Chapter Text
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I… shit, you’re limping—”
“It’s fine. It’s nothing, babe, just gonna need a fuckin’ crutch after this— that’s still kickass, right? I can be kickass with a crutch? Hit zombies with it, y’know, bap tat tat—”
“You’re hurt, fuck, Eth… hey, hey, c’mere— it’s not nothing if you’re panting like that—”
“Lex, c’mon. I’m fine. I just… lemme catch my breath.”
Things had been dark since the world ended.
Not just tonally— though that was absolutely fucking true, what, seeing as the end of the world was a pretty bleak subject— but literally .
The power had lasted less than two weeks. Two fucking weeks— two weeks that Lex looked back on with nothing but longing . That wasn’t to say that the two weeks had been good . They hadn’t been— they’d been chock full of encounters with blue-spewing zombies , or aliens, or… whatever they were , tinged with memories that felt like blood in her mouth, and full of sleepless nights left wondering whether or not they’d be woken by the sunrise or from being torn limb from limb— which wasn’t exactly something that constituted good , but fuck , at least there’d been electricity.
And electricity, funnily enough, was something that she really liked . Not just for the internet (though fuck , that was something that she missed), but for basic things. Like heat. Like light .
As much as she’d bitched before about Hatchetfield being called a tiny town despite having a theme park, a shopping mall, several office buildings, and two fucking coffee shops within a block of each other — it had always felt kind of small, but without the lights? Without people?
She wished she hadn’t been right.
It was big . Big and dark — though in a weird fucking sense, it would’ve been worse if the lights were there, because then it would’ve felt like Hatchetfield always did, but wrong . At least this way, it felt wrong all around.
It also felt cold.
Though that might’ve been because she was curled up on the roof of a burnt out mall in a mess of blankets. And because it was fucking autumn , which, in Hatchetfield, was basically winter.
Even with her eyes screwed shut and her head tucked as far down toward her shoulders as she could get it, even with no less than six blankets and a sleeping bag in place to shelter her from the breeze, she could still feel it. Like a freezing, clawed hand, it slid against her skin and dragged its wickedly sharp nails down her spine, which was really unwelcome, and altogether a shitty thing to do.
Not that the weather cared, though.
The weather was kinda busy being non sentient and, also, a bitch — and sure, maybe those things couldn’t coexist, but Lex really couldn’t care less.
Getting to sleep was fucking hard , and as she lay there, desperately clinging to what little warmth she had— what little rest she’d gotten— she pressed her face further against the pillow and inwardly cursed whatever had woken her up. It had taken nothing short of the apocalypse to get her brain to settle into a normal sleeping schedule, after all, and she was trying to stick with it.
...though she also didn’t give enough of a shit about actually sticking with it to check her watch.
Instead, she tried her best to stay absolutely still— like the cold would just pass her by— in the indent she’d left in her little cocoon of stolen bedsheets. Sunrise hadn’t come yet, after all. That harsh glow forcing its way through her eyelids wasn’t present, and Hannah was already up and about from the absence of warmth beside her…
Fuck.
Her brow furrowed.
Her eyelids twitched, then opened just a crack.
Not much changed when they did.
Blinking away the grogginess, eyes flicking upward— settling on the dark sky and the small smattering of stars she could see— Lex squinted through her eyelashes against the outline of the roof’s edge. Her vision was halfway obscured thanks to the pillow she’d all but mashed against her face, but through the haze, she could vaguely see a small, familiar figure peering down at what had once been a parking lot.
“...Hannah?”
Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
Speaking above a whisper— alongside hot showers and having a real fucking bed — was a thing of the past.
...did she hear me?
It was windy…
...goddamnit.
Reluctantly, Lex pushed herself up a touch further. “Han, hey…”
Hannah’s head turned.
Her lips quirked upward.
“...morning,” she greeted, softly. “Didn’t want to wake you…”
“You didn’t,” Lex huffed, pulling one of the blankets over her shoulders, “Just got cold.”
“...warmer if it’s both of us—”
“Do you want me to be mad?”
Hannah’s head shook. “No,” she supplied, scooting over ever so slightly as Lex forced herself to move. Her skin felt almost damp against the cool air— though she supposed that that was probably her own sweat, which… was gross.
Whatever.
Not the worst thing that’s happened for… however long it’s been, now.
Fuck… how long had it been?
She wasn’t exactly keeping track. The days had blurred together, really, into a routine of sorts; wake up, be grateful to be alive, grab as many supplies as were available from the burnt-out remains of Lakeside Mall, scramble back up to the safety of the rooftop, fall asleep and repeat, though that hadn’t been the plan . The plan had been—
Nope.
Not going there.
Gingerly, Lex lifted one hand from under the blanket’s keep and rubbed at her eyes. “...good,” she murmured, shuffling her way to Hannah’s side to drape the blanket around the pair of them.
Hannah’s head found her shoulder.
Automatically, Lex rested her cheek against the top of her ballcap. Her eyes flickered shut as she took a slow breath in, pulling Hannah closer to herself as she did.
Fuck, she’s cold…
Lex’s fingers twitched, then moved— finding Hannah’s arm and giving it a small rub in an attempt to bring some warmth to the younger Foster.
...we can’t stay like this forever…
...a few weeks is already longer than we were supposed to…
...the food’s gonna run out one of these—
“What’re you doing awake?” She murmured, softly, lifting her hand from her sister’s arm to brush through her bangs.
Hannah blinked up at her.
“Oh. Watching him.”
“...fucking what?”
She didn’t say that.
She did not just say that.
Unable to quite breathe properly, already to fucking feel her heartbeat beginning to speed up in her chest— pounding in a rhythm that made her feel almost sick. They’d been careful. They’d been so fucking careful after what had happened— but if one of those fuckers had found them—
“Webby said to!” Hannah interrupted her thoughts, a defensive tone flickering to life in her voice. “Said that help was coming! So,” pausing, she glanced down at the parking lot— brown eyes darting over rows of cars before seeming to settle on something just out of Lex’s line of sight. “I looked— and he’s there! Still is, Lexie, see— ”
“ Keep your voice down!” The words came out in a near hiss of sound— though as they pulled from her throat, already, she was moving to obey the prompt. “I… look, Hannah, if you did see something—”
“Webby says help ,” Hannah corrected, “and not if — look!”
When Hannah pointed, almost immediately (against her better judgement), Lex’s eyes tracked the motion.
At first, she didn’t see anything.
Just the same, shitty parking lot she’d grown used to— albeit, a shitter version —
“Hannah, I don’t see—”
“ There!”
A flash of movement caught her eye.
It was small.
Deliberate.
One that she would’ve missed had she not been paying attention— just next to the charred husk of what had once been a yellow SUV and low to the ground— but the second her eyes zeroed in on it, she froze.
Fuck.
her grip tightened on the blanket. “We don’t know if he’s human,” she whispered, keeping her eyes trained on the lone figure, trying to discern any sort of… fucking anything , though it was much too dark to try and guess anything but the exact basics, like the fact that they were walking slowly — almost creeping through the abandoned cars— and that they seemed to be taller than she was, alongside holding something.
“Isn’t glowing,” Hannah countered. “Look.”
That much was true. They’d seen infected below from their little rooftop hideout, and in the dark? Their eyes fucking gleamed like twin flashlights, illuminating everything in front of them as though they were searching for an escaped convict to catch in their beams— but as Lex squinted downward, there… wasn’t a glow to be seen.
“I’m looking, I…”
Lex’s words died in her throat.
It looked like a person.
Like a human person .
Keeping her eyes trained on the singular… thing as they made their way through the parking lot, Lex leaned forward a touch. “...they aren’t… dancing. They— they’re moving like a normal …”
“...like us?”
The hope in Hannah’s voice was painfully audible— woven through the two words in a way that was impossible to ignore.
Lex’s throat tightened. Her pulse quickened. Her fingers twitched on the blanket’s soft edge. “...I don’t know,” she admitted as she stood, sighing as Hannah’s gaze settled on her. “A-And if they’re not , I… I’m not risking you.”
Hannah’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“I said ,” Lex huffed, straightening herself out, “that I’m not gonna risk you. You’re staying here.”
“...but you’re going. Aren’t you?”
“...Banana, I have to… if it’s…” Trailing off, Lex scrubbed a hand down the front of her face. “...if there’s anybody out there…”
If there was even a chance there was somebody out there…
Gnawing on her lip, Lex held Hannah’s gaze.
“...I know… I know we’re doing pretty good on our own, but… I…”
“...you don’t want me to—”
“I don’t want you to get hurt!”
“I—” Hannah’s shoulders squared. Her eyes narrowed— and for a moment, it felt almost as though Lex was looking down at a younger version of herself, right down to the halfway glare and puffed up chest. “I’m not just a kid!”
“Hannah, c’mon, don’t argue with me…”
“I’m not— I can look after myself, and Webby says—”
“ I’m not losing anybody else, okay?”
That definitely broke the whispering rule.
That more than broke the whispering rule.
It wasn’t a shout — not a full one, anyway— but the second the harshly uttered words left her lips, Lex’s heart plummeted to her sneakers.
“I…” She started to say before giving a thick swallow and ducking her head— crouching ever so slightly to be closer to Hannah’s eye level, close enough to see the hurt blooming on her younger sister’s face. Her teeth sank into her lip. “...I’m sorry, but I need you to stay up here a-and look after the camp, okay? And if you see anything else— you shout to me. Got it?”
Hannah’s gaze flicked away from hers.
...damn it.
“...Han, c’mon… work with me, here.”
A shaky exhale trailed from her sister’s throat. “...Webby says to trust him,” she mumbled, “so… trust him.”
“Hey, if I can trust him, then… I’ll come right back for you, okay? Won’t have anything to worry about.”
“...I can go.”
“I know. But you’re not gonna. Just… stay here, and keep watch. Okay?”
Again, it felt like looking in a mirror— looking at her younger self, scuffing her heel and ducking her head— though the key difference between herself at that age and Hannah…
“...m’kay.”
...was that Hannah knew when to back down.
Smiling a tight lipped smile, Lex gave Hannah’s shoulder a soft squeeze. “Don’t worry, okay? If Webby says it’s fine—”
“Then it’s fine,” Hannah finished, keeping her gaze trained on the rooftop’s rough ground. “ Has to be fine.”
“ Exactly ,” Lex agreed. “Webby isn’t a liar— so… I’ll get us some help, and he can come back up here and help us pack all our shit down, okay?”
“...m’kay.”
...she’s still upset.
Normally, she would’ve pushed the point— but with time wasting…
“Okay,” she echoed back, bending down to pick up the fireaxe they’d nicked when they’d first holed up on the rooftop, “back in a flash— and you can watch the whole thing from up here. So if shit goes sideways—”
“Don’t wanna think about that.”
Lex’s heart twisted.
Right.
She lost him, too…
It was easy to forget that she wasn’t the only one who had to carry that with her. Easy to forget that, while Ethan had been her boyfriend, he’d also been… Hannah’s best friend. One of her only friends, and that went without saying that he fucking died saving—
Stop. It.
With a small shudder, Lex forced a breath into her lungs and crouched in front of her sister— getting on her level before draping the blanket over her shoulders.
“I’m gonna be fine ,” she breathed, softly, trying in vain to ignore the sudden prickling in her eyes and the tightness in her throat. Her smile wavered.
Hannah was the one to close the distance between them.
It happened in a rush— one minute, she was staring into her sister’s watery eyes and trying her damndest to convince her that she’d be okay, and the next, she was cradling her close, pressing her face into the top of her cap and squeezing, trying to memorize the feeling.
It was a nice feeling.
It was a safe feeling. A familiar one. One that she was going to fight tooth and nail to feel again.
That was the thing about the apocalypse. Sure, she could say she was gonna be fine, but there was never any guarantee that she would be. Promises didn’t mean shit . If they did , well…
Her grip on Hannah tightened.
“I’ll be back for you.”
“... better be.”
Lex couldn’t help a small snicker at that.
Leave while you’re laughing.
It’ll be less scary if you leave laughing.
And that thought firmly in mind, she pulled herself away from Hannah’s embrace— pausing only to ruffle her hair despite the cap on her head.
“Hey— I’ll try not to make myself a liar.”
“Good.”
Okay, Foster, this is the part where you leave.
Exhaling, tightened her grip on the axe, and turning toward the rooftop door, Lex fished the key out of her pocket in one smooth motion.. “Back in a flash,” she said again, trying to cling to the words— using them as some sort of cover for the sound of the key slipping smoothly into the lock. “You don’t have anything to worry about— and , if worst comes to worst…”
With a soft glance over her shoulder and a broken smile directed at Hannah, she lifted one hand and tapped at the side of her head. “You’ve got the hat, right?”
Hannah nodded.
“Yeah,” she agreed, croakily, “got the hat. You should go. Leaving soon.”
“Right. Okay.”
“Okay.”
SIlence fell between them.
Do I say something?
Why does this feel like a goodbye?
Why does this feel like when he said he was—
“Be safe ,” Hannah instructed, sternly, causing Lex to blink out of her thoughts— finding her hand on the knob.
“Uh, yeah . Safety’s my middle name—”
“Not Angela?”
She paused.
Her grip on the doorhandle tightened.
“Changed it,” she supplied, the joke coming out somewhat strained as she all but forced her body into motion— stiffly letting the door slide open to reveal the— surprise, sur-fucking-prise— dark staircase.
It took every ounce of willpower she had to move herself into it, even with the fireaxe’s reassuring weight on her shoulder.
“...okay,” Hannah murmured. “Come back soon— Webby says it’ll be fine, but…”
Again, behind her ribs, Lex’s heart gave a painful squeeze.
“...I know. She’s not been quite right with a lot of her shit, but she’s gotta be right about this thing, okay?”
Even if she was wrong about… the fact that shit was gonna turn out for us…
Even if she was wrong about him…
“...’kay,” Hannah returned. “I’ll lock the stairs. And you’ll knock.”
Her voice sounded hollow.
Her gaze stayed trained on her sneakers.
Lex didn’t bother trying to redirect it.
“Yeah. I’ll knock, and you’ll be fine. I’ll be fine— I love you, okay? And I’ll come right back if anything happens.”
One of Hannah’s hands lifted— moving to clutch the brim of her hat. “...love you, too.”
There was more to say.
More she could’ve said— but… fuck , if that really was another survivor rooting around in the lot…
Inhaling, Lex turned toward the darkness of the stairway.
“Lock the door,” she instructed, “don’t open it for anything but the knock.”
Behind her, Hannah gave a soft hum of affirmation. “I know.”
“I know you do.”
Lex took one step.
Then another.
And another.
The darkness felt thick— though when Hannah closed the door behind her, it intensified, all but swallowing her whole, leaving her with nothing but her hand on the wall to guide her down, down, down… until she reached the entrance to the rest of the mall.
You can do this.
You know the way out.
You’re not trapped.
You’ll be fine.
It felt like a lie.
Fuck , she hoped it wasn’t a lie.
The walk out to the parking lot was nothing short of nerve wracking.
Every single noise, every breath she let out was one that she had to calculate— every step a risk she was taking to get herself out of the building. Her heart was pounding in her chest to a point where she thought that it, too, would be audible— and as she crept along the wall, head down and hackles raised, her grip on the fireaxe tensed and loosened in a rhythm.
Sweat beaded on her brow.
A small part of her wished that something was there— fucking anything — just so she’d have a reason to be paranoid, but the gutted, fire-damaged interior of Lakeside was eerily quiet. It was hard to picture it as the bustling shopping center it had once been when it looked like nothing more than a blackened, barely-standing building— a warehouse , even.
Barely any of the signs were untouched, and with every light off and not a single soul beside herself (she hoped) creeping through the halls…
It was fucking creepy.
Fuck.
Okay.
The Cinnabon has a back exit that’s… probably gonna be my best bet…
Even before the thought had crossed her mind, her body had already been moving on autopilot— directing her toward the nearest exit almost instinctually.
It’s got the best cover, and it goes right out to the lot… fuck, okay, this’ll be fine, it’ll all be fine…
Was it true?
For her own sake, she fucking hoped so .
The pastry shop looked empty — like everything else— but that didn’t stop her from squinting through the windows as though expecting some sort of flash mob to show up and obliterate her before mustering the nerve to stalk closer.
Closer.
Then inside— past the blown-out glass of the front windows, around the back counter and upturned tables— until she’d passed right through and was standing, unharmed, in front of the back door.
Easy fucking peasy.
Now, all she had to do was walk through it, and that was fine— there was even a little bit of dim light filtering under the doorway, which was like, totally fine.
And okay.
And not scary in the slightest.
Go check.
You don’t have to fight this fuckhead, just… go see if they’re alive.
She could do that— and she was going to.
Pushing her hip against the bar, Lex winced at the sudden clunk of noise that came from the mechanism unfurling, though she barely had time to process the fact that if that were somebody infected, the sound sure as fuck would’ve alerted them to her positon, before the cold night air flooded her lungs and she was standing out on the concrete, axe back in hand.
Okay… just… where the fuck…
Staying still, all but frozen in place, Lex squinted through the mess of abandoned cars in search of the stupid fucking SUV she’d caught the stranger beside before.
You have to move.
C’mon. You’re like. A moving pro.
Been doing it eighteen years…
The first few steps she took barely felt like steps— more of a pathetic shuffle— but as she fell further into stride, walking on her toes with her back hunched and her head up, slowly, some of her unease began to drain away.
...he’s gone.
Because there’s the SUV, and—
Three cars over, something moved.
Some one .
Lex’s heart felt like it was going to explode.
Moving fast, but not fast enough that she was careless, she fell into a crouching position, hiding herself behind a beaten up cruiser as the sound of footsteps rang through the air— slow, purposeful, and…
...sounding like they were trying to be quiet.
There was a deliberate sort of tiptoeing to them, which was good — the infected didn’t do that. They danced , sure, and some of them were quiet in their steps— but they didn’t give enough of a shit about making noise to try to actively try muffling their own, which… meant…
...god, please.
Slowly, Lex pulled herself a little more upright— wary gaze rising above the roof of the cruiser to find the back of someone’s head— fuck, he’s right there .
Her grip on the fireaxe tightened. Her stance squared, readying for a fight, readying to have to break into a full sprint toward the flannel-wearing, redheaded…
Her sureness faltered.
Wait.
Fuck.
I know him.
“ Mr. Houston?”
The words spilled from her before she could even try to stifle them.
His head— Tom’s head— lifted.
Fuck.
Please.
Please, please, please be him, please be—
Their eyes met.
“... Foster?”
His weren’t glowing.
And for the first time in a long fucking time, the darkness was someting that she took comfort in when he caught her in a hug.