28 Days Later

Summary: Before the stories of the virus spread, everyone had thought that zombies and a zombie apocalypse would be cool. It would be a chance for the paranoid, video-gamers and those prepared for anything to shine and save the day. But once the closest thing to an actual zombie apocalypse happens... well, no one makes jokes about it anymore. Notes: This was pretty much to sate my need for a really long, zombie apocalypse / end of the world survival fic. I hope you enjoy it!

Work Text:

28 Days Later

Before the first stories of the virus had spread, everyone had thought that zombies and a zombie apocalypse would be cool. I mean, Stiles didn't know one person who hadn't at least heard of The Walking Dead. But yeah, the idea of a zombie apocalypse had been cool. It would be a chance for the paranoid, video-gamers and those prepared for anything to shine and save the day. But once the closest thing to an actual zombie apocalypse happens...

Well, no one makes jokes about it anymore.

It started in Lebanon, or at least that's what most of the reports had said. Then it spread to Syria, Jordan and Israel in only a matter of days. The nearby countries had locked down their borders but somehow infected got through. A week after the first reports of the virus came out of Lebanon, most of Europe had been hit, the infected sweeping across the continent.

By the time reports were flooding out of Europe of infected that had somehow gotten in, the United States had already shut down its borders. No one was coming into the States by either air, land or sea. America was on complete lockdown with its borders and coasts heavily policed, and military and navy firing on anything that approached.

But somehow... infected had snuck through the cracks. Some said they had come in on one of the last few flights out of China, England or Paris. Others said that an infected had come across from either Canada or Mexico. Either which way... they were here.

When Stiles saw the first report about the infected in Lebanon (only at a glance when he had opened up his browser) he had thought nothing of it. He'd had more pressing matters to deal with at the time. A new group of hunters had come through town that were of the opinion that the Argents 'weren't doing their job' so had taken the job of culling the local werewolf pack upon themselves. Joy.

When the pack had finally finished dealing with the hunters and Stiles had gotten a chance to just sit down and vege out on the sofa there were frantic reports all over the internet and tv about the 'VIRUS SWEAPING EUROPE' and 'HAS THE END AS WE KNOW IT, COME?'. From there it had only been a matter of time.

Like most teenagers, Stiles had taken online quizzes on the likeliness of his survival in a zombie apocalypse. He had always come up with a reasonably high chance of survival, (65-75% usually). And he had joked with Scott that if the event of a zombie apocalypse actually happened he would have an advantage because he was surrounded by super-strong-zombie-slaying-super-healing-werewolv es.

It wasn't a joke now.

When Stiles saw the reports his eyes had widened and he had frantically scrambled for his phone. Scrolling through his contacts he immediately pressed his thumb down on Scott's name.

Stiles held his breath the whole time the phone rang. "Come on Scott! Pick up!"

Finally, after three more rings, Scott picked up the phone, "Dude, what do you want? I was asleep. What could have possibly happened in the four hours since I saw-"

"A lot by the looks of it," Stiles snapped.

Stiles could tell that Scott could hear the frantic urgency and worry in his tone by the way his friend responded, "I'll be right there. Call Derek and we'll get the pack to meet at yours."

"-Kay." And then Scott hung up.

Fuck, would they ever catch a break?

Thumbing through his contacts, he pressed the group PACK/ALPHA CRACK SQUAD and sent out a mass text:

Batman: Get to my place now. We have serious trouble.

Stiles also activated a handy app Danny had designed which set off the alarms on every member of the pack's phones.

Danny had made the app to inform the pack if one of them was in danger. Right about now Stiles' pack's phones would have their phone's alarms blaring and a message flashing across their screen with his name on it and his current location (thanks to the gps on his phone).

Not even five minutes after Stiles had sent the message and activated the app Scott came bursting through his front door fully wolfed out with Derek and Isaac flying through the open doorway not even seconds after.

"Whoa!"

The three wolves checked the room for a threat and when none was found Scott and Isaac looked at him with confused expressions. Derek on the other hand looked furious.

"That app was designed for emergencies," Derek snarled while hauling him up from the sofa.

"This is an emergency. Look," and Stiles gestured at the tv which was currently showing a report on Greece which was currently overrun with infected.

Derek didn't even glance at the tv but Scott and Isaac did. What they saw made them gasp. Meanwhile, Stiles could hear the sounds of cars pulling into the drive. The pack was here.

Erica and Boyd came charging through the doorway with Lydia and Danny behind them only to stop still when they saw Scott and Isaac staring at the tv, gaping and Derek holding up Stiles by the collar of his shirt.

Lydia was the first to recover, "I don't see anyone dying painfully. Why am I here?"

Stiles ignored the glare Derek was levelling him with, and jabbed a thumb at the tv, "Look."

Now, all of them did, including Derek. On the screen was a shot from a helicopter showing the streets of Germany, infected swarming in the streets. People were running in every direction but there was no escape... it was a massacre. Now there was a woman on the screen; one of the local news anchors. She was interviewing a man, a doctor of some sort, who was talking about the infected – saying how it was simply a mutated strain of rabies which was proving to be 'extremely virulent'.

"So, Dr. Carter, how does the disease infect others and what can our viewers do to prevent infection?"

"Well, Lisa, the disease first infects the central nervous system before ultimately moving into the brain. The incubation period of the disease appears to be much more rapid than the typical strain of the rabies virus which usually takes a few months in humans, depending on the distance the virus must travel to reach the central nervous system. This strain appears to take merely a couple of hours at most to incubate and reach the central nervous system."

"Dr. Carter, you haven't mentioned what our viewers can do to prevent infection."

"Stay out of contact with any infected," the Dr. Said with a straight face, "I don't want to alarm anyone but thus far the situation in Europe, Africa and some parts of Asia is quite grim. As far as we know, no one infected with the disease has lived."

The news anchor visibly gulped before asking "So what can you tell me of the symptoms of the virus so that our viewers know what to be on the looks for?"

"As of yet there are no reports of infected within the United States since all borders were closed three days ago. Thus far, we have observed that the incubation period of the virus varies per victim. The longest incubation period observed was a little over thirteen hours and the shortest was just under two hours."

The news anchor gasped. It wasn't faked. She wasn't acting. She honestly looked a little bit terrified by what the Dr. Carter was saying.

She wasn't alone. Around him, the entire pack had their eyes glued to the screen, focused on what the interviewer was saying. Derek's hands hadn't moved from the collar of his shirt but the alpha, like the rest of his pack, was focused on the tv.

"T-that's a big difference..."

"Well, as I said earlier, it depends on the distance the virus must travel to reach the central nervous system. Like rabies, the virus can not spread through the air or water and must be transferred through bodily fluids."

"So it's like a STD?"

"In a way... yes, it is. However the disease can be transferred through the exchange of any bodily fluids. If a person kisses a person infected with the virus they will contract the disease. If a person gets the blood or saliva of an infected into an open wound they too will become infected. If a person has sex with a person who has been infected, they will become infected. The most common transference is through a bite from an infected."

"A bite? Could you elaborate on that for us?"

"Yes. Like most rabies victims, the first symptoms are pain and discoloration of the infected area; usually yellow and purple and immediate clotting of the wound if the victim was infected via a wound. Next the victim will suffer from a very high fever; usually 99 to 103 degrees F, chills, slight dementia, vomiting and acute pain in the joints. From there, the fever will increase and victims will suffer increased dementia, a loss of muscular coordination, a numbing of their extremities and the infected area. Within this stage, some infected have demonstrated increased vomiting... of blood. After this stage, infected suffer from paralysis in the lower body, overall numbness and a slowed heart rate. Eventually, victims fall into a coma, their hearts stop and zero brain activity is demonstrated."

"So basically, victims infected with the virus die between two to thirteen hours after infected... but you mentioned that the most common form of transference of the disease was through being bitten by a person infected with the disease..."

"That's what makes the disease different from the typical strain of rabies. Once infected essentially die... as in their heart stops and there is zero brain activity... they reanimate... slowly at first, and then violently. Within this stage, victims demonstrate increased aggression, amnesia and violent outbursts which lead them to attack and infect those without the virus. Those within this stage of the disease demonstrate no care of their own bodies, often seen beating themselves against walls, doors and windows in order to get at those not infected."

The anchor was shaking visibly by now, "A-and is there any cure? Is anyone working on a cure for this disease which is flooding through Europe, Asia and Africa?"

"As of yet, no there is no cure. However, scientists and doctors around the world are working night and day to find a cure for the disease-"

The doctor was cut off by a sob as the news anchor ran off the stage crying. The camera stayed focused on the Doctor before cutting off to show footage shot in Egypt by a teenager who had obviously been live streaming.

There are people screaming and infected running in the streets below. Then there is a growl from behind the camera on the phone. The phone is whipped around and an infected is charging at the boy holding the phone. He drops the phone. The camera is facing up. He can hear the boy screaming...There is blood splattered across the screen and Stiles can hear the squelching sound of mangled flesh being torn into. Then the screen goes dark.

The pack all whipped their heads around to face Stiles who is holding the remote for the tv, his finger on the power button.

Inside Stiles was panicking because basically, zombies. Motherfucking zombies... a ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. But he has to keep at least relatively calm for the pack. "I think this constitutes as an emergency, don't you? This is probably why I haven't seen my dad the last three days,"

"Yeah," Scott said from the couch, "My Mom's been working double shifts for the past two days... I didn't think to ask why, what with the hunters..."

"Jackson," Lydia, who had been silent up until then, whimpered.

"Shit," cursed Stiles. He had completely forgotten that Jackson was in England. By now, London was swarming with infected. Hopefully Jackson had managed to survive but there was no way they could know for sure.

The pack was silent for a few minutes before Isaac piped up.

"But what can we do about this?" Isaac asked, "I mean can werewolves even become zombies or will our accelerated healing prevent the disease from taking?"

The last question was directed at Derek whose face was creepily blank. That was Derek's thinking face... but he also looked lost, like he had no answers for them but was afraid to say so...

"How on earth should Derek know if this disease affects werewolves?" Stiles blurted out and the pack's eyes all moved away from Derek and over to him. Derek look relieved. "Let's just act as if werewolves can be infected. That way if it turns out that werewolves can't be infected it will be a pleasant surprise. I would rather not test that hypothesis, if you don't mind."

There were nods all around. The pack continued to look at him. Shit, if this was how Derek felt all the time, like they're all looking to him for all the answers, then Stiles didn't envy him.

"So what should we do?" Erica asked. She sounded small again, huddled against Boyd's side and clutching Isaac's hand. They were looking at him now for answers.

"I think we should start gathering supplies like food, water, batteries, gas bottles, weapons, camping gear and the like because if the rate that this disease is travelling is any indication, it's only a matter of time before it hits the States..." Stiles was pacing now, thoughts flying through his head "I think we should bring our families here and tell them about the pack because if all goes to shit... they deserve to know and it will be a hindrance if you guys have to hide it. We should also look for a nearby defensible position, away from the city, near a natural water source, somewhere north of here maybe... and we should definitely talk to Allison and Mr. Argent because I personally would like trained hunters with us if we have to fight off infected. "

There were all looking at him. Waiting for an order? Stiles glanced over his shoulder at Derek. Their eyes connected and Derek nodded.

"All of you call your families and get them here. I don't care if they're busy, get them here. We're going to get this out of the way and then we're going to start preparing," Derek ordered.

Stiles pulled out his phone and called his dad, the rest of the pack following his lead. Derek pulled out his phone too. He was probably calling Peter or maybe the Argents?

I took three rings for his Dad to pick up, "Sorry Stiles I can't talk right now, I'm really busy at work at the moment-"

"That's what I want to talk to you about, Dad," Stiles interrupted, "I need you to come home. The others are bringing their parents here as well. It's high time we told you what's going on."

"Stiles I-" his Dad tried to say before Stiles interrupted him again. He needed his Dad to listen for once.

"You know I wouldn't ask you to come home if it wasn't gravely important. I'm sorry, Dad. It can't wait... Please, I need you here," Stiles finished. He knew it was a low blow but his Dad needed to be here if only to help calm the other parents down when they learned that their children were werewolves.

He could hear his Dad sigh on the other side of the line. He could imagine what his Dad's face looked like right now. He was probably running his hand down his face while looking around himself with a lost expression... "Alright, I'll be home in half an hour. I just need to finish something off here and then I'll be there. This better be important Stiles..."

"It is Dad," sighed Stiles as he rubbed his head in frustration. This was going to be harder and more painful than he had first thought. The pack's parents probably weren't going to take this well. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, son. I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Okay... Bye, Dad."

His father hung up.

Erica and Derek were scowling with their phones held up to their ears. Boyd and Danny were calmly talking to their parents. Lydia and Scott were off their phones and Isaac was still sitting on the couch... He'd never pulled out his phone.

It was hard to think of Isaac as an orphan because normally it never came up or Stiles was just too busy dealing with either school or werewolf related problems. Isaac had no one... No one except the pack.

Walking over, Stiles shoved Scott over to make room and plonked down in the middle of the couch, next to Isaac. Stiles bumped his shoulder against Isaac's companionably and settled down to wait for the rest of the pack to finish their phone calls.

Lydia was the first to speak, "My mother was not pleased that I interrupted her salon time and my Dad well... they'll be here. My sister... she didn't even pick up the phone."

Erica was next, "My Mom and Dad were pleased to hear that I would be explaining what has been going on for the past year but were curious as to why it was happening at the Sheriff's house. They think I'm in trouble again. That or I'm fucking Stiles."

"Same," said Boyd, "Except for the fucking Stiles part."

"Thanks man, I feel the love," Stiles grinned up at Boyd.

Some of the tension in the room evaporated. Everyone was tense and nervous, Stiles included. Not only about telling their parents about the pack but also the impending apocalypse.

"My family will be here soon," said Danny.

"My mom will be here in half an hour. She just has to get someone to cover her shift for her. I already explained what we were doing and she said she would try and help calm down the parents if things get out of hand," Scott piped up from beside Stiles.

"Peter should be here in ten minutes," Derek said with a very prominent scowl on his forehead. Their alpha was obviously not looking forward to the upcoming conversation. Especially since most of the parents would probably take out their anger on him since Derek was the one to bite their children and turn them into werewolves.

"Should we call Allison and Mr. Argent now or after we've told our parents?" Stiles asked, looking up at Derek.

"Later. This is pack business."

And that was that. Now all they could do was wait.