So, I got this idea randomly one day and was going to submit it as a requested story prompt on tumblr, but since I kind of knew where I wanted to go with it, I decided to write it myself! Anyway, hope you guys like it and any form of critique would be great! It may be slightly OOC, but I tried to retain as much of the character traits as I could.
Disclaimer: I do not own rights to TVD in anyway or 28 Days Later, or The Fountain, or Planet of the Apes-which were my inspirations for this story.
The apocalypse has arrived.
Desperately, Klaus jammed everything he could into his duffle bag. Forgoing clothes, he packed medical supplies and the various anesthetics and vaccinations stolen from the local pharmaceutical lab. He needed to be ready. He needed to be prepared to save her.
"Caroline! It's time," he said looking over to where Caroline was just outside the bedroom doorway, stuffing her small bag with her medicine and her camping kit.
She looked up then, noticing the lack of clothes in his bag. "Don't we need clothes? O-or, I don't something else, something more?"
"No. There's no time and it's not important. I caught wind that they've got a ferry ready by the lake. They've kept it a secret, not wanting others to know. They're only shipping out the government officials. Bloody politicians, anyone that's got money to bribe with." Angrily he zipped up his bag and rushed around the bed to Caroline. "God knows why. In this world, money is worthless."
"Come on let's go," he grabbed her arm, trying to be gentle but the urgency of the situation caused him to jerk her to his side, keeping her close.
"We haven't got much time and we need to get on before they notice we're not exactly the Clintons."
"Klaus, what's going to happen? What's going to happen to us, to the world?" Caroline tried to be brave, but it was only just yesterday her mother had tried to kill her in a rabid rage. She was nearing hysterical.
Klaus slid his hand down her arm until his fingers intertwined with hers. Squeezing tightly, he glanced back at her stricken face while charging through their home to the garage.
"Klaus?" she questioned when he didn't respond.
He grabbed her bag and threw it into the back of his beloved black SUV along with his duffle. Turning around he grabbed her face in between his hands, pausing for a moment.
His fault. This was all his fault.
He looked into her clear blue eyes, glassy with unshed tears. He felt as though his heart was being twisted painfully, seeing the exhaustion in her face, the dark circles under eyes.
"My love, I will never, ever, let anything happen to you," he whispered fiercely, "Do you understand me?"
Tearfully, she sniffled and nodded. "We are going to get off this place and find somewhere safe to live, ok? There are other parts of the country that's safe for us. We'll get out of the country if need be, ok? And I'm going to take care of you."
"I believe you," she whispered. Because if there was anything that was most true in this world, it was how much he loved her, how far he would go to keep her safe and with him. Come hell or high water, he would protect her.
"Good," he whispered before pressing a hard kiss to her lips, the soft, golden strands of her hair laced between his fingers. Inhaling deeply, he released her and opened the passenger door, lifting her up on the seat in his haste. Storming to the other side of the garage, he opened the drawer revealing the hand gun Stefan had gotten him. Stefan—his best friend, god only knew where he was in all this mess. Dead or alive, he couldn't venture into that territory. Only Caroline mattered.
Caroline sat fidgeting in the passenger seat. This was all pointless. Saving her, it was a lost cause. She was dying to begin with, even before this whole hell on earth predicament. She hated that she was weak, her body betraying her, while Klaus was forced to take care of her. Who was going to take care of him.
Klaus picked up the gun along with the cartridge of spare bullets, jamming the gun in his waistband on his back so it was hidden by his jacket.
Jumping into the car, he quickly turned on the engine with a jerk and screeched out of the driveway.
"Klaus! Your seatbelt," Caroline admonished, wide-eyed.
"Really love? We're in the middle of the apocalypse. Are seat belts really a priority at the moment?"
Caroline rolled her eyes and scoffed. She reached over and pulled on his seat belt for him. "Yeah, we're in the middle of an apocalypse, but wouldn't it be just stupid if the way you died was over a seat belt?"
He let out a mirthless chuckle. Only his girl would have such trivial concerns during an apocalypse.
They sped down the highway heading towards the city where the ferries were docked. It took them a little over half an hour, though typically it took them an hour to reach just the outskirts of their town. The roads were bare, not a person in sight. Klaus maneuvered around empty cars and dismembered bodies.
"Look away, Caroline," he told her as he watched a beast savagely rip into a freshly killed human.
"I can handle it. I've already seen my mother get chewed up in front of me, I can handle it." But just as she said it, she felt the urge to gag and spit up bile. She discreetly turned away from Klaus, not allowing him to see her blanch the slightest bit. She didn't know if it was the sight of the once human beast, the image she conjured of her dead mother, or her illness that caused her to feel suddenly ill, but it was the loud thud of the body against the car as Klaus ran over the beast that caused her to retch. This time she could not conceal it.
Quickly grabbing the bag Klaus left for her in the glove compartment, she heaved into it, her body wracking as she spit up bile, not having eaten anything for days.
"Shit, Caroline, you need to eat," he scolded, but really he berated himself for not keeping track of her. "Sweetheart, grab my gym bag in the back seat. It's got protein bars in it, eat it."
Caroline spat into the bag and wiped her mouth. Uncapping the water bottled she had left there weeks ago, she looked at him incredulously. Taking a sip she said, "You must be joking. After what I just witnessed, I don't think I can stomach anything."
"Sweetheart, we don't exactly have the time for your stubbornness at the moment. Whether you can stomach it or not, shove it into mouth and get it into your stomach," he retorted, annoyed. He didn't mean to snap at her, but the dire circumstances were getting to him.
He accelerated, running over prone bodies, as Caroline warily reached into his gym bag for the protein bar.
She had managed to eat at least three fourths of it in between sips of water when they finally reached the ferries. They had anticipated there being a group of people from the White House, but what they weren't expecting was a mass of people clambering on top of each other, shoving even the elderly to reach the ferries. There were two docked out there that he could see.
"Shit!" Klaus hissed. How the hell had they all found out?
Masses upon masses of bodies were scrambling over each other, desperately and savagely. Every man for themselves, as they say. Survival of the fittest. They were all being put to the test.
Klaus and Caroline were able to see bodies lying prone on the outskirts of the crowd. The sight made Caroline's eyes prickle. People were dying as it was because of hell's minions and now the people on earth were becoming beasts themselves. Were there any good left in the world?
Caroline turned to Klaus, his face set and determined. Yes, yes there was.
"Come on," he said, "We're going to make it."
They both leap out of the car, quickly picking up the bag. Again, Klaus grabbed onto Caroline's hand pulling her forward. He knew he couldn't just run into the throng of people.
Stopping for a moment, he scouted out the place and the ferry. If he could just drop the bag somewhere safe where no one would find it, the rest would be easy. Looking around, he noticed some were jumping into the water and swimming around to get on board. His eyes zoned in on the dock.
"Come on, Caroline. Get ready to push through," he said, pulling her forward. She nodded in response.
They sprinted until they hit the first person on the outside of the crowd. Using every bit of her strength, Caroline elbowed through, keeping up with Klaus's pace. She felt her elbow dig into someone's jugular and heard a strangled cry, but didn't allow herself to dwell on it. Survival of the fittest, she told herself. The awful feeling and weight of dread remained in her heart, her soul, but she forced her brain to think without emotions.
Shoving their way through, they finally reach the edge of the docks.
"Wait here," Klaus tells Caroline.
"What?!" Caroline shouts incredulously?
They're standing by a flag pole with people rushing past them. "What do you mean, 'wait here'?"
"Look, I need to get the supplies on board. It's holding us back. Once I get it there we can get on. I know the perfect way." He said in a rush. "I know, it sounds crazy but trust me. I've found a way to get on. But, I need to get the bag on board. Without it, we're dead, Caroline."
But, Caroline really knew that without it, she'd be dead. It was the experimental drugs that he was making for her illness. Her eyes began to prickle.
"Klaus—" she sobbed, with tear-filled eyes.
His heart felt like it was being viciously squeezed as he took in her face. His whole life was in that beautiful face. As long as it was alive, so was he.
He took hold of her face with one hand, looking into her eyes.
"I will get us out of here. I promise you that. Trust me, Caroline. Stay here, because that isn't the way in. It's only the way in for the supplies. I am coming right back." It was probably the stupidest thing he could come up with but at the moment he couldn't risk losing the supplies or Caroline.
Caroline barely registered someone bumping into her as they ran past her. Nodding vigorously she said, "Ok. Ok, but please, hurry back. Please Klaus."
"I will," he said, looking into her eyes. She believed the promise she saw there and let him go. She clung onto the flagpole as he turned away, pushing with the current of people until he disappeared among the horde.
As soon as he disappeared from view, she let the tears fall. The weight of the past few days fell upon her in one fell swoop and she could barely hold in the quiet sobs.
No one looked once at the tearful girl standing still.
Ever since her diagnosis, Klaus worked tirelessly and relentlessly to find a cure or at least some kind of treatment to prolong the inevitable. When he wasn't waiting on her hand and feet, he was working in his office or late into the night at the laboratory when it was vacant and still. He was there for her every step of the way and she missed the days when she was taking care of him. Cooking for him when he skipped meals and opted to stay late at the library studying, caring for him when he would get sick, which seldom occurred. But she liked taking care of him, looking out for him.
Ever since they met backstage at her Broadway show, they were inseparable. From the moment he confessed to sneaking backstage to see her in person, the riveting and mesmerizing woman who sung and danced like an angel in the skies, she knew that a charm like his was something unique and didn't compare to other men.
But now, he was wasting his life looking after a corpse. Just the thought killed her. She loved him with everything in her, but she sometimes hated even more how weak she had become and how he's always too gentle with her these days.
Caroline was broken out of her thoughts when someone shouldered into her, almost dropping her into the dark waters. She looked around her, hoping to see Klaus, but he was nowhere in sight.
She noticed the people jumping into the water to climb up on the side of the ferry. Some made it, but most didn't and the other ferry was already leaving. She was growing more worried by the second.
Klaus, where the hell are you?
On the verge of panic, she finally spots him, making his way towards her sans bag. He's soaking wet, his blond hair dark and matted to his forehead and his black Henley clinging to his torso.
"Caroline!" He's out of breath but manages to get out, "I've found a way. I found the perfect the way to get in. The bag is safe." He looks almost relieved.
"You had me so worried. I thought I wasn't going to see you again," Caroline breathed as she held his hand tightly. "Why are you wet?"
"No time," he manages before leading the way.
Another ferry makes its way on the docks. Suddenly the crowd parts and runs toward the newly arrived and empty ferry. The sudden movement against the current jostled the couple, nearly breaking their linked hands.
"Hold on Caroline!" Klaus shouted over the cries and thunder of people running every which way.
They held on tighter together, cutting off circulation but the sudden divergent horde of people pulled them further away from each other until they were arm's length apart.
Klaus looked back at Caroline, making sure she was close even as he feels her hand in his. Turning back around, Klaus is suddenly met with someone's elbow in his face.
In that split second that he'd buckled over in pain, his grip on Caroline loosened. But it was enough.
The constant flow of people running towards the ferry pushed Klaus over and Caroline further and further away from him.
"Klaus!" Caroline shouted, her arm reaching for him.
"Caroline!" Panic clutched at him like a vice. The pain in eyes was almost blinding, but he fought through the crowd, throwing his whole body over them, pushing them aside roughly.
He wrestled through the crowd, elbowing people in the face, not registering the crunch of broken bones. "Caroline!"
But the more he shoved through, the further she was being pushed away from him by the crowd. The mass of people ignored their screams as they ruthlessly attempted to reach the ferry.
No one cared that the lovers would be separated.
"Caroline!" he shouted out desperately, fighting with everything in him to push past the crowd.
"Klaus," he heard her respond, but her voice was getting fainter. He was beginning to lose sight of her.
"Klaus!" He saw her hand reach out for him and locks of her hair in between the bodies. He shouldered through, trying to grab her hand, reaching his arm out as far as he could stretch.
But just like that her hand disappeared.
Just like that, Caroline was gone.
I had so many different endings for this but finally settled on this as I went along. Not sure yet if I'll follow it up with another part-I have ideas, just not sure on how to execute them yet :/ Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading :)