Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back

A few days later the swarm of zombies Frank had attracted died down and he felt better knowing that they wouldn’t be trapped for weeks like Bob had suggested before. It had been three days since Frank was introduced to the congregation and he couldn’t be happier to finally have some companions after going weeks with his only associates being the corpses of his dead parents, who he admittedly talked to when he felt particularly lonesome. He got along famously with the group, spare Bob who didn’t like him from the beginning because he had to risk his life to save him.

He had gotten to know almost all of them very well seeing as there wasn’t much else to do other than talk. Sleeping was hardly an option as almost all of them were much too paranoid to dare close their eyes for more than an hour at a time. The only two he still couldn’t figure out were Gerard and Bob. Now, he didn’t particularly care about Bob’s back story as he was totally aware of the fact that there was an unspoken agreement between the two of them to not speak. Gerard was a different story though. He longed to learn about the fallen angel that saved him from certain death. And it wasn’t that Gerard was someone who gave the vibe to back the fuck off, it was simply the fact that Gerard was not an open book. No one would dish to Frank about his past, saying that Gerard liked to tell people himself when he was ready. The only thing he got out of Cass was that Gerard had a brother, and he was the one who got lost.

Frank listened openly to every last word any of them wanted to tell him and he learned an awful lot about them. Cass, the busty blonde, was an aspiring fashion designer before this whole fiasco went down. Frank couldn’t even begin to describe Cass, or Cassie as he found out later on. She was bubbly, and optimistic, and an all around joy to be around. She was the comic relief for this life that seemed to be nothing but hell. Her eyes were a sparkling blue, her face round, and her figure curvaceous. If Frank weren’t gay he’d definitely date her purely for the fact that she just didn’t care what people thought of her. She goofed off and pissed off Bob on multiple occasions, and Frank knew by the fourth time that she did it on purpose because she had a thing for him. He could see it in her eyes. The way she tried to lighten his day in any way that she could, and sometimes he’d give her the benefit of the doubt and crack a smile, but most days Cass would just end up giving a fake pout before shuffling off to bother someone else (who was most likely Gerard or Penny.)

Penny was short, and that’s what Frank liked most about her. Her hair was blonde as well, but nowhere near as long or vibrant as Cass’s. Her features were beautiful though; her chocolate eyes could make anyone melt with that certain look she could give. She was thin and beautiful in the sense that she could look good at any place at any time, and living through a zombie apocalypse was proof of that. Frank knew she was attractive, but she was too pessimistic to realize it herself, unlike Cass who flaunted it everywhere she went. Frank learned that Penny had just graduated from Rutgers with a degree in psychology. She didn’t have time to do anything with her degree though, as a week after her ceremony the outbreak begun and she lost everything.

Jenny and Johnny were brother and sister, twins to be exact. Their identical grey eyes were a sight, and their mousy brown hair was constantly messed up in almost identical ways. Johnny was tall and muscular with long legs for running. He had been the track star at his college and that’s why he was constantly sent out on runs for supplies; because he could get away. Jenny was the girl version of John, tall and muscular, but nowhere near as athletic as him. Jenny liked to write, whether it be fan fiction for her favorite TV show or a blog post on her live journal. She was actually a published author of a book no one had heard of and she reveled in that fact. That one day it would be a classic and everyone she knew wouldn’t even know she had written the damn thing. Though, now she wasn’t so sure her poor book would even be read because of the circumstances they were currently in.

Frank had told them all he had to tell, which wasn’t much. He was in a band called Pencey Prep, and he couldn’t help but see Gerard peek over his comic book at the mention of his band, maybe he had heard of them? His parents were divorced but as soon as the outbreak was announced they were back together in an instant, and then gone together just as fast. Frank heard the gasps as he said that detail and he actually felt the tears come for the first time since he found them. He was comforted by all of them, but when he realized that it was Gerard’s hand rubbing his back as he broke down completely, he felt a little more at ease about showing his emotions to this group of offbeat people. He admitted to them that he was in fact gay, and actually told them that it was the first time he had said it out loud since he figured it out when he was seventeen. He was happy to be spending his inevitable last days, weeks, months, or however long they lasted, with these people. He felt at home and it was strange to say, but he was almost glad this phenomenon had happened, because otherwise he wouldn’t have met them.