#ran away and fought two more zombies when my spear broke

[jkateel]

project zomboid is the most stressful game i have ever played

[beepbeepliv]

Wherever you go...I go. - Benverly

flldfllfkflf I feel bad bc this could have been v cute and wholesome but I made it sad bc I’m an evil bitch sorry babe

“Go, go, go!” Ben chanted as the group ran past him intothe empty hall. He slammed the door shut and jammed it with a bench he fell againstthe it, panting, not even phased when he noticed Eddie and Richie making outfuriously. It had been a close call. Ben was sure they were going to lose someoneelse, even Mike and Stan were huddled close together exchanging soft kisses andcomforting words as Stan cried into his shoulder.

Ben grimaced. It had definitely too close. When he blinkedhe saw the zombies clawing at them, reaching through cracks in the wall,grabbing Stan’s leg. Never again will Ben rely on plan B. He stumbled over towhere Bev stood, arms crossed watching over her boys, not a tear shed, andwordlessly took her hand. She squeezed back. A wordless declaration

An, ‘I’m okay.’

Ever since Bill had been bitten, since he’d gone, the groupfell into tatters. They all had leadership qualities but none came close to Bill,none had anything like the presence he had when he commanded a room but recentlyBen sure did come close. With Richie being too preoccupied taking care or Eddieand Mike not wanting to constantly throw himself fin danger at (Stan’s behest),Ben -and thus Bev, became the unofficial group leader.

It was in time likes this he was glad of it.

“Are we all okay?” he asked. Richie and Eddie broke apartfor air. The lines of their bodies still pressed together.

“All good,” it was impossible to tell who the reply camefrom with how quietly it was said and how close the two boys were sat but Ben acceptedit.

“Ben, oh my God, thank you so much dude,” Mike said, walkinghis way as Stan moved off to search for equipment, weapons, food or blanketsfor the night, “I didn’t even see them like— That could have been so muchworse. We could have lost—” Ben pulled him into a hug, cutting him offmid-sentence.

“We’re all here. We’re all still alive. That’s whatmatters.” Mike nods solemnly. They all know there no point in dwelling on thepast. Not after losing so much in the past 3 months.

“All that’s important right now is finding food, suppliesand—Eddie… are you bleeding?” The tension in the room thickened, it was almostslow motion how everyone looked over to the small boy. Richie looked frozen. Therewas blood gathering at the base of Eddie’s shirt and he hurriedly pulled it upto reveal a large bruising gash.

Richie let out a choked sound.

“Kit!,” Ben said, immediately rushing over to inspect thewound as Bev pulled out the medical kit and came to sit by him. He lookedthrough the limited medical supplied they had left and brought out some gauzeand tape. Eddie was still staring at it, frozen in shock.

“a—am i—it’s? I’m inf—”

“Stan pass me the antiseptic please,” Ben said, ignoring Eddieeven when his half questions turned into soft sobs. They all knew what wouldhappen if it was a bite or scratch.

“you’ll be fine,” Richie whispered softly, over and over tohis boyfriend. Ben thought that was dangerous. They didn’t know that for sure.It was no good making empty promises. Ben finished wrapping the wound. Theblood was still very red, that was good. Once it started turning black orgreen.. then they definitely had something to cry about.

“Eddie, sit down, you’re fine for now. You probably just raninto something sharp and sliced yourself, the cut in your shirt is way tooclean to be a scratch or a bite. But we’ll see tomorrow.”

That was the most comforting he could be without giving himfalse hope. He figured Eddie bumped into a table or something – otherwise thehole in his shirt would have been massive.

But maybe that was just false hope.

 “Eddies not going to be okay, is he?” Bev asked, once theywere tucked up on gym mats and towels for the night. Ben shrugged as hemassaged her back.

“I don’t think he’s been infected, I wasn’t lying about that,but he definitely won’t be able to run or move very well tomorrow. I’mworried.” All of Ben’s emergency plans involved running away, if Eddie couldn’trun…

He’d think of a different plan, they would all be safe. He’dmake sure of it.

“Well, we can stay here till he gets better then, a coupledays isn’t too much of an ask. We’ve stayed in places for longer.” Ben nodsslowly, feeling slightly off about the whole thing. He glanced over at whereRichie and Eddie were cuddled up, Eddie crying with laughter as Richie told a storyusing the flashlight – it was a gross waste of battery power but it was worthit to see tears of happiness rather than pain in Eddie’s eyes.

“I hope you’re right.” He said, “I love you Bev. I’m solucky to have you” Bev smiled, rolling over to smile up at Ben, she sat up andpulled him into a soft slow kiss, flipping Richie off when she heard him wolfwhistle.

“You’re never getting rid of me, wherever you go I go darling,”she said against his lips, “You’re an amazing leader. After bill… I didn’tthink any of us would last a week. I’m the lucky one here.”

Ben laughs and just savours the moment holding her close. Hetries not to let his mind wander. Not to let the fear seep in. He’d taken somuch for granted, bikes, the park, books, being outside, wandering around aloneon a beautiful night. None of that could happen now. But this, he and Bev. Theywere forever.

Ben had no clue where he would be right now if she wasn’t byhis side.

 Ben woke up to screaming. He instantly jumped into action.Still half asleep, hazy, he pulled Bev close and got to his feet yielding hisbaseball bat like a sword. Mike was up and fighting away the zombies  with the long bench while Stan jabbed then inthe head with his make-shift spear whilst Richie was carrying a hyperventilatingEddie to the door at the back.

Plan, plan, he neededa plan

Eddie can’t run. Can’trun, can’t run was ringing through his head

Eddie couldn’t run, so Plan A was dashed. The zombies camethrough his back-up exit, so no Plan B.

Plan C, as horrible as it was, Plan C was his only option

His mind was made within a moment. He kissed Bev on the headsoftly before nudging her towards the direction Richie ran in. She got the message,nodding at him before taking off and helping Richie get Eddie to safety.

He ran towards Mike and Stan, using his spiked bat to killas many zombies as eh could. He got enough to give them a bit of breathing roombefore pulling back and calling for them to follow him into the back room. Theylocked the auditorium doors and ran into the dance studio. Everyone waspanting, and the tension in the room was heavy. They had no clue how long that doorwould hold.

“Plan,” Ben starts, even though everyone is listeningattentively anyways, “we only have two available exits; one is through those doorsand down the hall but it goes into an opening was too big to run throughsafely, zombies would get us before we left the school grounds. The other isthe car park, but between here and there is a large glass wall, the zombieswill see you so we need to be careful. Richie and Mike, I need you to take Eddiein to the hallways and help him out to the back door and wait. Bev and Stan youescape through the front, hot wire a car from the carpark and bring it round.Make sure its big enough.” For five,Ben didn’t add.

He laid down the plan flatly and everyone nodded taking noteof their parts, everyone except for Stan.

Stan had always been too smart for his own good

“What about you, Ben?” he asked, already knowing the answerand Ben drops his eye contact for a moment.

“You and Bev will need a diversion and Eddie needs time.”

“Ben, no,” Eddie breathes softly the gears finally clickingin the heads of the losers, Ben gives him a soft smile. He catalogues the lookson everyone’s  faces, Mike looks grim buthe doesn’t complain, he understands. Richie’s clutching Eddie tightly, he lookslike he wants to speak but he bites his lip – he knew his usual comic reliefcouldn’t do anything to lessen the sadness of this situation. Eddie looks onthe verge of tears and Stan is just frowning, almost like he wants to argue butunderstand that they have no time.

He doesn’t look at Bev.

“Don’t worry about me, Eddie. You three need to head off,now,” Eddie has to be dragged out of the room, tears streaming down his face ashe fought Richie in a way that must have been hell on his wound.

“Ben, don’t do it!” he whispered and Ben feels his hearthurt. He didn’t want t hurt anyone, he was doing this so everyone would live.Mike gives him a respectful nod before they leave and Richie mouths ‘thank you’but his eyes say so much more.

Ben watches then go and turns back to face Bev. And Bevlooks pale, so, so pale.

“I’m going with you,” she whispers, “Stan knows how to hotwire a car. He can fend for his fucking self. There like 20 dead shits outthere.” Ben just laughs and laughs, stepping closer to her.

“Fuck no,” he breaths, the swear word shocking her and takingeffect. He never swears. Swearing was reserved for certain moments, horrifyingmoments when no other words in the English language could properly get him messageacross.

He reaches her and pulls her in close wishing this wasn’tthe end, wishing he had more time to just explain, but he doesn’t. He kissed herforehead in a half-apology but she just made a scorned noise, having none ofthat as he pulled him in to press a bruising kiss to his lips, breathingharshly when she pulls away. She crying, Ben realises.

“No sobs dear, the zombies will hear you,” he pleaded,wiping her cheeks

“shut up you asshole.” He gripped his wrist tight enough tobruise. She hoped they would “what happened to wherever you go, I go? How dareyou do this to me!” Ben sighed sadly.

“I’m not going to let you die. That’s just not happening.”He replied flatly, “I would do anything for you. I would cross desserts, climbmountains and soar over oceans to get to you. Having you, even if our time togetherIs over made me the luckiest man to ever life. So I will be damned if I just rolloverand let you die now. You’re following the plan, Bevvy, if I have to get Stan tocarry you out I will.” Bev looked back like she had forgotten the other boy waseven there. She turned back, fresh tears falling now. The expression on herface eluded that she wasn’t sure she could ever stop.

“After, once you’ve distracted them, you’re meeting us at thatback door. You’ll follow through.” She states. It’s not a question. Ben nods

“I’ll make it out, I’ll follow through,” he says, they bothknow it’s a lie.

He head to the door, not looking back as Stan herds Bev awaybut he hears her stifled sobs as he steps into the hallway. He places his handon the auditorium door handle and take a deep breath.

“see you soon bill,” he whispers and eases it open.