Survive [Cryaotic x Reader] (Discontinued)

(Four)

When you woke up you found that you were bleeding. You had clawed at your scar on your shoulder and drawn blood it would seem. Besides that and the shaking you were relatively okay. That nightmare had been particularly nasty. Mary had haunted you ever since you had knowingly killed her the first time you found yourself trapped in the game. Even if it had been in self-defense, it didn't change the fact that she was a human and you had taken her life from her. She was the first person that you had directly killed with your own two hands.

You shivered and quickly suppressed those memories. Now was not the time to dwell on them and lose your cool. You had to figure out what was going on here then you had to escape as quickly as you could. Whatever was happening was not something you wanted to be involved with. You were still hoping for this to be some horrible nightmare or twisted prank.

The more the sleepiness wore off, the more alert you became. It was like you were already slipping back to how you had been in the game. You methodically checked over all of your supplies and gear to ensure you had all that you needed before you approached the door.

Your shoulder was extremely stiff and sore today, but you pushed that aside for the moment. It probably hadn't helped that you had slept in such a cramped position on the cold, hard floor. This was why you relied heavily on your right hand for the time being. Rather inconvenient, but manageable.

The caution you had adopted due to the last experience in The Walking Dead (as you assumed you were in again) was still fresh in your mind and simple to recall to the surface. You couldn't afford to be careless here or it very well may cost you your life. So you made sure to be aware of your surroundings and check out the window before wandering out onto the street.

The shot that you had set off yesterday certainly did attract attention. There were a few zombies – well, you'd be calling them walkers again from now on you supposed – scattered around the area, roaming aimlessly as per usual. As long as you stayed silent they would pay you no mind and remain oblivious to the presence of their potential meal. You could probably take them down easily enough, but with your injured shoulder you decided it wasn't really worth the effort. It'd be best if you could just slip by unnoticed.

There was likely still several buildings that would have still had supplies in them, but you didn't care all too much about that. You had enough food and water to hold you over for a while and the extra weight would just slow you down. And you had a bigger goal to focus on: finding Cry.

If you were pulled into all of this again then you were going to assume that he had been too. You had no clue how or why this was happening again but it would be no use dwelling on it so you decided to move on and deal with it, getting what needed to be done, done.

The closest road to you that ran out of town only had one lifeless walker stumbling across it, which was good for you. The less you had to deal with, the better.

You left the small town and didn't look back.

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It had to be just past noon when the gas station appeared on the horizon. It was only the second building that you had come across in the four or so hours that you had been walking. The first had been some lone country home. You had salvaged a couple cans of beans and peaches from the pantry along with a water bottle. All of the fresh fruit and vegetables had gone rotten, leaving little left to loot as the family that had previously owned the house seemed to have mainly relied on fresh crops from their own land. That or some other people had taken most of the other preserved foods already.

You had also snagged a sturdy jacket, recognizing that the weather was a bit cool. It was likely autumn. You frowned at the thought of having to deal with the harsher conditions of winter that were sure to come. Last time you had been trapped in the game you didn't ever have to deal with too cold or snowy weather, but feeling how chilly it was already, you had a feeling that you wouldn't be so lucky this time around.

Putting aside the dreary prospect of a walker-filled winter, you marched on with resolve. Maybe you'd pause for a quick snack once you reached the gas station. You were starting to find it a bit more difficult to ignore the grumbling of your stomach at this point.

You hummed a soft tune to yourself as you carried on your way. The dead silence was always difficult to get used to. Back in the real world there was always something making noise. Whether it be a household machine, a vehicle outside, a television or radio, or even a person, there was always something. Now having only the sound of your own breathing and footsteps was slightly unsettling. And so, to dispel the eerie atmosphere, you hummed any song that popped into your head. It beat the silence.

It took about fifteen minutes for you to reach the gas station. The run-down building appeared to be void of any signs of life, but you knew better than to march in blindly. Regardless of how abandoned the station looked; it didn't necessarily mean that it was. Looks could be deceiving.

So it was with caution that you proceeded, listening intently and remaining on high alert for any signs of anything else that may have been inhabiting the area. You kept your knife at the ready, expecting a walker to come lumbering toward you at any given moment. You were prepared.

After methodically checked and securing the building, only having to dispose of one walker, you were able to sit down in one of the booths inside and pull out a bit of food to nibble on from your backpack. Being back in the apocalypse, you'd have to get used to rationing food constantly again. Unlike in your regular life, where there was a surplus of food to indulge yourself on at any given time. Now it was a game of survival, which meant preserving your food stock carefully. Soon enough you'd be feeling the ongoing hunger and exhaustion that never went away.

Though it only took about five minutes to eat, you allowed yourself to rest another ten minutes before deciding to hit the road. But before you did that, you wanted to make sure you took care of your shoulder. It was downright annoying to have it be useless, especially in what situations could pop up where you'd need it. So, although you didn't have much of a clue how to actually do it, you were determined to pop your shoulder back in.

To start off, you made sure to relax your joint. It wouldn't be helpful to be tense for this, so hopefully relaxing would make everything go smoother. You had seen this before on TV or in video games, so hopefully the procedure was shown fairly accurately. You laid down on the ground, making sure to keep your shoulder joint and muscles loose. Ever so slowly, you stretched your arm out to the side, taking it slow so that there wasn't too much pain. Feeling only discomfort in this stage, you raised your arm so that it was over your head, and then gradually reached your hand behind your head and towards your other shoulder. At this point the discomfort was bordering along pain, but then there was a snap of something within your shoulder and you were filled with a sudden relief.

Assuming that you had successfully popped your previously dislocated shoulder back into place, you continued with your task. You planned on walking until you found a suitable place to camp out at for when the sky started to turn dark. As eager as you were to find Cry, it would be pointless to waste your energy wandering around in the dark. Sleep was important to stay attentive and it would be more dangerous at night.

You never really got the chance to search for a place to rest that night, however, as you were interrupted before the sun had completely set. You were just beginning to think about scouting out a secure building for the night when a light not too far ahead of you caught your attention. Knowing that not all people tended to play nice in the apocalypse, you carried on with caution, moving forward while staying out of sight behind various trees and bushes.

Well, at least, you stayed hidden until you got close enough to the person to realize that you recognized them.

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