An Impervious Few // KateLena Apocalypse AU

Hand in Trembling Hand

"Really? Tonight?" Peter asked, static crackling on his end of the hand held radio.

"Yeah," Kate replied, black hood over her head as she crept through the back alleys of Boston, scrounging for any last minute supplies to aid her escape. "I told you I'd do it. And I want you to come with me."

Kate's mother had officially gone off the deep end. Her deranged plans were in motion- contaminating the water supply in Fisk's district, telling Cage that Murdock did it, promising Murdock that Cage did it. All out war was imminent, with Fisk wanting blood and the other leaders clawing to retain their territory and control.

Even more worrisome, Peter lived in Murdock's district, leaving him especially vulnerable to violence. Though Kate wanted to dash out of town immediately, taking her sparsely packed bag and never looking back, her loyalties would not allow it. She could not bear to leave without saying goodbye, without trying one last time to convince him to run. So, with her bag slung over her shoulder and her mind made up, she trekked determinedly toward his place.

Perhaps it was just her anxiety, but the city seemed abuzz to Kate. Not like how Manhattan used to be when she was a child, thrumming with youth and exuberance, but a sort of nervous, kinetic energy with no outlet. The city was restless. It was a nocked arrow itching to be fired, a fuse dying to be lit, and Kate ached to be long gone by the time the inevitable became reality.

"What's even keeping you here?" Kate continued, one hand on her walkie talkie, the other firmly gripping the gun in her hoodie pocket. "I mean, honestly, Pete, there's no one left."

It was a crass reminder of everything Peter had lost, what they had all lost, but at this point Kate would try anything.

"Kate," he sighed, line cutting out. "I'm just... I'm not like you. I wouldn't make it out there."

"Bullshit."

"I'm not a hunter, I'm not a fighter. I like to reread the same three books and take naps every afternoon. I would drag you down."

"Peter, none of that matters. I just want you safe. I would hunt for the both of us, build fires at night. I would take care of you, I promise."

For a short while, Peter gave no crackling reply. She frowned as she turned onto his his street, apartment building in view. Everything was eerily quiet, and then, horrifyingly loud as she heard the first bomb detonate.

The resulting shockwave flung her to the grimy street, ears ringing and eyes burning as she watched the flames crawl up Peter's building. A second bomb went off, then a third, though the booms were hardly loud enough to drown out the screams.

"No!" Kate shouted, frantically counting the floors to find Peter's place. She scrambled to her feet, unaware of the blood leaking from her left ear. "No, no, no..."

Against the waves of terrified tenants pouring from the exit, Kate forced her way in, screaming Peter's name as she fought her way to the stairs. The building creaked and groaned, swaying due to its newly compromised foundation. Bits of support columns crumbled, ceilings and floors collapsed as the building folded in on itself, with rubble blocking potential means of escape.

Kate's terror intensified as she ducked fallen beams and vaulted crumbling slabs of brick on her way to Peter's floor. Also worrying was the rising smoke, and Kate tugged her hoodie up to cover her nose. With the ash in the air and the tightness in her chest, she struggled to breathe, but nothing on this earth could stop her from reaching Peter's door.