If You Were the Last Man On Earth (Closed)

[PieTaster]

When she turned around he saw it coing all the way. He could have caught her hand easily but for some reason he just took it across the cheek. Maybe it was because he pitied her. They had not gotten off to a good start to say the least.

"I know I’m pretty and all, but it’s barbaric."

She just wasn't getting it. That remark just stuck out from the rest. They may be the last two people alive - at least in Manhattan. What did it matter what either of them looked like. He wasn't sure what bothered her more: her insolence or the fact that he agreed - she was quite attractive. He took a breath to say something, then stopped. Then he started again.

"You think I carried you off because your pretty?" Len asked. "Like some caveman claiming a virgin?" She just didn't want to listen. "I had to make sure you were alone."

He caught his eyes darting down at her chest for a split second and out of guilt forced himself to look her in the eye. Her eyes glistened with fear. She may have been angry, but only angry to cover up the scared.

"All right then, go," he said and nodded towards the door. "But if you ever run into anyone else, slap them and see if they let you go."

 

[StarWhisperer]

It didn’t even touch him. He looked unbothered, really. And he was so annoyingly right. She glowered at him, snorting at the comment about cavemen claiming virgins. She certainly wasn’t a virgin anymore.

“What did you think I was going to do? Ambush you and eat your flesh? I was in the grocery store! Plenty of food there, no need to resort to cannibalism just yet.”

The worst part about this whole thing was how right he was. She didn’t know how to take care of herself and she was terrified to die, and terrified to live alone in an empty city, an empty world. Bethany’s face was flushed. She shifted her weight from one hip to the other.

“…Fine. I will go.” She didn’t move for a minute. “If I...” Bethany didn’t want to ask for help, she really didn’t, but… “If I ever need you, is there a place I can find you? Like, when the electricity stops working, or something, or maybe I’ll have some food grown and I can give you some of it, if you want, I’m going to try to grow enough for more than just me.” Why she was even offering, she had no idea. She didn’t like him, or even respect him, and it was clear by how he manhandled her that he didn’t exactly have the warm fuzzies for her.

“And… in winter… I don’t know how to build a fire, if there’s no electricity.” She supposed she could get an old trash can and fill it with paper or something, maybe get some lighter fluid. She wasn’t about to directly admit that he was right and she needed help, but she was implying the request. Bethany wouldn’t stoop down to telling him she needed his help. Plus, despite the fact that she was angry at him, it was nice to have another human soul around for once.

 

[PieTaster]

Len moved to the bed and sat on the edge, placing the shotgun down neatly on the spread right next to him.

“If I ever need you, is there a place I can find you?"

He let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his jaw. There were so many things to talk about. Like how the hell either of them had managed to not die. They had notes to compare, but they had gotten off to such a terrible start. It was probably best that they went their separate ways, for now. Besides, he could tell that she needed him. She was terrified of being alone. She would be back. Not that Len wasn't scared himself, but at least he knew that he would feed himself and keep warm. He would survive.

"There's a small park with two baseball diamonds down by the river at FDR and Grand," he said. "Stand near second base. When I look out my window I'll see you and come meet you."

Then there was an awkward silence. He thought about asking 'what if I needed you?' but thought against it.

"Don't forget your bag," he reminded her.

 

[StarWhisperer]

Bethany nodded stiffly and filed the information on how to find Len away in the back of her mind. She had an idea of where the park he was referring to was. In her head, she was already planning on loading all of her stuff into a car and searching out an empty apartment in that area so that it would be easy to find him when she needed him. Maybe she would plant her potatoes and tomatoes and peas in that park. It would certainly make things easier.

She didn’t let him in on her mental plans. Instead, she picked up her knapsack and shouldered it. “Right. Alright. Well, I would say it has been a pleasure, but my mother didn’t raise a liar.” She gave him a faux-haughty look, though her trembling was difficult to hide. Running into a living person was driving home the realities of this new world. She was alone, he was alone, and she did not think she was safe, judging by his mentality. “I guess… be seeing you.” Bethany headed out the door to the hotel room and towards the stairwell. She had the strangest urge to run, but she suppressed it, thinking she might jog back to the grocery store and home but would wait until she got outside. She didn’t need Len seeing her panic outwardly expressed.

 

[PieTaster]

It had been a couple of weeks, two to be exact. Fourteen days Len had counted. The few corpses lying in the streets here and there had been picked over by birds and dogs and had become quite grim. The rain in the past week didn't help that either. It made it easier to justify staying in a lot more. He was growing more and more uncomfortable in the city. He was feeling the need to roam, to hit the road and get onto the land. It would be easier to live out there, and if indeed there was anyone else out there watching, which he was increasingly doubting, it would be alot easier to hide in the country.

He stepped out onto the balcony of his penthouse flat. The weather was strange. The sky was clear and there was barely a breeze. It was eerily quiet. The dogs were off the streets. No birds chirped.

There she was. It was her all right, out at second base in the park. He had wondered if she'd ever take him up on his offer. Even if he wouldn't admit it, it was probably the only thing that kept him from leaving the city. He threw his jacket over his grey t-shirt, toted the shotgun over his shoulder and made his way down the stairs. It was so quiet outside. There was trouble in the air. Down the block he hurried his stride, perhaps to make sure that he got there before she gave up and left. He chuckled to himself when he looked both ways before crossing the street. Old habits died hard. Approaching the field he stopped on the pitcher's mound.

"Hello," he said.

He left the gun slung over his shoulder. His eyes scanned about, observing the sky.

 

[StarWhisperer]

Bethany hadn’t had much trouble finding the grocery store again and her abandoned cart, which sat exactly as she’d left it, though the water was warm. She wheeled the cart back to her building and commenced carrying up as much as she could in trips. By the time she had finished, she was exhausted. She wished she’d had the foresight to bag her groceries at the store, though she didn’t blame herself for the oversight. Things were surreal.

She had already decided that she would wait till all of her food was gone again before she would go find Len. She didn’t want charity, and she wanted to prove that she could take care of herself. The vow was easier made than kept, however. After a few days of only her own company, Bethany was growing rather stir-crazy. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she would be as bothered if she didn’t know where she could find another human soul for company and conversation. Still, she forced herself to wait. Several days later, on the thirteen day mark, most of her food was gone, and she decided that tomorrow, she would go and find Len.

On the morning of, she showered (something she was unsure would last longer. The water wasn’t heated anymore.) and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, putting a jacket in her backpack along with her remaining water and a few other food items. She walked to the store and loaded a cart with more non-perishables, most of what was left in the store, and as much water as she could manage. She was a bit jumpy as she went about her tasks, seeing as the last time she had done this she’d been assaulted, but nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Task completed, Bethany began her trek to the park Len had specified, cart in front of her, backpack on her back. She stopped once to pull her hair back into a ponytail. The weather was strange, oppressive and hot, but the air was still. She was sweating by the time she got to the park, and had stripped off her t-shirt in favor of the camisole underneath, and had also stopped to roll up her jeans to her knees.

Leaving the cart on the street, Bethany walked over to second base and stood there for a few minutes, looking around. Suddenly, she wondered how long it would take for Len to notice her there. Not only that, but she wasn’t sure which way she should face. She didn’t know which building he was in, and she felt like it would be strange if he saw only her backside, but had no way of knowing which way to turn. She settled on facing towards home plate, since that felt fairly natural when standing on second base, like she was waiting to see what kind of pitch would be thrown, how the batter would hit it, and when she should run. Instead of the crack of a bat, she heard only silence, but across the grass came Len, wearing a t-shirt and jacket, a rifle over his shoulder. He stopped at the pitcher’s mound and watched her. She stared back.

“Hello.”

Bethany waved before she even thought about it. “Hello.” She scuffed her shoe against the worn base, wondering how long it would last before it was covered in vegetation. The grass surrounding the diamond was already rather overgrown. “I, um. I’m here.”

 

[PieTaster]

He couldn't help but look past her, although he did observe the ponytail and a trace of sweat along with the rolled up pants and the t-shirt tied about her waist. She'd had a bit of a workout.

"That your cart?" he mentioned the buggy full of foodstuffs in the street, still scanning the skies. He wasn't trying to be cold or distant, but something was up.

"Storm is coming," he said finally, and pointed to the dark grey creeping up in the distance over Brooklyn. "We should get inside." He nodded at her in confirmation. The animals knew, they always did, especially the birds. "If you want all that stuff, bring it, but you'll have to push it up the hill." He turned and motioned to her to follow. "Come," he said, and started the block and a half to his building.