I Hate The Rain || SKEPPY/BBH

Eight

*** unedited 3072019

1

Tired feet dragged across the gravel as Zak headed into the hotel that the three had taken refuge in for the last few days. The town had been mostly left alone and they had accumulated many cans of soup from the nearby stores. It had been his turn to scout the area to find any local zombies.

It had been a while since Zak had even seen a zombie, which he found peculiar due to the high rate of them being around when the apocalypse first started. 2AZ wasn't that bad but they definitely had been on a decline during that period. Now, as they approached the end of 3AZ, it was almost rare to see a zombie.

Where had all the wildlife gone?

Like migrating birds, the zombies had all fled and though it made things easier, it also coated everything with a thin sheet of worry. Why had they all left? Where had they gone? When will they return? Zak appreciated the lack of blood he got on his hands nowadays, but he did find himself almost missing the distant groans and grunting.

Along with the zombies fled his love for architecture. The newfound lack need to silence the distant moans and noises left him with nothing to drown out the noises with- which had always been architecture. He didn't need to cloud and disguise his worry anymore. 

Darryl was leaving at the same time Zak returned to switch shifts. The sun was setting and the fear was rising- with the realization that all the zombies had gone, came the equal realization that they could return at any moment. And if they did, they needed to be prepared. Zak greeted him with a smile, one that he didn't even know he had in him at that moment.
Zak wanted to stop Darryl- to tell him to be careful, to give him a parting hug and to wish him a heartfelt goodbye in case he never came back. It was silly, he knew that, but his hands were yearning to connect with him. 

Before Zak's urges could be put into play, Darryl had already walked out and was heading down his planned route. Zak hated himself at that moment- he despised the fact that he let him walk out with such ease when he could so easily get injured. He wanted to tell him to stay inside, make sure he never got hurt so he wouldn't have to see the image of him crying or the way that fear could cloud somebody's eyes so quickly. 

Zak trudged onward.

By the time Zak had made it up to the top floor, he was even more tired than when he started. Like most humans, he got tired from just a few flights of stairs. Stack that on top of his already current tiredness and you have a full-course meal of exhaustion. Zak turned the key and pushed open the door but was greeted to the image of Vincent curled up, shaking.

"Vincent? Dude, are you okay?" The dog that was lying at his feet perked up but didn't do much other than rest its chin back on Vincent's ankles. Vincent himself almost didn't even bother to look at Zak. His shaking only seemed to intensify under his gaze. The quiver of his lips became far more noticeable and the tracks on his cheeks from beyond his glasses.

"Dude-" Zak's feet that had been previously too exhausted to even climb the stairs had suddenly burst into motion. He headed over to the bed, sat on the edge and pulled Vincent up into a hug.

"What the heck happened man?" 

"A lot... I don't even know, it hurts my head..." His voice broke high in some places and was muffled in others as he shook against Zak's thin frame.

"Tell me slowly, then, or something."

"The people at the place. They wanted Darryl."

2

"I don't really remember the trip."

Zak and Darryl listened carefully, sitting knee-to-knee. Zak had pushed Vincent to talk about it a day later to not only him, but to Darryl instead. He wanted the male to hear it- he needed to understand the issue, too. Granted, though, being around Darryl at a time like this was more than awkward. He knew that Vincent didn't want to be around him and even he, himself, was conflicted more than he wanted to be. He wanted the best for Vincent but god did he ever enjoy the presence of Darryl more than anything else in the world.

"It was like a wake-up thing? When you wake up like 'wow, this isn't right'. They were talking about a... About an Operation D?" Zak nodded him along, but Darryl... Well, his brows were furrowed and he seemed to be focussing on Vincent, yet his eyes were clouded and distant.

"They kept, like, asking me where you were? Not Zak, just you." A feeble finger rose and pointed to Darryl, who backed up a bit in his seat. 

"Oh goodness... Oh my goodness..." Almost instinctively, Darryl stood up. It was so fast and so sudden that Zak jumped a bit, having not expected it at all.

"Zak- Zak remember the first day you met me? Outside that McDonalds?"

"Uh, yeah, I think."

"Remember all the people?"

"Yeah."

"I think they're behind all of this."

There was silence between the three of them. Even the dog just stared, as if he understood the same thing they did.

"Where did you say they were headed?" Darryl asked, the three of them sharing a meal of rice and oatmeal with some soup. They ate a lot of oatmeal these days, but that was only because it was so easy to make and never seemed to be taken off the shelves in stores.

"I think they are heading North. They're trying to get to something up there," Vincent explained. He wasn't too interested in eating, so he placed his bowl on the floor and let the dog lick it clean. He wasn't sure what was causing his appetite to fade away- perhaps it was the intensity of the situation? Or maybe he didn't want Darryl to see him in such a vulnerable position, such as eating. 

"It's in Canada, I think?"

"Canada, alright. That's manageable, right?" Darryl's gaze went from Vincent to Zak, who was stuffing his face. 

For a moment, Zak's breathing hitched. He wanted to confirm with him? Out of everybody at the table, he wanted to make sure it was alright with HIM? His stomach rolled and the butterflies inside fluttered, their wings hitting his skin from the inside and making his cheeks a dusty rose. 

"Sounds good, dude."

Darryl grinned at the three of them, eyes striking behind his glasses. 

"Guess we're going to Canada."

***

7 days waiting for a set-up chapter... I am SO sorry yall, but these are necessary.

Anyhow, we've hit 5k reads! Last time I checked this was at 5.8 so I think we're on the route to 6k and GOODNESS I'M SO HAPPY !!!!

I apologize so much for the lack of updates, I'm currently on a trip! I'm at my grandparents' house right now and though I'm doing crazy things and I'm not overly busy, it is always nice to relax lol.

So, last chapter we were introduced to a new companion. I felt like this book was getting a little dry with just the 3 of them so hello!!! dog!!!!! I'm not too sure what to name it, though, so does anybody have any suggestions? Something cool and apocalyptic maybe? lmaoo

Should I do a face reveal or something? Lol would yall be interested in that?

Thank you again for 5k reads!