The gentle slope of endless, desolate hills gave way to the Pacific Ocean down the drop of treacherous cliffs. The once-green landscape of Ecuador sat as a sprawl of dead trees, flattened buildings, and endless radiation. Devastation visited these lands months back, rendering most of the country uninhabitable. While the outward signs of the strike left the landscape bleak, the oncoming fallout would be worse. It would stretch out across South America in the coming weeks, leaving all of it as deadly as the epicenter. None of this mattered, though, with the impending destruction of planet Earth.

Theo Spencer slung his rifle over his shoulder, gulping for breaths that came labored in his environmental suit. While the systems were functioning perfectly, it was only a matter of time before the squad of five soldiers needed a rest. They plopped down on rocks and regarded each other with faces shielded by visors. The entire mission seemed pointless to him, but life back home was much worse. The sun overhead, swiftly growing by the day, saw to that. What little family he had left were distant cousins, all starving in the global famine. Working for the CIA had its benefits, even if it meant running operations that would never hit the books.

“How much further?” Yuri’s voice came over the comms. He was the only man in the squad that Theo knew well enough to call a friend. Everyone else was just another face in the grim parade.

“Not far,” Commander Morales responded.

Theo tried to remember what his squad looked like under the black environmental suit, coming up short. He was happy that their faces were obscured by those dark visors, fearful that he might see pain on their faces. It would be more of a problem if they saw the grin that painted his face. While oxygen was hard to suck down in the suit, it was extremely comfortable. The environment outside of the suit was not only radioactive, but absurdly hot. He glanced at the sky to catch sight of the source of the heat, the growing sun, and smiled wider.

Things got simple when impending doom peeked its ugly head. Survival boiled down to who was the strongest, and who had the bigger gun. The appearance of an entity known as “The Harbinger” brought an enemy that the world could fight. Something that the nations of the world could throw nukes at to make themselves feel better.

Maybe if we worked on space travel, this wouldn’t have happened, Theo thought.

“What are the chances this guy is the problem?” Theo asked, thumbing the communication button on his wrist.

“Exactly zero percent chance,” Sergeant Bawa said.

Theo scoffed at the thought of rank. The government assembled them hastily, pulling in anyone with combat training to take out a threat. Most of his squad consisted of paper-pushers, long since retired from any active duty. Only Theo and Yuri conducted black ops before the fall of civilized society. The incompetence of the government saw them assigned the rank of private. Another cruel twist of fate.

“So, bullets are going to work better than nukes?” Theo asked, his grin widening.

“Eat it up, Spencer,” Morales said, his voice crackling and hitching through the comm. “If you have a better idea, let me know.”

Theo kicked back, reclining on his rock and staring up at the growing star. His plan was to sit around, drink some shitty beer, and wait for the world to end. When his unit was assembled, those dreams were shattered. A week-long journey through towns controlled by as many gangs as rogue governments bore witness to the atrocities of the end-times. He savored that one thing that made this all worth it. The completely over-engineered environmental suits that only a privileged few had access to. He didn’t understand the technology, but the temperature inside of his suit was cool, like a spring breeze. The air he breathed was crisp, and free of radiation. It even had a little radio, but it stopped working a few days ago.

“We could just sit here,” Theo said, staring up at the sky. “Let that big old sun eat us up.”

“Fucking hell,” Bawa said, scoffing. “I mean, just look at the view! You really can’t beat this.”

Sergeant Bawa wasn’t kidding. The view out east, toward the ocean, was beautiful. The waves lapped in the distance, sparkling like azure jewels among the flat sea. Theo sighed, content with this place.

“What are you gonna do when you die, Yuri?” Theo asked.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m going directly to hell,” Yuri said, shrugging his massive shoulders.

“I’m going to the big strip club in the sky,” Belchev said. At least, Theo thought his last name was Belchev. He couldn’t even remember the name of the other person. He didn’t care, either.

“Yeah, I think I’m going to hell, too,” Theo said, adjusting his position to remove a rock from his impromptu resting spot. “Too many dead men who didn’t deserve it. Too many secret missions to countries I can’t even remember.”

“This is getting a bit too nihilistic for me,” Morales said, shaking his helmeted head. “Breaks over. We’re meeting the Harbinger today.”

Theo rose to his feet slowly, stretching lazily and surveying the area. Before the bombs dropped, this area would have been a forest. The small village they rested outside of had a small population, but enough to warrant notice. He thought about the tourists that would visit—perhaps eco-tourists coming to see the dense trees. His thoughts fell away as Morales struck his arm, forcing him into that familiar march.

The squad continued their walk down the sloping hills, through as many burnt-out villages as they’d seen coming in. The closer they got to the coast, the more Theo wanted to feel the salty breeze of the sea on his face. He planned on popping his helmet off before the end finally came, but kept this thought a secret, even from Yuri. They progressed through that barren landscape for hours, the sun barely moving in the sky by the time they found a coastal road. Morales stopped, allowing them to rest again, to determine exactly where they were.

“Damn GPS isn’t working,” Morales said, swinging his pack around to dig for a map.

They spent another hour waiting for the man to figure out where they were, and where they needed to go. Then the marching continued. Theo fell further away from his squad as the sun grew larger. He could see ribbons of fire leaping off of the star, none large enough to grace Earth, and savored its beauty. He was walking on the beach by the time he found his senses again, waves lapping the shore to his right while his squad marched forward ahead. They had their weapons ready and Morales was shouting something. His voice came with barking commands, the soldiers fanning out. He joined them reluctantly.

Theo was surprised that their intelligence bore fruit. He spotted the Harbinger over a dune, standing and appreciating the waves. The entity didn’t look very human. It was taller than a person and wore a black mask bearing the image of a white eye in the center. Its limbs were too long, hands and feet bearing jagged claws. The robes the thing wore reminded him of fantasy media he’d consumed over the years, flowing and resting against the wet sand. It held its arms wide, a motion that didn’t seem very threatening. But Morales already gave the order, his squad opening fire without hesitation.

Theo stood there, in the firing line, without discharging his weapon. He watched as the bullets seemed to bounce off of the creature, ricocheting into the sand and back at his squad. Something bit deep into his stomach and he collapsed on his side, contentment flooding through his body as the same fate visited his companions. He rolled to his back painfully, trying to get a better look at the sun. Silence steeped the surrounding air, only broken by the occasional lapping of waves.

“Anyone alive?” Theo said, gasping for air.

Footsteps joined the silence—bare, taloned feet on sand. Firm hands grasped the side of his helmet, lifting it off and revealing the blinding environment. The air stung his skin, spreading like electricity down his body. His lungs burned and he gasped against the poison, failing to expel the deadly radiation. The Harbinger stood above him, tilting his masked face and tutting.

“Ah, I’m still learning,” the Harbinger said.

The creature moved off and Theo watched as he drew a circle in the sand. Motes of light rose from the circle, rising to the sky with a rush of wind. The burning faded from Theo’s lungs, his skin no longer crawling with deadly radiation. He gasped at the fresh air, smiling as he saw the sun above grow larger. The pain in his abdomen was still there, but he was happy.

“Looks like you’re going to die,” the Harbinger said, coming to sit next to Theo. His voice was a monotone thing, devoid of accent or emotion.

“That’s not unique,” Theo said, coughing.

“Indeed.”

“Is anyone else alive?” Theo asked.

“Barely,” the Harbinger said, pointing to the downed men. “That one will see the transition through, I think.”

Theo craned his neck painfully, watching as his friend Yuri clutched his chest, writhing on the ground.

“Who are you?” Theo asked, attempting to assuage his curiosity before it ended.

“You’re calm for someone about to see their death—you’re unaware of the transition, yes?”

“Transition? No idea what you’re talking about—and you didn’t answer my question,” Theo said, another fit of coughing stealing whatever else he might say.

The Harbinger shrugged. “I’m a traveler. I visit places like this before they die. You’re a soldier, yes?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Theo said.

“A soldier looking for a peaceful life,” the Harbinger said wistfully. “What a familiar story.”

The pair sat in silence for quite some time. When the sun started growing, it was imperceptible. Whatever agencies were in charge of keeping track of how big the sun was didn’t notice until it was too late, although there was nothing they could do. In the past week it started growing at an unpredictable pace. For all its destructive power, it was beautiful, taking up a fair portion of the sky even though it should have set by now. The creature sitting next to Theo seemed to enjoy the sight, casting his gaze toward the star with interest. He tilted his head back toward the prone private and shrugged, placing a finger on his forehead.

“A quiet life. You want a peaceful life, yes?” it asked.

“That’d be nice,” Theo said, another fit of coughing taking over. “I think it might be too late for that.”

“Not at all,” the Harbinger said.

The creature pressed his finger harder into Theo’s forehead, a strange sense spreading through his body. More motes of light joined that of the circle, swirling through the air in a vortex as the rush in his chest continued. The Harbinger removed his finger after a while, placing a comforting hand on Theo’s shoulder.

“The transition will give you a chance at a new life,” the Harbinger said. “Everyone who is still alive when the sun consumes your planet will get that chance. Millions of lives…”

“Sounds like a dream to me,” Theo said, laughing. “Or a bunch of bull.”

The Harbinger shrugged, gesturing toward the sky. “It’s happening. Perhaps we’ll meet when you transition to the other side… Well, enjoy the view.” He placed the helmet back on Theo’s head, clasping it at the collar and standing. In a flash of light, the strange creature disappeared.

Theo watched as the sun grew, happy that the entity put his helmet back on. He could see the detail of the sun as it ballooned in size. Even the environmental suit couldn’t hold back the burning tide. It swept over the planet in an instant, consuming Earth and destroying all life on the planet. But as blackness crowded Theo’s vision, something strange appeared in front of him. Text crowded the center of his sight.

[Transitioning to World B71…]

[Running stored protocol: ‘Harbinger’s Gift’]

[Resetting life…]

[Welcome to Iaredin!]