The Titans had been walking for about 20 minutes, and they had not encountered a single living thing—there weren't even any bugs buzzing around.
"I thought we would at least see a cockroach or something," Raven had muttered.
They had looked through broken windows, stuck their heads through all the doorways that were not boarded up (not very many) and, only half joking, had asked if anyone was home. There had been no response to their yelling. Starfire even flew down to look under the rusted-out cars, but, predictably, she found nothing. Raven had taken the high route and flown up to inspect the roofs of some of the taller buildings they passed. She did not find anyone, but, on a few roofs, she did see what could have been the tattered remnants of tents. Finally, the Titans reached the town square. Everyone's stomach rumbled as their favorite pizza place came into view, but just like the rest of the city, it stood faded and dilapidated.
Cyborg walked to the dry fountain in the center of the square and, with a sigh, sat down on its southern-facing rim. He cupped his chin in his hand and placed his elbow on his knee, scowling.
"You look like The Thinker, Cyborg," Raven said, alighting next to him.
"Yeah, I'm thinkin' alright. I'm thinkin' that we are in serious trouble if we don't find A, some people, B, some food, and C, some dang answers," Cyborg said. He glared at the cobblestones beneath his feet.
A cold wind blew through the square and Raven pulled her cloak tighter around herself, shivering. "He's right, you know," said a nasty little voice in her head. "We are all going to be in a lot of trouble, and surprise! It's your fault. Without you and your powers, this wouldn't have happened at all…"
"Shut up," Raven whispered. She withdrew deeper into her hood. She didn't know if it was one of her Emoticlones talking or just her own brain playing tricks on her. Was Self-Doubt a clone? Self-Loathing? Raven had never seen those particular personified emotions walking around her in her brain, but they were probably there somewhere.
"Did you say something, friend Raven?" Starfire landed on Raven's right side and tilted her head at the glum girl.
Starfire's compassion and earnest concern rolled off of her like waves on the ocean. Raven lowered her shoulders and relaxed under the soothing influence of her friend's feelings. She pictured whitecaps dyed pastel as the rising sun's light reflected off the water, and she almost heard the waves breaking on the sandy shore.
"Thank you, Starfire. I'm fine now…but I think Beast Boy might be having some difficulties," Raven said.
The three Titans on the fountain looked over at the alpaca, which was prancing impatiently with their brave leader still unconscious on his back. Cyborg snickered and got up to unburden the beast. As soon as he had picked Robin up, the alpaca shifted back into a fatigued green teenager. Beast Boy flopped to the ground, panting, with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
"Does…anyone…have…any…water?"
Cyborg set Robin down inside the fountain basin and tapped the smooth grey stone it was built from. A puff of dust went up and relocated itself to Robin's spotless uniform top. Cyborg winced.
"No water," he said, turning to Beast Boy.
Beast Boy took a deep breath and prepared to let it out in a querulous groan, but he was interrupted by the echo of pounding footsteps heading in the Titans' direction. He hauled himself to his aching feet and the others did the same, spinning around to find the source of the commotion.
"There!" Starfire exclaimed, pointing to the east. She waved ecstatically as she saw two people in ragged clothing run out from a sidestreet behind a building. They were still rather far away, but she figured that they would see a flying girl gesticulating at them even from a distance.
Their voices bounced off the buildings, and, for the first time in what felt like years, the Titans heard the blessed sound of other human voices. What the voices were saying, however, was less than pleasant.
"Mike! Come on! Keep running, dammit! It's too late for them, we gotta keep going!" The high-pitched voice broke in a sob, but its owner, the shorter of the two, did not slow their pace.
"Are you insane?! Listen to yourself, Angela! That's my brother back there! My brother and your dad! We can't leave them to—to—" Here the taller individual broke off and pulled away from his companion, racing back towards whence they came.
"Mike, no!"
Before the man, Mike, could disappear from the Titans' view, he skidded to a stop and stood, chest heaving. Now the Titans could hear more footsteps, and after a moment, two more people stumbled into the square. One had his arm around the other's neck and appeared to be slipping off.
"J-just leave me. Please, just leave me and save yourself." His echoing voice was shaking and defeated. "Zack, I mean it. Go, damn it."
Raven sensed the terror radiating from them, especially from the man who had just spoken. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene playing out in front of them, but she knew that her friends were on the verge of jumping into action—Raven actually heard Cyborg's knees creak as he prepared to move. She readied herself as well, but she had a nagging feeling something was very wrong.
Beast Boy's feeling wasn't nagging so much as it was slapping him upside the head and hollering in his ear, all while dressed in bright neon clothes and waving a sign that read "DANGER" in all capitals. Even in human form he could smell something emanating from just beyond the corner of the building the two men were closest to. The scent was horrific, somewhere between rotting meat and stagnant swamp water. He opened his mouth to warn the others but he gagged, nearly vomiting. God, he could taste it!
The Titans saw Zack hesitate and slow his pace, and the man he was supporting nodded. He unhooked his arm from Zack's neck and slumped to the ground. Even from a distance, the Titans could tell that the man's left leg was broken.
"What the hell, Zack!" It was Mike, running towards the injured man and shoving Zack to the ground in the process. "Bro, what the hell are—oh shit." Mike screamed and stumbled backwards, tripping over Zack's torso in the process. He landed roughly next to his brother on the hard ground.
Beast Boy covered his nose and mouth with both hands in a desperate attempt not to throw up whatever was sloshing around in his empty stomach. His eyes watered, and he could hardly see the source of the stench through his tears. However, the rest of the Titans could see it—them, and they immediately wished that they couldn't.
Around the corner lurched hateful mockeries of human beings. They were dirt-encrusted, ragged, and rotting. Many limped along on feet and legs so twisted they were almost backwards. Others were covered in boils so full of pus they were nearly bursting; still more were lacking in the limb department. One misshapen figure appeared to be missing their face, nose and all. As all the wretched creatures entered the square, they surrounded the three men cowering on the ground. Presently they let out a guttural roar and, before the Titans could react, fell upon the men with gaping mouths and clawing hands.
Raven felt as though she was floating. As the child of a demon, she had learned about and seen things that were unimaginable, neigh unspeakable, but this…this was something that even Trigon might turn his nose up at, or at least banish to the deepest levels of his realm. Oh Azar, what kind of hell have we fallen into?
Next to her, Starfire's hands slowly curled into fists. Her fingernails dug into her palms, and everything from her wrist down luminesced with a fiery emerald corona. She had seen creatures such as these before, back when she was a youngling on Tamaran.
"You," Starfire bellowed, rising into the air. "You will not injure these people. I will not allow it!" She charged forward, eyes crackling with lightning, hurling starbolts with deadly accuracy.
The alien girl's fury shocked Raven out of her stupor and she cried, "Starfire, wait! You're going to hit the civilians!"
"They are already dead," Starfire shouted as she continued her aerial assault. "Do not hold back! Fight!"
Now Cyborg was in motion. His arm shifted into his sonic cannon and it pulsed a cool blue. Cyborg double-checked his systems and followed his teammate into the fray. Those guys might be dead, but Angela isn't.
He was right. The last member of the small group was still alive and kicking—or perhaps alive and swinging was more accurate. She had produced an aluminum baseball bat from the depths of her fraying backpack and was now taking swipes at anything that got too close. Unfortunately, this included Starfire, who was rather preoccupied with the encroaching horde of—of—
Zombies. Actual—freakin'—zombies, thought Beast Boy, still plugging his nose. Oh, man, how many are there? He wiped his eyes and started counting as fast as possible. One-two-three-four five-six-seven… Beast Boy got to 27 before the mob's tangle of decomposing limbs became too confusing to separate. And here we are, five juicy teenagers without any body armor. Well, crap. Did Starfire and Cyborg not realize what they were up against? Raven was still near him though; Beast Boy shuddered as he imagined one of those things biting through her leotard as easily as a hot knife cutting through butter.
"Rae," Beast Boy croaked. "Will you stay here with Robin and protect him? Please, Raven?" Beast Boy begged as he saw the murderous scowl she gave him.
"Fine. Go. Now isn't the time to argue, anyway," Raven said, her monotone voice giving away nothing. Her violet eyes watched Beast Boy as he morphed into a triceratops and galloped toward the battle—a battle whose participants numbered upwards of fifty and appeared to be creeping closer to the center of the plaza.
Lovely, thought Raven as she stepped onto the rim of the fountain and looked down at her unconscious leader. She closed her eyes, found her center, and, after a moment, reopened her radiant white eyes. A black force field descended from above the highest tier of the fountain and formed a bubble around her new refuge. Hopefully that bat-wielding maniac will see it and save herself.