Chapter Text
Sophia Laforteza was born to be great.
It was a fact, just like how the Earth was round and that everybody will have to die one day. It was real.
And so, Sophia clung to that certainty that, one day, she would become great and famous like her ancestors. Her life was pretty much planned ahead of time but it felt good to have everything figured out from her university to her future career.
Safe to say, life had been good to her.
Maybe the expectations were crushing her sometimes, maybe she felt like running away from her life some days, but eventually she always came back to her planned paradise.
Sophia couldn’t tear herself away from it, she feared she would become a nobody without it and it was the best option she had. She knew she was lucky and letting that luck go to waste would be incredibly selfish.
She buried herself in studies, clubs, extracurriculars and volunteering to get into the best art university of California.
As expected, she breezed through the first two years not because there wasn’t a literal apocalypse happening at that time but thanks to her natural charisma, she seduced people– quite literally. Sophia was well known by most of the student body, top of her classes, vice-president of the student council and a part of three clubs– you name it.
And then the airstrikes and those weird zombies crushed her perfect life.
Sophia hated it at first like everybody else, they couldn’t reach their families or friends and they had to learn how to survive on top of that. For a few hours it was hell.
At least she had her friends with her and Daniela as well.
Then they talked while keeping watch, Daniela thankfully wasn’t some complete outcast but wasn’t big on oversharing either much to Sophia's dismay.
Another part of her found it endearing, the way Daniela carefully chose her words before she spoke, how her eyes purposefully didn’t linger too long on Sophia when she spoke.
Her actions were controlled like she knew the consequences that came from reckless actions.
Sophia knew it all too well too, how her feelings nearly got the best of her in high school. How reckless she was despite wanting to reach perfection in her studies nearly ruined her efforts and her parents’.
As much as she beat herself up for it, she loved every last bit of this experience, even the bad ones.
___________
Sophia felt the rays of sunshine drape lazily over her face, she scrunched her nose and slowly opened her eyes. The Filipina propped herself on her elbows, on her right was Daniela who was still blissfully asleep and on the other bed were Lara and Manon tangled up together.
She hadn’t slept well, her mind was plagued with nightmares of herself or her friends getting mauled by those zombies.
Sophia got up, the remnants of restless sleep still clung to her eyelids and she had to blink a couple of times to shake the sleepiness away. She stretched her arms high above her head and turned her head where Yoonchae and Megan were supposedly keeping watch– emphasis on supposedly since she found the two girls asleep against each other.
Sophia couldn’t help but smile fondly at the pair. She approached them and shook their shoulders at the same time, stirring them from whatever light sleep they were in.
“Keeping watch, huh?” Sophia started with a soft voice and a smooth grin.
Yoonchae squinted her eyes against the sunlight, “Sorry, we were tired and it got the better of us I guess…”
Sophia's expression softened upon hearing Yoonchae's apologetic tone, she shook her head, “It’s fine, nothing happened during the night anyways.”
Sophia always has a soft spot for her Korean friend, she considered her as a little sister. She was a year younger after all since she skipped a grade, and yet she was probably the most mature out of all her friends. Yoonchae had this quiet way to care for her friend. She didn’t need the words, she just learned how to act around the girls whenever something was wrong with them and whatever it was, she took it upon herself to make them feel better through small affections.
That was probably why Sophia felt so drawn to Yoonchae in the first place. Yoonchae didn’t need any words to prove she cared for her friends and everyone knew it.
“Is your head feeling better?” Sophia asked, directing her gaze toward Megan.
The latter shrugged, “As good as it can get. I'm just glad we found gauze.”
The three of them fell into an easy silence, occasionally talking about something to distract themselves until the other girls eventually woke up. They gathered between the two beds in a small circle like last evening.
“We need to figure out where the other checkpoints are. Any ideas?” Sophia asked with an arched brow.
To her left, Manon replied, “Well, they’re definitely in the big cities to save as many people as possible, right? So like, New York, Boston and all of that"
“Yeah, but we can assume they get destroyed as soon as an infected person gets to a checkpoint judging from where the airstrikes hit.” Megan added without much conviction.
There was silence again.
Yoonchae cleared her throat, “I think focusing on getting to a checkpoint is pointless. We need to get supplies and weapons first.”
The other girls nodded their heads in agreement, making sure they had what they needed to survive was the priority after all.
Lara looked around the circle, scanning each face until she stopped at Daniela's. “Are you okay, Dani?”
Daniela, who was sitting next to Sophia's right, managed a shaky smile. “I'm okay, just a headache.”
The others kept talking but for some reason Sophia couldn’t tear her eyes away from Daniela. She watched as Daniela kept her head low and her hands shook where they were folded on her legs.
Sophia was concerned for her new friend to say the least.
“Sophia? Are you listening?” Manon called out.
The Filipina blinked a few times and looked at Manon, “Sorry, I spaced out. What were you talking about?”
Manon put a reassuring hand on Sophia's shoulder, “We were just saying that we could get supplies from the city tomorrow after settling down somewhere safe.”
“Oh, yeah of course. Where are we gonna stay, though?”
“My grandparents have a house near L.A., it’s pretty isolated so we'll be safe for a while I think.”
Sophia gave Manon a soft smile and she stood up, “Alright, let’s pack!” she announced, “Clothes, hygiene products, food if we have some, anything that could be useful.”
“From you guys' closets? Is that okay?” Megan asked.
Daniela and Sophia nodded with their heads.
The rest of the group moved immediately, even Daniela who clearly struggled to stay upright. Sophia simply took a step back– physically and mentally.
It still felt surreal.
24 hours ago she was still the perfect kid every parent and teacher wanted.
Just 24 hours ago.
None of it mattered anymore, everything she ever worked for, everything she sacrificed was burnt down and reduced to nothing.
She really wanted to collapse on the floor and cry her poor heart out but she couldn’t. Not when there were still people who counted on her leadership– her best friends on top of that.
Failing them was not an option and maybe that’s why Sophia slipped an arm around Daniela's waist right before she fell to the ground as the latter hooked her left arm around Sophia's shoulders.
“Are you sure you're okay?” Sophia muttered so no one else would hear.
The Filipina felt Daniela nod once, “Fine, just a bit dizzy.”
Sophia furrowed her brows and before Daniela could argue further, she pressed her palm against the Latina's forehead, she jerked it away after a few seconds.
“You feel way too hot– Are you sick?”
“Maybe. I don’t understand either but I'll be fine, really.”
Sophia looked unconvinced but eventually sighed in resignation, she helped Daniela to a bed so she could sit. She felt Daniela wince when her right leg folded and realisation hit Sophia in an instant.
“Let me see your wound.” She asked– or ordered in that case.
The Latina shot her a nervous glance before finally giving in and pulling her pants up and peeled the gauze off. The wound had become swollen overnight and red too, it also felt warm to the touch.
Now, Sophia was no med student but frankly it looked really bad. Not only physically but also from a future perspective.
Of course they didn't clean it thoroughly.
Sophia hesitantly looked back at Daniela, “Looks like a rash, we'll find a pharmacy on the way and get some cream.”
Daniela only nodded and took a deep breath.
“We should go to the house Manon talked about first, I’ll be fine.”
“You’re in pain.”
“I can handle it. Besides,” the Latina paused for a second, “we can’t fight those things without weapons. It should be our top priority.”
Sophia frowned at this, Daniela had a good point but shouldn’t their priority actually survive in the first place ?
Sure, having weapons was something they would need to figure out soon enough, but what is the point of having weapons if everybody dies of their wounds ?
“Just pack some clothes and belongings, don't stand on your bad leg too much.” The Filipina caressed Daniela’s left forearm reassuringly.
___________
The packing stage felt excruciatingly long.
Not because the girls had a lot to pack— obviously not since they just took Sophia and Dani’s clothes. The girls were long because they needed to do something before going outside.
Nobody spoke about it but going outside was probably more dreaded than death itself.
Sophia felt the tension in the room when clothes had finally been packed as well as some hygiene products and the remnants of the water bottles. They really wouldn’t last long with these scarce ressources, maybe another day if they starved themselves at lunch. It wasn't good.
“We need to get supplies before we go into hiding.” Lara simply stated, the group was standing in front of the door.
Manon shook her head, “We can't fight those things, your baseball bat isn’t strong enough. We need guns or something.”
“I think the guns in the PD’s were probably stolen already…” Sophia sighed. “Listen, we just need to get to the house Manon told us about and then we’ll plan what we’re going to do next.”
Megan nodded in approval, “She’s right, there’s no point in fighting about this right now.”
Sophia was glad Megan was on her side but when she looked over at Daniela it came crashing down. Dani looked spaced out, not in a bored way but more in a disbelieving way.
Right, Sophia had told Daniela they would look for medicine when they’d go out. They could only hope and pray Manon’s grandparents' house would have some. For now, Sophia simply took a duffel bag stuffed with clothes and silently turned the doorknob.
No turning back now, even if they were scared. They needed to hold on and survive in this hellhole.
Sophia was grateful it was morning, the hallway didn’t seem as scary as yesterday but it was still uncomfortably quiet. She checked left and right and saw nothing, she took a hesitant step in the hall and made a sign for the girl to advance.
As they walked through the hallway, they were careful not to be too loud in case there was a zombie hidden somewhere. Sophia let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when the girls reached the staircase to get down, she looked back at them.
“We get down and go to the parking lot. Let’s hurry.” She whispered.
The Filipina didn't wait for a reaction, she already knew they would agree anyway. She carefully descended the stairs, being careful to not make too much noise.
They were now in front of the exit door of the dorm building, all they needed was a push to open the door and they could go outside where uncertainty and danger reigned. It was not a pleasant thought and Sophia hesitated at this moment. Staying meant a dubious safety but a safety nonetheless.
It also meant they would slowly die of starvation or thirst since there was nothing useful in most of the dorms.
Sophia let out a deep exhale and pushed the door open, she braced herself and even closed her eyes out of fear.
She slowly opened her eyes after a good second, Sophia felt the breeze gently caress her face and the distant chirping of birds. It felt peaceful for a moment, relaxing.
Megan stood to her right, “Feels good to breathe fresh air.”
“It still feels dense with everything that happened, you know?” Sophia turned her head to meet Megan’s eyes. Her head wasn’t wrapped up in bandages anymore.
They started walking towards the parking lot after making sure the rest of the group was following them.
“Like you can’t breathe freely?” Megan asked.
“Exactly, it’s like I can still smell the smoke from the explosions.” Sophia muttered hesitantly.
Megan simply looked at her with those big eyes of hers, the ones that are expressive but sometimes unreadable. They continued walking towards the parking lot, carefully checking every corner on their way.
A part of Sophia wondered what happened to those people in the classroom with them yesterday. Another part of her just didn’t want to know since she already expected the worse.
Seeing Lara’s black car was a relief to them, the Indian girl quickly unlocked it with her keys and Manon took the passenger seat. Sophia sat in the middle of the backseat between Daniela and Yoonchae. Megan was next to Yoonchae, anxiously looking out the window.
Sophia let her eyes drift towards Daniela, she was pressing her forehead against the window like the temporary cold surface could save her from her infected wounds.
Sophia thought it was a futile attempt of healing. But then again, dying people were desperate to survive.
___________
“Where the hell were you?!” Mr. Avanzini’s voice rang out loudly in the living room. His wife was next to him, equally as disappointed seeing their daughter coming home at whatever ungodly hour it was. Again. The third time in barely two weeks.
“I’m old enough, I can handle myself.” Daniela sighed, not meeting her parents' eyes.
It was Mrs. Avanzini’s turn to speak, “Are you kidding me? You reek of alcohol and you can barely stand straight.”
Daniela rolled her eyes, “Holy shit. I’m in my senior year, guys. Senior. Year.” She epaphized every syllable by popping her lips.
“Don’t take this tone with us, Daniela.” Mr. Avanzini warned.
“Or what? I’m eighteen, I can make my own decisions for fuck’s sake.” The teenager shot back.
“You're grounded. Go to your room.” Daniela’s father had finally ordered in a firm voice.
The decision was met with a frustrated sigh from Daniela, she stomped all the way to her room like a kid and slammed the door behind her as she leaned against it.
From her room, she could still make out her parents’ discussions about her which only made her feel worse.
“Such an irresponsible kid.” Her father’s stern voice.
“Where did we go wrong?” Her mother’s worried tone.
She hated this, hated them, hated alcohol, hated parties, hated her new friends. She hated everything.
Daniela felt tears well up in her eyes. God, how long has it been since she last cried?
Probably when Manon had come to see her the day she moved away. It was also since then that everything started going downhill.
Right after her best friend left she had to make new friends who were pretty stupid if she was completely honest but at least they threw parties often. This little habit of hers turned into a real addiction, was there even an addiction to parties? Who knows.
She loved them, though. She loved the bass of the music resonating in every wall of the house, loved the unbearable heat coming from all the other sweaty people cramped up in a room and especially loved the alcohol and the cigarettes that were passed around like candies.
Daniela would be lying if she said she wasn't a bit disappointed in herself for turning out like this. She was like this even when Manon was still here but it got way worse when her friend left.
Daniela could blame it all she wanted on Manon’s departure but deep down, she knew this whole behavior came from herself.
She pulled out her phone hesitantly, there was three percent of battery left. Enough to send a few messages if she was lucky.
Direct Message.
dani → manon
November 13, 2022. 4:09 a.m.
dani : i miss you manz come back
dani : like rlly miss you
manon : holy shit its 4 am are u ok?
manon : are u drunk or did u take smth else?
manon : answer rn dani or im calling ur parents im not kidding
dani : im sorry and no i didnt take anything
dani : they alr know anyway
manon : its okay, are you home safe rn?
dani : yeah i js miss you
dani : its been almost a year since u mobesv away
dani : moved**
manon : i miss you too dani, i really do but you have to stay safe and take care of yourself
manon : i wish i could be here with u rn
dani : please come back
dani : its so hard without you
manon : dani i swear we’ll see each other again, just hold on
manon : just get some sleep and we can talk abt it tmrw
manon : i love you sm goodnight dani
dani : i love u too
dani : goodnight manon
Daniela threw her phone, it was dead anyway. She didn’t want to sleep, she wanted to feel alive like at the party earlier that night.
She knew how to feel that way, actually.
Daniela slowly stood up and walked to her nightstand, she opened the small drawer and started rummaging through it in the darkness of her room. She smiled in relief when she felt a small plastic package, smaller than the palm of her hand but still managed to erase the earlier sadness.
The Latina turned on her bedside lamp and fell back on her bed, she held the package over her head. It contained white powder– cocaïne. She bought it not too long ago, turns out some people at her school also run a drug business outside of class.
She stared at the rumpled plastic for a bit longer, contemplating what to do. It wouldn’t be the first time she used drugs but her body still stressed every time she was about to.
Daniela sighed and put down the plastic packet back in the nightstand’s drawer.
Not tonight, maybe tomorrow.
___________
The car ride was long because Manon could not remember the directions to her grandparents’ house to save her life.
Manon constantly contradicted herself about which way to go which annoyed Daniela even more. She didn’t know why she was so sensitive today, probably her leg and the fever that came with the infection but God, she really wanted to get out of this damn car.
Daniela looked out of the window to ground herself, not a really good idea since there were dead bodies laying on the road and zombies running at the car and following the sound of it.
She wondered if they could see, after observing them for ten minutes she realized that, no, they could only hear.
There was also a shit ton of debris and abandoned cars that only made her wonder how long until they were forced to walk due to the roadblocks.
Daniela leaned her head against the leather headrest, she was shivering every now and then. Sophia was on her right and she looked equally as conflicted about how peaceful the drive would be.
Stressing would not help them.
The Latina dug through her front pocket, there was her lighter and her pack of cigs that still remained untouched. A few pennies that probably didn’t make a full dollar if she added them up and a familiar plastic packet.
She regretted bringing it now. It was unfortunately not a great time to get high.
Unlike Daniela had predicted, the road to Manon’s grandparents’ house had been pretty smooth, she was right about it being secluded enough from the other surrounding cities. Lara pulled in the driveway carefully and parked her car.
This house was magnificent, it had a large, arched, conveniently open, black gate with golden spades on it. The driveway was littered with white stones and palm trees making it look fancier than it actually is. The house itself was beautiful as well, a chalet made of dark wood.
“Why the hell do your grandparents live in a Châlet in California?” Daniela asked without realizing it.
It earned a few chuckles from the other girls, Manon turned around, “Swiss heritage, they miss the Alps.”
“Aren’t the Alps a part of France ?” Sophia furrowed her brows.
“French people are liars, Sophia. They just love to colonize everything and say it’s theirs, I’m rooting for Switzerland.” Manon rolled her eyes and opened the passenger door once the car came to a stop.
“Aren't Swiss, like, part French or something?” Lara took off her car key and put it back in her pocket.
Manon simply shot her a glare before muttering something under her breath and getting out of the car. The rest of the group followed suit.
“Damn, your grandparents have such a nice place” Megan was looking at the house with bright eyes.
“Yeah, they’re loaded so having a nice house is a must. They’re not here, though. I think they’re on a trip or something.” Manon wrapped an arm around Daniela’s waist to support her and started to walk along the driveway with their bags in hand.
When they reached the front door, Manon didn’t bother knocking, she simply fished out her keys from her pocket and unlocked the door with a small click. The group dropped their bags by the entryway and silence crashed over them. Nobody knew what to say.
Except Sophia. Perfect Sophia. Daniela was really thankful she was here.
“We should assess how much food and water there is in the house. I thought I saw solar panels on the rooftops so as long as the inverter works we should still be able to have electricity.”
She paused to watch them and they all nodded in agreement before resuming.
“We shouldn’t waste it, though. Anyways, Dani and I will search for medical supplies, Manon and Yoonchae will count up the food and Megan and Lara can explore the garden and see if there’s anything else. Okay?”
Daniela actually wondered who could even disagree with that, it just made sense and as expected the girls nodded quickly. Manon took Yoonchae’s hand and disappeared into the hallway and Megan and Lara exited the house again.
It was only Sophia and her now.
“Let’s find the bathroom.” Daniela said as she tried to walk. She walked a bit more, not because she was healing but because she got used to the pain at this point.
Sophia sighed at the sight and supported Daniela by looping her arm around under her arms. They explored some rooms, and it turns out there were a lot of guest rooms but when they finally reached the bathroom it was pretty empty. Right, they had gone on a trip, they probably took a bunch of hygiene supplies with them.
Daniela sat down on the edge of the bathtub while Sophia rummaged calmly through the cabinets.
“Ever smoked?” Daniela cut through the unbearable silence that had settled between them.
Sophia turned her head to meet Daniela’s eyes, “No, why would I smoke? It kinda ruins your body.”
Daniela shrugged, “I mean yeah, but like, it’s to unwind so it’s good in a way. Feeling good mentally is better than feeling good physically, I guess.”
“And are you feeling good mentally right now?” Sophia raised an eyebrow.
“No. I need to smoke right now.”
Daniela grabbed the pack of Marlboro from her pocket and took one. “Want one?” She handed Sophia a cigarette.
Sophia frowned at it and contemplated it for a solid minute as if she was weighing the pros and cons of smoking it. She finally let out a small exhale and took it from Dani’s fingers who smiled at the Filipina’s answer.
The Latina flicked her lighter to life, she ignited Sophia’s cigarette first and then her own. Daniela inhaled slowly before parting her lips to let out the white cloud of smoke, she threw her head back and looked at the pristine white ceiling. She missed this, smoking carelessly and not being treated like a raging addict.
When she heard violent coughing, Daniela snapped her head back up and looked at Sophia who was folded in herself, her body shaking violently with each cough. The Latina chuckled at the sight.
“It’s okay. Try to breathe, it’s your first time.” She took a shaky step towards Sophia and put her free hand on Sophia’s shoulder.
When the coughs subsided, Sophia met Daniela’s eyes with teary eyes from coughing.
“Holy shit, how do you like that stuff?”
Daniela simply smiled. “Do you like coffee, Sophia?”
Sophia gave her a confusing look, “Yeah, why?”
“Coffee is just like cigarettes, nobody likes it at first because it’s bitter but then people get used to the bitterness and end up liking it. People like coffee and cigs for what they disliked the most about them when they first tasted them.”
Sophia rolled her eyes, “Whatever, Freud.”
Daniela just scoffed and took another hit of her cigarette, watching Sophia intently as she took her second hit herself. Almost like a master watching his student.
Daniela thought that Sophia was nothing like coffee, she would describe her as tea. Chamomile one– if she’s feeling extra precise. Sophia had a calming aura, one that did not get shaken no matter how bad things were.
And maybe Daniela hated it at first because who doesn’t panic about going outside during a zombie apocalypse? The answer was of course Sophia.
And maybe now, she doesn’t hate it as much anymore just because Sophia agreed to smoke with her. This was probably one of the most subjective judgments Daniela had ever made. How can you judge someone for smoking in that situation anyway?
Daniela simply focused her gaze on her cigarette, the ash at the end of it slowly falling down in specks when her right hand shook a bit too much.
The plastic packet in her pocket didn't weigh as heavily as before.
Definitely not tonight, maybe never.