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He was eleven when it happened. They’d sat together on the worn out couch of their little farmhouse watching the news coverage and holding each other in fear as the end of the world unfolded before them. The solar panels kept their lights on, but one day, the television greeted them with nothing but static.
His father made quick work of the house. Boarding up windows. Setting up the broadcast from his old ham radio equipment. Building fences to keep some fertile land protected. They didn’t need to grow as much anymore. Isolation was on their side, in those early days. The first hoard that hit nearly broke them, but they learned from that. They grew stronger.
Mana showed him how to work the radios. He showed the child which button to flip to turn on an automated help messaged. Not that anyone had answered their calls into the radio, but maybe if the time ever came that they needed help, it would be their salvation.
In their isolation, Mana helped him to grow plants and to save the seeds for the next year. They built fences together and read the books they had. Mana told him about the world before the fall of man. They learned to play the piano together. They filled their days with anything and everything; together against the world that had died around them.
Supplies ran low. Especially during the winter. The first time Mana had left to find cables, wood, food, anything, really, the child had been afraid. He could see visions of his father becoming grey and lifeless. His eyes would be dim and his mouth would hang agape, seeking flesh. He’d thrown himself into Mana’s arms when he’d come back that night. He’d wept as his father stroked his hair and murmured soft reassurance into his ear.
Snow fell lightly around them as the sun started to dip below the horizon line.The second winter after the end of the world felt more stable. A year of preparing and planning; of raising chickens for meat, pickling vegetables, and making jam. They were well stocked on most things, missing only wood and occasionally ammo.
The boy smiled at Mana as his truck pulled up to the gate. He took a few minutes, fumbling with the latch in his rabbit-skin gloves before he managed to get it. Mana pulled the truck in and got out.
“Your face looks mad, dad.”
“I’m not mad,” Mana brushed past him, a thick wire curled up in his hand.
“How did the supply run go? Didja get lots of stuff?” He pulled the back door of the pick-up truck down and eyed the boxes and logs inside.
“Yeah, I did. Bring it inside, I need to do something.”
“Oh, uh, okay…”
The boxes were heavy, but a year of honest work had helped the boy grow stronger. Independant. He lugged wood to the shed and boxes of ammo to the house, wondering what was so important that his father had left the all the work to him. The last box being brought in summoned the sound of Mana’s boots from deeper in the house, and he came into the foyer, still wearing his outdoor gear.
“Dad?”
“I have something to tell you,” The lines in Mana’s face were set into a grim shadow, making the boy pause.
“What?”
Silence wafted between them for a few long moments. Mana got down on one knee, looking into his son’s eyes. Realization was starting to dance across the boy’s face.
“I took off my glove earlier to open a door. There was… there was one of them behind it. “
“What?” The boy said faintly, “That can’t be. You’re here… you said…”
“I know I said I wouldn’t come back but… I had to repair that cable. The distress call is on, and the little dish we made should make it go further. If there is anyone alive, they’ll come for you. Eventually. You just have to survive until then. You know how, right?”
“Dad, you can’t…”
“I have to.”
“I don’t want to be alone!”
“You have to, just for a little while,” tears were welling up in Mana’s eyes. He put his gloved hands on the boy’s shoulders and looked at him, “You have to live. Promise me. Until someone finds you, you’ll live.”
The boy looked down, squeezing his eyes shut as tears escaped him. He nodded, unable to form the words. Mana pulled him close, holding him tightly and shaking a bit as they both clutched at each other.
“Don’t go…”
“I’m so sorry.”
Mana pulled back, his shoulders shaking but his face set. The boy looked up at him, his vision blurred by tears as Mana stood and walked outside. He didn’t turn back as the boy followed him, arms wrapped around himself.
Mana let himself through the chain link gate and looked back at the boy, eyes soft. The boy stared up at him with wide, pleading eyes. Tears streaked his cheeks as he looked at Mana, as he silently begged him to stay.
“I love you.”
The boy started to say something, his face crumpling. He swallowed around the lump in his throat and tried again, letting out only a heavy sob. Mana said nothing, waiting for him to find the strength to speak.
Finally, he whispered, “I love you too.”
“Don’t forget to check the wall every day. You know where all the seeds are for spring. There’s books in there for you too, to know when to plant them. I’m sorry. Don’t stay out too long, or you’ll get sick.”
“I won’t. Please stay.”
“I love you.”
And with that Mana turned and started walking through the snow in the slowly vanishing tire treads the truck had left. He walked and the boy watched, seeing him alternate between jogging and walking, before he vanished over the crest of a hill.
And Allen was alone.
----
“I called shotgun,” Kanda growled from the backseat, holding a pistol. Lenalee just laughed at him, looking over her shoulder at him as the wind whipped her shoulder length hair around.
“Yeah, and? You were too slow.”
“If you weren’t such a reckless driver, Yuu, I wouldn’t mind letting you drive once in a while,” Lavi said, glancing up at the rearview mirror to watch Kanda’s face contort in rage.
“You have one fuckin’ eye! Why are you allowed to drive at all?”
“I’m a great driver. You’re just salty.”
“You’re an okay driver, Lavi,” Lenalee said, raising her eyebrows at him, “I’m just a better shot.”
“Well, you’re both better shots, really. How far out are we going, again?”
“Couple days worth of travel. The area to the north of here used to be some decent farmland. My brother wants us to scout and see how bad the hoards might be in the area, and if there’s anything potentially worth scavenging for Central. If the roads aren’t too broken, anyway.”
“I imagine they’ll be okay. Maybe cracked but probably just fine. Nothin’ ol’ Oozu can’t handle,” Lavi lovingly stroked the dashboard of the truck.
“Stop giving shit weird names.”
“Stop giving shit weird names,” Lavi parroted in a mocking tone, grinning over his shoulder at Kanda for just a moment.
“Think there’ll be any cars we can still siphon gas from? Might be useful.”
“Oh, jeez I dunno, Lena. This area’s probably been abandoned for ten years by now. Anything that hasn’t been picked over is probably rusted out of the tank by now. Plus, if it was farmland, prolly didn’t have too many people around.”
Lenalee sighed, “Well, hopefully there’s something. Maybe another settlement? Probably used to have lots of farmers out this way, right?”
“We probably don’t want to run into those crazy fucks if they are there,” Kanda said with a grimace, “Probably gone loopy or culty by now.”
“Culty?” Lavi exchanged a glance with Lenalee.
“Don’t you guys remember from before? Cult leaders would have their compounds out in the middle of nowhere and shit. Drink the bad juice or whatever.”
“Huh. I guess I kind of remember. I had more important fourteen year old kid stuff to worry about back then.”
The three sat in silence for a stretch, contemplating that. Lavi smiled a bit to himself, “I miss TV the most. And video games.”
“I bet they’d have a lot of good TV and video games now,” Lenalee said.
“Yeah, not just a box set of M*A*S*H, The My Little Pony Movie on DVD, and only one season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Kanda grumbled.
“Hey that’s more than we could have had.”
“It’s not even the first season of Buffy! What’s even the point of watching season four when you never saw anything else?” Lavi groaned.
“Well you can just stare at the dirt instead of watching it, then, both of you.”
Kanda huffed as Lavi laughed, glancing at Lenalee, “I guess it is better than staring at dirt.”
They drove for miles in the summer sun. There was a buzz in the air of heat and insects. Lavi’s eye scanned the horizon for the familiar shamble of those who had long since left the world, but emptiness greeted him. The roads grew slowly rougher the further away from central they drove; the earth was reclaiming the land that humans had borrowed to drive cars on.
They shared some jerky and carrots that first night and slept in the cab of the truck, bunched up in weird positions. Morning brought another day of driving. Lenalee’s fingers drummed nervously on the armrest.
“What’s eatin’ ya, Lenalady?”
“Hm?” She glanced at Lavi, then away, “Ah, um, I guess it’s just a bit nerve wracking to be this far from help. We’re probably outside of radio range, if they wanted to call us back.”
“Do you want to turn it on to check? You brother is probably broadcasting some garbage. I think we’re the only ones out right now.”
Lenalee nodded and Lavi smiled, flicking on the radio. A screech of static greeted them for a moment before a shaking voice filled the truck.
“Please help us. I was bitten. My son is on our farm alone. Please help him, he’s only twelve. I can’t do anything to save him. I’m going as far away as I can, please, help him. If anyone is out there, please. He’s just off regional road 7, Lake Line.”
Static filled the airwaves again, and Lavi blinked slowly, staring at the road ahead.
“Oh…” Lenalee said softly, looking at Lavi, then back at Kanda. Kanda moved to speak but the radio burst to life again.
“Please help us. I was bitten. My son is on our farm alone. Please help him, he’s only twelve. I can’t--”
“Turn it off,” Lavi said with a grimace.
Lenalee switched the radio off with shaking hands, swallowing. She sat back slowly and the three of them sat in silence. Lavi stopped the truck, rubbing his face and looking at the other two.
“Do you have the roadmap back there, Yuu?”
Kanda looked around, picking it up and unfolding it, “Might not be a kid there anymore. The message was looping. It could have been going for a while.”
“Is it on the map, Kanda?”
Kanda sighed, “Yeah.”
Lenalee held out her hand for the map and Kanda passed it up to her, resigned to his fate. Lavi leaned over her shoulder to look at the map, frowning a bit.
“Bit of a detour, but if a kid’s there, there’s probably some working equipment. Whatever is broadcasting that radio frequency for one. Probably some solar panels. Even if the kid isn’t there, I bet that farm has some good stuff. Maybe some seeds, even. It’s worth a look. Better than just looking around and hoping for the best, anyway.”
“I guess. I just don’t want to sit back here with a sniveling brat.”
“I’ll trade with you, Kanda,” Lenalee rolled her eyes, “But he’s another survivor, and you’re to treat him nicely.”
“If we find him, and not a tiny zombie.”
“ Nicely. ”
Lavi laughed a bit and hit the gas, flying down the deserted road towards the distress call.
----
The rooster outside crowed, making Allen jump. The cat curled up in the crook of his neck jumped and hissed, bapping Allen’s cheek with an angry paw.
“Yeah, yeah…” He sighed, petting the fluffy yellow cat which immediately began to purr.
“Guess I should get up, huh?” He murmured, cuddling his face against the cat, who whapped him again. Allen laughed and sat up, grabbing a length of string and tying his hair back. He stood, grabbing his pocket knife as he headed out into the hallway. He made a notch in the drywall and took a second to squint at the sprawl of notches.
He sighed and went back into his room to dress before he tramped downstairs and through the door. The sun was starting to rise over the makeshift walls that surrounded the farm, making them reflect light into random constellations on the ground. Allen smiled.
Most mornings were the same. To the well, feed and water the chickens, water the garden, check the wall for any weak points. The sweet potatoes were almost ready to harvest, Allen noted as he started picking the snap beans. He squinted against the light, wondering where he’d put the bins for the sweet potatoes. Corn was coming in too. He’d have to set aside a morning that week to pick the corn, he decided.
Timcampy meowed as he sauntered around the corner, a smug look on his face. Allen looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
“No mice yet today, lazy?”
The cat meowed again and rubbed against Allen’s legs, making him smile, “You know you’ve only lived here five years, I’m sure you’d figured out by now that I’m not going to feed you in the summer when there’s rats about.”
That was a lie, and they both knew it. Allen couldn’t resist giving Tim bits of chicken on nice evenings, when they’d curl up together on the porch and watch the chickens peck at the ground as the old boombox played one of the CD’s from Mana’s vast collection.
The sun started to beat down on Allen and he retreated into the house with Tim on his heels. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and feeling the beginning of a sunburn. Allen took a moment to look around the kitchen, before he shook his head and walked into the sitting room. He sat at the old piano, mindlessly running his fingers over the keys as he thought about the rest of the chores he had ahead of him.
A song flowed out of him, filling the house as he planned his afternoon. The fall crops would need some tending. The compost had to be turned over. Eggs needed to be collected. The solar panel on the right side of the house had been acting up a bit, he might have to replace that wire. The shed needed a new roof, he could work on some shingles for that after dinner. He could go up to his lookout post and shoot any zombies that were too close. He needed to make some new arrows for the bow in case there was a hoard close by.
A bang from outside the gate stilled his fingers. The music had barely stopped vibrating through the air when another knock sounded.
“Hello! Hello, we heard you!” a masculine voice called from the other side of the wall.
It was foreign to Allen’s ears. He turned towards the open window slowly. Was he hallucinating again? Was that real?”
“Kid? We heard your radio broadcast! Hello?”
The rooster crowed. Allen picked up his gun.
Fear ran through his veins as he heard the sound of hands pulling at the locks and chains at the gate. His body moved before his mind could and he was out the door, firing a shot into the ground by the fence.
“Whoa! Hey! Cool it!”
Three people stood at the other side of the gate. Allen had long since fortified it with scraps of cars that had sat rusting on the side of the roads nearby, but three heads peered through the window of a car door that Allen had left in the middle of the gate so he could look out. One of the three had a gun trained on him through the chain links.
Allen’s hands shook as he looked at them, almost unsure if they were zombies or not. He said nothing as he stared at them, lowering his gun slightly to squint at them, looking for the empty eyes and grey skin he knew.
“Um, hey? We… heard a broadcast.”
“A.. what?” His voice suddenly sounded rough to himself. Underused.
“On the radio? Said there was a kid here alone.”
“A kid?” Allen considered that, not taking his eyes off the intruders.
“Uh, yeah… said there was a kid alone on the farm,” the man had red hair, Allen realized. He was suddenly reminded of Cross. He’d almost forgotten Mana’s friend entirely; his face was just a wisp of smoke in the annals of his mind now. The tension on his arms started to relax as he looked at the three humans-- living humans-- in stunned silence.
“Uh…” The redhead said with an uneasy smile, “unless we have the wrong place?”
“I… was a kid. Here.”
The three blinked at him, then glanced at each other, “You? No one else?”
Allen nodded a bit, “You’re… really all alive? Human?”
“What the fuck do you think?” the other man said, almost immediately drawing a glare from Allen.
“I think I haven’t seen another living person out this way in almost four thousand days.”
The three were silent again for a moment before a lighter voice spoke, “We are alive and human, we promise. Could we… come in? We’ve travelled a long way to find you.”
Allen hesitated. He remembered the howling loneliness. He remembered feeling as if the moans he heard from outside the walls had been the voice of his father. Begging for help. Asking him to join him. He remembered going to the gate and almost walking through it.
Was this real?
“H...how, um… give me something.”
“What?”
Allen struggled with how to communicate his fear, “how… do I know you’re… real.”
The redhead and the other man looked at each other. The one with long hair raised a hand to spin it in a circle by his head and glanced at Allen.
“I’m not crazy! Stop that!”
“Hey, hey, ignore him. It’s okay. My name is Lenalee. What’s yours?” The girl slapped the long-haired man’s hand and smiled at Allen, who faltered.
“My name? It’s… Allen.”
“Hey there, Allen, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Lavi, and the jerk is Kanda,” The redhead said soothingly. He reach his hand through the chainlink fence, holding a package of beef jerky. “Want some of this? It’s good. Beef n’all.”
“Beef?” Allen got a bit closer, a little more curious, “I haven’t had had beef since before…” He took a hand off his rifle and accepted the packet, retreating a couple steps to open it. Allen glanced at the trio as he tore into it, watching their eyes cast around the farm slowly to take it in.
Allen took a bite and chewed slowly, looking down at the meat. He looked up at them again and walked over to the door. Surely, he thought, if they gave me something to eat, they must be real. He stowed his new treat in his pocket and got to work.
The gate took some work to open, but Allen managed it, grabbing Tim by the scruff of his neck as he darted for the open door, like an idiot. With his cat in one arm and his rifle in the other, Allen welcomed more people onto the farm than it had seen in over a decade.
Lavi whistled as he looked around, “It’s like a little paradise in here… You did this all yourself?”
“Um… My… dad set most of it up. We lived here before.”
“Wow…” Lenalee breathed, looking at all the crops, “What do you do with the extra food? You don’t eat all of this, do you?”
Allen swallowed, suddenly nervous under the scrutiny of other people, “um… jam… and uh… pickles… some… freezing, but mostly the chicken...”
“Pickles?”
Allen nodded, “Some… stuff you have to eat right away though…” Allen motioned for them to follow him, leading them into the farmhouse, “A lot keeps in the cold cellar… I have potatoes from spring.”
Allen fumbled around, showing them around the farm and stammering out responses to their questions. His voice tired and grew raspy quickly. Allen excused himself, offering to make them dinner. He moved mechanically as the trio chased chickens around outside, mind spinning.
People. Actual people. He’d long accepted the fact that he was the last man on earth, but here they were. Living, breathing people who talked about settlements and the decline of the living dead. Of a renewal.
Allen jumped as Lavi came into the kitchen.
“Oh, sorry, Al, didn’t mean to startle ya.”
“Al?”
“Oh, er, is it okay if I call you Al?”
“Yeah, sorry, um… Al is fine, I guess. Supper shouldn’t be long.”
“It smells really good. Stew?”
Allen nodded, a bit sheepish. Lavi got closer, peering into the pot, “I can’t wait to try it.”
Allen felt his face heat up and he laughed a little awkwardly, ducking his head back down, “Thanks! Yeah, it’ll be good, I make good stew.”
Lavi flashed him a lopsided smile and leaned against the counter. One green eye sized Allen up with ravenous curiosity.
“You’ve been here on your own for ten years?” Lavi finally asked, making Allen frown.
“I… upstairs. I made a notch for every day I was alone. Three thousand, eight hundred and thirty five.
“Jesus…” Lavi murmured, “That… how?”
“How? Well… The farm kept me busy. I make um, lists, in my head of what I need to do. Like today I was going to uh, collect eggs and I had to make a repair on the solar panel and tomorrow maybe I was going to harvest the corn. The melons need a couple more days of very light watering so they get juicy. Um. Stuff like that. Read. Play piano. I used to do other stuff too, like with the radio, but no one ever called back. I thought I was the last one.”
“Last one? Last human?”
Allen nodded, “My dad said we might be… the very last two. Since nothing but the dead ones showed up. Then… he left too.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It was a long time ago.”
They were quiet for a few moments. Allen stirred the pot, feeling Lavi’s eyes linger on him. The hens clucked and squawked as Lenalee giggled, her laughter floating through the open window.
“You can come with us, if you want.”
Allen’s hand stilled and he turned to look at Lavi questioningly.
“Back to Central. Lots of people there, and no one who seems to farm as well as you do. You’d be welcome there.”
“Leave here…?” Allen looked around, swallowing, “I don’t know… I thought…” He clammed up, looking away. Embarrassment burned at his cheeks and ears.
“Thought what?”
“Well I just… assumed you would stay. Not that you’d ask me to leave.”
“Huh?”
“You said it was nice here.”
“Oh, ahah, well it is. A set up like this… a little bigger maybe, could feed half of Central. But there’s a lot more protection there. And other supplies. It’s set up around an old warehouse that is still about half full. Capitalism, eh, that sweet sweet overproduction.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, uh, haha, nevermind.” Lavi rubbed the back of his neck, “But you should come. It would be safer than here. We can move your stuff there, set everything up. You could keep doing what you do but with help. With a community.”
“A… community…” Allen said with trepidation, “I don’t know… I have never been around a whole lot of people. I’ve… always been here.”
“Well, I won’t make you, Allen, but… you could really help us. And we could help you.”
Allen set his eyes on the stew again, mulling the idea over. Lavi could almost see the crashing tides of indecision dance across Allen’s brow as he added a sprig of rosemary to the pot.
“Could… Could Timcampy come? And the chickens?”
“Of course. Really, we’d want to bring everything back to Central except the building. Though, it does look like there’s some good lumber in it.”
Allen chewed his lip, turning his face away to take a small sip of the stew. He added another sprig of rosemary and covered the pot, wringing his hands as he glanced at Lavi’s face, then away. Something rumbled in his chest when he looked into Lavi’s eyes. Another person to look back at him.
“I… I don’t know…”
“Think about it. It’s okay,” Lavi said gently, raising his eyebrows slightly, “It’s a lot all at once.”
Allen nodded, stooping down to pick up Tim and hold him closely. The cat purred in delight, nuzzling his face to Allen’s. Allen stroked Tim softly and raised his eyes to Lavi’s again. Searching.
“I’m afraid.”
“Of?”
Allen looked away, embarrassed, “Of leaving.”
“That’s reasonable, I think.”
Allen nodded, shuffling over to the table and sitting down, letting Timcampy hop into his lap. The chickens clucked outside as Lenalee and Kanda argued over whether or not they could pick one up.
“I’ll go.”
Lavi perked up, looking at Allen with a bright eye, “Really?”
“... My dad said… someone would come. So. Why would I… stay? If… if someone has come then… it’s time to go.”
“You sound unsure.”
Allen scrunched up his face and glanced to the side, “I’m… not sure how to phrase it.”
“Take your time, I’m not going anywhere.”
Allen looked down at his lap, scratching Tim behind the ears. The golden cat purred and swished his tail back and forth, nipping lightly at Allen’s fingers after a few moments. Allen rested one hand on the table and looked up at Lavi.
“What if this is a dream?”
“It’s not.”
“But what if it is? It… it used to happen all the time. I’d dream of dad coming back, or of someone coming to get me. And I’d wake up and… and I’d be outside by the gate. I don’t want to do that again. I don’t want to feel that again.”
Lavi put a hand on Allen shoulder, making him jolt. He’d lowered his eyes at some point again, fixed them to a cup on the counter, but now he looked up at Lavi. A serious line ran down Lavi’s face as he gazed into Allen’s eyes.
“This is real. I promise you that.
Allen clenched his jaw and looked back at Lavi. He blinked quickly and looked away, rubbing his eyes lightly.
“Okay.”
Lavi smiled a bit and ruffled Allen’s hair, “So you’ll come?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, welcome to the team! Everyone’s going to be excited to meet you! You’ll love Central, though the land isn’t quite as good down there. But we’ll bring the food back and get you set up! I think we have a nice place for you and everything. If not, you can live with me! I’ve got a big ol’ house.”
Allen gave Lavi a wobbly smile, “Sure…
Dinner was served and a person filled every chair at the kitchen table. Allen didn’t say much, but laughter filled the empty house. He watched Lavi tug at Kanda’s hair and Lenalee smack both their hands as they started rough housing. He watched Lenalee coo at Timcampy, and Kanda call her a budding cat lady.
He smiled, leaning back in his chair. He didn’t think about tomorrow. He sat and he listened. Lavi caught his eye and grinned. Allen felt himself smiling back and his shoulders felt lighter.