In a novel without supernatural elements, a character experiencing loneliness may not have friends, fear being in crowds, or lack a romantic life. In The Last Kids on Earth and the Nightmare King, supernatural elements up the stakes. Loneliness is not just a matter of not being able to make friends, but of lacking the people to make them with because of an apocalyptic dystopia. 

Jack and his friends are on their own. Until the radio transmission, they were living with the possibility that they might be the only humans left alive on earth. Jack was able to adapt to this reality, perhaps because he grew up in foster care without a family. However, his friends remain attached to the idea of finding others and having a larger community to rely upon. Jack sees life now as perfect and ideal: He and his friends get along, care about each other, and keep each other alive. He fears that he will be tossed aside if or when his friends find their families again. Jack’s desire to keep life as it is stems from a deep fear of being alone.

Jack has no meaningful attachments to the pre-apocalyptic world or its people, with the exception of his friends.