#oc; denver | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

darling-heffron · 6 months ago

Text

A/N: Here it is- Chapter four!!!!

If anyone wants to be added to the taglist, please let us know!

Enjoy -Sol ☀️

taglist: @malarkgirlypop, @mellow-human, @next-autopsy

Chapter Four- A Shoulder to Cry On

Mars' POV:

Slowing to a stop, the truck spluttered, waking Marleen from her less than comfortable nap as she curled up on the passenger seat of Denver’s box truck. Her mind groggy, she sat up to look around, eyes squinting to figure out what was going on.

The first thing she noticed was a pile up of stationary cars, buses and trucks covering the entire road in front of them.

The next thing she noticed was Denver, his face held concern, his body tense. He had been doing all of the driving for the past three days, getting them out of the city safely.

Mars had offered to take a turn but Denver just waved her off, driving was literally his job, so he didn’t mind it so much. He would just tell her to get some rest and ignore any further attempts for her to get behind the wheel.

“Can we go around?” Mars offered up. They had come across a road block yesterday and the solution was to backtrack and find another way round, which worked surprisingly well.

Denver shook his head, sighing. Never a good sign.

“Fuel light came on a few miles back, I reckon we won’t make it round this.”

“So, what do we do?” She already knew the answer but Mars held out hope he had another solution. Denver only gave her a look, one that shared his thoughts. He didn't have to say anything, Mars knew. That didn't stop her from sighing audibly and rolling her eyes before she swung open the passenger door.

The man was already focusing on what they would need to take and what they could leave behind.

“Mars?” He called to her, his head in the back of the truck as he reorganised their backpacks. She hummed in reply, too tired to actually say anything as she made her way to the rear of the vehicle.

“Can you look in the glovebox? I think I have a map in there.” Marleen fought the urge to throw her head back and groan, instead turning round and walking back to the seat she came from to retrieve the map.

—------------------------

Heading north on foot was a thousand times harder than travelling by car. At least that's what Mars thought. Not only did she have to carry a backpack stuffed full of ‘essential items’ while keeping up with Denver's pace but they were also dodging the undead.

The blood soaked people were everywhere, lurking in the towns and cities once filled with life and turning them into dreary ghost towns. Avoiding them was a must, yet it required skills Mars simply did not have.

Most of the living had fled on day one, or tried to, leaving their homes and running west. There were rumours of safety out there, they had more time to prepare than the east coast did. Whatever disease or sickness that was slowly taking over the world, it started in the east. Marleen was one of the lucky ones, not many made it out of the big cities, only handfuls.

And of course she had Denver to thank for that.

Without her burly, blonde neighbour, Mars wouldn't have had a clue about the illness that was spreading while she slept in that morning. She would have walked outside without a care in the world and promptly been attacked.

He saved her.

She may not have got it at first, but now, seeing what she had seen, knowing what she knows, Mars understood.

There were still a lot of unanswered questions. How did this happen? Is the uncontrollable rage some sort of virus? Is anyone working on a way to fix this? Or is this the new world she will have no choice but to adapt to?

She couldn't think about it for too long or she would start to panic, she figured that out of the first night.

~~~~flashback~~~~~~

The engine of the car idled momentarily before shutting off completely. Both Denver and Marleen sat, unmoving and in silence. Neither knowing what to say, neither willing to break the small moment of peace granted to them.

Denver had spent the largest part of the day driving down every back road he knew of while he and his young neighbour escaped the city. Mars, on the other hand, had spent her day staring out the window. She watched as humans tore each other apart, flesh, blood, bones, nothing stopped the pure rage within these rabid people.

It was catching up to her, the images flashed through her mind constantly and she had frozen in shock, trying to process it. But she couldn't. Or she didn't want to, her mind wouldn't allow her. But now, the silence, she couldn't stop the endless questions. It was like a hive of horror playing in her brain.

Tears filled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day, but instead of sniffing them away and pretending she wasn't affected by the things she was seeing, she let them flow.

And flow they did. Streams of warm liquid poured down her cheeks, Mars didn't hold back. She let out the sobs she had been stifling earlier. Her breath quickened as thoughts of her family stumbling around, ripping and biting at flesh filled her mind. Was this the new normal? Was this how life would be from now on? Marleen cried out at the idea.

She lifted her feet onto the edge of the passenger seat, curling her arms around her knees as she attempted to soothe herself. The weeping only seemed to grow stronger and louder, to a point where she couldn't control anything anymore.

Denver, perched in the driver's seat, wasn't sure what to do. He tried to give her a moment to collect herself but she seemed to be getting worse. Denver hesitantly reached out to her and the second he did, she sprung at him, unwrapping her arms from herself and attaching to his body. He leaned closer to comfort her, enveloping her in his arms and letting her bawl, rubbing his hands up and down her back as she let it all out.

They sat like that for hours, uncomfortably hovering over the gearbox of the cramped truck. The shoulder of Denver's shirt was soaked, not that he would ever bring it up. Marleen had worked her way through the panic attack and slowly began to calm, her rapid breathing evened itself out.

On one hand Denver wanted to ask how she was doing, if she needed anything or if he could help her in any way but on the other, he knew the answers. He knew she wasn't okay and she might never be okay again. He knew there wasn't much he could do, just more of what he was doing now; allowing her time and space, protecting her so she could fully process what was going on.

And that's what he vowed to do. Look after her, protect her, allow her to live in this messed up world as normally as possible- if it even was possible, he'd find a way to give that to her.

Normalcy.

~~~~end flashback~~~~~

“We’ll have a break when we get to Nassau, okay Mars?”

“Yeah sure!” Marleen spoke enthusiastically before clearing her throat and continuing, “I mean… if you need a break, I suppose we could-”

“That’s awful kind of you.” Denver called over his shoulder, hiding his grin from the young lady. Marleen wasn’t used to near constant walking for hours and hours everyday, the fact that she had gotten this far had exceeded Denver's expectations.

The pair were getting closer to the small town they had discussed stopping in for a rest and to loot any useful items they could find. They were running low on food and could do with a top up.

So, after a short pause to drink some water and catch their breaths, Denver told his neighbour they needed to keep moving. Mars didn't complain verbally, she just huffed and sighed, rolling her eyes as she stood and swung her backpack over her shoulders.

“Okay, I spy with my little eye… something beginning with…” Marleen let the words drag out while she hunted for something to trick Denver with, “T.”

“Mars, if you chose ‘tree’ again-”

“It’s not a tree!” Marleen declared, “Just guess.”

“Huh, okay, Is it aaaaaa,” Looking around, he spotted almost nothing it could be, “Are you sure it's not ‘tree’?” Mars groaned,

“Come on Denver, It's not ‘tree.’ Be serious.”

“Wait, shhhhh…” He stopped moving, suddenly alert to his surroundings. Mars, however, was not.

“Denver, you can’t just-” She began but was promptly cut off.

“Marleen, shhhh…” The blonde man pointed ahead of them. A small group of maybe five corpses stumbled around in the direction they were supposed to be heading in. That shut Mars up.

“We should go around.” He whispered to his young lady partner. She just nodded, understanding the situation; two verses five, except one of the two didn't really count.

It took them a little longer to get to the small town but they got there that afternoon, only an hour or so off Denver’s schedule. His plan was to search through some shops or houses for food and medical supplies, they didn’t need them yet but it was never a bad idea to start a collection.

Then they could set up a camp somewhere safe to stay the night and head off in the morning. He was taking them North until they hit a city called Albany then they would start going west.

The first few nights were easy, they slept in the locked truck and everything was fine. But after leaving it at the blockade they couldn’t get around, Denver had to get a little more creative. Over the course of a week, the pair found a routine that mostly worked for them; Shutting themselves into abandoned houses or buildings.

Four walls with one entry point felt safe enough for the pair of them to sleep at the same time, however, if no structures were nearby; they would have to take turns. Denver always took first watch, letting Marleen sleep for the larger portion of the night. He would wake her early in the morning and get 3-4 hours of sleep, while she usually had closer to 6 hours. He didn’t mind it as long as it wasn’t permanent and Mars hadn’t picked up on the uneven sleeping schedule; he knew she would complain about it if she knew.

Luckily, the town was full of empty houses, they had plenty to choose from but first; gathering supplies.

Typically, shops and stores held the most items and houses were a back up, but stores were more dangerous, more chance of running into the dead…. or the living.

The pair were yet to encounter other groups, there were signs of people but never actual people. Not since the first few days anyway.

Regardless, Denver was weary about meeting new groups. You could never be too sure about their intentions; at least the rabids couldn’t lie. It was best if the living and the dead were avoided.

He had a system. Mars wasn’t too confident with the disposal of the rotting corpses yet so she stayed at the door as a look out or back up while Denver snuck in. He would silently scan the room and if unoccupied, let Marleen know it was safe to enter. They would go room by room until the entire building was clear, including any hidden back rooms and then lock or barricade all exits except one, just in case.

That’s how they cleared the corner store they were currently looting.

Canned goods and bottled water were always grabbed first then they could take some time to look around. Denver made sure to check for a first aid kit hidden in the employee room while Mars scoured shelves.

A lot of the stores they had been to were broken into, smashed up and mostly bare with things thrown about, but this one seemed untouched. Every surface was covered in a thin layer of dust, the floors were clear and none of the windows had been smashed.

It almost looked normal.

Marleen reminisced, picking up a magazine and flicking through.

FIFTY AND PROUD: HOW JEN’S KEPT HER BOD BANGING!

The headline made her giggle. Life used to have different priorities, something she missed dearly. She’d much rather worry about the latest fashion trends and which celebrity couple had broken up than the horrifying creatures that roamed around trying to rip her apart and eat her flesh.

“How I lost 20lbs in 20 days?” The southerners' deep voice broke her from her reading with a start. Marleen swatted at him with the flimsy paper in her hand, not aiming to hurt, just letting him know she was less than pleased.

“A little warning next time.” She told him flatly, Denver only smirked in response.

“It’ll be gettin’ dark soon, I saw a small place a few streets over. Looked safe.”

“Lead the way.”

Travelling ‘a few streets away’ sounded easy enough until you took into account the feral cannibals wandering about.

Denver took the lead, scurrying ahead while Mars stayed back; hidden. He would check the area and wave her over, much like their house checking system. Denver took his role of protector very seriously. He knew Mars didn’t have the experience or courage to scout ahead just yet but he would teach her.

He would teach her how to defend herself, how to find shelter and food, everything she needed to know just in case something happened to him and she was left on her own. He couldn’t be at peace knowing he left her unable to survive this new cruel world.

The road ahead of him was empty, no signs of the undead. Denver turned to signal Mars over but instead he froze.

Bodies filled the street between them. If he had to guess, Denver would’ve said around fifty undead biters stumbled their way past him.

His first thought was to search for the girl; he had to know if Mars was safe. The thought of crouching down and hiding to keep himself from being ripped apart never entered his mind. He just needed to catch a glimpse of her.

Denver's instincts screamed at him to run through the crowd and locate Marleen, luckily his brain made him rethink that idea and unluckily he stood in the open, worrying for the girl.

That’s when a smaller bunch noticed him frozen at the side of the road, thinking he was an easy target; they moved towards him. The sound of shuffled steps and snarled noises finally alerted Denver to his situation; broke him from his stupor. He had been so concerned with checking on Mars that he had forgotten to take cover and protect himself.

Marleen, on the other side of the street, noticed the dead before Denver had. However, it was still too late to yell out and warn him, the only thing that would do is bring attention to the both of them; that was not something they needed right now.

No, all she could do was duck behind the brick building and wait for them to pass, praying that Denver would do the same. Hopefully, neither of them would draw any attention, they could let the slow moving hoard wander past peacefully.

The majority of the group dispersed into the town, splitting up into smaller clusters and spreading out. The blonde waited a few minutes, partially because she was too frightened to move; her fear locking her into place.

When silence fell and the gurgled groans were muted, Marleen poked her head out from her hiding spot. Her eyes darted around, checking for any possible stragglers lagging behind but found none. Then her focus went to the otherside of the tar sealed road.

The last place she had seen Denver.

Keeping low, she rushed over. Her gut was telling her something had gone wrong. Surely Denver would have come to her immediately. What if he was hurt? Or worse?

Mars’ mind began filling with images of her neighbour, blood soaked and ready to attack her. She had to physically shake her head to release those thoughts and focus all her energy on holding her tears in, the last thing she needed was blurry vision.

Turns out, it didn't matter if her vision was blurry, she wouldn't be able to see Denver anyway.

He wasn't there.

‘That could be a good thing though,’ she reasoned, trying hard to convince herself. No body meant he might not be dead, he might not be one of those things. He could have run away, to keep safe. He could be fine, waiting for her in that house they were planning to check.

So that's where she went. She knew how to clear out the place in theory. She had seen him do it many times. It wasn't very helpful that her only weapon was a close combat hunting knife. One she didn't really know how to use, she kept it on her person to keep her nerves at bay.

Arriving at the house, Marleen didn't see any obvious signs of the dead and neither did she see signals that Denver had made his way here. Her shoulders sagged significantly but she still had hope that he may be waiting inside.

The young woman tried to remember what Denver would do first; he usually left her at the front door as a look out while he went inside. She didn't know if that job was actually useful or he was just trying to keep her out of the way, but it felt like she was helping. And it made her even more nervous that she wouldn’t have back up for her first house scouting mission.

Shakily, Mars stepped into the building. Her senses dialled up, every creak of the floorboards under her feet startled her; but she managed. She managed to inspect each room one at a time and thankfully there was no need to use her knife. The place was completely empty. Something she should have been pleased about, although that did mean that Denver hadn't made it here.

Maybe she should go back to that street and look for him? Or would that just expose her to the number of rotting corpses walking around outside? Marleen didn't know what to do, stay here to wait for the blonde man or go out searching for him. What if she left and he arrived?

Denver would know what to do, and he wouldn’t get so flustered about making a simple decision. The guilt was starting to get to her, maybe if she had yelled out the second she saw the rabids, things would be different. Denver would have had more warning. Marleen’s blood ran cold when she realised her part in his death. It was her fault. Entirely.

She had time to warn him, to scream out and say something. But she didn't. Instead she got scared and froze, doing nothing to help her friend and that's probably what got him killed.

Marleen looked out the window, taking into account the setting sun and decided to stay here. She would have to lock all entry points, bar one, so nothing could get in. And once she finally had, the girl allowed herself to curl up into a ball and sob.

a/n: oooOOoo how do we feel about poor Mars being on her own now? I hope Denver is okay...

-Sol ☀️

18 notes · View notes