Apocalypse [Pentatonix AU | Kavi / Scomiche]

Chapter 6 - Crossroads

"I'm going on a supply run," Kirstie finally announced after a very long morning.

Kirstie and Avi had found a somewhat secure house that they'd been able to camp out in for the past week. It wasn't completely safe from the dead, but it was better than nothing. It wasn't too shabby either, with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. As long as it wasn't overrun by walkers, they could plan to stay for a considerable time.

This morning, however, was putting them both on edge. They were both well aware that it was the 17th. Although Avi had little to no hope of anything actually happening, Kirstie was still secretly optimistic. It was all she could think about, though, and she needed something to take her mind off of it. So of course she suggested to make a supply run.

"Want me to come with?" Avi asked, standing.

She shook her head. "No, I need to clear my head."

"I won't be there to have your back."

"I'll be fine, Avi."

He watched as she slung her shotgun over her shoulder and grabbed one of their extra empty backpacks from the corner of the entree hall. He kept his eyes on her until she'd shut and bolted the door.

Immediately lonely, and even more anxious now that Kirstie was out, Avi headed upstairs to wash some of his clothes. He'd offered to wash Kirstie's the other day, but she was obviously uncomfortable with it, so he didn't push.

Avi hadn't realized how lonely he was until he met her. Having someone to be able to talk to besides himself was an incredible feeling. For the first time in a year he actually felt hopeful, like there really was hope left.

But there was something about Kirstie too. Although she obviously wasn't telling him everything about herself (and to be fair, he wasn't telling everything about himself either) she was so easy to talk to. They would talk about their past lives, who they were before all of it. He'd learned she was a behavioral scientist, working in California although she was born in Texas. In turn, he'd told her bits of himself as well. How he grew up in Visalia, California and had worked as a chef in Los Angeles. He told her he'd lost his entire family, including his sister, who was his best friend, along with his brother and parents. They were slowly learning more and more about each other, for better or worse.

The one thing Avi couldn't understand, though, was why he was so interested in this girl. Every new piece of information he learned about her, he cherished for a reason he couldn't explain. There was just something about her that was so...

The slamming of a door below pulled him from his thoughts. He froze, placing down the washboard before picking up his gun. He knew it couldn't be Kirstie, she'd only left minutes ago and would've announced herself. Which meant one of two things; it was a walker, or someone had broken in.

With his gun at the ready, Avi walked swiftly down the long winding marble staircase. There was no one in the main entree hall, which meant whoever or whatever it was was already inside the house. Avi spun on his heel, turning toward the large closed doors that lead to the dining hall. With a deep breath he kicked them open.

At the opposite end of the room was a man. His back faced Avi, but even from far away it was clear he was tall. He had tousled blonde hair and a 9mm in his right hand. Slowly he turned, and Avi was shocked to see he was smiling.

"Avi, nice to meet you," he said, walking toward him without even a glance toward his gun. Avi was in shock, stunned this stranger was approaching him so placidly.

He had light skin and light features, with baby blue eyes that somehow hadn't lost their glisten. Once he was less than a foot away from Avi, he finally looked down toward Avi's gun.

"I'd really appreciate if you lower that, man," he said.

Avi didn't move. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Really, Kirst hasn't said anything about me? Huh. My name's Scott Hoying. I'm an old friend of hers."

Holy shit, he'd completely forgotten it was the 17th.

Wait, holy shit.

No, it couldn't be possible. He couldn't believe this man was actually the same Scott that Kirstie had told him about.

The shock on his face was a lot more obvious than he'd intended, which was made clear after Scott broke into a soft chuckle. "Guess she did mention me then."

Still in disbelief, Avi refused to lower his gun, causing Scott's smile to fade. "You're lying, you can't be- it's not possible."

"I made a promise to Kirstie a long time ago. I'm not one to go back on promises."

"How'd you know my name?" Avi said, gun still raised.

Scott now showed no traces of humor. "Well, to be completely honest, I found ya'll a few days ago, right before you came to this place."

"So you're telling me you've been stalking and eavesdropping on us for days?" Avi said threateningly, pushing his gun into Scott's chest.

"Watch it," Scott said slowly, raising his eyebrows. "I haven't. Right before you decided to come here, I heard your little disagreement about whether or not it would be secure. Heard her call you Avi. Once it was obvious ya'll would be staying at the house, I made my way around back and snuck in before you, heading straight for the attic. Couldn't hear any of your conversations from up there, don't worry. Never even got a good look at either of you."

"Why'd you hide?"

A small grin appeared on his lips once again. "I had to wait till the 17th, didn't I?"

Avi sighed, but lowered his gun. They both took a seat at the table.

"So where's Kirstie?" Scott asked, running his fingers through his stringy hair.

"On a supply run," Avi responded, not taking his eyes off of him. He wondered why he was alone, where the man named Alex he was supposedly with had gone, wondered still if this really was Scott. He couldn't get over the disbelief.

"How long have you known her?"

"Bout a week now."

"Really, that's all?"

"That's all."

"What'd she tell you about our group?"

"Alex, for one. Where is he?"

Scott stared at him with empty eyes. Avi knew that look. Alex was dead.

"She also said that there were four of you. That she'd left you after Nicole died, on the 17th of last year. That's about all, she's a pretty private person."

A small laugh. "Yeah, didn't think that would've changed." He looked down at his hands. "She said four, you sure about that?"

There it was again. Avi grew even more curious. "Yeah, why? Was there another?"

Scott paused for just long enough for Avi's suspicions to grow massively before saying, "No, no. Just four."

As he said it the two men heard the front door click and then open. Kirstie walked into the entryway, throwing down her backpack and calling upstairs.

"Avi, I'm back. I got lunch."

From where she was standing they could see her but she couldn't see them. Avi glanced toward Scott, who was frozen on the spot, his eyes glimmering and a look of amazement spread across his face. Avi couldn't even imagine what this was like for him, seeing his best friend for the first time in an entire, very long year.

So with one last look toward a stunned Scott, Avi stood, walking out of the dining hall and toward Kirstie, ready to tell her the unbelievable news.