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DARKNESS WAS THE ONLY COLOR TO EXIST, JUST PURE BLACK. It surrounded her as she slept, a single, filthy hand tucked beneath her cheek as a pillow. Soft snores echoed beside her, growls emerging from her companion's parted lips in deep rest. But she, she could not sleep, not anymore.
Nightmares plagued the girl, memories of her family, torn apart limb by limb as she was coated in their very blood. Then the faces of the victims changed, molding to her partner, to the only person she had left in the world. And she awoke.
Natalia was covered in a cold sweat, sticking her raven hair to her forehead and causing her dark eyes to widen and blacken in fear. She was quivering, shaking and letting out emotion because she knew it was the only time she could, there in the dark of night, never during the day where others could see.
She just tried to slam her eyes shut, squeeze them tightly while listening to the muffled breathes of Archie, the boy who had become everything to her, almost like the younger brother she never had. But it was only a matter of time before her dreams became a reality; she knew that better than anyone.
Her ponders were cut short when she felt a body shift beside her, a small groan coming from the boy's mouth. "Nat, are you okay? You're breathing heavy," a gentle voice hissed out in the dark of the tent, worry lingering in his words.
The weary woman heaved in exhaustion, striving to catch her breath as she sat up and hugged her knees into her tank top covered chest. "Yeah, I'm fine, Arch'. No need to fret."
"Another nightmare?"
She turned her gaze, eyes adjusted to the dark enough for her to look upon her ally's tattered expression. Both tiredness and concern were in his pupils as the question spilled from his lips before he could stop it.
Nat huffed. "What nightmares? I don't know what you are - "
"Natalia, I've heard you, for the past couple of weeks," Archie cut in gently, his voice still a whisper as to keep the silence of the woods engulfing them. "Moaning and...and groaning, whimpering and saying...saying their names, sometimes you ever say mine."
Her heart raced, beating in her chest at a million miles per hour while vile rise up her throat. Images rushed to her head, slaughterings, beatings, death of everything, a world on fire. And her, standing in the middle of it, helpless, not being able to move a muscle as though she was frozen in place. It truly was her worst nightmare, her worst ending, the end to it all.
"Talk to me, Natalia."
She looked upon Archie, over every last detail to his face, the face she watched being murdered over and over again. Her tongue rolled atop her chapped lips, cracked from the cold weather and sore, beaten. But she knew she had to keep herself together, or he too would fall apart.
She raised her hand to her chest, still being able to feel her heart through her dark shirt. Everything was amiss, everything off, wrong. Sometimes Natalia would fall asleep at night, and in the dawn, she would think it was all a dream, that she would wake up in her home, in her bed while the sound of her mother singing would echo into her ears. Then she heard the mumbled prays of Archie, the cracked whispering that brought her back to reality. There wasn't the privilege of life anymore, only survival.
"I told you, Archie," Natalia bit back, voice a hostile growl. "I'm fine, now go back to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow." And every day after.
She felt his eyes carve into her skull, staring at her raven hair while she avoided his devastating gaze. Nightmares of him being ripping from her bleeding hands still haunted the girl's mind, rushing over and over again like a blinding strobe light.
It was not soon after where she heard the soft snores of Archie once more, yet now his breaths were quivered, broken, hollow even. Whatever sleep he was in, Natalie knew it was neither deep nor peaceful. He was not asleep and he was not awake, in between, simply laying, still, ready to be woken by a single cough or hiccup.
Natalia outstretched her legs beneath the blankets that shielded the cold as best as they could; they were light, just ratted and worn out. It itched her through her pants, tickling her calves and burning her thighs. Nothing ever felt like home, nothing ever would. There were no homes anymore, just a world on fire crawling with the walking dead.
Life was just a lost cause. She tried to shut off her mind, to block out her fears. But instead, she just stayed as she was, awake with eyes fluttering closed and then open. Her eyelashes were heavy, bones aching, muscles sore, throat burning from lack of water. Everything was in agony.
The girl knew she had to rest, knew she had to get her "beauty sleep" as Archie would often call it. But nothing in the world was beautiful anymore. And that night became the same as every other for the past months: lonely, desolate, and cold.
( 𝑨𝑼𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑹❜𝑺 𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑬 !.˚₊ ❖ )
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THE WAY I SCREAMED PUBLISHING THIS! So basically to sun somethings up, Natalia and Archie have been on their own since a couple of weeks after the beginning of the apocalypse (so a few months at this point) and they have an OLDER AND YOUNGER sibling relationship! I cannot stress this enough especially since Nat is supposed to be about 24/25 and he's 19/20 (not a horrible age gap but he is DEFINITELY her little brother!). He is literally the only thing that matters to her and it just makes me so soft. This fic is definitely my pride and joy ALREADY. I'm actually prewriting and just so crazy into it expect this to be the thing I update the most!. Thank you so much for reading and please vote and comment if you enjoyed!
A big thank you to syndullas and jynersos for helping me with this story!
GLXNNRHEES / FAITH 2021
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