Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

if you had asked her, Alice would have said she'd had full confidence in her ability to survive from the very beginning of the apocalypse. why shouldn't she have? she'd used a gun at a shooting range before. well... once, but specifics didn't matter. she would still be able to protect herself if she could find one. and she was pretty alright at foraging, too! the Witchwood probably had all sorts of edible plants in it just ripe for the picking. if she could bring herself to step foot in the Witchwood, at least -- something about it always gave her the creeps.

regardless, she would be lying. honestly, she hadn't thought she would make it past the first day of this hell on earth. Bill had already left for work so she had been packing her bag for the trip back to Clivesdale the next day -- admittedly, she didn't particularly want to, that weekend with her dad had been... well, alright, she guessed. she could tell he was really trying -- when everything started. the screaming outside caused her to jump, heart practically beating out of her chest. she told herself it was probably nothing and tried to focus on the task at hand, but that was a bit hard when it wouldn't stop. whole body tensed, she went to look out the window at the street below and had to press a hand to her mouth in order to keep herself from throwing up. one of the neighbors, Mr. Cunningham, -- she never had bothered to learn his first name; the only reason she knew his last was because it was painted on the mailbox outside of his house in big, bright letters, his and his wife's hand-prints side by side beneath it. those same hand-prints now obscured by splattered blood -- was laying on the street, a man she vaguely recognized from church tearing into --

she shook her head as if trying to clear it. no use thinking about that now.

tuning back into the task at hand, she bent her knees slightly, then jumped, the things in her backpack clanking together at the sudden movement, and grabbed onto the closest branch in the tree she wanted to climb. it was in some yard, right up against the sidewalk, and it would be a good place to rest while still being able to see her surroundings. pulling herself up was a bit more difficult, but with enough wiggling, she managed to find her bearings. the gun she carried -- just a small handgun she'd found on the third day, God bless America and its limited gun safety laws -- nearly slipped out of its makeshift holster at one point, but she readjusted it before it could fall. this was comfortable enough, thankfully, and there was a spot she could wedge herself into that would keep her somewhat hidden from anyone passing by, so she wouldn't have to particularly worry about being attacked by regular humans, and she'd seen a few zombies try to climb over some fences since the whole outbreak started. to say the least, she liked her chances related to them.

now all she had to worry about was not dozing off. she'd been awake for about a day now, too anxious after a brief encounter with a zombie to let herself rest. but up here, where they couldn't get her, where even people would have a difficult time doing anything without alerting her to their presence first.... it was so.... tempting. surely she could close her eyes for just a second...?

the next time she opened them, several hours had passed, and there were quiet footsteps below her. carefully adjusting her position so she could see the pavement, she glimpsed dark hair and a familiar studded jacket.

-----

Ethan Green was tired.

so unbelievably fucking tired.

still, however, he trudged down some barely familiar street with a wooden plank clutched tightly in his hands. there was nothing special about it, really, but it was a weapon, and that was good enough for him. forget how long it'd been since Alice had slept, Ethan had been up for nearly three days. he hadn't been able to bring himself to sleep since....

there was a rustling, and a thud on the sidewalk behind him. it sounded distinctly human, -- none of the undead fuckers could have climbed up anything, as far as he knew, so he doubted any would be dropping out of the sky. or... more likely, trees -- so instead of whirling around to face whoever had been hiding in wait for some unlucky passerby, he forced himself to freeze completely.

"drop your weapon. i've got a gun."

great, this was just fan fucking tastic, he was being mugged. during the fucking apocalypse. he let the plank clatter to the ground and held his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"good. now empty your pockets. then turn around."

he moved slowly so his mystery attacker wouldn't blow his brains out, pulling a measly five things out of his jacket and pants pockets combined, -- a lighter, a nearly empty pack of cigarettes, his wallet, a pen, and a very bent notepad -- letting them fall to the ground as well. he took a deep breath, mostly to keep himself from letting out a frustrated yell more than anything else, and turned in a slow half circle, glaring daggers at --

"holy fucking shit, Alice?" he couldn't help it, the shock of seeing a familiar face had caught him so off guard. sure, she was dirty, and her hair had been haphazardly cut to about shoulder length, but god, that was without a doubt Alice Woodward. it'd been... well, a while since he'd seen her, even without the whole apocalypse thing. she showed up around town sometimes after her parents divorce, visiting her dad -- he seemed like a chill enough guy, at least to Ethan, he'd always wondered why she hadn't chosen to live with him instead of her mom. maybe she just hadn't had a choice, fuck if he knew -- around every other weekend, but they'd never really interacted. hell, they hardly talked even when she went to the same school as him, but they got along well enough. he would probably consider her a pleasant acquaintance more than anything else. their circles just never really meshed. and now she was mugging him in the street during the zombie apocalypse. she looked at him, frowning as if she couldn't quite put a name to his face for a moment.

"oh my God, Ethan! you're like... the last person i was expecting to see out here," she said once it finally clicked, her face going a mild shade of red as she cleared her throat. "um, i'm... sorry, for threatening you, i guess? since you don't have, like.... any supplies. and also since i know you."

Ethan stared, processing what she'd just said, then stifled a laugh. "i'm the last person you expected to see out here? Al, i could say the same about you, you hardly seem the survivalist type. how've you been stayin' alive? you on your own?"

"i've mostly been... looting. taking whatever i can find from houses. that one over there was my dads," she gestures with her gun, towards a nice looking two-story house across the street, painted a shade of baby blue with white trims. one of the windows had been smashed and there was a large pink X marked on the door. as she reholstered her weapon, she pointed to a can of spray paint hanging off her belt. "the X is so i know which houses i've been in. in case i have to circle back to the area after a while. don't wanna waste time on places i know won't have any food."

she paused, staring at her old home, a wistful look on her face, then shook her head. "and, yeah, i'm on my own. what about you?"

Ethan hesitated before responding, squatting down to pick up his belongings. "i'm alone."

he didn't say anything after that, but Alice nodded in understanding, the two of them sharing sad smiles.

after a moment of silence, she spoke again. "hey, um, what if we... stuck together? y'know, strength in numbers and all that. it might be... nice, not being alone, too. uh, just if you want to, i mean."

Ethan stifled another laugh, a genuine smile forming on his face. "i think that'd be alright. you seem to be goin' a little stir crazy, jumpin' out of trees and demanding peoples valuables and shit," he teased, ruffling her hair gently, her face flushing as she laughed for the first time in weeks. "i was headin' to the grocery store to see if i could get some new clothes or anythin' like that. these ones," he twisted his torso slightly, lifting the side of his leather jacket to show off a few big holes in his shirt, and gestured to a large gash on one leg of his jeans. "are pretty busted. and a bag like yours would probably be good too, now that im thinkin' about it."

"why not just grab something from a house? there's, like... plenty to go around, i'm sure you've noticed by now," Alice asked, watching with amusement as Ethan tossed his plank from one hand to the other while the two of them walked. his nose scrunched up slightly as he shook his head.

"can't. feels disrespectful, almost -- more disrespectful than takin' food, i mean. when you take food you can excuse it because you need it to survive, and it'll go bad anyways if it just sits there too long, but it's... different with clothes. you don't really need a clean shirt to live like you need to eat, y'know? plus, i wanna get some new pens too, ones i know will actually write for more than a day. and a notebook. my little notepads been fine but it'd be nice to have bigger pages."

Alice frowned for a moment, then shrugged and made a small noise that showed she got the general idea. "yeah, alright, i guess that's fair. things in stores'll need used up just as much as things in empty houses, it doesn't really matter what order they're getting used in." she kicked a pebble in front of her, watching it skip a few times before rolling to a stop. "what's the deal with the notepad anyways? it's looking almost as run-down as your pants."

Ethan cleared his throat and grimaced, fidgeting with the sleeve of his jacket. "i've been... i dunno, just, keepin' track of who all i've seen zombified..? makes it easier to process, i think. more... real. sometimes i still don't really believe any of this is happenin' honestly, like... fuckin' hell, we're surrounded by walking dead people, Al. if you'd told me a few months back that i'd be seein' my neighbors killin' each other in the street i would've looked at you like you belonged in a madhouse. we're livin' through a goddamn monster movie."

"...oh. um, would you mind if i... took a look at it when we get to the store?" her voice was quiet. almost inaudible, really. she stared straight ahead, kicking another rock sitting on the sidewalk. Ethan glanced over at her, putting a hesitant arm around her shoulders and giving her a gentle squeeze.

"no, not at all. 'course you can check it out, Al. i, uh, haven't seen your old man, if that's what you're worried about."

Alice smiled weakly, and the two of them continued on in silence for the rest of their trip, both wary of any noises in nearby streets and alleys. they reached their destination without incident -- Alice mumbled a quiet prayer under her breath as thanks -- and were glad to see that, from the front at least, the store looked to be in decent shape. the door opened easily enough, though made a noise that caused the both of them to tense up around the halfway mark. they decided to leave it at that, squeezing through the gap and closing the door behind them. Ethan half-jogged over to the nearest shelf and started pulling, gesturing towards the other end as he did. Alice stood and watched for a moment before realizing what he was doing, then nodded and began pushing. together, they managed to move the shelf in front of the door with as little noise as possible. Ethan stared at their handiwork, biting at the inside of his cheek, and smiled.

“we should still check any other entrances and all that, but at least we know the front door’ll be relatively fine,” he stated, pushing sweat-soaked hair off of his forehead. they put a quick plan together regarding how exactly they would scout for danger, deciding on a place to regroup once they were finished -- the clothing department worked as good as anywhere, since it was the main reason they were there in the first place -- and set out to do a sweep of as much of the place as they could cover. It didn’t take particularly long before they met up, Alice arriving just a bit after Ethan had already changed. he was in the process of tossing shirts into a big pile on the ground, adjusting everything so it would be decently flat. throw pillows from the next aisle over were piled up off to the side. Alice tossed a backpack onto it, causing him to jump slightly and whirl around to look up at her.

“sorry -- uh, i just figured i’d grab one for you since i saw them in my half of the place. and, you know. you said you… wanted one.”

“shit, yeah, thanks Al.” Ethan let out a shaky laugh, patting his hands on his thighs and grabbing the backpack. he emptied his pockets into it, then set the bag aside, and gestured at the mound on the floor. “uh -- i made us a bed..! since it’s getting, y’know, late and all.” Alice smiled, lowering herself onto the makeshift mat and sitting cross-legged, reaching over to grab Ethan’s notepad. he tossed a few throw pillows into place then sat beside her, laying back and crossing his arms behind his head, watching Alice chew at her lip as she flipped through the pages. she seemed to relax further with every new face that passed. eventually she reached the end of the log and nodded to herself, handing the notepad back to Ethan so he could put it away.

“thanks. i really needed to see that,” she said, curling up beside him and using his chest as a pillow.

“hey, man, ‘course. s’not like i did anything special, just… had it on me." he shifted as he spoke, bringing a hand down to mess with her curls. "who were you lookin' for, anyway?"

Alice hesitated, then sighed. "Deb Dodson, my girlfriend. we were supposed to meet up for a date at Pasqualis the day shit hit the fan. after i finished packing to go see my mom, anyways. i've been keeping an eye out for them ever since," she explained, burrowing her face into the leather of Ethan's jacket. he opened his mouth to say something, though hesitated.

"i get that. i'm lookin' for my partner too. Lex Foster, i dunno if you remember him, he worked at the Toyzone. i was with his sister Hannah when, y'know, everything went down. we got… split up a few days ago. told her to stay put while i went on a supply run, but when i got back she was gone. whole place was messed up. m'just hopin' she made it outta there before whatever got in could hurt her. she's a good kid. smart kid. i think if anyone her age could make it, she could."

they lay together in silence for a few minutes, the only noise present their own breathing.

"we'll find them, right..? our loved ones, i mean," Alice muttered, fidgeting with a strand of her hair. Ethan stared up at the ceiling, unspeaking, long enough that she thought he may have already fallen asleep.

"...yeah. yeah, i think so. we've been lucky enough to make it this far, why shouldn't the world throw us a bone?" he rubbed circles into her back absentmindedly, biting his cheek. "i'll help you out lookin' for Deb if you help me with Lex and Hannah, at least. deal?"

"deal."

neither of them said a word after that, simply stared into the darkness around them and drifted off to sleep for what felt like the first time in years.

Chapter Text

"Pete!" Ruth groaned with a frown, dragging out the name as she wriggled around from between Richie and Stephanie. "you're hogging the blanket!"

Peter grumbled in response, only half awake, and shifted slightly from Stephanie's other side so he could look over at her. his glasses sat lopsided on his face and he squinted slightly as he readjusted them. "no m'not. i'm practically entirely uncovered. i dunno how you're cold sitting by Steph, anyways, she's, like, literally a human space heater." Steph chuckled quietly at that, leaning over and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. she smiled at the way his face went red.

"that's not the point, it's the principle! we've been in here together for a month and someone keeps using more blanket than they should. the world may be crumbling around us but we should still be civil," Ruth stated, crossing her arms in mock disappointment before grinning and elbowing Richie. "besides, Richard is a fucking ice cube, i think he might be a cyborg or something. it cancels out any heat."

"hey, no i'm not! i am a perfectly average temperature," Richie said, elbowing her right back. "anyways, it's probably just bunched up between you and Stephanie with the way you're always canoodling. or her and Pete. neither of you can keep your hands off her." Ruth made a small noise of indignation at that, then sprawled across both his and Steph's laps. "disagree all you want, you've just perfectly proved my point."

"yeah, no, looks like it was just squished up between us, babe. besides, Pete's too much of a wuss to hog anything, s'why he went around asking everyone if they wanted the last grape soda yesterday," Steph said, shifting to better accommodate the girl now resting on her legs. "even though nobody else has been drinking any of the grape soda the whole time we've been here."

"i just wanted to make sure!" he said in an attempt to defend himself, pouting at Steph's teasing. "anyways, grape soda is good, all of you have horrible taste. this is just like the pineapple on pizza --"

"um, it absolutely is not, because pineapple on pizza was actually good. don't even think about comparing the two," Richie interjected, scrunching his nose up and sticking his tongue out. Peter raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, laughing as he shook his head.

"alright, alright, i won't!"

Max watched the exchange from across the room, sitting on the checkout counter of the gas station they'd taken refuge in -- back in school, he wouldn't have been caught dead in the same room as these nerds, but ever since they'd tried to mess with him at the Waylon house before the big game things had been... alright between them. and the past month trapped here with them hadn't been too bad either, circumstances disregarded. especially since, well...

"oh, babe, can you grab me something to eat? i don't think i've had anything since, uh... i dunno, maybe what would've been lunch yesterday," Richie called from the corner the nerds were sitting in, pushing Ruth's legs off him.

"yeah, 'course, Lipschitz!" Max called back, hopping down from where he was perched and making his way over to the section the granola bars were kept in. at this point it was practically muscle memory for him. honestly, it would be for anyone if they'd spent a month in a gas station. he grabbed two bars -- one peanut butter, for Richie, and one chocolate chip, for Pete -- then headed back towards them and, once he was close enough, tossed both boys their respective bars. Peter raised an eyebrow, vaguely confused. "for your blood sugar. you haven't eaten in a bit either."

"oh, shit! thanks, Max," he said, blowing a quick kiss and tearing open the wrapper with his teeth. Ruth booed from her spot in Steph's lap, mocking a gagging motion, as Max went to update their list of supplies.

"you guys are so sappy. get a room," she teased, rolling her eyes for maximum effect. Richie gently shoved her leg.

"you're one to talk, lovergirl," he stated, gesturing in her general direction as he bit into his granola bar. "you're practically melting into your girlfriend right now."

"aw, you would be too if you were me. she's like a pillow, dude," Ruth said, grinning at him as she nudged his thigh with her foot. "you're just mad because she isn't your girlfriend."

"wrong, i've got a girlfriend. she's perfectly good enough for me," he said with a smug smile, his tone very matter-of-fact. Ruth rolled off of Steph's legs and mock-fainted from the floor, pressing a hand to her forehead.

"flattery... my greatest weakness..." she lamented, waiting a few moments before letting her arm flop onto the ground and pushing herself into a sitting position.

"actually, i was talking about Asuka, but you're a close second," Richie teased, laughing as he pushed himself out of the range of her flailing foot.

a fond smile settled on Max's face as he listened to the groups bickering from where he stood at the front of the store, staring through a gap in the boards covering the window. it felt like it had been fucking forever since he'd been out there living his normal day-to-day life, just going to the store and shit like that, and he missed it. god, he'd barely even been out of high school -- completely thanks to Ruth, Peter, and Richie, they'd made sure he was going to pass all his classes just about a million times once they'd become... sort-of friends -- when everything went down.

he'd been with a fairly large group at first, -- all three of the nerds plus Steph and Grace, his boyfriend Kyle, and his sportier friends; Jason, Stacey, and Brenda -- heading to Miss Retro's Diner. none of them had left for college yet despite graduating back in june, but about half of them were in the process of applying to places out of state, so they were enjoying eachothers company while they still could. Richie walked right beside Jason, practically on top of him, their hands intertwined; the two had confessed to a mutual crush on each other just last month. they were practically inseparable. it was nice, seeing them so happy in their relationship.

"get any closer and you'll fuse into one person, Lipschitz," Stephanie teased, grinning at the laughs she drew out of both Peter and Ruth. they walked on either side of her, their hands clasping hers just as closely as Richie and Jason's. Richie rolled his eyes, a small grin on his face. "like in that kids show. Steven's Galaxy or whatever."

"Steven Universe," Brenda corrected, leaning back to look at Steph from her place in Stacey's arms. "my little sister was obsessed with it for, like, a whole year."

"what's it about? my parents wouldn't let me watch it. they always told me it was for people that were going to hell," Grace said, pulling her hair into a low ponytail. it had grown out since they'd graduated, now reaching down to around her shoulder blades. she kept insisting she needed to get it cut, but she hadn't bothered to go through with it.

Brenda pursed her lips, thinking. "it's, like... this kid that lives on a beach with some alien rock ladies. they fight other aliens and shit like that. his dad lives in a van. and the rock ladies are gay." she tapped Stacey on the shoulder and was set on the ground as she spoke, stretching out her limbs. Grace nodded, giving a small hum of understanding.

"that's probably why they wouldn't let me see it."

"why does he live in a van?" Kyle asked, frowning slightly in confusion. "the dad, i mean. why not with, like, his kid?"

"i dunno, i think one of the ladies was in love with his dead wife or something. i never paid much attention to it, honestly, Patricia could tell you way more than i could." Brenda shrugged, flicking a hair-tie at him as she spoke. he swatted it out of the air, putting a hand to his chest in mock offense.

"oh, speaking of watching stuff, we should have a movie night this weekend! my mom keeps asking me to invite everyone over again. she still wants to meet you, Ruth, she's always acting totally offended about you not showing up for the halloween party," Stacey said, a slight groan in her voice at the end of her final sentence, as she took off her hot pink heart-shaped sunglasses and folded them onto her shirt collar. "i swear, she thinks i have to introduce her to, like, everyone i know."

"i really wish i could've been there. it looked so fun in all the pictures you guys posted, but it's tradition to go trick-or-treating with my brother," Ruth said, swinging the arm that held Steph's hand back and forth. "the headgear bought me an extra year, but i don't think anyone'll be fooled into giving me anything now that i've got it off, so i should probably be able to make it to the next one."

"how is Otis, by the way? just since you've mentioned him. he's never around when Peter and i come over these days." Pete hummed slightly to show his mutual interest once Richie had finished speaking, brow furrowing slightly.

"yeah, he used to always hang out during our D&D sessions but now it's like he's some sort of ghost. why is he never at the house anymore?"

"oh, he's fine, he just joined the football team this year." Kyle, Jason, and Max each gave a small cheer at that, despite never having met Ruth's younger brother. "one day, he's always trying to get up in my business, the next he completely ditches me for his new buddies every chance he gets! i get most siblings don't really hang out, but i miss him listening in on our sessions. neither of you appreciates my PC like he does."

"Ruth, your character tries to bang everyone she meets. she's not even a bard. you made charisma your dump stat." Ruth turned slightly to the side, hopping on one foot as she kicked at Richie's shins and stuck her tongue out at him. he laughed, falling back just far enough to be out of reach. "i'm just stating a fact!"

"why haven't you ever invited us to your games? they sound super fun."

Pete thought for a moment, then looked over at Stacey and frowned. "i dunno, honestly. you can sit in next session if you want! if you like the feel of it we could help you build a character so you can join in, too."

"my parents say dungeons and dragons --"

"is satanic?" Steph cut Grace off, a soft smile on her face as she watched a light blush creep across the other girls cheeks.

"yeah, that."

the group turned a corner, and a few feet ahead, Max spotted someone sitting on the sidewalk, -- the guy he bought his weed from, Ziggy, was it? they’d never talked long enough for it to have really cemented in his brain -- panting heavily as if in some kind of horrible pain. someone else was laying beside them, though Max couldn't make out who exactly it was. all he could see was the blood pooling beneath their head. all sound seemed to drain from the world for a moment as he tapped Kyle on the shoulder, already jogging ahead of the group by the time he had turned to look at him. the others, perhaps just seeing him from the corners of their eyes, or perhaps sensing a shift in the atmosphere, turned with him, shock washing over them at the scene. Kyle rushed to catch up with Max, the two of them crouching beside Ziggy to make sure both they and the man -- now that he was closer, Max could tell it was that homeless guy from downtown -- were alright.

"dude, what the fuck happened?"

Ziggy stared blankly for a moment, clutching at a gaping wound on their arm. they looked so pale, almost sickly. god, were those teeth marks? they snapped back to reality, blinking hard a few times to focus the world around them. "fuck, man, i don't know! this guy just, he just... came at me out of fuckin' nowhere! i was only defending myself, i swear, i didn't mean to hurt him too bad!"

the rest of the group was closer now, -- Steph was trying to call for an ambulance, though none of her attempts were going through, the line was far too busy -- but they were keeping a safe distance away. Grace was whispering a quiet prayer to herself, twisting her WWJD bracelet around her wrist. Jason gave Richie's hand a light squeeze, then released it, joining Max and Kyle at Ziggy's side. he motioned them towards the homeless man, starting to help Ziggy to their feet. Kyle took the hint first, -- Max was still in shock, despite his original quick reaction -- starting to check for a pulse, trying not to panic when he couldn’t find one.

"you're gonna be alright, man, we've got you," Jason said, shifting slightly once he had Ziggy standing up so their weight was mostly resting on him. "we're gonna get you inside somewhere and get you some help, alright?" Ziggs nodded and attempted to speak, but was interrupted by a coughing fit. they put a hand over their mouth to muffle it, groaning as they pulled it away once they'd finished. Jason grimaced at the sight of flecks of blood splattered across their palm.

“hey, i don't wanna make matters any worse, but this guys fuckin' dead." Ziggy seemed almost nauseous at the news, their hand going right back up to cover their mouth. Kyle gave them an apologetic look. "and, um, i think this technically counts as a crime scene now, so i don't know if we can, like... leave."

"oh my god, Kyle, fuck that! we need to get Ziggy to the fucking hospital!" Steph nearly shouted, her whole body shaking. the lack of response from 911 had clearly rattled her quite a bit -- just what exactly was keeping the line so packed? Ruth put an arm around her, chewing at her lip.

"maybe half of us could stay here or something..? just so we aren't totally breaking the law. like... a compromise, or whatever. i don't know. i just know whatever we do we need to do it now, they look like they're about to pass out," Stacey said, trying her best to appear calm, though being betrayed by the quiver of her lip. "Brenda and i can stay behind, the rest of you go ahead." Peter bit at his thumb nail, considering the idea, then shook his hands out and nodded.

"okay. okay, it's the best plan we've got, i guess. just, call or text the first chance you get -- we'll keep you guys updated on the situation," he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket to check the percentage and starting to usher the others down the sidewalk. Jason had already started walking with Ziggy and had made it a decent few feet in the time it took for Steph, Grace, and the nerds to get around the puddle left by the homeless mans head wound. Grace looked like she was going to burst into tears.

they altered their course slightly -- the hospital wasn't too far, but it wasn't in the exact same direction as the diner -- and pushed onwards, Grace stepping forward to prop Ziggy up from their other side after a few minutes had passed. Jason muttered a quiet thanks, though Ziggy said nothing, only shambled along between them. occasionally, they would stop dead in their tracks, overcome by another coughing fit, each one worse than the last. each one producing more blood than the last. at a certain point, they collapsed entirely, their arm slipping from around Jason's shoulders, and dragged Grace down with them. they were far too heavy for her to prop them up herself.

"shit, Grace, you okay?" Jason asked, kneeling down to start pulling Ziggy off of her.

"yeah, i'm f--"

her response was cut off by her own shout of pain as Ziggy's jaw clamped around her shoulder, their hands gripping the front of her sweater. Richie screamed, clinging to Ruth’s arm to keep himself from tripping over his own feet as he stumbled backwards, and Jason grabbed Ziggy around the middle, yanking them backwards in order to get them off of Grace -- she had started banging her fists against Ziggy’s shoulders and kneeing them in the stomach, which made it a bit difficult for him to get a good grip, but he managed, surprisingly able to keep his arms around them despite their thrashing. he wasn’t, however, able to keep them from twisting just enough to elbow him in the throat. gasping for air, his hold faltered for only a moment, though a moment was all they needed to pull free. an animalistic growl rumbled deep in their throat, and they lunged towards Max, hand extended in a clumsy claw. Kyle shoved him out of the way before they could make contact, though for this he paid the price, their nails catching on his throat instead of their intended target. his blood sprayed in a wide arc, splattering across the others, and he staggered back, clutching at the gouge in his neck, the only sound he was able to produce now a low, desperate gurgling. several more screams rang out, intermingling like some sort of twisted harmony.

Jason attempted to tackle Ziggy as Kyle collapsed, but they stumbled out of his way. swiveling around and using his lack of balance to their advantage, they launched themself at him, their momentum bringing him quickly to the ground. his head bounced against the concrete with a sickening thud, blood almost immediately beginning to pool beneath it and mingle with the puddle quickly spreading from his former teammate. before they could do anything else, Ruth let out an anguished cry, bringing a fist-sized rock down against the back of their head. there was an audible crunch, and those remaining either conscious or alive watched as they crumpled.

tears ran freely down his face as Max crawled over to where Kyle lay, -- he’d fallen when he’d been pushed, though he had escaped injury, apart from a few scrapes on his hands -- gently lifting the boys head into his lap and stroking his hair with trembling hands. the blood pouring from his neck seeped into the fabric of Max’s jacket, tinting the white sleeves a vivid, nauseating red. Richie knelt beside Jason, fighting back an audible sob as he checked for a pulse. his eyes had already glazed over, but still, some small part of Richie wanted to believe that there was even a microscopic chance that his boyfriend of barely a month had somehow survived this horrible encounter. fate had other plans, Jason’s heart having already slowed to a stop.

Steph and Peter helped Grace to her feet, not wanting to disturb the boys and their grieving just yet. they made sure she was steady enough that she wouldn’t fall without support, and inspected her wound, grimacing. a chunk of her skin had been torn clean off, blood gushing from the exposed flesh.

from his seat on the ground, Max watched Richie shakily close Jason’s eyes and did the same for Kyle.

he shook his head violently in order to draw himself out of the memory, glancing over at the varsity collecting dust in a corner of the room, its sleeves still stained a horrible crimson. he felt ill just looking at it. turning, he made his way to the counter and slid onto it, swinging his legs over to the other side so he could speak with Charlotte, the woman that had been kind enough to let them enter after she had already barricaded the doors shut, vaguely making a note of someone trotting past. they were probably just going to the bathroom.

“hey, Sweetly?”

she looked up from what she was doing -- likely taking stock of the remaining alcohol or cigarettes -- and smiled upon seeing him, head tilting slightly to the side.

“oh, yes, Max?” she asked, rubbing at the dark circles under her eyes. he frowned at the sight of them.

“you need to get more sleep. let us take more watches or something. you’re not gonna do us any favors if you’re passin’ out when somethin’ happens.” she almost protested, though thought better of it, and sighed, giving him a small nod. a grim look settled on his face, his voice lowering in volume. “anyways, that’s not what i’m talkin’ to you about right now, we’ll figure out a schedule later. i just wanted to let you know that we’re running kind of low on, like… granola bars and shit like that. the more normal food.”

Charlotte grimaced, reaching up to twist a bit of hair around her fingers. “how long do you reckon what we’ve got left will last?”

“i dunno, maybe a week or two? we’ll still have candy and shit like that, but like… nothin’ particularly good. we might have to start leavin’ to find more pretty soon.” he bit at his lip, picking at the frayed hem of his shirt, his expression shifting to one of dismay as Charlotte pulled both a cigarette and a lighter out of her pocket.

"those things are gonna kill you one day," Richie stated, his tone teasing, as he leaned on the counter a few inches away. Max jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, nodding in agreement once he got his nerves in check. god, he'd forgotten how quietly the nerd walked, it was fuckin' eerie. Charlotte smiled sadly and sighed, giving her cigarette a longing look as she slipped it back into her pocket. Richie smiled at her to show thanks and turned around, hopping up to sit on the counter, leaning back on his elbows. “anyways, Peter and i were talking and we’ve been thinking about maybe doing some kind of game night soon? nothing fancy since we don’t have much to work with, but something fun. i know you like listening to us talk about our old dungeons and dragons games, so i was wondering if you’d be interested in playing with us.”

“oh, my, that’s… well, i don’t quite know anything about it, Richard. wouldn’t i slow you down?”

he shook his head, sitting up straighter to pop his back. “no, of course not! it’d be nice teaching someone how to play again. you’ll catch on fast, nobody could possibly build a character worse than Ruth’s last wizard.”

as if on cue, the sound of something clattering to the floor rang out from the front of the building, drawing Max’s attention from Charlotte’s somewhat eager expression. Ruth stood by the covered window, eyes wide open and jaw dropped. he furrowed his brow in concern, twisting around to get off of the counter, but she shook herself out and spun around before he could do anything. “Pete! Peter! get your ass over here right now!” she yelled, taking a few steps forward and slapping a shelf for emphasis. Peter frowned from the corner, getting to his feet as quickly as possible and stumbling over to her.

“what? what’s going on?” he asked, voice laced with panic. she latched onto his arm and dragged him to the window, pointing. both Steph and Richie got up and began to make their way towards the front of the building, Max joining their migration after a moments confusion.

“look outside! right now, you have to look right-- !”

he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook in an attempt to get her slightly calmed down, then warily turned and peered out the window. he stood motionless for a moment, then shook his head in confusion. “what am i…" trailing off, Peter’s eyes widened, a hand reaching up to grip one of the boards.

“Pete? what’s up, what d’you see?” Richie asked, his hands hidden in his armpits. Peter shook his head, taking a step back and pressing a hand to his mouth, waving the others forward. they crowded around the gap, only barely able to fit after a bit of shoving. Max squinted, eyes darting around to take in different parts of the scene outside. it looked... the same as it had not even twenty minutes ago, honestly. same abandoned cars, same abandoned road, same abandoned buildings with broken windows and doors hanging open, nobody in sight. well, except for a cat stretching on top of some old truck, and... holy shit, was someone trying to break into one of the stores on the other side of the street? he tried to squint further in order to get a better look at the guy, though only succeeded in making them look slightly blurry for a moment. blinking a few times to refocus his eyesight, he managed to make out their disheveled appearance and a bottle of something he couldn't recognize from this far away. shaking his head, he took a step back and looked over to Pete.

"what exactly are we supposed to --"

Richie's surprised yelp cut him off mid-sentence, the nerd whirling around to face Peter and grabbing onto his suspenders. "dude, that's your fucking brother!"

Chapter Text

Emma quietly cursed to herself as she went through the supplies remaining in the Beanie's break room fridge, biting at her thumb nail. she went over everything one more time just to be sure, then let out an exasperated groan, rubbing at her eyes with the backs of her hands.

"bad news, Z, we're running real fuckin' low in here," she stated, a grimace settling on her face.

"shit, how long do you think what we've got'll last..?" Zach asked, frowning over at her from where he sat bouncing a ball off the wall.

"i dunno, but we're probably gonna need to clear out before too long. at the very least to get more food from some suckers house, but honestly, takin' their whole house is sounding real fuckin' good," she said, shaking her head to herself. "we might be able to bring the generator if we leave, in case wherever we end up doesn't have any power. i'd kill for a hot shower right about now. febreeze and tap water only go so far. plus, febreeze smells like shit."

Zach nodded once she finished speaking, sending a quick glare towards the empty can of air freshener sitting dented in the corner -- body odor was only bad for a bit before you got used to it, and they had been able to wash in the sink every few days anyways, but once that shit was in the air it smelled like chemicals for the next three days. give it the added benefit of being completely unavoidable due to the size of the room the two of them were confined in, and you've got a healthy hatred of the stuff. "god, me too... anyways, we knew we'd have to leave eventually. i don't imagine the human body can survive on shitty coffee shop pastries and shittier coffee for much longer than we already have. this just... puts us ahead of schedule."

"ugh, you're right, i know, but still. it's safe here. gonna be hard to make myself go, y'know?" she paused for a moment and thought about her statement. "not because i worked here. i'd burn this place down if i could. just because we haven't died yet and it's been, like... a month or something like that.

"no, i get what you mean -- think it's been longer than a month, though." Zach rubbed at his eyes, pressing into them with a gentle pressure to relieve the headache that was forming. "the days just fuckin' blend together. i want this whole thing to be over."

Emma sighed and nodded, kicking the fridge before heading over and sitting next to him. "me too, man. don't think that's gonna happen, but hey, at least we've survived it this long. it may have been on bad pastries and worse coffee, but... it still counts."

"i know. it's just... christ, Emma," he slouched forwards, resting his elbows on the break room table. "i'm so... tired. my sister died right in front of me. i can't get it out of my head, the way she looked at me right before that lady jumped at her. like she was just glad i was alright. she called my name. i keep wondering if she'd be alive right now if i hadn't shown up to see if she was alright."

"Zach, hey, listen man, that's no way to think. it's not gonna help us any in the long run. i dunno if Zoey would still be here, but i do know that i'm glad you are. that's all that matters." she grabbed his hand and squeezed it, closing her eyes. "if we don't put that shit behind us, it's going to get us killed when we're on the move. and i cannot fucking handle it if you die on me, you got that, Chambers?"

he took a deep, shaky breath, and nodded. "yeah, i got --"

a loud crash rang out in the main room of the coffee shop, both Emma and Zach going completely still. there is nothing but silence for a few moments, then what could possibly be someone shuffling around, and muffled cursing.

"d'you think..." Emma started, voice barely audible, as she stared at the door connecting the break room to the rest of the shop. Zach said nothing, though he stood up and grabbed the jagged leg of an old broken down chair, -- the two of them had taken one apart when they'd first locked themselves in, since neither of them had any actual weapons on them. it was, assumedly at least, better than resorting to bare hands -- hesitantly stepping towards the door. "Z, what the fuck are you doing?"

"one of us has to check out what's going on out there. whatever it is, it could break down the door if we don't get rid of it." his voice was just as quiet as hers, though noticeably not as stable. Emma opened her mouth as if to speak further protest, though thought better of it and sighed, giving him a slight nod.

"you're an absolute fucking idiot if you think i'm letting you go out there alone," she whispered, getting to her feet and grabbing one of the remaining chair legs in one hand, a glass coffee pot in the other. Zach nearly told her that his going out there would be a waste if she got herself killed right beside him, though thought better of it. if there was one thing he'd learned before anything else staying here at Beanie's, it was that Emma was as stubborn as his sister had been.

he opened the door as quietly as he could, practically tip-toeing as he stepped into the open. they had exited their little safe haven before, of course, to use the bathroom, but they'd had the comfort of knowing nothing was inside to do so. knowing something was here, something had pushed past their barricade -- as shitty as it had been, getting through a stack of coffee shop tables wasn't exactly an easy thing to accomplish -- was an entirely different feeling to any quick dash to another enclosed room. Emma nudged his shoulder with her own, giving him an encouraging nod, then stepped past him to take the lead. her knuckles were white around the weapons she carried.

she couldn't see him completely clearly, but she could definitely make out the outline of someone rooting through the cupboards behind the counter. there was nothing particularly zombie-like about him, but still, there was absolutely no way Emma was going to let this guy be a threat to her or Zach. she passed her chair leg back to Zach, then raised her coffee pot over her head, prepping to swing it downwards with as much force as possible, when the person in front of her attempted to stand up and banged his head against the top of the cupboard he was sifting through.

"aw, fuck!" he exclaimed under his breath, putting a hand to the back of his head and properly exiting the small space. he turned around, muttering curses to himself, and froze when he saw Emma staring, her expression one of bewilderment. "...Paul's girlfriend?"

Emma blinked hard, slightly taken aback by the mention of her partner. "who the fuck are you, and how do you know Paul?" Emma asked, shaking her head to regain her focus. she glared at the intruder, grip on the pots handle tightening. he simply stared back, the gears in his head practically screeching as they turned. she spotted the bottle of liquor in his hand, and it clicked -- jesus christ, was this fucker drunk? she shook her head again, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet as she considered her options, -- only for about a second, really, but considered them nonetheless -- and grabbed him by the forearm, dragging him behind her as she turned and quickly made her way back to the break room, shooing Zach ahead. they would fix the barricade later, right now she just needed to figure out why the fuck this guy had broken into her goddamned coffee shop.

once they were safely locked in the break room, Emma pushed the intruder into a chair, her demeanor as threatening as could be managed by someone of her stature. "alright. you're going to tell me who you are, and what you're doing worming your way into places people have clearly put an effort into keeping locked up, or i'm going to slam this into your skull so hard it shatters."

he stared blankly for a moment, blinking in a slow, tired way, then grinned. "man, i didn't get it before, but i can definitely see why he's into you. wha'd'you say we skip the prologue and get straight to the action?" he slurred, wiggling his eyebrows. Emma jerked her hand further back as if to bring it down on his face and his hands shot up to block the blow, alcohol sloshing out of the open bottle and leaving a small wet patch on his shirt. "okay, okay, fuck dude, i'll talk! what are you, a fuckin' cop?" his words came out rushed, as if they would physically keep her from swinging and leaving him with a broken nose if they were spoken fast enough. she rolled her eyes, relaxing her arm slightly and glaring in a way she hoped conveyed her disgust with him. now that she was getting a good look, he seemed almost familiar, in a regular-customer sort of way. was he the guy that always asked for Nora or the one that always sat in the corner with his legs practically taking up the whole walkway..? she shook her head again, mentally chastising herself for letting her mind wander, and tried to focus on the current objective.

"great. you can start with telling me how you know about Paul and i, and if your answer isn't dumb as hell, maybe i won't dump whatever you've got there down the drain." he frowned, holding his alcohol close to his chest at that and muttering something that sounded like 'crabby barista' under his breath, shifting so he was sitting up a bit straighter and letting out a very dramatic sigh.

"fine. we're coworkers. work together in the tech department of CCRP. actually, he's, like, my best friend, so you should really rethink that whole not wanting t'fuck me thing. we could totally have a threesome. it'd be real hot."

Zach reached out to grab her by the forearm before she could act on impulse and scatter glass shards across the floor, glaring daggers at the man sitting in front of them. "Em, just leave it. he isn't worth the mess," he muttered, voice quiet enough that only she could hear it. her knuckles went white around the handle, grip tightening further, before she closed her eyes and let her arm go limp in his grasp. he released her, and it fell to her side, a scowl settling on her face. she exhaled sharply, nodding both to center herself and to let Zach know she wouldn't make either of them fetch the broom.

"say something like that again and you won't have a dick to fuck with, asshat," she grumbled, jaw clenching at the shit-eating grin that spread across his face. "what's your name?"

there was a long pause then, the man squinting and pursing his lips as he scanned Emma's face as if analyzing whether or not he could trust her. she raised her eyebrows at him, hoping to prompt him to speak, an annoyed look clear in her eyes. he sighed, slumping back in the chair, and leaned his head back. "Porker."

... had she heard him right? surely she hadn't. there was no fucking way that was a name. in any universe. she recognized him enough to know he came in for coffee at least once a week. she would remember if his fucking name was Porker. she looked at him with a look of pure disgust, trying to form a complete sentence i her mind, and only ending up with: "excuse me?"

"y'heard me. the name's Porker." he raised his eyebrows and shrugged as if to say hey, man, not my fault, and took a swig from his prized bottle of liquor. Emma swiped it from his hands, causing more to slosh out onto his shirt, and took a drink herself before thrusting it behind her towards Zach and motioning for the sink. "hey! i found that fair and square -- and i answered your questions, asshole!"

"yeah, well, i don't particularly like you, so, we're both a bit fucked, aren't we?"

Porker opened his mouth to say something Emma could only assume would have been nothing more than the meaningless ramblings of a horny bastard, but before he could speak, a deafening crash sounded from the direction of the bathrooms.