Chapter 1: The End of the World

Surprisingly, this is not an AU. This is a post-anime fic where Kagome never was able to return after three years. It's based on a two sentence horror story written by Frederick Brown that reads:

The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door...

However, this isn't horror. This is an adventure, suspense filled journey across many lands that I don't think you see in many of these fics.
It will be posted in short chapters, mostly never exceeding 3,000 words because I want to update faster. I really loved this idea and I hope you do, too! Please remember to review and let me know how everything is going!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters. I also do not own Frederick Brown's quote.

She never really knew what happened or why. Everything had been normal for so long. She had graduated high school and worked as a waitress to make some extra cash before heading off to university. She had friends and a healthy social life. She stressed over tests, boys and her appearance. She had almost completely transformed herself into a normal teenage girl.

But she couldn't move on from him. That was her fault. She checked the well every three days, even if it was just to take a peek. There was always some hope that it would open again, and she could travel back to the Feudal Era. The one thing she wanted more than to be normal was go back to Inuyasha.

It had been three years since Kagome was sucked in the Shikon Jewel with Naraku and won by wishing the jewel gone forever. She had been 18 the end had begun.

And it was on one of the many third days in her cycle that it happened. Her mother was asking for some help with dinner, but Kagome ignored her. Souta wanted some help with summer work, and Kagome ignored him, too. Gramps needed assistance at the stores, and, once again, she just walked right by. It was the well she was looking for. Hope swelled up inside of her like a balloon, and she practically floated inside of the shrine, landing a mere inches away from the Bone Eater's Well, excited running to it and leaning her head in to see if she could even just sense its powers.

But, like every other time, the well had proved itself useless. It had died along with the jewel she supposed, and there was no way to resurrect it.

But on that day, she had found herself drenched in her sadness. She had curled next to the well, pretending the outside world didn't exist, shutting her eyes so hard that it hurt. She was usually able to pick herself up from the disappointment, but just couldn't anymore. If a weight had been lifted, it fell back on her, and she felt herself wishing away the world just to have Inuyasha back.

And, in a few minutes, she had sunken so low, she was practically flirting with insanity. Her fingers had dug into the wood of the well, and she couldn't stop thinking to herself that she would never let go. She pushed herself closer and closer into it. Her quiet thoughts turned into screams and that turned into her repetitive whispers.

"Save me. Save me. Save me." She couldn't stop the monotone murmurs as the unexplainable sorrow filled mania took control of her mind. It had almost been automatic.

And something peculiar happened as she had been drowning herself in a depression induced tears and lunacy. The well doors had closed, and all the outside light faded as the shadows covered them. The soft breeze that had been flying in was no longer there to play in her dark strands.

Kagome heard screams. She knew she did. She heard crashes and explosions and calls for help. And they registered as they were in her head. And yet, her nails only dug further into the well, and she continued to murmur as if nothing was happening. Her eyes remained closed, her body pressed against the wood, refusing to part from it. And she remained that way until her tears put her to sleep.

And when she had woken up, she didn't really know why she had been so attached to the Bone Eater's Well that day. In fact, when she rose, she found it painfully easy to move away from it, ready to continue her day as she planned, shoving Inuyasha into the back of her mind.

She had only partially remembered the loud noises she had heard from inside the shrine during her short-lived period of madness. When she opened the shrine doors, those screams and explosions didn't even seem important. She assumed they were imagined.

Kagome Higurashi learned all too soon that they weren't.

Her house was a mess. Broken plates, drawers pulled out, clothes and furniture scattered about. But there was not a single soul in sight.

She spent the next three days wandering the depths of the Japan. Looking for just one person. Anyone. She would have been fine with absolutely anyone.

But she never did.

All she found was a city that looked like it was planning an evacuation. Front doors were open. Nothing was locked. Suitcases were open on lawns. Cars were crashed into streetlights.

But the most nonsensical discovery was that there were no bodies. Not dead. Not alive. Just nothing. There was no way for Kagome to know what happened. She just knew that it did.

However, that was five years ago. Kagome Higurashi was twenty-three years old now, living as the last woman on Earth in the same Higurashi home. She had no hope for any change. She had tried to communicate with any remaining people using radios, phones and computers, but never got a response. But she had made the startling discovery that electricity hadn't gone out, even years after. It was almost like something was keeping it going, though she had visited the electrical plants and found no one.

No channels worked, all website servers were down, and the radio only gave back static. But she was able to spend most of her time watching old movies and shows. Which is all she did lately. Watch movies and cry.

And after watching some romantic comedy, she ran up to her room, closed and locked the door, and cried. She locked the door whenever she went into her room. She locked it when she slept and when she was just hanging around. And it was only her room door that she locked. She didn't know why. Perhaps it made her feel like old times when she didn't want Souta bothering her.

Even so, today was a normal day for her now. And she cried into her pillow nonetheless, letting doubts and self-blame enter into her mind.

This is my punishment. I was never able to let Inuyasha go, so my family had to deal with my obsession with the well. I wasn't there for them. And now I'm here by myself.

She whimpered quietly, not that it mattered. She knew she could scream if she wanted. She could yell at the emptiness and it wouldn't matter. No one would ever be there to hear it.

And yet, she continued to be quiet. To speak quietly to herself. To whisper 'excuse me' if she burped. She didn't like sneezing loud. If she laughed, she covered her mouth to muffle it. It wasn't even automatic, it was purposeful. And none of it made any sense. It was logically unnecessary. But she did it anyways.

I will never let go, either. Even if I never check the well again, he will always be on the back of my mind. And I will continue to be punished for all eternity.

As she stayed miserably sprawled out on her bed, she took in the sounds of nature, listening to the wind shake the trees. And as her ears focused on the noises, she couldn't help but notice little thumps coming from downstairs.

They were like footsteps.

I must be going crazy now. Though it's long overdue... Maybe I'll just ignore it. Nothing is down there. No one will ever be down there.

But the steps continued and continued. The creaks of the stairs rang through her room and she gripped her blankets tight in her sweaty hands. No matter how hard she tried to ignore them, they weren't going away. In fact, they were getting closer.

And they came. And they came. Until they were so close that Kagome held her breath. And then, they stopped. Quiet filled the room again. She exhaled in relief. Nothing was out there. Nothing could be out there. Everyone was dead and gone.

And she continued to listen to the shaking of the trees, daydreaming about nothing.

Knock, knock, knock.

Now, her life stopped. And it flashed white as she processed the noise that just violated her ears. Her breath sped up, and she gripped onto her chest, thinking nothing but gibberish, confused and unable to satisfy that confusion. She couldn't help the denial that was exploding inside of her. She was the last person on Earth. There couldn't exist another who would knock on her door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Maybe it was God coming down to finally collect her soul. Perhaps it was the devil ready to drag her to hell.

Knock, knock, knock.

She managed to sit up, keeping her eyes glued to the bedroom door. The bed creaked as she moved and she cursed herself for it. She wasn't sure if she was ready for whoever was out there to know for sure that she was here.

No, she wasn't.

And yet, she found herself standing. Moving closer to the door. The knob began to shake as though whoever was on the other side was desperately trying to open it. But she didn't stop. She kept moving until she was face to face with the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

She reached for the knob...

I hope you've enjoyed it so far. I know, no one likes cliffhangers. Though, I am excited to get the next chapter up.

Now, I don't want to make this fic too predictable. So, I'll be working on that. Review and let me know who you think is behind the door!

Thanks for reading!