Another Co-write :3 this time its with harrypottergleek97! She will update on Thursdays, enjoy!
They said it was just another disease they could cure. They said the quarantine sectors were secure. They said they had it under control. They were wrong.
20 years on, numbers were dwindling. The researchers had abandoned their project, and the human race hid for their lives. It didn't do good, though, they could smell you, smell your flesh, hear you from distances that hadn't been measured. They were attracted by noise, there was nowhere to hide anymore. All you could do was run, and hope they couldn't catch you. Camps were only safe for a few days, then you'd be on the run again, trying to survive, and kill as many as you could. Its the way his life had been for as long as Dan could remember.
He had been two when it happened. There was an explosion at a research facility, many people lost their lives, but the diseases that had been stored in that facility had joined, and spread. No one knows how far, but it took out over half of England. Everyone died, and at first, they thought it was just a mass devastation, that those people had simply died. They were wrong. People started coming back. Those people started eating other people. Immediately, Britain was put on lock down, for fear of it spreading. It was too late, though. The dead found their way into aeroplane bathrooms, and basically any other place they really shouldn't have gotten. America was the first to stop accepting landing planes from anywhere, but they couldn't send back the ones that were already coming, full of the dead.
Soon, every continent and country was on lock down, though it did nothing. Everyone thought China was the safest place for a while, but with people illegally passing into it every day, the dead were bound to find a way in. Dan remembered when he turned three, and there had been no electricity for months. One of them had gotten his brother while they were showering. They had finally found a place that ran on solar power, and had a hot shower after the longest time. His big brother threw Dan his old army necklace, and he was told to run. So, Dan did. He was so young back then. He was glad that soon enough, he was found by Norm, a 52 year old man with a shot gun. He was given clothes, and a small amount of food. He was grateful.
After that, Norm practically raised him. Showed him how to use a shot gun and a knife to hunt. He even gave him some of his fish bones to chew on when he was in a good mood. Sometimes, there was even a little bit of fish left on them. Dan appreciated Norm, respected him like he was his own father, who died within the first week of the dead coming back to life. He missed his brother a lot, and cried when he was alone, but eventually, he got over it, and at the age of 22, Dan still wore his brother's old army necklace. It was the most important thing to him.
"Stop staring off into space, there's dead walking all over this place, I can smell it." Norm growled quietly, gently hitting the boy up the back of his head and making him roll his eyes as he was brought back to the task at hand. Scavenging. His job was to find whatever could be useful, and throw it in his old rucksack. Most things were out of date by that point, and there really wasn't a lot left from previous scavengers, so Dan's rucksack was practically empty. He was in an old warehouse, looking through all the boxes that had been abandoned. Most of the boxes were already empty, but Dan soon found a small back room which seemed to be untouched, there were a few boxes that he opened, most of the items inside were expired, like everything else.
But then there were things like toilet paper, unopened soap, regular toiletries, that didn't expire. In another box there was kitchen things, bowls, plates, knives. God, Dan was so happy to have found knives. The blade he'd been using had been going dull, and brand new butcher knives? Dan eagerly started placing the in his rucksack, sure to put their covers on them first so they didn't make a hole in his precious bag. He'd had his rucksack for years, and it had saved his from getting bitten many times. That's why he always saved things like spare material, or needles and string. His rucksack was mostly patched by that point.
"Don't move a single muscle or I will slice your neck and leave you for the dead to find." A voice growled in his ear, making Dan freeze as a blade was pressed against his throat. He swallowed thickly, nervous and itching to grab a knife. But, of course, he couldn't move, as this guy (it was definitely a guy) had threatened his life if he did. His breathing picked up as he stared ahead of himself, trying to fight the urge to grab a knife and stick in this guy's temple. "What are you doing here? This is my place. You were gonna kill me, weren't you? You were gonna kill me, then steal everything! Weren't you?" The guy asked, a crazy hint in his voice, and Dan could hear he was from the North. The accent had faded slightly, but it was still pretty clear. "Answer me!"
"No! No, I wouldn't kill another human! I-I didn't know someone lived here, I swear! I swear! I was just-just scavenging! I just wanted to survive! Please! I only kill the dead!" Dan begged, feeling his legs go all wobbly. Normally, he wouldn't beg like this, but there was a knife at his throat, and he couldn't defend himself. He was used to doing anything to survive, so this was nothing out of the ordinary for him. "L-look, my name's Dan, Dan Howell. I'm a friend, I swear!"
"You... You... How do I know you're not lying?" The guy asked, and Dan could tell by the tone of his voice, and the fact the blade wasn't pressing as hard against his skin, that he was calming down. He really should know better. Dan hadn't come to kill him, sure, but what if others had? It was a risky move, but Dan couldn't complain. He was glad the guy was so compassionate, because it meant he could leave there with his life.
"I don't know, okay? You just gotta trust me! Besides, wouldn't I kill you before I started taking the stuff? Seriously, if I knew you lived here then it would be a stupid move to just take stuff first, because then I'd end up in the position I'm in right now!" Dan reasoned, still swallowing nervously because this guy's knife was still pressed against his skin. Just one swipe and it'd be over. The dead would come running. "And-and besides, if you kill me, then you know the dead will come! You wouldn't be able to live here anymore and it'd al be a waste, wouldn't it?" He asked quickly, trying to talk this guy down before Norm came. He would probably just make everything worse.
"I... I guess you're right... But don't try anything funny, I still have a knife, you know!" The guy said, and Dan sighed in relief as the blade was taken away slowly. He brought his shaking hands to rub his neck,shuddering. It had been so bad because Dan's neck was sensitive, and he just couldn't stop running his hands over it, to soothe the skin. He slowly turned to face the guy, breathing in and out shakily.
"T-Thank you..." Dan whispered, shaking his head to try and calm himself down. "Really. You can't trust people these days, I... You could have killed me, but you didn't. I appreciate that, even though it was a stupid move." He said quietly, still running his hands over his neck as his brown eyes connected with icy blue ones. Dan realised that the person who had attacked him, wasn't much older than him. He was an attractive guy, with dark hair and pale skin that had been dirtied through years without proper bathing. Still though, he didn't smell as bad as the dead, and Dan couldn't really choose anymore. He looked like a decent guy. Well, decent enough. Sure, he'd almost killed Dan, but most other people would have actually done it, or at least cut him up a little. This guy just looked scared, and Dan could relate to that. They were all just scared prey now, waiting for the inevitable. Waiting for the dead to find them, to kill them, tear their flesh from their bodies while they still breathe, while they scream in agony. "I just mean that if it were anyone else, they'd kill you..."
"You're welcome, I guess..." The guy mumbled slowly, still keeping his knife at the ready as he stared Dan down, making the brunette shiver a little. Those eyes were intimidating, especially in the dark of that small room. "I'm Phil, by the way..." 'Phil' said quietly, sighing as he bit his lip and slowly lowered his knife after seeing Dan wasn't going to try anything. "You here alone? You look pretty young... Must have spent your whole life in this damn war with the dead."
"I'm not that young" Dan said hotly, blushing a little. It was true, though. He couldn't remember anything before the Apocalypse. "An no, I'm not here alone. My friend, his name's Norm, is in the other room, looking for the dead. Don't worry though, he's old. He won't hurt you unless you hurt me, or something like that. I'm kind of like his son. He... He raised me, ever since I lost my brother..." He said quietly, slowly sitting down on a box and sighing. He didn't know why he was telling this 'Phil' guy his history, he just felt it was necessary.
"I know what you mean. I used to have a guy like him as well... He got old though, got slow. He asked me to... To put him down before the dead did it for me..." Phil said quietly, and Dan watched him as he sighed as well and followed suit by sitting down on another box. He would have felt sorry for the guy if there wasn't millions, no, billions of other sob stories worse than his. Really, their world was just decaying around them.
"I guess the world will never really be normal again..." Dan said quietly, frowning at the ground for a moment. "I... I should be going now, though. Norm will be getting worried." He sighed, standing up and rubbing at his neck one last time.
"No! Wait! I... I haven't seen another human for a while... You... You're free to stay, so long as you don't steal and run away, or kill me in my sleep..." Phil said quickly, making Dan bite his lip and turn back to face the boy. It was a tempting offer, really. But not even five minutes ago, the guy was holding a knife to his throat!
"I... I don't know... I'd have to check with Norm. We wouldn't kill you or anything, but... I don't know if we can trust you maybe this was all just an act?" Dan asked suspiciously, moving to grab the door handle as he watched Phil carefully. He looked lonely, sad, scared, but that was what everyone alive looked like. Alone, running from death, tired. This life made everyone look ten years older. Dan couldn't help but wonder if that made Phil young or not.
"You'll just have to see, won't you?" Phil asked, a small, tired smile gracing his lips, making Dan bite his lip again. They did need a place to stay, and Phil seemed genuine, at least to him. He'd check with Norm, in any case.
"I guess we will..."