Hey!
So zombie au! Yay! I've never written one of these, unless you count the sample The Last of Us on Into the Future, which is a parody of the video game The Last of Us, but I wouldn't consider it as a zombie au because the infected are not zombies in that particular story.
This is zombies.
So there's really no explanation as to how it happened. Let your imagination take care of that. :)
Also, granted, the UK does not have any guns available. I did some research, and while the stats state that there's a good number of licensed firearm owners, guns are pretty scarce in the UK (at least according to all the articles I've read on the subject). Basically, I know this story may or may not be completely realistic (after all this is a fanfiction of sorts) but if they do find guns or have them at some point, just pretend that the UK has guns coming out the wazoo. 'Kay? :)
And I've got a playlist of inspiration songs for this story: Strike a Match, Make It Last - Inspiration Playlist. :)
Enjoy!
The Clarkes were spending the weekend at a beach for Michael's birthday when it happened.
Sirens from police cars, ambulances, and firetrucks were deafening on the main streets. Some people were speaking urgently into their cell phones while others paid close attention to radios and TVs for news reports. It wasn't until the family had witnessed a middle-aged woman tackle a teenage boy in a parking lot and take a bite out of his neck that Jerome hurriedly ushered them into the minibus.
Jerome flipped on the radio and every station was covering the story. But no one could make sense of the situation; they were just told that authorities were trying to control riots that were breaking out all over the city.
Jerome and Mara quickly decided that they should get back to Liverpool as quickly as they could.
They drove and drove, only coming halfway between their starting point and their destination after two days. Over that time, they came across food, water, and weapons when they were lucky. They had to leave the van after the second day and carry on the journey on foot.
They were lucky. They were strong. They were surviving.
But it was hard.
One step forward, two steps back.
They found themselves in situations they never imagined before. Zombies, gangs, psychopaths, and wild animals.
But they were making it.
Until, the seventh day of their adventure.
They had been weaving their way through trees, silent and alert, and then they came to a rushing river. A bridge that looked safe enough to cross stretched over it. It was a scene like this that they took a second to take in: the sun was shining, birds were chirping, the water was clean and pure, a light breeze rustled the trees. It looked like the world wasn't ending. Like England wasn't filled with undead people creeping around every corner.
With that thought jerking them all out of the peaceful moment, they continued.
It happened so fast.
Josh was holding Gracie's hand as they were the last to cross the bridge. He felt the wood breaking under his feet just before it collapsed out from under Gracie. He lifted her and pushed her toward the other end of the bridge where Michael had grabbed a hold of her, and then Josh fell through the wood, tumbling into the water.
The water was thundering around him. Josh couldn't see which direction the shore was—especially when the back of his head thumped against a rock, rattling his brain and causing white spots to dance across his vision. He opened his mouth reflexively to cry out and water flooded into his mouth. It only took a second longer for him to black out.
Alice hugged herself tightly, resting her forehead on her drawn up knees. She heard a shuffling beside her, but it was only Michael as he sat down on the forest floor. Alice looked up and noticed her father leaning against a tree a couple feet away from the clearing. She bit her bottom lip and reached over to Mara to touch her arm gently, silently requesting her attention. Her mother stopped humming softly to Gracie and met Alice's blue eyes with her brown ones.
"Dad's blaming himself." Alice said softly.
The moment Josh had fallen into the river, Jerome had recklessly followed the shore, ordering Michael to protect his mother and siblings. He hurried alongside the water only so long, before he lost sight of Josh's body being carried by the waves. He took a longer than necessary to return to his family, tightened his jaw, and told them that they'd be setting up camp there for the night.
Mara's gaze drifted over to her husband and she nodded in agreement. "I know." She took a deep breath and carefully passed Gracie over to her. "I'm going to go talk to him."
Louisa watched her walk away from the fire while Matty curled into her side, longing for comfort.
Jerome nearly flinched away from Mara's touch when she laid a hand on his shoulder.
"J?" She whispered.
Jerome poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue, trying so hard not to cry. He needed to be on his guard. He couldn't do this right now.
Mara wrapped her arms around his waist, one of his arms hugged her shoulders tightly as he kissed her forehead while he held his rifle at the ready with the other. Mara sighed, resting her cheek against his dirty gray t-shirt. "You were his hero, you know?" She said.
Jerome remained silent, his throat burning as emotion clawed at it. He focused his tired eyes on the trees around them.
Mara continued, "He wanted to be just like you. He loved you so much."
Jerome let go of her with a grunt and pulled a hand through his blond hair angrily. "We're only a week into this whole thing and I've already lost one of our kids—"
"It wasn't your fault," Mara said gently. It was something you trained yourself to do very quickly, when the undead was attracted to noise.
"I could have done something."
"Don't make this harder on yourself, Jerome."
"He's gone, Mara. Josh is gone." He growled without thinking.
Mara didn't reply. She covered her face with her hands and leaned back on a tree as she tried to calm her sobs.
Jerome's shoulders slumped guiltily. He closed the distance between them and lifted her chin, pressing a soft kiss to her trembling lips. "I'm sorry."
Mara cupped his face, making him meet her eyes. "He wouldn't want you to blame yourself. He saved Gracie. He knew that's what you would've done. He wanted all of us to be safe. We lost a part of us today, but have to keep moving forward. It'll be hard, but we can handle it."
Is this something you guys would want to read?
Title is from:
"Sometimes I feel stuck. Sometimes I get lost in so much hope, I'm drowning. Would you save me a spark? We'll start a fire that shines a light in the dark. Strike a match, make it last, we are all we need. Would you save me a spark? We'll light up the dark." -Save Me A Spark, Sleeping With Sirens
-Rachel