Chapter Text
“GEM!” Pearl ran forward leaving Grian behind.
“P-pearl?” Gem’s voice was weak, barely a whisper. She was holding her wound, it was still bleeding covering her in fresh blood. She was struggling to keep her eyes open, breathing heavily, her voice was all raspy and dry.
Pearl kneeled down next to her, holding back tears, trying to figure out how to help her, eyes racing around her crimson silhouette.
“Gem?! Can you hear me?!” She cried out frantically putting pressure on the wound hoping to stop the river of blood leaving Gem's paling body.
“I'm sorry…” Gem closed her eyes, unable to keep them open any longer.
Pearl clutched Gem close to her chest as the tears started flooding out.
“GEM, no you can't do this to me, Gem, GEM, please, PLEASE, WAKE UP!”
But it was too late.
Gem went limb in Pearl's arms, letting out her last shaky breath.
“GEEEEM!”
Grian finally catched up with her, panting heavily as he ran closer.
“Pearl, what happened? I heard a scream, is everything alrig-”
Pearl looked up at him with bloodshot eyes, tears still running like a waterfall.
“S-she… she’s gone.” Pearl was shaking, her voice was unbearingly small like she didn't want to believe it herself. The words leaving her mouth as whispers of unfortunate truth. They were too late.
She clutched Gem's limp body closer like a lifesize doll, clothes soaked red from the excess blood.
This is our gift to you Xequla. Use it wisely.
“No, no, no nonono. That can't be…”
Grian was breathing rapidly yet he felt like he was choking.
Gem was gone.
How did this happen? Why did this happen? She was fine this morning. She was. She went out to scavenge the area for food just around sunrise with no problem and now-
Remember…
He can fix this, he can fix this! He's a bloody watcher for goodness sake! H-he's going to do something, yeah! He can do something about this! Gem isn't gone, no, that can't be-
He's going to bring her back.
He's not sure if he even has the power to do so but he'll try. He has to.
He raised his hand as purple magic started pooling around him. The sensation was strange yet familiar. Something he never thought he'll feel again outside of occasional nightmares.
“G-Grian?”
He has never done this before but there's a first time for everything. He had to believe that it's possible, he can't lose Gem, he can't- he just can't-
Grian's eyes glowed purple. His colorful wings turned dull then as white as snow. They rose behind him as he started mumbling something unintelligible to others.
Pearl tried keeping her gaze fixed on his face, calling out to him as the realization set in.
She found herself unable to do so however, instead she returned it to the corpse of Gem.
Purple particles have started rapidly appearing around her, each one like a little spark of light.
“Grian, what are you doing.” Her voice was a whisper. But even if it wouldn't have been, Grian was too far gone to hear it anyway.
… coincidences.
Gem shot up breathing heavily
“W-*panting* what ha- *panting* -ppend?”
“GEM!” Pearl clutched Gem to her chest in a giant hug, ignoring the blood that's coating both of them.
“Pearl? What happened? Why are you covered in blood?” Gem's breathing slowed down to a manageable pace as she tried to make sense of the situation.
“Y-you died.”
“What?” Gem looked up, she was confused, very confused.
The last thing she remembered was going out in the morning from the shelter… it was raining she thinks. They were running low on food. She went off to try and gather some supplies.
She entered an old run down shop. It looked like it once belonged to the shopping district but now it was abandoned a long time ago judging by how nature reclaimed the building.
She rummaged through the chests trying to find something, anything.She doesn't remember if she did. Then something fell on her. She got injured, she thinks…
She wanted to get to Pearl and Grian… she needed to say something… to do something … she remembers bleeding… she was bleeding…then a voice… she thinks it was Pearl's… then she remembers pain… so much pain… she remembers seeing eyes and a weird rectangle like shape with two smaller squares… then she remembers falling and feeling light headed… a purple mist flooding her vision…
And then she was here.
“I… I don't remember…” Gem tried rummaging through her memory looking for any sort of explanation. She didn't like anything she found.
“You were bleeding out when we found you- I was so scared in the morning, you didn't tell us you'll leave!”
I wasn't sure if I could return.
I wasn't sure if I found anything.
You two have a better chance to survive together then with me.
“I'm sorry - I thought I left a note? I went to look for supplies.”
“Next time wake us up! You got hurt! I-” Pearl broke down, weeping on Gem's shoulder.
Gem scooped her up in a semi awkward hug and patted her back.
“I thought I lost you…” the voice was broken and hurt, grief clear in every letter.
Gem wasn't sure what had happened but she held Pearl close, as close as she could.
She remembers how it felt to lose her brother in the apocalypse… She still hears his screams at night right before she falls asleep. They call out to her. She wants to follow.
It took a good 5 minutes before Gem noticed something wrong, too focused on Pearl to really observe the situation around her.
“Where's Grian?”
Pearl shot up from the hug, eyes searching for him instantly.
He was nowhere to be found.
“GRIAN!” Pearl shouted at the empty space where presumably Grian once was.
Pearl was panicking once more. Her brother was missing.
“I just don't understand, where is he?!” She jumps up, eyes racing around the area.
“It's going to be okay Pearl, I'm sure he's fine.” Gem tries to calm her down, the last thing they need is them panicking when someone is missing.
“I thought you would be fine…” Pearl words make Gem look to the ground averting her eyes.
___
It took them an hour of anxiety and panic attacks before they found him.
“GRIAN!” Pearl flew forward enveloping him in a hug. “Are you hurt?! I got so worried! Why didn't you say something?!”
Grian took a bit to respond. Honestly, Gem thinks he was probably overwhelmed by the surprise hug.
“Hi guys.” Gem caught up and greeted the team Grian was with.
The survival group was made up of Cleo, Etho and BDubs. Grian was formerly a member before he joined Pearl and Gem.
“Hi Gem!” BDubs called out with a grin.
“Hello.” Etho greeted.
“Hi darling.” Cleo waved. She was busy sewing something though, looked to be a garment of some kind.
The team sat around a fireplace, though there wasn't any fire.
Smoke would draw in unwanted guests.
The camp was modest and made pretty close to buildings. Gem preferred the safety of four walls as it was more defendable but after teaming up with the avian siblings she found herself setting up camps outside as well. She presumes their team must make their camp outside for similar reasons though she still prefers a roof over a forest.
All their supplies were stored in two bags, one positioned next to Cleo while the other was on Etho’s back. They were always ready to leave at any moment and never liked staying in one place so it made sense for them, she supposed.
Pearl and Grian were busy hugging so Gem turned to the team to make small talk to pass the time. She wasn't particularly on good terms with them but she tried her best for the sake of the siblings.
The two groups help each other out from time to time. Gem knows medicine and can treat wounds so she helps out anywhere she can with injuries.
They did agree to stay at different places for the simple reason of less mouth to feed being less likely to get caught but they always made sure they knew each other's locations or had a way to contact each other. It was mostly due to Grian but Gem is grateful to have any support she could get.
“How is everything?” Gem asked.
“Nothing major happened, I'm finishing some warm winter clothes for the season.” Cleo replied.
“That’s great, we're having a chilly winter for sure. Already cooling down and it's barely the end of autumn.”
“That and supplies will run low if we can't gather enough before the first snowfall.” Cleo said as she continued the monotone sewing pattern.
“Yeah but every location is as dry as the desert…” Gem says bitterly “Have you guys had any luck?”
“No, unfortunately, we're running out as well.”
Gem ignored the fact that Cleo was lying. She would do the same if she was honest.
“At least we hadn't had a lot of activity in the area. In the form of zombies I mean.” She continued.
“Yeah, truly lucky if you ask me.” Etho responded. “Less the better.”
“I certainly agree.” Cleo said looking away from the two and putting away the clothes she's been working on. “Though I do find it suspicious, do you think they found something?” They looked at Etho.
“I doubt it. We would have heard about it anyhow. I say it's more luck than anything. It's been years. Hope is running low.”
Gem looked down at the ground.
She was in a hospital, working like usual. It was a quiet day, barely anyone on her floor when it happened. Alarms blasting as emergency protocol commenced.
“Please everyone leave the building as soon as possible.This is an emergency, this is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. All staff leave immediately.” She was lucky she could get out in time. It didn't take long before almost the entire place was infected…
She rushed home desperately calling her brother Fwhip. He was out with some friends and wasn't picking up. By this time emergency alarms were blaring everywhere.
“Gem?” BDubs called out.
“Oh sorry, zoned out a bit. Did you guys say something?” she shook her head. She didn't have time to think about the past.
“Darling, are you alright?” Cleo asked, looking at her.
“Just remembered something, sorry.”
“No need to apologize. We all lost a lot during these times.” Etho said with solace in his voice.
“How about this, sweety? I heard from Grian you got injured today. What if you three stayed with us for a bit? Just for today. I would hate to have you get hurt trying to get back to shelter.” Cleo offered with a smile.
Gem could sense something else in the offer but couldn't place it. They must have been worried about Grian. Right?
“I'll have to ask Pearl and Grian but I'm not opposed to it. It is getting awfully dark.” She gazed towards the buildings that the sun was hiding behind as it showered everything in an orange hue.
“I doubt they'll be against it.” BDubs added.
“It's better to ask.” Gem didn't like the undertone of this conversation. Something felt off. She's not sure if it was something they said or just a feeling in her gut but she wasn't a fan of it.
_____
Eventually after Grian and Pearl were done, they did agree to stay.
Gem preferred bigger groups for night watches anyway. They could have more people awake at a time and it made her feel much safer.
Despite her offering, Pearl quickly shot her down as an option for the night watch. She wasn't injured anymore but she didn't put up too much of a fight. She was feeling a bit tired from today anyway. Cleo and Etho volunteered to stay up arguing that the trio needed rest way more than them.
They all shared a modest meal and went to bed.
Gem laid there with a slight uneasiness. She was feeling hungry. She's not sure why, she is usually fine with only eating a little… She chose to ignore this feeling. They didn't have enough supplies as it is.
______
“We need to get rid of her. I know Pearl and Grian are emotional but it's too dangerous.”
“How do we break the news to them?”
“Look, I don't know, but we can't let her turn while we're around. We need to get her out of camp as fast as possible.”
“How long does it take to turn?”
“I don't know - one or two days? That's the longest someone lasted but particular bad bites could affect in a matter of hours or even minutes, it's location dependent. I don't think she was bitten on her neck but we shouldn't risk it.”
“We need to get rid of her now. We can explain later.”
______
Gem woke up, she hadn't even peeked over the horizon, stars still littering the sky. She never realized how pretty the night sky was until she started sleeping in the wild.
She turned to her side hoping to fall back asleep. She was hungry, her stomach hurt. She tried to push off the feeling but it wouldn't let go.
She couldn't eat no matter how much she was hurting, they didn't have food to spare. She should know that. If only she found food.
The camp was silent. Grian, Pearl and Bdubs deep asleep.
However Cleo and Etho weren't here.
Gem was worried, are they alright? Did they go off scavenging? Why didn't they wake anyone up? How long have they been gone?
She got up immediately and grabbed a weapon to go search for them. It was an old and weathered axe she loved that was chipping away at the blade, blood stains littered the handle but it was the most trusted weapon she owned. She thought about trying to wake someone up to look over the camp.
Pearl wouldn't let her investigate, Grian was exhausted yesterday and she doubts that BDubs wouldn't want to come…
She left a note and went off. This time making sure to secure it with a stone.
____
“Is everything alright over there?” Gem called out. She could see Cleo and Etho from a distance, inside the building they camped near.
She walks closer alerting both their attentions.
“Oh, yeah- nothing to worry about.” Etho replies a bit too quickly.
“Are you guys coming back? Were you out scavenging?”
Etho looks at Cleo in a way that Gem was sure meant something.
“Yeah. We're coming. Just wanted to check something out.”
“Oh, okay.” Gem found this suspicious but she didn't want to question further.
“Can you come here, darling?” Cleo motioned for her. She got a bad gut feeling but it was just Cleo, they wouldn't hurt her.
She walked closer.
She felt a bang at the back of her head.