The Dead Don't Bleed

Rise

Word Count: 2,491

The travel was hot and slow-going, after just a few hours of walking, Keith could already feel the sweat clinging to his skin and trailing down his neck as they walked, and he wasn't the only one in the same miserable shape.

They had been passing through an abandoned town in the early hours of their journey. There were a few undead that wandered into their path, but they had been able to dispatch them quickly and quietly enough to continue on. After staying in the city for most of the outbreak, Keith had grown accustomed to the buildings and broken down road and sidewalk they passed, but as they continued on that soon faded away to nothing but a long stretch of road and trees on either side.

Shiro reasoned that the wide expanse of road would give them a heads up to what was coming, and he wasn't exactly wrong. Lance's deadly accuracy with a bow had any threats that made their way towards them eliminated before Keith could even blink, and Keith couldn't help but feel a little impressed by the teen's hidden talent.

Shiro had suggested a mile or two back that they try and find a vehicle to make the journey quicker, but after three years of sitting idle in the dirt, none that they found worked beyond thrumming for a second or two before finally sputtering back out, and after what seemed like their ninth or tenth attempt, Keith and the rest of the group finally came to a hard conclusion that they'd be making their journey on foot.

"I'm tired, could we stop and rest for a second or two? Pleeaaaase?" Lance whined, dragging his feet on the uneven and soggy ground after asking the same question for the fifth time in the last hour.

Pidge looked like she was trying her best to restrain herself from hitting someone, and Keith didn't have to strain far to know who, "No, Lance, we can't stop, once we get there, you can rest all you want, but we are not wasting the daylight we have now so will you please shut up!" She readjusted the pack on her shoulders with a muttered curse.

Lance only grumbled and continued on, playing with the string of the bow slung over his shoulder, and Keith watched as Hunk moved closer to comfort his best friend, a small conversation bubbling up between the two as they continued walking.

"I'm so tired, Hunk."

"I know hermano."

Keith rolled his eyes at Lance's behavior, but he couldn't deny that he was beginning to tire out himself. They had been walking for the better half of the day already, and Keith was partly mortified that he was beginning to tire out so soon. He knew for a fact that he'd been able to hold out much longer than before now, that single week of not going far to scavenge and lounging around all day had affected him badly. But he wasn't about to call it quits when everyone but Lance hadn't said a word against stopping, so neither would he. He would grit his teeth and continue on for however long he needed to if it meant he wasn't going to be the one to demand they stop and rest for the night.

His gaze wandered back over to Shiro. The man had been deathly quiet ever since they left the base. He didn't speak unless spoken to and didn't bother to say anything if it could go unsaid, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why.

Even though Keith had been under the presumption that Shiro had been dead for the past three years, he could relate to the feeling of losing someone, or in this case, leaving someone behind. He remembered that overwhelming sense of loss, that had all but killed him the first week on his own if it hadn't been for the survival instinct to keep moving and stay alive, Keith was sure he would've just laid down and waited for death to finally take him.

Allura was special to Shiro, he knew that much through the way they acted towards each other, and Keith knew the Shiro from before well enough to know that his mind lingered a little longer than most on the what if's of the situation. What if she didn't make it? What if a horde broke in and she died? What if he finds her and can't do anything but watch her die? It wasn't a stretch from the thoughts Keith was sure must be flowing through his head, and Keith finally pushed himself to match his pace equal with Shiro's before he talked himself out of saying something to him. "She's going to be okay, Shiro."