Chapter 3: Gotta Get out While You Can
As soon as dusk hit, Lucy knew they had to stop walking and find somewhere to hide. Luckily enough, she found a shed that looked sturdy enough.
"It's getting late. We need to find shelter." She said, leading Wendy over to the shed.
The poor girl found herself to be exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Lucy honestly felt for the girl. She remembered the how she felt the first time she saw someone turn. It was horrifying, especially since at the time, no one knew what was happening.
"Take this," Lucy said, handing Wendy yet another knife. "I know it's a lot to ask of you right now, but you need to trust me. I'm going to make sure that this shed it zombie-free, which means I'll be going in alone. I WILL come back, got it?"
Wendy was silent.
"Got it?" Lucy said, a little more harshly.
The girl nodded and Lucy began to creep up to the shed. At once, she flung the door open and held her gun in front of her. She relaxed a little and waved Wendy to come over.
Wendy let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and ran to the shed.
"It's gonna be a tight fit, but it'll have to do," Lucy said, surveying the place. It looked untouched.
"We'll eat a little, drink some water, and then you can sleep. You've had a long day." Lucy said. "I'll keep watch."
Wendy's eyes widened.
"But Lucy! Aren't you gonna sleep?"
The older girl shook her head. "I got about 8 hours last night. It should last me a few days."
Wendy tried not to think about how hard that was on Lucy, but she noticed how big the bags under Lucy's eyes were.
"So which is it? Chocolate cookies or sugar cookies?" Lucy asked, changing the topic.
Wendy's stomach growled loudly as her eyes glowed with hunger.
"Sugar please!" She said excitedly. She loved sugar cookies before the world ended. It had been 2 years since she had actually tasted one.
"Careful. They might be a little stale." Lucy warned, but Wendy had no concern about that as she tried to savor the sweetness that flowed through her mouth.
Once they had eaten, they drank their water and talked for a bit.
"So Wendy… What's it like to be with a base?" Lucy asked, genuinely curious.
"I don't know about other bases, but Fairy Tail is like a family. We have to be. We need to have each others' backs if we want to win this in the end. We need to trust each other. We need to be able to be both silly and serious at the appropriate times." The bluenette said. "That's why Fairy Tail is so great."
Lucy stared at the girl. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it.
"Why'd you ask? Were you ever in a base?" Wendy asked.
Lucy shook her head. "Not a base per se, but it was pretty close to one."
"What happened to them?"
"They all died," Lucy said, bluntly. "Didn't even make it to the second month."
Wendy was quiet after that and slowly drifted asleep while Lucy blocked out the painful memories that had resurfaced.
She wasn't ready to remember them.
Looking that the slumbering girl (not in a creepy way), Lucy made a promise that she would return her to her family and give that brother of hers a scolding for sending Wendy out into the open with no weapon experience or suitable protection. She also decided she would teach Wendy a few of the basics. It was necessary to be able to defend yourself in this world, no matter how old you were.
Lucy was determined to make sure this girl survived, regardless of the cost.
When the sun started rising, Lucy gently shook Wendy awake.
"We should start heading towards your base." She said, gathering all their belongings. After debating whether or not to head North, she followed her gut instinct and went South.
"What about the car?" Wendy asked.
"Hm?"
"I came in a car, remember?" Wendy insisted.
"Oh yeah. I'd say wait a few days after we reach your base to retrieve it. That town's probably swarming with zombies by now."
"But it's a sector 4 town!" Wendy said.
"A sector what-now?"
"Sector 4. Fairy Tail organized Fiore into 6 sectors. So far, we've mostly cleared sectors 4, 5, and 6. We're working on sector 3." Wendy explained.
Lucy scoffed. "You called this town cleared? I think you and your friends are gonna have to re-clear this sector. If you claim that there were no zombies before, there will definitely be plenty now."
Wendy burrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"The best way to kill a mass amount of zombies is by burning them. The only downside: zombies are attracted by the smell of other burning zombies. Freaky. I know. While this can sometimes be useful, it's usually very annoying." Lucy said.
Wendy's eyes widened at her companion's words.
"Wait. you guys didn't know?" Lucy asked, astonished. "I'm starting to wonder how Fairy Tail is still around."
"My brother… he loves to burn the zombies in sector 3. Oh god. We have to hurry!" Wendy shouted.
"Shhh!" Lucy said.
"Bu-"
"Quiet. There's something up ahead." Lucy hissed, reaching into her back pocket to pull out a rather sharp looking knife. She pulled Wendy behind a wall of a house.
How many weapons does Lucy have? We're only allowed two each at Fairy Tail. And that's only if you're a hunter.
Peering around the corner, Wendy noticed Lucy flinch and then come back to safety.
"Alright. There are 3 zombies, possibly more." Lucy mumbled to herself. She tried to figure out the best strategy in killing them all, but in all possibilities, one ended up biting Wendy. Unless…
"How much training do you have in killing zombies?" Lucy asked. She already knew the answer. Barely anything.
"Only knife-throwing. My brother was the fighter in the family. I was better suited for first aid." Wendy whispered back.
"Well then. There's nothing like learning on the job, right?"
Wendy gasped.
Suddenly, two knives were shoved into her hands.
"There are 3 zombies right around the corner. I want you to throw one knife at the zombie at…. 11:00 while I take care of the others. Keep the other knife in case more appear." Lucy said.
She didn't even give Wendy enough time to answer as she shot out from behind the house, charging at the enemy.
"NOW WENDY!" She yelled.
Wendy took a deep breath and threw the knife with all her might. A few seconds later, there were three dead zombies, each with a knife sticking out of its head.
"Nice one," Lucy said. "Now, we gotta clean the knives and get going."
"Huh?"
"Well… I don't have a limitless arsenal, so I gotta take the weapons I find and clean off the blood." Lucy explained.
Wendy cocked her head, her mind flashing to her brother's heartbroken face.
"I don't suppose you've ever come across a gun with a dragon on it?" She asked.
Lucy furrowed her brows before rummaging through her bag.
"You mean this one?"
Wendy nodded eagerly.
"Why? Is it yours?"
"Nope. It's my brother's."
"If that's the case, then I'll save it until I meet him," Lucy said. "And then I'll consider returning it."
Wendy laughed.
"I guess it serves him right for losing it," Wendy said.
"It sure does. Now, that was good knife throwing. Kudos to whoever taught you." Lucy said.
"Yeah. Erza is our resident weapons expert. She's mastered every weapon found, but she prefers swords."
Lucy thought that was odd, but didn't comment.
"Unfortunately, knife throwing is not enough to carry anyone out here. In order to survive you need to know how to use a gun, fight with a knife and spar. I plan on teaching a few things to you before you return to your base." Lucy said.
Wendy's eyes shined in amazement.
"You'll teach me?" She asked excitedly.
"Yes. Now for your first lesson: Never throw your last knife."
Wendy listened intently to Lucy's lessons as they continued walking. Within two days, Wendy was able to effectively stab and dodge zombies.
Lucy's teaching methods were crude, yet effective. She'd pick houses with one to two zombies and have Wendy clear it. But, don't worry. She didn't leave Wendy there to die. She was ready to intervene if she felt that the situation became too drastic.
Next in her plan was to teach Wendy to shoot a gun. This was going to be risky since Zombies were attracted to noise, but maybe she could use that to her advantage.
"This is the safety switch. When you're just carrying it on you, make sure the switch is on. Otherwise, you could kill yourself. How old are you?" Lucy asked, realizing she had never wondered prior.
"12."
"Old enough I guess," Lucy said, shrugging. She had honestly thought Wendy was older since she seemed to mature. But that's what an apocalypse can do to you.
"What about you?" Wendy asked.
"I guess I'd be 19 by now," Lucy said. "Anyway, this is how you hold a gun." She said, quickly changing the subject.
Wendy nodded and mimicked the position with her own hands.
Lucy had made makeshift targets for practice, but from the moment Wendy started practice, Lucy knew that she wouldn't need them. Whether it was pure determination or instinct, Wendy was a natural.
"Damn. It took me two weeks to improve my aim for an 80% accuracy rate." Lucy commented. "Now let's get some good practice. Trust me when I say that a moving target is much more difficult than a still one."
Wendy smiled, excited. She had always felt useless at Fairy Tail. She wasn't advanced enough to really help her mother in their makeshift hospital, and she hadn't been allowed to train to hunt or clear. Now she could actually help out.
"Let's do this!" Wendy cried as they ran to a house that looked like it held zombies.
They worked their way from the first floor to the second. Wendy had killed 5 while Lucy had gotten 7.
"At this rate, we could probably get that car. I think you know enough to get you started. I'll drive you to your base and then you can become a clearer." Lucy said.
Wendy felt her heart drop. Startled by her own reactions, she tried to think about why she was feeling this way. It hit her. She didn't want to leave Lucy, the first person to treat her like a person, not something to be protected.
"Lucy…"
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to join Fairy Tail?"
(1796)
AN:
Thank you for reading! Answers to some comments below:
Ushindeshi: Why thank you! I had a lot of fun writing that, and no... it's not as sadistic as it sounds. I love Jet and Droy as much as I love any other Fairy Tail member, but I think that their deaths will play a great role in the story and in showing Lucy companionship for the first time. I hope this chapter was to your liking.
Kalessia04: I am sooooo happy that you chose my story! Your grammar was great, but I will not say who Wendy's brother is, even though its pretty obvious. THANK YOU!
sharmintisharminti: Well, I can't promise I will stop messing with your heart, I am glad you were touched by the scene:)
TeamSophie909: So glad you like my story! I'm happy to say that my goal is being met if my readers are being so affected by my writing.
Rate and Review Please! (PS: Please let me know if I made any grammar/spelling mistakes!)