Running in Circles

It had been two days till the storm let up, but either way, you were glad. Joel had been able to have some recovering time, despite all of his protesting.

However, you now had to put up with Joel complaining about how much time the two of you have ‘wasted’, and how far away you were from reaching Ellie.

“It’s been a week already!” Joel exclaimed grumpily.

“I noticed,” you drawled.

“Why…You- can’t take this seriously?” You couldn’t really tell whether that was a question or not, but either way you responded as if it were one.

“Because we didn’t waste time, you were healing and if you want to ever see Ellie then you gotta not die.”

Joel just huffed.

Rolling your eyes, you focused back onto the terrain in front of you. Your back was aching since it was now crooked after ‘Joel’s-almost-death-but-not-death Incident’, and all you wanted to do was lie on the ground and let the snow cushion your aching bones. But you had a feeling that Joel wouldn’t appreciate you ‘wasting time’ like that.

It wasn’t that you couldn’t understand Joel’s hurry, you two were on a time limit and Ellie, Dina, Jesse and Tommy were all in danger. But, as you had said before, if the two of you were going to get anywhere, you need to keep your health up. Unless Joel wanted further brain injury due to bacterial infection. Honestly, the man was lucky with how little consequence he had gotten from such trauma to the head.

Sighing, you let yourself think as the two of you made your way in the direction of Seattle.

You knew that it would take the two of you at the very least a month to get there. With the infected around every corner, Joel’s injuries and how far behind the two of you were already; it wasn’t going to be an easy trip.

But you also couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was going to go down… You also hoped that you wouldn’t have to face Isaac again…

Elijah, Vanessa, Robert and Jordan had taken off the next day without so much as a ‘goodbye’.

You didn’t know why you were surprised. But, perhaps, you thought, that even with all of the bad blood between you all, that the happy memories would’ve still helped to bind you all together – enough for a farewell, at least.

Sighing, you let yourself sink further into the couch, letting your hand graze over the deep gash on your collarbone. You had many other soon-to-be scars that littered your body, but you ignored them, just letting your fingers absentmindedly trace the scabbed-over flesh of your collarbone.

It was now just Cherry, Harely, Milo, Isaac, Peter and you…

The walls of the library/base felt empty with so little people here. The paint-coated walls appearing more drab and the sun hiding behind the clouds. It no longer felt like home…

“Hey, you all good?”

You distractedly nodded your head, your fingers continuing to circle your flesh. Round, and round, and round, and round…

A sigh fluttered out of Cherry’s lips before she flopped down next to you on the sofa.

“C’mon man, you’re never this quiet,” Cherry probed gently.

And it was true. You were usually rather bright and bubbly – not obnoxiously so, and usually having a darker sense of humour than most…But, you tended to be loud and animated. Always waving your hands around dramatically when talking and forever bouncing on the balls of your feet whenever you were excited. However, now you just felt empty…

Even though, logically, you knew that it wasn’t your fault that Mai died. Even though it wasn’t your choice for Elijah and his group to leave. Even though, despite all of that, a little voice in the back of your head would whisper to you; ‘it’s been your fault from the start’.

Annoyingly, emotions weren’t something anyone could control. You were no different.

“I’m fine,” you mumbled.

“Uh-huh,” Cherry breathed out, rolling her eyes as she poked your cheek – even when you slapped her hand away she persisted. It wasn’t until the flesh started to turn numb from all of her prodding that you groaned and sluggishly draped yourself over the armchair, away from her annoying antics.

“What’s on your mind?” The enquiry was curious and Cherry rested her head on her knuckles and looked at you pensively.

“As if I fucking know,” you grumbled. “Going too fast for me to keep up.”

Cherry chuckled. “Yeah, that’s 'cause you’re slow. Just like how you’re slow when it comes to calculus.”

You let a smug smirk flit over your lips at the indignant squawk that came from the other girl when you kicked her (literally) off the couch.  

“Asshole,” came the darkly muttered response from the other.

“Well, I did beat you in that one maths test,” You quipped.

“Yeah, sure. That was until I realised that the teacher marked me wrong,” Cherry drawled.

“Fuck off.”

The two of you had known each other since high school… You two had also met Mai there.

It was almost 7 years after the pandemic that the three of you had all found each other again. Well, ‘found’ is a strong word. More like attempted to kill each other before being raided by a pack of clickers and somehow surviving before the three of you realised who each other were.

Either way, it was a memory that you were oddly fond of and, honestly, you couldn’t think of a more perfect way for you three weirdos to meet again.

“-ar? Milo says Isaac’s gonna deliver in, like, two months or something.” You tuned back into Cherry’s ranting and felt yourself bolt upwards at the information.

“Really?” You asked excitedly.

“Yup,” Cherry said, popping the ‘p’.

“Gosh, we’re gonna have a kid!”

Cherry snorted. “You make it sound like we’re an old married couple who’s getting their first grandchild.”

“It fucking feels like it,” You groaned. “I feel old.”

“Yeah, well, imagine how I feel? I’m three months older than you!?”

“Old fart,” you teased.

“At least I don’t act like I’m a century old.”

The bantering went on for a while before the two of you were herded by Isaac into the make-shift dining room once dinner was ready. There, the tense, desolate atmosphere settled back in.

You picked at your meal and completely shrugged off any and all attempts of small talk that some tried to kick up. It was awkward and it just felt wrong being at such a large table with the six of you barely taking up half of the table.

“(Y/n),” Isaac called out to you, and, before you could question him, the other omega just gestured you to follow before sauntering off. You shot Milo a questioning look.

“Don’t look at me. I ain’t know what goes on in that head of his,” Milo shrugged. You just glared at the dark-skinned man because he was being completely unhelpful.

Sighing tiredly, you got to your feet and deposited your dishes in the sink before trailing after Isaac. Turns out, Isaac was drawing you a bath (it was truly a blessing that Milo was a plumber and had been able to hook up the tub, you all had dragged back to the base, to the library’s water supply).

“Wha—”

“Sit,” Isaac demanded, pointing to the toilet in the corner.

“Uhh… Can I ask what’s happening right now?” You questioned, unsure whether to be amused or slightly terrified. Isaac just ignored you and he pottered around the bathroom, grabbing a washcloth and some soap, as well as pulling out your favourite shampoo and conditioner (which you had stolen from a hair salon nearby).

Dipping the washcloth in the body of water, Isaac wrung it out before coming over to you and swiping the damp cloth under your eyes.

“Dude, is this some sort of mothering instincts or what?” You asked, crinkling your nose as the other omega continued to scrub away the layers of dirt smeared across your face.

There was a rule amongst the pack. There was only one bath a week and everyone had to share the deathly cold water. It was in an attempt to try and save the rain water for cleaning dishes and foods. But, whilst it felt heavenly to get rid of the layers of grime that coated your skin, it was also confusing because Isaac wasn’t answering you and you were starting to feel just a little bit concerned.

“Isaac?” You asked. The man must’ve heard the concern in your voice for he finally answered.

“Dunno, but my omega’s just… needing to do this,” the older admitted. You could make out some colour tinging his dark cheeks and you felt yourself smiling.

“What, clean me?” You teased.

“That and spend time with you,” His serious answer caused you to blink owlishly up at the other, at a loss for words.

“Get in the tub, I’ll wash your hair,” Isaac said whilst he turned to lend you some form of privacy.

Gently, you pulled your top off, cringing at the pain that shot through your collarbone and lower-back. You shakily made your way into the tub, trying to ignore the cold water that prickled at your skin.

It wasn’t necessarily odd for you all to see each other naked. Quite the contrary. You had seen at least everyone in your pack (including Mai and the others) naked at least once. It was just part of life now. Some needed help with wounds that couldn’t be addressed without undressing, and others needed help with bathing due to the severity of their injuries.

“I seriously think this is an issue,” You lamented.

“What?” Isaac’s tone was full of confusion as he brushed through your hair. You had to fight to hold back your laughter.

“No, seriously Isaac. Milo’s gonna think you have the hots for me. Especially when you’re tryna get me naked,” You teased, craning your neck back so the other can see you waggling your eyebrows.

“I am the farthest thing from straight, (y/n),” Isaac huffed, picking up a bowl and scooping up some water before unceremoniously dumping it over your head.

“H-hey!” You sputtered, trying to cough up any water that had lodged itself in your throat and blinking rapidly.

“Karma’s a bitch,” Isaac shrugged. “Hold still,” He grumbled, brushing through your now-wet hair before dousing it in water once again and then lathering it in shampoo.

You sighed, leaning back into the touch as your body adjusted to the cold water.

“You okay?” You almost missed Isaac’s question with how softly it was spoken.

“Yeah…” You hummed.

The two of you kept up some quiet banter as Isaac’s fingers ran through your hair and the two of you relieved some of your best memories with Riyana…

“Joel, we should find somewhere to camp out soon,” You reminded the other, who dutifully ignored you.

The Alpha seemed hell-bent on going against time and distance to get to Ellie. Despite the girl having almost a week’s head start on the two of you.

Honestly, you had been riding for almost 19 hours (judging by your shitty watch) and Joel didn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon. Additionally, you were fucking tired and you couldn’t even begin to imagine how Joel was feeling.

So, you decided to, once again, follow your favourite saying (which had honestly become more of a motto at this point).

“Fuck it,” you murmured, bringing your horse, Mai, to a halt. Dismounting, you quickly jogged up to Joel. The fact that the other hadn’t even registered your noisy approach was just an indicator of how tired he was.

Grabbing the man’s right leg, you tugged harshly – causing Joel to lose balance and end up tumbling to the ground. In the next moment you had a gun trained on you.

“Put that away,” You scoffed, smacking the gun away before offering your hand to help Joel up off the ground.

“Did you…need to do that?” Joel huffed as he shakily got back onto one of his feet, beckoning over his horse to retrieve his prosthetic.

“Yes. Yes, I did,” You said firmly. “Otherwise you never would’ve gotten off that damned horse.”

Joel just rolled his eyes. “Whatever…” He murmured.

Sighing, you helped Joel reattach his prosthetic before grabbing Mai’s reins and leading her to a tree outside the outskirts of the small, wooden hut that was nestled in a small clearing of trees.

“C’mon,” You grabbed Joel’s hand after he finished tethering Darius’ reins to a branch and started to drag him towards the hut… Before stopping.

“Actually, ya know what? Imma go clear the area, you stay with the horses,” You said, quickly slinking off before Joel could protest.

Honestly, you didn’t trust the other man’s judgment right now. Joel looked like he was about to collapse and you didn’t want to risk it if there were infected inside the house.

Hopping over the wooden fence, you dropped into a crouch as your eyes scanned over the backyard of the house. There was a little porch that leads inside the house with an open shed to the left that revealed an axe stuck in a slab of wood.

Creeping towards the shed, you quickly poked your head inside to check for anybody and strained your ears to pick up on any noise. Once you were sure there was no one inside. You quietly made your way over and tugged the axe out – keeping it for a weapon to use later.

You pushed your way through a door inside the shed and was met with some supplies. Quickly gathering any ammo, tape, rags etc, you ducked back outside.

It was quiet. Unnervingly so.

Something just felt off…

Sighing, you crept over to the porch and cracked open the door – cringing when it made an ungodly screech as it creaked open. Tensing you awaited any reaction from within the house.

Silence.

Shaking off your nerves, you quietly ventured further inside the house. Upon entering, the room was completely open. A kitchen was tucked in the right corner with a pantry and a door just next to you – you assumed that was the front door. There was a lounge room to the left with a TV that lay shattered on the ground.

There were photos that littered the walls, their colour drained from the dark, blue light that filtered in from the windows that were framed by billowing curtains. It was as if someone had paused time and the place was left with dust in its wake.

You just… Couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

And last time that happened-

You shook your head. You need to concentrate!

Making your way to the kitchen, you swiftly raided all of its drawers before slinking off towards the lounge room and finding a narrow hallway tucked just behind it. Making your way down, you popped into each room.

Kid’s room. Master bedroom. Linen closet. Bathro—

“FUCK!” You screeched as a runner pushed its way past the bathroom door and lunged at you.

Scrambling backwards, you quickly got to your feet. Not having enough time nor room to go for your gun you quickly grabbed the axe from earlier before swinging it upwards and hitting the runner right in the chin.

It’s head reeled back as they stumbled backwards. You didn’t give them time to recover. Hitting them over and over and over again.

You couldn’t concentrate and you could hear screams. So many screams.

They rang through your ears and you felt your chest violently heave for air as memories from a different time flashed before your eyes.

It was like you were back there…

Hands grabbed at you and you felt the screaming increase as you frantically pulled away, the axe slipping out of your hands in your panic.

“-hoa… Whoa, it’s alright. It’s just me,” Joel’s voice made its way through the screaming. Your throat felt raw.

“You’re safe,” He mumbled.

“We’re safe here…”

“Liar,” You rasped, feeling the tears well up behind your eyes.

Liar.