A soldier stands at the edge of a barren wasteland, his name unimportant. You wouldn't think there'd be anything out here, but deep beneath the earth slumbered the end of days, ready to be unleashed. An optimistic man might think it'd never come to pass, but the soldier was not an optimistic man. He listened to orders, yes, but he also listened to the radio when he got a chance, read the headlines. He knew things were only heating up, knew the point of no return was ahead. That's why he wasn't surprised when the missiles flew up and away.
He chuckled a little at their appearance, like shooting stars falling in reverse. He'd never been one for wishes, but there's a first time for everything during the apocalypse. He took a long drag from the cigarette in his hands, and blew the smoke out with a shaky breath.
"I wish that whatever world comes after ours is a kinder one."
The cigarette burnt out as the earth began to shake. He tossed it to the ground as the horizon lit up like a million searchlights, and it burnt to cinder along with him in a wave of heat hot as the sun.