Last Days In Post Apocalypse Era

Last Days

It was dark when the first wave of the Apocalypse rolled into existence. The lights had gone out long ago and the world had stopped turning on its axis, only to start again. All that had been left for him was death and pain. He’d made peace with his impending doom before he even realized what was happening. Thousands of people were at supermarkets worldwide buying food and water to survive to the last days on earth. Some had already bought everything they needed for survival but it still wouldn’t be enough to sustain them over the coming hours and days. There would be nothing left after the Apocalypse had come to an end. Not anymore. They’d all perish in the coming years.
The End.
After that it became a blur. His name was Noah Walker, his friends call him Noah, he liked chocolate, he loved to draw, he wanted to go to college one day, he liked to sleep with a baseball bat under his pillow because sometimes things go too far and if you aren’t ready for that then they just won’t stop until you are. It all came back to him. He remembered every single thing about himself and his life on earth. Everything except what happened to Adam. He couldn’t remember anything else other than the fact that this place didn’t feel like home. It felt more like a prison.
They were stuck here forever now. Forever until someone found them and brought them somewhere safe, to some new location where no one knows about them, no one could ever find their way back here and take revenge on the entire population for abandoning humanity like he did. That would never happen because it wasn’t going to happen anymore.
Noah woke up with a start as his mind registered the realization he was lying in bed in the middle of the night and not in a comfortable bed in his own bedroom on campus, the one he and his best friend had shared since elementary school. He sat up quickly from his mattress on the floor, looking around frantically for signs that something was wrong. It took him several seconds for him to process why he was waking up.
He breathed out heavily. Inhaling deeply through his nose, exhaling through his mouth. His heart began beating faster as he calmed himself down. His hands were shaking and he had trouble breathing normally when he finally managed to calm down. He looked down at his hands and then back up into his room. The sun was beginning to rise and the first rays of dawn were shining through the windows, illuminating the small apartment and creating a soft glow in the corners of the living room. It was beautiful, a stark contrast to the nightmare reality he just woke up from. Noah looked away from his bedroom and instead stared out the window. He watched as trees swayed slightly in the wind outside, casting shadows upon the sidewalk below. This wasn’t real. This was just a dream. A terrible horrible awful nightmare. But it didn’t feel real. Nothing felt real anymore.
When the sun reached its zenith Noah stood and quietly closed his bedroom door behind him. He walked through the dark apartment quietly. Each step he took felt hollow and empty. As he made his way into the kitchen, where there was light spilling onto the floor through a gap underneath the sliding glass doors that lead out to the balcony. With the light he could see the outline of the building next door. It must have been an old house when it was constructed. Its brick walls were peeling off revealing the white wood beneath. The sky was a pale blue with hints of pink sprinkled across the surface. It looked like he’d gotten lost and wandered into another world completely, a place he didn’t recognize. The smell of pancakes wafted in the air as he approached the fridge. He opened it and grabbed a bottle of milk and poured some into a cup along with two teaspoons. He set the spoon on the edge of the counter and leaned against it, drinking the warm liquid in slow sips as he tried to process what exactly it meant that he hadn't slept at all.
For a while Noah stood in silence staring out into the street as he finished his cup of milk and waited for the rest of his morning routine to come to him. Eventually, however, the hunger from earlier forced his attention away from the window and back towards the table. He picked up the fork and started eating his breakfast, taking his time to enjoy each bite. Once he was done with his second plate, he set the utensil down.
Noah slowly turned around and looked at the clock. 11:32 AM. He had four hours before he had to leave for work and the last few minutes of daylight were precious. He decided that he would take a quick shower, get dressed and head to work. It was Saturday so he didn’t have to worry about getting caught, which was good because he really didn’t want to think about the fact that today marked his thirty fifth birthday. And his thirty sixth year of life.
It felt weird thinking about it. After all these years, he still lived alone in his parents apartment. He got married to a girl who he’d been dating for less than five months. They went to church together almost every Sunday. She was everything he’d hoped and dreamed she would be; kind and loving and caring. She gave birth to three amazing kids. One boy and two girls. And then her husband died.
That was ten years ago, a year ago on December 31st. At some point during those eight long years of mourning everyone had begun calling the man they buried “Adam”. Noah thought of him as that now. He always thought of him as that now. He knew his funeral was today, but he never felt the urge to go. Maybe it had something to do with his lack of family or friends, maybe it was because of the fact he’d been alone all this time. Maybe it was just because there was nothing left to celebrate. Or mourn. Or hope for. Because right now he was alone. No, not alone, because he had his friends. They were there for him whenever he needed them. But right now they weren’t with him.
His phone buzzed with a text message, pulling him out of his thoughts. Noah picked it up and read the words written on the screen.
‘I’m outside your apartment door waiting for you. Can you open the door?’ It was signed by Kippen. Noah smiled at that, it seemed to be a constant between the two men. Whenever one of them needed help, the other would show up with a bag of groceries and the biggest smile on his face.
Noah nodded and got to his feet, walking towards the front door. When he reached the entrance he unlocked the door and pulled it open. Before stepping out into the hallway he paused and saw something strange. Kippen was standing outside, wearing sunglasses and a black trench coat with matching hat. Noah frowned, confused.
Kippen looked at Noah, then pointed at the door. “We need to talk.”
Noah stepped outside, closing the door softly. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What?”
Kippen sighed and removed his sunglasses, holding them in his hand. “There’s...something I need to tell you. Something I haven’t told anyone yet.”
Noah tilted his head to the side, giving Kippen his full attention. “Okay…” He replied cautiously.
Kippen bit his lip nervously and glanced around the corridor. Then, as he was convinced no one was close enough to hear him, he spoke in a whisper. “It’s about Eve.” He said.
A cold shiver ran down Noah’s spine. “Eve? What do you mean...?” He asked.
“Look...I can’t tell you here. But trust me, it’s important. I’ll explain everything once we get inside. Come on.” Kippen said, motioning toward Noah’s apartment with his head. Noah followed him inside without question. Once they were both sitting in Noah’s living room, surrounded by a pile of pillows, blankets and pillows strewn around them, Kippen turned his gaze toward Noah and looked him straight in the eyes.
“Remember when you told me how you met Eve?” He asked, leaning forward slightly. Noah nodded and looked at him expectantly. “Well, I guess I should tell you about what happened after that first meeting.” Noah nodded again and waited for Kippen to continue. Kippen cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “Well, that first time I met her…I found out I was pregnant. And when I asked her if she wanted to keep having my babies, she accepted. I know I shouldn’t have, she probably should have refused, but she couldn’t bring herself to say no. Even though I told her it wasn’t safe for her to stay with me.”
Noah remained silent, letting Kippen continue without interruption.
“She came over everyday after that. Sometimes she stayed overnight or even the day, depending on how she was feeling that week. I remember being jealous. I wanted more than anything to be able to hold her and love her. To give her everything that she deserved and wanted.” Kippen stopped talking, averting his gaze from Noah and turning his head toward the floor.
Noah reached forward and gently placed his fingertips against Kippen's cheek, drawing him back towards him. "Don't worry, Kippen. You will. I promise."
Kippen sighed and shook his head. "I don't think so. I think I already fucked things up big time when I brought her here. I know I did. And that's why I'm here, Noah. I'm going to fix this. I swear it. I'll make it right. I won't let her go again."
"I believe you," Noah whispered. "But you've got to understand. It's gonna hurt. I'm pretty sure it will hurt." He said.
Kippen nodded and leaned his forehead against Noah's. He let out a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly. "I don't care if I can't feel her. I don't care if I have to live without her forever. I'd rather have her in my arms than lose her. I can deal with pain, Noah, but not without her." His voice cracked slightly as he spoke.
Noah placed his hands on either side of Kippen's face and stared into his eyes. “You deserve her. You’re perfect for each other. I know it. Don’t doubt yourself for a second. If there is someone in the universe that deserves her more than you do, it’s her.”
Kippen stared into Noah’s eyes for several moments before sighing deeply, nodding. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Noah’s again. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said any of that.” He murmured quietly.
"You're forgiven," Noah answered. "Now let's go to work before it gets too late."
Kippen let out another sigh and nodded, standing up from where he’d been sitting next to Noah. Noah stood up and walked over to the kitchen sink to rinse off his bowl and spoon. As he was washing them, he heard his phone ring. Taking it out of his pocket, he checked the display. It was his mother calling. He quickly answered it.
“Hey mom, what’s up?” He said.
“Noah sweetie, how are you doing?” Her voice sounded calm and collected on the other end of the line. But there was a hint of sadness that Noah noticed immediately.
He swallowed hard, wondering if this conversation was going to lead to another lecture. “I’m fine. Why? Is everything okay?”
“Yes, everything’s fine.” She replied. There was silence following her answer, and then suddenly Noah felt like she was staring directly into his eyes.
“Mom, are you sure everything’s alright?” He pressed. “Why did you call me? Are you sick? Should I come home?” He asked anxiously, worried something might have happened.
“No honey, I’m okay, don’t worry. Everything’s fine, I promise. I just wanted to make sure you were still coming over tonight. You promised you wouldn’t forget and that you wouldn’t sleep at your dad’s house tonight.”
“Oh yeah…of course. I’ll be over shortly.” He replied, smiling. “I love you.”
“I love you too Noah. Be careful.”
Noah hung up and sighed, placing the bowl down onto the counter. He then began walking toward the couch and dropped himself onto it. A few minutes later Kippen appeared beside him.
“Everything okay?” He asked, concerned.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. My mom just called wanting to know how I am.” Noah said with a shrug.
Kippen sat down across from Noah and grabbed Noah’s laptop off the coffee table. He opened it and scrolled through the files until he came across what he was looking for. Noah watched him scroll down the page and frowned. “That’s my stuff.” He muttered.
“Relax,” Kippen replied. “This doesn’t look like anything serious. Just some stuff from when I used to visit. I’m gonna leave it up here.” He added, setting the computer back down on the coffee table. Noah nodded and relaxed, resting his head back against the cushions. “So…why didn’t you want to tell your parents earlier?” Kippen asked, glancing sideways at Noah.
Noah sighed and shrugged again. “Honestly? I didn’t really want to talk to them about it. It’s...a very long story. They would have had questions that I would rather not answer right now. Not after all that’s happened recently.” He replied.
“Okay…so, I guess I should probably start explaining everything.” Kippen said, biting his lip uncertainty.
Noah nodded, silently urging him to continue.
Chapter 2
“Let me start at the beginning. The day I met Eve I was working for my father. Well, actually I was working for a man named Adam, who was his secretary. Anyway, one night while I was cleaning the office, I stumbled upon some papers that weren’t supposed to be there. The last time we cleaned, they were still there. They were in a folder marked ‘personal’, and it contained the most recent mission reports of our previous missions. I went upstairs to look for Adam because I knew his secretary hadn’t seen them yet, but when I knocked on his door, it didn’t open. So I decided to just walk away and leave them there. I tried to grab them, but they fell out of my hand. I bent to pick them up, but then I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to see this tall blonde woman walking toward me.
“At first I thought she was an assistant of Adam’s, so I assumed that I needed to apologize for whatever had happened to the report and I was going to explain myself to her, but instead, she started yelling at me.” He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “’Where the fuck have you been?! This report says we haven’t even had any success with the job! All you ever do is run after some girl and try to get laid!’ At first I couldn’t comprehend what she was saying. It didn’t make any sense at all.” Kippen glanced over at Noah, watching as his friend’s brow furrowed and he pursed his lips together. “After a while I realized she was telling the truth. And she was telling it badly. I could tell she was upset and stressed. I mean, she was just as scared and sad as I was. So I tried to calm her down. I told her that everything was going to be fine; that we would figure something out. That she shouldn’t worry about the mission reports and everything else. Maybe she didn’t need them right then. We kept talking and eventually she agreed to let me stay the night and help her take care of them and then give her some space tomorrow morning.” He continued. He smiled sheepishly and looked at Noah. “It wasn’t much, but at least I made her feel better, I suppose.”
Noah stared at him blankly, thinking about the things he had read in those reports. About the fear in everyone’s eyes. The way Adam had acted around him the past couple days, like he was afraid Noah was going to kill him. What had happened to them? Was there a reason why they were running from him now?
As he processed those thoughts, Noah slowly stood up. “Do you mind putting these away? I need to make a quick call.” Noah asked softly.
“Sure. No problem.” Kippen responded, handing Noah the file folders he had set down.
Once Noah had left, Kippen went downstairs and found a bookcase full of books. He pulled down one random book and flipped through the pages, searching for information. He found what he was looking for almost instantly. “Adam, you son of a bitch.” He whispered under his breath angrily. He shook his head and threw the bookcase shut, deciding to wait until Noah was done.
Noah paced around his living room for a few minutes, trying to find the best way to approach the subject of Kippen’s family. Finally, he decided to just go for it. “Kip? Can we talk?” He said quietly.
The redhead raised his eyebrows at him. “Is everything okay? Did something happen?” He asked. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Noah shake his head. “Oh thank god. I was getting kind of worried. You seem pretty agitated about something.”
“It’s nothing really, I just have some things I want to talk about.” Noah replied, walking over to sit down on the couch next to him.
“Alright, what is it?” Kippen responded, curiosity evident in his tone.
“It’s about our mothers,” Noah stated slowly. He reached across the couch and placed his hands on top of Kippens. “Did you ever meet my mother?” He asked, hoping to get an affirmative response before continuing. He could tell that this question caught Kippen by surprise. His face grew tense, and for a split second Noah thought he was going to say no, and that would ruin all of their plans. Instead, though, Kippen simply nodded. “How? What happened? Why? Who were they?” He quickly asked, trying desperately to keep his voice low so that he could be as discreet as possible. He needed answers. He needed closure.
“I….um…..I met her once. In high school, I think? She and my brother lived with my sister and me. She and our parents were close. It seems like she did the same thing for us, if that makes sense? But, uh, she wasn’t married or anything. Just…you know…friends. Nothing more than friends. I’m surprised she even remembers me honestly, to be honest.”
“She doesn’t?” Noah questioned, confused.
Kippen let out a soft laugh. “I don’t think you understand. My sister is like a big sister to her. If I don’t remember her, then she wouldn’t either.” He explained. “We never spent a whole lot of time together.”
Noah nodded slowly. “Okay…” He trailed off, trying to process what he’d learned tonight. It seemed like a lot, but that didn’t stop him from asking another question. “What about Dad? Do you remember him?”
“Not really. I mean...he’s a little blurry. I can picture him clearly enough, but he isn’t really recognizable to me. I only ever got to spend a total of four months with him and he died when I was eighteen. I barely remember him. I just hope that he’s alright wherever he is.” Kippen answered.
“He’s dead? Really?” Noah asked, shocked. He knew the news had shocked him too, but he never had fully expected it to hurt so much. He felt guilty for being glad to hear that Kippen remembered his dad, and that he wanted to speak with him. It was nice to know that someone did miss him and missed him in particular. Noah hoped that Kippen would continue to miss him.
“Yeah, he was killed in a car accident. I think I was six or seven back then. It was a long time ago. It’s hard to remember anymore. There wasn’t really a point.” Kippen answered quietly.
Noah nodded. He understood completely. He knew how hard it must have been for a parent to lose their child. Especially in such a horrible way. “Well..if you ever find your mom, you should bring her home for dinner again sometime. Please. She would really appreciate that.”
“Oh yeah sure! I totally will. I’ll make sure to tell her that, and also I’ll invite her over here for Thanksgiving next year. Maybe after Christmas, maybe during spring break or something. It’s still a ways off. Probably somewhere between April, May, and June.” He replied.
Noah nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.” He hesitated before continuing, feeling his heart beat faster as he did so. “Are you going to marry her? You guys…you look happy together. Are you gonna be a good husband and father?”
Kippen stared at Noah, his mouth dropping open slightly in shock. “Of course I am. Of course I am going to be a good husband and father.” He finally spoke. He paused and sighed before giving Noah a small smile. “You and Tally are both my best friends, and I love you guys. I would marry her a million times if it meant that I could be with you two forever.”
Noah gave him a small smile and hugged him tightly. They hugged each other for quite a while, not wanting to pull away just yet.
They finally let go and began talking a bit more. Noah wanted to learn more about his parents, especially about the events that took place in that house years ago. He wanted to know how and why his mom had run away with him. It seemed impossible. Noah had always assumed that she had died when he was born. Now, however, he realized that she had never disappeared. She hadn’t died; she had vanished. Like his father.
As he talked, Kippen told him about his life. He told him how he grew up in New York City, his mom used to work as a waitress for the city and Kippen would come with her whenever she worked. He had been living with his grandparents ever since he graduated high school, working his ass off for money and helping his father out with everything. The town where he lived was quiet compared to most of the other towns in New York.
Kippen had never mentioned any details of the war, but Noah couldn’t help but wonder what else he didn’t tell him. How much more hidden was it? What could have happened in that house? Noah was certain that he was missing a lot more than he was letting on. He wanted to ask more questions, to dig deeper into all of it, but the fact remained that his parents weren’t coming back. That meant that whatever they had gone through with Kippen and Sarah had been bad. It had cost them dearly. It must have. And Noah couldn’t imagine what he might have done if the roles had been reversed.
When Noah finally stopped talking for the night, it was nearly three o’clock in the morning. He had told Kippen more than he had planned, but there was one thing that kept bugging him. He needed to know. He needed to understand everything. He looked over at Kippen, who was asleep. He smiled softly. He wondered if they would still be in this situation in another twenty years' time. He knew that he could trust Kippen; he was his friend. He loved him and he believed that he would make the right choice. However, he had to get to the bottom of things before things got too complicated. If Kippen ever found out about the truth of Noah’s past, he would never forgive himself. No matter how much he tried to justify it to himself, he knew deep down that he did it.