There was so little light these days. It was as if the sickness and misery had rose into the ozone and clouded the sun. The lack of electricity also darkened the world a little more than it already had become. Life seemed bleak and meaningless, and it was. After the Evacuation had failed, all hope seemed lost. The Infection had reached its deadly fingers across the world, leaving a suffocating miasma in its wake. Not a single speck of happiness was left. If there had been, it had long since been shattered.<br/><br/>A flickering candle created a hole in the darkness, a small pool of light in a sea of ebony. Rainie sat in a rickety old chair, a journal in her lap, as she pondered mortality. A black shape was sprawled on the floor at her feet. A wolfish-looking dog lay sleeping, its muzzle resting on its paws. The candleâ€™s radiance danced across her face, causing her violet eyes to seem to glow. Her right hand rested on the open journal, a pen between her slim fingers. Her cheek rested in her left palm, her elbow propped on the small table as she stared into the flame. Rain pattered against the roof, and against the windows that were deeper into the apartment. There was a leak, and water was currently dripping from ceiling into a large pot.<span style="font-style: italic">Drip... Drip... Drip... Drip...</span>it went.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-size: 100%; line-height: 116%;">March 1, 2012</span><br/>I always thought the world would end in December. Maybe this is not the end, the end has still yet to come. It sure feels like the end. Maybe this is the Big Manâ€™s way of scrubbing out his first try and starting a new batch, which is all good and well, humans are pretty messed up. But he couldnâ€™t have waited another century? Humans, Iâ€™ve decided, are like candle flames. Bright in their intensity, yet so easily snuffed out.</span><br/><br/>â€œWhat the hell are you doing?â€<br/><br/>Adrian lumbered into the room, his hair a tangled mess of black and red. His voice was low and scratchy from sleep. He scratched the back of his head as he blinked against the light of the candle, turning his face away. He still had his jeans on, but his t-shirt was missing. A gun could be seen sticking out of his waist band. Rainie gestured toward it.<br/><br/>â€œIs that loaded?â€ She inquired with raised eyebrows.<br/><br/>He scoffed at her and began to trudge into the kitchen. â€œWhat good is an unloaded gun?â€ He asked rhetorically.<br/><br/>She decided to ignore that, seeing as he was 100% correct. She closed her journal and set it aside, blowing out the candle and following after her younger brother. Adrian opened a few cabinets, looking through the cans of food fully stocking each one. Deciding what was for breakfast.<br/><br/>Rainie was silent for a while as Adrian inspected a can of tomato soup, then replacing it and picking up a can of Spaghettioâ€™s instead with a grimace. His hair was growing out, the black dyed parts separated from his scalp with a good inch of red. Rainie was always struck by the similarities she and her brother shared. Same nose, same skin shade, same natural hair color, they were even the same height. And he was still growing. A seven year age difference didnâ€™t make much of a difference to either of them. Wordlessly, Rainie opened another cupboard and riffled around, sliding cans out of her way as she searched. She pulled a can of diced pineapple out, holding it out like it was a divine relic. His eyes widened when he caught sight at the delicacy, forgetting the Spaghettioâ€™s in his hand.<br/><br/>In a flash of movement, heâ€™d snatched the pineapples from her hand, stolen a spoon from a drawer, and began heading toward his room. Rainie scowled after him, ripping the can opener from its place on the counter and hurling it at his head.<br/><br/>â€œOw! Son of a bitch!â€ Adrian bent and picked up the can opener, rubbing the back of his head while curses streamed from his mouth. â€œThe fuckinâ€™ hurt, damn it!â€<br/><br/>Rainie crossed her arms and looked at him coolly. â€œThatâ€™s obvious. Itâ€™s supposed to hurt, itâ€™s a ass kickinâ€™.â€ She said ungrammatically, quoting one of his favorite movies from before the Outbreak.<br/><br/>Adrian turned and scowled at her. â€œNext time a zombie falls on you, maybe Iâ€™ll miss.â€ He challenged.<br/><br/>Rainie smiled. â€œBut then who will tuck you in?â€ She ducked as an empty candle holder zipped over her head. A door slammed, and Adrian was gone. Smiling, she went up to his door and tapped on it. â€œWeâ€™re going out today. Arm up and put a damn shirt on.â€ She said before Adrian could try to say anything.<br/><br/>There was a rhythmic sound of metal scraping lightly against metal, and Adrian seemed to speak from around a mouthful of food. â€œVests?â€ He asked.<br/><br/>Rainie thought about it. â€œNah. Weâ€™ll be quick. Plus, my back hurts.â€ She muttered the last part lowly, mostly to herself. Something resembling the word â€œokayâ€ seemed to answer her, and she took it as a dismissal.<br/><br/>She went back into the kitchen, where Kai sat by the cupboard, looking up at her with expectant blue eyes. â€œYeah, yeah.â€ She muttered. Reaching up, she found a can of dog food next to a can of carrots, and dumped its contents into a bowl. She placed the bowl on the floor at the wolf hybridâ€™s paws. â€œEat your heart out.â€<br/><br/>Rainie turned to head back to her room, but suddenly Kai snarled. Bewildered, she swung around to look at him, only to find him across the room, barking and snarling at the door. From the other side of the door, there was a bang. Something pounding against it. Almost a full three seconds, there was another. Three more seconds, and again.<br/><br/>Rainie snatched her gun from her holster, left over from her NYPD/FBI days, holding it in her two hands and arms length out of habit. She jerked her head at Kai, who immediately backed away from the door, growling menacingly. She put her shoulder against the wall next to the door, stalling for a moment. Another bang resounded from the other side of the door, and was accompanied by a spine-chilling groan. Rainie yanked the chain loose, jerked the deadbolt, disengaged the latch, and turned the knob. The door flew open. Decomposing fingers appeared, and the creature groaned.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">1-2-3!</span><br/><br/>She stepped in front of the door, a good meter away from it. She stood sideways, her 92A1 in her right hand, raised level to the Infectedâ€™s head. It had been a blonde male, and he wore a mint green hospital gown. The flesh had rotted away, its yellow teeth bared, and it was missing its left eye. Rainie pulled the trigger, point blank in the skull. It went down.<br/><br/>Lowering her gun, she stuck her head out the door and glanced left then right. Nothing else was out there. It was raining, but the roof over the landing kept her dry. Sticking the gun in her holster, she hauled the zombie carcass over the railing of the landing, and it hit the ground three stories down with a sickening<span style="font-style: italic">thuck.</span>A crow that had been picking through garbage nearby cawed in delight. It rose, ebony wings flapping against the air, beating steadily. The light reflected off the feathers, shining purple or blue. It landed on the corpse, cawing before driving its onyx beak into the disgusting flesh.<br/><br/>Rainie glared down at the street below. Abandoned cars littering the road, more than one either connected to a telephone pole or street sign or other car. Debris was scattered over the sidewalks, and once towering buildings crumbled. The stone and brick walls of the opposite building were intricate designs, incorporated with the fleur-de-lis, now cracked. And the smell. There was nothing to describe it. In pre-Infection days, the air of New York City could but described as resembling the scent of dog shit, but now it smelled of rotting flesh, sickness, and death. Suffering and misery. Worst of all, it was silent, save for the wind. The City that never slept, was dead. The crow below tore at the rotting corpse, its wings fluttering, and it cawed every few seconds. Rainie looked down at it through the curtain of water that poured down from the roof. She looked strong. Like a survivor.<br/><br/>â€œEat your heart out.â€