With Friends Like These

Fallen Stars

"Hey, I think I've seen your faces before, back in 1992." Ryan said "Who are you, first and last names?"

"Brian May, and Roger Taylor."

"Oh my god..."

The group, without Michelle, wandered towards the city, hoping to maybe find some food and shelter, and maybe answers to the question all on their minds: What the hell is happening?

Brian and Roger held hands secretly as they walked towards the city. Ryan noticed, but didn't say anything. They knew that they were trying to squeeze in as much romance as possible before they died, which would be a much shorter time than they'd hoped.

Along the way, Ryan and Brian and Roger encountered some walkers here and there, but not much. But as they got closer, more walkers appeared.

"Hey, um..don't you think that the more people in an area, the more to infect, which means more infected-erm, I mean dead people?" Brian said nervously.

"You're right. Let's head back."

But it was too late. They were on a main road, and while they were talking, they hadn't noticed the enormous herd of walkers ahead of them.

"Fucking run!" Ryan exclaimed.

The walkers heard. They started quickly shambling towards the group.

"Shit!"

The group ran, and Ryan shot a few, but nothing could stop the overwhelming herd of walkers. 

They continued running for almost a mile, when the herd finally stopped following them. Brian and Roger were panting, but Ryan wasn't.

"Used to be a marathon runner. That was like a walk in the park."

Brian shot him a foul look. 

"Where do we go now?" Roger asked.

"Let's find another house." Brian suggested.

"No. We need answers. And holing up in a house isn't gonna give us any." Ryan said.

"Then where do we go?"

"We need to find shelter first, and then we need to find answers."

"So let's find a house."

"Fine, let's find a house."

They started to walk away from the city. Along the way, they encountered Michelle. Only,she wasn't Michelle anymore. She was one of them.

Ryan wanted to do it, but he couldn't. So Brian took the job of killing her by stabbing her head. Ryan started to cry, and Roger comforted him by saying:

"We all die sometimes, even when we're still alive."

They eventually found a house near a small village, hugging a forest. It was small, and barren. All the residents had fled long ago, and all that was left was some dead rats, small provisions, and one dead Saint Bernard.

They roasted the dog over the small fire they created with a little wood they found outside. Brian and Roger sat close to each other, warming each other in the cold and damp house. Ryan looked at them and shook his head.

"Y'know,I wish I had a relationship like yours. I was never really too close to Michelle..."

Ryan looked forlorn. Brian tried comforting him, but nothing could sooth the soul of someone who just lost someone they love.

After they ate, Brian and Roger went to their own separate room while Ryan slept on a couch. They held each other again while they slept. No making love, however. Just sleep. Occasionally, a distant scream would be heard, most likely someone getting eaten. Roger heard one so painful, he started to cry. Brian immediately woke up, and started to comfort him by whispering in his ear.

"You were right. We are all going to die." Roger sobbed, almost hysterical.

"No, shh, no, we're going to survive. We are going to make it! We are going to find an answer to what's happening."

Roger continued sobbing hysterically, but he quieted down after a few minutes. He eventually went to sleep, but Brian stayed up, looking at the moonlit ceiling, and that's when he saw the woman standing outside the window.

A walker.

He stayed completely still. The walker was a young woman, and was had a rotting head and one eye. It lolled it's head to the right, trying to see if there was anyone or anything in the room. Roger twitched.

It saw.

It clawed at the window, trying to get in. It gasped and moaned, and Brian started to weep. He couldn't move, because he didn't want to put Roger in danger, but he couldn't let it stand there until morning. So Brian ultimately decided to take action.

He got out his knife, and went to the window, opened it, and stabbed it's head. It fell, and Brian was satisfied, and he went back to bed. 

He held onto Roger like he'd disappear the next minute. Roger rolled around, and kissed him on the lips. Brian kissed him back, and they held each other until morning.

In the morning, they found Ryan sitting at the table, eating a rat. 

"Want one? There's enough for one for each of you."

Brian looked uneasy, and Roger put his hand on his shoulder.

"Remember, we're doing this to survive."

Brian hesitantly took a charred rat. He ate it slowly, as if unsure whether it was food or not. Roger urged him to eat, and he did, but Brian did not want to cooperate.

Three years ago, two rock 'n' roller best friends became more than that.

Three years ago, the world ended.

Three years ago, everyone became infected with the disease.

But not all died.

Roger and Brian were some of them. Ryan was another.

Blessing or curse, Brian and Roger knew that they couldn't live without each other.