After the Virus

[AutumnRaven]

The sun had just started it's climb to its zenith When a pair of startlingly golden brown eyes opened up. The man was sitting on the couch, long legs extended in front of him As his eyes began to Flickr over the Familiar Cracks in the plaster ceiling above his head. After a Seemingly infinite Amount Of time had gone by, He wearily ran one hand Across the side of his face And leaned up. Quietly, he began to look around the living room, the corners of his eyes tightening slightly. Other than this, his expression didn't change. Because the house hadn't changed.

Eyes quietly moving over the television set, The entertainment center with its various electronics, Simon's gaze Eventually lifted to look over the framed photographs hanging on the walls. No, nothing had changed. In an almost silent surge, The man got to his feet and allowed his weight To settle on them once again. But aside from the faint Creek of the floorboards beneath him, It was absolutely silent.

There was no sound of cars rumbling by in the street, No sound of children playing in the front yard, no Bark of a startled dog, Lawnmowers, vacuums... All of that had changed when the virus had Struck. And now he stood in a neighborhood that had, Only a short month before, Vibrated with life and vitality.
And why is it that I'm the only one that has survived? Simon Thought to himself quietly, Allowing his thoughts to drift over what had become of his life. He had never gotten sick, His body never even showing any inclination to feeling ill. But it had taken a hold of his family and completely Erased them from the world. His mother and father, younger brother, his sister..

Suddenly, Simon Walked out of the living room, Stepping out onto the front porch through the front door that had never been closed. Without any hesitation, he jumped from the top wooden step And landed with a soft thud On the grass Below. Quickly heading for the sidewalk, He stuffed his hands into his pockets And tried to focus his thoughts on something else. Anything else. He had to get away for a while, Had to distract himself from his tormented emotions By doing something.

But what could you do when you were the last man on earth?

[mandachan]

So cold... Eve shuddered as she sat down on a park bench, book in hand. The park had once been such a lively place, it was rare she saw people even pass through town now, and usually they were on their way somewhere else. To look for some sort of life, see what was going on at the CDC, find a more stable environment, things like that. All of that seemed a bit too good to be true to her, she was content with staying here, even if everyone she once knew was gone. Neighborhoods surrounding the town were cleared, though that didn't affect her so much, seeing as she was always so afraid to put herself out there to a lot of people. She missed her home, her family, her friends, the people she wasn't afraid of being rejected by.

She huffed, adjusting her worn hat so it would cover her ears better and beginning to hum softly as she flipped the page on her book. At the very least, things were peaceful and quiet, but she found it wasn't long before she missed all the noise. The people. There wasn't much she could do about that, though. Things were as they were, she just found herself lucky to be alive, her, of all people, to survive through something like this! Eve was always the one to get whatever cold or flu was going around, with or without a shot to prevent it, it was a bit ironic and amusing for her to survive through such a horrible thing.

Still, part of her wondered why everyone moved along through this town. Why they didn't stay for a while, or ask her to come along, it didn't make sense. Almost everyone who passed through was alone, she knew she wasn't exactly the most social person, but part of her wished for company, maybe even a new home. Maybe there was a community out there for her? Or a single friend?

Eve sighed, closing her book and glancing around at the park. Most of it looked dead, but it still had a nostalgic beauty to her. This was once somewhere people cherished and made memories in, and that made it wonderful still. Even a bird or two still lingered in the park, it was nice to hear their chirping combined with her shy humming. It was peaceful, everything was peaceful.

[AutumnRaven]

The pavement had melted away beneath his pounding feet as Simon had blindly Moved through the deserted town, Following his nose more than his eyes. He had Seen a few bodies In his rush to get away from the house, Which didn't exactly help him in controlling his emotions. All of them had Been dead, cold and stiff Reduced to almost bones By the virus... He had begun To avoid the smell after that.

After a long time of unconsciously moving 1 foot in front of the other, His light brown eyes flickered up And began to look around. He Hadn't heard Birdsong in such a long time, he was starting to believe that they had all died as well. But there, clearly on the edge of his hearing, were a pair of birds That were chirping and Trilling As if the world had never come to an end. Instinctively, he turned in that direction, Wanting to see evidence of life for himself.

He froze In the middle of taking a step when he saw something that he wasn't expecting: a woman. He found that he couldn't move, Almost couldn't breathe. For the space of several heartbeats, he simply stood there and watched her, Watched as she turned the pages of a book and eventually started to hum. It was the most beautiful sound in the world to him right at that moment.

[mandachan]

Eve's eyes wandered around, following the few birds that were singing about, her humming still tuned calmly on. There was a soft breeze that came by, causing her to shudder and attempt to shrink more into her oversized sweatshirt, to no avail. It's much too cold to read outside, I guess. She gave a slight disappointed sigh, realizing she had forgotten to bring her jacket. There was always tomorrow. She stood, arms reaching up as she stretched before they dropped back down again and her humming continued.

She just stood there for a moment, a bit sad that she was too cold to stay, then finally turned to find someone staring at her. Her humming stopped, and she stared back for a moment. "Oh, um...do you need something? Or are you just passing through?" Eve finally asked, she had said this to people many times, she usually got the same answer. Just passing through. She recited in her head, avoiding looking the man in the eyes. It was a bit of a...phobia she had. She wasn't very good with looking up at or talking to taller people, they intimidated her, made her nervous. If her lack of eye contact wasn't enough of a sign of her nervousness, her voice surely gave it away. "If you'd like something to eat, I had my generator running the other night for baking, so I've got a bit of food left to spare back at home..."

The power had been out just about as long as the virus had been around, she was certainly grateful she had gotten a hold of a generator and the fuel to run it, though she was running quite low on that. Eve was sure she would have to leave soon to at least scavenge generator fuel, seeing as there wasn't any left in town.

[AutumnRaven]

Shock kept Simon rooted To the ground for the space of three distinctive heartbeats, allowing The sound of another human voice, her human voice, to crash over him and envelop him. And then all at once his instincts took over And he quickly closed the distance between them, arms Reaching out and giving her a brief, But emotional, hug. It was only brief because he realized a split second after he did it That she was a stranger and he had probably just Really creeped her out. The smell of her nervousness probably should have warned him before, If he had not been so distracted by being ecstatic over the site of another living face.

"I'm sorry..." He Said in a voice that was slightly rough with disuse, But still held warm and deep tones. Clearing his throat to try and soften his voice, Simon continued, Taking several hasty steps back to put some space between them. "I was just starting to think that I was the last man on earth..."

Golden gaze Flickering hungrily over the woman's features, he Tried to cover up the flutters of nervous knots In his stomach By thinking over her questions. She had a generator? That was more then he could say, having a handful of containers Fuel for generator but not actually being able to find one that would work for him.

"Ah. I Came here to think, Or rather, not to think. I um..." Why was he babbling on like a fool? "I have a house in a neighborhood nearby. I needed to get out for some fresh air and remembered there was a park nearby."

It was about that moment, when he was admiring the shade of her hair And trying not to do that At the same time, that he remembered she had offered to share her food with him. A Smile broke out across his face, The muscles marveling at the use after so long, At the very idea of a hot meal. "I Haven't had anything but MREs for about two weeks now... I Would appreciate sharing some food with you." He lifted One of his hands then, offering it to her.. "Simon, My name is Simon."

[mandachan]

"It's alright..." Eve mumbled, originally thinking he was a bit strange for hugging her, though things made a bit more sense in knowing he thought he was alone in the world. She shifted uncomfortably, a warmness filled her cheeks as she blushed a bit. Once she was offered his hand, she took held it delicately in hers, giving it a light shake before releasing it. "I'm Eve."

"Ah, well...my house is just up the road a bit, so it shouldn't be too long of a walk." With that, she turned and slowly began to walk so he would have no trouble following her. "There's quite a few people left, actually. People pass through town from time to time, and I've heard of communities that have started up, even bandit like groups who kill others for food or shelter. Apparently the government has fallen, or at least for the most part. It's all a bit overwhelming, in my opinion..." Her voice was quiet, soft, and it seemed as if she was a bit distant, as if she had mentioned this many times before to many different people. Eve seemed a bit more nervous in mention of bandits, that scared her. She didn't want to die, she couldn't even understand how someone could do that to another person.

Eve shuddered and attempted to pull her hat farther down, though it was as far as it could go and barely covered half of her ears. "It's cold." She grumbled, not really expecting any sort of response. And it most certainly wasn't that cold, especially for what time of year it was. At worst, it was maybe 40 degrees, probably a bit warmer, even. Despite the mild weather, she felt cold and it must've been apparent from her shivers and how cold her hand must've been on his. His was certainly warm to the touch for her, so he was at least in better shape than she was in dealing with the..."cold".

[AutumnRaven]

With the foot or so difference Between there heights, all Simon had to do Was take a few long quick Strides to be able to catch up with Eve. He slowed As he came level with her, Almost stumbling as he kept glancing down Towards her face. At her Information that there were others still alive in the world, his brow furrowed And he frowned slightly. "I haven't seen anyone Besides the dead littering my neighborhood..." He murmured, an accent Beginning to make an appearance With the calming Down of his nerves.

He Scratched contemplativly At the back of his neck As he digested this information, feeling Slightly foolish that he hadn't noticed other humans earlier. Again, he glanced down towards his companion In time to catch her comment about the temperature and her gesture of tugging at the bottom of her hat. Carefully, he moved closer, Not enough to touch her again, but close enough that the heat Radiating off of his skin Would be able to reach her. As he grew accustomed to the closer proximity, A smile twitched at the corners of his lips.

"So how long have you been living here?" Simon Gently probed, Attempting to break the ice And get to know her better. It didn't appear that anyone else was going to be staying very long in the city, and he had no plans for leaving, It made him wonder what her plans were.

[mandachan]

"I've been here a few years, I was never really one to get out much, though. No surprise we didn't meet before now." She answered, nervously fidgeting with her hands in attempt to warm them up. Eve noticed his getting closer, but decided not to say anything since the warmth was a bit comforting. "I don't know if I'm going to stay here, I'm almost out of fuel for the generator, and I enjoy the peace and quiet and all, but I sort of miss seeing people more often than I do."

"What about you? Have you lived here long? Are you going to stick around long?" The last question was most important to her, her tone showed it despite her attempting to hide the curious tone. As she asked this, she turned left, heading for a small, cozy looking white house that was apparently her's. She flipped the welcome mat up and grabbed the key, unlocking the door and sliding the key back in it's place. Old habits die hard. She thought, smiling a bit at how funny it was that she still worried about locking her house up. Aside from bandits, who she'd never actually encountered, who would break into her house? It was silly, but it was one of the small things that kept her sane.

The door opened with a creak and she stepped in, leaving the door open behind her for him to follow. The living room was the first room, fairly tiny and only holding a single loveseat, a small wooden coffee table and a TV stand, the TV was gone, however. Passed the living room was the kitchen, a small round table sat in the middle of the kitchen and had two seats on either side of it. The kitchen held basic kitchen essentials, a counter, sink, stove, microwave, a pantry, cupboards and a fridge. Nothing out of the ordinary, there was a back door that slid open by the kitchen and stairs leading up, presumably to a bathroom and a bedroom or two. "Make yourself at home."

[AutumnRaven]

"I've only Been here about a year." Simon Admitted, golden brown gaze Flickering around to absorb their surroundings as they walked. He had Rarely been to any other neighborhood besides The one that his family had decided to settle down into. And it wasn't as if they had spent a lot of time inside the house, being Able to stretch more then two legs..

Coming back to himself abruptly, he Interestedly Inspected the outside of her house And nodded approvingly. Trailing behind her respectfully, he couldn't help the small chuckle As she retrieved the key From under the doormat. After all, he had just walked out of his own house with the door wide-open. But he gathered that it was an old habit. It was good to have habits still when there were barely any survivors left.

Following her inside the house, he gently shut the door behind him and looked around, nostrils subtly flaring As he took in the scent Of the room. It smelled like Eve And the cleaning supplies that she used. It helped him relax slightly and he was able to focus on her other questions.

Turning his eyes To look straight into her's, he Said in his Scottish accent, "I'm not planning on going anywhere. And if you're worried about fuel, I've got plenty of it." He Sounded convicted And even a little hopeful that she would find the idea of fuel and Company enough reason to stick around. His Eyebrows lifted slightly after a moment and a grin lit Up his face.

[mandachan]

"Really? Are you sure? Won't you need that fuel for something?" Eve frowned slightly at the thought of taking something from him. They had just met, she didn't want to mooch off of him or seem like she was taking advantage of him. That just wouldn't be nice, especially to the first person who wasn't leaving the town and her behind.

She slipped her old shoes off, walking over to the kitchen on the balls of her feet, there was almost a slight hop to her step. Her humming returned to fill the silence as she went through the cupboards, searching for something to feed her guest. "Did you have breakfast yet? I could make eggs, or homemade french toast..."

Eve couldn't help but notice his accent, it had taken her a moment to decipher where it came from, but she though Scottish, maybe? It was interesting, she hadn't heard anything like that before, no one she had ever met had much of an accent other than maybe a southern one or a Canadian one, something more...local like. Nearby. Part of her wanted to ask about it, but she decided against it, it may be a bit rude to say something like that. Simon seemed nice, but even nice people could get offended.

Nice... He's nice... The thought seemed weird in her head, someone was nice, and they were sticking around? It made her smile a bit. Maybe it was worth staying here after all? There wasn't anything dangerous around, just them and whoever decided to pass through. And if he didn't mind letting her borrow some fuel, she could keep up this decent lifestyle for a while. She, of course, would stil have to make runs out of town to get more food, but other than that, things could be stable. Things could be happy.