Survive (boyxboyxboyxboy)

1

slightly short but hey I finally got something done

apologies if I forget any characters 😩

"Leo! Leo, are you okay?! Leo wake up!"

Wake up Leo.

My eyes snapped open, dust clouding my vision.

My throat was filled with dirt and sharp pain seared through me in more places than one. I hacked out a cough, having no spaces to breathe until a firm hand patted my back.

When the dust emptied from my throat I rubbed my eyes, sitting up. We were in a suburban area, buildings broken and abandoned. The small van we had been in was now flipped over completely, roof completely smashed in.

I looked away from the dead body inside the driver's seat, black veins curling up across the man's cheeks.

Oscar was sitting beside me along with Mars, both looking at me worriedly. Aria and Vivi were nearby as well, standing instead.

Mars' nose was bleeding, dripping onto her lip and painting it red. Oscar was sporting a black eye.

"The driver was infected." I finally say. Oscar's eyes flit to the crashed van briefly before he looked over at us again.

"Yeah. We should've been more careful." He muttered. Mars shook her head.

"We wouldn't have known, he only showed signs later into the drive. We're lucky we're all alive." She said, wiping her nose. She grimaced at the red smudge left on her hand afterwards.

"Do we have any idea where we are?" Aria spoke finally. She brushed her dark curls with her fingers, getting any dirt out of them.

"We were in Atlanta Georgia, only an hour later would've put us in some random town. We're still in Georgia though." Oscar explained.

"How long of a walk would it be to New York?" Vivi asked. Oscar hesitated to answer, only telling us it would take a while.

"Driving would take maybe over a full day...walking would take over a week." He mumbled. I felt like I could cry right then and there.

Fortunately and unfortunately, I wasted all my tears when I lost Erin in the crowd.

Fuck, Erin.

We were all separated. They'd be arriving into the city in 24 hours and they'll be wondering where we are.

Will they be worried? What if they think I'm dead? I want them here, I need them.

Aria looked back at the van, stepping closer slightly and bending sideways looking inside. Her dark skin was glistening in the moonlight, despite being covered in dust.

She reached inside the van despite Oscars protests and pulled out a large chunky black device. It reminded me of a heavy duty phone.

"What's that?" I questioned.

"I don't know, looks like a phone but bigger and more heavy duty. What do those buttons do?" Oscar asked, pointing at the strange device.

Aria pushed a few buttons until one made a static noise. It crackled and whined at us but nothing else happened. The longer she pressed it the longer there was static.

After a moment Aria looked up and shrugged.

"Take it with us just in case." Mars suggested. Aria nodded and clipped it to her jeans pocket.

I walked to the van myself, wincing at the pain in my leg. I remembered my cow the boys got for me, hoping it survived the crash.

I looked inside the dark vehicle, spotting the plush lump on the floor. Straining, I reached in and grabbed it.

As soon as I had it Mars pulled me back from the van.

"The look of this van makes me worried, we should stay away from it as much as we can. Anyone else need anything from inside? Now's your chance to grab it." She said, looking around at everyone.

Everyone shook their heads and we all stepped back.

I looked around at all the empty houses littered along the streets. I wasn't sure I wanted to go inside any of them but I knew eventually we'd need to find somewhere to sleep or find food.

"Do you think everyone who lived here died? Or do you think they moved to Atlanta city?" Vivi questioned. Mars raised an eyebrow.

"That was a brutal question." She stated. Vivi shrugged.

"I think it's half and half." Aria chipped in. "Not everyone died and not everyone lived." She added. I nodded in agreement.

A sudden idea crossed my mind.

"Did the driver have a phone?" I asked. The others looked around, shrugging. Oscar caught on and quickly went to the crushed van, hesitating before sticking his hand in the man's pockets.

He gripped something and quickly moved away, holding a small phone in his hand.

"Anyone know how to use this?" He questioned. I remembered briefly watching Erin and Elias on their phones and nodded.

"I don't know much but I can look." I stuck my hand out for Oscar to hand me the phone.

I turned the device on, looking at its shattered screen. Surprisingly the thing worked fine, a little glitchy but manageable.

I clicked on the message square I'd seen Erin and Elias use and looked through the sudden flurry of names that popped up.

I looked for anything familiar, Mars and Aria looking over my shoulder.

"There!" Mars yelled out, pointing to a rectangle with the name Isaac on it. There was a little '(work only)' beside his name.

"Do you think that's really Isaac?" Aria asked. We all shrugged.

I typed out a 'hello?' and clicked the arrow button which was now green. Instead of saying 'delivered' it popped up an error message.

"What? Usually it says 'delivered' and the person can see it." I say confusedly. Vivi pops up and studies the device.

"Aren't there usually bars there instead of no service?" She asked, pointing to the upper corner where the words were.

I don't recall seeing those words there before.

"Maybe you need the bars there to message people." Aria suggested. I sighed and clicked off the phone, putting it in my pocket.

"We'll wait till we start moving and see if the bars pop up as we go." Oscar suggests.

"Which way then?" I ask.

Oscar looks around for a moment before he points backwards.

"We came from there so that can only mean we go the opposite direction." He decides, moving his finger to point forwards.

"We can search the homes for food and things. We'll need to be wary of the demise however, they'll surely be lurking." Mars adds on.

We all glance at each other before we limp our way down the road, jumping at any noises overheard from the distance.

With my cow tucked to my chest and the man's phone in my pocket, we start on our long journey.

woo