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Waves crashed against the shore, the sun setting along the oceans horizon... infection spreading across Paradise City.
And one of their dear friends had been poisoned by the dreadful thing. 4c, the sweetest and most innocent man Johnathan had ever encountered in his 58 years on this planet. They didn't know much about 4cs past or where he had come from, no matter how many times Johnathan asked and begged for any kind of answer. The man seemed to have lost his ability to hold any information given to him for longer than a few minutes. Spidey had given him a book to write down important information, but even that wasn't useful at times. So when 4c had told Spidey that he felt sick, and when Spidey told Johnathan what 4c had told her, they didn't know what to do. They couldn't let their dear friend suffer and die a slow, painful, and sickly death.
So, they came up with a gruesome, but frankly, best and only option.
And here they were now, on the beach, sun illuminating every one of their features.
4c sat in the sand, admiring the sunset.
Spidey stood behind him, rifle held tightly in her shaking hands.
And Johnathan, who stood a good distance away, too cowardly to face what was about to happen.
Johnathan looked away, trying to listen to the waves. To distract his mind from the matter at hand, to ignore his issues and heartbreaks as he usually did. 10 words, though, pierced his mind.
Forcing their way in and sticking there.
Even to this day, he still hears them in the wind.
"Happy birthday 4c. Thank you for being a good friend."
A singular shot rang in their ears, and only a sickening thud was heard a moment after. No screams of pain, no cries, no freakish zombie sounds.
She had done it. Johnathan really didn't think she would have had the guts. But she did it.
Heavy breathing followed, too. Not his own though.
Johnathan looked up to where the 2 kids had been, and he could now see the true extent of it all. 4c bleeding out on the sand from a singular hole in his head, Spidey standing there in disbelief, eyes wide and body shaking.
"I- I ca-" Spidey gasped out, throwing the gun and bullets down into the sand while backing up to the wall.
Johnathan could only stand there.
He had killed so many before, had seen so many people he knew and loved die in front of him... so maybe he was just numb to it all at this point.
Spidey on the other hand.
The poor girl only came here to save her father as told by 4c when he had accidentally spilled it a few days ago. She shouldn't have had to go through any of this. He knows her dad is long gone by now, and now her best friend is dead by her own hands.
And he didn't know how to help her.
Spidey backed up further, trying to as far away as possible.
Johnathan moved involuntarily towards the body. He grabbed his shovel from his backpack and began digging. It would be too tiring and wasteful to try and move 4c to a different place, so the sand would have to do it.
This way, he could always have his 2 favorite things: A sunset each night, and the beach surrounding him at all other times.
He dug out a decently sized hole, and gently lifted the body in and down, being as careful as possible. Johnathan then slid 4cs bag off of his back, throwing it on his own.
Finally, he filled the hole back up.
He placed down a crafting table and crafted a singular sign.
Carving out a message and sticking it in the sand, Johnathan stood back.
"4CVIT. A man worth remembering."
He was covered in 4cs blood. Something inside him twisted at the thought, knowing he didn't have any other clothes.
Johnathan made his way back over to where he had left Spidey. He thought she had left him there for a moment, until he heard strained breathing and cries.
"Spidey?" Johnathan called out, breathy and still choked up.
The only response he received was even more distraught cries. He followed the sound to the building near the beach and found Spidey crumpled on the floor, hugging her abdomen, and sobbing. His heart ached for her, something he hasn't felt in years.
"Hey hey hey, Spidey," Johnathan spoke quietly, trying not to startle her as he rushed over to kneel down in front of her. Despite his efforts, she flinched at the sound of his voice, eyes going even wider.
Johnathan stopped moving forward, putting his hands up in defense, "It's just me, it's me Johnathan, right?"
It took a minute for the girl to clear her head enough to be able to even recognize him. When she did though, she cried the hardest he had ever seen someone cry. He didn't even cry this hard when his parents had been taken from him.
"Oh- Hey..." he started, bending down to sit next to her, "I'm going to sit here, ok?"
He really, really didn't want to stress her out anymore than she already was, but Johnathan was never too good at comforting... or even emotions at that.
Spidey didn't make it too hard to try, though, as she immediately leaned into his shoulder, clinging on for dear life.
He flinched, not having expected the action to come so soon, but he welcomed it, wrapping his arms around her arms to pull her into his chest, "Shhhh... You're ok. Deep breaths for me."
Spidey only breathed heavier, body overwhelmed with sorrow and guilt.
"Shhhh... I need you to breathe for me, Spidey," Johnathan tried again. "You can cry it out, but I need you to breathe..."
Spidey nodded, really trying to calm down as much as she could.
Johnathan nodded back, acknowledging her efforts, "You're doing good, sweetheart, deep breaths." Spidey didn't even react to his accidental pet name.
They sat there is almost complete silence for a few minutes, that peace being interrupted by sobs and hushed reassurances every once in a while.
"I k-kill-ed h-him, J-Johna-than..." Spidey gasped out through her cries.
He could only shake his head, "You did the right thing. You were strong enough to help him one more time. You're even stronger than me for being the one to do it."
Spidey sighed, shaking her head and coughing to clear her tight throat, "He- He's gone, Johnathan... I- I don't have a-a-anyone e-else-... My dad is de-ad, 4c is gone be-because of me..."
And he knew why she felt this way.
He never showed any interest in having her around or expressed an ounce of care for her... and that was his fault.
He cared so much about both of them. He hadn't cared for 50 years, and they broke him in a week.
50 years.
So could anyone blame him?
No. But he blamed himself.
"You have me," Johnathan started, trying to keep his emotions in check, "From now till the end of time."
He pulled back to attempt to look Spidey in the eyes. She met his with red, puffy and weary blue ones. She looked a bit skeptical, but that all melted away as each moment passed.
"I promise you," Johnathan tried to reassure.
Spidey looked at him and- smiled?
"You really do care about us, Johnathan..." Spidey muttered, her voice still raspy from crying. She then buried her head in his shoulder again, sniffling.
Johnathan scoffed, smiling to himself, "Heh-... Yeah... I guess so."
He looked out into the night sky, and up to the moon.
We can always find Chuck in the moon
"4c is here with us too..." Johnathan hummed, pausing for a minute before continuing, "We should get going, get back to the church to sleep."
But when he got no answer and looked down to see Spidey had fallen asleep right there, laying on him, he sighed. He shifted her over to be more comfortable against him, which was answered with a content sigh from the young girl.
Gently rubbing up and down her back with one hand, and the other playing with her hair, he whispered, "I guess we stay here for the night then. Goodnight Spidey."
He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, and looked up once again, "Goodnight Chuck. Goodnight 4c."