As soon as the cold, disgusting hand grabbed her bicep, a gunshot went off, and her arm was free once more. Her adrenaline kicked into overdrive, and she had no problem outrunning the monsters to the car. She watched Red stick his gun back in his pocket after shooting her captor, then run around to the driver's side of his car and open the trunk for her to throw the guns in. She tossed them in haphazardly, then shut the trunk and slid in the car just as the things reached them. They started banging on the window, their disgusting, rotting hands leaving marks on the windows. One of them started banging its head on the window, leaving little bits of brain matter behind every time. Liz was afraid the glass would break if they didn't leave soon.
She turned to Red, who seemed to be frozen in place while watching the monsters hit her window over and over. "Red, what are you waiting for? Go!"
He blinked and mumbled quietly, "Right." Then gunned the car forward just as another group of the monsters reached them. Red ran over a few of them on his way out of the parking garage, and they made sickening crunches, denting the hood of the car while leaving black blood stains on the window. Liz felt like she was going to throw up.
She glanced down at her sleeve to make sure it hadn't ripped her shirt and touched her skin, and let out a relieved sigh when there was nothing there. They reached the exit of the parking garage and Liz couldn't believe what she was seeing. Those things were everywhere. In fact, she didn't see another living soul. There were abandoned cars everywhere, and a lot of dark masses on the ground. She hoped they weren't what they looked like, but didn't know what else they could be besides chewed up bodies. Her stomach lurched, but she quickly swallowed the contents of her stomach back down.
Red hadn't said a word and Liz was worried about him because that wasn't like him at all. She turned to say something to him, but instead studied his profile. The overhead light was on, so she could see that his knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel and clenched his jaw. His body was rigid and tension was rolling off of him in waves; not that she could blame him. This situation was something that no one could have prepared for.
She reached out and put her hand on his bicep; it was rock solid, as if he was trying to rip off the steering wheel. "Red, where are we going to go?"
He glanced at her, the frown on his face deep, "I have a house on the outskirts of DC. I'm not sure that will be safe though, and there aren't enough supplies to sustain us for long."
Just as she opened her mouth to answer, he slammed on his brakes, hit the steering wheel and swore, "Son of a bitch!"
She rose her eyebrows at his language, because he rarely swore, then looked out the front window and covered her mouth so she wouldn't scream. The headlights illuminated hundreds and hundreds of the creatures in front of them. They had been walking around aimlessly until they saw the car and started moving slowly towards them. Red jammed the car in reverse and put his arm on the back of her seat, then looked over his shoulder to back up; his facial features pinched in concentration. She turned to see what was behind them, and saw that they were surrounded by thousands of moaning, groaning creatures. One of them reached the car first and attached itself to the hood, then began crawling its way up to them.
"Red, we're surrounded, where are you going to go?" She was losing hope fast, there wasn't a way out that she could see.
He took a deep breath and grimaced, "Well I sure as hell know I'm not going to just give up." He looked at her with tenderness in his eyes, and moved the hand that was on her seat to caress her jaw with his fingers fleetingly, "I have too much to live for." She rose her eyebrows in surprise at his confession as he turned back to the front and glanced to the left. Seeing an out, he put the car into drive and tore off down a side road that she hadn't originally seen. The thing that was on the hood slid off as he skidded around a corner. Liz searched the area in front of them and didn't see anymore of the monsters; at least there wasn't another horde waiting for them.
They weren't safe, but they were in the clear momentarily. She laid her head on the head rest and took a deep, cleansing breath. She needed to stay strong and not panic; panicking would only get herself and Red killed. She turned her head towards him, leaving it on the headrest as she said, "Why don't we just take your jet? I can't imagine the entire world is like this."
He took another turn, then said, "I can't leave Dembe behind. I need to find him before we leave."
They were beginning to reach the suburbs of DC. She still didn't see any live people, but there were only a small amount of the creatures wandering around. They must have all headed to the city to find food; that was the only explanation she could come up with for the reason that there were so few.
It was the beginning of fall, and Liz imagined the oranges and yellows that the leaves would be on the trees that were flanking the road outside. It was too dark to see them, but thinking about them calmed her. This was Liz's favorite time of the year, besides Spring, and she had looked forward to it. Not so much anymore though, because Fall meant that Winter was on its heels, and there wasn't power anymore to keep them warm on the freezing cold days and nights to come.
She sighed and said quietly, "I don't know how you're going to find Dembe in this mess, Red. It's almost impossible."
He shook his head, "No, we had contingency plans. He should be at the house we're going to."
"If you say so. I really hope he's there." She didn't think he would be, but it was useless to try to convince him otherwise.
"He will be."
She sat up a little and turned back to him, "We need to come up with a name for those..things...I keep calling them creatures or monsters and that doesn't sound right; they used to be people."
He pursed his lips and shrugged with his hands still on the wheel, "How about Walkers?"
Liz rose her eyebrows and nodded. That sounded as good as anything she could come up with.
"Walkers it is."
OOOOOO
They arrived at his house within thirty minutes; the rest of the trip uneventful. He pulled into the garage and killed the engine; the silence was deafening. She cleared her throat, but didn't say what she wanted to say, which was that it didn't look like Dembe had made it. He opened the door and got out and she did the same, then walked around the car and followed him into the house. He had a flashlight in his hand that she didn't know he had, and he shined it in front of him as he walked. Liz pulled out her cell phone and turned her light on so she could see more of the house. It was a modern house, with brick and siding on the outside, and wood floors and granite counter tops inside. They walked into the kitchen, and Red opened the refrigerator and pulled out a couple of bottles of beer. He handed her one and shrugged, then said in a low voice, "They aren't very cold anymore, but it's better than nothing."
Liz took it and opened it, then took a long drink. Red was standing in front of the kitchen sink with his back to her, staring out the small window into the dark. She was loath to disturb him, because he obviously wasn't in the mood to talk, but she needed some answers.
She set her beer down on the counter, walked over to him slowly, and slid a hand over his lower back near the waistband of his pants to get his attention. He turned his head minutely towards her to show he was listening. She took a deep breath, "Where are we going to go after this?" She turned and shined her light through the living room; it was empty, as it seemed like the rest of the house was. "There's nothing here...where are we going to find supplies?"
She turned back to him as he turned his body towards her, his chest inches from hers. "I'm not sure, Lizzy. I have other places that are more equipped, but they are a long car drive away, and I'm not sure we'll be able to find enough gas. That's why we can't take my jet; there isn't enough fuel, and I don't fly well enough either." His cheek twitched, and he turned his head away so he didn't have to look into her pleading eyes.
Liz reached up and straightened his tie and loosened it, then unbuttoned the button on his shirt to loosen his collar. He watched her, but didn't say anything as she pulled the tie over his head, then threw it on the counter. She reached up and unbuttoned a few more buttons until she could see his chest hair, then stopped. He hadn't said anything or moved for a long time, so she reluctantly turned her face up towards his. There was desperation and alarm in his eyes, and she didn't know what to do with a panicked Raymond Reddington. He was always the calm one, always the one with the answers, but it seemed like he was at a loss for once. She needed to be strong for him until he found his equilibrium.
She reached forward and pulled him into a hug. He went willingly and wrapped his arms around her waist, then pulled her tightly against him. She breathed into his neck and sighed; she was just glad he was here with her and that she wasn't by herself trying to survive.
After a few moments, when is breathing seemed slower, she pulled back and looked at him. The low light illuminated the blonde stubble on his face, and the shadows under his eyes seemed more pronounced; he had aged ten years in a matter of minutes.
Since he didn't seem to know what to do next , it fell to her to decide. "I was thinking we could stay the rest of the night here, and maybe wait until noon before we leave. That way it'll give Dembe time to get here if he's on his way. Once he gets here, we can make more concrete plans about where we're going to go, and how we're going to find supplies."
He nodded, and closed his eyes, "I'm sorry I'm such a coward Lizzy. I don't know what's come over me, but all I can think about is Dembe and whether he's alive or not. I simply can't handle losing him."
She was surprised at his emotional confession. She knew he and Dembe were best friends, but she hadn't realized that it seemed to be deeper than that; more like brothers. She ran her hand over his rough face and smiled faintly, "I can be the strong one for now, but I'm going to need your help eventually."
He nodded and caught her hand with his, then kissed her wrist softly, "Thank you."
She smiled as he gave her her hand back, then stepped back to get away from his intoxicating presence. She needed to focus.
"First things first, are there any blankets or pillow here? Anything we can use for a bed?"
He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, "Yes, there are blankets, but I'm afraid that's it. I recently purchased this house, so I haven't had time to stock it with anything. The previous owners left the blankets."
She grabbed his arm and began pulling him towards the back of the house. He trailed after her, and as they reached the middle of the hallway, she said, "Where are they?"
He walked past her and up to a hallway closet, then opened it. She shined her light in it and saw multiple blankets, towels, and sheets. They must have forgotten to pack this closet up before they moved; Liz was glad that they did.
She pulled out as much as she could carry, and Red did the same. She walked back into the living room and threw everything on the bare hardwood floor. At least they would have some cushion to try to sleep on.
She knelt and began making a makeshift bed, and Red crouched down to help her. After a few minutes, she stood up to survey their work; it would do.
Liz looked at Red. He was staring off into space again, but this time she could see his jaw working.
"Red?" He didn't answer.
She walked over to him and put her hand on his chest, "Red?"
He blinked and grimaced, "Sorry, I was trying to think of some places we could go to find some supplies."
She nodded, "Good. I hope you think of something, because we don't even have any food. In the meantime, I think we need to try to get some sleep before the sun comes up."
He reached out and ran a hand down her arm and nodded, "I agree."
She turned and walked away, saying over her shoulder, "I'm going to use the bathroom." Then heard a faint, "Ok" as she rounded to corner into the hallway.
She finally found the bathroom after opening the doors to two empty bedrooms. As she opened the door, she heard a shuffling sound. She froze with the door halfway open and listened. She heard a quiet growl and knew, just knew, that one of those "Walkers" was in the bathroom. She pulled her gun out of her holster silently, readied it, then kicked the door open and shined her light inside. She didn't see anything, and was confused. She had definitely heard those sounds, she hadn't imagined it.
She walked inside slowly and shined the light at the closed curtain of the bathtub. It must be behind there. She threw open the curtains and almost gagged at the smell coming from the corpse that was lying in the tub. She screamed involuntarily as it tried to stand up, but seemed to be having a hard time for some reason. It was snapping its teeth and reaching its rotting arms towards her. She quickly shot it in the head, then took deep, calming breaths as she heard running footsteps come down the hallway. "Lizzy, what the hell?"
She turned to him as he rounded the bathroom door, "Why didn't we check to make sure none of those things were in here?"
He shrugged, "I didn't even think to. I apologize."
She shook her head, "Yeah, well it's my fault too. I'm going to go check the bedrooms, why don't you go check everywhere else?"
Red nodded and pulled his gun out, then walked away. Liz checked the bedrooms thoroughly and found nothing, and since she hadn't heard any gunshots, she assumed Red hadn't either.
She walked back into the living room and saw Red beginning to take his dress shirt and vest off. He turned to her with his fingers working at the buttons, "I didn't see anything else. I can't imagine how that one got in here, but any guess would be pure speculation. I apologize again, Lizzy, for being so careless."
She shrugged, "I'm fine, and it was only the one. I'm dead on my feet though, I need to sleep."
He nodded and slipped off his shirt, leaving him bare-chested and looking entirely too appealing to her sleep-deprived brain. He started working on his belt, while watching her stare at him, and she quickly turned away. She blushed at being caught, but what did it really matter in the long run? It's not like the FBI would fire her for getting cozy with him.
She quickly slid her shirt and pants off, leaving her in her bra and panties, and turned to Red with her arms crossed over her chest. "No funny business, Red."
He had been staring at her legs as she said that, but he quickly made eye contact and held his hands up, "I'm entirely too tired for any kind of "business" as you say." Then he knelt and laid down on their blanket bed.
He was stripped down to a pair of white boxers, and Liz had to physically drag her eyes away from him as she laid down next to him; making sure to leave plenty of space between their bodies. She could feel the warmth of his body radiating from him, but she resisted moving closer to him. She turned on her side, facing away from him, and moved around slightly to get comfortable. The "bed" actually wasn't that bad and she found a comfortable spot right away. She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, already almost asleep. She was on the edge of sleep when she felt his hand on her ribs, "Good night, Lizzy."
She reached over and squeezed the hand that was still on her ribs. "Night, and thank you for saving my life." He didn't answer, but she felt him move closer to her. He kissed the back of her neck softly, and whispered against it, his warm breath giving her goosebumps, "No Lizzy, you saved mine. Thank you."
She didn't answer because she didn't understand what he meant, but pulled his hand over her stomach and pulled his body closer. She snuggled into his chest and fell asleep immediately; temporarily forgetting the deep shit that they were in.
Red fell asleep soon after, grateful that he had her with him. There would be no point in trying to navigate the hell that was waiting outside for them without her, but with her, he wanted to try.
Author's Note: Red can't always be the strong one..so I wrote Liz being a bad ass because I think she totally would be in this situation. Red would too..but he's going to have moments of weakness too. Especially if he's worried about someone he loves. I received a lot of positive feedback about this..and the general consensus was that you all wanted me to continue writing this AU zombie world for Red and Liz. I know it's a little weird, but it's kind of fun to read and write something like this once in a while. So should I keep going? Is there still interest after seeing where I'm going to go with the story? If people want to read it..I'm willing to write it for the long haul. Thanks so much for the reviews/follows/favs and please let me know what you think and if you want me to continue. Have a good day. :)