GiGi had been a lot of things during his life. He had been a delivery driver, a waiter, a salesperson at an unpopular video game store, and even an actor in a low-budget murder mystery night production. But one thing GiGi had rarely been afforded to be, was himself.

While most people saw the apocalypse as the end of the old world, GiGi soon came to appreciate it could also be the beginning of the new. Perhaps he was one of the first to find himself within that mindset, helped by the fact he had little left in the old world but unwanted memories.

The day they moved the survivors out to the farm, GiGi looked across the undulating green fields and saw a blank canvas – one that he intended to paint and enrich to the best of his ability. GiGi had been a lot of things in his life, but being a farmer was his favourite by far.

He loved the days When Dawson, Lizzie and JJ would come and tend the farm with him, but – although GiGi would never say it out loud – what he loved best was the unbeatable peace of solitude. He has spent his entire life talking the ears off of those around him, using his silver tongue to unlock doors and hearts alike, but it felt nice to give his mind a rest.

As his muddy work boots crunched through the frosted grass on a November morning, with the sun flirting over the hills in the East, GiGi felt a sense of warmth run through his body. For all the horrific events he had witnessed over the past decade, the perfect landscape drawn out before him seemed to be the perfect remedy. Two extremes – yet beauty always wins.

GiGi's stride increased by an inch with every step as he approached the barn. He could feel the rustle of anticipation on the other side of the doors as he fumbled for the rusted silver key in his pocket.

"Good morning, ladies!" GiGi beamed, as he hauled the red door open on its squeaky hinge and greeted his team.

One by one, a herd of twenty-three cows shuffled out into the field, each ignoring GiGi despite the unadulterated joy painted across his face at their very existence.

"Ah, unrequited love," he laughed. "Tis but the cruellest of mistress."

But GiGi remained patient beside the door, waiting for the same thing he waited for every single morning. Twenty-two of the cows were already grazing in the field and chomping up their breakfast for the morning by the time the last (but not least) of the herd shuffled her way into the morning light.

"DeeDee, my darling!" GiGi cried. "Come here!"

DeeDee was the oldest cow in the herd, and for some reason, she seemed to have formed an instant connection with the lovable Italian. Each and every morning, she would be the last to exit the barn, but the first to nuzzle her face into GiGi's chest for a brief hello.

"You know, DeeDee. Sometimes I wonder... do the other ladies not like me, or are they just scared of stealing your husband?"

GiGi led his four-legged friend over to the greenest grass of all, watching over her to make sure she was eating properly. While many of the cows were slaughtered for meat once they reached a certain age, GiGi had always made excuses for his beloved DeeDee.

Her skin was infected. She had fleas. She was suffering from a case of Mad Cow Disease. All of this was completely fabricated, of course. GiGi just couldn't bare to part with his favourite animal on the farm. After all, if there was a second apocalypse and the cows became leaders of the Earth, he would need an influential voice on his side.

"I'll come and check on you in a little while, my dear," GiGi smiled, as he brushed through the hair on the top of DeeDee's head.

As always, she slowly trudged after him for twenty metres or so before he disappeared through the gate at the end of the field. He often wondered how long she stood there waiting to see whether he would return, but he liked to think at least a few minutes. Fortunately for her, he always returned.

Farmer GiGi had a long old checklist to complete before most of the alarm clocks even started ringing for the morning. Now that the cows were out and grazing across the field, it was time to let the chickens loose, which was a far less soothing job.

As soon as the hatch on the chicken coop opened, the hooting, flapping, and squealing began. If you have never heard the sound of fifty hens all fighting to squeeze through one doorway just to be the first to the morning grain, it's definitely more effective than any alarm clock ever.

Once the birds were happily pecking away at their breakfast in the yard, GiGi opened up the top of the coop and fetched the morning egg haul. If there was one thing the survivors around here loved, it was scrambled eggs in the morning, so GiGi took it upon himself to hand-deliver them to the kitchen bright and early. It was a decent haul today too – a full basket.

One by one, GiGi ticked through his morning checklist, feeding the pigs, the sheep, and the horses before finally sitting down for a well-earned cup of tea. One of his favourite times of the day was watching the sun burst over the hills in all its glory, especially in the winter. The way the light danced off the frozen grass in the cow field was just natural beauty at its very best.

Only something was different today... GiGi couldn't see any of his cows. Something must have spooked them into the very back corner of the field. Or perhaps there was some rather delicious plant life back there he didn't know about. Either way, GiGi poured his tea into a flask and hightailed it back up there to check things out.

But as he approached the fence, he realised the true gravity of the situation. The cows were not simply in the back of the field. In fact, they were nowhere to be seen at all. GiGi sprinted across the grass and clasped his hands to his head as he spotted three completely destroyed fence posts at the far end of the field. Something had spooked his animals enough to cause a full-blown stampede, and there was only one thing that could do that.

GiGi raced to his shed and fetched his equipment, which had been gathering dust in the corner from months of disuse. He slung the rifle over his shoulder and rang the hanging alarm bell next to the shed to give everyone back at the houses a nice early rise. Realising he would be on his own for the next five minutes at least, he jumped over the trampled fence and followed the cow prints across the next field.

He spotted the danger through his rifle sight before the naked eye could decipher what was going on. It appeared a number of the undead had managed to sneak their way into the field for a morning snack, much to the dismay of the cows who had quickly realised they were on the menu.

GiGi had one of the clickers between his crosshairs, ready to pull the trigger...

"FUCK!" he cursed.

The directives set by the council stated that any undead that presented no immediate risk to human life should be rounded up rather than shot. After all, the scientists had their studies to conduct, even if the cure may not be fully effective on long-term clickers.

GiGi could already see one of his cows lying down on the ground with two sets of undead teeth getting stuck in, while the others panicked their way across the field. The third clicker had cornered one of the younger calves and was closing in for the kill when GiGi grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pinned him to the ground.

With two of the undead busy having breakfast and the other trying to snap its teeth away at GiGi's fingers, at least the rest of the herd was safe until the cavalry finally arrived. They had the three clickers rounded up in no time at all, but the damage was already done. GiGi was two cows down, at least.

"DeeDee?!" he called out. "Has anyone seen the old girl?"

He searched high and low but couldn't find his friend anywhere. He checked the two fallen cows, but DeeDee was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps the clickers had spooked her so much, she had bolted into the woods and run into another swarm of the undead.

GiGi pushed it to the back of his mind as best he could and calmly led the rest of the herd back through the destroyed fence. A couple of farm hands were already working on getting it repaired to avoid any knock-on prison breaks.

And as GiGi looked up towards the fence at the far end of the field, he spotted his beloved DeeDee, waiting for him as ever.