Just the two of us

The rain poured down on the old shed's roof.

Before the apocalypse I had hated the rain. I always wanted it to be warm. I wanted to visit the beach with my friends, sunbathe, and swim or watch boys… All these things seemed like distant dreams now, fake realities that could never be true. Every time I'd realise these things had actually happened in the past I'd be depressed, wanting this nightmare to be over. I wanted to wake up in my bed, run downstairs and find my mother there, making me breakfast. No matter how often I slapped myself across the face, no matter how many times I pinched my cheek, waking up wouldn't happen. I had given up on it.

The reason I wanted it to rain was because of the sound. It confused the lurkers, and almost made it possible for me to ignore their constant grunting and gargling.

Here I was, in an old shed, together with Nick. We just saved each other's lives, and now he just sat there in the corner of the shed, depressed, staring at the floor not wanting to tell me why.

After we'd recovered from almost being eaten, we had closed the doors of the shed, and put a heavy crate in front of them. Nick's screaming had alerted several lurkers, who had been trying to break through the door with brute force for about half an hour. It seemed like forever when they finally got distracted by some loud bird and walked of. Luckily they did, because I wasn't sure how long the old doors would have lasted otherwise, or how long it would have taken them to figure out there was an almost broken window they could probably crawl through if they broke the glass. I still didn't dare go outside to check how safe it actually was. If they'd still be there I could get in trouble and one almost death was enough for tonight.

My stomach growled. How long had it been since my last meal? Although you could hardly call a hand full of berries and some filthy river water a meal. There were many different kinds of berries further down south from this part of the forest, but I only knew one edible kind, and had never seen the rest of them. The winter was coming and soon berries wouldn't be a reliable food source any longer.

'You hungry too?' I asked Nick. My voice was an annoying disturbance of the quietness in the shed. Nick didn't respond. 'Just trying to keep the conversation going' I mumbled. No reaction.

I stood up and knocked some dust of my jeans.

'I'm gonna look for some food, you never know.' He just sat there, lifeless, almost more lifeless then the average lurker around here.

As I walked towards the back of the shed I slid my finger across one of the shelves.

'Nothing but dust…' I mumbled. I didn't really expect him to react to anything I said, but it seemed impolite to just completely ignore me. I couldn't blame him though; all polite people had been eaten long ago. Only the most tough roots survived this fire, and for how long? How long would it take before I'd burn as well?

I took a white cloth from one of the shelves and found about eight jelly pots containing a questionable fluid.

'What is that stuff?' Nick asked. It was the first thing he'd said in quite a while, his voice sounded raspy. 'Let me see.'

I wanted to argue with him for his bossy tone instead of just talking to me, but I kept my mouth shut. When I brought him one of the jars he opened it and took a sniff. The strong fragrance of some sort of alcoholic beverage quickly burned through my nose, and I stepped back as I made a disgusted face.

'Whiskey.' He decided as he took a sip.

'You probably shouldn't drink…' I started, but he had this empty look in his eyes again and for the brief hour I'd known him I learned he wasn't going to answer me with that look in his eyes anyway.

I took the dusty white cloth, tried to get the dust of it by unfolding it, and coughed because of the tickling sensation when I inhaled the dust cloud.

I sat down cross-legged and started cleaning my precious dagger with the now even filthier white cloth.

When I finished, I wandered around aimlessly, not wanting to sit down and rest, but also not knowing what to do. I looked around some more, apart from a still and some old junk there really wasn't anything useful in the shed, and I quickly got bored. I knew I should be happy with every peaceful moment I got during my life in the apocalypse, but being in this shed for hours with a strange guy that only cared about alcohol wasn't how I wished to spend the night. The shed was shelter from the rain though, and it couldn't hurt having some company, even if they wouldn't talk. At least I could talk to myself and make sure I wouldn't forget how to use my voice.

In the corner of the shed I found a small box, and it contained candles! The darkness had depressed me, it would be at least a bit cozier with some candle light. It could even get romantic… a small voice in the back of my head sarcastically pointed out, and I laughed out loud because of how silly it sounded. Love during the apocalypse wasn't possible. As soon as you'd dare love anyone, they'd die. I learned that the hard way.

'What?' nick asked. He was becoming more talkative because of the whiskey.

'Nothing…' I mumbled as I shook my head.

He shrugged his shoulders. 'Whatever.'

'Look.' I said, more enthusiastic then I actually felt, 'I found candles!'

'Did they come with some matches?' he asked as he looked away surly.

I got two fire stones out of my pocket, I had found them in the mountains when I was younger, thank god my younger self was smart enough to take them with me when my mother and I left home looking for safety from the walking corpses.

It took me a while, but after some struggling I managed to light one of the candles.

'Who would have thought girl scouts had any utility?' I asked sarcastically.

He laughed. I knew it was because of the Whiskey, but I was relieved he wasn't too mentally unstable, that could have gotten dangerous.

I sat down on the opposite side of him. The ground was hard and cold, but the candle I'd placed in the middle of us gave me hope. I suddenly remembered the broken window, stood up and somehow managed to cover it up with the white cloth. This way we wouldn't be too visible.

Nick laughed.

'What?' I asked.

He shook his head, still laughing. I was almost afraid he had some sort of mental breakdown, but when I sat down again he pointed at the candle.

'Almost romantic isn't it?' he laughed even louder.

'Shh!' I whispered. I knew he was drunk, and I had just sarcastically pointed it out myself as well, but that remark made me blush anyway. The rain kept pouring out of the sky, which was strange. Because unlike the clouds I felt happier then I had ever been in a long while.