Run And Hide

Outside, Tony and Pepper ran towards the building, terrified of where their kids were. 

Both of them continued to look out for them as they ran, thinking they didn’t make it but they didn’t see them which was good. Tony ran towards the front of the building which was crowded with people screaming and running crazy in front of it. He didn’t even know if his kids came to the building. 

“Wait! Look!” Pepper spotted something black and yellow down the alleyway so they ran down it, thankful no one was down there due to the small entrance through the fence to climb through. She ran towards Peter’s bumble bee and picked it up. “It’s Peter’s. They came down here.” 

Tony took it from Pepper and looked around. He didn’t see them so he ran towards the door and was surprised to find it open. “They probably went in here. We have to try.” 

The two parents walked inside and cautiously started walking up the stairs. Tony didn’t want to call for them, scared of risking themselves or their children into trouble. They climbed a few flights of stairs and bumped into a dead zombie on the ground, both of them jumping when they saw it. 

“Someone shot it.” Tony observed and looked around. He stepped over it, continuing to climb the other stairs. 

“Harley has the gun.” Pepper said, hoping it was their kids and that they were okay. 

The two of them climbed a few more flights of stairs and then bumped into Morgan standing in the corner with Peter sitting behind her and holding a gun up, aiming it at them. 

The sight terrified both parents. Their daughter was eight but would do anything to protect her little brother. Tony held his hands up since she still wasn’t putting the gun down, too terrified. “Mo, it’s daddy. It’s mommy and daddy, Morgan. Put the gun down.” 

“Are you guys zombies?” She asked, the gun shaking in her hands. 

“No. We promise you we aren’t.” Tony and Pepper both slowly walked towards them. 

Morgan lowered the gun and sobbed so Tony ran towards her and picked her up, taking the gun from her and kissing her head. “You’re so brave. I’m so glad you’re okay.” 

She whimpered. “And I kept Peter safe, daddy.” 

“I know you did. I’m so proud of you.” Tony placed her on her feet and lifted Peter up, kissing his face. “You’re so brave too, baby. Look,” He held up Peter’s bumble  bee for him. “Mommy found it.” 

Peter snatched it from Tony’s hands. “You found him! I dropped it and Harley didn’t wanna go back.” 

Pepper kneeled down in front of Morgan. “Where’s Harley? Why isn’t he with you?” 

Tony was wondering the same thing. He knew Harley would never leave his siblings unless something happened to him and Tony was beyond terrified of Harley getting bit. 

“He just, the zombie jumped on him so I handed him the gun and he shot it.” Explained Morgan. “Then he gave me the gun and told us to run away. I don’t know where he went.” 

Both Tony and Pepper felt a bit of relief, knowing Harley wasn’t eaten or turned into a zombie but that still doesn’t explain where he went or why. “Okay. Let’s go. He has to be here somewhere.” Tony held Peter on his hip and walked ahead of Pepper and Morgan, holding the gun in one hand. 

They walked down the flights of stairs, going towards the dead zombie. “Pepper, you take Peter, I’m gonna open the door and check first.” Tony placed their youngest on his feet and opened the door, aiming his gun up. 

He didn’t want to be holding Peter if he was attacked by a zombie like Harley was. Tony looked around but he didn’t see anyone. Alive or zombie. He peeked his head out and still didn’t see anyone so he turned back to grab Peter’s hand. “Come here. Quietly.” 

The four of them walked into the apartment hallway and started walking but the door slammed shut behind them, echoing throughout the entire floor. Tony cringed. “Shit.” 

“Daddy said a naughty word.” Peter whimpered, hitting him lightly. 

“Sorry, baby.” Tony looked down and when Peter saw that he was looking at him, he lifted his arms up to be held so Tony picked him up and walked some more. 

Down the hallway, at the very end of it, Tony spotted someone sitting against the wall so he stopped. “Is that Harley?” He asked Pepper, barely above a whisper. 

“I don’t know.” She tried to look but they weren’t close enough so she started walking towards him. “Harley? Is that you?” 

Tony walked ahead, making sure it was Harley and once he saw it was, he rushed over to him and kneeled down in front of him. “Hey. Harley? What happened? Are you okay?” 

Harley wiped at his face and looked up at his dad. Tony understood that Harley just shot someone in the face and even though that person was a zombie, it was still once a person and probably only minutes before. 

He looked past Tony to see that Morgan and Peter were okay. “I um… I got it’s blood in my mouth so… I thought I was gonna turn… and I didn’t wanna hurt them.” 

Tony wiped a drop of blood off Harley’s temple. “You’re not gonna turn. You’re okay. You did the right thing.” He looked his body over for anything else. He didn’t know how these things worked. “Did you get bit?” 

“Uh, no. I-I checked.” Harley rubbed a hand over his face and stood up. “Are they okay? I didn’t know what else to do.” 

“They’re fine. You did good.” Tony rubbed his hand along Harley’s back, feeling a lot better now that their family was okay and all back together. 

“Let’s find an apartment and see if we can get inside. There has to be an unlocked door somewhere where no ones coming back.” That was a scary guess they had to make and just hope that there weren’t any zombies behind the door or someone holding a gun at their heads for breaking in. 

They started walking down the hallway and knocking on a few doors before trying to open it but every single door was locked. Tony picked Peter up, holding him close because he was getting a bad feeling about this. 

“Tony, this door is open.” Pepper called him over, pushing the door further open. Tony placed Peter on his feet and aimed the gun, kicking the door open when it kept closing automatically. “Wait. Do you hear that?” 

“What?” Tony turned to look at Pepper since he didn’t hear anything but then he heard something moving in the apartment so he turned just as three zombies were running at them. “Run! Go!” 

Tony yelled, grabbing Peter by the arm and pulling him along. “Take Peter!” Tony yelled to Harley so the seventeen year old picked up his little brother and ran ahead of his dad. 

Tony pulled the gun out and tried to shoot it but it was hard when he was running and couldn’t look back. He shot one of them in the stomach but they kept going so he aimed for their head and killed it. 

“The hallways ending!” Pepper yelled, already looking for somewhere to run to. 

Tony looked ahead and saw elevator doors that they simply couldn’t wait for. “I’m trying!” He shot the gun three more times and managed to kill both of them. “Ah, fuck.” He stopped running now, trying to calm his racing heart. “We gotta get somewhere safe.” 

Pepper took Peter who was crying from Harley’s arms to try and calm him down. “You’re okay, baby. Look, they’re gone now.” 

Peter had to look around to see if anyone one was before tucking his head in Peppers neck. “I’m scared. I wanna go home.” 

“I wanna go home too.” Morgan whimpered, reaching up to grab onto Peter’s hand. 

“We can’t go home now. We have to find somewhere safe to stay tonight so tomorrow we can-” 

“Hey!” 

Tony snapped his head back and looked behind him. A woman was standing at one of the apartment doors and ushered them in. “Come in. You’re welcome here.” 

Tony hesitated. He wasn’t going to trust her. “Who’s inside?” He asked, hiding Morgan behind himself. 

“My husband and son. Come in. We have food and water.” She said, waving them in. 

Tony walked towards her and saw a boy standing behind her and looking up at Tony with wide eyes. He then turned to his family. “Okay, let’s go. Come.” He took Peter from Pepper and held him close as he ushered his family inside the small apartment. 

He didn’t know who these people were or if he could trust them but it was better than staying outside with those… zombies so he was willing to take the chance. 

“Thank you. It’s crazy out there. Have you guys been out?” Tony asked, holding his hand out to shake with the man and the woman and looking around. All the windows were covered over and he watched the husband lock the door behind them with a baseball bat to hold it closed. 

“Of course. You guys have young kids.” The woman pointed out, hugging Pepper. “We haven’t been out. My husband was leaving for work and came back up then we’ve been watching it all happen from the window. I’m Lucy by the way, this is Paul my husband and Charlie our son who’s nine.” 

“I’m Tony, this is my wife Pepper and our three kids, Harley, he’s seventeen, Morgan is eight and Peter, our youngest just turned six.” Tony introduced themselves and felt Peter wiggling out of his arms so he placed him on his feet and watched Peter shyly make his way over to the lego set on the floor. “Peter, ask if you can touch it first.” 

Peter hesitantly looked up at Charlie. “Can I play?” 

The little boy dropped onto his knees next to Peter. “Yeah! I’ve been working on building a runway. Wanna help?” 

“Uh huh.” Peter nodded and got to work. 

Tony still felt like he couldn’t relax. How could he? They were in the middle of a freaking zombie apocalypse. 

Pepper went off to talk with Lucy so Tony stayed with Peter, keeping his eye on him and Morgan. Harley stayed with him too so Tony made sure to keep them close, not knowing what was going to happen within the next few days or even within the next hour. 

After what seemed like hours, Pepper walked towards them with towels, soaps and some clothing. “They said we can stay here for as long as we need. They have a spare bedroom down the hall. Let’s go get washed up.” 

Tony grabbed Peter’s and Morgan’s hand and followed Pepper into the bedroom down the hallway. It was small with two twin sized beds but they weren’t complaining one bit. It was a safe shelter for them for the night and possibly for the next little bit. 

Tony shut the door and looked at the supplies they gave Pepper. As he was looking through it, Pepper walked up behind him. “Lucy’s going to get started on dinner while we wash up. They’re a nice family.” 

“Yeah. I don’t know what to do though. We can’t stay here forever.” Tony ran his dirty hand down his face. 

“I know. But where will we go?” 

“Mommy? Daddy? I’m hungry.” Peter laid his head on his dad’s thigh, already ready for bed. 

Tony lifted him up. “How about we wash you up nice and clean then we’ll eat and go to bed?” He poked Peter in the tummy, getting a ton of giggles out of him. 

He grabbed the body wash they were given and walked into the tiny bathroom. They had a shower only and Tony knew Peter only had baths every night but they didn’t have that option. So he placed Peter on his feet and started stripping him of his clothes. “You’re gonna have a shower tonight. Like a big boy.” 

Peter frowned. “I don’t want a shower. I want to take a bath.” 

Tony tossed the dirty clothes into the corner and turned the shower on. “We’ll be so quick. We have to wash all that dirt off.” He lifted Peter into the shower and tried to be less than five minutes, quickly spraying him down then scrubbing the body wash into his hair and all over his body. 

“Ow. You’re too hard, daddy.” Peter whined, trying to push Tony’s hands away from himself. 

“Sorry, baby. We gotta be quick.” Tony and Pepper were working on Peter cleaning himself while they only assisted for hair washing and making sure he didn’t drown in the bath but Tony couldn’t let him do it by himself this time. 

Pepper walked into the bathroom just as Tony was rinsing him down. “Almost done? Morgan’s going in right after. I told her to be really quick.” 

Tony lifted Peter out of the shower just as Morgan jumped in and Pepper helped her do her hair as quickly as possible. 

“I’m cold, daddy. I wanna go home.” Peter whimpered, letting Tony wrap him in a towel and carry him out of the bathroom. “I want bumble bee.” 

Harley handed it to Peter. “Here. Are we staying here all night, dad? What if they like, cut us up and take our organs or something?” 

Tony gave his oldest son a dirty look. “Don’t say that. And it’s not going to happen. We’re staying for tonight. We’ll see about tomorrow.” He dried Peter off and looked in the pile for something potentially clean for Peter to wear. “This is all too big for him.” Tony spoke mainly to himself. He wasn’t ungrateful but he didn’t want to put Peter back into his old clothes and he wasn’t going to let his son run around naked in front of a bunch of strangers. 

Peter climbed up on the bed and started jumping on it. “Watch me, daddy! Look how high I can fly!” 

“Wow. I can see, baby.” Tony sighed. He didn’t know what to dress Peter in so he left that to Pepper to come up with something. “Stop jumping now. Let’s get ready for dinner.” 

Morgan walked out, dressed in Charlie’s pyjamas and not looking happy about it. “I look like a boy.” 

Tony chuckled. “It fits you nicely. At least you’re not Peter, he has no clothes.” He looked over at Harley. “Shower quickly, Harls. No more than five minutes.” 

Pepper came out of the bathroom to let Harley shower and laughed at Peter. “What happened? Where’s your clothes?” 

“I don’t know.” Peter shrugged. “I don’t have any, mommy.” 

She laughed and looked through the pile of clothes they got. “You’re gonna have to wear this, then we’ll sort something out tomorrow.” Pepper helped Peter get into an extra big shirt that went down to his ankles. “Perfect.” 

“It looks like a dress.” Peter observed, giggling at it. 

After Harley was showered, Pepper went next and then Tony did, having taken the quickest shower of his life both because it was cold but also because he felt vulnerable leaving his family out of his sight. 

Dinner was quick. It was vegetable soup with bread and chicken nuggets for the kids as well. Peter sat in Tony’s lap throughout dinner and after they all gathered around the living room and quietly talked. Peter had fallen asleep in Tony’s arms almost as soon as dinner ended so he held him for an hour while they all chatted. 

“I’m gonna take Morgan to bed. I’ll take Peter.” Pepper said, standing up and leaning over Tony to take Peter from his arms. “Harleys coming with us but he’s not going to sleep.” 

“Okay. I’ll be there soon. Sleep good, guys.” He pressed a kiss to all their heads and watched them walk into the bedroom then went back to his conversation with Paul. “How long do we stay here before we make a plan to leave? I mean,” Tony looked around to make sure no one else was around. “this isn’t going to be under control in the next few days or even weeks. We gotta think long term.” 

Paul nodded, showing he agreed with Tony. “We don’t have anywhere to go. We’ve got no family anywhere or any cottages. I heard it’s actually worse up north anyways since everyone all had the same idea to go up there.” 

Tony ran his hands through his hair, completely stressed out and confused with what to do. He then got an idea that suddenly came to mind but he didn’t know if it would be worth it. “My wife’s parents own an island. It’s in the South Pacific and it’s small, but the only way to get there is through approval so no one can enter automatically. It might be safe there.” 

Paul looked at Tony as if he had two heads. “Your family owns an island? Do you really think it’s safe there?” 

There was no way for Tony to know. All their phones died or they lost them along the way. “I don’t know. Can I borrow your phone? Do you have a phone I can use to try and get in contact with them?” 

Paul stood up and tossed over magazines and toys to dig for it, checking the battery then handing it to Tony. “Yes, of course.” 

“Thank you. I’m gonna talk to my wife about it quickly. One second.” Tony took the phone and walked into the bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind him. He saw that all three kids were asleep, Harley on one bed and his other two kids on the other bed with Pepper. Tony sat down and whispered, “Your parents have that island. I know the population is small but do you think it’s there?” 

Peppers eyes widened as if she had just thought about it. They were too busy running for their lives to think about it before. “I don’t know. If it’s not, we can go there. Tony, oh my god.” 

Tony smiled and held up the phone. “Let’s call and find out.” 

He took her hand and led her out of the bedroom so they didn’t wake the kids up. He shut the door behind them and sat on the couch, before dialling the number. 

It didn’t answer the first time and Tony immediately got a bad feeling about that. He looked at Pepper, having a silent conversation with her with their eyes. He was going to give up but he dialled the number again, this time, someone answered. 

“Hello?” 

“Dad?” Pepper took the phone from Tony’s hands. “Are you okay? How’s mom?” 

“Oh, Virginia. We were worried sick about you.” Pepper’s dad responded, there was a lot of shuffling on the other end. “How are the kids? Are they okay? How’s Tony?” 

Pepper wiped at her tears and smiled, nodding her head at the question to get the words out. “They’re fine. We’re all fine, dad. But it’s not safe here, we barely made it out alive. How is it over there? Are people dying over there too?” 

“No. Your mother and I turned the news on this morning and saw that it spread to America. We tried to call you but we couldn’t get in contact, Alice, come here! Virginia is on the phone! She says they’re all okay! The kids and Tony!” Bobby yelled into the phone but clearly not at them. 

There were screams from the other end then the phone was being transferred over so Pepper talked to her mom, reassuring her that they were all okay but she had to be quick. “Mom, are you sure it’s safe? Tony and I need to bring the kids there but only if it’s safe. Are you sure?” 

“Virginia, we promise you. We’d never do anything to hurt you guys or put you in danger. No one has gone off the island or come on it in months.” Bobby reassured her. 

Tony took the phone from Pepper. “Bobby, we need a plane. We have no way of getting there. If we can get to the airport, can you send a plane out to get us?” 

It was silent on the other end for a few moments. “Of course! Yes! Yes, how long would you say it’ll take you guys to get to the airport?” 

Tony looked between Pepper and Paul. The airport was about a four hour drive from where they were, unless they went to one closer in which case it was only a forty minute drive but that could easily turn into days with how it was out there.” 

“I don’t know.” He didn’t want the plane to come too soon and potentially something happened but they also didn’t want to be waiting around for the plane. They had to plan it so they got there at the same time. “We can get there first thing in the morning in six hours. That gives the plane enough time to get here.” 

Tony shared the details of the airport location and then hung up the phone, hoping to see them soon. He pulled Pepper in for a hug, so unbelievably happy that they had a plan. “Oh god.” He hugged Pepper tighter and looked over at Paul. “You, Lucy and Charlie should come too. It’s not safe here.” 

Paul looked hesitant. “It’s going to be a risk getting there. We don’t have a car and in case you haven’t noticed, it’s an apocalypse out there.” He gestured towards the window. 

Tony wasn’t going to force them to go. He nodded. “I understand. But I’m leaving with my family first thing in the morning. You guys are more than welcome to come with us.” 

“I know my wife wanted to stay here. But thank you anyways. I wish you guys the best of luck.” Paul held out his hand to shake with Tony’s. 

“Thank you for taking us in. If you change your mind, we’re gonna leave at eight in the morning.” Tony looked to Pepper for her confirmation. Were they actually going to do this? It was a massive risk they had to take. 

That kept Tony up almost all night. He laid in bed and could make out Peter’s sleeping face from the moonlight peeking through the window blinds. 

He wished he could keep him safe forever and he was going to do everything in his power to keep his family safe but there was no way of knowing for sure. Their best chance at survival might be to stay at that apartment but then what? 

What do they do a week from now or a month? There was no way of telling when this would be over and their best bet was the island. 

Tony hoped it worked. He hoped they could get there alive and safely. 

.

.

.

A loud band was heard which was what woke Tony up. 

He sat up in bed, squinting at the sunrise shining into the room. He heard muffled voices coming from outside the door so he rubbed at his eyes and looked around the room, spotting all of his family still asleep. 

Another loud bang went off. It sounded like someone was banging on the door, trying to get inside. Pepper sat up in bed and immediately checked to see if everyone was there. She then looked over at Tony. 

“What is that?” 

There was a scream and another bang so Tony got out of bed and opened the bedroom door, peeking out. He saw Paul holding a gun up, aimed at the door. “What’s going on?” 

Paul’s hand shook as he held the gun up. “My wife and son went down the hallway to check for more survivors. They were bit.” 

Tony blinked, trying to process what he just said. “What? Where are they?” 

“I had to shoot them.” Paul said, not even looking like he was fully present in the situation. 

Tony looked down and noticed for the first time that Paul’s shirt was covered in blood. Tony slammed the bedroom door and turned around to look at Pepper, panicked. “We gotta go. We gotta go. Get the kids up.” 

“Tony, what? What’s going on?” 

Tony looked into her eyes, completely terrified. “They’re dead. They’re both dead. We have to go.” He walked over to Harley’s bed and shook him awake. “Wake up. Get up, we’re leaving now.” 

He then shook Morgan and Peter awake. “Get up. Hurry.” 

Peter sat up and rubbed at his eyes. “Daddy? Wha’?” 

Tony picked Peter up and pulled his jumbo shirt off, rushing into the bathroom to grab his clothes from yesterday and started getting him dressed but there was another bang. He picked him up and handed him to Pepper. “Get him dressed. Hurry. Morgan, get dressed.” 

“Dad? What’s going on? I thought we were safe here?” Harley asked, panicked. He grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom to quickly change. 

“Shh. I think-” 

Just as Tony was about to speak, a gunshot went off, causing both Peter and Morgan to scream. He quickly told them to be quiet, hoping no one heard that. It was silent outside the room for a few seconds but Tony didn’t want to waste anymore time. 

Pepper was rushing, trying to get Peter dressed while Morgan got dressed as quickly as she could in the limited time that they had. 

Once they were ready to go, Tony grabbed his gun off the nightstand table and held it in his hand. “I’ll go out first. You carry Peter, and Harley, hold Morgan’s hand. Be quiet and do as I say.” 

Peter held onto his bumble bee teddy bear as tightly as he could. He was lifted into his mom's arms and watched his dad open the bedroom door. 

Tony looked around the apartment. “Paul. Who’s out there?” There was the occasional bang on the front door but not nearly as loud as it was before. 

Paul was sitting on the couch, looking dead inside already. “It’s the fucking end of the world, man. You go out there, you’ll die. Not that it matters anymore.” 

“We’re leaving. You should come with us.” Tony walked towards the man but he already looked like death. There was another loud bang on the door so Tony walked towards it. It was their only way out. 

“Wait,” Paul picked up his gun and stood up. “I’ll go first. I’ll give you guys a head start and then you run.” 

Tony didn’t know what he was going to do but before he could even say anything to stop him, Paul opened up the front door and started shooting. 

Tony grabbed Peter from Pepper so they could take that chance to run. “Go go go!” 

They all ran down the long hallway, hoping not to bump into anyone else, zombies or people for that matter. “We have to get to the stairs!” Tony yelled, looking back and saw three zombies running towards them. “Run!” 

Harley held the door open in the stairwell and quickly slammed it shut after. They took a few seconds to catch their breath but Peter looked down the stairs and screamed. “Monsters!” 

They all turned and saw zombies running up the stairs. It was as if everything happened in slow motion, Tony looked up and had no idea where it led to but it was the only way to go so he grabbed Morgan’s arm to make her run faster. “Go up the stairs! We gotta go up!” 

He let go of her so she could get up by herself. He pulled his gun out of his pants and shot behind him, not even knowing how many zombies there were but already way too much. 

“Tony, I see the roof’s exit!” Pepper yelled to him. Tony hoped to god it was not locked. 

“Daddy!” Peter cried out, clinging onto Tony as tightly as he could. 

Pepper opened the roof door and ran out, Tony didn’t have time to be relieved since they were only a few steps ahead of the zombies. He was sure they would have caught them by now but the zombies were climbing on each other, taking some down on their way. 

He ran out onto the roof and put Peter down to run after Pepper. The door wasn’t closing so he looked back, seeing his family running so he made the quick decision to sacrifice his gun to hold the door close. 

Tony shoved it between the handle so it couldn’t open and ran towards his family. 

“Dad, where do we go?! There’s nowhere!” Harley pointed out, desperately looking around for anywhere but they were stranded. 

Tony ran towards the edge of the building and saw another building just next to it, a few feet lower. He ran his hand through his hair, having to work fast since the gun wasn’t going to hold the door for very long. “Okay. Okay. We gotta jump.” 

“What? No no. We can’t jump.” Pepper desperately tried to tell him but it was the only way. 

“Yes. That door isn’t going to hold. It’s our only way.” Tony grabbed Pepper's hand and showed her. “You’re gonna jump first. You’re gonna get a running start then jump, then Harley will follow and I’ll throw over Peter then Morgan then I’ll jump.” 

Pepper debated it but immediately shot the idea down. “No. No. I can’t.” 

“Pepper. We’re gonna die. The kids are gonna die. This is our only way out. We gotta jump.” Tony spoke firmly, more scared than he’s ever been in his entire life. 

“Oh god. Okay. Okay.” Pepper climbed up on the metal beam and prepared herself. Both Peter and Morgan tried to run at her to stop her. 

“No! Mommy! Don’t jump! Don’t! No!” Peter screamed out, trying to reach up for her but Tony grabbed them. 

“No. Stop! Jump, Pepper!” 

Pepper started running. She got to the end and jumped off, free falling a few feet before landing hard on the next roof over, scraping her hands and knees badly. “Ow. I’m good. I’m okay.” 

Tony held his breath as she jumped, not knowing if she was even going to make it over. He looked to Harley next. “Okay. You’re next. You’re gonna get a running start and jump as far as you can. Don’t worry about over jumping. Just don’t under jump it.” 

Harley reluctantly climbed up on the metal beam and siked himself up, getting a running start and then jumping. 

Tony felt his heart leap out of his chest. He watched Harley land hard on the other roof but at least he was over. “Are you okay?! Are you okay?!” 

“Yeah. Yeah! I’m fine!” Harley called back, standing up to wipe his pants off. 

Tony nodded and looked towards the door. He knew it wasn’t going to hold for much longer. Two minutes tops. He jumped down and grabbed Peter. “Okay! I’m sending over Peter first!” 

Peter cried, trying to get out of his arms. “No! No! I’m scared, daddy! I don’t wanna! Nooo!” 

Tony placed him on his feet. “Okay. Okay. I won’t do it. But bumble bees going over.” Tony grabbed the teddy bear from Peter’s arms and tossed him to the other side of the roof, having no time to feel bad. 

Peter reached out for him, screaming. 

“Do you want him?” Tony asked, waiting for Peter to nod before he picked him up and threw him over like a football. Tony watched it happen. Peter fell down in slow motion it felt like. 

Tony felt sick at having to do that. 

Pepper caught Peter, falling on her back in the process but at least Peter was okay. Tony ran a hand through his disgusting hair. “Is he okay?!” 

“He’s fine, dad!” Harley called over and Tony watched Peter immediately picking up his bumble bee and hugging it against his chest tightly. 

Next was Morgan. 

Tony jumped down and tried to grab her but she tried running away. “No! Daddy! No!” 

“Morgan, yes. Because we gotta get over there.” Tony picked her up and climbed onto the metal beam. She was much bigger and heavier than Peter but he knew he could get her across. 

He held her the same way he held Peter and then threw her over, watching Pepper catch her and fall onto her back but at least she was over. Tony didn’t have any more time. He turned around and saw the door open so he got a running start and jumped over, landing hard once he was over. 

“Daddy!” Peter cried out, tears streaming down his face and making marks in the dirt stains. 

Tony turned and saw the zombies throwing themselves off the roof trying to get to them but they all fell off the building, not getting over. 

“Okay. We gotta keep moving.” Tony grabbed onto Peter’s hand and ran towards the building's door on the next building but it was locked. “Fuck! Okay, ummm…” 

Harley walked to the edge and looked over. “Dad. Look at it down there.” 

Tony walked towards Harley and looked over as well. “Woah.” There were zombies walking around the streets, some were standing still and others heard a noise and made a run towards it. 

“I wanna see.” Peter bounced on his toes, tugging on Tony’s arm. “Lift me up, daddy.” 

He pulled Harley away from the side. “No, Peter. It’s too dangerous. Come, let’s just talk for a second.” He walked over to Pepper and Morgan and began, “Your grandparents have that island, do you remember? Well, your mom and I called them last night and the virus isn’t over there. No one has come in or gone out so it’s safe. We made arrangements for a plane to pick us up in a few hours but we have to get to the airport first. It’s about forty minutes that way,” Tony pointed down the street. “we just have to figure out how to get there.” 

Harley tried to think of something. “Well… what if we find a car. We can steal it and drive there?” 

“How will we even find a car?” Pepper put out there. “Don’t you see how dangerous it is down there. We need to figure something else out.” 

“We can’t exactly fly to the airport.” Tony didn’t mean to be mean but he was scared. He had his family he needed to keep safe. “I think… I think Harley’s right. If we find a car, that can at least get us as close as possible.” 

“Okay. We find a car. Then what? How do we get inside if it’s locked? How do we start it? What if it’s out of gas?” 

Peter tapped on Tony’s leg. “In the parking in the ground, dada. It’s there.” 

Tony didn’t know how he didn’t think about that. He ruffled Peter’s hair. “Good job, baby. Okay, we go down there. Find a car.” 

He tried to open the door but it was locked and he knew he couldn’t kick it in since it opened from the inside and it was steel. He grabbed a stone and broke the door handle, looking inside before leading his family in. 

They quietly walked down the stairs, going down a few flights and not bumping into anyone. Alive or dead. 

He walked up to a map and tried to find the parking garage from where they were. “If we go all the way down, we’ll be there.” He looked through a door and down the hallway, he spotted four zombies just standing there. 

“We don’t have to go through there, do we?” Asked Pepper, seeing the same thing he did. 

“No.” Tony whispered back and reached down to pick Peter up, wanting him close in case they had to run for their lives again. “Let’s move quietly.” 

The family of five made their way into the parking garage but Tony stopped them to try and listen. Even the smallest of sounds could echo throughout the whole space which was a good and bad thing. 

It was good so they could easily tell if someone was in there but it was bad because someone could easily tell if they were in there. 

There were a lot of cars still left behind. Tony tried to think of all the families still in the building and how they might be stealing their car but it was every man for themselves. He was going to do whatever it takes to get his family out of there and somewhere safe. 

He also thought of all the people that didn't make it and left their cars behind. 

“Be quiet. Try and look for a truck or a van. Don’t open any doors in case of an alarm.” Tony whispered. “We’ll have to check if a car has a tiny red light flashing inside before we try and get in, if it doesn’t have it, it doesn’t have an alarm.” 

He looked around, spotting mostly cars but then Morgan was pointing across the parking lot. “Look, daddy.” She whimpered. “It’s a van. Can we use it?” 

Tony looked in that direction. “Perfect. Let’s go see if it has an alarm.” They jogged towards the car and Tony peeked in, seeing no alarm. He looked in the back seat and in the trunk before opening the drivers door but it was locked. Of course. 

“Let me try. I know how to get in.” Said Pepper. She used to break into her fathers car all the time when he was younger so she pulled a Bobby pin out of her hair and picked the lock easily, opening up the front door and unlocking the other doors. “Can you get it started, Tony?” 

“Obviously. And I thought you knew me.” Tony teased, trying to make light of the situation a bit. 

Tony got to work on that while Pepper got the kids into the backseat. 

“Who’s car is this, mommy?” Asked Peter. “Are we stealing it? Is the police going to arrest us?” 

“We need it to get to the airport so it’s okay. We’re not going to get in trouble.” Pepper reassured him then shut the door behind them and locked it. 

Tony got the car started. He jumped into the driver's seat and shut the door, locking it and locking all the other doors in the car. “We got a bit less than a half tank.” 

“We can make it. We can.” Pepper tried to be optimistic about the situation. She had to for her kids. 

Harley climbed over to sit in the front seat while Pepper sat with Peter on her lap and Morgan in the seat next to her. “I don’t know exactly how to get there. But we have to get to the highway first and turn off at exit five then we’re there.” 

Tony put the car in reverse and backed out, driving to the exit doors. He parked the van right in front of it. “This opens up to the city. We better hope this door opens fast otherwise we’ll be stuck in here.” 

Pepper sat Peter so he was facing her on her lap. She didn’t want him to look out the windows. “Did bumble bee sleep good last night?” She asked, trying to get Peter’s mind off of everything since he looked terrified. 

Peter shook his head. “He was scared.” 

“Mommy, I slept good.” Said Morgan, leaning against her mom's arm. “It was like a sleep over.” 

While Pepper distracted the kids, Tony opened the underground parking garage door. It was loud which meant the zombies were running towards them. Tony anxiously waited until the whole door was open then floored it. 

He hit a ton of zombies that were in the way. Some held onto the van somehow and started banging their heads against the back door window and Tony knew they could break it. He’s seen it before so he drove on the sidewalk and scraped the side of the van to get them off. 

Peter screamed so Pepper held his face against her chest to cover his eyes, doing the same with Morgan. 

Tony drove faster, trying to avoid as many of them as possible but they were everywhere so it was inevitable. 

He ran over a bunch and the car got stuck from the bodies piled up under the wheels. “Fuck. C’mon!” 

He looked back and saw a ton of them running towards him and he knew if they all surrounded the car, they wouldn’t be able to drive away. He floored it, breaking free. 

Tony had never felt so much relief before. He drove some more, not running into any problems. When he saw the highway entry, he turned onto it, seeing rows of abandoned cars. He hit the breaks, not knowing where to go. 

Harley pointed to the opposite lane that was empty. “Look. If you drive around on the grass, we can go that way. It’s not like anyone is even driving on it anyways.” 

“Good eye.” Tony drove onto the grass, then went onto the opposite lanes, kinda having more fun than he should with free range driving. There weren’t any cars or people on the road but he didn’t let his guard down, knowing something could pop out at any moment. “What was the exit, Pep?”

“Exit five. About a thirty minute drive.” She told him, changing Peter’s position so he could look out the windows now. “Let’s hope the plane is there.” 

Tony hoped so badly the plane was there. 

It was a longer drive than they both originally thought. 

Tony pulled off the highway and noticed that their gas tank was somehow running on empty. “What?” He smacked the dashboard, thinking it was a mistake or something. “We’re out of gas.” 

“What? How?” Asked Pepper, starting to get concerned. 

“I don’t… we must have poked a hole in the tank when I ran over… those things.” Tony didn’t know what else it could be. “How far are we from the airport?” 

“Uh…” Pepper looked out the window. “It’s down that road. Then it’s about a three minute drive to the runway.” 

Tony turned down the road just as the van started to slow down. “We gotta run the rest of the way. We’re out of gas.” He checked the time. The airplane should be there by now or within the next five minutes because that was the time they said. 

He looked around but the road was deserted, only for side vehicles but he didn’t care. 

Peter slid off Peppers lap to go into Tony's arms once he opened the back door. “Daddy, are you gonna carry me?” 

“Yeah, come here.” Tony placed Peter on his hip and held his hand out for Morgan to take. “Let’s move quickly but quietly. The runway we have to get to us just at the end of this road.” 

He looked at Pepper, knowing she was thinking the same thing as here. God, I hope the airplane is there. Please let it be there. 

The family walked down the road, constantly looking around them for anything to run from but they didn’t see anyone. As they were walking, they heard an engine behind them and looked up to see a plane coming in for landing. 

“That’s it. That’s the plane.” Pepper pointed out, smiling up at it. 

Tony couldn’t believe it. They were actually going to get out of the country and go somewhere safe. He wasn’t going to celebrate until they got in the plane though. 

Unlucky for them, the sound of the plane landing brought the attention to the zombies close by. Tony turned around and saw four of them running towards them. “Oh no! We gotta run! Go go!” 

He held onto Peter tighter and ran. 

The family of five ran down the road, desperately trying to get away from the zombies. Tony couldn’t see the runway yet. They just passed by the row of trees and spotted the plane. 

“There!” He called out and turned around, seeing the zombies catch up. “Why aren’t they opening the stairs?! We gotta get up!” 

Pepper waved her arms up, yelling. “Open the stairs! Open the stairs!” 

The stairs started lowering as they ran across the runway, heading straight for the plane. 

Tony didn’t think they were going to make it, he turned around and saw a group of other zombies running out of the bushes. He grabbed Morgan’s arm to make her run faster and finally made it to the plane, lifting Morgan up the stairs by her arm and carrying Peter up. 

“Shut the doors! Hurry! Shut it! Shut it!” 

The doors shut slowly but just in time. Tony let out a huge sigh of relief. As the plane immediately started taking off. He held his breath unconsciously until it was off the ground. 

Then he turned to Pepper. “We did it. Oh my god, we actually did it.” 

Peter clung onto him. “Are we going to grandma’s and grandpa’s island, daddy?” 

Tony kissed Peter’s face. “Yes, baby. Yes. We are.” 

He pulled his family in for a group hug. “Oh god, I can’t believe we actually did it.” 

They didn’t know how long this would last for. There was no way of knowing. 

At least not right now. 

All that mattered though was that they were safe. They were going to start a new life on the island and watch their kids grow up there. 

The risk was all worth it.