The Rolling Stones: ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

Part Twelve - We Can Work It Out

The fire was beginning to die. "I think we should get cleaned up and get some sleep, we'll figure everything out in the morning." Bill said wearily. Everyone nodded, and washed off the limestone dust with water before going to sleep in the car. Keith eventually cleaned himself up after the others fell asleep, before laying down in the grass, soon falling asleep with a cigarette in his hand.
***
7:00 am
The morning sun rose onto Willow Lake, the light danced upon the still water, turning it a light shade of gold. Keith rubbed his eyes, sitting up in the dewy grass. For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was or why he was here. Then everything flooded back into his memory; the zombies, rescuing Mick T, Brian. He remembered Charlie shooting Brian, the life fleeing his body as he dropped to the cold stone floor. Suddenly, a wave of anger swept over him. He wanted to scream and shout, to hurt. Then he got up and he ran through the forest, his feet squishing in the grass. He ran all his anger away until he has no energy left. He fell to his knees and began to sob. He couldn't stop himself; he bawled like a baby until his throat burned from his cries. Meanwhile, Ronnie got up quietly as so to not wake the others and went outside, expecting Keith to be laying in the grass. To his surprise, the spot he had seen Keith in last was empty. He looked around the campsite, hoping to find him. He found nothing. What if he went into the woods? He thought. He began to wander through the woods in the warm morning light. Eventually, he spotted something, no, not something, someone. Keith.
Ronnie walked quietly up to Keith, trying not to spook him when he spoke. "Hello." He said quietly, looking down at Keith. Keith turned around, his eyes swollen from crying. "What's wrong baby?" Ronnie asked concerned, noticing Keith's red eyes. He sat down next to Keith, looking at him. "Everything." Keith said, sounding as if he was going to cry again. "I had a chance to apologize to Brian, to try and make it up to him. But Charlie ruined my chance. And now, I- I'll never get a chance." The last part of Keith's sentence turned into a sob. Keith buried his face in Ronnie's chest as another wave of emotions washed over him. Ronnie hugged Keith, comforting him. Eventually Keith stopped crying, giving Ronnie a chance to talk to him. "I know you wanted to make it up to Brian. But, because he was a zombie, his mind works differently. If you had apologized to him, he wouldn't have understood. He was following his zombie instincts which were to kill someone he didn't like; Mick. And Charlie was defending Mick, he wasn't killing Brian out of spite, he was just protecting Mick from the zombie Brian, who isn't the real Brian. Just a ghost of him, a fake." Ronnie finished and continued to hold the shaken Keith in his arms. "You're right. I guess I just let my emotions get the better of me." They didn't say anything after that, just sat in the grass, the morning sun getting stronger. The mood lightened, and Ronnie sensed it. "Why don't we get some breakfast? All that crying must have worked up quite the appetite." Ronnie said, smiling at Keith. "Okay." The two walked back to the campsite hungry, and ready to kill Bill (not figuratively) if he hadn't worked out breakfast. Luckily for him when the two came back Bill had prepared some scrambled eggs and bacon, and of course; coffee. Charlie and the Micks sat by the fire, eating silently. "Morning." Ronnie said. "Hello." Bill answered. "Would you two like some breakfast?" "Are you kidding? We're starved!" Ronnie said, eagerly looking at the food. Bill laughed and handed them each a plate filled with the delicious food. The two joined the others by the fire, Bill following suit. After a solid 20 minutes of silence, everyone was finished with their food. Bill collected the empty plates and began cleaning them in the crystal-clear lake water. Ronnie leaned over and whispered in Keith's ear. "You need to apologize to Charlie." Keith looked at Ronnie in protest but Ronnie wouldn't let it slide. Keith grunted and cleared his throat. "Charlie?" "Yes?"
"I just uh, wanted to say I'm sorry." "For what?" Charlie asked confused (not really), looking at Keith for an explanation. "Uh, I'm sorry for yelling at you last night. It was...dumb." He concluded, looking at the ground. "Well, thank you. I forgive you." Charlie accepted Keith's apology, looking at him. Keith said nothing.
"Okay then." Ronnie said, remembering the existence of the Micks. "Why don't we go for a morning swim and get some exercise?" "Sounds good." Mick agreed. Keith nodded. The three got changed and went to the water.

Mick T and Charlie helped Bill tidy up the campsite. "Wanna watch the wild ones swim?" Bill asked Mick T with a chuckle. "Sure." Mick T said quietly. "I'll come too." Charlie added. "Wait, I got to get something." Mick T said hurriedly as he went into the car. He came back out with a book. The three of them walked over to the water, sitting down under a willow tree. "Jump! Jump!" Mick and Ronnie chanted as Keith stood on the cliff over looking the lake. Suddenly, Keith lunged for the water, hitting it with a big splash. The others cheered.  The morning was content, and the tension between Charlie and Keith was gone. Bill and Charlie watched the others swim while Mick T sat next to them with his nose in a book. "Whatcha reading?" Bill asked Mick T, scooting over to him to see his book better. "Uh, it's called Cannery Row." Mick T said awkwardly, caught off guard by Bill interrupting his focus. "Nice. I've read that. It's good." Bill said. Mick T just nodded and continued reading. Bill scooted back to Charlie. Meanwhile, Keith, Ronnie, and Mick were staging a play of sorts? Keith was play choking Ronnie as Mick cackled maniacally in the background. Charlie rolled his eyes at the chaos. "I think I'm going to practice guitar, bye." Mick T said as he stood up. "Would you practice near us?" Charlie asked cautiously. "Uh, sure." Mick T said, turning a little red before walking off to get his guitar. He came back and sat about ten feet from Bill and Charlie and began playing a calm melody. Bill and Charlie just sat there, listening in silence.
The rats- I mean others, came back from swimming and went to the car to get their towels and dry off. A few minutes later, Keith and Ronnie returned with their guitars and began to play along with Mick T. It was a magical moment of guitar weaving. As they continued jamming Mick tried striking up conversation with Bill and Charlie. Every so often, the boys would stop playing and one of them would think of something to try and play and they would attempt to play that. "Why don't we do 'The Last Time'?" Keith asked. The others nodded, and began playing. Then Charlie joined in, drumming with two sticks on the willow tree. All that was missing was the vocals. Mick began to sing lead, while Bill and Ronnie sang backup. It was an interesting extended jam of the song, lasting about 8 minutes. Then it just went off where Keith, Mick T, and Ronnie each did their own solo for the song. Even if Mick messed up the lyrics half the time, it was still pretty good. After they finished, everyone was happy. "We could have recorded that!" Mick laughed. The others laughed too. "That would have been pretty funny." Bill chuckled.
Keith, Ronnie, and Mick T put away their guitars. Ronnie's stomach rumbled. "Man, I'm hungry. What time is it?" "11." Bill answered. "We could have an early lunch?" Charlie suggested. "Sure." Bill agreed. Bill went over to Mick T the bookworm, who sat under a willow tree. "I need help cooking, would you mind?" "Okay." Mick T said. They walked back to the campsite to cook. "Wait, aren't we leaving today?" Mick asked Charlie as he, Ronnie, and Keith sat around the fire, Bill and Mick T cooking. "Well, we had a slight change in plans because of all that happened last night, so we're leaving tomorrow." "Cool." Mick said.
"Lunch is ready!" Bill announced as Mick T began passing out sandwiches to everyone. "Thank you for lunch guys." Charlie said. "Of course!" Bill said cheerfully. They all sat around the fire, talking and eating. Not much more happened throughout the rest of the day, everyone just did their own thing and enjoyed their last bit of time at willow lake.
10:00 pm
Everyone had gone to bed, except for Ronnie and Keith. They sat around the dying fire in silence, enjoying the still night. "I think we should get some sleep, we're leaving early tomorrow." Ronnie said, beginning to stand up. "Okay." Keith said, standing up. Before they went to sleep, Keith turned Ronnie around. "I uh, just wanted to say I'm thankful for you comforting me this morning." Ronnie smiled. "Anytime." He kissed Keith's cheek softly as he laid down in the cool grass. Keith did the same, resting by Ronnie's side, soon drifting off to the peaceful sounds of the crickets and crackling fire.