only the pup knew of, had found its way onto his shoulders and he looked as if he were preparing himself for school. Maru entered shortly after and knew that even in Zerinks youth, the child understood and was prepared. The refrigerator door opened with a suction noise and light, dim only in comparison to the nearly blinding light of an apocalyptic moon, lit up the boys face. Maru reached into the slightly chilly contraption and pulled out two brown paper bags. Maru looked down at the boy from behind the center island and giggled softly. Zerink had one of the paper bags clenched in his teeth and hanging from his muzzle as his backpack hung out in front of him. He shuffled through the bag, rearranging and reorganizing its contents until he felt he had enough room to fit the sack. Even then it took a bit of pushing and squishing before the zipper would close. The two of them nodded to each other and entered the hallway in silence. The door hung open behind the pair as they crossed over the threshold, each making a silent note to themselves where in which they reminded themselves to make silent goodbyes to the remnants of home.

    For a moment Maru contemplated leaving things as they were. The moment was short and the familiar click of the door locking resounded in the abandoned hallway. Even if this was the end, Maru had to go on as he always had. Not locking the door would have meant he’d given up on living whatever life he had remaining and he wasn’t about to concede after surviving this long. Paw in paw the pair walked through the hall, climbed the stairwell, and entered the rooftop lookout. Together they crossed the rooftop and sat on the mildly damp concrete floor. Far off, near the edge of the building, a group of three glanced over and offered half hearted smiles. Another set of two sat back to back looking up at the sky completely unaware of the raccoon and the wolf pup. Maru tried to remember the names of the tenants and where they lived in relation to himself, but being as he had never really talked with them, he could only recall vague and fleeting moments in the elevators and lobby. The raccoons gaze drifted back to his companion who had his brilliant purple eyes covered by a thick tinted piece of glass held in his paw. Whatever damage staring at the sun could have done was nothing compared to the instant blinding effects of staring at the newly supersized orb that hovered above them. Maru chuckled to himself lightly, if only the moon was hovering, then he wouldn’t be in this situation. Zerink turned to his guardian and put the blinder down.

    Since the moment Maru found Zerink, the pup had not once been seen without his bandages. Even when there was no one left to explain his condition to Zerink meticulously replaced his symbol of silence with fresh displays on a regular basis. Maru assumed that the boy took after himself, clinging to the last bits of what was in preparation. Maru opened up his paper bag and extracted a sandwich wrapped in plastic wrap with the crusts cut off, a juice box, and an apple. Zerink was happy he had gotten a banana instead. The two of them looked at each other and smiled their individual smiles and jumped a bit as they heard the crack of atmosphere crossing. Had either looked up they would have seen the small ring of fire that formed in the center of the plummeting moon and was steadily growing as it tore its way through layer after layer of all that kept the world in shape. Maru’s jaw opened slightly as he saw the boys paw fall from his muzzle, a ribbon of bandage rustling frantically between his fingers. Amethyst eyes looked up innocently into Maru’s brown eyes as the raccoon witnessed Zerinks face unguarded for the first time. If the boy could have spoken, and if Maru knew what to say, they would have made the moment greater than it was. They would have shared some revolutionary exchange of words that would have echoed through time and space and landed on the ears of poets in some other reality who would have scrawled the verbalizations of acceptance on paper and been praised for such achievements. But as it was, the raccoon didn’t know what to tell the silent wolf, and the wolf didn’t possess the ability to say anything at all. Then he saw it, that familiar needy gloss that glazed over the pups face when he felt something was missing. Maru chose to fill it with the only thing he had left.

    “Once upon a time, not so long ago, a raccoon was wandering the streets of the city looking for a source of food that hadn’t been completely depleted or vandalized. He had already been to three supermarkets but each one was either in ruins or in a violent cloud of angry and desperate mobs. Still in need of food the raccoon continued his wanderings when he heard a loud crash. His head snapped around and he saw a wave crashing through the streets and quickly overtaking everything in its path. He knew if he met it dead on it would wash him away so he ran.

    “The raccoon ran into an alleyway and, being quite nimble, leapt and caught the ladder of a fire escape. Frantically he climbed the building as he felt the rushing waters only inches below him, swirling and reaching with liquid fingers to drag him under. He stumbled upon reaching the roof and was almost certain that things were over for him. But the waters stopped rising and he found himself waist deep when he stood up. Knowing that he wouldn’t find any food in the area now that it was submerged he waited for something to float by that he could use as a boat.

    “A few hours passed before anything large enough to support him passed by. Sopping wet, the raccoon climbed onto an overturned banquet table that must have come from the grand hotel a few miles away. It took a little more waiting before he found something he could use as a paddle. The raccoon decided to head back to his home in hopes that it wasn’t underwater too but as he began to paddle he heard a strange noise behind him.

    “A small pup was wrapped in a blanket and tucked into the corner of the table. Why the raccoon hadn’t noticed the child before was a mystery but now that he had he couldn’t just let it wash away. Since that day, the raccoon and the pup have been together. And dare I say, they even lived happily ever after.”

    Zerink smiled and giggled silently. A small paw pressed against his chest and then moved forward to press against Maru’s chest. Maru blushed softly and imitated the action. The wolf pup crawled forward and climbed into the raccoons lap and was immediately encased in Maru’s arms. Zerink closed his eyes and Maru could feel his mouth moving but still, no sound came out.

    The bandage in his paw snaked through his fingertips and wisped off to be caught by a passing wave.