[ WP ] A virus hit the world wiping everyone but you out . To keep yourself sane , you listen to books on tape on a battery powered Walkman to hear people 's voices . But you are down to your last pair of batteries .

I hold it tight to my chest and listen to the words, taking them in like a drowning man gasps for air. 
 
 I know the meter reads one single bar of sanity left, one iota of power that keeps me going. I know it will soon end. 
 
 I will be alone soon. 
 
 The voice is soothing and sweet and comforts me. 
 
 I listen to it and close my eyes, imaging the world they describe. People have conversations, there is noise of life in the coffee shops, bustling people go to and from their jobs. Horns honk and life exists. The things I miss most are the mundane noises. 
 
 I cry to myself, holding the device closer as the voice fades. I rock back and forth as I hear my only friend losing life. 
 
 Five thousand, three hundred and thirteen days. 
 
 October 10th, 2031. 
 
 I sing softly to myself just to hear something. 
 
 `` Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you'' 
 
 I do n't remember the words anymore, so I sing that as my voice grows weaker. 
 
 I do n't look at the empty plastic bottle that held pills once. I do n't want to remember that. I want to remember the world beyond. 
 
 As this one slowly slips away from my grasp I hear the voices again, the stories I heard. The friends I had after it all went away. 
 
 And I smile. 
 
 And the darkness takes me.
