Decimation (Ianthony Apocalypse AU)

day eight

chompers seen: about a hundred and fifty

chompers killed: 0

near-death experiences: 3

human deaths witnessed: 2      

I hated to say it, but I felt like everyone was beginning to settle into our little town.

Which probably wasn't necessarily a good thing, considering we were still planning to move on to Los Angeles as soon as possible. We had originally planned to spend only a day or two cleaning the place out and recovering from the past tragic night, but I really didn't see a point in making an effort to rush out of the place. We had endless water, a safe place to sleep, and every store and house we had checked was basically stocked full. And plus, my gut told me going to LA was a bad idea. The whole place could easily be overrun. 

The only problem was the lack of gas. We had checked just about everywhere - walked miles and miles all around the town - and still had only found one small tank of gas. Not nearly enough to get us to LA. We could proceed on foot, technically, but traveling that far with two kids didn't really seem like the greatest idea.

The best part of the town, however, was how few chompers we'd stumbled across. In three days and nearly the whole radius of the town, we'd only had to deal with a dozen or so. I still hadn't personally taken care of any of them, but Anthony'd killed three more. And with each one, it seemed to get easier; by the last one, he'd just casually strolled up to it and shoved his knife through its skull like it was absolutely nothing.

We'd made it a habit to eat dinner on the beach every night. We'd feast on canned fruit and ramen noodles while sitting around a fire and learning more about each other. Neither Anthony or I had talked about ourselves much. We let everyone else tell stories about where they went to college and all the places they'd visited. I found out Lizzy was in the same high school that Anthony and I went to and Jonah had graduated from the University of Seattle with an English degree. I found out Ken and Martha had been married for thirty-two years, but unfortunately had never been able to have children. Joel was an engineer and Gwen was a pre-calculus teacher. Henry was a mechanic.

Tonight, however, as we passed around cans of tuna and stale saltines, Lizzy spoke up.

"What's the deal with you two, anyway?" She raised her eyebrows at Anthony and I. "Neither of you have said a word about yourself."

I glanced over at Anthony. We'd made a sort of silent agreement from the beginning that we wouldn't go out of our way to make sure people knew we had held a sort of fame in the YouTube community; who would want to team up in the zombie apocalypse with two guys who made videos about dating video game characters for a living?

But, I was beginning to really feel a connection to these people. And besides, they'd opened up to us since the first day. It was about time to do the same to them.

I shrugged and Anthony smiled slightly, reading my mind.

"We actually had somewhat... interesting lives," he started, laughing slightly.

"Well, I mean, we weren't math teachers or mechanics. Hell, we didn't even finish college." I shrugged, glancing at Anthony, who nodded. "We made videos on YouTube, actually. I don't mean to brag, but we sort of were one of the most popular channels. Had millions of subscribers." I laughed. "I still have no idea how it even happened."

"No shit?" Lizzy leaned forward. "You mean you were like, famous? For real?"

"I wouldn't say famous," Anthony interjected, smiling. 

My eyes found Ken, who sat across from me. He'd set down the sleeve of crackers and was glaring hard at me, his forehead creased.

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, he cut me off.

"You mean to tell me that we told you all about us the day we met you, and you didn't even make an effort to let us know you're damn celebrities?" He stood up, shaking his head.

"I... We didn't really think it was important..." I trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Not important?" He scoffed. "If you're gonna be a part of this group, you're gonna have to learn to trust us. We obviously all trust you, so it's pretty damn offensive that you refused to tell us the biggest aspect of your lives for a whole week."

Martha stood up. "Ken-"

"You two either stop sitting there and keeping to yourselves like little kids or you're out of the group."

I sat open-mouthed, eyes wide, staring at him. I honestly couldn't tell if he was serious.

He shook his head, turning around. "It's getting dark. We should go back."

~

The next morning, Anthony shook me awake. 

"I'm gonna go down and bathe now. I don't think anyone else is awake. Wanna come?"

I sat up, rubbing my eyes. "Yeah, sure," I grumbled.

Outside, it was still not fully light out and slightly hazy. The air was humid and the town had a sort of eerie glow.

"If Ken finds out we went down the street without telling anyone, he might serve our asses on a plate," Anthony joked, walking next to me. "Because we're definitely not grown adults and have to listen to everything he says."

I shrugged. "I don't think he's ever liked us. Or me, at least. He was just looking for an excuse to pick us out."

"Maybe." He fell silent for a minute, his basket full of soap and fresh clothes hitting against his leg as he walked. "Look, man, I've wanted to talk to you for a while but I just never really found a good time."

"About what?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows at him.

He sighed. "It's just... I don't know how I really feel about going to LA. Or these people, even. I just don't know if these are really the best people to be spending the end of the world with, you know? I wanna try going home. I know it could be a suicide mission and it's really unrealistic, but I would rather die at home with my parents than in some random town with people who I'm not even sure like me."

I nodded, looking back ahead. "I agree. I think that's a good idea, but it's a stupid idea." I laughed a little. "Maybe we should stick with them just a little longer, maybe make it to LA and check it out. If you hate it and still want to go home, I'll leave with you whenever you want."

He smiled over at me. "You're right. Thanks, man. You're the best."

He stopped then, setting the basket down and turning to me.

Anthony wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tight against him and holding me there. I smiled, returning the embrace and biting my lip.

"You know, if I had to spend the fucking zombie apocalypse with anybody, I'm glad it's you," he said into my hair.

I laughed, still hugging him. "Love you too."

But he had no idea how much more meaning was lost behind those three words.