When the Time Comes

My head rested against the old, rotting wooden beam. The dim lightbulb penetrated the darkness of the basement. Winter nights were now unbearable after we had to cut back on the heat. I couldn't ever figure out how we made it this far. I'd seen movies about the last of mankind. I've read books and reread them. I've read theories and thought of ideas. As a kid I drew comics and wrote stories about adventures like this. Blowing up zombies and vampires and werewolves and whatever else my mind could think of. Now here I am sitting on cracked concrete watching the dark evolve into nightmares, listening to the stereo system reverberate switch through CD's we found. Mix CD's no less. Some of the songs take on a different meaning now. Shadows became a living nightmare, punk outrages against a nonexistent government, techno songs asking for death. The stairs creaked and I froze. My eyes locked onto the wooden handrail and my body died inside.

"Are you alright?"
My spine relaxed. Casey's old white sneakers were unmistakable.

"Yeah, just cold."

She walked over slowly and sat next to me.

"So what's new with you?"

She rested her head on my shoulder. Her sweatshirt was still white, despite all the years she's been cooped up in this dirty old house. Something about her kept the monsters away.

"Nothing Case, just sitting down here in this cold room trying to get my mind straight." I blinked slowly. She calmed me so much it was unbelievable.

"You do that everyday for hours on end. I couldn't do that. I can't even work with the people we got here. They're so uptight and-"

"Well they're uptight because we're running around without any fuel and we're running out of food and shit."

"I know, it's just... people need to chillax."

"Yeah, totally." I sighed. We sat quietly for a while.

"What do you think about?" her voice carried unnaturally through the room.

"Everything and nothing, I guess."

"Explain. You're always so quiet, I never know what you're thinking and it worries me."

"Just everything. All those life questions that everyone has. All those little moments that now blend together. I just don't know what's the point of living right now."

"It's alright, it's life. It's a miracle. Just go with it." She nudged my shoulder.

"I'm trying. I'm trying..." My eyes closed and we sat next to each other for hours. Then I dreamed of everything.

I woke up and Casey was gone, so the darkness crept up again. The stereo was playing static again. I tried to get up but my legs were stiff. This basement became my room. No one else came down here. Except for Casey occasionally. Even then not that often. In a way I was glad she was worried about me. It meant someone cared. Was I really that lonely? I was also glad that the basement didn't have windows. The world looked lonely itself. The trees were dead and the soil couldn't grow rocks.

I still couldn't get up so I sat there some more and watched the dim lightbulb die.