My apologies if this turns out as a double-post, I've had SERIOUS trouble
with my email the past few days, and I duno if it got through.
Neon Genesis Evangelion and all of its characters and
situations are the creation and property of Hedeiki Anno
and Gainax. I use these characters and situations without
permission.
WARNING: This fic DOES contain spoilers for what happened in
'End of Evangelion', so unless you REALLY wanna read this,
or you've seen EoE, I'd turn back. ^_^
After the Omega
by Kyle Emmerson
Chapter One: The Third Horseman
"When the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the
third living creature say, 'Come!' I looked, and there
before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of
scales in his hand." ~ Revelations 6:5
****
The morning dew had set itself lightly across the
dying fields of Gejika, the city Shinji and Asuka had come
to call home the day before. The brown-coloured grass was
dying from lack of sunlight, and the dew was blood red.
How Shinji and Asuka had survived on the bottled
water and warm soda they had thought to pack before they had
left the ruins of Tokyo-3 were a miracle. Eating beef jerky,
dried fruits and canned foods were all they could manage.
How Aki had survived, on the other hand was nothing
short of a miracle. She rarely slept, she hadn't eaten, and
was drinking the blood red water from the still-running taps
in the kitchen of her home.
As it was, Asuka had fixed her a good dinner while
Shinji went out to find a generator to power the small
building in which the three of them resided.
And now, Aki slept the sleep of the dead. Wild
horses couldn't wake her, or more specifically, sputtering
generators.
Shinji had found an old generator in the basement of
one of the other homes in the area, unfortunately, he ended
up having to tie it up to a rope, and then attach it to the
winch of a truck. It made it up the stairwell with minimal
damage, and he ended up hefting it into the truck himself.
Driving wasn't that much of a problem. He had
piloted Eva units, so a simple machine such as a truck
wouldn't be too much for him.
Shinji started the truck, and it lurched forward,
denting the siding of the house it had hit. Placing his hand
on the transmission, he adjusted it to reverse.
Thank God it was an automatic.
He started by moving onto the street, the front
fender of the truck scraping irritatingly on the curb.
Trying desperately to move the truck to face the right way,
he pushed the gear into Drive.
And then he sped.
It wasn't on purpose. It was a simple mistake, he
was so focused on switching the gear, he hadn't noticed he
was pushing the accelerator down.
Clumsily looking for the brake, he took his foot off
the gas, only to put it back, twice as hard.
Eventually, the truck smash head-on with a car with
had been left on the road.
Shinji swore as he wiped the blood off of his
forehead. Sure, he could pilot machines in excess of 1000
tonnes, but when it came to a simple pick-up truck, he was
all thumbs.
Shinji left the truck running and hopped out of the
cab, checking the fender. It didn't seem too damaged, there
was nothing leaking. It just gave Shinji a bit of a
headache. He hopped back into the cab and thought of his
next course of action.
He was pressed against another car, an old American
model. He swallowed, trying not to let the bile rise up from
his stomach as he noticed the dried pus resting on and
around the clothing on the drivers side seat of the car,
with the flies buzzing around it.
Shinji had been out of tears for a week.
He did the only thing he could think of. He pushed.
The trucks tired spun ferociously, trying to allow
Shinji the escape he desired from his vehicular prison. He
knew something was working, the rear end of the truck was
swinging back and forth, and the screeching metal sounds
from the fender were beginning to threaten his sensitive
eardrums, but he was moving.
It was only a little bit at first, and then it
slowly began to pick up speed. The car was slowly being
pushed away.
And then he was free. The trucked lurched again,
barreling down the road as Shinji let his foot off of the
gas pedal. It slowly cruised to a stop, and then Shinji sat
back and sighed.
It almost wasn't worth the trouble.
He looked at the road in front of him, and spotted
his destination. Two blocks down was the storefront where he
had found Aki the day before. Hopefully, she would still be
sleeping.
Hopefully, she will have forgotten, so Shinji
wouldn't have to see the pained look on her face. The
horrified expression as realization had hit her.
The road was remarkably clear, save for a few odd
cars and bicycles littering the road, but as long as Shinji
kept at a slow speed, he wouldn't have to worry about
striking them.
With a sigh, he placed his foot lightly on the gas
pedal.
****
Asuka gently caressed the sleeping face of the child
that slept on her lap.
Child. She was a mere two years younger than her,
but Asuka had been through so much...
Twelve years old, and still as innocent as a
toddler. Asuka had been through so much. Losing her mother
at a very young age, losing... everything.
Asuka looked towards the ceiling. She had even lost
her life, if her memory served her correctly. The last thing
she remembered before seeing Shinji above her, strangling
her was...
Pain. Complete, total and utter pain. It was as if
she was being ripped apart piece by piece, but living
through the entire experience, even as her head was being
opened, ripped from its body and impaled.
It wasn't far from the truth.
Asuka lightly lay Aki's head down on a pillow as she
heard the distant hum of a motor. She got up and walked to
the window to investigate, when she was interrupted by a
shrill screech as a pick-up truck skidded to a stop, only to
hit a street sign.
Shinji just put his hand on his forehead and shook
his head in annoyance.
Asuka walked out of the store to take a look.
Somehow, the need to say something sarcastic became
important.
"Nice going, dummkopf. Where'd you learn to drive?
Ichiro's school of Sunday driving?"
Shinji turned his head slightly, and could only
blink in response. It had been a total shock to hear Asuka
speak like that. She hadn't talked to Shinji like that since
before... before it all happened.
Asuka realized it too. She quickly cast her gaze
downwards, focusing on a spot in the concrete between them.
"I'm... I'm sorry."
Shinji shook his head. "Don't be. Oh, God please
don't be sorry."
Asuka just kept looking downward.
"I've found a generator."
"Should we hook it up?"
Shinji blinked. "I suppose, but... I'm not sure
how."
Asuka scoffed. "No, I suppose you wouldn't." She
looked up. "Help me carry it around to the power entry
panel. I can hook it up."
Shinji just nodded, and then hopped out of the
truck.
****
An hour and a half later, power was running through
the house. Asuka sighed lightly as she entered the store, to
see Aki snoring lightly on the countertop.
"All we need now is good water, so we can take a
bath."
Shinji nodded. "The tap water isn't going to work.
There might be enough bottled water to fill up a bathtub,
though."
"Not in this store," Asuka mentioned.
"No, but there are always more. I saw a supermarket
up the road, and after seeing... well, everything, a lot of
them would have rushed out for some, so there will probably
be a lot in people's homes."
Asuka turned around, regarding Shinji with a shocked
look. "Shinji, I think that's one of the smartest things
you've ever said. Maybe you really DO have a brain!"
Shinji could only smile. Asuka was taking things so
well, if only she could keep him distracted from his usual
train of thought, things would turn out all right.
As Asuka turned back to Aki, she looked up in
thought. "We're probably going to be staying here for a
while, so we'll need to stock up on supplies." She turned
her head back to Shinji. "And a little beautification might
be in order. Move those cars off the road. Maybe push them
off the cliff?"
Shinji nodded. "I think we could manage that. Most
of the cars still have the keys in the ignition."
"We should try and find some guns, too."
Shinji gasped. "Guns? Why? Why would we need them?"
Asuka looked back at Shinji seriously. "Look, Shin-
boy, remember that dog we saw the other day? He ran away
from us, sure. But what if it had been a pack? What if it
had been a bigger animal? It won't be long before all the
animals come down out of the forests and mountains to....
retake their land, so to speak."
Shinji sighed in understanding. They would need to
protect themselves.
"And if there are other survivors, it's not much of
a stretch to imagine they're not all like Aki, here. They
could be bloodthirsty. Insane, even." She shook her head
sadly. "We weren't far from it ourselves."
No. Shinji had crossed the insanity threshold. How
he came back in as many pieces as he had left was a miracle,
but he had gone insane, even if only for a short while.
"Now, try to find the police station. If any place
has guns, they do." She dawned in realization as she thought
of something else. "Maybe there's a military base around
here. I'm not sure if NERV had any more offices in Japan,
but you never know."
Asuka looked at Shinji, almost smiling.
"I think we have a chance to rebuild ourselves. The
right way, Shinji."
Shinji could only nod.
****
And so, hours passed. And on top of those hours,
days. Eventually weeks had passed, all the while, the stench
of the dead had stained the senses of the three survivors of
the third impact.
The streets of that small town had been cleaned of
the cars. The clothing and dried organic fluid had been
sprayed clean while the waterworks still ran, though with
blood water. The underground gasoline supply had been tapped
into, and it provided power to the three survivors, all the
while, the blood red moon looked down upon them...
But, all things, good or bad, must come to an end,
and soon the sky started to revert to it's original colour.
And when the sky reverted, so did the waters. The oceans
were once again blue, maybe even safe to swim in.
Had the waterways worked after that, the tap water
may have been safe to drink, but Shinji, Asuka and Aki could
only drink what they caught in the rain. All thoughts of
insanity soon left Shinji and Asuka as the time passed.
The mountainous stump in the distance was fast
becoming one with nature, the decomposition overtaking it,
leaving only the skeletal structure of a vast human head.
A skull, with naught but bits of flesh left upon it,
and what was left was quickly being consumed by the scores
upon scores of scavengers which had been attracted to the
food source.
But the skull remained. The last, permanent reminder
to what had happened that fateful day. That day of prophecy,
when the four horsemen of the apocalypse rode upon the four
horses. When all the souls of those who had been slain for
following the word of God had called out to Him in the
heavens. When the earth shook and the sun turned black. When
the skies and moon turned blood red.
When the seven seals had been broken.
It was supposed to be over then.
But it wasn't.
What wasn't yet known, was that of the four horsemen
of the apocalypse, two remained in knowledge of the other,
while one other simply wandered.
****
He could see the town in the distance through his
binoculars easily. It was at the shores of Japan, perhaps
even a port town.
'Perfect,' he thought to himself. He could easily
find a seaworthy boat and make it across, and get away from
this blasted place.
He looked back through the binoculars and examined
the town a bit more. The streets were remarkably clean,
unlike the streets of the countless other cities and towns
he had gone through. Perhaps they didn't see the end coming
until it was too late.
But either way, he could sleep in a vacant home for
the night, and search for a way across in the morning.
Who knows, perhaps there would be survivors. The
population of China was a great deal more than Japan. And he
had survived, so it only stood to reason that there would be
others.
Unfortunately, he hadn't run into any in Japan yet.
Sitting down on the grassy knoll, he took his gun
from his side. He examined it briefly while his binoculars
hung at his neck.
He had found it lying on the street a few weeks
earlier. He did have some use for it at the time, since he
was being chased by a pack of wild dogs.
It was pure luck. Since that time, it had been his
only protection.
The strange part was, however, the ivory handle. It
had the impressions on either side of a scale.
A single, serpentine scale.
The irony still hadn't hit him as he got up and
placed the gun back in the holster at his side.
He placed the binoculars back into his pack, which
had pretty much housed him for the past several weeks as he
recuperated, stocked up, and came to terms with what
happened.
Trotting down the grassy knoll to the town, he
sighed. He hated being lonely. All through school, he had
been popular, not lonely.
He just wasn't like that.
As he found his way on the side of the road which
led to the town below, he let his mind wander.
****
"Aki?" Asuka called out, minding the darkening
skies. "Time for supper!"
Supper. Asuka chuckled. This was NOT how she saw
herself a mere two months earlier.
Well, she didn't see the world ending two months
earlier, either.
But nonetheless, the impossible had happened. Asuka
had turned into a mother.
She watched the road annoyingly as Shinji happily
played with Aki. The streets had been empty for weeks now,
and they were well stocked with food.
Shinji had even thought to stock all the surrounding
homes with food as well. Asuka had to admit, Shinji had gone
through a definite change.
"Are you going to come in, or is Shinji going to
have to starve?" she asked with some annoyance.
Before Shinji could object, Aki almost ran Asuka
down, going into the house.
Shinji just smiled and followed her.
Asuka blocked his entrance. "And where do you think
YOU'RE going?"
Shinji opened his mouth, trying desperately to grasp
at a few words that he hopes would make a difference.
"You're going over to the big house to get us some
soda, is what you're going to do," Asuka informed him.
Shinji blinked. "Soda? I thought we had plenty!"
Asuka nodded. "Yes, plenty of Cola! We need root
beer. You know how Aki can't stand the stuff. Frankly,
neither can I. I don't know how you can drink it!"
Shinji could only sigh. "How many cases?"
"Two cases. Don't worry, it should last us a week or
two." She happily patted Shinji on the shoulder. She had to
admit, he was getting stronger. Work would do that to a
person. "I'll make sure I give you some extra food for it,
though."
Shinji smiled and nodded. "I'll take you up on that
offer."
"Goody, now go!" Asuka pointed off into the
distance.
Shinji walked away, sulking mockingly. He and Asuka
had grown much closer over the past two months, and Aki had
become almost like a little sister to the both of them. Even
though it felt like more. It felt like... a daughter almost.
Shinji shook his head. She was only two years
younger than the both of them. It was impossible to consider
her as such.
Shinji looked off into the distance. The grass was
beginning to turn green again, and the sky was once again
blue. He could now look off into the distance and breathe
the fresh air, and actually enjoy it. No smog. No manmade
pollution continuing to ruin the atmosphere.
The big house was the nick name they had thought up
for the department store they had stocked many of their
supplies in. It was a mere block away, across from the
vacant lot which led out into the cliff. Their home was
rather close to the cliff, perhaps a little too close, but
that wasn't much to worry about. As long as nobody decided
to take a night stroll and lose their way.
It was funny. Months ago, one could look at the
nights sky, and see nothing but the moon, perhaps a star or
two.
Now, it was almost as if the night would light his
way. The only light in all of Japan now was coming from
their little home. At least, all that Shinji knew of. The
sky had a brilliance that Shinji never would have expected.
A complexity of stars that stretched beyond imagination.
But most importantly, it felt comforting. To lose
himself in the night sky gave something to Shinji that no
emotion or drug could ever do.
It gave him a purpose. He had to show others.
As he approached the big house, he noticed something
definitely out of place.
The front door was open.
Shinji was positive he had closed it the last time
he was there. Only days earlier.
Walking to the side of the house and picking up a
conveniently placed shotgun from a wooden cabinet, he moved
cautiously to the door and peeked in.
Yes, the door had definitely been forced open. The
scuff marks on the floor confirmed that. Maybe some animal
had smelled the food inside and pushed its way in.
Shinji bent over and took a closer look at the
marks.
Shinji gasped as he realized that there was no way
those scuff marks were animal.
The were human. Boots, brand new from the looks of
it, with the logo printed on the sole.
Muddy boots, to be exact.
Shinji backed away from the door quickly. In doing
so, he pushed against a wooden plank that he had set up a
pillar, cracking it.
The noise was too loud. Whoever was inside had to
have heard it.
It wasn't long before he realized that whoever was
inside, HAD heard it.
He heard a feral yell from inside, and then the
shots began to ring out.
****
He thought nothing of it at first as he tried to
munch down on the food that had been suspiciously stacked in
the department store. Perhaps the people here HAD known the
end was coming, and stocked themselves in the store.
But then, why would they have pushed all their
vehicles off the cliff?
He noticed that on his way to the rather large
building. The tire marks staining the grass of the vacant
lot next to it, then as he examined the cliff, he saw the
pile of cars.
Suspicious, yes. But who was he to judge people who
knew they only had moments to live? Maybe they just piled
off into the ocean like a bunch of lemmings.
He heard another noise. That was it. Some animal HAD
to have followed him. He should have closed the damned door.
Taking the handgun from his side and placing his
food down, he yelled.
"Blasted animals!"
And then he started shooting.
It took him a moment to realize the screams he was
hearing didn't come from any animal.
And when he stopped shooting, he hoped to God that
he didn't hurt whoever it was.
He ran to the door and looked around. There was
nobody there.
In the distance, he heard some yelling. Two female
voices.
As he saw them in the distance, running towards him,
his eyes began to well up with tears.
And then he looked to the side of the store, and
dropped his gun.
****
Shinji thanked his lucky stars. He heard a bullet
whiz by his ear, but none had made contact with him. He had
managed to run to the side of the store before any of the
bullets could make contact.
After a moment of silence, he peeked around the
side.
He was right, there was a man. And he was staring
into the distance, at the approaching figures of Asuka and
Aki.
He wanted to turn and yell at them to run, but
something made him take a second look at the man.
And then the man turned towards him, and he dropped
his gun.
Shinji's jaw dropped.
"Touji?"
****
Ahh! Doncha hate cliffhangers?!
Thanks to all those who mailed me back on 'Come Sweet Death'! I really
appreciated it!
Also, I'm looking for pre-readers to help me out on this fic! There's only
so much my spell-checker can do! Email me if you can help!
ttyl,
-------------------------
| The TydRipper | "Tyd, you need a smaller
| | .sig. :-)"
| Master of the Tides, | - Gary Kleppe, FFiRC
| Devourer of noodles, |
| Writer of the Fanfic, |
| Baka to the end... |
-------------------------
Questions? Comments? Flames? Email Me.
~ The TydRipper
Author of:
Trials of Destiny,
Divinity,
A Life Once Lived,
Converging Fates,
and more!
Check out my page at:
http://www.ryo-oh-ki.net/tydi-oh-ki
ICQ UIN: 41450221
[How many fates turn around in
the overtime?
Ballerinas that have fins that
you'll never find.
You thought that you were the bomb,
yeah well so did I.]
Tori Amos - Spark