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Zion couldn't help but feel restless. Judy and him were the only ones that had gotten out of the school. The loud music had lured so many zombies… Just the day before they had been all together, talking about how they would be alright at the Safe Zone… And then the nightmare: when the loud music had echoed everywhere, zombies had come from every direction, separating them. Hailey had fallen and he still could hear her screams of terror and pain as zombies had gutted her. Sweet Hailey… She had always been so discreet…
He had grabbed Judy's arm and dragged her away, rushing as fast as he could in the corridors. They had lost sight of the others, only hearing screams above the confusion that quickly faded away as they ran. Zion had finally chosen to get into a classroom: they would soon have been trapped, outnumbered. When the music finally stopped after several hours, they could only hear zombies growling and wandering in the nearby corridors. That was when they had decided to give it a try and had escaped by a window… It had been so high that Zion had gotten hurt. But even now, his swollen ankle was nothing compared to the painful emptiness in his heart.
Judy and him had gotten to the Safe Zone thanks to one of their rescue units that had found them in the streets. If they hadn't been there, there was no doubt that Judy and him would be dead… His eyes wandered around, observing without really seeing anything. People were living their new life in the Safe Zone, getting used to new habits, some laughing, just happy to be alive. Children were playing together… Somehow still a bit innocent despite not being totally oblivious to their situation. Zion sometimes wondered how their group would have integrated this new way of life. Ethan would definitely have fit in the rescue units. Harry… He surely would have gone on food errands as often as he could, desiring to help. Scarlett would probably have fallen in love with one of the soldiers. Sue would have taken upon her to take care of the children and become some kind of teacher. Hailey would have stayed with her or Judy… Judy had volunteered to work with the medics who welcomed the newest rescues. She had told him that it helped her to go through the grief process. And she needed to be useful.
Somehow, Zion admired her for being so strong. He couldn't do much with his swollen ankle so he had a bit too much time alone, to think… Jay would probably have done some cooking or be on storage duty. Nothing too risky. Eugene… He closed his eyes as he thought of the young blonde, feeling his throat tightening. Eugene would have been mumbling about everything but would have done his chores anyway. He would probably have been with Harry in the food errands… And sometimes, during his free time, he would have taken a guitar and sing for everyone.
It would have been so nice. A tear rolled down his cheek and he dropped his head. He missed them so much… It wasn't supposed to end like that! His hands balled into fists on his knees as tears ran down freely on his face. A kid stopped playing to look at him for a few seconds, but then resumed playing. It was such a common thing now to witness someone crying. Zion didn't even feel upset about it. Life was upside down. Nothing was what it used to be anymore. He sighed and wiped his face with his sleeve, trying to get this new outburst in control. He knew he had been depressed ever since they felt safe here. Every single time that the thought of this place being so close to them came back into his mind, only to be replaced by this overwhelming emptiness. The others deserved to be here with them… This place had been there, all this time. Sorrow and anger kept fighting, every day, every instant. If only he had seen that there was something awfully wrong with Lawrence… Perhaps everyone would be alive… Here, safe and sound.
"Zion?" It was Judy's voice.
She approached with a tray in her hands. She kneeled at his side and handed him the tray: there was a bowl with some soup with vegetables. He looked at it, not moving… He really didn't feel hungry.
"Zion, please… I know it's hard but… Please."
He knew he was selfish. Judy never complained. She always did her best to be useful. So caring. He inhaled deeply and took the tray, thanking her as he forced himself to eat. That simple act always seemed to please her a lot, putting a smile on her face. She always waited patiently for him to finish his meal, talking about everything. She always seemed so enthusiastic…
"I envy you." He murmured.
"Me?" Judy looked at him with surprise. "Why?"
"Despite everything… You find the force to smile." Zion put down his bowl. "You're so much stronger than I ever thought."
"Zion…" She offered a sad smile to him. "It's the only thing I can do… I'm not physically strong nor hardy. I often heard people say that they felt better when seeing me smile. It's the least I can do."
"I like your smile." The redhead nodded.
"And… We are the last ones of our group… So I want to help you as much as I can." She whispered. "We owe them that much, right?"
Zion nodded again, but she noticed his fingers whitening as he held the tray tighter. She knew the boy had been badly hurt during their escape, and it wasn't just physically… They hadn't spoken much about their friends, the wound too fresh. But perhaps they needed it. She felt ready to talk about it but wondered if Zion was. Or would ever be.
"I think they would have liked the Safe Zone…" She murmured.
Her interlocutor didn't answer but she could see his shoulders trembling. It was a painful sight. That young man that had been one of the pillars of their group, always ready to fight to protect and feed the others… He looked broken.
"I miss them too." Judy tried again feeling the need to say it.
Tears began to fall from under the red mane of hair. She couldn't see his face but didn't need to. Gently, she put a hand on his shoulder as she felt hot tears rolling down her own cheeks.
"So let's do our best here, okay? People need you, Zion."
"Need me?" He finally looked at her, his eyes a mix of anger and despair. "I failed them, Judy."
"You're too harsh with yourself. You saved me." She remembered him.
"I know but… If I had done things differently, maybe they would be here." The boy explained, his eyes darting away.
"Or maybe we would be all dead." Judy sighed. "You can't change the past, Zion, but we can help people from now on. Help them to survive."
The redhead didn't seem half convinced and Judy decided that she would try another day: Zion had been depressed since their first day in the Safe Zone. It would take some time and things would probably get better once his ankle would allow him to go on patrols. As she took the tray and got up, she heard him murmured:
"I never told him…"
Judy looked at her friend in surprise, wondering what he was talking about. His eyes were lost in space as he whispered:
"I never felt like that before… And it was him… So I didn't know how to tell him… I thought I'd have more time once in here but…"
His voice broke as he spoke. The girl stayed silent, trying to process the information. She had always thought that Scarlett and Zion had been a couple or almost. But it appeared that the redhead loved another boy… Their blonde bimbo would probably kill herself if hearing this. Well, that is if she wasn't already dead. Judy tried to think of a situation where she could have noticed Zion's feelings for one of the boys but all she could think of was when they were bickering… But maybe the redhead was a bit more protective with...
"Was it Eugene?" She asked.
Zion slowly nodded. Judy pinched her lips : the youngest of them all was slender, sarcastic, and quite bad-tempered ; she always thought that he might be one of the first ones to die amongst the boys. She had seen him asleep in their meeting room and had thought at that moment of how delicate and fragile he seemed. Of course Zion would want to protect him. Plus Eugene had always done his share of the work: fetching food supplies, going on night patrols in the school and more.
She remembered how the blonde would get angry anytime they put his strength into question and how he disliked being treated as a child only because he was the youngest. He often bickered with Zion…
"I think he looked up to you. He wanted you to notice him and get your approval." Judy sadly smiled at the memories. "He was annoyed by everything."
Zion slightly nodded, amused. It was true that Eugene seemed upset about everything. Of course, it was only a way to hide his fear, but he was definitely very good at it. What had annoyed him then was now what he missed the most. All those moments that were now gone forever… As he was getting into another depressing episode, Judy sighed and took the tray back and left. She liked the redhead, very much, but he was difficult to help and demanded quite a lot of energy. Sadly, she couldn't focus only on him. She wondered if she was strong enough to wait for Zion to get better, or if he would ever be.
"Judy!" Someone called from afar. "They are waiting for you at the entrance. A rescue unit is arriving. They'll need help."
"Okay. I'll be right there!"
A rescue unit. She hoped everyone was fine. Rescue units often came back with a few survivors. Sometimes with Cured Ones. That's how they called the zombies who had received the cure and were people again… But they weren’t many of them, plus the Cured Ones had to deal with the idea that they might have killed and eaten people. Even if they weren't responsible, the culpability was crushing. She put the tray back in the kitchen and hurried to the main entrance of the Safe Zone.
A few volunteers were there already, helping the rescue unit to get rid of their protections and checking if there were any wounded. Judy approached and offered her help. It wasn't much but, as Zion had said, her smile seemed to be enough for those who were coming back home.
"Judy, it's nice to see you." The leader of the unit smiled.
"Here, have some water." She handed him a bottle.
"Thanks." He didn't wait to drink thirstily.
"Is everyone alright?" Judy asked, concerned. "You were more this morning!"
"Yeah, we had to split. But the others are arriving. Prepare all the medical support we have." The man commanded.
"Sure." Judy nodded, more and more worried. "I'll gather everyone…"
"Hey, don't look so down: we are bringing back people. Survivors. Many." He smiled.
A large smile pulled on her lips. It was great news! She made sure the unit had water and food before she took off to gather help, medics and volunteers. She ran to call everyone she could find and decided after only a few seconds of hesitation to run to her friend.
"Zion!"
"What?" He groaned. "Why are you yelling all of a sudden?"
"The rescue unit found survivors. Many. We have to help!" She claimed.
Zion looked at her, unconvinced. He didn't feel at all ready to help people. But Judy seemed so excited he could hardly refuse that to her. He sighed and nodded.
"Alright. Just help me here, will you?"
Judy's smile was so big it must hurt. She helped him to stand on his feet and walked at his side as he limped slowly to the entrance. She really hoped it would help Zion's mood, give him purpose. Helping others was great to help oneself. Judy could tell. The two of them needed a long moment to go to the kitchen to take food and go back to the entrance. The redhead didn't complain but it was obvious that his limp was painful. Zion carried food nonetheless, walking like a proud wounded soldier. Judy smiled:
"Even at your worst, you'd still look cool."
"What was that?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing. I was talking to myself." She chuckled.
They slowly arrived at the gates. Apparently, the rest of the unit had arrived and everyone was doing their best to help. Judy's eyes widened at the sight: they were so many. At least twenty survivors! They never had that many people at once.
"It's amazing!" She smiled with emotion. "Let's see how we can help."
Zion nodded. Many survivors appeared crying, so happy to be finally safe, to see other people. Their relief was a sight to see. Zion felt moved by it. Perhaps it was that feeling that helped Judy to always go forward. Helping people by providing elementar things… The redhead offered a sympathetic smile when he gave a simple bottle of water to a woman who thanked him, crying loudly as she shook his hand, holding it so tight it hurt.
Judy looked at her friend and, as their eyes met, she smiled: there was something in Zion's eyes. Not quite enough, but it was a nice beginning. Suddenly, as she scanned her surroundings to see if someone needed help, she froze when seeing a familiar face. His dark short hair, his deep green eyes…
"ETHAN!" She heard herself screaming.
The boy's eyes widened and an incredulous smile pulled on his lips. Judy and Zion made their best to go to him without pushing everybody out of their way and, as they passed the last people between them, they realized that a smaller person was standing next to him. This blonde disheveled mane of hair, those light brown eyes…
"EUGENE!"
"Guys…" The blonde visibly couldn't believe it. "Zion…!"
The redhead shivered at hearing this voice saying his name. Without even thinking it through, he grabbed the blonde and embraced him tightly as his ankle gave out. The two of them found themselves sitting on the ground, hugging each other with force and emotion. Zion could feel his friend's arms holding tightly onto him, on his neck, as his own arms held the blonde's waist. He couldn't quite believe it.
"Eugene…" He whispered, realising only then that he was sobbing.
"I thought they ate you!" Eugene replied, his voice breaking too, his face nesting in the crook of the redhead's neck. "When we were… When we couldn't see you anymore… I heard you call my name… I thought…"
A man approached, saying that the survivors and the Safe Zone people couldn't be so close before further medical examination. Ethan stepped in to say that they hadn't been bitten and just asked for them to be more patient. Judy offered to stay with them and be checked with the survivors to avoid any doubt after. The situation was rare but not unknown: reunions would happen now and then and even if the soldiers were quite strict, they would let them be a few minutes, under surveillance, until a medic would come and check on them.
After a long minute, Zion let go of his friend and smiled sheepishly as he apologized. Eugene rolled his eyes and mumbled something about the redhead being too sensitive, even with his light brown eyes red and watering. Judy smiled and took Ethan's hand, offering to take him to the nearest medic. She looked at Zion and winked before leaving them.
The redhead watched them leave and looked back at the blonde. They were sitting on the ground, facing each other. He hesitated and murmured:
“I’m… So glad you’re alright… I thought…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. What happened at the school?”
“Well… When we lost sight of you, Ethan dragged me into the corridors. We fought as much as we could and… At some point, we thought we would die there. But then we found the stairs to the basement and I remembered what Harry and you told us. We ran there and found a room with enough food to survive a few days.”
“You stayed there?” Zion asked, baffled.
“Yeah. It was a good thing that Ethan was with me. He was the one who remained calm and made me stay hidden for three days. I was getting crazy in there.” Eugene admitted. “If it wasn’t for him, I would probably have tried to sneak out and died stupidly.”
“Yeah, good thing Ethan is the wise one.” His elder smirked.
“Yeah…” The youngest of their group groaned grumpily before his face turned sad. “All the others are dead. Aren’t they?”
“I’m afraid so.” Zion nodded.
“After three days, Ethan and I decided to give it a go and search for the Safe Zone.” Eugene resumed his story. “Of course, zombies got in the way and we ended up with a group of survivors. To be honest, we stayed with them only two days before the rescue unit found us.”
“Ethan told you to trust them, right?” The redhead grinned.
“Why are you implying that I’m a stupid brat who sees every new thing as a threat?” The blonde pouted. “But yes, he did.”
“I’m glad that you followed them.” Zion whispered.
Eugene looked back at him. He still needed to process that his friend was alive, safe and sound… He inhaled deeply, feeling safe for the first time in what felt like ages. He looked around them, admitting somewhere in his mind that they would live there, perhaps until their last breath. Someone called for them and Zion got up, extending his hand to help him stand up. It felt warm and familiar. He could feel the blonde’s fingers almost digging in his hand for how hard he held it. It made him smile:
“Hey, Eugene?”
“Hn?”
“Those past few days…” He sighed. “They made me realise that… That I…” He stumbled on words.
“Is this you trying to tell me that you love me?” The blonde cut him mercilessly.
“I - Wait, what???” Zion’s eyes widened. “How do you know?”
“Are you that thick, really?” Eugene mumbled, his cheeks slowly turning red but his eyes plunged in his. “I know it because I got it, just like you did. When I thought you were…”
He didn’t finish his sentence but they both knew what he meant. Zion gulped down and, without hesitating this time, pulled the musician towards him, his free hand grabbing the back of his friend’s neck to keep him steady as he captured his lips in a desperate kiss. Eugene answered instantaneously, his free hand landing on the redhead’s arm.
Judy smiled as she watched the two boys kissing, feeling that Zion would finally recover after all this time. He seemed to have found his personal cure. Ethan was by her side and had one of his rare smiles, watching their two friends:
“Eugene would kill me but… He cried a lot, you know. Every time he thought I was sleeping, he let his guard down and allowed himself to cry as silently as possible.”
“Zion wasn’t better… He has been depressed ever since we got here…”
“I never thought they would be so close.” Ethan admitted. “They bickered all the time.”
Judy nodded and smiled. She was happy to see light again in Zion’s eyes.
THE END