➳The group had travelled far in recent days, making it all the way to a little town in Illinois. It was cute, (y/n) noticed immediately upon their arrival. Whoever built it had included an electric fence surrounding the property - which kept the zombies at bay.
Currently, everyone was simply enjoying themselves, taking a much-needed break from the apocalypse. It felt nice, comforting to simply exist without struggling to survive. The kitchen had electricity and water still, so they'd all refilled their bottles; until Garnett found a tin of coffee in the pantry.
The aroma flooded every room, making it smell like a dream. (y/n) lazed on the floor, sitting with one knee up, sharping her knives on the bottom of a ceramic mug she'd found. The sound of her knife gliding across the rough surface was steady, and she glanced over to see 10k reading a magazine.
They hadn't talked since that night they went stargazing; a few days ago now. Sometimes, the girl felt like it was one step forward, and then three steps back with that boy. A tough egg to crack, but she'd manage just fine.
She took a deep breath through her nose, and followed it into the kitchen. "Coffee," she mumbled dreamily, grabbing a cup and pouring herself some. "ugh, I love you," Doc laughed, interrupting the gambling card game him and Murphy had been playing.
"You talkin' to me?" He asked "or the coffee?" The girl shook her head, smiling.
"You, of course!" She stuck her tongue out at him before sipping the nearly-scalding liquid.
"Shh," Garnett shushed everyone "he's back on." They'd been listening to Citizen Z's latest, nearly unhinged radio show the past day or so. He'd taken on to using different voices, whichever the occasion called for.
"Friends," his voice came over the music he'd previously been spinning "I'm talking about mean weather coming in fast. Some reports of tornadoes. Find shelter and take cover; it's more dangerous out there than usual. Now, back to the soothing sounds of the apocalypse." His taste in music wasn't half bad, but (y/n) wished for her old playlists to listen to.
Everything seemed better with music. Thanking Garnett for the coffee, the girl wandered back into the living room, taking a second to peek over 10k's shoulder.
"Whatcha reading?" She asked playfully, seeing that it was the same annoying celebrity drama predating the apocalypse. He wasn't given a chance to answer, however, because Addy and Mack burst in the door.
Addy, upon seeing the two young people's interaction, eyed up (y/n) with that scheming, elder sister sort of look. Mack walked into the kitchen, telling Warren and Garnett it was their turn for watch.
"Nice night?" (y/n) asked her best friend, who nodded.
"Peaceful night." The girl smiled at her, before she followed her lover into the kitchen.
"You're stalker said there's a storm brewing," Warren commented to Addy "how is it out there?" (y/n)'s friend shrugged.
"Cloudy with a chance of zombie," she mentioned. Satisfied with her information, the watch change was made; Addy and Mack going to rest, Warren and Garnett going to keep watch. (y/n) settled herself back in her spot, continuing to sip her coffee and sharpen her knives.
Cassandra napped on the sofa, and (y/n) saw the boy try to adjust her blanket. With lightning speed, the previously dozing girl had a knife stabbed into the blanket right by his hand. He froze, almost comically. The girl's mouth quaked as she held in laughter.
"The blanket," he explained nervously "I was just - sorry," eventually he gave up, taking up his spot again after the awkward exchange.
"Scared of that one," Murphy muttered in the other room.
"Best not to mess," came Doc's voice
"You know," Murphy spoke like a plotting villain "if we breed those two, it'd be all over for the zombies." Doc hesitated, then chuckled before responding.
"Nah," he commented "not those two."
"Oh, you mean knife girl," Murphy giggled, and (y/n) rolled her eyes.
"We can hear you!" She called over her shoulder, not missing 10k's embarrassed face he'd hidden behind the magazine. It was a few more minutes before, of course, everything was ruined. Warren and Garnett burst into the house again, bringing with them a sense of anxiety.
"Puppies and kittens!" Warren yelled, and (y/n) jumped up, grabbing her few precious items "time to go!" Everyone ran through the house, headed out the back.
➳After running from their little refuge, Warren had pulled over to scrounge for more gas. At this rate, with the storm signs starting to manifest near them, (y/n) was getting nervous about where they would take cover.
Everyone lounged around wherever the could, 10k taking up his spot in the back, sniping zombies far off from the group. (y/n) wandered around with her axe out, watching out for Doc and Garnett, who scrounged for gas.
"So which way do we go?" Garnett asked Warren, who jogged over.
"If we reach the I-70," she explained "we can outrun it."
"That storm is going faster than that craptastic truck ever will," Doc commented bluntly, with which (y/n) agreed.
"He's right," she said, standing on the roof of the car they were siphoning from "we gotta find somewhere to hide. Like, now." Warren nodded, obviously stressed.
Within minutes, they'd packed back up again into the truck, ready to run from the upcoming disaster. One of (y/n)'s hands clutched the roof rack, the other grasping her rifle. They'd driven for a while, coming to a fork in the road - forcing them to choose between one of two towns. With a few seconds hesitation, Warren turned left.
"Oh, my God," (y/n) breathed, staring up at the horrific-looking sky. To her left, 10k stared up too, uttering a little 'wow'. The girl took his moment of distraction to steal a look at his jawline, even more defined than usual now that he was angling his face upwards.
The truck stopped unexpectedly stopped, and Warren through it into reverse, careening backwards towards the other town before turning the truck around with a rough jerk of the wheel.
Unused to the dark-haired woman's driving, the girl nearly stumbled backwards - if not for the sharpshooters hand shooting out to steady her.
"Thanks is becoming the only thing I ever say to you," she joked casually, and the boy almost quirked a smile.
"You don't have to say thanks every time," he mumbled, staring off into the distance. The girl frowned. Of course she wanted to say thank-you, it was the nice thing to do. And besides, she wanted to be his friend. Surely not thanking him for saving her life wasn't the right way to get there?
Instead of replying, (y/n) kept quiet. Let him have a taste of his own medicine, she thought mischievously. But, the boy didn't speak up to break the silence as the truck rolled steadily into the town called Castle Point.
Warren stopped in front of a bulletin board, scanning it quickly before pulling off a sheet of paper. (y/n) guessed it had something to do with someone she lost, pre-Z. Maybe that husband she'd heard a little bit about?
"It's so green," Cassandra commented, looking up into the terrifying sky. If there was one thing (y/n) was scared of, it was natural disasters. Thunderstorms, she loved - but anything else and she could be found cowering. "I've never seen a sky look like that."
"I don't like tornadoes," Doc stated "and I'm pretty sure they don't like me." (y/n) groaned.
"Why couldn't it be sunny?" she grumbled, unimpressed with the conditions. "Why is it always something is trying to kill us?" Doc shook his head sadly.
"That's the way of the world, kiddo," he told the girl, who shook her head in irritation. Everyone loaded up back into the truck, and they set off for Roberta's apparent home before the apocalypse.
They pulled up to a large, rather quaint cottage - Warren's home. The gang filed out, and (y/n) shuddered to think of how the wind was blowing so ominously and the entire world felt like it was angry with them.
(y/n) jogged up to the house with Addy, who called back to 10k.
"10k, come on!" The boy was jogging behind them, and (y/n) grabbed his hand, yanking him forwards to the porch. She traded his hand in hers for her axe, in case of any squatting undead in Warren's home.
"If he's in there," she heard Charlie talking to Roberta "and he's," She cut the man off.
"I will not hesitate." she stated firmly, and opened the door.
To escape the wind, everyone ran inside, instantly fanning out to make sure they were alone. (y/n) took a few steps inside, and stared around in awe.
"This is adorable," she told Warren, who smiled anxiously.
"Thank you, honey," she said, rifling through a small wooden box on a table by the window.
"Home sweet zombie," Murphy said, trying to be a poet. Warren, upon seeing him seated in a comfy-looking chair, lashed out.
"Go on and get outta there!" she said forcefully, trying to pull him out. "That's my husband's favorite chair.
"All right!" The offender said, clearly annoyed. "sheesh." (y/n) put a gentle hand on the woman's shoulder, squeezing gently, trying to send her all her love. Instead, Warren went to investigate a sound they'd heard in the kitchen.
The wounded man, husband of Jane, was brought out into the living room, carefully on the sofa. She knelt by his side, tending to him - when Warren jogged over to inquire as to whether or not the man whose picture she held was the man who'd helped them.
"Is this the fireman?" she asked, and Jane - who was very obviously in a state of panic, struggled for words.
"I don't know!" she said, to begin with, but then she turned to see Warren's expectant face. A look of understanding flashed on the woman's features, and (y/n) knew she was lying to the other woman's face. "Maybe. He was wearing a helmet. Actually, I think it is him."
Warren smiled gratefully, standing up. 10k and Cassandra, who had been checking on the kitchen's supplies, ran out. "Kitchen was pretty well stocked up," 10k informed everyone.
"There's water," Cass added "and canned food. No medical supplies or batteries, though." Garnett considered this for a moment.
"We need to get our communications up," he said "you two, take (y/n) and go out into the neighborhood. See what you can find, and be back before the storm hits." (y/n) took her rifle off her shoulder and held it.
"Catch ya later," she saluted the group before following her two companions outside into the roaring wind - searching for anything to help them.
➳The trio ran out into the neighborhood, first to a few nearby homes to search for various supplies they might need. The first home, (y/n) ran upstairs and rummaged through the bathroom cabinets, grabbing a bottle of Tylenol and some tampons. She swent back downstairs to see the others looking through some drawers.
"Anything?" (y/n) asked, stuffing her findings into Cassandra's bag. 10k nodded.
"Some bandages, but that's about it." (y/n) nodded grimly.
"Cass?" The girl in question stepped forward to show a small package of double A batteries.
"That's it," (y/n) sighed, pulling her hair into a ponytail with a length of twine she'd found.
"Okay," she said, turning around and searching for some kitchen towels. When she found some, she cheered. "Doc can use these for bandages, right?" 10k nodded.
"Let's go," he urged, peeking out the window. The two girls took off from the house, him trailing not very far behind them. Together, they headed towards some stores that might be in the town's center, made of brick.
The wind picked up, a little too much for comfort. They were trapped, on this street surrounded by tall buildings whose debris could seriously injure any of them.
They each reacted to the wind howling, jumping slightly when the ground shook. (y/n) guessed the tornado had struck somewhere nearby.
"We're not gonna make it back!" 10k yelled over the storm "Take shelter!" They all broke into a jog, headed for a car.
"Run for the car!" Cassandra called out to them. 10k pushed (y/n) in front of him, and she leaped into the backseat. The other two jumped into the front seats.
"Seatbelts!" (y/n) told them urgently, trying to ignore how scared she really was. She scrunched her eyes shut and tried to focus on her breathing.
"You okay?" 10k asked (y/n), and she cracked her eyes open just a touch to see him looking over his shoulder at her.
"Having a lovely time!" she retorted, huddling up to make herself small. Suddenly, the car started moving and Cassandra called out for 10k.
"Hang on!" she told them both, as the car rotated. (y/n) braced an arm on the roof, in case they flipped. It continued spinning in one direction, and the girl in the backseat was ashamed to say that she screamed in a bit of a panic.
She made a mental note to make sure that neither of the other two in the car told anyone.
"Oh no!" Cassandra exclaimed, freaking out. (y/n) opened her eyes to see what was going on - they'd now smashed into a building - and Cassandra had grabbed 10k's leg for comfort. (y/n) tried to convince herself the spinning was the result of that awful feeling in her chest.
Then, the car began to tilt onto one side. (y/n) was sitting behind 10k's seat, and she clutched at it to keep from falling over. The seatbelt didn't really do much. "Oh please, oh please," she muttered under her breath, as the car continued to tilt.
As it, flipped (y/n) scrunched her legs against the back of his seat, while screaming to keep herself from sliding around the back seat. All of the glass broke as they rolled, and when she felt her cheek get hot, she knew she'd been cut.
She lost count of how much they'd rolled, but when it finally stopped - she could have cried with relief. As soon as the storm had hit, it had left with shocking speed. Now, the air smelt like upturned earth, and the sun was shining.
Luckily, they'd rolled right-side up, and so getting out of the car wasn't an issue. Gingerly, with a wince on her features, (y/n) crawled out of the backseat. "Ouch," she yelped quietly, touching a hand to her face. 10k turned around to look at her. "Is it bad?" she asked him, and he turned her face upwards the slightest bit to get a better look.
The girl tried to ignore how self-conscious she felt, that he was staring at her so openly, hands gently supporting her face.
"No," he breathed, sounding relieved.
"You okay?" Cassandra asked (y/n) rushing to her side. The girl couldn't help but smile, and start laughing in delirious disbelief.
"We're alive!" she gasped, beaming at the two of them "I thought we were goners. I hate storms." After a second of exchanging concerned glances, her two friends joined in the relieved laughter.
"We better get back," 10k said, shouldering his rifle once more. The girls nodded, and they made they way back to their family, hopefully safe and sound.
➳They jogged all the way back, following after (y/n). The girl was anxious to be reunited with her family, to make sure they were all okay.
"Oh, thank God," she sighed stopping a short distance from where they'd gathered together. "what a day, huh?" They laughed at her understatement of the year.
"No shit," Murphy snapped, and (y/n) stepped back, horrified at his new look.
"Yikes," she commented on his appearance. "Brittany wore it better." He laughed sarcastically before getting into the truck. Doc stepped over some debris to look at the girl's bloodied face.
"Ah, looks like some glass got you," he pointed out, grabbing some bandages and pressing them on gently. "There you go, darling." She smiled at the old man, grateful for his kindess.
"Thanks, Doc," she said, gathering up her rifle and stepping into the back of the truck. Finally, she had it all to herself like the old days. 10k and Cassandra had chosen to ride on the firetruck together, and (y/n) felt that emotion in her chest again.
Jealousy.
She frowned, thinking. Doc was talking to his "patient" and his wife, Jane.
"Do you have anything for the pain?" the woman asked, looking concerned at her husband's pained face. Doc patted his pockets, turning up empty.
"I am so sorry," he apologized - but (y/n) knew he was lying, they were gambling with various painkillers earlier today.
She coughed, and he turned to look at her. She arched an eyebrow. "Oh, hell," Doc sighed, pulling out a few vials of morphine from his pockets. "take it easy on those. That's good stuff." The woman and her husband thanked him profusely, and then they were off.
(y/n) stood facing the direction they were driving, trying to not look back at her two friends. It almost looked like she was becoming less and less involved, and maybe 10k wasn't anxious to be her friend because he already had Cass.
When Garnett honked the firetruck's horn, she found herself smiling anyways. They were all alive, and that was good enough reason to.
Notes;
➳bit of a shorter chapter today! yes, i know this is a 10k x reader and yet him and Cassandra still have that whole thing going on, but that is very much intentional - I promise!
Just wait ;)
also i love how now i'm classifying "short" chapters as 3k words that's still a lot haha