❉ 139 Dreams (Patrick) Surrounded
📑 Table of Contents
Genre: Friendship, comedy, angst, fluff
Word Count: 2,635
Pairing: Reader x Patrick
World: The Rain
☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁
Your lungs burned as you ran through the woods, dodging trees and doing your best not to trip over the exposed roots. You could hear them close behind, their heavy boots echoing like thunder. They were yelling at you to stop before yelling at each other to try and head you off. You had an idea of why they were chasing you, but you had seen these bastards murder people in cold blood more than a few times, and you sure as hell were not going to take a chance with them.
Their voices were getting louder and the bushes on either side of you began to shake as the Strangers burst through, their guns trained on you. You skidded to a stop, swallowing hard as your eyes darted between them. They had you surrounded and you had nowhere to go. They were faster and stronger than you, plus the whole assault weapon thing.
"Don't move!" one of them barked, his voice muffled by the mask he wore.
You narrowed your eyes at him, taking a small step to the right just to spite him.
"Put your hands up and get down on your knees."
"I would, but I have a bad knee so I need my hands to ease myself onto the ground," you told him blankly, your fingers slowly tugging at the throwing knife you had hidden in your pocket. You had to time this perfectly or you'd be fucked.
"On your knees!"
"Alright, alright. No need to yell, grandpa." You slowly started to lower yourself, taking a deep breath to steel yourself for what was to come.
Suddenly, you dropped to the ground, simultaneously pulling the blade out and throwing it at him. You didn't really expect it to hurt him and you would be happy if it just distracted him for a few seconds, but luck was with you that day. The blade slid into the small slit between his mask and the top of his armor, slicing into his neck. He cried out, falling backward and spraying bullets wildly into the air. You quickly ducked as several of them shot in your direction and they zoomed over your head, lodging into the chest of the man that had snuck up behind you.
"Gotta go!" You scrambled forward, struggling to get your footing among the fallen leaves that littered the ground. Bullets whizzed past you, one grazing your upper arm but the adrenaline numbed the pain. From the corner of your eye, you saw a metallic-looking tarp spread out over the forest floor, mostly covered by dense bushes. Another bullet grazed your cheek and you cursed, pushing your legs harder.
"Idiot! We need them alive, stop shooting!!"
The gunfire ceased, but they continued their pursuit.
The trees were growing more densely packed and the bushes were thick and tall. You glanced over your shoulder and didn't see anyone close by, so you quickly dove to the right into the bushes as if you were scoring the winning touchdown. You held your breath, willing your heart to calm the fuck down in case they could hear the loud pounding against your ribs. Had they seen you?
Their thundering steps got closer, twigs snapping as they made no attempt to be quiet.
"Where did they go?!"
"Find them!"
Their steps paused near you and you felt sure that one of them had spotted you, but a moment later, he took off running in the opposite direction. Your lungs burned, begging for air, and your head was feeling light, but you refused to breathe until you were sure that they had moved on. And even then, you didn't dare move from that spot. You wanted to believe you were just being cautious, but honestly? You couldn't feel your legs.
☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁
Your stomach growled painfully for the fifth time in as many minutes and you sighed, trying your best to ignore it as your feet shambled forward. It had been days since you last ate but it felt more like weeks. At this rate, you wouldn't have to worry about those bastards catching you because you'd die before they could.
Just as you were about to give up, you spotted something in the distance. It was a small cabin, the windows boarded up. It looked like a typical hangout for an axe murderer, but you were desperate, and honestly... you would probably prefer an axe murderer to those bastards. You tugged one of your knives from your pocket, more carefully than you had earlier - in your haste to escape your pursuers earlier, you had cut your leg open. It wasn't deep but it stung like hell, especially with your pants rubbing against it.
With the knife poised in your right hand, you slowly stepped up the wooden steps and reached for the rusted doorknob. It squeaked softly as it turned and you pushed the door inward. With the boarded windows, the cabin was nearly pitch black, but the fading sun illuminated the open doorway and you saw footprints in the thick dust. Were they fresh? Old? You couldn't tell. You took a step inside and heard the click of a gun as it was aimed at you from the right side of the door. You expected those idiots in black, but it was just a regular guy and you released a sigh of relief.
"Get out," he ordered. "This house is taken."
"Cabin," you corrected.
"What?"
"It's not a house, it's a cabin."
"Whatever, smartass. Leave before I blow your brains out." He took a step closer as thunder rolled outside.
"Martin," a blonde girl peered out from the living room that sat to the left side of the door. "The rain is about to start, they'll die!"
"For all we know, they could be infected already," he shot back, his eyes never leaving you. "Plus, the Strangers are after them."
"Last time I checked," you interjected blankly, meeting his eyes. "They chase all survivors."
"But they don't go out of their way not to kill other survivors."
You suddenly remembered that tarp in the bushes and snapped your fingers. "Ah, so it was you guys, then."
His eyes narrowed and he took another step toward you. The tip of the gun hovered mere inches from your face. "You have three seconds."
You held your hands up in surrender as your stomach whined pitifully. "Come on, bro, can't we talk this out?"
"Three."
"Guess not."
"Two."
"Martin, don't!" cried the blonde.
"One -"
A violent clap of thunder shook the cabin as the sky opened up, rain pelting the roof like angry insects trying to find their way inside. You glanced over your shoulder, noting how thick the sheets of rain were before you quirked a brow at the man. He hesitated.
A brunette woman stepped around the blonde, quirking a brow at you. "What's your name?"
"Beatrice," the man warned.
"That's a nice name," you replied, pointing the knife at him without realizing it. He tensed up and you quickly lowered it. "But that's not my name. Good guess, though." You then addressed the brunette who was smirking at you. "Name's Y/N. I -" Your stomach interrupted you with a loud, long whine. "- am so goddamn hungry."
The blonde quickly turned, disappearing into the living room. Three more people approached the archway - two boys and a girl. One of them looked curious and naive. One looked annoyed and distrusting. And the girl looked kind and friendly. The blonde returned with a clear, plastic bag in her hand. Inside was a granola bar.
You didn't even like granola, but your mouth started to water as soon as you saw it.
"Don't feed them," Martin hissed but she ignored him, handing it to you with a smile.
"As soon as you feed 'em, they'll keep coming back for more," commented the annoyed guy, his eyes narrowed at me and his arms folded over his chest.
"Ignore them," the blonde told you softly, watching as you nearly devoured the bar in one go. "My name is Simone."
Your cheeks were too full to reply so you just nodded.
"I'm Lea," said the kind girl, giving you a smile that showed off her braces. "Nice to meet you."
Beatrice eyed you and hummed. "You don't have a bag?"
You finally managed to swallow the last of the bar, patting your stomach in satisfaction. "Nah, I lost it a week ago running from those idiots in black."
Martin scoffed, finally lowering the gun, although reluctantly. "They seem pretty intent on catching you. Why?"
No way were you going to tell total strangers the truth so you just shrugged, feigning an expression of confusion. "No idea. Though, I did break a couple of their drones and said their dicks are small."
Beatrice laughed. "Nice. Come on." She jerked her head toward the living room and you glanced at Martin who looked both defeated and annoyed. Putting the knife back into your pocket, you followed after her.
☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁
You stared up at the ceiling as a loose wooden plank dug into your shoulder blade. The room was silent, the others breathing softly as they slept. Rain still pounded the roof, but the thunder had calmed to a gentle rumble in the distance. Beatrice was keeping watch, but she kept yawning every few seconds and you were sure that she had nodded off more than once.
You sat up from your spot under the window, squinting through the darkness at the sleeping figures at the other end of the living room. "Oi, Beatrice," you whispered as you stood up, moving slowly through the dark. "You can get some rest. I'll take watch."
She mumbled her thanks, crawling over to the empty spot beside Martin without hesitation, yawning again. You smiled, shaking your head before you stepped out onto the porch, looking up at the dark, night sky. It was honestly so beautiful, the rain, and it was peaceful, too. You loved it so damn much that it hurt you to think about how deadly it has become. Why? Did mother nature finally tire of humans and their games? Or was this just another poor attempt by humans grasping for any power they could get? Humans are always trying to play god and it never works out for them.
You closed your eyes, listening to the pitter-patter as the drops hit the earth, dripping off of leaves into puddles. You could feel it surrounding me but you weren't scared. On the contrary, you felt safe and secure. A smile tugged at your lips as you opened your eyes, extending your hand toward the rain.
A strong hand gripped your wrist tightly, forcing you back toward the door. "Are you fucking crazy?"
You met the eyes of Patrick, the guy who had done nothing but send you annoyed and distrusting looks. You couldn't understand why, but you didn't want to look away. His eyes were just so... "Beautiful," you murmured.
"What?" He scowled, dropping your wrist and taking a step back. "What the hell are you thinking? You know the rain is dangerous, right?"
You frowned. Ever since the rain had turned deadly, there wasn't a soul alive who knew of your secret. Well, that's not entirely true. There were people who knew, but you hadn't told anyone. You would be stupid too because you knew it was pretty damn obvious that telling people would be a bad idea. A very bad idea. So then, why did you want to tell this man, one whom you had just met, your deepest secret?
He gave you a weird look and you realized you had been staring at him. He cleared his throat, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder. "Go inside. I'm taking watch."
You started toward the door but paused, chewing on the inside of your cheek. You wanted to tell him so badly and you assumed it was just because you had been carrying this burden alone for such a long time. Making up your mind, you turned back around. "Patrick."
He didn't turn away from the rain, but he grunted in acknowledgment.
"I want to tell you something. Something I've never told a soul before. Will you let me?"
He quirked a brow at you over his shoulder, a wary look on his face. "Why me?"
"Dunno," you shrugged. "I feel strongly that I can trust you, something I've never felt for another human before. It just feels right to tell you."
Patrick finally turned, his brow furrowed and lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but no sound escaped him.
You chewed on your lip as you slowly pulled the door closed to ensure that the others wouldn't hear if they were awake. You met his eyes and smiled softly. "The truth is... I do know why those idiots in black me so bad. I'm immune. To the rain, I mean."
"You expect me to believe that?" he scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. "Your jokes aren't funny."
"I'll prove it to you." In just a couple of steps, you were beside him at the edge of the porch, reaching your hand out but he grabbed you again, his eyes widening the tiniest bit.
"You are crazy."
"Maybe, but if I get infected, I know you'll shoot me," you chuckled, motioning toward the gun in his hand. "I know you have no reason to, but won't you trust me this one time, Patrick?"
And for some reason unknown to him, he did. His fingers slowly uncurled from your wrist, his hand dropping to his side as the other gripped the gun tightly.
You reached your hand out again, feeling the icy cold drops against your skin. "When it first started, I was on my way home. I love the rain, so I stopped to enjoy it until I realized that everyone around me was screaming and convulsing. I was surrounded by death... so many people dead and yet... I was perfectly fine. I've done my best to this from others, but somehow those fucks found out and they're determined to get me." You pulled your hand back, water dripping from your fingertips.
His eyes were wide, lips parted in disbelief as the gun hung limply at his side.
"Maybe I should go with them. Maybe they can use me to find a cure." You lowered your gaze and your smile fell, hands clenching at your sides. "I've seen how savage they can be. They take life without hesitation or thought. I almost went with them, ya know? But then I was overcome with fear. I was so terrified that I would just become some experiment to them, no longer human, no longer free. I'm such a selfish asshole, aren't I?"
"No, you're smart," Patrick replied, readjusting the ballcap on his head. "The Strangers can't be trusted." He was silent for a moment, debating with himself before he finally stepped forward, his hand grabbing your shoulder to turn you toward him. "No matter what happens, you can't go with them. I won't let you."
Despite yourself, you smiled. "I don't think Martin wants me here."
"I'll talk to him."
"Are you going to tell him?"
Patrick hesitated. Doing so could honestly go either way, but he didn't want to chance it. More importantly... he was the only person you had trusted enough to tell this secret to. That information went straight to his heart, making him feel a sense of warmth he hadn't felt in a long time. Finally, he shook his head. "No. It's our secret."
"Our secret, huh?" Your smile widened as you reached up, resting your hand over his. "Thank you, Patrick."
☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁
