Birds of a Feather (Apocalypse AU)

Chapter 1 - Family Ties (Kor)

TW: cursing, blood

A figure peered over the horizon as the sun set. Setting his bag down by the trunk of an old oak tree, he wiped the sweat off of his face with a dirty rag as he squinted at the orange clouds. He had been walking for miles, trying to put distance between himself and the city, and his legs had almost given out from exhaustion.

Sighing heavily, he knelt down and began rummaging through his bag. A small black flashlight, a metal water bottle, a few bags of chips, a blue heavy jacket. He shook the water bottle, and a few drops of liquid sloshed around inside. He would need to look for water and food in the morning, but he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened just that morning.

Shaking the screams and the smell of freshly-spilled blood out of his head, he stood up slowly, but felt a hand press down on his shoulder. He jumped and turned around, hands raised-

"Hey Kory- Whoa! Calm down, it's just me," Zii stuttered, backing away with his hands raised, startled by Kor's sudden reaction. Kor took a deep breath and lowered his hands as he recognized his friend's curly black hair.

Kor's heart was still racing as he swore, "fucking hell Zii! You're going to kill me one of these days."

Zii smiled hesitantly as he squinted against the sun, "hey, that's what I'm here for, right?"

Kor punched Zii in the shoulder playfully, and he flinched backwards, making a face and falling to the ground clutching his arm.

"Kory how could you do this to me... I thought we were friends- oh the painnnnn," he groaned while peaking through an eye to see Kor's reaction.

Kor raised an eyebrow as he watched his friend writhe on the ground. Arms crossed, he cracked a smile. Zii looked up, started to smile, and they both broke into laughter. Kor reached out to the tree to keep himself from falling over as Zii cackled, still rolling on the ground. For a moment, everything was as it had been just a week prior.

Kor, still shaking from laughter, held his hand out to Zii, hauling him up from the ground. Dusting off his friend's neon green hoodie, Kor was once again reminded that he was one measly inch shorter than his friend. Still chuckling, he shoved himself away to grab his bag from the ground, but a thought came to his head.

"Zii, where are we going to sleep? We can't keep walking like we've been doing all day, and we can't sleep on the ground." Kor began pacing back and forth, his heart beginning to hum as he thought about what had swept the world just a week prior.

Zii leaned against an oak tree, smirking; "Hey Kory, remember when we used to climb trees when we were in elementary school?"

Kor slapped him on the back as he began putting his bag on his back. "Zii, you're a fucking genius, you know that?"

Zii grinned back at him as he began to climb the oak. They had climbed trees together before, and they didn't usually fall off. Usually.

Kor shuffled his way up the tree, hauling himself up to one of the tallest branches. He swung his legs over the side of the branch, watching as Zii slowly made his way up next to him, muttering as he hugged each branch on the way.

The sun had just passed the horizon, coloring the clouds a dark orange as the sky began to shift. Zii sat down next to Kor, sending him an annoyed glance for not helping him climb the oak. Kor stared at the clouds, lost in the pain of the day. His mind shifted to the darkening twilight, and the times he spent running through fields chasing fireflies in the evening with his sister.

You'll come back, right Stella?

A bird trilled in the dusk. Kor sighed sadly and turned to Zii. "Well, better hope we don't fall when we're sleeping. I would hate to see you be shorter than me for once."

"That would only happen if I didn't shove you off first," Zii smirked as he pulled his hood over his head.

Kor closed his eyes, thinking. The pain of leaving his family was just as raw as it had been earlier, balling up in his chest and stomach, making it hard to breathe. He shut his eyes tighter, forcing the images that haunted his vision to vanish into the dark night.

They were fast asleep before the smell of rotted flesh wafted through the forest, shuffling feet and moaning lurking slowly behind.