Last Girl

Chapter 2

I must be imaging things in my loneliness. There was no motor, everyone was dead.
I turned to Titan.
"What were you barking at?"
I asked him, annoyed. He cocked his head at an angle and batted his eyelashes, as if to say "I don't know"

His brown eyes win over my heart again and I patted his black fur.
As I walked back into the building with Titan close behind, I glance at my watch.
5:00pm
I had an idea.
I walked through the store-turned-house towards the liquor section.
I hadn't been back here since I dumped out all the meat that had rotted after the power went out.
I walk straight towards the glass container boasting several very expensive bottles of vodka and wine.
Happy birthday to me.
I laughed to myself as I smashed the glass with a piece of pipe.
The glass shattered with a satisfying whoosh. my boots crunched over the glass as I picked up a bottle of 1500$ wine.
I never really drank before.
After some rummaging, I found a bottle opener, and cracked open the bottle.
I took a sip, and the taste of alcohol overwhelmed me.
I coughed slightly, surprised by the taste.
I'm not sure if I like it or not, but I take another sip.
I laugh.
Why hadn't I thought of this before?
The alcohol softens things, and I relax.
I curl up with a nice book and a glass of wine with Titan at my feet.
"Happy birthday dear Gracie..."
I sang to myself.
I soon drifted into sleep, with dreams of motors, and human touch.

I decided on going to Costco.
They had food and water.  I thought it was kind of ironic that I always joked about going to Costco in the apopcalypse, and now I actually was.
As I drove down the deserted road, I saw almost no living souls. I did see an older woman stumbling down the road, but I knew she would be dead soon. I kept driving. Grief hardened my heart.
Titan whined next to me.
"I miss them too" I said to him.
I finally made it to Costco, after getting lost several times.
I still didn't know what happened.
How did the plague get out?
Is there a cure?
I had many questions, but no answers.
I had a lot of work ahead of me.
I walked into the looming building, and was greeted by severely dead bodies.
"Great." I muttered to myself.
Holding my breath, I dragged then outside. Then I got to work, digging a large hole in the ground. After 2 hours of back-breaking work, the hole was big enough. I gently laid the bodies down, said a small prayer over them, and refilled the hole.
Back to work.
I quickly started up the generators that I had brought from the nearby home store. I needed to prevent the frozen foods from thawing.
After j finished that, I had several hundred pounds of thawed meat to do something with.
I had an idea.
I raced through the store, hunting for what I needed. I soon found the salt and spices section, and grabbed what I could. The spices filled my nostrils with a delicious aroma and I got to work. I had no idea how to salt meat so it didn't go bad, but I did my best.
As I worked, I tossed Titan a nice steak.
He gobbled it up in 3 bites, licking his lips.
The meat was salted, so it wouldn't go bad, and I collapsed of exhaustion onto a outdoor furniture display.

I awoke to the faint smell of smoke filling my nostrils. Panic filled my heart.
What was on fire?
I frantically grabbed shoes and raced outside, looking for the source.
I saw it.
Nearby, a thick black trail of smoke lead up into the early morning sky.
I sniffed deeply.
I could faintly smell it.
It smelled like a wood fire.
It was so close to me.
I would have to investigate.
I grabbed the car keys and drove towards the smoke
It was very hard to find the source of it.
I drove around for an hour through the suburbs, searching for the source.
The desolate houses seemed to grin at me.
A stray dog darted across the street.
Titans hackles went up, and he growled.
"Calm down buddy it's ok"
I said, stroking his fur.
I glanced at the smoke, it was rapidly fading.
"No!" I said. I needed to find the source.
The hope of other survivors shone at the back of my mind.
I couldn't remember what it felt like to be hugged, or even causally touched.
I longed for someone to talk to.
Finally, I came to the house.
It had a faint trail of smoke coming out of the chimney.
I grabbed my gun and slowly walked towards the house. 
The houses windows were boarded up.
The smoke smelled warm in the cold Arizona winter. I wrapped my jacket tighter around my body. I slowly approached the door.
Should I knock?
I decided too.
My hand tentatively knocked on the door.
And I heard footsteps.
Oh my God.
Someone else is alive.
The doorknob slowly turned, and the door is opened.
There is a boy, about my age. Tall, blond, and very attractive. He is wearing plaid boxers and an old Imagine Dragons t-shirt.
My breath caught in my throat when I realized he had a black rifle pointing directly at my chest.
"Don't move" he said threatening.
"Drop the gun"
I slowly put my gun down.
I caught my reflection on the glass near the door.
Damn, I really had let myself go.
My hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and I hadn't put on any makeup in 3 years. Ew.
I put my hands up.
"Look I don't mean any harm, I saw smoke and I thought..." my voice broke. No. I'm not crying I front of a hot guy I just met. "I thought maybe there would be other survivors. I've been alone"
He stares at me, and slowly lowers his weapon.
He starts to cry, and i do too.
"I thought I was alone too." he says in a husky voice. "I thought I was the last survivor."
All of a sudden, he is hugging you. He smells like woodsmoke. I shuddered at the thought of how bad I probably smelled. He was hugging you. A hug.
I missed hugs.
"My name is Jacob."
he says.
"I'm Gracie" I said tentatively.
"Do you want to come inside?"
he asks. "It's cold out here"
I picked up my gun.
"Ok, but don't try anything. I'm not as weak as I look."
Three years of hard labor had toned my body.
"Don't worry" he says.
"You can trust me. I've been just as lonely as you."
He offers his hand. I take it.
I am shocked by the touch.
He leads me inside, and closes the door.