Rapture (ON HOLD)

.:Chapter Thirteen:.

     Night had fallen upon the group of travelers in the huge Suburban, and most of them were already asleep in their seats. Brian had switched out with Zacky so that he could get some sleep in the back, so for now, the only ones awake were the hazel-eyed man and the teenage girl, Kasey, whom had supplied their vehicle in the first place. Zacky wanted to approach the delicate subject of her parents, who she'd fleetingly mentioned during their first encounter, but he was still a bit skeptical and was very cautious not to set her off in the wrong way.
     "So, I've gotta ask," It was Kasey who spoke first, catching Zacky's attention. He raised his brows, showing that he was paying attention without taking his eyes off of the road. "You and Pretty Boy back there.. Y'all together?" She was obviously referring to Brian, and she spoke so casually that it somewhat amused the hazel-eyed driver.
     "Um, yeah." He answered. "We were roommates for a while before this shit went down.. I guess we both had a thing for each other, but neither of us really knew it.. Then one night, well, we settled down to camp somewhere, and, yeah." He stuttered shyly, his cheeks turning a bit red as he remembered the first night they had spent together romantically. It was amazing, and he'd never forget it.
     "Aww, that's cute." She smiled over at him, folding her legs up in the seat and then scooting it forward so that Jimmy would have more leg room. "So, about your friend that got kidnapped.. Was he with Jimmy, or..?" Her voice was soft and cautious, almost as if she were afraid of making Zacky mad. The hazel-eyed man bit his lip softly, trying to place the words in their correct order before he spoke.
     "Yeah.. Our friend circle is made entirely of couples," He laughed dryly before continuing. "See, Johnny and Jimmy have been together since high school. They were prom dates and everything. They got bullied a lot, but it never stopped them from being themselves. After the virus wiped everyone out, some people from this place called Sarwick Industries came and snatched him. Their main building of operations is in New York, which is why we're going there." Zacky explained, sighing softly afterwards and tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Kasey nodded, looking down at her shoes.
     "I.. Honestly don't think this was just an accident." The blue-eyed girl whispered quietly, catching Zacky's attention.
     "What do you mean?" He asked, his curiosity spiking.
     "I feel like.. I feel like this was an experiment gone wrong, or something close to that. I don't think this was just an accidental thing." She repeated. "I mean, think about it. If this was a natural epidemic and not a man-made disease, it would've taken a lot longer than three days to wipe out the entire United States. I've never seen anything like this before. I think this virus was created on purpose and released for a reason." Her voice was strong, and she voiced her thoughts proudly; what Zacky didn't know is that she wasn't always like that. Yes, there was a time that the extremely outgoing young girl would've kept quiet and not said a word.
     "I have a sinking feeling that you might be right." The hazel-eyed man sighed, relieved that he wasn't the only one thinking that way. "So.. I have a question." These words came after several minutes of awkward silence, and since Kasey wasn't expecting any more conversation for a while, they made her jump.
     "Go for it, man."
     "That house that we met you in... That was your home, wasn't it?" His voice was soft and soothing; something Kasey wasn't used to hearing from anyone older than her.
     "Yeah, um.." She cleared her throat. "M-My parents, they.. They owned the house before.. Before everything hit." She looked down at her legs in the seat once more, and when Zacky glanced over, he saw a single tear leave her lower eyelid and roll down her rounded cheek. "My parents were pretty awful people. They used to scream at me all the time, tell me I was worthless.. I started to believe it, there for a while, but.." Stopping to clear her throat once more, Kasey wiped the tear off of her cheek with the sleeve of her sweater before continuing. "When everything hit, I tried to get them to let me protect them... But they wouldn't. They tried to fight for themselves and.. They got bitten, both of them."
     "Oh, God... Kasey, I'm so fucking sorry, I had no idea.." The hazel-eyed man replied, placing his hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner. "I would hug you, but.. Y'know, driving." He chuckled sadly, causing the blue-eyed girl to giggle softly. She sniffled quietly, wiping her eyes to rid them of any more tears before she looked up at Zacky, a smile spreading across her face.
     "You're the first person I've actually told about that. Coincidentally, you're also the first person to ask." She laughed dryly, looking down at her feet. "Aaahhh, I have no friends." She muttered casually, as if this was something she said often.
     "Hey," Zacky chuckled, catching her attention. "You have us, and you're stuck with us now."

     Dawn of the next day.

     As the sun crept over the horizon far off in the distance, Brian cracked his deep brown eyes open and took in a deep breath as he sat up. He tilted his head to the side, groaning softly when the bones in his neck popped six or seven times in a row. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked at the rearview mirror to find that Zacky was already looking at him. Through the mirror, of course. He couldn't turn around. He was driving, and that required his attention.
     "Good morning, sunshine." The hazel-eyed man cracked a grin at his still sleepy boyfriend, chuckling when he snorted in reply.
     "If this is a good morning, I'd hate to see a bad one." He grunted tiredly, causing Kasey to turn around and raise a brow before looking over at Zacky.
     "Jeez, he's grumpy when he wakes up, isn't he?" She giggled, earning a smirk from the hazel-eyed man behind the wheel. "Anyways.. We're going to stop in a little bit and find a hotel, so maybe everyone can get some decent sleep." She told Brian, turning around in her seat to look at him. It was obvious that Brian was still slightly skeptical of the young girl, but she seemed to have taken quite a shine to him in just a matter of hours.
     "That sounds amazing." The brown-eyed man grinned, making eye contact with his boyfriend through the rear-view mirror. Once Kasey turned around, Brian shrugged his eyebrows and winked, causing Zacky to chuckle softly and blush brightly. I know exactly what that look means.. The hazel-eyed man thought, biting the inside of his lip and adjusting his position in his seat. Suddenly, he could hardly wait to find that hotel.

     And quite honestly, neither could Brian.