It's getting chilly, and you can feel winter slowly coming nearer and nearer. You're prepared of course. You always are. The only thing is, you're miles away from the winter cabin that Dad bought back when he first started rising as a scientist in the biomedical field. He started out with a research team of about 5 people, and to celebrate, he bought a winter cottage in the north. It's well stocked with canned food, it's kept clean, and you just need to get to it. It's marked with a red circle on the tattered map in your glove box, and you're waiting for the beginning smatters of snow. In these parts, winter always creeps in over the land and before you know it, you've woken up in the morning and everything's white. The snow looks fluffy and soft, but when you plunge your hands in, warmth seeps out of your hands only to leave wetness and frost. Cheeks become red, and the tips of fingers freeze, and eyelashes get crusty with ice.
"Winter's almost here." You mention to Levi, rubbing your hands as you watch him pile driftwood.
"Feels like it." He rubs the back of his neck. "I hate the cold."
You reach over and pull a log out of the pile. "Careful, these are a little wet. If the wood's too wet, you get more smoke than fire." You search around you, picking up a few of the drier fir cones. "Here, these'll burn pretty good too." You put away your dry fishing rod, making sure the bait and hooks are put away safely.
Levi eyes you, with half disgust and half awe. "You're so well prepared for this, it's creepy."
"What can I say? This is all my father's influence. He taught me how to hunt and fish, though I never got the hang of hunting."
"I used to hunt. I'm not too bad with a hunting rifle."
You grin. "Good, cause I got one of those too, and I haven't used it much."
Levi chuckles, which is definitely getting more and more common these days. On his insistence, for the first three days you've been out on the road, you've been sleeping in the houses in the small towns. But these are the Great Plains, and finally, you're out of the populated areas. There'll be more to come, but for now, you've gotta hunker down in a tent. You pitch the tent behind the car, facing it away from the wind, so that the fire is well covered. Not only is the smoke less likely to travel, making you less likely to attract snappers, it keeps the chill out and the warmth of the fire in. You take over once the wood is piled up, and use the old friction technique to start a tiny flame, poking at it until it grows and consumes the pile.
You sit on the grass next to the extra wood, and yawn. "I think we can stay here for a day tomorrow. I saw some plantations on the other side of the road. I'm thinking we can stock up a bit for the next few days since we're running out of corn."
Levi makes a face. "Every day it's corn, corn, corn."
"Corn's easy to get out here." You shrug. He pulls out the last of the vegetables and the fish you caught earlier and pretty soon, they're grilled and ready to eat. The fish is a little bland but has that smoky flavour and texture you've been used to since you were a kid. You both lapse into silence to munch. You throw the bones into the fire, and dust off your hands.
"I'll take first watch." Levi says. You nod, and crawl into the tent, wondering if you'll be able to sleep tonight. You had plenty of sleep in the car while Levi was driving. It always lulls you to sleep for some reason. You stare up at the translucent top of the tent, clutching your blanket to your chin. It's even colder in the night time. You're both basically stocking up for winter. As much as you hate being confined, you'll have to hole up with Levi in the winter cabin. It would be suicide to get stuck out here in the wilderness during winter, and you're slowly making your way to it, picking up as many non-perishables as you possibly can for the three winter months. If you stock up enough, you're certain it won't be too much trouble to simply go out every now and again to cut wood. You're sure there's a wood cutting axe at the cabin garage.
You feel like you're getting closer to Levi, but the annoying part is you're starting to kind of develop feelings for him. You're not sure if this is because he's the only one you interact with, but the close proximity with him is making you start falling for his dumb quirks, his little laughs, his sardonic smiles, and his deadpan humour. He's witty, but reserved. While jokes from him are a rarity, they always make you laugh extra hard, and he seems to like hearing you laugh. He has this weird habit of suddenly hugging you every night right before you sleep, and you've grown to kind of look forward to the way he holds you tight. He explains it away with contact comfort, but you're not too sure you buy that anymore.
Which reminds you that you haven't actually gotten your hug yet. You sit up, and make your way out of the tent. The fire's still crackling, and Levi's sitting with his back to a tree, his dark eyes quietly watching. He reminds you of an old king presiding over his court. His eyes watch you as you slowly make your way over.
"Couldn't sleep." You explain, with a sheepish smile. He nods, and gestures to the spot beside him, and you sink into it. You press your back against the tree, turning your face up to the sky. There are a gazillion stars blinking up there, some bright and some slightly faded. You imagine them to be old men, wise and watching. You wonder if the stars have stories of their own, where they've watched human beings grow and the world change. Your knees are touching Levi's and you're hyper aware of every tiny bit of contact between the two of you. Deciding to take a chance, you slip your arms around his middle and angle your head so that it's resting on his shoulder. He stiffens momentarily, then relaxes into the embrace, settling an arm around your shoulders. The two of you sit like that, without speaking, with only the crackling of the fire and the chirping of the crickets and the occasional hoot of an owl for company.
Your neck cricks when you wake up, and there's a blanket tucked snugly around you. You must've fallen asleep; you're back in the tent. You don't remember having gotten up and walked in, so Levi must have carried you here sometime in the night. You toss the blanket off yourself and crawl stiffly out, stretching your tense muscles. You yawn and grab another change of clothes, padding down to the creek that lies a little way through the trees. In your sleep-addled mind, you don't think about where Levi might be and if it's even safe to go wandering on your own like this, with no method of self-protection. It's a gorgeous day, and sunlight filters through the trees, casting a green tinted glow on everything. Leaves drift down as you walk, feet crunching on the bed of natural debris. Chirrups and cheeps blend in a glorious melody with the shifting of the wind. You think introspectively that Mother Nature seems altogether more beautiful with human intervention removed.
You finally reach the creek and sit at the water's edge, rubbing your eyes. The weather isn't the best for outdoor bathing, but what else can you do? You start by pulling off your sneakers and socks, neatly putting them together with your new clothes on a dry rock. There are fish in the water, directly beneath you and you giggle to yourself, waving at them. They scatter as soon as you move. Humming, you pull of your plaid shirt and toss it to the side. Suddenly you freeze. There's a neat pile of clothes near to where you've thrown your t-shirt, and it's not yours. Terrified, your mind exploring all the dangerous and awful possibilities as to whom these might belong to, you lift your eyes to scan the creek. Dark grey eyes watch you from across the width of the body of water, perhaps about ten feet away. You choke.
"I was wondering when you were going to realise." Levi remarks drily, his gaze travelling the length of your body.
It suddenly occurs to you that you only have a thin undershirt on and you shiver, heat rising up your neck, the backs of your ears and your cheeks. Wrapping your arms around yourself, you mumble apologies and scuttle back, reaching for your discarded shirt and pulling it back around your shoulders. This only seems to amuse Levi, that and the fact that you can't seem to take your eyes off him. You gulp. He was hot before, but damn, Levi hair flat, dripping water onto his slick, leanly muscular body…he'd surpassed hot, blasted right through gorgeous and into smokin' territory. For the first time in a long time, desire curled in your belly, like a sleeping dragon waking after a long hibernation.
"Are you naked?" You croak, desperate for some kind of distraction. Unfortunately, the thought of Levi in absolutely nothing under that stirring water did nothing to curb the lust that seemed to be spreading through your brain, erasing all function.
"Yes." Levi's mouth curves upwards in…in what? Invitation? Humour? God, he's such a tease. You grit your teeth, and turn your back on him. You retreat hurriedly back to where you've set up camp and take refuge in the backseat of the SUV, fountain pen in hand and paper on your lap. Breathing in deep, you clear your mind of all thoughts like you always used to when you began writing.
I came upon the idea for The Alone Kid while watching a documentary on bullying. I don't know why I liked to watch these, but I just did. I'd get all mad at the injustices that were being suffered and I'd yell at people through a TV screen. Not that I'd ever yell at someone in real life; I hate confrontations. I prefer to work things out without really arguing, or maybe if all else fails, just run away. But I'm getting off target here. My fourth book had just been released and it wasn't doing too well. My editor, a gay man named Carter, told me that I needed something more controversial and more groundbreaking in order to even think of gaining popularity as a writer. To sort of tease him, I was lazily going over LGBTQ story ideas while watching TV and I began thinking about gay men, and how everybody always thought they were the ones who were at the highest risk of getting HIV when that wasn't really true. Anyone who didn't use protection was in the risk group, that's all.
I switched off my TV, took out my old notebook (I kept several lying around the house for moments such as these) and jotted down ideas revolving around HIV. That was when I came up with Pluto's story, his name, everything. I think at that point, I was feeling lonely. Caleb was spending more and more time with Beatrice, and I was feeling a little neglected. At the same time, I didn't want to see him all that much because I'd just gone through a really bad break-up and the utter joy he had found with Beatrice made me happy for him, but also sick to my stomach. That same clash of emotion also came out in Pluto's story. But really, I don't know why I'm writing about all these things. They don't matter all that much anymore.
Right now, all that matters is the day to day. Living. Surviving. That's really the only thing on my mind these days. That, and him. Him, of course, being my new companion, Levi. Levi with no last name. Of course, I didn't tell him my last name either. Apparently, that's not a thing anymore, from the little I know of apocalyptic human behaviour. I have to admit though, that man is just handsome as all hell. His personality just draws you in, I swear. I can't understand where he gets all that magnetism. I can just picture him in a suit with that damn cravat, ladies hanging off his arms giggling and tittering in his ear. Even though he's short, he commands attention and respect; he's just one of those kinds of people.
Lately though, there's been, well, a shift in the way we behave towards each other. It's like we are both starting to want more from each other, and I don't know when that changed. I want to give him more, but at the same time I want to turn tail and never see him again. I'm not sure if this has been brought about by the fact that we are forced to live, eat and sleep together. There's no one else around, just the two of us. Surely that must have led to some kind of manifestation of physical attraction. He probably has needs. After all, so have I. It's starting to worry me though. I can almost feel that the longer the time we spend together, the higher the chance that one day all this tension is going to lead to something both of us may regret.
"F/n." There's a tap at the window, and you panic, jerking upwards. It's just Levi, and you sigh with relief, opening the door.
"Sorry about before." You mutter, not meeting his eyes.
"It's fine. You can go take a bath now." He runs fingers through his wet hair, and you watch him walk away. As soon as he disappears from your sight, you stow the sheaf of papers under a box and replace the pen in the glove box. You can continue later, during watch. Once you're done with showering and combing through your hair, you count stock. You've got more than enough food for now, so it would be smarter to just continue on to the nearest town to get more canned and boxed food.
"F/n!" Levi's voice sounds breathless, with a slight element of worry in it.
"Levi?" You look back, concerned.
"You have a first aid kit, don't you?" Levi sprints to your side, fingers digging into your arm.
"Y-yes!" You stutter, eyes wide. Moving to the back of the SUV, you quickly dig through the contents, pulling the white kit marked only with a red cross from somewhere behind a couple of boxes. Levi sounds calm, but his eyes are sworls of grey.
"Follow me, and hurry." He turns and begins to run westward, deep into the forest. You hurry after him, legs pumping as fast as you can manage.
Soon, you both reach a clearing of sorts, where a young woman lies, two young children next to her. You drop to your knees beside her, and look her over. There's a deep gash in her calf and another cut on her forehead. You ignore the children for now, focusing all your attention on the young lady.
"Hey there." You murmur soothingly. "What's your name?"
Her eyes swivel, focusing with some difficulty on you. Her hair is dirty, and her face is caked with dirt, but you can tell she's a pretty young girl, perhaps only about 20 or so.
"Petra." She whispers, hoarsely.
"Okay Petra, don't worry now, you're gonna be fine." You turn to Levi. "Give me the gauze, some cotton and the scissors, please." You mop up the cut on her forehead with cotton and snip a piece of gauze. Folding it up, you use surgical tape to pack it tightly over the cut. That being taken care of, you feel her forehead. It's hot as hell, and she seems to have problems keeping her eyes open.
"She might have an infection, Levi." You tell the short man next to you. "The gash on her leg is far too deep, and I don't have any way of sewing it up." You mop at the gash with cotton, trying to get rid of as much dried blood as possible. Then, you pour disinfectant onto cotton swabs and proceed to disinfect the wound. "Hey, Petra, this is going to hurt a little sweetie, stay with me okay?" She nods weakly, and you dab gently. Even then, it elicits a gasp and a hiss of pain from her. Levi takes her hand and holds it tight, watching you work. You immediately squash the possessive irritation that action provokes in you, and wrap bandages securely around the gash, finally securing it with a safety pin and some surgical tape.
Finally done, you rock back on your heels and sweep your hair back from your face. You take a moment to look at her kids. There's a little boy and a girl with hair as black as Levi's. The boy has green eyes and the girl has dark brown eyes, almost black. You smile at them reassuringly. "Don't worry, your Mommy's going to be okay."
"She's not our mommy." The little boy pipes up. "We don't have a mommy."
"Oh." You bite your lip, not quite knowing how to respond to this. "What's your name?"
"My name is Eren. I'm six years old." He tells me proudly. "This is Mikasa. She doesn't talk much."
Levi slips his arms under Petra's limp body. She's fast asleep, as far as you can see. She looks like she needs it, so you reach your hands out to the two kids. Eren immediately takes your hand, but Mikasa shoots him a look, as if to decipher if it's alright. Eren nods and she distrustfully slides her tiny fingers into yours. You squeeze both their hands gently, and set off behind Levi back to camp.
You spend some time bathing the two kids first. There isn't much to do about clothes, so you wait until their underwear is washed and dry before dressing them. You make a mental note to search for more clothes for all of you in the next town. As for Petra, you dip a cloth in water give it to her to wash off as much of the dirt as she can without getting her bandages wet. You sit with Eren and Mikasa, showing them how to draw with sticks. Petra is sleeping off the fever in the tent; you gave her some meds to fight the infection. You'll have to stock up on medicines and bandages as well.
Levi sits next to you as Eren points and giggles at the fish in the creek while Mikasa stands, stoic and silent, next to him.
"How's she doing?" You ask him.
"Her fever's gone down. It looks like she'll be fine."
"Who're the kids?"
Levi gazes at the top of Mikasa's head. "She said she was helping out at an orphanage, and the three of them are the only survivors. They've been walking for miles."
"I see." You stand up, worried Eren's getting too close to the water, but Mikasa is ahead of you, pulling him back by the collar of his sweater. You gave them both your sweaters to wear. "We'll need to get them warmer clothes in the next town."
"It won't be a problem." Levi states, calmly.
You don't respond, just keep a watchful eye on the children who have been thrust so suddenly into your care. "Eren, don't get too close to the water!" You call, arms out to him. He runs over to your side and waves a pebble, smooth to the touch, in your face.
"Look f/n, isn't it pretty!" He yells, and you smile, ruffling his hair.
"Sure is." You agree, picking him up. He's a bit heavy, but you don't mind. You hold your hand out to Mikasa who takes it silently. "Let's go see Petra shall we?"
"Will Petra be okay?" Eren asks, fingers in his mouth.
"She'll be fine." You assure him. You, the kids, and Levi troop back to camp. Petra's sitting on a log, sipping at some boiled water. Eren jumps out of your arms, and goes over to her. Mikasa hangs back, eyes barely visible under her bangs.
"You okay, Petra?" Eren inquires.
"I'm fine, Eren. Don't worry about me!" She tells him, with a big smile. Petra is astonishingly lovely with all the dirt washed off her. Her hair is short and blonde and her eyes are a pretty, aged bronze colour. "Thank you for saving me." She looks at you and Levi, gratitude in the lilt of her voice.
"Don't worry about it. How'd you even get a cut like that?" You squat next to her.
"We were running from zombies." She supplies, fear flashing momentarily in her eyes. "I tripped and must've cut my leg open on a fallen branch."
"Wait." Your eyebrows furrow. "You were running from zombies? A herd?"
"Yes." She nodded. "There were a lot; we just kept running."
"Huh." Panic makes you jerk upright. "And they were following you?"
"Yes." Petra's eyes grow round.
"How long have we been here, Levi?"
"An hour at least…what, you think they might be approaching us?"
"Snappers always continue in the same direction, unless there's something to sway them from the path. We're the only ones out here for miles, so it's likely that they might reach us soon." You rattle off, packing everything in sight and starting to shove it into the trunk of the car.
That's the moment when you all hear the groans and the shuffles. You immediately grab Mikasa, who's nearest to you and settle her in the backseat, strapping her in. Levi does the same for Eren while you jump in the driver's seat and start up the car. The sound of the engine starting rings in your ears; you've never noticed how loud it is until this moment. Snarls fill the air and snappers burst into the copse. "Fuck!" Levi lifts Petra, bridal style and shoves her into the backseat.
A snapper reaches for him as he turns away but he kicks it in the stomach, repelling it. Vaulting into the passenger seat, he slams the door, and you depress the gas pedal. Dust kicks up behind the SUV as you swerve onto the road. There's blood welling at your lip where you've bit down too hard. Behind you, Eren is shivering in Petra's arms. You've left some of your food supply back there, and given the fact that you now have three more mouths to feed, that's not good news. Your tent is gone, so no more camping, not right now anyway. No one speaks for a good thirty minutes, and darkness is starting to set in by the time Levi speaks.
"You'll have to drive all night." He reaches for the map in the glove box. "We should be able to reach the cabin in two days."
"Not an issue." You mutter. You're wide awake. Somewhere around 4AM according to the dashboard clock, it starts to snow.