Crimson seeped into his red coat, his eyes watering as he covered his mouth. There has been many times Vash was scared. Especially when he was younger, hiding behind Rem as he hid from imaginary monsters. The smell of her faint perfume was still a comfort for him to remember. It didn’t help him now. This was nothing like that. The monsters weren’t imaginary this time.

He could hear the distorted croons and attempts at communication. Dread trickled down his spine like the blood from his severely wounded left arm. The scratches of the monster’s claw against the barricaded door. It was horrifying. No, it was more than horrifying, more than gut wrenching. That thing’s elongated limbs, the lower jaw only being held up by a thin piece of skin.

Blood dribbled from its mouth like drool, and the half lidded, barely conscious eyes. The intestines hanging from its wide open stomach, with the ribcage visible. Around each wound were sharp, ugly teeth. His throat tightened as bile rose in his throat at the thought. He could still smell the rotting flesh. He gaged as he remembered the maggots squirming around beneath the skin.

This was supposed to be Earth. No, this was a far cry from whatever haven he had been promised Earth was. This was certainly hell. The sudden snap of a twig in the other room made his heart stop. Oh, oh no. His watering blue eyes slowly moved towards the sound, where he saw a human looking shadow, illuminated around the edges. Was it another survivor..? That felt like an impossible thought.

He was barely surviving, he just got bitten. He had to find a way to amputate his arm. The thought of looking like that, having his bones protruding from his skin was a thought that made him want to squirm. Slowly, he pushed away from the wall, still hearing the infected’s distorted, low and high pitched voice. The fear and hope tingling in his heart felt pitiful in this environment.