Collapsing At Your Doorstep
Title: Collapsing At Your Doorstep
Fandom: Sports/Cycling RPF
Rating: PG-13/R
Pairing: Ben Swift/Peter Kennaugh (Geraint Thomas/Edvald Boasson Hagen)
Disclaimer: This is not real, this never happened. I don't know them and this is all fiction. Made up stuff.
Notes: This is for the zombiebang. This is part of the cyclinsts + zombies au, click the tag for more stories. And, of course, thank you so much to the very awesome primreceded for making sure that someone picked my fic and doing the fantastic artwork (including a super awesome extra piece!).
Ben doesn't believe in the end of the world. He also doesn't believe in true love or fairy tales. But here he is, in a hotel in fucking London, of all places, watching the world end. Except he still refuses to believe it's ending. He doesn't care if G does, doesn't give a fuck if he and Eddy want to hide in the room whining about how they're all going to die. Ben's tired of dealing with everyone freaking out. He didn't think he'd be the strong one, after all, who does? But he is. He's the one who finds them food, who gets weapons, who kills the fucking zombies when they try to break into the hotel. Which they do, from time to time.
He's not alone. Not just because he's got Eddy and G, but because there were other people in the hotel. People he doesn't know, didn't know, until the zombie apocalypse hit them with it's full force of fury. He knows, somewhere out there, that his parents are dead. That his sister, his girlfriend, his grandparents, his friends, they're all gone. Turned into zombies or shot dead, either way he doesn't know and doesn't care. He can't spare a thought because it's taking all his energy to keep himself from descending into the chaos of fear that's engulfed Eddy and G.
Stupidly, he tries to reach out to them, but they don't hear him. Maybe they don't want to, maybe they can't, but he finally stops trying. It hurts, to watch them. Especially because he's since realized he was kind of a little bit in love with G. Not anymore, not after everything that's happened and especially now that G's so clearly in love with Eddy. That hurts almost as much as the pain of knowing everyone he's ever loved is dead, dying or going batshit fucking crazy.
So he lives day to day. He hoards supplies (food, bullets, clothing) and he prepares for the inevitable. They will have to leave, Ben knows this. Sometimes he pretends they can stay here forever, but eventually the power will go out. They won't be able to get fresh water or cook food. And so he starts planning, because he has to keep busy. He takes over the room next to the one he shares with G and Eddy. He shoves a chair under the door, making sure no one can get in, except through the adjoining room. He stores their gear there, everything he's been bartering, buying and trading for. When they have to leave, they'll be ready.
The news they get is sporadic and sometimes they hear reports of survivors. He tries to focus on the fact that people are escaping, that there are places of freedom. He hears about the Faroe Islands with their camps. He hears about Australia and Japan, unaffected and slowly becoming a haven for the living, safe from the undead. He knows how close they are to the Faroe Islands, but know that the ships don't transport people there anymore, it's too dangerous. He also knows how far it is to Tokyo (6000 miles, by plane, and Ben doesn't have one of those) and to Sydney (11000, by plane, which he still doesn't have). Too far. There will be no rescue, no escape from the Island they're stuck on. If he can't save himself, or G and Eddy, then who will?
Ben understands responsibility. He sits watch, he never asks G and Eddy to. He trusts them, cares about them, but he knows they can't do it. Sometimes Eddy'll ask, beg to be allowed to help, and Ben relents, but it always ends in disaster. Maybe not literal, but close enough. The rest of the people in the hotel, they don't trust Eddy or G and Ben can't blame them. But they trust him, and for now that's enough. When they leave, Ben will have to make G and Eddy grow up, to stop acting like little lost children. But for now, he indulges them, it's the least he can do.
It's mid-July when everything changes. Ben's been keeping track of the days since the disease started to spread. The wall of the closet is filled with marks, in sets of five. They've been here for nearly 80 days, but it feels like years. It's Ben's afternoon on duty. He'd spent the previous two days trying to teach G and Eddy to shoot, with limited success. They were getting better, stronger. It helped that they'd unearthed their bikes from the garage under the hotel. The hotel manager had fled, probably to his own death, and no one had found the keys to the basement until now. The three of them, when not training, would ride their bikes through the lower floors, abandoned by most of the residents, who'd moved up, away from the moaning zombies.
But his shift started at one and there he was, sitting sentry with a girl who lived down the hall from their awkward trio. She and her husband were one of four families on the floor. She was pregnant, but never once shirked her duties. She also never questioned why Ben was always doing watch and not his roommates. Ben liked that about her and she didn't talk much, which he liked even more. Talking was hard and sometimes Ben didn't hear any other voices except G and Eddy's for days.
He was pacing in front of the bullet proof plate glass windows of the hotel when he saw someone running. It was weird, because there wasn't anyone chasing the person. He glanced over at the woman, her name was Isabella and she caught his eye. She shrugged, as if to say what an idiot. Ben was about to agree, when he glanced outside again. Suddenly there wasn't just the one figure, there were more and they weren't running. They weren't shambling either, like zombies, but they were moving fast. Ben couldn't blame them. He was about to turn away when he realized they were coming toward the hotel. Toward them.
"Isabella!" Ben shouted, glancing back, but she was already moving. She was ringing the fire alarm, their method of alerting the hotel that something was wrong. And people out on the street? They were wrong.
The sound of footsteps made Ben turn all the way around, shotgun gripped in his hands. He could see Erik, the Swede who basically ran the hotel after the manager had left. He saw Erik's wife, their four teenage kids. He saw people who's names he might have known at one point, but everyone blended together after a while. He didn't see Eddy and G, he was grateful. He wanted them safe.
He turned back around to watch the group of people, there were 15 or 20, maybe, running toward them. He wondered how they'd made it this far, and then he saw the bags and guns they were carrying on their backs. He hadn't really believed in survivors, not after all this time. And then he looked closer. He walked toward the windows, kept walking until his face was nearly pressed up against the glass.
"Peter …" The words came out a whisper and then the group got closer. Peter saw him, nearly stopped running, but gathered himself together. Ben was having trouble doing the same. He pressed his hand against the glass, ignoring the shouts of people behind him.
Peter was running up toward the glass, he stopped, right in front of Ben. "Ben!" He mouthed his hands up against the glass, one against Ben's, if there'd been nothing between them.
Ben pressed his hand harder. He'd never thought he'd see Peter alive. Or any of his teammates, but he'd always been fond of Peter. They were friends, good friends like him and G or Eddy or any of their teammates, really. And there Peter was.
He turned away, his hand still on the glass. Everyone was watching him.
"We have to let them in." His voice sounded rusty. He couldn't stand being separated by glass from Peter. He wanted to touch him, to prove that Peter was real, that this wasn't some sort of nightmare.
"We can't." That was Erik.
Ben visibly shuddered and noticed he wasn't the only one.
It was Isabella who broke the silence. "We can't make them stay out there."
"They could be infected." Erik was stubborn, it made him both a good leader and a pain in the fucking ass, though Ben thought it was mostly the latter.
Erik's wife, who's name Ben couldn't recall, spoke up, "there's the empty ballroom, we could keep them there, for a week or so, just to see if they're infected."
Ben wanted to protest, it took an hour, at most, for someone to start to turn, and even then you'd know right away if you were infected. All it took was a bite, and those were hard to explain away. Ben opened his mouth to say something, but felt a hand on his arm. It was Isabella.
"Don't." She whispered.
He stared at her.
"He wants to shoot them all." She replied, clearing up his confused.
Ben glanced at Erik again and realized that she was right. He looked back out the window, saw Peter looking at home. He wanted to say everything was going to be okay, but he didn't know if it would be. He glanced past Peter and saw, in the streets behind him, the slow-shambling forms of zombies. They never moved very fast in the cities, maybe because they didn't have to. He'd heard that in open spaces, when you got enough of them together, they were almost a human mob. They moved fast and if you weren't ready, it was already too late. Ben didn't have to guess what would happen when the zombies caught up with the group, they'd seen it before they'd realized what was happening. Ben didn't want to think about it. Ever. He swallows hard, shifting his gaze from the zombies back to Peter, but Peter's looking away, at the zombies and it's making Ben's heart pound, hard and relentless. He bangs on the glass, pulling Peter's gaze away.
Peter mouths something that Ben thinks might be I'm scared but Ben can't tell and all he can do is press his hands against the glasses. Peter does the same and Ben finds himself overcome with want. Not lust, not desire, though it might be that, except it's something deeper and he's suddenly scared that he might lose Peter. And if he does, he doesn't know how much help he'll be to anyone. He thinks of Eddy and G, how much they depend on him, how much they need him. He can't let this get to him and yet … He lets his thoughts trail off as he watches Erik approach the glass doors. He unlocks one and stands in the doorframe, yelling.
Ben doesn't have to hear him to know what he's saying. He can tell by the fear in the eyes of the people standing outside. By the way Peter's body is tense, poised and ready to run. He doesn't want to lose Peter now that he's found him. He can't do this alone, not any longer. He didn't know, until he saw Peter, that he felt that way. But he does now and it takes all of his self-control not to push Erik out of the way and grab at Peter.
But he doesn't, because he's not willing to destroy himself or Peter, or the lives of these people. He watches as they file in, though his eyes never really leave Peter's. He steps toward the line, but he can't get close enough to even say something to Peter. Instead, he watches the long trail of people make their way into the ballroom. He catches Peter's gaze, just before the door shuts. There's panic in his eyes and Ben thinks that there might be some in his own. And then the door shuts, Erik locking them inside.
It's Isabella who stops him from going after Erik.
"You can't." She says tiredly, dragging him toward the stairs. She refuses to let go and he didn't really fight her. He lets her drag him upstairs, to their floor.
The hallway is full of people, spilling out of their rooms, talking to each other. Even Eddy and G are outside, chatting with the two girls who live in the room adjacent to their own. Janice and Olivia, Americans. They know their families are dead. No one's left in the midwest America, not after the bombs.
Everyone stops talking when the door behind Ben and Isabella swings shut. They all look up and Isabella grips Ben's arm. For a moment they're both scared, but the room seems to exude curiosity and not fear.
"Survivors." Ben finally says, filling up the hall with his word.
Silence and then people are talking. Eddy and G look at him, watching as he pushes through the people. He has no answers for them, nothing new to tell them, or at least nothing he's going to tell them. Except for Eddy and G, they deserve to know. He leaves Isabella to talk to the group, she's better at it anyway, and follows Eddy and G inside.
"It's Peter." He says, sagging against the door as soon as it's shut behind them.
Both of them look at Ben, confused.
"Peter, as in Kennaugh. You remember him, don't you?" Ben snaps, tired and upset.
G blanches, nodding. "Of course." He spits the words at Ben and for a moment that makes him happy because at least G's feeling something.
Eddy's hand snakes out, his fingers curled against G's wrist. Ben bites his bottom lip, forcing himself to calm down, to explain.
"Erik, he's … they're locked in the ballroom, in case one of them turns." He manages to say.
"They?" Eddy asks, suddenly curious.
Ben nods. "A group. 20 or so. One of them's Peter." There's a hitch in his voice and he tries to cover it up, but both G and Eddy give him an odd look. He ignores them.
G speaks up. "But it only takes an hour for them to turn."
Ben's surprised, he hadn't thought G was paying attention. Maybe he's been wrong about a lot of things. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean Erik cares. He …" Ben falters, then clears his throat. "He wanted to kill them."
"We have to leave." Eddy says, startling both Ben and G, and himself it seems.
"What?" Ben asks.
Eddy sounds a bit excited. "Me and G were talking about it, earlier. We can't stay here and now …"
He trails off, but G's nodding. And Ben understands.
"We get Peter, and then we leave." G says, quietly.
Ben nods. "We have to ask Isabella and her family, and Janice and Olivia." There's agreement and Ben feels better, they have a plan. Sort of, almost. Except for the part where he doesn't know how they're going to get Peter out and leave, at least not without getting stopped. It's not so much the leaving he's worried about as the rescuing Peter.
He sits on the edge of the bed, watching Eddy and G watch him. It was kind of awkward and then he has to get up, pacing. He walks to the window looking outside. The city is still smoking in some places, even though it's been several months since this … this whatever it is started. He closes his eyes, forehead resting against the glass. He wants the world to go back to the way it was when he opens his eyes, he wants everything to be normal again. He wants everything to be okay. But when he does open his eyes, nothing's changed, except night's a little bit closer. He turns around, looking at Eddy, then G.
"So, how do we get him out?" Ben asks.
Neither of them answer for a moment, then G does.
"We have to get ready to leave first." G's voice is soft, thoughtful.
Both Eddy and Ben look over at him.
"What? We can't just bust in there and come back to our rooms to prepare. We have to be packed and ready to leave."
Eddy's nodding, but Ben's not so sure.
"We can't just leave him in there. What if someone does change? What … What if Erik changes his mind and just kills them all? What if he thinks we're not going to save him?" Ben's panicking a bit, which makes this whole thing surreal because he was the one in control and now he's not. He can feel his sanity slipping away and he struggling to control himself.
It's G who speaks again. "So, write him a note. They can't keep them guarded all the time."
"Sure they can." Ben mumbles, but he's starting to get an idea. He wonders if they let them use the bathroom, or maybe give them food. He's already looking around for hotel stationary and pens.
"I'll take it." Eddy offer, surprising Ben.
He looks up from his note, half finished, and over toward Eddy. "What?"
"They won't suspect me. You …" Eddy trails off.
Ben almost smiles. "I did make a scene." He confesses, then turns back to the note.
Peter,
Please, don't give up hope. We're coming for you. If anyone wants to come with us, tell them to be prepared. It won't take us longer than a day, at most. I'm sorry you're locked up in there, I'm sorry that they wouldn't just let you in. I don't think it's right.
But, Peter, I'm sorry because we can't stay here either. I know, well no, I don't know, but I can almost imagine what it's been like for you, to come all this way. But if you want to get out of there, we can't stay.
I'm coming for you, Peter.
Ben
He folds the note three times, writes Peter on the front and then hands it to Eddy. Ben watches as Eddy shoves the note into his pocket and then kiss G quickly before disappearing out the door.
"We have to talk to Isabella, and Janice and Olivia." Ben says.
G nods and they wait maybe five minutes and then leave the room, locking it behind them. G knocks on Janice and Olivia's door and Ben walks down to Isabella's. He knocks, four times, their code and Isabella's husband opens the door.
"Ben, come in." He said. His name is Brandon and he's tall with spiky blond hair, or at least that's what Ben imagined it used to be like. They could all use haircuts.
Ben swallows hard, waiting until the door's shut. "Isabella, Brandon ...There's something I need to talk to you about."
Before he can say anything else, Isabella holds up her hand. "Ben, whenever you're ready to leave, we're going with you."
Ben stares, mouth open. Brandon laughs.
"We know how much you take care of your friends, of us and Isabella told me how much you care for your friend downstairs. None of us like Erik, even if we once thought he could lead us. Those people downstairs, they aren't cattle." Brandon strops.
"Two days, at the most, tomorrow if we can work it out." Ben says, quietly. "We get Peter, and anyone else with him who wants to leave, and then we go. It has to be early morning, not during our watch. We can go out the back."
Isabella looks surprised. "The back?"
"Of the hotel. It's barricaded, but they're easy enough to move. We can close them up behind us, as we leave. No one checks the back, because of the walls around the parking lot." He chews on his bottom lip.
Isabella and Brandon look at each and then at Ben. It's Brando who speaks. "We have a car, one of those SUVs."
"Is it here?" Ben asks, almost eagerly.
Isabella nods. "Full tank of gas, too. We were supposed to leave, the day after this all happened."
Silence descends on them and then Ben clears his throat. "Pack tonight. We'll try to make it tomorrow."
The three of them sink into silence and Ben tries not to think of Isabella being pregnant or where they'll go. He hasn't thought that far ahead, but he has a lot of things to do before tomorrow.
"Go, Ben." Isabella stands. "Get it done. Just let us know when it's time."
Ben returns to the room he shares with Eddy and G, to find both of them waiting. "Well?" He asks, shutting the door.
"Janice and Oliva want to go." G says. "Isabella and Brandon?" Ben nods.
Eddy glances at them both. "Guards on every door, but they let me have a look at them. I saw Peter." He stops, swallowing hard. "He looks … Ben, he looks like shit."
Ben nods, biting his bottom lip hard. "I know, but we'll get him out."
Eddy nods, then goes on. "I slide the note into the room, Peter saw. I'm sure he got it."
They fall silent and then Ben pushes away from the wall he'd been leaning against. He makes his way toward their second room. He glances over his shoulder and notices that G and Eddy are already packing. He wonders why he ever thought they were cowering and hiding. Maybe he was projecting, maybe he wanted to take care of them. Or maybe they were and now everything's changed again. But Ben doesn't really care, because he doesn't have time to -- because he doesn't need to.
Instead he focuses on packing. There's a lot of stuff they won't need. He doesn't want to leave all his cycling gear, but he has to. Maybe, if they survive this and if the fucking zombies are eradicated, maybe they can come back. Maybe something will survive. But he has to leave the two bags of gear. His bike. He shoves the jersey part of his kit into one of the bags he's taking with him, if only because an extra shirt is always important. He packs weapons, bedding, anything they might need. He's almost finished with everything on the adjoining room when he hears a knock on the door.
"Ben, it's Brandon." G calls and Ben jogs into the other room.
"Let him in."
He hears the door open before he sees it. Brandon's stepping into the room as Ben joins them.
"We should pack the car now." Brandon says as soon as the door's shut behind him.
"What?" It's G.
Brandon glances at the three of them. "We have to make sure that we can all fit, with our gear."
"Janice says they've got a car, too. It's a rental but she's pretty sure she won't get her deposit back." G says and it's so straight faced that for a moment they all laugh.
"Both cars, then. Tonight. As soon as it's dark enough that no one's going to notice us." Brandon says.
Ben nods. "10 pm, meet here."
And with that, Brandon leaves, G on his heels to tell the girls.
Time passes slowly and Ben doesn't think it'll ever be ten. They clean up their room, putting everything they might want to come back for one day in the bathroom of the adjoining room. Their bikes, locked together, in the overly large tub. Their bags full of all the cycling gear they'll never need again, on the floor and counters. Lights off, chair stuck under the door and a nail stuck in the lock, to make it harder to break in. Not that one will, but Ben's not above a fake sense of security.
Ben goes down for dinner with Isabella and Brandon, they'd decided not to change their routines. They passed Janice and Olivia, returning from their dinner an hour earlier. They nod, but say nothing. Ben returns at seven thirty with food for Eddy and G, who rarely attend meals and they eat in silence. Then, without warning, ten pm is upon them. Eddy goes downstairs first, making sure the path is clear and then they slowly, so slowly Ben thinks they'll never get it finished, carry their bags down. It only takes them thirty minutes, but it feels like a year.
They easily slip out the back door, which isn't guarded at all. The barricades are weak, at best, and Ben decides that when they leave, they should add a bit more to keep the zombies out. They look up, but see no open curtains, just lights from behind closed ones. Isabella stands near the wall, leaning against her car, watching the hotel rooms as the rest of them pack both cars. They're back upstairs by eleven, doors barricaded again, but set up for what Ben hopes is an easy escape.
Again, the wait seems to eat away at Ben. All he can think about are the many hundreds of ways things can go wrong, but the one he focuses on is their inability to get Peter. He knows he should care about the others, even about himself, but all he can see is Peter's stricken face as he was herded into the ballroom, like an animal. He bites the inside of his cheek, trying to distract himself. It doesn't work and so he closes his eyes and pretends that everything's going to be fine.
He doesn't know how much time's passed, but he's being shaken awake. It's G, he's looking a wild, his hair out of control, but Ben kind of likes that look. He sits up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and then shakes his head once to clear it. He glances at his watch and then at G.
"It's time." G says and they each grab their backpacks, with their most important items.
Ben swallows hard, looking over at G and Eddy. "Ready?" He asks and they both nod.
They walk out into the hall; the lights in their room off, as they would be at this time of night. He glances at his watch. It's three am, they're right on time. They see no one in the hall, which is good. If their plan works, Isabella and Brandon will already be at the cars, with Janice and Olivia going to theirs in another fifteen minutes.
Eddy makes a circuit around the ballroom, sticking to shadows. G heads toward the back, standing just out of sight near the barricades and Ben heads toward the front. He can look through the windows without being seen by the two night guards. There are no zombies and it's so quiet he knows he could hear the moaning. Earlier in the day, after Peter and his group had been let in, the zombies congregated by the doors, but no longer. Either they'd been chased away or left because they couldn't get at the food. Ben didn't care, he was just glad they weren't around.
He's walking back to the ballroom when he glanced in the manager's office. He noticed a set of walkie talkies, still sitting in their charger. Without really thinking about it, he unplugs the charger and grabs the walkie talkies. He glances around, afraid that someone's heard him, but a few heartbeats later, no one's come. Once he slips back into the shadows, he shoves the walkie talkies into his backpack and makes his way back to the ballroom. He meets up with Eddy.
"Ready?" He whispers.
Eddy nods. "Two guys, not three. The side entrance is locked, but there's no one there."
Ben nods and hands Eddy his backpack. "If we don't come out in twenty minutes, leave."
Eddy winces, but nods, gripping the backpack tightly.
"There are walkie talkies, give one to Isabella and one to Olivia." He says and then pushes Eddy away, into the shadows and toward G at the barricade.
He swallows, allowing himself one brief second of panic before pulling himself together. This was the part he hadn't really thought through. Or he had, with a million different scenarios, none of them ending with either he or Peter escaping. But at least everyone else did, and that's what mattered. At least that's what Ben keeps telling himself. He pushes forward, sticking to the shadows whenever possible. He slips passed the first guard without even being detected. The second is further away from the door and if he's quiet enough, he won't even run into him.
He pulls the master he out of his pocket. He'd taken it from the manager's office long before he'd even thought about this plan. Now all he can do is pray that it'll work for all the non-hotel room doors in the building, otherwise his plan'll be for naught. He sucks in air, listening, but hearts nothing except his own heartbeat, loud in his ears. He presses up against the wall, waiting and then he gently slips the key into the lock. He twists the key, unlocking the door and opening it. He tried to do it silently, but there are all sorts of door creaking noises and he freezes, but there's no other sounds. He makes sure the door's still unlocked before pulling the key out and then shutting the door behind him.
There's soft click as the door shut, then silence. He looks around the room. He can see sleeping forms and then, off to the side, he sees Peter and another body. He slips across the room, trying not to wake anyone up. He kneels over Peter, shaking him gently. Peter's eyes fly open, going wide and he opens his mouth, but before he could say anything, Ben kisses him. Later, he won't know why that's what he chose to do, or why Peter kissed him back instead of hitting him, but it worked.
He pulls back. "Ready?" He whispers.
Peter nods and Ben slides off the mattress Peter's been sleeping on. He grabs one of Peter's bags and then watches as Peter gently wakes up the sleeping form next to him. The person turns out to be a little girl and she clutches Peter's hand tightly. Ben doesn't hesitate, just picks up her bag too. Peter holds a finger to his mouth as he picks the girl up. Her eyes are wide, but she says nothing. They're at the door when, suddenly, there are noises all around them. People shouting and yelling.
"Run!" Ben yelling, yanking the door open. He tosses the key back behind them, not caring where it falls.
He doesn't know if Peter and the girl are behind him, but he can't stop running. He just hopes they're close enough to see him in the shadows. He runs hard, pushing toward the barricades where he hopes G is waiting for them. He doesn't think it's been twenty minutes already, but time's becoming harder and harder to keep track of. He reaches the first set and there's G, waving madly at them. He hears Peter and the girl, then sees them.
"Go with G!" He yells and when Peter hesitates, Ben shoves him. "Go, please!"
He hears shouting behind him. Gunfire, maybe, he can't tell. He follows them, pulling all of their additions to the barricade behind him. It's not enough or as careful as he'd liked, but hopefully they won't notice anything amiss until the next day. His heart's pounding, but all he can hear is the sound of his boots against the floor. Finally he reaches the door outside. He notices the two cars are running and G's standing by Janice's car. He waves Ben to Isabella and Brandon's car and Ben doesn't stop running.
"Go, go go!" He's shouting louder now.
He stumbles into the car before he realizes they've forgotten that all the gates are locked in. He curses and then hits the hood of Isabella's car.
"I'll unlock the gates." He shouts, then runs toward the gates, not waiting for an answer.
He hears the cars behind him, just the two and he tries to figure out how the gates open. Then he notices the key card swipe. He waits until the last possible moment, then swipes. Even over the roar of the cars, he can hear the zombies. They smell something, him probably. He shudders as the gate seems to take forever to open. Janice's car, smaller than the SUV, slips past and then he realizes the SUV's door is open, waiting for him. He runs, hoping the gate'll shut behind them and he jumps in. Peter reaches around him, pulling the door shut and then they're gunning out of the lot. He glances behind him and he can see zombies, heading toward the gate.
He doesn't know if it shut in time and he'll always wonder if the people in the hotel survived. But he doesn't have time to think about that. He grabs the walkie talkie and turns it out. He's shouting directions into the walkie talkie and finally stops when they've put enough distance between them and the hotel. The cars slow to a normal pace and Ben hands the walkie talkie up to Brandon.
His eyes slide shut as he's overcome with exhaustion, but then he feels a hand on his shoulder. He forces his eyes open.
"Ben?" Peter's voice is soft, barely audible.
His voice comes out almost a sob. "We made it."
Peter doesn't answer, instead he leans in and then presses his mouth against Ben's, the kiss not unlike the one Ben give him earlier. For a moment they're both lost in the kiss, then Ben pulls back. He presses his fingers against Peter's face.
"I told you I'd come for you."
Peter covers Ben's fingers with his. "I knew you would."
The little girl leaning against Peter's side stirs, shifting and cuddling closer. Ben glances at her, then at Peter.
"Her name's Laurie. Her parents …" He trails off and Ben can guess what happened to them.
Ben reaches out, lacing his fingers with Peter's. They've become something, within an hour, but Ben doesn't fight it. Peter's fingers curl around his.
"Only the two of you?" Ben asks after a moment.
Peter nods. "I was … I was looking for you. You and Eddy and G, they just wanted somewhere to stay."
Ben chews on his bottom lip. "And Laurie?"
"She doesn't go anywhere without me." Peter's voice is so full of emotion that Ben moves closer, pulls his hand free from Peter's, only to wrap his arms around him.
They sit that way for how long, Ben doesn't know. But they must've drifted off because when he's woken up by the crackle of the walkie talkie, it seems like it's mid-afternoon. He rubs his eyes and finds the girl, Laurie, looking down at him.
"Hello." He says, yawning.
She doesn't say anything, but curls up on his lap. Ben wonders how old she is. Maybe six or seven. He can't imagine the horrors she's seen and he hopes she'll be able to forget them. His thoughts are interrupted by Brandon.
"Ben?" Brandon sounds tired, which is when he realizes that Isabella's asleep in the seat behind his and that Peter's at the wheel.
"Yeah?" He replies, sitting up a bit without dislodging Laurie.
"Olivia wants to know where we're going."
Ben opens his mouth, then shuts it. He realizes that they hadn't actually decided, but before answer, Peter does.
"Denmark." He says, glancing in the rear view mirror.
"Denmark?" Ben and Brandon ask in unison.
Peter barks out a laugh, sounding surprised. "You don't listen to the broadcasts?"
"Broadcasts?" It's Olivia's voice from the walkie talkie.
Peter sighs before answering. "If we can find a way to get to Denmark, then they can get us to the Faroe Islands, and then to Japan."
"How do …" Ben stats, but Peter interrupts him.
"Don't you have radios in your fancy hotel?"
Ben reaches forward, punching him in the shoulder. "Sure we do, but we never …" He trailed off and it was Eddy's voice coming through the walkie talkie that fills the car.
"We stopped hearing broadcasts and never checked back."
Peter sighs again and then shrugs. "Get us to Denmark and then we can be free of these zombies."
"How?" Brandon asking the question they were all thinking.
Peter began weaving his way through traffic. "Dover."
"What?" Olivia again.
"There's a port there that's being defended. Something about the army? I don't know. All I know is that once we make it to Dover, we can catch a ferry to somewhere in Belgium and then somehow we get to Denmark." Peter glances at the dash and then back at the road.
"Somehow?" Brandon sounds skeptical, but Ben can't blame him.
"There's a route. I don't know, okay? All I know is that Dover is where we need to go."
They all slide into silence, but Ben realizes that no one's arguing and as evening descends on them, they're making a slow, if steady, pace. It's around seven when Peter turns on the radio. He has Brandon tell the other car to tune in and that's when they hear the broadcast.
Survivors, if you're out there, make your way to Dover. We can get you to safety. Do not bring more than you can carry, please do not come if you've already been infected. Otherwise, we welcome everyone. We can provide you with safe passage. This broadcast will air once every hour for the next four hours.
Then nothing but static. Brandon glances over at Peter and then outside. "Pull over."
Peter doesn't protest. He pulls off the side of the road and Ben trains a gun along the parked and crashed cars, looking for zombies, but there are none. Peter climbed in the back and settled next to Ben, Laurie still curled up in his lap.
"15 minutes and then we're in Dover." Brandon announces.
No one says anything as they drive into the city. Everything's dark and then Janice radioes that she thinks she saw some lights. Ben strains and then he sees them too. It's a path, leading them forward. It takes them almost an hour to follow the lights toward the port that held their route to freedom from zombies.
Brandon parks the car in a gated lot. They can hear, but not see, the zombies. They unload their gear and follow a heavily armored guard into a building. It isn't really a port, Ben realizes. It's a hospital, near the water. He can hear the sounds of helicopters and then he glances at Peter.
"We're going to fly out of here?" He asks.
Before Peter can answer, the man leading them glances back.
"It's a one way ticket out of this hell hole." The man's accent's American, which was weird, but Ben doesn't care.
"What're you people still doing here?" Peter asks.
"Saving all your asses. Somebody has to!" He says with a laugh and then they're in the waiting room of the hospital, along with around fifty other people.
Ben looks around as he let himself be ushered into a room. He's checked for bites, any signs of infection and then let go. He finds the rest of their group in a small room, standing around with all their gear.
The door to the room opens and an elderly man walks in. "Welcome to Dover. We hope you won't be staying long. The next flight out is full, but there should be another returning in an hour or so. If you'll follow me."
He leads them upstairs to the top floor, where Ben realizes a helipad is located. There are chairs, blankets, though it wasn't cold, and coolers full of food and water. He walk to the edge of the roof and looked out over the city, or what was left of it. The helicopter takes off a few minutes later, leaving the whole area silent, except for the relentless moaning of the zombies. He feels Peter's hand slide into his.
"We're going to make it." He says, softly.
Ben glances over. "It looks like it."
"All we have to do is wait." Peter tugs at Ben, pulling him closer.
Ben doesn't answer, but he knows Peter's right. But, he thinks, he'll wait forever to be rescued, if it meant waiting with Peter. He turns away from the zombies, away from the city, toward Peter, toward his friends, the people who've become his family.
"We'll all be together." He finally says.
Peter nods, clutching his hand tightly. "Just one hour."
"I feel like this was too easy." Ben mutters.
Peter bites his bottom lip and turnes away.
"Peter?" Ben says his name softly.
"One day." He replies and picks Laurie up when she runs over to him. "One day I'll tell you what happened."
Ben doesn't know what to say, instead he just wraps his arms around Peter's waist and waits.
The helicopter would come, they'd be away. The hour passed much more quickly than Ben expected and soon the helicopter was there. Landing. A few men got out and then they, along with maybe ten others, were ushered onto the large helicopter. Ben didn't know for sure where they were going, he didn't care, as long as he had Peter, his friends, and there weren't any zombies waiting for them.
Fandom: Sports/Cycling RPF
Rating: PG-13/R
Pairing: Ben Swift/Peter Kennaugh (Geraint Thomas/Edvald Boasson Hagen)
Disclaimer: This is not real, this never happened. I don't know them and this is all fiction. Made up stuff.
Notes: This is for the zombiebang. This is part of the cyclinsts + zombies au, click the tag for more stories. And, of course, thank you so much to the very awesome primreceded for making sure that someone picked my fic and doing the fantastic artwork (including a super awesome extra piece!).
Ben doesn't believe in the end of the world. He also doesn't believe in true love or fairy tales. But here he is, in a hotel in fucking London, of all places, watching the world end. Except he still refuses to believe it's ending. He doesn't care if G does, doesn't give a fuck if he and Eddy want to hide in the room whining about how they're all going to die. Ben's tired of dealing with everyone freaking out. He didn't think he'd be the strong one, after all, who does? But he is. He's the one who finds them food, who gets weapons, who kills the fucking zombies when they try to break into the hotel. Which they do, from time to time.
He's not alone. Not just because he's got Eddy and G, but because there were other people in the hotel. People he doesn't know, didn't know, until the zombie apocalypse hit them with it's full force of fury. He knows, somewhere out there, that his parents are dead. That his sister, his girlfriend, his grandparents, his friends, they're all gone. Turned into zombies or shot dead, either way he doesn't know and doesn't care. He can't spare a thought because it's taking all his energy to keep himself from descending into the chaos of fear that's engulfed Eddy and G.
Stupidly, he tries to reach out to them, but they don't hear him. Maybe they don't want to, maybe they can't, but he finally stops trying. It hurts, to watch them. Especially because he's since realized he was kind of a little bit in love with G. Not anymore, not after everything that's happened and especially now that G's so clearly in love with Eddy. That hurts almost as much as the pain of knowing everyone he's ever loved is dead, dying or going batshit fucking crazy.
So he lives day to day. He hoards supplies (food, bullets, clothing) and he prepares for the inevitable. They will have to leave, Ben knows this. Sometimes he pretends they can stay here forever, but eventually the power will go out. They won't be able to get fresh water or cook food. And so he starts planning, because he has to keep busy. He takes over the room next to the one he shares with G and Eddy. He shoves a chair under the door, making sure no one can get in, except through the adjoining room. He stores their gear there, everything he's been bartering, buying and trading for. When they have to leave, they'll be ready.
The news they get is sporadic and sometimes they hear reports of survivors. He tries to focus on the fact that people are escaping, that there are places of freedom. He hears about the Faroe Islands with their camps. He hears about Australia and Japan, unaffected and slowly becoming a haven for the living, safe from the undead. He knows how close they are to the Faroe Islands, but know that the ships don't transport people there anymore, it's too dangerous. He also knows how far it is to Tokyo (6000 miles, by plane, and Ben doesn't have one of those) and to Sydney (11000, by plane, which he still doesn't have). Too far. There will be no rescue, no escape from the Island they're stuck on. If he can't save himself, or G and Eddy, then who will?
Ben understands responsibility. He sits watch, he never asks G and Eddy to. He trusts them, cares about them, but he knows they can't do it. Sometimes Eddy'll ask, beg to be allowed to help, and Ben relents, but it always ends in disaster. Maybe not literal, but close enough. The rest of the people in the hotel, they don't trust Eddy or G and Ben can't blame them. But they trust him, and for now that's enough. When they leave, Ben will have to make G and Eddy grow up, to stop acting like little lost children. But for now, he indulges them, it's the least he can do.
It's mid-July when everything changes. Ben's been keeping track of the days since the disease started to spread. The wall of the closet is filled with marks, in sets of five. They've been here for nearly 80 days, but it feels like years. It's Ben's afternoon on duty. He'd spent the previous two days trying to teach G and Eddy to shoot, with limited success. They were getting better, stronger. It helped that they'd unearthed their bikes from the garage under the hotel. The hotel manager had fled, probably to his own death, and no one had found the keys to the basement until now. The three of them, when not training, would ride their bikes through the lower floors, abandoned by most of the residents, who'd moved up, away from the moaning zombies.
But his shift started at one and there he was, sitting sentry with a girl who lived down the hall from their awkward trio. She and her husband were one of four families on the floor. She was pregnant, but never once shirked her duties. She also never questioned why Ben was always doing watch and not his roommates. Ben liked that about her and she didn't talk much, which he liked even more. Talking was hard and sometimes Ben didn't hear any other voices except G and Eddy's for days.
He was pacing in front of the bullet proof plate glass windows of the hotel when he saw someone running. It was weird, because there wasn't anyone chasing the person. He glanced over at the woman, her name was Isabella and she caught his eye. She shrugged, as if to say what an idiot. Ben was about to agree, when he glanced outside again. Suddenly there wasn't just the one figure, there were more and they weren't running. They weren't shambling either, like zombies, but they were moving fast. Ben couldn't blame them. He was about to turn away when he realized they were coming toward the hotel. Toward them.
"Isabella!" Ben shouted, glancing back, but she was already moving. She was ringing the fire alarm, their method of alerting the hotel that something was wrong. And people out on the street? They were wrong.
The sound of footsteps made Ben turn all the way around, shotgun gripped in his hands. He could see Erik, the Swede who basically ran the hotel after the manager had left. He saw Erik's wife, their four teenage kids. He saw people who's names he might have known at one point, but everyone blended together after a while. He didn't see Eddy and G, he was grateful. He wanted them safe.
He turned back around to watch the group of people, there were 15 or 20, maybe, running toward them. He wondered how they'd made it this far, and then he saw the bags and guns they were carrying on their backs. He hadn't really believed in survivors, not after all this time. And then he looked closer. He walked toward the windows, kept walking until his face was nearly pressed up against the glass.
"Peter …" The words came out a whisper and then the group got closer. Peter saw him, nearly stopped running, but gathered himself together. Ben was having trouble doing the same. He pressed his hand against the glass, ignoring the shouts of people behind him.
Peter was running up toward the glass, he stopped, right in front of Ben. "Ben!" He mouthed his hands up against the glass, one against Ben's, if there'd been nothing between them.
Ben pressed his hand harder. He'd never thought he'd see Peter alive. Or any of his teammates, but he'd always been fond of Peter. They were friends, good friends like him and G or Eddy or any of their teammates, really. And there Peter was.
He turned away, his hand still on the glass. Everyone was watching him.
"We have to let them in." His voice sounded rusty. He couldn't stand being separated by glass from Peter. He wanted to touch him, to prove that Peter was real, that this wasn't some sort of nightmare.
"We can't." That was Erik.
Ben visibly shuddered and noticed he wasn't the only one.
It was Isabella who broke the silence. "We can't make them stay out there."
"They could be infected." Erik was stubborn, it made him both a good leader and a pain in the fucking ass, though Ben thought it was mostly the latter.
Erik's wife, who's name Ben couldn't recall, spoke up, "there's the empty ballroom, we could keep them there, for a week or so, just to see if they're infected."
Ben wanted to protest, it took an hour, at most, for someone to start to turn, and even then you'd know right away if you were infected. All it took was a bite, and those were hard to explain away. Ben opened his mouth to say something, but felt a hand on his arm. It was Isabella.
"Don't." She whispered.
He stared at her.
"He wants to shoot them all." She replied, clearing up his confused.
Ben glanced at Erik again and realized that she was right. He looked back out the window, saw Peter looking at home. He wanted to say everything was going to be okay, but he didn't know if it would be. He glanced past Peter and saw, in the streets behind him, the slow-shambling forms of zombies. They never moved very fast in the cities, maybe because they didn't have to. He'd heard that in open spaces, when you got enough of them together, they were almost a human mob. They moved fast and if you weren't ready, it was already too late. Ben didn't have to guess what would happen when the zombies caught up with the group, they'd seen it before they'd realized what was happening. Ben didn't want to think about it. Ever. He swallows hard, shifting his gaze from the zombies back to Peter, but Peter's looking away, at the zombies and it's making Ben's heart pound, hard and relentless. He bangs on the glass, pulling Peter's gaze away.
Peter mouths something that Ben thinks might be I'm scared but Ben can't tell and all he can do is press his hands against the glasses. Peter does the same and Ben finds himself overcome with want. Not lust, not desire, though it might be that, except it's something deeper and he's suddenly scared that he might lose Peter. And if he does, he doesn't know how much help he'll be to anyone. He thinks of Eddy and G, how much they depend on him, how much they need him. He can't let this get to him and yet … He lets his thoughts trail off as he watches Erik approach the glass doors. He unlocks one and stands in the doorframe, yelling.
Ben doesn't have to hear him to know what he's saying. He can tell by the fear in the eyes of the people standing outside. By the way Peter's body is tense, poised and ready to run. He doesn't want to lose Peter now that he's found him. He can't do this alone, not any longer. He didn't know, until he saw Peter, that he felt that way. But he does now and it takes all of his self-control not to push Erik out of the way and grab at Peter.
But he doesn't, because he's not willing to destroy himself or Peter, or the lives of these people. He watches as they file in, though his eyes never really leave Peter's. He steps toward the line, but he can't get close enough to even say something to Peter. Instead, he watches the long trail of people make their way into the ballroom. He catches Peter's gaze, just before the door shuts. There's panic in his eyes and Ben thinks that there might be some in his own. And then the door shuts, Erik locking them inside.
It's Isabella who stops him from going after Erik.
"You can't." She says tiredly, dragging him toward the stairs. She refuses to let go and he didn't really fight her. He lets her drag him upstairs, to their floor.
The hallway is full of people, spilling out of their rooms, talking to each other. Even Eddy and G are outside, chatting with the two girls who live in the room adjacent to their own. Janice and Olivia, Americans. They know their families are dead. No one's left in the midwest America, not after the bombs.
Everyone stops talking when the door behind Ben and Isabella swings shut. They all look up and Isabella grips Ben's arm. For a moment they're both scared, but the room seems to exude curiosity and not fear.
"Survivors." Ben finally says, filling up the hall with his word.
Silence and then people are talking. Eddy and G look at him, watching as he pushes through the people. He has no answers for them, nothing new to tell them, or at least nothing he's going to tell them. Except for Eddy and G, they deserve to know. He leaves Isabella to talk to the group, she's better at it anyway, and follows Eddy and G inside.
"It's Peter." He says, sagging against the door as soon as it's shut behind them.
Both of them look at Ben, confused.
"Peter, as in Kennaugh. You remember him, don't you?" Ben snaps, tired and upset.
G blanches, nodding. "Of course." He spits the words at Ben and for a moment that makes him happy because at least G's feeling something.
Eddy's hand snakes out, his fingers curled against G's wrist. Ben bites his bottom lip, forcing himself to calm down, to explain.
"Erik, he's … they're locked in the ballroom, in case one of them turns." He manages to say.
"They?" Eddy asks, suddenly curious.
Ben nods. "A group. 20 or so. One of them's Peter." There's a hitch in his voice and he tries to cover it up, but both G and Eddy give him an odd look. He ignores them.
G speaks up. "But it only takes an hour for them to turn."
Ben's surprised, he hadn't thought G was paying attention. Maybe he's been wrong about a lot of things. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean Erik cares. He …" Ben falters, then clears his throat. "He wanted to kill them."
"We have to leave." Eddy says, startling both Ben and G, and himself it seems.
"What?" Ben asks.
Eddy sounds a bit excited. "Me and G were talking about it, earlier. We can't stay here and now …"
He trails off, but G's nodding. And Ben understands.
"We get Peter, and then we leave." G says, quietly.
Ben nods. "We have to ask Isabella and her family, and Janice and Olivia." There's agreement and Ben feels better, they have a plan. Sort of, almost. Except for the part where he doesn't know how they're going to get Peter out and leave, at least not without getting stopped. It's not so much the leaving he's worried about as the rescuing Peter.
He sits on the edge of the bed, watching Eddy and G watch him. It was kind of awkward and then he has to get up, pacing. He walks to the window looking outside. The city is still smoking in some places, even though it's been several months since this … this whatever it is started. He closes his eyes, forehead resting against the glass. He wants the world to go back to the way it was when he opens his eyes, he wants everything to be normal again. He wants everything to be okay. But when he does open his eyes, nothing's changed, except night's a little bit closer. He turns around, looking at Eddy, then G.
"So, how do we get him out?" Ben asks.
Neither of them answer for a moment, then G does.
"We have to get ready to leave first." G's voice is soft, thoughtful.
Both Eddy and Ben look over at him.
"What? We can't just bust in there and come back to our rooms to prepare. We have to be packed and ready to leave."
Eddy's nodding, but Ben's not so sure.
"We can't just leave him in there. What if someone does change? What … What if Erik changes his mind and just kills them all? What if he thinks we're not going to save him?" Ben's panicking a bit, which makes this whole thing surreal because he was the one in control and now he's not. He can feel his sanity slipping away and he struggling to control himself.
It's G who speaks again. "So, write him a note. They can't keep them guarded all the time."
"Sure they can." Ben mumbles, but he's starting to get an idea. He wonders if they let them use the bathroom, or maybe give them food. He's already looking around for hotel stationary and pens.
"I'll take it." Eddy offer, surprising Ben.
He looks up from his note, half finished, and over toward Eddy. "What?"
"They won't suspect me. You …" Eddy trails off.
Ben almost smiles. "I did make a scene." He confesses, then turns back to the note.
Peter,
Please, don't give up hope. We're coming for you. If anyone wants to come with us, tell them to be prepared. It won't take us longer than a day, at most. I'm sorry you're locked up in there, I'm sorry that they wouldn't just let you in. I don't think it's right.
But, Peter, I'm sorry because we can't stay here either. I know, well no, I don't know, but I can almost imagine what it's been like for you, to come all this way. But if you want to get out of there, we can't stay.
I'm coming for you, Peter.
Ben
He folds the note three times, writes Peter on the front and then hands it to Eddy. Ben watches as Eddy shoves the note into his pocket and then kiss G quickly before disappearing out the door.
"We have to talk to Isabella, and Janice and Olivia." Ben says.
G nods and they wait maybe five minutes and then leave the room, locking it behind them. G knocks on Janice and Olivia's door and Ben walks down to Isabella's. He knocks, four times, their code and Isabella's husband opens the door.
"Ben, come in." He said. His name is Brandon and he's tall with spiky blond hair, or at least that's what Ben imagined it used to be like. They could all use haircuts.
Ben swallows hard, waiting until the door's shut. "Isabella, Brandon ...There's something I need to talk to you about."
Before he can say anything else, Isabella holds up her hand. "Ben, whenever you're ready to leave, we're going with you."
Ben stares, mouth open. Brandon laughs.
"We know how much you take care of your friends, of us and Isabella told me how much you care for your friend downstairs. None of us like Erik, even if we once thought he could lead us. Those people downstairs, they aren't cattle." Brandon strops.
"Two days, at the most, tomorrow if we can work it out." Ben says, quietly. "We get Peter, and anyone else with him who wants to leave, and then we go. It has to be early morning, not during our watch. We can go out the back."
Isabella looks surprised. "The back?"
"Of the hotel. It's barricaded, but they're easy enough to move. We can close them up behind us, as we leave. No one checks the back, because of the walls around the parking lot." He chews on his bottom lip.
Isabella and Brandon look at each and then at Ben. It's Brando who speaks. "We have a car, one of those SUVs."
"Is it here?" Ben asks, almost eagerly.
Isabella nods. "Full tank of gas, too. We were supposed to leave, the day after this all happened."
Silence descends on them and then Ben clears his throat. "Pack tonight. We'll try to make it tomorrow."
The three of them sink into silence and Ben tries not to think of Isabella being pregnant or where they'll go. He hasn't thought that far ahead, but he has a lot of things to do before tomorrow.
"Go, Ben." Isabella stands. "Get it done. Just let us know when it's time."
Ben returns to the room he shares with Eddy and G, to find both of them waiting. "Well?" He asks, shutting the door.
"Janice and Oliva want to go." G says. "Isabella and Brandon?" Ben nods.
Eddy glances at them both. "Guards on every door, but they let me have a look at them. I saw Peter." He stops, swallowing hard. "He looks … Ben, he looks like shit."
Ben nods, biting his bottom lip hard. "I know, but we'll get him out."
Eddy nods, then goes on. "I slide the note into the room, Peter saw. I'm sure he got it."
They fall silent and then Ben pushes away from the wall he'd been leaning against. He makes his way toward their second room. He glances over his shoulder and notices that G and Eddy are already packing. He wonders why he ever thought they were cowering and hiding. Maybe he was projecting, maybe he wanted to take care of them. Or maybe they were and now everything's changed again. But Ben doesn't really care, because he doesn't have time to -- because he doesn't need to.
Instead he focuses on packing. There's a lot of stuff they won't need. He doesn't want to leave all his cycling gear, but he has to. Maybe, if they survive this and if the fucking zombies are eradicated, maybe they can come back. Maybe something will survive. But he has to leave the two bags of gear. His bike. He shoves the jersey part of his kit into one of the bags he's taking with him, if only because an extra shirt is always important. He packs weapons, bedding, anything they might need. He's almost finished with everything on the adjoining room when he hears a knock on the door.
"Ben, it's Brandon." G calls and Ben jogs into the other room.
"Let him in."
He hears the door open before he sees it. Brandon's stepping into the room as Ben joins them.
"We should pack the car now." Brandon says as soon as the door's shut behind him.
"What?" It's G.
Brandon glances at the three of them. "We have to make sure that we can all fit, with our gear."
"Janice says they've got a car, too. It's a rental but she's pretty sure she won't get her deposit back." G says and it's so straight faced that for a moment they all laugh.
"Both cars, then. Tonight. As soon as it's dark enough that no one's going to notice us." Brandon says.
Ben nods. "10 pm, meet here."
And with that, Brandon leaves, G on his heels to tell the girls.
Time passes slowly and Ben doesn't think it'll ever be ten. They clean up their room, putting everything they might want to come back for one day in the bathroom of the adjoining room. Their bikes, locked together, in the overly large tub. Their bags full of all the cycling gear they'll never need again, on the floor and counters. Lights off, chair stuck under the door and a nail stuck in the lock, to make it harder to break in. Not that one will, but Ben's not above a fake sense of security.
Ben goes down for dinner with Isabella and Brandon, they'd decided not to change their routines. They passed Janice and Olivia, returning from their dinner an hour earlier. They nod, but say nothing. Ben returns at seven thirty with food for Eddy and G, who rarely attend meals and they eat in silence. Then, without warning, ten pm is upon them. Eddy goes downstairs first, making sure the path is clear and then they slowly, so slowly Ben thinks they'll never get it finished, carry their bags down. It only takes them thirty minutes, but it feels like a year.
They easily slip out the back door, which isn't guarded at all. The barricades are weak, at best, and Ben decides that when they leave, they should add a bit more to keep the zombies out. They look up, but see no open curtains, just lights from behind closed ones. Isabella stands near the wall, leaning against her car, watching the hotel rooms as the rest of them pack both cars. They're back upstairs by eleven, doors barricaded again, but set up for what Ben hopes is an easy escape.
Again, the wait seems to eat away at Ben. All he can think about are the many hundreds of ways things can go wrong, but the one he focuses on is their inability to get Peter. He knows he should care about the others, even about himself, but all he can see is Peter's stricken face as he was herded into the ballroom, like an animal. He bites the inside of his cheek, trying to distract himself. It doesn't work and so he closes his eyes and pretends that everything's going to be fine.
He doesn't know how much time's passed, but he's being shaken awake. It's G, he's looking a wild, his hair out of control, but Ben kind of likes that look. He sits up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and then shakes his head once to clear it. He glances at his watch and then at G.
"It's time." G says and they each grab their backpacks, with their most important items.
Ben swallows hard, looking over at G and Eddy. "Ready?" He asks and they both nod.
They walk out into the hall; the lights in their room off, as they would be at this time of night. He glances at his watch. It's three am, they're right on time. They see no one in the hall, which is good. If their plan works, Isabella and Brandon will already be at the cars, with Janice and Olivia going to theirs in another fifteen minutes.
Eddy makes a circuit around the ballroom, sticking to shadows. G heads toward the back, standing just out of sight near the barricades and Ben heads toward the front. He can look through the windows without being seen by the two night guards. There are no zombies and it's so quiet he knows he could hear the moaning. Earlier in the day, after Peter and his group had been let in, the zombies congregated by the doors, but no longer. Either they'd been chased away or left because they couldn't get at the food. Ben didn't care, he was just glad they weren't around.
He's walking back to the ballroom when he glanced in the manager's office. He noticed a set of walkie talkies, still sitting in their charger. Without really thinking about it, he unplugs the charger and grabs the walkie talkies. He glances around, afraid that someone's heard him, but a few heartbeats later, no one's come. Once he slips back into the shadows, he shoves the walkie talkies into his backpack and makes his way back to the ballroom. He meets up with Eddy.
"Ready?" He whispers.
Eddy nods. "Two guys, not three. The side entrance is locked, but there's no one there."
Ben nods and hands Eddy his backpack. "If we don't come out in twenty minutes, leave."
Eddy winces, but nods, gripping the backpack tightly.
"There are walkie talkies, give one to Isabella and one to Olivia." He says and then pushes Eddy away, into the shadows and toward G at the barricade.
He swallows, allowing himself one brief second of panic before pulling himself together. This was the part he hadn't really thought through. Or he had, with a million different scenarios, none of them ending with either he or Peter escaping. But at least everyone else did, and that's what mattered. At least that's what Ben keeps telling himself. He pushes forward, sticking to the shadows whenever possible. He slips passed the first guard without even being detected. The second is further away from the door and if he's quiet enough, he won't even run into him.
He pulls the master he out of his pocket. He'd taken it from the manager's office long before he'd even thought about this plan. Now all he can do is pray that it'll work for all the non-hotel room doors in the building, otherwise his plan'll be for naught. He sucks in air, listening, but hearts nothing except his own heartbeat, loud in his ears. He presses up against the wall, waiting and then he gently slips the key into the lock. He twists the key, unlocking the door and opening it. He tried to do it silently, but there are all sorts of door creaking noises and he freezes, but there's no other sounds. He makes sure the door's still unlocked before pulling the key out and then shutting the door behind him.
There's soft click as the door shut, then silence. He looks around the room. He can see sleeping forms and then, off to the side, he sees Peter and another body. He slips across the room, trying not to wake anyone up. He kneels over Peter, shaking him gently. Peter's eyes fly open, going wide and he opens his mouth, but before he could say anything, Ben kisses him. Later, he won't know why that's what he chose to do, or why Peter kissed him back instead of hitting him, but it worked.
He pulls back. "Ready?" He whispers.
Peter nods and Ben slides off the mattress Peter's been sleeping on. He grabs one of Peter's bags and then watches as Peter gently wakes up the sleeping form next to him. The person turns out to be a little girl and she clutches Peter's hand tightly. Ben doesn't hesitate, just picks up her bag too. Peter holds a finger to his mouth as he picks the girl up. Her eyes are wide, but she says nothing. They're at the door when, suddenly, there are noises all around them. People shouting and yelling.
"Run!" Ben yelling, yanking the door open. He tosses the key back behind them, not caring where it falls.
He doesn't know if Peter and the girl are behind him, but he can't stop running. He just hopes they're close enough to see him in the shadows. He runs hard, pushing toward the barricades where he hopes G is waiting for them. He doesn't think it's been twenty minutes already, but time's becoming harder and harder to keep track of. He reaches the first set and there's G, waving madly at them. He hears Peter and the girl, then sees them.
"Go with G!" He yells and when Peter hesitates, Ben shoves him. "Go, please!"
He hears shouting behind him. Gunfire, maybe, he can't tell. He follows them, pulling all of their additions to the barricade behind him. It's not enough or as careful as he'd liked, but hopefully they won't notice anything amiss until the next day. His heart's pounding, but all he can hear is the sound of his boots against the floor. Finally he reaches the door outside. He notices the two cars are running and G's standing by Janice's car. He waves Ben to Isabella and Brandon's car and Ben doesn't stop running.
"Go, go go!" He's shouting louder now.
He stumbles into the car before he realizes they've forgotten that all the gates are locked in. He curses and then hits the hood of Isabella's car.
"I'll unlock the gates." He shouts, then runs toward the gates, not waiting for an answer.
He hears the cars behind him, just the two and he tries to figure out how the gates open. Then he notices the key card swipe. He waits until the last possible moment, then swipes. Even over the roar of the cars, he can hear the zombies. They smell something, him probably. He shudders as the gate seems to take forever to open. Janice's car, smaller than the SUV, slips past and then he realizes the SUV's door is open, waiting for him. He runs, hoping the gate'll shut behind them and he jumps in. Peter reaches around him, pulling the door shut and then they're gunning out of the lot. He glances behind him and he can see zombies, heading toward the gate.
He doesn't know if it shut in time and he'll always wonder if the people in the hotel survived. But he doesn't have time to think about that. He grabs the walkie talkie and turns it out. He's shouting directions into the walkie talkie and finally stops when they've put enough distance between them and the hotel. The cars slow to a normal pace and Ben hands the walkie talkie up to Brandon.
His eyes slide shut as he's overcome with exhaustion, but then he feels a hand on his shoulder. He forces his eyes open.
"Ben?" Peter's voice is soft, barely audible.
His voice comes out almost a sob. "We made it."
Peter doesn't answer, instead he leans in and then presses his mouth against Ben's, the kiss not unlike the one Ben give him earlier. For a moment they're both lost in the kiss, then Ben pulls back. He presses his fingers against Peter's face.
"I told you I'd come for you."
Peter covers Ben's fingers with his. "I knew you would."
The little girl leaning against Peter's side stirs, shifting and cuddling closer. Ben glances at her, then at Peter.
"Her name's Laurie. Her parents …" He trails off and Ben can guess what happened to them.
Ben reaches out, lacing his fingers with Peter's. They've become something, within an hour, but Ben doesn't fight it. Peter's fingers curl around his.
"Only the two of you?" Ben asks after a moment.
Peter nods. "I was … I was looking for you. You and Eddy and G, they just wanted somewhere to stay."
Ben chews on his bottom lip. "And Laurie?"
"She doesn't go anywhere without me." Peter's voice is so full of emotion that Ben moves closer, pulls his hand free from Peter's, only to wrap his arms around him.
They sit that way for how long, Ben doesn't know. But they must've drifted off because when he's woken up by the crackle of the walkie talkie, it seems like it's mid-afternoon. He rubs his eyes and finds the girl, Laurie, looking down at him.
"Hello." He says, yawning.
She doesn't say anything, but curls up on his lap. Ben wonders how old she is. Maybe six or seven. He can't imagine the horrors she's seen and he hopes she'll be able to forget them. His thoughts are interrupted by Brandon.
"Ben?" Brandon sounds tired, which is when he realizes that Isabella's asleep in the seat behind his and that Peter's at the wheel.
"Yeah?" He replies, sitting up a bit without dislodging Laurie.
"Olivia wants to know where we're going."
Ben opens his mouth, then shuts it. He realizes that they hadn't actually decided, but before answer, Peter does.
"Denmark." He says, glancing in the rear view mirror.
"Denmark?" Ben and Brandon ask in unison.
Peter barks out a laugh, sounding surprised. "You don't listen to the broadcasts?"
"Broadcasts?" It's Olivia's voice from the walkie talkie.
Peter sighs before answering. "If we can find a way to get to Denmark, then they can get us to the Faroe Islands, and then to Japan."
"How do …" Ben stats, but Peter interrupts him.
"Don't you have radios in your fancy hotel?"
Ben reaches forward, punching him in the shoulder. "Sure we do, but we never …" He trailed off and it was Eddy's voice coming through the walkie talkie that fills the car.
"We stopped hearing broadcasts and never checked back."
Peter sighs again and then shrugs. "Get us to Denmark and then we can be free of these zombies."
"How?" Brandon asking the question they were all thinking.
Peter began weaving his way through traffic. "Dover."
"What?" Olivia again.
"There's a port there that's being defended. Something about the army? I don't know. All I know is that once we make it to Dover, we can catch a ferry to somewhere in Belgium and then somehow we get to Denmark." Peter glances at the dash and then back at the road.
"Somehow?" Brandon sounds skeptical, but Ben can't blame him.
"There's a route. I don't know, okay? All I know is that Dover is where we need to go."
They all slide into silence, but Ben realizes that no one's arguing and as evening descends on them, they're making a slow, if steady, pace. It's around seven when Peter turns on the radio. He has Brandon tell the other car to tune in and that's when they hear the broadcast.
Survivors, if you're out there, make your way to Dover. We can get you to safety. Do not bring more than you can carry, please do not come if you've already been infected. Otherwise, we welcome everyone. We can provide you with safe passage. This broadcast will air once every hour for the next four hours.
Then nothing but static. Brandon glances over at Peter and then outside. "Pull over."
Peter doesn't protest. He pulls off the side of the road and Ben trains a gun along the parked and crashed cars, looking for zombies, but there are none. Peter climbed in the back and settled next to Ben, Laurie still curled up in his lap.
"15 minutes and then we're in Dover." Brandon announces.
No one says anything as they drive into the city. Everything's dark and then Janice radioes that she thinks she saw some lights. Ben strains and then he sees them too. It's a path, leading them forward. It takes them almost an hour to follow the lights toward the port that held their route to freedom from zombies.
Brandon parks the car in a gated lot. They can hear, but not see, the zombies. They unload their gear and follow a heavily armored guard into a building. It isn't really a port, Ben realizes. It's a hospital, near the water. He can hear the sounds of helicopters and then he glances at Peter.
"We're going to fly out of here?" He asks.
Before Peter can answer, the man leading them glances back.
"It's a one way ticket out of this hell hole." The man's accent's American, which was weird, but Ben doesn't care.
"What're you people still doing here?" Peter asks.
"Saving all your asses. Somebody has to!" He says with a laugh and then they're in the waiting room of the hospital, along with around fifty other people.
Ben looks around as he let himself be ushered into a room. He's checked for bites, any signs of infection and then let go. He finds the rest of their group in a small room, standing around with all their gear.
The door to the room opens and an elderly man walks in. "Welcome to Dover. We hope you won't be staying long. The next flight out is full, but there should be another returning in an hour or so. If you'll follow me."
He leads them upstairs to the top floor, where Ben realizes a helipad is located. There are chairs, blankets, though it wasn't cold, and coolers full of food and water. He walk to the edge of the roof and looked out over the city, or what was left of it. The helicopter takes off a few minutes later, leaving the whole area silent, except for the relentless moaning of the zombies. He feels Peter's hand slide into his.
"We're going to make it." He says, softly.
Ben glances over. "It looks like it."
"All we have to do is wait." Peter tugs at Ben, pulling him closer.
Ben doesn't answer, but he knows Peter's right. But, he thinks, he'll wait forever to be rescued, if it meant waiting with Peter. He turns away from the zombies, away from the city, toward Peter, toward his friends, the people who've become his family.
"We'll all be together." He finally says.
Peter nods, clutching his hand tightly. "Just one hour."
"I feel like this was too easy." Ben mutters.
Peter bites his bottom lip and turnes away.
"Peter?" Ben says his name softly.
"One day." He replies and picks Laurie up when she runs over to him. "One day I'll tell you what happened."
Ben doesn't know what to say, instead he just wraps his arms around Peter's waist and waits.
The helicopter would come, they'd be away. The hour passed much more quickly than Ben expected and soon the helicopter was there. Landing. A few men got out and then they, along with maybe ten others, were ushered onto the large helicopter. Ben didn't know for sure where they were going, he didn't care, as long as he had Peter, his friends, and there weren't any zombies waiting for them.