(Author's note: I should've posted the first one in January. Oh well... perks of using the café's WIFI I guess.
Funny thing, I've never seen a complete sunrise or sunset in my entire life. But it's really not that bad considering I'm still young. Perhaps I'll get a chance in the near future. Who knows, maybe I'll get up at 5 o'clock tomorrow morning to catch a bus and drag my drifting body to the nearest east coast so I can shift my jacket over a shoulder in complete awe. No sweet motorcycle or dog though, God forbid she'd want to get up and accompany me at that hour.
What was that? You were expecting some tidings regarding this second episode? -Well ye can think again laddie!-
P.D.: Don't worry. I will write something down... eventually.)
Spring - Probably April - A couple of hours past noon
The streets below her were deserted, not a soul around. It was going to rain soon. Light still peered through the grey sky and the flowing Thames soaked the air with its smell. It reminded her of the scent of the loch, although lacked the forest surrounding it and the blue skies above.
Someway watching the dancing flames was distraction enough to keep the longing away. She finished her bird and glanced down from the roof again, searching for a flash of movement or a sound of other survivors. It was odd, not even runners were looming about. The streets were empty, except for wrecked cars blocking some roads, and plenty of buildings with windows and doors boarded up.
She should be considering herself lucky really, to be able to get this far south without other major problems, even if that meant getting here walking. She still had a hard time getting over the fact that Angus was gone, but she wasn't one to cry. Even if meant losing her horse and companion, her only real friend who always was up for a ride when she slipped out of the house at nights after some childish argument with her—
"Damn it..." She whispered in a shallow breath when the feeling returned. She missed them, she missed them so much. Now she was fighting to keep back tears again. Her mother's once boring lectures rang in her ears, and she stood up straightening her posture and kept a steady gaze over the distant palace, a breeze rocking her curls gently.
Tears never came, she wouldn't let that happen.
They were alright.
A couple of noises from below caught her attention and she peeked over the edge to find the source, the bow steady and ready. Two figures were running down the streets hurriedly, a blonde girl and probably a boy in a blue hoodie, both teens just like her. Then she heard some shots at the distance and noticed another slightly larger group running towards them a couple of blocks away, cursing and yelling. It wasn't hard to realize what was going on, the couple surely stole something from them and now were running for their lives. She could interrupt the chase now and there and help those poor lads or just live and let die acting as if nothing had ever happened; yeah right, like she'd do that anytime soon.
She shot an arrow with a confident smile. It stuck on the street a couple of meters ahead from the fugitives and got the desired effect; they both looked up in surprise and found her in mere seconds. She whistled and motioned to go around the building, the teens looked at each other puzzled before rushing over the nearby alleyway. They still had time; the chasers were far but still a threat, so she quickly got a rope from her bag and tied it to an air pipe before tossing the other end to the side were the teens presumably were.
The first one to come up was the girl; and now that they were close, she got a better look at her. The lass had green eyes and long blonde hair tied in a thick braid, she was wearing a light brown capris that surprisingly weren't ripped and a pink shirt, her face held an expression of both fear and gratitude as she dropped her back on the roof panting and clutching a satchel for dear life, they must have stolen something really important.
Seconds after the boy made it up; he wore brown jeans and the hoodie she'd noticed earlier. He was tightly gripping what looked like a hockey stick in poor shape wrapped with duct tape. He glanced down the streets between stifled huffs at the group below until they were out of sight and sound's reach before tumbling down in relief next to his companion, between puffs he pulled off his hoodie revealing blue eyes and white hair? Surely that wasn't natural. This was the strangest lad she'd ever seen so far, although it was nothing compared to the blue tattoos of Macintosh, those were just plain ridiculous.
A satisfied grin was plastered across her face as she sat and watched the two in silence until they were breathing normally again. They didn't seem like such a treat to her yet, if anything she could take them down without much effort, but she shook those thoughts aside. The pair looked at each other and began to chortle; it was the rush of adrenaline, she knew that very well. Slowly sitting up the girl was the first to speak.
"Danke für alles..." She didn't recognize the accent at first; her German was still rusty, or more like the wee bits she'd learned were more than rusty by now. Mum's scowl appeared again and she shrugged. The boy elbowed her lightly on the arm with a chuckle before the blonde got the point.
"Oh," She laughed quietly. "I mean... thanks for everything."
"No problem." She simply nodded back at the two.
"Yeah, although I think we really wouldn't be goners by now, those guys weren't too bright anyway." He was American, she could tell right away. "Say... forgot you were in here for a second there Punzie?"
"Sorry, guess I'm a little bit jumpy..."
"Well, seeing as you saved ours back there," The boy reached his hand. "I'm Jack, blondie here is Rapunzel."
"Merida," She shook it eagerly. "Nice to meet yeh."
Jack chuckled. "Let me guess, Ireland right?" She narrowed her eyes, the eagerness slowly fading. "And here I thought I'd never meet some friendly brits around—"
"Oi, Ah'm from the Highlands laddie!"
"Alright, alright, gotcha..." He still had his smirk as held up his hands apologetically, knowing full well what he'd hit. "...some temper huh?" Jack mumbled to Rapunzel. He was lucky she just shot him daggers with her eyes and not actual arrows. Then something else seemed to cross his mind when he glanced down, his grin turning into a mischievous one.
"Looks like this troublemaker is safe now," He took a wee green reptile from a pocket of his hoodie and placed it on Rapunzel's shoulder.
"Pascal, you're okay!" She squealed stroked and held it in her hands beaming before she looked closely and frowned. "You crazy chameleon, you scared me back there. You're okay right? No cuts or lumps or bruises?" A shook of its head and a smile was the answer. She wasn't sure if chameleons could smile or not but went along with it. Rapunzel seemed to notice the way she was staring at the lizard and the smile returned to her features. "Hey, this is our new friend Merida. Merida, this is Pascal." He tilted his head inquisitively and she hesitated for a second before petting it.
It squeaked and smiled. "Aww hello ye wee thing." It was cute, even if she wasn't a big reptile fan.
"Yeah... you should've seen him down there," Jack snickered and walked by the edge looking at the distance waving his stick around. That lad had a good balance to stroll around like that at this height; or maybe he was just careless. She resolved on the last. "Those guys never saw him coming."
"Don't ever do that again you hear..." The blonde kept her scowl in a low voice receiving nods and shakes along other gestures in reply. Was this how she looked when she talked to Angus?
"Wha' happened down there anyway?"
"The usual... group of survivors, shenanigans, saying we're too young, problems with supplies, arguing about Pascal, threats and whatnot, sneaking out and escaping with some of their things while running for our lives... everyday stuff." He finished twirling his stick on his side.
"Pascal?"
"...They wanted to have him for lunch. Those sickos..." He trailed off, anger filling his eyes. That sounded bad, having to do that to a pet, especially a close one, and she shivered imagining her horse in that circumstance.
"That's just plain wrong..." She didn't know what else to say, the words had just left her out of the shudder.
"Yeah, I mean what's up with that!? We were just—"
"Jack..." Rapunzel cut in with a knowing smile before turning to gaze the horizon, a curtain of grey covering the silent city. She looked like lost in thought as she stood up. "Merida, would it be alright if... you know... we stick around with you... I mean... for a while... I guess?" Her green eyes looked full of hope but also doubt and worry, probably for ending up alone. She knew that feeling too well, being out there was something else, especially when things were like this.
"H-Hold on Punz... you-are you sure? I mean, yeah she's helped us, but what if—"
"Spare me the lecture Jackson. And if I remember correctly, you were the one that decided to help a complete stranger before, didn't you?" She teased smiling fondly at him and he huffed looking away. Something told her that these two had been through quite a tad lately. She'd like to hear the full story someday.
"That was different then, but we hardly know her..." He tried to keep going, really, but who could compete against those puppy green eyes begging at him. She laughed inwardly at the sight.
Thinking about it now, it would be good to have company, even if that meant having that lad Jack around. Maybe she could use him as target practice someday. Besides it's been a long time since she'd talked to someone else.
"Alright... Ah suppose." She simply said and shrugged with a smile. Rapunzel's face lit up with a gasp of wonder and hugged her, taking her by surprise. "Entschuldige..." She mumbled letting go before realization dawned upon her and apologised with a small smile. "I mean... sorry... again."
That last line made her laugh, and soon they were both chortling out loud. The blonde was quite warm-hearted, she'd give her that. It's been a while since she laughed like that, and she liked feeling it again. Maybe it was the way she mumbled or her random shows of affection, but she was quickly growing fond of this Rapunzel lass.
The now familiar but still dreaded sound ran through the air down the streets. They weren't safe there anymore. With one quick look between them they started to pack up and took off from the roof towards south, the horde now becoming more than a just blur at the distance. She truly had forgotten about the infected when the pair showed up, and now she was muttering like her mother again for doing so, although she didn't regret helping the pair.
The moans and screams grew larger by the second and they were running out of rooftops. The infected traced them, and now a few were starting to climb buildings.
"Weren't zombies supposed to be slow and dumb and all that?!" Jack shouted after jumping to a nearby building. There were no more roofs they could use, only a set of stairs leading to the streets. It was the lesser evil, considering they were getting cornered and the only building close was a gas station across the large street. Luckily they weren't so far up and nothing happened on their way down. The place wasn't so far as it had looked.
They were running from a larger mass now that they were on the same level, and a couple managed to catch up to them. A quick bow to the face did the job on one. "It looks lik' they've evolved somehow, they're faster than before"
"You don't say—" Jack scoffed hitting another one with his stick, the head sending rotten meat and blood flying across the ground with a too disgusting sound.
"Look out!" Rapunzel yelled and grabbed their arms stopping them as a large one vomited a giant puddle of green bile in front of them.
"Where teh now?"
"Quick! This way!" The blonde leaded them round a group of slow ones and headed for the station. All the windows were boarded up as well as the door, which surprisingly took just a couple of kicks to open.
Once inside, she kept the door closed with the help of Jack while looking around for anything to block it down again.
Rapunzel did the job with a chair, and the three of them slowly stepped away with heavy breaths while their eyes were fixed at the beating door, their hearts pounding almost in sync with every thud. The only thing left to do was to wait and to be ready for the worse; she slung her bow off from her shoulder and readied an arrow of the few she still had.
Although the skies were grey, the light still made its way through the blocked windows, illuminating the room with a fragile clarity, so delicate that it would seem to fade away at any moment. There were tables and chairs flipped over, empty shelves with a lot of stains, broken freezers and a couple of doors by the back.
"Alright, the door works... so what now?" Jack inquired tightening the grip of his stick. The insistent moans and screeches were barely audible inside the building.
"What do yeh think? If 't breaks we'll fight our way oot!"
"Err... you might wanna grab something." The girl nodded in a rush and looked for anything in reach. Quickly searching with her eyes, there was nothing around them but chairs, plastic dishes and such.
"The gun Punz, you did get it right?" Jack's voice rose with worry.
"R-right, yes..." She took a handgun from the satchel she was carrying and pointed it at the door. By the way she was shaking, there was no doubt she'd never hold a gun before, her legs were struggling to maintain her balance and her features reflected fear.
But she noted something else in her eyes, as if she'd seen...
"It's okay..." Jack said, looking her with concerned eyes. "Just... just breathe..."
A screech made her attention snap to the door again, it was louder than all of the other from before. The groans grew louder along every hammering on the door with a cracking sound, shatters now visible over the wood. Shadows of limbs began to creep over the windows, disturbing what little light entered the room and slamming the planks in fury. They were surrounded, and she began to feel anxious; she wasn't used to be in between walls for so long, even in her room she'd moved her bed near the window just to feel the moving breeze.
Silence suddenly fell around them as the door ceased its pulse, losing what new life it had. The shadows were now immobile, as if something else had caught their attention. Endless seconds that were making the air much heavier, and they held their breaths unconsciously, dreading to disrupt the stillness and whatever caused those things to stop.
Then a far rising sound reached her ears, like a screech of some sort. She'd never heard something like that before, not even a vehicle, perhaps another one of those infected that evolved.
The sound grew larger and she was sure now that whatever that was, it was coming towards them. Rapunzel let out a shriek when the ground trembled for a second with the strong whistle. But as soon as that came, it vanished like a flash of lighting, the infected now screaming and moaning in frenzy. Jack rushed over to the door and peeked through the keyhole while the girls looked outside from the gaps between the panels. They were... running away.
"What the..." Jack's flabbergasted whisper was the first sound to break the silence.
"My thoughts exactly," Rapunzel slowly nodded at her side, every eye stuck at the blurs in the distance. "Did that thing just..."
Deciding that they were somewhat safer now, she hurried to the door and took the chair away, almost hitting the lad in the process. His grumble went ignored when she went outside and stared at the distance, trying to make sense of whatever was that happened.
Fourth day in the station - Late-afternoon - Rain
Rapunzel was sitting next to a barricaded window with her head tilted to the right over her hand, watching how infinite drops hit the empty streets outside through the little spaces amidst the boards, the symphony of fallen crystals complementing the beat of a melody that few bothered to hear nowadays. The tip of her finger draw slow, smooth circles over the edge of a mug resting on the table as her mind drifted off into the distance, steam rising from the warm tea and dancing around her cheeks.
So far, the only things they've managed to gather were a bunch of small boxes of tea, some cookies, candles, a First Aid kit, bunches of snacks and bottles of water. Luckily there was still running water and gas so cooking wasn't such the luxury, and with Merida hunting some passer-by birds and Jack occasionally scavenging nearby buildings, they were managing themselves just fine.
The sound of falling rain was ringing in her ears. It'd started out as a comfortable drizzle a couple of hours earlier, now it was pouring with rain, nonetheless it was just as enjoyable. Pascal was napping on her lap, and disturbing the little thing from his sleep was out of the question. The place wasn't so dark either, just the usual grey colour that made its way inside along with a touch of blue and white. But she needed to be outside, at least for a little while, just to see everything around her, the colours and sounds and to feel the soft breeze play with her blonde hair, even if it sounded silly.
No infected walked the streets for now, which was kind of weird actually, considering they were everywhere all the time. But it wouldn't hurt to just sit there outside by the door, right? The roof of the outside entrance would keep her dry and if anything happened she'd get back inside in no time.
"Hey," Jack said resting his hip by the edge of the table, one hand holding the staff over his shoulder. "You certainly seem far away, everything okay in there?"
"Mhm," Her hand left the mug and began to stroke the chameleon when their eyes met. "Just looking outside..."
"Something tells me there's more than just looking."
She gave him a look with half-lidded eyes, head still resting on her hand and a contagious smile plastered to her face.
"So, no telling huh?" A shook of her head was all he got as an answer.
"...C-curse this door!" An angry screech made their heads snap up at the far side of the room. Merida was stubbornly trying to open one of the locked doors between mutters and weird curses.
"Well, at least you're not stuck like Red over there." He chuckled and pocketed his free hand.
"...this blasted—Oi, Ah heard tha'!" Merida snapped from the back. "Why daenae ye give me tha' sta'aaf of yers so we get this thin' huh?"
The boy twirled the stick around and sat on the table with a snarky grin, legs dangling back and forth. "Nah, I'm sure you can do that on your own. We believe in you, right Punz?"
Rapunzel held up a hand to her mouth trying to stifle a giggle, she then felt a movement on her lap and found Pascal with its eyes opened stretching a bit. She smiled fondly and placed him on the table before standing up and walking towards the Scot.
"Mer," She placed a hand on her shoulder, the girl faced her slowly. "Why don't you take a break? It's been hours now." Even if they've just met a couple of days ago, Rapunzel quickly considered her a close friend; a stubborn, spirited and good friend to say the least, but a friend nonetheless. "Hey, would you like to sit outside with me for a bit? I'm sure Jack can take care of this in no time."
"What?" He chimed in standing on the table, his stick over his shoulders.
"And let him make a mess out of everythin'? Pff" Merida snorted. "Fat chance lassie."
"Aww, come on, just a little while..." Rapunzel batted her eyelids, knowing her puppy eyes always worked. And they certainly did.
"Arigh' then," She stood up inhaling and made her way to the main door before pointing a finger at Jack. "If anythin' happens Ah'll know it, ye hear?" Her face flashed a grin before she twirled around almost hitting his face with a mane of red curls and made her way to the door.
"Sorry," Rapunzel mouthed with a smile.
"You gotta be kidding me..." Jack mumbled as the girls left him in there, a small proud smirk appearing over his face. Maybe some of his usual mischievousness was getting stuck with her.
He shrugged and hopped off the table, the doors left untouched as he grabbed a cracker and served himself some more tea.
The sound of the rain filled her ears as soon as they sat near the door. Even with the water falling there were a lot more colours out here, and a lot more light too. A soft breeze caressed her and she closed her eyes letting out a warm breath. Merida smiled at the sight.
"Ye seem at ease out here Punzie."
"Hu-huh," She nodded, her eyes still closed, and rested her back against the floor, "Sometimes... sometimes I just need some time outside you know?"
"Yeah me too, even more so when Ah was little." By the tone of her voice she realized Merida's face had a small smile, maybe a bit sad, presumably out of longing than anything else. It had happened to her before, Jack too.
"Really? Why?" Rapunzel asked, genuinely interested in her.
"...My mother." She opened her eyes at that, feeling guilty for asking. Then she felt worse remembering the argument she had with her own before she sneaked out and escaped with...
"I'm sorry." She managed to say to keep her own memories at bay.
Merida shook her head keeping the smile, curls dancing along. "Nae... it's a'right, we're a'right. Although we argued most of the time back then, Mum and Ah. Sayin' Ah should behave like a proper miss..." She snickered as she went on. "But Ah had none o' that. Ah wud rather be campin' and huntin' than curtsying, Ah'm no lady, thank ye very much..."
They both laughed softly and stared at the distance in comfortable silence. And even though she was submerged in her own longing feelings, and Merida too probably, she felt relieved and warmer, remembering that she wasn't alone out here.
Merida suddenly shot up, making the blonde flinch a little, and slung her bow off from her shoulders reading an arrow at the same time.
"Quiet..." She whispered and took a couple of steps ahead, Rapunzel stood up slowly before following her. As they went on she noticed a silhouette crawling by the street,
They stopped where the outer ceiling of the station ended, and Merida aimed firmly taking steady breaths, a curtain of drops mere inches away from her face, falling on the bow and stretched arm. Then she recognised it.
A little gasp escaped her. "Don't—"
"Ah Won't."
It was a dog; a black, big furry dog. The largest she'd ever seen.
But then she noticed what it was doing. It was dragging somebody across the street, white teeth shining in complete contrast to the black shaggy hair.
A boy, even with the distance between them she could tell that right away. A helmet with a small crack on the dark glass concealed his face; he wore what looked like a black leather jacket and dark brown jeans, both slightly torn and stained. Seeing how the dog was struggling to drag him under this downpour, it was surely his.
Merida hissed her name as she ran. It could have been the adrenaline she felt when the thought appeared, along with the water falling soaking her in a matter of seconds; or maybe it was that these two were stranded just like them, struggling to find shelter.
The dog noticed her when she got closer and let go of the jacket's neck before facing her with greenish eyes. Then it flashed its teeth and flinched forward growling.
"Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa..." Rapunzel said under her breath, taken aback at the sight, and held up her hands slowly.
"Easy, boy, easy—calm down." Her palms were facing the dog calmingly as she carefully took slow steps towards the two. "It's alright...easy boy, easy..." Her eyes were quickly shifting between the boy laying there and his pet, the dog's growl quieting under the rain.
"Easy..." She said in a slow, soothing tone. She smiled when the dog locked eyes with her and hid its teeth, now calm and somewhat confused at what was going on, drops racing down from the end of its snout and hanging furred ears. Then she knelt in front of it and stretched her hand, assuring that she was only trying to help them. "That's it!"
It sniffed her and she beamed. She cooed a long "Aww" before petting and scratching the dog enthusiastically, its black tail flapping against the lane.
"You're such a good boy! Yes you are." Rapunzel seemed oblivious to the falling rain.
"Huh... Punz? Ye might wanna be careful." Merida commented warily behind her.
"Oh, he's nothing but a big sweetheart."
The redhead shrugged and put the arrow back. "Sooo, what are ye goin' to do with him?" She gestured to the body lying there motionless. Right now wasn't a very good time to argue with Rapunzel about strangers and rash actions, like if she were one to talk anyway.
"Just, help me with him okay?" She asked, almost pleadingly.
The skies were turning into a darker shade of grey, announcing the imminent storm that would rage in the night, a strong whistling wind playing with their wet locks. A smiled crossed her face after Merida nodded with a heavy sigh.
"...Why does it... have to... to rain like t-this..."
"Ye wanted... to drag... him." She muttered as they dragged him to the front of the station, both completely soaked, his dog following them with eyes fixed in the pair, growling a little when the Scot gripped the boy's arm.
"Och, shut it ya fleabag—" Merida mumbled as they dropped him near the door and noticed something, her sharp gaze drifted to the boy's legs and back to his helmet in a flash. Rapunzel followed the line of sight and her eyes widened. His left foot was a metal prosthetic.
Merida kneeled and took the helmet off, revealing shaggy brown hair and a few slight scars. "Ah'm not doin' mouth t' mouth lassie." She said with narrowed eyes and stared at the blonde who just rolled her own chuckling softly in reply. After unzipping his jacket muttering and leaning over to his chest, she looked up and flashed a small smile, red curls sprayed all over his green shirt; it was more a relief of not having to do CPR than anything else.
He was breathing.