Fragile Hearts [DANGEROUS FELLOWS]

⚠️THIRTY: RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY⚠️

The only thing keeping you going was the fact you were surrounded by friends.

If you were alone, you wouldn't have made it this far. You weren't very strong, and you couldn't handle pressure that well either. Not to mention your friends had saved your life multiple times.

Harry's warm embrace kept you from slipping away silently into hopelessness, or emotionlessness, or worse. You wanted to be like him, strong and reassuring even when things got bad.

Now that you thought about it, Harry was always there for you. In the beginning, when everyone else didn't trust you, even Lawrence, Harry stood up for you.

You didn't know what you would do without him.

You were dozing off when a miserable groan from the back woke you up. You turned to check on Eugene and saw him curled up, his hands on his head.

"C...can we stop for a sec?" he stuttered. "Don't feel so good."

Judy cast a worried glance at the fuel gauge as she slowed the van to a stop. Eugene quickly went past Ethan's seat, opening the door and stumbling outside. The sky was darkening, but not just because it was getting late. It looked like it might rain any minute.

"That kid," Zion grumbled, getting out as well. You looked outside, and you couldn't help but start to follow.

Harry's grip on you tightened for a second, looking hesitant to let you go, but then he relented. "Be careful," he called after you, looking worried.

Went you stepped out, you saw Eugene bent over with his hands on his knees, shaking, and Zion standing next to him awkwardly. You walked up to the nauseous Eugene, patting his back gently.

"My head hurts like crazy," he groaned. "And my ears are ringing."

He gagged, and Zion took a step back just to be safe.

"I don't feel normal, (Y/n)," he whimpered. "What's wrong with me?"

You wanted to comfort him, but you didn't know how. What was wrong with him? Was it just some sort of common cold? Maybe a bug? Or did it have something to do with the virus?

You pushed the thought out of your mind quickly, trying your best to sound confident. "It's gonna be fine, okay? When we get to the Safe Zone, they have doctors, and they will know what to do."

"If we ever get there," Zion muttered, looking up at the sky.

Judy stuck her head out the driver's window, cupping her hands around her mouth. "We don't have much gas," she called. "Let's hurry."

"C'mon, Eugene. We gotta go," you told him, grabbing his arm, but he didn't budge.

"You should just leave me here," he choked, and you looked up, feeling a raindrop land on your head. "If I have the virus-"

"You don't," you interrupted him, pulling his arm again. The rain started to come faster. "You shouldn't say stuff like that."

"Then what's wrong with me, (Y/n)?" he asked, straightening up to pull his arm from your grip.

"You think we're gonna drive off without you just because you got a stupid fever?" Zion spoke up. "Let's go before we get soaked."

"I don't feel normal," he repeated, shivering against the cold rain.

"Let's go, guys," shouted another voice from the van, Jay this time.

"You're being an idiot," Zion scolded him. "The virus turns you in one hour. If you had it, you would've been feasting on our brains before we even made it out of the school."

You nodded, feeling reassured.

"I'm just scared," Eugene admit, talking louder to be heard over the increasing wind. "I don't want to turn into one of those... those things."

"Don't be so paranoid," Zion teased him, starting to walk back towards the van. "If I really thought you had the virus, I would've broken your skull by now."

He turned away to hurry into the vehicle, and you reached out to grab Eugene's hand.

"Trust me, you're gonna be okay," you told him, squeezing his hand firmly. He nodded, and you saw in his eyes that he believed you.

The two of you rushed back into the warmth of the van, and luckily you were only a little damp.

"Did he throw up?" Jay asked as the van started to roll on.

Judy drove a little slower because of the rain, the windshield wipers rhythmically squeaking away. Lawrence had his elbow propped on the armrest, his cheek against his hand, looking out the window, and Saddle was sitting on the floor by Sue's feet, grooming himself.

It was almost pitch black outside, the clouds blocking the moon. There could be anything lurking in the shadows, and the only light was from the van's headlights.

"Do you think we should stop?" Sue asked, flicking on a flashlight to brighten the inside of the van. "It seems dangerous to drive when it's so dark."

"Maybe we should've stayed at the school another day," Lawrence said thoughtfully, peering up at the clouds.

"What's done is done," Sue said impatiently. "Should we stop?"

"We have no choice but to keep going," Lawrence sighed. "If we stop we'll have to turn off the engine and the heater or else we'll use up all the gas. And we can't do that, it's too cold."

"Not to mention a van full of fresh meat is definitely going to attract zombies," Jay added. "It'd be like dropping a box of cheese in a rat cage."

"This isn't a good idea," Sue insisted.

"Then what do you suggest? We pull up at the gas station and fill up the tank?" Zion asked sarcastically. "And grab some snacks while we're at it?"

"That's not helping," Sue said, crossing her arms in frustration.

"Enough arguing," Harry broke in, his eyelids heavy. "It never solves anything. We don't really have any other option than to keep going."

No one had any objections.

"Besides, what's the worst that could happen?" he added, and it was probably the dumbest thing to say at that moment.

There was a dull thud from the roof of the van, and the vehicle rocked, making your stomach churn. Saddle jumped to his feet, his fur raising and a hiss escaping his throat.

"Shoulda kept that mouth shut, Harry," Zion said, looking up warily. There were no more noises.

"Maybe it was j-just a tree branch," Hailey stammered hopefully.

Please be a tree branch, please be a tree branch, you prayed.

But you all knew it wasn't a tree branch. And all of your suspicions were confirmed when right then a zombie's head and torso appeared in the windshield, obscuring the road from view and sending everything into chaos.