Chapter Text
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The plan was supposed to be straightforward, a much-needed escape from the whirlwind of their lives after the tour. Nick, Chris and Matt had been looking forward to this cabin trip they booked in the peaceful woods of Canada for weeks. Packed bags, snacks, and all their outdoor gear were ready by the door, just waiting for them to finally leave for the airport. But life, as it often does, had a different plan in mind.
The day of their departure arrived with Nick already up and about, ensuring they had everything they needed. They planned to unwind, reconnect with nature, and put their phones away for a little while, prioritising aspects of life that had been frayed by the demands of their careers.
“Prepare your documents now, we don’t need any complications once we’re at the airport!”, Nick yelled from his room, reminding the other two once they were slowly starting to prepare to leave.
Chris stood in the living room, flipping through his passport one more time as Matt double-checked the travel documents.
As Chris scanned the pages of his passport, his expression darkened, and his heart sank like a stone. He turned to Matt with disbelief written across his face. "Uh-oh. Shit dude, my passport has expired”, he groaned while running his hand through his hair.
Matt glanced over and furrowed his brow, "Are you sure, Chris?"
Chris nodded with frustration etched in his features. "I can't believe this, ughh, this is going to make everything so much harder”, he groaned, already very much annoyed with this predicament.
Just as they were processing the situation, Nick emerged from his room with an excited grin. "Alright, you two, let’s go."
Without a word, Chris handed his expired passport to Nick. The grin on Nick's face instantly faded as he glanced at the document.
Nick's jaw clenched with anger, and he raised his voice, "You've got to be kidding me, Chris! This was your only job - making sure you had a valid passport!”
Chris felt a surge of frustration and embarrassment, and his voice matched Nick's intensity, "You think I did this on purpose? This was a mistake, Nick, a stupid oversight. I didn't plan for this!"
“Oh I know, of course you haven’t, you don’t plan for anything! The only thing you were responsible for was yourself and you couldn’t even manage to do that right. Are you a child? A literal fucking baby who needs his brothers to check he has his shoes on before he leaves the house!”, Nick couldn’t hold back his anger, the stress and frustration was getting too much for him, he really needed this vacation and now Chris’s negligence was threatening to ruin it.
Though Chris was the same, overwhelmed, stressed and now feeling attacked as well, of course he’d get defensive. “Oh fuck you Nick, acting like you’re so responsible and perfect. It’s a small mistake, it could’ve just as easily happened to you or Matt!”
At that, Nick rolled his eyes exaggeratedly and continued yelling, “Oh yeah sure, only it’s never one of us that fucks up, somehow it’s always you Chris! Because you’re just so cool and can’t be bothered to ever actually take care of your own shit! It’s always like this, you ignore shit until you inevitably fuck up and then rely on us to fix it for you! Well not this time, I’ve had enough, this time you can forget about me fixing your mess!”
Matt, ever the peacemaker, tried to intervene, "Come on, guys, enough, we can figure this out."
Nick, his temper flaring, waved Matt off, "No, Matt, we've planned this for weeks. I'm not going to let Chris ruin our trip. We're leaving as planned, and if Chris can’t get his act together and renew his passport, he can rot alone in his room for all I care."
Chris could feel his heart hammering in his chest and the heat rising in his cheeks as he clenched his fists. "Fine! Go! Just leave me here, I’ll fix my own mess. I don't need you anyway.”
“Fine!”, Nick yelled back, “But I bet something will go wrong again and you’ll be sorry you didn’t listen to me in the first place. Don’t come crying to me when that happens.”
With that, they both turned away from each other. Nick stormed out of the room, grabbed his bag, and stormed towards the door. Matt, who was torn between the two of them, didn’t want to leave while they were fighting, even if he wasn’t involved as much, “Chris…”
“Go, Matt, just leave already”, Chris rolled his eyes at him.
Matt just sighed, not knowing what else to do. The tension was palpable, and the silence that hung in the air after the front door slammed shut felt deafening.
Chris
Chris watched them leave with a mix of anger and regret. He knew he had messed up, but he hadn't expected such an explosive reaction from Nick. As the sound of their car driving away faded into the distance, he sank onto the couch, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
They were supposed to be relaxing in the woods, enjoying a peaceful break from their chaotic lives. Instead, they were divided by anger and an expired passport. Chris knew he had a lot of work ahead of him, like getting a new passport as soon as possible and booking a new flight, but for now, he was alone, left to wallow in his own misery.
Two days passed with Chris spending most of his time alone in the quiet house, his thoughts consumed by the argument with Nick and the pending trip. The lack of contact between the brothers weighed heavily on him, and despite his frustration, he couldn't help but miss them. He took to texting Matt sporadically, updating him on the progress of his passport renewal and flight booking, a silent plea for understanding.
Getting a new passport will take a while, too long for Chris to wait anyway. Luckily his parents reminded him during one of their calls that they still had valid Ids at home and agreed to mail his over immediately. It made Chris feel a little better, he'd still have to wait at least two days for it to arrive, and then one more day for the next available flight, but at least he'd be able to join Nick and Matt before their vacation ends.
The air in the house felt stagnant, and Chris couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had taken root in the pit of his stomach. During his countless hours of waiting, he idly scrolled through news articles and social media. What he discovered made his skin crawl. Apparently, weird and seemingly random attacks were increasing all over the states; he's seen a few crazy headlines and even tiktoks of people filming various people doing weird shit and no one could tell if it was real or fake.
"Hey, Mom, have you seen what's happening? It's all over the news," he asked once, while on the phone with his mother.
She sighed on the other end, her voice tinged with concern. "Yes, I've heard about it. There are some strange stories going around."
Chris glanced out of the window. "I hope it doesn't affect my flight."
"Me too, sweetheart. Don't worry, your ID card is on its way, and it should be there soon."
The arrival of his ID card provided Chris with a flicker of hope, but he still had one more day to wait until his flight. With too much time on his hands and unable to bear the solitude any longer, he decided to meet up with one of his friends from high school.
Walking down the street towards the meeting point, Chris noticed something strange. Some people he passed were behaving in ways that sent shivers down his spine. Some were frozen like statues, eyes turned upward as they stared, unblinking, into the sky. Others had their eyes wide open, the whites visible all around, and they ogled everyone who walked past, their expressions blank and lifeless.
He hastened his pace, wanting to get away from that weirdness as fast as he could. Maybe I should've just stayed at home. Finally he met up with his friend, Sarah, at a local café. Sarah had noticed the odd behaviour too, she was all tense and on edge when they met.
Her voice was hushed and anxious as she leaned in, "Chris, something's going on. Did you see all those people?"
Chris nodded, his discomfort growing. "Yeah, it's been like this everywhere. I've seen the tiktoks but didn't think it was real, or at least not this bad.”
"I've heard about some strange attacks too," Sarah whispered, as though afraid the walls had ears. "People just turning violent, biting and scratching others. It's probably some kind of new drug or something."
They were talking for a while, they tried to change the subject to something more positive, like what they've both been up to since the last time they've met and so on, but at some point they noticed a few of the other customers in the cafe started staring up with wide, unblinking eyes as well. Some of them also started twitching weirdly.
Chris couldn't hide his unease any longer. "I'm getting freaked out, like for real. I just want to get out of here honestly."
Thankfully Sarah agreed and they decided to cut their hang-out short, each calling an uber to take them home.
Chris got into the car and stared out the window as they drove off. He was already tense, but it seemed the situation has only gotten worse in the meantime. He could see more and more people acting that way, and not only that, some of them were actually attacking random passer-by’s.
“What the fuck”, he could hear the driver muttering to himself, speeding up. This is the first time Chris saw anything like that, he could actually see those drugged out insane people chasing and jumping on pedestrians who were trying to get away. He could hear honking in the background, and he genuinely shivered in fear when the screaming started.
There was no more doubt in his mind that this was not normal, something big was going on. It's like a fucking epidemic, he thought. Chris was scared and silently prayed he'd get home as soon as possible, without any issues.
His phone started buzzing with incoming texts, so he opened their triplet group chat and read the concern-filled messages from both of them. This is the first time Nick has reached out, the news must have reached them, situation must be serious, Chris thought, panicking even more.
M: Chris, where are you
M: Whats happening there
N: Chris answer us
N: Are you safe??
M: We're watching the news now and we're freaking out
M: Something about a literal zombie outbreak???
N: Chris answer the phone right now or so help me god
N: Barricade the doors and windows & lock yourself inside
N: Don't open the doors to anyone, fuck them stay safe
Holy shit- , Chris thought, glancing at the texts and the shitshow outside, oh fuck they’re right, it’s an actual zombie apocalypse. His heart was beating so hard he thought it’d break out of his chest. He went to reply to their texts but before he could, the driver screamed out, “Oh fuck, watch out!”, and the next second something hit the driver’s side of the car, sending them drifting off-course.
“Oooff-“, the impact knocked the breath out of Chris, throwing him against the side of the car. He hit his head, his vision was blurry and his ears were ringing. What…, he didn’t know what was going on, what had just happened?
As awareness slowly started returning to him, his senses slowly taking in his surroundings, Chris faintly registered the chaos unfolding all around. The first thing he noticed was that the driver was most definitely dead, completely crushed by the other car. Chris moaned in pain and panic, then quickly averted his gaze, unable to watch any longer. Though the sight of his dead, broken body would continue to haunt his nightmares for years to come.
The situation outside has managed to get so much worse in such a short amount of time that it was unbelievable; screaming could be heard all around, the was smoke coming from various points in the distance, cars were honking like crazy and one crash could be heard after another, and the most obvious – people running around like the world was ending. Well, it might be, Chris though bitterly.
Although his whole body protested in pain, Chris forced himself to move, he couldn’t stay here any longer. He managed to slowly open the car door and climb out. He pocketed his phone, and though he wanted nothing more than to call his brothers and at least feel them close, like he wasn’t completely alone, he knew there wasn’t enough time for that now. He needed to get home as fast as he could.
Chris forced himself to stand and shake off any remaining drowsiness. He looked around and assessed the situation; actual literal zombie-people were attacking everyone around them, scratching and biting them. Some were standing completely still, staring up at the sky, then after a while, their gazes would turn and closely follow anything around them that moved, and finally, they would snap and start running like mad, attacking anyone who wasn’t yet infected.
Chris was snapped from his horrified thoughts when he noticed deep groaning directly behind him. He barely managed to move in time to avoid a recently turned zombie lady from sinking her teeth in his arm. Oh fuck no, he thought, now fully back to himself and completely devoted to not dying.
His way home was utter chaos, he hadn’t run that much in his entire life as he did in the next half hour. He had to run, hide, dodge, fight and run again, but the entire time, during the horror, chaos, panic, fear, the scarring images of watching people scream for help, getting caught and eaten alive, through it all, one thought kept circling his mind – Nick and Matt, please let them be safe, please.
Finally, he made it to their house. He unlocked the front door with shaky hands, then jumped in and closed the door behind him with so much force his ears rang from the resounding bang.
He couldn’t rest yet though, he had to make sure he was safe inside – Chris acted fast, he took anything he could carry, smaller closets, all the chairs, tables, anything, and barricaded the doors and windows the best he could. Only when he finished did he allow himself to sit down and catch his breath.
Ohmygod, what the fuck is happening, this can’t be real, I must be dreaming, holy hell, what in the actual fuck, Chris thought and tears were flowing down his face freely before he even noticed.
He just now registered his phone vibrating in his pocket, he took it out and choked on a sob when he saw it was Nick who was calling him. Chris was so scared, he had almost died several times in the last hour and it was just now sinking in, he was all alone and didn’t know what to do, he just wanted to be with his brothers.
“Niiick”, he cried out desperately, as he answered the call with shaky hands.
Nick and Matt
When Nick and Matt had arrived at their family cabin, located deep in the woods of Canada, it didn’t take them long to get settled in. It was the perfect escape from their demanding tour and the chaos of their lives. The serene surroundings, the fresh scent of pine, and the sounds of nature, including the gentle lapping of the nearby lake, provided a much-needed escape, it was their ideal setting to let go for a bit.
Over the next couple of days, they got comfortable, enjoying simple activities like fishing, cooking, hiking, chopping wood, and making cosy fires. Despite the breath-taking scenery and pleasant activities, a shadow loomed over their time together. Although they were close and loved each other dearly, both Nick and Matt would be quick to admit it was weird without Chris. It was unusually quiet and it constantly felt like something was missing.
This feeling only served to renew Nick’s lingering anger and disappointment he felt towards Chris. Despite Matt's attempts to talk about it, Nick remained firm in ignoring anything to do with Chris.
They tried ignoring their phones as much as they could, as the purpose of this vacation was to relax and unwind, but they still couldn’t help but check it every now and again, if only to keep in touch with their friends and family. So it wasn’t surprising when both of them saw the news about the weird things starting to happen back in the US.
“Have you seen what’s happening? What the fuck is that all about?”, Matt asked as he scrolled through numerous tiktoks of people filming random people staring unblinkingly at the sky.
“I don’t know but that shit’s freaking me out. That’s why you don’t do drugs, ugh”, Nick groaned and shivered, a little uncomfortable from the images they saw.
Another day passed, and as they sat by the fire that evening, Nick finally broke the silence. "I can't believe Chris did this to us, to me."
Matt sighed, his expression concerned. "Nick, we've been over this. Chris screwed up, but he's working to fix it. He gets his ID tomorrow and then has his flight the day after."
Nick stabbed at the logs in the fireplace with frustration. "He should've been here already. He just makes irresponsible decisions without thinking about how his choices affect others.”
Matt couldn't deny Nick's frustration, but he tried to reason with him. "You know Chris. He can be reckless sometimes, but he's still our brother. He’ll come through at the end."
“Yeah… you’re right, I guess. I just miss him, ya’ know.” Nick looked down at the ground, as he finally admitted what was truly bothering him.
Matt just smiled at the admission. “Oh I know, and he misses you too. You two always were too much alike”, he laughed a bit, then stood up. “Come on, it’s late, the sooner we go to sleep, the sooner tomorrow will come and then it’s just one more day until we see Chris”.
However, the next day did not go as expected. When they returned to the cabin for a break that afternoon, they saw a dozen missed calls from their parents. They exchanged concerned glances and waited together as they called them back on Nick’s phone.
Their mother answered the call in hysterics, and could barely get to the point through her panic.
“Mom, calm down, what’s going on?”, Matt asked with a forced calmness.
“Wait, I have to call you back, I can’t talk right now, just- turn on the news. Stay by the phone, I’ll call you back”, and she hung up before either of them could protest.
Now equal parts concerned and confused, Nick turned on the TV, and the news reports sent chills down their spines. A nation-wide emergency had been declared throughout the United States due to reports of people acting strangely and violently. The news were showing more images of people staring wide-eyed at the sky, or with their gazes firmly fixed on anyone moving around them, but it wasn’t just that. Videos of seemingly possessed individuals attacking innocent bystanders filled the screen next; those who were standing still just minutes before were now wildly chasing anyone and everyone, biting them the second they caught them. What was worse – after a few minutes, the attacked individual suddenly stopped struggling and simply stood up, staring up without blinking and the cycle repeated itself.
"What the hell is going on?" Matt rasped out, his voice shaking and his brows furrowed.
Nick clenched his fists. "I don't know, but whatever it is likely isn’t stopping any time soon. Our friends, our family... Chris is still out there alone." He had to close his eyes and dig his nails in his palms to steady himself as he said that.
They checked their social media, and it was filled with terrifying stories and images. The panic was overwhelming. Matt worried about the safety of their friends, but he couldn't pretend that his greatest priority and fear was for Chris. He was so anxious he could feel bile rising up his throat, feeling helpless as they considered the dire situation.
Nick's distress intensified as he kept trying to call Chris, but each call went unanswered. Unable to contain his growing worry, Nick's breathing quickened, and he felt his chest tightening. His vision went from blurred around the edges to completely hazy, and he couldn’t hear anything over the ringing in his ears. The panic attack hit him like a tidal wave.
Matt who recognised the signs immediately sprang into action, grabbing Nick's shoulders and forcing him to make eye contact. "Hey, look at me, Nick. Breathe in, breathe out. In for four, out for four, just like that. You're safe, I’m here and we'll get through this," Matt said soothingly.
It took a while but eventually, after several repetitions, Nick started coming back to himself.
Nick focused on Matt and struggled to regain control of his breath. The tears he had been holding back now flowed freely. "What if Chris is... what if he's dead? And our last conversation was that argument."
Matt didn’t hesitate to pull him Nick a hug, wrapping his arms around him, offering comfort. "Kid, we can't think like that. We believe in Chris, and he's strong. We'll keep trying to reach him, and he'll be here as soon as he can."
The two brothers clung to each other, each privately dealing with feelings of guilt for leaving Chris alone and far away. They should’ve stayed with him, they always dealt with everything together and now Chris was all alone, probably hurt and most definitely scared out of his mind. They feared for him, but forced themselves to continue to believe in Chris, his natural stubbornness and determination.
As Matt held Nick close, their phones continued to mock them with unanswered calls to Chris. With each missed connection, the urgency to reach their brother grew. Then, at last, a call was answered.
"Niiick" Chris's desperate voice broke the silence and they could instantly tell he was crying.
This only served to make them both cry harder, with relief that he was still alive and worry for his well-being and safety.
Nick choked on his sob then immediately yelled out, "Chris, oh my God, are you safe? Where are you?"
“We’re here for you, please talk to us”, added Matt.
It took a bit for Chris to collect himself, but he managed to explain through his tears that he had managed to barricade himself in their home. He described the grim events he had witnessed outside his house, mirroring the nightmarish scenes Nick and Matt had seen on TV.
Then someone remembered they could switch to FaceTime, wanting to make use of the internet while they still had it. Hearing each other was nice, but actually seeing each other was so much better.
Chris
“I don’t know what to do guys, I’m so scared, I don’t want to be alone”, Chris choked out, unable to hold it together.
The other line was silent for a moments as Nick steeled himself, preparing himself for what was coming next.
He forced himself to speak calmly and steadily, looking at Chris as he did so. “Chris, sweety, listen carefully. You can’t stay there forever, you’ll run out of food quickly and someone’s bound to break in sooner or later-“, he was interrupted by Matt and Chris both choking out a sob at that, but then continued, this needed to be said, “But Chris, you need to make it out of there and come find us in the cabin. This is the only way we’ll get to be safe.
The internet and phones will likely go down soon, we can’t come and meet you in the middle because we’d miss each other and we don’t know the situation elsewhere. But I do know we’re safe here. Me and Matt will prepare everything here, we’ll set traps and built weapons, collect food and supplies… we’ll settle down here until this all blows over. But you need to make it home to us Chris, we can’t do this without you.
I’m not going to lie, the next few weeks are going to be incredibly hard, the hardest thing you’ll ever have to go through. But when you succeed, we’ll be together again. And I know you’ll make it, we both believe in you, you’re strong and you’re stubborn, and you always come through at the end. And you’ll do so again, I know you will. And we’ll be waiting for you when you do.”
Chris listened to his brother talk with eyes closed shut, tears streaming down his face, a small smile on his lips. “Nick, you’re a real sap, you know that? That speech was so lame it made me cry bro”, he laughed softly.
He could hear Nick and Matt both let out small, surprised laugh at his response.
“Yeah yeah, you can wine about it as much as you want once you get here”, Nick teased back.
“Is this for real, are we really doing this?”, Matt asked, knowing this was the only way but unable to accept their reality.
“Yeah, kid, we are. But don’t worry too much, Nick’s right, I’m definitely making it all the way to you. Nothing, not even the actual zombie apocalypse is keeping me away from you”, Chris smiled softly as he talked to them. He missed them so much and wanted nothing more than to get to them. And he knew that motivations was all he needed to do whatever it takes to make it there alive.
“This sound suspiciously like goodbye though”, Matt responded anxiously.
“It’s not”, Nick immediately shot back.
“It’s really not, think of it more like a ‘see you later’ kind of thing, eh?”, Chris reassured.
“Okay… Promise you’ll make it here? I love you Chris, so much”, Matt sniffled, looking at the too small image of his brother on the screen.
Chris couldn’t stop another lone tear from escaping at that, smiling despite it all. “I promise. I love you too Matt, more than you know. You too Nick, I love you more than anything.”
“Chris… I love you too, you are so incredibly loved, please never forget that for a second… And Chris?”, Nick responded lovingly, making eye-contact with Chris the entire time.
“Yeah Nick?”, Chris asked, wiping his tear.
“I told you so”, Nick said quietly, unable to stifle his smile.
Chris needed a moment to connect the dots, but when it hit him, when he remembered what Nick was talking about, he choked out a surprised laugh and gave Nick a wide, honest smile.
They might not be in the same room, or even the same country, but for some reason they’ve never felt more connected as they did in this moment. They understood each other completely, felt the love that was shared between them.
It would be alright. They would spend the next few hours on the phone together, helping Chris pack his backpack with essentials, reminding him where the spare portable charger was, teaching him how to read an actual map, googling and learning how to filter water and make sure it was safe to drink in the wild.
Nick and Matt would remain on the phone with Chris, actively watching his surroundings as he took one final power nap. They would have to hang up once he actually left though, to allow Chris to concentrate and to preserve battery. They would call every day, multiple times, any time Chris could spare a moment on his dangerous journey. They would call over FaceTime until the internet went down, when they would see each other for the last time. Then they would simply called and settled for hearing each other until the phone lines went down as well, when they would hear each other for the last time.
Chris wouldn’t give up and Nick and Matt wouldn’t stop waiting for him. They would be alright.