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scandalousfemale · 2 years

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Ch. 8 What's Love Got To Do With It?

Chinese!OC x Kelce

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Zombies were meant for apocalyptic movies and tv shows where one could binge watch for a day and return to their mundane life. But something happened, a lab test went wrong and suddenly the outbreak started. This story takes place exactly three weeks after zombies slowly started to take over the planet.

Series Masterlist

Word Count: 7,017

Warnings: Grief

A/N: Hey! Has it really been two years? Anyway, I'm so determined to finish this series (and revamp the character bios + the other chapters) and give it the ending that it deserves because I truly do love writing this. No, this is not the final chapter!! There are about five or six left. As always, tagging those from the previous taglist but if you'd like to be taken out, please let me know!! No hard feelings, I know it has been far too long.

In the six weeks that they’ve been together, Kaili had grown to trust and love the people around her but the very first moment that she was able to tell someone in the group that she had loved them, she had been apologizing for loving him. Now, it was like she had taken ten steps back from the progress she had made with them. If you had asked her yesterday if she loved the people around her, she would’ve said yes. Today? Waking up in the cold, and empty bus, she’d be too afraid to even acknowledge that she cared for them because when she did, bad things happen. Just like Wei and just like Rafe. Maybe she was also too scared to admit that death hurts a lot worse when there’s love involved.

The afternoon sun shone through her window with audacity as if the universe hadn’t taken a friend from her the day before. If she had the energy, she’d curse the planet for making this her timeline, for putting her friends through this when they had deserved so much more. She deserved so much more. Numbingly, she set each foot onto the floor of the bus before she routinely stuck her blades back into the straps on her legs. Only two blades were saved in the wreckage of yesterday and she wasn’t ready to see the damage that their inventory had taken. Especially all the winter clothes that they’ve worked so hard to get. She knew that there was no way that anyone was able to get any of their supplies out after the ambush but she had hoped that some of their weapons or maybe food had been saved.

After she had prepared herself the best that she could to face everyone, she slid the door open and almost fell over Wheezie. The girl had been sitting in front of the door with her legs propped on the wall of the other side, completely blocking the older girl in. Her face was blotchy like she had just found a moment where she stopped crying.

“Hey,” Wheezie rasped, her voice carrying a little surprise.

“Hey yourself,” Kaili said softly, dropping herself down to the younger girl’s level and sitting with her legs crisscrossed beside her, “what’s this?”

“Everyone had left to go explore the mall that Topper parked across from. Well, next to now, he moved the bus while you were sleeping. We kind of lost everything yesterday so they’re trying to scope things out and see if there’s anything left in there that we can take.”

“That’s smart of them.” Kaili offered and then placed a hand on top of Wheezie’s palm that had been clenched on her own lap. “But why are you blocking my doorway?”

“I was afraid that you’d find an empty bus and thought that everyone hated you for what happened and maybe you’d leave us. No one hates you, by the way. We all know what happened, it’s just easier for certain people to place the blame on you than to face the truth that we couldn’t–” the younger girl choked on her words as she practically lunged herself forward and onto Kaili’s lap. “I love him,” Wheezie sobbed, “do you think he knew? I know I was terrible yesterday but I didn’t mean to be.”

Kaili held onto the younger girl tighter as she ran her hand up and down her back. “He knows, of course he knows. He loved you all so much and he knew that you loved him that even at the end, he wasn’t thinking about himself. He was thinking about all of you.”

“It hurts,” she wailed and Kaili couldn’t say anything back through her own tears because, yes, it did hurt. The pain seared through her vessels and it was all that she could feel.

After what felt like hours and seconds all the same, Wheezie finally caught her breath and wiped at her face, “he loved you, too, you know? Even if he never said it to you. He cared.”

Kaili didn’t give the girl a reassuring smile, nor did she even nod her head, even if she knew. All she could see in her mind was her gripping onto Rafe’s warm body and apologizing to him that she loves him so much and how she prayed. A prayer that was ignored and mocked. No, Kaili doesn't think she’d ever pray again.

“There you girls are,” Kiara popped her head through the bus’ door, startling the other two girls. “It’s empty, so far, and Topper is convinced that he can get the stove to work so all the half frozen food can be cooked. There’s also a hunting and camping store in here and a small drug store. It’s not like a pharmacy but as good as any, I guess. Come on, let’s restock.” she motioned for the girls to follow her and they did. Kaili took a quick moment to wipe her eyes once more before following Kiara and, unsurprisingly, Pope, into the mall.

The entrance that they had led her into was part of the camping store which was perfect because she had gone and switched out her blades for sharper and newer ones. She was also able to change out her thigh harness into something more sturdy and made to hold blades so that she wouldn’t be cutting up her leg as she pulled the knives out anymore. They even sold boots that Kaili did not waste any time sticking them into shopping bags along with more knives and bullets and weapons that the others could use, too. Kiara and Pope had gone around with Wheezie also picking up their own items, ranging from clothes, mosquito spray, fire starters, and a tent. By the time that they had gone to the pharmacy and another store that Wheezie begged to go into for new clothes and finally made their way to the food court to meet up with the rest of the group, they had looked like they had gone on a shopping spree– which honestly, they had.

“Holy shit, what did you guys do? Rob the place?” JJ said as he jumped over the counter of the fast food place that Topper had apparently been trying to fry some food at and from the smell of it, he was succeeding.

“Obviously we robbed the place,” Pope said, matter of factly, “it’s not like we had anyone that would take our money even if we had any.”

“You got anything for the rest of us?” JJ asked but without waiting for an answer, he started rummaging through the bags that Kie and Pope had left on the table.

“Yeah, I got some clothes for you and weapons and shoes. I want to make sure that we’re fully stocked and prepared this time.” Kie mentioned and Kaili couldn’t have agreed more. She had picked up some sports explorer hiking bags to make sure that if they ever had to do the trek on foot, they’d be prepared to carry their own weight.

While John B and Sarah came over to the table and Wheezie started showing everything that she had picked up, mostly for herself, for the rest of the group, too, Kaili averted her eyes to the door leading towards the kitchen in the back of the counter. Kelce had been bringing out piles of fries and meat that Kaili wondered if they were even any good anymore or if they had stayed frozen for however long that the electricity had been cut out of the area. Watching Kelce, she couldn’t help but feel a little anger. He had left her to wake up alone and though she understood that maybe he wanted this time to himself to spend with his friend whom he grew up with to mourn their best friend, she needed him, too. It amazed her how adamant he was for her to communicate her feelings with him but now that it was his turn, he hadn’t. He could have easily woken her up and told her that he needed space and time but he pulled a disappearing act and she hated that.

This is why she was so hesitant those couple of weeks to give in to him and now that she had, now that she admitted that she liked him, here he was, carrying trays of food like they weren’t the last two people who got to spend time with Rafe. As if Rafe hadn’t asked Kelce first to do the unthinkable and Kelce was more than ready to die with his friend, making Kaili be the one to pull him out of the situation.

Thinking about it made her not want to even look at him. So, when everyone had set their things on the floor and pushed two tables together to start eating, she sat on the furthest seat away from him and avoided looking over at him the whole time. Not like it mattered because even the times where her eyes automatically found him, he wasn’t looking at her.

“I also got clothes and if I roll them into tiny pieces we can fit–” Wheezie was cut off mid sentence by Sarah slamming her hands down on the table.

“We’re not going anywhere so you don’t even need that.” Sarah declared. Slowly, one by one, they stopped eating and turned to look at the girl.

“What does that mean?” Wheezie inquired, her brows furrowing at her older sister.

“It means that we are staying at this mall until help arrives. That guy at the camp said that the military went to Georgia, that means that they’ll be making their way through all the states and someone will come and save us soon enough,” Sarah said without looking up from her plate.

Kaili understood where the blonde was coming from and though it was not ideal to disagree with her, she couldn’t help it. “We can’t be the only ones left here. What if someone comes here before the military and it is just as tempting for them to stay? Are you going to allow them to share the space with you? If you do, what’s to say that they’re not a big group and they decide that they don’t want to share their food with you? It’s not a safe bet to stay here, Sarah, we need to keep moving.”

“No, actually, we don’t. We have food here that can last us for weeks without us having to keep running into the supermarket that honestly, no one wants to do anyway. We have clothes to change into even if we have no showers. We have actual bathrooms here that may or may not flush, I don’t know. I haven’t tried it. But the most important part? There are metal gates here that we can just pull from the ceiling and no one can get in or out.”

“Yes, and all of that sounds great but what happens when someone else arrives?” Kaili pushed, “we have to keep moving. Rafe said we’re moving west and we’re going west.”

“And then what?” Sarah was yelling now, her eyes glistening with tears, “more of us are going to die because that’s all that there is out there, death! I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep jumping around and taking the risk. Here it is safe, I’m staying.” She looked at her little sister and then to John B, “we’re staying.”

“Staying in here is a risk, too, Sarah. Please, you can’t guarantee that death won’t find you in here and it is a reckless promise if that’s your reason to stay.” Kaili said, her shaking hands betraying her calm voice.

“No, Li. Think about what you’re asking me to do. What else could be wanted but what we have right here? If you’re scared of things and people getting in then we can board up the windows and the doors. Or maybe we don’t and we welcome new people in with open arms but at this point, there is food here. We have weapons in the camping gear store. This is it.”

The tone in Sarah’s voice made it clear that this was her final choice and no one could change her mind. Kaili’s eyes traveled from person to person at the table, waiting to see if anyone would jump in to tell Sarah that she was out of her mind but it seemed like everyone else was processing the idea themselves. Her gaze landed on Kelce who held her panicking eyes for a moment. He watched her from across the table as her breathing picked up before inclining his head towards her, ever so slightly that unless someone else had been watching his movements, they would’ve missed it.

“She’s right,” Kelce spoke up, Sarah’s face beaming before he continued, “Kaili’s right. We need to take what we need and keep moving. We’re sitting ducks right here.”

“Come on, man,” John B interjected, shaking his head and standing up, “the bus will run out of water very soon and what happens when you can’t find gas anymore? What will we do then? Sarah’s tired of running and quite frankly, so am I. I’ve just finished healing from being impaled by a fence and I haven’t practiced fighting the way that all of you had, I’ll be a liability out there if we keep moving. Even if we follow Rafe’s plan and go west, what will we do then? Where do we stop?”

“I vote here,” Sarah touched his hand and stood up with him. She looked over at her sister, who looked over at Kaili. Kaili was pleading with the young girl through her eyes, hoping that she wouldn’t stay with her sister even if that’s her blood. She was hoping that she would have a fighting chance, after all, that’s what Rafe died for. But she wouldn’t dare say it out loud and she wouldn’t voice her want for Wheezie to leave her family either. She knew how important family was during hard times and this was one of the hardest times they would ever experience.

“Kie, Pope, JJ?” John B looked to his friends and Kaili had held her breath. “Come on.”

“John B,” Kiara looked at him with sad eyes before shaking her head, “I can’t. I can’t stay here, I’m sorry.” and so the pack was divided because wherever Kiara went, so did Pope, and wherever Pope went, so did JJ.

Goodbyes were hard and they never got easier but at least knowing that people were leaving willingly and doing what they thought was best for them was something that Kaili could accept. As the group gathered around by the door of a department store, still standing next to the food court because they didn’t want to have the goodbye outside, Sarah had come up to Kaili first.

“I’m sorry for how I acted yesterday,” Sarah began but Kaili wouldn’t even let her finish. She had wrapped her arms around the girl.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save him,” Kaili whispered into the blonde hair as Sarah hugged her back, tears wet her shoulder before going off to hug Kiara next.

“I’m not sure I ever personally thanked you for saving my life,” John B had been next to walk up to Kaili and she had to smile at that.

“It’s no big deal,” Kaili shrugged with a small smile, “make sure not to get into any more life threatening situations though, will you? You got people to look after.” she motioned to Wheezie who was being squeezed to death by JJ.

“Will do. But seriously, I don’t take that shit for granted, thank you.” John B squeezed her shoulder once before being engulfed by his friends.

Lastly, Kaili came over to Wheezie and the girl barely even looked at her before she barrelled into the older girl, hugging her so tight that Kaili was sure that she was going to break her ribs and though goodbyes were hard, this was the one that brought tears to her eyes. She had so much to say, so many more things to tell Wheezie and she couldn’t find all the words. So, she just hugged the girl back just as tight.

“I love you so much, Wheezie.”

“I love you, Li. I’ll never forget you.”

The remainders had loaded the bus with necessities, including sleeping bags and tents for when they’d had to ditch the bus because they knew that what John B said was right. They hadn’t spoken much between themselves, all knowing that the bus will run its course one day and they’d have to face the facts that it might very well be before they reach their destination. It also worried them that the air was getting colder as they were reaching winter.

“What if John B was right?” Pope suddenly spoke up, two nights into their trip. “Where are we even going? We have a map and a bus that can barely fit in the middle of the roads as they get smaller. We’re so ahead of ourselves, what if we should have stayed and we’re just driving until we can’t and then we die?”

“We’re not going to die,” Kiara said, annoyance laced her voice but Kaili had grown to know the girl enough to know that that annoyance wasn’t genuine.

“How do you know? Rafe did!” Pope exclaimed, earning a wince from Kaili who sat on the passenger seat with a map in her hands.

“Thanks for the reminder, as if we aren’t reminded every second of the day. As if this group isn’t getting noticeably smaller and smaller.” Topper’s voice was small as he yelled that response from the main bedroom. It barely traveled to the front of the bus.

“Listen, we’ll just keep heading west. There we can maybe break into some houses in LA and the coast and you know, rich people have fancy houseboats and panic rooms. They probably stocked up on a couple of things before this epidemic…here’s to hoping some of them didn’t make it,” JJ intervened in the conversation.

“Classy, JJ. Hoping that people have died.” Pope scoffed at his friend. “Then what are we going to do? Take the boat to another country? What if there are zombies there, too?”

“I don’t know, okay! I’m just trying my best. Everyone is stressed out and it’s stressing me the fuck out.” JJ ran his fingers through his hair that had now grown past his shoulders. Kaili had her body turned towards the conversation once Topper had gotten involved and she watched as the blonde looked at each of his friends as they avoided his gaze. They’ve been avoiding each other since they’d left John B at that mall. JJ released a long exhale before he shook his head and walked back to climb into his bunk, dramatically drawing the curtain closed.

“We can’t afford this,” Kelce said, almost to himself, as he drove. Impressing Kaili by memorizing street names and highway signs that she had mentioned to him about an hour ago when he and Topper exchanged positions.

“They’re children.” Kaili reminded him, “Children who’ve been traumatized over and over again and put through high stress situations. They’re allowed to be scared and disagree and question things.”

“Now’s not the time for questioning and second guessing if the decision they made is a good one. We cannot afford hesitation.” Kelce whispered, not taking his eyes off the road as the girl beside him stared at his profile.

She understood what he meant, of course she did, she just couldn’t believe that he didn’t understand where the younger kids were coming from. Everyone had been separated from their families and now this family that they’ve built with each other was slowly falling apart through death or decisions. Of course, there will be second guessing where they’re going.

“What we can afford is understanding,” Kaili said, anger bubbling inside of her. “Uncertainty is something that we can all relate to.”

“You weren’t uncertain when you shot Rafe,” Kelce spat the words out but immediately recoiled.

Kaili slowly raised her eyebrows at the man beside her, folding up her map. “Were you not uncertain when he asked you to kill him first? And was I not understanding enough to listen to you talk about dying with him before you came to your senses?” Her words were clipped as she unbuckled herself and removed herself from the passenger seat.

“Fuck, hold on. Wait, I didn’t mean it.” Kelce kept looking back and forth between her and the road, “I’m sorry, I didn’t,” he tried but she tuned him out as she walked to the center of the bus, handing the map to Kiera. “Make sure he stays on the i40, will you?”

“Kaili!” Kelce tried again from the driver’s seat but she didn’t look back as she climbed into her own bunk, wishing for sleep to wash over her so she could get away from her reality.

Kaili woke up with the image of her covered in blood after killing all of her friends still in her mind. She decided that she hated sleeping even more than she hated her reality. Pushing the curtain to the side, she was desperate for air, desperate for any sort of comfort that this wasn’t how her life was going to end. Alone because her friends had turned into flesh eating monsters. Stepping out of her bunk, she noticed that the door was open. Kelce must have parked the bus somewhere for the night so that he could get some rest and they must have decided to cook something. She was a little disappointed that no one had woken her up but sleep was hard to come by and they must’ve realized that.

Taking a few steps to the open door, she saw the flicker of the fire that someone had going. There had to be someone out there because there was no way that someone had started a fire and left the door to the bus open, leaving them all vulnerable. As she took a step down from the bus, she saw a young boy’s silhouette, his hair messy and sticking out on all sides.

“Hey, Jay,” she tried not to startle the boy as she spoke softly. He held a stick with a knife taped around the end of it, making the weapon a spear, across his lap as he stared into the fire.

“Hey, Li,” he replied. It took him a couple of breaths before he tore his eyes away from the fire to look at her. The sadness in his eyes made her want to rush over to him and hug him but she didn’t. She slowly walked over to him and sat on the ground next to JJ.

“What’s up?” Kaili asked, a small smile laced her lips. It felt weird asking such a normal question.

“You know, the usual. Surviving a zombie apocalypse, you?” JJ was quick with his comeback, he always was.

She couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, “yeah? Same but I feel like saying this is ‘surviving’ is a stretch.”

JJ sighed, “to be honest, me, too. I feel like we’re all starting to hate each other and I don’t think I can do it if we do end up hating each other. I mean, I’m pretty sure John B hates me for leaving him.”

Kaili watched JJ as his shoulders slumped forward, his body almost curling into itself. “He doesn’t hate you. John B made a choice and you made yours.”

“Yeah, but now he’s stuck there with Sarah and Wheezie and we both know Wheezie can’t fight for shit. If he needs help, he practically has no one.” JJ said concern in his voice and though Kaili wanted to defend Wheezie, she knew that he was right. Her heart did clench when he spoke about the girl though, she missed her a lot.

“Hey, Sarah can hold her own. I’ve seen her fight. And remember, he had a choice to come with you, too. He could’ve changed his mind at any moment but he didn’t because he knew that you two had different paths. There’s no way he’s upset with you.”

“I guess. I just feel like I’m the only one in this group that feels bad about leaving the other, you know? Maybe John B understands and doesn’t feel bad because he chose to stay because Sarah chose to stay and he’s with her and Pope chose to leave because Kie chose to leave and he’s with her and where does that leave me? Outside, thinking about how it seems so easy for everyone to leave me and so hard for me to leave everyone.”

Kaili let his words sink in and she does see it through his eyes, maybe he was even right. His friends weren't really thinking about him when they chose if they wanted to stay or go because it was their partners who decided. She didn’t know what to say and how to comfort him so she stayed silent, reaching her hand out to touch his arm.

JJ looked at her hand on his arm before reaching his hand over and covering hers with his, “maybe I also followed Pope because I think he needs me more than John B does even if I wanted to stay with John B. I don’t know. My head is jumbled and I don’t know what I’m saying. It’s late and the bus broke down and everything sucks.”

“I understand,” Kaili started, leaning her head onto his shoulder before jolting back up in a sitting position, “excuse me, the bus did what?”

“Oh yeah,” JJ motioned back to the supposed hunk of junk behind them, “it started making this noise on the interstate like an hour ago and Kelce was able to drive it to an exit and into this weird woods area. It’s not completely broken down as in like it turned off on us but I think the old girl has run her course.”

Kaili knew that it was coming so she didn’t know why she was so upset that it happened so soon. Only two days after John B had called it, maybe he cursed it. She felt herself not able to breathe thinking about how they had to take the route by foot and if they’d make it. Maybe they’ll be able to fix the bus or even take another car. She doesn’t know how to hijack a car but maybe she could try. Was it Topper, they said that stole the bus? She couldn’t remember, it was so long ago. When she came to, she felt pressure on both sides of her face, her vision clearing as JJ’s face came into view.

“Breathe,” he said slowly, mimicking labor breathing exercises. “There, you go. Keep breathing.”

She blinked away her panic and tried to shake his hands off the side of her face but JJ didn’t allow her.

“You’re with three pogues, here. We grew up fixing cars, stealing them, and camping. You’re going to be okay.” and though those words should’ve made her feel worse, it did calm her down. She was supposed to be surrounded by people who knew their way around machinery and the outdoors, she was supposed to be fine.

Morning arrived and they were most definitely not fine. Turns out that when she had gone back to try and sleep, the commotion she heard outside in the morning was the boys fighting over the look of the engine as they took it apart to see what was wrong and in the midst of doing that, they lost a piece. Which then, in turn, made them actually fight each other.

Kaili ran out to the sound of Kiara shouting. She had thought that they were being overrun by zombies but no, all she saw was Kelce and JJ throwing punches and Topper having Pope up against the bus as he pulled his arm back to throw another punch. Kiera hopped up on Topper’s back, wrapping her arms around his neck so that it would restrict his airflow and that he had to concentrate on getting her off instead of punching Pope. Kaili ran over to Kelce and JJ, jumping directly between the boys, making her flush her chest against Kelce and her back against JJ.

“Stop it!” The girl hissed, staring Kelce right in his face. “You want to talk about things we cannot afford? A fight this loud in the woods when a zombie can pop up at any moment and end this fight for you is one of those things.”

“This idiot here lost the piece on purpose!” Kelce growled but lowered his voice.

“That makes no sense, why would I even do that?” JJ on the other hand, did not. He tried to nudge Kaili to the side to attempt to take another hit at Kelce but Kaili gripped onto the front of Kelce to prevent her from moving.

“Stop!” Her whisper yelling surprisingly caught the attention of the other fight happening next to them. Kiara finally got off of Topper whose face was bleeding and neck had scratches on it. “Are you guys crazy? Why would anyone lose a vital piece on purpose when this bus is our only source of transportation? Come on, think about it.”

“Oh, I’ve had a lot of time to think about it,” Kelce chuckled darkly, taking a step forward, pushing Kaili further into JJ’s chest, “I’ve thought about it all last night. Wondering why on earth would he misplace anything this morning when he can have more nights outside of the bus with you all over him. Trust me, I’ve thought about it.”

“Seems like you’ve been fantasizing to me, buddy,” JJ said behind a dumbfounded Kaili.

She had deduced that Kelce probably saw her and JJ last night by the fire but she hadn’t done anything with JJ. There wasn’t even a tiny speck of a romantic spark between the two.

“Me…all over JJ?” Kaili had to wrap her head around what he was saying.

“I know what I saw.”

“I don't think you do because what you saw was two friends having a conversation,” Kaili insisted.

Kelce didn’t say anything as he took a step back and crossed his arms in front of his chest, staring down at Kaili.

“Let’s get back on the bus before whatever you guys had attracted with all the screaming finally comes our way,” Kaili huffed, pushing past Kelce.

When Kaili had climbed onto the bus, followed by the rest of her friends, she made her way to the back bedroom. She needed space right now to think about what they were going to do next. Of course, space was not something she was granted when Kelce slowly came into the bedroom and shut the door behind him.

“So, you’re fucking JJ now?” Kelce asked her as if he had wanted to know her favorite color. His eyes studied her movements and she hated when he did that.

“No, I’m not. You’d know that if you had just asked.”

“Didn’t look like I needed to ask when he was holding your face like you two had just kissed.” Kelce spat the words like they were foul in his mouth.

“I’m not going to apologize for how it /looked/ like, Kelce. How you interpret my friendship with other people is not my responsibility.”

“Of course it isn’t. I guess I’m just making shit up in my mind then, huh?” He pressed but his tone came out a bit different. It sounded a little less angry and a little more something that Kaili couldn’t place.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve asked you once before, I’m going to ask you again. Do you like him?”

Annoyed, Kaili glared at Kelce before parroting his words, “I’ve told you once before and I’ll tell you again, I like everyone here.”

“No, you don’t get to do that. You were really close to him at the house and now you were really up close and personal with him last night.”

“Guess who else I was really up close and personal with at the house, Kelce? You! You seem to forget, I’ve fucked you.” Kaili reminded him and for some reason, he had winced at her tone.

“Don’t play dumb, Kaili. Stupid doesn’t look good on you.”

“What do you mean? Come on, use your words, Kelce, since you’re so good at it.” Kaili pressed but her hands were shaking. She had clasped them behind her back to hide it from the man in front of her. “Do I want to date him? The answer is no.” She spoke before he could answer her question. She didn’t think that Kelce needed reassurance that she still liked him or wanted to be with him. Things were so hot and heavy back at that house but after Rafe, they had been a bit distant with each other and she knew why. He was grieving and so was she, they needed space. Maybe they still do but he had no right to talk to her the way he did just because he thought that she had moved on with someone else.

“You love me?” Kelce asked, his eyes piercing hers.

“Are you listening to yourself? How are you going to ask if I fucked JJ and then ask if I love you in the same conversation. You move through thoughts so fluid while I’m getting whiplash in this river rapids ride. You make everything so black and white, things are not that simple.” Kaili had replied, sitting down on the bed with a sigh. She put her face in her hands.

“We’re in the middle of an apocalypse, Kaili, love might just be the simplest thing right now,” Kelce let out a humorless laugh before leaning on the wall across from her. He had crossed his arms in front of his chest, the muscles that he had, protruding through his shirt sleeve.

“What does love have to do with this?” She questioned, exasperated, running her hands down her face and then looking at him in his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean us. You wouldn’t touch me until I admitted that I like you and now you won’t trust me until I say I love you?”

“I never said I don’t trust you and I know we’re not exclusive so I don’t feel like I’ve been cheated if you had slept with someone else. It just seems like every time I turn around, you’re getting closer to JJ. It would be different if you were like that with everyone and every guy but you’re not. Don’t lie to me, Kaili, you’re not like that with everyone.”

“Oh my God, Kelce.” Kaili’s shoulders dropped as she shook her head, “he’s my friend. I’m closer to him than I am to anyone else because he and I have no one else. No, let me finish,” she cut him off as he opened his mouth to say something, “you had Rafe and Topper. John B had Sarah, Kiera had Pope. That left Wheezie, JJ, and I on the outs. Yes, we have a connection and we like each other, you and I. There’s an obvious attraction between us and we talk but I did get close with Wheezie and JJ, too. So, now with everyone that’s gone, you still have Topper and Pope still has Kiera. JJ’s all by himself and yeah, that’s my friend, so I’m going to talk to him and I’m going to be close to him. I’m not going to apologize for finding a platonic connection with someone.”

Kelce stared at Kaili for what seems like eternity before he pushed himself off the wall and move to kneel in between her legs. He had slowly brought his hand up to her face and she leaned her cheek into his palm, “I’m sorry. It’s been a stressful week to say the least. I just– if you had seen me do this with a girl out there. Would you feel something?”

“Would I feel jealous? Yes, knowing full well we’re not exclusive, I’d actually be pretty pissed off if I found out you were with another girl. Though I’d also take into account that you’re mourning, we’re all grieving and some people need to be comforted. Bottom line, I’d ask you first before causing a scene.”

His thumb stroked her cheek bone as he wrapped his other arm around her waist to pull her flush against him, “You told me that I'd be using you as a distraction and that caring was a distraction. After everything that happened with Rafe and then losing his sisters right after, I feel so much for you that no matter how you feel for me, if everyone’s life was on the line right now, I’d choose you. I know that I’ve been distant and I’ve been processing and I’ve been mean but that’s how much I feel for you and maybe I don’t know exactly what love is because my whole life my parents threw money at me and even in a fucking apocalypse, my little sister chose her friends over me, but when I look at you I know that I want to protect you. I want to be with you and call you mine and okay, I lied, I’d go insane if you told me that you slept with JJ. Even though now I know better and I promise to never accuse you two of being anything other than friends again…even if I don’t like how he was touching you last night. It wasn’t him that I was angry at. I’ve been so in my head that I’ve gone the extra step without letting you know.”

And Kaili would be damned if she didn’t admit that she did love Kelce at this moment. She loved them all, sure, but when it comes to who she’d save if it was up to her, yeah, she’d choose him, too. She’d choose him every time.

“You’re dumb,” Kaili said with a smile, tears stinging her eyes.

“I’m dumb?”

“Yes, you make me angry and then you make me absolutely melt for you.”

Kelce did chuckle at that and the smile lingered on his lips as she pulled on the collar of his shirt to press her lips against his.

“I do promise you though, the minute you accuse me of being with someone else without asking me in private first, we’re done.”

“Understood. You’re mine, no one else’s.”

“Hold on, I never agre–” but Kaili was interrupted by a kiss so deep she didn’t remember what she was going to say. She didn't mind Kelce laying claim, though she thought that they had already been a thing since they had slept together back at the house. Since Kelce didn’t want to touch her unless she had agreed to seeing something more with him than just a lay. She knew that they’d always be more than just a lay though but that’s what scared her the first time. She knew that the minute she admitted that she was in love with Kelce Smith, she’d be done for.

Kaili adjusted her backpack, the straps digging into her shoulders. She angrily watched her step as she kept her brows furrowed at the ground. She hated camping and worst of all, she hated being scared. Now, walking through the woods in the middle of an apocalypse was a promise of both.

“Guys, you’re gonna wanna see this!” she heard Topper call from ahead of her. She looked behind her to Kelce, who insisted that she had to be ahead of her so that he can see if anything’s coming to attack her but also insisted on complaining about how slow she was walking. He had motioned her to keep following Topper’s voice, even coming up behind her to press his hands against her back pack and gave her a little push so that she could move a bit faster which pissed her off. When they finally caught up with Topper and JJ, the group stood there in awe. There was a big wooden gate in front of them and a wooden fence that rounded off to the side.

“What do you think is in there?” Kiara asked softly.

“How many of you are there?” A voice boomed from up top of the gate. Kaili whipped her head around to make sure that the voice wasn’t attracting more than just their attention.

“Six!” Topper responded almost immediately, receiving a smack in the head by JJ.

“You have no idea what their business is, why would you say that?” JJ questioned the older boy, wary of the sudden company.

“Are any of you injured or bitten?” The voice bellowed again.

This time it was Kelce who had responded, denying that any of them were hurt. JJ looked like he was about to lose his mind if one more person interacted with this being but before he could say another word, the gates slowly began opening. There, behind the doors, appeared a woman who was beckoning the group to come into what she called, the community. Topper was the first to lead followed by Pope and Kiera, who dragged JJ in with them. Kaili wasn’t far behind with Kelce at her back. Kaili couldn’t believe her eyes once they were finally inside. The gates had closed behind them but Kaili barely even noticed. Surrounding them were small cars and medium-sized RVs, people laying on blankets on the ground, others gardening, and there were children running around chasing each other. Laughter and conversation filled the air as people around them greeted them and talked amongst themselves. It was a community and they were surrounded by the true definition of life for the first time in a while.

Taglist: @downbytheouterbanks @annab-nana @anxietyandtacos @jellyfishbeansontoast @jiaraendgame @lowkeynopressure @thegreatestofheck @tomfreakinghollandneedsaoscar @phuvioqhile

#liab #kelce fic #outer banks zombie fic

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multimuseficreblogs · 3 years

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welcome to my library my friends, all are welcome but minors please stay away from smut/nsfw.

as a side note: this is constantly being updated so expect more to come soon.

click under read more for more information about my page!

i hope you enjoy your time here and happy reading!! ❀ dylan o'brien + characters ❀ evan peters characters ❀ johnny depp + characters ❀ lewis pullman characters ❀ marvel ❀ oscar isaac characters ❀ outer banks ❀ pedro pascal & characters ❀ teen wolf ❀ top gun: maverick ❀ misc. celebrities ↳ including chase stokes, rudy pankow, drew starkey, tom holland, joseph quinn, madelyn cline, florence pugh, victoria pedretti, harry styles and more to come ❀ misc. fandoms ↳ including american horror story, the maze runner, you (netflix), criminal minds, knives out, the mandalorian, jurassic park/world, pirates of the caribbean, the vampire diaries/originals, euphoria, outer banks, wednesday (netflix), stranger things, the last of us, the witcher, jennifer's body, five nights at freddy's and more to come ❀ all gn and male reader fics ❀ all plus size reader fics 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 ❀ halloween binge-reading night 🎃 ↳ including slashers, zombie + paranormal fics

there are no rules but things to keep in mind:

if i have reblogged anything that is a repost of your work, please contact me with a link to your original work and i will delete my reblog asap.

i don't read all of the fics that i reblog but this is a judgment-free zone, i reblog things that have heavy warnings/triggers so please read the warnings before you proceed with any fic. i don't want anyone getting offended or triggered. if a fic i reblogged does not have the proper triggers listed, please let me know so that i can take it down!

if you are following me, you will most likely be spammed here and there with some fic recs. i will try to put most of them in my queue so that it doesn't take up your whole feed.

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inknopewetrust · 2 years

Note

Oh baby part two thoughts:

(This is much shorter sorry but I’m very sleep deprived)

Ugh I forgot how much I dislike girls like Carol

THE HAND ON THE LOWER BACK - YES SIR I’LL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT SIR

Jesus Christ Eddie I’m already in love you don’t need to pull out the leather jacket too

Oh Katie Yang you legend (unintentional wingmen *chef’s kiss*)

Oh fun little fact - I rewatched ST2 three times before realising Tina is Sarah Cameron from Outer Banks which was one of my favourite shows on Netflix for a while

I love this classroom reflection and Eddie’s little comments

“Could you imagine miss perfect and the freak having a baby?” FUCK ALL THE WAY OFF CAROL - I’VE ALREADY BOUGHT THE FUCKING MINIVAN AND CAR SEATS

Oof protective Eddie just hits different man

I wish we had seen more of the Hellfire Club in the show, the love they have for each other is so sweet and pure and I love those boys

Edward Bartholomew Theodore Munson IV you could ask me to walk around a sewer in my nicest white pants and shoes and I would ask for how long JUST ASK ME OUT

Good lord I do not miss Season 2 Stancy and god do I hope that’s not the direction they’re going in for ST5

Oh man being an Aussie - losing ONJ sucked but Sandy is a rite of passage - I’m pretty sure every Aussie girl has dressed like her at least once and that brings me some comfort

The Party in Season 2 are still so baby and I miss it

Yes YES - grovel Edward, beg for my forgiveness

“He looks so cool…” - so it was brotherly love at first sight for Dustin huh

And I love how you’ve depicted that even Eddie has some internal biases - he hates being called freak or hearing his friends being teased and yet he uses the nickname Zombie Kid for Will - it’s perfect characterisation

Fuck now I want kids with Eddie

Also I want to go watch Rocky Horror with the young adults of ST so bad - Nancy and Steve are Janet and Brad to a T (at least the first season)

I love men with long hair - bonus points if it’s curly - I can’t explain I just *clenches fist*

Bilbo not acting up so his parents can fall further for each other - love it

“I think I’m a Frenchie who wants to be a Rizzo.” - holy shit *incredible*

Oh fuck it’s all gonna go wrong at the party isn’t it

I CANNOT WAIT FOR YOU TO READ PART 3

ONJ is a cultural icon and as an American who grew up obsessed with grease because of my mom, having her legacy admired in my fic is my way of honoring her. I also wrote it before she passed so it makes it bittersweet.

Katie Yang is a fucking legend and she will come in clutch during part 3. Just you wait!

#answered

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homebody-nobody · 2 years

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WIP game!

tagged by @largedenominationsplease

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips. I have deemed that this isn’t just for writing either. Sketch titles? Comics? DnD campaigns? If you have an unfinished project, it counts!!

okay so here's the thing. I've been using my google drive to write original fic and fanfiction since I was fifteen, so. This is gonna be lawwwwng.

FANFICTION

outer banks

Engineering School AU notes home(where your heart is set in stone) home outline Jiara AUs Jiara week JJ's Lesbian Older Sister Meta katie's bday smut sincerity is scary outline the Parcels of Tannyhill

bellarke

"I got a dog" (She Returned) More Broken than Before All These Words I've Heard Before An Unexpected Guest Begginings of wicken fic (YOIKES) Bellarke fwp Bits and Pieces and To Be Used Clarke's Greek Pantheon Photography project Dancing in the dark devil's backbone - the civil wars domestic!bellarke bc im trash fire and stone (and a swingin trombone) Hot Boys and Indie Music (Make for a Pretty Great Summer) I have to tell you these flowers are for a dead person I'm Hers and She is Mine Library AU Library crush - bellarke fic more 30 minute fictions with the best friend Museum!Bellamy Rebel!Clarke hs au Silent Warrior, Screaming Youth SingleDad!Bellamy so go ahead and make your mark on me so go ahead and make your mark on me (REWRITE) Soulmate Words sweeter than sugar (colder than ice) the Bellamy Thing when the door sings closed you held my hand (and called me darling)

fleeting hyperfixations

beth x benny bones OC jatp college au jerin shoni fic ideas WayHaught Z nation

Percy Jackson

PJO lesbian Athena thing Solangelo??

Star Wars

Jyndor Lex and Gage

Voltron

klance high school AU shallura dancer au cause i have no self control Voltron Voltron AU#1 Young - The Chainsmokers

ORIGINAL WRITING

DnD

Cadogan Druhaven

other

A writer in venice throws his typewriter out the window one day Ace and Arthur Apparently sleep hates me Ari and Mel Band story Blacksmith Boy Brett and Nia Calliope and Wren long Castor and Pollux Chance and Ezra Denim and leather; Fire and ice Draconic Novice Draconic Novice Notes Dystopian society Elias and Charlie Ellie and Aaron Escape For Ryn's Birthday happy lesbians Henry, Tial, and Ellia Honos et Veritas I don't know what this was supposed to be but it was gay Isabelle the Ghost Whisperer Kira and Nell Kisae Dwellden Kyto and Petr Mark and Joanna start Men of the Moors Modern Magick modern magick Development Journey Modern Magick Trilogy Plot Outline Modern Magick Worldbuilding Modern Magick: Fire Modern Magick: Water Morgan and the Witch's son Nell doesn't look like a mafia princess Notes-Draconic Novice Paige and Katie Parker and Rae pirates story quarantine podcast Reece tells Kai that Jason is alive and he starts to cry Richard and Gabrielle? Runaway Mage Sign language zombie killers Some of Us Alive Stub The first thing he notices about her is her left hand The Four Suits the hill that grew the lindstrom sisters (bank robbers) the Rider General this is sad This wasn't where he wanted to be vegas motorcycle gang Vyvinuly wars beyond men wars beyond men rewrite (? third person ?) When War Comes white-Collar Trash wolves

so yeah there's a lot lol

tagging: @jojameswinter @a92vm @jiaraisinthegoodplace @smileymikey and whoever else wants to!!

#wip game #ask game #long post

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thran-duils · 4 years

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Tag game

I was tagged by the best @sherrybaby14 <3

rules: tag some people you want to get to know better/catch up with and then answer these questions

last song: Tangerine by Glass Animals

last movie: #alive. we got halfway through it and i had had enough zombies for one night. and today i can’t take a nap because i’m too afraid to. lmao

currently reading: “Why I Am No Longer Talking to White People About Race” by Reni Eddo-Lodge, “Gilded Wolves” by Roshani Chokshi, and “Good Talk” by Mira Jacob

currently watching: too much. supernatural (*sobs*), west wing, dark, outlander, schitt’s creek, anne with an e, orange is the new black (finally watching the 7th season!), outer banks, babylon berlin

currently craving: the mini cherry pie waiting on top of the fridge for our dessert after dinner. i’ve been wanting pie all week and this mini one is only 370cal for the whole thing, so that will be a nice dessert to share!

currently working on: learning spanish and german. writing a new fic series. debating about starting up my own etsy to sell art.

currently playing: not playing any games. i still haven't finished KH3 and it’s been over a year. nice.

I’ll tag: @greenappleeyes, @splendidcas, @imagine-you-are, @missjenniferb, @death-unbecomes-you, and feel free to take, anyone else!

#meme #i need to sleeeeep #i didn't sleep well last night

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random-child334 · 3 years

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Ok y’all request are open! I promise I’m not that bad at writing! I also have a wattpad you can find @Lancey_mIester on wattpad! You can comment, private message of request and show or ship related one-shot

Oh and I also do edit request cause I always have blockage in editing so go check my page so you can see the work on my edits if you want one

Here’s a list of shows and movies I am a bit familiar with

My favorite: Steven universe

Alvin and the chipmunks

The loud House

Outer banks (have seen season two)

Hercules

Tangled

Luca

A.N.T Farm

Sofia the first

Fish hooks

The Owl House

A goofy movie

Gravity Falls

The little mermaid

Frozen 1 & 2

Boy meets world

Maid Sama (only seen half of it so far)

Harley Quinn

Titans

Miraculous Ladybug

Star vs. the forces of Evil

ICarly

Wizards of waverly place

Victorious

Zombies 1 & 2

Zootopia

Wreck it Ralph

Kakegurui

Umbrella Acadamy

Voltron: Legendary Defenders

Kindergarten

Stranger Things

Hamilton

Tangled: The Series

Girl meets world

Phineas and ferb

Ravens home

Sam and cat

YouTubers

Any disney movie

Coraline

Corpse bride

Descendants

The tinker bell movies

Some suggestions would be much appreciated since I usually don’t have any other ideas I saw @universallywriting do some converse fanfics and I have been binge reading this things like crazy, I’m currently in the middle of reading their fanfic wheels, go check that out it’s really good!

I also do poetry here’s an example of a poem I’ve written that I really like so you all know that I don’t completely suck at writing fan fics and poetry

Love with a plot twist:

The way the wind flowed through her hair,

and the sunshine danced off her ginger waves.

I knew I'd always want her there.

To have and to hold and treat her with care.

No matter what, it's she I will always crave.

But now, as her hair is like fire,

her hands like ice.

My gaze on her never wavered.

My Vision blurring with heartache I began to acquire.

All at once, I could feel the river fall down my face.

The tears.

My heart pained for her.

The tears.

All these years.

My heart Quaked for her.

My world began to fall,

As I watched her being buried in her six

feet deep hole. Suddenly, my world began to feel so small.

Her tomb stone stood so tall.

It then hit that would be the last I see of my dear heart and soul.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

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cute-sucker · 4 months

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note: so yes i'm having sarah cameron brainrot :))) ESP her being dominant + in an apocalypse au !! please send me requests about her i'm begging :(

˚❀༉‧₊˚.˚❀༉‧₊˚.˚❀༉‧₊˚.˚❀༉‧₊˚.˚❀༉‧₊˚.˚❀༉‧₊˚.˚❀༉‧₊˚.˚❀༉‧₊˚.˚❀༉‧₊˚.˚❀༉‧₊˚.˚❀༉‧₊˚.˚❀༉‧₊˚.˚❀༉‧₊˚.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would lead you on you gently, with your hand wrapped around her pinkie as you guides you to a safer place. you would have her bandana in your mouth to keep quiet, and she'd make sure you didn't trip because you were too clumsy for your own good.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would sit you on her lap when you got too silent, and try to coax the words out of you with gentle words, "yeah, what do you need? i've got some beans we can share, yeah?" and you would pucker your lips, tears welling up in your eyes.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would know how stressful the situation is, and so when you got too sad, she'd try to pop in a dvd, a silly episode of winnie the poo as she held in you in her arms. you would fall a sleep immediately, warm in her strong arms, slobbering all over her sweater.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would try to make you smile at the weirdest times, while the two of you were running away, she'd try to give you her smile, winking at you while telling you that you were her smart sweet girl.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would fold you in her arms so tightly, you'd succumb to sleep in minutes, and if you felt her arms unwrap from you, you would wake up, fear striking your soul that she was gone.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would know exactly when you were going to fall, ready to protect you at all costs, and sometimes she knew when you felt too tired, as you toppled down, she'd catch you without a breeze sometimes causing raised eyebrows from pogues.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would tell you to pucker your lips before kissing you, telling you that you looked prettiest right next to her, relishing the way that you blushed during sunset, the dewy colors matching right next to her girl.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would have sharp knifes tapped to her sides, and sometimes when she didn't pay you attention, you'd wrap your fingers around the weapons, pretending to drop them. she's immediately scold you for your reckless behaviour, and you'd settle a shy smile on your face. you always got what you wanted.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would make you a solid meal, cracking some eggs, and sometimes when it was good some bread and beans, because it was a necessity to have you eat. you'd be sitting in her lap, as bouncing to something on the radio, smiling with a full stomach.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would be the worst when you put yourself in danger, sneaking out to the woods to be a fairy, because you felt whimsical, and you would sob telling her nothing was fun anymore. she'd coo telling you it wasn't safe anymore and if you wanted to be a good girl you had to listen to her.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would tell you about star signs when the two of you were on the run, and you forgot all the dangers of the world staring at her explain things to you, her finger pointed at the sky, and a determined look on her face.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would get overwhelmed sometimes, and she hated when you were near her when it happened, because she needed to take care of you, but instead you would take things into hand, braiding her long hair, and soothing her by holding her hand. she would fall asleep from your soft hands, and wake up with a sleepy look on her face.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would hate it when you kissed her in front of people, hating the PDA of it all, the way that jj would tease her about how soft she was with you, and then she'd give you a secret smile while you gave her a knowing look.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would ramble to you in her sleep, fingers grasping for you, seeking you even she was asleep, and you'd rest your hand on her warm cheek, as you tried to nestle closer to her soft body.

sarah cameron in an apocalypse would take care of you no matter what <3

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scandalousfemale · 4 years

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🧟‍♀️ Love Is a Battlefield 🧟‍♂️

Chinese!oc x Kelce

Warnings: this is an apocalyptic zombie fic, so there will be death, murder, blood, vomit, fighting, weapons, uncomfortable adult themes (such as smut), unrequited love, losing friends, heart ache, arguing, crying, running away, death of family and friends. Each individual chapters will have their own specific warnings! Please be aware that you are responsible for the media that you consume.

Updated every Monday

WC: 41,788

Chapters (yes, they’re all named after 80’s songs):

End of the World As We Know It

The Safety Dance

Thriller

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Careless Whipser .5 Don’t You Want Me?

Running Up That Hill

When Doves Cry

What’s Love Got To Do With It?

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Don’t You Forget About Me

Eye Of The Tiger

Everybody Wants To Rule The World

I’m Still Standing

Epilogue

Please message me to be added to the taglist!

#kelce fic #kelce outer banks #oc x kelce #outer banks fic #apocalyptic zombie au #IM SO EXCITED I COULD JUMP AROUND

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scandalousfemale · 4 years

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Ch. 3 Thriller

Chinese!OC x Kelce

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Zombies were meant for apocalyptic movies and TV shows where one could binge watch for a day and return to their mundane life. But something happened, a lab test went wrong and suddenly the outbreak started. This story takes place exactly three weeks after zombies slowly started to take over the planet.

Series Master list

WC: 4,536

Warnings: Remember last chapter when Kaili said people were a little more evil than zombies? And remember how I kept mentioning that you are responsible for the media that you consume? Well, this is the chapter where it is applied. Less zombies and more evil men, violence, death, blood, weapons, guns, knives, stabbing, shooting, cussing, killing of people who are not zombies, a guy licks Kaili’s neck without her consent and is gross about it, mentions of wanting to vomit, I think that’s all the important warnings.

A/N: The SUPPORT I get on this fic blows my mind. I know that zombie fics are an acquired taste and not a lot of people like it, I get it. But those who do, wow. Thank you for allowing me to do this and giving me motivation to keep doing it. You all are incredible.

Kaili woke with a start when she heard a row of banging on the side of the bus. Her forehead slamming against the ceiling before she could process the noise she was hearing. The windows rattled and so did the plates in the cabinets. With her heart pounding out of her chest, she grabbed the machete lodged in between the wall and the mattress before letting her feet hit the cold floor.

As fast as she was on the ground, she was off of it again. JJ had turned to push her out of his way and onto the sofa, ordering her to stay seated, as if she was a pet who’d listen to his orders. Over her dead body, and maybe even then.

“Who the fuck?” Topper narrowed his eyes as he peeked out the window, “there are about six guys out there,” another bag came crashing against the bus. All Kaili could hear was the sound of the men laughing and Wheezie sobbing in the back. Kaili, against JJ’s wishes, got up to look out the window as well, seeing the guys from the gun trade.

“Kelce,” she called to get his attention but she didn’t need to because he was already watching her as he clicked the magazine into his gun, “it’s the guys from earlier.”

“What did you do, Kelce?” Kiara hissed, pulling a shotgun from underneath the sink that Kaili didn’t even know was there.

“Come on out, pretty girl!” The greasy man yelled.

“If we don’t meet them outside, the windows are going to break and then we’ll have a bigger problem,” Kaili informed.

“A bigger problem than what? Dying?” John B limped his way into the common area of the bus, a hand over his wound and the other draped across Sarah’s shoulders.

“Come out or we’ll shoot our way in!”

And she did. Kaili slipped around Rafe who was standing by the door and pushed her way out, the machete in her hand and the knives still attached to her belt and thigh holster that she never really takes off.

“See, I told you she was beautiful,” the man chuckled to his friends and Kaili could’ve sworn that they looked a little bit intoxicated.

Kaili scanned the scene in front of her. The only thing illuminating their faces was the moonlight. The ground was wet from the rain that had poured upon them a couple of hours ago, which didn’t help with how cold that made the weather. The green-eyed boy wasn’t amongst the men that stood before her, one looking more disgusting than the rest. The smirk on their faces when she appeared made her wonder what promises the greasy guy had made to them for them all to agree to come with him.

Kaili widened her stance, preparing for a fight as she held the blade in front of her. It was difficult, being a mixture of scared shitless and annoyed that she had to even go through this. She heard a couple of clicks behind her and she knew that at least she wasn’t alone in this fight. A gun came parallel to her and she could see it was Kiara pointing the shotgun at one of the guys.

“What do you want?”

“Well, you see, I’m still really sore at that boy,” he pointed behind her and Kaili didn’t need to turn around to know it was Kelce he was pointing at. “And honestly, he hurt my feelings,” the man snickered at his own words.

“Doubt that,” Kiara muttered next to her and Kaili felt the strong need to protect the girl. Even though she knew that her shotgun has way more power than Kaili’s own hands have.

“As much as he hurt your face?” JJ called out, the humor in his voice deadly.

“Semantics,” the man’s voice suddenly turned just as threatening and though Kaili wasn’t exactly sure he was using the word correctly, she wasn’t truly in the mood to sit and argue over the English language.

“I want you, darlin’, I’ve always wanted a little doll to play with, and let’s face it, you kind of owe me after what th-,” his words were cut short when JJ interrupted him again.

The man’s eyes wild as he bellowed, “stop interrupting me!” For the whole campground to hear but no matter the ruckus the men have already made, she noticed that no one else wanted to get involved. They didn’t even peek out the window to see what was going on. Cowards.

Kaili was still so angry at the situation that she didn’t register the greasy man pointing a handgun right between JJ’s eyes and pulling the trigger. It took him a couple of clicks before she found herself lunging toward the man and that broke out to an actual fight. She didn’t know who was fighting who or if anyone was seriously injured. She just knew that if the man was smart enough to release the safety of the gun, JJ’s blood would be splattered all over her now.

She couldn’t lie though, the man knew how to fight. With every step forward and every time her blade swung at him, he’d dodge it. Taking a step back, finally grabbing her wrist so hard she was sure he could break it if he wanted to. He spun her around. One of her hands pressed at her back that was now flushed against his front and another hand with the blade too close to her neck for her comfort.

“Stop it!” The man ordered, next to her ear. Every wriggle that she made caused him to painfully twist the blade in her wrist closer to her skin but she refused to close her eyes and give in to the man. She told herself that her shaking hands were from the cold and the pain, it wasn’t from the fear that bubbled up inside of her. The weakness that she suddenly felt by not knowing how to properly fight. All she remembered thinking was that she’d rather die than be taken by this man. She looked at the company she kept, Kiara has blood splattered all over her shirt, no doubt she used the butt of her shotgun to snap some noses, and JJ’s face in the moonlight was scarier than any horror movie she’s ever seen. He spat out blood but it still decorated his teeth as he pulled his lips up into a snarl.

“Let her go,” the voice came from Kelce. She couldn’t see him which meant he was either beside them or behind them but he was close enough for her to feel his proximity.

“Put the gun down or I’ll slit her throat right here,” the man said next to her ear, pressing the knife against her skin now, causing her to whimper. Kelce stepped from behind the man directly in front of Kaili. His eyes did a quick scan of her body and noting if anything was off about her and finally meeting her eyes. He did not take his eyes off of hers even as the man behind her started to speak.

“I’m only taking what I’m owed and that’s it. But you children have to make it so hard on yourselves. Don’t you know there’s a pandemic to worry about? A zombie virus? This way, there’s one less mouth to feed. And damn it if it isn’t a gorgeous mouth,” he more so whispered the last line as she the man leave a wet trail on her neck as the man ran his tongue across her skin. If she wasn’t so frozen from the action, she’d have vomited right there.

It was as if the man knew Kelce’s next actions, calculated it with his friends because when Kelce did not hesitate to lunge at the man, his friends were already grabbing onto arms to keep him where he was. Away from her.

“I’ll cut your fucking tongue out, you disgusting piece of—“ he got cut off by a blow to his stomach as the greasy man’s friends laughed but kept him upright and Kaili got why they were so keen to keep him right in front of her. Because no one else could see what the greasy man was doing to her with the way that he was angled and also Kelce’s friends didn’t have a clear shot so they couldn’t attack. Or so they thought.

Kaili heard the bang before she saw a body drop right beside her and she took the man’s shock as an opportunity to pull away from his grasp and kick him hard on his chest, causing him to topple over. She saw more bodies drop but she didn’t pay attention to them. She couldn’t. All she could think about was the man who had held her and touched her without her consent. He tried inching back on his elbows as he unintelligently tried to come up with an excuse about how he was just joking or how he didn’t know how to say hi but she couldn’t process his words. Something in her wasn’t clicking, all she felt was pure rage.

Kaili moved so fast that no one even realized she threw a knife until it landed just below the man’s testicles, “I’m letting you know, I do not miss, ever. You try to come at me like that again and I’ll fucking castrate you,” she said the blubbering man with every intention to leave him alive but then she thought to the kids in this camp. The other girls he’d come across that he wanted and without another breath, she brought her larger blade down onto his stomach, pushing the end of the handle so that it would puncture in deeper. She must’ve blacked out from the rage because the next thing she knew, she was being hauled onto a moving bus as bullets were flying by her.

She tried to ground herself by counting the people on the bus with her. Making sure that everyone was still there. Everyone was still alive. Everyone was still alive. Everyone was still alive. Was everyone still alive?

“Can you look at me?” Kiara asked her as she squats in front of the motionless girl. She had what looked like a wet cloth in her hands, as she angled her head toward the sink, being careful not to touch Kaili so suddenly but even when the girl had seen it coming, she still flinched. As she was getting the blood washed off of her palms she gathered that Topper had shot the first guy in the leg while Rafe had already started driving the ‘getaway car’. She also learned that no one had shot to kill, exactly, and that’s why they started shooting at the bus for retaliation. Which also means that she was the only one with literal blood on her hands tonight.

Kaili didn’t say anything after Kiara finished washing her hands and she stayed mute as Sarah pulled her into the bathroom for her to shower for a second and change her clothes into something less drenched with blood. Sarah has given her an oversized t-shirt and basketball shorts that she rolled up at the waist to keep them there.

“We don’t blame you, you know,” Sarah said, her voice low while they were still in the bathroom. Kaili just stared at her reflection. “He could’ve gone after another girl afterward,” Sarah offered.

“I don’t know that. I took his life away but it wasn’t my decision to make.” Kaili rebutted and Sarah winced at her words.

“Even if you were his exception to the rule, Kaili, I know he wouldn’t have spared you. At least that’s what it looked like from where I was standing.”

Kaili’s face scrunched up in disgust at the memory. The feeling of him on her skin. She rolled her bruised wrists and nodded at the girl’s words. Maybe she was right but it didn’t make her feel any better.

She hated the mood on the bus when she finally left the bathroom. Everyone seemed to be on an adrenaline rush chattering quickly and animated until she appeared around the door and the voices went to softly and then to nothing. John B had insisted that he felt better and if he needed more space then he was more than willing to pull the sofa on each side down to make a big bed so if Kaili wanted, she could take the room in the back and she did. She needed the privacy of the door, at least for tonight. She hadn’t even gotten the door closed all the way yet before sobs began wracking through her body. Not caring if the rest of the bus could hear her now, she sat on the floor with her back against the bed as she pulled her knees up to her chest and allowed herself to feel.

She wished that her mom was here so that she could tell her that people needed to change and adapt to new environments and that’s all that she was doing. But she didn’t want to become savage in the midst of it all. Everything about her felt disgusting, the skin that he licked, the hands that were coated with his blood. She wanted nothing to do with it at all but she couldn’t escape herself, even if she wanted to.

As her sobs turned into whimpers and sniffles, she heard the door slide open. Quickly wiping her tears away with the hem of the shirt, she peeked out from beside the bed to see Kelce closing the door behind him. Spotting her eyes, he walked towards the side of the bed that she was on and outstretched his arm, offering her to take his hand, and she did. She allowed him to pull her up and allowed him to lift her onto the bed. Her body curled beside his as her legs draped across his.

“Remind me to ask you to wash that before you give it back,” Kelce smirked but there was sadness in his eyes.

“This yours?” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand again.

“Don’t worry about it,”

“Promise I won’t make a habit out of stealing your clothes,”

“I don’t mind,” Kelce was quiet for a moment, as she began crying again. She didn’t think she would ever stop tonight, “no one blames you or looks at you differently. You know what right?”

“I look at myself differently...maybe I am different. Maybe this is who I am now. A murderer,”

“I’ll let you in on a secret though, if you hadn’t have killed him, I would have.”

“Right,” Kaili said sarcastically through sniffles as she buried her face into Kelce's chest further, trying to get the image out of her mind.

“I’m not joking.” And for some reason, Kaili believed the boy next to her. As his chest rose and fell, they sat in without a word between them. Until, of course, Kaili broke away from him to wipe her tears with the back of her hand but he had reached out before she could. Gently touching her wet cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. The look on his face unreadable as his fingers lingered, hesitantly pulling them back.

“So what’s your story? Not your zombie story, like who were you? Your family?” Kelce inquired, giving her space and not pulling her back against him.

“My mom was a doctor and my dad was an engineer back in China...of course, that doesn’t mean anything here in America. Their degrees don’t hold here. So, they taught me what they knew, they wanted me to have a good life here and I tried. I tried doing pre-med but it didn’t interest me and then I tried prelaw and I was terrible at it” she chuckled, “I almost failed out of university until I found the abnormal psychology extension for the psych program and I fell in love. Obviously it’s not like it matters now anyway. I never graduated and my parents are well” a lump formed in her throat “I don’t think I can ever unsee what they became. If I had just gotten to them sooner, maybe. I don’t know.”

Kelce shook his head, “it’s not your fault. If you’ve gotten to them sooner then you wouldn’t be here right now.”

Kaili shrugged, “so, what’s your story?”

“Same as the rest of them, I guess. My grandfather helped invent the internet.”

“What?”

“Yeah, then he was able to sell his program off to some big company for billions of dollars.”

“Yeah...that’s a typical story for sure.”

“It is where I’m from,'' he said, an edge in his voice “we’d always one-up each other with stories of who has more money. Who had more property and business ventures lined up when they go to an Ivy League school that’s paid off by our parents? It was all superficial but you can get caught up in it,” he smirked more to himself. “But what’s the point now? My father had status and money and now he’s just...dead.”

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Kaili said sincerely, and then she looked at Kelce, “and that your dad chose to do what he did.”

“He did what was best for him,” he defended, looking like what Kaili thought to be as offended. Kaili reached out her hand to place them on top of Kelce’s that was on his lap, carefully tucked away from her legs that still was draped across his.

“I don’t mean to offend you, I’m sorry. I just know that if it came down to it, I wouldn’t have left you. I’d fight with you even if we couldn’t win.”

He looked at their hands and then raised an eyebrow at her before she cleared her throat and pulled her hand back.

“Anyone of you. I wouldn’t leave anyone of you.”

And as if a line of intimacy has been crossed, Kelce had just nodded. Kaili didn’t understand it because she was just laying across him so why was touching his hand any different? Why did it feel different?

Kelce pressed his lips into a hard line as he pushed her legs back and got up from the bed, suddenly cold, he said a quick goodnight before exiting through the doors that separated her from the buzzing noises of the rest of the crew.

As if privacy warranted a revolving door, Wheezie slowly opened the door to her temporary room and squeezed in as if she was sneaking in but Kaili would bet that she was sneaking out of the group instead.

“Hey,” Kaili greeted from her spot on the bed that felt way too comfortable after what she’s been sleeping in.

“Oh, hey! Um, I wasn’t sure if you were asleep or awake, Kelce didn’t tell anyone anything but like it’s going to take a thousand years before we get anywhere because Topper convinced Rafe to drive with the headlights off so we don’t ‘attract’ more zombies,” she rambled while using air quotes, “and I haven’t had a chance to like sleep in this bed yet because someone is always in it but you also look like you could use the company, no one really told me what happened out there because they think I’m too young but I’m not too young. I need to know and I—,”

“Come here,” Kaili patted the spot next to her as she cut Wheezie off. In all fairness, the girl was thirteen and though she might be too young to be exposed to the horrors of this new world, she had to know what she was getting herself into. Wheezie didn’t waste a moment as she took off her glasses, kicked off her shoes, and jumped onto the bed. Pulling a pillow to her face she smiled and mumbled about always being the last to get anything. Kaili gave the younger girl a half-smile as she settled into bed herself.

“What happened?” Wheezie asked in the light of the moon, though her eyes were more closed.

Kaili didn’t know how to respond but she knew that she couldn’t lie to the girl. There might be a day where this girl is the sole survivor and she had to know.

“I killed a man today.”

“You mean a zombie?”

“No,” she sighed, “a man. He wanted to hurt me, he did hurt me. His friends hurt my friends and so I killed him.”

“That explains it,” Wheezie only nodded as if the fact didn’t bother her at all.

When Kaili looked at her, waiting for an explanation, Wheezie only sighed as if feeling her eyes on her, “why Kelce’s so grumpy.”

“I’m not following,” Kaili explained

“He likes you, he’s probably angry that you got hurt.”

“He doesn’t know me.”

“Doesn’t mean he can’t like you. Zombies are roaming the streets, lady, I don’t think now’s the right moment to be asking people to take it slow.” Wheezie huffed and of course, she doesn’t understand. Kaili didn’t expect her to, she was barely a teen. All she knew is that it wasn’t the right time for crushes, for feelings that were complicated enough back when things were normal. And with that, Wheezie turned around and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders leaving Kaili to her thoughts all night.

—

In the morning, Kaili had woken up with Wheezie’s arm draped across her face as the girl was still softly snoring next to her. Her wild hair taking up most of the pillow underneath her head and as Kaili tried very slowly to slip off the bed without waking her, she noticed how small and frail this girl looked. How this cruel world had ripped her innocence away from her.

Softly pushing the door open, she was met with the wide, broad shoulders of Rafe. He stood about a foot taller than her, give or take a couple of inches, so it was easy for him to look over her head onto the bed as he visibly relaxed seeing Wheezie in bed. He didn’t move even as she stepped out of the room and closed the door back up.

“How are you?” The look on his face looked pained as he asked the question as if this man didn’t know how to be civil and kind without difficulty.

“As good as I can be, all things considered.”

“How is she?” Rafe referred to Wheezie and now Kaili knew that there had to be a difference in his upbringing than in Kelce because where Kelce excelled in charisma, Rafe lacked completely. His stiff body still boxed her in against the door, he looked at her expectantly.

“She’s good. She just wanted to sleep in the bed, she said no one had allowed her on it yet so I allowed her on it, no alarm.”

“Oh, okay. Well, just so you know we’re not upset about what you did. We’re not kicking you out or anything.”

“Okay...Thank you?”

He exhaled as he twiddled his thumbs, his eyebrows knitting together.

“Everyone else had asked me to stay here and wait until you guys got up. They’re kind of scouting the area, looking for people here or zombies, whichever they run into first. We reached some pretty nice houses and kind of wanted to retire the bus for a couple of days in case the guys went looking for us then they wouldn’t look there. Anyway,” he shrugged, “I heard you crying last night— I guess we all did and I’m not that good at comforting people. Honestly, it makes me uncomfortable but I just wanted you to know that if I had been there to see it and not on the bus, I’d have stopped him before he even got the chance to hurt you.”

Kaili didn’t know what to say but she thinks this was Rafe’s awful stumble-through version of telling her that he cared whether she lived or died.

“It’s okay,” she lied but her smile was genuine for the struggling boy in front of her. She gave him a light tap on the chest congratulating him on making it through that speech but also telling him to move so she can walk past him. In which he apologized for before, if not literally, pushing himself up against the side of the bunks so that she could move through the narrow hallway.

“It’s not okay though. Your wrists are…well, you know,”

“Rafe,” she turned quickly and grabbed the boy’s shoulders, she’d shake him if she could, “Thank you, I appreciate it, truly.”

“I guess I’m just sorry I gave you a hard time or like wrote you off. I don't like changes and I’m adjusting. I’m not saying we’ll be best friends or whatever but I’ll be less of an asshole”

“You know how to do that?”

“Ha ha. You’re so funny,”

“I think that I am.”

“You gotta admit me driving the getaway bus was pretty badass though,” Rafe joked, visibly loosening up around her as she walked over to the front of the bus.

“Meh,” Kaili shrugged, “I give it a four out of ten.”

“A four?!” Rafe’s mouth hung open as if no one has ever criticized him in anything before.

“We still got shot at,” she teased.

The group came back shortly after. They found a house that had six bedrooms. The neighborhood had light and running water which meant they might be able to stay here a little longer if they were able to find some food. They only had enough to last them two days, maybe four if everyone cut their portions in half.

The group started to take the weapons off of the bus first and then the food and all the rest of their belongings, leaving the bus almost bare in case someone were to take it from the house they parked in front of.

Sleeping arraignments were a lot easier and quickly decided that Kaili would’ve thought they’d be. John b stayed with Sarah, which was no surprise to anyone. JJ, Pope, and Kiara had taken the largest bed because they said that if anything were to happen, they’d be more comfortable knowing where the other was. Which was fair, but it did heavily draw a line of where the divide between the groups was. Though Kaili insisted that she didn’t mind sharing the bed with Wheezie and actually preferred it, Rafe made it known that he wanted to be there to protect his little sister in case something happened and the only person he trusted to do that was himself. Kaili tried not to take it as an insult. So, that left Kaili, Kelce, and Topper with their own rooms. To be honest, Kaili loved it. Being able to spread out in her bed without worrying she’d fall off the side or hit a person next to her. She did try not to think about the others who’d slept in the bed before her, though. No, she doesn’t think she’d be able to keep her cool if she did.

Tags: @stfukie @jellyfishbeansontoast @queenk00k @kindahavefeelingskindaheartless @rafecameron @outerbankslut @thegreatestofheck @starlightstarkey @stargazingstarkey @anxietyandtacos @spideymyluv @tomfreakinghollandneedsaoscar @pogue-writings @bedazzledbanks @pankowrudeth @bricksatanakinswindow @cutiecolbsss @downbytheouterbanks @butgilinsky @jiaraendgame @deathcompass

#kelce #kelce obx #kelce outer banks #obx kelce #outer banks kelce #outer banks fic #outer banks au #kelce au #zombie au #my writings #liab #kelce x oc

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scandalousfemale · 4 years

Text

Ch. 6 Running Up That Hill

Chinese!OC x Kelce

Series Master List

WC:2,750

Warnings: If you know this song then you already know what this chapter is about...Major character death, grief, shooting, biting, stabbing, mentions of a blade slicing skin, mentions of blood, and zombies

A/N: Thank you for your patience and for continuing to read this. My son got sick this week and so did my dad so life is hard right now. I do promise that this series will continue to be uploaded, hopefully weekly and if not then at least you can rest easy knowing that it will uploaded eventually since most of the outlines have already been planned/written out. Also, I must apologize in advance for this chapter. I loved him, too.

If you had asked Kaili how October 28th, 2024 began, she probably couldn’t even tell you. In the morning, it seemed like everyone was arguing about something that, looking back at it now, didn’t even matter. She did know that they should’ve left before while the chunk of people was still leaving. Having only three other neighbors, who didn’t patrol, wasn’t something they thought about. Taking for granted all the times’ someone else was walking up and down the street, keeping them safe without them realizing it.

The electricity and water had turned off the night before, she remembered that. They should’ve left immediately after the shutdown but how were they supposed to know that a group of zombies was headed their way? They couldn’t have. So, one can’t blame Wheezie for throwing the tantrum that she did when Sarah told her that she wasn’t old enough to go off to get groceries with the older kids and that she wasn’t old enough to flirt with Topper. And maybe they should’ve known better when Wheezie continued to stomp through the house, going into the front yard, and having a screaming match with Rafe about something else only to resort to her running in through the back, leaving the fence and sliding door open. No, one really could not blame her for how the other kids woke up to a blood-curdling scream that came from Wheezie when she was downstairs. Only to have them rush in and see a shell of a man, his ribs exposed, and his jaw unhinged, on top of Wheezie. Kaili didn’t see much of that interaction, distracted by the sounds of moaning, coming from the backyard. Her head snapped at the noise, seeing about a half dozen zombies following the sound of the sobbing girl.

Rafe was the first to run to Wheezie’s aid, without hesitation he was there to fight the undead man off his younger sister. Rafe would’ve done anything to protect Wheezie and so he did, as he tussled on the ground with the green-ish monster snapping his teeth at him. After the others ran to the back entrance, trying to fight the zombies back, Kaili ran over to Wheezie. The little girl was still almost paralyzed on the floor near her brother, she kept staring at the scene as tears rolled down her face. Kaili pulled the younger girl up on her feet, holding her face in her hands as she scanned her. The girl kept looking through her to Rafe.

“Are you okay?” Kaili asked, shaking the smaller girl by her shoulders, trying to get her to snap back to reality. She wasn’t even sure if she was yelling or not, unable to control the volume of her voice when everything around them sounded like it was played on the max volume on a speaker.

“Yes, but--,” Wheezie tried to explain but Kaili didn’t give her a chance. There wasn’t time.

She pushed the little girl to Pope, who was standing by them, “get to the bus. We’ll meet you there,” Kaili paused to look at the scene behind them, “hopefully.”

“But— but you. Everything,” Pope blubbered and she understood what he meant, everything they were building up. The first aid kits, the food, the effort they put into this place to make it their home, was destroyed. They were about to lose everything. Her brain ran a hundred miles an hour but she couldn’t bring herself send anyone up to gather supplies when they were being outnumbered here.

“There’s no time. There’s no time.” She kept repeating until it clicked in his head and all Pope did was just nod and pulled the girl towards the door as he eliminated the threat in front of them.

“Sarah!” Wheezie screeched for her sister when four zombies grabbed at Pope.

Finally, the two were able to recruit Topper, John B, Sarah, and Kiara to create a way for them to even leave the house. The zombies weren’t overwhelming in number and maybe they could’ve all gotten out alive if they weren’t taken by surprise. When Kaili saw Rafe by the front door, fighting a batch of zombies by himself, she pulled two blades from her thighs so fast that the action caused the sharp end to slice her skin. Not even thinking about her open wound, she ran over to her friend, stabbing a snarling creature that would’ve hurt him from behind. Rafe’s breathing was ragged, he had sweat glistening on his forehead, his hair sticking to his skin. Kaili noticed that while the other group of kids was gone, they had left Rafe off to fend for himself. A mistake that should’ve never been made.

Kelce and JJ slowly made their way from the back door to the other two by the front door. Moving objects to trap zombies in random rooms but somehow the size of the herd doesn’t seem to be dwindling. The group of four stood with their backs to each other, trusting that the other will be there to protect them and at one point, Kaili had accepted that if this is how she was going to go then she was in good company.

“JJ!” Rafe’s voice boomed as he kicked a zombie in the gut and hacked his head off with Kaili’s machete, “go get the bus, tell them to come around. The only way out of this is to make a run for it.” The older boy ordered and without a second thought, JJ was running. He didn’t ask for anyone else to go with him, he just ran through the front door, ducking and taking out the creatures by their knees. Kaili tried to do the mental math in her head and maybe Rafe was right. If the bus had come around to the front of the house, then they all would be able to out of here but they also didn’t know how many zombies were waiting for them outside and how much more was coming.

“If we can get them all in the house,” Kaili rasped as she stabbed a zombie in the forehead, “we can shut the doors and have better luck getting to the bus.”

The boys immediately agreed. Kelce was the brave fool who pushed down the dining table and rushed it against the hallway before the front door. Making as much noise as possible. Kaili saw that the zombies were more erratic when it came to her because they smelled the blood that was dripping down her cut. When she made sure that both boys were out, she wiped her hands against her wound and smeared the blood all over the walls of the hallway, just briefly jumping out the front door before one of them caught her. Kelce pressed his body against the front door. Telling the other two to run over around the back to they can shut the door to the fence.

Kaili should’ve known it was a bad idea since the scent of her blood would’ve traveled with her, especially now that she had it on her hands but she didn’t think about it. So when they reached the backyard wooden fence, instead of the zombies trying to fit themselves into the house to follow the scent, half of them were coming back to the unsteady wood that Rafe and Kaili were pressing up against to try to get to her. Using all her strength to press her body up against the fence, she started looking side to side to see if there’s anything she could pull up to keep the door shut for when they start running but she couldn’t find anything. Rafe’s breathing became more shallow next to her and his eyes suddenly looking bloodshot.

“You good over there, Cameron?” Kaili inquired, worried that he was about to pass out on her.

Rafe didn’t say much, he just leaned his body against the fence, using his weight to help keep it shut. Hearing the bus starting to turn around the corner, Rafe stared into Kaili’s eyes as if he wanted to tell her something and she couldn’t guess what was so important that he needed a heart to heart right now. Of course, it should’ve been obvious. He pulled his body away, instead, he leaned against the fence with his arms stretched out in front of him. His eyes never once leaving hers.

The younger girl remembered everything after that moment. She remembered it clearly, seeing the bite on his arm. Kaili’s heart was beating in her ears as the deafening sound of a sob escaped her mouth but no tears were falling. She didn’t cry right away but her body’s knee jerk reaction was her chest feeling like it caved upon itself.

She found herself grabbing onto Rafe’s waist as she repeated a plea, a prayer in her mother tongue, anything that she could think of. Her tears staining his top. The taller boy seemed to have it together a lot more than she did at the time because he only used one hand to pull her against him. Their bodies jerking from the zombies pushing against the gate to get to the sound of the human and a half. He squeezed her tightly, trying to stop *her from hyperventilating when it was *him that was a ticking time bomb.

“Get yourself together, Kaili.” His voice broke against her forehead before she pulled herself away from him, trying to catch her breath if the pressure in her chest would ever relieve itself.

“How?” the girl could only breathe out her question. Trying to go back to a moment where she might’ve left him open and how stupid it was that amid a battle no one had thought to defend him, but Rafe just shook his head.

“I fucked up, pushing the zombie off Wheezie, somehow that fucker took a chunk of my skin with him,” the boy said through his teeth then, more surely, “but if it was between me or her. I’m glad it’s me.”

“I love you. I’m sorry I love you,” was all Kaili could say as she shook her head. Somehow feeling that he was only dying because of the powers that be wanted to punish her for loving anyone when the world was collapsing. She found happiness with this group and she was being hurt for it. So, as she looked at him, she kept apologizing for loving him, whether or not Rafe had grasped her words.

Kelce, who found a way to secure the front door, ran to the gate to help the other two. And if Kaili had looked at Kelce right then, she’d have seen the confused look on his face as he watched his best friend touch his girl’s face while she looked to be in distress. The bus finally stopping beside them on the street, Kelce went up to them with the sole purpose to get everyone out of there and back to safety, which Kaili would’ve found admirable. Again, if she had seen Kelce coming towards them. But she didn’t. Kaili only saw Rafe and how the vessels around the bite began to turn blue and then purple as they traveled up his arm. Kelce squeezed behind Kaili and used his weight to support the gate that was threatening to break back open as the zombies started hearing noises.

When Kaili came to, she couldn’t focus on the scene. She knew that Kelce pushed her towards the bus saying something, maybe thinking she’d run off and they would meet up with her later but the girl just stood there. She watched as Rafe leaned over and said something that broke Kelce. Something that made Kelce look at him, even as his body jerked back. Kelce’s jaw set as he ground his teeth and he held back the fence with more conviction.

“Fucking do it! Take my belt, man. You need all the weapons you can get,” Rafe yelled angrily at his best friend, his voice almost drowned out by the snarls but Kelce didn’t make a move. Kaili took a step towards the boys, knowing that there wasn’t much time left to waste as Rafe’s arm and neck turned more and more purple. His pale skin doing nothing to help how grisly the sight looked.

“Go,” Kelce grunted at Kaili, not even looking back at his girl.

“Are you insane?” Rafe snapped at Kelce as if he was growing out a second head. His face contorted to one of disgust.

“You’re my brother. We started this together, we go together.” Kelce said as if his life was just that simple to give up. Kaili narrowed her eyes at his words. Giving his life up that easily in front of someone who was fighting for it almost seemed disrespectful instead of heroic.

“Kelce,” Kaili grabbed his arm, willing the boy away from the fence, knowing that there was nothing left to do at this point, but he wouldn’t budge.

Rafe shook his head at his friend and then turned his reddening eyes to the girl behind them. “Kaili,” he’s begging now, he sounded so tired, “take my weapons belt and the stubborn asshole and...take care of my family, okay?” He asked softly and she knew that he meant she was family, too.

She nodded, numbly. As her arm wrapped around his waist, pulling the belt off the opposite side and slinging it back over her shoulder. Kelce sniffling beside her, shaking his head as he bangs on the fence. He looked as if he was ready to run back in there and kill every last one of them or maybe just open the fence and let them kill him, too. but then he looked back at the bus and then at Rafe as if something snapped within him, he collected himself.

Rafe kept eye contact with Kaili, “remember what we talked about, okay? I know it’s like a pussy way out but I think— I’m scared of getting ripped apart alive. So give you guys a head start a little and like just shoot me, okay?” And what else could she say? Kaili nodded through the tears that finally came.

“Of course,” as she had mentioned before, when it came down to something like this, she would give him anything that he’d ask her for. She promised him a better death than Wei. She needed to give him something better.

“I think I kind of deserve, at least, an 8 out of 10 for this one” Rafe chuckled through his tears, trying to lighten the mood or hide his feelings, as always. as Kelce yelled out a “fuck,” and grabbed Rafe from behind his neck, pulling their foreheads to the other.

“I love you, man.”

“I love you,” Rafe rasped. Kelce turned to grab Kaili and began pulling her away but before they were back on the bus Kaili, called back “Rafe! It’s a ten on this one.”

Rafe’s tired bloodshot eyes almost shined with his smile. One that’ll haunt her forever. “Fucking finally.”

Running back onto the bus, Kelce told Topper to drive but the man wouldn’t go. As they got into a whispered argument, Kaili didn’t waste her time, running to the middle of the bus and pushing a stool up towards the hatch that opened to the sniper Rafe helped set up a couple of weeks ago. Hearing Sarah, as she rushed out of the bedroom at the end of the bus asking for Rafe because Wheezie claimed he had been bitten, Kaili climbed through the opening and grabbed the cold metal in her shaking hands. She wiped at her tears, as she looking through the scope, knowing that every second longer that she took was one more that he had to suffer. Finding him through the scope, she saw Rafe gritting his teeth, panic in his eyes as he grows weaker. His body began doing small convulsions and Kaili knew that it was now or never because holding the gate was getting harder for him. He nodded to Kaili’s figure on the bus as if to beg and plead with her to do it now. And so she did, seeing his body hit the ground and the zombies push open the gate, treating him like nothing. She stayed there, her head hung as tears streamed down her cheeks until the echo of the gunshot was the only thing ringing through the air.

tagged: @rafecameron @stargazingstarkey @downbytheouterbanks @bedazzledbanks @anxietyandtacos @jellyfishbeansontoast @outerbankslut @bricksatanakinswindow @millyelliot @butgilinsky @spideymyluv @jiaraendgame @thegreatestofheck @cutiecolbsss @starlightstarkey @tomfreakinghollandneedsaoscar @deathcompass @queenk00k @stfukie @rafej-cambanks @kindahavefeelingskindaheartless @pankowrudeth

#LIAB #Kelce fic #kelce outer banks #kelce obx #outer banks kelce #zombies au

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