Archive of Our Own ^beta

The gas station was a bust in terms of food. Everything that other people forgot to take were either expired or dented to the point that it would kill them before the virus would. On the bright side, they got to stock up on their first aid kit, Andrew being the one to find band-aids, ointment, and mostly-okay pharmaceutical drugs. Neil and Kevin snagged some more maps. You can never lose to have another just in case, Neil had reasoned when Andrew raised a brow at their catch, but he said nothing more. It did help that Neil spent a majority of his life on the run before hell decided to get the last laugh with all of humanity.

Neil didn’t say that the excess of maps was more for the inevitability for when they got separated. Instead, he drew the route back to their homestead of Palmetto in the pens he swiped off a solicitor a year ago while Andrew focused on driving their dusty pickup and not stabbing Kevin.

“Pull over here. Yes, here, Andrew.” Kevin sniffed, indignant, his head nodding to the motel off the road. “I’m not sleeping in this damn vehicle for as long as I can.”

“But you can excuse dying?” Neil doesn’t hide the judgment in his voice. “It won’t even be luxurious.”

“It will be. A bed. Some decent sleep would do us all some good, too.”

Andrew grunted, his distaste crystal clear. Still, he pulled over.

The motel was, as Neil adequately observed, not luxurious or fancy in the slightest. Abandoned would be a better term. Neglected, too. Andrew whistled low, slamming the driver door shut. The sound echoed, reverberating around the car park while their shoes crunched on gravel.

“Quit it!” Kevin hissed. “Do you want to lure those things over?”

“It was your idea to come here.”

Kevin—quite literally, honestly, Neil could find no better description—squawked in offense then choked in his words, as if remembering last minute why he nagged Andrew. It wouldn’t do him any good to shout when his whole reason had to do with noise.

“Well, we’ll hear the things before they get close enough.”

“I still don’t want to attract the…I’d rather not have to deal with them.”

“Zombies, Kevin. You can say zombies.”

Kevin turned up his nose. “It’s childish.”

“So is a bed.”

Having enough of Andrew’s game of devil’s advocate, Kevin left the two in a huff. Though, Neil and Andrew were never too far behind. They weren’t that stupid.

Neil looked over to Andrew fixing the bands on his arms. “How is it childish?”

“The world has turned topsy-turvy and a bed is what you’re complaining about?” Andrew rolled his shoulders and walked in pace with Neil, eyes flitting here and there, taking in their surroundings like Neil had moments before. “Luxury doesn’t hold any value anymore, but that can’t stop him from trying. See? Childish.”

Up ahead, Kevin had just exited a motel room with a disgusted look only to move to the next unlocked door (broken in would be another word, but who was counting?) Bat in hand, Kevin surveyed the room’s interior while Neil and Andrew waited. Again, Kevin scoffed at the state of the room. There were no bodies but it was in a disarray. Chaos and splintered furniture everywhere.

“I meant the zombie thing.”

Andrew hummed, turning his head upwards, his finger twitching at his side. Probably an itch for a smoke, but he only had so many in stock. Neil wondered if going cold turkey was better or worse from being weened off the mandated drugs. Not like Andrew could renew a prescription during an apocalypse, and he had Dobson with him at the time. Here, it was just the three of them and a sad pack of rationed cigarettes that Andrew chained smoked on the roof of the truck.

“I think,” said Andrew, “Kev-Kev finds the word too literary.”

“Fictional,” Kevin cut in. He decided this room was also a bust. “It doesn’t take the situation seriously.”

“Ah,” Andrew went, “then what would be a more serious word?”

Kevin did not deign to reply. His kept his focus on the locked door in front of him. Kevin offered up a hand: “Picks?”

“Oh, are we endorsing B&E’s now Kevy?”

Kevin ignored him, gesturing again at Neil. Neil pushed Kevin aside and went to work on the lock instead.

“I know how.”

“Jeremy doesn’t count.”

“Fuck you.”

“You won’t.” Neil puffed out a breath, satisfied at the click before placing the lock picks back into his pocket. “Now, check if this was worth breaking into, highness.”

They were met with a dingy hallway. Flicking the light switch proved useless as the lights flickered for less than a second before staying dark. To the right of the hall was a bathroom (Kevin nodded at the choice privately and Neil rolled his eyes to Andrew), whose lights were also useless. The room was quiet. Only a couple faint creeks coming from the weight of the trio’s steps. No growling or nausea inducing ragged breathing from any hidden undead. The floor was some flimsy wood, not carpet, much to their satisfaction. (Kevin, because carpet left stains you couldn’t clean, and that the place was cheap. Andrew and Neil, because it meant they would hear anything that might approach them while resting inside.)

“Window’s intact,” Neil murmured. “For once.”

“Beds are clear. Nothing but your dust cousins, Neil.”

Neil flipped him off.

“Not enough space to vacate, though.” Andrew sighed and sheathed his knives.

Here, Kevin frowned, trying to find the flaw. “There’s a fine gap between the two beds. Sure, the hallway’s small, but there’s still room to—”

“If we push them together, there’s a risk of cornering ourselves either against the wall or window. Window would be the worst even if it granted us a quick escape, and the wall would lead to us being surrounded too quickly.” Neil tilted his head as he spoke, taking in the twin beds in question. “We’ll have to move the dresser, of course, and only keep enough weapons as necessary in case we need to leave fast.”

“Wait, what do you mean “push them together’? We’re not combining the beds.”

Neil and Andrew gave Kevin the most incredulous look (which was saying something because Kevin had a habit of drawing the two into many looks of incredulity even before the three of them got separated from the rest of their group. In fact, Kevin had a habit of causing anyone to look at him with a stunned expression of “You Cannot Be Serious” after everything he says). The two exchange a quick glance at each other before Andrew grumbled to inspect the closet and Neil stepped forward.

“Of course we’re combining them. There’s no way any of us could fit on one, and splitting up would have a greater risk of getting separated if one of those zombies thinks to attack.”

“Why would we all sleep on one bed? You two are the ones in a relationship!”

“What does that have to do with practicality?”

“Practicality—?! Why wouldn’t you want to sleep with your boyfriend?”

It was here that Neil could not fathom Kevin’s logic. “I sleep with both of you every night?”

“That’s not what I—” Kevin breathed in and slowly let the air out. His nails dug into the palms of his hands, so he stretched out them out, having one run through his hair. “You two should have one night, at least, all to yourselves. Stop looking at me like that, Neil, I get it. I’ll still be in the room, of course, but you’ll get some actual space and time where it’s just the two of you. Like any couple should.”

“What do you mean—”

“Neil,” the voice came from Andrew, who was exiting the bathroom. “Body found.”

Kevin held back a curse while Neil swore aloud, “How recent?”

Andrew turned his head back to the bathroom. “Probably a few weeks ago. Decided to eat it instead of continuing to live in the apocalypse. How selfish.”

“Andrew.”

“She’s already dead, Kevy, and I think she’d agree with me.”

“That still doesn’t mean—”

Neil laid a hand on Kevin’s arm, a silent request and reminder that Andrew didn’t care much about Kevin’s “honoring the dead” ideology. Though, there wasn’t much to honor when a majority of the dead weren’t staying dead and sought to attack them, so they smashed every corpses’ skull to prevent undead stirring. And what would it even mean if Kevin argued that the honor came from honoring the life? A corpse couldn’t live to appreciate it (and the corpses that did wander, wandered without a thought for anything except hunger). It was a losing battle, which was what Neil was trying to convey to Kevin, and Kevin knew that.

It didn’t mean that Andrew still pissed Kevin off with the apathetic and flippant approach to someone’s real dead body. Even if Andrew was right.

“We’re not done talking about this,” said Neil. “Go ahead and grab our things while we get the body out of here.”

Kevin nodded, too strung up to say anything eloquent or polite. Not that they cared about Kevin’s manners so much as to tease him for it, eyes shining in delight when his mask broke and all that was left was the extra bitchy and haughty Kevin. The PR nightmare Kevin that stopped caring about other people’s opinion because he was Kevin fucking Day. But, currently, this Kevin couldn’t even find it in himself to do that.

He took his time walking to the truck and picking which items to bring into the room. Neil and Andrew would be awhile as they found a relatively okay space to hide, bury, or burn the body. Neglected corpses weren’t just a hazard for picking up diseases.

The Outbreak (or Zombie Apocalypse as the other Foxes liked to call it) occurred a year or so ago and was thought to be a serious case or evolution of the swine flu. As far as Kevin was concerned, the swine flu was after the 2008 Summer Olympics, and if his players stayed healthy and fit, then it was none of his business. He’d take his shots, be a little extra mindful of being clean, and join Dan in reminding his teammates that they couldn’t afford to lose a few weeks of summer practice just because they weren’t careful.

Then, something strange began to happen. There was a rise in reports that people, families and doctors believed to have died, weren’t necessarily dead. Key word: necessarily. The previous dead were mobile and could mumble or moan, but they were violent and aggressive, unable to recognize the people standing before them. It wasn’t the swine flu despite speculation circling around at the time, and in hindsight, they all should have known better. For one, many of the beginning cases came from people dead before the flu outbreak. About a month or so, but all many could see was a correlation between a global pandemic and a rising undead (who had a penchant for eating people, but that wasn’t truly solidified until the 10th confirmed death by undead person).

Then, you had wakes where a corpse would literally rise from their casket and terrorize the mourning crowd. Hospitals full of bitten folks became it’s own horror zone, and yet it wasn’t until that October where rabid and mindless zombies truly became a world ending threat.

STAY AWAY FROM CROWDS! was posted on the side of the motel wall. LOUD NOISES ATTRACT, was another. Kevin made sure to lock the truck as he went back to the room. The two should be done by now if they weren’t making out after a job well done. Kevin wrinkled his nose at the thought. Honestly, this place was too much of a drab to be a good or suitable romantic location. Kevin would dump either of them if they tried.

Key word being “if”.

The beds were still separated when Kevin arrived back. He sighed and went ahead and set the bags and weapons in the now empty bathroom. Andrew was sitting, perched near the corner by the window, now cracked open while he smoked one of the few cigs he had left.

“Neil’s grabbing whatever he can find at the front desk,” said Andrew. He flicked some ashes to the windowsill. “What’s got you so spooked about pushing the beds together? Afraid of getting cooties?”

Kevin rolled his eyes at the cruel smile, ignoring how he found himself unable to look at his friend. It wasn’t as if he was scared of Andrew, not anymore, and not for any reason he would ever admit out loud. He just couldn’t look at how Andrew’s eyes glowed gold from the sunlight, how they monitored Kevin while he fussed at the bed and his night clothes. He couldn’t look while Andrew lounged in a lazy and revealing position with a smile that could be catalogued as dangerous in a motley of ways but not one Kevin believed was for him. “If you’re asking, then Neil’s already told you my reason why.”

“And it’s a stupid reason.”

“So is your codependency.”

“I could have sworn you came on to me.”

Kevin lip twisted into a sneer. Andrew was playing him. He knew this. He’s known this since the first time he ever met him with nothing but bars separated them while Kevin did everything he could think of to convince the juvie boy to join his court.

“I came to you for protection. You provided it. Nothing else.”

Except for blurry memories of Kevin being carried over the shoulder or gently in front while he slurred stupid and feverish confessions to black bands and platinum hair. Memories of clinging to hands that held knives and apologizing for wanting more. Memories where he offered to help or pay back the large debt he owed to dull eyes that softened enough to tell him “no.” Memories Kevin always swore to never remember because he was too blackout drunk, drinking himself into oblivion and beyond and maybe dead.

“Sure,” was what Andrew said, ending the conversation then and there, and with perfect timing as Neil entered the room with a lumpy pillowcase.

“So”—Neil’s smile was mischievous—“when exactly would you consider something is really expired?”

The twin mattress was crinkly. It scrunched when he moved and turned to find a position that might help him fall asleep faster. It bunched at the wrong moments and the sheets were laughably useless.

Kevin watched the soft rise and fall from Neil and Andrew. How they clung to each other like a perfect puzzle, how they gripped the fabric from their respective sleeves tighter, how they pushed in closer. Kevin turned his gaze to the pebbled ceiling. Less like pebbles and more like bubbles if he were to guess.

From the faint moonlight, the ceiling’s pale beige took on a blueish and green hue. Kevin’s not so sure where the green came from. Neil had ripped the curtains from the window while Kevin and Andrew took their pick on the questionable food from the front desk. Stale chips, expired soup (though un-dented), juice cups, and pickled eggs. None of them had the eggs but Neil.

You’re sleeping on the floor, Andrew had said, sticking his tongue out to gag.

Neil rolled his eyes and said something of the like about their low standard of hygiene since this apocalypse started. Not to mention, their bathroom had no running water. The last of it being used by the previous resident and was too hazardous to use (it was drained by the time Kevin returned). There was an outhouse, though, so they made use of washing off there. One of them always keeping watch while another was inside.

Kevin sighed and turned to find a better side of the mattress (there was none). A part of him wondered how in the hell Neil and Andrew were able to find some comfort on the shitty mattress especially with how little space a twin bed had for two people, but of course, the answer came to him the second he asked the question. Neil and Andrew lived lives where sleep wasn’t always a good mattress or spacious bed.

A bitter part of him whispered that they also had each other. Any bump or stiffness from the bed was mitigated by using themselves as their personal cushion. The same for when they slept in the truck, the two of them finding a way to unfurl into each other while Kevin had nothing but the back seat and this damn mattress, no one to press on to or relax with despite it all. Not that he really knew how.

He sat up and let his feet touch the floor. There was no way Kevin would sleep any time soon. His mind screamed and shook him as Kevin slipped on his shoes. This was stupid. He was being stupid, but he also needed to get out. Away from this stuffy room, away from his shitty bed, away from the content couple that made his chest ache and crack because it wasn’t their fault.

Kevin was pulling on his jacket when the door thudded. It was quiet, soft, almost nothing, but compared the rest of the room, it was deafening. The freeze was instinctual, paralyzing, as Kevin listened, waited. He glanced over to the other bed. Were they still asleep? Did they hear the thud? Did Kevin make it all up?

Another thud and this time, it was louder. A shuffle followed after, something scraped at the door, and—THUD!

Kevin went to wake Neil, but he was already up. Eyes flitting open at the scrapes and snapping to attention with the third bang at the door. Andrew was following just as fast, but he elbowed Neil in the process.

“We need to go.”

“Yeah,” gasped Neil, swinging his legs to the floor, his shoes still on, “we have to block the door.”

“Dresser’s too heavy.”

Andrew looked through the window, eyes taking in every shadow and tiny blur. “Try the curtain.”

Scratches and a faint groan was heard. Kevin didn’t know how to unfreeze. The monsters, undead, zombies were just on the other side of the door. A flimsy, old wooden door, whose hinges creaked and strained as more and more impacts were made. There wasn’t enough space to dodge or attack for when the door breaks. They would be closed in. They would die.

“Window’s clear for now. Should take us less than a few minutes to get out of here.”

“Kevin, help me with this!”

Neil’s back was to the door, hands gripping on the dresser as he motioned for Kevin. Still, Kevin’s body felt locked as everything got too loud. Andrew shoved him, hissing something hurried and harsh that Kevin wasn’t able to register, but it got him moving again.

“I thought you were trying the curtain.”

Neil nodded his head to the thick, blue fabric tied between the main and bathroom doors. Kevin’s not sure how Neil knotted them to each handle, but that was a question he could ask later. He and Neil pushed the dresser until it was slotted against the front door, making sure it sat between the wood and wall.

“Window’s open.” Andrew had the duffel slung over his shoulder. “Leaving now would be good.”

The door cracked and with a screeched, the top half splintered open.

“Leaving now!”

Kevin patted Neil’s chest and they sped to the window. Andrew was already out, weapon in hand. Neil snatched his exy stick and jumped through. The drop between window and ground wasn’t too big since they were on the first floor, so Neil rolled with ease when hitting the grass.

A smash and a crash and a blood curdling screech came from behind. There was no time for Kevin to grab his own weapon. Frenzied hands scraped and more thudding pounded that Kevin didn’t know which ones were the zombie and which were from his own heartbeat. He had no time and need to leave now.

“Oh great, so now they start appearing from the forest!”

“Kevin, up, let’s go.” Andrew tossed over a stick. Kevin’s exy stick. He spun it around and sighed at the weight, gripping it tight and coming to himself again.

A loud smash indicated that their intruder finally made it inside. They took it as their cue and ran. Thankfully, none of the other undead were close enough to grab them and they kept quiet even if their own feet stamped and stomped on the grass. Kevin prayed that the ground muffled it enough to allow the three of them to reach the truck before things went off the deep end.

Obviously, their streak of luck was no thanks to the fact that the rest of the undead covered the parking lot. They ambled and shuffled around, moaning and groaning and snarling at every door. Glass shattered and more wood snapped as each one broke in to every motel room.

Neil cursed.

“Told you we should have burned it.”

“As if the smoke wouldn’t draw their attention anyway.”

Kevin twirled the stick around to steady himself. Its net caked in blood after many, many bludgeoning attempts. Not even bleach could clean the whole thing off much as Kevin tried when hunkered down in PSU. It had scratches in a few places and were the world still turning in its regular normal, Kevin would have replaced it a month ago. It was useless now to play exy.

“How do we get to the truck?”

Andrew heaved a sigh, fingers twitching again even when they gripped his nail bat. “Need a distraction.”

“A good distraction. Throwing a rock won’t be enough.”

Andrew shrugged. “Wouldn’t hurt.”

Shouting broke their planning. On the other side of the motel, they spied another small group of people terrified out of their minds and hurriedly rushing out of their own room.

“Well”—Andrew shrugged—“distraction found.”

“They’re going to die.” Kevin didn’t even notice he was moving until Neil stopped him. It was a firm grip on his forearm and an exy stick pressed against his chest, the whiff of dried blood could be faintly found. “Neil—”

“And so will we if we try anything.” Neil’s expression softened. “Maybe we’ll be their distraction once we start the car.” He tugged “Come on.”

Andrew was already ahead, unlocking the truck and opening both the driver’s and back door. Headlights flashed and the undead that rushed to the poor group of bait, twisted around and made their approach back. They stumbled and fell over each other, ignorant to their own speed and the physics of switching gears too fast. Were Kevin a little less terrified, maybe he would compare it to a baby deer or goat or foal, unaware of their own strength and legs.

Neil pushed Kevin inside, slamming the door closed, and Andrew didn’t hesitate in reversing out of the lot. Zombies jumped and swung themselves on to the truck, scratching their bloody nails and scrapping their teeth over the metal and paint. Glass shattered on the passenger side. Andrew didn’t even need to look as he whipped out a gun and fired two shots at the creature. Neil took it off of Andrew’s hands after.

They sped back on the highway, using the high speed to brush off and lose the zombies that chased after them. Neil shouted directions at Andrew for when to exit, and Kevin looked back at the shadowed motel, wondering if the other group got out scot-free like they did.

“Was it worth it?’

“Andrew!” Neil hissed.

Kevin didn’t need to look to see how tightly Andrew was gripping the steering wheel. There was no guarantee they would have been better off sleeping in the truck had they parked near the motel, but that was neither here nor there. Andrew wasn’t upset about that and Kevin couldn’t look him in the eye because he knew what Andrew meant.

“Was it?”

The truck rocked as it exited to the frontage road. Kevin stayed quiet. They both knew the answer was no.

An open window and glass shards on the seat was too much of a risk for all three of them to sleep inside the truck. Even if they squeeze in the back, to avoid getting cuts from the glass, there was still the open window that could invite unwanted threats. So, Andrew unfurled the truck bed cover, moving their duffel and weapons to the side, and Neil laid the quilt from Matt on the cold metal bed.

“Why not bring it into the room?”

Neil fussed with the edges. “Didn’t want to chance losing it.”

It hadn’t taken them long to set up their newfound bed. Neil crawled in first, making sure any weapons kept to their corner. Then, he patted the open space on his side.

Andrew shoved Kevin.

“Don’t look at me like that.” He rolled his eyes. “Get in or I’ll push you in.”

“But…” Kevin blinked looking between Andrew and Neil, Neither provided help in the matter as both raised their brows with impatient waiting. “Wouldn’t you prefer—”

“Why were you trying to leave?”

“I…” Kevin had to look away but then he met Neil’s gaze and the frown stung. “I just—Look, I just needed to go to the restroom.”

“There was one in the room.”

“It smelled.”

“Come on, Kevin”—Andrew pushed and Kevin stumbled on to the bed with Neil behind him to keep him from slamming too hard on it’s surface—“you’ve lied better.”

“He’s also lied worse.”

“A fair point.” Andrew climbed inside, and Neil pulled Kevin further in. “Still a lie.”

“I was going to go to the outhouse!” Kevin could barely struggle, not with two bodies pressed closely against him, leaving him immobilized. “I would have come back!

“You couldn’t sleep,” said Neil softly. “We heard you, you know.”

Heat rose to his cheeks either shame or anger or something else Kevin could not name, did not want to. Anger was easier. Shame was easier. He gripped Neil’s hand, meaning to unlatch it from under his arm but pulled it close. Andrew watched without a word and closed the bed cover.

“We planned on following you. It’s not safe going alone, and we can’t lose you.”

Kevin pressed the hand to his mouth. I know, the motion said. I’m sorry. Kevin threaded the fingers between his own. Just to stop his body from shaking, and it did as Neil sighed in content. Andrew shut the tailgate, enveloping them all in the dark. Kevin froze then unfroze as he felt Neil’s warm breath behind him and Andrew’s in front, felt their hands join each other while he laid between, felt their bodies press against him, felt when someone’s nose brushed with his.

“We prefer it,” whispered Andrew, “if you were here. With us.”

“He means in a relationship.”

“I know what he means, Neil.”

“Just checking. We assumed you always knew.”

Kevin’s chest squeezed or maybe he squeezed Neil’s hand too hard or Andrew pressed his head too close, but Kevin found himself overwhelmed. An arm wrapped around his waist and squeezed him back, and Kevin rediscovered how to breathe.

“Well. I didn’t.”

“Glad we told you now.”

Kevin’s eyes drooped and his lips curved upwards to a smile. He was glad too.