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Nathaniel stared out the window while sitting at a desk in the classroom. Outside was chaos. It had been a month since an akuma had spread around a zombie virus. And not one like Zombizou either, these were real zombies.
Luckily, Ladybug and Chat Noir hadn't been turned yet, but the original akuma was hard to find due to the newfound abundance of the undead.
Their class stuck together after the first day, helping each other survive while they all stayed at the school. After all, if there was anyone who were used to surviving akuma attacks in this environment, it was definitely them.
Marinette walked into the room, gently knocking on the door, "Hey, Nath?"
He tore his eyes away from the outdoor sight, turning towards their leader, "Yeah?"
"It's you and Lila's turn to go look for supplies."
They had set up a buddy system so it would be harder for zombies to pick them off. If at any moment, something went wrong, they could help each other escape long enough. It had been working excellently so far, as proved by the fact nobody was dead yet.
That was scary, wasn't it? This wasn't a normal akuma attack where it would be over in a day or so. It had been a month already. If they died, that was it. There was a possibility they were never coming back.
He hauled himself off the chair, walking down towards the main entrance where Kim and Ivan were removing the barricades off the door so he and Lila could leave.
Just a couple more times. Then Ladybug and Chat Noir would fix everything.
That's all Nathaniel could believe in.
---
Most people weren't expecting the zombies to spread as fast and as long as they did, so most of the stores were abandoned due to their owners being dead. There were still some with good food in them though.
It was slightly terrifying to fully become aware of the fact things that were actually edible were becoming harder to find.
He and Lila carried some items they found that was somehow still fresh, walking along the sidewalk back to the school, bushes adorning the side of the path. She paused, stopping in the middle of their stroll.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Nathaniel almost yelped, quieting his voice down enough that zombies wouldn't hear.
"Aren't these pretty?" Lila said absentmindedly, cupping a flower blooming on the bush in her hand.
"We shouldn't be staring at flowers, Lila," Nathaniel frowned, glancing around nervously.
"Come on, Nathaniel, it's not that bad."
"Are you sure?" The redhead mumbled, "We should really be getting back to the others."
"They can wait a couple minutes," She brushed off, placing her items on the ground so she could gaze at the blossoms on the bush, "We barely get to see anything from within the school."
"I'd rather that than dying," Nathaniel muttered.
He spent a few minutes trying to coax her back, but every time she ignored him. Eventually, she blew up at him, shouting about how selfish he was that he couldn't let her be with nature for two minutes without ruining it. Her shrieks had attracted the attention of zombies roaming the area, all of them heading towards them quickly. Lila didn't seem to notice, simply looking at the plants again.
"Lila, look out!" Nathaniel shouted, grabbing her and pulling her back from a zombie that would've bitten her on the arm. "Are you okay?!"
He was completely shocked as the girl shoved him to the ground, food spilling out of his hands, sprinting in the direction of their base, not sparing a second glance back.
A small, optimistic part of his brain told him that she was just getting help from the others, but Nathaniel knew she wouldn't have shoved him in the first place if that was the case.
He scrambled off the ground as zombies swarmed the area she escaped to, forcing him to take another route. It would be fine. Nathaniel just had to find a place where he could sneak around them and go back to the school. Then he could tell everyone what happened.
---
Nathaniel didn't know how long he had been running, but his muscles were burning and it was getting harder to breath.
So close. He was so close to the school. So close to salvation. All he had to do was make it through the park and sprint down the sidewalk and he would be at the entrance to the school. Then Nathaniel could be safe again.
That was the only thing running through his mind as he forced himself to climb over the fence into the park, hoping to gain some form of barrier between him and the monsters. It worked since they didn't have the proper mental capacity to climb it as well.
Unfortunately, the sound of his landing alerted the zombies already in the park. Although there were few, there was still enough to be a threat. They also seemed to be faster than the previous ones.
Nathaniel hopped over a bench in the park, trying to put more obstacles between him and the zombies in quick pursuit.
His foot snagged on the top of the bench, interfering with the jump, making Nathaniel's body hit the ground hard, sliding a couple inches before slowing to a stop. Those few seconds were enough for the zombies to start surrounding him.
Nathaniel's breath grew ragged as he fully realized. He was going to die here. Alone, with nobody to save him or even hear his last words. At some point he started crying, but for all he knew, that could've happened while he was running.
He instinctively tensed up as the zombies got closer before footsteps approached, running fast. A blur smashed through the horde of zombies, quite literally, as the person used a steel bar to bash in their heads.
Nathaniel froze in place once he noticed the pale and slightly rotting flesh. It was a zombie. But why were they killing the others?
They turned around once the zombies were either dead or gone, looking Nathaniel in the eyes. The redhead couldn't react. He thought the other had died completely when this all started. After all, he saw him get swarmed with zombies on the first day the outbreak started.
But those were indeed the emerald eyes he used to spend hours gazing into.
"M... Marc..."
Completely exhausted, Nathaniel blacked out.
---
Lila wept to the others back at the school. "I was trying to help him! I really did! But he ignored me and continued looking at flowers even when I said there were zombies coming." Her hands trembled as she showcased the food Nathaniel had dropped, "I was barely able to grab these when I was escaping."
"What about Nath?!" Alix cried out, "You didn't even try to help?! That's why we have the whole system!"
"I couldn't help it!" Lila whimpered, "By the time he realized what was going on, he was already swarmed! I couldn't do anything!"
"He wouldn't do that!" Alix pressed further, "What actually happened?!"
"Why won't you believe me?!" Lila sobbed, rubbing her eyes with her hands.
Rose gently placed a hand on Alix's shoulder, "You both are probably shaken up, okay? Let's calm down a little." She had taken the role of the mediator ever since Bustier was killed protecting her class.
Marinette narrowed her eyes at the only returning scavenger, "Right..."
Everyone froze at the sound of rustling bushes near the entrance of the school. Max walked over to the window, peering through the boards covering them.
"It's Nathaniel. He's not a zombie."
"What?!" Lila shrieked, rushing over, "But I saw him get swarmed!" She gasped once she noticed what was going on.
Alix pushed her out of the way, trying to get a view of her best friend, "I..Is he getting a piggy back ride from a zombie?" She squinted. "Is that Marc?!"
The rest of the group dashed over to watch the scene. Marc was very clearly a zombie, but despite Nathaniel still looking distinctly human, he wasn't trying to bite or eat him. Instead, he very gently placed Nathaniel on the stairs leading up to the front door, connecting their foreheads for a bit, eyes closed in bliss, before turning around, steadying the steel bar in his hands. Marc got into a fighting stance, staring down the zombies who dared to walk forward towards them.
"Why is he keeping the other zombies away from him?" Max murmured under his breath as Marc beat the undead away from his boyfriend, who was still asleep or unconscious. Who knows what happened to the artist?
"What are you waiting for?!" Alix shouted, already running towards the entrance to throw the barricades away from the doors, "Get Nath inside!"
Kim helped her and everyone stood by the door as the two athletes lifted Nathaniel up to bring him back to the building.
Lila felt a chill run down her spine as Marc made direct eye contact with her, glare conveying so many negative emotions at once, before he went back to batting the zombies away from the humans. She was glad when the doors slammed shut again.
---
The group stood anxiously outside the infirmary, waiting for the moment Max would come out to announce whether Nathaniel was infected or not. He had gave them very explicit instructions not to open the door in case Nathaniel suddenly turned and bit him.
They all held their breaths as Max walked out, even looking largely surprised.
"Not infected. In fact, he's not even bitten."
"Really?" Alix said, brightening up a little, "That's good."
"Nathaniel's awake right now, if you want to see him-"
Alix pushed past him, racing into the room. Everyone else silently followed to see her hugging her best friend, who was resting on one of the beds.
"You absolute idiot. Don't do that again," Alix mumbled into his shoulder.
Nathaniel pouted, although he hugged her back tightly, "You think I decided to get shoved to the ground on purpose?"
Everyone froze, Lila making a small choking sound as she saw her lie crash and break into pieces.
"What do you mean?" Alix asked, eyes flickering towards Lila slightly, the girl slowly trying to leave.
"She was staring at flowers and then when I saved her from zombies, she shoved me to the ground to run away."
Everyone turned to Lila at once. Rose fumed silently, before opening her mouth to start lecturing her.
"Marc seemed to be more aware than the other zombies. Why do you think?" Marinette cut in before anything could be said, trying to break up the tension for a moment, turning to Max.
He crossed his arms, "This akuma created a virus, right? My best bet is that, just like real ones, there will be people who have slight immunities to it. Marc must be one of them."
She hummed, "That makes sense. He would've kept memories of before too, so that explains why he was so protective of Nathaniel."
Nathaniel slumped down on the bed, "So it really was Marc. I would've been dead if it wasn't for him. I ran for so long, I'm so tired." Despite this, he didn't let go of Alix, probably wanting the comfort.
"We'll let you rest now," Marinette said with a soft smile, gently ushering the rest of the group out of the room.
"So Lila..." The designer shut the door behind her, grinning widely at the nervous girl, who knew that smile contained no genuine positive sentiment, "Mind explaining everything Nathaniel just told us?"
Lila gulped, knowing there was no way out of this one.
---
Nathaniel stared at the wall as he laid in the infirmary's bed, Alix asleep besides him on a chair, head resting on his lap.
Even as a zombie, Marc had still wanted to protect him.
The artist smiled to himself as a blush creeped onto his cheeks.
His boyfriend was amazing. Nathaniel couldn't wait until this akuma was over so he could tell Marc all about it.