The Beginning of the End

The end of the world as he knew it hadn't happened quite like Kurt had expected it would. First of all, he hadn’t really expected it at all; people who genuinely held beliefs about any sort of impending end of days were the sort of people he’d always found laughable. Secondly, there was no real fanfare, no big event setting it all off, no real “bang! Everything’s over! Happy apocalypse!” type moment; instead it had come on gradually, so insidiously. It had just sort of happened in such a way that things were out of control before many people really knew what hit them. Many people hadn’t really been paying attention and didn’t take serious precautionary actions until it was either too late or almost too late.

Whether he cared to admit it or not, Kurt was one of those people who hadn’t taken it all that seriously until he’d had to. The obscure reports of a possible flesh-eating virus in remote areas of the world were, of course, gross and sad, but they didn’t affect his daily life and were thus soon forgotten. As were the updates to the story regarding what appeared to be reanimated (and violent!) corpses that had been linked to the virus.

Then, it hit home. New York was one of the first states in the US that was hit, and it was hit hard. It came to NYC, and all hell soon started to break loose. Schools and businesses began shutting down. Chaos and anarchy and panic took over the streets. People were advised to either get the hell out of the city or stay in their homes. A state of emergency was declared.

And just like that the life he had made for himself in that city ended. No job at Vogue or at the Spotlight diner. No NYADA. Probably no real future to speak of at all. And as heartbreaking as all that was, Kurt had much bigger concerns.

He and Rachel had been staying in the loft, too afraid to leave it, but now they were almost out of many necessary supplies. Additionally, Kurt had lost contact with Adam, who had locked himself in his own apartment in a similar fashion. Going hungry Kurt could deal with, but the terror that gripped his heart like a vice-grip that came from not knowing what was going on with Adam, if Adam was safe or okay or not, that was truly unbearable.

And it had been bad enough when, a few weeks prior, Santana had left the loft in search of Dani and had yet to contact them or to return… He couldn’t think about that right now…

So, he took to the streets, armed only with a baseball bat and his sai swords and feeling a primal fear like he had never known before, leaving Rachel to hold down the fort in their apartment with whatever else they owned that could serve as weaponry. His primary mission was to head toward Adam’s place and hopefully find him there safe and alive. His secondary mission was to procure more food, some bottled water (‘cause for all they knew their days of clean, running water were limited) and more toilet paper (because hoarding that seemed like a damn good idea all of a sudden.) All of that came second to finding Adam though. God, he just had to find Adam.

Public transport was down so he was in for a long and treacherous walk. So far so good. There were no signs of life or un-life anywhere. Kurt thanked the God he didn’t believe in.

It was so eerily still and quiet though, so unlike the city in its former life. Was this the ultimate future for this place? Kurt couldn’t help but wonder.

Such speculations, however brief, helped him take his mind off Adam’s possible fates. With each hypothetical demise playing out in Kurt’s head more grisly than the last, any momentary distraction was welcome. He wanted—no, needed— Adam to be okay more than he had ever wanted or needed anything before. He didn’t even want to think about what would happen if he didn’t find him or if he found him hurt or dead or worse…

The thought of Adam becoming one of those things made him feel physically sick.

A tall figure was shambling awkward toward him, and for a sickening second, he feared his nightmare had come true. He gripped the handle of his bat so tightly his knuckles went white; he’d never killed one of them before, and he wasn’t sure if he could.

As the zombie drew nearer, it was very evidently not Adam. Although still terrified for his own life, Kurt could breathe just a bit easier. This zombie had once been a man with short blond hair and a lot of tattoos that had probably looked much better in life; his left leg was injured, and if Kurt ran he’d surely never catch him.

But Kurt needed to learn how to take these things down, so he swung his bat as hard as he could at its head. He could never un-hear the cracking and squelching sound it made. The zombie fell to the ground and flailed pitifully. Kurt knew the sais would be more effective for killing, but they also had a shorter range, and he was too scared to get any closer. So, he kept hitting it and hitting it and hitting it with the bat until blood was splattered all around them, and the zombie’s flailing stilled. His heart pounded, and adrenaline surged through him, and this whole end of the world thing had never felt more real.

During his travels, he killed two more zombies before finally encountering another living human. At first, he was relieved, but then almost immediately he was terrified all over again. The man had a gun pointed squarely at Kurt’s chest. Kurt put his shaking hands in the air; he didn’t dare drop the bat in his right hand but he hoped that his looser grip on it and his palm facing forward would send the intended message of peace.

“If you come here to steal you best turn around, boy. You in the wrong hood for that,” the man said.

“Please don’t hurt me,” Kurt responded, “Please. I-I’m not here to steal anything; I-I-I’m looking for a man. He’s tall, taller than me, but not as tall as you, white, with blond hair, probably wearing a beanie, talks with an English accent. Have you seen him?”

The man lowered his weapon with hesitance. He shook his head, but his eyes never left Kurt. “Nah, man. I haven’t seen anybody like that, dead or alive. Sorry.”

“Okay,” Kurt said, “Thanks. Um, can I move on or will you shoot me?”

“You good. Just watch your back, alright? There’s been some punks around here lootin’ and stealin’ from folks,” the man answered.

“Alright. Thanks for the tip,” Kurt replied, and with that, he moved on. Great, that was just what he needed. If he didn’t get eaten by a damn zombie, he’d get fucking mugged. Suddenly, Kurt wondered if he could kill another human being if he had to. He hoped desperately that he didn’t ever have to find out.

Not too long after his encounter with the armed man, Kurt stumbled across a small group of zombies. Quickly and quietly, he changed direction and took a detour that he hoped wouldn’t get him lost. His phone rang, and it was Rachel. He answered quickly.

“Kurt! They’re here! They’re here! They’re banging on the door! Oh God, Kurt!” Rachel screamed.

“Oh shit, oh fuck. Rachel? Rachel?” he responded, a new wave of terror washing over him, “Rachel? Is the door still barricaded? Rachel, listen, don’t panic, this is important.” She informed him that the door was indeed still blocked by furniture. “Okay, do you have anything that can be used in a fight within reach?” She informed him that she thought she did. “Oh God, Rachel, just hang in there, okay? Hopefully you won’t have to use any of them. Good luck.”

“Kurt! Don’t hang up! Please don’t leave me!” Rachel pleaded.

“I’m sorry, but I have to reserve battery. God, Rachel, I’m so so sorry.” He hung up after that, not wanting to hear her scream again.

Okay, so there was a good chance he would have no home to return to after this mission, this probably suicide mission. And there was a good chance his best friend would be killed...or worse. Oh God. He hoped desperately that she would be okay somehow.

Still, as horrible as it was, he couldn’t focus on that at the moment. He took several deep breaths in and out and quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. He just had to find Adam. He just had to.

--

At least the apocalypse had had the decency to happen during the summer when the days were long. Kurt didn’t even want to think about what being out at night was like. As it was, he was already fretting about this being a potentially two day trip.

If Adam’s apartment was still safe, he could stay there, and he hoped it was because that would make it more likely that Adam himself was safe. Staying over at Adam’s would be a welcome change of pace, a little slice of almost normal in a world gone mad. He hadn’t even physically seen his boyfriend in weeks, many long weeks, and even amidst all the terror that plagued him now, he felt Adam’s absence. He missed him terribly; just to lay eyes on him again, to touch him and have him be real and there with him, to feel his touch, Kurt craved it so much it made him practically ache.

Suddenly, Kurt spotted a figure in the distance, heading in his direction. The figure appeared too coordinated to be a zombie, but Kurt was apprehensive all the same. The figure was Adam-sized and Adam-shaped, but Kurt didn’t dare to hope, not at least until he could get closer.

The other man must have spotted Kurt because he picked up his pace. “Kurt?” a voice that Kurt had been afraid he would never hear again called out.

“Adam? Adam, what are you doing out here? What happened?” Kurt ran to him.

The two of them embraced each other tightly. “I could ask you the same thing,” Adam replied.

“I was looking for you,” Kurt said, “You stopped answering my calls, my texts, and I couldn’t reach you online. Oh God, Adam, I was so worried. It’s so good to see you.”

“I know, sweetheart. That’s why I was headed in your direction. I knew you’d worry. Well, that and I wanted to be with you. I’ve missed you,” Adam responded. His hold on Kurt had loosened a bit, but he hadn’t released him.

“I missed you, too,” Kurt said, “so much. Next apocalypse, let’s agree not to get separated ever, okay?” He brought their lips together. Finally, he stepped back. “Come on, we’ve still gotta get supplies and head back.” He tried not to think about the fact that there might be no reason to “head back”, nowhere and no one to return to.

“Alright, love, you lead the way,” Adam said, “I am apparently not as good at navigation as I had previously thought.”

“You got lost, didn’t you?” Kurt asked, a playful smile teasing at the corners of his mouth.

“Very,” Adam said, and then after a beat added, “Twice.”

Kurt laughed for the first time in a long time. “Well, it’s a good thing I found you, isn’t it? Now, what happened? Did they find you? The zombies?”

“No, actually,” Adam answered, “People did.” And from there, he told Kurt his story.