Here For You

Year One (2)

May, 1990
Week One

Synopsis For The Losers Club's Year:
Everyone is now thirteen years old, or will be soon (including YN). Bill and Beverly have gotten together, and there is some romantic tension (not entirely sexual, however) between Richie and Eddie. Mike, Ben and Stanley have no change in relationships. No big events have occurred, other than just surviving.

Your POV
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I bite my lip as I walk, darting my gaze to scan all of my surroundings. It's only the second day of the apocalypse.

I'm beside Kyle with my parents leading the way, and I take a piece of wood out of my pocket and engrave another tally mark onto it.

Kyle raises an eyebrow at me with a small smile, "You keeping track of how many days go by?"

I hum at him as I slip it back into my pocket, still gripping my knife in my dominant hand. "Someone has to, 'nd it might as well be me."

"I think that's a good idea," he nods. "In case we all survive this, we'll know exactly what day and year it is when this nightmare ends."

A tiny grin tugs at the sides of my mouth at his comment, and I nod back. "Precisely."

My ears perk up to the sound of leaves crunching and things snapping, alerting us of someone's presence. Not just one being, but it sounds like multiple. Possibly around twenty to thirty pairs of feet.

I twist my head around and spot a walker trailing us, and more of its buddies come out of the shrubbery right behind it. I intake a sharp breath and face forward again, nearly bumping into my father's back if not for Kyle grabbing my shoulder.

We all pull out our weapons and get back-to-back with one another, a defensive stance. Walkers surround us quickly, yet slowly.

Everyone starts taking steps forward to attack their opponents, and the battle begins.

I stab one in the face, then pull it out only to slice another guy's face open. I cringe and finish him off.

Minutes later, I hear a piercing scream. I stumble backwards and look behind me, eyes widening at seeing my mother's forearm bleeding from a bite mark.

I gasp and tears well up in my eyes, but I bite them back and face forward again to check my opponents space from me, and gasp again when I see they're so close.

I kill it and proclaim, "Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"

I kick a girl back and look back again to see father protecting mother. I have to force myself to continue fighting, or else we'll all be goners.

My mother's cries echo in the background along with the groans of the walkers and the yelps of everyone else. I grunt as I shove one back and stab another.

More walkers just seem to keep coming, and my father is forced to use his gun on them all. They're coming quicker than we can manage with just knives.

Mother grabs onto my arms and twists me around, also grabbing onto Kyle, when some distance is out between us and the walkers. Salty tears stream down her face as she orders, "Get out of here! I won't make it, and even so, your father has me! Kyle, take care of my boy as best and long as you can! I love you both! Now go!"

I'm pulled into a tight hug by my mother for a brief moment, as well as Kyle, before she pushes us onward. My father covers for us as Kyle holds onto my shoulder, leading me forward.

"I love you, two!" Father yells at us over the sound of his gunshots.

"We love you too, sir/father!" Kyle and I shout back, trying not to cry.

Seconds later, another scream tells us that my father has been bitten as well. The last I hear of them are their cries and yells of pain.

I can only imagine that my father had protected my mother until the very end.

And I can't help but to wonder that if I had stayed behind to cover their backs, would they still be alive? My mind and heart tells me no, and that I would've died alongside them, but my gut rips me apart about leaving them behind.

Kyle pulls me forward, our running never ceasing. We don't make it very far before we're cornered again.

"Make a break for it, YN! I've got you this time!"

"I can't leave ya behind too, Kyle!"

"YN, you've had my back covered for years! Let me repay the favor," he exclaims desperately, and the look in his eyes makes me follow his instructions.

He needs this.

He needs to do this not only to protect me, but to prove to himself that he did something more than just be a bystander as I took the lead back then.

"Fine," I give in, my own tears falling now. I'm losing everyone I care about in one day, and I'm not sure if I can handle it. "On yer mark."

Kyle nods, readying his knife. "Three."

"Kyle."

He looks at me as he says, teary eyed, "Two."

"Thank you."

He gives me a sad smile as he continues, "One."

"I love you, man."

"I love you too," he tells me and gives me a quick hug before releasing me with a push. "Go!"

I sprint past anything that comes in my way, killing them if necessary. I glance back to see Kyle taking down multiple at a time, and I get false hope that he'll survive this.

When I look back again for the second time, I see the walker behind him bite into his shoulder, and Kyle doesn't scream. Instead, he watches me with that same sad smile from before, his expression pained.

He waves to me before he continues fighting, despite getting more and more bites. He doesn't give up, even when it doesn't look good for him.

I face forward and speed up once more, letting the salt water rush out of my eyes like faucets, but stay determined and focused. His determination gave me motivation to be more like him now than ever.

I swear on everything that I am and ever will be that I will never give up.

I will make them proud.

•-•-•-•-•

-CastrarWolf