Late night at the astronomical observatory Watching all of the planets orbiting all the stars A bit closer to home, though it is still quite far A large asteroid is drawing ever nearer We panic over the incoming threat But we cannot find a way to stop This incoming catastrophe “Go call your families” We all go do just that We are coming to Our finale Forever Will end Soon

When you say forever It can be astronomical You could be happier then ever It can also be catastrophic You could be left alone So just be careful When you choose the say forever

Grief is a heavy load to carry. I watch the cycle spin forever As it cleans the year’s losses from my slate.

Dad has been sick And Mom almost lost her job. Like a flash of lightning, all of our money is gone. But, hey, at least the lights are on.

I sense a plague in the air—

Casualties of catastrophe, An astronomical number of bodies piling up.

I fold them And dry them And hang them in my closet to forget about them when the summer days make me want to peel off my skin And jump in with the cold rinse.

Oh, but December brings its own poison. Sulfurous snow Painted by Van Gogh’s groupies Yellow blood for leeching happiness.

One thing after another, Falling like dominos. Now I’m at the center of a huge mess With no more room on the line for your dirty laundry.

Dire warning astronomical proportions the Earth catastrophic disaster about to occur biblically Armageddon like proportions It could last for centuries forever there was no turning Back Adapter die live or survive Was these warnings in the tapestry? True is the future written? Is the future already decided? Is the fate of humanity? Is life a hoax?

It was an atronomical mistake, One that would eventually take, Everything he cared about.

The effects would last forever, And he would truly never, Be fully forgiven.

They called it a catastrophe, But he knew that it had atrophied, Past that point of no return.

It had been just one tired night, Followed by another oversight, Until the cascade of secrets buried him.

He regretted that he found, That he could never make a sound, As his love left their home.

Buried in his deep regret, He knew that he would never forget, Nor forgive himself.

Past the door there lies a secret but only if you're brave enough to open it.

The note is scrawled in messy handwriting that feels all too familiar. But still, her brain is empty of who it could be. She turns, looking at the person she finds herself trusting more and more each day. Together, and with the utmost unity they had both managed to get through this perilous journey. And now she hopes it’s coming to an end. Although it was odd, this harmonious collaboration. Probably, because it was something she wasn’t used to. She had spent her life running away from any helping hand. But with him…it was different because his help didn’t feel like it’d lead to an astronomical disaster. No, in fact, she felt wherever it led to was beautiful.

“Are you ready?” She asks, her voice shaky.

“I don’t know, we’ve been doing this for so long now…” his voice trails. “Could we really get out of here?”

She hears hope on the edge of his voice. In her mind, there is a delightful stirring. A thought that whispers for her to promise him forever. She doesn’t. Telling herself, not yet and not until this was all over.

“Take my hand,” is what she ends up saying in reply.

He does so, her body heats up at his touch. He gives her a small smile as her heart speeds up. But with what emotion she’s unsure? There’s the fear spreading throughout her. There’s a doubt that this journey they’re on will never be over. And then there was the love that had blossomed between them. The love that’s the happiest thing she’s sure she’s ever had. With his free hand, he opens the door. They walk in together, him leading her in. The door leads them to an ordinary-looking room that strangely has no ceiling. She looks up and spots the night sky sporting a full moon.

“No,” She hears him mutter under his breath.

“What?” She wonders aloud, her tone tentative.

His body starts shaking, a sign of a catastrophe looming. But she doesn’t take in the warning signs. No, she moves closer to him and he moves away from her with an inhuman quickness.

“You can’t—stay away!” He yells.

“What’s happening to you? Are you okay?”

He doesn’t reply, only groans in pain. His groans get louder until they sound almost like howls and then fur starts spouting all over his body. She takes a step back, her eyes scanning the room they were in once more. And then she finds what she’s looking for. An opened window. Slowly, she moves towards it.

His howls get louder as the fur fully covers him and then his mouth gets longer becoming a snout. It was now obvious to her what he was. A werewolf. She wondered why he never mentioned it, especially after all they went through together. Now, her life lies on the line. Getting closer to the window, she sees it is now shut. She tries to open it but it’s somehow sealed, her strength wasn’t enough. She then pounds on the glass hoping it’ll break but it doesn’t. Desperate, she looks around the room and runs to a nearby chair. She takes the chair and pounds it on the glass. Nothing happens.

She was going to die. She knew she was going to die. And the person—no creature who was going to do it is someone she was so close to promising forever to. Her eyes go back to him, his transformation is complete. His eyes lock on hers and he snarls. She places the chair against the wall and props herself up on it. Her shoulders fall in defeat when she realizes that the chair wouldn’t make her tall enough to reach the edge of the wall so she could haul herself out of there.

She starts to pound on the wood with all her strength hoping by some miracle it would break. It does not. He pounces towards her and she falls off her chair. Before she can even move again, his teeth are chewing on her leg. She screams, a scream so raw, it almost makes him coil back. Almost. In the end, it’s the beast that wins.

As she tries to pull herself free something rolls towards her. A silver bullet. But what good was a bullet without a gun? She feels his teeth gnaw at her, savoring her. He could bite her whole leg off if he wanted to but he doesn’t. No, he’s enjoying the idea of giving her a slow and painful death. She shudders.

Her screams become more frantic till she feels out of breath. All she could hear was that disgusting chewing noise. Then somehow, a gun is near her hands. She grabs it, loading the silver bullet then bam. He falls off her, dying, and she catches the horrifying sight of her legs. She retches at it, losing consciousness after as her blood loss catches up to her. Soon she isn’t breathing and her heartbeat is no more.

A man in a lab coat walks into the room from a door that’s hidden in sight. The room becomes all white, erasing the earlier simulation. All that is left is the lifeless body of a woman and a wolf.

“They were an interesting result.” The man says, as he observes their pitiful ending.

I thought that we would live forever, immortals on this mortal plane. But this isn’t what I meant when I said forever. I told you that we would rule the world together. But how do you rule an empty kingdom? So as we sit here, overlooking the astronomical burden I gave us. Creating a society, out of a catastrophe.

Behold, the Universe is literally astronomical From our tiny minds, it goes on forever Yet, if we disappear, we’d think it a catastrophe

This is a disaster! Things have never been worse! If today got any harder, I’d know that I was cursed!

Oh wretched me that has to know how horrible I am! To forever have to live with this monster that is damned!

My pain is astronomical and seems to only grow! Oh how I wish I had watched my feet and not trod on my dog’s toes!

The love that we shared. Astronomical. The memories we shared. Forever. The way it ended. Catastrophe.