Apocalypse Of The Damned (BMC fanfic)

7

A sense of déjà vu washed over Michael. Floating embers. Near silence other than the crackle of the fire. Cameron struggling to stay awake. The only things that were different were, one: the fact that he couldn't pick Cameron up and put her in the backseat of his car, and two: the thick blanket of snow the the fire was melting around it

Neither of them wanted to talk. Michael eventually just told her to come over, and she fell asleep using him as a pillow. And then silence.

Michael half expected something to jump out from the trees--a wolf, or a zombie, or even a person. Something that would threaten them. But nothing happened. He began to wonder if, maybe, he was just hoping for death. What was the point in trying to survive? He'd never find anyone. He'd just die eventually. He could shoot himself right now and nothing would change.

Then he remembered Cameron, the six year old little orphan girl who was fast asleep right next to him. She's six. Six years old. He let that sunk in for a moment. She didn't have parents or friends. She had no one to grieve over. If Michael died, she'd be alone, and she'd have someone to miss.

He remembered, once, back in November, she'd accidentally called him "Dad". She turned bright red and apologized profusely, saying that she didn't know where it came from. Michael insisted that it was okay. In fact, it was hard for him to stifle a smile.

He smiled softly at the memory, and decided: He'd stay alive. He'd live, to protect her. Maybe he could find Jeremy. Hopefully he'd find him sooner than he expected.

~*~*~*~
"Rise and shine, sweetie." Michael said, gently shaking Cameron awake. She stirred, blinking awake and whining softly.

"G'morning." She mumbled, sitting up.

"Good morning." Michael smiled a bit and stood, stretching.

Cameron yawned. "Are we moving again?"

Michael nodded. "Yeah, we are, baby."

"You're being awfully affectionate today," Cameron said, eyes still closed. "Something wrong?"

"No." Michael smiled and picked up the bags. "Let's go."

She nodded and stood. When she tried to pick up her backpack, Michael snatched it from her. She looked at him. "What gives?"

"Your shoulder. I'll carry it."

She sighed. "Okay."

Another day of walking for miles through the forest. Cameron managed to dig around in Jeremy's bag while they were walking. She pulled out the Polaroid of Michael and Jeremy and stared at it. She tended to do that, as if she was looking for something. She always asked things like, "Is he nice?" "Does he like kids?" "Do you think he'll like me?"
Michael would always answer the questions, even if they were personal.

She asked another question, "Were you two happy?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Really happy."

She hummed. "He looks happy... I think he likes you."

Michael chuckled. "Hon, it's just a picture. You can't tell that much from a picture."

"Sure I can. He's got this look in his eyes. I can just tell."

Michael smiled. Even if she didn't know what she was talking about, it was a nice thought.

"Do you like him?"

"Of course I do. He's my best friend."

"C'mon, silly, you know what I mean." She smirked, looking at him.

He blushed softly. "...Yes. I like him."

Cameron giggled and continued to stare at the picture. It was like that for a few hours. She seemed able to find new questions from the simple picture. Michael noticed that she seemed to really like the picture. She stared at it like it made her happy. Gave her hope.

Michael froze when he heard voices again. They were coming from their left. He took Cameron's hand and dragged her that way, ducking behind bushes. There was a group of people, too far away to be recognized, standing in front of a huge lodge. They must have been close to mountains.

There was one single person talking. Michael couldn't hear what they were saying, but they sounded like the leader by their tone. Cameron seemed curious, and she snuck closer. Michael reached out to grab her, but he was too late. He followed her unil they were hiding in the treeline.

"Shut up, Alex." The voice from before said. Now it was sounding familiar.

A few of the people closer to them looked familiar. Michael had the sneaking suspicion that he knew he. Cameron tugged on his sweater. He looked at her, and she put her arms up, making grabby hands. He picked her up and put her on his shoulders.

She looked into the group from her new position.

"What do you see? Do they look safe?" Michael asked.

Cameron gasped. "Get me down!!"

"What?! Did they see you?!" Michael whisper-yelled, putting her down again. He crouched to her height. She was beaming and bouncing on her toes. "What?" Michael asked again.

She took out the picture again and pointed at it. "It's him!"

Michael froze. "J... Jeremy...?"

Cameron nodded enthusiastically. Michael looked at the group again, scanning the people there to see if he could make any of them out. Connor Murphy, Veronica Sawyer, and Brooke. Those were the only ones he could make out immediately.

Connor shifted his weight to the other foot, giving Michael a limited view of the center of the group. He inched a bit closer to get a better look.

There he was. Jeremy stood in the center, talking to the rest of the group. He didn't look at all like himself. His expression was serious, eyes darker than usual. If he'd ever seen happiness, you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at him. It broke Michael's heart, but he could barely pay attention to it.

Jeremy was here. He was alive. And Michael was so close.