Chapter Text
Coco sighs as she sits on the roof. Her arms are folded around her legs, her chin is tucked into her legs, and her eyes have nowhere to go. There is nothing new to look at. No new people to meet. Nothing to do.
All there is to see is a big wooden wall with spiked logs and constantly patrolling townspeople. Coco can barely remember the time before it existed. The time when she was allowed to roam outside on her own, the time when she and her mom had their own house, the time when magic was…
Coco sighs again, trying to focus on the feeling of her hair blowing in the wind. All of the adults are out beyond the wall, cautiously harvesting their crops and tending to their animals. The zombies only target humans for some reason, so it’s mostly fine if everything else stays outside the wall. Only adults are allowed outside the wall though, so Coco remains inside the wall and slowly loses her mind from boredom.
It’s not a very large space inside the wall. They were only given one witch back then, and there aren’t many people in the area, so they didn’t try to make it that large. Just large enough to give everyone a place to sleep, and have enough room to store important things. It’s so small that Coco memorized every nook and cranny in the first month.
Better bored than dead, she supposes. Though from here, the ongoing zombie apocalypse feels like something unreal. Coco’s never actually seen a zombie, so sometimes she likes to think it’s just one big prank. One absurd lie to get the kids to listen to the adults more and stop causing trouble.
Some of the other kids playing tag run by with half-heated enthusiasm, barely going faster than a light jog. Coco wonders if that’s from a lack of food or the fact that they’ve played the exact same game over 500 times at this point.
It’s fine. Her mom will be back soon, and then they can talk and play and - oh! There they are!
The adult villagers walk through their tiny gate slowly, each carrying massive stacks of grains, wood, and other supplies. Coco spots her mom immediately, staggering slightly as she carries a massive basket.
I could help with that, Coco thinks a little grumpily. Her annoyance fades immediately though, when she spots a stranger talking with her mom as they walk.
Coco leaps to her feet immediately and climbs down the roof to get to the inside of the building. She sprints past the rows of makeshift beds, throws open the door, and rushes to greet the stranger.
It’s a man with white hair, is the first thing Coco notices. She notices his spectacles next, with one glass blacked out, and a design that makes Coco think he used to be wealthy. He’s dressed in a ragged grey tunic and black pants, with belts and pouches around his waist. There’s a belt for a sword at his waist, and the worn leather suggests that it is used often. Coco guesses they forced him to leave it by the entrance just in case. There’s also a black ribbon wrapped around his right wrist, with a couple feet of it just dangling in the wind.
He blinks at her with wide blue eyes and nods his head a little. He looks a little overdue for a haircut, Coco privately thinks, but then again everyone is.
“Hello!” Coco chirps brightly. “I’m Coco, who’re you?”
He smiles back at her with a kind smile that you don’t see often anymore. “I’m Qifrey. It’s nice to meet you, Coco.”
“Coco, help me with this basket, will you?” Her mom grunts as she speaks, pausing to prop it up with one knee for a second. Without taking her attention off of Qifrey, Coco grabs one handle of the basket and starts walking.
“So, are you staying here?” Coco asks curiously, trying to hide her excitement. A new person means new conversations, new things to learn, and new interactions to be witnessed. Assuming Qifrey would be allowed to stay at least, but at a glance he doesn’ t seem like the type to cause trouble.
Qifrey shakes his head gently. “I’m afraid not. I stumbled across a witch’s body recently, and wanted to trade some of their contraptions for food.”
“While outside, we came across a group of three women that do want to stay with us though,” Coco’s mom informs her casually, like that isn’t a crazy piece of information.
“Wait, what?” Coco shrieks, almost dropping her side of the basket in her shock. Four people? In a day? The last time they got a new person was like three months ago!
“Yup.” Her mom confirms, in her usual no-nonsense sort of manner. “They’ve been travelling in a carriage for a while now. Apparently one of them got sick recently, so they figured it’d be a good time to settle down.” She pauses for a moment, then glances at Qifrey. “Really, I doubt anyone in this village would complain if you want to stay here too. Doubly so if you’re good with that sword of yours. There aren’t that many of us, so we attract less zombies than the remaining big cities.”
The man in question laughs lightly, rubbing his neck with a hand. “I appreciate it, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.”
Coco and her mom set the basket down by all the others, struggling a little but managing just fine. Coco frowns down at her hands, which are a little raw and red from all the friction. It’s not that bad though! She’d definitely be able to help more in the fields if they’d just let her.
Coco’s mom brushes her hands off as she straightens her back and turns to Qifrey. “Well, if you want to negotiate for food, I’m the person to ask. I have to help the others with organization right now, but I should be ready in half an hour or so. Coco, why don’t you show him to the talking room?”
She can feel herself smile immediately. “Sure! C’mon, this way!”
Coco leads him through the small crowd of people bringing in supplies, weaving through the various stone and wood huts that act as storage spaces. It’s hard to call it a “crowd” when there’s under 50 people living in the village, but Coco thinks the word fits well enough.
“What is the ‘talking room?’” Qifrey asks curiously, taking in everything around them. Coco can see his visible eye flick from structure to structure, lingering on the dark spaces between them. It’s something that all travelers do, though Coco thinks Qifrey seems a little more paranoid than most.
“The ‘talking room’ is just a small underground room at the back of the village for when people want privacy,” Coco explains, pointing as it comes into sight. “It’s mostly used by the grownups, but couples use it sometimes when getting together or breaking up.” It’s also meant to be a bunker in case the zombies ever get through the wall, but that hasn’t happened yet.
The wooden trapdoor creaks a little as it opens, and Coco can see Qifrey hesitate for a moment before climbing after her.
“We’re not going to attack you or anything,” Coco says quietly, in an attempt to reassure him. There’s a few wooden chairs inside, along with some food and water, and Coco takes a seat. They’re arranged in a semicircle with a table in the middle, probably from when the grownups had their last big talk. There are some magic lamps with fire by the walls, though they’re dimmer now from age. “We’re not one of the villages that went crazy. We have enough essential resources to live comfortably enough.”
Qifrey nods, staying standing. “I can see that. It’s quite nice to see such welcoming people. I haven’t met such friendly strangers in a long time.” He pauses for a moment. “I do think you are all a little too trusting, though.”
They are and they aren’t, Coco thinks. There’s a small knife tucked away in a scabbard under her shirt, that she has a small amount of training with. Everyone in the village has one, regardless of age. It’s not necessarily enough to beat Qifrey with if he attacks her, but it would give her a decent chance. Besides, the village collectively decided to live with faith in humanity when everything started, and it works out for them most of the time.
They fall silent for a little while, and Coco watches as Qifrey fidgets a little with his hands. They’re covered in small scars and callouses, and only make Coco want to hear his stories even more. His clothes have a lot of rips and tears too, with plenty of stitches to hold everything together.
Coco has so many questions, she doesn’t have nearly enough time to ask them all. There is one question she wants to start with, though.
“Are you a witch?”
She sees the moment he stiffens, eye going wide, unable to hide his reaction completely. It’s gone in an instant, hidden below a facade of calm amusement. Qifrey raises an eyebrow and asks, “What makes you think that?”
“I won’t tell anyone if you are,” Coco says quickly, holding up her hands in a placating gesture. “I, um, really like witches. My reasoning is a lot of things though. Most travelers aren’t willing to give up their main weapon at the entrance so easily. You mentioned coming across a witch’s body in a really casual manner, with no insults towards the dead witch. And your accent reminds me of a witch I knew.”
Qifrey stares at her for a long moment, probably reassessing her. Silently, Coco prays she’s right. It’s not a guess she’s confident in at all, but maybe…?
“You’re very observant,” Qifrey says neutrally. Reflected fire dances in his lighter lens, obscuring his one eye. There’s another pause, then he sighs and shakes his head. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m just an ordinary traveler. It would make my life quite easier if I were a witch, though.”
He’s probably lying, Coco thinks immediately, but she decides to let it go. Contrary to what her mom thinks, she does have some survival instincts.
Everyone knows witches lie. This was discovered when The Lie was revealed, and during the aftermath when the witches tried to cover everything up. “We’re not the ones that caused this,” they said. Most people think that’s a lie too. Still, everyone knows to never directly confront a witch about their lies. Instead, they learned to-
“Coco? Qifrey?” Her mother calls. There’s a lantern in one of her hands as she descends down the steps, brightening the room slightly as she walks. It makes Coco think of that one spell, the one that made her love magic back then.
“We’re here,” Qifrey responds, his strange accent a little less noticeable that time. Was that a direct response to Coco mentioning it?
The man reaches into one of his larger pockets, and pulls out a few pieces of carved wood and metal, each with parts of a seal on them. He sets them down on the table one by one, with a different sounding thud each time. “I have one contraption that pulls water from the air, a box that preserves whatever is inside, and a few contraptions that create fire. I don’t want that much in exchange, just 10 loaves of bread would suffice.”
He demonstrates each one as he speaks, connecting the two pieces of the spell together each time. Coco does her best to not squeal each time.
Coco’s mom leans over the table with a hand under her chin, peering at each of the contraptions slowly. There are some scratches on the metal, and the wood is a little splintered in some areas, but none of the items look more than a year old. “These all look fairly new…and yet you’re only asking for 10 loaves of bread?”
Qifrey chuckles lightly, taking a step away from the table. “I’m rather desperate for food at the moment, so I don’t wish to spend a long time bartering. To be quite honest, I’m taking care of a few girls who are Coco’s age, so I’m eager to get back as soon as possible.”
There’s a short pause as Coco’s mom analyzes the contraptions, searching for signs of a scam. It’s easy to see the suspicion in the furrow of her brow.
Those contraptions that pull water are practically invaluable, to Coco’s knowledge. Especially for travelers who don’t want to settle down. 10 loaves of bread would be a ridiculous ask, unless…well, unless you are a witch with a supply of ink.
Coco’s mom nods once firmly. “It’s a deal then. You can leave the contraptions here; let’s go to the storage shed, I’ll get you a bag of what you want, and you can be on your way.”
Qifrey nods gratefully, the relief evident in his posture. “That would be wonderful, thank you very much. Your village truly is a nice place, especially compared to the rest of the world these days.”
Coco’s mom leads the way up the stairs, followed by Coco and then Qifrey. “Yeah, well, we do our best to remain decent human beings. I think it’s easier though, since there aren’t many of us and we all knew each other before.”
As she finishes speaking, she reaches the trapdoor. It’s heavy for a reason, and Coco can see her straining to lift it up. Coco runs to her side to help, followed by Qifrey half a second later.
Together they push it open, with enough force that it swings on its hinges and flops down on the ground. Coco grins triumphantly, and opens her mouth to say ‘we did it!”
Coco hears the screaming a second later, and any joy she had felt vanishes.
Hearing screaming isn’t automatically abnormal. The other kids scream sometimes during their games of tag, and you’ll hear the occasional scream of pain when someone accidentally hurts themself. Other times you’ll hear angry yelling at each other when tensions boil a little too high. Cramming 30 people in a relatively small space naturally does that.
This screaming is something Coco’s never heard before. It’s high pitched and frantic, raw in a way that must hurt their voice. More screaming and yelling overlap, drowning the others sounds out, creating a cacophony of noise that Coco can’t decipher.
It’s hard to hear at all, actually. There’s a ringing in her ears that drowns out the other noise, even her mother’s voice as she yells something.
Coco inhales sharply, and forces herself to pay attention. “-get in the shelter, now!” Her mom shouts, already with a knife in hand, scanning the area for immediate danger. “Coco, go back down the stairs and wait there, understand?”
“Zombies!” Someone shrieks, sounding a million miles away. “Get the children to safe-AH”
No. Nononono
Coco reaches for her knife too, fumbling with the strap. Her mother is already moving, sprinting towards the source of the screaming. Fifty feet or so away, in the gap between two buildings, Coco can see flashes of people running.
Next to her Qifrey looks between her and her mother frantically, one hand hovering over the empty space where his sword is supposed to be. “Get in the shelter Coco, I’ll defend the entrance and let other people in.” Coco barely processes any of his words, already moving after her mother.
A hand grabs the back of her shirt, pulling her back, and Coco blindly lashes out with her knife. There’s a hiss of pain, the hand releases her shirt, and Coco doesn’t have the time to feel any guilt as she sprints after her mom.
Her momentum carries her forward, and she slams into the wall of the dormitory, then pushes against it and turns and runs towards the clearing. There are less screams now, less noise in general, and Coco silently prays that it means they’re all okay.
There are only two people in the clearing, Coco’s mom and another man, Kanan. Coco ducks behind the wall of a storage shed before they can see her, afraid that she’ll distract them. Kanan was one of the people on guard duty, Coco remembers. He has his spear at the ready and makeshift armor on, though said armor doesn’t consist of much more than some small metal places attached to his vest.
“-was the woman who was asleep,” Coco hears him say quickly, the edges of his words overlapping in his haste. “She was infected, and they didn’t realize it until they woke up. Everyone in the dorm got infected, those in the village that didn’t have already ran for it. I barricaded the door but it won’t last for long. You need to take Coco and go, now.”
Something brushes against Coco’s shoulder, and she whirls around to see Qifrey standing behind her. Coco’s heart pounds painfully in her chest, and she grips her knife tighter, but the man just stares down at her neutrally. Blood drips from a cut on his arm, but it doesn’t seem to bother him as the two continue to listen to the conversation.
“But…there have to be others!” Coco’s mom protests. “Some that are hiding, some in the dorm that haven’t turned yet! We should-”
Coco can’t see Kanan’s face from her position, but she imagines it’s not a pleasant one. “We can’t. If Coco’s in the shelter you need to get her out right now - the zombies will wait outside until she leaves or starves.”
“I’m right here,” Coco says quickly, stepping out from behind the wall. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen.”
There’s a desperate relief in her mom’s eyes upon seeing her that makes Coco want to throw up. Her mom isn’t supposed to look like that. The village isn’t supposed to be silent like it is right now, silent and eerily empty.
“Good, now you need to go,” Kanan hisses, eyeing the door to the dorm. He spares a glance at Qifrey and adds, “You too, traveler. No point in staying now. Your sword is at the entrance where you left it.”
How many people made it out? Coco absently wonders. It feels like her head is underwater, making it hard to think. Hopefully a lot, most of them were probably managing the grains when it happened. All of the elderly though, who Coco would always listen to when bored, were probably…
Hadn’t Kanan’s wife broken her ankle a few weeks ago? She’s probably stuck inside too…
Coco stares at the dormitory. It looks like it always does, with a few covered windows, cracked but stable stone walls, and a roof with a lot of laundry. There isn’t any screaming emanating from the building anymore either. There aren’t any bodies lying around them on the floor either. The only thing out of place are the stacks of barrels and chairs piled in front of the door.
Looking at it like this, Coco can’t help but think that maybe it really is just a messed up prank. She’s still never seen a zombie before, after all. Nobody’s talked about what they look like or how they turn. It’s something that the kids shouldn’t hear, they say. The only thing that they know is that zombies can’t talk like normal people.
Maybe the zombies aren’t actually real. Maybe everything is actually fine.
Something slams against the door, rattling all the chairs and barrels.
“I’m telling you, you three need to go,” Kanan hisses, hands clenched around his spear.
“Come with us,” Coco’s mom urges desperately. “Your wife wouldn’t want-”
“HELP!” Shrieks a voice from the roof. A small hand pushes a hanging dress to the side, revealing…Aiko. The little girl takes a shaking step towards the edge of the roof, glancing nervously over her shoulder as she moves.
Aiko is one of the only children in the village younger than Coco. She’s seven, adorably sweet, and also absurdly smart for her age. It’s an awful thing to think, but Coco can’t help but be glad that she’s the one to make it out.
“Wait,” Qifrey shouts, reaching for something in his pocket.
But Coco’s mom is already moving forwards, dropping her knife and lifting her arms up. “Jump, I’ll catch you!”
“Stop, she’s probably infected!” Qifrey yells, moving forwards only to be blocked by Kanan.
Coco can only stay still and watch as everything happens. Silly Qifrey, she thinks as Kanan aims his spear at the traveler. Doesn’t he know that zombies can’t talk?
“Zombies can’t speak, she’s safe,” Kanan snaps, constantly looking between Qifrey and the roof. “If we can save one more child, that’s something to be grateful for.”
Aiko steps off the roof, and Coco can only watch as everything happens in slow motion.
Aiko falls into Coco’s mother’s arms. Her face is red and blotchy and covered in her own tears. There’s a small scratch on her temple, where a few beads of blood are forming, but other than that she looks mostly unharmed.
Coco sees the moment Kanan spots the scratch, as his face fills with panic.
Everything’s fine, Coco thinks, unable to breathe. Everything’s fine. There’s something wrong but it’ll all be okay, they just need to run.
Her mom smiles down at Aiko, and says, “Everything’s going to be okay.”
And Coco watches as Aiko’s eyes glaze over, and the little girl cranes her head and bites into her mother’s shoulder.
There’s a little bit of blood, but not that much. Aiko is just a little girl, after all. It’s fine.
The little girl’s mouth is stained with red, like she just had a large helping of tomato soup. The idea that the red substance is blood just doesn’t make sense.
Coco’s mom throws Aiko into the wall and the girl crumples immediately and see everything’s fine her mom’s fine they just need to run now and everything will be okay.
“Dammit,” Qifrey hisses from somewhere a million miles away, reaching towards Coco with hands that don’t belong to her mom so Coco sprints forwards, knife already dropping from her hands, reaching for the one person who she cannot lose.
Coco reaches her, somehow, and wraps her arms around her as much as she can so that no one can pull her away.
Her mom smiles weakly at her, with the same smile she wears whenever she talks about Coco’s father. Like she’s mourning something long dead. “Coco, I love you, but you need to get going, okay? Kanan will you-”
Somewhere to Coco’s side, she spots Aiko sinking her teeth into Kanan’s leg. He doesn’t look like he’s trying very hard to fight it, but Coco can’t care about that because all that matters is her mom’s hand stroking her hair.
When Coco was ten and the end of the world really began, she spent a lot of time thinking about what her last words to mother should be. It’s something that happens often in books, so Coco figured she should prep them ahead of time. She had decided on something simple, like “I love you, thank you for everything.”
As Coco clings to her mom and feels tears streak down her face, the words cross her mind for a moment.
No.
No, her mom is fine, she isn’t some zombie, she’s still talking so she can’t be a zombie.
“We-we’ll be okay mom,” Coco stutters weakly, burying her face into her mom’s stomach. “We’ll be okay, I promise.”
There’s light flashing in the edges of Coco’s vision but she can barely anyway, as her tears blur everything.
She pulls back out of the hug for a moment to smile at her mom, just in time to watch her eyes become cloudy. It’s hard to describe, but Coco can see the moment something shifts in her vision.
And then she opens her mouth, swings her head down, and-
Water slams into her mom’s head and freezes, filling her mouth with ice. Her head is frozen too, leaving two frozen wide eyes with pupils that are just a little too small. Her expression is blank, peaceful, serene even. A second later two hands grab Coco, and then she is flying in the air, far away from the nightmare on the ground.
It takes Coco a second to realize what had happened. Qifrey’s grip on her is tight as bright light emanates from his shoes, pushing the two far away. Wind slams into them, sending Coco’s hair whipping back and forth across her face.
“No! Bring me back!” Coco shrieks, pushing against whatever she can grasp in a panic, reaching for a knife that isn’t there, kicking at whatever she can hit.
The grip on her only tightens as her efforts do nothing. “Stop Coco, I don’t want to drop you! I’m sorry, but your mother is gone.”
“No, she isn’t! She was fine! You’re a witch, right? Go back and SAVE HER!”
Her throat hurts from the screaming but the pain barely registers. She pounds her fists against Qifrey’s chest but her efforts are futile.
“I-” For a moment he falters, guilt written all over his face, but it’s gone in a second. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do. She’s gone.”
There’s a rope constructing around Coco’s neck and she’s drowning in water and she doesn’t see the point in trying to swim anymore.
Coco lets her body go limp, and feels her consciousness slip away.