Dirk
"Jake! Help!" You yell to your boyfriend. Zombies are grabbing for your squishy flesh, growling at the pain of your katana. You happened to slice their heads but only halfway.
"I'm coming Dirk!' Jake takes out his pistols, shooting the walkers in the temples. They fall. On the floor they slither, clacking their teeth.
"That was close. Thanks!" You wipe the sweat from your forehead.
"Don't mention it. I feel a bit woozy though."
"Lie down." You help Jake to the floor. After making sure he is properly situated, you board up the broken window. Dave returns with dinner.
"You're welcome." Dave throws the rotten apple and box of uncooked pasta onto the drugstore counter. "On a scale from one to ten, how hungry are you?"
"Five." You reply.
"Eighty-two." Jake answers weakly. You notice a bloody spot on Jake's arm.
"Uncooked spaghetti it is. I had some water but you guys seem hungry. Dave hands you the box. It crunches.
"Thanks?" You open the box and feed long strands into his mouth. You wonder why he is so weak.
"Hey Jake? Are you alright?' jade sits next to you both and puts her hand on Jake's forehead.
"How am I?" Jake asks. Jade shakes her head, staring at the blood mark.
"Show me your arm." Jade props Jake's arm onto your bent knee. Jake winces in pain.
"What?" You shield Jake from the poky girl. "Why do you need to touch him?"
"Just lemme look." Jade pushes you aside.
Jade
With ease you move Dirk to the side and pull up Jake's sleeve. He twitches.
"I won't hurt you." You say. He seems—"OH MY GOD!"
"I'm okay! It's just a minor injury!" You reveal a large chunk of shoulder to have been bitten off. Jake bites his lip when the cold air hits the open flesh.
"Holy shit Jake! You've been bitten!" Dirk shouts. You glare at him. Yelling would just bring more trouble.
You clean up Jake's bite. It is turning a rusty red.
"I was bitten back at the dumpster, trying to save….you know…" Jake looks down. You nod in remembrance. It was such a shame. How could you forget those rosy cheeks, that cheery sweet smile? Jake motions to a bloody wooden spoon in the corner. You hold back tears.
"Now you are going to meet up with her." You whisper. "And Rose and Roxy."
"Just get me some Advil…I have a bit of a headache." Jake's wobbly arm points to a box of pills. You nod and retrieve the medicine.
"Here you are." You hand a pill to Jake, who hands it to Dirk.
"No no. You have it." Dirk pushes Jake's hand away. You hear the small crack of Jake's weakening bones. His arm falls to the floor.
"Holy shit!" Dave returns from whatever stupid little thing he was doing. He bends over to gag.
"Am I that bad Dirk?" Jake whispers. He rubs his face.
"No man. You look perfect." Dirk smiles, holding onto Jake's last hand. You sigh and start picking up falling skin.
Dave
You watch Jake fall apart over the next few days. The smell of him fills the drugstore. A mixture of rotten egg and bad breath. Dirk doesn't seem to mind.
"I think it's time." You pat your brother's shoulder.
"No, we can save him." Dirk lies on Jake's lap. Jake doesn't speak. He can't. He only moans.
"Are you really going to let him turn?" You chew on some stale pretzels Jade transported from the island.
"Don't say that. He's not going to turn." Dirk looks away.
"Guuuggghhh." What use to be Jake rattles his teeth. He's almost gone.
You reach for the pistols.
"No! Don't" Dirk grabs for your arm. You shoot.
John
Outside the drug store you hear a shot. You look at your feet. Dave finally did it. You are grateful that no one waited until it was too late but you have no time to think about Jake's problems right now. A hoard of zombies approach.
"Oh god." You mutter. There must be a hundred ravenous walkers roaming the streets. You are hidden on the roof.
"Ectobiologist to Turntechgodhead. Turntechgodhead, come in." You shake the walkie talkies. It clicks with a satisfying click.
"John! I have to tell you..."
"Not now. There is a group of walkers approaching the store. They look hungry."
"Fuck. Do you have anything you can use? Can you do the windy thing?"
"Sorry Dave. My powers are dwindling. Without a proper meal or sleep, I'm as good as the things down there." You try pushing the wind, only creating a small breeze. Great.
"I'm going to try to get Dirk to help me fight them off."
"Alright. Be careful. Ectobiologist out." You put the walkie talkie back into your hood. Dirk must be in a wreck. You would be if Karkat died. You wonder how Karkat is faring…
"John!" Dave screeches from below. You fly down to find Dave surrounded by zombies. His shirt is covered with blood. His shitty katana is almost broken.
"I'm here Dave. I got you." You pull your Warhammer of Zillyhoo out of your syalldex. It's not in top shape either. You grab a zombie by the head and crack its neck. As it screams you slam your hammer through the walker's jaw. The skull falls with a crack.
"John! Behind you!" You whip around to find your hood being ripped to shreds. The undead screech like birds and grab your hair. You kick off one of your attacker's stomach cavity and dive into a pile of bleeding dead. Dave runs up behind you and slices skulls and necks. You reach for the hammer you dropped and trip an elderly zombie. It snaps at your foot and grabs on. You scream and flail your foot. Dave steps on the woman's back, cracking whatever vertebrae she had left. You cringe. The sound would never stop scaring you. The sound of snapping bone.
Dirk
Outside your brother and his friend were fighting for their lives. For YOUR life. You wanted to help so badly. But you couldn't leave what was once your boyfriend. You shook, trying not to cry. Cool guys don't cry. Jade watches from the corner.
"Are you alright?" She asks. You shake your head, lying against Jake. You crush every bone, hugging him so tightly.
"Dirk. It's alright." Jade pets your head. It's so ironic, you don't give a shit. How could you think of irony at a time like this? You still had to bury…
"Dirk! Help!" Your younger brother calls from outside. You shake your head, breathing heavily. You hug even tighter.
Jade stands up.
"What are you doing?" You whisper. Jade flys outside. "No." You sigh. You shakily stand up, grabbing your katana. Might as well help out if science girl is going. It can't be that bad now.
You were wrong.
Dave was sawing off heads. John squishing heads in. Jade had her shotgun.
"Dirk! Watch out!" John yells. Without thinking, you fling your sword behind you. It slices through a melon-y skull. You pull the katana out, murdering another walker in the process. You don't move your legs. You just stand outside the door, swinging your katana. Back and forth. Up and down. There was no meaning. You just killed what was in front of you. You didn't blink, you didn't cry. You just stood and waved your arms. Like what you were killing. Dead. But alive.
Jake
You can't be Jake. Jake is dead.
Jade
You are murdering zombies with your shotgun. You ran out of bullets a long time ago. Now you are hovering in the air, smashing zombies with the butt of your gun. You kick in jaws and necks. Your shoes will forever be stained with fermenting blood.
Halfway this inhumane torture you spot Dirk. He seems upset as he stumbles out the door. The zombie you were previously beating turns away. It walks toward Dirk. You gasp, watching curiously. Without moving his bloody legs, Dirk swipes at a walker, killing it in one blow. He continues this. You frown, worried about him. You rush over to your friend, killing zombies behind him. Dirk doesn't acknowledge you.
You dig into your pocket to find extra ammunition. It's just one bullet. With your last shot, you shoot a zombie going for Dirk's neck. Dirk jumps, losing his cool. Zombies over power him.
"Dave! Your brother!" You yell to Dave, who is busy at the moment. Instead, John flys over to the cursing teenager.
John
You gather all the power you can muster. With one last blow, you shoot icy cold wind onto the raging pile of zombies. They fly to their deaths. You fall to the floor, exhausted.
"John, look at me!" Dave runs to your aching body. "Don't…Don't close your eyes. Look at me goddammit! John!" Dave slaps your face. Zombies growl in the background. The world starts fading at the edges. Your eyes droop.
"John! Open your eyes! You're going to be okay! Stop, no! Look at me! Look!' Dave throws off his shades. You try as hard as you can to look into his red eyes. He shakes you. Jade sobs, bashing in zombie heads.
"D-Dave." You whisper. Tears flood Dave's eyes.
"Yea?"
"Am I done for?" Dave bites his lip. His eyes answer your question.
"Is Dirk alright?" You wheeze.
"Yes. Yes, you saved him." Dave holds you against his chest, trembling.
"Tell him….Tell him…"
"What?" Dave leans in.
"You're welcome." With that, you close your eyes. Your body slumps.
"No! NO!" Dave shakes your body. You don't respond. You are dead.
Dave
Back inside, you and Dirk are speechless. Not only did both of your favorite members of the group die, but now there are only 3 left. You can barely eat. Not like you would have had much anyway.
"Awww c'mon guys! At least most of the trolls have survived!" Jade fakely smiles. You growl at her.
"I don't understand. This plan was bulletproof! Get out of town, hide in the forest, then make our way to the pier. Jade's island is not too far away." Dirk sighs. "I don't know why Jane had to ruin it all."
"Bro! Don't blame it on cake girl! You know Jake wouldn't leave without his skulltop."
"Don't say that name." Dirk lashes. You butt your heads together.
"What? Jake? Jake Jake fucking Jake!"
"Fuck you. What do you know about survival anyway? All you brought to the drugstore this week was uncooked spaghetti, stale pretzels and a rotten apple!"
"At least I brought something! All you did today was get attacked by zombies and cry over your boyfriend. He was lunch from the start."
"Boys! Are you seriously blaming dead people for your mistakes? It's too late now and we can't look back." Jade pushes in between you two.
"I'm the knight of time!" You interject, "I can look back as far as I want!" You kick the floor, waiting for someone to end this. Jade was right. You had made mistakes. But you still didn't want to talk about them.
"I'm leaving." Dirk announces.
"To where? Magic land? This place is filled with zombies."
"I'm just leaving. I'll find out where I'm going when I get there."
"I'll come too. And Dave. We can all try to travel to my island. There's no zombies there." Jade grabs a backpack and starts grabbing medical supplies. Dirk sneers.
"Fine, you can come. Just don't come crying to me when you are surrounded by walking dead people."
"Then let's go! I'm sure the trolls are on their way as well!" Jade grins at you. For her sake, You and Dirk smile back.