Day by Day

Summary

When the biters rose, they thought their world would end.
It didn't—it just broke, in a way no one could fix. They found ways to continue, like they always had, reasons to fight and survive. Some found love or faith and the most dangerous of all—hope.

Disclaimer: The characters and places belong to the author Suzanne Collins.(If they belonged to me, Finnick would probably be alive.)

Chapter 1

Gale

When he walked through the Seam, it was still bathed in shadow, though he could see the sun peeking between the mountains. The sky bled, soft but bright colours, hues of pink and orange beginning to disintegrate. Such beauty, he thought, in such a horrendous world. He strode by the empty-looking houses, though he knew there were other survivors left in District Twelve. They could be just as dangerous as the other things lurking around though, and he had no wish for company today. He needed to hunt, before winter came. He set a brisk pace, every sense alert.

He could smell the faint odor of decay which was usually the first warning that they were nearby. And of course it was never a good sign. He kept on walking, keeping an eye around, his crossbow tightly pressed to his body and his game bag hanging from one shoulder.

He started to see the meadow just outside the fence and wasn't surprised at all when he saw it standing outside the fence. It or actually 'he' was growling and moaning rabidly, his eyes were looking straight ahead, his jaw slack, arms reaching forward through the wholes of the fence, trying to get aimlessly to the other side. The wires of the fence were cutting his pale and falling-apart- skin on his face and body, but he still tried to walk forward drawing dark thick blood from the thin wounds, making them deeper. Gale wondered what he was trying so hard to get.

He continued to stare at it as it tried to get through a wired fence. It was comical really. The thing about them was that they never gave up. They never tried to run or hide, they never retreated and they never stopped. They would keep coming as long as the brain was intact, unable to comprehend the threat, or maybe uncaring.

Many of them were also unable to walk due to either decomposition or severed limbs; those pulled themselves forward with hands, fingers, even teeth to get to 'humans' but they were usually in groups and that made it much harder to defend one self, especially alone.

He walked towards the 'electric' fence slowly and as soon as it was in range, he launched himself at it. Their fearlessness was a severe disadvantage in most battles, in this situation, it was. He turned around with a loud grunt, forgetting his previous goal and threw himself at Gale.

He lifted his wooden stick with spikes up in the air, and with a small strangled growl, he hit it as hard as he could. There was a blunt crack as the stick connected to the side of the thing's head and the spikes plunged themselves deep in its skull, the sound of bones splitting filled the air. The fence shook violently as he dropped to the ground. With a furrowed brow he brought the thick stick down a few more times onto its head to make sure it didn't try to get up and rip him to shreds or give him a good bite.

Neither of those options sounded very good.

The sound of its crushed skull was still in his ears. "It's like killing animals, just like hunting." he would tell himself every time. Gale looked around to check for any other friends he might have had. He lowered his gaze down at his feet; there was just a mess of skull, blood and brain left. He pulled the strap that held his crossbow tightly to his back, feeling as if it was suddenly suffocating him.

He didn't particularly enjoy doing this, and knowing he had a bigger chance of getting infected didn't help to motivate him. But he had to protect his family; that was the most important thing. He needed to keep them alive, as he had always done. He felt his chest heaving as he panted for a breath when he heard a tiny gasp which brought his gaze away from the body lying on the ground.

He turned around and saw a little girl on the other side of the fence, who he hadn't seen there before. She was probably what it was trying to get at. She was no more than maybe twelve years of age. Apt for the reaping he thought grimly. Not that it mattered anymore though.

She had a terrified expression planted on her pale innocent face. She was so thin; it made him shiver to look at her, even though he was used to the after effects of starvation first hand. She appeared somehow in better conditions than him; cleaner for starters. Her blonde hair was styled into two braids. He deducted she was a merchant. What is she doing in the other side of the fence and all alone?

He figured she was trying to run away from the fence-monster-guy. Her eyes stared up at him with what he could only place as fear. He watched as her nimble fingers clutched furiously to her pastel blue dress, that was dirtied by mud and something else he hoped wasn't blood. He swallowed hard and threw the bloodied wooden stick away, out of view. He raised both his hands to show that he wouldn't hurt her and attempted to smile, hoping that it wasn't too off-putting.

"It's alright." He said softly. His voice made her flinch and she quickly took three steps backward, even considering there was a fence between them. "I won't hurt you." he tried again. She didn't say anything, just watched him with big blue doe eyes that reminded him of his little sister. He already felt like he had to protect her. What if she was bitten? He wondered to himself grisly.

Ignoring his own dark thoughts he asked her. "Are you alone?" he slowly stumbled towards the fence, hoping not to scare her away. He waited patiently for her answer and when it came he had to listen carefully as her voice was so quiet and timid. "I'm with my sister."

"Okay," he said looking around the place, knowing there was no one else there. "Where is your sister?" Well - obviously not here Gale, what kind of a dumb question is that?

"I don't know." she squinted. "I'm looking for her." She replied as she walked slowly towards him. "C -Could you help me find her?" She was now standing right in front of him, just intertwined metal wires separating them. "Please." She whispered her voice quivering.

"Do you know where she might be?" he asked kneeling in front of her, but at a safe distance, to not seem like a creep.

"Last time we were together was….here….. in the woods." she told him looking towards the trees, he noticed tears starting to well up in her eyes. Shit, he thought, Gale had never been really good at comforting people. Wait - what if her sister was bitten?

"I'll help you look for her, alright?" he said even though he highly doubted they would find her and also had absolutely no clue who she was, or who they were actually looking for, or anything really. She nodded very slowly and inspected his face with those big and luring eyes of hers.

He crawled under the fence and when he reached the other said he noticed how much smaller she seemed. "Well, let's get moving." he told her offering a small smile. She was reluctant at first, to even move a centimeter. He made a movement with his head gesturing to follow him, even though he had no idea where to start looking. The little blonde girl started walking behind him with insecure and very small steps. What the hell am I doing?

"So when and where was exactly the last time you saw your sister?" he said trying to kind of start a conversation, so she didn't feel too uncomfortable and to actually know where to search for her, and not wander around aimlessly like what he had done for the past 20 minutes.

"Y-Yesterday." She stuttered out so quietly he almost didn't hear her.

"Here, in the woods, ya say?" He asked and turned around to have a better look at her; she nodded and bit her lip. "Do you remember anything specific from the place, something that can give us a clue?" She brings one of her frail-looking hands to her face, to tuck one of her blonde strands of hair behind her ear. "We were, uh, near a small lake." She said and he nodded. He was pretty sure he knew where that was.

"I think I know where that is." He told her with a smile. She smiled back, it was small and timid but he found her whole face lighting up. She thought they were going to find her. She had hope, while he didn't.

After some good time walking he noticed her breath heaving and her steps becoming slower, she was getting tired. She was probably not used to so much exercise. Gale decided to make a small break to rest; he gave her some water and dried fruits that he had brought along. They were both leaning against the same tree not saying anything.

"So you a merchant?" he asked, breaking the uncomfortable and awkward silence that fell between them. "No." She responded, as usual in a hushed tone. "I don't really know what I am". Gale thought about her answer for a while and then added "Me neither." She probably didn't really care, but he felt like they would maybe have some sort of bonding moment.

But it didn't really get to happen because in that same moment they heard a shuffling sound nearby, Gale's face turned into a scowl while hers turned wide-eyed and frightened.

They stood up abruptly and looked around for any sign of them. "You stay behind me." He told her firmly. She nodded back, tearfully. He decided to take the handgun, instead of the crossbow - even though it was much louder - because it was easier to get at that moment and he wanted to be ready for anything that came. He'd stolen the gun from a dead peacekeeper that he'd never seen before; he wondered if it counted as stealing, even when the guy was already dead.

He checked the perimeter with his gun pointed forward, trying to be as quiet as possible even though the little girl wasn't helping much. He glanced towards her and held a finger to his lips, gesturing for her to keep quiet. She nodded again, furiously this time and looked down as a soft blush crept up her cheeks, as if in embarrassment.

He started walking very cautiously, to try and not attract attention and prevent to have a heard or whatever attacking them, because if that happened they would be doomed. And probably dead. He scanned the area with his eyes and listened carefully, but he heard nothing out of the ordinary. He double took the area and checked for the girl, he then made a sign with his hand to tell her to follow him. She did without a second thought this time.

"Did you see something?" she muttered, the uneasiness and dread palpable in her voice.

"No." He said still surveying the place around. "Not really, but they are always around. They are here now, they are everywhere." He hated to be so blunt, but he had to. She swallowed hard and stared at him as if expecting him to say something comforting. He didn't really have anything to say.

"Just stay close." Gale ordered. He wondered what happened to this girl and wondered why exactly did he agree to help her. He wasn't a bad person, he helped when he could. But right now he couldn't really afford to help anyone. His family was his first priority, and always will be. But he couldn't help his heart clenching as he saw her all alone and hopeless and dirty. If it was his sister he would want someone to help her. He decided it was the human thing to do.

He peeped at her over his shoulder, she stared right back at him. He twisted back around and then something hit him; she was saved from the reaping and the games but now had something much worse. The undead. How lovely.

He felt it was so unfair that someone so young had to endure so much. For someone so innocent to already go through hell. He felt the same for his siblings; they were so pure, they didn't deserve more abominable and awful things happening. It was obviously the fucking Capitol, who else would do something like this? He had endured enough hunger games in his life to know it was them. They were cruel and wicked and ruthless, this was no different than one of their stupid tricks. The President has really outdone himself this time, he thought. To turn our own family and friends into monsters, which want to eat you alive kind of really, crosses the line. But the Capitol doesn't really have a line.

They had been walking for around ten minutes now, none of them really saying anything, just the sound of the birds and their breathing and their feet as they brushed against the ground. And he thought that if they didn't find her sister (which was very probable) he could maybe take her home. They were short in food and had been struggling this last week more than usual, but if he got a good haul today they would be fine. Posy and Vick could play with her and maybe his mom wouldn't be that angry about it.

Then he heard the noise again, this time it was fainter but he heard it and she did too. He stopped dead on his tracks and she pulled his shirt from behind; he turned around and noted the panic in her eyes. "It'll be okay." he consoled her softly.

He hated lying, but he had to.

He followed the same procedure as before; but this time he took his crossbow, knowing his aim was much better. He held it up high and studied the area with his eyes. All his senses alert. He thought this was probably one of the most annoying things from this whole situation. You can't really do anything anymore; you always have to watch your back, to be vigilant, to be prepared.

He walked forward with precaution to not make any noise. Just like hunting a wild animal. He heard more shuffling and the ruffling of leaves coming from behind. He heard a deep growl and piercing scream cutting through the air and he felt his heart drop that very moment. He turned around his crossbow up high and he hoped and wished and prayed -even though he knew it was in vain- that it wasn't her. That it wasn't the little blond girl looking for her sister.

When turned around the sight in front of him made his blood freeze. She was being dragged by her middle, she was screaming and thrashing but with no effect as he had his arms tightly locked around her. His teeth plunged deep into her neck and pulled with all its strength. He saw her skin being teared open and knew he had failed. He shot an arrow at him hitting him in one eye.

She screamed and cried at the same time and Gale ran after her as fast as he could, until he felt himself being pulled back. His crossbow got caught with one of the lower branches; he quickly got the gun from his belt and fired it.

He was aiming at its head, but failed miserably at it. He hadn't noticed his hands were shaking so much. When he actually looked at it he saw he had one ear missing and both its lips had been somehow bitten off, perhaps it was death's kiss that turned him into one of the undead.

One of his hands had been mangled and his right bicep was chewed away exposing white bone beneath it. He had been scalped by some failed attempt to slay him and as he drew each rattling breath he made a low and unnatural moan that chilled his blood. He swallowed hard aimed and fired, again and again and again. Until a bullet hit one of his shoulders, and then his neck. He kept on shooting until there were no more bullets left.

He dropped the gun and ran towards the small bundle of pastel blue and red on the ground. He cradled her head with both his hands and placed it carefully beneath his legs. He looked at her eyes; he would describe her eyes as the ocean. He'd never seen it of course, but he has seen pictures in the books at school. Her eyes were so blue; they were iridescent and flecked every single shade of blue he knew. He saw her whole life trapped between her pupils. And now it was going to end because he couldn't save her, couldn't protect her, couldn't do that one simple thing. Small teardrops fell from her eyes as she looked up at him and he couldn't take it.

"I'm sorry" he whispered. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." He kept on repeating it like a mantra as he caressed her blonde braids. He hadn't realized he was crying until he saw one of his own tears, fall on her porcelain face.

He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs, he wanted to kill President Snow with his bare hands or kill very single undead monster in this place. It wasn't fair.

She was going to die.

She was going to die – and turn into one of them.

She smiled, she actually smiled at him. Him who couldn't stop her from dying. Him who couldn't do one single thing right. How? How was he supposed to kill her? He sniffed and blinked hard, his gaze shifted to the dead body next to them and he felt so many emotions at once. Hatred. Disgust. Anger. He looked around trying to keep himself together. None of them said anything – he didn't know what to say anyways. What do you tell someone who is dying?

"You will look for my sister right?" she stammered out suddenly. "Tell me you are going to look for her, please." She whispered between breaths as she grabbed his hand.

"I'm going to find her." He said without a second thought. He could see the raw flesh in her neck in various shades of pink and red and the blood as it ran freely in thick scarlet rivers, staining his hands and his trousers.

"Tell her Aster is looking for her."

"I will, Aster, I will". He promised her, as he remembered how his mother used to have Aster flowers in a yellow pot by the window, before his father died and how he used to see them with Katniss when they went out hunting and gave them to his sister, and she would make a flower crown out if them. But Aster flowers don't grow this time of the year anymore.

"Tell me a story." She whispered to him. He tried to remember one of the stories his mother used to tell him and couldn't remember any at that moment. He felt so useless, he pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

He decided to tell her a story about a boy whose mother had flowers in a yellow pot. A boy who liked hunting and had siblings called about Posy and Rory and Vick. He told her about the boy's friend Katniss and her sister Primrose. He told her about the sunset this morning and how the colors seemed to be bleeding into the sky, and how the boy found a pretty little girl in a pastel blue dress. He told her about the how the boy liked going to a place called the Hob ,and before he could tell her about Greasy Sae's soup her breath started slowing down and her hand slipped between his fingertips.

His mouth had a sour taste and his throat was dry. His shoulders started shaking but his eyes her dry. He ran his hands through his hair and swallowed hard. He set her head carefully on the small patch of grass. He closed her eyes with his fingertips and knew that they would open again but they will be milky and lost instead of ocean blue.

He went to get his crossbow that was lying on the floor a few meters back and then picked up his gun and put it back in between his belt and his pants. He looked at her crumpled body lying on the ground and he could not, in any way, bring himself to kill her. He pointed his crossbow at her head and knew he would not let the arrow fly.

He breathed in and then chuckled without any humor. His chuckles turned into sobs and he asked himself what he was doing for the millionth time that day. He walked away, one foot in front of the other one. It's a very easy task, but it was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. He walked away and when we couldn't take it anymore he started running. Not looking back once.

He needed to hunt anyway.

AN: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that reviewed, it makes me smile and just motivates me so much more. I also just want to clear that the inhabitants of Panem don't know what a zombie is. Therefore the word zombie doesn't exist and everything is completely new to them. Anyways please tell me what you think! I truly appreciate it.

Thanks for reading