Tw - Death
May 3rd 2023
The crunch of dead leaves leftover from last fall, and the conversation that was held here and there by the two were the only sounds that came from them as they marched along. The farther they walked, the less thick the forest became. The trees were farther apart, and thinner. Pezzy thought they might be easier for firewood if they ever needed any.
The treehouse they had stayed at was long behind them. Eventually Pezzy had woken Droid up for his turn to keep watch while he got in his hours to sleep. The next thing he knew, they were double checking they had everything and left.
That day they hadn't had luck with finding a stream, or at least somewhere to wash up. It consisted of what they'd mostly done every other day: look for food, anything useful, or new discoveries. Or literally focusing on not getting killed. However yesterday they hit the jackpot. It was the same thing, looking for anything beneficial, but with the addition of washing themselves of the grime and dirt that coated their clothes and bodies. They had managed to find a pond, and each took a turn getting undressed and rinsing both themselves and their clothes, while the other kept their back turned respectfully and kept watch for any danger.
Droid had complained once again about how his hair didn't feel as soft as it had been before. Pezzy once again said it didn't look any different from how it's always been. He always made sure to add that at least it didn't look as flat as his hair did.
The slightly musty smell that remained in their clothes occasionally came up to hit him, making his nose scrunch up at the sudden stench. It reminded him of when he'd forget to switch his clothes from the washing machine to the dryer. When the cycle was eventually finished, he'd grumble and scold himself for being the reason for the slight musty odor that infused into the fabric. But, he couldn't complain now, he did feel a lot better after rinsing himself and his clothes off. At least it wasn't due to his forgetfulness.
ADHD can be a bitch.
Pezzy followed Droid's movements who walked just slightly ahead of him, stepping over the log of a fallen tree. He rotated his body for balance to pick up and swing his leg over so he wouldn't fall, before walking straight into something.
The something, he realized quickly, was Droid.
"What the fuck? Droid?" He questioned, assuming it was one of the many pranks Droid liked to tease him with. But instead of a chuckle, he was met with silence. He walked around Droid to look at his face. "Dr-."
"Shh." A finger was brought up midair, silencing Pezzy. He noticed the way Droid's face was focused, eyes squinted, head tilted slightly, and one ear pointing in the direction to their right. Taking the hint, Pezzy also focused.
And then he heard it. Wailing. Zombies. Far off in the distance.
Pezzy looked back up at Droid in confusion, it wasn't anything different than they've heard many times before. He was about to say exactly that but was once again cut off. But it wasn't by Droid.
Agony. Shouts of it, that broke through the barrier of zombie screeches and howls.
Pezzy's heart stopped. He's never heard a zombie sound like that.
Shit.
Before he could think about what to do next, Droid had him by the arm, tugging him in the direction of the horrifying screams. He ripped Droid's grip off his bicep.
"Woah, wait-" he started. But Droid didn't stop. "Droid, hold on." He grabbed Droid's wrist, but he didn't stop, only slowed down. "Stop!"
Finally, Droid did stop, quickly turning towards Pezzy. His face had taken Pezzy by surprise, and he blinked for a second, registering Droid's frantic seriousness.
"Pezzy, we have to go see what's happening." The look of determination set on Droid's face nearly made Pezzy say 'alright, let's go' on the spot. But he stopped himself before that happened, wanting answers.
"No. No, we can't just stroll up to a bunch of zombies!" Pezzy exclaimed, completely baffled that Droid would suggest going towards the things that they've been trying to avoid and not die from.
"I know you know there could be someone there, a person. They could be in trouble. We need to help." Without waiting for an answer Droid turned around, began walking again in the direction. Pezzy stood still for a moment, thinking.
Finally he sighed just as Droid gave him a quick glance over his shoulder while he kept his pace. "Fucking hell." He muttered.
He jogged to keep up with Droid's determined pace, "Alright well, we can't just show up. It could be a trap. Or- or more than we can handle, Droid. We need a plan."
A wail echoed around them. High-pitched and scared. A child.
Droid's steps became faster, and Pezzy followed suit.
"How do you want to do this?" Droid asked, his hand already reaching up behind him for the handle of the metal bat he kept sticking out the top of his backpack. He slipped it out with ease. At this point it was pretty much muscle memory. In his other hand he held a small kitchen knife.
"Okay," Pezzy began, slipping his own switchblade out from his pants pocket and flipping it open. His hands shook a little, but he kept it well hidden. Not that Droid's attention was on him right now anyway. "We'll get a look at the situation first. If that person, or the people, if they have already been bitten, we turn back and run. There's no point in saving them if they're basically already done for."
At first Droid seemed hesitant, not enjoying the thought of leaving an unfortunate soul behind. But nevertheless, he nodded. Pezzy jogged up a bit to match Droid's speed.
"If they can be saved, then... th-then, uh-uhm.." Pezzy stuttered, looking down. Droid glanced at him for a second, frowning. He felt bad, Pezzy was doing his best to keep the both of them alive. So he spoke for him.
"If we can save them, if we have the chance to, we will try our damned hardest." He reassured, reciting the exact words they had discussed about a month back. Pezzy picked his head to face him, not quite meeting his eyes. Droid, however, shed a small smile. "Don't worry, I understand your plan, I know how it all goes. Stay safe, we'll watch each others' backs so no need to turn around to watch your own." His small smile turned into a grin. "And hope for the fucking best."
At that, Pezzy brought his eyes to glance at Droid's and mirrored Droid's grin as he looked back in front of him. Sure it wasn't the best plan. Sure it might get them killed someday. But they've made it this far battling the things that ended this world, what could possibly change that?
The wails and screams grew incredibly closer as they walked. Each shout and screech sent shivers down Pezzy's back in fear. Each step closer made his body plead and scream to turn back and run. But he trusted Droid's instinct and opinion. They could do this.
A break through the trees made them catch glimpses of what they were about to see in full. Except Pezzy only briefly saw one person. The little girl, who still screamed, and what she screamed made his heart drop a little further.
"MAMA!"
Grunts and desperate shouts were announced in return to her pleads, as she repeatedly cried at what had to have been her mother. Rustling was heard just over the ledge that the child stood near, and Pezzy and Droid hid behind trees to do as they planned, get a good look at what they're dealing with.
Now that he could see clearly, out from behind the tree, Pezzy took in the whole scene as Droid did like he said, watching Pezzy's back for any unwanted guests.
The little girl, couldn't have been older than seven years old, as far as Pezzy knew. Her shoes were dirtied and faded of original color, but Pezzy could see three red, blue and yellow flowers on the side of one of her small, black steel-toed boots. She wore jeans for pants and a purple t-shirt. Her brown hair was separated into two braids that stopped midway down her back, tightly woven and kept away.
Pezzy's eyes traveled to just over the ledge, where the child desperately cried out for her mother. He couldn't see anything, but he could definitely hear it, and by the sounds of it, her mother wasn't winning.
Suddenly, Pezzy caught movement out of the corner of his eye. His eyes widened.
It was then he made his rare, split second decision. He ran towards the commotion. He sprinted towards the zombie that was barreling towards the poor helpless, and clueless girl. Without a plan, without thinking ahead, he did the first thing that came to mind.
"Pezzy!"
He heard Droid shout, just before he ran full force into the zombie with a grunt, sending both him and it flying a few feet away. He hit the ground with one of his palms outstretched, quickly rolling to the side, and then the other was already in motion, swinging his knife in the direction of where he saw the zombie fall. He heard the slick slice that the knife made when connecting with rotten flesh before he was registering that he saw it. He had managed to dig his blade into the shoulder of this once-human figure, before quickly pulling it out and burying it into the neck instead.
The zombie was fazed, but barely. Pain didn't seem to be its concern, now it was the person that was in front of it.
What used to be blood filling its body, was now dark gray, gooey substance, flowing thickly from its neck and shoulder due to the stab wounds. Pezzy pulled away as its sunken eyes seemed to lock onto his, and Pezzy froze. In a flash, overgrown nails clawed at his face. Nails of one hand of the zombie caught just in front of his ear and sunk into his skin and scraped down until the edge of his jaw, the other scratched his arm, and Pezzy let out a pained yelp, jumping away.
"DUCK!"
In a split second, Pezzy did as he was told, trusting that voice anywhere. He squeezed his eyes shut as he squatted down and a sickly crack sounded. He opened eyes just in time to see the zombie tip and fall back, getting a glimpse of the now further deformed face, broken in by the force of the bat that Droid used. It hit the ground with a thud, not moving.
Pezzy's eyes were wide. He's killed several zombies before, without hesitation and without even getting touched. But that was when he had a plan, a way out. This time was all instinct, protection for-
"Pezzy."
Instead of responding to the voice full of concern, Pezzy whipped his head around to behind him. He was met with large, hazel-brown eyes staring back at him, just as they looked away to glance down over the ledge again. Her tear streaked face was full of alert, worry and fear. So much of it.
"Oh, shit." Droid said.
Pezzy heard Droid quickly walk around him, over to the ledge, where his eyes got infinitely bigger. Pezzy stood up, preparing himself for what he was about to see, and followed Droid.
Inside the pit, just over the ledge, was a woman. And four other zombies who clawed at her already raw and torn skin. The bites were clearly evident, and lined multiple parts of her body.
Suddenly, Droid jumped in, sliding slightly down the side of the bowl-shaped ditch to maintain his balance. Pezzy heard himself shout at him, but his mind was still all over the place. It didn't even feel like he was there anymore, everything felt fake. But he knew he couldn't lose Droid, he just couldn't. He'd be lost, he'd be broken, hell he might not even be able to live without him by his side.
But he had to watch Droid's back. And that meant staying up where he was, making sure no more zombies came at the loud noises and added to the number that was already in the pit below.
So he was stuck. Stuck watching as his best friend swung and bashed in another head of a zombie. And then another. His heart squeezed at the sandwich he had been put into, realizing he must've felt as helpless and useless as the little girl had been, watching her mother being murdered in front of her eyes.
He knew she was next to him, but he could only stare straight ahead in horror as Droid kept swinging, one after another, cracking skulls and breaking bones. He winced every time a nail grazed Droid's arms, or when zombies got too close for comfort. But if the zombies got to close, Droid was quick to use his knife and stab. Pezzy froze when he noticed the zombies avert their attention off the battered woman and over to Droid. He didn't know whether to shout in warning, or stay silent.
So he just watched, his mouth hanging open in uncertainty. The girl whimpered beside him.
Only two zombies remained, both targeting Droid. Who stood ready, holding the bat with both hands like a baseball player waiting a pitch, while the knife was held between one of his palms and the bat handle. He squeezed tight, let out a war cry and swung, striking the side of the zombie on the right. The neck snapped, the zombie's head bent at an unnatural angle. The force of the blow knocked it into the remaining zombie, who toppled over from the sudden weight.
Droid was quick to take hold of his knife and stab the head of the uninjured one, moving quickly to do the same to the one he hit with the bat for good measure. He stood back up, ready to fight anything else that came across his path or anything he saw as danger. But when he looked up, all he saw was the woman. Shaken and bloody, she laid on her hip as her forearm held her up. She weakly stared back at him, slightly panting from the events she had suffered from.
Droid watched as her eyes traveled to Pezzy, and then widened. She lingered, squinting, as if trying to see him correctly. He too looked over to see Pezzy looking between him and the woman, frantically. And then he looked at the girl who stood beside Pezzy, she too looked frantically between her mother and Droid, her hands crossed and holding each of her biceps.
It was quiet. Too damn, deafeningly quiet.
But it was broken.
The woman coughed, and Droid's eyes returned to her. She had sat up at this point, and Droid then noticed just how cut up she was. There were multiple cuts and gashes, all big and small, on her face, arms, torso and legs. Her clothes were tattered and torn and stained crimson. Her lips were busted and cracked, and her nose was bleeding, adding to the rest of the red that dripped down her body.
There were several bites. A couple on her arm, one on her shoulder, and a few on her legs. Droid's eyes met brown.
"Please," she said, voice cracking and hoarse from the yelling. "Please, take her away. Anywhere but here." She looked back over at Pezzy, and so did Droid.
His mouth was set in a firm line, eyebrows pinched, clearly stressed.
When no one moved, the woman spoke again, louder. "Take. Her. Away." Each word was spoken with a breathy order, firm and demanding. Droid glanced back at her quickly before looking back up at Pezzy, who was now looking back at him.
Without a word, Droid nodded. And Pezzy copied, turning around and stopping before looking over his shoulder at the little girl. She looked torn. Looking between Pezzy and her mother, her eyes chose her mother's. The woman's gaze softened before she spoke, her voice just as soft despite the scratchiness to it.
"It's alright, dear. Go on, you're okay." She gave a reassuring smile, nodding her head in approval.
Her daughter hummed in contemplation, unsure of what to do, before turning to follow Pezzy, who had been waiting for her to follow him. Before they could disappear completely, Droid spoke.
"Be safe." He announced, and his words reached the ears of his target, summoning him to turn his head to his direction. Their eyes met, and Pezzy gave the smallest smile Droid almost missed.
"You too." And with that, he continued on, the little girl by his side.
His gaze returned back to the woman, whose smile had fallen ever since her daughter obeyed her orders. Instead replaced with pained seriousness. Her eyes were glossed over, wetness shined in the bottom half of them.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered. "I'm sorry you had to see all t-that and-" She sucked in a breath, seemingly trying to calm herself down. "I need you to promise me something."
Droid was shocked, everything that just happened was too sudden, and he was too aghast. The last time things got that hectic was when-
"Please." She said, using her legs and standing up shakily.
Droid blinked, but found his voice. "Y-yeah?"
She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I need you to look after my daughter, keep her safe, keep her alive."
Droid's eyes widened, he then realized his arms had come down to his sides as the time had passed, both holding a weapon. However, the glint of another caught his eye from the ground. He quickly returned his watch to the woman, she was hugging herself, holding each of her biceps like her daughter had done earlier. It was then he saw how similar they looked, besides the blood and wounds. She wasn't lying.
"What- what do you mean." Droid asked, though it was more of a statement.
She inhaled sharply. Her eyebrows furrowed further. "I need you to kill me."
Droid took a step back. "What?"
"I know, it's a lot- a lot to ask for but.. please. I know you've seen the bites. I'm bitten. You know I'm already gone. I don't want to turn into those monsters. I don't want to cause anyone harm, so please. Either kill me or I'll do it myself." She glanced down at the weapon that lay a few feet away from her, before looking back up at Droid. A silent acknowledgement that she was serious, and she could very well do it, and Droid saw it. All she needed was Droid's decision. Either way, she knew she was dying.
"I-" Droid gaped, his mouth hung open in disbelief. He never thought he'd be put in this position. "I- I can't."
"Okay," she said after a moment. She moved, slowly but quickly at the same time, quietly groaning at the agony she felt. It wasn't just the pain on the outside, but on the inside too. In her veins. The poison was taking over.
She picked up the knife, holding it instantly, her hand fitting over the knife's pre-carved grooves perfectly. Her knife.
Droid's eyebrows furrowed, looking from the knife, to the woman, and back to the knife again. Like it was the blade that moved closer to the woman's neck, and not her hand moving it for her.
A tear left a clean trail down her cheeks, before falling into the dirt below.
"What's your name?" She asked, like it was the first time meeting someone, pre-apocalyptic days. Technically, it was. But they were faced with the reality of an apocalypse, of flesh hungry scavengers slowly taking over the world.
He took a breath. "Droid."
"Droid," she repeated, like she was testing the name out on her tongue. Her lips curved upwards a bit. She nearly looked like a maniac with how sickly sweet she looked with a smile despite her bloody features. "Droid, promise to look after my daughter. You and- your friend, keep her safe." She said, it wasn't a plea anymore. It was a statement, a demand. This was going to happen, whether Droid liked it or not.
Droid breathed out, breathed in, and closed his eyes. His shoulders fell, in the defeat he knew he was to face ever since she told Pezzy to take her daughter away. "Yes...I- yes, I- I promise." His eyes felt wet after closing them.
"Good." And Droid could hear the saddened relief from her words. He opened his eyes to see her giving him an apologetic smile. His eyes watered more. "You don't have to- to stick around for this. Go back with your friend, help him keep my daughter safe." She said more confidentially this time. "If she asks where I am, tell her I'm with daddy, safe and sound." She choked on a sob, and Droid refrained from doing the same. The knife lightly pressed against the bloodied skin of her neck.
Droid's mouth finally closed, pressing into a firm straight line. A tear of his own joined the woman's on the ground.
He couldn't do anything to help the inevitable.
Begrudgingly, he nodded once. Slipping his knife into his handmade sheath, tearing his eyes away from the woman's and headed to the wall of the ledge. He tossed his bat to the grassy ground above, before noticing the numerous scrapes against the dirt. Where the woman must've tried to escape... but-
He squeezed his eyes and started climbing.
After some struggle, he finally managed to get a bent arm flat against ground level. Using that, he swung his other arm to do the same and hoisted the rest of his body up. If the situation wasn't so serious, he would've laughed at the embarrassment he gave himself.
He scanned his eyes around the area, not seeing Pezzy or the girl. Then turned around, seeing the woman still holding a small smile for him. He mirrored the sadness that her gaze held, but without a smile. He felt... awful.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered.
"Don't be," She reassured. "Go, protect them both. She'll love you, I know it."
With that, he finally gave back the smallest smile. Their tears mixed in with the ground simultaneously.
Finally, he turned, scooping up his bat from the ground. However he paused, breathing in. He couldn't move, he felt like something wasn't finished.
But she assured him once again.
"It's okay, Droid." She whispered.
For a moment, he didn't move. He held the same breath in. But he let it out, bringing one leg in front of him, taking a step forward. Then another one. One after another, he found himself looking for where to go next, where Pezzy might've gone.
He froze when he heard the slightest thump that came from behind him in the distance. But he didn't let that stop him. So he moved forward.
He needed to find the girl. He needed Pezzy.
After a bit, he looked up to notice a small shack in the clearing. It seemed worn down and cracked from age, but stable enough to keep itself upright. Behind it was the forest Pezzy and himself spent the last week traveling in. Beside it, not too far off in the distance was multiple swing sets, four swings under each metal bar. And beside them sat a few slides, as well as other playground equipment and toys, all surrounded by a metal fence with a gate on one side.
His silent tears had dried by now, sticking to his face uncomfortably, so he brought a hand up to rub his cheeks and eyes, adjusting his glasses afterwards. The other was brought up and behind his head to slip the bat back into his bag.
He then noticed fluttering in the light breeze, and upon further inspection, he recognized it as fabric, or clothing. His clothes.
His hoodie, hanging on a nail on the wall of the shack. He gave a weak smile.
He found himself walking to the front of the shack. Rounding the corner, Droid instantly relaxed. Inside, beyond the doorway, was nothing but a bench that connected to each wall. With the addition of two figures. One of them sat crisscross on the floor and instantly tensed at the new presence, eyes widening. But the other who sat knees to chest on the bench, he saw, mirrored his own relief in his posture in less than a second.
They stared at each other for a second. Eyes saying a thousand words in the silence that surrounded them. Droid noticed the bandage on the side of Pezzy's face.
Then Pezzy gave him a small, sympathetic smile. Droid shared one too, looking down at the floor of the shack.
On the inside, they were ecstatic to know they were within each other's presence once again. But a lot just happened, they couldn't help but not do anything and look grim and emotionless. A stark contrast when they found each other the first time.
After collecting Droid's hoodie from the nail outside, it was decided that they would stay there for the night. The sun had set, and the kid's eyes, as well as Droid's, kept drooping.
The kid gave no fuss, and surprisingly fell asleep quickly despite not knowing where her mother was and what had happened. Pezzy assumed, along with Droid, the events of today cut them straight to exhaustion.
She was given the hoodie from outside as bedding and an extra shirt as a pillow, as she laid out along the bench. Her head laid closest to the corner that was directly across from the doorway of the shack. She looked peaceful, and Pezzy was thankful that sleep was her first option for today.
His eyes traveled to Droid, who had tried his best to get comfortable on the thankfully wide bench that lined the back wall, and still managed to fall asleep. Pezzy himself sat in the corner opposite of the kid, which gave him a clear view of outside beyond the doorway.
Pezzy frowned. He couldn't imagine what happened, what Droid saw or went through. But he was happy he was getting his sleep. He needed it.
Pezzy didn't sleep at all that night.
And he was okay with that.
~
4454 words
Sooooo, what do y'all think?:) I probably won't usually post 2 days in a row so, this could be a 1 time thing or just very rare.
Also, just a heads up, if I make a mistake or something doesn't add up, y'all can absolutely either tell me or just expect it cause I ain't perfect😂 Anyhoo, take care y'all:)