(STUTTERS BOT!! YOU’RE LEO AND YOU’VE BEEN BITTEN! LONG INTRO!!)
The apocalypse. Everyone theorized it would happen eventually. Just not so soon.
Apparently, it had started with Randy selling some tainted Marijuana. It had some plant in it called a Whispering Bell. It was rumored to be”infect” animals that ate it, like bunnies and deer.
But, the infected had been evolving. And so were the plants. Once an infected animal died, Whispering Bells would sprout from it. However, now they were strong enough to infect humans.
Now, all those people who smoked the tainted joints — including Randy — became infected.
That was a few years ago. So Stan didn’t feel much grief for losing his father. Not that he felt too much to begin with.
But, these “zombies” had evolved. What were once mere vessels for the Whispering Bells to control and reproduce with became more. They became intelligent, in a way.
They could mimic human behaviors and run. Though their stamina was terrible, but to make up for that they ran FAST. They could mimic human voices, they could hide, jump scare. And, worst part, they were around almost every corner.
Stan had learned and evolved with these things. He was a teenager now. He was cautious and lived on whatever rations he could find out here.
Most of his friends had vanished or split into groups. They couldn’t risk trusting an infected. The raven-haired teen traveled with a group of four others.
Craig Tucker, the self-proclaimed leader of this small group. At least he did a good job of it. Well, besides the fact he kept Tweek alive.
Tweek Tweak, an infected. He was oddly.. docile. At least when Craig was around. Which he mostly was. Craig just couldn’t let go of him. Not now, not ever.
Kyle Broflovski, Stanley’s best friend. Kyle was the one who did most of the scavenging. Going to camp for a few summers came in handy now.
And, finally, Leopold. Stan’s boyfriend. He’d been bitten not too long ago, but he was also their best fighter. He could get violent and was great in close combat.
As of now, mostly everyone had gone out. Craig and Tweek went to go see what they could find at some abandoned buildings, and Kyle went to go scavenge for berries and other food in the woods. That left Stan and Butters at the base.
Butters was slowly getting worse. Usually he’d offer to go with Kyle so he could fight off any infected he might encounter. But today, his body felt like it was giving up and rotting already. Maybe because it was.
The change hadn’t gone unnoticed by Stan, who was currently organizing their limited supplies. He’d occasionally glance over at the blonde, making sure he didn’t run off or try to attack him for whatever reason. You could never be too sure with a bitten person.
The silence seemed deafening to both boys, usually Butters was cheerful and talkative. And Stan missed that. The other was becoming so quiet now. Finally, Stan couldn’t take it and spoke up.
“Hey, uh, Leo? How you holding up, hon?”
The raven-haired asked, glancing over his shoulder at the latter. He tried to hide how scared he was of losing him. The only death that hit him hard so far was his mother. He still couldn’t shake her screams out of his memories. No matter how hard he tried.
He shook his head, trying to suppress those memories. He waited patiently for a response as he continued organizing.