Their Lives Remain Unchanged

An apocalypse affects everyone differently. In crowded places or epicenters, you are surrounded by unknowns on all sides, unable to fully trust or confide in. That general distrust will almost always cause people to break away from their established routine to guarantee their own survival. Even if they don’t at first, others will force them to make that choice.

However, in more rural regions, their lives may remain completely unchanged. Those areas are more self-sufficient; the people are like a community than strangers. Even the modern inventions or connections of the internet can be illusive. Sure, they may realize something is wrong outside their bubble, but action is rarely taken.

After all…

Tick.

Time kept on passing as the eleventh hour drew nearer. While the place we escaped from had already gone silent, the number of dead continued to rise as more and more cities fell to the unfiltered violence. Hysteria only grew as the blazing summer heat wore away at their mental states. Those small embers would be impossible to put out.

However, in this little town detached from reality, it was relatively peaceful. The sunlight glittered along the light green grass and wooden abodes. Children laughed and played as they ran across the streets. The elders took care of their crops, getting ready for the autumn harvest. Excluding the growing number of sick people, it was as if everything Andrea and I witnessed before was an illusion.

Tick.

We had both settled into our respective roles in town. Well, it was more like we became numb to our new way of living. I preferred to wander instead of staying in one place, but it seemed to help Andrea somewhat.

With my rather skewed knowledge, I became a sort-of handyman for the town, fixing things and helping out where I could from morning until evening. I never thought all those random tidbits my previous comrades taught me would be useful. Fixing a broken pipe? Now the house had running water. Performing a magic trick with a pack of cards? The children were entertained. A clockwork doll had no need for those skills, but they easily supported the lives and happiness of others.

Andrea, on the other hand, became a babysitter whenever a child was in need of supervision. At first, she tried to be brusque and indifferent, not wanting to make any more emotional connections. However, children were children, and they did not care at all, badgering her in every single way imaginable. Slowly, she began to open up – tying a shoe here, providing a blanket there. Although her face remained expressionless, I could see a smile wisp by every so often. She also started to express her opinions more often. It wasn’t on the same level as before, but who cared? Andrea was facing herself, and she was winning.

Tick.

The days continued to roll by as the seasons changed. The heat was replaced by a cool autumn’s breeze as the elder’s harvested their crops. In the evening, a festival-like banquet was held in honor of the good harvest. No one was spared from eating, showing off their terrible dancing skills, or drinking beer, not even the children.

“What are you doing, sitting there? Come on and get up!” A woman, in both my past and present, reached out a hand towards me, dragging me over to the central bonfire. We linked arms, swinging around like drunkards stumbling out of a tavern. I couldn’t help but smile at the joyous occasion.

And yet, at the same time, a hint of sadness marred the excitement. After all, this would be the last harvest festival. The next one would never come. I made sure to burn the sight into my memory.

Tick.

The preparations for winter began soon after. Even though the town was relatively small, it still needed an enormous amount of food to make it through the harsh snow. Only considering calories, an average person needed to eat about three to four loaves of bread to survive. With a winter that could last up to five months, that would be 450 to 600 loaves. Factor that in for a town of about five hundred, and yeah. It was a lot of food.

After storing the food either in the houses or in some insulated box, we then had to move the animals into the numerous barns, check up on the feed, make sure the tools were in decent condition… there was simply too much to do. Of course, it was doable – the town had done so many times before. But recently, more and more people and animals had fallen ill, and that number only continued to skyrocket. It didn’t help that the population was literally made of those most susceptible.

According to the town physician, it was likely some combination of a weakened immune system causing organ failure and a bit of internal bleeding. While there were some medications that helped alleviate the symptoms, the demand was quickly outpacing the supply. The root cause remained unknown, so it was impossible to cure. At this rate… no, it was probably best to avoid thinking about it. Death came for everyone equally. It just might be sooner rather than later.

That night, I slumped my exhausted body onto one of the porch chairs, staring up at the night sky. The previously black and white background had turned completely green, even starting to overpower the natural color of the grass. It was a view for me and me alone. Why? I had no idea. As if my ticking eyes weren’t enough, the stars were also telling me the end was quickly approaching. It was probably the cause behind the illnesses as well, though I had no way to prove so. Even if I could, how would I stop it? I was powerless. The only thing I could do was wait.

And so I did every night, as the cold creeped in and my joints started to creak, until the first snow.

Tick.