Surviving Together

AN: Waddup, so I'm back I guess because I AM SOLANGELO TRASH AND I AM PROUD. So yeah, I don't own anything and rights go to the almighty Rick Riordan. Enjoy!

Summary: Will and his friends, Cecil and Lou Ellen, have been surviving together for 6 months now since the world turned to a piece of crap. He thought that they were doing pretty well for a few teenagers living through an apocalypse. That is, until he meets Nico who seems to be an expert in all things undead. Immediately Will is fascinated with the boy, but what he doesn't know is that him and his friends, including Nico, will play a role in returning humanity back to the way it once was. (Solangelo, Cecellen (CecilXLou Ellen), cannon couples).

CHAPTER 1

Will was starting to get used to sleeping in some pretty weird places, but at the bottom of a swimming pool at a Vegas motel was the worst so far. Of coarse, the pool wasn't actually filled with water. Will analyzed his surroundings while he actually was able to relax for once. There was fencing with boards up against them all around the pool, so they were out of sight and safe. With the cold pool wall up against his back, he stretched out his legs and felt them ache from walking all day. Lou Ellen, his friend since 3rd grade, sat on his right rummaging through her brown backpack. As for Cecil, he was still walking around the perimeter of the pool making sure things were safe.

Will tried to think back to what life was like before the apocalypse, over six months ago. When he didn't have to worry about flesh-hungry zombies every waking moment of his existence. He lived with his parents, in New York, went to school everyday with Lou and Cecil; he even had a job at a local café. Life seemed about as normal as it could get.

He was at school when it happened. It was like they came out of nowhere, too many of them flooded the streets and everyone basically went into a panic mode. There are rumors, of how it all started but no one really knows for sure. Some say it even started in New York, but Will doesn't see how that matters now since it seems the entire U.S. is desolate and zombie-ridden. Will tried finding his parents that day when he sprinted home from school through the crowds of people, but when he burst through the door, he found his home to be empty. He was lucky enough to find Cecil and Lou Ellen, which had similar fates happen to them. They have been traveling across the country ever since, in search of their families and salvation. So far, no luck.

Cecil made his way back to Will and Lou Ellen, "Alright, I'll take first watch;" He slugged an aluminum bat over his shoulder that he found earlier that day, "show you nerds how it's done." He stood there with a sideways grin looking down at his two friends. Will was grateful for Cecil. Whenever times were rough, Cecil would always say something to lighten the mood.

Will didn't protest to Cecil's suggestion. He has already been up for almost 20 hours and he was exhausted. He yawned.

"Hey, Lou" he turned to her, "How's your wrist?"

Earlier that week she had been running from some zombies and sliced it on a sharp piece of metal on a fire escape. Luckily, Will was the healer of the three. He was planning on going to medical school if humanity would get its act together.

"Better, I re-applied the salve and changed the bandage. You can look at it tomorrow morning before we go look for supplies," she rubbed at her wrist as if she could wipe off the pain. "Will, here take a sip before you go to sleep" Lou handed him the water bottle she had in her backpack and he flashed her a smile before he took it.

"Thanks." Will gladly took a drink and handed it back to her.

"Alright, well I'm going to bed." Lou said as she walked over to Cecil and handed him the water bottle. Will pretended not to notice their hands brushing together accidentally resulting in a flustered Lou and Cecil being as dense as a rock, as usual. They should just be dating already, Will thought, he has seen the tension there for years.

Will hadn't experienced that feeling yet. In fact, he had only ever dated one person before, Jake Abrams, which only lasted a week ending by an awkward hug. So yeah, Will was single and ready to mingle. If only we weren't in the middle of an apocalypse.

Cecil cleared his throat after the silence. Will took his orange hoodie that he always had on him, rolled it up into a ball and used it as a makeshift pillow. Lou Ellen did the same with her backpack.

"Night guys," Lou said.

"Sleep tight," Will sighed out.

"Don't let the zombies bite."

"Cecil!" Lou scolded, "That was the worst joke I've ever heard!"

"I thought it was pretty good," he countered while shrugging.

Will let out another sigh, this one being of exasperation. He smiled to himself, thankful that he had these two idiots with him. Will eventually let his eyelids drop with drowsiness and he drifted to sleep.

He didn't know where he was.

Lou and Cecil were nowhere to be seen, and Will wasn't the best navigator. Around him were large buildings and abandoned streets. He spotted a gas station down the road and started towards it. As he approached, he noticed a newspaper stand. Will lifted the small door, reached inside, and thankfully there were a couple newspapers left. He glanced at the top right hand corner. San Francisco, that's where he was.

"There's a camp."

Will jumped. He heard an unknown voice. It was weird at first, to hear a voice other than Lou or Cecil's. It was coming from his right and Will wanted to find out whom it belonged to and what they were talking about. Around the corner of the gas station he saw an alleyway. Further down the alley stood two men looking to have a serious conversation.

"It's just outside the city. I hear they have the closest thing to salvation there is." The first man said. "Plenty of food and water too. I think they are trying to look for a way to get the world back to the way it was. We should try and find it; it's the best shot we've got. The entrance is a Tunnel-"

"WAKE UP!" Cecil shook Will by his shoulders. "Jeez, man you must've been really tired. Sorry, but I had to wake you. Today's going to be a long day."

That dream had felt so real. Will pondered if he could trust what he heard, but at this point he thought the group should take any lead they could find. He made a mental note to tell the others later.

Will groaned while he sat up. "Wait. Why didn't anyone wake me up for my shift?" He looked over to Lou who was supposed to be the one to wake him.

"Sorry!" she apologized, " you looked like you could use the rest Will. Besides, I got a few extra hours in yesterday so it was no biggie."

"Thanks Lou."

"Alright, I say we all split a granola bar and a can of fruit this morning."

Cecil took a bite of the granola bar and tossed the rest to Will. Then he started working at the lid of the can with his Swiss Army knife. Will checked Lou Ellen's hand and wrapped it up with the last clean bandage they had. The rest of breakfast went quickly and uneventfully, and before he knew it they were leaving the motel pool.

Will gathered his things and slung his bow and quiver over his shoulder. He wasn't the best shot, but he'd rather it be a bow than a gun. Like he said, he was the healer. It was the only thing he was really good at. Will looked back at the pool once more before turning around to catch up with his friends. He slowed his pace once he was at Cecil's side.

"Hey guys?" Lou and Cecil turned their heads toward him to show they were paying attention. "Last night, I had the weirdest dream. I was in San Francisco and I overheard these two men talking about a camp near there. Said it was the closest thing to salvation and that they were trying to figure out how to end this apocalypse. What do you think of it?"

The others thought for a while before answering, "Well," Lou said, "I think it's worth a shot. I mean we were heading west anyways. Besides, your dreams always have a weird way of coming true. Remember when you dreamt that it took Cecil four times to pass his drivers test?" Lou smiled in amusement.

"Hey! It was all the instructor's fault." Cecil protested, "and it took me five!" he said matter-of-factly.

"I don't think that's something to brag about." Will joined in with a smile on his face while Cecil pouted.

"All for making our way to San Francisco? Raise your hand" Lou polled. Three hands were in the air. Before they made their way onto the streets of Las Vegas. Lou Ellen turned around to the two boys.

"So here's the plan today" Lou explained with a serious look on her face. "We have a lot of supplies we are running low on, so I think we need to at least split up once. Does anyone have a problem with splitting off by themselves?"

"I don't mind. You and Cecil can run off together." Will smiled at the two, now blushing teens in front of him.

"Okay, now that that's solved, Will, since you are heading off on your own, focus on finding water and food. Cecil and I will look for medical supplies and hopefully a car with gas to get us closer to California."

The three stepped out onto the street and exchanged glances as if to say "See ya later!" Will hated the word goodbye; it was too permanent.

He turned and made his way down the street staying close to the sides just in case he had to hide in a short time frame. They were to meet back at the Lotus Hotel in an hour so Will had to move quickly. He passed many abandoned stores buildings none really catching his eye at first. After turning on to a couple of side streets, a building caught his eye. A tall office building stood on the corner. Before he entered he checked his surroundings to make sure no one or nothing followed him in.

He pushed on the elegant doors noting that it was harder than expected. Something was leaning against them on the other side. With a strong shove of the shoulder, Will stumbled in the main lobby. Immediately, he turned to see what was holding the door, bow and arrow ready. As he guessed, it was a zombie, but a previous attacker had already bashed its head in. Relieved, Will took a few extra steps back for good measure.

Looking around the lobby, Will could tell he wasn't going to find anything around here, so he went to the stairwell and started climbing the steps. By Floor 20 he started to get tired and decided to investigate here. The main room consisted of about 30 cubicles with larger offices and conference rooms surrounding the perimeter. He noticed a room that appeared smaller than the others and headed there. It turned out to be an employee break room with a broken fridge and multiple cabinets. In the corner there was the one of the most exciting things he'd seen in a while, a water cooler. It was a little more than a third of the way full so it made it easier to lift off and carry. He checked the cabinets next and found two cans of fruit. He quickly grabbed them and made his way down the stairs randomly stopping on floors to check more break rooms. By the time he was at the lobby again, he found one more can of fruit cocktail, a small box of crackers, a can of tuna, three granola bars and a plastic bag to put everything in. He exited the office building and started to make his way back to the hotel since he assumed he was out for more than an hour.

While walking down one of the side streets nearing the hotel, Will heard the sound of running foot steps and he quickly ducked into the diner that he was standing in front of. Making sure the place was safe he hid under the bar facing the window and peered out on the streets. It couldn't have been a zombie, he had never seen one sprint, but he didn't want to stay in the open and find out. Suddenly, a boy ran from an alleyway and looked both ways down the street; as if he were deciding which way to run. He was dressed in all black and had raven colored hair. His facial features mimicked those of the dead walking around the streets, but Will saw something behind his almost black eyes that intrigued him. The boy seemed to have a lot of knowledge as well as guilt and sadness. He ran off just as quickly as he came and Will wanted to wait a few minutes before going back outside. That is, until another man ran from the same alleyway appearing to be looking for something. This man was very tall and had short facial hair. He wore black pants and a white button down shirt. Around his neck looked like goggles students used in chemistry class at his high school. Will got a pit in his stomach while observing this man, and thankfully he left soon after in a different direction than the boy earlier.

Will sighed and waited five minutes before swiftly and quietly stepping onto the streets and almost running the rest of the way to the hotel.

AN: Uhm wow. Idk how to feel now. Ok byeeeee!