A/N: Welcome back, everybody! Just as a fair warning, I'm headed back to school tomorrow so the next update might be a little slower on the drop. Don't worry, though - I'll be back. Enjoy!

"Clint, look!" Natasha said, pointing ahead through the trees.

Clint followed her gaze and saw what she had spotted. A shape through the branches that looked like the side of a house. He nodded at her. "I see it," he said. "Good timing; the sun's about to go down."

They had been walking through the woods for a few days now, each night camping on the cold hard ground. They hadn't seen much evidence of civilization in all that time. That they had found a house was a good sign that they were getting to the other side of this forest. The next town would probably show itself soon.

But for now, this house might be a good place to spend the night.

The group walked forwards. Right before trees broke into a clearing, there was a short stone wall that they jumped over. A little cottage sat in the middle of the clearing. It had a nice stone chimney and what would have probably been some pretty rose bushes if it were spring. It looked dark and quiet through the windows.

"Rhodey," Clint said. "Bucky. Why don't we go check this place out? The rest of you, look around the yard for loose walkers."

"Sure," Steve said, nodding.

So Clint walked towards the house, Rhodey and Bucky behind him.

"It doesn't look like anyone's inside," Rhodey said, peering through the window.

"Nothing alive, anyway," Bucky muttered in agreement.

They went up the steps to the small porch, and Rhodey moved to kick down the door.

"Whoa there, cowboy," Clint said, amused. "You wanna check if it's open first?"

Rhodey rolled his eyes and reached for the doorknob. "It's not gonna be - oh."

The doorknob turned and the door swung open.

Clint just raised his eyebrows at Rhodey and stepped past him into the house. It was dim, but he quickly adjusted to the light.

The entryway was covered in dust, but it looked like the place had been ransacked at some point in the past. Random objects had fallen to the floor, drawers were pulled open, and the mirror on the wall was smashed. The whole place looked dingy and cold.

"Egh," Rhodey said, shuddering. "This place is creepy."

"Isn't everything creepy nowadays?" Clint said, stepping further into the house. The floors creaked under his feet. He kept his bow out in front of him, pointed at the shadows.

"You go right," Bucky said, pointing at Rhodey. "We'll take this room. Meet us in the back."

Rhodey nodded, and they split.

The room they stepped into first looked like what used to be a sitting room, with wooden furniture surrounding a stone fireplace. One of the chairs had been destroyed and partly used as firewood. In the corner of the room an armoire sat with its doors pulled off, and hangers sat empty inside of it. Obviously whatever useful things had been in there were taken.

There were no walkers, though, so they moved on.

Bucky pushed the next door open, his gun out in front of him. Before Clint could even see what was going on in there, the gun went off once, and then twice.

Clint ran in, bow loaded. "What just -" he cut off as he saw the two walkers dead on the ground, bullet holes through their heads. When he looked up at Bucky, the man met his gaze and nodded.

"We're clear," he said.

Clint nodded back. "Nice one," he acknowledged. He noticed that they were in the kitchen. Two small windows and a door lined the back wall, leading out into the yard.

He looked down at the dead walkers. One used to be a woman - the other was probably her husband. They were both wearing matching aprons.

"I'll clear these two out," Bucky offered. He grabbed one by the arms and pulled it towards the back door, fumbling with the knob for a moment before he was able to get it open.

A minute later Rhodey was in the room with them. There were only a few rooms on the other side of the cottage, and he'd gotten through them with no problem.

"This place looks good for the night," Rhodey said, glancing at the body on the floor.

"Yeah, it should work," Clint agreed. "It'll be nice to have a roof over our heads for once."

Rhodey nodded. "That's for sure. It's been cold the last couple nights."

Bucky came back in through the door, followed by Steve. They grabbed the second body together and carried it outside.

"Looks like those two didn't actually die too long ago," commented Rhodey.

"Yeah." Clint glanced around the kitchen and saw a pot on the stove. "We should probably avoid whatever they were cooking in that," he said.

Rhodey chuckled. "Agreed. Food poisoning is not how I'm going out."

Noises came from the front of the house, and Clint figured that the others had come inside to check it out now that they knew it was clear.

He heard Peter's voice: "Ooh, look! Can we make a fire?"

"Maybe," May replied.

"These people ever hear about cushions?" Tony said. "This place is bare as hell."

"Maybe they're some blankets in one of the closets," Pepper suggested.

Clint stepped back into the sitting room, Rhodey right behind him.

"Nice place," Peter said to them with a smile.

"Yeah, thanks for securing the new digs," Tony added.

"We should probably only stay the night," Natasha said. "The town shouldn't be much farther on."

There were nods all around.

"Peter," May said. "Let me take a look at your head."

Peter rubbed the spot where he'd gotten pistol whipped. "I told you, May. It's fine. It's not bleeding anymore."

May raised her hands up appeasingly. "Okay, okay. Sue me for being concerned."

May had been doing much better lately. Even with all of the walking they'd done over the last few days, she seemed to have recovered almost completely from whatever illness had struck her. Clint was thankful that it hadn't been spread to anyone else.

"Can somebody get some food going?" Tony asked. "I'm starving."

"I think we can risk a good fire," Nat said, looking at the fireplace. "After all, they won't see any light. Just the smoke." She looked over at Clint for confirmation.

He nodded. "Makes sense to me," he said. "And it'd be nice to be a little warmer tonight."

"Yeah, what's up with this cold?" Peter said, taking a seat on one of the chairs that hadn't been broken down for fuel. "Who decided that was a good idea?"

"I blame Rhodey," Tony said, a glint in his eye. "You always say you love the cold. What, do you have access to the thermostat or something?"

Rhodey shrugged. "I do like the cold. It doesn't bother me, really."

Bucky stepped into the room and said, "Say that again in a month or so when the snow starts falling."

"Yeah," Steve added, "We should really be on the lookout for jackets and gloves and stuff. We'll need that later."

"So does this mean you're officially part of the posse?" Tony asked them. "I mean, when you say 'we'...?"

"Are we not already part of the posse?" Steve asked, chuckling. "What, is there a secret password? An entrance fee?"

"I think you paid the entrance fee when you saved our lives," Pepper said, walking back into the room with an arm full of blankets. She started handing them out. "Here, I found these down the hall. There's a few more if anyone needs another."

"Thanks, Pep," Tony said, planting a kiss on Pepper's cheek.

There was a flicker of light from the fireplace, and Clint turned to see that Natasha had been successful in her attempts to make a fire.

As she was adding more "logs" to feed it, Clint grabbed a few cans from the food bag and brought them over. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Rhodey.

"Hey, don't you think maybe the stove is working?" Rhodey said. "I mean, those people were cooking on it before they died."

"Oh yeah," Clint said. He tucked the cans under his arm and held out his hand to Nat. "Hey, pass me that lighter."

When the stove did work, Rhodey was so excited he punched Clint in the shoulder. "This is amazing!" he said.

Clint rubbed his shoulder, amused. "It's not much different than putting it over the fire. But I'm glad you're excited about it." He gestured towards the cupboards. "Grab a pot, will you?"

Rhodey opened up a cabinet and gasped. "Holy shit!"

"What?" Clint's gaze snapped over to where Rhodey was, his eyes looking out for danger.

But Rhodey just pulled out a small bottle from the cabinet, a smile on his face. "They've got spices! Real spices! And oil!"

Clint couldn't help it - he burst out laughing. "Okay, Guy Fieri. Why don't you cook?"

Rhodey grinned. "Don't mind if I do."

A few hours later, the sun had set, their bellies were full of warm food, and as they were sitting around the fire Clint felt more settled than he had in a while.

May had found a book on one of the shelves - Pride and Prejudice - and now she was reading it aloud to everyone. Her voice was calm and soothing, and Clint shifted back and forth from listening to the story to just soaking in the tone and not even hearing the words.

Eventually, his eyes slipped shut, and he fell asleep.

Unfortunately, they were wrong about thinking they'd make it to the town by the next day, and the following night was once again spent on the cold ground.

Tony was pretty tired of sleeping in the dirt, if he was being honest. But he had gotten better at it since this whole mess had started. The first few weeks they'd been on the road, he'd barely been able to sleep a wink. Now, he could sleep on almost anything.

Sleeping wasn't for a few hours, though, because they were still setting up camp. Clint had gone off to shoot them a few squirrels, and Bucky and Steve were making a barrier of sticks and placing cans that would rattle if any intruders tried to cross.

Tony was with Pepper, looking through their supplies.

"I feel like we're running through food too quickly," she said, shaking her head as she looked at a can of garbanzo beans. "We had so much more when we started this trek through the woods."

Tony shrugged. "Well, that's what happens when you have to feed nine people."

"Yeah, I guess. We'll have to find more when we get into town, though."

"What's new there," Tony said, raising an eyebrow.

Pepper chuckled. "Yeah, I know. We'll always be looking for more food."

"It's too bad we lost some of that medical gear to the river, though," Tony said, zipping up one of the duffel bags.

"It wasn't that much, really," Pepper replied. "Just some gauze pads and the tape. The rest is okay."

Tony finished zipping the duffel bag and patted the top. He looked over at Pepper, and smiled at her.

She smiled back, and then her gaze drifted a little to the left and turned somber.

Tony turned to see what she was looking at, and spotted May sitting alone. She was watching Peter as the kid went to help Bucky and Steve, and had a melancholy look on her face.

Pepper grabbed Tony's hand, and he looked back at her to see her expression was tender. "I love you, you know that?" she said.

Tony squeezed her hand. "Yeah, I know," he said. "I love you, too."

"I just…" Pepper glanced over at May again. "We - we should say that more often."

Tony pulled her forwards and kissed her softly. "I love you," he said again, filling his voice with all the emotion he could muster. "But don't worry, I'll be here a long time to say that to you."

Pepper wrapped her arms around him, and spoke into his neck, "I love you. And, I know. I'll be here, too."

Tony squeezed her tighter, and only pulled back when he felt her arms loosen.

Pepper smiled at him again, then picked up a duffel bag and dropped it in his arms. "Take that over there, you big sap."

"Yes, ma'am."

Later, Tony was sitting next to the dying fire, watching the golden embers as they sparkled within the ring of rocks. Peter sat next to him, his arms wrapped around his knees.

The sun had set by now, but the moon shone down on them, providing a little more light. Tony could see clouds gathering, though. He hoped it wasn't going to rain. They hadn't had to deal with that since they entered the forest, and Tony would rather face that with a roof over his head.

The others were milling about, readying themselves for bed. Rhodey and Nat were taking the first watch, and some people had already gone to sleep. Bucky and Steve were talking a little ways away, though. As were May and Pepper.

Tony turned to look at Peter, and saw the cool light of the moon highlighting the bags underneath the kid's eyes.

"You okay, Peter?" he asked.

Peter nodded. "Yeah," he said softly. "I'm just tired."

"Well," Tony suggested, "You could go to sleep."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the tip."

"What?" Tony said, studying him. "Is something keeping you up?"

"Nothing different than the normal stuff," Peter said with a shrug.

Tony nodded. "What… what's the normal stuff?"

Peter shot him a look like he was stupid. "I mean, there's the fact that there are crazy undead monsters walking around and we could die at any moment. I can come up with some other stuff if that's not enough."

"No," Tony said. "That's plenty for me, thanks."

It was quiet for a minute as both of them stared into the embers.

Then Peter said quietly, "Are you… do you get scared, ever?"

Tony looked over at him again. "Yeah," he replied softly. "Definitely, I get scared. Like you said, we've got good reason to be sometimes."

"I'm scared," Peter admitted. "A lot of the time. I… I feel like being scared all the time should make you less scared, eventually," Peter said, and Tony had to strain to hear his voice. "But it doesn't. It makes you more scared." He looked up at Tony, his gaze vulnerable. Then he shook his head roughly. "I guess I should just get used to it."

Tony shook his head, appalled by the wrongness of what he'd just heard. No kid should have to think that way.

He hesitated for a moment before slowly reaching out a hand and putting it on Peter's shoulder.

The kid blinked and looked up at him again.

"I'm sorry," Tony said quietly. "It shouldn't be this way. But… as long as we all have each other, we can make the world a little less scary. If you share it, it's not as bad."

Peter nodded. "Yeah. I know."

"Just…" Tony felt like he was wording all of this terribly. So he finished simply, "I want you to know I'm watching your back. We all are."

Peter gave him a little smile. "Thanks, Tony," he said softly. "I'll be watching yours, too."

Tony squeezed Peter's shoulder and nodded sharply before pulling back. "I'm… I'm gonna get some shut eye," he said awkwardly.

Peter, still smiling, nodded at him. "Okay."

"See you… see you in the morning."

"Right."

Tony gave the kid one last look before getting up and walking to the other side of the fire ring. He sat down before stretching out on the ground, his head pillowed on his arm.

He stared into the dying embers, occasionally glancing towards Peter, who was now being spoken to softly by his aunt.

He wasn't sure why he felt so protective of this kid. But maybe there was something about him that he connected with - some part of himself that he identified in Peter. And he knew that this kid deserved a better life. One where he could grow up without being afraid of shadows.

But since that life had been taken from him, Tony would just have to be there to help him. He hoped he could do it right.

Sighing, Tony's eyes drifted shut. His tired body sank into the ground, and he fell into a dreamless sleep.

Tony snapped awake suddenly, disoriented. There was a hand at his shoulder.

"Tony," Rhodey hissed urgently. "Get up. We need to move."

It was pitch black out. The embers of the fire had died. The air was cool, and Tony could hear the wind whipping through the leaves in the trees.

He shook his head blearily, put pushed himself to his feet. "What - what's going on?" he asked, confused.

Tony could barely see the look on Rhodey's face through the dark, but it adrenaline spike through him. "They're everywhere," Rhodey said, gripping his shoulder. "If we don't get the hell away from here, we're dead meat."

Tony looked around frantically. He saw that people were moving all around him. To his right, Clint was knocking an arrow in his bow, and in front of him Steve was knocking down a walker with a tree branch.

"Pepper," he said frantically. "Where's Pepper?"

"She's over there," Rhodey pointed. "Now get your fucking knife out unless you plan on dying tonight."

Tony spotted a figure across the way, and figured that must be Pepper. He stepped away from Rhodey, his mind on his wife. He needed to make sure that she was safe.

He heard Rhodey call out behind him, but didn't process what he said since at that moment a huge bolt of lightning flashed through the sky.

Someone gasped nearby right before the air was broken with the sound of thunder.

Rain started to fall, slow at first but heavier by the second.

"Pepper!" Tony called out. He continued after the figure he saw through the dark. Rain hit his eyes, and he tried to shield them with the hand that didn't hold his knife.

It wasn't long before he was soaked to the bone. His hair flattened to his head, and his clothes hung loose and wet around him.

Finally, he reached Pepper, and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him slowly.

"Pepper," he said over the sounds of the storm, "We gotta go. Are you okay?"

She didn't reply, and Tony frowned in confusion, squinting at her through the rain. "Pepper?" he said, confused.

She turned around completely, and in the same moment, a flash of lightning lit the sky.

What was illuminated made Tony stumble back in terror, his knife held out in front of him. "Shit!" he cursed.

That wasn't Pepper. Instead, a thing with a rotting face and empty eyes stared at him.

It stepped forwards, and Tony stepped back again. But this time, he slipped in the growing mud and landed flat on his back.

The air rushed out of his lungs at the impact, and he barely reacted fast enough when the walker fell on top of him.

Frantically, his breathing rapid, he struggled and twisted and kicked. Finally, with one last good push, he got it off of himself.

Tony got to his knees and straddled the thing to keep it down before taking his knife and stabbing it in the skull. It took three blows before the knife made it through the bone. Blood spurted back into his face.

He collapsed back into the mud, his heart pounding and his chest heaving. Rain still poured on him from above, and another horrible thunderclap rolled through the air.

Tony stumbled to his feet in the mud and moved away from the dead walker, his eyes wide as he tried to see through the rain and the dark. He tried to remember which direction he had come from. Where was camp? Where was Pepper?

He could barely see a few feet in front of himself, but there were no figures in the distance. The sounds of the storm blocked all others, even as he strained to hear voices over the pounding rain.

A hand on his shoulder nearly made him jump out of his skin. He whipped around wildly, his knife out in front of him.

"Ah!" a voice said in surprise and pain. "No, no - Tony, it's me!"

Tony wiped the rain from his eyes and blinked to see Peter standing in front of him, soaked in rain and holding a hand against his opposite shoulder.

"Oh, god," Tony said, staring at the shoulder. "I'm - I'm sorry."

Peter shook his head. He said something, but a crack of lightning stole the words out of his mouth.

Tony reached out and gripped his shoulder - the one he hadn't just accidentally stabbed. "Stay right behind me!" he said over the wind. "We'll find everyone else!"

Peter nodded. Then his eyes widened, and he dropped his bleeding shoulder to grab Tony's knife out of his hands.

Tony stumbled to the side as Peter pushed past him, and turned to see the kid knocking down another walker before getting it through the eye.

But that wasn't all. It was what was behind that walker that stole Tony's breath from his lungs.

There were at least ten more dead, stumbling towards them, their arms outstretched.

"Peter!" he cried. He pulled the kid to his feet and they ran forwards, their footsteps unsteady in the mud.

At one point Peter tripped and landed heavily on the ground, his face in the dirt.

Tony just yanked him up again and pushed him forwards in front of himself.

When he heard a voice in the wind, though, he stopped.

"What was that?" he said, still gripping Peter's arm.

Peter turned to him, eyes wide. "That was Steve!" he said.

They heard it again, much clearer this time.

"Anyone out there, get in here!" Steve yelled.

Tony held onto Peter and they ran together through the dark towards Steve's voice.

When they found him, he was standing in front of some kind of shed. He was holding the door open, and they ran inside without hesitation.

Bucky was already in the shed. He stood dripping, his long hair plastered to his face by the rain.

The door slammed shut, and the noise of the wind cut down dramatically, although they could still hear the patter of rain on the roof. Immediately they started grabbing things to brace against the door and keep it shut.

The shed was almost oppressively dark, lit only by the shocks of lightning that broke outside. Their harsh breaths filled the space.

Slowly, their eyes adjusted to the dark, and Tony was able to see the figures, and eventually the faces of those around him.

"Oh my god," Peter said, running a hand over his face. He looked terrified. "That was close."

"Stay quiet," Steve hissed. "We don't want them trying to break down the door."

Bucky nodded in agreement. "If one starts knocking, they all join."

Tony looked around the shed, taking in the shelves of gear. Most of it looked like gardening equipment - empty pots and old bags of soil. There was a sprinkler, and a ladder. Tools - some of which looked useful - lined the back wall.

Tony's eye fell on Peter again, and he saw the blood running from the kid's shoulder. He reached out a hand to touch it. "Are - are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"I don't think it's deep," Peter said quickly. "But what - what about everyone else?" Peter said anxiously, turning to Tony. His voice could barely be heard above the storm. "Where are they?"

Tony shook his head. His own worry matched the level that he could see on Peter's face. "I don't know," he admitted. "But they'll - they'll make it." He hoped that he sounded believable.

"We should go out after them!"

"No," Steve interrupted firmly. "We can't. There's nothing we can do out there. All that'll happen is we'll end up cornered by walkers or breaking our necks in the mud. We'll go out when the storm breaks."

Peter's breaths were shaky. "Maybe… maybe they'll make it back to the house," he said hopefully.

Tony didn't bother pointing out that the cottage was a day's walk away. "Maybe," he breathed.

He closed his eyes and thought about Pepper. Her bright eyes, the way her hair shifted in the breeze - her laugh.

She had made it.

They all had. There was no other option.

He opened his eyes to see Bucky walking towards the back of the shed, where a table was pressed up against the wall. On it, there was a pot filled with water. A dead mouse floated on the top, bloated and rotting.

"Ugh," said Bucky, looking into the pot. "That's disgusting."

The next moment passed faster than Tony could blink.

The table rattled, and out from behind it popped a grotesque face, its teeth bared.

"Bucky!" Steve called out in warning.

But it was too late. There was no time to move before the walker's teeth sunk into Bucky's hand.

"NO!" Bucky screamed. He grabbed the walker by the head and slammed it into the corner of the table. Once, twice, three times —

There was a sick crack, and brains flew from the corpse.

Bucky released it slowly and turned to face the rest of them, a horrified look on his face.

And then he collapsed.

"Bucky, no!" Steve cried. He raced forwards and landed on his knees in front of his friend.

Bucky was shaking, holding his bitten hand up in front of his face. His expression was one of terror, and Tony didn't blame him.

"Bucky," Steve was saying. "No, no, no -"

But for the moment, Tony couldn't focus on that. "Are there any more?" he demanded, looking around the shed. Every corner seemed to be hiding walkers now.

Steve was still staring at Bucky in horror, but tore his eyes away to look around for other threats.

After a moment though, it was clear there was no other threat in the room, and Steve's attention was back on his friend.

Peter was standing almost unnaturally still against the door, his face pale and his jaw clenched as he watched Bucky.

"There must be something we can do," Steve was saying desperately.

"It's over," Bucky told him. "You know how this goes. We all do. Now, you have to do it," he said meaningfully.

"No," Steve said fiercely.

Tony watched in sympathy. It was true. They had all been there before. And he was sorry to see Bucky's time had run out. If he could do anything, he would. But everyone knew that when you got bit, it was over. There was no saving you.

He suddenly couldn't watch any more, and tore his eyes away from the scene.

That's when Tony's eyes caught on something hanging from the wall. Something sharp.

An idea popped into his head.

Oh, God. What was he about to do.

He reached over, grabbed it off the wall and held the heavy handle in his hands.

Steve was standing over Bucky, his face full of pain and horror.

Bucky had his lips pressed tight together, but his eyes shone bright with fear. "Kill me now, Steve," he was saying. "I will not be one of them."

Steve just shook his head in denial. "No, no, Buck—"

"We promised!" Bucky hissed desperately. "You have to do this. Please!"

Tony stepped forwards, his eyes on the bitten hand that was now resting on the ground at Bucky's side.

A voice came from behind him. "Tony?" Peter said quietly, confused. "What…?"

Tony didn't look back, and just kept walking towards Bucky.

But at the noise, Steve looked up. His face twisted in confusion. "Tony, what's going on?"

"Move out of the way, Steve," Tony told him softly.

"No… what?"

"Move," Tony said again, louder this time.

But Steve wouldn't move from his protective position above his friend. "What the hell are you doing?" He demanded angrily, his eyes wide. "Get back!"

"Move!" Tony roared. He pushed Steve aside, and the man landed on his back, leaving the way clear.

Tony's heart pumped in his chest, and thunder boomed outside. But he didn't let himself think. There was no time for that. He had to move. Now.

The axe swung forwards, and landed with a sick thud right through Bucky's wrist.

A/N: Thanks for reading, y'all! This chapter was a blast to write, and I can't wait to hear what you think about it!