by Mike Miller
“I look around because I guess I don’t wanna look at it. But there isn’t anybody else around. I’m all alone, which makes me even more scared.” Her voice cracks. She sniffles.
“Not so much scared, but like, drowning in fear. As this unholy cloud of destruction is coming right at me, the terror is already making me want to vomit and die.”
She holds her arms out in front of her and rubs her forearms with her hands. “I can feel the radiation burning me. It’s a dream, but I can totally feel my skin dissolving off my body. And it hurts so bad.” Tears swell in her eyes.
It’s okay, you tell her. But she is hell-bent on explaining her pain.
“I start crying, and like, it should maybe be only a second before it kills me. But it feels like forever.” She’s full-on sobbing. “And I start thinking of all the bad things I’ve done, and the regrets. Even when I wake up later, I keep crying because I know I’ve been so... bad.”
You comfort her with a tender hug.
“I’m so sorry,” she pleads.
You look right into her pained and sorrowful eyes and reassuringly tell her everything is going to be okay.
“It’s not,” she whimpers.
Again, you tell her everything is going to be okay.
The world goes white.
You stand up and look into the distance. The furious white and orange mushroom cloud blossoms in a heartbeat. It is time-lapsed footage. You have to tilt your head back to track its massive emergence.
You can hear the rumbling racing at you. The head of the cloud sprouts into the sky like a vile weed. The shockwave of debris speeds right at you.
“Oh, my God!” Christy whimpers.
Towering buildings and trees crumple like paper. The whole world begins to quake.
“Is it real?” she shrieks. “Is this the dream?”
Trees and cars flip into the air as if an infant were tossing toys in a tantrum.
“Please, no, no, no,” Christy begs. “I don’t wanna die!”
You feel the warmth entering your body. Your skin boils while your bones bake.
She screams, “Will they forgive me?”
You think of your family, your friends.
Your loves, your regrets, your triumphs.
Your happiness, your sorrow, your accomplishments, your failures.
God, life, death.
Everything that’s ever happened to you and might’ve happened to you in one interminable suspended instant.
“Please forgive me!”
You hold your breath.
Close your eyes.
Then there is nothing.
About the Author
Mike Miller is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and lives in L.A. with his wife and kids. He has written numerous short stories, comics, screenplays and novels in all genres, as well as overseen the subtitling and translation for major television shows like Masters of Horror and V, and films like House of Wax and Don’t Look Now.
“Thanks for reading this, and I hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to review it online.” - Mike
[email protected]
www.MikeMillerVerse.com
www.facebook.com/MikeMillerVerse
Also by the Author
Kill Thy Neighbor
A lively story about dying
"The message is why you keep the gun under your pillow. Everyday you become more accustomed to the lump. You are glad when you survive your sneezes. But one time, a cough destroys the lamp on the nightstand."
You are a nobody, just another somebody. So why does an odd stranger approach you one day with a peculiar and ominous message? Is it a misunderstanding? A warning? A dire threat? The world seems as normal as ever, so why can you not shake the feeling that you are now locked in a dark countdown to your own horrific doom?
All Text and Images ©MMXIII Mike Miller
All Rights Reserved
Also by the Author
The Yeti
a classic tale of
adventure and terror
“You have entered a world of death, but do not want to die. No treasure on earth is worth facing the Yeti.”
In the year 1850, a British caravan crossing the Himalayan Mountains from India into China has vanished, along with its priceless treasure. Now the race is on to reclaim the lost fortune as a pair of intrepid soldiers - a virtuous African private and a daring British corporal - spearhead their own mission to seize the prize by betraying their fellow troops. On this epic adventure, each man’s will, character and fortitude will be challenged to survive the perilous quest as they battle the wrath of the vengeful English army, the fury of the native bandits, the greed of their cutthroat accomplices, and the frozen hell of the alpine peaks. And the only other obstacle to their success is a savage beast of mythical power.
All Text and Images ©MMXIII Mike Miller
All Rights Reserved
Also by the Author
3VIL (volume I)
Three Tales of Terror
1… A young family is haunted by something sinister in the night, a strange thing which cannot be stopped.
2… With a mad scientist at the helm, a cursed ship sets sail on a mysterious voyage into the unknown.
3… A group of unsuspecting college students are invited to an epic Halloween party, an affair hosted by hellish fiends.
Monsters and ghosts, madness and murder, fear and suspense - this inaugural trilogy of original horror stories covers the entire spectrum of darkest evil. All are crafted with punishing intensity and merciless brutality. Few readers will survive the experience unscathed.
All Text and Images ©MMXIV Mike Miller
All Rights Reserved
Also by the Author
Psycho Logical
Logical Psycho
The Short Stories of Mike Miller
Volumes 1 & 2
A radioactive boy falls in love...
A man becomes infected by a hand puppet...
A maniac goes to couples therapy...
An assassin must protect her infant son...
Action, thriller, comedy, sci-fi, romance, horror - All genres of fiction are on display in these anthologies of short stories from Mike Miller. No two tales are alike in these wildly eclectic and entertaining collections.
All Text and Images ©MMXIV Mike Miller
All Rights Reserved
Also by the Author
Fantasyball
You suck. You die.
“I'll touchdown-dance on your grave.”
A deranged madman has kidnapped the world's greatest football players for his own personal amusement. Not content to simply watch them play from the sidelines, this fiendish maniac has devised a bizarre contest to pit these gridiron greats against each other in a deadly battle for their very lives. Featuring lethal robots, insane traps and vicious monsters, this team will not be playing real football. They must fight to survive the ultimate game of fantasy football.
All Text and Images ©MMXIII Mike Miller
All Rights Reserved
