Starry Night

Story by uzayr34 on SoFurry

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I'm writing this as sort of a test to my skills, I am doing my best in properly describing environment and effectively communicating emotion which is still lacking in my skill set(as well as grammar and word choice etc.). I know this is a bit cliche but a lot of movies, show and stories end just as the "end" approaches and doesn't explore the personal impact of a character just after it passes. (as far as I know) If you manage to stumble upon this story please leave some feedback addressing possible errors and areas to be worked on.


People are hesitant to believe what they don't understand. If you knew when and how the world would end what would you do? Different forms of media have explored this idea but what if it happened and you were all that was left. With no one and no where to go to what hope would you have left? Would you have anything left? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fire, ash and smoke lay waste to the snowy landscape, a catastrophe that took only a few moments to turn his world into what he could only describe as hell. The world shook under his paws again and a new set of tears streamed down his already matted face. More devastation always followed each tremor, a world he couldn't recognize was forced upon him. With no where to go he had only his instinct to lead him to this cliff edge, where he could see the full extent of the destruction. His eyes, fixed on a burning part of the landscape, a place he once called home, his hope that others of his pack survived were dashed by the obvious scene. But still he watched, eyes stinging from the smoke, and heat that was choking him as he took each breath.The death of his family was his fault, they wouldn't listen, his pleas that they should escape the coming danger; brushed off as jokes despite his insistence. Farouk, the last of his pack, was faced with a world he wasn't ready for. It was obvious that no one had survived, but he needed something to hold onto, a reason to go back to his home and find the truth, was anyone left? Farouk struggled to move his body, legs ached from severe exhaustion and trembled from the emotional agony, it was almost futile to keep trying but with nothing left, it was all he could do. As he slowly made his way down the rocky slope he couldn't help but wonder why he was the one to survive, the scarce vegetation that had once existed on the hill was still on fire, burning to ash as was everything else, yet he escaped. The ground shook, and sections of the hill became lose and started to crumble under Farouk, his desperate attempts to maintain grip were futile as his legs refused to act and he slipped and tumbled down the hill. His eyes opened quickly in reaction to a burning sensation all over the ride side of his body, a tree had fallen over right beside him and was still harboring deadly flames . Farouk screamed through clenched teeth as he pulled his weak body away from the tree and into a hopefully safe area outside of the heat of the flames, inspecting himself, he wasn't surprised to see chunks of his fur burnt and spots where there was almost no fur left. Groaning in pain, Farouk could feel his charred flesh break, creating new wounds as he tried to stand again. The sun was going down, night time was almost upon him, his mind wishing that the coming of the night would cool the

air that he struggled to breathe. The night did not grant his wish, the air burned his lungs with every breath, but he had made it, and the outlook was grim, fire still consumed the area and he could make out bodies through the flames. He didn't want to look but he deluded himself into thinking that maybe a few had survived. Forcing himself through the heat of the fire that surrounded him to the first body he could see. Unrecognizable the body was black and burnt, the second body free from some the tremendous heat lay dormant on the ground, it still held some features to it, not all the fur had been burnt off, some defining body features remained, some hope remained. The sight caused Farouk to inhale a large amount of burning air unintentionally and he began choking uncontrollably, unable to take in a proper breath from the constant choking, his legs gave out and he rolled onto his back. His stomach sunk and he had nothing left to keep him going. Looking up to the sky that was clouded in smoke, lit orange by the flames that surrounded him he could make out the stars; shining bright through the cloud cover. Struggling to keep focus Farouk could feel himself suffocating, body screaming for air but still he looked up, the beauty of the sky calmed him for a moment, he made it here, he made it home. He did his best for fight to stay awake but ultimately he couldn't stay conscious, and his let his eyes closed, both his physical and emotional pain began to fade, replaced with a surreal numbing sensation, almost felt like a dream, dominated by the last sight of the stars.