➳The Apocalypse had all but ruined (y/n)'s sense of time. The sun, of course, was a dead giveaway, but she could hardly ever tell what day of the week it was or which month. However, she could tell you that the group had been travelling west, towards Philadelphia, for about three days.
In that time, they'd thankfully found a quiet rest stop, complete with camp showers that ran on their own grid - giving them each a very well-deserved clean. With a sigh, (y/n) towel dried her hair with a rag.
"Heaven," she said dreamily, now trying to untangle it with her fingers. The group chuckled.
"Yeah," Doc sighed, smiling "been overdue since 1985, kid." (y/n) laughed, throwing her damp towel at him. A hand shot out and caught it, belonging to none other than the slightly more experienced sharpshooter.
He shook his head, but that small half-smile was still there. Beneath the layer of knives and other weapons, she was just a girl - and every time she caught a glance at even a ghost of his smile, her heart fluttered.
She hated it, but it was not a wholly unpleasant feeling.
Without a word, he got up and presumably went to have his shower. The rest of the group(minus Cassandra, who was on watch) kicked their feet up around the fire, sharing stories and trying to do their best instead of breaking down.
"Alright," Warren sighed, stabbing her machete into the dirt "we gotta get that boy a nickname. Cuz I sure as hell ain't calling him Ten Thousand. Takes too long." Garnett chuckled, looking at the woman fondly.
"True," he shrugged "By the time you finish saying his name, he could be dead." (y/n)'s heart gave a lurch, but everyone else laughed.
"What about 10k?" Addy suggested, eyebrows raised.
"Still means the same," Mack pointed out "just shorter."
"Exactly!" (y/n) snapped her fingers "10k it is."
"What?" The boy they'd been talking about stood directly behind her, shaking out his raven-black hair. Tiny droplets hit (y/n)'s pants, and she busied herself trying to wipe them away.
"Kid," Doc stood up and clapped him on the shoulder "don't mind if we call ya 10k, do ya?" The boy shrugged, not saying anything at all before taking his place around the fire.
"God, I still feel dirty," Addy shuddered, and (y/n) knew she was right.
"Me too," the girl sighed "I miss floral perfume." Her lips turned into a pout, and Addy chuckled.
"Well," Warren piped up "I do not miss shaving my legs. Am I right, girls?" They whooped, cheering at the task every woman used to hate. The men, in the meantime, looked disgusted, which made (y/n) only laugh harder.
In the midst of it all, she looked over at 10k to see he was already watching her, cheeks abnormally red for having been around the fire only a matter of minutes.
Odd.
➳After their stop, they hadn't found many other places to rest up or gather supplies, so Garnett made the call to try and scavenge within Philly. Cassandra, weirdly, was not impressed. From where she sat in the back of the truck, rifle laid across her lap, (y/n) couldn't hear any talk from inside, but she managed to catch Murphy's trademark sarcasm.
"Ah, the city of brotherly love." he deadpanned, eyeing up a few Zs nibbling on someone, who was unfortunate enough to be caught out alone. They were still alive, thrashing and looked to be in pain.
(y/n) aimed her scope and gave that person - whoever they were - mercy. 10k nodded.
"You're getting better," he offered quietly, and (y/n) blinked at him, not realizing he'd complimented her.
"Oh! Yeah, thanks." she said kindly. Slowly, the truck came to a stop. Craning her neck around, (y/n) tried to access what was going on. Doc stood up, staring openmouthed at some sort of bell that sat on the trailer of a large truck.
"Is that really the Liberty Bell?" Mack asked, hanging on to the side of the truck. Everyone from inside hopped out to check out whatever that was. How was she supposed to know? She was from Canada, and only ended up in the States during the outbreak by accident.
"What's the Liberty Bell?" She asked Addy, unsure. Addy shook her head, smiling.
Garnett, who had been reciting something, turned around to gape at her. "You don't know what the Liberty Bell is?" The girl shrugged sheepishly, sharing a glance with 10k, who also shrugged.
"She's Canadian!" Addy tried to defend her. Murphy, where he was leaning out the window, scoffed.
"Seriously?" he seemed like he couldn't believe it. "you're from Canada? God, that explains a lot." (y/n) smiled sweetly.
"Canadian or not," her voice was overly sweet, like honey. "I can still beat your ass." He made some noises of protest, before slinking away quietly.
"Three years of zombie apocalypse," Doc reminisced "you'd think you'd seen everything." At this, (y/n) noticed it had been tagged by some loser.
"Well," Roberta said, still staring at the bell "when everything went bad, they probably tried to save a little history." Murphy again, scoffed.
"Yeah, well," he was getting whiny again "they should have known the only thing you can save is yourself. Let's go!" (y/n) scoffed, rolling her eyes at his babyish presence.
. "Hang on," Warren drawled, testing with a tube to see if the tank had fuel they could siphon. "If this thing had fuel, which it does, and we can get it started-" she explained to Garnett, who listened with rapt attention "they won't have to ride in the open like that."
Internally, (y/n) groaned. She loved the fresh air; inside the truck got too stuffy. Plus, her and 10k could play lookouts, for bandits or worse.
"Well I'm all for that," Doc vouched.
"I'll grab the jumper cables!" Mack announced, grabbing them from inside the truck.
"God bless the human race," said Doc sarcastically "99% of 'em dead, and yet there's still one jackass with a spray can." (y/n) chuckled - he was right. Warren pulled the door of the truck open, revealing a zombie. Before even (y/n) had a chance to pull out a throwing knife, 10k had it taken down.
"One thousand, seventy-five." He counted.
"Nice shot," Addy grinned at him, and he looked away - absolutely radiating shyness. In no time, they'd got the other truck started and everyone had been situated accordingly. Between Doc and 10k, sat (y/n).
When they were getting into the truck, Addy had taken the last seat in the back with a wink at her younger friend, leaving her no choice but to sit up front. Cassandra leaned over the seat to talk to Doc, and (y/n) leaned away slightly. 10k hadn't noticed, she thought, because he was gazing out the window daydreaming.
Curse his side profile. Michelangelo would have adored it, but (y/n) found it both infuriating and distracting.
"Watch out!" (y/n) called out to Doc, who simultaneously cursed. Warren and Garnett's truck had swerved, onto another street unexpectedly. As they turned the corner, they saw the Liberty bell flying off the trailer, killing some zombies along the way.
"Wicked," (y/n) breathed, watching it go. From beside her, she heard the boy laugh a little bit, probably overjoyed to see zombies getting killed. She turned her head to look at him, and they both began laughing. His smile was one thing she new she would never get sick of seeing.
"Yeah!" Doc cheered "I'd pay money to see that again!" Warren did a quick assessment, before announcing that the axle was broken.
➳So, (y/n) found herself back in the open box of the truck, until they finally came to a spot to have a lunch break. She chewed her Twinkie thoughtfully, admiring the clouds.
"Enjoy it," Warren said with a bit of sadness in her voice "that's the last of the food."
Addy nudged her leg with hers. "You think you could do that foraging thing?" (y/n) nodded, looking over at Garnett.
"On our way out of the city I'll find some edible plants," she offered. On the other side of the truck, she heard Murphy complaining.
"Oh god," he groaned "I'm so hungry, my big guts are eating my little guts." Beside him, the sniper was eating his slowly, which Murphy was greedily eyeing up. "You gonna eat all that?" Quickly, the boy stuffed an entire Twinkie in his mouth, to which Murphy replied,
"Selfish little bastard." (y/n) tiptoed over to them, offering Murphy hers. He looked up at her with adoring eyes, however she knew it was only because she offered him food.
"I'm not hungry," she said, thrusting it out for him to take. Without a second thought, he scarfed it down, not even bothering to say thank-you. Garnett instructed them all to go looking for food, or some way to contact that weird guy from Northern Light.
(y/n) hopped down from the truck, putting her rifle across her back and pulling out her little hatchet for mercy-giving. Addy and Mack were told to go looking for the radio, and Doc was to take them looking for food.
Her, Cassandra, and 10k found themselves following him down a street, trying to find a house or something that hadn't been completely looted.
"Hey, kid," Doc called out, talking to the other sharpshooter - not her. "help me out with this, will ya?" He nodded, and soon enough both men were up trying to dislodge a dish from its place on a brick wall.
"I don't know why we stopped here in Philly," Cassandra grumbled for nearly the millionth time that day. (y/n) didn't mind Cassandra, but something about her was off and thus she didn't trust her at all. "We should've have kept going."
"Going where?" Doc questioned. (y/n) nodded.
"He's right," she ran a hand through her short hair "We needed to stop for food and water." The girl stood close to the boys, leaning up against the wall. Cassandra turned to look at her. Doc, such a lovely old man as he was, started up a conversation about adult movies and (y/n) found herself tuning it out - choosing rather to lose herself in her thoughts while keeping watch.
Cassandra was anxious, almost as if she were scared of what exactly was in Philly. (y/n) thought back to that douchebag biker they found. He'd known her from somewhere, and if (y/n) could take a wild guess, it would be that more people were out looking for Cass than they thought.
It terrified her. Humans, more than zombies. The apocalypse had made them - even her - ruthless. Mere shells of the happy parents and children they used to be. Without much warning, Cassandra bolted down another road by the building where they'd been standing.
"You guys, stay here." (y/n) told them, sprinting to chase after her, choosing to grab her pistol instead. She could hear feet behind her, pursuing.
'Oh,' she thought 'please let it be them, not some psycho.'
Of course, it wasn't them. "Cassandra!" (y/n) yelled, trying to get her attention. Quickly, she saw a stack of crates the in alley, and knocked them over as she kept running. Her chest was burning as she followed the girl she'd mistaken for a friend. Judging from the footfalls behind her, (y/n) figured whoever followed them was bigger - always had food to eat.
By now, she was running side-by-side Cassandra. Her heart was beating wildly, not only because of the running but because of what might happen to her if she stopped. She hardly thought they would be friendly.
Interestingly enough, Cassandra grabbed the girl's hand and yanked her behind a garbage can - to avoid a small number of Zs that she basically sicc-ed on the men.
"Sunshine!" One of them called, presumably referring to Cassandra. While they were fending them off with guns, the two girls snuck behind to escape.
➳They found Doc and 10k - having acquired the dish - wandering along a street, chatting amicably. Chests heaving, the two girls fell into step with them.
"Hey," Doc dodged Cassandra, who barreled between them "is everything okay?"
Without missing a beat, Cassandra said: "fine." (y/n)'s normally calm composure shattered.
"Fine?" she snarled "everything is not fine." She stopped then, to bend over and catch her breath. "Those psychos-" she pointed back to where they'd left the men "chased us. They are after her." The other two members of the group looked at Cassandra, shocked.
(y/n)'s uncharacteristic tone had gotten the attention of everyone else in the group, but Addy was gone - she noticed. They all stared at her, wanting to know what was going on. Also, she noticed some very angry gazes directed at Cassandra.
Hopefully, they knew. It appeared Mack did.
"What's wrong?" Doc asked nervously "Where's Addy?" Cassandra looked around anxiously, like she was being cornered. Which, she was.
"Missing." Mack said, and (y/n) felt her heart breaking.
She turned to look at Cassandra. "Well, sunshine? Any clue?"
"She was taken by humans," Mack explained, eyes red. He'd been crying - his love had been taken from him. It was Cassandra's friends, she knew it. Inconspicuously, they'd all taken steps towards her to be intimidating.
"We thought you'd know," Warren said, voice deadly calm. Mack shoved a tablet in the girl's face. She guessed it had footage from Addy's little camera buddy.
"Me?" Her voice wavered, truly scared now "Why would I know?" They talked about some very incriminating facts - that one of them had been in Jersey, a biker - but the girl protested.
Until Mack shoved his gun at her head. "You are gonna start telling me the truth right now," Mack's voice escalated. "or else I am going to start blowing holes-" Garnett interrupted him, taking over.
"Put the gun away," he cooed twice. Finally, 10k and Doc managed to keep Mack away from her. Still, (y/n) stood, her left hip jutted out, glaring at her. Calmly, Garnett spoke to her, trying to get the answers. But it looked like Warren had other ideas.
She, like Mack, put her gun against Cassandra's head - a threat. "Or I'll shoot you." (y/n) snorted. At least she was honest.
"I can't go back!" Cassandra yelped, voice shrill. They were still interrogating the woman, when 10k killed a Z that had gotten the drop on them. Cassandra took that split-second to sprint in the other direction.
And so, it was for the second time that day (y/n) found herself sprinting after the dark-haired girl she'd started getting irritated by. However, (y/n) knew the game she was playing - having played it herself. Her chest began aching familiarly, as she cut down an alley, arms pumping.
Warren followed, only slightly behind her as they ran across the alley and hovered near a doorway to a creepy, dark brick building.
"I'll go first," (y/n) told the woman, who nodded.
"I trust you," she said, and then (y/n) heard descending footprints coming from inside. Quickly, she crept inside, knowing that panic would keep Cass from thinking clearly.
As predicted, she looked around quickly, missing the girl dressed in dark colors, creeping closer. Then, she pounced, grabbing the girl's shoulder and slamming her into the wall.
"Hi!" She said cheerfully, as everyone else rushed in.
"Alright, Cassandra, enough of the bullshit!" Garnett's voice rang out in the confined space. "Tell us what you know. Now!"
And, she caved.
➳(y/n) felt sick, listening to the girl's tale of her "family" who survived Black Summer by luring in men and becoming cannibals. They were gathered back around the truck, as Murphy was making some ill-timed joke to the circumstances Cassandra found herself in.
Dimly, (y/n) felt herself swaying on her feet dizzily as she listened.
"Shut up," she mumbled to Murphy, who laughed at her.
"What?" he asked, not thinking his behavior was horrible. She didn't have the energy to respond. Too much running, and she'd given him her food.
Silently, she cursed herself for trying to be kind to someone who would never return the favor. She stood across from Cassandra, next to Warren. The girl spilled her story, of how they kept the humans alive so the meat wouldn't be infected by the virus, the wife going insane, losing their souls.
It was all very draining.
She stumbled towards Warren, haven nearly fallen asleep.
"Whoa, sweetie," she said, taking her arm "you okay?" (y/n) nodded, wiping her eyes.
"Tired." the girl yawned "we have to get Addy back." Mack looked at the girl.
"I know," he said, before going back to the truck and grabbing his bag "I'm going back for Addy." Garnett stepped in his way.
"Hang on, Mack," he said rationally.
"Don't try to stop me Garnett." Mack spat, no longer the same person he was when she was with him.
"Nobody's tryna stop you," the older man told him "We're all going back. We just need a plan." He gazed around the group, and everyone nodded. All but Cassandra, who leapt into a panicked voice again.
"You don't understand!" She said "these people are worse than Zs. They'll kill all of you." (y/n) narrowed her eyes at the girl.
"Maybe we use you as a bargaining chip?" She suggested, tilting her head. Warren nodded.
"It would work," She admitted, but Murphy had to chip in - again.
"Yeah," he said, hopping off the hood of the truck "we need to look at the big picture." Everyone, in almost a comical fashion, told him to shut up at the same time. Even, (y/n) noticed with satisfaction, Ten Thousand himself.
"Do you know where they've taken her?" Garnett asked, trying to be peaceful. Turns out, she did.
➳Much to the girl's dismay, Garnett told her to stay with the truck and protect Murphy, not go with them to rescue her best friend. It was agony, waiting for them to come back either with or without her. At least she was still feeling ill, so she could pass the time napping in the back of the truck - however anxious her dreams became.
Finally, finally, they came back. 10k knelt down and shook her awake.
"They're back," he said, and (y/n) found strength in her to jump up and run over.
"Addy!" She exclaimed tearfully, wrapping her up in a hug.
"Oh, (y/n)," the red-haired girl whimpered, shakily. The little reunion was cut short, when Addy pulled away at someone saying they were going to leave Cassandra with the cannibals. "Wait, what?" she said, confused. Everyone froze.
"Come on," Mack tried to convince her, but she wouldn't relent. (y/n) laced their fingers together - soul sisters.
"We're not," Addy seemed to not even be able to imagine what Cassandra was going through "we're not leaving her there, are we?" Her eyes made contact with (y/n) who looked away in shame as she thought they would.
"Addy." Mack stepped out of the truck "She lied to us, and it almost got you killed." Although she hated to admit it, (y/n) knew Mack was right. Thus began a long and tiresome argument, but in the end they decided to go back for her.
"What," Murphy drawled, in all his asshole-ish glory "is this a chick thing now?" Each woman of the group; Addy, (y/n) and Roberta, glared at him.
"Yes." they said firmly in unison, and (y/n) smiled sweetly. Realizing his mistake, Murphy wisely shut up. Then came the matter of the machine gun.
"How good a shot are you?" Garnett asked 10k, who - instead of replying - aimed and killed a Z that had been shambling around aimlessly about 15 metres away. (Y/n) arched an eyebrow, impressed.
"Pretty good," 10k said humbling, before adding to his count.
"Wait, wait, wait," Murphy held up his hands, choosing now to be annoying. "why do we have two? Isn't he good enough?" The girl blanched, and the two aforementioned sharpshooters looked nervously at each other.
"What are you suggesting?" Addy asked, getting defensive. Murphy shook his head.
"No, nothing," he stared up at the girl he'd just embarrassed "just curious." She chuckled.
"Curious, huh?" She muttered, barely loud enough to hear, pulling a throwing knife out of her boot. With a flick of her wrist, it flew, finding its home in a zombie's skull that had been walking next to the one 10k killed. "who cares, if there's people to keep you alive?" she pointed out - a valid argument.
"Okay, whatever," he grumbled "showoffs." Happy with how that turned out, (y/n) gave him a smug look.
"Enough of that now," Warren chastised "I have an idea."
Here we go, (y/n) thought, bracing herself for yet another long day.
➳The cannibals' headquarters was located in a rather large-looking trailer park, or perhaps a former storage depot turned camp. It wasn't uncommon, in this Apocalypse world, to see compounds such as these. (y/n) couldn't help but notice that the natural landscape was breathtaking, but thoughts of Cassandra washed her daydreams away quickly.
Sometimes, it felt like two versions of herself existed. How she could sometimes be cruel - like earlier with Cassandra, but then completely change and be her normal self.
It scared her, really.
They parked the truck far, just before a small bluff overlooking the camp so that they could spy without being spied upon. The plan was, that Doc would go, impersonating a customer to get Cassandra's attention and sneak her out. In case that didn't work, (y/n) and 10k were sent to lay down some cover fire - intimidate them a little bit. They said their goodbyes and took off towards another hill, jogging without speaking.
10k laid down on his stomach, behind a wooden crate, so (y/n) figured she'd do the same. Turns out, she knew absolutely nothing about being a rifle sharpshooter. Together, they waited for the signal.
(y/n) took a shaky breath, preparing herself with what was going to happen. 10k looked over at her as Doc walked towards the gate.
"Relax." he said gently and she gave him a weak smile before settling into position. The men at the gate greeted Doc , who had his hands raised. They talked for a minute, before Doc was led in his ridiculous disguise to a trailer - probably to wait.
(y/n)'s lip turned up in disgust, and she knew that if there was one person she could choose to be her first human kill, it would be Tobias. For a few minutes, the two sharpshooters waited. And waited. Until, finally, they heard the truck speeding up over the road towards the gate - blaring some sort of triumphant music (y/n) was sure she'd heard in a movie somewhere.
Their little posse of zombies that trailed behind the truck was far larger than the girl thought, but hey - the more the merrier, especially when killing cannibals was involved. Her eyes flicked back to the trailer, and a few men running about to their stations.
The plan went on, and Doc was soon spotted with Cassandra leaving the trailer to hide, while Warren - behind the wheel of the truck - busted down their main gate. And the zombies flooded in, like a wave rushing to shore.
All hell broke loose. A man settled himself upon the machine gun, ready to open fire. 10k, who had found time somewhere to put on war paint, readied up to take him down. (y/n) held her breath. He fired, killing the man. The girl was about to cheer, but then something exploded and she raised an eyebrow at the boy, who spit like it was some Western movie.
"Showoff," she teased, nestling down to take aim upon Tobias. He was hidden, like you'd expect a horrific little man like him to be, behind the cover of the trailer. Her finger hovered over the trigger, quaking slightly. Finally, she closed her eyes and heard her friends getting in the truck over the gunfire.
Opening them, she took her shot.
➳The fully-reunited gang drove in somber silence through Philly, anxious to get out of the place that had brought them so much torment. 10k, as they were driving past the discarded Liberty bell, shot it.
The sound echoed, and from where (y/n) sat huddled in the corner, she shook her head. "My kinda town," he said, sort of dreamlike.
"If anybody asks," Garnett tells them "we were no-where near that bell." Doc piped up.
"I always heard Philly was a tough town," he said in disbelief "but sheesh!" (y/n) chuckled.
"What happens in Philly," she joked "stays in Philly." Garnett nodded.
"Zombies with attitude." Through the slightly grimy back window, (y/n) could see Cassandra and Addy, snuggled together for comfort. She supposed that trauma did that to people.
And after what Cassandra did for Addy? Well, (y/n) didn't think she was that bad.
Notes:
Hi! Another kinda long chapter, but I'm hoping to give (y/n) some actual depth within the series. Also, yes, Murphy is a bit of an asshole but i have big plans for their friendship later on!
Also y'all, why won't wattpad let me keep my chapter names in bold it's literally so annoying :/
Ah, and our boy 10k is so fun to write i'm not even kidding. Thinking about doing some chapters wholly in his pov but we'll see!
Cheers <3