➳The scientist blinked in surprise, while everyone else looked on in horror. Escorpion had given him a dose of Batch 47 a few seconds earlier, and somehow - he was feeling incredible.
The entire thing made the girl uneasy. How had it taken such a quick effect, and how was this going to end?
She should have known, really, when they let the zombie approach the man. Within one breath and the next, he'd turned into one of them - proving Batch 47 was not the herbal cure.
(y/n)'s spirit sunk, as she thought of how many people were living solely because of the hope that this would work and cure the virus. How many people were simply staying alive, right now, just because of hope?
The answer: too many. Apparently, herself included.
"So much for Batch 47," Escorpion said with mock sadness, but (y/n) could tell this man didn't give a shit. She hated him more, in that instant. "Grab the Z-Weed. Let's get out of here, huh?"
There was a very quick lull of silence, and then a rustling from behind (y/n). 10k's hand on her waist was steady as stepped closer to him, avoiding the man pushing a prisoner towards the other Zeros.
"Doctor Kurian?" He asked slowly, staring at the shorter man. (y/n) gripped 10k's forearm tightly. This was the bastard who shot her. As if her body knew, her shoulder ached briefly.
"Hello, hector."
"What happened to your face? That looks like my mom's chicharrones."
"It's a long story."
"You can tell it to La Reina."
The queen? Who was she, anyway? That was the second time (y/n) heard her name mentioned.
Escorpion nodded to the man holding Kurian, and he smashed his head with the butt of his gun. "Put him in the trunk, huh? You two - you're in charge now." The two men standing offside, who he'd referred to, responded their assent.
"Burn the greenhouse down with Batch 47. We need to get back to our core mission. You understand me?"
(y/n) felt awkward, standing there while watching him order his men around. "Vamos," he said, and then they broke off to do their tasks, while the survivors stood in the midst of it all. The two men tasked with burning down the greenhouse headed off to do so, while the others got into their vehicles.
It was a lot less tense, now that there weren't people pointing guns in their faces.
Still, one thought nagged (y/n)'s brain.
"Where's Murphy?" She asked quietly, leaning her head close to Warren's. The woman looked at her over her shoulder in surprise.
"Shit."
➳Really, all they had to do to find him was follow the screaming. He was thrashing on the ground, while vines held him back, trying to pull him into the greenhouse.
"Warren!" He called out anxiously, as the group crashed through the greenhouse to get to him. Leaves and vines whipped against the girl's face unforgivingly, but she powered on anyways.
"Hurry! I can't control it!" (y/n) whipped her knife out and began sawing at the vines holding his legs in a vise, so he could at least try crawling away.
Her blade made contact with it, but it was like trying to start a fire with wet wood. Nothing was happening, even as she grit her teeth and sawed with all of her might.
Finally - blessedly - the vine released his leg, only for multiple more to snake their way up his limbs and drag him further in.
"Will you hold still before I cut your foot off!" Doc screeched in a panic, trying to work his way through the thick vines.
"I tried to save you!" Murphy tried, to no avail.
"Dude, it doesn't care!" (y/n)
"Get down!" Vasquez rounded the corner, raising his gun. (y/n) was already kneeling on the ground, so she didn't have to move to avoid his spray of bullets that hit the creature.
They weren't very helpful - as they'd been warned - and it only seemed to anger the creature more. It roared, standing up to face them down. (y/n) turned to look over her shoulder and gulped, wishing she hadn't lost her axe.
Instead, she rose to her feet and held her knife defensively. 10k and Addy jumped onto it, stabbing and smashing with all their might. The sounds were horrifying, as (y/n) stepped over Murphy to help them.
She jammed her blade into its head again and again, as it was distracted by throwing Addy and 10k off its back and off somewhere.
Then, it was just her. It grabbed her wrist, twisting it until she cried out and dropped her blade. The things ugly head reared onto hers, and she fell back, wiping blood from her nose. Her eyes watered as she clutched her face, watching the thing roar and throw Vasquez to the side like a ragdoll.
Was this it?
"10k the vines!" Addy called out, as the girl got to her feet. "Help me!" (y/n) watched as they grabbed the vines and began heaving, although the ugly bastard kept on going towards Murphy, Doc, and Warren.
She kicked at its leg, trying to break its rotting knee to stop its advances. It simply roared at her, and she flipped her blade so it was parallel with her elbow, trying to protect them.
"Heads up, Doc! Heads up!" Warren cried, as the thing loomed closer.
"Keep pulling!" (y/n) yelled, running over to help them heave the vines towards the large fan. She breathed through her teeth, the muscles in her arm screaming at the exertion.
"No, don't kill him!" Murphy told them, but it was too late. Like a smoothie blender, the vines got knotted in the fans fast-rotating blades, and the zombie was sucked towards its pull. (y/n) scrambled backwards, away from its grasp.
"No, no, no!" Murphy screamed, but the thing was already dead and gone. 10k and Addy did a little fist bump, while (y/n) stood, openmouthed, at the plant zombie.
"Oh my god."
"Go go go!" Warren screamed over the racket that had started up outside. (y/n) could distantly smell smoke; probably the greenhouse burning. Great.
They hauled Murphy to his feet, and ran from the greenhouse.
"10k! Help Murphy! (y/n), protect them! Addy, I need you!" Doc yelled. 10k swooped under Murphy's other arm, helping Warren support them. They ran off to God-knows-where, and (y/n) held her pistol angled downwards, away from her body as they ran across the gravel towards a Zero vehicle.
"Shit, our gear." (y/n) smacked her palm against the car. "You guys stay here, I'll be right back."
"What? No!" Warren protested, but the girl started running off in the direction of where they'd turned most of their guns over to the greenhouse staff. The table was still there, but their stuff -along with the staff - was gone.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." She cursed angrily, swiveling around in a circle, scanning each direction. Finally, she spotted the office. A man was running out of the main building as she was running into it.
"Hey! You!" he called, and she halted in her tracks. "What are you doing in here?" The girl stretched her arm behind her and grabbed a fistful of soil, keeping her pistol pointed at the ground.
Then, she flung it in his face. While he gasped for air and swatted at the foreign particles that were now in his eyes, (y/n)'s boots pounded on the dirt floor of the place, heading for the table where they weapons had been tossed, haphazardly.
Quickly, she slung both her and 10k's rifles over her shoulders, and snatched up Warren's pistol and Doc's little handgun.
"God, I probably look like an idiot," she mumbled to herself, before sprinting back outside and towards the vehicle. There was a plume of dust in the air, and she sighed.
They'd driven off.
➳She continued running, the smell of smoke heavy in her nostrils. Then, there they were. Outside the garage, where Doc and Addy were running full-tilt towards them.
"(y/n)!" Doc yelled and urged her faster, so she pumped her legs until she was able to clumsily throw open the back hatch and clamber in. She nearly sprawled into 10k's lap.
"Oh, hi," he said, helping her sit up so his knee wasn't jutting painfully into her ribcage.
"Hey," she panted, taking his rifle off her shoulder. "saved the love of your life for ya." He smiled a little, but something about it wasn't genuine. She frowned at him, before distributing the other weapons she'd gathered for her friends.
"Well, that was fun," Doc commented, and (y/n) huffed a laugh. They zoomed out of the compound, wind entering the car through its open windows. It felt nice, all the way in the crowded trunk with 10k and Cassandra.
"You shouldn't have killed him." Murphy growled.
"You're alive, aren't you?" Vasquez retorted. Murphy chose to ignore his valid point, and the survivors lapsed into a comfortable silence. (y/n) watched the scenery roll by, perfectly content after the day they had.
"Why are we headed South? Shouldn't we be going West?"
"Still too much fallout West."
"We can turn west south of the Missouri." Warren said quietly, and then she slowed the car down. (y/n) leaned her head over the backseat, trying to look out the front window. Unfortunately, Murphy's head blocked her view.
"What is it, Warren?"
The woman ignored her, instead thinking aloud. "What the hell is some woman doing out here by herself?"
"It can't be," Addy breathed in disbelief "It's Serena!"
"No way!" (y/n) snickered, and Tommy grinned at her.
"Murphy, is that your pie girl?"
"Pie girl?" Vasquez repeated, totally clueless. Poor guy.
"Pie girl." Tommy said, smiling.
"Boy, is she pregnant." Warren gasped.
"Pregnant?!" Murphy shot up from his seat to get a better look.
"Oh, no."
"Yeah, like 10 months pregnant." Doc added. (y/n) stopped for a minute. If she was that pregnant, that means the events of the weird girls only club were almost a full year ago - by now.
Time definitely flies when you're struggling to survive.
"No, no, you're stopping for her, are you?"
"Uh-huh."
"Yeah!" (y/n) added, exasperated. The car came to a stop, and Addy hopped out. The blonde woman was strolling aimlessly along the road, headed right for them. (y/n) noticed that she was unarmed, which was risky on a good day.
But especially when you were pregnant.
"Addy!" Serena cried, and the two women embraced. By now, every passenger of the black vehicle was clamoring for a better view. They talked for a few minutes, before the blonde mother-to-be approached the side door of the vehicle.
She ran over, and Warren opened the window so she could look in at Murphy. "Is that you? Is it really you?" The woman also called him 'Daddy' multiple times, but (y/n) chose to ignore that, shuddering.
"Hey," Murphy said nervously. 10k leaned closer to (y/n) to look out the window, and she struggled to keep her eyes forward. The woman laughed in disbelief and cradled her belly.
"He's here, baba," she cooed, and raised the hem of her shirt. "Daddy's here." They all leaned closer, at her stretch-marked stomach, carrying life. It was both beautiful and a bit weird to the girl; she couldn't remember the last time she knew someone who was pregnant.
Too risky, in this world. A pang of sadness hit her, but it was quickly replaced by revulsion.
There was a wriggling, screaming face that pressed against the skin of her belly, it's hands outstretched - as if it were reaching for something. Murphy?
(y/n) recoiled backward, 10k's hand warm on her shoulder to steady her.
What was that thing?
➳(y/n) had never understood the cheese parade. Even now, as the group panted, running through the streets from the Zs, it still puzzled her.
10k was sniping Zs along the way, but (y/n) felt like saving her ammo - and she couldn't risk stopping to retrieve her knives. He didn't seem to mind, though, as he added vigorously to his count.
They jogged around a corner, the pregnant member of their team panting heavily. (y/n) worried for her earlier that morning, and had managed to forage a small handful of wild mint to help with the vomiting.
"Wisconsin cheese day parade?" 10k read a sign they jogged past, zombies hot on their heels.
"You betcha!" Addy laughed spitefully, and (y/n) was glad to see her friend recovering from Mack's loss.
"I really want a cheese hat!" (y/n) called to the boy running in front of her, and he looked over his shoulder to grin at her. She wasn't sure if her sudden dizziness was because of his eyes on her, or their constant running lately.
"Hey, I thought you could control these things!" Vasquez nagged Murphy, who strolled along lazily, as though the woman carrying his child wasn't lagging behind so close to death. Did he even care?
"Not that many!" He tossed lightly over his shoulder. "And not for you!" The girl grit her teeth, her legs burning.
"Murphy, I swear to-" The girl paused, staring up at the giant wheel of cheese that loomed over them. "Whoa."
"What?" 10k asked, coming to a stop beside her. "No way! The world's biggest wheel of cheese!"
"Is that cheese?" Doc asked in disbelief, leaning forward to smell it. "Whoa! It is real!" He'd grabbed a knife and cut out a chunk, while Serena vomited into a cheesy picture stand. No pun intended, it was literally a picture cut-out of cheese.
Dear Lord.
"Hey, come on, let's go!" Vasquez urged them. "We gotta move!"
"Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on!" (y/n) called, using her knife to slice a small wedge from the wheel. When no one came to follow her, Warren stepped back to round them all up.
"Hey, let's go!"
"She's not moving," Addy told her firmly, gesturing to Serena. Ever since the woman had found them, Addy was fiercely protective of her, and had taken it upon herself to make sure she was safe and cared for at all times.
"Got an idea. Get out of my way, you two." Warren gestured to Doc and (y/n), who were munching happily on the cheese. It was years old, but it was definitely not the worst-tasting thing she'd had to eat this apocalypse.
Bugs were always, always worse.
"I need that cheese!"
"Oh, come on Warren," Doc groaned. "Can't a man and the kid eat a giant cheese wheel in peace?"
"No. Remember Philly?" Warren countered. (y/n) opened her mouth.
"You mean the-" 10k's hand snapped to cover her mouth. She glared up at him, batted his hands away.
"We don't talk about Philly."
She stuck her tongue out at him, and he very pointedly looked away.
"Oh, no," Doc sighed.
'Oh no' was right.
➳The cheese wheel rolled down the hill, squashing many zombies that were in its path. The survivors watched on in partial horror but partial rapture, until (y/n) broke the silence.
"Ooh, that's like a scene from a really cheap movie."
"Yeah, what's new?" Murphy asked sarcastically. (y/n) stuffed the cheese into 10k's bag, and the group got set up to head out.
"If anybody asks," Warren began, but they all knew where she was going with it.
"We were no where near Wisconsin" The echoed together, like dutiful children reciting the alphabet. With that, they took off running again. The buildings of the town passed in (y/n)'s vision, and a tiny part of her wished they could stay just a little longer, because some of them were really cute.
When she voiced this to Tommy, however, he looked at her like she was speaking another language.
"There's way too many Zs" he shook his head as they jogged to meet Warren at a vehicle she found. "you're crazy." She grinned at him, hair bouncing around her shoulders loosely. She brushed a stray strand from her mouth.
"Aw, thanks for noticing!"
He was smiling, though, when they climbed back into the trunk. The entire drive thus far, Doc had been making up rhymes about the giant wheel of cheese, turning it into a sort of drinking song to accompany them on their continuous road trip.
Well, continuous until they had to stop, again, so Serena could throw up. They popped the latch of the trunk open, and the two teens perched themselves - legs dangling off the edge - while Serena took her break.
She reached around his waist to rummage in his bag, humming in happiness when she found the cheese stowed away in there. He watched her carefully, blue eyes piercing, as she cut him a sliver.
"I don't really want-"
"-eat it. You haven't had anything in days, Tommy," she added quietly, before stuffing the cheese slice in his mouth. His eyes widened in surprise, while she cackled in laughter at the sight of his full cheeks.
He chewed for a moment, brows scrunched together, before his face lit up.
"It's good!"
She scoffed pretending to examine her nails. "Mm-hm, you're welcome." He bumped his shoulder with hers.
"Thanks, (y/n)." She chose not to speak, but instead sigh through her nose and cast him another smile, this one less genuine than the last. It seemed they never got much time together, and when they did - something about him was wrong. Guarded, almost.
And then, of course, there was Murphy. As it turned out, Serena was done her vomiting and wanted to sit with him, so he kicked them from their little spot.
"Beat it, psychos."
They looked at one another, but apparently decided he wasn't worth the trouble and left. Warren and Vasquez pored over a map, splayed out on the hood. (y/n) leaned her forearm on the hood, and looked over at the map.
"Used to be a decent-sized Mennonite community, just south-east of here," Vasquez pointed a finger onto a spot on the map, a few miles away. "Passed through here a few months ago. They were still safe, then. Good chance that they still are."
"I'll take that chance," Warren said, but a bullet ricocheting off the hood stopped all conversation. The group scrambled behind the hood, while 10k used his scope to figure out how dangerous they were.
(y/n) almost scoffed. If those marksmen were any good, they wouldn't have missed that first shot. They'd all be dead by now, if it were Ten Thousand - or herself - firing upon they from below.
"What do you see?" Warren asked the boy. He squinted into his scope, an expression (y/n) was so used to but her heat still beat a little too fast in the presence of.
"Couple of guys in hunting caps," 10k reported, ducking down to avoid another shot. "One seriously pissed-off-looking girl with-" He ducked down again, and looked at them all in surprise.
"She's got my same gun." (y/n)'s face drooped.
"Maybe you should go up there and ask for her number," she muttered, fishing a throwing knife from her boot and holding it, ready, in her right hand.
"Well, why's she shooting at us?" Doc asked, and (y/n) scooted on her knees, knife in hand, closer to the wheel of the vehicle to throw it.
"I don't know, maybe it has something to do with the nice Zero ride we got," Vasquez quipped, but their conversation was ignored by the girl.
She risked popping her upper body in the line of fire, standing up quickly, to throw her knife and then she ducked back behind the vehicle, praying she'd hit one of them.
"Winged one," 10k said and then he looked at her. "I think you did, too."
Warren was devising a plan when the gunfire broke out, again.
This time, it was friendly.
"You dirt-eating bastards!" Serena's cried at the top of her lungs, presumably the one firing so rapidly - and wastefully. "You filthy, goat-loving whores! There is a baby on board here! A mother-loving baby! I am going to rip off your arms," (y/n) raised her eyebrows, pleasantly surprised at the woman's outburst.
"-And saw off your head!" The gunfire stopped, and they cautiously poked their heads out from behind the car to look at her in shock. "People are so rude!" She said simply, pushing her haid back from her face.
"I'm starting to like this girl," Doc said gleefully as they stepped out onto the gravel again, safe from the fire.
"I think it's time for a new vehicle," Warren mused, as they trekked up the hill, with its long grass. It rippled in the wind, somewhat distracting (y/n) from the fact that she'd just killed someone. Probably.
The gravel road at the top of the hill was home to a red pickup, the ones that those assholes had drove to their spot where they'd tried to kill them all, only minutes before.
Bodies were strewn about, although none of them turned - meaning gunshots to the head. (y/n) only paid attention to one - a man in a red cap, with her knife sticking out of his torso. So, she hadn't missed, after all.
She pulled it free and headed for the truck, accepting 10k's arm as he hauled her over the side and into the box.
"Just like old times," (y/n) said, angling her head to feel the sunshine on her face, letting her eyes fall closed.
"Yeah," the boy echoed her sentiment "just like old times."
And then, the truck rumbled into motion - and they were off again on their chaotic adventure.
➳They stopped on another gravel road, on a hill that overlooked a large red barn in the distance. Still, Warren didn't want to drive any closer until they sent out scouts, to make sure the area was actually secure, like Vasquez said.
It seemed, (y/n) noticed, that Warren barely trusted Vasquez at all in the past weeks they'd known him. Interesting, because (y/n) didn't either.
The girl hopped from the back of the truck, boots thudding on the road before she went to stand by Addy's side. "Well," her redheaded friend began "we've seen Amish zombies, Mormon zombies; we get Mennonite zombies, and we've got ourselves a trifecta."
(y/n) snorted out a laugh. "I mean, you're not wrong - but I've had enough zombies for today after Wisconsin." Addy smiled, shaking her head.
"Wait a minute," Vasquez said, interrupting Warren. "there's some livestock! That's a good sign!"
"Yeah, well," Warren sighed as they group took a few paces close to hear her lay out her plan. "we're not going in blind. So. Vasquez, you take the north fence. 10k, you go South. Me, Addy, and (y/n) got over watch. Be back in twenty."
Without so much as a glance in her direction, the boy took off at a slow jog, headed off for the fence Warren assigned him to check out.
"Fine," Doc grumbled. "I'll just take a nap!" (y/n) sighed, and decided to poke around the nearby ditches to look for any cook plants, ones that maybe she'd recognize to be useful. But, without her field guide, differentiating them would be difficult.
Twenty minutes flew by quickly, and all (y/n) had found was a few wild parsnip, which wasn't edible - she knew that much. It might be good, however, if Vasquez started acting up. She could offer to make him tea, so to speak.
The sound of shuffling footsteps on the gravel caused her to step out of the long grass, flicking the tick that was crawling up her arm. It was Tommy, his face covered in a weird, white powder.
"Well?" Warren asked him, as he jogged back up to the truck.
"Yeah, there's still people here. But they ran away from me," he explained quickly. "Oh, there's also zombie sheep."
"Zombie sheep?" Doc repeated "Why not?"
"What's all over your face?" (y/n) asked, tilting his chin down to see it better. He looked at her, shrugging a shoulder.
"Uh, it came out of a Zs head when I killed it. I don't know. Maybe, powdered brains?" He smiled ruefully down at the girl, and Doc laughed. Warren handed him a bandana, which he used to wash his face as best as he could.
Despite Vasquez not being back, Warren chose to move forward with their mission anyway. They loaded back up into the truck and entered the seemingly-empty compound, which the girl delighted in seeing.
It was so fascinating, to see this place - completely self-sustaining - because it was the kind of life she wanted to live. Slow and simple, without zombies. A life where she could do her yoga every morning, and tend to a little garden.
"What happened to you?" Warren's voice roused her from her thoughts, and she turned to see Vasquez approaching.
"A few Zs," he said, and showed off a few of his findings - jam and a huge chunk of meat which he handed to Doc. It was weird, though: Tommy was covered in the gunk, and yet he wasn't? And how had he always been able to find perfect stuff?
(y/n) normally thought she was a positive person, but she knew even the universe wouldn't be sending all this abundance their way. So, what was he up to?
"Why don't you have white powder on you?" Warren asked him, clearly thinking the same thing as the girl.
"White powder?" the man questioned, but a snarling nearby drew their attention more than his words. (y/n) had a knife in her hand quickly, wanting to stay as far away as possible. Addy surged forward however, to the left of (y/n)'s now-airborn knife.
She watched as her friend swung her bat upwards into a Zs face, being coated in the white powder. (y/n) took a few steps forward and raised her rifle from her shoulder, ready to get this done and over with.
"Wait, wait, wait! Get out of there!" Warren cried, as both Addy and Tommy were headfirst in the battle. Panic swelled in (y/n)'s throat, making her heart beat faster.
But she didn't get the chance to finish it, because a small group of Mennonite men ran from behind her and took the Zs out before she had the chance.
"10k!" she called out, as a plume of white dust rose from where she'd last seen him standing. The girl coughed, reaching out blindly to find him. Finally - she almost sobbed with relief - her hand felt the material of his vest, and his hand grasped her shoulder.
"(y/n)," he said, but he looked so tired - like he'd been fighting Zs for hours, not mere minutes. (y/n) thought back to the white powder, and how sick he was looking.
➳They gathered around the men who'd saved them, who explained they were very few remaining healthy people of the community. Warren and Vasquez were negotiating to get Serena someplace safe to stay, while 10k's weight next to (y/n) got heavier with every passing second.
"Are you okay?" she whispered to him, as they talked on and on. He nodded lethargically, but his eyes were unfocused and glassy. "10k?" She pinched his arm to get his attention, but he simply swayed a little on his feet.
"The white powder," a young man said, looking straight at the two sharpshooters. "we have anthrax here." (y/n) took a sharp breath, and looked at Tommy, willing the pain in her sinuses to disappear.
"Alright folks, time to go," Warren clapped her hands "there' no room at this inn. Sorry for your trouble." The man smiled sadly.
"Everyone had troubles, these days."
"Ain't that the truth?" (y/n) kept her eyes on Tommy, tapping his cheek.
"Hey, look at me." He didn't, his blue-green eyes had lost their shine as he stared blankly at the ground. "Warren-" her voice was choked up, and she hated the sound of it. He was fine. He had to be.
He had to be.
But of course he wasn't.
NOTES;
Ooh, a cliffhanger - look how mean I am to you guys! hehe. But, I had to, otherwise this chapter would have been wayyy too long and we all know I don't have patience for that,
Anyways, I am sending lots of love and happy energy to you, thanks for reading! Xx