I've decided to make this fic a chapter based one rather than one shot since it would take too long to write it all at once. Kinda works considering it's really suspenseful. Quick Note: this story takes place several years after third impact and now the two of them are older. Let me know if I should continue because I have a hectic few months ahead and if I don't have encouragement I'm probably gonna stop or delete it. Tell me if you think this story has somewhere to go. I've had this idea for a while and thought I'd put it down. Here goes.

Bones of Evangelion

Honey Trail

Disclaimer: As always no characters, titles, or settings are owned.

Asuka pulled the metal doors open slightly, peering outside she was pleased to see the rising sun just over the hills towards the west. The Earth had been knocked out of its original rotation resulting in the opposite directions of weather patterns including the rising of the sun. She didn't care however, as long as the sun rose in the morning was enough to boost her morale. She opened the doors wider and poked her head through, her long dusty red hair flowing in the morning breeze. She inhaled deeply, the scent of LCL, the liquid used back when they were EVA pilots, laced the air heavily. She had gotten used to it over the two years since the Instrumentality project. Two years two long.

She pried open the doors allowing the warehouse to be filled with the cool oxygen. She peered behind her to the sleeping boy who lied several feet away in a deep slumber. She had almost felt bad she made him stay awake almost the entire night but they had struck an agreement; she would be the one to go and salvage materials while he maintained a lookout. It took a toll on them both but she the pang of guilt was still there, maybe she took the easier job, she thought.

The warehouse was their settlement, she could remember scavenging and moving locations constantly and finally finding a place they deemed their home was somewhat comforting. They had lived in abandoned apartments for some time until they began to deteriorate their resources within the city. She could remember the routine, making themselves comfortable at one location only to move to another once their supplies around it began to deplete. About several months ago they migrated into the once suburban areas of Japan hoping to find more basic resources. The land was brittle and ill of life but the Earth began to rebound. She had found moist soil several miles from the warehouse that could use to plant, however, she didn't want to get her hopes up so instead she marked the spot and left it be promising herself she would return when the time was right.

She climbed the ladder she and Shinji had constructed together and entered the second floor; the stairs had long since deteriorated into nothing more than a pile of rusted twisted metal. They kept their supplies up here only coming to add more into their inventory when they've found enough to use. She picked up a rucksack she had sewn and slung it over her shoulder. She grabbed a long sheet she had found months ago and slipped it over her shoulders. The atmosphere she noticed had weakened; many times when she had gone to scavenge she had exposed herself to severe sunburns even when the temperature was too low. Her makeshift cloak provided some protection but not completely.

She made her way out of the warehouse her rucksack and cloak in tow. She began to close the metal doors but before she sealed them she took one final glance at the boy who had now moved in his sleep and was lying on his stomach. She smiled, she loved him dearly, and he was the only thing she had left to be proud of. Her pride, she thought, the very bane that brought her misfortune wasn't the same as it used to be. Her pride now was in him and hopefully, one day, in something else. She sealed the doors and turned to her environment. She could see the sun struggling to climb the mountains in the distance, the sky above a dim blue mixed heavily with a shade of violet. There were no clouds and the ring of souls that once hovered around the Earth had faded about a year ago, what happened to it she could not say but the sight was welcoming as it became a sign of normalcy.

She followed the dirt trail that led to a small village, she had come here the day before only to scout. She had learned from countless trial and errors the best thing she could so was to first examine areas of interest before she tried to loot them; saved her time and energy. It took her nearly an hour to get to the village, the light of the sun cascading her shadow against the dry ground. It was a small private community, she thought, broken down houses lined up with one another in a uniform pattern. No doubt this was a small commune.

She made a beeline to the first house she saw, she tried the front door.

Oddly enough it was locked.

She scanned around hoping to find something to help her get in. She circled the home trying to spot a weak point and was relieved to find a shattered window. She stacked several large stones to make a pile high enough to allow her to climb in; she wrapped her forearm with her cloak and struck the fragments of glass that jutted from the window frame in hopes of saving her from a nasty gash. She struggled at first but once she found some footing she slithered into the abandoned home and onto the dusty wooden floor. It was dark and the smell of mildew and LCL was heavy. Dropping her back she began to search for anything that held any practical use. She had found a leaded pipe lying on the ground and used it to smash cabinets and anything that resembled a storage unit.

Nothing.

She sighed in defeat. Not even medical supplies.

She searched a second home and then a third… nothing.

She was growing frustrated and began to curse in German under her breath (she was quite surprised she still remembered how to speak it), she hated returning without anything. Failure was still something she couldn't submit to even if danger was standing between her and her goal. She reached the last home and inhaled deeply forcing the fear of coming up empty handed to subside and seep back into her stomach. Finding her way in she headed into the kitchen; food was something that was scarce and after three years of no refrigeration it was hard to find anything that wasn't rotted. She opened a vacant looking cabinet and immediately her eyes widened.

Several cases of honey.

She almost wanted to scream in delight, this was the first time in nearly a year she had found honey. Taking her rucksack she immediately began to carefully lay the cases of the sugar compound within it making sure they wouldn't crack under its own weight. She had also found several canned foods but as to whether or not they were still "good" was yet to be determined but there was no time to speculate so she threw it in along with her grand find. She continued to search the house and found some twine she could use along with several old clothes she could break down and use for its material. She wandered deeper into the household but found nothing else of value; she was just about to make her leave when her eye caught something of interest.

She walked into a room; the wallpaper peeled and chipped forgetting its once cheery colors and the theme of childhood. An infant's crib sat at the other end of the room, random toys littered the ground, a lonely teddy bear sat by himself within the confines of a small box. She suddenly felt upset for reasons she could not identify. She could hear the faint echoes of laughter and joy that once encompassed the room. A child used to live in here, she thought. She looked down and noticed a small book, its pages brown and brittle, a film of dirt and grime layered the front cover. Picking it up she traced her dirt laced fingertips over it, a sense of loss filled her.

And then a sense of want.

She forced the book into her pack and left.

When she returned to the warehouse Shinji was awake. He had let her in and watched as she unpacked her findings leaving the honey for last. Once she pulled that out a look of glee was evident on his face and she smiled at him.

"Thank we're gonna have good food tonight?" she asked him, a sly smile on her lips.

Shinji nodded and said: "Thanks to you," He leaned in and kissed her. She kissed him in return; she reached back into the bag and noticed something moist hit her fingertips.

"Damn," she said, "One of the cases cracked."

Shinji made light of it: "Don't worry you got enough to last for a month." He began to stack the cases but ended up hitting her sack with one.

The book she had found fell from her bag and onto the floor. Shinji caught sight of it and picked it up.

"What's this?" he asked. She quickly snatched it from him.

"It's nothing," she said, "Just a book."

Shinji stared at her unable to figure out her latest joke; she was notorious about pulling a fast one on him. But he couldn't find the punch line. He decided to give up on trying; knowing her it was already a lost cause.

He said to her, "Alright at least you got back before sundown with the things we need."

She watched him as he replaced the empty contents of the bag with the supplies and hoisted himself onto the ladder and onto the second floor. She turned away and stared at the book. She couldn't tell why she was so deflective about it; it was only a maternity book.

Suddenly a pang of loss crept up within her again. She opened it; the pages slumped over clearly bogged down with moisture as she slipped her fingertips in between. The words were smudged but still readable and for some reason she was relieved. As she glanced the pages her heart began to grow wanting but she couldn't find out what. She closed it and tossed it into the corner. She was getting weak, she thought, every day was a struggle.

The rest of the morning and afternoon was routine. Both of them checked the power grid and took an inventory on their supplies. Asuka took the old clothes she had found and shredded them leaving Shinji to roam and watch the perimeter.

Then suddenly, the lights gave out.

"Shinji!" called Asuka from the second floor, "What happened? I thought we just checked the generator?"

She could hear his bare footsteps blindly make their way to where the generator was.

He called back, "I don't know! They seemed fine before, you have to come down here, you know more about electricity than I do." She cursed in German; sometimes she wondered how he would survive without her. She felt around and managed to climb the ladder down but as she did she felt the ground shake subtlety. The walls of the warehouse began to shake. She could feel her heart fall, not tonight, she thought.

Shinji whispered forcefully, "Asuka did any of them follow you back?"

"Don't be a fricken moron!" she tried to whisper, "It was morning, they can't be out in the daylight." Suddenly a sickening feeling erupted in her stomach.

"Oh my god," she whispered.

"What?"

"They must have picked up the scent of the honey," she said, "one of the cases were leaking… I think they followed the trail."

Review please