Billboards
HELL IS REAL
Amaya avoided meeting Tynan’s eyes as she pressed her right foot against the gas pedal, her expression growing morose with the billboard’s words rising to the forefront of her mind. After eight straight hours of driving along Route 80 through the western United States, Amaya knew she couldn’t avoid their fate much longer.
SPEED LIMIT 75 MPH
Blank billboards littered the side of the highway, stripped of advertisements yet reminiscent of normalcy—reminiscent of an America where the illusions of consumerism masked reality and blinded a society from recognizing the truth behind their unmaintainable way of life. If it wasn’t the rising Pacific and Atlantic, it was the flaring Rocky and Appalachian. If it wasn’t the depleted food sources, it was the inefficient vaccines. If it wasn’t corporate greed, it was individual ignorance.
LEAVING WYOMING
The ultraviolet seeped into their skin as the sun slowly rose from the barren Earth, bringing color back to the infertile grass of the flat plains. Tynan raised his hand over his eyes to prevent any further damage to his sight, softly sobbing as his sister finally turned her head in his direction. His free hand hovered over the door handle, shaking with anxiety as he attempted to unlock it. The sun’s torment outweighed Tynan’s hope for his future. Amaya—offended by her brother’s attempt at surrendering—gave a disapproving glance and quickly relocked the doors, now pressing her foot vigorously against the floor of the car and scanning the dashboard that glowed red to warn her of an empty tank.
NEBRASKA… the good life. Home of Arbor Day
After all coastal states filled with water, the remainder of the population that hadn’t died from famine, natural disaster, burns, homelessness, suicide, or illness had no choice but to migrate to the landlocked midwest. Because major and overpopulated cities experienced rapid downfalls due to already limited resources, small town America became safe havens for those who had a chance to flee. Towns once overlooked and underfunded became destinations for safety. An America once ruled by elitism crumbled with the collapse of the dollar—the degrees you held, the amount of property you owned, and the wealth you obtained no longer had any meaning. Life soon became survival of the fittest as opposed to survival of the richest.
NEXT SERVICES 20 MILES
Tynan’s anxious energy subsided as silence and stillness filled the car once more, along with the insufferable sunlight that burned at it’s touch. Amaya winced in pain, extending her arm to the backseat of the car and throwing radiation reflecting blankets over their laps. The engine began to sputter ten miles from Kimball, their destination, gradually slowing the car from 78 miles per hour to zero. A wave of solace and acceptance finally washed over the siblings as they peered from the spaces in between their fingers. It became evident that the safety from the escapism they chased was only a mirage. 492 miles outside of their Salt Lake City suburb, Amaya and Tynan came across their second occupied billboard.
THE END IS HERE.
Cover Photo by starmanseries. Edited by Katrina Kwok.