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Zacharie put the bowl down, having dumped out the old, uneaten, food from the day before. Sure, it was a waste but he knew Pablo didn't like stale food.
He missed his dear friend but he knew he would come back. He always comes back, cats always come home for food.
He rolled up the nearly empty bag of cat food, putting it back in his bag. His bag was lighter than normal, most of what he usually carried was sold so it didn't hold much. He stepped out of the room of floating blocks, making his way back to the roof to leave out more bowls for Pablo.
Once there, the wind annoying blowing through his hair. He pulled out two more bowls and bottles from his bag. Putting the bowls down, he opened a bottle and poured the water into the empty dish. Pablo had been gone for quite awhile, Zacharie assumed he must be thirsty so he would spare the last of his rations for his friend. In the other bowl he poured out the water bottle full of milk he had. He got it from one of the cows before they all died off.
He was hesitant to leave the bowl of milk there, it hurts Pablo's stomach but it was his favorite drink. "He deserves it." Zacharie told himself, looking out over the still ocean. He took a deep breath before yelling, "PABLO! IT'S DINNER TIME!" he tried being as loud as possible, his throat sore from yelling the same thing the day before. And the day before that. And the day before that. You get the idea.
He waited, sitting down and kicking his feet. He kept a smile on, even if he hated it. He always smiled for his friends. Even if they'd never see past his mask, he didn't let his sadness get to him, he didn't want it to.
As the sun set he stood back up, climbing down from the roof. He jogged down to a small, pale yellow, area. The batter had told him about that place, saying it was his favorite place to stay and watch the plastic ocean. He said something about that being where he started, that it was the most familiar and calming place in all the zones.
Another time, Zacharie saw the Batter out in the middle of the night.. he said night was his favorite, especially right after sun set.
"Batta-Batta!" Zacharie called out, digging through his bag and pulling out a bat. Torn gift wrapping and ribbons loosely stuck to the metal with tape. "I got you a present, batta!" He yelled, waiting for an answer.
With a sad smile he put the bat on the ground in the middle of the platform. He pulled out a piece of cardboard and a sharpie.
The cardboard had writing on it. "Bat on sale! Now-" there was a jumble of scribbles over two digit numbers. He took the cap off the marker, scribbling over yesterdays "99%" off. "100% off!" The sign read.
Zacharie left the cardboard with the the bat. He didn't like the night much, it was too dark and the humanoid spirits scared him. Though they weren't in zone 0, Zacharie was still paranoid.
"Goodnight, guys..." He whispered, walking into the first room in zone 0, curling up in his sweater.
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The next day he didn't get up. He lied on the ground and watched specks of dust float around the air. He coughed, his body gave up fighting his exhaustion. He wasn't that dehydrated and he wasn't starving, he still had some silver flesh in the bottom of his bag. He was emotionally exhausted.
His best friend and the only love he's ever swoon over had both disappeared. He had forced his happiness so long he had no happiness left.
His stomach felt like bugs. Once he'd describe it as butterflies but now it felt like ants and centipedes. Like a million tiny legs running through his gut. They made him sick, he'd drink pesticides if he had any.
His mind and body felt fuzzy, he couldn't even get a full thought that wasn't about the aching that plagued his organs. He wanted to believe he was just ill but he knew in the back of his head that it was all fake. He was just lonely, he wasn't sick.
He sobbed, crying for the first time in years. Zacharie gripped his mask, breaking the strap as he tore it off, the thin plastic shattered against the wall he threw it at.
"BATTER!" he cried out, covering his face and pulling at his bangs, "PABLO!" he kept yelling, hiccupping and sobbing every few moments.
No matter how hard he cried though, they'd never come back. It was only him. He let everyone else die.
