Jenna

~~~~~

I screamed for a while to see if anyone was around. I didn't want to beleive it, but I was alone. Utterly alone. I could be the last for all I knew. I had to find someone. So a grabed my cantine and filled it in the puddle nearby. I took a sip. Disgusting. I was hungrey, so I found some dandilion to eat. Yuck. I shivered. It was getting cold. Night was coming. I found a cave to sleep in, but I stayed awake all night. I could never forget the screams of the people at the camps I had seen before. Were they gone? The little children with their parents? And what about me? what would happen to me? I was glad when the sun rose and I could start again. Maybe, maybe, today would be the day that I could start life over again.

Willow~

February 13 

I took a deep breath- and gagged. The air smelled burnt and smoky, and not in the my-neighbor-is-having-a-barbeque kind of way. I scanned what was left of my house for anything my sister and I could use, other than the one torn and singed but still usable backpack, the two dented but not leaking thermoses, and my beat up diary that I had never used in my life- until now. It looked like that was all that could be salvaged from the wreck of our neighborhood. Time to leave.

"Hazel! Time to leave!" I called in a forcefully happy tone. She stared at me unimpressed. "No," she whispered. I dropped the backpack and the charade and turned serious. "Hazel. We have to leave. It isn't safe here. And this isn't home anymore." I was proud of myself for keeping my voice from quivering, even as my heart broke a little from the confession. It wasn't my job to be scared. It was my responsibility to take care of Hazel and make sure she was safe- no matter what. I turned back to her to keep talking but she was standing up already. I saw that her blue eyes mirrored my brown ones: glassy with tears.

Without a word I picked up the backpack and we walked down the street with our eyes on the cracked and crumbling asphalt so we didn't have to see the rubble.

Martinez~

I have to admit, the apocolypse isn't so diffrent from the life I was living before. Lonesome, mainly, and really quiet. Man, it was so quiet. You'd think an apocolypse would mean noise, especially noises of... well, things dying. Isn't that what apocolypses are?

But so far, it's quiet. And it gives me serious chills.

I've stayed in my neiborhood for fear of there being zombies or something out there, and it's proved to be much more resourcful that I had originally thought. For one, there's this one house that still has running water, and although I had to smash through a window to get in, it's very helpful. My own home, of course, is the treehouse in the back of my old neighbors yard.

It's not like they're using it, and there's a big chance someone will try to break into the actual house anyways. If there's anyone left.

I'm worried if there are people left, it'll become a sort of purge deal. Y'know, everyone breaking all laws and killing others for random reasons. I know some laws I've already broken, but I don't plan on killing anyone. And from what I know, you do kinda have to plan those things.

For now, the days go by like some weird slogan you'd find on a t-shirt: Eat, sleep, survive. Repeat.

It's become almost second nature to not flinch when you break a window or door. Second nature to deal with hunger, thirst, or fatigue. Not much of a second nature I want, but more of what I need.

And then one day I hear voices. Not the "I went crazy and my own conciousness talks to me" voices. But real voices. They're quiet, like everything else, but they get louder as I approach a house that I haven't broken into yet.

It's pretty large, and the white exterior walls have dirt all over them from the weird dust storms that pass by. The front steps creak as I walk up, and a board on the porch nearly gives way under my feet. Once I reach the door, I knock. No answer. I curse myslef for thinking anyone would actually open the door.

I proceed to kick it in. Stepping carefully, I walk in. It's walls are nearly as dirty as the outside, and I watch as mice and dust bunnies fly across the floor. In all honesty, it's disguesting.

Coughing from the dust, I follow the voices to the second floor and down the hallway. I turn the handle to the last door, expecting to walk in on other humans, but all I find is a beat up radio repeating the same words:

"We are a group of humans who have survived the vi~~ apoco~~. This is ~~~ last broadcast." The voices are getting static-y and I watch as the radio's battery dies. "We are at ~~~~ in ~~~~~. Please contact us ~~ soon as pos~~~. This is our last broadcast."

The only clear words ring in my mind. Group of humans who have survived. Please contact us. Last broadcast. Last broadcast. Last broadcast.

I leave the house and walk home. 

I hope it's not too late to join!

Name: Aurelia Yang

Age: 18

Gender: Female

Appearance: Average height, lean but muscular build. She has naturally wavy, longer ash blonde hair that she keeps in a French braid so it's out of her face. She has dark, almond shaped eyes that observe everything and a light spray of freckles across her face. Aurelia has a long Chinese dragon tattoo that extends throughout her entire body, visible on her leg, torso, arm, neck and it wraps around to some of her face, where it's teeth are bared and looks like it's going to eat her eye. She wears a faded grey shirt with a brown leather jacket, a black scarf, and dark grey cargo pants tucked into combat boots. 

Personality: Aurelia feels the only time she needs to speak is when it's necessary and information needs to be put across. She has an intricate mind and is constantly analysing and observing people and places, so she's used to keeping thoughts to herself for later use. Even before the apocolypse, she didn't have many friends so she definitely doesn't mind being alone now. Aurelia isn't unfriendly, but she does look intimidating so people don't like to come up to her, but she doesn't mind the idea of one or two friends. 

Siblings: It'll be revealed later

Shipping: No, but she can become friends with people 

Other: Skilled with dual katana 

~Matt Axton~ 

I walked through the abandoned city, looking around at all my surroundings. It was hard to believe that this old, decrepid place could have been a place full of life at one time. Now it was nothing. Dust filled every nook and cranny. Some of the buildings had fallen over, and many were old and cracked. At least some had valuable resources for our survival, but it was sad nonetheless.

I had managed to pick up some fruit from the nearby forest and headed back to our camp. I knew my hungry brother would be waiting for me. When I made it to the clearing, I saw some ripped tents and knew I had arrived. We had spotted the tents quite a while back, and since they were still usuable we took them with us. As soon as I arrived, Bill's head poked out of the covering of his tent. "You brought us food! Yes!" Bill said, excited. He always got excited at a decent meal. 
"To be honest, I almost didn't get any food. I was about to head back when I saw some apple trees and other fruit-bearing ones. I think this will keep us going for a while," I said as I placed the fruits on the ground. 
"Definitely. You take the apples, I'll eat all these strawberries. They're my favorite," Bill said, and he immediately picked up a strawberry and bit into it. I smiled, and sat down to have a feast.

Some time later, after we were filled, Bill started up a campfire, and we sat around it, staring at the flickering flames. We spent a while in silence. Then Bill looked up at me and asked, "So, did you find anything in the city on your way back?" 
"No, I didn't. However, we could go searching through the buildings to find stuff we need. I'm sure there's something-" 
"No no no, I meant humans. Did you find any?" 
I put my gaze back to the fire. Of course Bill was still hopeful. It was like him to think there are more of us out there. But it had been a very, very long time since we had seen anyone of our kind. I had given up a long time ago of any other people surviving. 

I was thinking of something to answer with when Bill said, "I know. I know you think there can't be any others. I know you'll think I'm carazy for saying this, but I believe. I believe there are more of us. More humans. If we survived the apocolypse, who's to say no one else did? I'm confident that there are people who are struggling like us. All we need to do is to find them. I know you won't see my way, but if you won't search for them, I will." 

After a long silence, I looked up at him. Then I smiled. "Ok. When should we start?"

Aurelia~

I landed with a thump, and every muscle in my body jolted. A loud groan emitted from my mouth, and I squeezed my eyes shut in pain. I would’ve really punched myself if I wasn’t concerned my arm might be broken. I stayed on the ground, looking up at the amber sky, not wanting to get up. How did I not see the rafter was unstable? I mean, it could have been worse, I could have been at the top of the building. But it still hurt. 

I finally rolled over with a groan and staggered up, dusting myself off. I looked around the alley I had landed in for anything useful, a habit I had learned to pick up in every setting I’m in. You never know. 

With a slight limp, I began walking out of the alley and back onto the street of a very quiet and eerily abandoned city. The buildings still towered over everything, touching a red sky that illuminated dust and smoke floating through the thick air. Although the scrapers were still impressive in height, most of the buildings had parts weathered away, not showing the technological prowess it might have once held but instead the rock and metal it was made from. Jagged metal made the buildings easy to climb and scavenge, since entering one through the original entrance meant the uncertainty of falling debris, but sometimes those bits of metal were unstable. And I had just learned what happens when you don’t test a piece out first. 

I stopped in the street, listening for any signs of life. Usually I made it into the city to look for anything useful, or find any humans passing through. But today everything was still. The only thing that met my ears was the weak wind that whistled its way around the buildings and through the debris on the ground. 

I moved my scarf farther up my face so it covered my nose, and began walking towards an abandoned bodega on the corner of a street. I carefully walked over the fallen sign and into the store, pushing back the crooked glass door. 

The shop looked cleared out of all supplies, only broken shelves and a couple fallen lights littering the aisles. I made my way to the back, which would have been the storage room, and found the door was off to the side with rusted hinges that had already been broken off. I peered inside first and then carefully stepped in, avoiding sharp nails and pieces of glass on the floor. Everything looked cleared out and I sighed, before something caught my eye. The corner of a package peeked from underneath a shelf, and I bent down carefully to grab it. Instantly relief washed over me and I involuntarily smiled. By some miracle, I had discovered a package of jerky. I investigated other shelves before I finally stuffed the package into my bag, quickly walking out of the storage room and then out the bodega. The sky outside began to grow a dark shade of orange so I decided to make my way back home. 

I wasted no time making my way out of the city, shuddering from the chill that had settled in the air, which began to pick up in intensity. I remember growing up I learned that the desert was hot during the day and cold at night. Here, it was cold all of the time but at night it became freezing. In fact, a couple times a month it would get below freezing, and it was unpleasant for everyone. I remember the first time it happened. I had made my way into the city after a night of what I had dubbed the Black Frost, and the few signs of humans I found were the frozen corpses of people clinging on to each other for the last time. At least there were a couple useful things in their bags.

I arrived just in time to my treehouse in the forest that was a little farther from the edge of the city. The house was well hidden and out of the way from any carnivorous animals and no bugs typically bothered me because it was too cold in these parts for them to survive. There was a freshwater creek nearby that made survival possible. It had taken me awhile to build the treehouse, adding things over the course of time, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t proud of it. I swung my way up the branches and opened the makeshift door, stepping inside. It was one room but big enough to live in. I placed my weapons beside my window bed, looking outside. I had created the window with discarded glass panes I had found in the city, and it gave me a perfect view of the city in the distance but also a view of anything that made their way through the forest. I placed my bag down on my table (made from a log and some twine), and rifled through for the jerky. Usually I ate the vegetables that I had grown in a garden down below, or I hunted for animals (which was often fruitless but occasionally successful), but I could make something like this last, which gave me some comfort. 

After a meal of squash and potato from the garden, I sat on my bed, looking out the window and at the dead city in the distance. I sighed and looked away, then to the ledge on the wall in front of me that held up a picture. I smiled and reached for it, gently touching the faces that smiled back at me. My heart did ache, but sheer will and survival pushed me forward.

And I wasn’t going to stop now.

Benji

~

I used to think I'd enjoy the quiet. There was always construction around my neighborhood, and it would get so loud that I'd retreat to my basement workshop and put on earbuds that were supposed to be noise-cancelling while I messed with some wiring or whatever, trying to distract myself from the jackhammers outside. I used to hope the noise would just go away.

But now it's gone – now everything's gone – it's eerie. I'm living in a ghost town. I didn't want it this way; I didn't want all or nothing. The construction's gone, but so are the ordinary sounds, the birds chirping and Layla's friends laughing in the back yard as they kick a soccer ball. I didn't realize there were so many background noises in suburban life until they disappeared.

I don't show Layla that I miss it, though. When she teases me about how happy I must be without the construction, I laugh. I agree. If she's lighthearted enough to tease me, I don't want to ruin her mood.

We've remained in our old house, mainly because it miraculously has clean running water and some canned food. Most nights, Layla sleeps in our old treehouse, though. I pretend I don't notice her sneaking outside. It's too much, I guess, to be in her old room now it's just us still around. I get it. Sometimes I fall asleep in my workshop.

I've been planning, packing to leave for a while, though. Ever since the day last week when I built a semi-functioning radio and, while I was screwing around with the frequency, randomly found a frequency that was broadcasting a message. It said that there were other survivors out there, and they were gathering. I didn't make out where (my radio was pretty bad and the voices were fuzzy), but I assumed they'd be in a city rather than this suburb. So Layla and I are going to head there.

I don't know how Layla feels about it. She smiled when I told her, and then that night I could hear her crying in her treehouse. She's probably as confused as I am, as ambivalent. This place has been our home for nine years. And yet, without our parents, it's not really a home anymore anyway. Now we're each other's only family. Home is wherever we go. 

I roll the last cans of food and a manual can opener into a blanket and stuff the blanket in my old school backpack. It's the final addition. I zip the backpack and set it on the ground at my feet. It's night out and I should rest. We're leaving tomorrow.

Kieran

There’s nothing quite like watching the sun rise behind an abandoned city skyline after the apocalypse. I’m shivering, tense from the early morning cold, but with almost everyone else gone, the world all of the sudden feels like it’s my domain. Sighing, I get to my feet and stretch out, prepared for another day of difficulty.

“Alright everyone, time to get up!” I shout, wincing at my own breach of the silence. “Let’s go, come on guys, we’ve got a long way to go today and I want everyone back here by dark!”

Grumbling and muttering complaints, the others emerge from where they’ve been sleeping and stumble out into the open one by one. 

I’ve never been all that good with kids, but now it feels like I have to be. 

In the first few days after the apocalypse, it was just me and my brother Luca, alone against the world and with nowhere to go. Over time, though, we discovered that we weren’t alone, not completely, after we found a girl around eight years old wandering around looking for her parents. Now, our little pack has grown to six members, just me and these five kids. I hope that I can protect them. I hope they don’t hate me. None of them have any parents anymore, so I’m the one they look to for leadership. And honestly, it’s pretty exhausting.

“Luca, you and Max try heading towards the woods. We’re running low on water so I want you two to bring back as much as you can from the stream. You should be able to make a few trips. Luca, make sure Max stays safe and that he doesn’t get lost, he’s a lot younger than you. Hannah, you and Temi can look further into the neighborhood. We’ll need some more food, and anything else you can find that seems useful. Jojo, you’re with me today. We’re going to head into the city.”

Jojo’s face stretches into a huge grin, and she bounds to my side while the others get ready to head out. I roll my eyes, but can’t hide my smile. Jojo was the first girl that Luca and I found, sitting next to her old house and sobbing, but it’s been a few months now and she’s really become more like part of the family.

The rest of the day passes like most others do, Jojo and I walking from our camp in the outskirts to the city and scavenging for food and parts. On the way in, I pull her in the wagon I managed to dig up a few weeks ago, but eventually we load it up and tie all of our stuff down, and she walks next to me.

When we get back to camp, Jojo runs on ahead of me to greet the others, gasping excitedly when she sees what they brought, and they all chatter, comparing the things that they found. There’s an old, comfy looking armchair sitting in the clearing, and Hannah and Temi are both sitting in it, looking immensely proud of themselves. I raise an eyebrow. “Wow, you guys managed to drag that whole thing over here?” They nod enthusiastically. “Nice job you guys, I’m impressed”, I say, giving each of them a high five, and they grin.

We live in what I think used to be an old shipping yard, between two metal containers at right angles to each other, with sliding doors. There’s a fire pit in the middle and an old shed off to the side for firewood, and I’ve rigged up a couple more shelters out of corrugated metal sheets and tarp for when it rains.

I sigh as I look down at our less-than-ideal food supply. We have a decent amount of food, but for six people it’s only enough to last us a few days. I grab what we can manage tonight, and bring it out to the others to split it between them. They don’t notice that I haven’t taken any.

As the kids eat their food, I turn on the radio and transmitter that I discovered a while ago. I’ve almost given up hope, but I decide to try it one last time. 

“Hello? Is anyone out there? We are a group of humans who have survived the virus apocalypse. This is our last broadcast. We are at the old shipping yard in the outskirts of the city. Please contact us as soon as possible. This is our last broadcast.” God, I sound like Princess Leia. Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.

I repeat the message a few times, then give up. There’s probably no one out there anyways - they would have found us by now. Or, if there are, maybe they just don’t care.

Who knew MR/HPCs were so absorbing? 

Anyway, TCGWBFULW blew himself up in a fit of boredom. BOREDOM! *sigh*

Nat~

She wandered across the city for days and days. While she wandered she wondered. What should she do? Should she look for people or continue on her own? She was indecided. She knew there were others; she had heard a radio broadcasting. Sitting on a dune alone, it had crackled out its message. A wave of profound loneliness had passed over her then but it had dissipated since. 

She took a swig of water and broke a window. She would sleep in this dark-green house tonight.

March 9

I sat down with Hazel at the unimpressive fire we had made. (Mostly Hazel, she had gone to summer camp way more than I had. Too many kids in my opinion.) We were still a walking distance from our neighborhood in case we needed to go back. My sister had pointed out that, “Willow, how is it dangerous if no one’s around?” Which was her way of saying everyone’s gone, so what’s the problem? Truth is? There isn’t one; I just hate the idea of possibly being around dead bodies; moreover, ghost neighborhoods are CREEPY, especially if they used to be yours.

Our old neighborhood/house bordered a forest, and that’s where we were. I found myself glancing at Hazel a lot; I was worried about her. I’m not the sentimental type, and so far my feelings haven't really registered. But my sister is the opposite: so far, I’ve only heard her crying, but I’m sure I’ll see her doing it soon. In other words? She is NOT coping well. 

We haven’t starved, because fortunately, the forest is actually an overgrown, out of control, wild-ish orchard, with all sorts of fruit trees. There’s also a river nearby, so we haven’t died of thirst yet either. We have everything we need, but… I’m kinda lonely.

Not that Hazel’s bad company or anything, but she’s still TEN. So… we need to find someone. Because I find it increasingly unlikely that we are the only ones left, especially since it was pure chance we survived. So I call my sister over and explain my plan. “Okay. Here’s what we have to do if we are going to find someone and still be in decent condition. We need to stay in this orchard-forest place, so we don’t starve. We also need to follow the river so we don’t die of dehydration.” I don’t know if it was just me, but I think that Hazel’s eyes just got bigger. I think I scared her. But maybe not, because then she nods and points in two directions and shrugs. She hasn’t been talking much since we got here. I wonder what she’s trying to communicate and then it clicks. “Oh! You want to know which way we’re going to go. Um… how about upriver, since that’s where the source is, right?” My sister tilts her head at me, and I wait for a correction. It doesn’t come, and I see a shadow of a smile on her lips. I pick up the pack and walk upstream to see if she’ll follow. She does.

We continue silently until dark.