So, this was originally supposed to be Jasico, but I changed my mind. Perhaps a little bit of spoilers for the pairing, but I think anyone that is looking for Solangelo before the book comes out already knows about it. That being said, this is my contribution to Halloween this year. It's going to be several chapter, not sure how many yet. Those that know me can testify that could go on for a while. But Solangelo has always had a place in my heart. It happened somewhere a year or so ago when I was writing through chapters of Children of Loss. So, I guess that makes me the Prophet of Solangelo. Anyways, if any of you read my other Halloween fic, Smoke and Shadows, then you will be sort of prepared for this fic.
Obviously, as a zombie fic, you should expect gore and death. I'm not sure about sexual content yet, so we'll see.
Warning: Blood, gore, death, slash pairing, minor cases of fluff.
Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Rick Riordan.
Chapter 1
There has probably been hundreds of different ways that people had theorized how the world would end over the many years that humans have walked the face of the planet. Unfortunately, the one that actually happened involved most of those same humans becoming infected to terrorize the living. Yes, zombies. Well, if that was what people wanted to call it.
See, it wasn't like the traditional zombies that came back to life, or even like in The Walking Dead, where everyone apparently was already infected. Before the power died, the media had been calling it a rage virus. Symptoms included a fever, slow increase in hunger, and irrational anger. Even if they weren't zombies by the traditional sense, the virus was still spread like it.
Fear overtook country by country, but by the time they could identify whether individuals were infected or not, a lot of the world had already succumbed to the virus. And while America had all their guns that they loved so much, it did little to actually help them when the body got right back up after being shot. See, when people panic, they forget things like shoot it in the head.
So now the world was lost. Or, at least, mankind was lost. See, that was the thing about the planet, it doesn't really give a shit about people, it will carry on even without them. Now people were all but extinct, save for the angry shells of what used to be humans running around, trying to find the next meal.
In all his years, Nico had never really been happy to have been a loner, but it kind of prepared one for this when the last person Nico had spoken to had probably been two or three months ago. There were times that he had to just speak out loud to simply remind himself what his voice sounded like.
The seventeen year old boy sat on the hood of a car on an abandoned road. A gun—which he would need to find some more ammo soon—sat next to him. As he ran a hand through his messy and dirty black hair, Nico tilted his head back to finish off a bottle of water that he had filled up when it had rained two days ago. The boy let out a sigh as he turned the bottle upside down, his thirst not quite sated. His dark eyes flickered up to an old road sign that stood partially up the road.
The next town wasn't far away.
Nico didn't like going into towns, but it was sometimes necessary. However, he avoided cities like the things that were now roaming the earth. But food wasn't that easy to come by these days, and he also needed to refuel on water. Also, if he was lucky, Nico might be able to find a new car. His last one was now out of gas, and was currently being used to sit on.
It was so quiet outside, like it always was these days. There was no sound, none at all. It would have been peaceful, if it wasn't so disturbing. Nico let out a breath and hopped off of the car. If he was going to try and make a run for supplies, he would have to do it soon. The sun would set soon, and the last thing Nico wanted was to be in a city or town with those infected things.
It was how Nico had survived for the past year. Make a quick run in, get what he needed, and get out. Try and avoid contact with those things as much as possible, and most definitely do not stop when there was screaming nearby. For the first few months, Nico felt horrible leaving people to die, but those days were over. It wasn't like he could help anyways. If the person was screaming, they were probably already bitten. The last thing he wanted was to get torn apart by one of those things.
He had experienced enough encounters with those things to last him several lifetimes.
Frowning to himself, Nico rubbed his arm tugged on the sleeve of his aviator jacket, making sure the sleeves covered his arms entirely. Letting out a breath, picked up a bag that he carried with him and his gun before heading in the direction of the town. As long as he was out by nightfall, it was all that mattered. It wasn't about outrunning the things. Well, unless they were in poor shape, then it was. Unfortunately for the uninfected, the virus seemed to allow the infected run indefinitely. Which meant that, eventually, an infected would eventually catch you. No, the trick was to be crafty.
The rage and hunger was all these things felt, which meant that someone could outmaneuver them. Ducking down corridors or into rooms, climbing ladders, or finding a way to trap one of those things somewhere were things that Nico had quickly learned could help him survive.
He just couldn't help but to wish that these things were the actual walking dead. Because, logically, a zombie would only last two or three years, if they were technically dead. Which meant people would only have to hold out that long, unless people kept getting infected. This? Yeah, Nico was probably going to be dealing with this into his older years. That was if he even lasted that long. If anyone on the planet could last that long.
Nico let out a sigh as he reached the edge of town. He really wished that he could tell the time by looking at the sun. He had no idea how much longer it would be up. Hell, he didn't even know what day it was. Judging by the decrease of unbearable heat, Nico could only assume it was transitioning from summer to fall.
Unfortunately, like the rest of the world, towns and cities tended to not be as quiet. See, the good thing about these infected was that they tended to make noise in some way or another. Whether it be from grunts or the faint sound of running, they tended to give away some way of letting people know when they were close by. This time was no different as Nico heard a few grunts nearby.
Pushing himself up against the nearest building, Nico peered around the corner. Sure enough, there were at least three of those things just twenty feet away. Judging by the way they crowded around each other on the ground, Nico could only assume they had caught something. It could have been a person, but the more likely case was a deer or a dog. That was the thing that Nico always thought was odd about zombie movies. Why would they just leave animals alone? They are still food.
Nico's eyes darted over one of the infected's shoulder. There was Wallgreens not far away. Maybe if he was lucky, the place wouldn't be picked clean. He fought the urge to snort. Nico? Lucky? Those two things didn't really go together. Still, it was worth a shot. His lips pressed together as he scanned the area.
Moving away from the wall, Nico slid behind an abandoned car, using it as cover to get by the infected. The good news for the living was that these things didn't seem to be able to smell things, save for blood. They attacked purely on sight and sound. So, as long as you stayed out of sight and didn't make a sound, they usually didn't even know you were there.
The other thing that was still a problem lay with finding a working car. Every time that he would probably open a car door, it was a chance that one of those things might hear him. And if it did crank, Nico could only hope that it would be able to make it out of town without breaking down. Or getting swarmed by those things, depending on how many were really in this town.
After about five minutes, Nico finally managed to get over to the Wallgreens. Of course it had sliding doors, so Nico had to pry it open. He was just thankful that the power was dead, so that the stupid ringing noise didn't go off when the doors opened. Looking around briefly, Nico adjusted the backpack's strap on his shoulder. As far as he could tell, the place was empty. Still, it didn't stop him from doing a quick sweep of the place. Nothing.
Nico let out a sigh of relief as he began to poke around the store. As expected, most of the important things were already taken or expired. He did manage to come across one can of pasta and two cartons of juice. He let out a sigh as he dropped those into his bag. The place was a bust. Maybe, if he was lucky, there would be another place in town that he could try.
Leaving the store, Nico slipped down an alley next to the building. He wasn't sure how much longer he really wanted to spend in this town, but Nico did know that the sun probably wouldn't be up much longer. Maybe two hours? Three at the most. Grabbing the straps of his backpack, Nico picked up the pace.
Unfortunately, he really wasn't paying attention to his feet. So, when the boy's leg made contact with a thin metal wire, it caught him off-guard. The boy clamped his mouth shut as he tumbled to the ground. Unfortunately, his hand caught a piece of glass from a broken bottle. His knee hit the bottom half of the bottle, which skidded along the ground until it smashed against the wall. A small hiss escaped his lips as he pulled it away from the ground. The shard of glass was still embedded in his palm, and blood was now dripping down his wrist. Nico cursed silently before tearing off a small strip from the bottom of his shirt. He walked quickly, removing the piece of glass and binding his hand.
All a little too late, though.
Nico's blood ran cold as the all too familiar sound of an angry cry rang out from the distance. Dammit, Nico thought to himself. His eyes scanned anywhere for a ladder, but he wasn't lucky enough to be given one. Pulling the gun from his back pocket, Nico turned the safety off and took off running away from the sounds of those things.
Nico found himself back on one of the streets in the town. He quickly looked around for something, but his brain was already succumbing to the panic. There were cars, but there was also no guarantee that any of them would work. He could already spot flat tires on most of them. Cursing under his breath, Nico took off towards the Town Hall. The doors there were made of heavy oak, which would be capable of keeping those things out.
As he ran up the steps, Nico grasped the door, only to find it locked. Of course it was. For all he knew, people had locked themselves inside, only to trap themselves in there and die from starvation. Turning around, Nico spotted the first of the infected that was after him.
It still looked relatively human, just with sickly pale skin and severe bloodshot eyes. It's yellow and partially broken teeth snapped as it spotted him. The thing had used to be a man, probably in his mid thirties, with thinning blond hair and a slight beer gut. A severely worn and torn jacket sat on top of a ripped, faded blue shirt. The infected man reached out for him, exposing his bloody fingers to Nico.
Nico gritted his teeth. If it was more than one, he would have no qualms with firing off his gun. But he didn't want to alarm others to where he was, so that would probably be a horrible idea. Pressing himself up against the doors of Town Hall, Nico dug around in his backpack. As his fingers wrapped around the hilt of a dagger he carried with him, Nico let out a yelp as he discovered the guy was practically on top of him. Like he said, they were fast.
Out of instinct, Nico sank the dagger into the guy's stomach. That didn't seem to bother the guy at all. He just growled and snapped his teeth at Nico. The raven-haired boy gulped as the man clawed at Nico's jacket covered arms. And, over the guy's shoulder, Nico could already spot three more infected headed his way. Nico pressed his knee against the guy's gut, trying to pull his dagger out. It was stuck.
His breath hitched as he pressed himself against the oak doors as much as possible, the metal handles pressing into his back. Nico fought the urge to vomit as some of the man's guts spilled out onto Nico's hand. The boy's arms began to shake as the infected man slowly pressed closer to him. The other infected were getting closer, and soon Nico would be overtaken by these things.
Letting go of the dagger, Nico kicked the man back and tried to make a break for it. Not to much avail, as the guy managed to grab Nico's ankle before the boy could get very far. The dark-eyed boy tried to scramble across the ground, but the man had a very tight hold on him. The others were nearing the steps. With a small gulp, Nico shut his eyes. This was it, he supposed. There was no escape this time.
Perhaps it was better this way. Well, save for the part where he would walk the planet as a mindless rage zombie for the rest of his years. That part kind of sucked. But at least Nico wouldn't be plagued with all the things that had happened to him since all of this started. He wouldn't have to remember the feel of Bianca's cold blood on his hands as he cradled her cold, dead body.
A strange sound caught Nico's attention. He couldn't quite place it, but the sound was familiar. The next thing Nico knew, the zombie's hold on him loosened. His eyes snapped open and Nico turned his head. A crossbow bolt jutted out of the man's unmoving head. Nico found himself a little shaken as his ears registered a sharp whistle.
Shooting off the ground, Nico ran and looked around for the source of the sound. It was not until he looked up that he was able to locate it. Across the road and the next building down, a blond guy was waving at him. He snapped his hand at Nico and got down on a small metal awning that was closer to the ground, extending his hand down for Nico to grab. Not about to press his luck at just running for it, Nico changed course and ran straight for the building the guy was on top of, slipping his gun into his back pocket as he did so.
"Come on," the guy yelled at him.
As soon as Nico was close enough, Nico jumped and latched on to the guy's wrist. The blond guy tightened his grip around Nico's wrist and began to haul him up. Unfortunately, one of those other three zombies managed to grab his leg. Nico yelled as his body was jerked downwards. His eyes flashed with fear as he looked up at the blond above him.
The guy's brow furrowed as he bent his knee sideways. Using his free hand, the blond pulled out a knife from a strap on his leg. Nico barely had time to blink before the knife went flying by his head and impaled the infected woman gripping his leg directly in her forehead. The blond quickly pulled Nico onto the awning before they both climbed onto the roof.
Nico laid down on the roof for a moment to catch his breath. "T-Thank you," he barely managed to breath out. It was very hoarse, and Nico had to clear his throat afterward.
"Don't mention it." From where the sun was setting, Nico couldn't really make out the guy's features, and he hadn't really been thinking about it a moment ago. Still, the guy's voice was very calm and soft. It was sort of like honey to the ears.
Nico's face heated up a little at that thought. Guys weren't on his list of things to worry about during this apocalypse. Too much trouble, and they never amounted to anything, if Nico's past experiences were anything to go by. Still, he was incredibly grateful that the guy had helped him out, even if Nico probably wouldn't have done the same if the tables were turned.
The boy's eyes flew open when he felt warm hands touching his forehead. He sat up and smacked the hands away. "What are you doing?" He asked defensively.
Now that the guy was crouched down, Nico could make out his savior extremely well.
Whoever he was, the guy couldn't be much older than Nico. He had a soft, youthful face that barely had any dirt on it. The guy had messy sun-kissed hair that came a little below his eyebrows and eyes so blue that Nico felt like he was staring into the sky on a sunny day. He looked tall, probably several inches taller than Nico, and bore an athletic build. The jeans of his long legs were slightly torn around the knees and ankles. His shoes looked new, though. His skin was lightly tanned, and there was even a smile on his face.
A smile, in these times? That factor worried Nico a little. The only people that smiled these days were the ones that were getting ready to carve you up and serve you for dinner. But the smile seemed gentle, and it wasn't like Nico had any other options at the moment, so he stayed put.
"Just checking for fever," the blond replied cheerfully. Seriously? Who the hell was this guy? Pursing his lips, the guy looked Nico over, eventually settling on Nico's hand. Before Nico could react, the blond had Nico's hand in his own and was inspecting it. "What happened?"
Nico jerked his hand away, his brow furrowing. "I tripped on some wire and fell on some glass."
Surprise briefly passed through the guy's eyes as he stood back to his feet. "Oh." The guy rubbed the back of his neck. "I sort of put that there. You know, in case I was being chased. Sorry about that."
"Wait." Nico sat up. "You live around here?"
The guy shrugged. "For a few days, then I'll move on." He smiled softly at Nico. "Been trying to work my way around town and find a working car. I've got the western half of the city covered, but no such luck yet." He held his hand out for Nico to take. "Come on, it's about to get dark. You can crash with me tonight."
Nico stood up on his own, a frown marring his features. "You don't even know me."
The blond tilted his head to the side. "Well, do you really want to go back down there with those things?"
Nico narrowed his eyes. "Are you going to push me, or something?"
That got a small chuckle from his blond savior. "No, I just meant that I don't see any other options." He pointed over his shoulder. "Come on, I've got a place set up not far from here." When Nico didn't move, the blond let out a sigh. "I've got some food I can spare you, if that is enticing enough."
As if on cue, Nico's stomach growled. Narrowing his eyes at the cheerful look on the blond's face, Nico picked up his backpack and placed it on his shoulder. "Lead the way," the boy grumbled.
On the way, Nico kept glancing over at the guy. Whoever he was, the guy seemed content with how things were going. Nico had not seen someone this cheerful in a very long time. It was sort of nice, not that he would say it out loud. But the mystery that most plagued Nico was how the hell this blond hero-wannabe managed to look so clean. Even his teeth were white. The last time Nico had brushed his teeth had probably been weeks ago.
It wasn't like he had anyone to impress, but it was mostly hard to find time for personal hygiene in a world like this.
Nico arched a brow as they crossed some wooden planks along the rooftops. "Did you do this?"
The blond smiled at Nico. "Yep. I use it to help me get around the town, though it's really not that much. I just put down a few planks to places I felt were important. I memorized where all of the dumpsters and ladders are, too, so that I could quickly get up here." He shrugged a little. "I mean, it's not perfect. Obviously, since this is just a town, I can't connect all the buildings." The blond motioned across the road. "Getting across streets is a little more complicated. You have to jump down and run across the road. Don't really have most of that side set up yet."
Nico followed the blond's finger across the road. His brow furrowed. Was this guy planning on staying here long? Most people stayed on the move, or tried their luck with a survivor camp. Like, he could read Nico's mind, the blond continued.
"I mean, I'm going to try and leave soon. So, I guess I shouldn't spend so much of my time setting it all up. Still, it might help someone in the future that passes through here." Stopping momentarily, the guy held out his hand. "So, what's your name?"
Nico just gave him a strange look, keeping his hands at his sides. Was this guy even real? Who acted this friendly these days? And how the hell did he look so clean?
"Ah, not much of a talker, eh?" The blond chuckled, causing Nico's stomach to do a small flip. He continued to hold his hand out. "My name is Will. Will Solace."
Nico's eyes flickered down to Will's hand. Slowly, he reached out and shook it. "Nico."
"Just Nico?"
Nico frowned. "Be lucky I even told you that."
If possible, the guy's smile only grew. "What, are you afraid I'll follow you home? Maybe stalk you online?" Nico fought the urge to roll his eyes. The guy did have a point. "Come on, it's not like I'm going to bite."
"Fine," Nico sighed. "Nico di Angelo."
"That's a pretty name." Will started to walk again, which Nico was thankful for, since his cheeks turned a little pink. As they neared another plank, Will pressed a hand against Nico's chest, silently raising a finger to his lips. "No more talking until we get back to the place I'm staying at. Don't need those things following us."
Nico quietly nodded and the two carried on. After moving to the next building, Will had them hop a small distance to a nearby building. The blond jumped over first and held his hand out to catch Nico if he didn't quite make it. Nico just rolled his eyes and jumped, not even bothering to try and reach out for the offered appendage. There was no point in making nice with this guy, Nico would just move on after getting some rest.
They eventually climbed down when the two reached a rusted ladder. Will's hand rested on the strap of his crossbow that rested on his back. Nico's eyes flickered lower. A pistol rested in the blond's back pocket. Perhaps his eyes lingered a little too long down there, which nearly caused him to trip when they reached a sidewalk.
Will whirled around to see what the problem was, but Nico just glared at him. The blond stared at him questionably, but did not say anything. The two moved towards the residential part of town, passing by several houses until Will stopped in front of one.
It was a two story house with iron barred door on the outside of the house. The entire house was surrounded by a thick wooden fence, which Will quickly opened for them. Nico quickly looked around the yard while Will fastened the latch and locked it with a padlock. It almost looked untouched. The grass was overgrown, but that was how grass was pretty much everywhere now. However, Nico did notice a well to the side of the house.
His dark eyes flickered back over to where the blond stood. Was that how he managed to look so clean?
Will seemed to notice where Nico was looking. He chuckled and headed for the door. "Nice, right? They even have a manual pump around back, so we can get some fresh water."
"So, you take cold baths?"
Not answering right away, Will opened the iron door and pressed his back against it. He reached for the handle of the inner door and it opened with no problem. "Actually, the place still has a gas stove." He stepped inside, holding the door open for Nico. "I mean, obviously I can't take a shower, but it's nice to be able to wash up. I've got some deodorant and toothpaste, if you want some."
Nico's dark eyes flickered over to the blond. "I'm sorry if I smell, it's sort of the apocalypse out there."
Will quickly held up his hands with a soft chuckle. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just that...I sort of figured it wasn't something you were able to indulge in very often. It was a relief for me when I found out about the well." He shrugged and motioned up the stairs. "Anyways, there's a second bedroom upstairs, if you want to drop your stuff up there. I'd suggest sleeping up there, just in case some of those things actually did manage to get inside."
Nico's brow furrowed as he inspected the place. The windows had been boarded up, but there was a lantern in the small living room. Another lantern could be found in the kitchen as well, probably both Will's doing.
As if he noticed Nico's staring, Will spoke again. "The place was boarded up when I found it. Judging from all the water they had stored up, my best guess was that the people that lived here were trying to hold out here. But I didn't find any bodies, so I can only assume they eventually left." That soft smile of his still lingered on his face as he turned on one of the lanterns. "I can make food, if you want to get cleaned up."
That really did sound appealing, and Nico was starving. But this guy was being too nice, and Nico didn't know how to deal with it. What was this guy's angle? People weren't this nice anymore? Everyone was hostile or guarded. There was no room for this kind of friendliness in their world anymore.
Without even getting a reply from Nico, Will stepped into the kitchen and turned on the other lantern and worked on getting the stove lit. "I've got some clothes I scavenged up in my room, if you want something clean to wear," the blond said with his back to Nico. "They're probably big on you, but I figure it's better than nothing. I suppose we could try finding you some clothes tomorrow."
"How long are you even planning on staying here?" Nico asked, his brow furrowed. Did this guy even understand that the world had ended?
Will stood up and blinked in surprise. "Well, I was thinking about leaving tomorrow." He rubbed his neck. "There's a local garage on the other side of town. A car there works, or at least it seemed to work. I would have had it yesterday, if the owner of the place hadn't tried to eat my face." He chuckled nervously. "The guy sort of caught me by surprise, so I shot him without thinking. It kind of drew more attention."
"So, why didn't you just go get it later?"
Will shrugged, digging around in a small bag that was next to the stove. The blond pulled out two cans of ravioli. "Well, I was going to go and get it today, but then I found you," Will replied. Oh. Nico let out a sigh. "No worries, I'll just get it tomorrow. Seriously, I've got the food covered, if you want to go freshen up. There's a couple of jugs upstairs in the bathroom. I boiled the water to make sure it was clean, so it should still be lukewarm. And there's some old rags in the cabinet that the owners left behind."
As much as Nico wanted to argue that he didn't need someone to take care of him, he was just too tired. It had been a long and tiring day, and Nico really wanted some food. So, instead of opening his mouth, the boy just let out a breath and dragged his feet up the stairs. He poked his head into the first room on the left, which looked relatively empty.
Dropping his bag on the floor, Nico closed the door and opened the door on the opposite side of the hall. This one had a little more in it. There was a large duffel bag on the floor, partially unzipped. In the middle of the bed was a shotgun with a box of ammo beside it.
Stepping into the room, Nico opened the bag on the floor. Sure enough, it was full of clothes. He felt weird as he pulled out a fresh shirt and a pair of boxers. Had Will worn any of this? It really shouldn't have mattered, but Nico felt weird taking underwear that could have been worn by the hero-wannabe downstairs. Nico pulled out a pair of jeans from the bottom of the bag and stood back up. Gathering it all in his arms, the boy left the room and headed to the bathroom at the end of the hall.
What Nico found when he entered the bathroom caused him to freeze.
"Holy shit," the boy muttered under his breath.
Jugs of water littered the left side of the bathroom floor. Not only that, but there were large buckets of water on the right side of the room. More than likely, Will had run out of containers to put the water in. Still a little surprised by how much water the blond had collected, Nico put down the fresh clothes on the top of the sink and began to strip out of his old clothing.
After he was naked, Nico picked up one of the buckets and carried it over to the tub. Sure enough, Nico was able to find a clean rag in one of the cabinets. He sat a jug of water next to the bucket before climbing into the tub. There was some soap and shampoo on the edge of the tub, probably something Will had gathered along the way.
Nico picked up the jug and let the water splash across his body. He didn't really want to use much of it, but it had been far too long that Nico was able to have a real bath. And it had been much longer that anyone had been able to have a shower. The water felt so nice as it ran across his skin. It was like Nico could feel all the dirt he had been building up on his body wash off of him.
After most of his body was good and wet, Nico wet the washcloth and ran it along his skin. He scrubbed a little harder than he used to back when everything was normal, trying his hardest to get as much dirt off of him as possible.
The challenge came when Nico tried to wash his hair. In the end, the boy decided it would just be easier to dump his head into the bucket. He then scrubbed it with shampoo before dunking his head back into the bucket. It wasn't as good as a nice, hot shower, but it was more than satisfying.
He dumped the used water from the bucket into the tub before climbing out and grabbing a towel. He wrapped it around his waist before walking over to the sink. On the right side of the counter was a small bag full of deodorant and toothpaste. There also happened to be a few unopened toothbrushes, so Nico swiped one of those.
After brushing his teeth, Nico ran his tongue around his teeth for a few seconds, smacking his lips. His mouth felt so clean, the faint stinging of not cleaning his mouth very present. Nico took a few minutes to inspect himself. It had been a while since he had seen himself this clean. Even his nails were void of dirt. Reaching up, Nico pressed a finger under his eyes. Dark circles had formed there from his lack of sleep. Nico sighed and ran a hand through his wet, messy black hair. It was getting a little too long for his liking, but scissors were not that easy to come by. A weapon was a weapon in this day and age.
As Nico was sliding himself into the fresh jeans he had grabbed from Will's bag, Nico grabbed his upper arm and inspected it. His lips tilted down at the faint scar that sat there. A knock at the door jarred him from his inner thoughts.
"Dinner is ready," Will's voice rang through the door.
"Coming," Nico mumbled. He quickly grabbed the long sleeve shirt and threw it on, making sure to tug down the sleeves as far as they would go. Letting out a sigh, Nico opened the door.
Will smiled down at him. "You look much better."
This guy really did not need to speak. How did Will not feel embarrassed when he said things like that? Just Nico's luck, he found another oblivious guy that didn't realize the things he said to Nico. It was very common for Nico back in the day. Stumble across a nice straight guy that was way too friendly towards Nico, but had no real interest in him.
Nico mentally slapped himself as he stood in the doorway of the bathroom. That kind of thinking did not need to exist in his life right now. There were more important things to worry about, like survival. Besides, the two would part ways soon, and Nico would never see him again. Will would just be another corpse walking the planet soon. That was usually what happened to the people that Nico tried to stick around. They all died eventually.
Will arched a brow as Nico just sort of stood there. He motioned down the hall. "You coming? I imagine it's not every day you get to have a warm meal."
Nico shook his head to shake himself of his thoughts. "Right, sorry."
While Nico was in the shower, Will had placed the food in the living room. Nico quietly sat down on the couch and picked up his bowl, a cup of water on a small table beside him. There was still the silence that Nico was used to, but this felt awkward. Nico had not been around another living person in quite some time. Well, perhaps living was not the right word. As far as studies showed, the infected weren't technically undead.
"So, where are you headed?" Will suddenly asked.
Nico's eyes flickered over to the blond, only to shove a piece of ravioli into his mouth. There was no point in talking. Sure, he was thankful that the guy had helped him out, but it didn't matter in the long run. However, Nico's irritated expression didn't even seem to faze the blond.
"You really don't talk much, do you?" The corners of Will's mouth tilted up a little. "Well, I thought I'd go looking for some survival camp. I'm sure there's one out there that hasn't been overrun by the zombies." He poked at his food a little, staring at Nico. "You know, I heard there were some islands that were free of the infection."
"And they also say the same about places like Russia, Canada, and Alaska," Nico mumbled. His lips tilted down. "It's all just rumors and pointless hope. Staying on the move and not doing stupid shit is what keeps you alive. There is nowhere to go."
Will scrunched his lips. "That's pretty abysmal thinking." Nico did not look amused when he looked up from his food. Will chuckled a little. "I'm sure there's something out there. It can never hurt to try."
"What's the point?"
After taking a bite of his food, Will shook his head. "You know, that's the sort of thing I'd expect from someone that's given up." He nodded his head upstairs. "If that's the case, why haven't you just pulled the trigger on that gun I saw you carrying and end your suffering?"
Nico's gaze softened a little. He glanced down at his bowl of food and poked at it lightly. What was he supposed to say to that? As much as he hated to admit it, the guy had a point. It was very tiring at times, though. And it wasn't like the thought hadn't crossed Nico's mind several times in the past. It was like a daily struggle at this point.
Will watched him carefully, chewing his food in silence. "It's just that hope is all we've really got these days." His brow furrowed. "You shouldn't try taking that away from people, especially when you aren't convinced yourself."
Nico's grip tightened on his jeans. His eyes flashed with anger as he shot up from the couch. He grabbed the water that had been set aside for him and his food before heading up the stairs. Will's blue eyes followed him, but the blond didn't say anything. Once in the room that he was currently using, Nico slammed the door.
He knew that he shouldn't be angry, but he was. Who was this guy to talk that way to Nico? Will barely knew Nico, and probably wouldn't even like Nico if he actually did know him. Nico could only imagine that Will would be the popular guy at school that ignored people like Nico's existence. He had probably used that smile of his to get his way with the less fortunate.
Several hours later, Nico was awoken by a loud cracking noise. He jolted up in bed with a yelp. His hand shot under his pillow for his gun on instinct. Crawling out of bed, Nico walked over to the window in the room—which had not been boarded up. His heart pounded in his chest as he spotted a mangled hand ripping at a top portion of the wooden fence surrounding the house. A few more hands shot up to grab at it as well.
There was a light knock at the door, which nearly gave Nico a heart attack. A second later, the door opened and Will poked his head in. The blond was carrying a wooden bat in his hand. Nico was thankful that it was dark, because his face heated up at the realization that Will was in nothing but a T-shirt and boxers.
The blond quietly walked over to where Nico stood at the window and peered outside. "Well, I suppose tomorrow is a good day to leave."
"Yeah," Nico muttered. His brow furrowed. "What are they doing? They can't know we're in here, can they?"
Will shook his head. "Probably not. Perhaps they are just curious. If we're lucky, they'll be gone by the morning." The blond smiled a little and ran a hand through his hair. "As long as they don't get through, there's not much to worry about. You should get back to sleep. I'm sure we'll wake up if they start getting through. I'll move the few things that I keep downstairs up here just to be safe, though." Nico's face turned pink when Will actually placed a hand on his head. It was so warm. "You should get some more sleep, you looked exhausted."
"I-okay." Nico wanted to protest, but his head still felt warm from where Will had touched him. He honestly had trouble remembering if everyone was this warm. He cleared his throat and looked away from the blond. "Then you can leave, so that I can actually get some sleep."
Will just grinned at him. "Are you implying that I could keep you up all night?" And, even in the dark, Nico was able to make out a small wink the blond gave him.
Nico managed to keep a straight face as he narrowed his eyes and pointed at the door. "If you don't go, I'll make it so that you can't use your friend downstairs ever again."
All that did was make Will chuckle. But the blond shook his head and headed for the door. After it was closed, Nico let out a breath. What the hell? What, did this guy just run around and hit on people because it was the end of the world and he might never know which night might be his last? Yeah, well, if he expected Nico to fall for that, the guy had another thing coming.
Will woke Nico up shortly after sunrise. All through the small breakfast that they had, Nico glared at the blond. Nico was far from a morning person. He had no idea how Will was capable of putting on his usual smile this early.
After they each had a quick bath, the two gathered a few weapons and left the house. The top portion of the fence was a little worse than it had been when Nico had looked at it during the night, and there was even some traces of skin and blood to be found around the chipped portions of the wood. Will seemed to ignore it as the two stepped outside the gate. The street was deserted, much to Nico's relief.
The two quietly walked along the road, Nico following a few paces behind Will. Eventually, the blond took them back to the rooftops, where they followed a small path that Will had created. When they reached a small park, Will jumped down and offered to catch Nico. The raven-haired boy was far too stubborn to accept the help and jumped down, stumbling a little. And when Will tried to help him up, Nico shoved him away.
Will didn't say anything, though. Not that he could, unless he wanted to draw attention to them. There were a few of the infected in the park, so Will led them the long way around. They ducked down an alley and eventually ended up at the garage that Will had spoken of.
They stood in front of a chain link fence, where Will pointed through at one of the cars. A bright red car. Nico narrowed his eyes. Will just blinked at him. "What? It looks nice, which means the person had to pay a pretty penny to have it fixed. And it works, so stop giving me that look," the blond supplied.
Nico shook his head as they hopped the fence. He watched the outside, checking to make sure none of those things had heard the rattling when they jumped. Will walked over to the car and opened the door. He smiled and held up the keys. Rolling his eyes, Nico turned his attention back to outside the fence. His brow furrowed a little.
Two of those things were now stumbling around a block away. He wasn't sure if they had heard the small amount of noise, but they seemed to be ignoring the garage. Still, when Will cranked the car, all of the zombies in the town would come running. Letting out a breath, Nico headed over to where the car was.
"So, what's the plan?" Nico asked. "You're going to draw attention when you crank it."
Will rested his arms on top of the car, looking across at Nico. "Well, I could always open the fence and you drive it out, so long as you know how to drive a stick."
Nico's brow furrowed. "Why don't you just drive it?"
"I'd rather you be safely in the car." This time, Nico wasn't so fortunate to have the cover of darkness to hide his blush. It brought a smile to Will's lips. "So, do you know how to drive a stick?" The blond asked.
"Never learned," Nico admitted. His eyes flickered back over to the gate. One of those things was now looking at them, and it looked pretty angry. A second later, the thing charged, the other following behind it. Nico let out a curse. "I'll get the gate."
Will eyed the gate. "I'd rather you not."
Nico just pulled out his gun. At least this way, Nico wouldn't feel like he owed the guy for anything. But the more likely scenario was that Will would drive off as soon as the gate was open. It was just how things worked. Not to mention that the two at the gate would come running as soon as the gate opened.
Will let out a sigh. "Fine," he said, pointing a finger at the two zombies at the gate, "but shoot those two first." Nico was about to argue, but Will cut him off. "More will come when I crank the car, two shots isn't going to make a big difference."
Will shrugged and climbed into the car. Nico frowned as he turned around and headed for the gate. Cocking his gun, the boy pointed it at the head of the zombie on the left. With the pull of a trigger, the zombie crumpled to the ground, which only seemed to aggravate his friend. Sure enough, Nico heard the cry of more of those infected in the distance. They would be here soon. Blinking once, Nico put the other one down and opened the gate just as ten more of the infected rounded a corner up the street.
"Shit," Nico cursed.
The car roared to life behind him and Nico heard the tires squeal. Nico's breath hitched as one of those things came from around the corner of the gate and tried to jump on him. Before he had time to aim, the red car hit the shell of a man head on. A little shocked, Nico turned towards the car.
The door was flung open and Will beckoned towards him. "Hurry up!" He shouted.
Not needing to be told twice, Nico shot into the car. Before he even had the door closed, Will shot away from the garage, doing his best to dodge all of the zombies. Nico finally let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. That was far too many of those things for his liking.
He slowly turned towards Will, who didn't take his eyes off the road. "Those things are going to follow the noise."
Will slowly nodded. "That's why I had you pack before we left. We'll toss everything into the car and try and leave before they get to us."
"Wait," Nico breathed out. "Are you trying to imply that I'm coming with you? I didn't agree to that." A frown set in on his face. "I'll be fine on my own."
"Really? Please shut up." Will turned an annoyed glance on Nico for a mere second. "I'm not going to leave you at that house, which will probably end up being overrun if they follow us back." He looked at Nico again. "Are you really going to tell me that you'd rather be on your own, than have someone around to watch your back? That's a load of bullshit and irresponsible."
Nico just shook his head. "Why do you even care?"
"Because, I still have a heart, and not all people are going to sell you out at their convenience." As they neared the house, Will relaxed a little. "Look, at least come with me until we are several miles from the town. I couldn't, in good conscious, leave you on the side of the road with those things right behind you."
Will quickly parked the car when they reached the house, not even bothering to turn it off. The two bolted for the house. Nico ran for his bag, which he had left on the couch. When he looked up, Nico found Will's eyes on him. The boy fidgeted a little, not used to being stared at like that. It was unreadable, but so intense. Will just pressed his lips together and went back to grabbing his things. Slinging his bags onto his shoulders, Will opened the door again.
Once the bags were in, Will ran back one last time. Nico's brow furrowed when the blond came back a few seconds later with another bag that was stuffed into the trunk. Glancing into the mirror, Nico spotted the first few zombies that had caught up to them. Nico's grip tightened onto something rather soft. Quickly looking down, the boy was surprised to find that it was Will's arm.
The blond grinned at him as the car shot away from the house, leaving the infected in the dust. A sense of relief washed over Nico as he sank into his seat. This was why he avoided cities and towns as much as possible. It was less likely to stumble across a mob of those things the farther you got from old populated areas.
As they drove, Will turned his head a little to face Nico. "I don't suppose I could convince you to stay?" He smiled a little. "I sure would feel safer with someone watching my back. And I kind of miss having company around." He still smiled, even when Nico refused to meet his eyes.
Eventually, probably thirty or so minutes after leaving the town, Will stopped the car. He pursed his lips as he turned in his seat to face Nico. The brown-eyed boy glanced out the window. There was nothing for miles. Letting out a breath, Nico opened his door.
Dark eyes widened when a hand clamped down on his wrist. With a frown, Nico turned to face Will, ready to chew the jerk out. However, the look of concern quickly shut him up. "Please? I really don't feel right letting you just walk off in the middle of nowhere. Am I really that unbearable to be around?" Nico felt the blond's thumb rub against his wrist. "Just stay with me, at least until we find some refugee camp or something, and then you'll never have to talk to me again if you don't wan to."
It was very hard for Nico's brain to process most of what Will had just said to him. The blond had leaned forward while talking, and now their faces were only as far apart as the armrest that was in between them.
"Please?" Will whispered.
That one word managed to seal Nico's fate. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Nico just looked at Will and nodded. Neither of them said anything as Nico shut his door, but the boy did catch sight of the smile that appeared on Will's lips. Will shifted gears and took off again, still smiling. Nico's eyes flickered down to his hand, where Will still had a soft hold on his wrist. And, for the first time in months, Nico's lips tilted up as he looked out the passenger window.
So, what did you guys think? Also, as a warning, my computer is currently out of commission. I'm working through my laptop at the moment. So, I'm getting my roommate to look at it tomorrow and possibly fix it. But I might take a few days off while it gets sorted out. So, it might be an undetermined amount of time before I update again. Not too long, though. If it still isn't fixed in a week, I'll just work through my laptop. However, my next chapter of Children of Loss had its outline on the desktop, as well as some of the chapter already written. So, more thank likely, I'll be working on something other than that until my desktop gets sorted.
But I do hope you guys liked the first chapter, and I'll try to have more very soon.