The Waterborn Luna

The last of the humans had died 5 years ago today from my knowledge, and from information passed down, the last of them banded together suffering from Novalities-21. A botched lab creation that had spread through one person to the next like wildfire, developing itself to contaminate the air and the water alike. Civilisations died out in a matter of weeks. Months later, the last were taking their last breath….all except for me, Aliana DeMuir, the last human on earth.

The virus itself was initially harmless, or so it was broadcasted around the world. It was a test that was being trialled on species similar to humans to try and increase heart activity to assist in the decrease of obesity of humans. Obesity had become a problem in the last few decades and the human race was essentially looking for a way to stop the process of becoming obese without actually exercising or putting effort into it. A lot of humans were against this, not only because it was the lazy route but because it was inhumane against the other species it was being tested on. Apparently humans were not in this list but vampires and children of the dark were among the tested species.

Next thing anyone knows, a human had become very sick within days of being close to this laboratory and from that point onwards, hundreds of reports of sickness were being relayed across the human civilisation. Scientists had called the mutation of the so called harmless virus Novalities-21, once it was confirmed this was killing the humans off. Most reports consisted of heart failures and brain damage, but at the end of every single case of the virus was inevitably death.

On the second month after the initial report and contamination rates getting out of hand, humans figured out that it was airborne and waterborne, meaning that no one was left out in its tracks. It spread from the Eastern side of the hemisphere to the Western side and started reaching the district I was living in.

I was sixteen when the virus started to appear on the local news, my adoptive parents instantly started packing for my cousin’s house in the Northern district as it was more secluded from the vast city we were in that had humans just taking ill. Little did we know at this point that it would get to everyone no matter where they were. We had several hundred miles to reach them but by the time we were there, they were already dying of the virus. A few days later, my parents started displaying symptoms of the sickness. They had decided from that point that it was too late to turn away and instead decided to look after our extended family. I remember vividly my Father saying “We will not outrun this virus, but we can all be together and no one will ever be alone in this.” I buried them all together in my cousins back yard with my bare hands and a makeshift shovel made of bark from a large tree, then finding some wood and notching into it “Not alone anymore.”

I’ve not been back since, that was the day that I lost everything. My family, my friends and my species. Several other species tried to help, others left us to be condemned. Nothing stopped that virus, but it seems humans were the only fatalities.

The first route I took was back home, I drove the car as far South as I could before the fuel ran out, I didn’t even notice the fuel notification ticking. My Father had only starting giving me lessons and I only understood the basics, nothing about the notifications on the dashboard other than how fast I was going. It made no difference anyway, I ran and walked the rest of the way which had taken me around three hours, and by the time I got home the house had been looted. We were only gone for a few weeks. The only thing that I cared about that was left was a picture of us three together at the lake Nonite down in the south district. Luckily it was left intact on the fridge-freezer in our kitchen.

After picking up the picture, along with a few other items that was stored in our emergency storage box under the floorboards, I started heading East. I had no goal in sight, I just wanted to get away from the memories with everyone I would not be able to speak to ever again. I was scared and alone so I started seeking out communities to see if other humans may not have been affected by the virus, however each village, town, city was desolated. Nothing was there, everything was empty. The only things I had come across were corpses, which were strewn everywhere. Those of us who had no one to bury them. I hated being alone at this point and didn’t understand why I had survived. My parents were human as far as I was aware and the fact a virus that seemingly only affected humans made me even more confused. I decided at this time not to think about this, and had just thought myself lucky and wanted to move along. Although I am not sure if luck is what I would call this.

As there were no signs of human life anywhere, I decided to look for a different community, a community that was not human. Anything to be away from being alone. I kept walking East, past the safe zone border that humans had placed to ensure no other species came in without permission as the last war was one that all remembered. The massive walls had been broken down, most likely due to the rioting and humans wanting to leave, thinking there would be a chance to escape if the virus was only based within the human territory. There was a mass panic everywhere you turned when the virus first broke out. Looters, rioters. Several times my Mother was hurt when she was just trying to help her patients. She was a care giver and only had love for everyone. When it was decided to leave for our cousins she was the last one to agree, she didn’t want to leave her patients to die on their own. It made no difference anyway. All humans died, in and out of the region, there was no escape.

I managed to get through the broken wall and the debris that lay around the breach. Bodies had been stacked up to the side and burned, before or after the breach I don’t know. I continued my path east as I did not know which direction would be safe or which path would have more or less threats. So I went on my own intuition. I felt a pull towards the Sun which rises in the East, and believe this was the best path to start my journey on. There was no set path out of the city, but about a mile or so heading East, I came across the first community that held no humans at all. The first community I had come across was full of vampires.

Vampires didn’t hate humans, they require them for many things. Firstly, and most importantly, their food source. It seems both species had an understanding, but that turned sour once the vampires found out about the testing that was happening and then of course the extinction of the human race, as this deeply affected the vampires also. Since humans have died, many vampires have died out. It was common knowledge they can live off of animal blood however they never feel full and at the time the majority of the humans had died, they started to become distant from the world.

The second and also an important need vampires have of humans is reproducing; the vampires can only reproduce with a human. They can live forever, but without humans they cannot repopulate, as far as common knowledge goes, they’re unable to breed with any other species. The community I had come across shunned me out. I had gone to their door knowing full well that it could be the cause of my last breath, or at best I would become their prisoner, or even perhaps worse. At this point, I didn’t care in the slightest. I had lost everything. I was a wanderer with nowhere to go. I was desperate for social interation and I ended up walking straight up to the guard that looked like death itself. I remember asking to be let in, to speak with anyone who would be willing to help me. I was only turned away. I was ignored, with no second thought from that guard. I had no idea why, I was the last living human and they had turned me away without a second glance. I left after staying overnight outside the walls that blocked me from getting anywhere closer, even to the guard.

After being rejected from the vampires, I continued South for a long period after that. I walked through vast cities with no living person in sight. I slept in bushes, abandoned houses, and on the floor. All I felt however was depressed and alone. I had no one with me, I had nothing to do but make sure I ate whatever I could find by scavenging or foraging. I started hunting and I could only mostly catch rabbits or squirrels. Over the years, nature took over the human cities as nothing was standing in its way anymore. I was alone in most places. I had come across other species but after the vampires shunned me out I assumed I was on my own and I tried my best to stay as far away as possible from anything else. I ended up walking or using some simple means of transport aimlessly with no destination in mind. A few places were littered with corpses so I ended up staying away from cities also.

The next non-humans I had a close encounter with 3 years after I buried my parents was something I only heard in legends. I had crossed paths with some Geodras which lived on the edge of the cliffs of the south sea. These creatures were very large, beautifully crystallised humanoids. I had only heard about them in school history as it was unheard of anyone in my lifetime at least ever encountering them as they’re extraordinarily rare, even thought to have been extinct. They don’t move about often or very fast. They seemingly do not reproduce but have been around for a millennium. I did not go too close to them and passed around them in as wide a berth as possible, moving more south west towards the lands’ end. I suspect they were aware all humans had died out, so they must have been caught out unexpectedly when I came fairly close to their cave.

After walking for weeks along the Southern shoreline towards the West district, I found a small abandoned village and had spent a long period of time there. I found no corpses so I was unsure if this was evacuated, or just left without a second thought, or even human, however the tapestries and farms looked to be human. I found a few allotments with fruit and vegetables and a local apple orchard which had survived and had overgrown without being tended to what seemed like a very long time. No one ever came round to this place and it was my sanctuary for a very long time.

I was extremely lonely there however. I found I never spoke, not even to myself. I used to love to sing but have since forgotten the tune to songs. I missed having something to look forward to or spending time with my family. Several times I debated as to whether I should just have ended my own life to be with my parents, family and friends. To be with my kind and go down in history as being the last one to die. But there was something always nagging inside me, something always fighting on. I had a strange suspicion that I had to go further West, into the dark forest that piqued my interest when I was younger.

I decided I wanted to move on from my semi-permanent sanctuary and started to head West, towards the dark forest. I did not have much information on the area, but it was always mentioned as a forbidden place to anyone and no one should venture there unless they had a death wish. I started heading this way.

On my journey there, I had come across a few other species who were more than welcoming, the elves being the current. They are hospitable and I am currently with the one faction who have always welcomed outsiders, the Druida community. The elves are very much like humans, but they live longer and rely more on the Earth rather than rely on technology as humans had. The elves are split into three subspecies, high elves, wood elves and dark elves. The wood and high elves were similar in terms of mutual agreements, however I have until this day never come across any dark elves. They, according to the high and wood elves have a different agenda to the Earth, and would rather steal from it and give nothing back. Very unlike the wood and high elves who tend to the Earth and ensure that they both give and receive what they can, and it has become their way of life.

I’ve spent the majority of the last year here, learning about the elven way of life and the brilliant skills they have on how to use the earth to create health vials or bandages and also how to feed myself from it, which has been really insightful. I’ve made friends here and I’ve not felt alone in the time I’ve spent here. The elves have made me feel like one of their own and have been more than hospitable. They’ve recently given me a small cabin to dwell in and ask me to take part in a lot of their daily lives. Part of their life once a year is for the Elders to assign each elf into a domain, which is in human terms, a career. Each elf is assigned based on their skills, wants and needs and from what I have heard, it is exactly what they hoped for. The Elders choose wisely and there has never been any faults. There are multiple domains and although I have heard all of them and think some are really interesting I do not believe I am to be a part of this ceremony. Although the elves are very humble and welcoming, this is not my home and I will not stay here much longer.

Last week I was asked to be part of this ceremony, which also includes being invited to a gathering where the Elders will pass down stories from the Elders before them, where they share their species history and share legends and myths also. I gladly accepted this invitation and I am looking forward to something that is not told in History class, but rather passed down from generation to generation.