Chapter 1
It had already been nearly two years since the apocalypse started, and somehow, they had all survived. They've seen the world almost end several times, so they shouldnt be surprised, right? But zombies? That was something they had never expected, even Robin was shocked. Sure she believed in monsters now, demons, ghosts even. But zombies, what the hell is this shit? Nancy, surprisingly, was the most prepared. The second the group caught wind of everything, she packed several go bags and ordered everyone to Steves house. Nancy quickly became the leader, she wasnt the oldest, nor biggest, but she was the leader. Everyone trusted her, she knew how to keep them safe.
All of their parents were missing - Most likely dead, but they'd never admit to it. The only parents they had confirmed dead were Robins, because she watched it happen. Poor girl, she had to fight off the zombies. She was terrified, she ran all the way to Nancys house, hyperventilating. Thats when Nancy had heard about it, right before Robin arrived, from Steve on the phone. The Wheelers siblings parents were out having dinner, and were not seen again. Steves were on vacation, Erica and Lucas' parents were out of town, Max mom had disappeared the night before. Every single one of them were home alone when they had to leave, it was devastating, but they learned to take care of each other.
The group of nine walked through the woods, searching for another place to stay. Their last had become way too unsafe, especially for the kids. Nancy and Robin lead in the front, Steve in the back. All of the kids were in the middle, other than Holly, who was on Robins back. She was completely knocked out, the poor thing had caught a cold and it was taking a massive toll on the child. They all looked after her, though, made sure it wouldnt get too bad.
"We should check the next town we find for a pharmacy, maybe we'll be able to find some cough medicine for her" Robin suggests, readjusting how she was carrying Holly, careful not to wake her up.
"Yeah, theres a town about a mile away" Nancy says, looking at the map they had stolen from a travel center awhile back. She glanced back at the rest of the group, "Is everyone doing alright? We're close, but if we need to stop we can for a few minutes"
"No, I think everyones doing okay!" Steve shouted from the back. The kids were making quiet conversation about whatever, none of them looked in pain or in distress. They were probably hungry, but there wasn't much they could do about that at the moment. Once they got to another city or town, they'd split into groups of two and go searching for food and supplies. Steve and Nancy always led the two groups, and Robin would alternate between who she went with depending on the situation.
After about twenty to thirty minutes they found the town, it was small like Hawkins, and seemed to be empty. Nancy noticed right away that there was a zombie roaming around in the empty road, she figured she would get it when they got closer. She did, swiftly with a knife to the head. Robin always flinched when zombies had to be killed, Robin was strong, she was. But she hated killing and hated seeing things be killed, she knew why, and she hated those god awful zombies, but it still bothered her. Holly stirred in her sleep, moving a little. Robin put her hand on the young girls head and stroked her hair for a moment until she knew the girl was still asleep.
"Alright, guys. Groups, you guys know who you're with. Robin, come with me today. Be done in twenty" Nancy sounds like shes being strict, but its really to keep them all safe, and they all know it. Robin nods "Yes ma'am" She gives a small smile and follows Nancy. Their half of the group consisted of Nancy, Max, Holly, and Mike. Mike hated being the only guy in their group, so on occasion they'd swap out with someone. They all headed towards a grocery store that had a pharmacy.
Nancy and Robin went in first, telling the kids to stay put and on high alert until they cleared the place. They finished quickly, there was only one zombie, Nancy got it because she knew Robin preferred not to. They opened the door and let the kids in.
"Alright, batteries, food, water, medical supplies, anything that could be useful. What do we do if we're not sure if it'll be useful or not?" Nancy stood in front of all of them, hands on her hips, one right over her knife. She always had a hand close to her knife. "We ask you if it'll be useful" Max answers for the group, unamused. Max liked being with the other girls, however she didn't like being with Mike as much. She did care for him, but she'd never admit it.
They began searching, Robin found a first aide kit, she opened it on the counter to see what was in there. Three rolls of gauze, a box of varied size bandaids, some neosporin, a few gauze pads, an ace bandage, some safety pins, and tweezers. It was good enough, they probably would need more than this, but it would work in an emergency. She closed it back up and tossed it to Max, who was carrying around their empty bag. She searched around a little more and found a simple beaded bracelet, it was rainbow colored beads with unicorn charms. Robin smiled and stuffed it in her pocket to give to Holly later. Robin loved finding little gifts for everyone.
Nancy was always good at finding what they needed, so far she had found two cans of corn, a box of cereal - somehow still unopened, three jars of peanut butter, and a pack of twizzlers. She put them all in the bag before going back to looking, she found a shirt in Mikes size and threw it at him. "Change into that, your shirt is filthy. You smell" She says. Mike looks at her with a frustrated look.
"You smell, you wear it" He says, threatening to toss the shirt back. Nancy smiles "Uh-huh, i changed yesterday. Robin got me a shirt, so thanks but no thanks. Put it on, shithead". Mike rolls his eyes but compiles and changes into the shirt. Nancy walks over to him and straightens his shirt out, then combs out his hair with her fingers. "We gotta find somewhere to get ourselves cleaned up more, and maybe some scissors, your hair is getting too long" She says, messing with Mikes hair.
"Thanks, mom" Mike swats her hand away with a stupid grin. He hated his sister sometimes, but he was glad she was around to look after him. Nancy opened her mouth to say something smart-assed back, but she was cut off by Robin shouting. It was a distressed shout, she was scared. Nancy looked around, Robin was nowhere to be seen.
"Robin?!?" She called out, she noticed that the door that led behind the counter was open. She headed that way immediately, worried about her friend. "Robin?!" Nancy called out once more. Robin was in the corner of the room, holding her knife, it had red-black zombie gunk on it. She looked terrified, Holly was held on her hip with her other arm, still half asleep. Robin was panting, shock in her eyes.
"T-Take her, Nance- please" She handed Holly over. Nancy passed Holly off to Mike, who was standing in the doorway. "Take her, go see if you can get her to take some of that cough medicine. And get her to blow her nose, shes all stuffy again. Dont argue with her just give her a tissue" Nancy sent Mike out and went over to Robin. There was a corpse on the floor, it had been dead long ago, just never officially put to rest. Nancy stepped over it and took Robins hands in her own, removing the knife and sticking it back into Robins belt.
"You're safe, Hollys safe. The monsters gone, its okay Robin" Nancy told Robin in a gentle voice, one she only really used with Robin. "It wasn't a person, and you did what you had to." She tucked Robins hair behind her ear. Robins eyes were filled with tears, she couldnt find any words. The dead was one of her biggest fears, especially since her parents. Every time she had to kill one, she was back at home, fighting off her own parents, screaming and telling them shes their daughter. Robin finally let out a small sob, then an apology. "Sorry, I'm sorry. I just, it caught me so off guard and it- she looked just like my mom"
"Its okay, its alright. Were ready to leave now, alright? We're gonna go now, its all gone Ro" Nancy comforted the taller girl. Robin nodded and they left the room, Nancy did a quick head count and they left the shop. Steve and his group came back with a decent amount of supplies, and a few books. While Nancy was checking everything, Robin kneeled down to Hollys height. The six year old was awake now, but still groggy.
"Hey i'm sorry if i scared you earlier, kiddo" Robin apologized. "its okay" Holly smiled sleepily, she probably didn't remember what happened. Robin took the cute rainbow bracelet out of her pocket and held it out to the girl. Holly smiled wider and took the bracelet happily.
They continued on their journey again, they walked for about twenty minutes before they found an old yellow house. Steve pointed it out, the door was still locked and it looked stable enough for them. They broke the lock and Nancy promised to make a contraption to keep it locked later. They had Robin stay outside with the kids while Steve and Nancy searched the house.
The house looked lived in, but there was no one there, and it was clear they hadn't been for a long time. Steve searched downstairs, while Nancy searched upstairs. There were three bedrooms, one had bunk beds, one had a queen sized bed, and another had two twin sized beds, and it looked like the one might have a pull out mattress under it. It would work, they'd have to share or make makeshift beds, but it would have to work. After about fifteen minutes, they returned outside to Robin and the kids.
"Its safe, theres three bedrooms, and a bathroom, Steve thinks he can figure out a way to get it working. Come on in and we'll discuss rooms" Nancy said, guiding everyone in and having them sit on the couch.
"Alright so, us three will share a room, then one room will be boys, other girls. Got it?" Steve said, referring to himself, Robin and Nancy. Everyone agreed, and shortly after all of the kids were excited, they found games on a shelf. It had been awhile since they had entertainment like that, Steve immediately joined the kids, also excited. Robin stood next to Nancy, both girls smiling.
"They're such dinguses," Robin says, shaking her head. Nancy snickered "They're our dinguses". Robin smiled wider, it was true. This group of dorks was their family, all they had was each other.
"Oh! Wanna see our room?" Nancy asked, Robin agreed and they headed upstairs. The room they had chosen wasnt big, but it wasnt too small. It had a closet, and a dresser, neither had really been looked through yet. Nancy checked the closet, but that was it. The bed was nice, it was made, almost as if whoever lived here before left it for someone else. Who actually makes their bed? Apparently these people, or maybe it really was for others.
Robin sat down on the bed. "This is nice" She felt the blanket underneath her with her hands. "It is, can i re-braid your hair?" Nancy asked, looking at Robins bird nest of hair. It was in two french braids about a few weeks ago, but it hadnt been touched since. Her hair was still quite short, but there was enough to braid decently. Robin touched her hair, and pulled out the hair tie she had in. She held it out to Nancy and began undoing her messy braids. She shook her hair out and sighed.
"I cant wait until i can wash it" She picked a few leafs out of her hair. Nancy sat behind Robin and began combing it with her fingers. "Soon, Rob. Soon, we'll figure it out." She began to braid the other girls hair, tightly, but not enough to hurt her. Once she finished, she smoothed out the top with her hand and let a few of the loose hairs fall in front of Robins face. It looked cute like that, the hairs were just a tiny bit too short to stay in the braids.
"Thank you, Nance" Robin thanked her
"It looks good, we could start doing this to Mikes hair" Nancy said with a small giggle, both girls laughed for a moment, then looked at each other with a small smile. The moment was sweet, but short lived, as all of the kids came running up the stairs to explore their new rooms.