A/N: WOW. It's been such a long time since I've been on this site. Like, literally, 10 years.
Hahaaa, oopsie.
Anyways, I tried to write this fic in like 2010 (i think?) but I deleted it before it had a chance to get good because I was 15 and very angsty.
Now I have a degree and a career (that's been put on pause because of Miss Rona) to prove otherwise so I thought I'd give it another shot.
Also, the world is ending, so there has never been a better time to write a story about a pandemic than right the fuck now, so here we go!
T/W: The pandemic stuff is kind of on the nose. Sorry in advance.
Los Angeles, California; May 18, 2010; Day 0
There are no leads on how or why, but we do know that the virus initially used droplet transmission to spread. That meant kisses, coughs, sneezes, or even speaking too loudly was a potential threat in any environment.
For the living, most of these threats can be avoided by good hygiene and the use of masks.
As for the dead—turns out, they like to bite.
Patient zero was a neurosurgeon from Arizona, who had happened to stay late to finish up some extra work. The hospital where he was conducting his residency was next to a pathology lab that worked with bats. But that's where his story starts and ends.
The infection spread so rapidly that by the time anyone outside the facilities had caught wind of it, everyone in both facilities was dead. No one was left to say what happened.
So the rest of the world used their imagination.
That same evening, Ciel Phantomhive was sitting in a crowded auditorium, watching a sparkling Elizabeth Middleford smile brightly as she skipped toward him in a blue cap and gown.
Lizzie, his dear childhood friend, had finished the advanced master's program at UCLA a year early and personally invited him to attend her graduation. They hadn't spoken since they were young, not since his parents had died and the only home he had known had burned to the ground. Lizzie said she had wanted to reconnect and was hoping to show him around Los Angeles, and Ciel had said yes for some reason.
Lizzie bounded toward her parents, who were sitting in the row in front of him, holding her diploma frame out in front of her like a prize. Ciel was impressed with her, seeing as she was only ever interested in the color pink or cute things when they were children, and her success meant she had grown.
Perhaps, in more ways than one, Ciel thought, eyeing her heels that propped her about a foot above him.
Ciel watched as Lizzie took pictures and laughed and hugged everyone, not yet aware of the massacre that was happening only several hours away.
A massacre with the potential to end all human life that was growing at a speed that nobody could predict, and nobody would.
That night was when they first heard about it.
Ciel had gotten dinner with the Middleford family, reacquainting himself with a family that he was almost apart of and trying not to get lost in the dark thoughts sitting at the corners of his mind. After the dinner, Ciel had accepted an invitation to have tea with Lizzie and one of her friends back at her apartment.
Her friend was named Alois, who had also been in her program, and Ciel really could not shake how odd Alois was. And yet, it seemed kind of fitting that the only two blonde brits at UCLA somehow found each other.
Lizzie was rambling about how much she loved the show Friends, switching through the channels of her television to find an episode to show Ciel when an exasperated news anchor cut her search short.
The trio remained quiet as the anchor reported the massacre of thousands of healthcare workers and the hundreds of first responders trying to contain the virus. The hospital in Arizona was under lockdown and nobody was allowed to go in or out.
"This looks like something out of Jamestown," Alois said.
"Do you mean Jonestown?" Lizzie looked at him with a smile and an attempt to lighten the mood, but her eyes said otherwise. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, either.
Alois didn't respond but Ciel knew he heard her, how could he not? His silence was only because none of them knew what to say or do. The news had been too shocking to process. It seemed they all had been holding their breath, but they did not know why.
Alois chuckled awkwardly. "I'm sure they'll have it under control soon… Right?"
Nobody moved for a few seconds, but then Lizzie nodded in reassurance and rubbed Alois knee.
"Uh… Right."
Los Angeles, California; May 21, 2010; Day 3
"It's…"
"Beautiful!"
"…Useless…"
Lizzy scoffed, "Yes, Alois, it is beautiful! And not useless! In fact, I think I might be the most useful thing we have right now."
Ciel rolled his eyes, "You know I didn't mean it like that, but this car is super old and we both know it. Your mum's had it since, like, the 80s. How much time does it even have left?"
Lizzy opened the door and plopped down the driver's seat with a huff. "Is it 40 years old? Sure. But can it fit everything we need? Absolutely. We might not know how far it will go but it turns on, so I'm not sure it's helpful to be so obsessed with semantics."
Alois climbed into the passenger's seat, fanning away the dust that sprung up from the cushions absently. "Lizzie, the world did collapse like five days ago. Maybe Ciel's just not used to not making everything a big fucking deal."
Ciel gaped a little at Alois. "How dare—You don't even know me."
Lizzie coughed into her sleeve, turning to face away from Ciel in mock politeness, but one glance at her shaking shoulders told him all he needed to know. The bitch was laughing.
Ciel climbed into the backseat. "Look, we do need to get out of here fast," Ciel placed his hand over his heart sarcastically. "So Alois… I forgive you."
Alois put his knuckles to his temple, "Oh, thank the heavens."
Ciel bit his cheek to resist the temptation to say more. Lizzie giggled out loud this time.
"Alright, ladies, enough chatter," she said twisting the key and bringing the ancient van sputtering to life. "So the plan is to head to Las Vegas, correct?"
Alois tapped at his phone and hummed in agreement. "It's the closest international hub that hasn't closed or been overrun."
Yet, Ciel thought to himself.
Lizzie's brows furrowed together in concern. "And once we get there?"
Alois looked back at her and matched her expression. "We beg for three tickets back to London."
"Alright," Lizzie said, smiling once again. "Sounds good to me!"
Lizzie pulled out of her apartment complex's parking garage and onto an empty street.
Ciel watched as they passed empty street after empty street, remembering how a month ago, Lizzie had promised him a fun time in one of the most bustling cities in America.
Now it was empty.
"Ciel, good news!" Alois shouted over his shoulder. "Our chariot has an aux."
Ciel sighed heavily as Alois began shouting along to Viva Las Vegas, with Lizzie giggling in the background. Ciel pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and closed his eyes, hoping to somehow fall asleep and magically wake up back in London.
When Ciel opened his eyes again, he was not in London.
The city streets of Los Angeles had given way to desert roads, and Ciel had caught a bright glimpse of a sign— "Welcome to Victorville!" it read—as it swiftly passed.
Lizzie and Alois were discussing something in the front seat that Ciel could only faintly make out without letting the two know he had woken up. God knows they'd only pull him into the conversation somehow.
"And then… she gets stabbed in the eye," Alois said, gesturing wildly to Lizzie as she drove.
Lizzie gasped, "Oh, gross!"
"Wait! That's not even the worst part!" Alois exclaimed, clutching his chest.
Before he could hear anymore, Ciel decided to lean his head back against the window and go back to sleep while they were still a few hours away from Las Vegas.
He drifted off once again to the sound of Alois shouting about eyepatches.
When they were smaller, Ciel and Lizzie had been inseparable. They attended the same schools, took piano lessons from the same instructor, and even ate dessert from the same plate on more than one occasion.
Ciel's mother liked to joke that Ciel and Lizzie were already soulmates, given that they were rarely ever apart while awake. And a younger Ciel took that to heart, promising her loudly and often that they would get married.
As they got older, Ciel became interested in fencing, which Lizzie had been learning from her mother since she was old enough to walk. The only problem was that he was horrible at it and Lady Middleford knew it.
He'd be knocked on his ass again and again until Lady Middleford got bored and dismissed him from his lessons. And every time, Lizzie appeared at his side to encourage him and help him back up.
Once, as she helped him up from her mother's latest beating, Lizzie smiled, "You did so much better that time! You were on your feet for a while!"
Ciel remembered looking at Lizzie as she steadied him and noticing how he had to look up slightly to meet her gaze with a bit of a tight chest.
"Do you want to go get ice cream? I finally got my license!" She was smiling at him so brightly, and Ciel couldn't help but smile back.
"Sure," he said, moving to put his fencing sword back in its mount against the wall. "I'm glad you're not as scary as your mother. Women can be so terrifying."
Lizzie was quiet for a moment but then began to laugh. Ciel hadn't seen her expression when he'd said it, but that small hesitation was so uncharacteristic of her that he felt compelled to turn and look at her.
He watched her laugh as he tried to gauge her body language, but her laughter whipped away whatever emotion he was searching for.
17 and she still wears her hair in pigtails, he thought.
She sighed contentedly as she stopped laughing, and the smile on her face was still big and bright. Ciel wondered if she ever got tired of being so happy all the time.
Lizzie grabbed Ciel's hand and spun on her heel, heading for the door. "She might be scary, but she gets less scary when she has a big bowl of mint chocolate ice cream!"
Ciel chuckled as he allowed himself to be led to Lizzie's car, past pensiveness already behind him.
Ciel woke with a start, lifting his head from where it rested against the window and rubbed his eyes groggily. The car had stopped and Lizzie and Alois were gone.
He sat up a little more as a small panic rose in his chest.
Lizzie's blonde curls popped out from behind a petrol pump and Ciel deflated a little in relief.
She was staring quizzically at the petrol pump, finger tapping at her lips as she looked the thing up and down with frustration.
He watched her brows were furrow as she searched, seemingly growing frustrated by the minute as an answer evaded her.
In an uncharacteristic move, Lizzie gave the pump two hard kicks and sighed loudly, weaving her fingers together and resting them on her head. Ciel gave two gentle taps on the window to get her attention. As she turned to look at him, he wondered if university had caused Lizzie to develop a temper like her mother's.
She gave him a little wave and a smile through the window, and pointed downward, signaling for him to open his window with the hand crank.
As he cranked the window open, he watched her tired face. 22 and she still wears her hair in pigtails.
"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Lizzie smiled, leaning down to talk to him through the window. "We needed petrol, and this was the only station we could find for miles, but no one's here."
Ciel hummed and the door to the petrol station swung open and Alois walked out towards them, confusion etched on his face as well. "I can't find anyone, Liz."
Lizzie stood and placed her hands on her hips. "Maybe we can find underground tanks? Or maybe they've got some cans we can use to siphon it?"
Alois chuckled. "Only if you do the sucking."
Lizzie's mouth opened in surprise before she gave Alois a light smack. "We both know you'd be better at it, you little rat."
While Alois and Lizzie laughed loudly, Ciel felt strangely out of place, like he was watching in on someone's friendly road trip. It almost felt like he was imposing. Almost.
Ciel opened his car door and stepped out of the car, casting a sideways glance at Alois and Lizzie where they laughed. "Now that we've joked around a bit, let's do some serious searching."
Ciel walked towards the store and tried to ignore as Alois turned to Lizzie and whispered, "So he does speak! I was beginning to wonder."
The door let out a soft jingle as Ciel pushed it open, and the soft sound of the wind blowing against the windows was the only thing to greet him.
Ciel had never been in an empty store before, much less in California. The emptiness was shocking, but the way everything had seemed so normal and calm disturbed him. It was like the store was simply waiting for everyone to return.
Ciel righted himself after a moment of staring and began searching the aisle for any supplies that they could use. After doing a lap around the store, Ciel hopped behind the cashier counter and found a switch to restore power to the pumps outside.
Ciel flipped it, and a second later, the doorbells rang out once more and Alois and Lizzie's voices shattered the store's silence.
"You figured it out, Ciel! Good job!" Lizzie praised.
Alois walked past her and shouted back to Ciel. "Should we grab some snacks for the road?"
Ciel opened his mouth to respond but a loud BAM cut him off. The trio froze and looked at the back of the station.
BAM BAM.
Something was pounding on the bathroom door. Something that was locked inside.
Alois turned on his heel to face the other two and asked, "Wanna get the petrol and get the fuck out of here?"
A/N: Full disclosure. I'm a journalist now, so I do a lot of ~action-driven writing~ but not a lot of ~character-driven writing~ (i.e. fiction) so please give me feedback! I'm a big girl, I can take it!