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Izzy was always the best at hunting in the group.
Noah didn't know exactly why and how she was, considering before the apocalypse had started she had shown no interest whatsoever in the sport, but apparently she was good at it, and that's all that really mattered to Noah.
She'd go out every few days to fetch them some deer, or sparrows, or sometimes she'd swipe beans or soup from abandoned stores if they'd travelled far enough. But today, Izzy was sick.
Her fever had skyrocketed since leaving Toronto and hadn't cooled off much and although she tried to act like it was fading, it was painfully obvious that it was still there.
Halfway through their journey she'd began to sweat bullets, her skin paled, showing off the dark circles that enveloped her eyes. She'd began to cough and sniff too, hacking up saliva and even stopping to vomit once.
That's when they all figured that it was time to rest. So they helped Owen hoist Izzy upon his back, despite her obvious protests and kicking, her heel connecting with Eva which made her end up with a bruise appearing beneath her jaw.
"I can do it." Izzy whined. "I can go hunting today still, let me go."
Eva scoffed incredulously, looking to Noah for help.
"You're joking right?" Noah sighed. "Izzy, have you seen yourself? You just threw up everywhere."
"Mm noooooooooo..." Izzy retorted but her voice was slurring now, fading off into exhausted incoherent nonsense, and within minutes she was snoring.
They travelled for an hour longer until Eva found a thick tree and tall undergrowth that Izzy could rest under and provide her enough shelter, for the time being anyway.
Owen set her down carefully, watching her with evident concern.
"Will she be alright?" He asked worriedly.
"Probably." Eva said gruffly. "That girl can bounce back from a stab wound like its nothing."
"Still we need someone to go hunting." Noah pointed out.
The best option for the job would probably be Eva. Owen was useless at hunting, he alerts the animals from a mile away with his loud stomping and obnoxious yells. And Noah could barely lift a pistol after breaking his right arm and getting shot a few weeks ago.
It had been an accident really. Izzy had brought him along to raid some abandoned leftovers in a grocery store but another group was there already. Some blue haired goth chick and her know-it-all girlfriend, and some weird girl with a purple braid and this poor twink that she wouldn't leave alone. Apparently they'd "claimed" the store beforehand and almost ripped their faces off when they saw them inside of it.
Izzy almost charged them and ate them alive but Noah managed to settle things down and agreed to leave before things grew more hostile. But they were all so occupied negotiating they didn't notice a zombie rounding around the corner of another aisle and staggering hungrily towards them.
The goth girls girlfriend noticed the zombie sneaking up behind Noah first and screamed which made the goth girl shoot, and instead of hitting the zombie it went straight into Noah's shoulder. The impact of the bullet made Noah crash back into the aisle and send it backwards, the fall twisting his arm awkwardly and when he landed all he could hear was a wretched snap.
No one had gotten bitten. The goth girl actually managed to shoot it after shooting Noah and saved everyone else in the shop. But now weeks later, Noah's shoulder was encased in bandages and was forced to wear a makeshift sling made from some ragged bedsheet that Owen found. Therefore he'd be useless for hunting.
"It'll have to be me." Eva huffed, coming to the same conclusion as Noah.
"Where will you be hunting?" Noah asked. "Just out in the trees?"
"Probably." Eva said.
Something about Eva running off alone made his skin prickle with unease. Sure she was strong but unobservant due to her vision. Her eyesight had become blurrier overtime and although glasses and a prescription would be an easy fix, it wasn't like there was any eye doctors lying around these days and glasses with Eva's exact same prescription.
"I'll come with you." Noah volunteered. "I can keep watch while you hunt. Maybe I'll help you find more animals too."
Eva shrugged indifferently and Owen eagerly nodded.
"I'll keep Izzy safe!" Owen reassured them.
Owen was probably more likely to accidentally shoot himself and Izzy before killing a zombie but it was unlikely that anything would try to attack them anyway in such thick grass so they'd probably both be safe alone for a little while.
Noah and Eva set off towards the forest. He had a pistol, although he probably wouldn't put it to much use and she had some kind of sniper, and although Noah wasn't that good with guns or identifying them it was the one that Izzy used for hunting herself (other than her bare hands and a fork) so it would probably do.
It didn't take long for them to find a deer, grazing lazily and unconcerned on a patch of grass, not even noticing them as they ducked beneath a bush and Eva readied her weapon.
"How does this gun work..." She muttered to herself.
"Like any other gun?" Noah suggested quietly, trying to keep his attitude in check so his voice wouldn't rise.
"I can't find the trig-" Eva's hand must've accidentally pressed down on the trigger because the gun went off.
The bullet flew straight past the deer, which immediately looked up in fear before hurriedly scampering off.
"Damn it!" Eva snapped.
Noah sighed.
"We'll have to find another one- Eva! Where are you going?!"
Eva had began to chase down the deer, and despite Noah's best attempts to call her back, she ran off into the trees in pursuit and swiftly disappeared into the darkness.
Cussing to himself internally, Noah tried his best to follow after her but he'd already lost her to the forest.
"Eva!" He called in agitation.
He wondered if he should just go back. Eva was decent with directions and probably could find her way if she tried. But Noah couldn't just leave her here in some ominous forest alone with some gun she didn't even know how to work.
"Eva!" He yelled again, beginning to walk through the trees in the direction she'd gone, maybe he'd eventually find her if he just kept going straight.
So Noah kept walking. But even as the sun began to set and the trees grew thicker and thicker, he had seen no sign of Eva again and was just gradually becoming more paranoid as he travelled.
He wondered if she'd already gone back, but just leaving without him didn't sound much like her... unless she thought he'd already gone back. Noah grumbled to himself, turning around to face what appeared to be three different paths through the trees.
Wait... which way did he come from again?
"Shit." He hissed.
A faint howl echoed in the distance and although Noah highly doubted there were any wolves in this forest there were likely some coyotes and foxes, which Noah didn't really wish to encounter so he quickly just chose the path with the thinnest trees and began to walk again.
The feeling of being watched prickled along his spine but Noah dismissed it as paranoia. Most zombies were along roads or cities and Noah was in a forest, and if it was just a creature then it was obviously more afraid of him than he is of it. Despite reassuring his anxiety, the feeling didn't leave.
After walking for what felt like ages, the trees finally separated but not into the clearing with the long grass that Noah was hoping for, but instead a highway, separated from the forest by some flimsy barbwire.
Now he was positive that he was lost. Before he was kind of in denial about it but there was no denying it now.
Gripping his pistol, Noah ducked under the barbwire and stepped onto the highway. There were a lot of abandoned cars, obviously left in quick manners, with their windows smashed or their doors left ajar or completely open. It was a lot like this in cities too, but most of the cars were left without keys, unlike these cars which had people in such a hurry that their keys were still jammed into the keyholes, basically praying for the car to be stolen.
Noah contemplated taking one but what would he do with it really? Drive off without his friends? Maybe they could come back here later after Noah finds them... if he finds them.
He decided to admire the cars anyway. One was a surprisingly shiny red, seemed pretty fancy too. But unlike the others it had no key with it. The owner probably really liked his car to have the time to take the key out before running.
An unmistakable gurgling noise echoed across the highway and for a second Noah assumed his own mouth could've been the source of it but then when he glanced to the other side of the highway he almost died on the spot.
Zombies. A lot of them, stumbling down the road. Thankfully they hadn't appeared to notice Noah yet because he was shielded by the red car he was inspecting but there wasn't any saying for when they would notice Noah.
He hit the deck, crawling underneath a vehicle, holding his breath and hating his life.
Of course the one car that he was looking at; at the time, had no key whatsoever. If it did, he would just simply drive off, but the universe hates him.
Why him? Why couldn't they make this situation happen to somebody else instead? And where was Eva? He was definitely worried about her now realizing that they were close to zombies despite being in a forest after all.
Noah needed a plan. And quickly. But his mind had gone blank with fear, for the first time in forever in couldn't worm his way out of a situation using his brain.
He unclasped the pistol to see how much zombies he'd be able to kill before dying.
One. ONE bullet.
Noah would strangle Owen right now if he could, Owen was in charge of refilling the ammo but he didn't and now here Noah was.
All the cars with keys are too far away, his pistol is loaded with one bullet, his right arm is broken and has a bullet wound in it, and the zombies were going to smell him any moment now if he didn't think of something.
So he got up and ran. The zombies noticed him immediately, gagging and gurgling with vicious hunger and beginning their chase. They were slow but not slow enough.
Zombies were mainly slow. Just corpses dragging themselves along the floor in an attempt to walk, but a lot of zombies weren't. Some zombies could run. And oh would you look at that? Some were running towards him right now. Just perfect.
He ran down the road as quickly as he could, stumbling on rocks and accidentally dropping his pistol, going back for it he ran straight into a zombie which immediately lunged for him.
The reek of rotting bodies making him practically choke as he leapt out of the way, falling onto his back and dragging himself along the road backwards, struggling to pull himself up with one arm.
"No!" Noah yelled.
He was so frustrated that this would be how he'd die. Alone on some abandoned road by some stupid zombies.
The zombies closed in on him, reaching for him with gory fingers and peeling flesh and in one last attempt to save himself, Noah threw up his arms to shield himself.
A shot echoed along the road, followed by a zombie plummeting to Noah's feet. A fresh bloodshot bleeding from its rotting head.
The first shot was followed by more gunshots, zombies dropping all around Noah who just sat there in complete shock until every zombie in the road was shot dead with perfect accuracy and Noah was coated in zombie gore.
Noah stood up shakily, brushing dirt off his pants and wiping zombie guts from his arms, looking around for his saviour, who he automatically highly doubted was his friends.
It was a man, perched atop a car a little ways away, staring at him, gun in hand.
He didn't say anything for a few seconds. Just kind of watched, his expression unreadable from this distance.
"I- uh... thank you?" Noah called to him, he couldn't help but feel more weirded out than thankful.
The man hopped down from the car and began to approach Noah at a pace that was disturbingly quick. Noah stumbled back a few inches nervously, but didn't run, after all why would a man who just stuck his neck out to save him go ahead and kill him?
As the man got closer, Noah could pick apart more of his appearance and found his own breath hitching in surprise. He was attractive. And that was just a fact. His hair was shoulder length, he was extremely well built, and had these really hot green eyes.
Noah didn't really have much time to observe his appearance fully because he suddenly seized Noah by the face and brought him closer to him.
"What the-!" Noah stammered, turning bright red before getting shushed.
"Hold on. It's just the first time I've seen such a cute boy in a while." The man smirked to himself, finding Noah's reaction obviously very amusing.
Noah pulled away, completely taken aback. He was just nearly mauled by zombies then saved, now his saviour was very obviously and un-shamefully flirting with him.
"I- what?" Noah managed, feeling his face heat up.
"Alejandro!" a women suddenly emerged from the forest, clambering over the barbwire and storming towards them.
She was asian and had long black hair and probably the most furious expression you'd ever see somebody wear.
"What do you think you're doing?!" the woman snapped.
"Saving people, you know, classical me." Supposed "Alejandro" informed her, smiling.
"Oh yeah sure." She huffed, glowering at Noah like this was somehow his fault. "Who the hell is this?"
"I'm Noah." Noah replied, trying his best to return her energy, but it just came off as defiance.
She rolled her eyes.
"See this is why people keep dying and the human population keeps draining, idiots like you run off alone and get eaten." She sneered.
"I didn't mean to. I was looking looking for my friend, not like thats any of your business anyway." Noah snapped, rolling his eyes as well. "But now if you all don't mind, I'll be going back to look for them."
"When its this dark, querido?" Alejandro questioned.
Noah didn't know what "querido" meant but he sure as hell didn't want to take the time to find out.
"I don't care, I have to go." Noah sighed. "Thank you for uh saving me, but my friends are waiting."
Noah turned around and began to walk off.
"Wait." The woman protested.
Noah looked back to see the girl, looking awfully disgruntled but mildly sympathetic.
"Just... come with us, our camp is nearby and we can help you find your friends when it's morning." She said, sounding like it was taking her a lot of her pride to muster up the kindness.
Noah looked between the pair, unsure but he couldn't just run off into the night alone... he had no choice but to say yes.