Based off this wonderful art piece by @hains-mae where Dolores is a ghost who stays with Five during the apocalypse, almost communicating to him through the mannequin which is an amazingly cute (and heartbreaking idea). I hope I did this beautiful art and AU(?) justice.

-

Fire torn buildings littered the now barren wasteland of a place that was once called home, familiar buildings which held memories of thousands lay in heaps of rubble across the gouged pavements, never to have a living being step near them again. A thick red haze settled over the city, laying debris as it passed as a reminder of the events that had just taken place, the apocalypse. Through the haze, an almost blinding light pierced through and felt as if it had a magnetic pull. Thousands of figures that were surrounded by a blue light filled the scene, some reuniting with their loved ones whilst others simply followed the magnetic pull that called them to the afterlife. Then suddenly, something unusual happened.

A living boy appeared with a flash of blue, a large smile adorning his young face before suddenly dropping at his surroundings, only to turn into a blind panic. Desperate shouts ricocheted off the collapsed buildings but falling on deaf ears, except for one, his shouts knocked one shell shocked girl out of her trance as she was walking towards the light. Fighting against the wall of people, she approached him hoping that maybe he knew what had happened but all he did was look through her. As the boy dropped to his knees with tears streaming down his face, the kind ghost couldn’t help but reach her hand out to place on his shoulder in hopes of soothing him, yet it went right through him.

Sighing, she began to walk away to join the stream of people heading to the afterlife, she gave him one last look over her shoulder and the sight caused her heart to break. The boy was clutching to a broken mannequin, his shaking hands holding onto the fabric of its clothes so hard it’s a surprise they hadn’t ripped. The kind hearted ghost knew she couldn’t leave him alone, even if he couldn’t see her, maybe he would be able to feel her presence and it would ease the loneliness that he was going to have to face.

“I’m scared.” He softly spoke in between his ever increasing sobs. Once he had calmed himself down slightly he fully took in his surroundings, fear never leaving his wide eyes. Through the rubble, a bright red wagon stood unaffected from the trauma around it. Without a thought the boy gently placed his new found friend in the wagon and began walking in whichever direction his heart wanted to take him, the ghost following close behind. He began to speak meaningfully to the inanimate object, leaving gaps in his dialog for it to answer him and then continuing but he couldn’t hear that the silence that he left were being filled by his trailing ghost.



“I’m Five,” He seemed to be cheering up as he spoke, the thought of having a friend easing him. “What’s your name?”



“I’m Dolores.” The ghost found herself answering, smiling to the boy.



“Dolores, huh? What a pretty name.” Five continued walking as Dolores was stood still, a shocked expression on her face, surely he couldn’t hear her, could he?



Yet her train of thought was cut short by Five walking towards a body, prying an object from the dead mans hand before a stark sense of realisation hit him of who this man is. From one body to another he tried shaking them awake, with every one his distress growing more and more, tears yet again spilling from his eyes. Nothing he did would ever wake the bodies, as much as he prayed and begged, their souls had gone.

Distraught, Five walked back over to his mannequin, his shaking hands reaching out and bringing it to his chest in an embrace, one that his ghostly friend willingly took, filling the void where the mannequin was. A sad expression washed over his face as he held Dolores at arms length, the ghost Dolores stepping back with the mannequin, she knew she couldn’t leave him alone.

“I guess it’s just us then.” He spoke, causing her heart to shatter into a million pieces.

