“Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up.” - James A. Baldwin

Anyone who says that love is a fight that can be easily won is just plain lying to you. Or at least that’s how it went for me. In my case even when the battle for love was won it was eventually going to be lost. If it was possible for anyone to hear what I am about to say they would never believe me. Well actually, if they’re standing next to me they would probably have an idea of what I’m about to say.

It’s the year 2024 and the planet Earth is about to vanish from this universe and I am the last person who will ever stand on what used to be green grass. But instead of where grass should be I stand on dirt and gravel. I’m watching this planet destroy itself. There’s not a single direction I can turn and not see explosions as far as the horizon. It should only last another hour or so. To think, all of this could have been stopped had I turned left and not right. That wouldn’t have been the right choice though. I know it. As I said before, I have a little time left so I guess I’ll start at the beginning.

My name is Ray Bental. I used to work for the United States military. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I am a genius. I don’t mean to make jokes about the situation but at the moment I’m the smartest guy on the planet. Anyway, I was the military’s “go to guy” whenever there was a problem that couldn’t be solved. That’s pretty much where this whole story begins. It all started with a phone call.