Now the Yullen Week Winter edition has officially started! This is my one shot for the first theme: Yearn.

I got the idea from playing the Wii game Fragile Dreams ~ Farewell ruins of the moon. I wanted to write an post-apocalyptic story (Even more after I saw the movie "Knowing") and this is what came out. It's 3085 words on Word and I'm pretty proud of it.

Story description:

Genre: suspense/hurt/comfort
Theme: Yearn
Rating: T (for the, I hope, creepyness)

Summary: Allen wakes up one morning and finds that everyone is gone, he's all alone.
Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray Man or Fragile Dreams ~ Farewell ruins of the moon.

I hope you all enjoy this one-shot!


For someone's warmth.

It was quiet when he woke up. No noise. Usually he would hear his guardian, Marian Cross, do something downstairs, but not today.

Today was quiet.

And Allen found that relaxing. As if he didn't have any care in the world. He felt as if he could just lie in bed and do nothing at all. He turned around in his large bed and successfully managed to roll the cover around him like a cocoon. Only his face could be seen.

He laid there for quite some time but nice moments always ends too quickly. This time it was because of his alarm clock which he'd forgotten to turn off the day before. Allen muttered something inaudible and with some difficulties he wriggled his arm out of the warm cocoon and pressed the button on the clock, with a bit more force than usual which had a frame with a photo of a man dressed as a clown inside almost fall down on the floor.

"Shit!" Allen tried to wriggle his body closer to the picture and just when it fell over the edge he grabbed it with his free left hand. He let out a sigh of relief and brought the picture closer to him. He wiped off some dust with his thumb but was careful not to press to hard or he might scratch the glass. Ever since he could remember his left arm had been like that: red and wrinkled, scaly and rough, and his hair had always been white. He'd always been ashamed of his features. When he was younger he was often bullied and scorned by other kids and sometimes adults too. He had been abandoned by his parents at birth in an orphanage.

Then Mana Walker came.

Mana took him in. Gave him a family no one else could or wanted. Those years were the best years in his life. Then Mana died. And Allen was sent to live with Mana's close friend Marian Cross. Ever since the day Mana died, Allen's life has been hell. Cross was a short tempered, smoking, womanizing bastard who was always drunk, at least he seemed like it. Allen couldn't tell, and he didn't care. He couldn't wait until he could get his own place – away from Cross and away from the debts Cross imposed on him.

Now that the alarm clock was off Allen noticed how quiet it really was. He didn't hear any cars outside, not the TV nor radio, and even though the clock showed eleven a.m. he didn't hear anyone. No children's laughter outside or people walking on the streets.

Allen lied on the bed for a few minutes longer, trying to pick out sounds. But all he heard was the rustling of leaves as the wind blew, the occasional chirping from birds and barking dogs. Why didn't he hear any humans?

He finally decided that enough was enough and got up from the bed. He put on a dark blue sweatshirt and dark jeans, and lastly some socks before going out of his room. He walked down the stairs to the hallway; he noticed that Cross' shoes were still on the shoe stand. So, he's not out. Then where is he? Allen asked himself. One of the house rules was to never go past the hallway with shoes on. Cross was a bit of a perfectionist. Everything has to be beautiful or it wasn't to be near him; Allen was no exception.

He walked around the house, trying to find his wayward guardian. But he couldn't find him anywhere, not in the living room, not Cross' bedroom, not in the bathroom not even in the kitchen or backyard.

"CROSS?" Allen resorted to shout, even though he risked punishment from Cross, but no one answered. Allen became a bit worried, but shook it of him and went to the kitchen to eat something.

He sat down by the table and looked out through the window as he ate his sandwich. There was no snow even though it was just a few days left for Christmas – his birthday, but according to the thermometer it was ten below.

When he'd eaten his breakfast he dressed warmly and went out to the street. What he saw shocked him beyond words. The street was completely empty of people. He couldn't see anyone, no movements in the houses or in the streets further away. A car was on in the middle of the street, as if someone just left it. Allen saw an open front door and he could see some lights from inside.

Allen walked over the streets, after making sure a car wouldn't come, but that seemed like an unnecessary precaution when there wasn't anyone out. He went up the steps to the open door; he took a careful step over the threshold.

"Hello? Anyone home? Mrs. Berry?" Allen called, but no one answered. He searched the house but didn't find anyone here either, the TV in the living room was on, and he found a cup of cold coffee on the table in front of the sofa.

"Where is everyone?"

Allen searched the houses close to his but he couldn't find any of the inhabitants. He found a shower that was still on in one bathroom, and in another house the tap in the kitchen was on. He heard Christmas music ('All I want for Christmas') on the radio. Allen began to feel something akin to panic. Where was everyone? Why is he alone? What happened? Questions popped up but he couldn't answer any of them. He went back to the street and walked towards the town – he thought that there must be people in the town if anywhere.

As he walked he thought about what he'd seen. It was as if people had just vanished where they stood. As if Mrs. Berry, for example, had been drinking her coffee while watching TV and then suddenly left. But why was he left? Why didn't, whatever happened, include him too? He didn't understand.

He felt alone. He wanted someone near him, he hated being by himself. Now it was as if everyone had left him behind. For a moment he thought it was punishment for his arm. He cradled his left arm close to his body. The accursed arm that's only brought him misery.

He walked for hours, only stopping to get something to eat from the empty houses. He was tired but grimly pressed on. He didn't want to stay on the same place longer than necessary; he needed to find another person. Anyone!

Then night came. The sky was clear and Allen could see the many stars and the almost full moon. The street lights flickered on automatically. It became immensely colder and Allen tried to hide his face in his scarf. According to his wrist watch it was around eight p.m., he'd been out walking for about nine hours! Allen was even more tired but didn't dare stop. Then he heard it. He stopped immediately and looked around. The streets were empty, he couldn't see anyone. But he could swear he'd heard someone…

"Hahahaha…!" a ghostly laughter was heard from his left. Allen turned towards the noise in a flash, but he didn't see anyone. But now he was sure that he hadn't imagined it. Then he saw something in the corner of his eye, he turned towards it but whatever it was disappeared before he could see it. Allen began to freak out, he was standing below a street light and the light made it difficult for him to see in the darkness around.

"Hahahaha…" he heard the laughter again and once again Allen couldn't find the source, but he recognized it as children's laughter. But not as sweet as he remembered it, more like teasing. Allen stayed where he was, he didn't dare move away from the spot he was standing on. But then he heard sobbing, a woman sobbing. The sound came just from beyond the light; it took some time before Allen gathered up enough courage to look for the woman. He was freaked out by everything he heard but if the sobbing meant he would find another person he would take the risk.

"Hello? Excuse me, miss, are you alright?" He asked but the sobbing didn't stop. He went past a few bushes and finally found the source of the sobbing.

It was a woman with long hair and a dress, she was glowing but what freaked Allen out the most was that she was hovering over the ground and she seemed to have long acupuncture needles stuck in her back.

"A-a-are you… okay?" Allen asked and reached out a hand but then suddenly the needles pulled the skin apart and a large eye opened on her back. A scream was heard and she pushed him to the ground. Allen's eyes widened and he quickly stood up and ran away from the woman that was closing in on him.

"Hahaha…" he heard the laughter again and now he saw what made those noises. It looked like children at first glance but the only thing resembling a child was the lower body. The upper body had been replaced by something that looked like a tentacle, an energy tentacle, and stuck to the end was a glowing red orb. He ran.

When he came out on the street he stopped to catch his breath but then he found himself surrounded by the laughing ghosts. He tried to watch everyone's movements as they circled around him. Then he felt something kick him hard on his leg and he grunted in pain. Then the other ghosts started kicking him as well, but only one kick each before they ran away while laughing and taunting him. Allen stood up and looked around, trying to find the ghosts. He heard screams from behind but he didn't see anything. Then he saw a light not too far from where he was.

He ran.

But the screams and laughter and the sobbing didn't end. It followed him as he ran. He heard the child-ghosts' laughter come closer and he managed to jump away from a kick that had been aimed to his shin.

"Hahaha…"

"Here I come…"

"We're gonna get you…"

"You can't find me…" Allen ran up the lawn and then into the house that he'd seen the light from. But inside wasn't better. He heard a wheezing sound and blue, transparent jellyfishes appeared all around him. Allen's breath hitched and panic filled his mind. They were everywhere, he saw a light from upstairs and he ran up the stairs. The ghosts followed him but stopped when Allen was in the light. He noticed that and he ran into the first room available. He didn't hear anything from the bedroom he'd busted into. He hurriedly lit all lamps in the room before sitting down on the bed by the corner, with his back against the wall. He was tired but he made sure to sit uncomfortably so he wouldn't fall asleep. There was no telling if the ghosts would come in the room even if the lights were on.

What were those things? Those ghosts… were they perhaps the ghosts of all the people that mysteriously disappeared? It was all so confusing and Allen stayed where he was, while hearing screams, laughter, sobbing and wheezing throughout the night.

It was a long night, but morning finally came. And when the morning sun shone the noises, which would forever be in Allen's nightmares, ebbed out and then disappeared. Allen raised his head from his knees and slowly climbed out of the bed. He looked out through the window and was met by blinding sight made by powdery snow that reflected the sunlight. Sometime during the night it had been snowing a bit.

Before Allen left the house he searched everywhere for a flashlight, he found one in the basement. Since no ghost had come close to him during the night he'd realized that light might protect him from them. When he was done eating whatever he found in the fridge he left the house and continued his journey to find other humans.

He found his way to a park. And he saw dogs and cats going around searching for something to eat. He was so tired from not having enough sleep so when he saw a bench he thanked whoever was up in heaven and sat down on it. He observed the frozen pond with tired eyes, he leaned back on the bench, closed his eyes, and before he knew it he'd fell asleep.

"Hahaha…"

"You can't find me…"

"AAAAAAH!"

"Here I come… hahahaha…"

Allen woke up in a flash. He looked around but couldn't see. Then it dawned on him that it was dark. And if it was dark…

"Here I come…" Allen flicked the flash light on and aimed it at everywhere around him. To his horror he was surrounded by ghosts who were waiting for the light to go away, so they could kill him.

"Go away! Leave me alone!" Allen yelled and tried to find an opening but couldn't find anyone. Then he heard another noise and suddenly strong headlights dispersed the ghost crowd and left Allen standing there with his weak flashlight in comparison to the headlights of the car in front of him. Allen stood there, widened eyes and fast breathing. Then the door to the driver seat was opened and out came a man. He had long, black hair up in a ponytail. He was wearing a thick jacket and dark pants; he was wearing dark boots that made a crunching sound as he walked on the gravel towards Allen. His face looked Asian but when the man started talking his English was fluent.

"What the fuck are you doing out, bean sprout?" Allen came out of his stupor and shook his head.

"I-i-i…" he began but couldn't say anything else. The man sighed and came closer to Allen who didn't move an inch.

"We need to get out of here, fast", the man said and grabbed Allen's arm. The man opened the passenger's door and roughly pushed Allen inside. Allen was breathing heavily. He wasn't alone. This man… he was real, not a ghost! The man closed the door to the driver's seat and put on the seat belt, Allen did it too. Then the man quickly drove away from the park.

Allen discreetly looked at the man who'd save him. He was quite handsome, his hair could have lured him to think the man was a woman but his sharp looks took that notion away immediately.

"Thanks", the man glanced at him and Allen continued, "for saving me, I thought I was gonna get killed", the man made a 'tch'-sound and held his eyes on the road. The headlights from the car drove the ghosts away from them and Allen felt safe. Then he tried to bring up a conversation, desperately needing to hear another person's voice.

"What's your name? My name's Allen", he asked. The man looked at him again and raised an eyebrow.

"Allen? I thought it was bean sprout, bean sprout", the man said and smirked. Allen felt his left eye twitch in annoyance.

"It's Allen, Allen Walker, dumbass!"

"Whatever." They were silent for awhile before Allen started talking again.

"So, what is your name? Or do you want me to call you dumbass?" The man hardened his grip in the steering wheel before answering:

"It's Kanda." He said curtly.

"Kanda…" Allen repeated before he began asking all the other questions that had been terrorizing him since the day before.

"Do you know what happened? Where is everyone? Why are you still here, I thought I was alone? Why…" but he was interrupted by Kanda who loudly said:

"I don't know a fucking thing! I'm just as clueless as you, idiot!" Allen huffed and looked out through the window. They were driving on a road that didn't have any street lights. Allen didn't recognize the road but guessed that Kanda knew where he was going. But then suddenly the car stopped abruptly and Kanda swore. They were cast into darkness and Allen hastily switched his flashlight on. Kanda was trying to start the car again but it was no use, the car was completely dead. Kanda swore and hit the wheel in his anger and frustration.

Allen looked around and to his horror ghosts started appearing and were slowly progressing towards them.

"Kanda…" he began and Kanda looked out and saw the ghosts.

"Fuck", was all he could say.

"Kanda, do you think…" Allen stopped himself and bit his lip. Kanda turned to him and asked:

"What?" His voice was low and calm.

"Are we going to… die?" Allen hesitated to say the last word. Kanda didn't answer that with words, his eyes were enough of an answer to Allen. He unbuckled his seatbelt and brought his knees up closer to his body.

"I don't get this", his voice was a bit muffled by his scarf, Kanda watched the ghost outside, they were close now, and the only thing keeping them from killing them was the flashlight that lit both boys up.

"I don't either", Kanda said and leaned back in his seat. Allen looked up at his companion, a tear running down his cheek.

"Kanda… is it okay if I… hug you? I don't want to… be alone", Kanda looked at the white-haired boy that looked ready for a breakdown. He shuffled a bit and then he took hold of Allen and helped him over to Kanda's seat. Allen blushed a little from sitting on the Asian man's lap but then he smiled contently and put his head on the other man's shoulder. He could feel Kanda's warm breath blowing through his hair, and Allen tried to get as close as he could with the thick winter jackets between them.

"Your hair smell like a flower, Kanda", Allen then said.

"Lotus scent", Kanda answered and put his arms around Allen. He saw a ghost right outside the window but didn't say anything to the boy in his lap.

"Thank you, Kanda…"


I know it ends abruptly, but that's how I wanted it.

If some of you've played Fragile Dreams or seen clips on youtube, you might recognize some of the ghosts. And those creepy kids with just a lower body freak the hell out of me! With there creepy laughter and "here I come". GAH! I hate them!

Tomorrow I will put up the second one-shot for the theme Bittersweet. And I promise it's a lot happier than this one. So stay tuned for chapter 2 hehe.

Reviews makes me happy ^^