Apocalypse [Pentatonix AU | Kavi / Scomiche]

Chapter 4 - Departure

Avi heard Kirstin run over to him as he stared through the dirty glass of the window. He'd let himself drift off, just for a moment, and when he'd opened his eyes again there was a herd of at least fifty walkers on the street below, coming straight toward them.

"Why are they coming for the house?" Kirstin asked in horror.

Avi shook his head. "Sometimes there isn't a reason. One of them just makes a decision, and the rest follow." They both stood frozen as they heard the front door breaking down below them, watched in horror as the entire herd made its way inside. They could hear the floor creaking and the audible moans from a few stories down.

Both their minds were racing with possible options, except their options were limited. And leaving the way they came was now obviously out of the question.

"We have to jump out the window," Avi finally said as he rushed to the back of the room, gathering his things quickly. When he turned to Kirstin he noticed her appalled expression.

"Are you insane? We're on the third story, that's at least thirty feet, if not more."

"So what's your plan, we head back downstairs and get ripped apart by those walkers?" Kirstin pursed her lips. "Look, there's a ledge below the window, about a story down. Think of it like that, a ten foot drop then a twenty foot."

Kirstin shifted uncomfortably, obviously still trying to come up with an alternate plan. Finally she sighed anxiously. "Can we at least wait until morning?"

"Bad idea. Waiting cuts our chances of survival in half. By the time it's morning there will be twice as many walkers in the house, as well as on the street. Look outside, the street's practically clear. It's now or never."

He watched as Kirstin hastily grabbed her gun and duffel bag, blowing out the lantern. She slung the shotgun over her shoulder as Avi made his way toward the window, kicking and breaking the glass.

"I'll go first so I can catch you," he suggested, getting ready to climb out.

Kirstin grabbed his arm. "I don't need you catching me."

Avi nodded curtly, climbing out of the window but still holding on. He griped his fists on the sill, feeling shards of glass cut deep into his palms, then lowered his body so that he was hanging off the side of the building. After one last deep breath he let go, feeling himself fall for a couple seconds before landing hard on his feet and immediately stumbling backward.

He slid on his back down the slanted ledge, gasping and trying to hold on to something, anything. Somehow he was able to put his feet out and stop himself on the gutter before he could slide off. With deep breaths he stood back up, feeling his legs aching already. Kirstin was poking her head out.

"You okay?" she called.

He nodded. "Be careful."

She followed briskly, mirroring his movements and sliding down after the fall as well. Luckily this time Avi was there to stop her, catch her as she practically crashed into him.

"I told you I didn't need you to catch me," Kirstin mumbled between heavy breaths.

"You're welcome," Avi added sarcastically before taking a look over the ledge. The fall looked daunting, especially now that he knew how badly the 10 foot drop hurt. After this one he was worried he wouldn't be able to stand.

"You okay?" He asked her the same question she'd called down minutes ago.

She nodded, still breathing heavily, then nodded her head in the direction of his hands. "You're bleeding."

He looked at his palms, which, sure enough, were dripping with blood. Hastily he wiped them on his jeans.

"I'm fine," he said.

"You sure we'll make that fall?"

"It's either that or climb back up."

This time Kirstin jumped first, but instead of just lowering herself she took Avi's hands so he could lower her even further. He let go once she was ready, and heard her breath catch in her throat as she fell. Avi watched as she landed hard on her legs, then stumble back underneath the ledge and out of sight. She was completely silent for at least a minute, and Avi's heart raced.

"Kirstin!" he finally called.

"I'm okay," she called back after a pause, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"How bad is it?"

"Can't stand up yet."

Avi took a long breath before lowering himself again, heart racing. He dropped about a foot away from her, landing even harder than she had. He let out a sharp cry of pain, then sucked in his breath. He'd felt the intense impact on every bone in his feet and legs. This one was harder to recover from.

They stayed laying in the grass for a brief moment, but got up as soon as they could, both trying to ignore the excruciating pain pulsing through their limbs. Avi helped Kirstin to her feet, and together they limped into the street. There were a couple of walkers headed toward them, and Kirstin aimed her gun at their heads. As soon as her gun was raised, however, Avi grabbed the barrel, pushing it down. She glared at him, but he shook his head.

Avi sped ahead of Kirstin, pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed the first walker in the skull. However the walker was stronger than he'd expected, knocking into him and causing him to fall backward onto the pavement, its lifeless corpse on top of him.

He watched as the second walker headed straight for Kirstin, who knew she couldn't fire her gun without drawing every walker in a mile radius, including the ones in the house behind them. She looked frantically at him, who, with a grunt, tossed her his knife. Somehow she caught it just as the walker was practically on top of her, and she smashed its brain in with the blade, gasping as she pushed it off of her.

Kirstin and Avi recuperated, Avi standing, and silently made their way toward the first car they saw. It was a silver prius, and Avi smashed the window to check for a working engine.

By some miracle it was.

The two hopped into the vehicle, Kirstin in the passenger's side, turned on the car and sped away from the house that was now overflowing with walkers.

They'd somehow escaped, together.