Chapter 2: All of the Pieces Falling Apart
"Well then. My name's Lucy. Nice to meet you!" She said.
The girl looked up.
"My name's Wendy. Thank you so much for saving me." The girl - no… Wendy said sweetly.
Lucy's smile faded as she heard shouting in the distance. The noises were definitely not human.
"Shit. They heard the shot. We gotta leave." Lucy said.
She ordered Wendy to go pack her bag with food while Lucy quickly gathered the weapons she had found in the house. Her favorite was this contraption the previous owners had probably made, an axe fused with a shotgun. To her dismay, she couldn't fit it in her bag. Panicking, she threw it aside and hoped that she could make her own one day. She quickly tampered with the oven and gas stove before running out the back door, exposing them to all predators.
No less than two minutes later, Lucy saw a horde of zombies head for the house. Why were there so many? Where had they been hiding?
Pushing her questions aside, she waited for the majority to barge into the house before setting her trap. The entire house went up in flames, frying the zombies who had stolen her first hideout for a long time.
"Woah!" Wendy breathed, staring at the flames as they climbed higher.
"C'mon. We have to leave now. More are coming." Lucy hissed, dragging Wendy with her.
"Ya know what Lucy?" Wendy started. "I think you and my brother would get along really well."
Lucy stopped and stared at the girl.
"B-brother? Is he alive?" She asked, wincing at how blunt she was. She hoped Wendy didn't think she meant it in that way.
Wendy nodded.
"Alright then. So you're no alone." Lucy decided. Wendy nodded.
Lucy caught sight of the tattoo on Wendy's shoulder.
"Are you part of a base?"
Wendy's eyes widened as she nodded. "How did you know?"
"Your tattoo. Did you come here with a party or group?"
Wendy hesitated before letting tears form in her eyes.
"Eh? Nonono! Don't cry! I, uhh, ummm…" Lucy trailed off.
"It's not your fault," Wendy said softly.
"Hey… hey. You can talk to me. I won't tell anyone. What happened out there?" Lucy assured the girl. Who could she tell? Plue, her imaginary friend?
Wendy told Lucy her story as they walked through the streets.
"Are sure you sure want to go?" A white-haired woman had asked. It was Wendy's mother.
"Yeah. They need me. Besides, it's a District 4 town. Practically no zombies." Wendy said.
Her mother and brother made a face as her brother actually voiced his concerns.
"It ain't the same as no zombies. Besides, I don't think Jet n' Droy are the best choice to go with."
Wendy shot him a look as she heard her name being called. "Jet and Droy are as good as any runner. Now stop worrying and let me go."
The shouting became more persistent.
"Love ya! I'll be back!" She shouted happily as she ran towards her escorts. It was a simple raiding mission. What could possibly go wrong?
As she ran, she heard her brother mutter, "I have a bad feelings about this."
She ignored it and let her excitement flood her mind.
2 Hours Later
"Welcome to paradise Wendy!" Jet joked.
While Droy pulled their van next to a house that looked stocked, Jet briefed Wendy on what was going to happen.
"So I want ya to sit the first one out just so you can see what to do. That way, your brother won't kill us."
Wendy nodded. It was no surprise that her brother's reputation preceded him.
"It's pretty easy. I'm gonna case the house real quick to make sure there ain't any zombies waiting to sneak attack. If I find one, I kill it. Then, I'll call Droy in if either I'm in trouble or it's all clear. We take whatever we can, load it into the truck, and then hit the next house."
Wendy understood their strategy and gave him a smile as he went in, shotgun loaded. Right before he left, he left Wendy a knife.
"Just in case." He had said. Better safe than sorry. Wendy gulped and prayed she wouldn't have to use it.
She watched Jet signal to Droy that he was entering the house and then he disappeared. The house appeared to be two stories with a basement, so she estimated that it would take him about 20 minutes to fully case it.
When 15 minutes had passed, Wendy was pretty nervous. She couldn't shake her brother's comment form earlier and her mind began to travel to very dark places.
"DROY!" A panicked shout came from what appeared to be the first floor.
Droy ran without any hesitation to support his friend. He just knew. Wendy knew. Her brother had known.
"Wendy, stay in the car!" Droy shouted, turning the safety off on his gun. Wendy clutched the knife Jet had given her and prayed that they would be alright. They had to be messing around, right? Right?
Wendy would never forget the next few moments. Although she didn't really see them, she could clearly visualize based upon the shouts that came from the damned house.
A shot went out.
"Jet! JET! Oh god. Hang in there man! Do it for Levy!"
"RUN DROY! DO IT NOW! KILL ME!"
"I'm not leaving you! Levy needs both of us!"
"Well I think Levy would rather have one of us rather than none."
"Damn it Jet. Get up! I can assure you that others will be coming."
"Idiot! Can't you see I'm already infected? Kill me now, get Wendy and run."
There was gagging and coughing. Screams of pain could be heard coming from the two, one in physical pain and another in emotional agony.
"You are my BEST FRIEND, JET. I'D RATHER FUCKING DIE THAN LEAVE YOU LIKE THIS." Droy let out a strangled moan.
"WENDY RUN! GET YOUR ASS OUT OF HERE! WE AIN'T MAKING IT!" Jet screamed as he began his transformation.
Droy watched in horror as his best friend started convulsing, blood coming from his mouth and flowing out of his eyes. It was horrendous how fast the virus spread through the body.
He readied both his gun and Jet's, planning to kill them both. "For Fairy Tail," he whispered, sobbing.
But…
The gunshots were never heard as second zombie snuck up on Droy and bit him.
Wendy was sobbing as she heard the mangled screams coming from the house, slowly transitioning from human to monster.
"Move. I have to..move," She thought to herself, but her body was paralyzed with fear. She could only watch as three zombies emerged from the house. By then, her body was shaking.
She had loved Droy and Jet like family. They had always supported her dream to become a doctor, even after the world ended. To see them like this, eyeless monsters, broke her.
She was gonna die too. Where could she go? She couldn't drive and she had nowhere to run.
But then, she pictured her brother and mother, waiting for her back at home. Levy in the library and Sheila watching her mother work. She couldn't leave all that behind. She couldn't let down her family like that. She needed to survive.
She scanned her surrounding, just like her brother had taught her. She saw a house, boarded up. That wasn't the weird part. It was the fact that she could see smoke coming from a chimney. That meant someone was home.
She looked back at the zombies, who were quickly closing in on her.
She had a knife. She could use it to slow them down and then what? Try to outrun them?
It was her only shot. She opened the door of the car and stepped out. The zombies immediately zeroed in on her, licking their lips and chattering their teeth.
She called back on the one lesson Erza had taught her before her mom caught them and forbidden it. Knife throwing.
Praying to the gods, she threw the knife and ran.
Wendy was sobbing by the time she finished her story and Lucy's heart broke. She knew what it was like to see family turn. But she also knew what it was like to kill them.
"Well then, let's get you back to your camp," She said softly. "I know it hurts, but you brother and mom are probably going to be worried sick."
Wendy nodded and grabbed Lucy's hand, causing her to flinch.
"Oh, I'm sorry…" Wendy said, sniffling sheepishly.
"Nononono! Don't worry! It's just been a long time since someone had held my hand." Lucy said, refusing to remember who the last person was.
"Lead the way, Wendy."
(1467)
AN:
Thank you for reading! I updated early because I was so surprised that I actually got some reviews, favorites, and followers! Below are some replies to comments!
sharmintisharminti: thank you! I was hoping I didn't accidentally copy someone! This fandom is kinda big...
its-actually-kate: Aww, thanks! Well, hope you enjoyed it!
Ushindeshi: Why thank you very much. I think it's a great AU in general and I hope I can make the most of this story.
Rate and Review, please!
