Night

The light went out faster than Steve could react. The water was colder than ice in that instant, and fear pervaded his body like a curse. His face broke the water's surface and he ran out of the pond. A wolf's howl was all he heard as he ran in his swim trunks down empty West 15th Street. The Problem had been in here for longer than the 5 minutes it took to get home, indeed much longer. The Problem had been there since the dawn of time, whenever that was. That was forever ago, though, because this was the dusk of time, and Steve knew that well. Water was the only thing he thought of that could help in think of something during this dreadful time. Dusk had been coming for years, no one knew what to do to stop it, only that if you were outside, you were at risk. Steve was barely inside when the sound rang through his head, it sounded a bit like the hissing of a snake, but not quite. He looked at his watch. Somehow, in a matter of 5 minutes it had become complete midnight. The Dusk of Time was upon them, and Steve was the last person to say, "Goodbye".

The sun rose over the empty land. There was nothing. As quick as it had come it had gone. "It was a good story," said The First. "Would have made an excellent book," said The Second.

The story was so short. Chapter 1, Sludge was little more than a pamphlet in a book, but it was longer than the rest of the whole book! The story did pick up quick however, especially toward the end. The last chapter was only a few millionths the lenghth of the first, but more happened in it than any other, specifically with one character named, "Man". It was sad that the story had to end so shortly, as now another one had to be created, but after all, what's another few ant's lives to a human anyway?