Chapter 1
3x01
It had started with the explosion. The deep boom followed by the sound of water raining down on itself was what had initially drawn her from her cabin. She grabbed her weapon of choice – a harpoon she'd found washed up on the beach back at the start – and headed out despite her more logical side telling her following a sound like that would only get her caught up in trouble, either from the people who'd caused it or the Z's that would be drawn to the sound.
She walked the short distance through the trees before the dirt became sand and she'd walked out onto the shore. All looked quiet enough, the ocean had calmed and returned to its usual rolling waves and there wasn't a person or zombie to be found. She continued walking anyway seeing if she found anything useful that may have washed up, ever since she'd taken that cabin as her refuge she'd found a descent amount of things along the shoreline; netting, fishing hooks and wire, plastic and glass bottles, she'd even found a small compass once.
She paused when she saw something up ahead, a long black figure and once she got closer she could tell it was a body. She held her harpoon in a more defensive manner as she approached. The body was face down so that made it more difficult to tell if it was human or zombie. Sometimes the zombies moved and other times they didn't, it depended on how long they'd been in the water. If they'd drowned and their lungs had filled with the salty liquid of the sea it weighed them down and made it difficult for them to get up, not a problem for her since it also made them easier to kill. The closer she got she realized the body – now clearly a man - wasn't moving at all which was odd, if it was a Z usually they'd at least be twitching and snarling. She poked him with the blunt end of her harpoon and still he didn't move. She knelt beside him with her heart now racing, if he wasn't well enough to be moving but he hadn't turned yet then that meant he might be wavering between dead and alive. She hated the idea of having someone's life in her hands, especially these days. What if she saved him and he turned out to be someone bad? What if she didn't and he was someone good?
In the end her own good nature won out and she put down her harpoon to flip him over onto his back revealing a rifle he'd been laying on top of. He still gave no response and she brought her ear to his chest waiting for a heartbeat, after a moment she heard the dull thump-thump but realized his chest wasn't moving – he wasn't breathing. She tried to remember what she learned back in high school when they required everyone to learn CPR, she lifted his head and blew air into his mouth once, twice, three times.
Then he started to cough and she pulled back as he leaned over and threw up salt water before he took a few shaky breaths; then he laid on his back again, now panting. Her hand went to her harpoon, just in case, as he looked up at her. Then his eyes rolled up into his head and his eyelids shut as he passed out. She brought her hand to his shoulder and started to shake him, he was still breathing and he still had a pulse so what could be wrong?
She checked him over but it was difficult since his black clothes were drenched and stuck to his body. When she brought one hand to rest over his stomach she felt how wet his shirt was but this spot was different, this was warmer. She pulled up his shirt and found a patch of gauze taped to his abdomen, but instead of being white the rectangle was completely red as he bled out from what seemed like a pretty bad wound.
She sighed.
.
.
Dragging him from the beach back to her cabin hadn't been easy and she tried to keep his right side out of the sand as much as possible, the wound he had was bad enough, he didn't need sand getting in it and causing an infection.
When she'd finally gotten him into her cabin and set up in her bed she took his rifle from her shoulder and brought it over to a small table she had and laid it across the surface before going to the small dresser where she kept her clothes and began digging through for the cleanest thing she owned. Eventually she found a shirt that would work and she rushed over to where she'd left the young man in bed. She pulled up his shirt and carefully removed the blood soaked gauze, when she pulled it away she saw a hole roughly the size of a quarter and it looked deep and had stitches in it that had been ripped open.
She went to her bookcase and sifted through the supplies to get a needle and thread. Once she found them she rushed back to the table and held the needle into a lit candle to kill any bacteria, quickly she threaded it and moved back to the boy. Luckily she'd gotten over things like this when she was young and she'd learned how to fish, she just treated it like stabbing a worm with a hook or pulling a hook from a fish.
She leaned over and prodded the hole – which she assumed was from a bullet – and found he had more stitches patching him up inside. She took a deep breath before getting to work, using the first set of stitches as a guide, she kept breathing steadily as she worked focusing on being precise. She fixed everything internally before she sealed up the wound entirely, praying she'd done everything right.
Next she got up and went back to where she kept her small stash of medical supplies, it was so small in fact that it all fit in a shoebox she kept on the bookcase. She put the needle and thread there and took out a mason jar full of moss and brought it over. The moss would actually function as an antiseptic inhibiting the growth of bacteria. She put some of the moss over his stitches then took the clean shirt she'd found and cut it into strips, folding one into a square she rested it over the moss. She took another strip and wrapped it around his middle and tied it to keep the folded square in place. Then she looked at the rest of him.
His water drenched clothes would have to go or he might get sick. She took off his boots and his socks before cutting off his shirt, she didn't want to risk moving him too much and irritating the stitches. She hesitated when she got to his belt and a voice in her head scolded her, Oh, come on. You were just stitching up his skin and internal organs but this you can't handle? She knew her inner voice was right but she still looked away as she undid his belt.
10K POV
Everything was red and his head throbbed from the combination of blood loss and the blaring alarm. He sat up groggily before he pulled an IV from his arm and got up off the operating table. He saw no one as he looked around but he did spot his clothes and his rifle on a metal table nearby. He got up and stumbled over to them fighting his body's protests. He grabbed his clothes and his gun before moving to the door and resting on the frame. He heard footsteps deeper in the sub and decided to follow the sound, he had to find someone who knew what was going on and more importantly how to get out. He threw his shirt and hoodie on as he made his way down the narrow halls. He listened for the shuffling of feet and followed the sound but it was difficult. The halls of the sub made everything echo and he couldn't be sure he was going the right way. He brought the strap of his rifle across his chest just as everything became fuzzy. He'd lost too much blood and his body hadn't recovered yet. In his disorientation he backed up to the wall trying to fight the feeling like he was about to pass out. It wasn't enough though and his eyes drooped shut as he slid down the wall and everything went black.
Cold water.
Something salty burning down his throat.
Sand scratching at his skin.
Feeling a breath of air fill his lungs.
Everything fading to black again.
When he opened his eyes he saw a wooden ceiling above him and felt a soft mattress under him. He brought a hand to his face and rubbed his eyes also noticing he was covered in several blankets to keep him warm. He heard a quiet tap, tap, tap, tap, tap and turned to his right to see a girl standing by a small wood stove as she cut what looked like a fish. She was wearing jeans and a light pink tank top, the straps were about an inch thick and it showed an inch of her stomach. Over it she wore a periwinkle and plum plaid flannel which had some stripes of white and light pink also criss-crossing on it and her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. His eyes stayed on the knife in her hand as he realized he was unarmed; his eyes quickly found his rifle on a table across the small room and judging by the distance he'd be able to get to it before the girl could stop him. However, his plan fell apart pretty quickly when he sat up and was immediately overcome by pain. He couldn't stop the groan he made as he gripped his stomach and remembered his gunshot wound. His groan made the girl turn and put down the knife as she made her way over to him.
"You need to lie down." She said, approaching him and hesitantly bringing a hand to his shoulder, briefly trying to make him do what she said before her shyness took over and she pulled her hand back.
"What happened?" he asked leaning back onto his elbows as he looked around the room again. It looked like a cabin – a small cabin, just the one room – across from the bed where he was must have been the front door, the small stove where the girl had been was to the right and across from that was the table where his rifle was. There were also a few small bookcases and shelves and hooks on the walls.
"Explosion." The girl replied still standing by him playing with her hands awkwardly, "I'm not sure what though."
He shook his head, leave it to Murphy to blow up a damn submarine. "I need to get back to my friends, they probably think I'm dead." He said trying to sit up again only for the pain in his stomach to flare up like before.
"You're too wounded, you won't make it." She said stepping forward like she wanted to help him again but she halted when he turned and looked at her. "Besides, it will be dark soon, it's not safe. There's probably tons of Z's headed this way after that explosion, they'll be drawn here from the noise."
"Then why aren't you leaving if it isn't safe?" he asked as she continued to play with her hands nervously.
"The Z's always get distracted by the sounds of the ocean, the waves, it draws them out to shore and they get swept up in the tide. Then they drown, their lungs fill up with water and they sink to the bottom of the sea." When he said nothing more and the awkward tension returned she moved back to the stove and began to ladle something out of a pot and pour it into a ceramic bowl. He looked around the cabin again, this time taking in some of the smaller features. He noticed at the end of the bed in that corner of the cabin his clothes were hanging from some old netting, water dripped from the ends of the fabrics as they dried and he looked back down at himself. His wound had been patched with a shirt and the blankets were now twisted around his middle from trying to sit up so much.
"Am I naked?" he asked turning to her and he saw her pause with the ladle over the pot.
She nodded and he thought he saw her face get a little red, "Yes." She said slowly before returning to her work, not looking at him. "If you stayed in those clothes you would have gotten sick and your body needs to do enough healing as it is."
She put a spoon into the bowl and walked back over to him as he pulled the blankets up higher around him and turned onto his side now being more careful of his injury. She handed him the bowl and still didn't make eye contact with him. "I didn't look if that's what you're worried about."
He took the bowl and looked up at her, "Thank you. . . for this I mean." He said gesturing to the bowl in his hands.
"You're welcome." She said with a small smile before returning to the stove and filling a bowl for herself. He looked down at the soup in his hands. It looked like a combination of some wild onions, edible roots, maybe some noodles from a pack of ramen and the fish she'd been cutting up. She must have seen him staring at it as she walked over to the table and sat at the lone chair.
"It's not poisoned if that's what you're wondering." She said and he looked at her for a moment, "If I wanted to kill you, wouldn't I have just left you on the beach?"
He supposed that made sense as he looked back down into the bowl and got a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. He had to repress a satisfied hum when the warm broth hit his tongue, he couldn't remember the last time he'd had a warm home cooked meal as he took another spoonful. He looked up as he ate and watched the girl at the table, she was looking at his rifle as she chewed and he saw a bit of fear mixed with fascination in her eyes as she looked at the weapon.
"What's your name?" he asked when he'd swallowed and she looked up at him shyly.
"I'm Ellie." She said with a tiny smile and he cringed. Don't open that old wound, his inner voice scolded him, it can't be that Ellie. When he didn't respond with his own name and instead looked back down at his bowl her small smile dropped and she returned her attention to her own ration.
"Ten Thousand." He finally replied and he saw her look up again, her expression now a mix of that tiny smile and a wrinkle of confusion between her eyebrows.
"Is that a name or a goal?" she asked and he chuckled impressed that she'd been the first to put that together.
"Both." He said restraining his own smile.
"And. . . how far are you?"
"5,387. . .and a half."
"Half?" she asked.
"It was just the torso." He explained, "No legs."
"Why didn't you just leave it then?"
"Well it was still crawling along the ground trying to get to me."
"I hate it when that happens." She said, her shyness returning as she looked down at her bowl. They fell into silence again as they continued to eat, he let his eyes scan the room trying to see what he could learn about Ellie by the way she lived. There was a small shoebox marked 'medical' in sharpie marker that had a needle and thread, a mason jar of moss, and a small box of band aids. The shoebox was on top of a bookcase that held various other things, notebooks and crossword puzzles she'd probably picked up to pass the time, there was some random fishing supplies and several books that looked like they'd been read more than once. There was the small wood stove of course, beside a countertop where she'd left her knife and cutting board, next to it on the floor was a large white bucket and along the side was written 'fresh/boiled water' and next to that was a small cooler – probably where she stored fish when she had it.
Across the room behind where she sat at the table was a fishing rod leaning in the corner along with a. . . harpoon? He'd have to ask later. On the table – along with his rifle – was a tin can with colored pencils and pens. At the foot of his bed was a small dresser and above that was where his clothes were hanging.
"How long have you been here on your own?" he asked telling by the small space and the single bed that there was no way she was living with anyone else.
"A while." she said looking back at her bowl and playing with her spoon swirling it around in the broth, "A. . . long while."
"Family?"
"Gone."
"Friends?"
She shrugged, "I never really had that many friends. My dad's job made us move around a lot. I only ever had one that I got really close to but we had to move away and I never saw or heard from them again. Probably dead now too." She said mumbling the last part.
"I'm sorry." He said quietly before they fell into silence again.
Murphy POV
"That's it Captain, put your back into it!" Murphy directed after they'd brought the boat to shore. "In two minutes, I want this place in my rearview mirror! Exploding submarines tend to attract the wrong kind of attention." He said with his hands on his hips as the blends unloaded the boat and started packing up the ATV's and the jeep that had taken them away from Aunties earlier. He saw one guard start to walk over only carrying one bag and Murphy raised his hand and focused. The man halted then turned back and picked up a second bag. "Better." Murphy nodded as the Captain passed him with more supplies, "Captain?" Murphy called and the man halted as Murphy took his hat and put it on his own head.
"Captain." The now former captain addressed him making Murphy smile as he continued to load the jeep like a good little blend. Merch passed him with a look in her eye as she stared, unlike the others who did as he said without question Merch had seemed to keep more of her mind, it was. . . interesting.
"It'll heal." Murphy groaned as she passed him and got in the jeep, "Clock hates us people!" he shouted before clapping his hands once, "Let's move!"
.
.
They continued down a dirt road going north, they drove through forests, open fields, there was even one patch of barren land that was nothing but dirt where the ATV's suddenly stopped as their tires popped. Murphy stopped the jeep behind them as the three soldiers and Captain inspected the damage.
"Try to avoid the sharp stuff." Murphy said then they heard screaming and hollering in the distance. It didn't sound like anyone in distress, instead it sounded more like a war cry.
"There." A soldier pointed at a patch of trees ahead of them across the barren field as three people emerged through the pine trees hollering and raising weapons.
"Zombie's carrying weapons?" Merch asked as Murphy stepped forward and raised his hands as he concentrated. Then he stopped and dropped his arms as he realized there was no connection between him and the charging people.
"Those aren't Z's." he said, "Back in the vehicle." He ordered, "You two will have to do better." Murphy said to the soldiers, then a new sound filled the air, something he hadn't heard in four years. He looked above them and they all saw an airplane fly over. Who could possibly have the fuel and resources to fly a plane anymore? As it flew over it dropped cargo which parachuted down to the ground landing further in the distance. The three people who had been running for them must have decided that a plane would have better supplies than anything he and his blends were carrying and they all ran off after where they'd seen the parachutes fall. Once they were gone Murphy started up the jeep and followed.
.
.
The factory where the supply drop had landed proved to be quite promising. The wild people – Enders he learned they were called – were easy enough to take out when you had men with automatic rifles on your side. It wasn't until after they packed up everything they'd found and headed off again did he see a group of people at the other side of the factory.
"Well, look who's still alive. Roberta Warren." Murphy said sounding impressed as he stopped the armored car they'd gotten.
"Murphy." Warren greeted him sounding less enthusiastic.
"The Murphy?" An Asian woman asked sounding shocked.
"Murphy!" Doc said happily.
"Where is 10K?" Addy asked and Murphy turned to her then slowly shook his head making both Doc and Addy look to each other sadly.
"Well, looks like you've been busy, making friends." He said now looking at the Asian woman and Hector.
"Looks like you've been making friends too." Warren said looking over at Dr. Merch who had a bite in her cheek like Cassandra.
"Funny." Murphy said humorlessly then he turned to Hector, "El Scorpion."
"It's not El Scorpion anymore. Just Hector."
"Oh, had a little 'Road to Damascus' moment there, eh, Hector?" Murphy asked, "Me too. I have seen the light!" he said with a smile sounding excited.
"What happened to the submarine?" Warren asked.
"Oh, total shit show. I got the hell out of there before the damn thing sank."
"You blew up the CDC lab?" Warren asked now sounding shocked and appalled.
"There is no CDC." Murphy snapped, "No government, only Zona. A bunch of rich bastards trying to game the system. They can get their cure from someone else's blood. Plus, I took their doctor." He said gesturing to Merch as Warren began to look angry and took a step forward, "Ah, ah, ah, that's close enough" he said making Warren stop, "Wake up Warren, this world is over. Come with me. Start the next world."
"And be your bitch blend? I don't think so." She said turning down the offer.
"You make it sound so cheap."
"Murphy we need you. We still can complete our mission, this is Dr. Sun she traveled from Beijing just to find you. She can manufacture a vaccine –"
"To save humanity blah, blah, blah. You really should hear yourself."
"Mr. Murphy my people are waiting for us aboard a ship with a fully equipped lab." Dr. Sun tried to explain and Murphy raised his hand stopping her before he made a comment about how that explained why the radio only had people talking in Chinese.
"Oh, and thanks for letting me borrow your ride by the way."
"That's my medical equipment." Dr. Sun said gesturing to the supplies piled on top of the jeep.
"Oh, yeah. Borrowing that too." He said with a shrug.
"You can save my people, save everyone. I need to make this vaccine. Help me." She begged.
"Sorry. No one is poking holes in me ever again. Unless I say so."
"Murphy don't be an idiot. You cannot do this alone." Warren told him.
"Yes I can, but you can help me. All you have to do is get in the car. Forget about humanity Warren. It's over. Join my mission. Heck you can even bring Dr. Sun along too. Even saint Hector there."
Warren drew her gun having heard enough, "Get out of the car."
"Seriously, Roberta?" he sighed, "Okay." Then he lifted his hand and a gun went off from the roof where he'd sent another one of his blend soldiers. The bullet hit the ground right in front of Warren's foot and she jumped back as they all looked around.
"10K?" Doc asked clearly hoping to catch a glimpse of his friend. Warren looked back at Murphy with a deadly glare before they heard screaming and shouting again and saw Enders rushing over ready to tear them apart.
"Well time to choose." Murphy said, "Me or what's left of humanity." He said and saw none of them move as they all gave him dirty looks, "All right have it your way. It's blend time. Humans lost the race. Just ask them." he smiled gesturing to the Enders. "TTFN."
Then he started up the jeep and took off. In his rearview mirror he saw them all start to run for cover from the Enders and he heard three more gunshots and saw three Enders drop, their hands slapping over the fresh holes in their torsos. The group paused looking for the shooter again before they took off around the corner of the building. Murphy shook his head as he turned his attention back to the road. If he had 10K Warren would have a hole in her foot right now for questioning his new blend society. He needed someone who was as good a shot as that kid.