Note: I'm going to try and keep a regular posting schedule with this story. So, I'll be posting on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Thanks for reading.
Thank so much for the reviews, faves, and follows! You guys are awesome.
To Lasleonas007: I honestly started writing this fic before I ever saw any previews for "A Quiet Place." It was just something that I was thinking about and decided to write. When I did see the previews, I almost changed my story but decided to just stick with it. I hope you continue to enjoy it.
Cynthia Rose drives the truck at a breakneck pace for about ten minutes as she heads out of town. They see a number of the Sightless, but once out of town, they seem to be clear of them.
The mood is quiet in the truck's cab, no one says anything as Cynthia Rose pulls up to a diner that is sitting in what looks like the middle of nowhere. She parks right next to the front door and turns off the truck.
Stacie looks up to see two faces looking out at them through the diner's window. She and Cynthia Rose get out of the truck and there is a flurry of activity as both girls come running out the door of the diner.
"Stacie!," Aubrey cries, practically tackling the leggy brunette. "Is Beca with you? What about Jesse and Donald?"
Emily joins Aubrey in hugging Stacie. Stacie hugs them both with all her might and just holds the two women for a minute or two before she responds.
"Beca's still in the truck with Chloe," Stacie replied. "Let's go inside and give her a minute."
The two girls look at Stacie. "I'll tell you inside."
Chloe watched the reunion through the windshield. She smiles gently as Stacie goes into the diner with the other three women. She then focuses on Beca, who is still just staring blankly out the windshield.
"You had to do it, Becs," Chloe said softly. "He wouldn't have wanted to become one of those things."
Beca finally turns to Chloe. "I know," she replies. "It's kind of bittersweet, you know? I had to kill my best friend and find out my other, um, best friend, that I thought was dead, is alive." She pauses with a tear in her eye. "God, I've missed you."
Beca lets out a sob and Chloe gathers her in her arms. Tears flow freely down their faces, tears Beca thought she didn't have anymore. They stay in the truck just holding each other for a long time. Each needing to just hold the other, fearing if they let go, that person might vanish. Each holding on and feeling just the slightest bit of serenity in this tumultuous world.
Inside the diner, Stacie is finishing telling the other girls what had happened with Donald and then Jesse.
"Wow, that's harsh," Emily said remorsefully. "I hope Beca's strong enough to handle it."
"She is," Stacie said, with a hint of anger in her voice. "We didn't make it these past nine months because she couldn't handle things."
"Easy there, tiger," Aubrey soothes, putting up her hands. "Em didn't mean anything by it. She's just worried about whether Beca was mentally strong enough. It couldn't have been easy for her."
"She did what she had to do," Cynthia Rose said sadly. "We've all been there." The three girls get lost in their heads, thinking about all that they have lost and what they've done to survive. "We just have to be here for her."
Just then Beca comes in with Chloe behind her.
"Hey, losers," Beca saids in greeting, trying to put a brave face on. The girls all smile and grab each other and hug. "Okay, enough of this mushy stuff," Beca said. "Does this diner have any food to eat?"
"It sure does," Chloe said, a slight spring in her step. She knows Beca is putting on a brave face so she wants to help her friend in anyway she can. She also knows that food had always been a comfort for the petite ball of grumpiness. "It's got a freezer and it was fully stocked when we found the place. Everything's working so we've been eating pretty well."
"We've got a truckload of canned goods and stuff," Stacie said. "Maybe we should bring it in here and we can fix some soup or something. It's almost lunch time."
Emily and Chloe stand watch as the others unload the truck. Once they got everything inside they start looking through the boxes.
"Sugar, flour," Cynthia Rose said as she pulls each item out. "Canned peaches. I'm definitely making us a peach cobbler tonight."
"Don't you need eggs and milk for that?," Stacie asks, skepticism clear in the question.
"There's a farm about a half a mile from here," Emily tells her. "There are a couple of cows and chickens that we've been taking care of. They've been providing us with eggs and milk almost every day. Plus we have powdered milk and eggs if we need it. They're not as good, but they do in a pinch."
"I'll heat up a couple of cans of soup while I make the cobbler," Cynthia Rose volunteers.
"Okay, then," Stacie replies with a laugh. "Can I help make dinner?"
"It's my turn to cook," Emily answers. "We're just having some burgers and fries. We usually make our own bread so if you want a bun for your burger, we got you covered."
"Wow," Beca said. "You guys have a pretty good set up here. We've been staying in a cabin about twenty minutes from town, up in the hills. It belonged to Donald's uncle. We've been lucky and haven't seen any zombies around the cabin. The only time we've seen them is when we had to run into town to restock our supplies."
"Have you guys learned anything?," Aubrey asks. "About what happened? About the Sightless?"
"The what?," Beca asks.
Chloe shrugs. "We started calling those things the Sightless. Kinda like how they called them Walkers on that popular show."
"It fits," Beca said. "I'm afraid we don't know much about the, um, Sightless."
"It's been awhile since we heard anything," Stacie said. "But last thing we heard was that about 90 percent of the U.S. population was wiped out by the virus. I don't know how it originally was spread, but we've figured out that it seems to transfer through the saliva once the infected person has turned into whatever they are. One bite and you become one of them. It usually takes a few days from what we've seen. We only know this because I've been scratched by those things and nothing happened. Donald was bitten and he yelled for us to leave him. We assumed he changed or died because we haven't seen him again. And, Jesse changed really fast, so his bites must have been really deep."
Beca looks down at her lap. Chloe puts her arm around Beca's shoulder and pulls her close.
"We're really sorry, Beca," Chloe tells her and kisses her head.
"It's the times we live in," Beca said with a sad shrug. "We all know that everyday is a possibility that it could happen to us."
"Doesn't make it any easier," Emily said softly.
The girls sit quietly for a few minutes before Beca suddenly breaks the silence. "Wait," she said looking at Emily. "You said it was your turn to cook. Does that mean you all take turns cooking? All of you?" She is now looking at Chloe with a raised eyebrow.
Chloe catches on to what she is saying and slaps her on the arm. "I'll have you know I can cook. And fairly well if I do say so myself."
The other girls laugh, knowing that, of all the Bellas, Chloe had been the worst cook.
"She can hold her own," Aubrey said. She smiles and adds, "Barely." Chloe scowls at the blonde. Aubrey just laughs. "It took some time, but she's actually come a long way."
They sit around discussing some other things they have experienced in the nine months since the world as they knew it ended.
"There seems to be power in town," Chloe said. "And in the surrounding areas. We've been lucky. The freezer works so we've actually had meat and frozen vegetables to eat since we found this place. We've been here almost two months now."
"We have some canned goods," Cynthia Rose adds, "But we have to carry everything we get from town on our backs, so we haven't been able to stock up like you guys did."
"What did you do before?," Beca asks. "I mean, before you found this place.
"We moved around afraid to stay in one place for too long," Aubrey responds. "We found this place and stayed because Chloe and Emily both got sick and couldn't really travel. We basically went everywhere on foot since we crashed the Bellas bus. We knew the Sightless were attracted to noise so we decided not to use another vehicle."
"Are you guys okay now?," Beca asks, looking at Chloe and Emily with concern.
"Yeah," Chloe answers with a smile. "We both got really bad colds and were miserable for a few weeks. Cyn found this place and we set up house so to speak." She points to Cynthia Rose and Aubrey. "Those two took turns and basically stayed awake for three straight days to make sure none of those zombies or whatever would get us."
"The Sightless basically stay away," Cynthia Rose said. "We've seen a few here and there, but none of them even seem to know we're here. We can turn the lights on at night because they can't see them. The place is pretty soundproof so no noise can be heard outside. The only time we have to be really careful is when we go to the farm. The cows and chickens make a lot of noise, but they're kept in a barn and the Sightless haven't gotten to them yet. I don't know how or why they can't, but there are still two cows and a half a dozen chickens there."
"It's weird," Emily said thoughtfully. "In all the zombie movies I've ever seen, the power is always gone, the zombies attack everyone, and they tear places up. This is not like that. We have power, this place and every place in town is still standing. It's kind of surreal in a way."
"I know what you mean," Beca said. "A few months ago we went into town and we saw a group of maybe a dozen of those things and they were just standing there. Their skin looking all ashen and gray, their eyes like milky white." Beca shudders at the memory. "They had their heads tilted to the side like they were listening for a sound, any sound so they could move again. We probably could have walked right up to them and they wouldn't have known we were there." Beca shudders again as she sees Jesse's eyes changing in her mind. "Their eyes kind of freak me out."
"We noticed that constant, steady sounds, like the hum of our truck engine doesn't seem to affect them," Stacie informs their friends. "Groans, screams, I guess more high-pitch or random noises drive them crazy and they attack whatever is making the noise."
"I almost forgot," Chloe said and pulls something out of her pocket. "I found this flyer while I was in town." Chloe showed it to the girls. It is handwritten and gives an address to a high school that it claims is a 'safe zone.' "The high school is located on the other side of town. I thought we should check it out tomorrow."
The girls all look around. Going into town is always fraught with danger. Still the chance at safety is too great. They all agree that it is a good idea to check things out.
"Can we make a side trip to the cabin?," Beca asks. "We have more weapons and some supplies there. I mean, that is, if you guys are okay with us joining up with you."
"Of course you can join up with us," Chloe said. "I'm surprised you even feel the need to ask. Bellas for life, remember?"
Beca and Stacie smile. "Bellas for life," they repeat. Chloe smiles brightly.
Aubrey gives Beca and Stacie the 'grand tour' of the diner. She shows them where they could sleep and where they keep water. There is an office that has a full bath, complete with shower.
"Do you have hot water?," Stacie asks, the prospect of a decent hot shower exciting her.
"Both the hot and cold water taps work," Aubrey tells them. "We don't know if there's anything wrong with the water, but so far we haven't had any issues."
"There is a small lake behind the cabin," Stacie tells Aubrey. "I think the cabin's water comes from it and we didn't have any problems with it either. Well, except the water only got lukewarm for some reason. Plus, we were able to catch some fish. None of us had any problems when we ate the fish."
"That's good to know," Aubrey replies.
After getting the fifty cent tour, the girls rejoin the others.
"What do you guys do all day?," Stacie asks. "We played board games and cards most of the time."
"We just play cards," Chloe replies. "And talk, prepare meals." She looks over at her bow and quiver. "Oh, I make arrows." The redhead is a bit proud of that.
"You make arrows?," Beca asks, quite shocked at this revelation.
"Yeah," she replies a bit defensively. "I learned in the Girl Scouts."
Beca smirks at the redhead, who finally asks, "What?"
"I just didn't know you were a regular Katniss Everdeen," Beca said, teasing just a little bit.
"You're closer to the truth than you might know," Cynthia said.
"Yeah," Emily adds, with a bit of awe. "She saved me once by putting an arrow through the creature's eye."
Beca looks at the redhead in a whole new light. Chloe feels uncomfortable with all this attention.
"So you have things at your cabin, you think we might use?," she said changing subject and taking attention away from her.
"Yeah," Beca nods. "I can go to the cabin now and get the weapons, the games, and all of our supplies. We also have beds there so we can bring the mattresses to lay on."
"Oh, my God," Emily practically squeals. "Yes! Let's get the mattresses. I'll go with you to help."
"I'll go, too," Chloe said with a laugh. "It would be nice to sleep on a real mattress."
"Me, too," Cynthia Rose agrees. "I'd like to see something besides this diner and the town."
"Stacie," Beca said turning to the brunette. "Are you okay to stay here with just you and Aubrey?"
"I think we'll be fine," Stacie answers with a wink at Aubrey, causing her to blush.
"Um, you might want to go now so you can be back before dark," Aubrey said.
"Brey's right," Chloe said. "Let's go."
Beca, Chloe, Emily, and CR, head out for the truck. Once they were gone, Stacie looks at Aubrey and gives her a smile.
"I've missed you so much," Stacie said.
"I've missed you, too," Aubrey said. "I feel like I'm living in a dream or a nightmare. I made myself come to terms with the fact that I was never going to see you again."
"Same here," Stacie said. "Would you please kiss me so I know this is real."
Aubrey closes the distance and gives Stacie a tender and needy kiss.
*0*0*0*0*
The drive to the cabin is uneventful. Emily and Cynthia Rose opt to sit in the bed of the truck while Chloe sat up front with Beca. Chloe moves over so she is sitting next to Beca. She places her head on Beca's shoulder causing the brunette to look down at her and smile.
"I missed you so much," Chloe whispers and wipes a tear from her eye. "We thought for sure you were all dead."
"We thought the same," Beca replies quietly. "Do you remember the last time we saw each other? The day it all happened for us?"
"I remember everything about that day," Chloe said. "I think everyone remembers where they were, what they were doing."
"Do you know what I remember the most about that day?," Beca asks.
"What?," Chloe asks, truly curious.
"You kissing me," Beca replies and glances at Chloe. "That's what I remember about that day because it was something I had been wanting for a while."
"Really?," Chloe said. "But you were with. . ."
"We had actually broken up around Christmas," Beca tells her. "He knew that I had feelings for you. He was just a great guy about it all. That day, when you kissed me, I was going to tell you about the breakup but Aubrey yelled that Amy was there with the bus. Then we got separated." Beca lets out a heavy sigh. Chloe lays her head back down on Beca's shoulder and smiles.
They arrive at the cabin and the four girls look around to make sure they are alone before getting out of the truck. Beca leads them inside and Emily immediately goes to one of the bedrooms.
"Oh, my word," they can hear Emily moan. "This mattress is like laying on a cloud."
"Get up," Cynthia Rose tells Emily, laughing as she enters the room. "Can't put it on the truck if you're laying on it." Emily sighs and gets up. She and Cynthia Rose grab the mattress, sheets and all, and carry it out to the truck.
*0*0*0*0*
Once they have everything they can fit on the truck, Beca gets behind the wheel. Chloe is now squished up against Beca since Emily and Cynthia Rose are in the front with them. Chloe puts her head on Beca's shoulder and lays hand so it is resting on Beca's thigh. Beca's breath only catches a little.
That evening, as the girls finish their dinner, Cynthia Rose brings out the peach cobbler she made. There's a general shout of approval from all and for a moment they all are able to forget. The girls dig in and are humming with satisfaction.
"Oh, my gosh," Emily said smiling. "CR, this is the best cobbler ever. This sure has been a great day." She suddenly blushes and looks at Beca. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean. I meant finding you guys and being able to have a mattress to sleep on, and the peach cobbler. It's-"
"It's okay, Em," Beca assures the young girl. "All in all, it truly has been a great day." Stacie doesn't miss the look Beca is giving Chloe and that Chloe is giving Beca. Aubrey notices too and they both smile at each other. Yes, generally speaking, this truly has been a great day.
A few hours later, Beca yawns and asks about sleeping arrangements.
"We have mats with blankets and pillows we usually use," Chloe tells her. "But now we have the three mattresses, so who's using what?"
"Aubrey and I can share a mattress," Stacie chimes in. Aubrey blushes but nods her head.
"I can share a mattress with Emily," Cynthia Rose volunteers. "Because I have a feeling shorty over there wouldn't be too thrilled if Emily or I said we would share with Chloe."
Beca glares at her and Chloe lets out a laugh.
"Come on, Becs. You know want to cuddle up with all this," Chloe said, waving her hand up and down her body. The other girls all laugh.
"I'm kinda hating you all right now," Beca gripes, causing the girls to laugh even harder.
*0*0*0*0*
Beca wakes up the next morning when she feels someone moving beside her. She finds a face full of red hair when she opens her eyes. She pulls back and realizes she is spooning Chloe and she likes it. She smiles and tightens her arm around Chloe's waist and sighs.
Chloe feels Beca move behind and smiles when she hears her sigh. "Come on, Becs. Time to rise and shine."
"Nooooo," Beca whines. "I'm way too comfortable to want to get up."
"Too bad," Aubrey said. "We need to get breakfast and then go check out that school from the flyer Chloe found yesterday. I'll start the coffee. Chloe it's your turn to make breakfast."
"I'm on it," Chloe said. She laughs as Beca tightens her hold. She looks over her shoulder and whispers, "Come on, Becs, we can cuddle more tonight."
"Fine," Beca huffs, letting Chloe go.
The girls each get breakfast and then finish getting ready for the day. Each at some point is struck by how 'normal' it now is to get ready for life after the apocalypse. They gather their personal weapons, making sure they are properly secured or loaded. Once everyone is ready, they head out to the truck.
On the road, Chloe's driving since she knows the area better than anyone, having walked most of the area the past two months. Beca is sitting in the middle and Cynthia Rose by the passenger door. Aubrey, Stacie, and Emily are riding in the bed of the truck. They all have weapons at the ready if needed.
It's eerily quiet, as if the world itself doesn't want the Sightlessto notice it. Chloe is reminded of the old western movies, where you would see a tumbleweed blowing through the town. No tumbleweeds, but lots of dry leaves and scraps of paper. She's kind of surprised how dirty everything is, and how overgrown. It's like nature is reclaiming the town.
In relatively short order they arrive at the school and find it eerily quiet. Each woman tenses, gripping their respective weapon a little tighter.
"From the flyer I thought there might actually be people milling around," Cynthia Rose said warily.
"Yeah," Chloe said looking around the area. "Me, too."
The girls all get out of the truck cautiously, weapons ready. "Look sharp everyone," Chloe said softly. "I don't like the feel of this place."
"Let's stick together," Aubrey suggests. "Any sign of trouble, we hightail it back to the truck and get the hell out of here." The other girls nod in agreement.
Chloe keeps her arrow notched in her bow, both hands ready at a second's notice. She's actually grown quite skilled at drawing, aiming, and releasing, in under a second.
She leads the group to the front door of the school and stops. They look through the glass panes and don't see any signs of life or zombies. Aubrey points out what appear to be a couple of bodies in the hall. She grabs the door handle and Chloe nods her head. Aubrey pulls the door open, surprised when it doesn't make much noise at all.
The smell hit them like a wall. It's bad, it's really bad, almost putrid. Emily and Beca both wretch and gag, fighting back the bile that rises in their throats. They all pull their shirts up to cover their mouth and noses. Chloe pulls a bandana from her pocket and wraps it around her nose and mouth and then pulls her shirt up to cover her mouth and chin.
When they are ready, Chloe goes in first, followed closely by Beca, Emily, Cynthia Rose, Stacie, and then Aubrey. They spread out across the hall and look in every direction they can as they move slowly, inching down the hall together as one.
There smell in the air grows worse, a rotting mustiness, and something more, like sick decay. There's also a weird buzzing.
"Those doors look like they may lead to a cafeteria or the gym," Chloe said, gesturing with her bow. "We should check it out."
The make their way to the doors and Stacie looks through the small window in the door. "It looks like the cafeteria," Stacie says. There's something in her voice that says there's more. Emily looks in as well and puts her hand to her mouth and jerks back.
"What's wrong?," Aubrey asks the young girl. "What did you see?"
"It's not good," Stacie said sadly. "It's nothing but bodies. Maybe 30-40. They're not zombies though. It looks like they're just dead bodies."
Aubrey looks through the window and is shocked by what she sees. "We need to check it out," Aubrey sighs. "See if there is anyone alive in there. It's unlikely, but we should still check." No one looks happy, but everyone nods, knowing the blonde is right.
Aubrey and Stacie open the door. Chloe, Beca, and Emily go off to the left; Stacie, Aubrey, and Cynthia Rose go to their right. They look at the bodies and Aubrey notices something. She bends down and checks one of the bodies. This was not the body of someone who was attacked by the Sightless. This person looks like it was slashed or cut with some sort of sharp blade. They started checking more of the bodies and find them all to have similar looking wounds.
Chloe turns over one body and lets out a sob. There is a smaller body under what she presumes was the mother's body. Tears begin to fall from her eyes and she runs out of the cafeteria. Beca chases after her and finds her leaning against the wall, using her bandana to wipe tears from her face.
"I'm sorry," Chloe said softly. "I've seen a lot of bad stuff in the past nine months, but seeing kids is just too much."
Beca just holds her and lets her cry it out. The other girls come out, faces grief stricken by what they just saw. Chloe pulls herself together and stands up.
"Let's check out the rest of the school," Aubrey said. "See what else is here."
They make their way through the school, coming across more bodies. Each looking like they had been killed in the same manner as those in the cafeteria.
They all jump when the fire alarm starts blaring
"Shit," Chloe said. "We have to get out of here. Run!"
I'm going to put it out there and say thanks to RJRMovieFant for collaborating with me on this story. He's helping make this better with some edits and suggestions so I am now calling it what it is - a collaboration.