A/N: Hey friends! Chapter 2 is here! I'm so glad this fic got so many positive reactions already, and there's so much more to come. Have fun!

Chloe didn't look back the entire journey, knowing that Beca was still behind her by the sound of her footsteps. At one point, the redhead stopped, resulting in the other girl almost walking into her. When the brunette wanted to ask something, Chloe hissed for her to be quiet. She focused her hearing on the soft shuffling footsteps and in the next moment, a small group of zombies appeared from behind a tree. The redhead moved like a ninja, pulling Beca along with her, ducking behind a tree and pinning the other girl against it. She pushed herself against the small brunette, trying to calm down her own beating heart.

Beca's breath hitched as Chloe pushed her against the tree. She felt the other girl's hands against her boobs and wanted to protest but bit her tongue as the zombies shuffled past them really close. So she focused on breathing slow and soft, trying not to make any noise.

The redhead felt the brunette's heartbeat beneath her hand and looked into her eyes, warning her to not make a noise. She started counting in her head as the zombies softly shuffled past them.

When the zombies had passed, Beca was quick to shove the redhead away. "Let's continue." She whispered, not wanting to catch the attention of the dead creatures. She was glad it was dark, otherwise Chloe would've seen the faint blush on her cheeks.

The redhead nodded and they went on their way.

After walking for nearly two hours, Chloe stopped again. "So, there are sound traps all around. You have to follow me and be quiet." She husked, a little annoyed.

Beca just rolled her eyes and motioned the other girl to go forward.

Chloe let out a sigh and proceeded to very carefully walk through the woods, pointing out the several sound traps to the brunette. They stepped over the small lines that were set up until a small house appeared into their vision.

The smaller girl couldn't help but let out a small whistle. The house was looking more like a fortress, being barricaded all around. "You never worried that a survivor comes by and takes over it?" She whispered.

"Every day." Chloe whispered back. She dug her hand into her shirt, retrieving a rusty key from her bra. She used the key to open a box hidden in a bush, and grabbed a keyring filled with keys from it. She used the keys to unlocked the several locks on the front door. When she opened it and Beca wanted to walk in, she grabbed the small brunette by the shoulder. She shook her head and gave the smaller girl a warning look. Kneeling down, she took a brick from her backpack and threw it into the house, listening intently. "There's obviously no one there!" She heard the brunette say beside her and Chloe's eyes widened in anger. "Shut the fuck up!"

Beca rolled her eyes. She brushed past the redhead, walking into the house. "I don't fucking see why we should wait for 5 minutes when no one is here!" She exclaimed. Just then, a person dropped down from the ceiling, punching her into her back which sent the brunette forward. She stumbled before landing face first onto the ground. "What the fuck's wrong with you weirdo?!" She coughed as she turned around, handgun in hand. The person was faster and already shot at her. She could roll away just in time, hearing the bullet ricochet off the ground next to her.

Chloe immediately reacted by lunging forward and kicking the person, who was standing with their back turned to her, in the popliteal. The person's legs buckled and they fell to the floor, shooting their gun at the ceiling in the process. The redhead turned the person around and sat down on them, straddling their hips while she aimed her gun at the person's temple. "Are you alone?" She spat, her eyes extremely angry.

The person just glared up at Chloe before they wriggled their hands free, grabbing Chloe's head and yanking it down, smashing it against the cold floor next to them. The redhead fell limply onto the floor, so the person rolled out from under her. Beca was already there, punching them in the gut with her knee. The person cried out and fell back onto the floor. She delivered a swift kick against the person's head, making them drop onto the floor with a soft groan. "Take that you fucking asshole." She said through gritted teeth, kicking them into the side. She proceeded to grab them, dragging them outside. She had memorized the traps and swung the person into a line. An alarm went off and Beca took a few steps back, just in time for a huge piano to come crashing down onto the person, crushing them. "I don't want to know how that got up there." She commented and turned around, calmly walking into the house and locking the door behind her. Then, she walked over to Chloe who was still lying there, unconscious. She rolled her over only to discover that she had an open wound above her eyebrow. "Goddamnit. Stop wasting my fucking medicine supply." The brunette cursed as she sat down her backpack, retrieving the first aid kit. She then proceeded to clean the wound before putting butterfly plasters over it. "That'll scar." She sighed. She looked around, spotting a couch not far from them. She wordlessly lifted Chloe up, using all her strength to lay her down onto the couch before collapsing on the chair next to the couch. "Heavier than you look." She sighed as she got out her journal.

Journal entry 74.1. I met a girl. Her name's Chloe. Saved her from some zombies that were trying to eat her. I tended to her shoulder and had to go back to get her backpack and that's where I finally murdered Jesse. It sucked, and I still feel shitty for it. But I dealt with his death as soon as he turned into one of them anyways. I got the backpack as a part of a deal, so she led me to her hideout in return. Why did I agree to follow her? I don't know. It'd be the first time I'm surely protected from the zombies. Although there just was an intruder. Who I murdered. So I don't know how safe this place really is. I also don't know if I should trust Chloe. She seems like she sees me as this clumsy idiot who doesn't know shit. What do I know about her? She seems like she's going to use up a lot of my first aid kit cause she gets hurt easily. No wait. I am not sticking around. Two days here, then I'm gone. There's surely another, better house that is warm, stacked with food, safe and... Ack. I'm not sure what to make of this whole situation yet. I will definitely keep my backpack close. For now, I will rest. Goodnight.

Beca closed the journal before stashing it back in her backpack. She made herself comfortable in the chair before closing her eyes, her backpack hooked around her arm to secure it. She rested her arms on her stomach and crossed them. Soon, she drifted off to sleep, snoring lightly.

A while later, Chloe woke up with a start, gasping as she sat up quickly. However, her head swam and she let out a soft moan as she scrambled for her gun. She looked around angrily when she spotted the brunette lying on the chair next to her. She was sleeping. Chloe bit her lip as a stinging pain made itself known in her head. "Hey!" She yelled, hoping it would wake up the snoring brunette.

Beca woke up startled, her hand immediately on her gun. When her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she made out a redhead staring at her. "What?" She asked sleepily.

"Where the fuck is my gun? And what the hell happened?" The redhead asked angrily. "Where did that guy go?"

"Your gun is probably in the hallway. And you need to renew one of your traps. A fucking piano? That's so cartoon like." The brunette sneered.

"Probably!?" Chloe exclaimed, trying to get up from the couch. "I NEED my gun!" She spat.

"Well sorry, you're heavy as fuck and besides, I still could've protected us." Beca rolled her eyes. "This is really a warm welcoming. Next time I'll just leave you on the floor and go. God, I'm so pathetic." The brunette chuckled weakly. "Go get your fucking gun. I'm going back to sleep."

The redhead's brow furrowed. She didn't understand the other girl at all. Why would she save her? And then get angry? She shook her head and made her way over to the hallway, holding onto the wall for support. She saw her gun laying in a corner of the hallway and grabbed it, clutching it to her chest thankfully. After making sure the door was closed correctly and all the locks were in place, Chloe made her way back to the living room, standing by the window and looking out of it.

Beca had taken the spot on the couch and happily laid down on it, draping a blanket over her. It felt good to lie down again and not sit in a tree or do power naps in chairs. She hugged her backpack tightly, her rifle ready for use next to her. She fell asleep pretty quickly, exhaustion taking over her.

When the brunette woke up a few hours later, Chloe hadn't moved a muscle and was still staring outside the window. Her tired blue eyes scanned the treeline.

Beca sat up, stretching. "That was a kick." She announced her presence. "What are you doing?"

"On watch." The redhead replied softly. She never stopped scanning the woods.

"This entire time? You're crazy man." The smaller girl shook her head as she got up. "Go to sleep. I'm on watch now."

Chloe shook her head. "I can't. Not till I've counted till 9000." She whispered.

"Why the fuck are you counting till 9000?!" Beca asked. "And where are you at right now?"

The redhead let out a sigh. "You won't understand. Just… I'm at 8000."

The brunette let out an annoyed groan. "Fine. I'll go take a fucking shower then." She grabbed her stuff before making her way upstairs. She angrily dropped everything onto the bathroom floor, stripping her clothes. She found it quite convenient that there was a washing machine in the room as well, so she threw all her clothes that were in the backpack and the ones she had worn in there, turning it on. She discovered the razors Chloe was talking about earlier that day, looking at them. "Who gives a fucking damn? Just because she criticized it. It's gonna grow back anyways." She huffed and stepped into the shower, turning on the water. As soon as the warm water hit her body, she let out a satisfied whimper. It felt good to have warm water running down her body. She made a mental note to ask the redhead where she got it from and why she had electricity. She froze. Chloe had electricity. She could charge her phone if it still worked and check if there were any survivors out there. She made another mental note to do that. But then again, why did the redhead not already try that? Or she already did and either didn't want to share the results or there was no one out there. Phones aren't something important anymore. Beca huffed and showered, the water becoming less and less dirty, her hair less and less tangled. When she finished, she dried herself off, looking at herself in the mirror. She had lost weight, but also gained some muscles. Her biceps was bigger and her stomach was more toned, abs slightly showing. She gave herself an approving nod. She looked hot when she wasn't covered in mud, blood and sweat. Her stomach rumbled again, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in a day. "Shut up." She hissed and got out her clothes from the washing machine. She realized that she didn't have any clothes now, so she hung up her washed ones, wrapped the towel tighter around her body and stepped out of the bathroom. She walked into a bedroom, opening the closet. It was filled with floral dresses, bright colored shirts and skirts. She immediately closed the door again. "That. Is too girly and inconvenient." She cringed, making her way into another room. When she opened the closet there, she let out an approving hum. She grabbed a grey shirt, matching it with a black, white and blue checkered flannel and put on some jeans. She grabbed her backpack and gun from the bathroom before making her way down to Chloe. "You done yet?" She asked, leaning against the doorframe.

The girl in question turned around when she heard Beca's voice, opening her mouth to answer. Her eyes widened however when she saw what the brunette was wearing. "Where did you get that from?" She asked angrily, walking over to the other girl and tugging roughly on the flannel.

"The closet?" Beca offered. "I threw all my clothes into the washing machine, not realizing I would still need clothes now." She shrugged. "What's the big deal?" She retorted.

"You… you can't… you can't wear those, okay?" The redhead replied, her voice breaking. She shook her head. "You have to take them off."

"Why? It's only temporary anyways. Until my clothes are dry." The brunette retorted. "Why is it such a big deal if I wear your clothes? Don't want my scent?" She challenged.

"Those aren't mine." Chloe said through gritted teeth. "Could you please… just… take them off? You can have anything else. Just… not those." The redhead begged.

"The other closet had so many bright colored stuff and dresses. Dresses!" Beca threw her hands in the air. "I'd rather be dead than being caught in those clothes."

Chloe took a deep breath. "If you… if you don't take them off now, I'll have to take them from you. Please." She said softly. "I have some other clothes in my backpack you could wear."

"Show me first." The smaller girl retorted, crossing her arms. She didn't get why the redhead was getting worked up over clothes. It wasn't like they had any meaning.

Chloe groaned as she got down, taking a folded up pack of jeans, a white tank top and some red flannel. She handed it to Beca rather roughly.

"Geez. Fine." The other girl rolled her eyes as she reluctantly stripped from the clothes. She threw them at the taller girl before putting on the clothes Chloe gave her. "Better?" She asked.

The redhead turned around without a word and marched upstairs, hanging up the clothes in their respective place again. She let out a frustrated sigh and sat down on the bed, clutching her painful head.

Beca rolled her eyes and sat down on the windowsill. She leaned against the frame and prepped one foot against the opposite side, pulling the other leg up. She started cleaning her rifle as she occasionally glanced outside. She saw a few zombies pass by who sometimes avoided the traps by sheer luck. She had to chuckle when a zombie kept walking against a tree.

Apart from being knocked out for a while, Chloe hadn't slept in a few days and felt herself slipping in and out of consciousness. She groaned and got up, walking downstairs to find Beca on the window sill. She wiped her eyes tiredly and sat down on the side of the couch. "Look… I'm… I'm sorry okay." She spoke up after a while. "I think it'd best if you leave."

"Tsk." The brunette said. "You're lucky I'm not in the mood to throw a fit." She hopped down from the window sill, leaning against it. "You're also the strangest person I've ever met."

"Why?" The redhead asked, resting her head on her knee tiredly.

"Who the fuck cares about clothing like their life depended on it?" Beca chuckled. "And you change from angry to nice to rude. What did I do to you? Like sorry I helped you." She raised her hands defensively.

Chloe sighed. She got up to stand next to the other girl. "Okay… well… I'm sorry for being angry. I don't know how… how to act around you. I need to stay focused a hundred percent of the time, all the time and you… you are making me lose focus." She admitted, looking into the brunette's eyes. "I can't… I'm not good with people, okay? Not since the dead started walking. I don't know who I can trust. I can only depend on myself."

"Hm." Beca hummed, crossing her arms, staring at the girl in front of her. "Trust is really something someone has to earn huh? And it's truly easier when you're a loner. Don't have to look out for other people." She blew out a breath. She wanted to say that she trusted Chloe more than she liked to and that it scared her. But she bit her tongue, remaining silent.

"And those clothes? They belonged to a friend. We can't just take them." The other girl whispered, averting her gaze. "I'll… I'll try to be less angry, okay?"

"So... You're letting me stay?" The brunette asked, raising her eyebrow as she looked at the redhead in disbelief.

"I'm still deciding." Chloe replied, her expression unchanged.

"Hmph." Beca's hopeful expression faltered. Just then, the brunette's stomach rumbled loudly.

The redhead scoffed. "You should tell me if you're hungry." She said, turning around and motioning for the brunette to follow her.

"Sorry. Just never fit into the conversation." Beca shrugged as she followed the other girl into the kitchen.

Chloe ordered the brunette to sit down. She opened the pantry, which was filled to the brim with all kinds of cans and packets. She grabbed two cups of instant noodles, plopping them on the counter. "You know, I don't understand you." She started while she used the stove to heat up water she got from a big carton.

"Why?" Beca asked as she watched the other girl.

"If I were in your situation, I would have left myself to die and then steal my loot." The redhead deadpanned. "Why did you save me?"

"My brain would've killed me for it." The smaller girl shrugged. "Can't abandon somebody in need. Kinda sucks." She sighed. "But I can regain my items I gave away in the next house I raid, so."

"I wouldn't have thought about saving anyone if it would endanger me. That's what I don't understand about you." Chloe replied with a frown. Meanwhile, the water started cooking and the redhead poured it into the cups of noodles, closing the lids so they could cook for 3 minutes.

"Eh. It's not like I got a life worth living for I guess. Makes throwing yourself into life and death situations so much easier." Beca shrugged.

"That's just… stupid." Chloe huffed as she plopped the cup down in front of the other girl, handing her a fork. She got her own cup and sat down opposite of the brunette, twirling the noodles around her fork lazily while looking at Beca.

"Eh." The brunette shrugged as she dug into her food, eating it rather hastily.

Chloe ate slowly, stealing looks at the smaller girl every now and then. They both ate in silence, the occasional slurping of their noodles the only sound in the room.

Beca finished her food, patting her stomach satisfied. "Nothing like a good meal after almost two days." She sighed happily.

The redhead finished her meal not much later, immediately getting up to clean up the pan and throw away their cups. Her hands scrubbed the pan angrily.

The brunette raised her eyebrow at the behavior. "How come you have warm water and electricity?" She asked, leaning against the counter.

"We have a generator. I mean… I do. I have a generator." Chloe replied, not looking up from her work. "The shower water is okay to shower, but not okay to drink. So I have to collect bottles with water for that. And the stove uses the electricity from the generator, so does the shower." She explained.

"Ah. Smart." Beca nodded. She looked out of the window and saw the sun rising slowly. "Guess it's like 6 am already huh?"

"Doesn't matter." The taller girl responded shortly. "You can hang up your laundry and it'll dry in the sun."

"True. I'll get to it I guess." The brunette stated and turned around, making her way up into the bathroom. She grabbed her somewhat dry clothes and put it on the dry rack that was on the balcony. She went back down, plopping down on the couch in the living room.

Meanwhile, Chloe had finished cleaning up and looked at Beca from the window sill. She let out a sigh and went to retrieve something from the back of the couch. She pulled out a guitar and put it on her lap. "You want to hear some music?" She asked softly.

"I really don't get you." Beca shook her head. "But why the fuck not."

"You don't have to." The redhead replied and started strumming the guitar softly. Her fingers squeezed down the strings, playing several chords. She played a soft instrumental country song, closing her eyes, being completely engulfed in the music.

The brunette clenched her jaw as she sat back, shuffling through her backpack. She let the music fill the room, eventually humming along quietly.

Chloe felt a soft smile tug at her lips as her panicked heart calmed down and she felt relaxation wash over her. She played to her heart's content, her fingers pressing down to play the chords skillfully.

Beca got out the food cans she had, putting them on the table. She also grabbed her water bottles, putting them down next to the cans. She rummaged a little more, retrieving all kinds of items. Deep down in the abyss of her backpack, she found what she was looking for. "Gotcha." She muttered as she grabbed her phone along with her charger. She put it in the back of her pocket before putting all the items back into her backpack.

The redhead's fingers stilled. "What are you doing?" She asked softly.

"Checking if you stole anything." The brunette deadpanned as she put her journal back in its place. "And I'm offering you what little I have. So it doesn't look like I've been stealing food from you." She motioned to the three cans standing around.

"You don't have to. You have done more than enough." Chloe replied with a frown.

"It's whatever." Beca shrugged. "Actually, I'm offering those for a deal."

"What kind of deal?" The other girl asked, hugging the guitar close to her.

"Your electricity to charge my phone." The smaller girl stated.

Chloe's eyes softened. "You… you can charge it. But it won't be of much use. You can't call anyone because the connections have been down since the day the apocalypse started." She thought about her own phone, which she had stashed under her pillow, fully charged.

"Bullshit. Those satellites are still flying around the earth, so god help me if I don't get a signal." Beca squinted her eyes at the redhead.

"The satellites might be there. But the technique on earth that keeps the signals running? They aren't. I'm sorry, Beca." The redhead replied, looking down sadly.

"That's such fucking bullshit. And setting up a wifi router? Does that not work as well?" The brunette asked, getting a little angry.

"No… Beca… the world has no signal left. Everything was controlled by robots, computers and technicians. They left so it doesn't work anymore." Chloe explained, hoping the other girl would understand.

Beca let out a long, angry sigh. "I'll be back." She announced and left the room. Shortly after, soft grunting could be heard, along with a frequent thudding noise.

The taller girl sighed as well and went upstairs, getting out her own phone. She laid down on the bed and went into her gallery. Her finger softly tapped the screen, clicking on a video. A bubbly, blonde girl popped up, smiling brightly at her. "Take the picture!" The blonde said between her teeth after smiling into the camera for a while and Chloe heard herself chuckling from behind the camera. "It's a video, isn't it?" Aubrey spoke up again, getting angry but laughing. She pulled a crazy face and both girls laughed, as the screen turned black. The redhead saw her own teary eyed reflection in the screen and sniffled softly. She hugged her phone to her chest, wiping her eyes.

When Beca had calmed down, she looked at her bloody knuckles. She definitely had to work on her anger management issues. She went back into the living room, grabbing her first aid kit and bandaging her hand because it hurt. A lot. "Goddamnit." She silently cursed. She plugged in her phone anyways, smiling softly when it showed that it was charging. "Finally." She breathed out.

Chloe pulled herself together, stashed her phone into her pocket and went downstairs to find the brunette charging her phone. She noticed her bandaged hand and shook her head. "If you ever get angry at me, make sure you kill me before punching the shit out of me, okay?" She spoke up, sitting down on the couch. She let out a yawn and tested out her painful shoulder.

"Don't worry, I don't punch people. Only inanimate objects." Beca shrugged. "How does it feel?" She asked, motioning towards the shoulder.

"Hurts like a bitch." The other girl winced. Her fingers clutched at it.

"Hang on." The smaller girl stood up and grabbed her first aid kit, plopping down next to the redhead. "Let me see."

"How many times are you going to ask me to strip?" Chloe deadpanned.

"More than I'd like." Beca retorted. "Go strip now."

The redhead shrugged off her flannel and took her shirt off over her head. The strap of the black bra she was wearing slipped down her shoulder and she quickly put it back in place.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "It's not like those things are even remotely sexual." She said, motioning towards the redhead's chest. Then, she proceeded to remove the bandage, inhaling sharply. "It's a lot darker now." She grabbed some pain relieving medicine and applied it on the area, being a little more gentle with it than last time. Then, she applied a new bandage. "Maybe cooling it helps a little." She suggested as she packed up her stuff again.

Chloe nodded. "I wish we had some ice. But the freezer won't get cold enough on the generator's energy." She moved her shoulder, clutching it with her free hand. "It feels a little bit better though. Thank you." She smiled shyly, looking at the brunette.

"Woah, you can smile." Beca gasped sarcastically. "Guess you're not that emotionally dead as I thought you were."

The other girl's smile widened. "I guess not, huh?" She grabbed her shirt, trying to put it back on but getting her head stuck in it. She tried to appear casual as she frantically tried to get it over her head.

The brunette chuckled as she stilled the redhead's arms. She proceeded to pull down the shirt calmly, letting it fall over the redhead's torso. "Patience is the key."

Chloe blushed. "Thanks." She pulled the flannel back on and looked at Beca. Her eyes fell onto her bandaged hand and she grabbed it. "D-Does it hurt?"

"Eh. I've had worse." Beca shrugged.

Before she knew what she was doing, the redhead's fingers softly traced the brunette's bandages and fingers. She looked at her hand as if she was hypnotized.

"Uh..." Beca cleared her throat awkwardly. "Could I... get my hand back?"

Chloe immediately let go of the brunette's hands, blushing. "Sorry."

The other girl raised her eyebrow, weirded out. "Alright..." She said. "Since I don't know what to do with myself, I'd suggest renewing that trap I used yesterday."

"Yeah. The piano could be used again. It's pretty heavy though." The redhead replied, still a little dazed.

"Are you sure? That thing got smashed into pieces." Beca retorted.

"Oh… Well then maybe not." Chloe replied sheepishly, rubbing her chin.

"How did you manage to lift it up anyways?" The brunette asked curiously. "You don't look like you got the strength of a dozen horses."

"Uhm… with help… of a friend." The redhead replied, obviously getting nervous while they were on this topic.

"Where is this alleged friend? Did you have a falling out?! Aren't you worried they're gonna come back and murder you so they can take this house?!" Beca pressed, inching closer to Chloe.
"They are not coming back." The other girl replied, her mouth forming a thin line.
"What makes you so sure huh?" The smaller girl asked, being right next to the redhead now, their legs brushing together.
"They. are. not. coming. back." Chloe spoke firmly, her voice strained. "Believe me."
Beca shrugged as she got up. "Whatever you say. When they come back I'll be first to tell you "I told you so"."
"They won't… They're gone, okay?" The taller girl replied, her voice breaking.
"Oh." The brunette suddenly felt really guilty when it clicked. "You mean they died?"
"They're just gone." The redhead repeated, turning around to face the window.
Beca sighed. "Sorry." She apologized after a while. "I shouldn't have pressed."
"No, you shouldn't have." Chloe whispered. She stared outside, empty eyed.
The brunette cleared her throat awkwardly. "I'll be fixing the trap. You do... whatever." She turned around and walked towards the door, swinging her backpack over her shoulder. She readied her rifle in case zombies were passing by and unlocked the door. She knew that the other girl now had the chance to lock the door on her and never let her back in, but she didn't care. It wasn't like she expected from Chloe to keep her around. She made her way over to the trap, carefully stepping over other ones. "Good. How do we do that?" She wondered aloud as she looked at the broken and bloody pieces. "And more importantly, what should we do with you?" She asked, kicking the dead person's leg. She looked around and saw that it was safe to toss the broken pieces to her left, so she did that. Piece by piece she removed the pile of garbage until the person was clearly visible. Beca had to gag a little as she looked at the corpse. The piano had smashed their ribs, probably piercing through their lungs and other intestinal organs. Blood had come out of their mouth and nose, and a huge piece was stuck in their head, probably having destroyed their brain. Hence the reason they weren't zombified and gurgling at her. The arm was twisted weirdly and halfway tucked underneath the body. "Man, I'm really sorry." The brunette breathed out. She had to do the inevitable and touch the person to move them out of the way. Pushing her feeling of disgust away, she grabbed the other arm, pulling them away from the trap. "Jesus. Do people really become that heavy when they die?" She panted as she took a break. Then, the girl looked around, trying to figure out what to do with the body. "I'm just going to dump you a few miles from here. The zombies can have a nice snack." She let her rifle hang from her body as she moved her way through the traps, careful not to step into any and to not accidentally set one off with the dead person. She kept dragging for a while, her heavy breathing and the occasional sound of birds singing filling the woods. Once she was sure she was far away, she let go of the body. "Jesus. That was enough exercise for a week." She took a break to catch her breath before she made her way back, covering up the trail she left by dragging the body.

As soon as Beca shut the door behind her, Chloe fell apart. She thought about Aubrey, her smiling blonde best friend. Curled up on the couch, she let her body rock with sobs. "Shouldn't have left her." She repeated over and over again, until there were no more tears left. She sniffled and wiped her nose on her shirt. "Pathetic." She concluded softly, her voice nearly gone after crying. She blinked at the door tiredly, wondering when and if the brunette would come back.

After staring at it for a while, her eyes began to droop as the tiredness took over her. She fell asleep, hugging her gun close to her body and a frown on her face.

Beca was walking back when a bird flew close by. "Dude!" She jumped, looking after the bird. Soon, more birds approached, all flying rather low, and the brunette threw herself onto the ground, covering her head. Once they passed, loudly chirping, she looked up, only to see a dark cloud approaching her. "What the fuck?!" She scrambled to her feet and ran into the direction the birds flew in, looking behind her back frequently. The cloud was creeping up on her mercilessly, and with it a buzzing noise became louder and louder. "What is this, the fucking Hunger Games?!" The brunette cursed. Her eyes fell onto a small entry into the ground, and she quickly dived into it. The huge swarm of insects passed by, darkening everything around her. She tried to collect her breath, watching the scenario baffled and with fascination. Once the insects had passed, she stepped out, looking after the dark cloud. "And here I thought I had seen everything." Beca shook her head as she turned around to walk back. The only problem was, she didn't know where to go. "Fuck!" She exclaimed.

After a few hours of soundless sleeping, Chloe woke up from a nightmare. Her eyes shot open wide and she let out a soft yelp as she woke up, breathing heavily. She looked around for any danger, clutching her gun. When she noticed none, she tried to calm down her breathing and sat up from the couch, cursing herself for falling asleep so recklessly. Her hands were sweaty and she wiped them on her black jeans with a scowl. As she got up, she whipped her gun over her shoulder and felt the sore muscles protesting immediately. She wondered where Beca was and if the brunette had already returned. "Beca?" She called out. When no reply came, she looked at the darkening sky with a frown. If the other girl was still out there, she could be in serious danger. The redhead bit her lip as she fought a mental battle with herself. A day ago, she wouldn't have cared what happened to the brunette. But right now, the thought of Beca in any form of danger made Chloe feel extremely panicked. So she gathered her stuff, putting her phone that she had previously put on the table in her back pocket and shook her head at herself when she opened the door. "Stupid." She mumbled as she went on her way to find the brunette.
Beca had been strolling around for hours now. The sun was setting again and the brunette couldn't believe she couldn't find the house again. She was sure she had passed the same spot for a few times now. She let out a sigh of frustration, leaning back against a tree. She was giving up hope that she would find the house again. She grabbed her last water bottle out of her backpack and started sipping on it. She had two options. Keep searching and eventually find the house, or keep walking into the same direction until she was out of those damn woods. "Time for you, Penny." She sighed as she got out her lucky coin. It had helped her through a lot of difficult decisions. "Heads is I keep looking, tails is I give up. Got it?" She asked the coin and flipped it. It landed on heads. "Great." Beca groaned as she got up again. She turned on the flashlight Chloe gave her as it was getting difficult to see already and she started her journey, hoping to find the safe house soon.
Chloe had been rounding the perimeter, deciding that Beca should be close if she was setting up the trap. When she found nothing, only the piano pieces tossed to the side and a little blood on them, she let out a frustrated sigh. "Don't stray from the plan." She whispered, gritting her teeth. She went back to the place where the piano trap had gone off and searched for clues. She was about to give up and go back into the house when she spotted something on the sandy forest floor. It looked like tracks of a body being dragged and it send a wave of panic through Chloe. Was Beca attacked and dragged off? She started to sprint as she followed the trail, her flashlight illuminating it. She was able to follow it for a good ten minutes when suddenly the trail disappeared and she came to a sudden halt. "What the fuck? Did she fly off?" The redhead wondered aloud, looking around confusedly.
Beca has had it. Every tree started looking the same as the other, and she was getting more and more frustrated as she kept stumbling over branches, roots and small bumps on the floor. She was really glad that she hadn't seen any zombies. But that didn't make her lessen her grip on the rifle. Her head perked up as she saw a flashlight in the distance. She quickly shut off her own and stepped forward more cautiously. She had the element of surprise on her side and could tackle the person easily. When she was almost close enough, she stumbled over a large object on the floor, sending her flying forward into the mud. "God fucking damnit!" She exclaimed as she got up quickly. Her eyes went wide when she realized she had just given away her location. She grabbed her gun and squinted her eyes as the flashlight shone on her. "I got a bigger gun than you!" She spat out angrily.
Chloe froze when a person fell out of the bushes right in front of her, so suddenly they seemed to have appeared out of thin air. She shone her flashlight on them and relief washed over her as she saw Beca staring into it angrily. "Oh, thank god." The redhead said and before she could stop herself, she engulfed the smaller girl in a hug.
"Oh my god it's you!" Beca wrapped her arms around the other girl, squeezing her tightly. "Those woods are no fucking fun."
Chloe took in the brunette's smell and felt a blush tint her cheeks as she felt how close she was to her. She didn't want to ever let go of the other girl, so she buried her face into Beca's shoulder. "Why did you go away without telling me?" She mumbled.
The brunette felt a little awkward and uneasy as she wriggled out of the hug. "I didn't not tell you where I went. I told you I would fix the fucking trap, which I didn't... Yet... Anyways, I dragged the body away so the zombies wouldn't discover our little house. When I wanted to come back, this swarm of insects attacked me and I had to run away and hide, which made me lose track of the way back, so I have struggled the whole fucking day to find back." Beca explained, her voice a little higher than usual due to the anger and frustration, crossing her arms protectively. "Sorry for making you worry or whatever." She looked away, clenching her jaw.
"Insects?" The redhead asked, mirroring Beca's stance by crossing her arms. She felt a little embarrassed about melting into the brunette like that, but it was like her body was craving the hug so much after all these weeks of no physical contact with anyone.
"Yeah. Made the birds flee from them as well. So I knew better than to stay and let them wash over me." Beca shrugged.
"Okay… Well I'm... like really glad you're okay." Chloe mumbled.
"Whatever." The brunette shook her head. "Lead the way back, I'm tired of seeing the trees."
The taller girl nodded, turning around with a small smile. They walked for about 20 minutes when the redhead stopped suddenly, sniffing the air.
"What?" Beca asked, regaining her composure as she had almost bumped into the girl in front of her. The smell hit her too and she raised her eyebrow. "Is something... Burning?"