A/N: Uh...hi! It's a new fic! Suprise Suprise! We're still writing AATY, but we couldn't stop ourselves. I've wanted to write a zombie apocalypse!AU for years and I'm so glad Seli agreed to do it with me. It's gonna be a bumpy ride, my friends. Buckle up!
Journal entry number 74. It's been 74 days ever since the apocalypse started. It's been 57 days ever since I lost Jesse. I saw his dead corpse the other day. His eyes, once filled with love and passion, are now replaced with hunger and greed. I couldn't bring myself to shoot him, so I ran. I'm having trouble finding food. I heard of a farm from other survivors in the east. I don't know if I should check it out. It's also getting warmer. It's maybe April or May. Too lazy to calculate.
Beca sighed as she looked up from the tree she was sitting on. A few lonely zombies were passing by, not taking notice of her. She had her rifle ready anyways, just for safety.
I should also start raiding more houses. My ammo is running low and I don't know if I can survive without my guns. Thank god that this is America, the land of the free, where every person has a gun. Or, had.
The brunette girl observed the buildings in the distance, a small suburb she had stumbled across. La Fayette, a sign indicated. She was going to raid it after her rest, hoping to find food, ammo and other necessities.
Sometimes I wonder why I'm still fighting. It's not like the zombies are going to disappear anytime soon. And if the survivors manage to create a new society, it's gonna take years, maybe decades until we can build up a working infrastructure again AND keep the zombies at bay. A cure is probably not going to be found. It would be inhumane to cure somebody who is basically missing half of their arm and has flesh bitten off everywhere. But… I just can't get myself to kill myself however. Something tells me I should keep fighting, and if there's one thing I learned, it's to trust my gut. So I will keep on fighting, wondering for what reason.
The wind blew through her hair, and she relaxed, closing her eyes. She wondered if she'd ever live long enough to even rejoin a group of survivors. For now, she was on her own, and she doubted that was going to change. It was also for the best. She didn't have to worry about somebody else, didn't care if they got left behind or not. It was easy.
I will now rest. Then I'll raid this small town I found. Fingers crossed that I'll find useful stuff in there.
She closed her journal, putting her pen into the holder before packing it into her backpack. She hung it to a branch next to her and secured herself to the branch with ropes, crossing her arms afterwards and laying her head back against the tree. Soon, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Chloe let out a shaky breath as she carefully pushed open the door to the bookstore she found. She listened intently, making sure there were no shuffling feet to be heard. When she heard nothing, she tiptoed inside, letting the door close behind her with a click. She clutched the shotgun she was holding, ready to shoot anything that came at her. When she had counted till 200, and still heard nothing, she slowly unzipped her backpack and took a brick from it. She threw it to the other side of the room, hiding behind a fallen bookshelf as soon as she heard the loud bang. She listened intently, but couldn't hear anything. She waited at least 10 minutes, sitting in dead silence, before moving again. She grabbed the brick and put it back into her bag, zipping it up. No one was here. She looted the place, finding a few cans of food in the office. She repeated this pattern with every house she searched, planning out her next action to the second. She had nearly finished raiding the entire small village by sundown and was on her way towards the last building. It looked like it once was an apothecary and Chloe was hopeful that maybe she'd find some medicine there. The door was barricaded off, which made the redhead swear. She walked around the store, finding a big hole in the wall on the other side. "Lucky."
She climbed through it, handling with the same caution she used for every house. After throwing the brick on the floor and hearing nothing for a few minutes, she scrambled up to grab her trusty brick. However, when she set foot on the floor, she noticed it was a bit damp. "Ew." She whispered to herself. She shuffled forwards and wanted to reach for the brick when she heard a softy crack. Before she knew what was happening, the floor gave out and she felt herself crashing down through the floor and landing on something hard. Her breath was knocked out of her and she let out a soft groan as she felt her muscles protest. Her first action was to scramble for her gun and she clutched it close to her chest. What she didn't expect however, was that the next moment, she heard a loud crashing noise and felt a heavy weight land on her shoulder and chest. She let out a soft moan as she was pushed against the wall by the object. Her shoulder stung and she felt pain shoot up her arm. "Fuck..." She whispered, blinking into the dust that was falling from above. She was officially trapped.
When Beca woke up, the sun was already setting. She cursed silently as she hated walking around in the dark. She untied herself from the branch before packing the rope into her backpack. She grabbed it and threw it onto the ground, waiting for any zombies to head her way. When she couldn't see or hear any, she climbed down, her feet landing on the ground with a soft thud. She swung the backpack over her shoulder before she grabbed her rifle, ready to shoot whatever was coming at her. Her stomach gurgled but she ignored it. She would eat, just not yet.
She stealthily made her way to the city, looking around for any potential dangers. When she reached the first house, she let out a breath as she entered it. She waited for a few seconds, listening if any zombie was walking around. When she didn't hear anything, she started raiding the house. Raiding never takes her long because she had learned where to look. Most people stash their important shit in the same places, but Beca also knew to stick around and search a little deeper when she got the time, hoping to find something good. The only thing she managed to find was a first aid kit. "Damnit." She cursed as she put it into her backpack. Someone had been here already. As she was about to leave the house, she heard a loud crashing noise from opposite of the street. Soon, there was a dust cloud rising from the apothecary. "Okay, not going there." She noted.
The brunette wasn't the only one who had heard the sounds. She could hear the unmistakably retches and groans from zombies who started making their way over to the building that just collapsed a little. "As if you're going to find something in there." She rolled her eyes but decided to stick around in case there were zombies swarming her place. She didn't plan on turning into one of them just yet. So, she went to the living room and sat down on the couch, looking out of the window, watching the scene unfold. "You're an awful lot for such a small suburb." She commented as more zombies came by.
Chloe was trying to stay calm but felt her breathing quicken. She heard the unmistakable sound of the creatures that she feared the most approaching and she closed her eyes, feeling tears sting in them. "Please just leave." She whispered, whimpering. Her eyes widened when she heard a soft thud to her left. A soft growling was heard and Chloe felt her blood run cold. There was one of them with her in the room. She clutched the gun shakily and tried to keep her breathing as soft as possible. The zombie's growling became louder and Chloe could already smell the foul smell it gave off. She held her breath as the zombie rounded the corner, approaching her. When he came so close that she could smell its breath, she shakily raised the gun and aimed it at the creature. She knew shooting it would result in a loud noise, but she had no other choice. She pulled the trigger, closing her eyes as the blood splattered all over her face.
Beca froze when she heard a gunshot going off. There was someone in the building. Inside the apothecary. The same building that was currently swarmed by zombies. "Oh for fucks sake!" She knew it wasn't a good idea to straight up run into her death. Was this person even worth risking her life for? She shook her head. Being turned into a zombie definitely wasn't nice. She watched the dead corpses swaying around and noticed they were walking around the building. "Guess the entrance's over there huh?" She scanned the house. "If there isn't another entrance, create one."
She looked around the house, looking for a good item to smash a window with. She grabbed a blanket from the couch, wanting to use it so she didn't cut herself from the glass, and took a lamp. "Better than nothing." Another gunshot went off and Beca knew she had to hurry. She checked her rifle and extra ammo pack before sprinting out of the door. Most of the zombies were busy with walking around the apothecary to notice her. "Idiots." She chuckled.
She readied the lamp and threw it against the window, successfully smashing it in the process. Some zombies stopped and turned around, but Beca was too busy with removing the glass, using the blanket as a glove so she didn't cut herself. Then, she laid it out over the window frame, covering glass she couldn't break off. She felt something behind her and whirled around to a zombie trying to bite her. "Not today asshole." She stabbed her knife into his skull, letting his body drop to the ground. She quickly jumped into the building, avoiding the other zombies. "Thank god you don't have any skills." She looked around. The room was a mess. Medicine, health magazines and bandages were scattered all over the floor, some of the glasses broken, leaking the fluids that they contained. Another gunshot immediately followed by another one went off, signalling Beca that the person was underneath her. "How the fuck am I supposed to get down there?!" She cursed as she frantically moved around. There was a trap door behind the counter, so she opened it. It seemed to lead into the basement that the person was trapped in. A ladder was leading down, but Beca decided to jump straight down, seeing as it wasn't that high. When she landed on the ground, she saw the zombies huddling around a corner. "Shit. How do I get you out of there?"
She sighed as she readied her gun. She shot into the ceiling, making the zombies stop and turn around. "Hey, idiots. Over here!"
Chloe was panicking, trying to crawl away from the zombies swarming her frantically. She cried out and her hands shook. She realised it was hopeless, the growling of the zombies taking up her entire brain, making her go crazy. She turned the gun around, setting it under her chin. A sob escaped her throat as she thought about her family and friends and how she'd finally be with them and her fingers squeezed the trigger. A gunshot could be heard and Chloe squeezed her eyes shut, ready for the darkness to take over. However, she soon realised it wasn't her gun that went off. She opened her eyes and heard a female voice call out.
The zombies growled as some of them made their way over to Beca, stumbling in the process. "That's right, keep coming!" The brunette shouted as she shot the first ones. "Oh no, I'm taking your buddies! What are you gonna do about it?" She challenged, making more and more zombies turn their attention towards her. "That's right, I'm a better target than that stupid person over there huh?" She called out, skillfully shooting the zombies that were coming at her. She didn't notice two zombies approaching her from behind, snarling dangerously.
Chloe noticed the small brunette now, shooting at the zombies wildly. She felt her heart beat in her chest and she let a soft breath escape. Her eyes widened in alert when she noticed the zombies coming up behind her. "Behind you!" She yelled, hoping it would warn the brunette.
Beca's head snapped up, looking at the redheaded girl who looked at her with a shocked expression. She quickly averted her eyes as she turned around, pulling out her small handgun in the process. She quickly planted two bullets into the zombies' heads, making them drop to the floor. She turned back around, stashing her small gun back in the holster around her waist before grabbing her rifle. "Try to make your way over to me!" She shouted between gunshots. "There's a ladder you can climb!"
Chloe shook her shoulder, trying to get away. It wouldn't budge. "I… I can't! I'm stuck!" She yelled, her voice breaking.
"Shit." Beca muttered. "Okay, hold on over there. I'm coming!" She kicked the zombie that was approaching her in the chest, sending it flying backwards. "Back off dude!" She dashed through the zombies in a zigzag motion, dodging attempted grabs and bites that way. If needed, she'd punch or kick a dead corpse away. When she finally reached the other girl, she inspected it briefly. "Keep my back free." She ordered as she grabbed the shelf that had fallen onto the redhead, trying to pull it back. "Shit that's heavy." She muttered as she used up her whole strength to lift it while the girl next to her shot the zombies that were coming at them. She managed to lift the shelf a little which gave Chloe the chance to wriggle out of it. "Good, now let's fucking go!" Beca yelled as she turned around, grabbing her rifle.
Chloe shook her sore shoulder, debating whether something had broken. She grabbed her shotgun tightly and shot at the zombies together with the small brunette. They slowly made their way to the ladder, standing huddled close together. "You go first!" Beca said through gritted teeth and Chloe nodded. She grabbed the ladder with her arm, swinging the shotgun over her shoulder. She felt her bad arm protest as soon she put any weight on it and let out a soft groan but she clenched her jaw and heaved herself up, climbing the ladder. As soon as she got up, she heard the brunette behind her and they shot the zombies approaching them. "What now?" The redhead asked worriedly. "There's only one entrance."
"I hope they're still gone from the window." Beca replied as she made her way over to it. She peeked outside, letting out a sigh of relief as nothing was in sight. "Come on." She hopped up onto the window sill and extended her hand, waiting for the redhead to take it.
Chloe looked at her extended hand with a frown and helped herself over the window sill carefully, not taking Beca's hand. As soon as they were in the clear, she let out a soft groan as the adrenaline left her body and her shoulder flared up. "Well, uhm… thanks for saving me. I'll be on my way." She said, looking at the brunette shyly. She wanted to turn around but as soon as she did, her legs buckled and she fell to the ground.
Beca silently cursed. "Seems like you can't go anywhere." She deadpanned as she helped Chloe back up. The redhead whimpered because the girl had used her bad arm to get her up, so she shoved her away. "Woah. I'm just trying to help." The brunette protested, raising her hands defensively.
"I know… just...I don't… please don't touch me so suddenly." Chloe replied, wincing in pain. "It hurts like a bitch."
"Oh god. Okay." Beca sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "You're coming with me." She ordered, grabbing the redhead's good hand and pulling her along with her.
The other girl let herself be pulled along reluctantly, rolling her eyes. "Where are you taking me?" She asked, a nervous tone in her voice.
"To your death bed." The brunette replied in a serious tone.
"Great. Just make it quick." Chloe answered just as serious. She thought about how close she was to pulling the trigger today and she frowned, her eyes cast down.
"I'll try my best." Beca replied. They kept walking, the brunette's firm grasp on the redhead's hand not loosening up. Beca eventually pulled Chloe into a house, making sure nobody was in it before setting the redhead down on the couch. "Strip." She ordered as she sat down her backpack.
Chloe wanted to protest, but didn't find any reason to, so she took off her flannel and ripped white tank top, wincing in pain as she took it over her head. Her stomach muscles clenched at the sudden exposure to cold air and she shivered.
Beca retrieved her first aid kit filled with medicine, bandages and whatnot she had gathered these past two months. She plopped it down next to the redhead, inspecting the shoulder. "Seems like it might definitely be bruised." She said as she traced her fingers over it, watching the other girl's reaction. She carefully moved it a little, ignoring the noises of protest coming from Chloe. "Definitely not broken when you can whine like that." Beca rolled her eyes as she grabbed a bandage. "Maybe fractured. But I doubt it. Probably just really bruised. You should definitely hold it still while it heals." She applied some pain relieving medicine before wrapping the bandage around the other girl's shoulder. Then, she took some aspirin and handed Chloe a pill. She retrieved a water bottle and also handed it to her. "There." She spoke coldly.
The redhead blushed at the sensations going through her skin where the brunette touched her. She took the water bottle and swallowed the medicine. Her eyes roamed across Beca's face curiously. "Why… why are you helping me?" She asked softly.
"Don't need another zombie roaming this godforsaken world." The brunette shrugged. "Don't you have any stuff?" She asked. "I noticed earlier. You only seem to have your shotgun. No backpack, nothing?"
Chloe shook her head. "I had a backpack… but… I lost it when I fell through the floor." She said with a frown. "I have a safe house though. That's pretty packed with stuff."
Beca raised her eyebrow at this new information. "Where?"
"It's in the forest up north. It's really hard to find, only when you know the way." The redhead replied. "I'm... I'm Chloe by the way. Thanks… thanks again for saving me."
"Beca." The girl nodded. "Let's make a deal. I'll get your backpack and you get me to your safe house."
"And… then? Are you going to rob me?" Chloe asked anxiously.
"Oh no, you've seen through my plans. I must escape now before it is too late." Beca replied sarcastically.
"Well, what else could you want from me?" The redhead furrowed her brows angrily.
"Stay for a while? I've been on the run almost constantly, I haven't slept well in what seems like forever and I just want a goddamn bed instead of a fucking tree for once." The brunette retorted. "So, do we have a deal?"
Chloe thought about it for a while. She had more than enough supplies to provide for the other girl, and the thought of some company would be nice. Safety in numbers and all that. But then she remembered the last company she had and how they ended up and her mouth became a straight line. "You… you can stay for 2 days." She replied without looking at the brunette. "And take any supplies you need. As a thanks for saving me."
"Thanks. I'll be back. Don't move and stay low." Beca ordered again before skipping out of the house, taking her backpack and rifle with her. She didn't trust Chloe with all of her supplies just yet.
She made her way back to the apothecary. There weren't as much zombies as there were before, so the brunette easily shot down the remaining ones before climbing back into the building through the window she broke. She jumped into the basement and looked around while absentmindedly shooting a few zombies. When she spotted a huge backpack lying underneath a pile of crashed down wood, stone and whatnot, she got to work. She managed to free it, dusting it off. "Hopefully that shit in there survived." Just as she was about to turn around, she was knocked down by a heavy force. Soon enough, a foul odor made its way to her nose. "Oh god no." She gagged as she pushed the zombie that had fallen onto her away. She scrambled to her feet, readying her rifle when she looked into the face of Jesse. She froze which the zombie used to his advantage, attacking her. "Get off me!" She screamed, ramming her rifle against his chest. The zombie groaned, stumbling back a bit. Without thinking, Beca sent a bullet through his head, making him drop onto the ground. "Oh no..." She choked out as she sank onto her knees. She had done it. After 57 days, she had finally killed her boyfriend. She let the tears fall as she stared at the mutilated face. "Why have you been following me?" She asked the dead corpse. "Were you still alive somewhere in there?" She sobbed, sniffing.
However, her mourning didn't last long as more zombies started to drop down the hole again. Beca got up, wiping away her tears before turning around, running back to the house where she left Chloe, the redhead's backpack in hand.
Chloe had been sat on the floor, listening intently for any sounds while she cleaned her gun. She moved her shoulder, marvelling at how much better it felt after the brunette took care of it. She thought about the skillful way Beca had bandaged her up, using her supplies without even thinking about it. "Stupid. I could have been bit." The redhead said to herself, rolling her eyes. She counted the seconds for Beca's return, a habit she had taken up ever since… she left Aubrey. It made her calm. There would always be a next number, and after that there followed more. It was a never-ending source of thoughts. She just hit 2000 when she heard the front door bang open. She scrambled to her feet, readying her gun with her heart beating in her throat.
"Here, I got your- woah no need to shoot me." Beca said as she dropped the backpack. "It was buried, I don't know if the stuff in there survived it." Her eyes were a little red and her shirt was stained with blood and mud.
Chloe stared at the brunette before lowering her gun. "Okay. Thanks." She said softly. "You should… really change your shirt." She added. She kneeled down and rummaged through the backpack. The cans she found were a little dented but most of them survived the fall. The redhead nodded and went to swing the backpack on her back, only to wince in pain at the motion. The backpack fell from her hands and the cans clattered onto the wooden floor.
"I think you and I both know hygiene isn't on our top priority list right now." Beca shrugged as she leaned down to collect the cans. "So you've been the one raiding this town huh?"
"Yeah… I mean… I didn't think there would be anyone else. Otherwise I would have never have come here. " Chloe replied, clenching her jaw. "And considering personal hygiene, I've got a shower. And a razor." She looked at the brunette meaningfully.
"Are you saying I should shave?" Beca asked, crossing her arms. "God, you're so judgemental." She chuckled softly. "I'm gonna check the bedrooms. I saw that a teenage boy lived here, maybe he got some nice shirts and flannels I can take with me." She turned around and climbed up the stairs to raid the closets.
Chloe huffed and sat back down on the couch, clutching her shoulder painfully. She hated being a burden to herself. She didn't want to depend on anyone and hated the fact that Beca made it so easy for the redhead to talk to her. She despised people like that. So easy going and worryless. She clutched her gun, never losing her focus and sitting on the edge of the couch, staring at the door that could be kicked down by a horde of those creatures any minute now.
Beca came back down in a while, wearing now a black band shirt and a black and blue checkered flannel. She had also changed her pants from jeans to black ripped jeans. "I hit the jackpot man. That dude was my size. The girl? Best pants in the world." She smirked as she put her backpack down again. "Here." She threw the redhead a grey shirt. "So you don't have to wear your ripped one."
Chloe balled the shirt up in her hands. "Thanks." She turned around, shaking off her flannel again and slipping her old tank top over her head. She checked on the bandages before putting on the shirt. It felt nice against her skin.
"Good." The brunette looked out of the window at the darkening sky. "Do you have a flashlight?"
The redhead shrugged on her flannel and turned around. "Yeah." She kneeled down and pulled two flashlights from her backpack. "You can apply it to your backpack so your hands are free." She explained, handing one to the other girl.
"Thanks." Beca applied it to her backpack before turning it on. "I hope the batteries are full. How long is it to your safe house?" She asked as she looked around the living room. She noticed a small dresser she didn't pay attention to before and walked over to it. "Bingo." She smirked as she grabbed some ammo.
"It's about a two hour walk." Chloe replied, clutching her gun to her chest, waiting for the brunette to be ready to leave.
"Good, then let's not waste any more time. Lead the way." Beca said, motioning towards the door with her gun.
Chloe nodded and opened the door, looking around for any danger before making her way outside. They walked towards the road, the redhead's eyes scanning the treeline.
The brunette eyed the girl in front of her suspiciously. She still hadn't made up her mind yet whether she should trust Chloe or not. But she was really hungry and tired, and a shower sounded nice as well. She would definitely need to make an entry in her journal. It always helped her make decisions or plan out her next raid, and she really needed to weigh the arguments so she could finalize her decision about the redhead.