"It's not safe up here for the baby."
The young blonde man looked up at Berwald through his bangs, sizing him up cautiously, "I know, but it's also not safe down there for a baby." The small blonde man whispered something in the baby's ear that caused it to giggle and snort, and the young man laughed in unison with it. He was clearly very good with children. "Help should be on the way soon," he said. "We can go down if we hear sirens."
"They should have come by now," Berwald responded. This was Berwald's idea of talkative. He rarely said anything unless he had to, and in this case, he felt like he had to. After everything Berwald had seen, and after everything he had been through, he knew help should have come a long time ago. A whole neighbourhood had been taken over, that usually warranted some attention from the local police.
Tino didn't respond to what Berwald was saying – whether he heard Berwald or not was to question – and chose to coddle the baby instead. He decided to go along with it, as soon enough the young boy would realize that they didn't have any food or protection for the baby. In fact, the young man probably already knew, he just didn't want to face it immediately. Berwald decided to wait patiently for the boy to come to his senses. However, as if the boy could hear his thoughts, he began to speak.
"There's a supermarket closer to town," he said quietly. "When I used to babysit Peter in the summer, the Kirkland's would send me there to get his formula." The boy looked up from where he cradled the baby in his arms, "help isn't coming, is it?"
Berwald took a moment to collect himself, and finally urged his voice out through a small stutter, "no, I don't think so."
"How bad was it when you found me?" He didn't look like he directly wanted the answer, but Berwald gave it to him anyway. It was no use trying to hide the gravity of their situation, because if he did, it would likely end up getting them both killed.
"It was very bad," Berwald said. "The whole neighbourhood surrounded my car. They were eating people"
The blonde boy hung his head low, "I know." He trembled slightly at whatever memory had dredged itself up, "I was just hoping that maybe it was all in my head." The boy hiked the baby up higher on his shoulder so he could free one of his hands, and was met with a shrill giggle, "my name is Tino." He held out his free hand to Berwald, and smiled sheepishly, "thank you for helping me last night."
"It's fine," Berwald grasped the boy's small hand in his own. "My name is Berwald."
"Berwald," Tino said, as if tasting the name. "You worked in the paper mill, right?"
"Yes."
"You worked with my Da, then," Tino said happily, but quickly recoiled on himself. "I'm glad at least someone else from my neighbourhood survived."
Berwald didn't question the boy, but from the looks of it, his family hadn't survived the incident in the neighbourhood. In an attempt to lift the atmosphere, Berwald forced his voice to work for him again. He stuttered slightly when he tried to start a non-business like conversation, but it worked for him nonetheless – he found he had an easy time talking to the other man. "Where are the baby's parents?" Berwald assumed that Tino was not the brother of the baby by the way he had spoken about the Kirkland's.
Tino swallowed hard around a lump in his throat, and Berwald immediately felt bad about having asked the question. He couldn't take it back, though, because he couldn't find the voice to do so. He only managed to stutter breathlessly.
"I had to kill them," Tino's eyes started to well up with tears, but they didn't fall, they remained ever present under his eyelids. "They turned into one of those things," Tino said. "I had no choice, they would have hurt Peter." On instinct, Tino drew the baby closer to his chest.
Berwald was shocked at how easily Tino had come out with that, because if it were him, he would have never been able to own up to it. It was good of Tino, though, because he had saved the baby's life. Berwald couldn't imagine the courage it would have taken to walk into that house, not to mention the strength to take down two fully grown adults. Though Tino looked small in stature, it was obvious that he was not to be underestimated. "I understand," Berwald said, confused as to whether he should try to comfort Tino or not.
Tino sniffed back his tears and brushed his arm over his eyes, and the tears disappeared as if they had not even been there to begin with, "but I got Peter out safely, and that's all that matters right now." Tino played with a small lock of the baby's hair, "he's going to start getting hungry soon." Tino sighed, "and if he's anything like what he was in the summer, he'll start crying, and that will just put us in even more danger. So, I think it would be better if we took our chances now rather than later."
Berwald hummed his agreement, it seemed that the boy was far more intelligent than he had perceived. He was thinking even farther ahead than what Berwald himself was. Tino seemed to be ready to go whenever, so he turned himself in the cramped space and jumped out of the tree house onto the soft grass beneath. He tested his ankle when he got to the bottom, and was pleased when it did little more than ache. An ache, he could deal with.
Tino peeked his head over the edge next, looking both ways to see if any more of the bloodthirsty neighbours were coming down the road.
"It's fine, there's none," Berwald said in reassurance.
Tino held the baby close to him and smiled at Berwald, causing the taller man at the bottom to look at him quizzically. "Thank you," Tino said, "for all of this." Tino got ready to hand the baby down into Berwald waiting arms, "if it weren't for you, I probably would have died up there, and Peter would have too."
Berwald could only hum out a quick, 'no problem,' under his breath.
Tino leaned over the edge of the tree house and put Peter in Berwald's arms, and to both of their surprise, the previously quiet baby began to coo and grab at Berwald's nose. Tino laughed at this, and remarked that Peter liked him. Berwald couldn't help but flush at this, and made it priority to hold the baby away from his face. He liked children, but at the same time, was scared of their fragility.
"I'm coming down," Tino said, backing out of the tree house slowly. He stepped onto the ladder and used the bottom of the tree house to bring himself down. Even for someone as small as him, the ladder was not big enough for his feet.
When Tino landed on the ground next to Berwald, he held his hands out again for the baby, "here."
Berwald handed Tino the baby and immediately began walking down the street toward the small corner supermarket. Even though he was fairly new to the place, he still knew where most of the important places were.
After walking in completely silence for some time, Tino started talking to Berwald again. It always caught Berwald off guard when the young boy initiated conversation with him, because most people vied away from that. Berwald was under the assumption that in the situation they were in, any companionship would be good companionship, and Berwald was no exception to this rule in Tino's book.
"You know…" Tino stopped for a moment, trying to remember something, "Berwald, you don't have to do this for us." Berwald fixed him with a look, that Tino seemed to think was threatening, as he hurried for his explanation. "I mean, you saved us already, and I have a baby with me," Tino looked down at his feet. "We're just going to be a hindrance to you, in the end."
"I don't think so," was all Berwald said in response to Tino's concern.
"Well, thank you, anyway," Tino bowed his head in thanks. "You really are a life-saver."
Berwald didn't respond to this, and only continued on with his trek. They were almost to the super market, and there they could find food for the baby; and food for themselves too. Berwald, and Tino himself, almost tripped over themselves when they came to the street for the frat house.
"Arthur," the small baby cooed out of nowhere, clear as day. "Arthur, Arthur, Arthur!" The baby began to giggle, kicking his little feet up into the air in excitement.
"Arthur?" Berwald questioned, looking down the street for signs of a person that the child could have spotted.
Tino's brow furrowed as he looked down at the ecstatic baby, "yeah." He shushed the baby and tickled his stomach in an attempt to get him to quiet down. "That's the name of his older brother; he lives in a frat house somewhere along here." Tino tickled the baby again, "you can already speak, what a big boy!"
Berwald looked around cautiously, and marked the broken doors, and blood speckling the street. Clearly this street was no exception to whatever kind of hellish pandemic had broken loose. Even though there was no one on the street, Berwald knew that it would not be safe to take their chances with a small baby. Even the street they were on was not a safe one. Not to mention they didn't have any weapons to protect themselves with. Berwald cursed himself for not thinking of that before they left, but if they got to the super market, there were bound to be things they could use in there.
They began walking past the street, but as soon as they were on the other side, the baby started to react negatively.
"Arthur," the baby began saying in a voice that was dangerously close to whimpering. He was getting fussy.
"Damn," Tino said under his breath, trying to tickle the baby back into happiness. It wasn't working for him, and the baby was getting fussier and fussier as the street started going steadily out of view. The waterworks started as soon as the street disappeared around the corner. The baby really wanted to see his older brother. "Berwald," Tino said. "I don't think I can make him stop crying. He never stops until he at least hears his brother's voice, and if he keeps this up, he's going to attract the whole neighbourhood." Tino sighed, "I used to have to call his brother up on the phone just so he would talk to Peter, it was the only way to calm him down."
Berwald was lost for what to do; he stood next to Tino, looking down at the blatting baby with concern. And, without even giving it a second thought, scooped the baby out of Tino's arms and began patting the baby's back with a heavy hand. Peter stopped crying in no time flat.
Tino's eyes widened. "Wow," he said in amazement, "you're really good with babies!" Tino jumped happily and sighed in content, "I'm so glad; I can never get him to stop crying when he wants his big brother." Tino looked at Berwald with a concerned expression, "I hope you don't mind holding him for the time being?"
"No," Berwald answered. "We're almost there anyway."
"Fucking damn it," Arthur cursed, running a hand through his hair. "I left my phone on the table downstairs."
Alfred rolled his eyes, "so did I." He looked up at the others hopefully, "did you guys have your phones on you when we ran up here yesterday?"
Francis and Matthew both shook their heads at Alfred. Everyone in the room let out a collective sigh of grief.
"If it's any consolation, boys, I don't think a phone is going to do us any good right now," Francis said, eyes still focused on the road. "It did get a little quieter out there, though, and I can't even hear the voices beneath us anymore." Francis looked back at the others and shrugged, he knew just as much as they did. "Considering everything that just happened, the police should have been here yesterday."
"The military should have been here yesterday," Alfred said. "The whole fucking neighbourhood and beyond was going nuts."
Arthur cradled his head in his hands, "I'm not even worried about us right now, idiots." The others all looked at him quizzically, "we're safe up here, and we can survive for a day or two without food, but…"
"But what?" Alfred asked.
"My baby brother," Arthur tried to say, biting back the fearful tremble threatening to surface. "If this is happening everywhere, and he's completely defenseless…"
Alfred cut him off before he could continue, "don't think like that, man!" Alfred stood up in the small space, despite having to crane his neck ever so slightly. "If you start thinking like that, then you might as well just give up on finding him altogether." Alfred wouldn't say it, but he always found Arthur's relationship with his baby brother strange. He never held the baby when he came over, even though Peter would climb all over him, but Arthur was still always happy to see him and extremely protective over him. It was like Arthur had some sort of weird postpartum depression because of his little brother.
Arthur looked up from his hands, "I guess you're right," he said despite his increasing worry. "Plus, if it starts getting really out of hand, I doubt these creeps are anything the military can't handle." Arthur chuffed, "if a few of us can take them down, then it shouldn't be a problem for trained soldiers." Arthur twiddled his thumbs, "I still want to get my brother, though."
Everyone else hummed together in agreement.
"So what should we do," Matthew asked. "Shouldn't we at least get out of here first?"
Francis suggested they go to the super market for food and weapons before they chanced Arthur's neighbourhood. It would be no use to run into a dangerous situation without any kind of protection, and the best they had were some kitchen knives. Albeit, extremely sharp kitchen knives. "It's small, but they have almost anything you could dream about there," Francis said. "Not that any of you uncultured swine would know, considering I do all the damn shopping in this house."
"Oh stuff it, Frog."
Matthew complained about always having to be the guinea pig, but did as his friends had told him despite this. It was always that way, they told him to do something foolish that they didn't want to, and he would complain, but he would end up doing it in the end anyways. Except this situation was a lot different than having to do their homework, or cleaning the house, this was a very dangerous situation. "You guys, those things could come out of anywhere and you know how fast they are."
Arthur looked at him like he was the insane one, "yes, but if there is something down there, we'll pull you right back up."
"Don't worry, Matt, we won't let anything happen to you!" Alfred all but screamed at him from across the attic.
"Shut up, Idiot," Arthur turned around and hissed at Alfred.
Just Matthew's luck, the damn hosers were pushing him into something without even knowing what they were doing. Sometimes Matthew felt like he was the only one who actually thought about doing something before acting on it. It didn't even matter, anyways, because they weren't thinking and they were the majority. Matthew's complaints and concerns were usually quashed by them immediately. "Fine, whatever, I'm going down." Matthew stepped on the first rung of the ladder, then looked up at them with as much of a glare as he could muster, "if I get killed down there, just know that I'm going to haunt the hell out of all of you."
No one seemed to be listening, or rather, they didn't seem to care.
Matthew cautiously went down the ladder, cringing every time he took a new step and the wood creaked. He was certain that something was going to fly out around the corner of him.
It would be just his luck.
Matthew stepped on the last rung and waited, and waited, until Arthur leaned over the top and asked him how it was. Luck was on Matthew's side this time, and even though he was a little worse for wear, he smiled. "It's fine down here," Matthew said. "It looks like they got tired and left."
"Good," Arthur said, backing up and stepping down the rungs carefully. "It's fine down here guys, those things left."
Alfred, ever the exuberant, jumped down from the attic instead of taking the ladder. He almost tripped when he landed, but gained his bearings by grabbing onto Matthew, and laughed. Francis followed him down, but stuck to the ladder.
When Francis got to the bottom, he regarded Matthew with a smile, "Good work, Matthew." Francis patted him on the back, causing another smile to form on Matthew's lips.
"Now let's go," Alfred said. "I'm fucking starving."
After a few quick calls on the phone that ended with nothing but 'this number has been disconnected', they decided it was time to give up on the saccharine idea of someone coming to save them. They began their search through Francis' knife collection, grabbing the biggest and sharpest of the bunch. They left the house looking like a group of insane wanderers. All of them were wielding knives like they were off to battle, which in reality was kind of what they were doing. If the whole neighbourhood had succumbed to whatever virus or sickness that was, their journey wasn't going to be a simple relaxing walk in the park.
The road looked horrifying. Though there were no bodies on the road, there was blood. Lots and lots of blood, quarts of it, spattered all over the street. The heat of the day only made it worse, heating the blood on the pavement and causing a rotten smell to pollute the air. It was dense, and it made their empty stomachs churn painfully. The only good thing about the sun was that it was slowly dissolving the blood on the streets.
They didn't have a long walk, though, before they were standing directly in front of the super market. The only problem was, they didn't know if they wanted to go in or not.
The bodies on the streets were gone, but there were no normal people around, either. So, considering it was a highly populated neighbourhood, that meant they couldn't have just disappeared. They had to be somewhere, and they all believed that that somewhere was inside the buildings occupying their neighbourhood.
They all looked at Matthew.
"No, you guys," Matthew said. "I'm tired of this, and I'm starting to think you're actually trying to kill me." Matthew was being adamant this time, he really wouldn't budge, they all realized this when Matthew crossed his arms and looked away from all of them.
Francis was the first speak up, "he's right, you guys, we can't keep using him like a guinea pig." Francis pleaded with the others, "how about, for once, we all go in together? If there are any in there, we would have a greater fighting chance in a group."
"It's not a very big group," Alfred said.
"So you think it's better to send one person in there all alone?" Matthew asked. "You always have been the idiot of the family, Al."
Alfred was taken aback by Matthew's defiance; Matthew who never spoke up for himself or defended himself – especially against his older step brother – was insulting him. Red in the face from either anger or embarrassment, Matthew turned his back on the entire group.
"Either we all go in, or I'm taking my chances out here alone," Matthew said under his breath. "Pick your poison."
Everyone turned to Alfred, awaiting an answer. They were treating him as if it were his responsibility, like he was the leader. "I- I guess we all go in together."
Matthew turned back around to face them, and the glare Alfred had expected was not present. Instead of a glare, an all-encompassing smile split Matthew's face from ear to ear. This was Matthew, the man that could never stay mad. The man that chose to forgive people far too easily, despite how terrible they were to him, which was probably why everyone saw him as such a dear friend. "Good," Matthew's smile got even wider, if that were even possible. "That's how friends should always be."
So they did walk in together. At first they tried for an air of calm collectedness, but with the looming atmosphere, they couldn't help but shiver and cringe. When they opened the doors to the super market they were instantly met with a chilly gust of air. The inside of the store was cold and clammy from being unattended, and the silence filling the aisles was overwhelming. All of them knew there was something wrong, something more to the store, but they all chose to keep their mouths shut in fear of nixing their mission.
"The only thing we have to do is grab the stuff we need, then get out," Alfred whispered to the group.
They all nodded in agreement.
The lights flashing on and off, along with the occasional sounds of something falling off of a shelf didn't do much to help the tension in their bodies upon entering the seemingly empty super market. All of them held their knives before them like precious gifts, waiting to be given. None of them would have admitted it at the time, but they were all terrified to the bone. They huddled closer and closer together until they were so close that they were walking with their bodies pressed together. Together they inched down the aisles, grabbing the small things they would need to pack into their rucksacks.
When they finished scavenging the shelves – which were surprisingly plentiful – they started making their way down to the weapons aisle of the super market. Though it was a small super market, and there would no doubt only be a small amount of weapons to choose from, anything would be better than simple kitchen knives. Whether it be a hunting knife, a bow, or a gun, they would all be useful.
Alfred chose the hunting supplies first, where all the guns and ammunition would be kept in the back of the store. The guns themselves were hidden behind heavy glass in a carousel-like cabinet, all of them almost completely foreign to the four college boys. Alfred walked up and pressed his face to the glass, enthralled with the guns. "I've never held a gun before," Alfred said, "at least not a real one."
Arthur walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, "that's good and all, but how are we supposed to get them out without making too much of a commotion? Also, none of us know how to use a gun." Arthur's eyes flashed with despair for a quick moment, "I don't really want to have to shoot one, either."
Alfred turned around to face the ash blonde man, "I sincerely hope you don't have to shoot one, Arthur, but you might have to." Alfred turned back toward the guns, which no longer seemed cool like in his video games, "we might all have to shoot eventually." As the boys began arguing about how they would open the cabinet, Francis appeared behind them with a set of keys clasped tight in his hands.
"You idiots," he said. "You're always looking for the hard way out." Francis jingled the keys in front of Alfred's face. "No making any unnecessary noise."
Alfred grabbed the keys out of Francis' hand and held them in front of his face, promptly turning around to face the guns stacked in the cabinet. As he jammed the key into the lock, he began to feel uncomfortable. He had never shot a gun before; neither of them had shot a gun before, and now they would have to without prior practice. It was like they were signing their death certificates without another thought.
Alfred turned the key and opened the glass doors, but before he even thought about grabbing the guns taunting him, he turned to his friends.
"You know, gu-"
Before Alfred could get one word out, they all stopped at the sound of the front doors opening.
It wasn't a particularly loud sound, and it wasn't like they could hear a hundred people running in at once, but they were all still on edge from their previous experience. They all immediately grabbed a gun and ran for the backroom where the ammo was being stored. There was no point in taking chances, and there was no point in not arming yourself.
Berwald still had Peter in his arms when they arrived at the super market. They both stopped in front of the store with a concerned look on their faces.
"We're not armed," Tino said, looking into the inky darkness of the super market. "It's still light out, but it's really dark in there."
"It won't be as dark when we get in there," Berwald assured. "The emergency lights are on." As for the unarmed ordeal, Berwald didn't want to make any promises he couldn't keep. If something were to happen, Berwald would guard Tino and the child with his life without hesitation, but one person couldn't make much of a difference. If a large group were to corner them, Berwald would only be able to hold off the inevitable.
He shook his head to relinquish the thought, and held Peter closer to him instinctively.
Tino didn't seem to notice – or chose not to notice – that Berwald had completely left out the fact that they were completely unarmed.
"I'm just worried," Tino said. "There were so many of those things to begin with, but now…" Tino looked around to indicate the absolutely vacantness of the streets. "There's no one to be seen now," he looked up at Berwald, squinting his eyes under the sun's bright rays. "They can't have just disappeared, that wouldn't make any sense."
Berwald himself was concerned with the fact that most of the creatures he had seen before were gone, but chose to be happy about it instead of question it. They were better off if those things just disappeared, but Berwald knew they wouldn't be so lucky. Instead of responding to Tino's worries, or thinking about his own, he chose to walk toward the super market doors without another word. He decided that it would better for them to worry about the task at hand, rather than worry about the possible future. Tino followed behind him after he handed Peter to him without a question.
Berwald was surprised at Tino's trust in him. Some of Berwald's family didn't trust him around them, let alone strangers he had just met. Tino had even let him hold Peter without any qualms about it. He couldn't explain why, but it made him upset that Tino laid so much trust in him. He didn't think he was capable of protecting him like he wanted. Berwald was afraid that in the end, something he did or didn't do would cause harm to Tino or Peter, or both. Berwald bit his bottom lip and opened the doors to the chilly super market.
They walked into the super market together, and instantly the baby reacted. He didn't begin crying, but he was close. Along with the cold and hunger, the baby would become fussy in no time. "We have to hurry through here," Tino said in a whisper. "Peter is going to start crying soon, that would attract the wrong kind of attention." Berwald watched as Tino tucked the small baby into his shirt for warmth; the baby still seemed disturbed but it would buy them some time.
Tino began leading the way this time, hurrying his way down to the baby aisle with Berwald close behind. It was only when they got close to the weapons section that Berwald was struck with an idea. "We need weapons," Berwald stated.
Tino didn't respond until he realized what Berwald was suggesting, "we do need weapons."
Berwald was surprised by Tino's willingness to bear arms as most people were reluctant, but he didn't complain. It was better off that way.
"We need to hurry, though."
Berwald nodded and hurried ahead of Tino, however, he stopped dead in his tracks when they came to the guns section.
"It looks like someone had the same idea as us," Tino whispered after his eyes focused on what Berwald was looking at. Tino walked toward the guns and fingered them casually as he examined each of them. He pulled one out and handled it like he had been handling them for years, "I haven't shot one in a long time," Tino said, which shocked Berwald. "But I definitely know how to shoot."
Berwald was slightly disturbed by the scene before him. A young boy, just barely out of high school, was holding a child in one hand and a gun in there other. It looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie. Despite himself, though, Berwald cocked his head to the side for Tino to explain himself.
"I grew up in Finland," Tino laughed. "Guns are a big thing now." He looked at Berwald, "but you probably know that already, you're from Sweden."
Berwald nodded, but was also slightly confused as to how Tino knew he was Swedish.
"My Da used to come home and tell me how he worked with a 'Damn Swede," Tino whispered with a smile in his voice. "I think you're nice though," Tino smiled up at Berwald and handed him a gun. "You saved my life, after all."
Berwald took a moment to take it all in, and then began to chuckle quietly.
Tino looked annoyed, if not slightly flustered, "what?"
Berwald stopped his chuckling quickly, but chose to not tell Tino why he had been laughing in the first place. Tino would most likely be insulted by Berwald telling him he was short for a Finnish man.
Tino quickly stopped his attempt at getting an answer out of Berwald, and instead favoured the gun in his hands with a sullen look. "There's no ammo in them, though," Tino looked over the separate cash in the weapons sections. "There should be some back there," Tino walked toward the small back room while whispering under his breath. "I know the models, so I'll be able to find them easily enough." And, before Berwald could protest, Tino pulled the door to the back room open.
A loud shot rang through the super market.
A/N: Ohoho! Even I think that ending was a little mean of me, but what is life without cliff-hangers?
As always, don't be afraid to ask me questions and whatnot! I left the link to my tumblr on my profile, and on the bottom of this page, so if you want to ask something anonymously you can. I'm always surfing around tumblr so your questions will be answered immediately. Shoot me up, I love answering your questions!
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