Archive of Our Own

“I’M out of ammo!” Kaelix shouted behind him, taking his empty gun and smashing it hard into a zombie’s head. Blood splattered across his face as he hooked the gun back on his belt, kicking another zombie hard in the face.

A gunshot is fired from somewhere, and more zombies fall to the ground in front of him. Freo. The man grinned knowingly, pulling his wooden bat out from its sling. Kaelix swung as hard as he could at the zombies slowly creeping up on him, suddenly hearing the faint sound of a whistle in the distance over the moans of the infected. Kaelix didn’t even need to look up to know it was Zeal.

The white-haired man swung one more time with his bat before bolting a safe distance away, making sure the zombies didn’t chase after him. A soft sizzling was heard over the groans of the zombies. Before the man could even turn around, Zeal’s bomb had exploded and turned all the zombies into mush.

Kaelix sighed in relief, a smile on his face as he felt Seible approach from behind him.

“You okay, Kae-chan?” the brunette asked, hooking his own shotgun onto his belt while holding his backpack of medical supplies in front of him. The taller man shook his head, using a gloved hand to wipe the sweat off his face. He pulled his hand away from his face and realized he still had blood on him. He groaned, “I’m never getting used to that.”

Seible giggled as he took a towel out from his bag, motioning for the taller to bend down so he could help wipe the blood off. Kaelix complied as Zeal walked up from behind them, holding another glass bottle and a bloodied plastic bag. “Raided a store and found some food.” The black-haired male informed, holding up the plastic bag. Seible smiled, giving him a thumbs up as he cleaned Kaelix’s face.

“We still need to find more ammo. We’re running low.” Freodore practically spawned out of thin air, making the rest of the group jump at his sudden entrance. His sniper rifle hung behind him. “AH- God, Freo! Curse you and your silent sniper footsteps!” Kaelix shouted, clutching his chest as he breathed out his nose.

“My silent what now?” Freodore asked, genuinely confused as the rest of them giggled. He wasn’t the oldest of their group, but he wasn’t the youngest either. Yet, he still didn’t get their references most of the time. The turquoise haired man sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose before speaking.

“I saw a row of shops not too far away from here. Let’s go and see if we can find any more ammo.” He stated matter of factly, already turning on his heel and heading in the direction of said shops. The other 3 followed closely behind him.

It had been half a year since the apocalypse had broken out and spread across Japan. The 4 men had accidentally stumbled into each other at a warehouse a week after the break out had occurred. Zeal had been badly injured, huddling under a staircase when Seible and Freodore had found him. Freodore had ripped off his sleeve in order for Seible to wrap up the gash in his arm. They found Kaelix not too long after, fighting off zombies in the hallway.

They decided to stick together after that, and that’s how the present day came to be.

The group walked in a comfortable silence. Well, as comfortable as silence could be when you’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Kaelix held his bat by his side, just in case a zombie would come out and attack while Seible held his shotgun in his hand, finger on the trigger in preparation. They followed Freodore’s lead through the rubble of the destroyed city.

Freodore had placed himself in the position as the leader of the group, always being the one to look for new places to raid, keeping track of their supplies and so on. Maybe it was the subconscious urge to protect those around him, or maybe he just missed his siblings.

A month before the apocalypse had broken out, Freodore had left his home to pursue design technology. He patiently waited for his younger brother to turn 21 before he even thought about leaving them with their parents. He was always the caretaker, their parents were never around to actually care for their own children—and instead that position was placed on him. He made sure they had enough food on the table, took care of their hygiene, and helped them out with homework when he could. While he despised the thought of leaving them with so much responsibility, he knew he raised them well. They were strong. They’d make it out without him.

He missed them. He hoped they were okay. 

Freodore sighed, his hand reaching up to the earring that hung on his left ear. Running his thumb over the cold metal, he felt the intricate design that he had painstakingly carved into it. He allowed his fingers to linger on it for a little while longer, before allowing his hand to drop to his side.

The group continued walking, Freodore moving onto higher ground as the group heard the sound of more zombies up ahead. The man climbed up onto an abandoned office building, his sniper rifle in his arms as he turned it to face the ground below.

Freodore could only make out the faint figures of his allies and the zombies without his scope, and the colour blindness did not assist in that aspect. He felt around in his pocket to double-check the number of cartridges he had left. Yup, only one. He sighed and brought the scope up to his eye. Finally getting a clear view of the masacre below.

“Let’s make it count,” he muttered to himself as his pointer finger moved to the trigger.

The sniper’s eyes moved away from the group, deciding to target the infected at the back. His coral pink eyes landed on a few, grouped together and mindlessly dragging their feet towards the rest of the hoard. Freodore followed one of the zombie’s heads with the barrel of his rifle, his eyes catching a glimpse of a yellow earring that hung from the zombie’s decaying ear. His focus stirred a bit. That couldn’t be… could it?

Freodore shook the thoughts away. There was absolutely zero possibility that that would be Theodore. He was safe somewhere, with Eleanor and Ifor. There was no way they would be infected.

The man raised his rifle again, locking down a different zombie and shooting them right in the head.

A few more minutes passed, and all the zombies either laid headless, with multiple bullet wounds, dents in their faces or as mush on the ground surrounding them. Freodore climbed down from the building to gather with his group members, who stayed seated in a corner. Freodore hooked his rifle behind him as he walked towards the 3, each wiping blood off their own face.

“All clear up ahead,” Freodore informed the rest who were still wiping the dried blood off their faces. While waiting the sniper decided to look around the area. Freodore tried to convince himself it was to check and see if the area had any supplies and for that reason only.

It wasn’t to make sure what he saw was right.

Yet, Freodore still found himself dwelling among the bodies. Desperately looking for a yellow earring identical to his own, hoping what he saw wasn’t real. Telling himself it was just a part of his imagination.

He may be colour blind, but his eyes were sharp. They never played tricks on him. They never lied. This is the one time he wished they did.

Freodore stood still in front of the lifeless body. A large burn that started at its fingertips, as it snaked all the way up to its shoulder. The decaying skin practically melted off the skeleton, which almost made the face unrecognisable. The zombie’s turquoise hair spread across the concrete.

And the yellow earring that Freodore had caught a glimpse of through his scope hung on his left ear.

That was his brother. He was sure of it.

But he didn’t want to believe it.

The man fell onto his knees, taking ahold of the zombie’s hand and squeezing it as lightly as he could without destroying it. Freodore didn’t even notice the tears that began to drip down onto the pavement surrounding the body. He just stared at the body, mouth slightly agape as he let the silent tears stream down his face.

“Freo?”

Freodore’s breath hitched at the sound of Kaelix’s voice from behind him. How did he not hear his footsteps?

The man tried to choke out a response as coolly as he could to no avail. His voice had given up on him. He couldn’t even speak. All he knew was that his brother was dead. Theodore was dead and it was his fault. He couldn’t protect him.

Oh god, what about Eleanor and Ifor? Were they safe? Were they okay? If Theo was here then what happened to them? Are they okay? If only he didn’t leave, none of this would have happened. They would be safe with him.

“Freo…” a voice repeated his name, this time it was Zeal. The man looked back to see the rest of his group staring at him. He didn’t even care about how he looked like crying his eyes out. Theo was dead. He had no idea where his other two siblings were, or if they were even alive. Guilt kept eating at his heart as he looked back at the decaying body of his younger brother.

“Fuck,” Freodore cursed, leaving the rest of his group members in shock at the vulgar words.

Freodore sobbed for a few minutes as the rest of them watched. He was not one to show his emotions openly, so for these stranger’s who have only known him for 6 months to be able to see him break down in tears, hiccuping as he cried out in pain felt way too vulnerable. But he didn’t care anymore. Not when his baby brother was dead.

The group allowed the man to cry and feel his grief, not wanting to interrupt him. Freodore appreciated the distance as he cried and cried and cried, gasping for air between his sobs. The group watched their grounding member fall apart, unsure how to approach the situation. Instead, just allowing the man to cry.

As Freodore’s breathing slowly began to even, he felt a presence sit down next to him. He looked over through tear-filled eyes to see Kaelix sitting next to him, his blue and green eyes hidden behind his cracked tinted sunglasses. A comforting smile spread across the younger’s face as he placed a hand against Freodore’s back.

“You did your best, Freo. Don’t blame yourself,” the white-haired man said as he rubbed circles into his back. Freodore didn’t reply, only staring back at his brother’s face. His eyes were closed, and he looked peaceful.

Zeal and Seible approached the two together, sitting down on Freodore’s right. An understanding smile on both their faces as they offered their comforting presence.

They let Freodore cry as much as he needed.

—

KAELIX wasn’t a strong person.

He was, for lack of a better word, a coward. He put up walls around his heart. Refusing to let anyone get close to him. Not because he didn’t like people, in fact he adored being around others. But he didn’t have a choice, did he? He never did. 

“We’re moving again?” A young Kaelix would ask, looking up at his parents at the dinner table. His words were hollow. He’d come to expect this news all the time.

He’d rather be alone than have to deal with the pain of leaving a ‘home’ for another place. A place that would feel just as empty. Home, school, no matter where it was, he’d feel nothing. With every passing day, the hole in his heart would grow, and grow and grow. Until it had become a hollow shell of what it once was. A heart full of love and curiosity, now empty.

“Yes.” his dad would reply half-heartedly. Picking out a letter from a pile and crumpling it upon seeing who it was from. Mindlessly tossing the crumpled paper where it landed in front of Kaelix’s bread.

EVICTION NOTICE.

It didn’t help that every night, there always felt like someone was watching him. Because most of the time, there was. He’d toss and turn, trying to shake the feeling of the eyes burning into the back of his head. He never opened his eyes, trying to feign blissful ignorance, silently hoping that they would leave him alone. He’d hear the glass of his bedroom window shatter. All too aware of what they were here for. Sometimes, pretending to be asleep worked. But most of the time—

The familiar feeling of being grabbed by his collar and dangled above the ground. Feeling weightless but heavy at the same time as he gasped for air—

SMASH! A loud glass shatter occurred from behind the group as they walked through an obscure part of the vacant city. The familiar groans and moans of zombies filling their eardrums. The group turned behind to face the threat, all except one.

Kaelix stood still, back facing the hoard of zombies that had begun to charge and attack the other members of the group. He didn’t want to look behind. He couldn’t. What was wrong with him?

“Where are your parents, kid? Huh?” The cold blade of the knife was so close to his neck. He was going to die he was going to die— “TELL ME!”

He was shaking. Kaelix looked down at his hands that gripped his bat. His usual steady hands were trembling. No, no— Why now!?

He was harshly thrown onto the floor. Hands pinned above his head as the knife punctured the first layer of skin on his neck. “I’ll kill you. Right here, right now if you don’t fucking tell me where your parents are.”

“KAE—LIX! KAELIX!”

The taller man was snapped out of his memories, turning around to the sound of his name being called. A zombie was coming right for him. He knew he had to swing and hit the zombie, but his muscles refused to listen to his brain and all he could do was stand there.

Why wouldn’t his arms move? He’s done this so many times for the past 6 months so why. Why can’t he just swing and hit?! Just swing and hit you idiot! You’re going to die!

Before the zombie could even lay a rotten hand on Kaelix, an axe swung across the zombie’s neck, cleanly cutting off its head. As the zombie’s body fell forward and its head rolled off to somewhere under the debris, Kaelix could see Freodore standing in front of him, holding his axe in his hand instead of his sniper rifle. He could see Seible and Zeal running up towards him as Freodore wiped the blood off his own face.

“Kaelix? What happened?” Zeal asked, his purple eyes and his voice filled with concern. Raising a hand to place on Kaelix’s shoulder, not expecting the taller man to flinch and back away from it. “What-”

The rest of the group looked at the taller one in concern. He had never acted like this before. The man was frozen in place, staring at the rest of the group like a deer in headlights. He was shaking.

“I-” Kaelix choked out, his voice hoarse. “S-Sorry. I don’t know what got into me.” He coughs, his body still shook involuntarily as he breathed. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking why wouldn’t they stop please stop—

The man’s legs went weak and he sank to the ground, dropping his bat to his side as he hugged his own legs like a child, curling up into a ball as his breathing became ragged. If he made himself smaller it would go away. He squeezed his eyes shut as everything felt like it was closing in on him. He could barely hear his own breathing over the growing ringing sound in his ears. Everything was too loud.

He couldn’t breathe. The man’s grip on his neck was too tight. He squirmed and kicked but he wouldn’t let go.

“Kae-chan?” Seible’s voice broke through the painful ring in his ears. Kaelix’s eyes shot open as his vision refocused itself. Zeal was on his right, Freodore was on his left, and Seible was in the middle, placing his smooth hands atop of Kaelix’s fists as they clenched at his pants. All three of them shared the same look of shock and concern at the pathetic man before them.

His face was wet with tears. When had he started crying? He could hear it now, his sniffles and his restricted breathing as the suffocation left as quickly as it came. “I-” God, his voice sounded destroyed. He swallowed his own saliva, using his sleeve to wipe off his tears as the others watched him in silence.

“Sorry,” Kaelix breathed out, trying to calm his own nerves. “Sorry, sorry. I’m okay,” the man smiled, giving his group a thumbs up. Seible shook his head at that, holding onto the taller man’s hands firmly.

“You are not okay,” the brunette stated matter of factly, a comforting tone in his voice. “Tell us what’s wrong.” Seible smiled, a warm smile that he always managed to show. Even though they were at the end of the world. The man sniffed, tears welling up in his eyes again as he choked out his next words.

“I- The glass shattering just, reminded me of something,” he answered as the tears threatened to spill. The rest of the group sat patiently, allowing him to take his time with answering. Kaelix couldn’t be more grateful for that. He took a deep breath before continuing. “People broke into my house alot when I was younger. And there was this one time…” his voice trailed off as he recounted the memory in his head again. A shiver went down his spine.

“I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU—” The intruder screamed, the knife raised high and aiming right for Kaelix. 

“KAELIX!” His mother had yelled, as his parents burst through the door to his bedroom. His dad was tussling with the intruder for his weapon. There was blood there was so much blood—

“A man broke into my room, and I thought I was going to die.” He quickly finished, ushering the memory away from his brain as he clenched his fists tighter. The silence from the group was so deafening Kaelix wanted to melt into a puddle. There I go again, spilling my trauma out for the world to see. He thought to himself bitterly, but those thoughts were quickly eradicated from the sudden hug from Seible.

The smaller man’s grip was tight, something Kaelix didn’t expect, but it was so, so warm. Soon, Zeal joined in, hugging Kaelix from the right. His grip was firm, not as tight as Seible’s, but it grounded him. The last to join was Freodore, a timid arm wrapped around him from the left. His grip was perfectly precise, steady and not too tight as to not suffocate the youngest.

Kaelix finally cracked, wrapping his arms around all three of them as best he could as he sobbed. The group held each other tightly, silently comforting the white-haired man through his wails.

Maybe, he could let his walls come down.

—

“SEIBLE,” Zeal’s voice broke through whatever trance the brunette was in as he turned to face the group’s bomb expert, his hypnotic purple eyes stared into his, a difficult to read smile pulled at his lips. “Yes, Gin-chan?”

The taller man walked over to the medic’s side, leaning against the table Seible was using to place his bag on top of to check their medical supplies. “How are you holding up?” he asked, his face still difficult to read. If Seible thought he kept his secrets under lock and key, Zeal had a whole bank safe keeping his. That was their silent agreement. To not mention the secrets they both collectively held inside.

“What do you mean?” Seible asked, cheer and faux confusion in his voice. “I’m perfectly fine, Gin-chan!” Purple eyes squinted at that response, but the man they belonged to simply nodded, not wanting to push any further.

The past few days had been quite emotional for the group, Freodore was slowly but surely recovering from the grief of losing his brother. And Kaelix was allowing himself to be more open than he already was. It tied them closer, and Seible couldn’t be happier.

He loved connecting with people, even though they were at the end of the world. To him, connections were everything. He hated being alone. It just reminded him of that empty stage, his last performance ever.

The spotlight was blinding and the silence of the crowd was deafening. His voice didn’t reach any of them. 

Seible shook the memory away, his smile never faltering from his face. “Was there anything else?” the brunette asked, moving his bangs away from his face as he began to zip up his bag. Zeal shook his head, simply pocketing a box of matches that had been left on the table. “Nope. If you’re ready, we can head out.”

The younger nodded, slinging his backpack on his shoulder and double-checking to make sure his gun was hooked on his belt. Both men walked out the warehouse together, heading back into the abandoned city.

They met up with Kaelix and Freodore outside the warehouse, walking together through the abandoned city. Kaelix held his bat in his right hand, standing tall with a wide grin on his face, a weight lifted off his shoulders. Seible looked towards Freodore, who held his rifle in his left hand. His face looked upset, but there was an obvious difference compared to the months before. His brother’s death still haunted him, but there was a look of contentment in his eyes.

A soft smile grew on Seible’s face. The world was ending, but the connection between them was real.

But would they leave him behind if it benefited them?

The four continued to walk. It was quiet… too quiet.

Just as Seible was about to mention the silence, an ear piercing wail erupted from the direction they were headed. The group turned to face each other, knowing looks on their faces. A witch.

The group held their breath, continuing to walk in the direction of the screeches as they increased in volume with every step. They could see the woman facing towards a wall in a dark alleyway as they walked past, greasy dark hair draping over her face as she howled. The men looked towards each other, nodding as they began to sneak around the alleyway. They were almost out of sight of the witch when Seible felt his shoe catch in a crack in the ground. “Oh, crap—” he yelped before falling onto the concrete.

The wailing stopped.

Then, a loud screech.

They had alerted the witch.

Kaelix ran to help Seible up before the witch started charging towards them. Two gunshots fired. Both men looked behind to see Freodore with his sniper rifle out, smoke coming out from the barrel. The man quickly lowered his rifle, tilting his head in the direction they were headed. “She’s down! Run!”

Seible steadied back on his feet as the four men started running for it. The witches’ scream practically echoed throughout the area, alerting other passing zombies. A hoard had begun to surround them, forcing them into corners apart from each other.

Freodore was beginning to shoot with his rifle, getting clean headshots left and right. Zeal had managed to lure a few of the infected away from the group, throwing bombs and lighting them on fire. Kaelix was swinging his bat at those escaping Zeal’s flames, blood splattering all over. And Seible unhooked the shotgun from his belt to shoot any strays. The showdown grew in volume, irritating the witch even more.

Another glass shattering screech erupted out of the woman’s gut, charging for anyone she could get her hands on. She latched onto another zombie, teeth tearing into its decaying flesh in fury. The brunette raised his shotgun, aiming for her head. Three shots to the head, and the witch will fall.

CLICK! … CLICK!

Seible’s heart dropped. He was out of ammo.

The brunette quickly scanned the area, looking for his allies. But they were too far away, and yelling would just attract more zombies his way.

A zombie creeped up from his side, dragging its feet towards the man. He let out an ‘eep!’ before smashing the grip of his gun into the zombies head and dashing through the window of a dark building behind him.

The brunette ran deep inside the building, hoping to find anything to defend himself with. He could still hear the commotion outside, he dug through the drawers of the building. Trying to find something, anything to use. Something shiny caught his eye through his frantic search. Four pendants sat in a pile, all different colours—red, yellow, blue and green. It wasn’t what he was looking for, but he was a sucker for shiny things.

He quickly grabbed the pendants, shoving them into a pocket in his backpack.

When he looked up, his tunnel vision faded. He noticed that the noise outside had faded into an eerie quiet. No shooting, no explosions, no wailing. Just the soft noise of groaning zombies. Was it… over?

Seible’s footsteps were quiet against the floor as he walked towards the way he came. Climbing through the shattered window, whatever occurred outside must have been completely chaos. The witch laid headless on the ground, with mush and blood surrounding her lifeless body and the area around him. A flame crackled in the distance, a decaying arm laying just outside it’s source. The brunette looked around, trying to find his allies.

They didn’t leave him, right?

Seible shook the thought away. Of course they didn’t! They weren’t like that…

But could he really say that? He’d only known them for half a year. Sure, they’ve been through a lot already but…

The thoughts ate away at Seible’s mind, was he even breathing? He didn’t even notice that he’d sunken to the ground. His body was numb and stiff. Just like it felt on that stage.

His legs shook and his voice cracked. The light was too bright. He couldn’t see anyone’s faces. It was suffocating. Get me off the stage get me off get me off—

“Seible!”

The man’s head snapped up, immediately searching for the source of the shout. He saw Zeal coming towards him, Kaelix and Freodore tailing behind. They were here. They didn’t leave him.

The three fell onto their knees at Seible’s side. Kaelix and Zeal bothering him with a million questions. Where did you go? What happened? Are you okay? You’re not hurt right? We thought we lost you! Their words were a blur, even Freodore was looking at him in worry, placing a comforting hand on his.

Seible couldn’t hold in his giggles or his tears. Laughter bubbled out of him as the tears rolled down his cheeks. The group flinched, surprised at the reaction.

The brunette shook his head, wiping off the tears with a wide grin on his face. “I’m okay, I’m not hurt,” He reassured in Japanese. Letting out another giggle, he commented, “I thought you guys left me. Foolish, foolish,” he laughed, shaking his head.

“What!? Why would you think that, Seiburu!? Of course we wouldn’t leave you!” Kaelix declared in disbelief, gripping onto Seible’s hands. The brunette didn’t reply, just letting his laughter bubble out of him.

He got really lucky with these three, didn’t he?

—

ZEAL sighed as he stared out the window of the warehouse, the moonbeams were their only source of light when it got dark. Because lighting a fire would just attract more zombies.

The younger three were doing their own thing inside the small room they had claimed their own. The middle had four sleeping bags they had managed to retrieve in a recent raid, red belonged to Freodore, yellow to Kaelix, blue to Seible and green to him. How did they keep finding items that were oddly color coded? He had no idea.

Seible and Kaelix stood next to each other near the table, sharing a probably expired candy bar as they talked. Zeal scanned the room to find the sniper, but he couldn’t see him. Where did he-

“Hi,” a voice greeted him.

“AH!” Zeal yelped, looking towards the direction of the voice. Freodore stood there innocently, a rare smirk on his face. He planned this.

“God, Freo. You scared me,” the older sighed, a hand over his heart. They needed to do something about Freodore’s silent footsteps. If not, someone (mainly Zeal) is going to get a heart attack. A hum came from the shorter’s mouth as he held out a bottle of liquid. “Here, it’s from the raid. You look thirsty,” the man offered.

It was an unopened bottle of coke. Untouched and new. Sure, it was covered in a little bit of blood, but that was a given.

The black-haired man took the bottle out of the sniper’s tender grasp, muttering a small ‘thank you.’ Freodore graced him with a silent nod as he stayed next to him. He wasn’t a man of many words, but his presence grounded the ones around him. Probably the ‘older brother’ instincts , Zeal thought.

Kaelix and Seible appeared next to them, the taller on Zeal’s left and Seible on his right. “What’cha guys talking about?” the white-haired man asked, as cheerful as ever.

Freodore answered for him, “Nothing, actually. I just gave Zeal a bottle of coke.” The oldest nodded in agreement. His hands fiddled with the bottle, not opening it to take a sip. Freodore looked at him in concern.

“Is there something wrong?” Freodore asked, a worried frown on his face. Zeal immediately shook his head frantically, words rolling off his tongue. “Oh! No, no, nothing’s wrong. I swear!”

Freodore and the rest of them didn’t look convinced. Freodore eyed him suspiciously, as if saying ‘tell me what’s wrong.’ The taller sighed in defeat, nothing got past him, did it?

“I’m just… Not comfortable with taking drinks that aren’t my own,” he admitted, bowing his head as he rubbed a thumb over the pattern in the cap.

He felt the poison slithering down his throat. He coughed and choked it out, his pupils blown wide in shock and disbelief. What the fuck?

Freodore nodded, a silent understanding that Zeal appreciated. He sighed, smiling as he opened the bottle with a soft hiss. “But I trust you all,” he confirmed, taking a swig of the drink. He felt the lukewarm drink cascade down his throat as the flavour danced on his tongue.

Zeal smiled, closing the bottle again. Maybe he’d tell them one day. When this was all over.

“Oh!” Seible suddenly gasped, eyes gleaming. The group turned to him in curiosity. “I just remembered something!” the brunette said excitedly, rushing over to his backpack and retrieving something shiny from inside. The man rushed back over, holding out four pendants in his hands.

“I found these, here!” The brunette was practically vibrating from excitement as he held the jewels out. A wide grin spread across Kaelix’s face as he took the necklace with the yellow gem, “Seibleee! Where did you find this?” the big puppy-like man asked, immediately placing it around his neck and holding the gem up to inspect it. “It’s gorgeous!”

Seible giggled as Freodore took the green gem to inspect it. “Is this red or green…” The shorter man mumbled, his eyebrows scrunched together. Zeal laughed, taking the pendant from his hands, his bottle of coke forgotten on the floor. “This is the green one.” Freodore made a small ‘o’ shape with his mouth before reaching over for the one that still looked grey to him. Seible placed his own blue pendant around his neck and smiled.

“Yay! We’re matching!” The words made the rest of the group chuckle, as they all turned towards the window.

The four men walked towards and gazed out the window of the warehouse, watching the stars glisten in the night sky. A newfound understanding between the four of them. Something that tied them closer together. 

It never got easier to sleep with the sounds of snarling zombies every night.

But they had each other, and that gave them hope. To one day wake up from this nightmare.

Their comfortable silence was interrupted by a sudden question. “Do you guys think we meet in every universe?” Kaelix asked, his cracked sunglasses glistening under the moonlight as a wide grin spread across his features. The other members turned to him, all carrying their own soft grins before turning back to face the night sky.

“Maybe. Preferably, a universe without a zombie apocalypse,” Zeal smirked, draping an arm across Kaelix’s shoulder. Freodore leaned against Kaelix’s torso before giving a response of his own, “If there is another world out there,” he began, twirling the new gem necklace in his hand as he watched it catch the light of the moon, “I hope we’re friends there too. Zombie apocalypse or not.” The smile was audible on his face. Seible, who had Zeal’s other arm wrapped around him as he leaned against his torso, stayed quiet for a few minutes as if deep in thought. Then, he spoke:

“I don’t know if there’s another universe out there,” the brunette smiled, looking towards his friends as he did, “But I’m just glad we met in this one.”

The gems on their necklaces seemed to glisten at that, but if they did the men didn’t notice.