3

Month: February

Year: 2021

Society had fallen.

It had been three years since you saw your parents being murdered in your living room, and since the civil war started.

First, it was the fight for the cure, then it was the fight for protection. Next, came the riots, the fight for food, and eventually, it all became a survival of the fittest.

Electricity and communication were no more. You don't even remember the last time you saw a working TV. Family was no more. Violence and dishonesty were now the brutal answer.

These days, protection came in the form of clothing you owned and how much you had of it. After it became apparent that this virus was actually a bacteria born and flesh-eating disease, everyone did what they could to try and keep their skin protected as much as possible. It ate through the skin and took over your body like a plague. Heavy clothing equaled less chance of being infected. It didn't take very long for clothing stores to be looted along with the grocery and drug stores.

Eventually, you'd have to make use of any clothing you found on dead bodies that were killed by assassination and not by the virus itself. You couldn't risk that.

But even that was rare to come by. Everyone jumped at the opportunity of a clothed dead corpse. Whether it was for the scarf, the pants, shoes, or socks.

During the riots, most of the homes had all been destroyed either by fire or vandalism. Some tainted by dead bodies; murder scenes. Some were eaten by the virus.

You didn't want to live in a home that was infected. Destroyed homes were ruined by the winter's harsh snowstorms and the summer's heavy rainfall. Because of their collapsed ceilings, mixed in with the weather, it all eventually began to mold and collapse.

Life was no more. Happiness and serenity were gone, except for in The Capitol.

No one could get inside The Wall. You heard rumors that it was guarded by heavy military and machine guns, and all of Hydra.

The Capitol was a place where your parents had planned for every single one of you to make use of to help you survive and live a happy life. It was supposed to be a safe haven, not this.

It was now the place that had been savagely stolen by Hydra and the evil rich. The migration into The Capitol had happened very soon after your parent's death. You've heard that the rich, elite, privileged, and only some certain politicians, were taken in.

The other remaining politicians, had either killed themselves or were killed by other government officials, just like your parents had been. You heard rumors that this had been an undercover mission for years. They all knew how to take over the moment it was necessary.

Even the doctors and scientists had been taken with them, and you wondered if it was at their own will. Meanwhile, everyone else - people like you and Will and simple middle-class families with children - were forced to fight each other to stay alive.

It was a bloodbath.

The first few months, you and Will had refused to fight anyone for food. That wasn't in your moral plans. But, eventually, there was a day when neither of you had eaten in three days, and the only thing left in a dirty store off Route 95, was a loaf of bread. You, Will, and this random girl all argued until you eventually agreed on splitting it into three small pieces.

The girl had been chewing her piece, devouring it like she hadn't eaten in days, when her eyes landed on the tattoo on your neck. Immediately, you knew she knew who you were. Her eyes grew dark and she jumped at the chance to attack you when Will came from behind. He hit her on the back of the head with a heavy bucket, making her pass out.

You knew that no one really knew what happened to your family. They all think it was your parent's intentions for all of these horrible things to have happened. They blame you and your family for this. This only made you want to avenge your parents even more and even Will knew that. This life wasn't what they wanted, and it's not what you wanted either.

You had been sitting one night, in the middle of a forest in (possibly) Connecticut around a blazing fire, eating a fish you had just caught with your handmade spear. The fear had helped feed you both for many months. Will smiled over the fire at you, licking the meat off the bone, clean.

"We'll get there, Y/N."

You stared at the fire in a daze. You hadn't lost hope, or at least you don't think you did. Your feet had been bare for weeks and they were starting to chafe and bleed. You dug them into the dry leaves for some temporary relief.

You wouldn't admit it, but part of you did lose a little hope. You feared the first snowfall of the year. It was almost comical to you how your last worry at the moment was frostbite.

You took a deep breath, enjoying the taste of the Tilapia. You wrapped your heavy scarf over your shoulders.

"I know, I'm just tired. I wish I had more strength, I wish we had more strength. There's two of us and thousands of them, Will."

It was the first sign of doubt you had shown in months, and it slightly surprised Will.

"I know, but we can do it. I know we can." he licked his fingers clean and then laid down on the wet and cold grass, his hands folded behind his head.

Could you do it? You weren't sure anymore. You knew you wanted to kill Hydra and you wanted to overtake The Capitol. But were you two really capable of doing that? Have you two been delusional this entire time?

"Its been three years. Three years." You say softly, exhausted.

"True, but we're young. And we're smart. We have an advantage they don't. That." He bent one of his legs and stared up at the stars. A small smile creeps onto his lips, "We could always call The Avengers."

You scoffed, running your hands through your hair as you threw the bare spine into the fire. You were a bit sad you finished it, your tummy still turning in hunger.

"What Avengers? Hydra destroyed their home; everything. They tried to fight and they lost. Worst than when Thanos beat them. And to make matters worse, this is a virus, it's not something they can necessarily control. They've become overpowered, even the damn Avengers are overpowered now by Hydra. This is like a horror movie that will never end. It's time we face the facts."

Will smirked.

"I don't know if I buy it. You mean to tell me even Bruce fucking Banner couldn't break that damn wall?"

You gave him a comical glare.

"I don't think the goal here is to break The Wall. If anything that would ruin the purpose, don't you think?" you picked up a small and harmless rock and threw it at his chest, making him cringe, "dipshit."

Will continued to stare up at the stars. The night was midnight black. These days, since there was no longer any electricity, you could even see the milky-way.

"I don't see this ending badly." he says.

You wish you had his good heart and good soul. You furrow your brows at him.

"What do you mean?" You ask.

"This whole thing. We'll fix it, I know we will. I don't know how, but it will happen. I'm sure of it."

You consider his words and nod. You slowly take your time to get up and walk over to where he is. You pull your heavy apocalyptic-style hood over your head and scooch over closer to him until you are touching. You cross your own arms behind your head, also looking up at the stars. They looked beautiful, and for the first time in a while, you allowed yourself to feel even a little bit serene. This is why you enjoyed Will.

He was your best friend and your guardian angel.

"You really think so?" You ask.

Will turned his head over and looked at you. You did the same thing, staring back into his eyes.

You were suddenly afraid; afraid of losing your friend. What would you do without a good soul like him to keep you sane and strong?

"I do." There was no trace of doubt in his voice.

You tried to believe him. You really did.

You and Will began to fend for survival. You often thought of killing your parent's murderer when you would both be laying under a tree, in the cold of the night, trying to fall asleep.

You would never forget that face; the face of the man who killed your mom and dad.

You and Will would both alternate between being watchmen, to guard your food and weapons. You mostly used the weapons just for hunting, but you never knew what could happen. Still, you remained alert and vigilant.

You both never ventured too much into the city, trying to stay on the outskirts as much as you possibly could. But one day, you had cut your hand while trying to spear more seafood in a riverbed, and the cut ended up being deeper than you could manage. Not only did you fear it to get in the way of your hunting, but you also didn't want your blood seeping in through your clothing, making it more versatile to the virus.

You both found a looted, but in not-too-bad-of-a-condition, dollar store just off the freeway. You both climbed over some of the abandoned cars, making sure to look in each one just in case there was something worth taking.

You got to the entrance of the store, and Will told you he would be outside waiting and keeping guard while you looked for some bandages.

The store was almost completely empty, yet you found your way into the med isle, stepping over fallen light fixtures and useless items like beanie babies and dusted up Happy Birthday cards. You were rummaging through some boxes when you heard it.

A scream.

Will.

Your heart jumped into your throat and you acted on autopilot. You didn't second guess anything. You ran through the doors and over the fallen cable wires without hesitation. Your eyes searched the eery and abandoned parking lot. You didn't see him and you screamed Will's name over and over again, running around the deserted parking lot. You knew it was dangerous, but you had to find him. You heard a groan and you quickly saw him lying against the curb off to the side of the highway, his arm wrapped tightly around his waist.

You feared the worst.

"No, no," you repeated to yourself. You tried to be careful to not slip on the black ice beneath your leather boots.

You ran towards his fallen body, and the first thing you saw was how pale he was. His face was emotionless. Most likely from shock. You crouched down next to him and you pulled his arm away from his chest. You saw a knife sticking out from his upper abdomen and you saw blood.

A lot of blood.

He was panting and it didn't take you long to look up across the other side of the street. There was a man faced down into the pavement. You swallowed thickly, knowing there was a fight and Will had gotten hurt.

"He saw you and he kept saying he wanted your coat, he was a loon and he had a machete, and he — and he—" Will panted.

"Shhh, shhh." You hugged him tightly to your body as you rocked him back and forth.

"I wanted to protect you." he says.

"I know, Will. I know." you cried, closing your eyes tightly together and holding him closer.

He barely coughed out, his eyes rolling back into his head.

"It hurts." He cried.

Heavy tears cloud your vision and you feel a sudden sense of impending doom.

"I got you, Will, I got you." You don't know if you were speaking to him or yourself at this point.

He stretched his arm up and grabbed yours by the shoulder, pulling your embrace tighter around his body.

"We'll get them, Y/N. We'll avenge your parents, I promise. I'm too strong for this." He squeaked, "I won't die." He said through clenched teeth.

Tears ran down your face as you watched him grab his own open abdomen with this other hand.

"You are, Will. You are so strong." Your face tilted to the side as more sobs racked through your body, "Please, don't leave me. I can't be alone. I can't do this alone."

You felt his nimble fingers dig into your elbow as it slid down, smearing you with his blood.

"I'm so sorry." He whimpered, some blood escaping his lips this time.

"Please, please." You cried over and over again, holding him tighter to your chest.

It didn't take much longer for you to feel him go limp in your arms. Your body shook with your cries when you repeated it back to yourself: Will was dead.

You didn't allow yourself to cry for too long. You wanted to, but you knew you needed to keep moving, and being this exposed could only cost you your life.

You quickly found a nice area, the nicest you could possibly find in an arena of death, and you carefully laid Will's body down. Ironically, it was in a field of dead daisies. You delicately draped his arms over his chest, in a crisscross, and you whispered your goodbyes to him. You took a moment to cherish who he was. He was a lonely son of a construction worker and an accountant. His bother died two years ago after being infected. He had been in pain for a long time, but he had a good heart, and he strived to stay at your side to help you. You let your tears fall on your hands as you held his for just a few more minutes.

No more than a half-hour later, and after finding some bandages, you were back in the woods. You continued your journey south. You pulled out the compass that Will had given you, just to be sure.

It was close to dusk when you heard the sound of a river bed running down below. Your stomach grumbled, suddenly feeling very hungry again. You had been out of luck today, finding not even one squirrel or deer. Not even a bird.

You hadn't eaten since that morning, when you and Will had split a couple of spare pumpkin seeds.

Your chest tightened at the thought of him again. You felt awful for just leaving him in the field like that. You knew someone would find him soon and take the clothing off his body to keep for their own. You know you had no other choice, and there was no time for a proper burial.

You continued your walk. The boots that you had stolen off a girl's body, squished in the mood and dirt beneath your feet. You were thankful it hadn't snowed yet this year. The cold was already unbearable as it was, and if there was snow, it would only make your journey worst. You couldn't take the conditions you were in for granted.

You don't know how much farther you walked since you had no watch. No one had watches anymore. Time didn't exist anymore. But, it would help in order for you to estimate your location and how far you had left in your journey. You were guessing, realistically, it had been about an hour, judging by how much darker the sky now was.

You knew you needed to find a corner to settle in and build a fire. You needed a place to sleep for the night. Food would have to wait until tomorrow, you would go to sleep hungry again.

You take a deep breath and rest your hand on a large tree as a pain rattled through your tummy. You were extremely fatigued, in desperate need of water. You had been dehydrated for a while. You knew your canteen was running low so you had to savor as much as you could.

You took necessary sips here and there.

You drift your eyes over the horizon and through the broken branches until your gaze lands of a patch of grass that looked decent enough for a rest stop. You would lay your dirty rag you call a blanket there and get some rest.

You slowly started your walk again, tucking your canteen back into your bag.

You heard owls in the sky around you, and you grew worried as you began to realize that with Will now gone, you were truly alone. There was no way you could avenge your parents alone. You couldn't go into The Capitol alone.

You had no chance.

Your hands grew clammy and you started feeling worried sick, your mind now in overdrive.

You were screwed. You were all alone and screwed, and there was no chance in hell you were going to come out of this alive. You find yourself angry at Will. Angry at him for lying to you and saying that everything would be okay.

How could he say that? How could he lie to make you believe it was true? You wouldn't be capable of doing this alone. Even the Avengers couldn't do this. Even the Earth's mightiest heroes could not win against Hydra, yet here you were trying to overthrow an entire city filled with them?

You remember the people talking about how their compound had been bombed and destroyed. They didn't have a home anymore. They had three missions where they tried to overthrow it and failed miserably. It pained you to see that your parent's hope for the future had become a living hell of blood and war. How could Will have so much faith in you? You remember the feel of his limp body in your arms and your sadness is unbearable.

More tears found your eyes and you rubbed your wet nose over the back of your sleeve. Something heavy caught the tip of your boot, and with a shriek you found yourself tumbling down and down.

Then, everything went dark.