You Look Like Death- Ben Parish x Reader

The Beginning

Angel pov:

Let me give you a summary of what's happened since the others got here. It all happened in four waves.

The first wave wiped out electricity. The second wave, they sent tsunamis and earthquakes. For the third wave they took a virus, enhanced it, and had birds spread it around the world. The third wave killed off Ninety Eight percent of the remaining population. The fourth and current wave, they sent their kind down to kill of the rest of us.

I am being sent to Camp Haven, where it's supposed to be safe. I think it's a load of crap.

After going through the routine checkup and post wave questions, they assign me to a squad. I was told to meet them outside and a man meets the distance as I walk over.

"Well, what do we have here? You look too innocent to kill anything, you might as well be an angel!" A man yells in my face.

A group of kids stand in line, standing straight with their hands behind their backs. I can tell they're all looking over here from the corner of their eyes. I stand there and let the man yell at me. This is like a military boot camp and I've already been to several. Though it takes everything in me not to punch him in the face like every other person who has gotten in my face.

"How about it, Private Angel? Are you going to kill TEDs or cry in the corner?" He yells, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Sir, kill TEDs, Sir!" I yell.

I'm not mad about my new name though.

"Private Ringer!" He yells.

"Sir, yes, sir!" A girl says.

She's skinny, having a perfect companion and the body of a model. Her black hair stands out to me.

"You will teach Private Angel as her squad leader!" He yells.

"Sir, yes, sir!" She yells in response.

"Private Angel, you will listen to Private Ringer unless you want to get scraped off the sidewalk like gum." He yells.

Sir, yes, sir!"

The day goes by quickly and before I can think about, the week is over. The end of the week ends great by being called Maggot feces than asked if we had any questions or concerns.

That was sarcasm.

"So, why are you so comfortable with this?" Chicken asks during our free time.

"I've been to many military boot camps, it's nothing different." I answer from my bunk.

"Get in your bunks!" Reznik yells as he enters the area.

During lights out, I think about the nicknames Reznik decided to give us. Ringer because she's a good shot. Chicken because he flinches a lot. Bird because she's small and looks like she would "fly away from the wind". Bear because he's huge and doesn't really speak. Stretch because he's tall and skinny. Squint because he has bad eyesight and at some point lost his glasses in the waves. And then Angel, because I look too innocent to kill anything.

My name is a little ironic though. Reznik doesn't know about how many times I would get expelled from fighting. I never started the fight, but it was mainly snobby rich girls that got me kicked out.

I think about the age differences in the group. Most of the kids in our squad are eleven or younger. Me, Ringer, and Bear are the older ones. While Ringer and Bear are Sixteen, I'm Seventeen. Ringer acts older though, me and her sort of have a sister bond.

A few days later, Ringer snapped and got charged with "disorderly conduct". They end up transferring her to a different squad. We only have a few weeks left until the top four squads graduate and get out onto the field to kill TEDs or protect the barrier. I was hoping Bear would get squad leader, even if he doesn't talk much. But I end up with it anyway. The week after, we got a new squad member. She looks thirteen and is a little pudgy. Immediately, Reznik decides to name her Donut. And I was told to train her, like Ringer trained me. I get three weeks to train her before graduation. Turns out she's great at shooting like Ringer, but she can use some work in combat. The rankings change, with Ringer's new squad leader or she's teaching them. While I'm monitoring Ringer's squad and training Donut in combat, I tried to lead the squad well. The last few days, Donut has been practicing more than ever.

"You're making progress. I'm proud of you, Donut." I tell her after we're done training.

"Thanks, Angel." She replies.

"Hey, what was your life like before all of this?" She asks after a moment of silence.

"Well, I was a really bad troublemaker. My parents forced me into fourteen Military boot camps. If I hadn't gotten myself into so much trouble, I could have graduated early. But I screwed up." I tell her.

"Woah, I never really did anything interesting. My life was so boring." She says.

"That means you were a good kid. Just because your life was boring, doesn't mean it's a bad thing." I reply, nudging her side with my elbow.

We look around, watching our squad and other squads train.

"So, did you have a boyfriend before the waves?" She asks, wiggling her eyebrows at me.

I laugh.

"No, probably for the best." I answer.

"Oh, come on. You're beautiful and there's some hunks here. Like that guy right there." She points to one of the other squad leaders.

It's the private they call Zombie. He's attractive, he's got the sports build.

"Donut, we're not here to gawk at 'hunks'." I tell her.

She pouts then gives me a sly grin.

"What if people have to populate again? Wouldn't you want that guy to be the one you do it with?" I gasp.

"Donut! Get your head out of the gutter." I playfully scold her.

I look at him to find him looking back at me.