What Now?

Chapter 2: The sun came out

For once last night, I had a good night's rest. Which is surprising considering that I just killed a man in my room last night. Yet, waking up was not as peaceful as my night was.

This morning I was jolted awake by a scream in my house. For a moment, I forgot that I now have a housemate, but either way, I was already heading to the room where the scream originated. With my gun in my hands, I opened the door to the room that I let Ash have. After realizing that Ash was the only one in the room and he was still asleep, crying, but asleep, I went over to him and put my hand on his shoulder and softly shook him awake. 

"Bad dream?" I ask. I barely met him yesterday, but I would not have felt right if I just let him continue with the nightmare.

"Yeah, I have been having them every night since my brother died," he answered as he wiped his tears from his face. "I see him on that table bleeding to death every time I fall asleep."

I feel sorry for Ash. His brother, basically his best friend in this screwed up world, bleeding out on the kitchen table while Ash tries his best to stop it. I guess I am lucky considering that my family died quickly and peacefully and that I was not watching them die. 

"Do you mind if I give you a hug?" I ask as I sit down next to Ash.

"Please do," he replied as he wrapped his arms around me, letting tears start to pour down his face once again. "Why did he have to die? Why did he have to leave me?"

"I don't know," I said trying to comfort him. "I wish I knew why any of this is happening." After everyone that we have lost, I am surprised that we are not just shells of the humans that we once were. I have not cried since the day everyone died, but I am actually very happy that he was able to let it out. I have tried, my God, have I tried to just cry and let it all out. At this point though, I am not sure how long it would take to let it all out. I would probably run out of tears before getting even halfway through the amount of pain that I feel when I wake up hoping that it was all just a dream and that my parents are in the kitchen making some breakfast for everyone. Sadly, the smell of bacon and eggs from my parents making breakfast is something that I will only be able to replicate. I will never have the opportunity to be ungrateful when seeing that my parents have made me food, or when my parents woke me up. Things that I used to despise, are now things that I miss more than anything in this world.

My 18th birthday was going to be last week. Sadly, since this world has gone to a standstill after the reconning and that there is nobody left in this world to celebrate with, I just decided to not celebrate it at all. I remember a few days before the reconning being furious that I could not have a birthday party due to the whole nationwide virus lockdown. Then when my birthday, the day that celebrates something I sometimes wish never happened, came around I decided to disregard it like it was some sort of joke holiday like Saint Patricks Day or April Fools.

"Let's go get you something to eat," I said. "I am making breakfast for us both." I have always been a protector to my friends. 'Pick on my friends and you'll be picking your face off the pavement.' I remember saying that in my junior year of high school to a bully that thought it was funny to make fun of this guy in my friend group for being short. I got a scar on my brow bone that cuts through my left brow from a fight with a bully. Not my proudest moment, but I can safely say that this bully did not bully anyone after that. I am going off on a tangent.

"Ok, thank you. Just let me change really quickly."

"Sure. Just don't take too long," I said jokingly. Honestly, I just wanted to see him smile. I closed the bedroom door behind me so I could give him some privacy. I decided to make him what my parents always made for me, bacon and eggs. Thankfully, everything in my kitchen still worked. The stove, the freezer, the sink, the refrigerator, even the microwave. Just as I was finished with making his food, Ash came and sat down at the counter in the kitchen.