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Kendall suddenly hears yelling and without even thinking about it, runs towards the sound. He stops at the mouth of the alley, ducking back into the shadows when he sees the source of the yelling.
It’s a boy, probably about the same age as Kendall, maybe younger. He’s stopped screaming by then, but he’s got zombies closing in on him from all sides. They’re slow and spread thin enough that the boy could probably break through if he really wanted to, but he looks frozen with fear, back pressed against the wall.
Kendall’s first instinct is to help, but he knows it’s too dangerous. Zombies are scattered up and down the street, all making their way to the boy now because of his yelling.
Kendall shakes his head and turns to leave but stops. He knows he should just leave, but he can’t. He turns back towards the boy and bites his bottom lip. He can see the terror on the boy’s face, even from across the street and it tugs at Kendall’s heart.
He can’t leave without at least trying to help.
Kendall sighs and pulls out his gun. He’ll just- He’ll shoot the boy and put him out of his misery. It’ll be better that way. The boy won’t feel anything, won’t turn into one of them and Kendall won’t have to put himself into anymore danger than he has to.
Except…he can’t do that either.
Dammit, he thinks and looks around, tucking his gun back into the waistband of his pants. There’s no time to come up with a plan, he needs to act now if he wants to save the boy. And he really does want to save him. He doesn’t know why. He doesn’t know the boy. He’s not responsible for him, but Kendall can’t just leave him.
With another shake of his head, he lets his bag swing off his shoulder and onto the ground before he runs out from his hiding spot. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, driven on by pure instinct and adrenaline. He runs as fast as he can, dodging past the zombies in the streets, until he gets to the group closing in on the boy. They’ve grown tighter together in the few moments it took Kendall to decide to act. He doesn’t let himself think about it, just pushes through, ignoring the stench of rotting flesh that engulfs him as he plunges into the group.
His heart is pounding and he can barely breath, but he doesn’t stop.
If he stops, he’s dead or worse.
He doesn’t know how he does it, but he somehow breaks through, stumbling the rest of the way to the boy. He stops and looks down at the other, who is staring up at Kendall now, eyes wide with fear and surprise, mouth parted slightly.
Kendall turns, keeping the boy behind him, and pulls out his gun, barely taking the time to aim before he’s shooting at the hoard of zombies surrounding them. He hits one in the head and it falls, but there’s just another right there behind it. There’s no way he can take them all out. He’ll run out of bullets way before he runs out of zombies to shoot, even he can even make it that long.
His eyes dart around, trying to think of a way out. It’s pointless. They’re going to die. He’s sure of it.
But he’s been sure he was going to die for the past few months and it still hasn’t happened yet.
He doesn’t plan on being right this time either.
He puts his gun away and turns to the boy behind him. He can see that the boy is thinking the same thing as him. He knows they’re going to die and that just makes Kendall more determined to not die.
“Run!” he shouts harshly and grabs the boy’s wrist tightly before he starts to run back across the street dragging the boy with him.
He pushes through the crowd, hoping that if they move fast enough they’ll make it. Hands grab at him, clutching at his clothes and it takes all of his self-control not to panic, to keep moving forward, keeping a firm hold on the boy’s wrist as he shoulders and elbows his way through.
And somehow they do. Kendall doesn’t know how and he doesn’t really fucking care. All that matters is that they finally break free and Kendall runs into the alleyway he’d come out of, pausing only to grab his bag.
He skids to a stop in front of an old rusted fire escape. He used it before, he knows it’ll support at least his weight.
He looks back over his shoulder. The zombies are steadily approaching. Some are already at the entrance of the alley and there are dozens more behind them.
He swallows dryly and turns to the boy. “Up!” Kendall orders, pushing him towards the ladder. The boy stumbles but catches himself on the rungs and quickly starts climbing. Kendall waits anxiously, hands gripping the sides of the ladder as he watches the boy climb up, eyes flicking back and forth between the boy and the hoard of zombies coming for them. His heart is pounding, fear pulsing through his veins as they grow closer.
As soon as the boy is about half way up the ladder, Kendall starts to climb. He doesn’t know if the ladder will be able to hold both of their weight, but he doesn’t care. He just needs to get off the ground as soon as he can. He doesn’t look down and he doesn’t stop until he’s at the top, climbing over the edge of the building onto the roof. Only then does he look down at the creatures crowding into the alley and lets out the breath he’d been holding.
He runs a hand through his hair and turns to the boy, standing a few feet away. He’s bent over, hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. “You-you saved me,” the boy gasps out, staring up at Kendall in awe.
Kendall nods. “I did,” he says as steadily as he can with his heart pounding heavily in his chest.
The boy stares at him for a few minutes longer before he swallows thickly. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Kendall says and then doesn’t know what else to say. He hadn’t thought this far ahead. “Are you okay? You didn’t get bitten or scratched, did you?” It would just be Kendall’s luck that he would save the boy only to have to kill him after they were safe.
The boy shakes his head vigorously, running his hands over both arms and over his chest and stomach for good measure. “No. I’m- I’m good…I can’t believe we made it out of there alive,” he says, voice full of disbelief.
Kendall can’t believe it either. “What were you doing out there anyway?” he asks, brows furrowed.
The boy looks away. "I was looking for supplies...."
"Are you all on your own?”
The boy nods slowly, keeping his face down."Yeah. Now I am...."
Kendall nods, then sighs and crouches down, letting his bag swing off his shoulder onto the ground. “I don’t have much, but I guess I can spare some supplies. Just to keep you going for the next few days.”
The boy takes a few faltering steps towards Kendall. “Wait, what?"
Kendall looks up at him, brows bunched together in a frown. "What?"
"Can't I…stay with you?" the boy asks, looking down at Kendall with a hesitant but hopeful expression.
Kendall arches an eyebrow. “You don’t even know me. I could be a serial killer for all you know.”
“You just saved my life! Why would you do that if you just wanted to kill me?” the boy asks, brows furrowing in confusion, head tilting slightly.
The kid has a point but Kendall still shakes his head. “You’ll just slow me down,” he says, turning attention back to digging through his bag.
“No, I won’t! I promise!”
Kendall glances up at the boy again and hesitates this time. He looks scared and desperate and Kendall…Kendall knows exactly how he feels. He was in the boy’s shoes just a few months ago. Hell, he still is, if he’s completely honest with himself.
And he’s been alone for a while now. He wouldn’t mind having someone to talk to, someone to watch his back, but he doesn’t want to be responsible for another person’s life. He’d already failed his family, he doesn’t want to go through that again.
“Can you shoot?” he asks, getting to his feet to look down at the other.
The boy nods his head fervently. “Yes, my papi taught me. He was a cop.” He looks down after he speaks and he looks so young then, Kendall’s chest aches for him. He doesn’t know what happened to his father but Kendall knows it was bad. He knows because he’s experienced it with his own family.
He still wakes up in a cold sweat from nightmares about them sometimes.
Kendall sighs and looks up, closing his eyes for a moment. He knows he’s going to regret this, but he couldn’t in good conscience really send the boy out on his own. “Fine,” he says with a sigh, turning his face back towards the boy. “You can stay with me, if you want.”
The boy smiles brightly and for a moment, Kendall forgets how to breathe. He didn’t know anyone could still smile like that. He shakes the thought away and clears his throat again, bending over to close and grab his bag. He slings it over his shoulder and starts to walk across the roof. “Come on.”
He doesn’t look back but he hears when the other rushes to follow after him. He slows his steps so the boy can catch up, walking along beside him. “I’m Kendall, by the way.”
The boy looks up at Kendall in surprise, then he smiles again. “I’m Carlos.”