Out of the nook
As he attempts to kill himself, he heard a knock on his door.
“Are you in there?”
He was in the dark. There was neither power nor light. He could not tell the difference between day and night. He managed to collect enough food from nearby grocery shops to survive for a few months before everything around him started to cover in thick dark smoke. He had a feeling that there was a blaze somewhere very close to him and it was approaching where he was, slowly and steadily. The abandoned drainage pumps were beginning to rupture and there was water everywhere. He was stuck in a world of fire and water. Finally, his guarding angel had arrived at his doorstep. He opened the door to find a man wearing what looked like a space suit.
“How did you know I was here?”
“Later... I will explain everything later. We need to leave now” The voice behind the mask replied.
He did not protest. After all, it was the first time in weeks he heard another human voice. It might have been months. He had lost track of time and so did, his will to live. He was still holding the gun in his right hand when he pulled himself up and out of the nook.
For a moment he thought his suicide attempt was successful and he had arrived in heaven. There was sunshine. He could breathe. The thick mass of smoke had finally cleared. It was not so dark anymore. However, everything was still damp and squidgy. He realized that he had spent a little longer than he had perceived inside the bunker to which he called home since he lost everyone he ever knew. Some buildings were burnt and some others were completely destroyed. Most structures had tumbled down. There were rotted supporting beams here and there. The horizon was clearly visible as the buildings were not standing tall to block the view.
He walked behind the stranger. His head was full of questions but he was too tired to talk. He survived on cereal and biscuits for god knows how long. The stranger finally decided to break the ice.
“I am Kevin Spencer. I work for NASA” he paused. “or should I say I worked for NASA? What is your name kid? How old are you? Fourteen? Fifteen?”
“Vidu. Seventeen”
“Silly me. It is always wise to overestimate when guessing the age of a malnourished kid” He smiled
“What’s going on? What happened to us?” Vidu was not in the mood for smiles.
Kevin Spencer straightened his face. “You know better than I, kiddo”
“What do you mean? Everyone died! Just like that? I don’t know what got them?” He couldn’t help raising his voice as his eyes teared up. He wished he had died just like everyone else did.
“At least you were there” Kevin Spencer said calmly but his voice was a bit strained like someone had hit him in the gut and he was still recovering.
“Where are you from exactly? America? Are people over there okay?” Vidu asked.
Kevin Spencer looked him in the eyes and said “No. Everyone else is gone. You must be the last man on earth”
A chill ran down his spine. But Kevin Spencer did not make any sense. How can he be the last man on earth when there are already two people here? Vidu did not know the right questions to ask. He was worn out to argue with a stranger even though he was being ridiculously unreasonable. He stopped walking and sat on the ground.
“What are you doing Vidu? We can’t idle here. It’s still out there. Get going!”
“To where?” Vidu had lost all his patience.
“Look. You got to trust me. I will explain everything when we arrive at the shuttle. You know it’s still out there right? The virus?”
Vidu looked over and a moment later he pulled himself up off the ground. They continued to walk to the shuttle where apparently all the answers were held.
