End Of Days

15: Zombie

WARNING:

This chapter gets pretty intense. It contains themes of violence, sickness and death. It is not easy to read, and if it's too much I want you to click off this book. At the end of this chapter I will put a large gap between the end of the chapter and the authors note, and I'll put a summary there.

PLEASE DO NOT READ IF THESE THEMES TRIGGER YOU!

Your health and wellbeing come first, always. 

Please take care of yourself <3

Fundy's sleep was restless and fitful.

His breathing never evened out, not really. His skin was warm and clammy. His eyes were closed so tightly that Wilbur wondered if he would ever feel peace again.

But he wasn't going anywhere. He sat by his side, leaning against the tin wall of the shed and dabbing his forehead with a damp cloth. He hoped that it helped. He didn't know what else he could do.

When Fundy finally woke up, he looked closer to death than ever before. "Wil?"

"Shhh." Wilbur hummed, pressing the cloth to his forehead. "It's alright Fundy."

"That feels nice." Fundy whispered, turning his head slightly towards his friend.

Wilbur kept dabbing with the cloth until Fundy fell back into a restless sleep.

---

"You got one too?" Wilbur raised an eyebrow as he tossed his pamphlet onto the kitchen counter. It was identical to Niki's, though a little more worn and creased.

"What is it?" Ranboo asked, plucking it from the table.

"Nothing good." Phil murmured, leaning on his elbow, his eyes glazed and glassy. "Where did you say you met him, Niki?"

"Out on the supply run." She told him, crossing her arms over her chest. "He looked like he'd stepped out of last year. How was he so clean?"

"Running water, apparently." Ranboo snorted as he looked at the pictures of the city. "Dude this is awesome. Phil can we move to, uh," he squinted as he tried to read the name, "Morbus Lucrum?"

"We're not moving to a place that sounds like Morbid." Niki shut him down immediately.

"But think of the showers!"

"We should probably check it out, right?" Wilbur asked, more to Phil than the other two.

His father's gaze snapped across to him, and he looked conflicted. "Yes, probably. But I don't trust this."

"Me neither." Wilbur agreed. He looked back down to the pamphlets, running his eyes over the images of a city that looked a little too perfect and a little too lively. He looked back up to his friends and father. "I'll go in and check it out."

"I'll come with you." Niki said immediately.

"That's a terrible idea." Wilbur turned to her, his head tilting slightly to one side.

"What, so you get to go off and explore a futuristic city while I'm stuck tending to the vegetables?" Niki shot back. She glanced to Phil with an apologetic smile. "No offence, Phil."

"This is a discussion for another time." Phil told them as he turned back to the camping stove. "Food's almost up."

"Can I go?" Ranboo asked, his eyes alight with mischief. A spark of the boy he used to be.

"No." Wilbur and Niki said at the same time.

"This is so unfair." Ranboo frowned, but he crossed the room to collect the plates all the same.