Chapter 2: Separation P1
Aleks' legs felt like they were on fire and every little jolt to them were like adding gasoline to the flames. He felt like he was in a daze; most of the time he was dozing in and out of his pain, only responding if James or Eddie asked him if he was alright. Every few miles they switched off carrying him, but they did so gently as to not cause the brunette anymore pain. He hated the fact that his friends had to do this for him, but they were adamant and he knew this was the only way he was going to get anywhere.
It was Eddie's turn again to carry Aleks. However as the brunette was being transferred to the Latino they bumped one of his injured legs, causing him to cry out and tears to prickle at the edges of his eyes. James and Eddie exchanged worried glances before the Latino inquired, "Maybe we should rest and look at his legs again?"
Aleks moaned and shook his head, "...Don't...I'm fine..." He knew that he wasn't, he was in so much pain-on top of that he felt weak and ill-but he didn't want to slow them down any more than he was. He just wanted to get to the house so that he could figure what the hell was going on. Besides, what if the Infected found them? The thought sent shivers down his spine.
"Don't be stupid Aleks. You've gotten worse and we're tired. We need to rest for at least for a few minutes." Eddie explained. He sighed, his tone becoming more gentle. "It'll be fine. It's only for a few minutes; nothing will happen."
He couldn't protest to that, but he still didn't like the thought of it. Grudgingly the brunette murmured, "...O-Okay..." Hesitantly, with his fear rising up in him, he whispered, "D-Don't let them get me..."
Eddie paused for a second, surprised at the fear and shakiness in Aleks' tone. He looked down at the Russian, whom looked so fragile in his arms. He could feel him gripping at his shirt and how much he was trembling. Did that one attack really shake him up that much? "Of course..."
He glanced up at James and nodded. The other youtuber nodded and gently grabbed the undersides of Aleks' knees. The brunette flinched and gave a small whimper, squeezing his eyes shut. "I-It hurts..."
"I know but we have to check," James cooed, helping Eddie lay the brunette on the ground. Once Eddie was sitting on the ground, with Aleks' head on his lap and his legs on James' lap, the youtuber gave Aleks an almost apologetic look before saying, "This is going to hurt, you ready?"
The pale young male bit his lip and buried his head in the fabric of Eddie's pants, "Y-Yeah..." His hand shot out and grasped the older male's warm hand into his. He squeezed it and looked up into the eyes of the Latino, "Don't let go."
Eddie nodded and made a motion with his own head indicating for James to start taking off the gauze. The other nodded and slowly started to unwrap Aleks' legs. At first it didn't hurt that much, but when the outer layer of gauze was removed and James started removing the blood-soaked strips that were touching the wound itself the pain instantly tripled. The Russian had to bite back a cry and his hand squeezed tightly around Eddie's as he tried to bare through it. The Latino nearly removed his hand from Aleks due to how much it hurt, but he reminded himself that his pain was nothing compared to his friend's. The older youtuber stroked Aleks' warm cheek, murmuring to him that the pain would stop soon, that it would be over and they'd be back to walking; however, the younger youtuber didn't hear him, too preoccupied with his own pain to listen to his friend's soothing words.
Once the gauze was completely off James' eyes widened, surprised. He whistled and stated, "Eddie, you might want to take a look at this."
The raven-haired youtuber looked down at Aleks, whom was trembling and still holding Eddie's hand rather tightly. He glanced up at the older youtuber, his eyes clouded with pain, confusion and slight fear; it was as if he wanted to ask what was up. Eddie just gave him a shaky smile and removed his hand from the other, only murmuring that everything was fine before gently moving Aleks' head off of his leg and standing up. "Is it bad?" He asked as he walked over to James.
"Take a look for yourself," the other answered as he stood up, gently removing Aleks' injured legs from his lap. He stepped away from the other's legs before taking off his Cookie Monster beanie and wiping the sweat off of his forehead.
Eddie shot him a weary glance before bending down to inspect Aleks legs. He instantly recoiled as a foul odor hit his nose. "Holy shit," he exclaimed, inspecting the wounds more carefully now. The bleeding had worsened, the skin around the wounds were red and looked like they were inflamed and when he touched one of them Aleks gave a small cry. "Sorry," he mumbled, still inspecting the wounds. The youtuber frowned and noticed discolored, whitish-green liquid leaking out of the wound in some spaces. Beforehand the wounds had looked bad, with his skin nearly shredded in some places and blood seeping everywhere, but now... "James, are his wounds...?"
"Infected? Yeah, I think so." The half-Latino walked over to Eddie and sat on his knees next to Eddie. "This might be a good thing though."
"Wha-James! How can you say that this is good?" He looked at the other as if he were crazy. Standing up suddenly, before the younger male could say anything, he started to pace. "Fuck, what are we going to do? If only we had your car or if ours wasn't being fixed then maybe this wouldn't have happened...Shit."
James sighed and stood up, grabbing a hold of Eddie's upper arms and staring him straight into his panicked-filled brown eyes. "Listen to me, if his wound really are infected, then that means he wasn't, well, he won't turn into an Infected. Either the wound heals right away but he starts to feel sick, or it doesn't heal or bleed at all and starts to infect the area around it and bubble. That's how you know if he has the virus, but since his wounds are infected then he can't possibly have the virus. Get it?"
Eddie nodded slowly, still unsure and yet not quite understanding what the other male was saying. "Y-Yeah, I think I understand..."
"Good, now stop panicking and-"
"Am I gonna turn into one of them?"
They froze upon hearing Aleks' terrified voice. James let his arms drop and they slowly turned to look at him. The brunette was obviously scared, trembling with his eyes wide and one hand clenched into a shaking fist. Eddie exchanged glances with the Cookie Monster-youtuber before slowly walking towards his friend. "Aleks...?" He leaned down next to his friend slowly, as if he were going to attack. Suddenly two hands grabbed onto his famous Hipo-shirt and quickly brought him to his knees, a head buried in the fabric of his shirt.
"P-Please, don't let me turn into one of them...Please..." He could feel Aleks' trembling as he kept his head buried against his chest. Unsure of what to do, Eddie hesitantly wrapped his arms around the brunette, rubbing his back soothingly.
"Don't worry, you won't turn into one of them; I would never let that happen. You don't have the virus...It's okay." He stayed in that position until he could feel the other stop shaking. Pushing Aleks back gently, he gave him a soft, reassuring smile. "Better?"
The other nodded, "Y-Yeah..." Aleks gave a weak smile. He stared into the depths of Eddie's eyes, feeling himself becoming lost in them. The other was staring back, as if he, too, were losing himself. He could feel his mind become hazy and cloudy. A desire was rising up in him but he wasn't sure what it was, exactly, but still had an urge to do what it dictated. He started to lean in closer...Closer...Closer...
"Shit, Infected!"
James' shout broke the two out of their daze. Wide-eyed, Eddie looked at Aleks' unwrapped legs and then to where James was looking at. Shit they looked like they were coming up fast; he didn't have time to redress Aleks' legs. "How many do you think there are?"
"Too many. Eddie I want you to take Aleks and run."
"What?! No, I can't let you fight them alo-"
"Eddie!" His sharp tone of voice surprised the older youtuber. "You don't have a weapon and Aleks' injured. Even if you did stay you'd only get in my way." James reached behind his back and grasped the handle of the katana that was strapped to his backpack. He pulled it out of its sheath and positioned it in front of him, it's blade gleaming, hungering to slice Infected flesh and to taste their blood. "Now go!"
The Puerto Rican hesitated for a few seconds before nodding and scooping up Aleks, whom gave a small yelp when the other grabbed him. Eddie started running, going as fast as he could with Aleks in his arms.
Aleks looked back, watching James as he fought. A downwards slash, a kick. Block, slash, dodge; blood sprayed from each wound. A swipe at James head; he dodged and stabbed the creature in the head. More blood sprayed as he removed the sword from the Infected's head. More of the Infected started to surround him, slashing and clawing. Soon James was out of Aleks' sight.
"James!" Aleks screamed, wanting to help out his friend. "Eddie, put me down! I have to help!" He tried to pry his friend's hand off of his legs, but he kept his grip firm. "Eddie, we have to help him!"
"We can't! You heard what he said; we'd only be in the way." The words tasted bitter on his mouth, but he knew they were true.
Aleks wouldn't take no for an answer, though. He kept trying to pry Eddie's hand off of his chest, but he couldn't. Soon he started to bang on his friend's chest, hoping to get him to drop him at least. "C'mon, let me go!" He started to sob now, a feeling of fear for James and his own sense of helplessness washing over him. "I-I want to help," he choked out. "Let me go...I-I need to help him..." He hit Eddie's chest one more time before burying his head in it. He was so helpless, so useless. Why did he have to wander off before? Why couldn't he be of any help? Why did he have to be protected?
Eddie didn't say anything, but he understood how Aleks felt. He wanted to help too, but he knew that they couldn't do anything. With one of them injured and neither of them owning any weapons, all they'd be is prey to the Infected and liabilities to the only one who could fight. It sucked, but he knew it to be true. So he kept running, and didn't stop until they were well away from where James had been.
After a few miles they stopped by a familiar car. As Eddie slowed his pace, he recognized the car to be James'. The windows were smashed in and the right headlight was broken, shards of glass laying on the ground. As he approached the car he felt his legs wobble and give out under him.
"Eddie!" Aleks cried out, grabbing onto the older male's shirt so that he wouldn't fall. "Eddie, are you okay?"
His head was bowed as he panted heavily, fatigue starting to settle in his legs. "Yeah...I'm fine...Just tired...That's all." The Latino looked up and smiled, "See?"
Aleks looked away, "Y-Yeah." For some reason the smile made his heart race. Or maybe that was the infection? He wasn't sure anymore.
After a few minutes Eddie straightened up, Aleks still in his arms. "We shouldn't be too far from the house now. Let's-"
"Eddie!"
Two hands had grabbed the raven-haired youtuber from behind, dragging him backwards. He felt pressure against his neck, making it hard to breathe. He struggled, trying to break free but unable to do so. His hands tried to pry off the arms choking the life out of him, but he was becoming too weak and dizzy. His eyes fluttered closed and his hands dropped to his sides as a great chasm of darkness swallowed him whole.
Aleks hit the ground hard. The wind was knocked out of him and he nearly blacked out from the pain when his exposed, wounded legs hit the ground. His vision swam before him and he was vaguely aware of the creature choking his friend. Slowly he reached out towards the general direction he heard the struggling, but he could barely move let alone help. "Ed...Eddie..." His outstretched hand wobbled then fell and darkness consumed his vision.
"We have to keep moving." That was the first thing he heard when he came too. Vague; he heard a voice that was vague and muffled. It was coming from somewhere to his right. Who did it belong to? It sounded so familiar...
"But Aleks-" It was Eddie's voice. He seemed so far away. Was he alright?
"He'll be fine when we get to the house." James; was that James' voice?
Wake up. I need to wake up. Light; he could see light. It was blinding, it hurt.
No. That didn't hurt; something else did, but what? He couldn't ignore it, the pain was all consuming. A memory flashed through his mind. Hands reaching out, scratching and tearing...
Tearing at what? There was so much blood; he remembered the smell of it. It was so sickening, so sweet, and so pungent. Where did the blood come from?
Wide, empty blue eyes stared back at him. Pain engulfed him. He remembered.
A scream escaped his lips. Tears threatened to spill at the edges of his eyes. It hurt.
"Aleks! Aleks, it's okay! We're safe!" A voice, it belonged to Eddie again. Blindly he reached out, finding the warmth of someone's hand. It was familiar, the hand belonged to Eddie. It had too, right?
He pulled them closer, wishing to find comfort in their presence; to find comfort in Eddie's presence. They were pulled close to him easily. He could feel their warmth as he buried his head in their leg. He sobbed softly.
"Al...leks?" That wasn't Eddie's voice. It was familiar, but different and not one he had heard recently. But he knew it; he knew that voice so well.
"Jakey?" He looked up for the first time since he had awoken. Deep, brown eyes stared back at him. He had missed them, those eyes, and he didn't even realize it... "H-How...?" Aleks looked around; he was in the middle of a road. Three people stood around him, with the fourth-Jakey-next to him. A blond with blue eyes, a wrapped up neck, slurm shirt, and a shotgun stood in the very back. He knew that person to be Seamus. His eyes swept over to the next person. Short, black hair, dark brown-nearly black-eyes, brown jacket, and a blood-soaked katana...It was James. His eyes roamed again, this time to someone so familiar to him, someone he's lived with for a good while. Black hair, deep brown eyes, a familiar grey slick jacket and a purple shirt with a green Slime on it, trembling from relief and fear; this was Eddie. And then he turned to look at Jakey. Silky brown hair, deep, cavernous brown eyes that were filled with worry and confusion, a green shirt, and a hand in his own while the other was wrapped up in gauze and clutched a pistol; yes this was definitely Jakey. But why was he there?
"We heard you scream." It was Seamus who answered. His eyes were cloudy and cold and he was massaging the base of his neck. Did it hurt?
I screamed? Something was wrong, he didn't remember screaming...Did he do so after he blacked out? Another spasm of pain wracked his body. He nearly cried out. Looking down he saw Eddie wrapping up his legs. The Latino shot him an apologetic look before continuing.
"When we got there you were unconscious and Eddie...Well he wasn't breathing." This time it was Jakey. He looked up at the brunette, still unsure of what to say. And then Jake's words hit him. Eddie hadn't been breathing. His head snapped towards where his best friend was. He wanted to say something, to ask if he was alright, but Eddie answered before he could even say a word.
"Don't worry, I'm fine now. My throat just hurts a little." Aleks knew that Eddie was lying. His friend's voice sounded too hoarse for his throat to hurt only a little bit, but he didn't press him on the matter.
He nodded then looked back at Jakey. The brunette was still looking at him, and rather intensely too, as if he thought that Aleks would disappear before his very eyes. "When your legs are patched up we have to get moving again. Want me to carry you?"
In all truth he didn't want anyone to carry him. He didn't want to be useless anymore. But maybe if it was Jakey who carried him, then maybe it was okay...Only if it was him, though. Eddie has already done enough for him. He knew that the other was tired, maybe even injured after that last attack. The Latino didn't need to be bothered by him. "No, I don't want anything. But since I have no choice you can carry me. Get a move on, peasant!"
Jakey chuckled, "I'm not your slave."
"For now you are; until I can walk by myself."
"Oh really?"
"Yea."
"Basedgod."
"That's me. Don't wear it out."
A chuckle, "You're a dick, you know that?"
"So are you."
They both laughed this time. "Maybe, but not as much as you."
Something tugged at him. This conversation felt familiar, as if he had a similar one before. He let the feeling pass, it feels like it's been a good while since he has talked to someone as freely as this. "Oh, so you're going to play it that way?"
Aleks felt a hand gently stroke his cheek, brushing away the chestnut colored locks from his face. "You know, it's been awhile since I last saw you..."
The Russian felt his cheeks start to burn. "Y-Yea, I know." He felt himself getting closer and closer to Jakey, it was just like what happened to him and Eddie earlier...Yet again he could feel some sort of desire rise up in him, and yet again he didn't understand it. He just felt the need to follow it, to do what it dictated. Who knows, maybe he'd like it, where this was going.
"Aleks?"
It was Eddie. Dammit, again he was denied this desire. "Hm?" He turned towards his friend with a questioning gaze.
"What were you...?"
"Guys, guys we have to move." Everyone looked over at the sound of Seamus' voice. His eyes were narrowed and he had his gun raised. "Whatever Infected James didn't kill have decided to get some revenge."
"Motherfuck-!" James positioned his sword in front of him. "I really hate these bastards."
"Shit." Jake stood up suddenly. Aleks nearly fell over when Jake moved, surprised.
"Jake, take Aleks and Eddie and run." Seamus ordered, his eyes still trained on the Infected. "You have a pistol, I need you to protect them."
"N-No! We're not seperating, not again." Aleks glared at James and Seamus. "We can all just run. C'mon, what's a shotgun and a sword gunna do against 50 Infected?!"
"It'll fuck 'em up is what a shotgun will do," the blond replied.
"Yeah. And it's not a sword it's a katana!" James snapped.
"It doesn't matter! A shotgun is practically useless close-range. And James, I know you're not that good with a sword...katana...whatever you want to call it." Aleks interjected, getting frustrated now. "And all Jake has is a pistol. A pistol; yeah it's better than nothing but knowing him he'd probably miss most of his shots. What kind of protection is that?" He paused for a second, feeling the tears entering his eyes again. Aleks wiped them away furiously. "I don't even want to be protected anymore! I hate it! I hate it as much as being injured!"
Eddie bit his lip, looking away, "But Aleks-"
"No Eddie! Can't we all just get back to the house together? I-I don't want anyone to get injured..." He looked away, holding back his sobs. He knew he was being whiny but he hated it. He hated the situation he was in, he hated the Infected, he hated the thought of separating; he hated all of it. "Can we all just go?" His voice came out as a whisper this time. Everyone exchanged hesitant glances before Seamus lowered his gun and James his katana.
"Fine. We can-" James was cut off by Seamus.
"Fuck! Well too late now!" There was a gunshot and a shrill cry as Seamus fired and shot an Infected in the head. Blood sprayed, coating his face and hair. "Come on we have to move!"
Jake fired a few shots from his pistol, covering Eddie as he ran and scooped up Aleks into his arms. "Come on guys let's go!"
James sliced open the heads of a few Infected, their shrill wails hurting his ears. He nearly dropped his katana as he turned and ran after Eddie and Aleks. Jake stopped firing his own pistol and ran, shooting anything that threatened to get in his way. Seamus bashed an Infected in the head, causing his skull to cave in, and punching others as he wove his way out of the mob. Quickly he caught up with the others as well.
"Well this went to shit pretty quickly." Seamus commented.
Everyone mumbled in agreement. Aleks just held onto Eddie's shirt, closing his eyes and wishing that he was just dreaming, and that it wasn't real.
-0-0-0-0-
Note, the Infected in this fic are similar to the Infected in the Last of Us but I didn't intend that! In fact, it's purely coincidence! I made this fic before I even heard of Last of Us.c: It is a great game.
Also, some hints of Jaleks/Immortalfox in this chapter.c: I hope you enjoyed! Obviously I don't own any of them, I can't own a person!