Chapter Text
Light gently seeped through the wispy curtains. Vi pressed her hands firmly on the hard mattress and pushed herself up, the thick, musty blanket falling down to her waist. It’s the first time in weeks she’s had such a good sleep, free from the same nightmares that had always kept her tossing and turning throughout the night. In fact, it might’ve been the best sleep she’s ever had since she watched that golf club plunge straight into Vander’s skull.
She slid off the bed, the blanket thumping behind her and opened the top desk drawer. She picked up the dusty watch, cradling it in her hands. Vander’s watch. It was heavy but fit snugly in her palm. The once buttery leather straps were completely dry and faded, tiny pieces of black coating on her fingers as she caressed it. There was a crack right in the centre of the glass, leaving the watchface exposed. Vi couldn’t remember the last time she saw the hands of the watch’s clock move. Vander always wore it even when it stopped working.
A loud cry startled her. Sometimes she forgot Jayce Junior slept in her room. He’s usually very silent, yet today, he’s crying. Very loudly.
Vi gently returned the watch back to its special drawer and walked towards the birch crib where Jayce Junior was kicking his feet and wailing.
“Hey, buddy… shhh…,” Vi cooed as she slowly lifted the child into her arms. His warm figure rested perfectly against her chest, and as she rocked him gently, his cries gradually became softer and came to a stop.
As a beam of light reflects off his tiny head of hair, Vi couldn’t help but marvel at its beautiful navy colour – Caitlyn’s hair for sure. Yet, his constantly befuddled or cheeky facial expressions and his brown eyes were characteristic of Jayce. It hurt Vi that this kid was not hers, at least not genetically (Not like she and Caitlyn could really bear a kid together), but even more so that this child was the closest she could be to Jayce. Jayce was her best friend, and the one who introduced her to Caitlyn. She could still see the blood pooling out onto the rough red carpet from right below his cheekbone, the light slowly draining from his eyes —
Snap out of it, Vi. Not today.
She hugs JJ tightly.
“Come on, let’s go see your mom.”
***
She sings in the morning. She could sing all day, really.
Vi could hear Caitlyn’s voice get clearer and brighter as she carefully made her way down the creaky stairs, and shot a glance at the kitchen. Caitlyn was humming a familiar tune from the 2010s (basically ancient) and scrubbing some plates as something that smelt heavenly sizzled on the pan.
“Morning,” Caitlyn called out, catching Vi’s eye.
“Morning, Cupcake. Thanks for doing the dishes.”
“You can thank me by putting some music on,” Caitlyn replied, nodding at the record player sitting in the corner of the small living room.
Their farmhouse wasn’t that big, but it was enough for two adults and an infant. It was cozy, and more importantly, secluded enough that no Infected would wander nearby, but still close to Jackson.
Vi walked towards the record player – something Caitlyn insisted they bring along with them when moving out of Jackson, along with a bunch of records.
Vi picked out the one sitting right beside the player – a yellow record, with abstract-looking guitar headstocks on the cover. She knew Caitlyn loved this one the most as it sat on the top of the stack almost all the time. She removed the shining disc and placed it onto the player, gently placing the stylus on the tiny black ridges.
The disc scratched and whirred before the familiar tune filled the room.
Caitlyn’s laugh rang clearly in the small kitchen.
“Oh fuck yeah! I love this song!” She exclaimed, beginning to sway at the jazzy tune.
“Your mom is very easy to please,” Vi told JJ, who only blinked in response.
“Well, I’m with you, Vi. My bar is very low.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Vi shifted the baby into one arm and slowly treaded into the kitchen, the slightly chilly tiled floor tingling her feet, waking her up. She made her way behind Caitlyn at the sink, her right hand finding its way to her waist. She moved to the beat along with Caitlyn, who only laughed harder.
“Ooh, look at these moves,” Caitlyn teased. Vi could not dance and all she could do was sway.
Still, Vi continued to rock her body gently from side to side.
“These moves?”
“Oh definitely,” Caitlyn chuckled, imitating Vi’s mediocre dance moves and throwing in a little spin.
“Ooh, look at mama go!” Vi whistled, taking small steps forward so that Caitlyn was within reach, before pulling her into a warm embrace. Caitlyn’s hair was tied up in a messy bun, leaving her neck exposed for Vi’s lips to graze against. Vi slowly planted kisses along her neck as Caitlyn rested her head on her shoulder.
“This is kinda working on me.”
“You’re weird,” Vi murmured into Caitlyn’s ear.
“I’m aware.”
“Okay –” Caitlyn started, but was cut off by Vi removing her hand from her back and lifting her chin up, leaning in. Caitlyn playfully gave her a peck and broke free from Vi’s gentle grip. “Okay, all right, go. You’re distracting me!”
“Whatever you say, Cupcake,” Vi said, holding her free arm up in surrender.
She shifted JJ back into both arms and walked across the living room to the door.
She still wasn’t used to how crisp the air was here. Being born and growing up post-outbreak, she had never experienced such clean air before.
She slowly stepped down the porch stairs, her foot crunching against the soft grass as some taller wheat reached her thighs – it was getting a tad too tall.
Instinctively, Vi walked towards the tractor near the lambing shed and swung her leg over the seat.
“Hang on, buddy.” She adjusted the baby’s position in her arms, holding him up like a little Simba (At this point, Vi had long lost track of how many times she’s watched The Lion King; Caitlyn loved that old movie and it was one of the few DVDs they had).
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
The sky was still orange and pink, with streaks of blue. As the breeze blew grazed her face and hair, she closed her ears and she could almost hear Vander strumming the guitar.
“Hey, you know what? I’m gonna teach you how to play the guitar, when your hands are bigger, of course.” Vi chuckled. “And you’re not pooping your pants all the time.”
“Got a lotta stories to tell you when you’re older.”
JJ’s expression seemed to morph into Jayce’s prizewinning smile and Vi had to look away.
“Much older.”
“All right little spud, we should go check on momma.”
***
“Hey mama, need any help?” Vi teased, leaning against the wooden pole they had turned into a makeshift laundry stand.
Caitlyn rolled her eyes as she pinned a shirt to the fraying string.
“You? Laundry? Just get the sheep into the barn, would you? It looks like it’s about to rain soon.”
Vi shot upright, giving Caitlyn a salute before marching off towards the barn.
They have about 16 or 17 sheep in total, including several lambs. They’d gotten used to the raise-and-slaughter arrangement, but Caitlyn preferred that they didn’t name the sheep to avoid getting too attached.
“Time to get moving, fellas!” Vi announced as she entered the barn. She placed JJ in the cloth baby carrier tied around her torso and began to slowly jog in circles around the sheep, nudging them towards the shelter. JJ, surprisingly, could sleep through the entire herding process despite being constantly rocked around in the carrier.
The sheep were compliant as usual, the line of white fluff slowly but surely streaming into the shelter for Vi to lock the gates behind them.
Vi wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead as she scanned the barn. It seemed like all the sheep were where they should be.
Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly spotted a tiny white chunk hiding behind the shovel. A stray lamb.
“Hey, how did you get there?”
Vi took a step towards the lamb, but it quickly darted out from the corner, hitting the shovel.
The shovel topples over, crashing….
Straight down into Vander’s skull. Blood. She’s being held down. She can’t move.
She is screaming.
Her eyes start to blur.
Vi can’t breathe.
She turns around to see the sheep’s fuzzy figure heading for the door.
“Hey, get back here,” she calls out weakly.
Don’t leave me.
DON’T LEAVE ME!
VANDER, GET UP!!
The lamb slinks out through the gap and the barn doors slam shut, leaving Vi in complete darkness.
***
She has a flashlight. She’s gasping.
Her head grazes against a concrete ceiling, the four walls caving in on her as her heart continues to race. She constantly hears loud thudding and a guttural growl she recognises as Vander's.
Fuck. She needs to find him fast.
She scans her surroundings – there are no spores, but there is the distinct smell of blood.
Dread slowly pools in her stomach as she prowls through the long, dark corridor, her rifle pressed firmly to her shoulder pocket, her breathing low and ragged.
She doesn’t bother keeping her hand off the trigger. She’s ready to fire if it means saving Vander.
Vander’s screams keep echoing in the hallway and only get louder, until she finds its source – a door at the end of a flight of stairs.
Without hesitation, Vi dashes down the steps. She drops the rifle, sending it clattering onto the concrete. She lunges for the door knob, rattling it up and down but to no avail – it’s locked. Blood trickles from her hands, scratched by the rusted metal.
She hears a loud grunt.
“VANDER!”
She slams her entire body onto the door, but she only hears a small creak. She does this again.
And again.
Her shoulder is numb and pain slowly creeps up her arm.
But she doesn’t stop. She just keeps ramming into the door, urging it to break.
“VANDER I’M HERE!!!”
Vi presses her ear against the door, and his agonised screaming echoes in her head.
HELP ME VI!!!
HELP ME VI!!
HELP ME!
H E L P M E
HELP ME
HELP
H
E
L
P
Vi.
***
Vi got up, gasping. She saw her legs covered in hay and streaks of dirt.
“Hey. Vi. Look at me.”
Her heart was still racing.
“It’s okay, you’re home. You’re home.” The voice coaxed gently. “Breathe, breathe.”
“I can’t… I can’t…”
“Okay, I’m gonna take him, okay?” Caitlyn reached out towards Vi’s upper body, gently untying the baby carrier.
Only now did JJ’s bawling reach Vi’s ears. She let go of JJ, letting Caitlyn lift the baby into her arms.
“C’mere bud. Shhh…”
She dug her hands into the ground for support, but she could only feel the dirt getting under the nails.
“I’m sorry…”
She breathed in shakily.
“I- I didn’t know…”
Breathe, Vi. Breathe.
“I was just bringing in the…”
Her chest was still constricted. She pressed one hand against it, fingers twisting into the fabric.
Breathe.
“Hey, it’s good.”
Caitlyn walked over and slid down the wall to sit next to her – JJ in one arm and the other around Vi’s shoulder.
They sat in silence, watching the gray clouds get denser from inside the shelter, as Vi’s breathing slowly began to steady.
“Haven’t had any excitement in a while, huh? It’s a rare occurrence,” Caitlyn tried, a feeble attempt to make Vi feel better.
Yet, Vi couldn’t shake off the sinking feeling that this wouldn’t be the last time.