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According to Griffin, it had been a little over 2 years since this entire fucking thing started. Vance really didn’t bother with all the counting shit but Griffin wanted to, so he kept a notebook marking the days. Griffin had explained why to him once; he didn’t like not knowing anything about the world they lived in now, so the least he could do is count the days so he could know at least how much time passed. Vance understood that, he didn’t like not knowing shit either, so he always made sure to ask Griffin what day it was every once in a while. Vance is still fucking floored anytime he realizes how much time is passed. If Griffin’s been accurate in keeping up with dates then that means Vance would be turning twenty-two this year and that Griffin just turned twenty. The thought that they’ve already spent this long fighting those ugly cannibalistic freaks pisses Vance off. 

At the beginning of this damn thing, Vance for once in his life had tried to hope that it would be over maybe a few weeks after it started, people would survive long enough and things would go back to mostly normal. The fucking zombies would die out or they’d find a cure or some shit but as usual, it didn’t work in their fucking favor. One week turned to two, and then it turned into a month, and then before they knew it; they were here. Vance had assumed that since the people were dead, then their bodies would just eventually rot out and they’d die completely. Unfortunately for them and any other poor fuckers that are still alive, that’s not the case. It’s like whatever infected them does something and keeps the bodies from rotting. It’s like some weird ass immortality shit which just makes everything ten times fucking harder to deal with. 

The one thing that actually worked in their favor was moving around. They were both quick and smart. Typically though, if they had to do something risky in order to get supplies, Vance would go. No, that wasn’t him saying that he thought Griffin couldn’t handle it, he knew his brother could. It’s the sheer fact of, he’s not gonna let Griffin put himself in danger. You know how he said Griffin’s got a bad back? All this fucking running around isn’t helping it, Vance isn’t gonna let Griffin put any extra stress on it. Plus, Vance really didn’t care what the fuck happens to him, Griffin’s his priority. 

They’ve got a camp set up in the woods, about a mile out from Denver. Denver cleared out after about a year, or at least most of the people did. There are still a lot of zombies there but it’s less than any other city they’ve been in. Zombies didn’t have any more food that they could find so they started moving out. So, he and Griffin had been scouting out the area in the city, seeing if they could find a place in there to stay for a little while. A building is safer than being out in the open, but they’d be dumb if they just rushed and set up in any building. You might be thinking, well if they’re moving away from the city, doesn’t that make the woods worse to be in? Sometimes, yeah, but if you pick the right spot then it’s safer. They’re up on a hill and surrounded by trees and plants n shit. Makes for good cover and the rustling and shit lets them know if something’s moving nearby. 

They’ve mainly been staying in or around Colorado, that was Griffin’s idea. It’s better to stay somewhere that you know well so you can get around easier. Vance had argued that they could find some other place and navigate it but Griffin insisted on it. Vance just decided it wasn’t worth arguing about and set forth trying to make a plan around it. So, their plan was to just move around the area. Find a quiet place and set camp there for a few weeks and then move somewhere else. At least until they can find somewhere more permanent, which is why they’re looking for a building in the city, if they find an empty one they could probably stay there for a couple of months, it’d be easier to protect than an open campsite, warmer too. If they found a particularly sturdy one, they could even set up a permanent place. But those are all ifs. And that’s as long as they both stay alive long enough to find one. 

Vance has always planned long-term and Griffin’s a nervous planner, so on top of planning for shelter, they had backup plans, y’know just in case. Vance wasn’t optimistic by any means, he knew it was entirely fucking possible that either of them could eat shit and die at any moment; just the way the world is now. So, their plans were in place because that meant if one of them kicked the bucket, then the other could have a chance. Vance guesses that was the main goal, to make sure at least one of them stayed alive. And as of right now, it’s working well. Fucking figures. They’re both thorough with this shit, they wouldn’t be careless. They had a plan for everything and they both promised to follow it. And if there was one damn thing their family did best, it was keep their promises. 

This leads to now, which is the point in time where Vance doesn’t know if Griffin keeping his promise was a good or bad thing. For one, Vance was really fucking glad that Griffin got himself the hell out like they had planned but on the other hand, that left him stranded. Which in apocalypse terms means he’s fucked. They had gone out to look for some food because they were starting to run low again. They’d packed up their camp and got a move on towards the city, they were traveling light until they could find a more permanent place. Which is exactly why they were waiting on the city to clear out some. They had decided that while they were out getting stuff today, then they’d scout a little bit if they could manage it. And that’s what they had done. 

They had made a route of buildings that were safe to enter because there were only ever a few zombies in there. You might be asking why they don’t just make camp in there. It’s because the zombies keep getting in but they can’t figure out where and they sure as hell aren’t sticking around long enough to figure it out. They usually travel through alleyways and buildings to avoid the main streets where most zombies and most people still in the city go. It works well, Griffin’s got a photographic memory so he usually leads the way and Vance deals with anything that pops up. They had been scavenging at an old grocery store, just off of the main street. They had rarely run into trouble there, just a few zombies here and there. People mostly steered clear of the store because the outside was crawling with zombies. Or at least the front and the west side, it had an entrance in the alley that they used. As long as they were quiet it worked well. 

The first bit of scavenging had gone normally. Or at least as normal as it gets during a fucking apocalypse. They had met back up at the center of the store and had laid out what they got. They always made sure to divide things for each of them so they could have something if they got separated. At least that meant Vance had one thing going for him. He had food, water, and weapons, the bad thing was, he was the one who had the med kit. Which essentially meant that Griffin might get fucked over if he needed it. On the other hand, Griffin had been carrying the blankets and extra food. So, he at least had that. 

They had been arguing when it happened. Griffin had thought that they should stay in the store and make it a home, he had thought they could make it somewhere stable. Vance thought it was the fucking stupidest idea he’s heard. It might be a good building and it was empty but nonetheless, it was surrounded. What would happen if someone found them and they needed to leave? Or if zombies managed to get in, they’d be virtually trapped. They couldn’t agree on it and obviously, the damn apocalypse isn’t going to wait on them to hash it out. They were reminded of that and just how quickly the illusion of safety is shattered. If they can even call not having to run safety. 

They had heard the glass up front shatter and as soon as they looked away from where their stuff was, they knew they had minimal time until those rancid ass zombies got too close for comfort. They shoved everything they could into their bags, which was most of it save for a few cans. Griffin had just gotten through the door when Vance had noticed one. It was one of the quick ones and there was another not too far behind it. He had yelled at Griffin to go ahead and head into the building next door and to remember their plan. Vance had watched Griffin hesitate, not wanting to leave him behind but as soon as Vance had turned and made a run for it, he heard the door close. It was a relief and made it ten times easier for Vance to focus on getting out. He cut into one of the aisles and pulled his knife out, as soon as the first one ran into the aisle after him. He aimed for it’s head. And no matter how used he had been to fighting and how long he’s had to do that. He never gets used to the feeling of stabbing something. It’s weird as hell to him. 

After the first one was down, Vance got ready to deal with a second one. Except it wasn’t just a second one, it was a third, and a fourth, and a fifth, and once the sixth came around, he knew he had no hope of killing them all quietly. And he didn't really have much more time to think if he wanted to live so he did the first thing that came to mind. He put those years of sneaking out to use and climbed his ass all the way up the shelves. So, not much higher but it was high enough to keep him out of easy reach. He heard the side door start to open back up and he turned. Vance had been met with Griffin peaking through and the two made eye contact. Vance had seen the immediate worry on Griffin’s face and saw that he was about to come in to help but as the number of freaks grew around the shelf he was on, he wasn’t letting Griffin step foot into that place. And he saw a straggler that was headed towards the side door. 

Vance had yelled at Griffin to just leave and let him deal with it, he told Griffin to wait an hour and if he wasn’t out then he needed to leave. Griffin had enough sense to listen to him, it was only after he had to put down the straggler that he heard more and Vance had motioned to confirm it. Almost immediately after he had disappeared behind the door, throwing out a quick “See you soon” before the door slammed shut. Vance hadn’t regretted yelling at Griffin to leave, Griffin was too stubborn for his own damn good, and Vance wasn’t having Griffin put his ass on the line in order to help him. Maybe it had left him stranded but in the long run, it was good, high chance was Griffin would be alright and they had similar plans for the most part. Vance figured they’d find each other again so he wasn’t too worried. 

And it was pretty fucking obvious he had more immediate problems. He still had his knife in hand but he hadn’t even known where the hell to begin. Would you know what to do if you had eight nasty semi-rotting faces looking at you? Not only is it just a nasty sight, it’s a shit load to deal with. His best option was to figure out how to take them one by one because it’d be pretty damn difficult to get them all at once. Although, getting them one by one posed some problems too. If he reaches down to stab at them, they could grab him and yank him down or they could bite his hand. Both of which he’s trying real fucking hard to avoid. He knows it’s the apocalypse and all that shit but seriously, give him a goddamn break. Vance had gone through all his options, he doesn’t want to resort to using his gun because a, it’s loud and it’ll attract more in, and b, limited ammo and he doesn’t want to waste it. He didn’t really know if it would count as wasting because this kind of situation is exactly what he had it for but nonetheless. 

He eventually made the decision to just use his gun, he didn’t have a silencer so he took his jacket and bundled it up. He folded it up just enough to silence it but not enough to interfere with the shot too heavily. You might be wondering why he’d ruin a perfectly good jacket. Truth is, he could always find another jacket but couldn’t exactly find another life now could he? It took longer than he expected but he got it done. He had stood up and double-checked around to make sure there weren’t any more groups around and he, for the first time since this damn thing started, got lucky. It was only stragglers around so he had a clear shot to the side door. Only problem was when he looked outside, it was starting to get dark which was a really fucking bad sign. Vance knew time went fast, faster than expected but this was a whole other fucking level, he needed to hurry his ass up. 

He hopped down, patting his pockets and his bag, making sure he still had everything before he made a run for it. Vance made it out into the alleyway and darted for the door on his right, it was drizzling and usually, he would’ve stayed out for a minute and enjoyed it but there really wasn’t any time. The door was slightly stuck but he got it open after a minute, a straggler starting to go down the alleyway being a perfect incentive to hurry the hell up. Once he started walking around it was too quiet for his liking, quiet didn’t always mean safe. It was eerie and put him on edge. He rounded a corner and saw a couple of zombies were downed but nothing else out of the ordinary, he quietly called out for Griffin, not wanting to risk putting himself in a situation like earlier again. And especially not so soon. He had looked around but hadn’t seen any sign of Griffin, which was a good sign that he listened at least. So that meant he was at least alive. After he had left the building, he walked to where their car was. They keep it parked in a junkyard so it can blend in more. They typically walked so they could conserve gas for when they needed it, they only used it when they were moving cities or moving across the entire city. 

Since it had been his first thought to go there after that encounter, Vance thought maybe Griffin got the same idea. One of their initial plans was that if one of them got stuck in a shitty situation like that, then they would get the hell out of dodge for a little while. If the car was still there then that had meant Griffin was still in this part of the city. If it was gone then that meant Griffin followed the plan. And when he saw that the car was gone he really hadn’t known whether or not, he was relieved or absolutely pissed off. Maybe a bit of both. All he could really do at this point was hang out around the city and wait for Griffin to make his rounds back, and Vance wasn’t patient by any means but he’d wait this one out.