Author's Note: Sorry for the wait peeps. Just want to thank everyone again for reading, reviewing, and following and such - so thanks! :D
Just to respond to Tiffythetitan: Panda and JJ are close but undecided, reckon I'll leave them as they are for now and see where they end up :)
Chapter Eight - Parks and Recreation
"Naomi, come on." The urgency in his tone makes me rush down the pavement, staring into the darkening night sky.
"Where do you think he could be?" I don't receive a response; perhaps because it's a stupid question seeing as the world is not like it used to be. I try to imagine what the group was like before this apocalypse, but I really can't envision it. These are the people I know now; I hadn't the privilege to know them back then. It's a shame we had to meet under such dire circumstances.
"This way, sometimes he'd mention about wanting to visit here to clear his head." I follow Freddie down a narrow path which eventually leads out into an open park.
"He's big on parks."
"This is dangerous, Freds."
"It's the only lead we have." We continue our journey until we see a crowd of walkers. I grab Freddie's arm and pull him backwards, positioning us behind a bush to prevent us from being exposed. We kneel down to hide better and keep a vigil over the walkers.
"There's too many, Freds. Surely JJ wouldn't be here. I mean, he's not…. He wouldn't." Freddie looks straight at me, his expression hard. It jolts something in me, something that I don't like.
"No, he… why? I don't-"
"He's not been himself lately, Naomi, you should know this. He's not coping.."
"But he was fine this morning. He was fine!" Freddie looks over to the walkers and then back to me, his jaw clenching tightly.
"He has Asperger's, Naomi, and as of last week, we've run out of all medications that can help him properly manage the condition."
"What?"
"We're run out of everything: Priazapan, Moraglutomol, Triculine, Rizzalin – everything, even ordinary pain killers, you name it. And every store we've been to, there's nothing. All the chemists have been looted. What I'm trying to say is that he is unstable at the moment. He's not thinking right. And to come off all the meds cold turkey like this.."
"Jesus."
"Yeah." We stay silent for a moment, keeping an eye out on the walkers. Suddenly I feel very cold and very wrong for ever believing that JJ didn't mean anything to me, because he does. We may not be close, but he's definitely not a stranger, either. I turn to Freddie in earnest.
"So what do we do now, surely there's somewhere he would be? Can't you think of a place? I mean, before all of this went down. You're his best friend, there has to be a place." Freddie mulls this over, his hands on his knees, tapping out of habit.
"There might be a place, but its way out. We'd have to camp out."
"Hence why we came prepared." I say nodding over my shoulder to my bug-out-bag. Freddie stands up straight and exhales softly, his eyes never once leaving the walkers.
"Alright. I reckon we can make it there just after midnight, we camp somewhere for the night and then head back – with or without JJ." I feel my jaw clench at this information, feeling unsatisfactory with this order.
"Freds-"
"We don't have a choice; we don't have enough stuff to survive, Naoms. And we can't leave everyone at the shed unsupervised for long, they need us. We have a responsibility to protect them." I can see how he's trying to rationalise this plan, but it still makes me feel uneasy about it. I can only hope that JJ will be there, wherever there may be.
I'm not entirely sure where we are heading, which annoys me to no end considering that I live here. I know every nook and cranny, but I guess I really don't know it all. It puts me to shame, really. I trail behind Freddie as we make a turn round a corner - that is until I then bump directly into him, forcing me to stop.
"Freddie, what-"
"Shh…" I try to look at his face, and then around him, trying to decipher what's going on. It's another park which looks over the city, and it's quite a nice one. That is until I see a few walkers in the distance, roaming around as per usual. As I go to stand behind Freddie again, I catch sight of something at the corner of my eye. It moves slightly and it's enough to garner my attention away from the walkers. I tap Freddie on the shoulder.
"What's that?" He turns to look and joins me in speculation of what the shadow may be. The shadow moves, too swiftly for us to react, in fact. As I reach for my knife in the holster, a quiet voice rings out.
"What are you guys doing here?" Upon closer inspection, we identify the outline of JJ, with his rigid exterior and untamed curls.
"Bloody hell, Jay, where you been?"
"I had an episode, too much in my head, too much. I needed to get out, I couldn't handle… I went for a walk, I know I shouldn't have, I know it's forbidden, but I just had to! I had-" Freddie darts forward and brings JJ close to him, and it essentially calms him down. He rocks JJ back and forth slowly in his embrace, making sure to make quiet lulling sounds for effect.
"It's okay, brother. It's okay."
"It gets too much, I haven't been sleeping, I just needed to get out.." I stand there, watching this private moment and feeling like I'm imposing, that is until I feel a wave of anxiety hit me. I look on over to the park and see a couple walkers crossing on over to us, as if sensing our beating hearts.
"We've got company, I think we should go." I hate to ruin the moment because of how fragile JJ seems to be, but the alternative is pretty much death, which isn't exactly favourable right now, is it. They draw back and assess the situation with their own eyes.
"Oh bobbins, Freddie, the hide out we-"
"On it, JJ - this way!" We charge in the opposite direction, just running blindingly and following Freddie as we dash into a forest of sorts, jumping by and trying to avoid the trees as our feet surge through the earth's floor. The sound of twigs crunching has me on edge as I look behind me in frenzy, trying to gauge whether they're following us or not. After a couple minutes worth of running blind, we make it to a fairly secluded part where there is a square boarded up cabin of sorts.
"Quick." I observe as Freddie directs us to the back of the wreck and shoves on the door, which budges after the second try. He ushers JJ and I in and then closes the door behind him, quick to bolt it and put a plank of wood over to secure it. The cabin is pretty bare, bar the waste on the floor and a dark green couch. It's clearly seen better days. JJ steps further into the room and accidentally kicks an empty can of cider. I miss drinking. Why we haven't picked up some alcohol is beyond me, perhaps we get so caught up in what's useful and necessary that we forget to indulge in the things that we want, not need.
"Thankfully the windows are covered, eh? We can at least get some shut eye tonight without worrying about those walkers looking in on us." Freddie then drops his bag onto the floor and plops himself down.
"Just like old times, eh Jay?" I look to JJ who faces the wall quietly, and just stands there. I look between Freddie and JJ before I take a cautious step to him.
"JJ?" He doesn't respond, doesn't even move. I turn my head towards the wooden wall to see exactly what he may be looking at, and it's then I see some graffiti, with the words 'Cook, JJ, and Freddie'. I lower my eyes and see the inscription 'blood brothers forever'. I place my hand tentatively on JJ's shoulder, which causes him to initially tense up, but after a moment he relaxes enough for me to give it a gentle squeeze.
"Cook found this place. We used to always hang out here, do magic tricks and laugh. I miss those times. I miss being like that. I want to be normal." I see Freddie in my peripheral vision as he gets up and moves to stand next to JJ on his other side. I extract my hand and bow my head.
"Nothing's normal anymore, Jay. Nothing."
I stay up to keep an eye on JJ. It isn't something we discussed; I just feel a duty toward him that I never felt before when working alongside him. It's like they are all my brothers and sisters now, and I have to keep them safe. I have to help them in any way that I possibly can, I just have to. I sigh softly and sense that Freddie is also staying up too as he shuffles on the floor beside me, trying to get comfortable. My eyes remain on JJ's outline on the couch though, consumed by far too much worry to do anything else.
"You alright?" I hear Freddie softly inquire as he moves into a sitting position, mimicking me.
"Yeah, fine." We fall into an easy silence just sitting there together, that is before I feel the urge to fill it with words conjured from my busy, good-for-nothing brain.
"Did JJ eat anything?" Freddie moves his legs so he can wrap his arms around them as I remain with my legs crossed on the floor, content to stay as I am.
"Na, he's losing his appetite, I think. I'm not exactly sure what the symptoms of his condition are, but the stress has been getting him down. He's been hyperactive a lot more, finds it hard to focus and switch off."
"We should…" I stop, allowing myself to second guess the suggestion I feel brewing underneath my skin, but I'm far too involved now, and even though JJ and I may not be close, I still consider him family.
"I think, no, I know that I would like to go looking for medicine for him… Whether we have to make a journey, kill more walkers or encounter more danger than usual… Well, all I know is that we have to do something." I turn my eyes on Freddie to judge his reaction. He sighs, dropping his hands over his knees, his attention on JJ. I see that I will have to amend and evidence my hypothesis further, and so I continue.
"Pills don't expire for a long time, and I'm positive there are loads still out there yet to be claimed, for us and for him. We just have to pinpoint stock warehouses, chemists… Hell, even supermarkets. There has to be places out there that still has medicine, I mean, come on. We're living in a dead world, there aren't many people alive to take the stuff – we just have to find the right place to target." He finally looks at me, if only to convey his doubt through his dark brown eyes, though as I continue to stare back, I do detect a little bravery just yet. He turns his attention back to JJ, watching him carefully. And so I do what I know best, persevere.
"It's worth a try, for JJ; for all of us. God knows we may need it someday if anything happens to us." Freddie remains silent, contemplating my proposition. After a long pause, he turns to me and shoots me a crooked smile.
"The girls aren't gonna be too happy about this."
"Screw the girls."
"Wouldn't you like to. Well, should I say at least the one, anyway?" He winks and moves back down onto the floor softly, pulling his blanket back over his body.
"What do you mean? I don't want to screw the girls – I am a girl." I hear Freddie chuckle and mumble a goodnight before falling into a light slumber. I exhale rather exaggeratedly and fold my arms across my chest.
"I don't." I am met with nothing but silence.