Till Death Do Us Part (Danvid)

Chapter 1: Youth

Author's Notes:

I'm not sure if anyone has made a zombie au yet? But I'm pretty sure they're out there. I just wanted to contribute one for Danvid.
So in this AU, David and Gwen aren't camp counselors? They've never met the kids and Camp Campbell is a place they've never been to (they will soon). There are other characters I didn't include, since the campers probably haven't met each other. This isn't set in the camping universe but the cabins and what-not will stay.
This is greatly inspired by "The Zombie Song" by Stephanie Mabey (https://youtu.be/ZPNqub966Tw)

David hefted his bloodied bat, looking down at the mess he has made. The barbed wire did a number on the poor albeit ferocious thing. It was technically not alive anymore, he was sure of that. He didn't want to call them people—but that's what they were before they got turned into beasts. Beasts who had no mind of their own; who attacked people without hesitation because they no longer recognized what they were doing was wrong.

The thing that made them human got eaten away by the virus.

The man swiped his stray auburn hair away from his face, exhausted and terrified and feeling all sorts of drained. It had only been two weeks since the terrible event. He wouldn't call it an outbreak, 'cause God knows how long it's been out there, spreading slowly from one small group to another until it finally reached crowded cities. The only notification he got was when he was driving out of town to meet a high school friend of his, Gwen.

"Keep it together. I can't have you puking out your lunch and complaining you're hungry. We need to save our food till tomorrow," a girl whose brown hair was tied up in a high ponytail passed him by, not giving the dead thing in front of him a second glance.

"I'm- I'm sorry, I know, but gosh this is something no one should get used to." David eyed the corpse once more and trailed behind her. He lowered his spiked bat and fiddled with his backpack as a nervous tic. They both carried bags that contained their belongings. Water bottles, snack bars, some packed food that haven't spoilt yet, a flashlight or two, and the like.

"No one should," Gwen echoed. She turned back and laced her gloved hand with his clammy ones. "But this hellish nightmare should never have happened at all." She tightened her grip. Her unusually violet eyes stared at him with sympathy then it hardened. David knew it was something they learned to develop; to suppress your weakness.

David was failing at that moment. He took a shuddering breath and nodded slowly. He felt his heart beat rise. He was panicking again. Gwen sensed the change. She stopped and reached over to grip his olive green parka. He stumbled forward and right into her terrifying gaze. He almost felt compelled to hit the ground and kiss her combat boots.

"We're the only ones we've got, David. It sucks that this happened. It sucks that people died in horrendous ways. It sucks that we'll never meet the fucker who started all this so we can put a bullet through his head. But as humans, we need to adapt. We need to survive, even in harsh conditions," she released his parka, gloved hands holding his shoulders firmly. "We can only survive if we watch out for each other." She patted his shoulder reassuringly. David calmed his breathing and he was suddenly thankful for having Gwen there, despite everything that's happened.

"You're right," he managed a small laugh. "I'm being stupid. I'll try to keep it in next time so I don't freak out when we get in trouble." Then in a small voice, the man added, "I don't want to be the cause of your misery."

He knew Gwen heard, but the only sign of acknowledgement he got from her was a brief nod. She's putting up her walls again, and it's about time he do the same.

His reunion with Gwen went fairly well. That day, he took her out for lunch and they talked endlessly about their college lives and what went down. They were still close despite David transferring to another school. They talked about their old friends and David wondered if he should've rung up Jasper as well. But the day was reserved for his best friend and Gwen had that appreciative look on her face. Everything went crashing down when someone started screaming, then another. And suddenly, David was being pushed back by a stampede of people as they run the other way. He lost sight of Gwen when he got up on his feet.