People spoke of the end as though it were an abstract idea. Some last resort that would never come to past. They spoke in huddled masses praying to their gods to be ready. To have the fortitude to accept the means to which it would come. But in their hearts they knew it would never happen. They knew it was a ruse. Just something to occupy their mind. To justify their own preconceived notion that life had more meaning if spent preparing for something. I never bought into it. Not once. But now, sitting here, the dust and ash at my feet, a rifle on my back, looking out over what was once the "civilized world," I can see just how wrong we all were. It wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. It was much worse.

It wasn't global warming. It wasn't nukes. It wasn't the war on terror. It wasn't some holy war in some far off land. It was us. It was human beings resorting to their own basic instincts that tore the old world to shreds. Civilizations have come and gone for eons. They rise to their pinnacle and they disappear. Never to be heard from again. The Myans, the Aztecs, Atlantis, Camelot. All shimmering examples of the past and it's inability to assimilate with the present. People live people die. In the end all that remains is rotting flesh and bone.

It was January of 2010 when the stock-market crashed. The President gave executive orders to close the banks fearing mass withdraws. National Guardsmen protected the banks as long as they could. They lasted nearly two weeks before the riots gained momentum. People without money. Without food. Without means to support their consumer-driven lives. It wasn't long before the economy crashed. Stores closed. Farmers stopped farming. Jobs all across the boards disappeared like ghosts in the night. In a world without work, money or food, the most primal begins to shine through.

At first it was the women and children being attacked. Law Enforcement became overwhelmed. Rapes. Murders. Theft. Vandalism. These were dropped to petty crimes in lieu of protecting the wealthy. The ones who could still afford to live. The ones who prepared for this. Who knew it would come to pass. All around the world was going to hell and these few were playing golf on Guard occupied courses. Dining in government buildings converted to cater to the few with anything left. The rest of us lot were stuck out in the cold. Like feral cats, we scrounged anything we could find. Some of us went into the hills. Raking out a survival with our squandered natural resources. Killing what we ate and finding sustenance in the earth's bounty. It was livable for a while. Occasionally we would hear word from the outside world. Some country beyond our oceans was bankrupt and needed our help. But we had nothing to offer. People were starving all across the universe, and they wanted us to help. France was the second to fall. The Eiffel Tower fell in a riot, assisted with C-4 and thermite. Next it was China. With no major outlets for their products they were forced to close factory doors. It wasn't long before the epidemics. In a months time China's population dropped in half. Two and it was a third. After two years, the entire Asian contenant was facing extinction. Europe? The same. Only one nation remains today. The Arab nation