Where's The Cocktail Sauce?

Cheap, abundant, crispy calamari was the first sign. Creating ideal conditions, climate change has allowed cephalopods to multiply and evolve at an alarming rate. Squid devour all life forms, dominating the world's oceans. Unable to satisfy their voracious appetites, they squeeze through our pipes, infiltrating infrastructure. Factories have shut down. Food and water are scarce. We can't take showers or open faucets without octopuses sliding out. Families are found dead, covered with suction marks.

A tentacle slithers up my leg, its slimy suction cups twitching for flesh. A raspy voice asks, "Where's the cocktail sauce?"

Humanity is being eaten alive.

I Was Just Cold...

I shivered. My mother stared in horror. I tried to tell her I was just cold, but she silently shook her head. Shivering was the first sign of the sickness. Anguished tears rolled down her cheeks as she took my hand, dragging me to the basement door. I trembled as she fumbled with the lock. She opened the door. There were no stairs, not since my brothers got sick. She kissed my forehead with all the love she had before she shoved me into the cluttered darkness. A hungry snarl echoed off the concrete. Mother promised she'd let them go.

The Gloves

I drive down the dark winding road...the glorious factory on the horizon. My keys rattle in the door. The smell of fresh latex fills my nose, the aroma leading me to a barrel of liquid rubber. I carefully pour my 'secret ingredient' into the glove mixture.

Upon leaving, the creaking of machinery echoes as it starts. Soon the gloves will spread the disease throughout New York hospitals. Every medical professional will be infected by them! The most brilliant doctor will be me! Who else? No others will survive! Erased from existence, thanks to me.

"Gloves, please!" demands the doctor...

The First Snow

We emerged from the bunker, the sun's glow bringing back memories from my childhood. The snow felt soft underneath my boots. One of the members of my crew bent down and put her hand on it, a smile spreading across her face. It was understandable as she was seeing snow for the first time in twelve years. Since the bombs were dropped, the world fell into a radioactive wasteland. Luckily, I knew a crazy fellow, a doomsday prepper. Back then, we regarded him as an idiot, someone who the children were to veer from. Now, we call him our savior.