Shrugged

Wes shrugged, feeling as though he could do nothing about his short lived companion. "Fortunately", he said, "The weight of the world is on Atlas's shoulders, and not mine". He started to descend the stairs, wondering what would happen if Atlas ran out of the delicious Hot Pocket snack. It would be very difficult to survive if the support of our society were to run out of steam.

As he took the steps one by one, he discovered the atmosphere was subtly changing, and that the steps were really not that old, but new. It was becoming warmer and darker, as a slight hint of evil in the air started to waft under his nostrils.

He pondered, "Is this really what I think it is?", "Really where I have ended up after my journey?" He was sad, but then realized that he had actually found meaning in his journey, something that was theory but had never been proved: the demons and creatures of hell have now established a direct link to the life line of the world, the producer, and the mind that keeps humanity safe...