Chronicles of the Desolate

🤫 It's Not Fair

For some people, the end of the world happened when the meteors struck the planet, or when those mindless bloodthirsty creatures were released and attacked every sound. Some people adapted and thrived, so the end of the world never really happened for them.
But for Eric.... His world began and ended two days after when he met her.

He was a young man living in America, studying Law. It was a normal day, and he'd just finished his classes. While his classmates all left to hang out and party, Eric just made his way to the subway by himself.
He quickly disappeared into his mind as he monotonously made his way through the underground subway tunnels.
His eyes had wondered aimlessly around the metro car, until they landed on his neighbors phone, who was watching the News Live, and it took several moments for his mind to clear and for what he was seeing to sink in.

Everything happened so fast after that.
He could barely even remember what had happened from that moment to when he'd popped out of the flooded subway hours and hours later after being trapped down there.

He just knew he had to be quiet. That's what the News said.

Bursting from the water, trying to inhale as much clean air as he could without making noise was the hardest thing ever.
Then he spotted the cat.
Small, black, white, and the first living thing he'd seen.
He was lost, confused, scared, and on the verge of a panic attack.
But the sight of the cat calmed him, and he followed the feline as it turned and made its way down a side alleyway.

That's when he first laid eyes on her.
She looked bedraggled, and tired, but she was very much alive. He wouldn't say she was attractive, but her being alive was alluring.
As much as he liked being alone and the solitude, at that moment all he wanted was the comfort and presence of another human being.

He'd spent merely three days with her, and they barely spoke a few sentences the whole time, but he'd grown so close to her.

Her story tore him to shreds. And he found himself willing to do anything for her.
It wasn't fair. She was dying, and there wasn't anything he could do. So he tried to alleviate her pain, bring her joy, anything.
The pizza, the card tricks, the smile on her face sent spikes of emotion into his heart.
She helped him through his panic attacks, something no one else would do when he's having a nervous breakdown in the bathroom or side of the street.
He wanted her to come with him, but she'd already made up her mind. She wanted to die.

And he was afraid of dying.

When she helped him once again escape and get to the ship, he was so afraid of dying he was ashamed he didn't give her a second thought as he was tearing down the board walk with the cat in his arms, racing to reach the water.
And the water was so cold, and the monsters were right there, so he swam quickly to the boat, to refuge. He was in shock, until a man pulled him up.
"You're safe, you're alright,"
But she wasn't.
And he broke down.

He'd lost her, and he couldn't do anything.

Eric
You better take care of my cat
Don't touch his belly, he doesn't like that
Don't feed him too much, or he'll get fat

He held onto that paper for the rest of his life.