WARNING: This story contains heavy foul language, detailed death, implied sexual content, and an extreme amount of feels. I DO NOT own The Walking Dead, any of the mentioned characters in this story, or "You" (because apparently it's illegal to kidnap people and keep them in your basement).
Chapter One
The Man Behind The Mask
Your P.O.V.
"Ma'am?! Ma'am, are you alive?"
The concerned tone loudly bounced off the walls of your head, bringing your mind to the surface of the waves of unconsciousness. You were still for a moment, all five of your senses working to kick in and start functioning at the same time. Your head ached like a bitch, but even worse, your right leg was giving you absolute hell. The single limb throbbed, and by the feeling of warm, sticky liquid covering it, you could tell you were bleeding. ...Badly. Your lips parted as you gave a gentle groan, and as you did, your voice cracked. You winced as a sudden feeling of thirst swelled in your throat.
"Mmnh..." You groaned again, clearing your throat. "Son of a bitch..."
"Oh, thank God!" The voice from before gave a relieved sigh, and you winced again as you felt a pair of warm hands come to your arms, just below your shoulders. They gave a light squeeze, but the grip wasn't too tight. You gave another light groan and, slowly, let your eyes flutter open.
You gave a light gasp as your face met the plain, white-circled eyes of a poker-face mask. The mask covered most of the person's face... however, you could still see their mouth, and their shaggy, medium-shaded brown hair. Their skin was light, but not completely pale.
He was at your side, upon his knees, lightly leaning over you. If you could see past his mask, you would have seen a heavy look of concern. He lightly tilted his head to the side, skull shifting as he looked you up and down.
"Are you okay?" Came his soft, concerned tone, as he looked back to your face again. You took a couple moments to stare up at him, your senses still struggling to register. You honestly couldn't decide if you wanted the pain in your head to stop, or the pain in your leg. You blinked, before giving a breathy, quiet sentence.
"I... think so?" It was more like a question to yourself than an answer for the mysterious masked man. There was a moment of silence between you two, then you suddenly felt his hands release your arms. Breeze brushed against the parts of your arms that had been covered before, and you shivered. You managed to lift your rather sore upper-body limbs and held your arms with your hands. Then, you put your hands to the apparently leafy, soil-covered ground and tried to lift yourself up. You gave a pained gasp as pain shot up your leg.
"Agh!"
"D-Don't! You're going to hurt yourself worse!" The man gasped. In a matter of moments, his arms were wrapped around your torso, and you gave a light squeak as he began to slowly lift you into a sitting position. "Slowly..." He mumbled, his voice suddenly going deep, and soft. Chills ran up your spine. "You don't want to hurt yourself any more than you already have..."
You lightly groaned as he helped you up, and after you finished, you slightly relaxed. You lifted your head to meet his gaze, but, once again, you were met with his mask. You couldn't see his eyes... in fact, you weren't even sure how he could see you, but apparently he could, because it looked like he could see your every move.
His mask looked familiar, but you couldn't quite place your finger on where you'd seen it before. You knew it was important... the design of the mask had a voice in your head screaming it's name. But you couldn't hear it. You couldn't bring yourself to speak it's title. You couldn't remember... for that moment.
You realized you were staring too long when he gave an awkward huff of breath, and you quickly looked away, a light, embarrassed blush coming across your cheeks. You took this time to look around, and... take in your surrounding.
You were in a forest. Or... at the beginning of one. Beside you, a car lay on it's side, broken and dead. Above that, you noticed a metal road fence broken into two pieces. You could imagine the car swerving off of the road and slamming into the fence, pushing through it and falling to the ground. It didn't seem like a pleasant scene.
You groaned as your leg continued to throb, and looked to it again. You were wearing shorts... so there was nothing to hide the insane, bloody gash between your knee and your foot. You gave a light gasp when you saw the appearance of it's condition. You felt like shaking. You'd never seen yourself like that before. But you chose to try your best to remain calm, and instead, looked to the man, who was still silently knelt beside you. He was looking toward your leg, but he looked back to you as you shifted. You lightly coughed.
"Any chance that I was in that car accident?" You asked, your voice already growing stronger, the more you used it. The man waited a moment, before giving a light nod.
"I don't doubt it for a second, lady." He replied softly. He then gestured to your leg with his head. "It looks pretty bad. We should get you to a hospital."
Wait. You were in serious pain, just realized you were in a major car accident, there's possibly no way up the steep climb to the road again, and your new "buddy" here wants to take you to the hospital? Had you ever met a man who would do that without even asking your name first?
No.
He sensed your sudden change of heart, and blinked (not that you could see him do so).
"What?" He asked.
You eyed him curiously, raising an eyebrow. "Who are you?" You asked. "Were you in the car with me when you crashed?" You looked him over quickly with your eyes. You noticed he wore a lime-green zip-up jacket with a white T-shirt underneath, along with dark blue-jeans and white, fairly clean sneakers. You looked back up to him. "How come you're not injured?"
The man rose his hands up to his chest in defense, his palms exposed to you. He lightly shook his head. "A-Ah, no, I wasn't in the car with you," He spoke quickly. You watched as he pointed to the right, toward a different part of the forest. "I'll be completely honest. I just woke up randomly... in this forest. I don't even remember what happened. I wanted to find my way to civilization, so I started walking, and I eventually stumbled upon you."
You tilted your head to the side. "Strange..." You said softly. "So you just... found me like this?"
"Yeah," The man replied. "Then I tried waking you up, and... you did."
You gave a single blink, before looking to the car. "So, then... who was I riding in the car with?"
The man flinched. You looked back to him. He was still for several moments, before shifting out of the way. Your eyes darted behind him, before falling upon a bloody figure in the middle of the ground. He was dead, for sure. Blood trailed from behind his body. However, he wore a tan uniform, and you knew right away, that he was a cop. Your mouth fell open.
"I... I don't remember crashing..." You admitted, honestly. "I don't even remember getting into the car with that officer. I don't... I..."
This was starting to get overwhelming. You suddenly felt a hand on your shoulder. You looked to the man, and noticed a generous, small smile across his lips.
"Hey, friend, don't worry," He said softly, his voice deep again. "You probably just hit your head during the fall. You're lucky to be alive." He paused. "Come on. We can't get up the hill there, but there must be some houses or something up ahead, with people that can help you."
A soft smile of your own swept across your lips. You looked up at him, and gave a grateful nod.
"Thank you," You spoke softly. "That really means a lot, man."
"Don't mention it," The man replied. You watched him get to his feet. "I wouldn't leave a young, injured girl to fend for herself. Today's been a big day... for both of us, but especially you. You deserve some rest."
His kindness only made you smile more. You couldn't tell why, but... he seemed to get more and more familiar. The mask. The voice. It was all so soothing. Like you've heard and seen it all before.
He reached a hand down toward you. "Can you stand, friend?" He asked.
You tried to move your leg, but gasped. That confirmed the man's suspicion.
"Thought not." He admitted. You watched as he bent down, and before you could do anything, slid his arms under you. "Okay, then. Hang on. Your leg's gonna hurt worse for a sec."
"What are you- aghh!" You gasped as he pulled you up, holding you bridal-style. Your body knocked against his chest, but his grip was firm, and he kept you in place. A scarlet color spread across your cheeks as your face heated. Your head, you swear to God by itself, leaned against his chest. You heard him chuckle.
"There we go!" He announced. "Now, all we need to do is find some help, and then you'll be fine."
You smiled up at him, despite the fact that you were completely embarrassed. ...And the fact that you felt useless. You couldn't remember a thing, your leg was broken, and you were being carried by a very friendly stranger who only wanted to help. Oh, you had your suspicions. He could be a pervert playing an act. But you rolled along with it. ...You knew he could get you help, if you waited long enough. And by that point, you'd know if he was really good-spirited or not.
So as he began to walk, you decided to strike up another conversation.
"My name is [Your Name]," You spoke softly. The man was silent for a moment, and then spoke.
"[Your Name]... That's beautiful."
You blushed. "Thanks..."
The man chuckled, and then continued. "My name's Cry. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Then, the realization hit you. His mask. His voice. His overwhelming kindness. The familiar feelings. It all made sense now. How had you not seen it before?! Another blush rose to your cheeks. Not because you were fangirling (which you weren't really even thinking about at the moment), but because you had met the Cry in person!
"Cry?!" You asked suddenly, looking up at him. "Cryaotic?!"
The man abruptly stopped in his pace and looked down at you, blinking. "You know my name?" He asked, suddenly. Then realization sunk into his face. For a moment, you couldn't tell if he looked relieved, or bummed.
"Oh. You must be a fangirl."
You couldn't tell what his tone of voice truly meant. He couldn't have been disappointed to meet a fan, could he?
You stammered, struggling to find words. It wasn't long before you did. He'd continued walking. "N-No, I'm not. Well... I mean, I am a fan, and I'm a girl, but I wouldn't call myself a 'fangirl'... I don't... stalk you or anything..."
Relief flushed over Cry's face. You blinked. He sighed. "Thank God..." He whispered. You tilted your head to the side, confused. He noticed your – again – change of heart, and was quick to correct himself. "Ah! I'm not meaning that I'm relieved your not a fangirl. That's great that you're a fan. I love all my fans... even the crazy ones. But seriously, the last thing I need is an overly-excited woman asking me a million questions at the moment. I've had a long day."
"Right," You agreed. "Well, I'm... sorry if I made myself seem that way. I'm honestly excited to have met you, but I won't bombard you with questions."
He chuckled again. "Don't worry about it."
There was another couple moments of silence. The blush had left your face, but you still felt incredibly awkward being in his arms. You were in Cry's arms, a man you thought you'd never meet. You never thought you'd actually see him. And while you couldn't see his face, you could see the rest of him, and it just kind of... freaked you out.
You were convinced that Cry would never show himself to his fans, and you had learned to accept that. It was a bit of a bummer, but you were set on letting his appearance be a mystery. It made his person more... mysterious. Cool, in a way. The point was; you weren't expecting to have a moment to personally be with Cry. And luckily, you weren't a screaming fangirl begging to see his face.
You looked to your leg again. With each bounce that created in Cry's step (it wasn't on purpose), your leg lightly jolted, and pain would shoot up. It hurt like a bitch, but you knew there was no point in complaining. You didn't want to seem any more useless.
Cry's pace suddenly halted, and you almost toppled out of his arms. You reached your arms up around his neck to hold on, and he held on tighter to you, so thankfully, you didn't end up hitting the ground. You kept your arms around his neck and looked up to him, curiously, but his face was looking off into a different direction. His lips were lightly parted, and you could imagine a curious look on his face. You opened your mouth to speak... to ask him what the matter was, but a different sound beat you to it. You froze in Cry's arms... then gathered the courage to look over your shoulder.
A figure. In the trees. It looked like a male body – broad shoulders, bigger stomach, fatter thighs and a larger, bulkier head. It was obvious the man's attention was upon you. He was making his way toward you, stumbles in his steps. His arms were reached out... and it wasn't long before you heard a sickening, hungry growl-like moan. Shivers ran through your body. You'd never heard a noise like that before.
Cry took a step toward the direction you had been going, and then froze again. Your eyes widened as a second groan came from the right of you both. A woman, wearing a bloodied, long white dress was coming toward you at a faster rate, her groans louder. Fear began to strike inside you, and your heart began to beat faster. You wanted to tell Cry to move his ass, but he didn't have to. You felt his grip on you tighten.
"Hold on," He whispered.
Then, he broke into a sprint. His chest heaved out and in with slow breaths as he tried to save energy. His legs spread in large strides with each long step, gaining agility as he ran. You held onto his neck tightly (not too tightly. You didn't want to suffocate him...), and looked to the direction you were going. If it were possible, your eyes widened wider when you saw more people (could you call them people?) begin to stumble toward you. One was very close... and the longer you stared, the more you took in it's appearance. It's face was rotten, and bloody. His teeth were sharp, and yellow, and his eyes seemed to glow... soulless, and showing no pupil. His clothes were ragged and torn, and different parts of his body were missing chunks of meat, and instead, showing blood-covered bones. You shrieked.
"Go, Cry!" You yelled. "Go, go, go, go, go!"
"I'm going!" Cry snapped. He continued to sprint through the forest, holding you tightly in his arms. You could hear his heart pounding in his chest. A feeling of fear continued to grow inside you. The people... the monsters... whatever they are, were right on your tails, their groans loud, and dangerous.
It wasn't long before the forest (confirming that the size of it was small) came to an end. Ahead of you, there were several houses... a neighborhood, each one owning a seven-foot-tall wooden fence around it. You looked to Cry, and he looked to you, and you both gave each other a nod. Cry... if it was possible, picked up his speed, and it wasn't long before you crossed the small field of dirt and grass, and reached the fence of one of the houses.
Cry's grip on you loosened, and as you approached the fence, he tossed you upward. You shrieked again, but softer this time, and reached your arms out. You caught hold of the end of the fence and held on tight, before swinging your legs over. Your butt hit the grass, and you moved backward, your back eventually hitting the patio of the back-door porch. You watched the fence with wide eyes, waiting to see Cry's figure jump over the fence. But there was nothing. His body didn't come over. The monsters were still growling. You bit your lip, and called out.
"C-Cry?!" You asked. "C-Cry! Come on!"
You were beginning to loose hope. The monsters' groans and growls were growing distant now, as if they were walking away. You could just imagine Cry's dead, eaten body against the fence. Had he not made it? Had he thrown you over the fence, and then became a meal for the cannibalistic dead?
You began to shake. Tears pricked at your eyes. You brought your knees up to your chest and held them tightly. This was it. Cry was dead. You killed Cry, and now you were on your own.
"[Your Name]?!"
Your head perked as you heard the familiar tone call your name. You brought your hand up to your face and wiped away the tears, before looking around. At first, you didn't see his figure. But the more you looked, the more you came to realize that his voice was coming from the other side of the fence. You blinked as you stared at the wooden posts, and then watched as his arms appeared over the top.
He grabbed the edge of the fence and pulled, hoisting his body over the top. He stole a glance in your direction before dropping down onto the ground, upon his feet. After he'd dusted himself off, he took large strides in your direction. Though his mask covered his face, you could feel his eyes burning into your skin. He approached quickly, before crouching down.
"You okay?" He asked.
You blinked for a moment, staring up at his poker-face mask, before giving a curt nod.
"Yes," You replied, tone softer than you expected. "Scared, but fine."
Cry gave a soft hum, as if he was in thought. He then looked down to your leg, lightly tracing his fingers along the least-bloodied part. You fought the urge to wince or cry out. His touch hurt, but you didn't want him to think you were more useless than you already were. You watched him examine your leg. When the monsters had shown up, you'd forgotten all about the pain. But now, it was back... and hurt worse.
"We have to get you to a hospital," He repeated the same line from before, before leaving his crouched position and looking around.
Your eyes flicked back to the fence. "Cry, what were those things?!"
"I have no idea," Cry replied, looking back over at the fence as well. "But whatever they are, I'm like, ninety-nine percent sure they're dangerous."
He put his hands on his hips as his head shifted left and right, examining the area. You decided to do the same... and inspect what you could see.
You were in the backyard of a house. The yard was well-trimmed, and growing a couple beautiful flowers (such as daisies and roses). To your left, there was a very large tree, and in that, a tree-house. Below that was a small tea-set... one that looked like it belonged to a little girl. You eyed the set curiously, before looking back up to Cry. He'd taken his hands off of his hips, and in a matter of moments, looked back down to you.
"Let's see if there's anyone inside the house that could help us." He suggested. You hesitated, but then quickly gave a nod. You grit your teeth together in pain as he – as gently as he could – lifted you back into his arms, and began to make his way up the porch. You put your arms around his neck for balance, and tried to keep your leg as still as possible. He held you with a firm grip, and kept you close. As you guys got onto the porch, he approached the back-doors (which was a see-through screen). You tried to look through the glass, but it was the kind of glass where you could see outside the pane, but not inside. Cry lightly kicked the door with his foot (since his hands were full).
"Hello...? Anybody home?" He called. "We could use some help..."
No answer. Cry huffed. Still keeping a firm grip, he leaned forward, hooking his fingers around the door handle just enough to pull it open. You were surprised that the back-door was unlocked, but said nothing to it. When the door was opened enough, Cry carried you through.
"Alright, we're coming in!" He announced, loudly. "Don't shoot, okay?"
As the two of you made your way inside, you refrained from gasping at the sight. The first thing you noticed was the turned over chairs. And then the TV, which was on, but resulted in a blue-screen. By the entrance of the kitchen, a large pool of blood sat... but no body. Things were knocked over in the kitchen, and some in the living-room.
Something had happened here. Something bad.
"I think it's empty," Cry admitted.
"Still wanna go in?" You whispered, looking back up to him. "What if one of those... things that chased us a few minutes ago is in here?"
Cry was temporarily silent. As much as it seemed like a bad idea, you actually wanted to go inside the house. You could rest, and then search for something to help your leg. Or maybe look for other people... dead or alive. However, Cry seemed like he wanted to leave, and... you really hoped he wouldn't.
Cry opened his mouth to speak. Fear of him deciding to leave shot through your mind, though, as he spoke, you relaxed.
"Yeah, I still want to go in. I don't want to intrude on another person's home, but... these people may need more help than we do."
You'd smiled for a moment, but the smile had vanished as quick as it came. You held on tight as the two of you ventured further into the house. Cry was careful of where he stepped while he walked through. The inside of the house was dark... the windows covered by the blinds that were drawn down. As the two of you neared the living-room, the man gently rested you upon the sofa.
You stretched out your legs, leaning against the end of the couch and looked back up at him. He stared back down at you, before taking his hands away from your arms, and standing straight. He motioned toward the kitchen.
"I'm going to go see if there's anything in the kitchen that can help you, [Your Name]. I'm not a doctor, but there's gotta be something in there that I know of that can help you. Water. Painkillers. Something."
You nodded. "Okay..."
As he turned to leave, you suddenly reached out. "Cry,"
He stopped in his step and turned toward you again, giving a curious humming-noise.
You flashed a small smile. "I'm not as useless as I look right now," You admitted. "And I'm not normally this quiet. But... thank you. For doing this for me. I really appreciate it."
A smile spread across Cry's lips. The smile was small, but it was still there.
"You're welcome." He replied.
Cry's P.O.V.
She seemed like a sweet girl. It was hard to believe that someone so calm and quiet was actually a fan of mine. Most of the female fans I've met – over the internet, of 'course – happened to be very... ecstatic and flashed many questions. But [Your Name]... she was different. I liked her, because of that. If she and I are going to be around each other for a while, I might even consider her an actual friend.
Her leg, though. That's a whole different story. I noticed the way she tries to hold in the pain, and tries not to complain. But her face gives it all away whenever the limb is moved. She's hurt... and the wound needs to be treated before it gets any worse. Unfortunately, I have almost no medical experience, so I can't fix it. So when I walked into the kitchen, the first thing I spotted was the oh-so-convenient cup of water sitting beside the sink. I was pretty thirsty myself, but... she'd needed it more than I did. I could find another cup to use, anyway. So I took it to her. She tried to refuse, but I insisted. So she took the water and gave a word of thanks. Then, I went back to the kitchen and continued my search. I checked the fridge... no food. The food on the dining room table was fake. I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten, but I knew it wasn't too long ago. I was more concerned for [Your Name]. I'd checked the cupboards for food or painkillers. Nothing. Cabinets. Zilch. But as I got to one of the drawers, I'd come across a Walkie-Talkie radio. I was raised to not take things from other people. However, I was pretty sure that today was the start of the impossible "Zombie Apocalypse", so I thought, Shit, why not? And went ahead and took it. After slipping it into my pocket, I'd crossed back into the living-room.
[Your Name] was still seated on the couch, and in her hand, she held a touch-screen cell-phone By the way she raised it into the air, and then gave a soft curse and a frown, I could tell she was trying to get connection.
"No service?" I asked. Her eyes flicked to me. She took a moment to stare, before shaking her head.
"No," She replied. "No service. The battery's pretty low, too. It's going to die soon." She paused. "I just wanted to get in touch with a friend of mine, but... looks like that won't happen."
I grimaced. "I'm sorry," I apologized... though I knew that none of this was my fault. She shrugged.
"It's fine." She replied. She turned the screen off of her phone and set it on the floor, beside the couch. She then looked back up to me, and tilted her head to the side.
"Did you find anything?" She asked. "Painkillers? A towel? Something to help with this leg of mine?"
I shook no, and then bowed my head, placing my hands on my hips. "No," I spoke, my voice glum. "Nothing to help with your leg. I'm sorry, [Your Name]." I looked back up to her, and then patted my pocket. "However, I did find a Walkie-Talkie. We could try to use it to contact other people. Maybe we can reach a police station, or someone else who has information, or a place for us to go to."
I half expected [Your Name] to give a sarcastic, nasty reply... as my friends would do if they were in the state she was... but she nodded, and gave a reassuring smile. "Yeah!" She grinned. "We should try that!"
I smiled. I liked her supportive attitude. And she was becoming more talkative, too. That was good. At least her attitude was improving. ...However, this probably didn't mean that her leg was hurting any less. My heart ached for her. I wouldn't be cool with having to be stuck in that kind of pain with no help for who knows how long she's had the wound. I opened my mouth to speak to her again, but before I could, I was interrupted.
By a beep.
The sound came from my immediate right. I turned, only to find an Answering Machine sitting on a small table. 3 new messageswas displayed in red.I stared at the machine for several moments, debating on whether or not I should check other people's messages. ...And then, just as before... Shit, why not?. I reached forward and hit the Play Messages button. The machine made a different beep, and then a robotivc voice sounded.
"Three new messages."
"Message One: Left at 5:43 PM."
"Hey, Sandra! This is Diana. We're still in Savannah. Ed had a little... 'incident' with some crazy guy near the hotel, so we had to get him back to the E.R. And get it checked out. ...Anyway, he's not feeling well enough to drive back tonight, so we're staying an extra day. Thank you so much for taking care of Clementine, and we promise we'll come back before your Spring Break."
"Message Two: Left at 11:19 PM."
"Oh my God, finally! I... I don't know if you tried to reach us... all the calls are getting dropped. They're not letting us leave, and they're not telling us anything about Atlanta...Please, please just... leave the city, and take Clementine with you back to Merietta's... I've got to get back to the hospital, and PLEASE let me know that you're safe!"
"Message Three: Left at 6:15 AM."
"C-Clementine, baby... if y-you can hear this, call the police... t-that's Nine, One, One... we love you... we love you... we love y-"
I eyed the machine, my hand limply falling at my side. My jaw was slightly dropped. Sorrow swelled up in in chest, my heart seeming to sink into my stomach. That wasn't good. That wasn't good at all. Holy fuck.
I tore my gaze away from the machine and looked to [Your Name]. She stared right back, obvious sadness filling her face. Her lips formed a solid line as she gave me a look that said something like, That was depressing as shit. I gave her the same look. I opened my mouth to speak, but, for the second time, I was interrupted. This time, it wasn't a beep. Instead... it was a voice. My eyes went wide. I looked to my female companion... a same look on her face. She blinked at me, and waited. I looked back, before looking down toward the Walkie-Talkie.
"Daddy?"
Hi, everyone! I know it's been a suuuuuper long time since I've posted anything, and I'm terribly sorry for the wait! You see, not only have I been going through school and work and personal stuff, but... I've also been working on THIS little story! I started it a long time ago, finished it, and then went on to write the second one (please note that my writing skills have gotten better since I'd written this very first chapter). I originally wanted to publish this story, but I got SUPER nervous, because 1. It's my first x-reader and 2. Some of the plot becomes a little different than the actual The Walking Dead Video Game plot. There's added characters and slightly different plot scenarios... and I was nervous about posting. But then I thought, "Shit, why not?" (-), and decided to give it a shot.
SO! Here it is, the first chapter of my Cryatoic x Reader The Walking Dead Video Game fanfiction, book one! I'm editing each chapter before posting, and I should have the whole first "book" uploaded soon, and then I'll upload what I have of the second one. I really hope you all enjoy this lovely story, and don't forget to leave a review and tell a friend if you enjoyed! Thank you all so much, and I can't wait to receive the feedback!
~ InTheNameOfAsgard