End of the Line - SCP Foundation

By Mars

Blip. Blip. Blip.

"It shouldn't be much longer now," The Chancellor said, taking a long sip from his bottle of rum, "Look, there goes Ursa Major, Sagittarius A, Salimus Omega."

The Chancellor offered the bottle of Segratto rum to his second-in-command, Braig, who accepted it with shakey hands. Braig lifted the bottle to his lips as he stared out of the observation window, taking in the sight of thousands upon thousands of dead and dying stars. His heart was in his throat, and his knees trembled. As far as his eyes would allow him to see, the universe was dying.

"Is the Galactic Foundation going to fix this?" Braig said, still holding the bottle to his mouth. He couldn't bring himself to take a drink.

The Chancellor shrugged, turning his back to the man and staring out the window himself, "They're probably long gone by now. Went out with the Milky Way, I suspect. Or maybe they fled to another reality with the top echelons of the System Collective. Impossible to tell, this close to the Divide."

"Right," Braig said.

The holographic projection of the universe that sat on the Chancellor's desk, the Animus, blipped again. The Chancellor recognized the system that went dark too; it was some place within the Plastic Galaxy. Just another solar system consumed by the Black Holes now.

It wasn't that long ago that the Animus was fully illuminated by the completely charted boundaries of the universe. Every moon of every planet in every solar system in every galaxy was accounted for on the Animus's, meticulously charted down to the orbital speed and planetary collisions over the last thousand years. Not too long ago, the Animus was so well graphed that it was impossible to see through it despite being a hologram. Now though, the Animus was sparse. All the moons, planets, solar systems, and galaxies save for a handful, were gone. Now, the Chancellor could look straight through the Animus and see Braig shaking in his boots clear as day.

"How many stars are left, sir?" Braig asked.

The Chancellor counted them by hand, "Ten, counting the one we're orbiting."

"T-ten?"

"That's right. Ten."

"In the… whole universe?"

"The whole universe."

"Fuck."

Braig set the bottle down on the Chancellor's desk and threw up into a waste recepticle. The Chancellor picked the bottle back up and walked over to the man, patting him on the back. He took another long swig before offering it back to Braig.

"For the nerves," He said.

"With all due respect, sir, fuck the nerves."

The Chancellor shrugged, "Suit yourself."

Blip. Blip. Blip.

"Seven now. It's coming soon, Braig."

Braig slumped next to the waste recepticle and started to cry. Wet, globby pieces of snot ran down his nose as he hyperventilated on the ground. Braig curled into the fetal position with both hands over his head, slowly rocking himself back and forth in place.

"Oh god I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die."

The Chancellor sat next to the man. He looked at the label and thought for a moment. The letters on the front were starting to blur together, and the universe was starting to spin. How much of that was the stars getting consumed before his very eyes or the alcohol was impossible to tell. Not that it would matter soon.

"Yeah, you are. So am I. So is everyone else on this ship."

The Chancellor pat Braig's shoulder. In between sobs, Braig looked at him and asked, "What are we gonna do?"

"Not much else we really can do, I'm afraid. The universe is an uncaring bitch. Doesn't give two fucks about us or anyone else living in it."

Blip. Blip. Blip. Blip.

"Three now."

"Stop fucking counting."

"Right," The Chancellor threw the bottle at the Animus, knocking it to the floor. The machine cried and buzzed its last breaths before shutting off entirely, leaving the two men in silence.

"Thanks," Braig said, wiping snot off his nose.

"Don't mention it."

The Chancellor sighed and rose to his feet, returning to his spot by the observation window. Two bright lights were all that were left of the night sky, and the one further away from them was rapidly fading. By the time the Chancellor blinked, the light further away from the ship had disappeared. This star, their only source of outside illumination, was all that was left.

The Chancellor withdrew a service blaster from his inside-coat pocket and put it on the desk. Braig looked up, staring at the piece, and tilted his head.

"What are you suggesting?"

The Chancellor shrugged, "Figured I'd offer you a chance to spare yourself some pain."

"I'm not going to-"

"Then stop your whining and come die with me."

Braig stood, making his way to the Chancellor. The starship began to shake as the Black Hole approached the last star. The intense gravity was enough to make Braig feel sick, but the Chancellor was unfazed. Braig's stomach threatened to betray him, but he swallowed hard and stood tall beside the Chancellor. His legs trembled, his palms clammed up, and he cried silently.

The Chancellor took Braig's hand in his.

"It's been an honor serving with you, Braig."

"Thank you, sir."

"Dying's not as hard as they make it out to be."

"It's terrifying." Braig chuckled through the tears, "You think it'll be like falling asleep?"

"No."

As the light from the last star faded, the starship was pulled into the infinite nothingness that consumed everything else in the universe. Braig gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. The Chancellor remained stoic.

There were screams. And then…

Silence.