This Lullaby ( Kaylor )

( safe and sound )

Technically, this is the last chapter of this fic.  There's an epilogue left, but other than that, this adventure is over.  Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing.  I hope this one totally makes up for all of the other pain that I've put you through during this fic.  There's a special gift at the end, if you catch my drift. ;)

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Karlie Kloss was tired.  But it wasn't the kind of tired that sleep could erase.  No, it was the kind of tired that would proably last the rest of her life, that showed itself as an aching emptiness in her chest.  She honestly wished she had died back in that supermarket, because now she had no idea where Taylor was, or if she was even alive.

Her savior was a man named JP, who happened to be living in the home goods section of the store.  He'd saved her life right before undead teeth had latched down and torn out her juglar.  But by the time she'd gone to look for Taylor, the other girl had disappeared, and Karlie couldn't be angry at her for running, since she'd tried to sacrifice herself just for that purpose.

They were currently walking behind three well-armed men, headed in the direction of the place called Arcadia.  The safe haven she and Taylor had been so close to reaching.  Karlie had asked the men if they knew her partner, but they'd told her no and not said much else besides asking if they were infected. 

She kept her head down, focusing on her steps, the way they whispered over the earth.  Her leg still pulsed with a heartbeat of pain each step she took, but she didn't try to press her weight more onto the healthy side.  She didn't mind the pain.  She deserved it.  If she'd just been more observant, none of this would have happened.  They never would have been ambushed. 

Taylor would still be with her, and they'd be going to Arcadia together.

"You alright, vanilla?" JP asked quietly, bumping her shoulder with his.  Karlie nearly jumped, startled at the contact.

Then the nickname sunk in, and she narrowed her eyes at him, "I told you not to call me that." 

JP had skin several shades darker than her, and he liked to point out how pale she was.  Vanilla was his go-to nickname.  She wanted to hate it, but the simplicity of being able to bicker with someone was something she could never take for granted.  JP waggled his eyebrows comically, "You know, now that we're somewhere with no zombies running around, we could go ahead and make a chocolate and vanilla swirl..."

Karlie flung out her hand, hitting him hard in the sternum.  He let out a noise that was a mixture of a cough and a laugh, and she had to beat down a smirk.  But the humor in the words was a double edged sword.  Because all it did was make her miss Taylor more.  Taylor would have laughed at that joke, the faintest pink blush highlighting her cheekbones.  Taylor would have possessively rested a hand at the small of her back. 

JP awkwardly reached out, patting her shoulder in an attempt at comfort.  She'd only given him sparse details about Taylor, but he knew how much Karlie loved her, knew the strength of the feelings in her chest that existed only for the former pop star. 

They walked the rest of the way in silence, and when they reached the gates, Karlie felt a blur of emotions at the presence of safety.  Relief, sadness, hapiness, crippling agony.  She swallowed, steeled herself, and walked through the gates.

Green eyes scanned everything, taking in the organization, the buildings, the people mulling about.  It was strange, to see so many people in one place, so organized.  For a second, she forgot the world had even ended.

Then, when her gaze flickered over a little ways over, she forgot how to think at all.

"Taylor?" She asked, though she wasn't sure her voice made a sound.  She wondered if she was seeing a ghost, if she was going crazy and hallucinating Taylor into existence.