Guess what is finally here? Infectious! I've only been talking about it for a year. (for those of you who have been keeping up with my other stuff, you would know. If not, hey! Welcome to my writing.) I know I said I would wait until after I finish my current story, Opposites Attract but hey, all this new adventure time stuff got me too excited to wait. Don't worry, I of course will still be working on that story. Average chapter word count is 2,500.
Updates for this story will come every other week, I still haven't decided on a day. I'll have that figured out soon. But until then, enjoy!
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Chapter One: Introduction
Two years. That's all it took. Two years and mankind was on the brink of extinction. There were only a few surviving groups left, as far as anyone knew. Humans used to rely on hope, hope that someday they will be able to rise again, be stronger than they were and take back what once was theirs.
Two years ago, a virus struck out against mankind, turning them into lifeless, fungi infested creatures roaming the dead lands and eating any living thing in sight. When it was first discovered, it only took merely a week to spread through half of the country. Just a few short days following and the entire country was in a pandemic. A month passed and the entire world was crawling with the living dead. It happened so quickly, the government, not even the military was able to get control over the people and shove them into quarantine zones. Over time, things just became worse and worse. The CDC had been wiped out before they could even begin to understand the infection, let alone finding a cure.
So here they are now, the rest of the human race barely alive, fighting for their survival.
Bonnibel Becker, a mere college scientist has survived this time. Somehow she was able to stay alive and even become the leader of a small group of survivors. She is no stronger than them, however. She is as weak as the rest of them, but they all look up to her. Some would say she just had that ruler vibe, she was fit to be a queen of some sorts. She was in control, and her group respected that and followers her every decision. They have put all their trust in her.
Bonnibel sees this infection as almost a natural selection. Not in the way of "weak people should die" way, but she thinks that this infection is a way of telling the human race that they fucked up, and it was time to get rid of them and give the rest of the living organisms a shot at living. Since well, humans destroyed most of that with its pollution and war.
She still hasn't given up completely, though. She has grown to care for her small group, almost like family. She would risk her life for them, and she is sure they would do the same for her, and they have. Three specific people have before in the past. First there was Fionna. A twenty-two year old woman whom she would do anything for. It took some time for Bonnibel to admit to herself that she was practically in love with the woman, but she would never admit it to Fionna herself.
Fionna was the strongest of the bunch. Why they didn't look up to her was beyond Bonnibel. Though Fionna didn't mind, she was never one to be in the limelight. She will not take anyone's bullshit either, and she does take charge when it is needed. Some could say she was second in charge. She and Bonnibel had been fighting side by side since day one, inseparable since. When Fionna saved her life that first day they met, she knew they would fight together, forever. Well, until one of the dead ripped them limb to limb, but Bonnibel tries not to think about that. Losing Fionna would mean losing her reason for fighting.
Now the other two Bonnibel loves dearly are Finn and Jake, the stepbrothers. Finn is known for his white beanie, for which he only wears to hide his long blonde hair so it doesn't get snagged by a dead hand reaching out for him. He had been infatuated with Bonnibel at some point, but later down the road he realized it would never happen and moved on to a new girl in the group, Phoebe.
Jake, the oldest in the group of survivors, is of course one of the strongest, under Fionna. Despite his intimidating stature, he is like a small puppy. You can scare him easily, but that doesn't stop him from surviving out there in the wastelands. He is married to another survivor in the group, Rain. The couple has had five children total but unfortunately only one has survived this far, their eldest daughter Junior. Back when Bonnibel and Fionna saved the family from getting torn to pieces by the dead, they were all together still. They were trying so hard to stay together as a family. Junior's parents tried so hard to protect their children, but they were just too young to make it. Despite the grieving they've done, they're stronger than ever now. They're happy to have each other still, and sometimes that is all you need to survive. That is what makes Jake one of the strongest members of the group, despite everything he has been through and witnessed within the past few years, he is still here, fighting for his family.
Those were the people Bonnibel found herself closest to, but there were more she did care about in her group. There was Piper, The Butler as some people would say. There isn't much to say about him, however. He never talks about his past before the outbreak.
Then Beemo, the youngest of the group. He is only 15 years old. Everyone protects him more than anyone else in the group because of his age. Even Phoebe has a soft side for him, though she never admits it. He is an intelligent boy, he helps a lot with rebuilding some technology and even is trying to figure out how to hook up their current residence with power.
Bonnibel is most annoyed with Braco, the man who never listens to her instructions. He is weak and stupid, and how he has survived this long is a mystery to everyone. He tries too hard to protect Bonnibel when he should be protecting himself instead.
There wasn't much to say about the final two men of the group, Cinna and Shelby. Most have grown a liking to Cinna, he was sweet and kind to everyone in the group, and Shelby is usually in the background doing whatever he is told, whether it be helping out around their camp or preparing 'meals'.
But then, of course, was Phoebe, whom Bonnibel probably got along with the least. She had a short temper and fiery red hair to match. She scares Bonnibel just a bit and she does not know exactly why. Was it the fact she shows no mercy? Or maybe that she could kill a man in a blink of an eye without even second guessing herself? Why Phoebe showed a liking to Finn was beyond her, she didn't look like the type to waste time actually caring about someone. Sometimes Bonnibel thinks that is the only reason she sticks around, because in all honestly Phoebe could easily survive out in the world on her own. She's quick, she's silent, and she knows how to kill.
Every survivor in this group has their own tragic backstories, their own pasts, and their own memories for how they got here today. They all have more to themselves then they perceive, but that is okay. Their past no longer matters, what matters is what they do to survive now.
The entire group itself is currently settled in an old, and rather small, high school in a small town they are unsure of the name of. It's in a rural area that none of them have ever heard of before, all far away from their old homes pre-virus. All except for Bonnibel, whom used to live in a few towns over, though she has not been there in years, not since her parents kicked her out for being gay when she was only seventeen.
The school itself was not very well protected, minus the convenient gates locking out the outside world from getting in. Luckily for them, the rural town never got many free runners, or lone scavengers if you will. Those were the people to look out for. Well, that and the infected.
The group spent most of their time in the cafeteria. They managed to create a small fire pit in the center where they could cook any food they had hunted for, or even use it to warm themselves up during the cold days. Each member got a classroom for themselves, because some needed their own privacy sometimes. Being around people for so long can get to some of them, and they need a safe place to just unwind, which was okay. Everyone understood. Jake, Rain, Junior, and Finn however shared a classroom. They were close, and as a family they didn't know how long they could spend that time together.
The entire group really tries to enjoy their lives as much as they can, because they never know when the day comes where they wake up in the morning for one last time. They sit around the fire and make jokes, laughing in the face of death, but all deep down inside they know this won't last forever. And that is what scares them the most.
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This chapter was originally 3,000 words long, but recently I've been rewriting the entire story. (I'm pretty far into writing currently.) I cut a lot of unnecessary information that would be explained in later chapters, and I also changed a lot of character traits. (I've also changed the plot of the story itself like 10 times but we can pretend I didn't torture myself with that.)
Shout out to Chemistry God for helping me fix some of the errors in this chapter.
