The Survivors

Two - You're Not Forgiven

warnings: alcohol references and swearing

word count: 851

"You think he's alive?" Summer asked Richelle nervously, looking down at the dark-skinned, unconscious boy in her arms. Despite Henry's chilly breaths against her skin, Summer couldn't help feeling skeptical. She guessed it was because of everything she'd seen that night.

Richelle dismissed her concerns quickly. "Of course he's alive, dumbass. He's breathing," she snapped.

Rolling her eyes, Summer started carrying Henry to the studio, with Richelle firmly locking the door behind her once they were all in.

• • • • • • • • •

Henry woke to the sound of his phone's beeping alarm and immediately seized it, desperately scrolling for Amy's number. He sighed with relief as he read through their conversation from last night, just before they called. His body relaxed as he realised it'd been a dream; him and his girlfriend were completely safe.

Henry suddenly looked down at his naked chest and saw the endless scars, broadening from his stomach to both of his arms.

"Fuck," he murmured. His eyes drifted towards the doorway of what Henry recognised as the locker room. Summer was standing there, forcing a smile but painfully aware of the zombies outside.

"Hey," she said, taking a seat besides Henry. "Are you doing okay? You looked rough last night." Seeing the expression on his face, Summer knew there was no point in waiting for an answer. "We found you in a car, knocked out and bleeding. It's a miracle none of those things bit you - your window was smashed."

She looked at him sadly for a few moments before asking Henry the question on the tip of her tongue. "What happened?" Looking at Henry's reluctant face, she added, "You can tell me."

"I just remember she was one of them.." Henry sighed, "Amy. She tried to kill me."

Summer bit her lip.

"Look, well.. at least you're still here." For the first time, Henry was annoyed by Summer's positivity; it felt like the end of the world and all he wanted to do was cry. He didn't say this out loud though, just drooped further into his seat.

"Anyone else here?" Henry mumbled instead, and Summer nodded.

"Noah won't let us leave. There's him, me, Richelle, Finn and Piper. They stayed at the studio late, doing God knows what," Summer told him. "Everyone's in Studio A.. let's go."

• • • • • • • • •

A relieved smile crept across Piper's face as she saw Henry coming into the room; she'd been getting nervous.

Sinking into her boyfriend's arms, Piper relaxed, peaceful for once. She was lucky to have Finn.

"Piper, Finn!" Both of them couldn't help sighing at Richelle's voice - they were never this calm anymore. "Look, we're trying to find water or food or something. We're staying here."

Finn rolled his eyes, still a little annoyed at Richelle for interrupting them. "There's the sinks for water, and apparently Shakes and Ladders has a lot of leftover food. I'm not going though."

"Me neither," Richelle said. "Noah can do it, he's in charge."

Raising an eyebrow at the way the blonde had said that, Noah nodded and said he'd go.

"You can't go alone," Richelle said. She looked at Summer, who was nervously wringing her hands, and smiled to herself. "Summer, go with him, pussy." Her smirk only got bigger when she saw the look of horror on Summer's face. "It's fine, zombies eat brains and, from what I've heard, that won't be a problem for you."

"Don't be a dick, Richelle," Finn said suddenly. "Piper can go." As Finn nudged her, Piper groaned; it looked like she didn't have a choice.

• • • • • • • • •

Piper sighed as she caught a glimpse of Noah; she'd been trying to avoid him but Finn had to go and do that. She kept telling herself he couldn't help it - her boyfriend was never the sharpest tool in the shed - but she'd been trying to stay out of Noah's way.

"You can't ignore me forever," Noah said, tossing another scone into his bag. She might have been imagining it, but Piper was sure a trace of beer still lingered in Noah's breath. "I was drunk, you know that."

"It still fucking happened." Piper's voice was cold and stinging but Noah couldn't help feeling bad for her. She was only sixteen and what he did wasn't right. "You never even apologised."

Noah placed a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder and, ignoring the fact that he was shaken off immediately, opened his mouth to speak. "Look, I'm sorry. I was hammered that night and shit happened. What I did was terrible, I know that, but it was weeks ago, and if we're gonna be here for a long time I don't wanna fight with you."

He glanced down at Piper as he finally exhaled, but she was still hauling leftover food into her bag - it was practically overflowing by now. "So?" Noah prompted.

"I'm not just letting this go," Noah sighed but let her continue, "but I'll be civil. You're right, we can't avoid each other this whole time."

Noah nodded a little, not daring to thank Piper, but she took the hint.

"It's fine," she said. "But remember: you're not forgiven."