Life After People (boyxboy, girlxgirl, boyxgirl) (on hold)

The World of After - Balee

The air is thick with ashes and the smell of death, the way it's been for nearly four days. Four days since everything in my world had fallen apart at the seams. Four days since all hell had broken through the crust of the Earth to wreak havoc. Four days ago, this was a completely different planet. There were seven billion people back then. Now? Maybe a thousand per continent.

Out of a thousand fucking people spread out over North America, who do I get stuck travelling with? My, for some unknown reason, best friend, Eli Simms. He is fifty percent obnoxious, fifty percent narcissistic, and one hundred percent gayer than Jefree Star. 

The end of the world began when we were sitting on the curb with slushies and gas station pizza. We had no idea what was about to happen. We had no idea that everything was about to change.

It all started with an earthquake that violently shook the ground beneath us. Before you say something along the lines of, "Well, earthquakes happen every day," let me finish. This earthquake was so massively destructive that it went off the Richter scale. There was no measurement for this monstrosity. It threw down buildings all over the world, effectively creating a global state of panic for Act II of the terror show.

The second wave of devestation was literally a wave, or rather a long sequence of waves. Huge tsunamis, the largest ever recorded, decimated coastlines across the map. After the waves came the storms. Awful tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, you name it and it ravaged the inland areas. Of course, that wasn't the end. Volcanoes erupted, mountains crumbled, and Earth waged war on itself in an epic battle of nature that ultimately ended, as all wars do, in mutual destruction.

A tornado was what really did us in. Eli and I lived in a small Tennessee town famous for nothing at all. It wasn't even a dust speck on the map of the USA. The tornado was going God knows how many miles per hour, tearing away everything we ever knew. We watched people we knew and loved get sucked into the towering black mass. The only reason we survived was because we made it a couple blocks down the road to my house where we hid in the basement.

Very few humans and almost no animals were left in the wake of the travesty. So many died in the initial attacks, and even more of wounds afterwards. Bodies littered the streets in heaps and pieces. The stench of rot had been potent for what seemed so long, I had forgotten a time when I didn't always smell decay and hopelessness. The world was a morgue.

This all brings us to present day where I, Balee Copeland, start my log. I found this journal in the ruins of a Walmart, along with enough provisions for a couple days and two backpacks. We were lucky to find that much. It has to last though, so we're trying to ration it out. That's hard when you have two growing teenagers and one of them is a guy.

We've left our hometown. There was nothing more for us there, only memories and ruin. We got what we needed and set off down the road. No destination in mind, nothing except our feet to carry us. All the cars had been destroyed. We just plowed ahead, stopping to sleep and take breaks. We passed the time by talking and playing on-the-road games. You know the ones. I Spy and stuff like that. 

You have no idea how tired you can get  of I Spy after four days.

Eli and I have been walking for a couple hours now. We're stopped next to a cotton field somewhere near the Mississippi River. Or, at least, that's what my map says. It's one of those big fold-out maps you get at rest stops. We picked it up yesterday from a building that was down to the foundation. There's really no point to having it; we have no idea where we're trying to go. It just provides security, I guess. Knowing where you are makes you feel more in control, even though no one is anymore.

"Balee," Eli whines, drawing out the vowels, "I'm hungry. Can we please eat some of those Cheetos? Pretty please?" 

"We just ate an hour ago, how are you possibly hungry?" I question irritably. I swear to god, he's like a four-year-old. I'm hungry, I'm tired, I wanna go find a house to stay in, blah blah blah. Sometimes I wonder how I've managed to not murder him yet. It's truly a mystery.

"I'm a growing boy, darling, I have needs. Especially sexual ones, but you can't exactly fill those."

I shoot him a glare. "You're both a whore and a fatass."

He places a hand over his heart. "How could you say such a thing, Balee? I thought you loved me!" A fake, dramatic sob chokes out and my glare intensifies. "When I die of starvation and blue balls, maybe then you'll appreciate the light I bring into your life!"

"Light?" I snort. "More like annoyance and motivation to murder."

"Always so negative. This is why you don't have a girlfriend."

"I could write a book about the reasons why you don't have a boyfriend."

His looks, however, are not a deterrent. Devious chocolate syrup eyes, an ever-present killer smile that can turn heads of any gender, and scruffy near-black hair. I'm a lesbian and even I can appreciate the fact that Eli Simms is hotter than sin. 

Suddenly I feel myself lifted up from my seat among the cotton and thrown over Eli's shoulder. I pound my fists against his back and kick wildly. "Put me down, you friggin' fag!" I shriek. 

"No can do, sweet cheeks. I have to punish you for such harsh words" I can practically hear him smirking, the bastard. This happens way too often. He picks me up and throws me around a lot just because I'm about nine inches shorter than him. How is that fair?

I growl and aim a kick at his crown jewels. He drops, taking me down with him. I wiggle out of his arms as he groans, "Oh, you cruel bitch." He doubles over and wraps his arms around his waist. A giggle escapes me and I smile sweetly at him. "I hate you," he moans. More giggles and soon I'm laughing on my back while he makes low sounds of pain.

After a couple minutes, my laughs die down to little chuckles. "I love you, Eli darling," I say in a candy-coated voice. Then I frown. "Well, that's not a very nice finger."

"Fuck you."

"You know you love me."

"I hope you die."

"Not before you."

It feels good to know that even if the world as we know it is gone and everything past this point is uncertain, Eli's still going to be here. I may hate him most of the time, but he's the only thing from my old life that I have left. I need him. I need something familiar if I have any hope of getting through this shit. And I do have hope.

Author's Note:

I definitely am liking this better than the old version. Originally this was going to be very serious and a completely straight story, but obviously I'm botching that. I like the idea of having a boyxboy/girlxgirl/boyxgirl story. It gives variety. So even if you don't like straight stuff or you don't like gay stuff, there's still something for you. And if you don't even like romance, there's still enough for you to find something you like (I hope). 

What do you think? I'd love it if you gave me some feedback. Remember to comment, vote, and if you really liked it then pop on over to my profile and click that follow button :)

Picture is of Balee

With love to the fireballs, Sunny