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Supply runs always had the two nervous whenever Gen was left without either of them.
It was originally only going to be Stanley and Brody on the outing, but because of where they were going and the potential resources they could find, Xeno went with.
“I do hope Gen doesn’t miss us too much,” Xeno says, walking between Stan and Brody.
Their safe zone was a lab. They had fortified protection all around along with plenty of rooms to spare. Most unnecessary due to how little of them there were. Xeno even installed some guns that shot at anyone not classified to enter.
Which would include walkers or unfriendly visitors.
Their son, Gen, had only been ten when the outbreak occurred.
It happened in the early morning, they packed in record time and Xeno wasted no time taking over the lab he worked at. Very few were allowed inside.
And if any tried to break in, they were met with Stanley.
This wasn’t merely some military mission for Stanley to carry out, it was his family and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe.
It’s been several years since then, Gen was fifteen now.
Stanley had nightmares of how panicked Gen was and how uncharacteristically scrambled Xeno had been. Now, very few people lived in the lab with them.
There were more, but they’ve lessened throughout the years. Whether it be due to suicide, an accident outside, or something unrelated.
Whenever Stan and Xeno were both gone, Gen was left in Maya’s care.
It was rare for Xeno to get out, but it was a monthly, sometimes weekly thing for Stanley. It didn’t scare him as much as it did at first. Brody frequently tagged along too, which he was infinitely grateful for.
If you told Stanley five years ago how good Xeno would be with a gun now, he would’ve laughed.
He was just glad a few of the other survivors were Gen’s age, like Luna and Senku, or he’s not sure if the kid would’ve stayed sane.
“Stan, this seems like a rather inconvenient time to be spacing out,” Xeno crashed his train of thought.
“Yeah, sorry… just thinking.”
“About Gen? I’m sure he’s fine. Maya is there to protect him,” Xeno tried to reassure, but it was obvious he was bothered as well.
Brody was behind the two. “I couldn’t blame either of ya this time with the way Max’s condition has been lately.”
“Please do not remind me of him right now…” Xeno glared at the man.
But it was what they were all thinking. By now, Xeno’s figured out that they were all infected. Didn’t matter if you were bit—if you died, you’d come back as one of them. Dying within the lab would not only mean your end, but possibly that of others.
Recently, one of their survivors, Max, had gotten sick. He’s been strictly quarantined and everyone but Xeno was forbidden from seeing him.
That was the rule, but Xeno was nervous not everyone would follow it.
They’ve driven far out, since they’ve already taken everything from the areas near them. A few stops were already made, some requiring his expertise. The last place would be this drug store and Xeno could finally sleep again.
Amazing how a zombie apocalypse fixed Xeno’s sleep schedule.
Still, he missed his job. Sometimes, he did it even though he no longer had any reason to. Senku joined him occasionally.
“Alright, in and out. We clear?” Brody turned to the two of them.
They both nodded and entered after him.
“Still can’t believe Gen wanted to come with…” Stanley muttered to himself.
Xeno laughed lightly. “He does care for us a lot. And with the current state of the world, we’re all he has. Of course he’d get anxious if the both of us were out here,” he explained, putting things he knew would be useful into his bag.
“I know,” Stan said. “But I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to him…”
“Perhaps you could skip on the next supply run. Let Maya and Brody handle it.”
“Nah.”
Xeno frowned at that, but didn’t argue. “I don’t understand how you can bring yourselves to come out here regularly… the moment we left, my chest seized up and still hasn’t eased.”
Stanley really wished he could do something about that for Xeno, but he still hasn’t figured out how to ease his own either.
In a world where a single bite could mean the end.
Amputation was an option, sure, but get bit in the torso or neck and then what? You’re screwed. Just like that, so easily. So—
Immediately upon opening the bathroom door, a walker jumped onto him with a raspy groan. Xeno flinched at the sound. Stanley quickly disposed of it with a knife as quickly as it happened.
“You good, man?” Brody ran over with concern.
Stanley pushed the body off and picked himself up. “Yeah, just startled me a little.”
Xeno stood directly in front of him, examining him with his eyes before a sharp sigh escaped him. “Let’s leave…” he whispered in an almost pleading voice.
“Sure,” Stan put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“Hey, we’re getting to a point where we might not need to go on a supply run for a good long while! Let that cheer you up!”
“Elegant attempt, Brody. But I’m not comforted in the least.”
Suddenly, a sharp scream alarmed the three. It was coming from outside.
They quietly walked over to the window to see a girl, dirty, screaming like a maniac in the streets. Which, in this apocalyptic world, may very well be true.
“Help me! Please, somebody help!” She shrieked.
Not only did she garner their attention, but also all the walkers in the area. Lovely…
An amount that was too much, that was for sure.
“We gotta get out of here.” Stanley picked up his bags and handed Xeno his own.
“Right,” Xeno agreed.
Brody looked between the two of them like they’ve just lost their minds. “We’re just going leave her out there to fend for herself?”
“Yes.”
“Look at her,” Stanley gestured. “She’s got a bite on her arm and there’s way too many. They’ll get to us after they’re done with her.”
The two of them made their way toward the back, Brody stood still in his spot, sadly looking back.
“Brody, come on.”
With a sharp sigh, Brody clenched his fists and followed after them.
When they made it back to the car, walkers were already on their way over to them. Just in the nick of time…
As one snuck up behind Stan, Xeno shot it down.
“Thanks,” he got in the car after Xeno.
Then they took off.
•••
“Father! Dad! You’re home!” Gen quickly ran into their arms when they parked in their garage. “I’m so relieved…”
“Hey, kiddo. Did you miss us?” Stanley playfully ruffled his hair.
Gen nodded.
“Fear not, Gen, we’ve managed to scrounge up enough supplies to last us a while!” Xeno reworded Brody’s attempt of comfort from earlier, but he didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he and Maya were unpacking the supplies they brought back. Starting with the back seat.
“Will you ever be able to stay here without having to go out?” Gen asked with a somber expression.
Xeno glanced at Stan for his reply.
“Yeah… one day. We’ll figure it out.”
Gen led the two of them out of the garage, telling them about how Max was doing better.
•••
Dinner was as exciting as ever. Gen was long sick of the same meals over and over again, but he was used to it at this point.
What he really appreciated was being able to eat with his parents with a little sense of normalcy.
He was going on about a field trip he went on in elementary school, a story Xeno and Stanley have heard before, but didn’t mind hearing again. It was a funny one and Gen was entertained enough.
“By the way! Check it out! Senku made me a deck of cards!” Gen pulled the deck out of his pocket and showed them enthusiastically.
They were personalized to fit Gen’s personality, that was obvious.
“I’ll be sure to thank him later,” Xeno smiled.
Stanley took a sip of water. “Luna didn’t get jealous, did she?”
Gen shook his head. “No, not this time. I think she’s given up on romance at this point. It makes me a little ad-say…” he frowned.
“I would say she’d figure it out, but that simply would be untrue.”
Stanley stared at him.
To that Xeno cleared his throat. “Forgive me for ruining the mood. Have you performed any tricks with those yet?” He brought the topic back to the cards.
Gen nodded. “Yup! Showed some to Maya, she loved them! And couldn’t figure it out.”
“Ah, but I bet Senku called you out, didn’t he?”
Once again, he nodded. “Yeah… Senku-chan always ruins the fun,” he pouted.
“And yet you—“ Stanley was about to tease, but Gen cut him off by shooting up from his seat with a huff.
“ANYWAY! I’m going to go say goodnight, bye!” Fleeing the scene. A specialty of Gen’s.
Once he was gone, Xeno turned to Stan with his head cocked to the side. “Was that really necessary?”
“Yup.”
•••
Gen didn’t very much like walking through the halls at night. They were eerie.
Why was he out here again? Oh, right, because his stupid dad was teasing him about his crush again. Seriously, why!
So embarrassing…
And going to say goodnight, really? Now Gen was really regretting his decision aside from the shitty excuse.
He wondered how different he’d be now if the world never changed.
Smarter, perhaps? He didn’t know. Gen remembered being ten when it all happened. And also worrying that his mentality would be stuck at his young age since society stopped.
It was silly, now that he thought about it.
Maybe he would be smarter, more years of school under his belt. But Xeno’s made sure to teach him a lot these past five years, so he probably wasn’t too behind.
But he also probably wouldn’t know how to shoot a gun.
Stanley taught him. It was scary at first, but quickly came to learn that the gun itself wasn’t scary, but rather who held it.
Speaking of which…
Gen patted his pockets. “Shit.” He left his gun in his room! He never uses it, but he always had it on hand.
As he turned to walk back, a figure covered his view, a growling noise lurching from its throat continuously. In the light, he didn’t recognize her, but he didn’t have time to process that before she tackled him down to the floor.
How did a walker get into the building?!
Instinctively, he reached for his gun. Then remembered once again after feeling only emptiness. Then he tried to push it off of him.
It worked, briefly.
He managed to push it off and it landed beside him, so he took that chance to try running away.
But its hands wrapped around his leg and he fell back down. At this point, his ability to think properly was failing him.
Without knowing what else to do aside from trying to kick it away, he screamed at the top of his lungs. The walker responded by crawling further onto him and sinking her teeth into his side.
He let out another shriek, this time in pain.
He could feel it trying to gnaw away at his flesh, blood seeped from him and stained his clothes.
His entire body was paralyzed with fear.
Then a gunshot.
And the walker stopped.
Gen slumped back down from his sitting position onto his back and stared at the ceiling with a dazed expression.
He heard the voice of his parents. And the lights came on. He felt like he couldn’t move a muscle, so instead he tried to focus on his breathing.
Xeno entered his vision, a terrified expression he’s never seen before plastered on his face. “Gen! Gen, hey, can you hear me? Answer me, Gen!”
Gen wasn’t positive, but he thinks that the walker’s body was removed…
“Shit!” He heard his dad say, even though he couldn’t see him. “Fuck, no… It’s the fucking chick from earlier!”
“She must’ve spotted us and snuck into the trunk…” Brody’s voice chimed in.
Then, circling around Xeno, Stanley was also at his side. “Shit, Gen… no. Please no. Stay with me!” Stanley tried to apply pressure to his wound, making him wince. Xeno moved his hair out of his face, his gaze flickering between him and Stan.
“What’s going on?!” Another voice.
“Holy shit—! Is he okay?” And another, one he wished he could’ve had more time with.
“Luna, Senku, come on. Back to your rooms…” Maya said, her voice fading along with objecting yells from the other two.
“Father…” he finally mustered.
Xeno snapped his full attention back onto him, he was shaking. “Hey, Gen… you’ll be okay.”
A lie, but what else could he say?
“I’m… not ready to go yet! Please, I don’t want to…” he held onto him weakly.
“You’re not going to die, Gen!” Stanley assured firmly.
Xeno stood up. “We need to get him to a table! Come on!” He spoke loudly in a hasty manner. Stanley picked him up and Gen watched as the ceiling moved above him.
Yet, despite their efforts, it was no use.
“FUCK!” Stanley kicked whatever was closest to him. Making a mess he couldn’t care less for. “This our fucking fault! That damn chick at the drugstore!”
“Stan, please don’t do this right now…” Xeno muttered, still by Gen’s side.
There was no way to save him, he was bit in the side. All they could do was bandage him up and simply hope he was special enough to beat the disease.
But they knew that wouldn’t happen.
Stanley yelled again, throwing everything on a nearby counter into the floor. “If we just—fuck… did ANYTHING different, this wouldn’t have happened! If we just put her out of her misery or checked the damn trunk!”
“We had no way of knowing…” Xeno blinked a tear away, holding on tightly to his son’s hand.
This time, Stanley could only collapse down into a squatting position, holding onto the counter. Quiet sniffles escaped him and it pained Xeno so much to see.
“Don’t close your eyes, Gen…” he whispered.
A mumbled response, Xeno had to lean in closer to hear. “What was that?”
“Please… I don’t want to be one of them.”
His heart dropped at that statement. It broke him. Was Gen suggesting he shoot him? Fuck, there’s no way he can do that…
“Gen, I can’t…”
Gen choked out a sob. “Please… it hurts.”
The teen’s hand flicked at the gun on Xeno’s hip, an obvious request.
“I’m too weak to do it myself… I’m sorry.”
Now Xeno felt like he’d scream too. “No, don’t apologize over that…”
“I love you… and dad.”
“We love you too.”
Gen shut his eyes, and his breath slowed. Agonizingly so. Their boy looked so pale… He was still breathing, yet he already looked dead.
After many deep breaths, Xeno reached for the gun and held it in his hand for a few moment.
Then he picked it up, and with a long hesitation, pointed it at Gen’s head. The gun was trembling in his hand and even with both, he couldn’t keep it still.
How could he?
Xeno hardly ever cried, but he couldn’t stop now.
He can’t do this.
“Stop…” Stan materialized next to him. Instantly, Xeno lowered the gun. “You shouldn’t have to do this. Let me.”
“Stan, you can’t—!”
“Please,” he cast a look at Xeno with a creeping shadow over his face.
Xeno looked at Gen, then back up at Stan. “Alright…”
“You should leave the room…”
Xeno wordlessly nodded, and did just as he said. He stood right outside the door, his knees giving out under him.
Meanwhile, Stanley stared at his son with an empty gaze.
Then, he clicked off the safety, and pointed it at him with a steady hand.
And put his finger on the trigger.
•••
“It truly is such a shame about that Max… but we all saw it coming with that rather weak immune system of his,” Xeno didn’t spare a glance from his science towards Luna, who was crying in the doorway.
“That’s it? You don’t even care?” She sobbed.
Xeno sighed and placed down his flask, giving her a dismissive glare. “Like I said, it’s a shame. But as you can see, I’m busy at the moment.”
Luna frowned and turned away. “Ever since Gen died two years ago, you’ve never been the same…”
“Wow, such a genius you are. I lose my son and act differently afterward? Have you ever considered becoming a psychologist? It’d suit you.”
She clenched her jaw at his mockery and scoffed. “You’re such an asshole!” she yelled before running off.
A few minutes later, the door opened again and Stanley entered.
Xeno’s lips curved up. “Welcome back, Stan! Did you bring back what we needed?”
Stanley put a bag on the counter with a confident nod. “To the letter.” He walked up beside him and glanced over the substances and notes all over the table. “How’s it coming along?”
“It’s just about ready!” Xeno answered in a giddy tone. “I’d say another month or two and it’ll be done!”
“That’s good news.”
Xeno nodded. “Yes. But I’m afraid I’ve been so busy with this that I haven’t had time for much else…”
“Oh?” Stanley raised a brow.
“So could I trouble you to go check in on Gen?”
Without missing a beat, Stanley nodded. “Sure. Be careful.”
“Likewise.”
After a small journey into a restricted part of the building, one only the two of them had access to, Stanley opened a door and walked in.
Then from there, he stood in front of the freezer.
“Hey, Gen… I know it’s been a while, but I come bearing good news.”
Silence.
“Xeno’s almost done with it. So you’ll be back with us soon.”
Silence.
“Look forward to seeing you again, kid.”