(this song reminds me of she by dodie:) )
➳The team journeyed East, heading into South Dakota after their morgue escapade. And, frankly, the boy couldn't be happier to finally be in the wilderness again.
So many years of solitude prior to the apocalypse had left him rather reclusive, and disgusted by urban areas - especially towns. God, he hated them. It seemed that whenever they were in a town, something went wrong.
Not that everything else the past few months hadn't gone wrong - it was just towns he particularly hated. His mother had cultivated a love of nature in him, and his father taught him to use it to survive.
"Moss grows only on the north side of trees," he pointed out to (y/n) as the group took some time to rest and stretch their legs after hours spent in the car they'd found.
"Interesting," she mused, extending a hand to stroke it gently. "aw, it's so soft! C'mon, feel it!"
"I know what moss feels like," he chuckled. The girl grabbed his hand and placed it over the delicate green flora, and made him pet it.
"Mmm," she sighed happily "it's like therapy." He cast an uneasy glance at the girl, sensing that there was more to the comment than she intended.
"Hey, lovebirds!" Murphy yelled at them, annoyed for whatever reason - Tommy couldn't care less. "pack it up! We're headin' out." (y/n) rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"Yes, boss," she said sarcastically, saluting Murphy who only sneered back. Typical of the two, indeed. They hustled over, boots scuffing along the gravel as their friends kept an eye on them. The girl stopped in her tracks, and the boy turned to stare at her to determine what might be wrong.
"Duck," she breathed, pulling a knife from somewhere - she was like a magician, making them appear out of seemingly thin air - and without much hesitation, he did as he was told.
Immediately after he was safe, (y/n) threw her blade in typical fashion, perfect form as always. Ten Thousand turned around, drawing his own knife, to assess the situation. A zombie, freshly turned, with a new adornment in its forehead.
(y/n) blew a strand of hair out of her face. "where did that guy come from?" she asked the sharpshooter, who shrugged.
"Must have been a camp near here."
A few of the others jogged over, having noticed the slaying.
"Everyone okay?" Warren asked, grabbing 10k's shoulders and making sure he was fine. Like a fussy child, he shrugged away.
"Very much alive," he informed her, casting an apologetic smile. As much as he adored Warren, she was not his mother.
"Good. We should go check it out," she jutted her chin the direction of where the Z came from. "see if they've got any supplies in that camp."
(y/n) squinted into the distance, scanning the foliage. "I love me a side quest!" She said, grabbing her axe and holding it propped on her shoulder.
"All she needs is a plaid shirt," Doc chuckled as they headed off together towards the woods.
➳Unsurprisingly, they did not find much in the camp. Whoever abandoned it hadn't had much to begin with, but they did manage to scrounge up some water that 10k filtered.
After their "side quest", they continued on their travels painstakingly slow. Everything grew sparse, including Zs and forest critters the boy had been expecting.
If he could shoot down a squirrel, or rabbit - they'd be able to eat like kings. Unfortunately, none were seen.
"Damn it," Warren cussed, the road they'd been travelling on for a few hours ending up in yet another dead end, approaching a huge quarry. She coaxed the vehicle to a stop, and its passengers hopped out to admire the scenery.
"Find the silvee linings, Warren," (y/n) said, admiring the scenery. Doc stepped up beside her.
"It is beautiful," he said, gazing out to the distance. Warren huffed.
"Well, I'm still pissed about those roads," she mumbled, but Tommy watched her cast a smile at the young girl and older man standing side by side.
"Blah, blah, blah," Murphy sneered "why don't you put the damn compass to good use?" Warren arched her eyebrow and him, and 10k gave (y/n) a look of confusion - one that had become commonplace between the pair.
"Mmm," she hummed, taking a step towards the annoying man "why don't you stop freeloading and start helping, hm?" To that, Murphy had no response
"That's what I thought," Cassandra commented offhandedly, looking tired. While Doc and (y/n) pointed at the Zs that had apparently fallen into the quarry, 10k sidled up beside the dark-haired girl.
"California is a long time away," he muttered, glaring at Murphy "and I still have 8,107 kills to go." Cassandra understood what he was saying, and chuckled.
"Don't tempt me," she warned playfully, nudging his arm with her elbow.
"Alright, y'all!" Warren clapped her hands together "Let's pack it up and we'll head West, maybe find somewhere to camp out," Tommy looked over at (y/n), who was looking at some bright yellow flowers that were growing in straggly patches in the gravel.
For some reason, she seemed so intoxicated by them. If you asked the boy, he'd say they looked unhealthy and like someone stomped all over them.
But, staring at her as she knelt on the ground, he took another glance. Perhaps they were beautiful, after all.
➳Warren used her compass to guide them further Westward again, trying to maneuver around the roads. Eventually, they chose to spend the night in an abandoned campground, that Warren informed them was within the Blacks Hills National Forest.
"I love national parks," (y/n) sighed dreamily as they passed by the welcome sign - now covered in vines and falling apart.
"I'm thinking; we camp here tonight and head down to Wyoming tomorrow," the older woman explained, pulling their vehicle into a gravel parking lot.
"Whatever you say, boss," Doc added cheekily, grabbing his crowbar and opening up his door to step out of the vehicle.
"Alright, pair up and let's do some scouting," Warren told them, and 10k saw (y/n) give her a salute.
10k took Cassandra as his partner, after the group decided him and (y/n) shouldn't pair up so more of them were better protected thanks to the talented slayers. The visitor's building of the campground was mostly empty, save for a few undead guests that he dispatched quickly, adding to his count.
Only 8, 096 to go, he thought proudly. He would get there one day, he'd made a promise to do everything he could. A tiny part wondered how many of his kills would end up being former friends.
One face in particular flashed across his mind, and stopped him dead in his tracks - horrified. No, not them. Never them, he thought hopelessly.
Eventually, they met up again - having gathered a few sleeping bags from surrounding vehicles and they took a few minutes to set them up inside the visitors center.
Now, he stood in the doorway, keeping an eye on the outside. Murphy was lounging on a blanket, trying to nonchalantly pull an ace out of his sleeve while Doc was counting out oxy to bet on their card game.
He smirked at the pair, and shifted his gaze to the three women, seated together on a quilt. They were laughing, and (y/n) was gently weaving Warren's hair with deft fingers. It made him wonder if she'd done that for a younger sister.
Cassandra saw him watching, and waved after nudging (y/n)'s shoulder. The girl raised her eyes to meet his, and grinned.
"Want me to do yours after watch?" She teased, finishing off Warren's hair.
"No, thanks," he stammered, cheeks burning furiously.
"That's a shame," she sighed "i bet you'd be stunning." Murphy guffawed.
"Are you saying he isn't already?" he asked slyly, glancing at the girl over his shoulder. The room went quiet, all eyes were on her.
"Well, no, I -" she coughed awkwardly "stop pulling cards out of your ass, Murphy," Her comment, he noticed, distracted everyone from what Murphy had said as Doc launched a long-winded talk about integrity when playing cards.
Did she find him pretty? He thought, dumbfounded from what just happened. He heard everyone shifting around and exchanging goodnights, fully trusting him to keep watch for the next hour so they could rest safely.
Doc shuffled forwards, walking towards him to start up conversation. They chatted a few minutes, and 10k made the decision to look over Doc's shoulder towards the (y/n).
Only to find that the second his eyes were on her, her book - Wuthering Heights - shot up from her lap where she'd been reading it, to cover her face.
Notes;
Okay so like, Z Nation is off Netflix... not me panicking at where to stream without getting viruses lol since the other option failed... def going to just go off other fanfics people have written - my memory of the show is awful :,)
And for the record, I am currently reading Wuthering Heights and wHY ARE THE BRONTES SO TALENTED?! absolutely beautiful i love classics and would recommend that novel to literally anyone.
ps. i imagine that (y/n) and 10k give each other "the office" looks if you know what i mean and idk why it's so funny to me.
<3