Survivors Chapter 1, an i am legend fanfic

02:48

August 17, 2011

"You ever think these things are going to die off?"

The question puzzled me. Did she really just ask if the Darkseekers are going to die off? Of all the fucking stupid things I've heard her say, she just asked that? Wow.

"We're going to die off before they do, Rebecca. I mean, they hunt, they kill, and they show no mercy. You cry when I kill deer." I reply, still baffled by the question thrown out there.

She looks at the wall in front of her, as if pondering this answer. After a few moments, she nods, perhaps accepting in her head that this seems fair, and blurts out "Well, do you think we'll ever get along with them?"

I sigh. How the hell did we survive this long. Marky has more problems than are countable since his tour in Iraq. Catherine has no patience with jack shit. Jack's attention span is as long as my pinky. And Rebecca has the intelligence of a bag of fucking potatoes. Christ help me.

"No Becca. We will never get along with them. Don't forget, they're the enemy. They killed your mom. They killed your dad. They killed Jamie and Chris. They are the enemy." I sigh.

My heart feels heavy at admitting that for the third time this month. Why does it still hurt? They weren't my family, but after losing mine months after this happened, and them taking me in, they sure did feel like it. Besides, they died months ago. One by one when we still had 37 in our group. Now there are five. And I'm being forced to take up the leadership. 17 and I've got four lives excluding my own to carry and protect. God this sucks. I mean, what ever happened to be 15 and not caring about a damn thing?

Now, two years later, and I'm hiding in a small ass master bedroom, in a boarded up house, barely illuminated by a dying candle, in the middle of hell, in Louisville, Kentucky. I mean, I could have been anywhere. I could have been on Fort Knox, Fort Campbell, hell, I'd take that gun shop two streets over. That is, of course, if it wasn't filled with those fucks.

"Yeah… I know." Becca says, water filling her forest green eyes. She struck a chord again, and I feel awful for being mean a moment earlier. We're all just tense… it's nearly 3 in the morning and no one has slept a lick since the night before, thanks to that monster fucking mutilating Steve all over the Kroger's Floor… Right… In front of us…

"Hey, hey. No crying Becca. Don't." Tears start to fall, and the sniffling starts. I open my arms, motioning for her to come over to me. She nods, eyes starting to close, and lays her head on my lap, crying. I slowly sift my fingers through her hair, mumbling soft words and sweet thoughts. "It's okay Becca bear, it'll be alright." I mumble.

I feel her sobbing in my lap, and anger overwhelms me. Why did it have to happen? Why did we have to survive to see this shit? What the fuck did I do that was so wrong in a past life that I had to be stuck living in hell for the rest of this one? And why can't I blow my own brains out here and now.

I look down and feel her start to settle, my fingers still wandering in her long black hair. To think she is two years my elder, but I am still the eldest of the group? How funny is that? I have to be the parent, taking care of my children, willing to give my life, if necessary, in a heartbeat. I stop and it clicks. That's why I can't do it. Out of all the nights we've been here, and I've wondered that very question… it took for this girl – this angel of mine – to figure out why I'm still here. I'm here for them. For my "children." Without me, they'd all be goners.

I feel her go limp, and hear the sniffles and sobs stop, and realize she fell asleep. I smile slightly, slowly put my left arm under her legs, the crook of her neck under my right, and carry her over to one of the sets of beddings we have laid out. I nudge the blankets with my foot, gently lay her down, and tuck her under the sheets, kissing her on the forehead as I stand up.

"Sleep tight Becca bear." I whisper. I look over at the others makeshift beds, all occupied but two. Jack lay in one, nestled up, finally asleep after tossing and turning most of the night. Marky in the other, whom slept throughout the night, but was having obvious nightmares, exposed by the occasional tear or whisper. I walk over to the two, tousle Jack's sandy hair slightly, smiling, and smoothing out Marky's messy coffee colored hair. I glance over and see Catherine smirk, sitting in a wooden chair, feet on our coffee table, leaned back slightly with the back of the chair on the wall.

"What?" I whisper, grin from ear to ear.

"Nothing, mom." She replies. In this family, it seems that way sometimes. I am the mother, and she is the father. But only when we're safe. Or whatever the hell safe is in this fucking place. She is beautiful. I'll admit that. Her caramel colored skin complemented her dark hair. Crystal blue eyes contrast with the rest of her features, but still look so perfect. White t-shirt, pink underwear and no shorts on. So uncaring of what anyone else thinks, so confident, so sexy. Her feet up on a table as she leans back on her chair slightly She has the mind of a 40 year old woman trapped in a 23 year olds body.

But it's impossible. She is with Marky, and I with Rebecca. I walk over to a chair across from her, and sit, just as I have every night, and look into her eyes.

"Why aren't you asleep, Cathy?" I whisper, staring into those beautiful blue eyes. "You need to sleep."

"So do you, so I can ask you the same question, K." She replies, a hard look in those eyes of hers. We hold each other's gaze, barely blinking. But, as always, it is I who breaks the stare.

I look down, counting the lines in the wood on the floor for what feels like the 8000th time, nod slightly, then look back up and reply. "How's this. I'll go to sleep, if you promise to as well."

She smiles and nods, then without another word, walks over to the unoccupied bed roll beside Marky, lays down, wraps the covers around her, and closes her eyes. I reach up and blow out the candle, then slowly make my way to mine, closest to the door, right beside Becca's. I shift the covers, lay down, as close as I can to her, pull my covers up, and pull her to me.

I let the darkness take me in, and slowly the sounds from the outside start to become audible as my own thinking dies down. The hollers and screams they make, the sounds of animals dying. Being torn apart, the pain they're feeling… The pain mom felt… the pain dad felt… My heart feels heavy… tears roll down my cheek, and one lands on the face of my Becca bear, and she whispers three words into my chest.

"I love you." I hope she would have said. But it is Becca. "Why's it raining?" I hear her mumble. I chuckle, and forget about my past for the time being. I have to worry about them. And nothing else.

My eyes get heavy and I slip under, into the darkness that has been waiting to pull me in.

"Guys, we got to go!" I hear Catherine yell from across the store, and watch her sprint towards the door, only looking back to call out to us.

I hear the growl of a Darkseeker, and a screech of another, and my heart drops. "FUCK! RUN!" I scream to Becca and Steve. I pull out my Taurus, and drop then slam back in the clip, and turn to barely see it jumping towards me. My hands fly up faster than I can think, and three bullets crash into its skull. It lands on me, limp and heavy. I see Becca turn and hear her call for me, and I feel my breath catch.

"NO! RUN!" I scream as loud as I can… why would she stop… "RUN!" Why can she not understand that she cannot die… not here… not today. I see the Darkseeker pounce, and I struggle to pull my hand from under this monster. I can't do it… I can't save her… Oh my god, I'm going to lose my Becca.

A dark mass flies through the air, smashing into the Darkseeker, and taking it to the ground. Fists fly everywhere, and Becca screams out, in shock, after realizing that the Darkseeker was heading for her first.

"FUCKING RUN BECCA!" I scream, knocking her back to her senses. She turns and sprints towards the light outside, as I shrug the weight of this big fucker off of me. I stand up, raising my gun, but realize I can't get a clear shot. I watch as Steve sits on him, swinging over and over, punching this bastard in the face, and then watch it catch his fist in its mouth and bite down hard. Blood fills its mouth, and starts to pour out, and I can't move anymore. I hear a scream, distant, painful, and realize it is Steve's. He punches it in the face with his other hand once, twice, three times. Then I see him wince as it bites harder. I snap out of my trance, and start to walk, then jog, then run at them.

I am on them, not three feet. I'm coming Steve. I won't let them take you too. I take one more step and am speared by something that feels like it could be 300 pounds. I hit the ground and turn towards the Darkseeker. I reach for its throat as quickly as I can with one hand, trying to keep its face from reaching me, but am sure that I won't be able to hold it long. These things are stronger than us. They are faster than us. The only thing we have on them is the ability to fucking think. What good does that do anymore? What good does that do right fucking now? I am watching this fucking monster bite towards me, knowing there isn't a thing I can do, with the knowledge that my best friend, and one of the last survivors I know of is going to die with me. And I can't do a thing about it.

Adrenaline courses through me, my arms are growing weak, and I know that I will not hold much longer. I hear a gruesome snap, that of a bone being broken in two, and my stomach does flips. My mind races. My arms fail. I close my eyes, hear its head whizz towards me, and feel a weight lifted from me. It was that quick. I died and felt nothing. And the snarling is still there. No, this can't be right. Heaven doesn't have snarling monsters. So am I in Hell? I open my eyes and see him. All 269 pounds of pure black body building muscle holding the Darkseeker in the air, and behind him a dead one, neck hung awkwardly at an angle. He is an angel, a savior, the best damn thing I have seen all day. A smile spreads across my face momentarily, until I hear a pant and see him wince, and remember that he must be going through so much to hold this thing, to keep me safe.

I turn over and scramble on the ground, looking for my gun. I can't find it. 'Where is it… where is it…' I think to myself, looking and looking and looking but not able to find it. I touch something cold and I jump slightly, and after realizing what it was quickly reach for it. As I grab it I hear a loud crash, as something hits the floor, and an ear splitting scream. I turn as quickly as I can and see Steve being hit repetitively, Steve tired enough for the Darkseeker to grab his head and slam it against the floor over and over again. Steve screaming in pain, his head slowly caving. I sit up straight, raise the gun now nestled in my hands, and shoot the fucker right in between its eyes. My hands drop into my lap as the Darkseeker drops to the ground, and Steve falls before it, whimpering in pain. I crawl over to him, sit down, and set his head in my lap.

He whimpers more, trembling in my lap, tears rolling down his cheek. "Why?" I ask. As if everything that happened could be summed up in one answer.

"They need… someone... to look after them…" He mutters in between gasps of breath.

"You could have done it though… why?" I reply.

"Because… they need… you." He responds, again in between breathes. I feel my heart get heavy. My face is wet. I look into his brown eyes, and sob. I couldn't protect him… how could I protect any of the others. He looks up at me, tears in his eyes, and I see his life slip away, as he lay in my lap. Steve the protector. Steve the strong. Steve, the only one besides me who was capable of taking care of the group… The only one more qualified.

"Steve?" I whisper. I already know he's gone… but it slipped out. I look up and see the others looking at me from the doorway, Becca sobbing, her face in her hands in Catherine's arms. Catherine, looking at the scene, mouth open, face pale. Marky, gun aimed inside, watching for another one to show up. Jack mouthing something… no, he's screaming, but I just can't hear them. Mark down one. Now there are five…

I wake up with a start, Becca is looking down at me, eyes locked with mine, panic on her face. "Are you alright?" she whispers.

I look up at her, and nod, "Yeah baby, I'm fine." I reply, "What time is it?"

"Umm… five?" she responds. "Did you have a bad dream?" she asks.

"Ha, when don't we have bad dreams anymore sweetie? It's nothing to worry about though." I reply. I look up into her eyes, lost as I was the first day I met her, and whisper "Go back to sleep sweetie, it's still really early." I sit up, slightly nudging her to lay down. As I push her down, she pulls me with her, pressing her lips firmly against mine.

She slowly parts my lips with her own, and I feel her tongue chase mine. My face feels hot and my palms begin to feel sweaty, I still don't know how she gets me this way. Her arms find their way to my back, grasping and pulling in towards her, while my right hand finds her hair, grasping and playing, my left hand holding up my weight. She bites my lip lightly and causes me to release a gasp, which in turn forces me to clutch onto her hair, pulling lightly, but firmly enough to get out a slight moan. I feel her hands clawing at my back, and the shirt being pulled upwards. I smile as I tug once more, watching her eyes roll back, and I start to feel my rising "excitement."

She stops playing with my shirt, leaving it half up my body, my stomach bare, and starts to try to fiddle with my top button. I shake my head, trying not to chuckle at the driven woman below me, and reach for her hands. She continues to persist, almost begging with her eyes, and it takes all in my power to stop her from getting my pants undone. This wouldn't be the first time we've had sex, but in front of the others? With Jack literally right beside us? I couldn't do that to poor Jacky.

But she doesn't seem to even realize that anyone is around us, nor does she care. And I want to so badly. She finally manages to get my top button undone while I'm lost in the thoughts of all of the things I want to do to her right now. She undoes my top button and begins to shimmy down my pants when we hear Jack rustle next to us, which snaps her back to the reality we are living. We both look at him, then look back at each other, she starts to giggle and I lay down beside her, pull up my pants and button the top button. We look at each other for a few moments, I slide over and kiss her, then whisper good night and pull her to me. We lay cuddled together, ignorant to the rest of the world. She goes first, I follow shortly, slipping back into that void.