A/N: Never thought anyone would actually read that but thanks for the Favs, the Follows, and the Reviews. I shall continue writing then.
TWO
Everybody Wants To Rule The World
There's a room where the light won't find you
Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down
When they do I'll be right behind you
.
Still Somewhere in Atlanta
About 7PM
The sun is already setting by the time Fat Amy stopped the bus.
They're somewhere in the outskirts of Atlanta as they drove with the goal of getting as far away from Barden as possible.
"We can't drive forever," Fat Amy says, standing up from the driver's seat to stretch her legs. "We need a plan. Come on," she says again when everyone just stares at her blankly.
No one has said anything since they made it all to the bus. Beca doesn't think any of her friends has absorbed the fact that this is happening right now. One minute, you're attending a boring class and the next minute, one of your classmates is munching on your other classmate.
Beca looks around her again. Everyone is sitting closely together in pairs. For the first time in Bellas history, the back of the bus is empty.
Stacie and Aubrey are sitting next to each other behind the driver's seat while Beca and Chloe—with their hands still joined—sit across them. On the second row are Cynthia Rose and Jessica, and Lilly and Ashley. This is what's left of them now.
"I can't believe Denise is dead," Ashley says out of nowhere, staring outside the bus as the sun sets before them.
The sun sets before them and it's beautiful.
It's ironic, Beca thinks, how something so beautiful could take place at such a horrible time. And it's unsettling how the world has ended and yet it doesn't stop spinning.
It's also strange how something as beautiful could mean the start of something scary. After the sun sets, it's gonna be dark. It means there would be eight clueless girls aimlessly wandering around in the dead of the night.
It would have been an interesting adventure; you know, if the world is actually still alive.
"I can't believe we're alive," Fat Amy says, sitting back on the driver's seat.
It makes no sense they're still alive. The thought alone is scary.
"I can't believe we found a bus," Chloe adds, forcing a smile.
They all need it. A lot of horrible things have happened in the past hour and they've passed—and run over—so many undead on their way away from Barden; the last thing they need right now is yet another one of them giving up.
"We're heading west," Stacie says.
Beca perks up on her seat. She doesn't know why but something in her gut tells her to just let Stacie handle it.
"Why?" Cynthia Rose asks.
"Why not?" Stacie deadpans.
Stacie doesn't take her stare off the road. Her eyes are cold but they're also brave.
Beca takes a deep breath—and help her God because, yeah, she's about to go spiralling downwards with this, "We need weapons."
Everyone turns to her, eyes wide with mixed expectations and determination.
Beca only shrugs.
Please tell me they're not expecting me to explain why we need weapons.
"And food," Chloe supports her notion.
Beca sees Lilly nod, and Ashley, too.
"And alcohol," Stacie adds, a smile finally escaping her lips.
"Yup, definitely," Beca agrees because yes. Alcohol.
To Beca, this where the fight to survival started.
.
Birmingham, AL
9:41 PM
"We're here," Fat Amy declares as she pulls into the parking lot of a hotel.
After driving around from I-20, they finally found a place to stay the night. They figured it's safer to stay at a deserted hotel than continue driving with the risk of running out of gas in the middle of nowhere.
"Stick to the plan, okay?" Stacie says, standing up from her seat. She turns to Beca, "You ready?"
"Never," Beca says, forcing a smile as she stands up.
She feels Chloe tug at her hand. Beca turns to her.
Chloe doesn't speak but the look in her eyes gives it away. Chloe is worried sick. She spent the last hour telling Beca how stupid this idea is but they don't have a choice.
"If we're not back in an hour, you're on your own," Stacie says and Beca is still yet to get used to that line.
Stacie takes her gun out.
"Beca," Chloe mutters.
"It's okay, Chlo."
"You're coming back, right?"
Something in the way Chloe's voice shakes breaks Beca to pieces.
"I don't know—"
Chloe smacks her arm.
"—ow! What the hell, Beale?"
"Tell me you're coming back."
"We will."
"Promise me."
Everyone is staring at them, also maybe hoping she'd promise them the same thing.
Beca has never been big about promises but just like always, Chloe is the exception to that rule.
"I promise."
Chloe nods as she looks away, refusing to watch Beca and Stacie leave the bus.
The goal is to clear the area, make sure we're safe.
She plays Stacie's word in head, as if it was that easy.
Gun in one hand and flashlight on the other, Stacie and Beca step out of the bus.
The night is cold.
"You know, I've always wanted to visit Sweet Home Alabama," Stacie says calmly, like it was a normal night.
"Are you seriously trying to small talk right now?"
Stacie smirks, "Glad to see that even the apocalypse cannot take away Beca Mitchell's signature sarcasm."
"You're weird."
"Nah, let's just get this over with," Stacie says with finality as they head toward the building.
They're lucky that most of the undead in this part of Birmingham seem to be somewhere else. This part anyway is a remote area, the hotel being one of the many inns near Interstate 20. Beca can't help but shake her head at the thought of how I-20 looked like.
The 45 minute drive from Atlanta to Birmingham was what they all needed to see what the world has actually turned into. Cars overturned, undead people walking around thoughtlessly, blood on the streets—this is their world now.
Beca and Stacie walk toward the three-storey hotel that seems empty. They both turn off their flashlight because some of the lamp posts are still working, save for a couple that have been torn down. It almost makes Beca laugh how the few working ones are flickering.
What a cliché.
Soon as they step inside the hotel lobby, Beca fights the urge to call out hello. She remembers Stacie's words: whatever happens, do not make a sound unless absolutely necessary.
"Where do we start?" Beca asks, her voice low.
"This floor."
The main lobby is in the middle of the floor, dividing the floor into two wings. Stands in the middle is the reception and beside it is the grand spiral staircase. It would have been a decent highway stop.
"You take the right wing," Stacie orders her after a few moments and Beca only nods nervously.
She thinks about her promise to Chloe, I should come back.
Back inside the bus, it seems an easy promise to fulfil but right now, it's doesn't look like a walk in the park.
"You used to hunt, right?" Stacie asks, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah."
"Remember the number rule for hunting?"
"Don't drop the gun."
Stacie rolls her eyes, "Okay, the second one."
"Aim for the head."
Stacie nods.
And that's when they go their separate ways.
Beca steers to her right and counts the room. The right side has 3 rooms she has to clear out and Stacie's method for clearing out is composed of two things: one, make sure it's free of any undead (meaning you should kill it when you see one) and two, shut down all doors and windows.
She takes a deep breath and holds out the gun properly.
It's been a while since she last held an actual gun and she was holding a rifle the last time she did. Thinking about it, she really has not shot a pistol before. Lily has given her the quick tutorial and man, that girl may or may not be an actual assassin.
She walks toward the first door.
This is it. Help me God.
She prays about ten thousand prayers as she turns the door knob and quickly pushes the door open. She steps back immediately after with her gun pointing eye-level.
Nothing.
She feels her blood flow again.
A relieved breath escapes her lungs before she steps slowly inside the room. Again, nothing. She checks the bathroom, nothing.
She then shuts all the windows closed.
Room 1, clear.
Bang!
She hears a gunshot.
Stacie.
She panics. She panics like she's never panicked before that she sprints outside the room to the hallway. She was about to see if Stacie was okay but she remembers Stacie's directions: whatever happens, stick to the plan.
It stops her on her tracks.
She swallows.
Whatever happens, stick to the plan.
"Damn it, Stacie," she mutters under her breath.
It takes all of Beca to turn on her heels and proceed to the next room. There are a couple of times she thought about running to the other side to see if Stacie is alright. They cannot lose Stacie. She's the only one in their group who seems to have an idea on what they're doing. How Stacie has become this strong for them? That's beyond Beca.
But every time Beca thinks about not sticking to the plan, she remembers how badly Stacie wanted her to stick to it. So, she does because Stacie knows what she's doing and saying.
Probably.
Maybe, it's really one of her lucky nights because all three rooms are empty. After she's done closing all possible entry way, she heads back to the lobby to see Stacie standing by the reception, just about to open a packet of gum.
"I heard a gunshot," Beca says as she approaches Stacie. "What happened?"
"The zombie happened," Stacie says as she holds out the packet of gum to her, "Want some?"
Beca takes one and puts a piece in her mouth. Chewing, she asks, "What now?"
"The second and third floor in thirty minutes, ready?"
"Stop asking me if I'm ready. I will never be ready for this."
Stacie chuckles as she walks to the stairs and stars heading up.
"Let's do this," the taller brunette says as she holds her gun up.
"Getting bitten would have made my life so much easier," Beca says with an eye roll.
"Shut up, Beca."
Beca and Stacie spend the next thirty minutes securing the second and third floor. Again, it must be Beca's day because the floor seemed empty, save for about three zombies which were all killed by Stacie without breaking any sweat.
They head back to the bus and soon as they step in, she immediately feels Chloe engulfing her in a big hug.
"You should really stop trying to kill me after I survived clearing up a building like that," she says, trying to put a bite to it but fails miserably. Chloe's hug is one of the things that are keeping her together.
It's nice to have something familiar to come back to.
Fat Amy pulls the bus over close to the hotel entrance. They all make it inside and everyone breathes out a sigh of relief when Cynthia Rose shuts the front door closed.
"We're safe," Stacie says, her shoulders sagging in fatigue for the first time that day. "At least for now."
"What do we do now?" Jessica asks.
"We'll stay together," Stacie replies. "We'll stay in one room since we only have three guns with us. No one is going to walk out of our room without tagging either me, Beca, or Lilly along. Does everybody understand that?"
They all nod.
"I'm really hungry," Lilly states, voicing it out for everybody.
Stacie shrugs and looks at Ashley, "Ash, you might want to check out the kitchen. It will be heaven for you."
Ashley's face lights up and it makes Beca chuckle because Ashley is a culinary major and the kitchen is fully stocked. If they're lucky, they'll be having a decent meal tonight. Beca doesn't doubt it, she'd been to many of Ashley's showcases; the girl can cook the world to peace.
Okay, bad metaphor to use right now but you get the picture.
This might be the weirdest, hardest dinner they'll ever eat but they'll take anything in at this point.
"Who wants to cook with me?" Ashley asks, a tainted smile ghosting her lips. Beca knows it's Ashley's attempt to stay positive.
Cynthia Rose raises her hands and so does Aubrey.
"I'll stand in," Stacie volunteers but Lilly steps forward shaking her head.
"You and Beca have done enough for the day. Go take a rest, I'll stand in."
Stacie nods in agreement.
They go separate ways, one group heads to the kitchen and the other group heads to room closest to it.
As they reach the bedroom, Beca turns to Chloe.
"What's up with Aubrey?"
"What about her?" Chloe replies with a question as she launches herself to the bed.
"She's been silent."
"She's just shaken up."
Fat Amy sits on the edge of the same bed Chloe's currently enjoying, "She's not even supposed to be here today."
Yeah, that reminds Beca. Aubrey wasn't supposed to be in Barden today. She's supposed to be on the plane to New York to check out that business school she got into for her Master's. But Chloe had drunk way too much last night to celebrate Aubrey's achievement and Aubrey kind of did, too, so she missed the flight.
It's funny how Aubrey messes up her schedule one time and the world literally comes to an end.
"Maybe, she's wondering if she had been safe if she made the flight."
"That's the worst thing about it," Stacie says silently. "We'll never know."
Chloe just looks at Beca and Beca could tell she hadn't given it much thought.
"Do you think she regrets it? I mean, do you think she regrets being stuck here with us?" Beca asks no one in particular.
Chloe shakes her head. "She's just scared, Beca."
"Well, all of us are," Fat Amy says nonchalant, grabbing a pillow.
Chloe shakes her head again, "Trust me. Whatever Aubrey's being silent about, it's not regret."
No one dares to argue that.
LATER THAT NIGHT
It's about past midnight, when she's sitting by the hallway alone, does Beca let her mind do its thing. She's officially a year older now, her birthday being a reminder that the world will not ever go back to how it was before.
She volunteered for first watch, dodging the chance to sleep and rest. She'll never be able to convince herself to sleep anyway, so might as well be useful. She holds an ice cold bottle of Rochefort Trappistes 10 in her hand, that beer being one of the bests she's ever tasted.
So, there's one upside to the apocalypse: underage drinking.
Her semi-alcohol induced thoughts lead her to the one thing that had kept her going all day.
Chloe.
Believe her, she had tried so hard not to dwell on what it all means—the butterflies in her stomach when Chloe comes around, the way she lets the other girl hold her even when it's absolutely unnecessary, and the way she has long stopped trying to push Chloe away. In front of Chloe, Beca has her guard down, like she's spellbound to just let Chloe Beale be.
She also tries not to think about why Chloe's name seemed to be at the back of her mind when she broke up with Jesse during that summer. She tries not to make sense at the fact that she kissed Jesse on the day of the ICCA finals because she thought about Chloe graduating. She thought about the competition being her last chance to be around Chloe, she thought about it coming to an end. She tries not to think how much of a bitch she is for using Jesse to fill up that space.
Jesse was a good guy. He would have been the perfect boyfriend for Beca—or for anyone, really. But he isn't the one who knows how Beca wants her coffee in the morning. He isn't the one who knows where Beca hides when she's feeling a bit down. All of those things are Chloe.
And Beca tries not to let her heart break at that.
"Hey," a voice interrupts her thoughts.
She looks up and yes, like all the movies tell us—the one who will interrupt your thoughts in the dead of the night is the one you have been thinking about. It's like the legend of Bloody Mary, of course, only a bit prettier.
A bit.
"They're playing spin the bottle again," Chloe tells her.
"Please tell me they still all have their clothes on."
Chloe chuckles, "They stopped playing strip poker when Fat Amy started losing the game on purpose."
Beca laughs an actual laugh. It feels weirdly right.
Chloe has also volunteered for first watch, claiming she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway knowing Beca is sitting outside their door.
And that's the thing that terrifies Beca the most—Chloe cares about her; and Beca seems to have the talent to destroy anyone that ever cared about her.
It's an excuse.
But to Beca, it's not a petty one.
"How many have you had?" Chloe asks her, eyeing the beer bottle on her hand as she sits on the floor next to Beca.
"Three."
Chloe then takes the bottle from her hand.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"Enough of this."
"That's unfair, Beale!"
"We're first watch Beca, I need you to be able to aim properly at anyone—or anything—that attacks us. I'm not good with guns," Chloe says, raising the golf club she took from one of the rooms; they guessed it must have been owned by one of the guests. She and Jessica went out to find melee weapons after dinner and got herself a golf club; Jessica got a fireplace poker.
"I can aim."
"Right."
"Why'd you leave the party?" Beca asks, referring to everyone's activities inside.
They all wanted to sleep and rest but after a few minutes, everyone gave up trying. When Fat Amy and Cynthia Rose decided to play with the cards they found on one of the rooms, everyone joined in. And what started out as a simple card game turned into an actual end-of-the-world party when Lilly discovered the fully stocked bar by the dining area.
Good thing the generator still keeps all things going.
Beca knows the party is just her friends' way of coping so she doesn't say anything. Besides, she finds their noise comforting.
And that's saying something.
"I wanted to stay here with you."
"Why?"
"I feel safer here."
It's not much; hell, it's the most Beca is ever willing to take from anyone but she believes Chloe. She takes her words for what they are.
They stay silent for a while, just listening to Fat Amy sing and murder yet another one of Aubrey's favorite songs.
"Aren't you scared, Beca?" Chloe asks out of nowhere, both of them just stares at the dirty white wall that stands across them.
Beca takes a deep breath.
"Aren't you scared that we decided to make this run just to find out there's nothing to run to?"
"Of course, it's scary but there are things a lot scarier than that."
"Like?"
Losing you, Beca thinks.
"Losing hope," she says instead. "And having not enough alcohol."
Beca chuckles, "I was waiting for the classic Beca one-liner."
Beca chuckles at it, too. After a beat, she asks, "What if there's nothing out there, Chloe?" Beca never thought she'd be this much of a sap but this is Chloe she's talking to and for some reason, Beca knows this side of her is safe with her.
Chloe takes Beca's hand for the millionth time since the world ended. She clasps it, tight, as if she's sending her a message. "At least we get to be in nothing together."
"Yeah?"
"I find comfort in that."
Beca closes her eyes as she feels Chloe shift beside her. The other girl adjusts so she can put her head on Beca's shoulder. After a few moments, Chloe chugs at the beer bottle Beca previously owned.
"That's my beer by the way."
"I'm finishing it for you. That's illegal," Chloe says and then laughs at her own joke.
It makes Beca laughs, too.
Tomorrow, err later since it's already past midnight, they'll head off finding weapons, food, fuel, and what other things Stacie thinks they need to survive. They'll find themselves in a new city.
And maybe, Beca is right. Maybe, the world will never be the same after this and for some reason—for some weird reason, that thought makes Beca feel a little better.
Maybe, it's not gonna be so bad.
Chapter title is "Everybody Wants To Rule The World", been listening to the Lorde cover.
Reviews?