This Was Home // [h.s.] In this dystopian world, Brinley sets off to get supplies for her sick mothe

This Was Home // [h.s.] In this dystopian world, Brinley sets off to get supplies for her sick mother and younger sister. She bumps into a snarky, arrogant man who saves her life and somehow this forces them into a bond that neither of them asked for and is purely for survival. At least that’s what they keep telling each other.Tags and General Warnings: graphic depictions of scenes, slow burn, smut, angst, apocalyptic/dystopian AU *Will update warnings list as needed*INTRODUCTION (LINK 1, LINK 2) CHAPTER ONE (LINK) CHAPTER ONE: Water filled? Check. Enough food for the day? Check. Gun with ammunition? Check. Car tank filled? Check.     I take one last look in the dashboard mirror. I see my sister in the window waving at me. She’s got a smile on her face, but it’s mixed with an uneasy expression.     Behind her is mom laying in bed. I didn’t want her to exert any extra energy by getting up, so this was the compromise - looking through the window. She shyly waves at me, mustering a slight smile on her face.     I turn to face Alayna this time and give her one more wave. “I’ll see you later,” I sign to her as I mouth the words in her direction. That uneasy look on her face seems to dissipate just a little bit.     We always make sure not to say goodbyes and instead say see you laters. Call it cheesy, sure, but sometimes cheesy is all that keeps you sane. It’s what our mom did every time she left. She always reminded us she’ll be back, even pinky swore a few times when we were especially nervous. A promise she never broke, so I’d feel like shit if I was the first one to break it.     I turn back around, eyes planted towards the dirt road ahead of me. After one more final deep breath in, I turn the key to the ignition. The car sputters as if to tell me, “finally someone remembers I exist.”     The dirt road takes about an hour to get off onto the main road. I try to stop glancing at the clock ticking, but it’s difficult knowing time is of greatest importance. I have to be quick and aware of my surroundings.     1:04 PM     Now on the main road. Just two more hours until I reach the drop-off now. And sixty more minutes…thirty…fifteen…five…four…three…two - I’m here. Or at least I see the sign now. Gregor’s Corner Store. The words are faded, practically invisible to the naked eye from all the overgrowth and muck caked onto it.     The closer I get the more I see the damage that’s been done. This doesn’t seem normal, but maybe it is? I mean the sign and other surroundings aren’t exactly well-kept. The windows are broken in and there are boxes scattered, all empty. There are even a couple of cars that don’t look like they’ve been sitting here long. They’re not nearly as rundown or broken into like everything else. But, there’s no one around.     Stepping out of my car, my boots crunch against the broken fragments of glass. My eyes scan over everything. Something’s off about all of this. Where’s all the people? The food? Supplies? Am I too late?     But, that’s when I see it. I have to squint to get a better view of what I’m seeing. A person? No, wait two people. I become frozen. They’re both piled on top of one another. The blood is still fresh enough to glisten against the sun shining down like a spotlight. I immediately turn my head, afraid I’m about to vomit.     Snap out of it! All of a sudden I remember where I am and the vulnerability attached to my position now. I reach for my gun at the back of my waistband, drawing it as I slowly survey the scene. There’s got to be something left over. Anything. Please at least let there be gas so I can drive to the next drop location. I should be able to still make it. Mom says it’s too risky to try two different drop-offs, but I can’t come back empty handed. She needs me, they both need me.     Each step I take must remain calculated. Which isn’t all that easy given the array of debris and broken glass sprinkled across the asphalt. The door to the corner store has already been busted down. Even the windows that were once held by drilled-in wooden planks are now broken in two.     My attention drops from the destruction and now onto the shelves with empty boxes that were once filled with what I came here for.     “Shit,” I mumble. Plan B it is. I just won’t tell mom.     I turn the car back on as it grumbles back at me. I reach for the map on the passenger seat. Each drop-off was circled with a fat red marker. The next drop appears to be another hour away, give or take.     3:12     The numbers glare back at me from the dash. Another shit rolls off my tongue. I knew I shouldn’t have waited so long to leave. I shouldn’t have downplayed irregularities.     Sun sets at 7:30. I’ll get to the next drop off at 4. Heading back will take 4 more hours which should get me home about 8. Yeah I can do that. It’ll hardly have been dark by then. Just have to keep all other distractions to a minimum. I got this.———     You know how I said I got this? How simple I made this plan sound? Yeah, well, I got hit with reality real quick to say the least.     The car sputters, but not its usual sputter. More of a “I’m done now, wake me up in the morning” type sputter. As in, I’m now out of gas. Why didn’t I think to calculate time and gas? Mom will be so mad.     My face falls into my hands. What do I do now? Think. Think.  I reach back over to the crumpled up map. I had to be close, I had almost made the last turn. According to the map I had about 17 miles left. Okay, more than I thought. There goes my original plan of getting home by 8. I’ll just have that conversation with mom in the morning. She knew this is always a possibility. Even greater possibility with such little resources, including said gas. She’ll understand, right?     Fortunately there’s still plenty of daylight to walk around in. I’ll be safer once I’m back in the car.     4:00     With my backpack over my shoulders and currently useless car keys in my pocket, I begrudgingly make my way down the path. The map says to turn right so I do. I can see the city skyline from here, which under normal circumstances would be beautiful. But, you know - a little more nerve wracking than usual.     I’m back on a dirt road, which engulfs me with a sense of home again. It reminds me why I’m doing this. It actually looks like this was once a nice neighborhood with houses adorned on every corner. Now, none of these homes look occupied, not even by wild animals. It all just looks like scenes from earlier; broken windows, broken glass, broken everything. All hollowed out bones of previous signs of life.     Only 15 more miles to go.     Each minute passing feels like a kick to the chest. It’s now 7:00, the lighting had shifted from a blinding bright day to a dull yellow sunset. I consider getting on my hands and knees to beg the sun to stay up just for a little while longer - just this once. I think the sun had better plans though, so maybe next time.     I could tell it was 8:00 now. The sun had made its final goodbye and welcomed in the cold glow of the moon. My confidence had taken a bit of a blow. Every crinkle made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. Every whistle of the wind convinced my hand to grab for the gun.     I’m so close. I know I am. If anything, I’ll just camp out at the station or one of the abandoned homes until the sun comes back up. The thought of staying inside one of those buildings sent a shiver down my spine. Just for one night you can d-     Crunch. Crack. Crunch.     I stop in my tracks, hand immediately pulling out my weapon. It was hard to see very far ahead, the street lights flickering ever so slightly. I need to move away from the sound. I begin to take gradual steps backwards as to head for the nearest house behind me. If I can just get there, I’ll have better means of security.     My back reaches the rough bricks of the house’s exterior. The door is already busted open which is perfect. I hear another crunch, but it sounds more distant this time. I chuckle to myself as I now see a family of squirrels scurrying across the street. A small sigh of relief leaves my mouth and I lower my gun.     “Way to go Brinley, you sure protected yourself from a bunch of squirrels,” I whisper to myself as I tuck my gun back into the waistband of my jeans.     I reach for my water bottle hanging from my backpack clip. Before I’m even able to unlatch the hook, I feel a warm hand press against my mouth. Pure panic sets in as the mysterious person wraps their other arm behind mine, pinning them to my back before I have a chance to react.     My breathing feels desperate, my heart trying its best to not just completely give out. Then I realize while my arms aren’t free, my hands are. I struggle to reach for the weapon in my waistband.     “Don’t you fucking dare,” says a gravely voice. Even with the malice in his tone, I don’t feel as in danger as I probably should. I wasn’t exactly in the position to come up with a compromise, so I let go.     “Listen to me,” he’s talking in an even lower whisper now, “do not make any fast movements or noise. Shake your head if you understand.” I nod immediately, desperate to just be let go of.     “Okay. I’m going to let you go. I don’t want to hurt you, so don’t make me hurt you. There’s a Crawler to our right. Look over and you’ll see it. But I swear to fucking God himself, do not make any noise. Am I clear?” Another nod.     “Okay. I’m letting you go. If you make any noise, I will kill you myself if the Crawler doesn’t get to you first.” He still has his hands tight around me and I realize he’s waiting for another acknowledgement before he’s willing to release me. I nod once more.     He slowly lets go. I still don’t know what this man looks like. I’m too scared to turn around and look him in the eyes. I’m also too scared to look to my right and see what he was referring to. Crawlers? Is that what they call the creatures? I’d only heard stories, never saw them when I was at home. Because home was safe.     Before I have enough time to compose myself again, he takes hold of my arm which forces me behind him. I only get a glance of his face before I’m staring at his back. He can’t be much older than me. His hair is short, but it still curls against the frames of his face. His black puffer jacket is right against me where he stands.     Thoughts are racing through my head but for some reason the only thing I can muster out is a whispered, “what the hell?”     He doesn’t even say anything. Just briefly turns back to look at me, a singular finger pressed against his lips. The look in his eyes remind me of the last thing he said to me, if you make any noise I will kill you myself.     He has something big in his hand as he’s surveying the surroundings. Whatever that something was, it was now flying through the sky as if in slow motion. It finally drops, a loud clattering bang ricocheting throughout the street. My breath catches as the dark figure darts past us, as if we didn’t exist. It landed by the squirrel family, which I realized as I heard the end result of said family. The creature takes off with its findings.     I haven’t moved an inch since. This random man was still standing with his back to me. He seemed too busy watching the creature run off. Once it ran off past our view, he finally turned around to face me. Even in the dark I noticed a small, arrogant smirk on his face. His face was sprinkled with bits of dirt, a couple of cuts, and the slightest of scruffy facial hair to match.     His smirk goes away as he just glares at me, almost as if he’s surveying me. As if I was the one who abruptly snatched him up and threatened him. Me.     Without another word, he glides right past me into the vacant home behind us.     “Uh, hello?” was the next question I was able to form. Once again, he was unphased by me speaking to him.         I march my way into the house because I need answers. Who is he? Why does he feel the need to save me, but also completely ignore me right after? How did he know that plan with the creature would work?     I’m getting those answers one way or another.—–CHAPTER TWOCHAPTER THREECHAPTER FOURCHAPTER FIVE -- source link

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