heavenward | n.scatorccio

The air in Mount Sterling was rampant with the scent of rain-soaked gravel and decomposing flesh, the kind of smell that settled into your clothes and refused to leave, no matter how many times you tried to wash it off. The group had been moving for days, their bodies aching with a dull, ceaseless throb, each step a cruel echo of the last. Their shoes, frayed and thinning, rasped against the cracked and sun-bleached pavement, as if the earth itself was wearing them down, grinding them into nothing. The silence of the ghost town stretched out in front of them, vast and unbroken, except for the occasional gust of wind that sent an empty can skittering across the street, like some lost animal trying to find its way home.

Julianna trudged forward, her boots scuffing against the small rocks, her body moving on autopilot. She wasn't thinking about much—because thinking led to remembering, and remembering led to him. And she couldn't go there right now. Couldn't dig up the ache she had so carefully buried under layers of exhaustion and empty stares. It had been a week since Jeff died. Seven days. One hundred and sixty-eight hours. Too long and not long enough all at once.

Javi walked beside her, his hands shoved into his pockets, shoulders curled in like he was trying to make himself smaller. She knew that feeling. Knew it intimately, that desperate attempt to shrink, to fold in on yourself like paper until you were nothing but a crumpled mess no one could smooth out. He didn't talk much, but he didn't have to. His presence was enough. He leaned against her shoulder sometimes, and she let him, because she understood.

Natalie was on her other side, the stark scent of cigarette smoke clinging to her jacket, her crossbow swinging loosely from her fingers as she surveyed their surroundings. She was always looking, always watching. Relying on survivalist instincts. But she still found time to glance at Julianna every once in a while, checking in without words. It was quiet, almost imperceptible—the gentle nudges, reminding her to take sips of water, being the steady presence beside her, fingers lacing through hers when the ache beneath her ribs stretched too wide, too deep to bear alone.

Misty walked ahead, humming under her breath, the closest thing to cheerful any of them had seen in days. It was unsettling, honestly. Not that Misty wasn't always kind of unsettling, but there was something particularly eerie about her finding joy in the apocalypse. Still, at least someone was.

Shauna and Jackie walked together, which meant no one else was really walking together with them. The air between them was so tense it might as well have been a separate entity entirely, lurking like a wound too deep to scab over, trembling on the verge of splitting open. Shauna had that permanently pissed-off look on her face, and Jackie had the stiff posture of someone trying very hard to pretend they weren't affected by anything. It was exhausting just to witness.

Lottie, ever the peacemaker, kept flitting between everyone, checking in, smiling, offering little reassurances like the world wasn't burning down around them.

Then, in the distance, a neon sign—long since dead, hung crookedly above a set of glass doors, the words barely legible under years of grime and weather damage.

'Blackbird Records.'

"Holy shit," Natalie muttered, stopping in her tracks.

Everyone followed her gaze, their heads tilting up to read the sign like it might suddenly light up and play a welcome jingle. It didn't, obviously. But still.

"A music store?" Shauna said, arching an eyebrow.

Jackie scoffed. "Yeah, because we totally need vinyls right now. Let's all just sit around a turntable and pretend the world isn't ending."

"Do you ever have fun?" Misty asked, already making her way toward the entrance. "Or are you just, like, genetically incapable?"

Jackie shot her a glare, but before she could snap back, Lottie stepped forward. "Maybe we should check it out. We could find something useful."

"Like what?" Jackie crossed her arms. "A really sharp CD to throw at infected?"

"A distraction," Natalie said simply, already following Misty inside, glancing back at Julianna.

Julianna hesitated for only a second before stepping in behind her, Javi close at her side. The interior of the store was as wrecked as everything else in this godforsaken world—shelves overturned, dust and broken glass coating the floor, album covers water-damaged and curling at the edges. The walls were covered in faded posters, the faces of long-dead musicians staring down at them like ghosts.

It was quiet, but not in the eerie way most abandoned places were. This was a different kind of quiet, the kind that held remnants of something once living.

Natalie ran a hand along the rows of records, fingers tracing over forgotten names.
"This place would've been cool as fuck before."  she muttered.

Javi, actually looked vaguely interested. He picked up a tape from the floor, turning it over in his hands. "My brother liked this band," he said softly.

Julianna swallowed hard, her chest tightening like the snap of a violin string stretched too thin, the unseen strain singing through her skin.

She picked up a vinyl at random, the cover peeling, the name unfamiliar. It didn't matter.

Misty was already rummaging through the shelves, muttering to herself. "If I were batteries, where would I be?"

Shauna and Jackie lingered near the door, as if they were too above all this, too detached. But even Shauna's fingers twitched toward an old Rolling Stones poster.

Natalie picked up a dusty Walkman, turning it over in her hands. "If we could find tapes that aren't totally fucked, we might actually be able to play something."

Julianna exhaled through her nose, shaking her head slightly. "Great. Then we can have an apocalypse soundtrack while we run for our lives."

Natalie smirked, glancing at her. "C'mon, if we find anything, you wouldn't be even a little curious to hear what's on it?"

Julianna didn't answer, just shrugged.

Misty let out a triumphant noise and held up a couple of AA batteries. "Success!"

"Cool," Jackie said flatly. "Now we just need a reason for them."

Lottie gave her a pointed look. "Maybe a flashlight. Maybe something else that could help us not die."

Jackie rolled her eyes but didn't argue.

Javi wandered over to Julianna, holding up another tape. "What do you think?"

She looked at it, recognizing the band from Jeff's collection back home. Her throat tightened.

"It's good," she said, voice quieter than she meant it to be. "You'd like it."

Jeff had terrible music taste.

Javi nodded, tucking it into his pocket.

The record player crackled, its speakers half-busted, the sound warbling slightly like the universe was exhaling after holding its breath for too long. The opening chords of 'Friday I'm in Love,' spilled into the ruined store, a sound so jarringly out of place in the apocalypse that it felt like stepping through a crack in time—back to something warm, something safe, something unbearably distant.

Misty let out a delighted gasp. "Oh my God—" she clutched Lottie's arm, practically vibrating. "It works!"

Lottie grinned, tilting her head toward the ceiling as if in silent thanks to whatever divine force was still throwing them scraps of goodness.

Natalie, arms crossed, cigarette still unlit between her fingers, snorted. "Jesus, Misty, do you ever sit down?"

Misty didn't even acknowledge her. She was already grabbing Javi's wrist, dragging him forward, eyes alight with something childish, something reckless. "Come on, it's a Cure song, and we're not gonna dance?"

Javi, half-horrified, half-amused, let himself be pulled into whatever was happening, his movements stiff and awkward as Misty started swaying dramatically, flinging her arms around with reckless abandon.

Julianna stood off to the side, arms wrapped loosely around herself, watching the whole thing with mild bewilderment.

Javi sent her a pleading look over Misty's shoulder. Help.

She just raised an eyebrow.

Shauna sighed, crossing her arms. "Do you ever stop making everything into a production?"

"Do you ever stop being a buzzkill?" Misty shot back.

And then, with no further warning, she lunged, grabbing Shauna's wrist and yanking her forward.

Shauna stumbled, eyes flashing with the kind of rage reserved for someone who's been forced into something against their will. But before she could start throwing punches, Jackie—who had, up until now, been very successfully ignoring Shauna's entire existence—stepped forward, arms loose at her sides.

"Fine," she said. "If we're doing this, we're doing it right."

Shauna, still stiff, barely moving, glared at her. "You hate me right now."

Jackie smirked. "Good thing you don't have to like someone to dance with them."

It was the apocalypse after all, any of them could end up dead tomorrow morning, and they very well knew that.

Julianna watched as, slowly, the tension in Shauna's shoulders melted, not entirely, not even halfway, but just enough that her movements stopped being a stubborn resistance and started becoming something else. A truce, maybe. A pause in the war.

And then Jackie laughed, tipping her head back, and Shauna's gaze snagged on her like she forgot what had happened between them.

Julianna exhaled sharply through her nose.

She turned, catching Natalie's eye across the room, a cigarette now tucked behind her ear, her hands shoved into the pockets of her jacket. She was watching the scene unfold with an expression that wasn't quite amused, wasn't quite serious.

"Think they'll ever just fuck and get it over with?" Natalie muttered, low enough for only Julianna to hear.

Julianna startled, half-laughing despite herself. "Jesus, Nat."

Natalie just shrugged, the ghost of a smirk tugging at her mouth.

And then, before Julianna even had time to react, Natalie reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled.

Julianna stumbled forward, nearly face-planting into her, but Natalie was already moving, already guiding her into the space Misty had cleared like this was something normal, something easy, like they hadn't been drowning in grief and blood and loss for weeks.

"Come on," Natalie urged, her voice a quiet attempt to coax the pressure from Julianna's shoulders, offering a momentary escape from the suffocating swirl of everything that clung to them both. She didn't care for the dancing, she just wanted to take Julianna's mind off of everything, even if only for a second.

Julianna grimaced slightly. "I don't dance."

"Neither do I," Natalie said, pulling her closer anyway.

The distance between them evaporated into something unbearably small.

Julianna could see everything now—too much. The way Natalie's lashes caught the dim light, the way the faintest of scars mapped out her lips from years of biting them too hard, the way her pupils dilated just slightly in the darkness.

Julianna swallowed, the motion raw and tight, like trying to force down something that refused to be contained.

She didn't smile at first—she refused to, holding onto her stubborn reluctance like a lifeline—but Natalie was persistent, making ridiculous, exaggerated movements to force her into playing along, bumping their shoulders together in a way that was impossible to ignore.

And then, almost without meaning to, Julianna felt her lips twitch. Just slightly. Just enough that if Natalie was paying attention—

She was.

Natalie met her gaze, the corners of her mouth tilting up, something unreadable flickering behind her eyes.

Julianna noticed everything in that moment. The way the dim light caught the curve of her jaw. The way her hair fell over her shoulders, strands sticking slightly from the humidity. The way she tilted her head just a little when she was amused, something quiet, something real.

Natalie, if she was noticing things about Julianna, didn't make it obvious.

But she was looking.

And then—Misty came barreling out of nowhere, dragging Javi with her, flinging herself between them in an overenthusiastic twirl that sent both Julianna and Natalie stumbling apart.

Javi, breathless, barely holding onto whatever the hell Misty was trying to do, mouthed 'Sorry' at Julianna.

Misty, oblivious, was laughing.

The whole room was, actually. Even Jackie and Shauna.

Julianna almost did too.

Julianna sat cross-legged on the cold tile floor, the guitar resting in her lap, the shape of it familiar, normal. The strings pressed grooves into the tips of her fingers, her hands moving without much thought, forming chords that she barely had to think about. Across from her, Javi sat hunched forward, his expression focused, brows drawn together in pure concentration as he mimicked her movements, fingers fumbling slightly against the frets.

"Close—" she murmured, reaching over, gently adjusting his hand. "Try again."

Javi exhaled, nodding, his lips pressing into a thin line as he tried once more.

A slow, uneven strum filled the space, the notes a little off but still recognizable. It wasn't bad—for a beginner, at least.

Julianna huffed a quiet smile. "Hey, that's almost music."

Javi shot her a mock glare. "Thanks for the faith Julianna."

She smirked, nudging his shoulder with hers. "Anytime."

Somewhere in the background, Misty was perched on a dusty old counter, legs swinging, watching the whole thing with the same enthusiasm she probably would've had if Javi had just discovered fire.

"You're so good at this, Javi!" she beamed. "You're like a little prodigy!"

Javi flushed slightly, ducking his head. "I don't think that's true."

Misty ignored him entirely. "Julianna, you're like, an amazing teacher. I mean, I always knew you were cool, but now you're like—mystical or something."

"Thanks, Misty."

Natalie was leaning against a shelf a few feet away, arms crossed, watching quietly.

Julianna didn't notice at first—not until she happened to glance up and catch the faintest trace of a smile flickering across Natalie's face, something almost soft.

Julianna quickly looked away, a faint spark flaring in her chest, too wild and foreign to acknowledge, something she feared would consume her if she dared give it a name. Her fingertips instinctively traced the contours of the necklace, the cool metal offering silent comfort and stability all at once.

Javi, oblivious, was still focused on the guitar, his expression somewhere between frustration and determination.

"You wanna try switching chords?" Julianna asked.

Javi hesitated. "...Maybe?"

She smiled faintly, giving him a teasing shove. "Alright, we won't rush it. You're getting there."

They stayed like that for a while, Julianna guiding him through the basics, Javi stubbornly trying to get every note just right. Eventually, when his fingers were sore and his patience was dwindling, he exhaled sharply and set the guitar down.

"Okay," he muttered. "That's enough humiliation for today."

Julianna nodded. "You did good. I'll have you playing actual songs in no time."

Javi tilted his head slightly, as if debating something, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, frayed bracelet. It was made of woven red and black thread, a little tattered, but intact.

"I, uh—" he hesitated for half a second before holding it out to her. "I found this a while ago. Thought maybe you'd want it."

Julianna blinked, caught entirely off guard.

Javi tugged at the loose string on his sleeve, his gaze skittering away like a hesitant shadow, unsure of the gravity of his words. "You know—for being, really nice to me...like family"

The words hit something deep in her chest, something raw, something that ached in a way she wasn't expecting.

She took the bracelet carefully, running her fingers over the worn threads, her vision blurring slightly before she could stop it.

She swallowed hard. "Javi, I—"

She stopped herself, exhaling through her nose, shaking her head like she could push the overwhelming weight of emotion back down.

Instead, she just gave him a small, genuine smile.

"Thanks," she murmured. "Really."

Javi grinned. "No problem."

Julianna tied the bracelet around her wrist, tightening the knot.

It wasn't much. Just some old, half-forgotten thing Javi had found somewhere.

But to her it meant everything.