The heavens can't hold me, and I can't believe anymore -
Author: Tasminalice
Rating: NC-17 (language, graphic violence, gore)
Length: 2500 words, approx.
Summary:
What do I do to lose it?
Beneath this distress call
A Skins-themed apocalyptic story.
A/N: First half of the Fifth part of This; Finality. Full author notes, in part 1 (see journal).
--
Emily's lips were soft, tender. She was smiling. Naomi's breath caught, all over again. It lasted seconds, it lasted hours, days. They broke apart as rough hands pulled them into the the back seat.
"Go, Ef," Cook bellowed, staring wide-eyed at the oncoming mass of bodies.
The car screamed off, as the zombies came within reaching distance. They could see more coming out of houses, and down the road behind them.
Although the zombies were all wearing different collections of tattered and ripped clothing and different patterns of blood splatter, the look in their eyes was the same. The characteristic lack of faculty, the pure animal instinct. It was horrifying.
Emily was in Naomi's lap, both staring out of the window.
Naomi was also half-watching the way Emily's cheeks were flushed, the way her eyes sparkled and shone. The way Emily generated a ridiculous amount of heat for such a small person. Naomi's heart was still burning, she allowed herself a brief smile; snapping back to reality when Effy let out a strangled cry.
Something hit the roof of the car with a loud thump. It continued over, down the back window. It was vaguely body-shaped, and left a dark crimson streak.
"Sorry," Effy whispered. Her hands were gripping the steering wheel like it was a raft, and she was drowning.
Katie laid a hand on her arm.
"It's okay, yeah? We'll be okay. Just get us back."
Effy turned, her eyes glassy. She nodded, strained.
The road ahead was dotted with zombies and corpses. They had all foregone their initial disgust, but Effy had now felt it rise again. It wasn't natural, this embodiment of gore. Swerving to avoid the animated dead, which was difficult as they moved towards the oncoming car, she began to tremble uncontrollably, she felt the blood drain from her face.
Her grip became slack, making the car veer to the left.
"Jesus, what are you doing?" Katie shrieked, grabbing her hands and keeping the wheel steady.
Effy didn't reply, only clutched her face in her hands and tried to keep from passing out. She was aware of Katie's shoulder and side pressing into her, used it as an anchor. Stayed conscious. Noticed the rest of the car was silent.
--
When Effy's fists were no longer pressing into her eye sockets, they were on the road that lead further into the woods. Naomi and Emily were having a whispered conversation, as were Pandora and Thomas. If she was less tired, and more focused, she'd listen to them. Right now she was still exhausted.
It was getting dark, the sun was halfway down. If the circumstances weren't so unforgiving, Effy would have deemed it a pretty sunset, all oranges, reds and purples. The trees left dark silhouettes against the colour; the forest never looked so foreboding.
"Is that - ?" Cook startled her out of her fatigue-plagued thoughts.
Through the undergrowth, Effy saw a dark Jeep, nestled away. It was the hunters vehicle, she recognised it from the first stop at the petrol station. That encounter felt a million years ago. She pulled over, and stopped.
"Why are we stopping? It's just their Jeep." Emily protested.
"There might be shit in there, that we need. And we're already here, aren't we? Might as well check it out." Cook was eager. Foolishly, Effy thought. We've already lost one person to lack of judgement. The thought made her grow cold.
"What else do you want? We've got supplies. And guns. We don't need to hoard, Cook." Naomi replied, indignant.
"I'm just saying it might be worth looking around, yeah? And our place isn't far from here, some of us could walk it."
"Fucking hell, Cook. We got lucky today. You saw how many of them there were. You go then, and end up like Freddie."
Katie left a painful silence in her wake.
"It makes sense, Katie." Emily spoke up. "They might have a radio. Contact with the outside world would be nice. I don't know about you, but I'm not keen to live in this bloody forest until I die."
"What do you say then, Em? Coming?" Cook was grinning.
"If she's going, I'm going." Naomi muttered.
Emily's heart swelled, and she turned to the girl she was sitting on, and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"We should be back by midnight, easily. We'll follow the road. Not on it, obviously," Emily added as Thomas looked ready to tell her that sticking to the gravel was a bad idea.
"Sorted then. Come on girls." Cook opened his door, stretched.
"Fuck sake, Emily. I'm not happy about this." Katie huffed. "Be careful, all that."
Thomas nodded. "Always look behind you."
Effy grabbed Naomi's hand, as she was climbing out. Looking her dead in the eye, Naomi was slightly taken aback by what she saw.
"Look after her," Effy implored. Naomi nodded, once, and was off.
--
Emily shivered as she walked warily over to the Jeep. Her eyes scanned the woods, but it didn't betray shapes or sound. She felt Naomi's reassuring step to her right. Cook was ahead, doing a quick round of the vehicle.
"Anything?" She called.
Cook shook his head after appearing once again. "Nope. There's a shitload of stuff in the back though. Naomikins, want to help me have a look through?"
Emily stayed vigilant, pacing around the small clearing. As cliche as it was, she couldn't help but feel that she was being watched. Trembling slightly, she turned to the other two.
"Can we hurry this up?"
"Can't hurry stuff like this, Ems. The hunters were stocked out, yeah?"
He pulled out a long knife and tucked it into his belt. Emily rolled her eyes.
"Is this what I think it is?"
Naomi was holding a small radio.
"It's wind up. This is the kind of thing we needed," she beamed.
Emily couldn't help but smile back, Naomi's good moods were infectious.
Despite this, her stomach plummeted to her toes as Naomi's smile turned to horror. It fell further into the earth as she heard a barely-audible crunch behind her.
She spun and retreated to the others, Cook; who was pumping his shotgun menacingly, and Naomi; who had drawn her machete and had stepped to the forefront.
The closest zombie was a teenage girl, wearing the tattered and bloody remnants of an ASDA shirt. A crimson smear covered the bottom half of her face, her eyes were dark, leering.
As it loped towards the three, Naomi displayed a fair amount of skill in sidestepping and swinging the blade into it's neck. Emily recoiled slightly from the look of loathing desperation that adorned Naomi's flawless face, the look of pure primal fear in her grey-blue eyes.
Forcing herself to look away, Emily brought up the rifle. Blinking back tears, her grip slipped and she missed.
Is this what it's going to be then? Emily desperately tried to regain control. Running, fighting, snatching life from between the jaws of death?
She watched, frozen, as more zombies became visible. Dozens, stretching back through the foliage. All different, all alike.
Naomi's peroxide blonde hair, the perfectly etched lines on her upper arms, (soft lips, alabaster skin).
Fuck no, Emily snarled in response. Crouching, she fired once, twice, three times more, didn't miss.
"Run?" Naomi yelled, between strokes.
"I'm thinking so! Cook?" Emily kept her eye trained on the crosshair.
"Right here, love. Let's ditch this party, yeah?" He fired once more, another terrific bang, and held his hand out to her.
Grinning savagely, she took it and allowed herself to be hauled up. Cook sprinted in front of her, out of the clearing, into the bush.
--
Before long, Emily became increasingly aware of was the rhythmic footfalls of Cook in front, (heavy, unforgiving), and Naomi, (lighter, urgent). The sun had gone down, the last vestiges of light were sprayed over the horizon. Her breathing was becoming more and more ragged, as the adrenaline wore off, replaced by fatigue.
"Can we - " Emily found her words slipping.
"Stop?" Naomi finished, from behind her.
Cook slowed down, came to a halt.
"Do we know where we are?" Naomi asked, full of sudden worry.
Cook glanced around.
"Yeah, I think so." He rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand. "I've been running the same way as I did when I first came. We should be near the first place."
Emily's head throbbed, her vision blurred.
"You alright, Em?"
She nodded. "I haven't eaten since this morning. Crashing a bit."
Emily felt an arm around her waist from behind, holding her up and in place. Her lips quirked at Naomi's familiar scent. They drank out of a water canteen that Cook had inadvertently taken.
The forest was dark, quiet. The only light was coming from the moon, it illuminated in some ways, made it harder to see in others.
"I hope the others are okay." Emily murmured.
Naomi nodded, resting her chin on the top of Emily's head.
"They have a car. We have our feet. They have a better chance than we do, you know?"
"Yeah. Still. Katie's rubbish at this sort of thing. I just want to know she's alright."
"Shouldn't be long now, girls. I'll be up for the shite noodles, I'm fucking starving," Cook yawned.
They stood in silence for a while, watching the stars appear.
A strange sort of itch flared up in Emily's mind. It spread, down the back of her neck, into her shoulder muscles.
"Oh for fucks sake," Cook sighed, a feeble stab at nonchalance.
Emily turned, and the itch vanished. Animated corpses were ambling closer to them, only visible through a gap in the trees. They were less than a hundred metres away.
Without any discussion, they resumed running. Emily's heart hammered in her chest, she felt a million degrees too hot. The trees, bushes all blended together once again.
Feeling her legs seize up, Emily inadvertently slowed down, black spots appeared at the sides of her vision.
"Nay - I can't - sorry," she spluttered.
No answer came, no one was behind her.
--
Getting out of the car, Effy stretched in a decidedly catlike manner.
They had parked the car a minute's run from their camp, off the road, under the trees. It had been a tense ride back, not helped by Katie's never-ending reassurances. JJ had been working on some sort of new schedule, Effy had driven quickly, eyes scanning the woods.
Thomas was helping Panda out of the car, Katie and JJ were making their way to the tents.
Effy's eyes narrowed, birds sprang from trees. The sky seemed to darken, the silence tangible.
"Thomas..." Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
A shape erupted, in the corner of her vision.
--
She wanted to scream, it was too much.
Naomi had fallen, a dozen meters from Emily. They were almost on her.
Emily was barely aware of Cook sprinting past her. Emily was frozen in place.
Time seemed to slow, from there. She saw Naomi's grey-blue eyes meet her own, understood the message. Leave, they said. Don't look back. Saw the way Naomi was hunched over, clutching her ankle. Let out a snarl, took the gun from her shoulder.
"Move, Cook." Emily didn't recognise her own voice.
Cook was putting Naomi's arm over his shoulder, picking her up. Emily squeezed the trigger four times. Too many of them, she thought.
A tall, lanky man could almost touch Naomi's left shoulder. At exactly the wrong moment, Naomi staggered to her left. A shot rang out.
Emily watched in horror as Naomi's shoulder was sliced open by the bullet that she'd fired. It'd grazed her, leaving a red line, ruler straight. Bright, crimson blood was flowing down her porcelain arm. Naomi's eyes met Emily's, once again.
The bullet had hit the man in the stomach, spinning him around, knocking him down. Cook reached over, pulled the blade from Naomi's right hand. Planted it in the zombies stomach, withdrew it and resumed half supporting, half carrying her towards Emily.
"Go. Get her back." Cook panted.
"What? No! We're almost there."
Cook shook his head, and Emily didn't need telling twice. Putting Naomi's arm over her shoulder, she stumbled off into the darkness.
--
The shape became defined as Effy turned. A middle-aged man, old, brown-red blood blemishing his clothing, loping towards her.
Effy sprang back towards Thomas and Panda, moving away. She kicked out at its chest, knocking it back. A distinctive click, and a hole appeared in the zombie's head.
Trembling, Effy turned to Thomas, who was lowering the gun. Pandora was behind him, still backing away slowly.
"Thank you," Effy smiled.
"No problem," Thomas smiled back.
It's funny how quickly life and death are determined, isn't it? The least expected moment is the one you want to remember most, sometimes.
Effy's subconscious was observing, placidly.
The one you want to relive, over and over, so you have a chance of changing the outcome, is the most important.
Her subconscious folded into itself, was silent, as a figure dragged Pandora to the ground.
--
Naomi was making no sound, just limping onwards. Shock, Emily thought. She can't feel it. Her ankle injury seemed to get better with ever step, as well. Emily was acutely aware of the shotgun blasts that echoed through forest. Forcing herself not to think of it, she ran on.
--
Thomas bellowed, stricken. Effy fell to her knees.
The butt of his rifle thundered down on the zombies head several times, before he turned it around and pulled the trigger, Effy watched the tears make their way down his cheeks. The woods around were silent, devoid of movement.
He pushed the corpse off Pandora, pulling her close to him, trying to stop the liquid flowing out of her neck.
"Panda, panda - " He shook, voice broken. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry - "
Watching him gently, she shook her head. Her eyes were the brightest they'd ever been.
"I never said it, did I?" Pandora whispered softly. "You were the one for me."
Thomas wept, unbound.
"I love you," she choked. "My first, and best."
Effy felt Thomas' heart shatter and tear, feeling all too much. He placed his lips on hers, as softly as rain.
"Je t'aime, my Pandora."
Her small smile faded, focus slipped from the face above her. Thomas sat, still as a stone, clutching Pandora's body.
Effy sat across from him, tears flowing freely down her face. The bottle she had labelled, set on that shelf, had fallen. Smashed, and she was drinking from the cracks.
Effy brushed Pandora's hair from her face.
"You were the better part of me, Panda." Her shoulders shuddered under the weight. "You were what I aspired to be."
Kissing her on the forehead, Effy then closed Pandora's open eyes, sealing herself away.
Effy watched as Thomas picked her up and carried her into the forest, singing quietly.
--
(second part up soon)
Rating: NC-17 (language, graphic violence, gore)
Length: 2500 words, approx.
Summary:
What do I do to lose it?
Beneath this distress call
A Skins-themed apocalyptic story.
A/N: First half of the Fifth part of This; Finality. Full author notes, in part 1 (see journal).
--
Emily's lips were soft, tender. She was smiling. Naomi's breath caught, all over again. It lasted seconds, it lasted hours, days. They broke apart as rough hands pulled them into the the back seat.
"Go, Ef," Cook bellowed, staring wide-eyed at the oncoming mass of bodies.
The car screamed off, as the zombies came within reaching distance. They could see more coming out of houses, and down the road behind them.
Although the zombies were all wearing different collections of tattered and ripped clothing and different patterns of blood splatter, the look in their eyes was the same. The characteristic lack of faculty, the pure animal instinct. It was horrifying.
Emily was in Naomi's lap, both staring out of the window.
Naomi was also half-watching the way Emily's cheeks were flushed, the way her eyes sparkled and shone. The way Emily generated a ridiculous amount of heat for such a small person. Naomi's heart was still burning, she allowed herself a brief smile; snapping back to reality when Effy let out a strangled cry.
Something hit the roof of the car with a loud thump. It continued over, down the back window. It was vaguely body-shaped, and left a dark crimson streak.
"Sorry," Effy whispered. Her hands were gripping the steering wheel like it was a raft, and she was drowning.
Katie laid a hand on her arm.
"It's okay, yeah? We'll be okay. Just get us back."
Effy turned, her eyes glassy. She nodded, strained.
The road ahead was dotted with zombies and corpses. They had all foregone their initial disgust, but Effy had now felt it rise again. It wasn't natural, this embodiment of gore. Swerving to avoid the animated dead, which was difficult as they moved towards the oncoming car, she began to tremble uncontrollably, she felt the blood drain from her face.
Her grip became slack, making the car veer to the left.
"Jesus, what are you doing?" Katie shrieked, grabbing her hands and keeping the wheel steady.
Effy didn't reply, only clutched her face in her hands and tried to keep from passing out. She was aware of Katie's shoulder and side pressing into her, used it as an anchor. Stayed conscious. Noticed the rest of the car was silent.
--
When Effy's fists were no longer pressing into her eye sockets, they were on the road that lead further into the woods. Naomi and Emily were having a whispered conversation, as were Pandora and Thomas. If she was less tired, and more focused, she'd listen to them. Right now she was still exhausted.
It was getting dark, the sun was halfway down. If the circumstances weren't so unforgiving, Effy would have deemed it a pretty sunset, all oranges, reds and purples. The trees left dark silhouettes against the colour; the forest never looked so foreboding.
"Is that - ?" Cook startled her out of her fatigue-plagued thoughts.
Through the undergrowth, Effy saw a dark Jeep, nestled away. It was the hunters vehicle, she recognised it from the first stop at the petrol station. That encounter felt a million years ago. She pulled over, and stopped.
"Why are we stopping? It's just their Jeep." Emily protested.
"There might be shit in there, that we need. And we're already here, aren't we? Might as well check it out." Cook was eager. Foolishly, Effy thought. We've already lost one person to lack of judgement. The thought made her grow cold.
"What else do you want? We've got supplies. And guns. We don't need to hoard, Cook." Naomi replied, indignant.
"I'm just saying it might be worth looking around, yeah? And our place isn't far from here, some of us could walk it."
"Fucking hell, Cook. We got lucky today. You saw how many of them there were. You go then, and end up like Freddie."
Katie left a painful silence in her wake.
"It makes sense, Katie." Emily spoke up. "They might have a radio. Contact with the outside world would be nice. I don't know about you, but I'm not keen to live in this bloody forest until I die."
"What do you say then, Em? Coming?" Cook was grinning.
"If she's going, I'm going." Naomi muttered.
Emily's heart swelled, and she turned to the girl she was sitting on, and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"We should be back by midnight, easily. We'll follow the road. Not on it, obviously," Emily added as Thomas looked ready to tell her that sticking to the gravel was a bad idea.
"Sorted then. Come on girls." Cook opened his door, stretched.
"Fuck sake, Emily. I'm not happy about this." Katie huffed. "Be careful, all that."
Thomas nodded. "Always look behind you."
Effy grabbed Naomi's hand, as she was climbing out. Looking her dead in the eye, Naomi was slightly taken aback by what she saw.
"Look after her," Effy implored. Naomi nodded, once, and was off.
--
Emily shivered as she walked warily over to the Jeep. Her eyes scanned the woods, but it didn't betray shapes or sound. She felt Naomi's reassuring step to her right. Cook was ahead, doing a quick round of the vehicle.
"Anything?" She called.
Cook shook his head after appearing once again. "Nope. There's a shitload of stuff in the back though. Naomikins, want to help me have a look through?"
Emily stayed vigilant, pacing around the small clearing. As cliche as it was, she couldn't help but feel that she was being watched. Trembling slightly, she turned to the other two.
"Can we hurry this up?"
"Can't hurry stuff like this, Ems. The hunters were stocked out, yeah?"
He pulled out a long knife and tucked it into his belt. Emily rolled her eyes.
"Is this what I think it is?"
Naomi was holding a small radio.
"It's wind up. This is the kind of thing we needed," she beamed.
Emily couldn't help but smile back, Naomi's good moods were infectious.
Despite this, her stomach plummeted to her toes as Naomi's smile turned to horror. It fell further into the earth as she heard a barely-audible crunch behind her.
She spun and retreated to the others, Cook; who was pumping his shotgun menacingly, and Naomi; who had drawn her machete and had stepped to the forefront.
The closest zombie was a teenage girl, wearing the tattered and bloody remnants of an ASDA shirt. A crimson smear covered the bottom half of her face, her eyes were dark, leering.
As it loped towards the three, Naomi displayed a fair amount of skill in sidestepping and swinging the blade into it's neck. Emily recoiled slightly from the look of loathing desperation that adorned Naomi's flawless face, the look of pure primal fear in her grey-blue eyes.
Forcing herself to look away, Emily brought up the rifle. Blinking back tears, her grip slipped and she missed.
Is this what it's going to be then? Emily desperately tried to regain control. Running, fighting, snatching life from between the jaws of death?
She watched, frozen, as more zombies became visible. Dozens, stretching back through the foliage. All different, all alike.
Naomi's peroxide blonde hair, the perfectly etched lines on her upper arms, (soft lips, alabaster skin).
Fuck no, Emily snarled in response. Crouching, she fired once, twice, three times more, didn't miss.
"Run?" Naomi yelled, between strokes.
"I'm thinking so! Cook?" Emily kept her eye trained on the crosshair.
"Right here, love. Let's ditch this party, yeah?" He fired once more, another terrific bang, and held his hand out to her.
Grinning savagely, she took it and allowed herself to be hauled up. Cook sprinted in front of her, out of the clearing, into the bush.
--
Before long, Emily became increasingly aware of was the rhythmic footfalls of Cook in front, (heavy, unforgiving), and Naomi, (lighter, urgent). The sun had gone down, the last vestiges of light were sprayed over the horizon. Her breathing was becoming more and more ragged, as the adrenaline wore off, replaced by fatigue.
"Can we - " Emily found her words slipping.
"Stop?" Naomi finished, from behind her.
Cook slowed down, came to a halt.
"Do we know where we are?" Naomi asked, full of sudden worry.
Cook glanced around.
"Yeah, I think so." He rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand. "I've been running the same way as I did when I first came. We should be near the first place."
Emily's head throbbed, her vision blurred.
"You alright, Em?"
She nodded. "I haven't eaten since this morning. Crashing a bit."
Emily felt an arm around her waist from behind, holding her up and in place. Her lips quirked at Naomi's familiar scent. They drank out of a water canteen that Cook had inadvertently taken.
The forest was dark, quiet. The only light was coming from the moon, it illuminated in some ways, made it harder to see in others.
"I hope the others are okay." Emily murmured.
Naomi nodded, resting her chin on the top of Emily's head.
"They have a car. We have our feet. They have a better chance than we do, you know?"
"Yeah. Still. Katie's rubbish at this sort of thing. I just want to know she's alright."
"Shouldn't be long now, girls. I'll be up for the shite noodles, I'm fucking starving," Cook yawned.
They stood in silence for a while, watching the stars appear.
A strange sort of itch flared up in Emily's mind. It spread, down the back of her neck, into her shoulder muscles.
"Oh for fucks sake," Cook sighed, a feeble stab at nonchalance.
Emily turned, and the itch vanished. Animated corpses were ambling closer to them, only visible through a gap in the trees. They were less than a hundred metres away.
Without any discussion, they resumed running. Emily's heart hammered in her chest, she felt a million degrees too hot. The trees, bushes all blended together once again.
Feeling her legs seize up, Emily inadvertently slowed down, black spots appeared at the sides of her vision.
"Nay - I can't - sorry," she spluttered.
No answer came, no one was behind her.
--
Getting out of the car, Effy stretched in a decidedly catlike manner.
They had parked the car a minute's run from their camp, off the road, under the trees. It had been a tense ride back, not helped by Katie's never-ending reassurances. JJ had been working on some sort of new schedule, Effy had driven quickly, eyes scanning the woods.
Thomas was helping Panda out of the car, Katie and JJ were making their way to the tents.
Effy's eyes narrowed, birds sprang from trees. The sky seemed to darken, the silence tangible.
"Thomas..." Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
A shape erupted, in the corner of her vision.
--
She wanted to scream, it was too much.
Naomi had fallen, a dozen meters from Emily. They were almost on her.
Emily was barely aware of Cook sprinting past her. Emily was frozen in place.
Time seemed to slow, from there. She saw Naomi's grey-blue eyes meet her own, understood the message. Leave, they said. Don't look back. Saw the way Naomi was hunched over, clutching her ankle. Let out a snarl, took the gun from her shoulder.
"Move, Cook." Emily didn't recognise her own voice.
Cook was putting Naomi's arm over his shoulder, picking her up. Emily squeezed the trigger four times. Too many of them, she thought.
A tall, lanky man could almost touch Naomi's left shoulder. At exactly the wrong moment, Naomi staggered to her left. A shot rang out.
Emily watched in horror as Naomi's shoulder was sliced open by the bullet that she'd fired. It'd grazed her, leaving a red line, ruler straight. Bright, crimson blood was flowing down her porcelain arm. Naomi's eyes met Emily's, once again.
The bullet had hit the man in the stomach, spinning him around, knocking him down. Cook reached over, pulled the blade from Naomi's right hand. Planted it in the zombies stomach, withdrew it and resumed half supporting, half carrying her towards Emily.
"Go. Get her back." Cook panted.
"What? No! We're almost there."
Cook shook his head, and Emily didn't need telling twice. Putting Naomi's arm over her shoulder, she stumbled off into the darkness.
--
The shape became defined as Effy turned. A middle-aged man, old, brown-red blood blemishing his clothing, loping towards her.
Effy sprang back towards Thomas and Panda, moving away. She kicked out at its chest, knocking it back. A distinctive click, and a hole appeared in the zombie's head.
Trembling, Effy turned to Thomas, who was lowering the gun. Pandora was behind him, still backing away slowly.
"Thank you," Effy smiled.
"No problem," Thomas smiled back.
It's funny how quickly life and death are determined, isn't it? The least expected moment is the one you want to remember most, sometimes.
Effy's subconscious was observing, placidly.
The one you want to relive, over and over, so you have a chance of changing the outcome, is the most important.
Her subconscious folded into itself, was silent, as a figure dragged Pandora to the ground.
--
Naomi was making no sound, just limping onwards. Shock, Emily thought. She can't feel it. Her ankle injury seemed to get better with ever step, as well. Emily was acutely aware of the shotgun blasts that echoed through forest. Forcing herself not to think of it, she ran on.
--
Thomas bellowed, stricken. Effy fell to her knees.
The butt of his rifle thundered down on the zombies head several times, before he turned it around and pulled the trigger, Effy watched the tears make their way down his cheeks. The woods around were silent, devoid of movement.
He pushed the corpse off Pandora, pulling her close to him, trying to stop the liquid flowing out of her neck.
"Panda, panda - " He shook, voice broken. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry - "
Watching him gently, she shook her head. Her eyes were the brightest they'd ever been.
"I never said it, did I?" Pandora whispered softly. "You were the one for me."
Thomas wept, unbound.
"I love you," she choked. "My first, and best."
Effy felt Thomas' heart shatter and tear, feeling all too much. He placed his lips on hers, as softly as rain.
"Je t'aime, my Pandora."
Her small smile faded, focus slipped from the face above her. Thomas sat, still as a stone, clutching Pandora's body.
Effy sat across from him, tears flowing freely down her face. The bottle she had labelled, set on that shelf, had fallen. Smashed, and she was drinking from the cracks.
Effy brushed Pandora's hair from her face.
"You were the better part of me, Panda." Her shoulders shuddered under the weight. "You were what I aspired to be."
Kissing her on the forehead, Effy then closed Pandora's open eyes, sealing herself away.
Effy watched as Thomas picked her up and carried her into the forest, singing quietly.
--
(second part up soon)