Swimming With the Stars

Two - Like Mother Like Daughter

Tw - Death

May 3rd 2023

The crunch of dead leaves leftover from last fall, and the conversation that was held here and there by the two were the only sounds that came from them as they marched along. The farther they walked, the less thick the forest became. The trees were farther apart, and thinner. Pezzy thought they might be easier for firewood if they ever needed any.

The treehouse they had stayed at was long behind them. Eventually Pezzy had woken Droid up for his turn to keep watch while he got in his hours to sleep. The next thing he knew, they were double checking they had everything and left.

That day they hadn't had luck with finding a stream, or at least somewhere to wash up. It consisted of what they'd mostly done every other day: look for food, anything useful, or new discoveries. Or literally focusing on not getting killed. However yesterday they hit the jackpot. It was the same thing, looking for anything beneficial, but with the addition of washing themselves of the grime and dirt that coated their clothes and bodies. They had managed to find a pond, and each took a turn getting undressed and rinsing both themselves and their clothes, while the other kept their back turned respectfully and kept watch for any danger.

Droid had complained once again about how his hair didn't feel as soft as it had been before. Pezzy once again said it didn't look any different from how it's always been. He always made sure to add that at least it didn't look as flat as his hair did.

The slightly musty smell that remained in their clothes occasionally came up to hit him, making his nose scrunch up at the sudden stench. It reminded him of when he'd forget to switch his clothes from the washing machine to the dryer. When the cycle was eventually finished, he'd grumble and scold himself for being the reason for the slight musty odor that infused into the fabric. But, he couldn't complain now, he did feel a lot better after rinsing himself and his clothes off. At least it wasn't due to his forgetfulness.

ADHD can be a bitch.

Pezzy followed Droid's movements who walked just slightly ahead of him, stepping over the log of a fallen tree. He rotated his body for balance to pick up and swing his leg over so he wouldn't fall, before walking straight into something.

The something, he realized quickly, was Droid.

"What the fuck? Droid?" He questioned, assuming it was one of the many pranks Droid liked to tease him with. But instead of a chuckle, he was met with silence. He walked around Droid to look at his face. "Dr-."

"Shh." A finger was brought up midair, silencing Pezzy. He noticed the way Droid's face was focused, eyes squinted, head tilted slightly, and one ear pointing in the direction to their right. Taking the hint, Pezzy also focused.

And then he heard it. Wailing. Zombies. Far off in the distance.

Pezzy looked back up at Droid in confusion, it wasn't anything different than they've heard many times before. He was about to say exactly that but was once again cut off. But it wasn't by Droid.

Agony. Shouts of it, that broke through the barrier of zombie screeches and howls.

Pezzy's heart stopped. He's never heard a zombie sound like that.

Shit.

Before he could think about what to do next, Droid had him by the arm, tugging him in the direction of the horrifying screams. He ripped Droid's grip off his bicep.

"Woah, wait-" he started. But Droid didn't stop. "Droid, hold on." He grabbed Droid's wrist, but he didn't stop, only slowed down. "Stop!"

Finally, Droid did stop, quickly turning towards Pezzy. His face had taken Pezzy by surprise, and he blinked for a second, registering Droid's frantic seriousness.