Endless Night Finale: Perfect Paradise

Artemis finally busted down the door, and of all people sitting against the wall, it was Alli. He almost screamed with relief. He ran up to her, and realized she was asleep. He put his hand on cheek. How far she had come from when he had found her huddled in a corner, almost a year ago. She had nearly died of starvation. Artemis looked around, and saw her start to wake. He sat himself down on the floor, and waited.

It took a few minutes, but Alli finally opened her eyes. It was fuzzy, but her vision could tell her that Artemis was sitting in front of her. She fell into him. Artemis asked her, "You alright?" She looked up at him, and Artemis realized it looked as if she had insomnia. "Fine, except for the fact that I've been hallucinating." Artemis shuddered. Probably from all the noise from the ghouls, he thought. He knew people in his group who had commited suicide because they went insane from the moaning, the hideous song of the infected. They both stood up. Artemis saw a CB radio on the table. He sat down at the table, and as he heard it's broadcast, he wanted to scream.

The whole city was due to be nuked.

Several minutes later, Alli and Artemis were speeding towards the city limits. The ghouls, naturally, were giving chase. Artemis shuddered as he saw that beast of a zombie from the colony pursuing them. He saw a black, triangular shape fly overhead.

It was the bomber.

He pushed the gas as far as it could go, and saw the bomber getting closer to the city. He knew he would never make it. A bright, ice white flash blinded him, then Alli screamed something about going faster. Artemis still felt his foot on the gas. He heard a roar from behind him. Then everything hit the fan.

Artemis felt himself in the air within the car. He felt Alli grip him, and he finally opened his eyes to see the ground rushing towards the windshield. He opened his mouth to scream, and then everything went black.

Alli felt her eyes slowly open. She felt her neck stiff and sore. She looked over to her left, and saw Artemis, back first, against the wildshield. Blood trickled down his forehead onto his cheek.

He looked dead.

She knew it was impossible. Alli reached over, and gripped his shirt. His dungaree jacket was stained with blood. She felt his heartbeat, steady, but there.

Artemis slipped in and out of consciousness. He felt Alli lying against him. He looked over, and felt his neck stiffen. She was just laying there, awake. He moved his head back. He let blackness take him again.

Artemis finally awoke for real, and tried to shift himself from how he was laying, and Alli jumped at his sudden movement. Alli took one look at him and kissed him. Not just a "Good morning, let's go" peck on the cheek, but the real thing. Artemis felt giddy, and when Alli finally let him go, he just laid there. He realized the car had been turned over, and that they were laying on the ceiling. He heard a hoarse voice come from Alli, "I... I'm sorry 'bout that." Artemis looked over at Alli, "Why? I wouldn't. I mean...." Alli asked, "What?" Artemis sighed, "I was kind of hoping you'd do that for a long time." Alli smirked, and looked back at the floor of the overturned car, which was above them. Artemis shifted himself so he could look out the window. His heart lept into his throat as he saw the town.

Or, the ashes of the town.

He thought he was hallucinating. A few hours ago, there was a town where he was looking. Now there wasn't a thing. He remembered the bomber. It all slowly trickled back. No wonder there wasn't a town there.

Artemis realized he had survived a nuclear blast.

***Three Years Later***

Artemis sat outside the cabin, staring into the woods. He heard the noises of Alli's cooking from inside. His mind traveled back to three years ago, when he had survived the blast. He and Alli had traveled far and wide on foot, and finally came upon a forest that was low in ghouls. They had worked hard to build up the cabin. It had a single story, with bunks near the rafters in case ghouls got in. The front door opened, and Artemis looked over. Their only child, Alice, stumbled out on uneasy feet. She was only two, but she had been told what ghouls were. The thought always scared her, so Artemis always had Alli put Alice away when a ghoul or two found the wrong cabin to mess with. He heard a branch snap, and his red eyes went wide, searching the undergrowth. His infection had become a part of his life now, not a curse. Almost a blessing. Alice was looking around too. "Daddy, was that a bad guy?" Artemis nodded. "I think so, honey." He replied. That's when the stench came, then the groan. Artemis bolted to his feet, and herded Alice inside. He grabbed his shotgun from beside the door. It was already loaded, he always kept it that way. His jaw dropped. They were everywhere. The stumbled from behind trees. From under bushes. One clawed it's way out of the earth. One fell from a tree. Alli stepped outside. "Arty, what's... Dear god." Alli ran outside and emerged again with her sniper rifle. Artemis pumped his shotgun, and Alice came out with Alli's pistol. Artemis grinned at her. "Can you handle that?" Alice nodded. "I think I can." Artemis looked back toward the crowd shambling towards them. "Let's hope you can." His dungaree jacket swayed with the wind, his jeans stained from years of combat and work. His puffy dungaree hat would know a thousand battle stories for years to come. He opened fire. Soon, ghouls fell to the ground, the grass becoming crimson with each fallen zombie. Artemis kept on firing. No ghoul would ever come close enough to harm his family, that much he knew. Alice got knocked onto her butt with each shot she took, but she kept on firing that pistol. Alli picked off the weaker zombies. Artemis took what the others didn't kill. He prepared to fire another shot. A click came from his gun. His crimson eyes flew open. What? Artemis realized he was out of shells. He threw his shotgun onto the patio, and pulled out his hunting knife. With a wild, almost infected screech, he threw himself into the throng of living dead. Blood flew through the air, and more undead dropped to the forest floor. Artemis felt like he could go on forever like this. Finally, they were all, truly, dead. A scream came from the deck, and a ghoul lifted Alice to its mouth. Artemis rushed towards it. He realized he wouldn't be able to close the distance in time. He still had the knife in his hand. He drew his arm back, and threw. The knife sailed through the air, then hit its target. The zombie twitched its head, and Alice fell onto the ground. She started to cry, probably because she hurt her bottom and that she had almost been eaten. Artemis stepped over squishy ground. He looked down. He realized there was nothing to step on but undead. That's how many there were. They covered the forest floor, and most of the trees were stained red. Artemis and his blood-red eyes scanned the scene. He helped Alice over to the patio, and they all observed the carnage. Alli finally spoke: "Bonfire tonight, eh?" Artemis replied, "Yep. Probably the biggest one yet."

That night, while the infected burned to cinders, Alice laughed and gasped at the stories of her parents. From when they were attacked at the barn, to their time at the colony. Alice asked why Artemis looked like he did, instead of how Alice and Alli looked like: normal people. Artemis sighed, and looked at his ash-grey skin. His red eyes looked into the bushes for a moment, as if looking into his life. He leaned forward and said, "Okay. Once upon a time..."