The Last Man Standing

[Aligewe]

AN: Wow! I am actually posting something here... LOL I hope you like it. If you do please leave a reply if you don't like it please still leave a reply on how I can make it better. So... that said have fun reading


The Last Man Standing
By: Gesa Werner
Email: aligewe@hotmail.com
Rating: PG

The last man on earth sat alone in a dark room. In his hand he held a necklace. As far as he knew he was the only survivor to a deadly virus. Everyone around him had started dying, until he was the last one left. Never had there been a body, when one person had died. They had been taken away as soon as they were diagnosed.

After the first 100 deaths in his town and 100 million globally, he had locked himself in the basement, depressed. He couldn’t do anything to save his people. Everyday his wife, kids and friends would have gone to the door and talk to him. Each day less and less people had come. The man believed himself to be alone in the world, when no one came to his door anymore.

Once he had wandered out of his basement, only to find the house empty. He walked out into the street but there was no one. Cars stood in the driveways like normal, but the atmosphere seemed dull. No one walked around. No friendly chitchat. No lawnmowers. Nothing. He had walked over to his neighbor and rung the doorbell but hadn’t gotten an answer. He had tried the door. It was unlocked, so he walked in calling their names. He didn’t get an answer. By the time he had tried every house on his street he was exhausted. He gave up hope. He had walked back to his house and into the basement, tears streaming down his face. He didn’t care. It wasn’t like there was anyone who could have made fun of him for crying in the open.

The man had wanted something to remember his family by, so he had went to his wife’s jewelry case and had taken out a gold locket that she had worn almost all the time. It held a picture of his family. On one side it was a picture of their wedding and on the other it held the most recent family picture.

He had locked himself in his basemen again. Not caring that he would probably die if he didn’t take care of himself. He didn’t care though. He was the last man alive.

He flipped the locket open and looked at the pictures of his family. Out of nowhere there was a knock in the door.

Reflexes made him ask, “Who’s there?” No one answered. Instead there was a knock. The man got up cautiously, not used to walking around anymore. He set one foot in front of the other, slowly inching towards the door, clenching the locket in his hand. When he reached his hand out, it knocked again. The man jumped in surprise and shock. He stretched his free hand out again, slowly opening the door. When it was open a couple inches, a snout pushed through it, then the head and finally the dog stood in front of the man.

“Basti, what are you doing here? How did you get in here?” The man bent down and ran his hands along his friends dog’s side. Basti seemed to like it as he was waddling his tail. The locket the man held in his hand got tangled in the dogs hair.

“Oh shoot,” the man said kneeling down beside Basti. He tried to free the locket by just pulling on it, but it wouldn’t budge. Basti started whining when the man started tugging a little harder.

“I’m sorry, Basti,” he said petting the dogs head apologetically. Slowly he moved his fingers to pull out hair for hair from the locket without pulling on Basti’s hair too much. Basti sat down patiently waiting for him to be untangled again. When he was finally free, Basti got hold of the locket with his teeth and pulled on it.

“Basti, let go of the locket. Basti, out,” he threatened and the dog let go of it reluctantly. The man walked over to the bed he had made and lay down. Basti Jumped on it next to him and lay down at the mans feet. The man lay on his side, looking at the pictures.

He felt Basti crawl up his back slowly. Basti started licking the mans neck.
“Igitt, Basti, cut it out. That’s gross.” The man had slobber running down his neck. He pushed the dog away with the hand that held the locket. Basti stopped licking and snapped for the locket. The chain got caught in his teeth and the man let it go before it tore.

“Basti, what are you doing? Give me back the necklace!” Basti jumped off the bed and to the door, and the man short behind him still yelling at the dog to let go of the necklace. Basti didn’t care though; he jumped up the door trying to open it so he could leave the basement.

The door wouldn’t open. Basti walked back to the man who took the locket out of the dog’s mouth and then walked to the door to open it for Basti.

“Now you can go, Basti. I don’t need you here stealing my stuff.” Basti didn’t leave though. He just laid down on the ground in front of the bed and closed his eyes. The man left the door open and stepped over Basti to lie down again. He continued looking at the pictures in the locket. He slowly drifted off to sleep. Basti used this to his advantage. He sneaked up towards the bed and took hold of the necklace again and then sat down in front of the bed to wait for his masters friend to wake up again.
When the man slowly woke from his sleep, he immediately saw Basti holding the locket in his teeth again.

“Basti, why do you want the locket?” the man asked. “It’s mine.” Basti whined in response. “Fine, you keep it.” The man turned away from the dog. Basti however didn’t let him alone. He took hold of the man’s jacket sleeve and started pulling at it.

“What do you want, Basti? Why won’t you leave me alone?” Basti let go of the sleeve and walked to the door. When the man didn’t follow, Basti returned to the man’s side and took hold of the sleeve once more. He pulled slightly on it. The man slowly stood up.

“You want me to follow you?” the man asked in total confusion. “Why? There is nothing out there. No one.” The man followed Basti out the door and up the steps. When he reached the front door he was breathing heavily and Basti was no where in sight. He stopped looking around for the dog, who came momentarily when he was called. He dropped a water bottle in front the man’s feet, left and returned for a second time from the same direction carrying the locket between his teeth. Basti walked to the door and jumped up trying to open the door.

“Down boy,” the man said opening the door and following the dog outside. Basti led the man down a couple streets to the edge of the town.
The man was near collapsing when Basti ran across the next intersection and into the house behind it. The man stood there, not knowing what to do. Should he follow a dog into a stranger’s house? Or should he return home and lock himself back in his basement. He couldn’t decide so he sat down in the middle of the street. He waited for Basti to return.

Basti ran down the street again towards the man. The man looked up. Basti dropped the locket into the man’s lap and then lay down next to him. The man looked baffled at the dog. From somewhere he heard voices. He looked around and saw four maybe five people walk towards him form the direction the dog had come back from. He started crying.
“I am not the last man standing,” he said hugging Basti. “Thank you, Basti.” He wasn’t sure the dog understood him, but he didn’t care. The people came up to him and he recognized some of the neighboring town’s people. He took the necklace out of his lap and put it around his neck before standing up to greet them.

“Mister Matthews, it is great to see you,” a young man addressed the newcomer.

“It is good to know that I am not the only survivor, Mister Johnson,” the man said. “Thanks’ to Basti over here,” he pointed to the dog who still lay next to him. “He was the one who brought me here.”

“He is a smart dog. He brought all of us together,” an elderly woman said.

“Misses Walker,” Mr. Matthews said and then hugged her like there was nothing more important. Mrs. Walker patted him on the back.

“Now, now Mr. Matthews,” she said. “We are not the only survivors. There are many more in the house. We all owe our life to Basti who brought us together. He left a couple hours a day and each time he would bring more survivors.”

More people came out of the house and hugged Mr. Matthews welcomingly.

A teenage girl cam up to him and said, “I like your locket, Mr. Matthews. Does it hold pictures?”

“Yes,” he said. “It has a picture of my wife and me getting married and a picture of my family. The necklace belongs… belonged to my wife.”

“Maybe we will be able to find her if she survived,” the girl said. They slowly walked towards the house they all came from, Basti walking next to Mr. Matthews. They planned what to do next. They would go from city to city, town to town until the last surviving person was found and then try to rebuild the society that was lost.


The End

[Island Breeze]

Very nice! You could write a sequel to this, I think. Interesting story! Sorry I didn't read it before now. I've had a lot of personal problems to deal with. But I like your story!


Gerry