I Was So Close
Chapter three: I Was So Close
Steve’s Point Of View
“Bucky” Steve groaned out. “Bucky… Bucky!” He shot up his eyes scanning around quickly. Panting heavily a groan escaped his lips as he wiped sweat from his forehead.
“Get it together Steve it was just a dream.. He’s fine.."
"I hope..” Sighing softly Steve begun to gather his things into his bag, his nightmare had attracted some unwanted attention.
Since the Laura incident almost a week ago, Steve had gotten quite far despite all the detours and undead in his way. He was only about sixty miles outside of Washington D.C. he was almost there.
“I’ll be there soon Buck… I promise…”
Steve’s Journal: Entry 6
‘When I had left the Bell Tower Church everything was fine. I got at least ten miles out before I hit the highway. I knew there I wouldn’t be safe. There was no cover and plenty of broken down cars and don't even get me started on the bodies. Number one rule I learned during this time… Never go into the woods unless it's life or death, because it could just be your death.
I got a good distance onto the highway before anything happened. First of all let me tell you what the highway looked like. It’s your typical highway except all the cars with doors ajar or hoods up, even some are facing the wrong direction. So pretty much its like what you'd see in those horror movies, except a lot worse because it's actually real. It’s hard to see past the hoods or trunks, and if you come to a truck that’s the worst. Anything could be around it, or inside of it. I don’t even want to get started on the mangled bodies laying around half eaten that you have to walk over. Ugh and the guts.. That stuff is hard to get off your boots.
I was being very careful not to touch any of the car doors or anything so none of the alarms would sound. I didn’t want anyone to hear me, alive or not. You can’t trust the living either, half the time they try to steal your food. The other half... Your body... That's putting it nicely. I managed to get past a few of the undead without being seen.
I had found a sword in one of the buildings I went through a few days back. It has been real nice to have when you sneak up on one of those bastards and don’t want to waste a bullet, and knives are to short. God knows I hate getting close to those things, especially the Mutts. The smell alone could kill me. I mean not really but its horrible.
Anyway I was doing good so far, until I stopped looking down. I was trying my hardest not to make a noise, there were a few of them piled around a body having their lunch together. :) Buck is gonna like that joke. I moved around a few cars but didn’t pay attention to the ground.
Until I made a loud crunch. I wound up stepping on the remains of what could’ve been a woman. And let me tell you it was disgusting. What was left of her body just sort of mushed in and I left a trail of it. I wasn’t paying much attention because I took off running from them. I just wanted to find Bucky, I hope he wasn’t having it as bad as I was, or any worse.
I made a mistake in running I really did. I bumped into a few cars and set off their alarms. Buck always did say I was a klutz. It only attracted more of them from god knows where. It only got worse from there. It went from being about five of them to what seemed more like five hundred now.
I was terrified, and then I fell. I fell over someone's remains. All I could think of was I was about to die and Buck would be all alone. I’d be a rotting corpse on a highway and Bucky.... Would be.... All.... Alone. I couldn’t let that happen.
I pushed myself up and took off running, but not far. I couldn’t keep going in the heat of the day, when their smell was so bad it made me want to vomit worse then when I was younger and couldn’t get over my colds.
I slid under a car and prayed to anyone who would listen that they not find me. My backpack lay heavy on my back, the sword on my hip, and the gun tight in my hand. I tried my hardest to control my breathing. If even one of them heard me it was all over.’
Steve had been walking on little sleep and no food. But he couldn’t stop now. Not when he was so close to Washington. Not when he was so close to Bucky. Or so he hoped.
Of course there would always be something in his way. On the last strip of highway that lead him to Washington there were about fifteen of the Mutts limping about around cars and trucks. Steve knew he couldn’t take them all maybe one or two if he was lucky, but he wasn’t and he was almost out of bullets. Steve had a few options.
Option one. He try to be as quiet as possible and hope he didn’t get caught, which with his luck seemed almost impossible.
Option two: He make a distraction while he goes around them. He could throw something onto the other side of the highway that makes a lot of noise. That way anything around him will pay attention to it and not him, and the few stragglers who saw him could be easily taken care of.
Option three: Steve could be a complete idiot and try to take them on. Not his best chance and he knew the survival rate is low. But he has to hurry before he gets caught.
Steve decided to go with his second option. It seemed like the best to him and it had a higher survival rate than the other two. Pulling off his bag Steve dug around until he found just what he was looking for. He knows it was dumb to keep a child's toy in his bag but he found and thought if he managed to get to the camp in Chicago he could give it to Lila. So he didn’t want to part with it.
In his hands was a wind up monkey, the ones with the cymbals. It was obnoxiously loud and he knew it would cause a distraction. Winding it up as far as it would go Steve threw it to the other side of the highway. He mentally apologized to Lila for throwing away her gift.
The second it hit the ground Steve hid behind a car door as the monkey begun to bang the cymbals together. It was the best choice as the Mutts limped towards the noise.
Quickly Steve took off careful not to make any extra noise or draw attention to himself. Making his way around cars and the remains that lay scattered across the highway he noticed a sign saying twenty miles until Washington. His face lit up, he was so close now.
Steve’s Journal: Entry 7
‘I was thankful not a soul heard me. The moment they passed I slid out from under the car and took off down the stretch of highway left to get me to Washington. Maybe once I find Bucky he’ll have some survivors with him and we can all travel to the camp together. Or maybe we’ll find some along the way.
Whatever happens I just hope everything turns out better than it is now. I know that it will. Whenever I’m with Bucky everything turns out alright.
The nights are cold and the mornings are hot.
The nights are dark and the mornings are bright.
Not a single soul sleeps at night.
Not a single soul rests in the light.
I’ve taken up to writing poems, even if they aren’t good. I prefer drawing but even then I need something else to distract my mind. Besides thoughts of finding Bucky. Sometimes when I manage to sleep I have these dreams. Dreams of what it would be like if this never happened.
I wish I could go back, I’d do things so differently if I knew this was going to happen. Not only would I prepare for it but… I would’ve told him. I should’ve told him. I should have taken his hand that night and said we aren’t going out. I should have sat him down and told him how I felt, even if it ruined everything between us.
I wish we hadn’t been separated.
I wish…
I wish that I could just have told him.
But those things wont happen. For now I just have to focus on finding him at least.’
Only twenty miles left he could do this.
No he had to do it.
His legs burnt, he was sure his arms were sun burnt, his stomach was cramping having not had food for three days. The only thing that kept him going was the thought of Bucky being all alone waiting for him.
Steve was just about to enter D.C. when he stopped completely. Tears begun to build in his eyes when he saw it. He was so close. So close to Bucky! In front of him just wandering the streets had to be at least fifty of the ugliest Mutts. There was no way he could get around them without being noticed. But he had to.
For Bucky.
The problem is… He doesn’t know how. Steve took a deep breath. Maybe if he ran fast enough he could… No that’s a horrible idea and the chance of survival is to low. He doesn’t wanna risk it.
Maybe if he just…
Quickly Steve ducked down as he heard heavy footsteps. What he saw he could only thank whomever was watching over him for it. There was a woman running straight through the horde as fast as she could.
Of course he wanted to help her but he knew it was a lost cause. But thankfully it got the attention of most of them. Quickly with out a second thought Steve got up and ran down the road as fast as he could. He made it down a few streets before the noise of his boots attracted attention. “No.. No please no not when I'm so close.”
He couldn’t spare a second glance, the numbers were only growing. And he wasn’t even near the house yet. But he had to keep going, it was that or die. Turning the corner he quickly took another right to avoid more of them. “Buck.. I’m coming.”
Running up to the house Steve’s worst fear came true. Not only was there a horde quickly approaching behind him but there were at least twenty of them in front of him on the lawn. Looking around quickly Steve ran over to one of the large oak trees. He was never the best at climbing but he had to do it.
It was life or death.
Getting up as high as he could Steve let tears trickle down his cheeks. This was it. Now he would never get to see Bucky again. Except…
Except there was a light on inside.
A light!
Bucky was there! He was inside waiting for Steve! ”BU-!” Steve covered his mouth quickly. If he yelled for Bucky it would only attract more of them. That would only make it impossible for Bucky to rescue him.
But how would he now anyway? There was between at least seventy below him and there was no way Bucky could take out that many on his own. Clinging to the tree Steve closed his eyes tightly. He was so close. So fucking close and yet Bucky was so far away! If only Bucky would look outside.
“I love you…” Steve whispered to himself. Bucky couldn’t hear him anyway, and it seemed like there was no way to get out of this one. It looked like the end for him…. Or is it?