Title: Count the Days
Pairing: Axel/Roxas
Warnings: zombies, violence, language, sex, things of a disturbing nature, reckless optimism
Rating: M/R
A/N: Primarily inspired by the TV series "The Walking Dead" and the novels World War Z and The Road. Happy AkuRoku day, all!
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, but I do get a kick out of writing for the fandom.
Summary: Roxas counts the days, makes little marks in his notebook to keep track of how long the dead have walked and how long he and Axel have been traveling.
Part 1
Sometimes when Roxas dozes off in the passenger seat beside Axel, he dreams. Usually his dreams involve dark corridors, florescent lights flickering sporadically above his head as he runs. There's the occasional vaulting over gurneys left in the hallway that tunes him into the fact that something – his dream self never, ever wants to look back and see – is following him, is closing in and hunting him. Sometimes, in the dreams, he slips in a pool of blood and other sundry formerly human-shaped pieces parts. Sparks fly at him as breakers explode, and with each soaring stride the hallway behind him grows dark. He knows the way instinctively, had walked these halls for countless hours on end during his shifts enough to know exactly what turns to make and just how fast he could take the corner into the OR – but these halls prove different, seem never-ending and never end where they are supposed to so Roxas keeps on running and not looking back.
Other times he dreams of a horrific train accident, the screams of steel and iron as two giants collide and rain destruction, metal pieces and burning debris coating the grass. He vividly remembers the EMT's face, the handsome features and light brown eyes of the man as he handed one of the train victims over to Roxas' care, remembers the grip of his hand and the smell of sweat. Then he remembers what the man looked like dead, eyes blank and blood oozing from the gaping hole in his abdomen, his body unmoving amid numerous others. Roxas dreams, mentally counting off the dozens and dozens of injuries he saw that horrific day, how fevers and swift-moving blood infections killed most of the patients who hadn't already died of their mysterious injuries. Family members descend like locusts and tear into him verbally and physically, wondering how he'd let his patients die.
In another dream he wakes up to a warm and comfortable bed, breathing in the scent of sex and traces of cologne; all is quiet and the moment seems untouchable. The sheets were blue and soft, undamaged. That is, until something grabs his shoulder and he feels teeth rip into him and tear him apart, spattering blood all over the bed.
All of Roxas' dreams usually find an abrupt end when Axel smacks him with his trusty zombie survival guide, one hand steady on the steering wheel and the other poised to smack him again.
Axel doesn't like it when Roxas dreams – mostly because if it's a bad one, he'll shock Axel to the high heavens with an untimely frightened shout. But Axel also doesn't like thinking about how vulnerable he looks (tire iron be damned) sleeping in the seat beside him.
0o0
They're about three days' worth of distance from the shed with the little girl in it, with the Rockies slowly rising seemingly out of the desert when they come across a very freshly dead horse on the side of the road.
"No bite marks that I can see," Roxas observed shrewdly as he leaned out the passenger side window. "There's a saddle and bridle, but he wasn't the healthiest horse when he died. "
"What, you think someone was riding him all the way out here and he keeled over?" Axel asked, still agitated that they were wasting time looking at a dead horse.
"I'm no vet, but I can take a guess," Roxas grumbled in return. "Not like there's anything to graze or drink out here, he was probably sick or starving already."
"Now that your curiosity has been settled," Axel muttered, reaching over and grabbing the back of Roxas' shirt to pull him back in the car, "let's go."
Roxas sat back down and shoved Axel's hand away. "Keep your fucking hands to your fucking self," he snarled.
Axel's hand retracted, moving as though he'd been burned by Roxas' touch.
Roxas seemed determined to ignore that reaction; he folded his arms across his chest
"Drive," Roxas grumbled, ignoring the disgruntled expression on Axel's face entirely.
There was a sigh from the driver's seat, then nothing more as he pressed the gas pedal down and continued down the lonely road.
0o0
It was only a few hours later, as the afternoon sun started to peak, when they caught up to something else on the road.
There was a figure walking alongside it.
Roxas felt his blood freeze and his breath catch, automatic reactions to the possibility of yet another walking corpse that had been developed in a short period of time. The anticipation always caught up with him first, and then the fear and adrenaline caught up moments later. Axel slowed the car just slightly, watching the figure intently and assessing quietly from his side of the vehicle.
"It's a walker," Axel hissed, reaching for his gun.
Roxas didn't respond, watching the figure carefully as they approached. The figure was tall, on the gangly side, and had a backpack strapped across its shoulders. The gait was all wrong too; a walker usually stumbled and lurched across the ground, arms hanging useless at its side. This person's gait was deliberate and quick, arms swinging for greater momentum. Minutes later the arm closest to the road rose and extended a raised thumb, the time-honored request for a lift. "No, it's not," he said, rejecting Axel's theory. "It's a person. Stop the car, dickhead!"
"You know, Roxas," Axel hissed, pressing on the brake slowly, "If you keep making me stop I will kick you to the curb."
"No, you won't," Roxas responded confidently, rolling the window down. His tire iron was in his lap, just in case he happened to be wrong.
The figure walking alongside the road was a young man, mid-twenties if Roxas guessed, with long dirt-caked hair. In fact his entire self, skin and clothes alike, were covered in dirt, reminding Roxas vaguely of chinchillas and their frequent dust baths. He tilted his head wearily and met Roxas' critical gaze evenly with a set of aquamarine eyes that stood out brilliantly against the dust.
"Can you give me a lift?" the young man asked warily.
"Clean bill of health?"
Roxas received a nod in response. "Absolutely."
"You mind getting checked over?" Axel butted in brusquely. When Roxas made to interject on the other man's behalf, Axel shouted over him. "NO ONE," he yelled forcefully, putting his hand on the gun carefully situated in one of the open storage compartments in the dash, "GETS IN THIS CAR UNTIL WE KNOW."
Roxas fell into brief silence. This was true; they'd learned the hard way not to just let anyone in on faith alone. "Sorry, he's right."
The young man shrugged. "Whatever you want," he said, dropping his backpack and peeling his dirt-caked shirt off as Roxas hopped out of the car.
Roxas checked him over, making sure he had no cuts or open wounds that might have been bite marks; he checked the other man's eyes and pulse, and everything seemed normal. None of the signs Roxas knew of were present and he had no open wounds, which meant that the man was clean. "Was that your horse back there?" he asked as the other put his shirt back on.
"Yup. Well, he belonged to a neighbor of mine. Got himself killed, so when I decided to skip town I just took the horse. Didn't think I'd end up all the way out here."
After a quick nonverbal exchange with Axel, Roxas nodded towards the second row of seats behind them. "Should be some space back there, hop in. Where'd you think you would end up?"
The other man snorted as he got into the back seat of their car, shoving some of their supplies over to make some more room. "Probably dead by now. Just got lucky so far. So . . . who are you guys?"
"I'm Roxas," he answered. "This is Axel," he said, indicating to the redhead who gave the newcomer a curt nod before stepping on the gas pedal. "You?"
"Riku."
"Welcome aboard, Riku," Roxas quipped, sitting forward in his seat once more as Axel barreled down the road.
"Looks like you guys were ready in advance," Riku commented about five minutes later, clearing his throat as he glanced around at the supplies packed up tightly in the car.
"Axel planned in advance."
"You always plan ahead for the apocalypse?"
Axel frowned, shifting in the drivers' seat. "No."
"He's paranoid. Always has been."
"My paranoia saved your ass, remember?" Axel said sharply. "Lucky I was ready. You should have listened to me," he added off-hand.
Roxas turned his head slowly to glare at the side of Axel's face. "You just can't let that go, can you?"
"See," Axel said loudly, ignoring Roxas. "He thought I was crazy. Now lucky for Roxas here I had the courtesy to go back and rescue him before he got himself killed."
"Ummm," Riku murmured, sounding disinterested.
"You think I'm a helpless little bitch?" Roxas spat, baring his teeth in a way that probably should have alarmed Axel. "I would have figured something out, I'm not stupid."
"You were hiding in a fucking-"
"Excuse me," Riku piped in, clearing his throat. "Don't go driving off the road now."
Axel shut his mouth abruptly, righting the car on the road again.
"Fucker," Roxas growled under his breath. "If you crash the car I will destroy you."
The redhead gritted his teeth against a biting retort and shook his head slowly.
"So," Riku started. "I take it there's some history here, but I'm honestly not really interesting in what's going on between the two of you. I've got some people I need to find, and if you fuck that up I will make use of the taser in my bag and leave you both here while I drive off into the sunset. Now, I really don't want to do that because I generally think of myself as a good person, but I will if I need to."
Axel and Roxas both went silent; the redhead leveled a wary look at the silver-haired man sitting in the back seat, who glared back at him.
"Whatever," Axel grumbled, driving on.
Suddenly Roxas frowned. "Do tasers work on the dead?" he asked curiously, wrinkling his nose and brows in thought.
Riku shrugged. "Haven't been able to try it yet on the walkers – but probably not. I've got a gun or two for them – the taser is for the living."
Axel shifted uncomfortably. "Oh. You often go around tasing people? Because seriously – don't tase me, bro."
Silence permeated the car, aside from the sound of Axel chuckling softly to himself. When no one else joined in, Axel laughter stalled and he chanced a glance over at Roxas and at Riku in the rearview mirror. Roxas was staring at him with a withering scowl that clearly meant his attempt at humor wasn't quite appreciated from the passenger seat. After a moment of that disgusted look Roxas turned to look back at the road, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.
Riku cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Moving on," Axel muttered quietly, hedging away from Roxas minutely in case the blond lashed out.
"I keep it in case someone tries to rob me on the road," Riku started, deciding to ignore the failed attempt at humor. "People do stupid shit when the world starts to burn, I don't intend to survive the zombie apocalypse only to have the living try to take me out."
Roxas nodded in understanding. "You raid one of those police supply stores?"
"Nah," Riku snorted. The basement of the police station was being set up like a bunker before it failed miserably. When I took off I grabbed what I could, that's all."
"We're headed for the Rocky Mountain camps, if that's all well and good with you," Axel said, clearing his throat.
"It's as good a place to start as any," Riku responded on an exhalation.
0o0
It's another day before the dry land gives way to trees near the base of the mountains, and the forest grew thicker with each passing moment. Axel drove them deeper and deeper along the road into the woods until sunlight grew faint and he decided to call it a day's drive and camp for the night. Roxas could already feel himself succumbing to the lure of sleep, unconsciousness tugging at his mind after a long, tiring day on the road.
"Tomorrow," Riku said, "we should go see if we can find a water source. There has to be one nearby. Then we can wash up."
"You know, I was doing my hardest to ignore the smell of sweat and body odor that is more or less permeating my car," Axel murmured testily, "but thanks for reminding me of that."
Roxas shoved him in response. "It's a good idea, shut your mouth. You're just mad you didn't suggest it. Grow up and get some rest," he said with finality, curling up in his seat after making sure his door was locked. Axel and Riku soon followed suit, snapping back and forth at each other mildly for a short while. The lights were all turned off to keep from attracting the dead if they were nearby – Roxas thought briefly that if they'd spread this far, the world was farther gone than could be helped. The Rockies, from the last few radio transmissions they heard, were supposed to be safer. Roxas fell asleep with his stomach grumbling, but it was a sensation he'd grown used to over the last several weeks. But the cramped quarters and constant bickering were enough to drive him absolutely crazy – he had half a mind to get out of the car and just sleep in a tree or something.
The next morning he woke up with a crick in his neck and stiff muscles courtesy of sleeping curled up in the passenger seat – he was used to it to a certain degree now, but it was still a pain in the ass to try and work out all the kinks in his neck. Mornings like this made him miss his home . . . and his own bed.
The car was empty; after a quick glance out the window, he saw Riku and Axel working and building up a small fire just outside the car. Roxas yawned and unlocked the car door, sliding out and stretching in the cool morning air. Mist pooled near the treetops, and the ground felt soft beneath his shoes.
"Morning," Axel said, putting the finishing touches on the fire.
Roxas grunted in response, mid-stretch as he reached as high as he could and leaned back just slightly. Finally he responded with a grudging "morn'ng."
"Sleep well?"
"Fuck'ff," Roxas grumbled.
"Don't mind him, he's like this every morning," Axel said to Riku, rolling his eyes.
"I'm going to go do a scan of the area," Roxas said without much ceremony as he went back to the car and pulled out his tire iron.
"You just got up," Axel countered. "Sure that's a good idea?
"Shut up," Roxas snarled, stalking past the fire.
"Don't get lost," Axel said without looking up.
"Don't take the car," Roxas threatened, pointing his chosen weapon in Axel's general direction briefly before turning on his heel and stalking into the forest.
"It's my fucking car," Axel reminded him.
Five seconds later a pinecone nailed him in the back of his head; he twisted around to shout something angrily at Roxas, but the blond had already disappeared into the thick brush, now totally ensconced by trees. Axel scowled at the pines instead before turned his focus back on the flames he and Riku had cultivated before Roxas woke from his slumber.
"You got anything to eat in all that survival gear?" Riku asked warily.
"Yeah," Axel responded belatedly, sounding far off in his own world as he spoke. "I'll go get something."
After rummaging in the back of the car for several minutes, Axel came back with a couple bottles of V8 and some dry cereal.
"Breakfast?" Riku prompted with a raised eyebrow.
"Of champions," Axel finished, offering the other man a V8, which Riku declined. "Or at least, that's what I try to tell Roxas. All the vitamins, minerals and vegetables you could ever want in a beverage. And I like Cheerios."
"If you don't mind me saying, Riku said casually, taking a sip of his water bottle, "it doesn't really seem like you guys are the ideal traveling team."
Axel snorted. "Probably not. But we've known each other for a long time."
"College roommates, high school buddies?" Riku prompted.
"Exes," Axel corrected. "We were together for almost a year."
"I see."
Axel raised an eyebrow.
"You're traveling with your ex-boyfriend? And you haven't killed each other yet?"
For a moment, Axel considered this fact. Then he burst into laughter that bore a tinge of bitterness to it. "It's pretty surprising now that I think about it."
Riku frowned slightly. "You said you went back to save him," he reminded him soberly. "When the sickness started."
"Of course I did," Axel retorted, feeling slightly offended. "Look – it may seem like we want to kill each other most of the time, and maybe that's partially true. But I'd never wish anything bad on him – no matter how many times he pisses me off. I loved him, and even if we're not together anymore I'd still want to keep him safe. I know he hates that I came back, came looking for him, but how could I not? Maybe he thinks I'm trying to guilt him into coming back with me, but that's not it at all."
"You were worried about him," Riku muttered, pushing around a couple of Cheerios in his hand.
"Yeah," Axel said, surprising even himself with the conviction in his tone. "And he still hates me."
Riku shrugged. "Yet, you haven't met your untimely end – and Roxas seems like the kind of person who isn't afraid to do it if he feels it's necessary."
Axel didn't answer; he was focused on the hypnotic dance of the fire as he prodded the firewood with a smaller stick. "What about you? You're looking for some people?"
"Two friends," Riku answered, shifting to a crouch. "When things started to go wrong, after I broke out of the police station bunker, I went right for their college in Pennsylvania. Everything was chaos, and they were already gone. They must've left and headed for the Rockies like us, like the rest of the country supposedly is."
"How do you know?"
Riku turned and gave Axel a hard stare. "They'd packed. Things were missing, important things neither of them would ever leave behind. That and the message one of them scrawled on the wall of their apartment saying they'd definitely find me somewhere along the way."
"No offense," Axel said as carefully and non-mocking as possible, "but I think your friends sound a little bit crazy."
"Maybe. But we're all . . ." Riku trailed off abruptly, his face falling as the rest of his body tensed. Bright, aquamarine eyes widened and flickered to the woods that surrounded them.
"What," Axel prompted, reaching for his gun.
"Can you here that?" Riku asked, voice just barely above a whisper.
Axel's brow furrowed, listening for what Riku was freaking out about. But there was nothing, no suspicious sounds, only the crackle of the fire in front of them-
Nothing.
"You hear it now?" Riku muttered, standing. "Something's wrong."
He was right, Axel reasoned in his head while his brain churned at hundreds of miles per hour. There were no birds chirping, no animals carefully making their way across the forest floor – everything seemed abnormally still and empty, devoid of life and everything except for death. Something was very wrong, indeed.
In the distance someone fired a shotgun, sending the birds – which had been perched motionlessly in the trees, Axel assumed – into a panic as they flew away as fast as possible. Two more shots went off, and someone screamed.
Axel could only think of one thing.
He was up and moving before Riku even had a chance to process what was going on; there was a gun in the waistband of Axel's jeans within seconds as he vaulted into the forest at top speed with Riku shouting after him, leaping over fallen logs and hoping to the higher powers he didn't know the person who screamed. As he practically flew through the deep woods, a man with silver hair trailing behind him, Axel found himself muttering, "Please, please please be ok, be safe," repeatedly under his breath.