Chapter Text
The branch had made contact with the “scout,” though it dared not to pierce any skin. Nevertheless, it provided enough of a distraction to pause it in its tracks. Its lust for violence and blood had been replaced with confusion for just a moment, as it looked down and noticed the tip of the branch pressed up against its shirt.
The pause gave Jamie enough of a chance to make their next move. A very quick analysis of the situation gave them a couple options. One: they could run, maybe shake that thing off of them. Two: they could fight it, maybe deal with it once and for all. Instead of picking either of those options, though, they decided they’d get a better look at it. I’m such an idiot for doing this.
Starting with the face, it had endless pits of void in place of its eyes. It had a small, innocent smile, though it was stripped of its innocence when paired with the eyes. Atop its head were mushrooms sprouting amongst its unkept hair. Wait… mushrooms? Like, the things I eat sometimes???
Moving downward, it was wearing a sandy-yellow shirt and an olive skirt. It bore a navy-blue sash, suggesting that this poor soul was once an ordinary Scout. Much like its head, its arms and legs were also covered in mushrooms.
Another fact that Jamie desperately tried to ignore was that its skin was orange. Just like Luna. Why did that matter? An unwelcome feeling of dread settled in their chest after the fact. It could’ve been Luna. They desperately tried to shake the thought out of their head. But it wasn’t, dummy. It’s… not them. Just some other idiot.
Suddenly, the pieces started to click in Jamie’s head. If this scout was covered in mushrooms and looked like… this… They were hit with a shattering realization. I think this kid’s a zombie. That’s… not good.
They didn’t want to die or become a zombie themselves. As much as they wanted to pretend to deny it, they also didn’t want their newfound friends to suffer. Above all else, they really didn’t want Jade to have to live with that guilt either.
They were going to do everything that they could to make sure that none of those things had even the slightest chance to happen.
Jamie forced the branch forward, fully expecting to be met with resistance. What they didn’t expect, however, was that the branch would instead glide effortlessly through the zombie’s chest and out the other end. Furthermore, they didn’t expect it to actually bleed, even with the stick still in place.
Out of fear, Jamie yanked their hands, and consequently the branch, backwards as quickly as they could. It was all for naught, though. The sudden shift in momentum had caused blood to fly out from the wound, splattering Jamie’s hands and forearms in the process. To make matters worse, blood began to pour out of the wound at an alarming rate without the stick embedded to slow it.
In response to Jamie’s sudden hostility, the zombie simply looked down at the wound in confusion, then screeched out in pain and collapsed on the spot very quickly after. It laid, unresponsive and unmoving, in its own pool of blood, never to wake again.
Jamie dropped the branch and looked down at their own hands and froze when they saw the blood. The sight… all it did was dig up an extremely unpleasant memory for them. It was one that they chose to bury for so long, but now it reared its ugly head once more. It couldn’t have picked a worse time to invade their mind.
…
Jamie could barely contain their excitement as they rode down the highway with their family. To their right sat Jade, who was tinkering with something on their phone. Their dad was driving and their mom was fast asleep.
They’d just turned ten a few months ago and had an excellent year in school. Their parents had promised to take both them and Jade to Disneyland in the summer if they did well in school, which they did, and they could do whatever they wanted there!
Well… not exactly “whatever,” but… whatever.
They tugged on Jade’s arm, who immediately looked up at them in confusion. Their mind conveniently drew a blank on what they were going to say, so they just gave Jade the biggest grin that they possibly could. Jade responded with a somehow bigger one, which spiraled into the siblings having a silent grinning contest.
Their father must’ve noticed the content because he let out a soft chuckle and asked the following as quietly as he possibly could. “What’re you two goofballs doing back there?” Jamie and Jade froze up for a moment then returned to what they were doing initially. He simply laughed and shook his head in response.
The car rolled to a stop at an intersection. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary, so after just a moment, the car resumed moving. However, within a second, a truck was barreling directly towards them. Not a single person in either vehicle had time to react before they collided.
The last thing that Jamie remembered before being hit with darkness was that the front of the vehicle had almost been completely crushed.
When they woke up again, they were outside of the vehicle laying down on the road. They ached a bit, but they certainly felt worse in better circumstances. Surprisingly, they had very few scratches and bruising.
As soon as they sat up, they saw a horrific scene.
The car that they were once in was completely crushed in the front. To make matters worse, the person that had hit them appeared to be gone. There was not a single siren within sight or earshot, so they assumed they weren’t being helped for a while. Or at all.
The next thought they had when they got up was Jade. Fortunately, they didn’t have to worry about them for long, since Jade reappeared from the other side of the car. Jade appeared to be extremely panicked, though none of the words they said really made sense. They grabbed Jamie by the hand and dragged them to the other side of the car.
Jamie saw both of their parents propped up against a tree. Once Jamie approached them, it became very clear that neither of them were conscious. Their first thought was to attempt to comfort their mom. A lot of blood had dried onto her skin and clothes, though they made contact with some that was still damp. They stared blankly at the blood for just a moment before they reattempted to make contact with her.
At the exact moment that they reattempted to grab her, everything around them disappeared and she melted into… water? The water washed away the blood that was once on their hands, and a more familiar scene began to materialize in front of them.
…
They felt something—tears—drop from their face and make a small drip in the puddle in front of them. They quickly rubbed their face, but noticed that their hands and forearms were wet. Additionally, the blood was gone, though the light red tint in the water suggested it was recently washed off. Luna and Jade sat close by, deep concern painted on both of their faces. Riley was leaned up against a tree a little further away, seemingly keeping an eye out for threats.
They flexed their fingers then looked back and forth between Jade and Luna in confusion. “What…?”
Jade was the one to answer their question. “You… zoned out after… ‘taking care’ of that zombie. Luna noticed the blood on your hands and tried to ask if you were okay, but… you didn’t respond. So, we brought you here to clean you up.”
Jamie stared at their hands once more. The blood was still gone. “I… uh, thanks.”
It was Luna’s turn to ask a question. “Uh, a-are you… o-okay, Jamie?”
Okay? I just relived the worst time of my life and you think I’m okay?
No… Luna couldn’t know. Jamie had to come up with some excuse. Jade wouldn’t buy it, but they could deal with Jade later. They just needed to convince Luna.
Jamie sighed. “Not really, no. I thought I was gonna die there. And… that used to be a scout. It could’ve been…” This, they did feel horrible about. “It could’ve been…” One of us? “Me.”
Good enough.
Neither Jade nor Luna responded. Jade had a look in their eyes that they knew it wasn’t the full story—what a surprise—but held out on calling it out. Luna appeared to believe their response, so they’d backed off a little bit.
Welp. That’s enough wasting time. Jamie dried off their hands as best as they could and cleared their throat. “It’d kinda suck if one of us turned into a zombie and bit everyone else. So… maybe we shouldn’t camp here. Just, uh… trying to be safe.”
Luna nodded in agreement. “Y-Yeah… I… I think we s-should just… go….” They shuffled uncomfortably where they sat. “I’ll… uh, g-go with Riley and l-leave you two alone for a bit…” They stood up and returned to Riley.
Time for the moment of truth. Once Luna was out of earshot, Jamie hesitantly looked over at Jade, who had an unimpressed look on their face. “You… didn’t buy all of that, did you.” They had meant to frame that as a question, but it came out a lot flatter than expected.
Jade shook their head. “I’m afraid not. There’s no way that’s the whole story. Not with that kind of reaction.” After a moment, a more saddened look swept across their face. “I was scared, Jamie. You… were unresponsive for a while. If you don’t want to tell me, I can’t make you, but…” They trailed off, but Jamie fully understood what they meant.
“...When I saw the blood on my hands, it… reminded me of…” Please don’t make me say this… “It…” The wince that Jade gave in response told Jamie that they knew what they were getting at.
After a few moments of silence, Jade finally broke it. “I… I’m sorry, Jamie. I wish I knew what to say, but… I don’t know.” They pulled Jamie in for a side hug. “I miss them too.”
As much as Jamie wanted to relish the moment, they really didn’t want to do it here. “Can we… do this later? We’re still kinda in the middle of a creepy ass forest and I don’t really wanna stick around here.” Jade looked offended for a split second before they took on a more understanding look on their face. “Just… don’t wanna get bit by a zombie. That’s all.”
Jade stood up and offered a hand towards Jamie. “Agreed. Let’s get moving, then. Probably shouldn’t keep the others waiting for much longer.” Jamie grabbed Jade’s hand and allowed them to pull them up. Jamie muttered a “thanks” in response before returning to Riley and Luna.
Riley stopped leaning against the tree once they spotted Jamie and Jade. “Everything okay?” Jamie nodded, but they knew that wasn’t the truth. “Alright…” They looked up at the sky and noticed the sun creeping towards the west. “Maybe we should settle do—”
Jamie interrupted them in a slightly panicked state. “Uh, w-what if we don’t stop instead?” Riley immediately cocked their head in confusion, prompting Jamie to continue. “I mean… we’re… in the middle of a massive forest with zombies and who knows what lurking in the shadows. Do we really want to camp here for the night, or just suck it up and keep going?”
A strong gust of wind only confirmed Jamie’s fears of lingering. The group clinged onto eachother and whatever was nearby. Once the wind passed, everyone regrouped and appeared to be slightly more on edge.
Riley hummed as they processed the information. “Hm. You have a point, Jamie. This place is… brutal. Well… can we get a raise of hands in favor of continuing?” Almost immediately, everyone else raised their hands. “Okay. We’ll just keep going, then.” Phew. Really didn’t want to stay here for the night.
The group continued onward, but the zombie scout returned to the forefront of Jamie’s mind. It really nagged at them, and they also wanted to know how everyone else felt. “Uh…” Everyone stopped and looked at Jamie, which caused them to clam up for just a moment. Get it together, Jamie… “That, uh, zombie. Pretty creepy, right?” Great job, doofus.
Luna shivered at the thought. “Uh, y-yeah… I… didn’t l-like that it looked like… me…” They picked at a random leaf that attached itself to their skirt.
It did look a lot like Luna, which only frightened Jamie more. “What if… that was one of us…?”
Riley reached out to give Jamie a pat on their shoulder. “Jamie, as long as I’m alive, nothing is happening to any of you. I might not be good at anything, but I will sure as hell try my best to keep you all alive.”
This sentiment eased up Jamie’s worries just a bit. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. You suck, but…” They gave Riley a slight smile. “You’re pretty good at keeping other people alive. I’ll give you that much.”
Riley reciprocated Jamie’s niceties with their own smile, then returned to walking without another word. Jamie felt just a little better about everything again.
After some more time, the group came across a massive tree stump. Much to everyone’s confusion, Riley randomly stopped near it and sniffed the air. “Hey… does anyone else smell that?”
Jamie smelled the air themselves. Now that Riley mentioned it… they did smell something strange. They couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was, but it was unpleasant nonetheless. It couldn’t have been the water, because there was none nearby. Was it another zombie? Maybe something entirely different?
Riley raised up their hand to signal for everyone to stop. “I’ll go check it out and—”
Jamie cleared their throat. Riley appeared to be annoyed by the interruption. “Hey. The, uh, buddy system. Remember when you lectured us about that? You’re du—uh, I mean… maybe you shouldn’t go alone.” They almost wanted to let the others fight over volunteering, but they were very curious about it themselves. “I’ll save everyone the headache and go with you.”
“Alright, then. Let’s get going, Jamie.”
Luna and Jade stayed behind to keep watch as Riley and Jamie approached the tree stump. The smell got stronger the closer they got, so whatever they were looking for was certainly close by. The stump itself appeared to have an opening, so they both peeked inside and couldn’t believe what they saw.
Not only was the stump hollowed out from the inside, but there was a body leaning up against the interior wall. It looked almost like…
A pilot?