The Apocalypse is Now

Ch 1: It's Already Happened

"Eighty million people in the world, Nick, and you're freaking out because we killed one man."

"But-"

"Eighty. Million. People. Now quit the complaining and drink your soda."

Nick sunk down into the grainy cushions of the diner booth, his eyes going downcast to keep watch over his hands. Not only were they shaking like a mad dog, but now they stunk of innocent blood. The boy across from him, Wyatt, was enjoying a flat cola and attempting to ignore Nick's blight. Enough quiet moments passed to convince him that perhaps Nick was calming down. Wyatt took another swallow and was about to tell a joke when Nick stood up. "I need to wash my hands."

Wyatt slammed his hand down on the worn table. "Damnit, Nick, again?"

"I don't know what to tell you. I guess I don't have balls of solid steel like you do," Nick hissed, rushing to the bathroom door and shouldering it open.

"Damn right, you don't." The bendy straw went back into his mouth.

The two finished their luxury to the very end, not leaving a drop, and again Wyatt was scolding as he seemed to enjoy it like a pass time.

"Honestly, Nick, it's happenings like this that help people appreciate life. I don't know if you understand that what happened has broadened your mind. Ungrateful, is what you are," he sighed with a critical edge to his sideways glance.

Nick shoved his hands in his pockets in a pout. "'m not ungrateful. You've just got a nasty view of it."

Wyatt laughed weakly, drifting closer to the boy as they crossed the street. "You're the one who's being cynical."

Nick held his breath until they got to the curb. "'m not cynical. It's realism."

"The typical excuse."

Nick scoffed, glancing over his shoulder before turning to dash up the staircase of an old apartment building. "Just because "people die all the time" doesn't mean it's an okay deal," Nick said, air quoting the words Wyatt always used against him. Overused is what they were.

"Sure it does," Wyatt called, bringing down the steel trap that partially blocked the stairs behind them. "How else am I supposed to sleep at night?"

Nick pressed his lips together, wondering if his words would ever get through Wyatt's thick head. Feelings gripped him as he slowed at the door at the end of the hall, and his eyes refused to stick to his feet. He looked out at the city, envisioning what it would look like teeming with lights and life.

"Pardon!"

Nick felt a sharp jab in his ribs and was flung forward towards the railing over the town. Both hands gripped the metal banister, his heart racing for a moment at his mind's proposal that he might go flying to his death. The rail was relatively secure, however, and he lived to endure Wyatt once again.

"Nicholas Levi is afraid of blood, death and kittens, among other things!" Wyatt cupped his hand over his mouth, sending the message throughout the apartment. His heel hooked on the front door and, hearing Nick come up behind him with a whine in his throat, swung the door shut.

Nick caught the closing door with his foot, shoving it open with his knee. "Nicholas Levi is afraid of nothing but the demons of his own mind," he announced, slipping through the half-open door and shutting it solidly behind him. 

The apartment was as homely as they came. Dusty air and dirty windows kept the place dimly lit, and it was furnished with heaps of assorted everything--clothes and dishes, wooden bits and scraps of metal. Anything that could be used in any way--Nick thought most of it to be unnecessary, but Wyatt was a bit of a hoarder and so long as it kept him happy Nick couldn't manage to complain. Beyond the heaps of junk there were cots on the floor, mainly assembled of many pillows or rags, and a single couch. On it, a small girl's entire body was bundled with an inch of blankets. Her head was propped up slightly and only her nose and closed eyes could be seen of her face. As Wyatt stomped through the apartment, Nick's eyes went straight to the couch. 

"What's all this about Levi's demons?" An airy voice barely sneaked from the kitchen, and Wyatt's cheeks flushed at their carry.

"Caroline! Listen to what happened to your two favorite people just a few hours ago," Wyatt hummed, coming to the girl's side instantly and leaning on the counter she worked on.

Nick balled his fists as he stomped around the corner to the kitchen. "No! Wyatt, I will skin you if you spread rumors about me again."

Wyatt chuckled in excitement, turning to see the fire in Nick's eyes. "Ooh! Dibs on front row seats to that rarity!"

"He says like he's not part of the act," Caroline hummed, her focus still on the potatoes she was dicing.

"So, Care, get this," Wyatt started, now blocking Nick out of his mind as he leaned closer to the girl. "Nick and I are dumpster diving, right? Nabbed a few bowls and flammable bitsies and clothy scraps of whatever, when this guy comes out of nowhere and starts asking us about our tribe and destination and pulls out this machete."

"Knife."

Wyatt frowned as he was interrupted, glancing over his shoulder. "I'm sorry?"

Nick was over by the couch, on his knees with an old damp tee shirt in his hand. He looked over his shoulder in mild attention. "It was just a kitchen knife, not a machete."

Wyatt snorted. "Just a bit of embellishment, my friend. Makes the story more dramatic, you know?"

Nick furrowed his brows and turned back to the couch and the little resting girl. "It's lying."

"Nuance. So this guy was yelling about something or other, like we were on his turf or something, and then he just came at us. Like, without letting us even respond! And Nicholas Levi, you know the kid over there that's fawning over that little bunny like some sort of angel," Wyatt laughed as he sidestepped.

Caroline looked up, her eyes falling on Nick for a moment before returning to the vegetables. "Yes?"

"Well, he goes and starts wrestling with the guy!"

"I only grabbed at him once."

"Embellishment. And then he kicked the guy down-!" Wyatt began to get louder, acting it out excitedly. "Ripped the machete right out of his hand!"

"The guy dropped it. I picked it up." Nick stopped trying to get Wyatt to acknowledge his corrections at this point.

"And then! And then this guy comes after me, and I duck and he hobbles past me, like some sort of drunk zombie or something! And he comes at me again and I shove him towards Nick-"

"Nothing terrifying or dangerous or anything, having the wild drunken man stumbling towards me," Nick interrupted.

Wyatt's eyes became especially bright and his fists shook a bit. "And the man-! Nick runs the guy through with the machete!"

Caroline nearly dropped her cutting knife, shock rushing to her face in a gasp. "Levi!"

Nick had his eyes down, on his hands once again. This time he was slower to correct. "The man fell towards me. I held out my hands." He began dabbing the girl's forehead again.

Caroline put the knife down entirely. "That's not an-an embellishment? You actually stabbed this man?"

"He fell on me." Nick's hands began to shake again, so he pulled away from the girl on the couch and his eyes shut on their own.

A little voice peeped in front of him. "Did he die?"

Nick opened his eyes to see the little girl's pale face awake and focused on him. His chest clenched.

Wyatt, unfortunately, piped in. "Sure did, little miss Mary."

Nick shot a glare over his shoulder to the kid, wishing Mary were still asleep so he could curse with all his breath. But he let out the words in a breath of hot air and turned back to Mary with softening eyes. "The man was sick. He was acting strange in the first place--maybe drunk..." He sighed as he dabbed at her warm forehead again. "But yes, he did."

Mary's eyes drooped, looking past Nick towards the kitchen. The face she was making was cloudy, made Nick fidget on the ground and look away. After dabbing her forehead a bit, he stood up hastily and fled to the kitchen. "Any hot water?" he mumbled.

Caroline stepped away from the sink, her eyes back to the vegetables in respect. "Not since this morning." He made a throaty moan and began scrubbing his hands, ones that already seemed chapped and red from previous washing.