⚠ Slight gore mention ⚠

Hercules P.O.V.

"We need to get moving." John's voice shouted from behind me and I grabbed my bag and ran out of the store, my dog, Hunter, trailing behind at my heels.

We met up outside the store, quickly hijacking a car and swirving away from the undead.

Speed limits and stop lights didn't matter in this area of New York anymore. Not since the explosion.

Anyone who was too close was dead.

Anyone who was a safe distance away will be dead if they can't survive.

And those in the middle... They're in agony. They're not themselves.

John floored our new ride; we had to bounce from car to car due to the fact that you couldn't get gas anywhere else.

We intended to get out. We could make it out alive but we had to move. We would have to go to Mexico; the zombies were too dumb to get over the border wall. It was the safest place, and we could probably get a flight to Ireland and live with my parents, seeing as Alex didn't have any and John wasn't exactly on best terms with his father.

We just had to survive long enough to get out.

"It's getting late. We better find somewhere to camp out for the night." Alex stated, causing John to nod.

John stopped in front of an apartment building and we grabbed our bags and the keys to the car; it still had three-quarters of a tank, so we could use it if it survived the night.

I grabbed my shotgun, cocking it and cautiously walking in to the building. I listened carefully, hearing nothing and signalling John and Alex to come in. They walked in, both armed with pistols and knives.

We looked around, moving silently in the dark building when Alex suddenly stopped.

"You hear that?" John and I both stopped in our tracks. I strained my ears to pick up something; anything in the dark lobby or the building, and sure enough, Alex was right.

A barely audible noise was heard, about one hundred and seventy meters away. A chorus of a few harmonious moans rang from the distance.

Our trio shared a mutual agreement and burst into a run, headed up the stairs.

John took the lead and I held up the rear, picking off a few of the creatures that appeared into sight.

I was taught by my dad back in Ireland how to shoot. He figured it'd help me when I made it to America. He was really right.

John and Alex knocked the stairs down so the mutated creatures couldn't reach us if they tried. I continued to pick them off, one by one, until John pulled me inside our temporary home.

Large Baguettes P.O.V.

I stalked into the building with my group that consisted of... Well, I didn't know their names. One was a tall, pale man with poofy hair. He was missing an arm and had a huge gash in his side, but his limp was better than all of ours.

Another member of our group was a female with dark, curly hair that fell past her shoulders. She wore a torn, red shirt and black jeans that were practically shorts. Her arm was twisted in an odd position and she was practically missing half her torso, but she somehow managed to survive.

We had a man with no hair who, after me, was the most intact out of the other members in our group; he had a chunk of his head missing and that was it. His clothes were stained with dirt and blood, but he was the most practical of our group. If that make sense.

The last group member was a short man with dark skin and smokey grey eyes. He held a relationship with the tall poofy haired guy and had chunks of rotting flesh taken out of him.

We were currently following a trio of three men; one who was called John, a curly haired man covered in freckles who had a southern accent.

The second was one named Alex, a short, dark haired man with tanned skin and a Caribbean accent. He seemed to hold a relationship with the John kid.

Then there was the whole reason we were following them. A tall, burly man with dark skin that the other two called Hercules. I had followed him around long enough to know that we were meant to be together.

Hercules P.O.V. (Sorry for all the changes of P.O.V. but I have to show both sides here)

"-we'll meet up with the Schuyler Sisters tomorrow morning downtown. From there, we'll head out of the state. Okay?" John pointed to a map as he gave us instructions on tomorrow's agenda.

Alexander nodded. "I have a route planned out to get from here to the border. It's the fastest way to get there... Here, give me that." He pointed to John's map, which John quickly handed over. Alex unrolled the map onto the table once again and pointed to our general location.

"It may take us a few days to get down there, but..." Alex paused, starting at the map. "It's about two thousand miles from here to the border via I-85 South. It's the quickest." He ran his finger along the east side of the map. "It'll take us through Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. We'll end in Nuevo Laredo, a town right on the border. The drive will be around thirty hours, but we have to account for stops. Especially if we'll have the girls. Also, one tank won't get us down there, but they shouldn't have made it that far down, so we should be able to get gas. If not..." He looked at me and John. I smirked. "We're good at hijacking."

~time skup to le morning~

I woke up earlier than the other two and decided to make sure the coast was clear for when they woke up. I grabbed a rope for getting to ground level, my shotgun and extra ammo, and grenades that John had managed to grab from somewhere, in case I was faced with a large crowd.

I slowly stepped outside, raising my gun and slowly looking around. I strained my ears to hear anything, but all was silent. I was pretty sure they couldn't be quiet because of the many zombie movies and TV shows I'd seen on TV, but those were fictional. This is real.

I tied the rope onto a pole using a tight timber hitch knot. I used the rope to climb down and it held, telling me that it was good for John and Alex too. Looking around, I moved forward, looking around the building. I turned a corner and froze. Not too far away at the end of the hall stood a group of four walkers, looking my way as if expecting me.

A tall one with poofy hair and a permanent smirk began walking towards me, silently.

This only meant one thing: they could be quiet.

I quickly raised my shotgun, shooting it at the creature in front of me, who stumbled back and fell. I shot two of the other ones, the female one escaping.

Blood dripped from the walls and soaked into the carpeted floor as I walked through, shooting one of them again as he tried moving back up. I didn't find anything useful on any of them, so I turned around to walk back.

I jumped, seeing one of them behind me staring at me intently.

This one seemed more intact than any I'd ever seen; he was only missing part of his ear and one of his beautiful eyes. In his eye, I saw a flaming passion burning inside of him. He let out a high, almost feminine groan, a smile breaking out on his face.

I studied him. He had curly, intact hair pulled back into a bun. His navy blue shirt and jeans were mostly intact, a few rips here and there. He wore a chain around his neck with a navy blue pendant hanging from it.

He was attractive, for a zombie.

He took off the chain around his neck and slipped it over my head, as if claiming me as his own, or telling me that he'd be mine.

I thought this over. Pros and cons?

Pro: My own zombie.

Con: He's potentially dangerous.

Pro: He wouldn't hurt my friends. He's mine, if I accept.

Con: ---

My brain struggled with finding another argument on why we shouldn't accept this. Maybe I wasn't thinking clearly, but I had more pros than cons.

I nodded to him, accepting his offer. I figured he understood, considering the fact that he automatically clutched onto my arm and rubbed his face into it.

"Herc?!" John turned the corner quickly, nearly ramming into the wall. "Oh, thank god. Alex, I found him!" Soon, Alex came running over too. His expression turned from relief to confusion as soon as he saw the creature with its face buried in my arm.

He whipped out his pistol, aiming it at the creature. "Hercules! It's got your arm!" John followed suit with his gun, and the creature cowered behind me.

"No, no! Guys, stop!" I held out my hand to get them to stop, holding the walker behind me. Alex's face hardened. "What the actual hell, Hercules! There's a goddamned zombie on your arm!" I shook my head. "You guys don't understand!" I showed them the pendant. "He's mine."

John stood in shock, while Alex scoffed. "Please, Hercules. You can't possibly believe he's not gonna hurt you. He's one of them." I shook my head. "C'mon Alex. If John were a walker, what would you do?"

Alex scoffed. "That's different. John's not a walker." I rolled my eyes.

"Get rid of it Hercules. You're not keeping it." I shook my head and held him close. "No, Alex. He's mine. I like him." Alex rolled his eyes. "You're insane!" John set a hand on the smaller man's shoulder. "C'mon, Alex. You can't say that isn't at least kinda cute? 'sides. He doesn't even look like a zombie. He's mostly intact. If we clean him up and get him an eyepatch... It could be beautiful!" Alex groaned.

"Fine."

~Time skup~

I had found out through a process of teaching a zombie how to write (thank god he's a fast learner) that my zombie's name was Lafayette.

We were currently in Jersey, and he was snuggled into my side. We were in a van so we could fit the seven of us, at a gas station, getting drinks and snacks. At least, they were. They were going to bring back something for me and Laf.

We sat in the back with Peggy, Laf sitting in the middle. He was constantly playing with his and Peggy's hair, but Peggy seemed to have no problem with his pale, nimble fingers in her precious locks.

Eliza and Angelica sat in front of us, Alex and John in the front. When they came back, they gave us our stuff, everyone but Alex getting in. Alex, instead, was filling up the tank. He was still pretty pissed that he had to drive with a walker in the car, but John assured me that he'd get over it..

~new time skup and P.O.V. change~

Alex P.O.V.

"John, we can't allow this!" My lover looked puzzled, sitting on the bed. "It'll be okay Alexander... Come back to sleep." I ran my hands through my hair before sighing. I fell back onto the bed, groaning. "Sorry, John. I'm just stressed, Darling." He smirked, moving closer to me and setting a hand on my chest. "Y'know..." I hummed, looking into his eyes.

"I could help relieve some of that stress~"

~more time skup~

Herc P.O.V.

I groaned. Why did I have to get stuck with the room next to John and Alex?

I had barely gotten any sleep last night between them and Laf.

I looked at the zombie next to me, who was shaking me awake.

"What do you need, Laf?"

He responded by only holding up a heart made from his frail fingers.

~one moar time skup sorry~

We sat in the car, everyone gone again except me and Laf.

I had learned in the past day that Laf knew how to show his affections. He continuously kissed me (never on the lips, though), hugged me, and cuddled with me, as if I was the last thing he had.

Although, that might be true.

I fiddled with the chain around my neck as he gently placed kisses on my cheek. I loved him. I really did. Even if he was a walker. It didn't matter because he was mine and I loved him. I placed a kiss on his forehead and he gave a small smile.

Alex returned to the vehicle. "It's getting dark out, and we found a decent hotel nearby, so we're gonna head over there once everyone's ready to go. M'kay?" I nodded, holding Laf close. Alex noticed this and rolled his eyes before shutting the door to load up on gas once more.

We made it to the hotel about an hour later, everyone filing out quickly and making their way in. Me and Laf shared a room like always, but we were outside with Alex and John. I held hands with Laf, smiling down at him.

He gently kissed my cheek, causing me to smile. I held his hand to my mouth, whispering 'I love you' before brushing my lips against his knuckles. He gave me that beautiful smile I have grown to love so much as I lifted my arm, caressing his cheek. I gently brushed my thumb on his chapped lips, moving him closer.

I couldn't resist it anymore. I didn't care if I became infected, I just had to do something. I pulled him into a passionate kiss on the lips.

The kiss was magical. I thought I heard two loud bangs, as if fireworks were going off, but I ignored it. It was probably my heart beating out of my chest anyways.

When I pulled away from the kiss, I noticed that it wasn't me who had changed; instead, Lafayette gave me a wide smile, both his eyes restored to a chocolate brown colour filled with passion. The night around us seemed brighter, but all I could look at was the smooth caramel skin that had replaced Laf's old pale green wrapping. His hair was still curly, but more fluffy, and more intact. His smile had grown brighter as he noticed he was no longer a stupid creature, but the most handsome man in the world.

He wrapped his arms around me in a crushing hug, making me fall over. He kissed me again, tears of joy falling from both of our eyes.

Finally, Alex would accept him.

Alex's P.O.V.

~A few minutes earlier~

"It has to be done, John." I argued with my sobbing boyfriend about what I was about to do.

"We can not take a fucking zombie to Ireland! It's bad enough they're here. We don't need them moving continents." John peered at the two, who were holding hands and gazing at the stars. I methodically fiddled with the trigger of my pistol.

"But Alex..." His voice was soft and scratchy as he sniffled. "D-do we have to... To Herc too...?" I nodded.

"I'm afraid so, John. He's in love with his walker. If we didn't then he'd do it himself... It's better for everyone this way." John let out another choked sob, wrapping his arms around me.

"I... I'll go tell the sisters.... I don't wanna be here while you do it..." With this, he left to go inside.

I fiddled with the trigger a bit more before raising my pistol. It felt heavy in my hands as I pointed it to my best friends head. I had put my glasses on for a better aim.

I inhaled deeply and Hercules pulled Laf into a kiss. I breathed out, whispering 'I'm sorry' before pulling the trigger on my best friend and his lover.

It's better off this way. At least... At least they're in a better place now.

Word count: 2722

Yo, yo, yo! Look who's back! Fucking finally, amiright?

Oh yeah. I'm back with fluffy angst!

Song: The Zombie Song by Stephanie Mabey

So yeah! That's it folks! Hope you enjoyed this one and see you guys later! Stay cool my little chicklets! Peace out!!