Espresso and Escape Pods

By Qualia Reed

It was the last day for the human race, and Kim was not prepared to meet the end of the world without one last good cup of coffee. What starts off as a simple trip down to the neighborhood coffee shop, quickly escalates and she has to decide to take the most random leap of faith or stay behind and meet her doom with the rest of humanity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Qualia Reed
• Release date: Dec 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215978634

Qualia Reed

Qualia Reed loves Sci-fi. Writing it, reading it, listening to it, watching it. Sci-fi gives us glimpses into the future we wish to see, and for queer people, that glimpse can be a world where we are accepted and loved for who we are, not feared and hated. Qualia writes novels, short stories, and poetry while working as a Registered Nurse in the Pacific Northwest, where they live with their spouse and child. To stay up to date with Qualia, check out their website at  https://qualiareedauthor.wixsite.com/qualia-reed

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Espresso & Escape Pods

Qualia Reed

Copyright © 2022 by Qualia Reed

Cover design by Qualia Reed

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by Canadian copyright law.

Dedication

To everyone who’s ever felt adrift and alone,

be it on any given Monday or at the end of the world.

Remember, we’re never as alone as we think.

1

Welcome To The End

The movies always talk about the horror, the tears, and the panicked flight for salvation at the end of the world. Nobody ever talks about the less crucial but essential decisions, like what your last breakfast would be. If you knew it was your last day on Earth, would you treat yourself to top-shelf coffee or would you settle for whatever was left in the cupboards?

On the human race’s last day, Kim stared at the ceiling of her bedroom, paralyzed with indecision. Her phone had been vibrating against its resting place on the nightstand for the last hour, moving along on its slow march to the edge. She’d never had so many texts and missed calls in her life. Apparently when the world was ending, everyone wanted to reach out and say one final goodbye.

Fuck it, Bobby, she said to the brown, moisture stain on the ceiling above her bed. What’s the point?

Archimedes, her large, orange and cream tabby cat, leaped gracefully from the floor to the bed and nudged her under the chin. Hi, Archie. What do you say to a stay-in-bed day? Finish this existence the way we cap off most long weekends, cuddles and movies?

Archimedes meowed and hopped off the bed, racing to the kitchen to paw at the cupboard. Traitor, mumbled Kim. Fine, I’m getting up.

Her phone vibrated one last time before it took the plunge off the nightstand. It slapped down hard on the scuffed, old hardwood of her bedroom floor. Kim groaned and slid out of bed like a giant worm. Usually, she put her bathrobe on before walking to her kitchen, so the creepy neighbor across the narrow alley didn’t catch a peek as she walked across her studio apartment. Today though, she couldn’t be bothered. What did it matter if some old guy across the alley saw her tits? The world was going to be nothing but cinders and ashes by nightfall.

The grim thought gave her pause, and she turned towards her sliding glass door, squeezing her breasts towards the neighboring apartment building and giving them a jiggle before continuing to her kitchen. If seeing a young woman’s tits made someone’s end of the world just a tiny bit more bearable, then she figured she’d already done something worthwhile, even if it was low-hanging fruit.

Though she called it a kitchen, the space was just a small, stained porcelain sink, a bar fridge, and an electric hot plate in the corner of her apartment. She lived alone with Archimedes, so the apartment’s minimalistic nature suited her fine. In the four years she’d lived there, most of her meals had been eaten while hunched over her desk at work or at the downstairs Thai restaurant. Kim rummaged through the cupboards, staring at the no-name brand arabica coffee that was