"July 5. Year: 2047. Another unsuccessful trip. Alfie and I only managed to find another kitten. It almost died when we tried to rescue it from the tree. We killed 5 more today, although it wasn't easy (per the usual). All the dogs have run away, but maybe it was for the better? They were too noisy. They're most likely all dead by no--"
The pencil snaps. Of course, just my luck. My pet lizard, Alfie, makes a sad chirp on my shoulder and nuzzles my cheek. I pet his head with my finger as he nibbles on a piece of kale I gave him. The 5 cats quietly mew and eat their kibble. I lean in and pet the maine coon, Jasper. He purrs softly. Even if the world has gone to shit, at least I have these cats with me. They're so cute, it makes me feel less hopeless here.
Oh, you must be confused. Well, here's an explanation, just in case you're lost:
It's the end of the end of the fucking world. It has been for the past 4 months. Ever since March, Alfie and I have been gathering helpless animals to preserve what's left of the old world. All of our dogs ran away yesterday, on the Fourth of July, leaving it to just be Alfie, me, and our cats. For whatever reason, yesterday seemed to be an open season for the Eldritch, so we didn't get even two seconds of rest before each attack. What a great way to celebrate the Fourth of July, huh?
Whatever, it isn't like I liked that "holiday", anyways. Screw America.
"I thought after 4 months of this, I'd get used to being alone," I say to Alfie. He chirps. "But, nope. It's still lonely,". I look at a printed picture that I have of Gracie. "I still miss her," I say. A tear begins to well up in my eye, but I blink it away. It's the goddamn apocalypse. I can't cry. I can't be weak. It'll get me killed.
I hear a sudden screech to my left. It's ten feet away, approaching rapidly. "Shit," I mutter. I get the cats into their cage and close it. "Stay close, Alfie," I say, putting him on my shoulder. He chirps as I get the materials I'll need to make a trap. I need to move quick, our little visitor will be here soon. I put together a citrus grenade trap outside my tiny base and close the door. I hold on tightly to my broomstick spear, just in case the trap fails and the Eldritch gets in.
I rub the scar that stretches across my neck as I remember the last time I got attacked in my own base. I watch the door closely. Something runs into it, making a loud bang sound. A pained screech follows the bang, proving that the trap worked. I carefully open the left door and see the Eldritch pawing at its eyes. Just as I planned, lemon juice stung him.
I sneak up behind the Eldritch and shove my spear between its armor plates. I push it as far as I can, and it doesn't take long for the injuries to finally silence the Eldritch. Permanently. "I guess we can count that as 6 today," I say to Alfie. He sticks his tongue out to taunt the Eldritch, and I return to my base with the cats.
I'm starting to think its time for us to move to a new base now. This is the 15th Eldritch attack this week, and I don't think being right next to the woods is helping much. I put my satchel over my shoulder and slide my spear into it's holster on my back. I hoist my backpack over my spear and grab my picture of Gracie off of the floor. I falter before putting it away. I can't help but stare at it. She's so beautiful... and I'll never see her again.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," I say. "I'm so sorry, babe,". I put the picture into the inside pocket of my coat and zip it up. I grab the cage with the cats and lift it up. "Let's go kitties," I say. I exit through the right door of my base and start on my way down the road.
I look around as I walk, hoping to see a human. I know better, though. The last time I saw a human was 3 months ago, but she's dead now. These days, the only semblance of "humans" that I see are the corpses that scatter the streets and buildings of the city. Missing arms, legs, heads, and the likes. It was disturbing at first, but at some point I just grew numb to it. It's impossible to walk around these days without worrying about tripping over bodies. It's become a habit for me to just step on them at this point.
It may not be moral, but I simply don't feel like taking my time to step over every single dead body I see.
At this point, my best chance of seeing humans- live humans, I mean- is to find survivors in an underground bunker or something. but even that's unlikely. I don't think even the government could do anything to these things. Guns aren't worth a damn in this world. Bullets can't do anything against the Eldritch's armor. If they could, believe me, I'd be strapped from head to toe.
All this thinking about other survivors just gave me an idea. I grab my large sketchpad from my backpack and use a bright red marker to write out a simple message: "RAMIL WAS HERE". I tape the paper to a nearby tree before continuing on my search for a new home. If I get lucky, someone will see the note and look for me.
I'd need some insane luck.
My stomach rumbles. I haven't eaten in a while, now that I think about it. I see a neighborhood coming up and decide to look for a place to hunker down in there. Its a bit fucked up, but it should do. I look around for a little bit before spotting a tree house. It looks untouched. That's the perfect hideout. Eldritch can't climb, and everyone knows that the high ground is advantageous.
I start making my way towards the treehouse, but the sound of growling interrupts my stride. The growling is close.
And loud.
There's more than just one! Are they grouping or something? That's new! I look around, trying to find where they are. Alfie slithers into my inside pocket, and I decide to get a quick move on. I can't outrun so many Eldritch, but I can't fight with the cats in my hand either. I speedwalk into an empty house and run upstairs, hiding the cats in a closet. "Stay here and stay quiet, kitty cats," I say. "I'll be back soon, I promise," I say. I close the closet and draw my spear, approaching the window in the room.
"I haven't jumped out of a window in a while. This should be fun," I say to myself. I jump out of the window and land gracefully. I pull a citrus grenade from my satchel and prepare myself, looking out for any Eldritch.
There's one behind me!
I spin around and launch the grenade at the Eldritch who was trying to ambush me. It explodes on impact, the lime juice getting into its eyes. While its distracted, I run up to it and try to stab it with my spear.
I hear another screech close behind me and realize there's another one! "A fake-out!?" I say surprised. I turn and see an Eldritch lunging at me! I jump to the side to avoid its claws and swing my spear down into its head to distract it. I jump onto its back and launch myself over the gate next to me, putting some kind of barrier between me and the Eldritch.
There's another screech already! "Dammit, how many of them are there?" I question. I can't tell where they're coming from! I need to lure them all out at once and handle them that way! "Time to ring the dinner bell, Alfie!" I say, running out of the lawn. I take a deep breath before screaming at the top of my lungs, hoping to attract every Eldritch in the area. "COME GET ME, YOU ASSHOLES!! FREE MEAL, RIGHT HERE!!" I shout out.
It works perfectly. About 5 Eldritch start chasing me down, their screeches filled with bloodlust. I pull a smokescreen from my satchel and send it into the ground below me, causing a puff of dust to explode and completely conceal me. The Eldritch look around, and I take advantage of their confusion. I lunge and swing, smacking one of the Eldritch in the face. I spin around and whack an Eldritch trying to sneak up behind me before shoving my spear up into its exposed chin.
"1 down!" I say with a smile. I pull out a grapefruit citrus grenade and throw it into an Eldritch's open maw. It bites down on it, and the juice explodes in its mouth, overriding its senses temporarily. I kill this one with a stab through the chin as well, but I don't get to celebrate before an Eldritch from behind tries to jump on me! I dash forward to avoid it and pivot on my toes, twisting like a ballerina to smack it with my spear. It backs up a bit, which gives me the chance to stab the top of its head. "2 left!" I announce.
The smoke starts to clear out. My cover is going away, so I need to wrap this up quick. The two Eldritch lunge for me at the same time, so I duck to the side and pull out another citrus grenade. I throw at one of them, and it explodes and gets into both of their eyes. Perfect!! I rush them while they're injured and quickly dispatch of them, ending their lives and, by extention, the fight. "Not a single scratch," I say, swiping dust away from my shoulder. "Still got it."
Alfie comes out of my coat and onto my shoulder with a chirp. "That's right buddy. We're done here," I say, rubbing his head. I return to the house where I left the cats. They start meowing like crazy when they see me again. "I told you I'd be back," I say, picking up the cage. "The skills my parents taught me didn't go anywhere,". I continue my journey to the treehouse, getting there before I get attacked by any more Eldtritch. I climb up into the treehouse and survey the layout.
This place is pretty big and spacious. There's a wooden bench against one wall with a coffee table placed in front of it. There are three big bookshelves, with one against each wall of the house. Perfect for setting up resources. Outside of those couple of things, this place has a lot of space. "I can make this work for sure," I say. I close the door of the treehouse and let the cats out of their cage. I set up their food and water bowls and let them eat. Alfie chirps, his way of asking for kale.
"Don't worry, buddy. I've got food for you, too," I assure him. I rip off a piece of kale and feed it to him. He chirps happily, and it makes me smile. I walk over and sit on the bench, placing Alfie on the table with his kale. "I could get used to this," I say to myself. I look over the treehouse one more time, analyzing all the space that's in here.
It feels so empty in here. As comfortable as this place will be, it's still sad to think that I'll have no one to share it with. "So much space for just one person, huh..." I mumble. I take a deep breath. "If there truly is a God," I start to say, looking up at the ceiling, "Please, send me another survivor. I don't even care who they are, just send them. Please."
Wind blows through the open windows and onto my face. It only further emphasizes the loneliness.
"I don't wanna be alone anymore."