Chapter Text
Eric Bittle had always been close to his mother, Suzanne Bittle was his best friend, if his only friend, but it was nice to be able to be unapologetically himself and not worry if he winked at the handsome man in the Mcdonalds. Which is why when the news picked up a story about a new illness that rotted you away day the inside out he didn’t turn tail for Georgia, he called his mum twice a week and when she said the preacher was throwing around words like the end of days he laughed and said he’d be fine out here in the city.
He wishes he could go back.
When things had gone majorly wrong, and what felt like every tenth person was trying to take a bite out of him he tried to make it back home. It was a shitty open all night cafe where he heard the news, they still had electricity back then and although he couldn’t remember what he ordered he knows he’ll remember the way the cheap coffee turned to ash in his mouth when he saw his town up on the news.
Horde, a new type of infected that moved in packs, once they started charging they wouldn't stop for hell or highwater. They'd tore through the town. No known survivors.
In a way, he was almost thankful when he had to turn tail and run because of the group controlling the town held the same beliefs as some of the folks back home. He barely paused to pack all the things out of the dingy hotel and if it hadn’t been for Ford god knows he might not have made it out of the Horde riddled South.
Ford was the waitress who’d taken off running as soon as she’d heard what had happened, like Eric she was trying to make it back to family when she found out there was nothing to make it back to. Horde, no survivors.
The two of them had bonded over being the shortest people in the first truck out, they'd stuck together at rest stops for protection and over time relised their skills complimented each other. Ford was amazing at sewing and fabric repairs whilst Eric could hunt and cook well. When the men at the rest stop wondered about how Ford could help the group in other ways he'd made it so that the next day they'd be too sick to even consider getting back on the truck the next day. When Eric had got sick, a fever that snuck up and was worsened by days and nights of running and not sleeping she fixed enough clothes to get a doctor to look at him.
It was part good fortune and part bad that lead them to be scavenging in the gas station by what was once a road but was now mainly sand covered. Good fortune in that they found food water and goods that they could trade for things they needed. Bad because they hadn't found it first and a spark from Fords axe as she ran out had caught on the dry wood on the side of the building. And then on the would be cannibals secret fuel stash.
–
Lardo and the boys left early the next morning, early was easier, no goodbyes except for the ever watchful Jessica, Lardo had stayed up late into the night sketching a small portrait of Emily, Jessicas wife, Lardo was planning to put up a few sketches on the way to Canada, she had quite a few spare materials and hopefully wouldn’t need to bust out her skills on the journey if this was, as Johnson promised, a manager thing. The three of them checked they had all they needed and left, none of them looked back.
They’d been walking for the best part of the day when Lardo spotted them, a small boy and girl skirting the edges of the wreckage ahead, what might have in another life been a gas station was now the charred remains of something.
The boy was about the same height as Lardo if a bit taller, the girl was a bit shorter than him and both of them appeared to be the reason for the former gas stations destruction from the way they where acting.
“Hey!”
The two of them looked up at her shout and after a passionate discussion inched closer to her party
“Hey!” The girl yelled back “My name is Ford, this is Eric, we haven’t got anything and we’d appreciate-” There was another hasty discussion, the boy started waving his arms around.
“If any of you have any medical experience then we could find something to trade you!”
The girl clipped the boy on the back of the head and the two of them where consumed by their own argument again as Lardo Holster and Ransom looked at each other.
In a unspoken unanimous vote the three of them jogged towards the still arguing couple, whose argument pettered off when they noticed their approach.
The blonde introduced himself first, Eric Bittle, He came from the south and wanted to go north. The girl followed, she said her name was Ford and that she was going with Eric. The two of them had some pretty serious injuries, the girl had several burns along her arm from where she'd thrown them up to protect herself against something and the boy had a nasty scrape along his back. The two of them seemed ill at ease but when Ransom explained that he was a legitimate doctor and would treat them for whatever they could manage and Holster and Ford somehow managed to bond over showtunes of all things the two smaller travellers apperared to be as at ease as anyone could be.
After some more discussion they agreed to camp together. Ransom would check on their injurys in the morning and they would part ways, maybe to the town the other three had just come from. When everyone else has fallen asleep and it's just Lardo and the night sky she allows herself to think, she knows it's dangerous but aside from the ruins of the gas station the surrounding area is empty and it's one of those spaces so big that when you look up you can almost see the sky curve in the corners and you realize exactly how big the night sky is. If she had the paint she'd try to paint it. The world going to shit scattered her affection for traditional canvases, they where bulky and impossible to transport, switching them for walls or clothes was a stedfast way to mean that your art stayed somewhere. Even if you where gone.
pulling herself back from that line of thought and sweeping the horizon meant that she almost missed Eric sitting up, he pulled his arms and legs into himself and with nothing but the stars and the moon to illuminate him he looked lonely. She coughed slightly to announce her presence.
"Oh- Hey Lardo! Sorry to disturb you it just gets so cold out here at night and I'm still used to the southern heat and God I haven't even asked if I should keep watch yet what would my mother-" He cuts himself off with a sharp and pointed gasp that tells her the last part wasn't meant to slip out. He sits silent staring away from her after that.
Fuck. Lardo hated having to comfort those who had lost people, in her job people where either looking for someone they knew survived or where kicked out of her room for wasting time. She shuffled closer to Eric and put an arm on his back, it wasn't a lot but she'd had Ransom or Holster do it enough times to her she hoped it kind of worked for the other boy. She wasn't sure exactly when he slipped back into sleep but whent he sun crept above the horizon his eyes where shut.
Eric didn't bring up his crying session, and Larissa didn't mention it, but he did help her learn how to forage and start a fire. Ford, who already knew all this was continuing her discussion about musical theatre with holster, apparently she'd been a stage manager before the end of the world and Holster had been an fan.
Lardo was re-reading Johnsons letter for more infomation when it hit her, she looked over at Eric and Ford, who where packing away their sleeping bags and getting ready to go.
"We're going up north for a job, my friend says there's space for you two if you want in."
Ford looked up at her
"What kinda job is it?"
Larissa shrugged, "I know the guy, it's legit, Up to Canada, he probably has family up there he wants to check on."
Ford and Eric moved away from the three of them a little, Larissa kept an ear out whilst she helped Ransom and Holster tidy up their own sleeping set up.
after a few minutes of discussion and what looked like a complicated handshake they came back
"We'll come with, can't promise we'll sign on but we want to meet the guy."
Holster smiled down at them
"Welcome aboard guys, Canada here we come."
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"Canada huh?"
Ford knocked shoulders with Eric as the two of them walked behind their new friends,Lardo seemed nice but was definatly the leader of the group, Holster was loud and bulky in a way that showed he'd been in a stable settlement for a while and seemed to get on very well with Ransom, the medic of the group and the two of them had a casual intimacy that had Eric narrowing his eyes and desperately trying to figure out what was going on.
"Yeah, I guess we can't get any further North than that."
"That's true, hopefully the rumors about zombies and the cold will be true too!"
The two of them smiled at each other and both keeping one eye out on their surroundings, enjoyed the company of their new friends as they headed towards Johnsons Hotel.