Early May
2014
The apocalypse came as quickly and loudly as one would imagine.
One day, Jane and Maura were lounging on Maura's couch watching the Sox game, and the next they were running for their lives on the streets of Boston as Hell ascended upon Earth.
Jane had watched Frankie run in the opposite direction to his car, and that was the last she'd seen of him. Next she saw Korsak though the Boston PD doors as he motioned for her to join him.
But Jane only gave him a long look- a goodbye.
She knew she wouldn't have been able to go with Korsak even if she tried. She knew, somehow, that no matter what happened, she had to stay with Maura.
And, by God, she thanked her lucky stars that she did.
Maura had stayed calm and collected, forging a plan as they fled from the streets and laid out its basic steps to Jane. They would first collect a few guns and a large amount of ammo, which could be found in the basement of Boston PD. Next, they would continue to the garage, locate a suitably heavyweight cruiser, and then get the hell out of the city.
Jane worked on autopilot as Maura fed her simple instructions. They stopped at the gun locker and worked together to load four bags with all the guns and ammo in reach, then Maura ran off to start up one of the department's sizable Ford SUVs.
Jane sat in the passenger seat, numb and disoriented, as Maura maneuvered the big police car through the streets of Boston. Jane couldn't help but look out the tinted windows at the scene unfolding before her.
People, hundreds of them, were running wildly about, all crazed with fear and helplessness. Some held guns or makeshift weapons and were able to protect themselves from the infected.
A middle aged woman with brown hair and wrinkled eyes approached their slow-moving car and Jane was instantly revived from her languid stupor: the woman was almost identical to her own mother. She fumbled with the car door but could only watch with wide eyes when the woman's neck was ripped open by a walking corpse.
Jane did not open the window when she threw up.
A few other cars were moving through the madness, but the majority of vehicles were left abandoned in the middle of the streets. Amidst the chaos, Maura remained focused. Her eyes stayed set on the road.
Jane watched the other woman drive until she felt her consciousness slipping away.
When Jane awoke, Maura was still driving: slowly, carefully, weaving through a maze of abandoned cars and crazed, infected humans on the Mass Pike highway. She heard cacophonous planes flying overhead, and watched military tanks roll down the pavement through the swarms of walking corpses.
Jane looked down and saw that she was sitting in a pile of her own vomit.
She closed her eyes again and did not open them for five hours.
Jane awoke to silence.
"Maura?" She lifted her head to meet her friend's thoughtful gaze.
Maura carefully explained to a bewildered Jane that she had driven them more than 150 miles to Northern Massachusetts, where one of her family's wealthy friends owned a secluded mansion in the Berkshire Mountains.
Her plan, she told Jane, was to stock up on necessities and then isolate themselves in the mansion for a few months.
They were currently stopped in a campsite just outside of New Ashford, a small town close to their destination. Jane had been in a state of shock, Maura had explained, which was why she fainted and slept for the duration of the ride. Maura had woken her up when they reached this relatively safe area.
"New Ashford has a population of under 350 persons," she told Jane in a gentle voice. "We have a very low chance of coming across any who are infected if we go into a home to gather supplies."
Jane nodded mutely. Maura bit her lip.
"Jane, I know this is difficult, but I need you here." Jane had simply nodded again. Maura looked at her worriedly.
"Would you like to stay in the car while I find supplies alone?" Maura asked, hoping for another nod.
But something in Jane clicked. Maura needed her help, and she sure as hell wasn't going to let her best friend go scavenging alone without backup.
Jane blinked, twice, and shook herself.
"No, Maura. I'll come with you."
And so they went.
Jane insisted that Maura carry a gun, but the big house that Maura had scoped out earlier while driving was entirely empty: a stroke of much-needed luck. They found empty milk crates in a garage and a child's red wagon, which they decided they would use to transport the supplies back to their car.
Maura insisted on finding 'nutritional necessities' in the home's kitchen and pantry, so Jane was left to root through the bathrooms for first-aid equipment. She got lucky and found a nice, bulky first aid kit designed for a small family, which she immediately set aside and deemed her most important find. (Of course, she would later revert it to second most important find once she came across a cabinet filled with liquor.)
After sifting through some more cabinets, she set aside cotton balls, adhesive tape, Tums, hand sanitizer, toothpaste and toothbrushes, two hair brushes (which she knew Maura would appreciate), a comb, two sticks of deodorant, and all the rolls of toilet paper she could find, which came to thirteen in total. Jane allowed herself a self-satisfied smirk, and loaded the equipment into a few milk crates and brought them back to the kitchen.
Maura had been busy looting as well. She knew perishables were inconvenient, so she painstakingly turned her back on the quality assortment of fruits and veggies in the fridge.
She was pleased that luck seemed to be on their side. She rummaged through all the well-organized cabinets and a well-stocked pantry, noting the amount of food and mentally listing what they could take and what they could not. After a good ten minutes, she had assembled an army of various canned foods such as beans, vegetables and soups. Then, she also took half a dozen boxes of crackers and protein bars, another half a dozen larger boxes of cereal and bags of chips, a medium-sized bag filled with 'Kale Chips,' (she grinned as she found these shoved far into the back of one of the cabinets; obviously the person who lived here had not taken a liking to them and Maura doubted Jane would either), and lastly, a horde of twinkies (which she was inclined to ignore, but realized that they were at least some form of sustenance and Jane's favorite guilty pleasure).
She then of course looted as many liquids as she could find- some soda, juice boxes, and bottles of water. Maura patted her pile of cans and bags proudly, then started to stack the cans inside the milk crates.
When she was finished, she had filled five total crates and was confident the food would last at least a month, if they were careful.
She called for Jane, who had just started clomping down the stairs carrying her crates. Maura scanned Jane's findings and deemed them acceptable, then the pair stacked their combined supplies onto the red wagon.
Before they started back to the car, Jane disappeared into the expansive garage for a few minutes and emerged with a crowbar and a shovel slung across her shoulders and three rolls of duct tape and some rope around her wrist. She laid these down on the wagon, then ventured back to the garage and reappeared seconds later with two heavyweight sleeping bags, a camp mess kit, and a bundle that seemed to be...
"A tent," Jane said, tossing the item into Maura. "The people who lived here seem to be pretty big campers. These sleeping bags are, well," She paused and grinned coyly. "They're very...Isles-like quality."
Maura narrowed her eyes and gave Jane a playful shove. Jane feigned injury, and when they both laughed, it came as a welcome relief.
It took only a quarter of an hour to walk the supplies back to the car on the thin forest road. Jane loaded the crates of canned food, water and first aid into the bottom of the trunk, while Maura spread the sleeping bags out on two car seats. Jane put the crowbar and shovel near their guns. They loaded the red wagon, too, just for the hell of it.
When they were done, Maura suggested lightly that they snack on some 'Kale Chips' before they went to bed.
Jane's groan was so loud it shook the car.
A/N: There will be two more introductory chapters after this, just to set up the story and make it seem as realistic as possible. Hopefully. And hopefully this first chapter is as realistic as possible. The whole thing is a little far-fetched, but I did the best I could.
I really hope I did OK with their characterization- I love these girls dearly and I want them to be happy.
If there are any problems, please let me know, and feedback is always appreciated! Thanks for reading!