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The wait is over! So sorry for how it took, but here's a long chapter with accidents aplenty to make up for it! Hope you guys enjoy. Also, there will be a short follow-up minichapter that will actuall

"I suppose it would be pretty be fair to say that, by the time the apocalypse came, nobody was really surprised. The first outbreak was the Green Scare back in 2013, where a sudden, violent mania sudd

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Because I won't be able to post the full, completed chapter until later tonight, I thought I'd go ahead and post the first section to give you guys something to chew on.

 

 

The door to the women’s room creaks as you open it slowly. No one inside, just empty stalls.. You breath out a sigh of relief. You look over at Leo, as he’s opening the door to the men’s room. He still has one hand covering his privates. You feel sorry for him; when you wet yourself, it just soaked your panties and legs, but your skirt was unharmed. Leo now has a large wet patch adorning the front of his pants, for all to see. As he carefully pulls the door open, he suddenly jumps backwards, away from the door. You can see the wet spot on his front grow slightly.

“What is it?” You ask, hand already darting to your revolver.

“J-just a… b-body… ” He steadies his breathing. Just to ensure you’re not in any danger, you peer into the men’s room. As he said, there’s a body lying face down on the floor, unmoving. Looks like some poor guy got attacked in one of the stalls.

“Well, we can just take turns in the ladies’ room,” You suggest, causing to look at you like you had just said something insane.

He nods after a second, “Guess it’s okay, under the circumstances.” Similar to your situation earlier, in the car, Leo is now unashamedly holding himself, to prevent further wetting. You’re about to offer to let him go first when he says “Y-you just have to clean up, right? You can go first.”

“You sure? You can-”

“No, it’s fine, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, but… ” There’s no way around it, so you just ask him as directly and bluntly as possible, “I need to borrow some of your underwear. Mine are wet, and I don’t have anything to change into.” You speak quickly, and avoid eye contact.

Leo takes a second to process your request, then answers, “Oh, uh… yeah, sure… ” In a weird way, it’s almost comforting to know that he is exactly as uncomfortable about it as you are. He fishes around in his backpack, and produces a pair of white briefs. They look like they’ll fit you well enough. It will at least be better than going commando, the thought of which makes you cringe.

“Uh, thanks,” You awkwardly pluck the undergarments from his hand, and open the door to the bathroom, “I’ll be quick, I promise.”

The bathroom is actually in pretty good shape, all things considered. Looks like no was rushing to relieve themselves before trying to evacuate. If what happened to you and Leo is any indication, that was a pretty big mistake on their part. Ensuring the door behind you has closed all the way, you remove your long skirt, revealing your heavily saturated pink panties underneath. There is a slight shimmer along your thighs, where there is still some wetness. You slide your panties off, and begin using the facilities present to clean yourself off. When it’s done, you pick up and put on the underwear Leo gave you. It feels so strange to be wearing a man’s briefs. At the very least, they actually do fit decently well.

As you’re just finishing getting your skirt back in order, you note the heavy weight in your abdomen. You suppose you’ve been ignoring it for the last several hours, but you’re actually starting to feel the need to empty your bowels. If you only had more time, and if only Leo wasn’t waiting his turn, about to pee his pants, you could go ahead and use the bathroom here. Since you don’t want to make Leo wait, you decide to wait, and hold it. It’s not nearly bad enough to seriously inconvenience you. You just hope you’ll be able to get to another bathroom before you use Leo’s underwear as one.

Exiting the bathroom, you see Leo waiting by the door, keeping an eye on the windows and exits. He’s still holding himself, and bouncing up and down a little bit, almost performing a full-fledged bathroom dance. “All yours,” you say, holding the door open for him. He bolts inside, his prior hesitations about using the women’s room totally forgotten. You busy yourself by poking around the lobby. You can faintly see some of the infected meandering about, outside, but they’re not getting close enough to the building to warrant any concern for the moment.

After a short few minutes, Leo emerges, wearing a fresh pair of jeans. The two of you find an unoccupied section of the pack that you stuff your pee-soaked clothes into. Once that’s done, Leo asks, “So, do you think we should risk the street?”

“Huh?”

“There were only a couple infected people on the street. If we can just… deal with them, it’s a straight shot to the police station.”

You consider it. The only real alternative would be trying to go around and sneak in, and you’ve encountered no small amount of obstacles, already. Time is running out, and it’s really a luxury you don’t have right now. You don’t ever want to put yourself or your friends in the way of harm, but it’s far more dangerous to go too slowly, at this point.

“If we do,” You begin, “Are you sure you can kill them?”

He takes a breath before answering, “Yeah.”

“Then let’s… Let’s do it.”

Edited by DsGSilver (see edit history)
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And here it is. This ends the prologue, and now the choices will start having much more influence over how the story goes. Sorry for the delay, and I hope you guys enjoy!

 

PAK!!
An infected woman falls to the ground, as Leo shoots her square in the back of the head. The two of you stand outside the apartments, now, ready to run for the station. There are a few more infected here than you previously saw. Scattered around, down the street there are maybe six infected people. Hearing Leo’s gunshot, the three closest turn, see you, and break into a sprint towards you. It’s a pretty good thing you’d already peed. You imagine Leo is thinking the same.

You aren’t any good with guns, but you decide to give Leo some help. Aiming your revolver at the second-closest infected, you fire… and miss. You have no idea where the bullet even went, but it most certainly didn’t hit the infected. You pull back the hammer, aim and fire again. This time, a spray of blood spews from their leg, and they collapse onto the ground, struggling to stand back up. A moment later, and the infected’s head jerks back suddenly, then falls to the ground as Leo finishes the job with another headshot. Wow, he’s uh… actually really good with that thing.

Another infected has almost closed the gap, and you turn to shoot. Seeing them getting closer and closer is making you panic, and your finger, slick with sweat, slides off the hammer a few times before you’re able to pull it back and make the shot, nailing him in the chest. The infected stumbles, then tumbles straight down, making gurgling noises. The sound of Leo’s gun firing accompanies the falling of two more infected, leaving only one. You expect Leo to make short work of it, but as he points the gun and pulls the trigger, only a faint click can be heard. He’s out of ammo. You prepare to fire on the infected, but she’s very close now, and moving erratically.

Leo turns around, looking for something on the ground. You can hear the sounds of glass shards breaking behind you, and a second later, a car’s rear-view mirror, plucked from the wreck behind you, whizzes through the air and smashes into the woman’s forehead. She stops in her tracks, stumbling around in a daze. Leo shouts, “Shoot it now, Angie!” And you do. With a bang, you plant a bullet in her head, and she falls down for good. Things start to go quiet, and the dust is settling, Leo says, “We… we actually just did that! I can’t believe we actually managed to do it!” he begins chuckling and putting his hand over his chest as the adrenaline fades.

“Aw yeah,” is all you can think to say, as you hold up your hand for a high-five, which Leo eagerly gives you.

The two of you begin walking, stepping over the mess in front of you. “Leo,” you say, “It is seriously impressive how skilled you are with that thing. Are you sure Grace is the cop, and not you?”

“I still almost crapped my pants when I ran outta bullets. Thanks for the save.”

“The ‘save’ that you gave me the opening for,” Why did he have to mention crapping one’s pants? You were out in the open, now, and the last thing you needed was to be reminded of your growing need to relieve yourself.

The sky begins to tinge pink and orange as sunset looms. Looking around, you can still see lots of smoke, with orange glows beneath them. Gunfire, loud, automatic gunfire can be heard from multiple directions across the city. The occasional helicopter passes by. The military must be intervening, now. If that’s the case, then the outbreak really is no joke.

The two of you come to a small crossroads. Leo knows the way to the station better than you do, so you follow his lead. You hear a sound, like shouting, coming from one of the other roads you passed. You and Leo both turn, frightened. You weren’t prepared for what you saw.

Maybe twenty, thirty infected, all clustered around one specific individual: a carrier. A man, lumbering and slow, with vines and strangely pretty violet flowers bursting through his flesh. You’d heard about carriers before, but never seen one. They’re slower, but they spread the infection, like a cloud around them. Maybe that’s why the horde is surrounding it. But now they see you. Now they want you. The infected at the front of the group start running, the others following suit a few seconds later.

You’re frozen in terror at the sight. Just looking at the carrier makes you think you might throw up. You can hear a light crackle, and then feel something hot on your backside. You’re messing yourself. You can feel your underwear sag and slide down slightly as your release fills your white briefs. Correction: your release is actually filling Leo’s white briefs. Your mess is soft, and it contours around your rear, cupping your buttocks in sticky warmth.

While you’re busy shitting yourself, Leo tugs on your arm, desperately trying to get you to move. He grabs you by the shoulders, and you look down into his pleading eyes, and hear him shouting, “Angela, please, move!!” You snap out of it, and give him a quick nod. He grabs your hand, and takes off running, pulling you along.

The desire to run bowlegged and awkwardly is very strong, as you feel your mess pressing up against your rear, but you resist it. Surviving is much more important than minimizing the accident. No matter how much it disgusts you to feel it squishing around in your clothes.

The footsteps and the growling are getting so close, now. They’re gaining on you, and they’ll grab you before long. Leo is so much faster than you are, and you’re only slowing him down. You don’t want to die, but you would if it meant Leo could survive. You can feel a hand swing by the back of your head, barely missing your hair. You prepare to let go of Leo’s hand and let him escape when a loud gunshot, and a spray of blood from behind you bring you to your senses.

The police station! You made it! Already, you can see officers, SWAT, and military taking aim at the approaching horde. Using cars and barricades, they appear to have constructed a large fortified wall around the station. You pick up the pace, running as hard and fast as your scrawny legs will carry you. Your legs and lungs burn more than you’ve ever felt in your life. You and Leo both duck a little as you run, and cover your heads with your free arms, as a hail of gunfire sails around you and begins ripping the horde to shreds.

As you reach the wall, two officers grab both of you, and help you the rest of the way inside. You appreciate it, as you don’t think you could’ve even stood up. Your breathing is in short, ragged pants, and sweat is pouring down your face. Someone to your right shouts, “Bring them to Church! And tell her we’ve got carriers!” Anything he might’ve said is drowned out by the roar of gunfire.

The guard carrying you, a woman maybe a few years older than you, says, “Think we can toss one in the shower first? Eeugh, I think she shit herself.”

“Sorry...” You manage to choke out.

“Can’t blame her, I think I did, too,” the woman helping Leo says, “Did you see how many of them there were?”

They lead towards some room buried in the middle of the large station. Your escort props you up against a wall while she steps forward and bangs on the door, “Hey Doc, let us in! Got some new arrivals and some bad news!”

A second passes, and you hear some movement on the other side of the door. It swings open, revealing a crimson-haired woman in a white lab coat and gray pants. She has fair skin, and, despite clearly being a mature adult, almost no signs of aging. Her dark, cherry-colored hair hung just past her ears, and looked as though it hadn’t seen a brush in ages. “Come in, come in.” She holds open the door, and the officers help you and Leo into the room. It’s very well lit, smells strange, and it looks like a group of scientists have been living in this room for years. Books, diagrams, charts, and graphs cover tables and walls, many overlapping and covering each other up. Lab equipment is strewn haphazardly around the room, and privacy curtains have been placed, obscuring the rest of the room.

You and Leo stand in a corner, awkwardly, waiting for them to do… whatever it is they plan on doing to you. The guards seem to be briefing the doctor lady on what happened, all three of them have grim expressions on their faces. You finally have your breath back, and you use it to say, “I’m uh… sorry about your underwear,” You reach behind you, and feel the large bulge through your skirt, “You might not want them back, now...”

Now that the shock of everything has passed, and you’re just standing here, having almost died horribly, and with underpants full of shit and everyone knows it, you can feel tears welling in your eyes. You try to hold it back, but you fail as you choke out a few sobs, and tears begin to fall down your cheeks.

“Angie...” Leo begins, in an exhausted, raspy voice. He starts to lean towards you, then almost falls into you as he wraps his arms around you and hugs you as tight as he possibly can. He’s almost burying his face into you. Just the effort of raising your arms to hug him back stings, but you do so. Finally, he looks up at you, and speaks, “Who cares about that? We actually made it! We’re safe, now.”

You hold each other for a long while, neither of you having enough sense left to tell how much time has passed. Someone clears their throat next to you, making you and Leo jump. You separate, and see that the officers are now standing guard at the door, while the doctor is approaching you.

“My name,” She begins, “is Doctor Victoria Church. I’m with the Office of Disease Analysis. I need to perform a few quick tests to make sure you’re not infected and, if you are, to treat you.” Worries begin to form inside you; you were awfully close to a carrier, and all you have to do is breath near one to get infected. What are they going to do us if we’re infected? The guards appear to have confiscated your gun when they brought you in, so you don’t have any weapon if you wind up needing one.

“Test me first,” you volunteer. I’m not gonna let them hurt you, Leo.

“Sure thing,” Church, a little shorter than you, reaches up and turn your head to face her. She pulls out a little flashlight and shines it in your eye, almost blinding you. “Normal,” she mumbles, then produces a small, rectangular contraption with a little nub on the top. “Breath into this, please,” you take the object from her and put the little nub in your mouth before exhaling. The device makes a series a whirring and buzzing sounds before displaying a message on a small screen, which Church reads. “She’s clean,” Church says, then wrinkles her nose as she smells you, “metaphorically speaking,” you blush.

“Okay, come here little one,” she says as she walks through the same steps with Leo. You swallow hard as he breathes into the device, hoping and praying it says he’s fine. Once it finishes analyzing his breath, she pulls the device up in front of her eyes, “Yup, he’s good, too.” You breath a heavy sigh of relief.

“All right then,” One of the guards at the door says, “let’s get you to a shower, then to the shelter.”

“Actually, uh,” Leo interrupts, “My sister works here. She’s probably busy right now, but uh, do you know where Grace Taylor is?”

“Officer Taylor? I think she’s on guard duty down in the shelter right now.”

“Yeah,” The other guard pipes up, “some idiots got into a fight down there, so they had to pull some people from the wall to go watch them.”

“So she’s okay?” Leo sounds very relieved.

“Don’t worry, man, your sister’s fine.”

You pat his shoulder and say, “Told you so.”

Honestly, after today, that shower sounds absolutely lovely. You kinda doubt you’ll really be sleeping very soundly, even with how exhausted you are. You decide to just go with what Leo said: “Who cares about that? We actually made it! We’re safe, now.” This wasn’t the end of this thing, not by a long shot, but you had to take what victories you could find.

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Hot water splashes onto you, coursing down your body, taking all the filth you’d managed to collect, or even… produce, with it. The underwear you borrowed from Leo proved to be unsalvageable, so you just tossed them. He’d honestly forgotten you even had them, so he didn’t care.

Some of the other women at the station had some spare clothes, and offered them to you, so you actually wound up with a fairly diverse selection.

Of course, clothes and cleanliness were minor things. Currently, your thoughts are occupied by what you, Leo, and Grace should do next. Grace is probably pretty rooted in, here, and won’t want to go anywhere, but if things are really as grim as they seem, then this shelter might not last. Or rather, if it is going to last, it needs to be defended as much as possible. You’d overheard that, so far, only thirteen other people had made it here, some of them children. Not exactly a fighting force.

You’ll need guns, ammunition, food, water, electricity, and skilled people to survive for any length of time before ODA shows up. From what you’ve seen and heard, this place is short on all accounts. The way you see it, you have three choices once you reunite with Grace:

A). Discuss with Grace the possibility of evacuating the shelter with the police and military acting as an escort. Dangerous, but you’re honestly skeptical of how long the shelter can hold out.

B). Discuss with Grace the possibility of departing on supply runs to ensure you’re prepared for the harsh times ahead.

C). Find a way to help. Doctor Church seemed pretty busy, and could probably use some assistance. Perhaps she could teach you something useful.


As a side note, you now have some more options for what to wear. Would you like:
1). Your light pink sweater, now cleaned up, along with a dark blue pleated skirt.
2). An orange tee-shirt, along with light blue jeans.
3). Something else. You can describe an outfit, and it will be considered.

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  • 3 weeks later...

imbackbaby.jpg.eea272ed0f22f9ae58b5040d293b5379.jpg

Sorry for the delay, but I am back! This chapter is more exposition-heavy than previous ones, and there's only some omo content, but trust me when I say that it's building up to the good stuff. Hope you all enjoy!


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A few years back, when it became apparent that the outbreaks weren’t going away, most major cities began to outfit their military and police stations with disaster shelters. In high-end, wealthy cities, these shelters were kept extremely well-stocked, and were spacious enough to contain hundreds, sometimes even thousands of people. You are not in any such city, and this shelter is small, cramped, and critically understocked. But even so, both you and Leo are practically bouncing in excitement to get inside. After today, some safe, secure walls around you and a decent, if small, meal sound like Heaven.

 

An almost worry-free smile adorns Leo’s face. He’d been so worried about Grace, and now he’s moments from reuniting with her. The sheer relief of that must be enough to make him momentarily forget about all the hardships the two of you just went through. Despite how happy you are about surviving, about making it to the shelter in one piece, you can’t get the things you saw out of your head so easily. You suppose one doesn’t often forget terror so severe it forces them to crap their pants.

Thinking about your lapse in continence still upsets you. You’d always had a rebellious bladder that would pour urine into your clothes whenever it felt like it, but your bowels had never been that way. “Not shitting yourself frequently” is a pretty low bar, but it was definitely one you never had trouble with. You really hope that this isn’t going to become a common occurrence; You don’t have enough clothes.

 

You look down at the clothes you’re currently wearing. Your pink sweater had been cleaned up, but your other garments would take a bit more doing to be wearable again. The inside of your long skirt had been stained with your pee and a little bit with your mess. Whether it was out of kindness, or just because they’d rather you not run around streaking through the shelter, one of the female officers donated some spare clothes to you, so now a shorter, dark blue pleated skirt covered your lower body. You’d even managed to snag some spare panties.

 

Ding!

 

“Wha- I-” You stutter in disbelief, as the both of you begin to search your persons for any money.

 

The officer behind the table holds up his hand to stop you, “Relax,” his emotionless voice continued, “I’m fucking with you.” There was absolutely no mirth or joy whatsoever in the man’s voice or face, but, given how tired he looked, you imagine it’s been a long day. “Just sign this, and then don’t be an asshole to the other people in the shelter,” he pushes a sign-in sheet towards you. It’s mostly blank. There really aren’t many people here.

 

You sign your names, and he pulls the paper back, briefly inspects your names, then lazily waves his arm towards the interior of the shelter, “Enjoy your stay. Dorms on the left, bathrooms are in each of the dorms,”. The two of you move past him.

 

You see only a small handful of people outside the dormitories. Maybe six people, and you count no fewer than six police officers keeping watch throughout the large room. The people who are outside are fairly quiet, and the silence gives the shelter an ominous air. Seems nobody’s really in the mood for talking.

 

If the other officers were right, then Grace should be in here somewhere. You can’t help but notice that two of the doors leading to peoples’ rooms have a guard stationed outside them. Either important people, or belligerent people, you suppose. You maneuver around some crates, and find yourself looking at a few long rows of shelves, each stacked with various boxes and supplies. You can make out the figure of a person on the other side of the shelf.

 

Leo steps forward first, and he gasps slightly before exclaiming “Grace!” and running around the shelf. You come around just in time to see Grace’s eyes widen in surprise. She carelessly drops a clipboard and pen she’d been holding, and wraps her arms around Leo as he does the same to her.

 

“Leo, thank God!” Grace says as she holds onto him tightly. “I was so close to just leaving this place to come find you,” The two of them lean into one another, looking like they’re unwilling to ever part again. It really does warm your heart, just how much these two genuinely care about one another. Grace’s eyes open as if something suddenly sprung into her mind. She pulls back, and begins inspecting Leo, “Are you all right? Are you hurt at all?”

 

“No, no, I’m fine. We’re not hurt,”

 

“Good, good, uh,” Grace was breathing heavily, almost as if she’d been holding her breath, “Thank God that you made it here, Li’l Cat.” She smiles at him for a short while, then turns to you, “Angela, thank you,” now it’s your turn for a hug, as she pulls you in, “Thank you so much for keeping him safe,”.

 

“Pssh, he kept me safe,” you scoff.

 

She steps back, and continues to breathe weirdly. It’s at this point you notice the bags under her bloodshot eyes. Poor thing must’ve been worried sick. “I have no idea how you two made it here. If things are really as bad as I’ve been hearing, it must have been horrible.”

 

“It uh… wasn’t easy,” you say, wondering where your Understatement of the Fucking Year award is, “We had to leave my car behind, and make half the trip on foot.”

 

“Let’s just say that this isn’t the same pair of pants I was wearing at the start of the trip,” Leo chuckles shyly. You elect to refrain from mentioning what you’d done in your own clothes.

 

Grace puts a hand on you and Leo’s shoulders, “Well, you’re safe in here. You might not have much of an appetite, all things considered, but try and eat something, then get some rest.”

 

“What about you?” You ask.

 

“Got more work to do before things are settled around here,” she bends over and picks up the clipboard she’d discarded earlier. Looks like she’s only halfway through an inventory list. She sighs as she looks at the long list, and you can’t help but feel sorry for her as you look at her tired eyes. She catches your stare, and says, “Don’t worry about me. This is the easy shit. You should’ve seen what I was dealing with earlier,” her expression turns sour.

 

“We heard something about you breaking up a fight?” Leo asks.

 

“A fight? Try four,” The annoyance in her voice was almost palpable, “Dumbasses wouldn’t stop shouting about how the other guy was totally infected, how there wasn’t enough food and we were gonna starve. No end to it,” She pats the tazer on her belt, “They kept getting violent with each other, and I’d had enough, so I just zapped the both of ‘em and tossed ‘em into different rooms.”

 

“Guess that’s why those rooms were being watched,” Leo muses.

 

A worrying thought crosses your mind, “There uh, is enough food, though, right?”

 

Grace looks at you with her mouth slightly open, silent for a brief second, before saying, “Oh, yeah. Don’t worry, there’s plenty,” she gestures to a number of items on the clipboard for emphasis. Oh Grace, you think, You are such a bad liar. You could read it in her face, her tone, there’s a reason people were fighting over food.

 

You fail to keep a skeptical look off your face while you listen to her assurances, so she provides some more, “Look, worst case scenario, we’re stuck in here for two, maybe 3 weeks while ODA sorts things out up there. How much food do you think so few people can eat in three weeks? We’ve got more than enough. More likely, though, we’ll only be down here for a couple of days before the section of city above us is cleaned up, and the Public Health Commission rescues us,” She puts her hands on her hips, standing confidently, “They trained us for months about how to handle an outbreak, so I know how this’ll go.”

 

You’re still doubtful, but Leo looks like a weight’s been taken off his shoulders. Just knowing the hands you’ve been dealt today, you can practically feel more bad news coming. For the time being, though, you accept Grace’s words.

 

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It’s been a short few hours, now. You and Leo got some food, but honestly, you only ate because you knew you were supposed to. After the events of today, neither of you were particularly invested in the taste. It was late, now, and the two of you had chosen a small dormitory to call your own. The room was decently furnished, with a couple desks, some chairs, and a small bedside table next to each of the four bunkbeds. Had the shelter received more refugees, all the beds likely would’ve been taken; but you, Leo, and basically every other group present managed to get your own rooms.

 

From the bunk above you, you can hear Leo tapping away on a handheld gaming console. Evidently, he had the foresight to expect boredom, and packed himself some entertainment. You don’t know if that was genius or idiotic, considering that space could’ve been used for other essentials. I guess it’s worked out for him… you mentally concede. As for you, it turns out the shelter has a small library with a decent supply of books aimed at having options for all age groups. You eventually settled a short novel about not giving up on your dreams, or some other trite.

 

You find yourself having to re-read lines, and even entire paragraphs; a problem you almost never have. Your mind just keeps drifting back to, well, it’s difficult to pin down a single thing. The many times the infected were so close to mauling you that you got doused in their blood when they finally died are featured players in your thoughts, though. I bet Mr. Follow-Your-Dreams didn’t count on the zombie apocalypse being an obstacle, you think as you close the book.

 

A deep sigh escapes your lips, and this seems to catch Leo’s attention, since you hear the sounds from his game stop. A second later, his head appears over the side of the top bunk, looking down at you. “Something wrong?” He asks.

 

“No, just...” You hold up the novel, “Dumb book,” you toss it onto the little table by your bed.

 

“Well, just let me know if you want a turn,” he offers, holding out his console, “Great for taking your mind off of things.”

 

“Thanks, Leo, but I’m just gonna try and sleep, now,” You’re exhausted for sure, but you meant it when you said you’d “try” and get some sleep.

 

“Okay, then,” He looks a little worried for you, “G’night, Angie.”

 

“Goodnight, Leo. Don’t stay up much later with that thing,” you turn onto your side, close your eyes, and await the respite of sleep.

 

And wait.

 

And wait.

 

Aaaaaaand wait.

 

Aaaaaany minute now…

 

It feels like hours have passed, and you still can’t sleep. A quick glance at the clock reveals that it is currently 12:31. At some point, Leo turned his game off and drifted off to sleep. Not a restful one, if all of his tossing and turning is any indication. You know he was just as scared as you were- Hell, he wet his pants, too- and you’re sure that having to shoot so many infected people probably wasn’t sitting well with him. Poor guy’s probably having a nightmare. You consider getting up to check on him, but you’re so tired; your body barely responds to you. Your eyes slowly shut, and sleep, at long last, comes to you.

 

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You inhale very sharply as your eyes shoot open. You look around you, taking in the dark room, remembering where you are. It would’ve been foolish to expect your slumber not to be rife with nightmares after everything you’ve gone through. You sit up, and cover your face with your hands for a second, reminding yourself that it wasn’t real. Looking at the clock, it is now 3:24. You got a whopping three hours of sleep.

 

Your tired eyes widen a bit as you notice the chilling wetness gathered around your butt and thighs. You hope it’s sweat, but you don’t expect it to be. Sliding a hand under the covers and to your privates, you promptly discern that you most definitely wet your bed. You push the blanket off of yourself, and see a large wet stain covering the sheets below you. Lacking any proper sleepwear, you just wore a tee-shirt and your underwear, which may have just saved you some laundry. You climb out of bed, the sharp smell of urine and slick feeling of pee on your thighs almost taunting you. You walk to the bathroom, your sodden panties clinging to your butt. The movement provokes some of the soaked-in moisture, and causes a couple drops of cold pee to slowly wind down your legs. Your face burns hot with shame.

 

A short while later, you’ve cleaned yourself up, and gotten changed into some clean underwear. The shelter has something of a laundromat, with some spare clothes for any residents in need. You feel like you might not be getting much more sleep, so you go ahead and throw on your skirt, sweater and your glasses. Maybe a little walk, or a different book can help you clear your head. You quickly look back at Leo before you exit the dorm, checking if he’s okay. He’s turned over again, and does so another time while you’re looking at him. If he’s having nightmares, too, you’re surprised he hasn’t peed the bed, as well. You hope he doesn’t; he’s had enough embarrassment.

 

Outside the dorms, it is very quiet. A couple officers are still milling about; keeping watch or finishing some task, but they are very out of it. You stroll over to the few shelves and tables that constitute a library, and start perusing the books. As you’re running your fingers across a number of titles, the sight of a cop moving quickly through the shelter catches your attention. It’s Grace. She’s carrying a stack of papers into what looks like some special, official room. Was she really still awake? She’s going to kill herself at this rate. You make your way towards her, hoping to catch her before she enters the room.

 

She doesn’t notice your approach, and slips inside just before you can reach her. You turn around, supposing that you’ll just find something to do until she comes back out, but a voice from inside catches your attention: “Look at these numbers, look at these reports, Commander!” it was Grace’s voice, “We don’t have the supplies we need to stay here.”

 

“We do if we ration them,” The deep, slow voice of a man answered her.

 

“We’ve already burned through a considerable amount of our stores. People are already noticing and fighting over it!” Grace sounded frustrated and exhausted. You step a bit closer to the door to listen.

 

“And I understand you put a swift end to these fights?”

 

“Yes, sir, but I-”

 

“Then continue to do so,” There is a short moment of silence before he spoke again, “Officer Taylor, it is our job and responsibility to see to the safety of these people; no matter how hard they try and fight us over it.”

 

“There’s only so much that we can do, sir.” Her voice sounded almost… desperate. “You’ve seen the armory, you know that we’re low on ammo. When that runs out, we’ll have to abandon the station and evacuate everyone down here- that will triple the number of people stuck down here.”

 

“Grace, listen-”

 

“Everyone is already scared and on edge, prepared to attack each other over anything they can think of! Without a surplus of supplies to keep everyone here happy, I can’t shake the feeling that things are going to get very violent.”

 

“Grace!” The Commander cut in when she was finished, “We are police, and this is a prison. If things get violent, we are perfectly trained and capable of restraining them.”

 

“But-”

 

Furthermore!” He interrupted her, his agitation clear in his voice, “There’s nothing we can do about it! We can’t go out and scavenge anything.”

 

“I know it’s dangerous, sir, but it is possible. My little brother and my librarian friend fought their way here; If they can, then we can. Besides, this is just the early stages of the outbreak, we should bolster our position here before the city is overrun with infected.”

 

You hear a deep sigh from the Commander, “Yes. I know. We can’t, because it is illegal, Grace. It is looting. It is preying on people who cannot protect their belongings. We arrest people who do that, Grace. Our entire department could face complete and total-”

 

“Actually,” A new voice interrupted. It’s a refined, almost whispy voice that you recognize; that of Dr. Church. She continues, “I finished my survey of the horde that followed Officer Taylor’s brother. There was, indeed, a carrier. Worryingly, there were also signs of advancement to the carrier stage of infection present on a number of the infected.”

 

“Your point, Dr. Church?” The Commander asked, clearly being fed up with the discussion.

 

“My point is that the speed at which the infection is spreading and advancing is completely unprecedented, and is very bad news. Accordingly, I am officially elevating the threat level to a Crown-Class Emergency,” She waits for a second, seemingly allowing the words to sink in, “Under this classification,” Sounds like they didn’t get it any more than you did, “military and law enforcement personnel have full authority to seize any item whatsoever that they deem necessary to prevent further catastrophe. So, Mr. Thomas, you do, in fact, have free reign to do as you please until the Public Health Commission arrives.”

 

He sighs once again, “Free reign, huh… Guess now I don’t have any excuse not to… ”

 

“So you’ll do it? You’ll deploy scavengers?” Grace sounds hopeful.

 

“Taylor, evidently this outbreak is still a force to be reckoned with. We can’t just start sending our officers to their deaths, out there.”

 

“But we’ll starve, otherwise.”

 

“Yes, I suppose that we will… All right… All right, fine. We’ll do it.” You can hear Grace’s sigh of relief, “But!” The Commander interrupts her relief, “I’m not gonna force any of my people to go out there. You get volunteers, and volunteers only, understood?”

 

“Of course, sir. Thank you.” Their conversation came to an end. Grace is making her way towards the door to leave- the door you’re currently leaning against. You scramble away, and try to look innocent as you pick a spot to stand in.

 

The door opens slowly, and an incredibly tired and stressed Grace walks outside. She looks up at you in surprise, her eyes widening as much as her fatigue will let them. Her expression swiftly shifts to one of exasperation, “Angela, what are you doing still up?”

 

“Couldn’t sleep,” You shrug, “I um, overheard some of… what you guys were discussing… ”

 

Grace closes her eyes in frustration, “Well, do me a favor and forget you heard it.”

 

“Grace, are… are you going to go out scavenging?”

 

“Of course I am; the team needs a leader.”

 

“Then… Then I volunteer,” You place your hand on your chest for emphasis, “I’ll go with you.”

 

“Angela,” Grace replies, in a matter-of-fact tone, “You are a librarian.”

 

“I know but-”

 

“There is no way in Hell that I’m letting you come with me, out there.”

 

“But we already fought through so many of them! If it’s to help you, Grace, then we’ll-”

 

“No, Angela. No you won’t,” She’s talking to you like a mother to a petulant child.

 

“What would Leo think if he knew you were going out without us?” You take on a sterner tone.

 

“Leo will think that I got moved back to the wall; because neither you or me are going to tell him about this,” Grace sounds almost… menacing. She leans forwards as she speaks, invading your personal space. You instinctively recline backwards.

 

“G-Grace… ” You stammer, a small note of fear in your voice, “You’re worrying us, and we just want to help you.”

 

Her face softens a bit, and she takes a step back, “I’m sorry, Angie. But I spent the whole day wondering if I was ever gonna see my best friend and the only family member I have left ever again. I’m damn sure not about to take you two out on what could well be a fucking suicide mission. I know that you’re just trying to help- and I’m touched, really- but I can’t let you go, and I’m begging you not to tell Leo. The last thing that I want is for Li’l Cat to be as scared for me as I was for you two.”

 

“Grace… ” You begin…

 

A). “Don’t you trust us?” Maybe you can reason with her, and convince her to let you two come along. You’ve already proven yourselves, and she’ll need some help.

 

B). End the conversation, but go to tell Leo. She’s not budging even a little, but maybe together you could talk some sense into her. Grace almost always caves to whatever Leo asks her for.

 

C). Screw that. You’re coming whether she likes it or not. Given how overworked and exhausted everyone is, it really wouldn’t be that hard to sneak out. Once she departs, you and Leo could find your way out and join her.

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  • 1 month later...

So sorry for how long it's taken me to get the next chapter out, I really have no excuse for it. While this is just a short entry with no omo, this does mark something significant: The end of the prologue. When the actual next chapter is posted in a few days, it will be the real deal; I'm talking zombie-killing, ruins-exploring, action-packed, pants-filling glory. In the meantime, this mini-chapter is just to wrap up the choice from the last chapter, and set the stage for the next one. Hope you enjoy!

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“... Don’t you trust us?” You say, sounding quite hurt.

“What? Yes! Of course I do!” She inhales, and takes a second to plan her words, “Angela, I trust you and my brother like no one else in the world, but this is different, this is… ”

“Didn’t you hear about how many infected we fought through to get here?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did; which is why it confuses why you’re trying so hard to leave.”

“We came here for you” You put some force in your voice, “and now you’re trying to leave- without us!”

Grace winces slightly at those words. She seems to not have an immediate reply, so you continue, “Look, I know some first aid, but Leo? Leo’s fast, he’s small, and he’s amazing with a gun!” Grace opens her mouth to give a rebuttal, but you keep going, “But that’s not even the main point! We went through Hell and high water to get to you, and we’re not going to just say ‘goodbye’ and hope it isn’t the last time we see you! We know it’s going to be hard, we know it’s going to be terrifying and dangerous, and I have no intention of letting my best friend go out there without me by her side!”

“Okay okay!” Grace hisses out in a loud whisper, gesturing with her hands to tone it down; you didn’t even realize how loud you had gotten. “Okay, Angie,” Grace reaches up, and rubs her tired eyes in frustration, “Have you actually talked to Leo about this, yet?”

“Er, no,”

“Okay then, here’s what we’ll do. We’ll go and tell him about this. If he says he wants to come along, then… ” She sighs, “Then we’ll do it. But if he says ‘no,’ then that’s the last I wanna hear about this, all right?”

“That sounds perfectly fair,” you agree.

The two of you walk back to the room you and Leo shared; an uncomfortable silence hanging between you. You’ve known Grace since the two of you were in elementary school, and you’ve never shouted at her like that before. Honestly, you feel kinda bad about it, and you hope you won’t ever need to speak to her like that again.

You quietly push the door open, and walk inside to see Leo still sleeping peacefully. You hate to wake him, but it’s gotta happen. He wakes up and sits upright almost instantly, a serious look on his face, “Angie? Wha-what’s wrong? What’s happening?” Seems he was still fairly alert after everything that happened.

You gently shush him, “Nothing’s wrong, Leo, but… ” Grace is letting you do the talking, and you’re struggling to think of how to paraphrase the exchange that just occurred, “Listen, Grace is going to head out on a scavenging mission tomorrow, and I think that you and I should go with her. Don’t you agree?”

He takes only a short moment to process what you said, “Oh, of course. Why, does Grace not want us to?”

“It’s gonna be dangerous, Leo,” Grace answers, clearly still wanting to dissuade him, “We’re going right back out into the middle of it all.”

You can see him shudder slightly at the thought, but he nods with a determined look in his eyes, “I don’t care. If you’re going, then I want to go with you, Grace.”

Grace just sighs and smiles bittersweetly. You shoot Leo a very fast thumbs-up while Grace rubs her eyes again. “So be it,” She says quickly, “We leave in the morning, so get some sleep,”. Without another word, she climbs into one of the unoccupied bunks in the room. She doesn’t even bother to change out of her uniform, and you’re fairly certain she was probably asleep well before her head hit the pillow.

“Did I… Miss something?” Leo’s face is a mask of sleepiness and confusion.

“I think you probably got the gist of it,” There is a pause, and you realize that you did just volunteer Leo for a highly dangerous mission before he knew anything about it, “Are you sure, though?”

“That I wanna go with you? Absolutely,” He yawns and stretches, his back popping loudly, “You just can’t see my enthusiasm ‘cause I’m so tired,” He gestures vaguely to his face.

“Then get some sleep, Little Cat, tomorrow is going to be… eventful.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Leo mumbles as he falls backwards onto the bed. Like his sister, he goes out like a light. You climb into your bunk, finally feeling like you can actually sleep. The thought of leaving the safety of the shelter and venturing back out into the nightmare up above you is unsettling, to say the least; but you feel more accomplished than anything.

No… You think, as you realize something. Something that makes you feel some pride, and quells the fear inside of you: Tomorrow, I’m not just going back into a terrible place…

My friends and I are going out, together, to do something good, and to help innocent people. And I know that we can do it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

“Angie, Leo,” Officer Carl Summers begins, “I really hope you appreciate how much effort Grace put into convincing the Commander to let her bring you two along.”

You, Leo, and Summers are standing in the fortified yard just outside the shelter. While Grace finalizes the last few requisition orders and other forms this expedition apparently requires, Officer Summers had come over to talk to the two of you. He was an old friend of Grace’s, and has known the Taylor siblings for several years now. You’re less familiar with him, but you’ve seen him at enough bars and parties to know that he does not behave the way one would expect a cop to behave.

“What did she even say? There’s no way whoever’s in charge was just cool with this,” Leo asks. He rubs his eye as he talks, having only woken up a very short time ago.

“Oh, y’know,” Summers starts, and no, you do not know, “Blah blah,’I trust them the most,’ Blah blah, ‘my responsibility,’ that sorta stuff.”

Summers and Leo strike up a chat about some recent game or movie or something in that vein, but you zone out, and start tugging at and adjusting all the equipment you’ve been loaded down with. From what you understand the police commander here is trying to remain largely hands-off with the scavenging operation, maybe trying to avoid the liabilities. Even so, they were generous enough to provide you and Leo with some pretty nice armor and weaponry. Perhaps a bit too generous, you think, feeling like your legs are going to give out if you have to lug this stuff around for more than twenty minutes.

Each of you was given a suit of kevlar body armor. While no one expects that the infected were going to start shooting at you, it would still protect your vitals from a lot of damage. You wear your vest underneath your sweater, and Leo wears his underneath his green hoodie. You were also fortunate to have received some well-fitting jeans to replace your skirt. You were less fortunate to now have an almost comically huge backpack strapped to you. You’re thinking about it now, and you suppose this is a (slight) step up from just carrying the supplies back in your arms, but you feel like you’ve got a minivan piggyback riding you. You were also granted a first aid kit, since you’re the only one in the party who knows the first thing about medicine.

And finally, you and Leo had been given weapons. A standard police handgun and baton to both of you. The guns you two had arrived with were still in a storage locker somewhere in the shelter, and the requisitions officer decided that the standard, police-issued armaments were better, anyway.

After what feels like an eternity, Grace saunters up to the three of you. She looks the two of you over, and before she even speaks, you can just feel the doubt and regret emanating from her.

“What took you so long?” Leo inquires.

“Had to listen to about three hundred lectures, and fill out twice as many forms,” The tone of her voice makes you think she isn’t exaggerating.

“What forms did they make you fill out?” You ask.

“Basically just had to verify that this is my idea, and if you guys die, it’s on my head,” She answers in the most cavalier tone possible.

“Ok, then,” Is all you have to say to that.

“For real, though, Grace,” Summers interjects, “Are you a hundred percent on this? Leo’s, like, what? Sixteen?”

“Seventeen,” Both Leo and Grace correct him simultaneously, but only Grace goes on to say, “And yes. I’m sure about this.”

“Uh-huh,” He says skeptically. He sighs with a worried expression on his face, and says, “Look, just be careful,” Grace opens her mouth to say something, but he quickly speaks again, “And yes, I know you’re planning on being careful, but saying it makes me feel better.”

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Crisp morning air leaves you feeling somewhat cold, but what truly chills you is the eerie silence in this part of town. Your mission is to scout out some apartments, and some convenience stores next to them; but now, looking at the buildings, you wonder if anything is left inside. At least half the windows are shattered into splinters. Scorch marks and bullet holes dot the walls. Occasional blood splatters are visible. From the brief glimpses inside that you are given each time you pass by a window, the interior of the building is in a similar state of anarchy.

“So uh… ” Leo says, breaking the silence, “Think it got like this before or after the zombies?”

“Got called out to this place a lot,” Grace replies, “Trust me, if anything, the zombies are an upgrade.” You reach the main entrance as she finishes talking. Grace tries to open the door, but it stops almost immediately. Through the crack, you can see a rather pitiful barricade on the other side. Grace takes a few steps back, plants one foot on the ground, and drives the other into the door with all her might. With the sound of splintering wood, it swings open. A number of chairs that had been stacked against the door go flying into the lobby. The sound is deafeningly loud in the otherwise silent building.

“Uhh, nice work,” Leo quietly intones, looking impressed.

“Nah, shitty barricade,” She says. In one fluid motion she draws and readies her pistol, then enters the building, rapidly scanning the lobby for any threats. Both you and Leo attempt to emulate her movements; Leo is somewhat slower than her, and you’ve barely even pulled your gun out by the time they’re in the building.

The air inside the building is musty and not particularly fragrant. There’s dirt and grime on a lot of surfaces, though, like Grace said, you get the feeling that this is not a recent development. Much of the furniture is overturned or broken, and it looks like everything valuable in and around the main service table has already been looted.

“I don’t think we’re gonna find anything on this floor,” Graces notes, “Let’s head upstairs.” She starts towards the stairs when a thought seems to strike her. She whirls around, pointing a finger at the both of you, “I do not want either of you to be alone, got it? Do not go too far away from the party. Not even for a second.”

“Understood,” You reply. Leo nods. It’s honestly extremely comforting to have someone like Grace here with you. Even when nothing was happening, you just felt so nervous and terrified when it was just you and Leo. You feel much safer with Grace here.

On the second floor, many of the doors seem to have been left open. Some of them even look like they’ve been broken down. With the precision and skill of a highly trained and experienced professional, grace begins a routine of entering and surveying each of the already opened rooms. “Looks clear,” She states after checking the last door in the hallway, “Let’s start scavenging.”

You and Leo enter one room while Grace heads next door. The living conditions here look to have sub-par. The room is serviceable enough, but almost everything inside is rather obviously cheaply made. You reach the kitchen, and, to your delight, see a decent helping of canned and bagged food inside.

“Oh yeah,” Leo says, satisfied. “Watch my back for a sec while I grab all this.”

Your pistol held tightly, you turn around and keep watch. Leo drops his backpack to the ground, and sets about shovelling any food that still looks edible into it.

“So far, so good, huh?” You say with optimism.

“No kidding. First room outta the bunch and we’ve already got a couple days’ worth of food.”

Once he’s taken everything of value from the pantry, he throws the pack back on, evidently straining under its increased weight.

You leave the room and return to the hallway. You look into the room Grace was looting, and see her merrily giving a metal baseball bat a few test swings. “New toy?” You ask, catching her attention.

“New toy,” She replies with a grin.

The next several rooms are much the same. Scooping up food and anything else that looks valuable, and then heading out. Before long, this floor is cleared out. Before advancing to the next floor, you and Leo were forced to split your hauls up and give Grace the bulk of it- your packs were getting too heavy for either of you to move. Grace barely seemed to even notice the extra weight.

You continue the process on the next floor. You and Leo enter one room that reeks particularly powerfully. Both making disgusted noises, you reluctantly enter. The pantry appears to have been hit with something, and all the shelves are broken. Jars and other containers have burst open, and spilled their contents onto the floor. You spot a couple of mice picking through the mushy pile.

“I’m thinking we don’t need anything from this room,” Leo says.

“I’m thinking you’re right.”

Before you can leave the room, Leo suddenly turns to look at something. “Hang on a sec,” is all he says as he veers towards the bedroom. You follow after him, curious as to what he’s found. He crouches down, and picks up a book of some kind. “Oh shit,” he says, pleasantly surprised by his find. “Didn’t think I’d ever get to read thi-” He stops in the middle of his sentence as a low grumble to his right startles him. Before either of you can react, an infected man slams into Leo hard.

He screams as he’s thrown across the room. The infected charges at him again, picking up the smaller man and slamming him against the wall. “Oh my God, Leo!!” You scream. You reach for your gun, but your shaking hands can’t seem to grasp it. You fumble with the little clasp holding the weapon in. A growl behind you makes your blood run cold, and you don’t even have time to turn around before you’re tackled to the ground. A flurry of fists begin pummeling the back of your head and torso as the infected tries to beat you to death. You most certainly no longer have the mental coordination to retrieve any kind of weapon, so you use your hands to cover the back of your head. Between that and the armor protecting your back, many of the infected’s attacks do very little real damage.

Leo is not as lucky. The infected man attacking him is variating between slamming him into the wall, and driving punches into him. Unsurprisingly, you see the fabric of Leo’s tan shorts darken between his thighs. You can see glistening streams sliding down his legs, and his pants darkening with wetness along with them. From the cuffs of his shorts, little showers of pee droplets begin to fall. All of it is puddling on the ground below him. He’s kicking his legs, trying to resist the attack, but all this does is cause uneven, sporadic damp splotches to appear along his pants. It breaks your heart to see this.

Leo’s eyes fall on you, and widen even further in alarm. He starts looking around himself, and spots a lamp resting a little table next to him. He just barely manages to grab it, and smashes it against the infected’s head as hard as he can. With a howl, it releases him, and begins stumbling around in a daze.

He falls down into his puddle of urine with a splish. His legs are pulled close to his chest, and he is clutching his midsection in pain. From your position on the ground, you have a clear view of his butt, and you see his pants tent suddenly. It doesn’t take more than a second for you to realize that he’s just started soiling himself out of fear. The tent grows, and then devolves into a roundish bulge. His already soaked crotch glistens once again as a renewed stream of urine floods his pants. The wetness travels downwards, washing over the mess he just released on himself.

He seems to take a deep breath, hold it, and then his terrified, agonized expression turns to one of furious determination. Almost as quickly as Grace, he draws his pistol, and plants one, then two, then three, then four, then five bullets into the infected that had attacked him. The man drops like a rock. Leo stands up, drops and streams of urine still falling from his pants. He takes aim, seemingly trying to hit the infected on top of you and not put you in any danger.

But suddenly, the infected is no longer on top of you. You hear a grunt, and see your attacker get flung into the bedroom. You dare to look behind you, and see a very, very pissed off-looking Grace standing there, baseball bat in hand. She stomps towards the infected, who has gotten back onto its feet. Before it can even make a move, she drives the bat into its stomach, and uses it to push the thing back. Nearing the room’s window, Grace gives it a hard shove with the bat, and then swings it in an upwards motion, striking the infected in the jaw, and launching him out the window.

You sigh in relief, still not off the ground. A moment later, you muster the energy to stand up, inspecting yourself for damage. You feel winded, and a little sore just kind of… everywhere. It’s like one giant fist managed to punch your entire body all at once. Once you’ve verified that you’re not severely injured, you look to Leo. He’s, well, it would be inaccurate to say that he’s necessarily standing, he’s mostly just leaning into Grace who is holding him up. Leo’s face is swollen and bruised, and he’s clearly having some difficulty standing on his own.

You walk towards him, but Grace tightens her hold on him and pulls him away from you. You meet her gaze, and see that she is glaring angrily at you. “Grace I-”

Exactly what I knew would happen, Angie,” Is all she says as she looks back at her brother. She’s holding onto him tightly, and looking at her forlorn expression, you’d wager it’s more for her sake than his. “At least you didn’t get both of you killed… ” She mutters.

You can’t even really dispute her words. Your insistence on going with her got Leo hurt pretty badly.

“... my fault… ” Leo’s voice is barely audible as he murmurs the words.

“What was that, Li’l Cat?” Grace asks.

“My fault. Saw something I wanted… didn’t check the room first. This was my fault.” He sways while he talks, and his slurred speech gives the impression that he’s not quite all there, yet.

“That really doesn’t-” Grace breaks off her retort, and just settles for, “Look, let’s make sure you’re okay, and then see about getting you cleaned up.” Leo nods his assent, and starts to walk for the exit to the room. Even though he seems to have recovered enough to be able to stand and walk just fine, he only gets to take a few steps before Grace scoops him up in a princess carry. She turns her head towards you before they leave, “Angela, please look around for some spare pants that might fit him. After we get him patched up, we’re heading back to the shelter.”

“We’re not done, yet,” Leo intones, his voice still raspy.

Yes. We are,” Grace emphatically states. She leaves the room, still carrying him, and you are left alone. You doubt that you’ll find any decent clothes in this room, and, to be honest, you actually have an overwhelming desire to leave this room and never return. You figure it’s best to follow your instincts.

You do bend over and grab the book Leo spotted, though.

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A short while later, you’ve managed to scrounge up a few pairs of pants and some underwear that you think Leo could wear. In a somewhat spacious bathroom, Grace has had Leo remove his shirt and hoodie, exposing his heavily beaten back and chest. You can see more than cut that have left streaks and smears of blood on his skin and clothes. Nothing major, but Leo must feel like he’s been hit by a truck.

Much to your disgust and, undoubtedly to Leo’s shame, you see that he’s still in his wet and soiled shorts. The room has begun to smell of it, too. You suppose that this is (only very slightly) more dignified than him just being naked, but still. You were forced to stay in soiled clothes for an extended time period just yesterday, and it is decidedly not an experience you would recommend.

“I um… I found you some clothes, buddy… ” You know that tone that people get when they’ve fucked up everything, and can only offer something totally insignificant to try and make it better? That’s what you sound like.

“Thanks Angie,” Leo sounds… better. Ish.

“Thanks,” Grace says, in a calmer tone than she had earlier.

You see that she’s trying to help his wounds with some medical supplies she found in the room, but she isn’t using any of the properly. You reach behind you, and pull out the hefty first aid kit you’d been given, “Here, let me.” Grace nods and moves out of the way. You begin cleaning and dressing his injuries. In a weird way, you’re actually kind of relieved to see all the cuts and bruises. You were worried that he might be really hurt, but this is nothing that won’t heal in maybe a week or two.

Once the medical portion of the procedure had finished, it was time to move on to the other part. The part neither of you are willing to assist him with. “Can you stand, Little Cat?”

“Yeah,” He stands up, no longer swaying very much, “I’m feeling way better than a little bit ago.”

“That’s great,” You say, and mean it. “Go ahead and get cleaned up and changed, and then we’ll get out of here.”

“Got it,” Maybe it was the thrashing he’d just taken, or the painkillers you’d just given him, but he’s taken a very nonchalant attitude towards his accident. You suppose that’s good. Better than him being embarrassed or ashamed because of your mistake.

You leave him to it, and wait with Grace just beyond the bathroom door.

“Grace,” You begin an apology, but fail to find the right words. You settle for, “I am so sorry.”

“Say it to him, not me, Angela,” A vacant, pained look adorns her face. There is a long moment of silence. “Angela, you remember what happened to our parents, right?”

Your eyes widen in surprise, “Y-yes, I do,” Grace never talks about she and Leo’s parents. They were killed in a car accident about seven years ago, and it was something that Grace did not like to think about.

“So do I. I remember it all the time. When the outbreak started, it was all I could think about- that I’d see my little brother’s name on the casualty reports. I was so happy when the two you made it to the shelter, because I knew that you would be safe,” There’s another silence that didn’t need to be filled, your mind did the talking for her, Until I made you take us back out. “It’s… it’s not really all your fault. I was stupid to agree to it. Leo was too quick to agree to it. My boss only made me sign the papers, didn’t actually say anything about it. I’m… ” She stops for a second, then looks you directly in the eyes, “I’m sorry that I blamed you for this. I’m not mad at you, Angie. I just want to take what we’ve got, and get back to the shelter.”

“I promise that I’ll find a way to make this up to both of you, Grace,”

“I know just the way to it,” She says plainly, “I’m gonna be doing several more scavenging missions over the next few days. I want you to keep Leo safe while I’m away.”

Looks like this is going to be it for your tagging along days, “Of course.”

A moment later, the bathroom door opens, and a much drier, less smelly Leo emerges. He’s wearing his hoodie and some jeans you’d found for him. “Are you okay?” you ask him.

“Yeah. Little beat up, but I’m doing better, now.”

“Good, then let’s get going,” Grace picks up her pack.

“No,” Leo says with a determined voice, “I want to finish the mission. Let’s go to the stores and finish looking for supplies!”

 

 

A). “Leo… No. You just got hurt badly, and you could’ve been killed! We’ve got more than enough, so let’s just head back.”

B). “The shelter is extremely low on medicine, and we didn’t really find any. The stores are just across the street, practically on the way back.”

Edited by DsGSilver (see edit history)
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