"Genesis" (SOT)

2nd February 2027 (365 Days since Global Apocalypse) 

Somewhere in Middle England…

Abraham walked down a lonely road. It was desolate, leading to nowhere; just like the rest of the world.

He looked to the ground, dragging his feet along the pavement as he did so. All he wanted was to find a potential ally, or even just stumble upon a stash of food.

No such luck was to be found however, as more than an hour later, Abraham was still dragging his feet along the exact same road.

Little did he know that in the overgrowth of bushes, he was being carefully observed by a stranger; a middle-aged man with short platinum-dyed hair, and an unnecessary long overcoat.

Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stick up, Abraham turned around in an instant. He felt as though someone was watching him. As he looked around, he could see no one; much to his distaste.

A small while later, Abraham was getting fed up with the road he was on. There were no houses, no resources, no people: Absolutely nothing.

Giving up, he rolled his eyes and laid flat out on the ground. Despite how rocky and uncomfortable it was; he couldn’t bring himself to walk any longer.

Several hours later, he awoke again. Though strangely, Abraham was no longer in the same location he had fallen asleep in.

Instead, he woke up in a small boarded-up room. To his left, there was an oil lamp. To his right, there was an opened can of soup heating over the fireplace.

Instantly, Abraham rolled off of the inflatable mattress he was on, scuttling over to the soup can.

He grabbed it straight from the stand holding it up, dropping it in an instant as it burned his hand.

He winced in pain, instantly cupping his mouth again. But already, the noise was loud enough to have escaped the room.

The wooden door was kicked open, as the boards came flying off of it. The same man who had been following him earlier on entered the room.

“Stay away from me!” Abraham put his arms out in desperation, as the man silently headed over to him with a pair of tongs.

As the man reaches out with the tongs, he uses them to pick up the soup can rather than to harm Abraham.

“Oh dear! Only a quarter of the can hasn’t actually spilled out!” The man sighed, shaking his head, “What a waste…”

Abraham watched him sheepishly, as the man placed the nearly-empty soup can on the mantelpiece above the fireplace.

Putting the tongs down, the man crouched down to Abraham, holding his hand out, “My name is Douglas; Douglas Tyler. Who might you be?”

Abraham looked at Douglas in awe, “I’m…” He raised his hand cautiously, as Douglas leant in and shook it.

“I’m Abraham Brand... But, you can call me Bram.” He still looked at Douglas in awe.

“So, your name is Bram Brand, huh?” Douglas smiled jokingly at him. Slowly, Bram nodded in response.

The introduction was cut short, as the sound of glass smashing outside of the room occurred.

While Bram looked fearful once again, Douglas had a stern expression on his face. It was as though he already knew what had happened in the other room…


 * "Genesis" refers to the bible chapter featuring Abram (Abraham).
 * First appearance of Abraham Brand.
 * First appearance of Douglas Tyler.