Disclaimer on part one. A/N part one, and end of part two.

Innocence Lost

It was worse than they had expected. Better, too.

Zeke's heart broke when Casey knelt and closed the empty sockets of
a dead child, who lay alone on the street. He had teared up when he
found an elderly couple, who still sat on a bench, arms wrapped around
each other, foreheads touching. Together to the end.

Similar scenes were all over the place. The sheer number of dead was
overwhelming. The silence was broken only by their footsteps and
the caws of fat crows. Several times, he or Casey would bolt to the
bushes that lined the street to be sick.

But as they headed towards the center of town, fewer remains were
seen, and the smell lessened. Zeke figured that when people began to
die, other had stayed home, wandering out in time to die.

"I'm not sure I want to go to Indianapolis," Casey said suddenly.

"Why?"

"Because of that." He waved back the way they had come. His wings
pulled in close, as if to shelter him. "If a town this small is this
bad, what will a full city be like?"

Oh, that was a pleasant thought. "Thanks for sharing that gem, Case."

"Fuck you, Zeke. You asked."

Ouch. "True. Remind me not to do that again."

The first place they found was a car dealership. A bit of breaking
and entering, and they had the keys. It took a little bit, but they
eventually pick out one of the smaller SUVs.

While Zeke was fiddling with their new vehicle, Casey found a phone
book. A few minutes and a map later, the pair hit the nearest
Wal-Mart.

Seeing the building, Casey laughed.

Not sure he wanted to know; Zeke gave into the inevitable, and
asked. "What's so funny?"

Gesturing at the building, Casey grinned. "Wal-Mart: for when the
world ends.' Why do I have the feeling that everyone who's survived
this has looted at least one Wal-Mart?"

"Because it's probably true," Zeke told him, also smiling. Their
humor was dark, a little forced, and a little hysterical, but it was
there.

This time, they had to break open the doors, and get flashlights,
but they still grabbed a cart and went shopping.

It was halfway into the dark store, when the sound of cans hitting
the ground made Zeke spin around, Casey's name on his lips. He
froze, seeing the image before him.

Casey was crouched down, almost sitting on his heels, wings spread
back, as his horror-filled eyes focused on his hands. His hands also
caught Zeke's attention.

They were shaking.

Badly.

Zeke watched as the shaking calmed considerably, but didn't fully
stop. Slowly, the fingers curled up into fists, knuckles white.

What the fuck was going on?

***

"Fuck,fuck,fuck,fuck."

Chanting quietly under his breath, Casey tried to force his fingers
to respond. He didn't know why he had suddenly dropped everything,
or why his hands were so slow to listen to what his mind was
screaming at them.

Slowly they returned to their now normal state, and Casey clutched
them so tight that his knuckles went white, and his fingernails cut
into his palms. He was aware of Zeke staring at him, but was too
focused on making sure everything was back. His testing of them,
wiggling fingers, sensory tests, same things he had done just a week
and a half ago, was interrupted.

"What the fuck...?"

Instinctively, Casey tried to sidestep the issue. "Sorry, didn't
mean to drop the food."

Zeke knelt next to him, ducking down until he could see into Casey's
face. "Fuck the food, Case. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Instinct level two. Deny the injury.

Zeke frowned. "Your hands are shaking. That's not fine. What's
wrong?"

"Nothing." To Casey's horror, his vision blurred, and hot tears slid
down his cheeks. He was not going to fucking cry in front of Zeke.
He wasn't.

Gentle hands took his. "I don't know what you learned in school, but
you don't have to hide your hurts from me."

Zeke sounded so earnest, and Casey wanted to believe him. But why
would Zeke stay with someone who had nerve damage and wings? Hell,
Casey could have dropped him earlier. He sank into his thoughts of
how bad he could have hurt Zeke earlier.

"Damn it, Casey! Don't do this to me. You crawl right back out of
your head and talk to me. I love you, idiot! Don't leave me like
this."

Loved him? Zeke...loved...him? Love? How? Why?

"L.... Love?"

Dark eyes rolled. "Yes, you dumb ass, love. I don't make it a habit
of sleeping with people I don't at least like, even if they were the
last person on Earth, which we aren't."

"Nerve damage."

Zeke frowned, confusion clear on his face. "What?"

Staring blankly at his hands, Casey explained, his mind swamped with
conflicting emotions. "The aliens messed up peoples nervous systems
when they died. Severed the connections between brain and body.
That's why people died. Nothing could communicate. I was partially
infected. My face...." The four lines were still red. "I think they
got a few nerves. Now my hands shake."

***

Casey's voice was flat, but Zeke was happy he was talking.

Nerve damage.

Just like Casey has just said.

Fuck. Poor Case.

Leaning forward, Zeke pulled Casey to him, wrapping his arms around
his lover, making sure not to crush his wings. "Doesn't matter.
You're mine, and I'm not letting go."

Casey was stiff in his arms for a moment, then relaxed into the hug,
arms creeping around Zeke. A sob wracked his body, and, for the
first time in a long time, Casey let someone else see him cry.

Neither boy saw the shadowy figure watching them before slipping
away.

TBC.


A/N: This is for all my campers, who use the tent threats on me. No
camping in my yard today. Here's your next section.

And I have a question for those of you who are actually reading
this, the few who are out there. I was thinking about making side
stories, such as one set in Spiderman, where Peter Parker is one of
the few in NY who survive. What do you guys think? I'm opening up to
the idea of others playing in this universe I've inadvertently
created. Have had a few people already ask. I think one wants to do
a Sentinel story based on this. How odd. I actually have people
asking to play in this universe. Of course, if anyone wants to do
one with the Faculty group, just ask. I'm always looking for new
stories. *grins*