Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry it took so long to update, my iPad went missing, which is what I usually use to write on(I email my writings to my computer to upload). Also, I did my best to revise as many of the early chapters(which I kind of hated) as I could. Hope you guys enjoy!
Everyone stood, silent, as the ruins of Safe Haven sat before them. Looking around, Alice didn't need much to know how the others felt.
"I-...Are we sure that's Safe Haven?" Asked Lily, her voice shaky.
"...What's left of it, anyways." Replied Slade.
"We need to keep moving...it's getting dark." Announced Dick solemnly, looking up at the clouds above.
"Where the hell are we supposed to go?" Asked Abby, frustrated.
[After all the traveling we'd done, I wasn't sure how much more I could take. We needed somewhere to stay. Somewhere safe. Especially with my the leg the way it was, and our slew of other problems.]
Without other words, the group moved on, through the forest, towards the nearest city.
It was somewhere late in the night when the group finally reached the large town down the road from the trees, resting comfortably on the mountainside. It was a rather wealthy-looking city despite the decay, and most of the houses were large, or even mansions. It had begun drizzling rain on the survivors, the rain adding to their need to find shelter.
"This one will do," Said Dick, stopping the group at a white gated mansion, "we can stay here for the night."
The group broke into the mansion with relative ease, given the fact that the door had already been broken into. The entire place had been ransacked, eliminating the option of finding supplies. They didn't care much, removing their soaked clothes, and quickly setting their sleeping bags up, which they'd protected from the rain with tarps, but were still somewhat damp. They did their best to lock the gate to the mansion, but decided it was best if they slept in the upstairs rooms just in case.
"Mind if we share a room?" Asked Abby, entering into the bedroom which Alice had set herself up inside.
"It's fine," She replied, getting underneath the covers, "don't really feel like sleeping alone anyways."
"Sweet."
Closing her eyes, Alice felt refreshed to be finally able to rest, but she knew it was going to be short-lived.
"You doing alright?" Asked Abby.
"Relatively. You?" She replied sleepily, without opening her eyes.
"Mostly, it's just...a little exhausting, you know? Constantly searching for somewhere safe"
"Don't have many other options, do we?"
"No, I just wish the universe would give us a break from time to time."
"Amen to that."
"Goodnight."
"'Night."
Mutants were everywhere, ominously stumbling around Alice. They simply ignored her, as if she were one of them. She was in a dark forest, the branches so thick that no sunlight reached the ground. She was alone, only surrounded by mutants, just like after she left Iris.
She searched desperately for a way out of the forest, or other survivors, but there were none. No matter how much she ran, the forest never ended, no sunlight ever appeared. She was alone.
"Alice, wake up." Abby's voice woke Alice from her nightmare, "we've got a problem."
"Hmm? What's wrong?" She groaned groggily, rubbing her eyes.
"Come look."
Moving downstairs where the others were, she looked out the window. Mutants were everywhere, clawing at the mansion gate, and prowling in the streets. The group was massive, more than they could hope to take.
"Where'd they all come from?" She asked.
"We're pretty sure they're just passing through," Answered Riley, approaching from behind, "hopefully they leave soon. We're completely out of food, we used the last of what we had for breakfast. We saved some for you, it's over there on the table."
"Thanks," Replied Alice, walking over to the dinner table nearby, where a small pile of food waited for her; two protein bars and an orange from a tree they'd found in an orchard a while back.
"If that herd doesn't pass through soon, we'll be in serious trouble." Noted Slade, looking warily out the window, "we need food. If we have to, a few of us can sneak out and get supplies."
"How the hell would we sneak out? Do you see the size of that herd?" Asked Lily, looking exhausted.
"If we cover ourselves in mutant blood, they'll ignore us. It's worked for me in the past." Explained Slade.
"That's crazy, no way I'd do that."
"I'm not asking you to."
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Interjected Dick, "there's no reason to think the herd will stay that long."
It had been hours, but the herd showed no signs of leaving. The swarm remained in the streets, a good portion of them clinging to the gate of the mansion, teeth grating on the bars.
While the others talked downstairs, Alice spent most of her time reading upstairs, sitting against a backrest leaning against the wall. She put down her book, hearing footsteps drawing to the room.
"Hey," Greeted Slade, peeking his head in, "can we talk?"
"Yeah," Replied Alice.
"Look, I've been thinking..." Slade paused.
"About what?"
"Well, everything. It's been a long time since I've been with a group...and well, I guess I thought this one would work out."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Alice...this group's falling apart. I've been through this before...you've been through this before. I always knew me and Jacob were better off on our own, I never should've taken a chance with your group...I guess the whole 'Safe Haven' thing made me think it could work."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Me and Jacob...we're leaving. Tomorrow. We'll cover ourselves in mutant blood, and leave jump the gate. We can survive on our own, and so can you. We'll be miles away by daylight...We want you to come with us."
Alice thought for a second, unsure how to respond.
[I'll admit, I almost considered saying yes. Slade was right, I'd been through this before, and I wasn't sure anymore if this time would be different. I wasn't willing to watch another group fall apart again.]
"No. No way."
"Why not?"
"I've been with these people for months, maybe even years...it doesn't matter. The point is, I'm not leaving."
"Alice, you and me are different from the others. They don't have what it takes to survive on their own. They don't know what it's like to watch a group fall apart. You, me, and Jacob can leave, start over again, and survive on our own...you know we can. It's better that way."
"The answer's no."
"You sure?" He sighed.
"Yeah. You may not owe these people anything, but I do. If you want to leave, I won't stop you."
"Look," He concluded, walking out of the room, "just think about it. We'll be ready tomorrow if you change your mind."
She nodded.
The dim embers from the fireplace were dying out, as the group sat in the living room of the mansion, exhausted and hungry. Really hungry. The herd still hadn't moved away, and it had been over a day, almost all of which without any food whatsoever. The water Alice and Riley had found at the creek was diminished, and the group struggled to conserve.
[At that point we were desperate. The herd wasn't moving way fast enough, and we needed food. Especially Lily.]
"Look, you guys can do what you want," Said Abby, standing up and breaking the silence, "I'm with Slade. We should go out and get supplies, cover ourselves in guts- whatever it takes. I can't stand this anymore. Anyone with me?"
"I'm in." Said Alice.
"Me too." Added Riley.
"I'll go too, if Slade's plan is solid." Added Dick.
"Well then, Slade. How's this gonna work?" Asked Alice.
"All we have to do is chop a few arms off the mutants at the gate, and get as much of their blood on our clothes as we can. We'll hop over the wall at the back, where there'll be less mutants to notice us, then walk into the city, and bring back whatever food and supplies we can find. As long as we don't draw attention to ourselves, the mutants won't notice us." Explained Slade.
"We need to get moving soon," He added, "before it gets too dark."
"Ugh," Groaned Riley quietly, as Alice helped him smear blood on the back of his sweater using two severed mutant arms.
"You sure this'll work?" Asked Abby.
"Yes," Answered Slade, smearing some of the blood on his face, "make sure you all get your faces covered, we can't afford to be sloppy."
After everyone finished covering themselves in blood, they gathered by the back wall of the mansion's surrounding barrier.
"Remember; stay calm. We'll jump down one-by-one. Be quiet." Whispered Slade, as he climbed over the wall. Alice, Dick, Abby, and Riley soon followed.
Landing softly, Alice stood up, and gingerly followed the others into the street. Mutants began to walk beside them, ignoring them completely. It was completely unnerving, but she did her best to stay calm. A few of the mutants brushed against her and the others, sending a chill down her spine.
"S...shit..." Whispered Riley, beginning to panic. One of the mutants noticed, but still walked past.
"Calm down," Whispered Slade softly, "we need to stay quiet."
Riley breathed deeply, and kept walking.
Dick signaled for the others to follow, and began walking towards a nearby supermarket. They entered, cautiously searching the aisles for supplies. Mutants were inside with them, brushing past them unnervingly.
Dick was usually calm in situations like this, but the feeling of mutants nearby while unprotected made him nervous. But, he knew it was his only option. In many ways, this group was his now. They looked up to him.
Searching the aisle, he managed to find a cereal box, along with a few minuscule food items. Food was getting increasingly scarce, and settling down was gradually becoming their only option to survive. Of course, if they could.
After gathering what he could, he began to walk through the store to find the others, silently avoiding the surrounding mutants. The shelves around him were empty, torn packaging and dry blood on the floor. The smell of flesh and blood on his clothes made him uncomfortable, but he remained collected.
He noticed one mutant in particular, it's orange hair catching his eye from behind. It turned around, revealing herself to be Abby. She and Dick nodded to each other, going off to find the others without a word.
Treading lightly through the store, they quickly found Slade, Alice, and Riley.
"C'mon," Whispered Dick, out of earshot of the mutants, "We'll search more later if we have to, we've got enough to last the night."
The others nodded in agreement, following him out of the store.
Jacob was tense, awkwardly waiting outside the door of the mansion for his brother and the others to get back, sitting down anxiously. He did his best to avoid everyone but his brother, to no avail. He had been traveling so long, he was more comfortable around the corpses than other survivors. Footsteps sounded behind him.
"Hey," Greeted Leo, "Jacob, right?"
Jacob nodded, as Leo reached for an awkward fist-bump, which he somewhat returned. He didn't remember much from before the outbreak, and social interaction wasn't exactly his strong suit.
"How old are you, by the way?" Continued Leo, squatting down.
"I don't know."
"Me either." Leo chuckled.
Awkward silence filled the air.
"Um, so...how long were you and Slade on your own before you met us?"
"I'm not sure...a year, probably more. I don't really remember what a year is. There were others sometimes...but it never really worked."
"Yeah...I guess I can relate."
More awkward silence.
"So..." Asked Leo, now sitting down beside Jacob, "What's your favorite color?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"I guess I just noticed you don't talk much."
"Mhm."
Suddenly, commotion outside stirred, as the others returned from their supply run. Quickly hopping the wall, Slade was met by a hug from Jacob, which he accepted awkwardly. Riley, Abby, Alice, and Dick soon followed, difficult to recognize beneath their bloody disguises.
"We got enough to last another day," Announced Dick, as the others gathered around, "Hopefully we'll be able to leave first thing tomorrow."
"Let's get to work on dinner." Suggested Lily, the others agreeing through body language.
As the survivors began to settle back into the mansion, Leo began to walk upstairs, but Jacob stopped him, tapping him on the shoulder.
"Green." Said Jacob, somewhat randomly.
"Hm?" Leo replied.
"My favorite color's green."
Morales sat on the bed in his room, thinking deeply. He didn't see the point of it all. The running. The traveling. The fighting.
He was done fighting. He wanted to end things his own terms. And so, he waited- waited for the others to fall asleep.
Slade and Jacob sat on the ground in the room they'd slept in, packing their things. They had decided to leave as soon as everyone else was asleep, take Alice with them, if she wanted. They were no strangers to traveling.
"Slade?" Asked Jacob, breaking the silence.
"Yeah?"
"...I don't want to go."
"Why not?"
"I dunno...I guess I like the people here. Can we at least stay a little bit longer?"
Slade stared at the bag in his hand, thinking deeply. He'd been with groups before. Was this different?
"Fine, we'll stay a day or two longer-see how things go. We might as well at least see if the herd's gone by tomorrow."
Morales' body was quivering, as he approached the gate of the mansion, eyes fixated on the mutants behind it, their arms reaching through the bars towards him. He couldn't think of anything but the mutants, their constant moaning gripping his thoughts. He wasn't quite sure if he was numb, or if he simply had nothing left to lose. Everything was a blur, as the sound around him seemed to fade away beneath his thoughts.
The others were asleep, no one to stop him. It wouldn't have been the first time Abby kept him from killing himself. They seemed to think he'd get better with time, but nothing felt different from the day his wife was torn apart by mutants. Nothing.
Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved the key to the lock they'd used to seal the gate, and inserted it into the lock. Memories of his family flashed through his mind,as he turned the lock, opening the gate.
Morales closed his bleary eyes, as the mutants busted through the gate onto him.
Alice woke up to the sound of yelling from just outside the mansion. Morales. She jolted awake instinctively, as she had done in the past many times before. She and Abby ran downstairs, to find mutants climbing the stairs up towards them. Mutants had begun to swarm downstairs, where Dick and Leo were sleeping on the couches.
"How the hell'd they get inside?!" Exclaimed Abby, running forward, hacking the nearest mutant's upper skull.
Lana, Jacob, Slade, Riley, and Lily joined them at the top of the stairs in shock.
"We need to get out of here," Yelled Lana over the mutants' collective moaning, "Now!"
"There's too many at the front door," Noted Riley, running down the hall, "We're gonna need to get into one of the bedrooms and lock ourselves in!"
It was chaotic, but Alice could hear gunshots downstairs, likely from Dick and Leo.
Alice and the others followed Riley down the hall, into the large bedroom at the end, mutants following close behind. As soon as everyone else was inside, Riley slammed the door shut, locking it, and moving a dresser in front of it for extra measure. Soon after, mutants began pounding the door relentlessly, shaking it loudly.
"Do we just wait it out?" Asked a breathless Lily.
"We might not have a choice," Replied Alice, "We need to stay as quiet as possible, they might leave after a while."
The group began to settle down, looking at one another. The gunshots beneath them became more sporadic.
"Where's Dick and Leo?" Asked Riley.
"They were sleeping downstairs," Said Abby loudly, "They must've been there when the herd busted in..."
Author's Note: Review, if possible! I'm doing my best to move the series into a darker direction, hopefully this chapter reflects that. Took me a while to write, hope you guys enjoyed it! A simple 1-10 rating always helps.
Reader-made OC Credits:
Abby - Created by The Internet Sass Queen
Leo - Created by Grimrephr
