‘1 – Stock as much food and water as you can.’

Eh. That was easier said than done, thought George as he parked in the mall’s parking lot. With Ashley sitting next to him, they looked at each other and then at the place with horror.

What the hell?

Why the fuck everyone needed to have the same idea as them?

“Well, this is gonna be fun,” sighed Ashley, unbuckling his belt. “Let’s get this over with before I change my mind for good.”

“Why did we end here again?”

“We’ve lost the game. Because of you.”

George shrugged, getting out of his car, slamming the door behind him. He did not mind going out, but he loathed the mall. He preferred quiet coffee shops and places where people forgot to go. Like a gaming store or a pet shop.

He put on his mask and sighed.

“Two bros hanging out at the mall, what will they do?” sing sang Ashley, a wide grin under his own mask.

“Shut up, I beg you. I’ll start smashing shit if you don’t.”

“Language.”

They exchanged a look, both smiling from ear to ear. It was a private joke between them, so old that they had forgotten where it came from exactly. But it was brightening their mood and that was all that mattered.

“Did you make a list or something?”

Ashley pulled out a crumpled sheet from his back pocket and unfolded it carefully.

“We’re gonna need so many things…” he sighed, looking at it with what seemed to be apprehension.

“Yeah, glad we earn enough to cover those expenses. Imagine if we were regular students.”

“Lol, bank account goes broke.”

They giggled like children, finally entering the crowded mall. They stopped laughing at once, watching people who were panicking so badly that they were pushing each other quite abruptly.

“Well, we can always go to the next one…”

“No. It would be useless, it must be the same everywhere.”

George extended his hand out for his friend and, hand in hand, they followed the crowd movement. Now, they just needed to find what they needed: two full carts of food and essential supplies to survive.

Ashley had a firm grip on his fingers, tightening it when people pushed him or stepped on his toes. For about half an hour, they navigated in the dense crowd, trying to reach the supermarket area. But it was nearly impossible to slither between the people, they were two panicked and impolite to let them pass.

At this rate, they would never get there before the closure.

George sighed heavily and yanked Ashley closer to him.

“Get the fuck off my road!” he yelled at the closest person, pushing them harshly to the side, making sure they did not fell though, he was not a monster or something.

“Language!” gasped Ashley. “You can’t talk to people like that!”

“Yes I can and I will. Cover your ears if you don’t want to hear that.”

Moving forward, he kept a firm grip on his friend, navigating with difficulty in the crowd. His glare was maybe not strong enough to make people move but he was loud and he had a Spanish accent.

No one dared to talk back to an angry Spanish man.

“Move your fucking cart, you imbecile!” he yelled once again, pushing the said cart away with a violent kick.

With a lot of swearing and muttered Language, they finally managed to reach their goal, pushing away the last carts – with their owners – that dared try to cross their path. It was a small victory in this global war they were having.

And damned be his soul if he did not win this conflict.

‘2 – Stock warm clothes, blankets, etc. You’ll need them.”

Chris sighed, looking at the street before him like a veteran going back to war. He had sworn that he would never come back here. But Eliott, fucking Eliott, had to win the game and choose this place!

Thank you, Eliott.

He sighed again, heavily, sharing with the most disagreeable way possible his discontentment.

Eliott rolled his eyes, shooting him a glare.

“I should have gone with George. He is not a bitch like you.”

“Piss off. Let’s get this over with. We don’t have all day.”

“We technically don’t have days anymore.”

“Would you please shut up?”

Eliott rolled his eyes, quickening his pace to make the other one shut up. It was an effective technique that the blonde had learned to use over the years. Chris being shorter than him, he had shorter legs and he was quickly out of breath. He had tried this with George but the latter was a swimmer, he knew how to save his breath and nothing could shut him up. It was a lost cause. If their friend started to talk, he had to finish what he was saying. No matter what.

The place was not really crowded, everyone probably at the mall annoyingly trying to stock food. Just like the four of them. Hm, typical human behavior. They had experienced a global pandemic some months ago, and it was still going on, and the first thing people did was either protest or stock toilet paper.

The team had stocked beers and snacks, one required by Eliott the other by George. How did they stay slim with all that went through their bodies? Chris had troubles losing the fat he had gained after his accident and those two douchebags were just here, one ripped and the other slim as hell with a beautiful back.

Oh. No, out of context this sentence was going to look suspiciously gay. But Chris could not deny that George’s back was really sexy. Even his girlfriend agreed with him.

His eyes widened.

Fuck, how could he have forgotten his own girlfriend? Eloise was probably super worried and… Wait no she was fine. She was back in France for Christmas. Ugh, he could have been with her instead of being stuck here with the nerds… When did he make such bad choices? Damn his mom was probably worried sick too. He was such a bad son…

“What are you thinking about, Chris? You look all worried suddenly.”

“I forgot to call my family… I will do that when we’ll be done with that. Do you still have the list on your phone?”

Eliott nodded, taking out the object from his pocket and unlocking it.

“Hm… plaids, blankets, pulls, ski trousers, ski coats… what else?”

“We should get at least two or three gasoline radiators, some hot water bags for emergencies, a few gas tanks, torchlights…”

“I should’ve taken George’s car. I don’t think everything will fit in my car,” sighed Eliott, typing what Chris was telling him.

“We’ll manage. I’m a Tetris pro-player. We should get the heaters first, I think people are gonna want that before thinking about clothes.”

“We agree on the fact that clothes-wise we take anything that is thick enough and we don’t pay attention to the style?”

“Agreed. Now let’s do this.”

“3 – No matter what don’t go south. Stay in a familiar environment. Going south will lead to your inevitable death.”

December 27th

Ashley was sitting by the window, looking out nervously. Buses were patrolling in town, enjoining the inhabitants to get on board. The speakers were blasting what seemed like a reassuring speech to the young man’s ears.

The house was plunged into darkness. Chris had come home in the morning, looking alarmed, panting heavily, and had told them that the city was being evacuated and that it was an order. They had reacted quickly, parking their cars in an underground parking lot, closing all the blinds, and shutting the lights off. It looked like they were gone and that was exactly the effect wanted.

But the young man was not quite sure if they were wise to follow a stranger’s advice in a time like this. What if that Twitter account was just a troll? Even in dark times, trolls didn’t miss an occasion to trick people.

“Wait, if the people are leaving, does that mean that the electricity will soon be gone?” suddenly asked Eliott who was lying down on the couch.

“Most probably,” answered George, “That’s exactly why I’ve fixed the backup generator. What I hope is that we will still have a mobile network for at least a week, to keep in touch with Ridox and Ezra until they arrive here. GenS said he was going to do everything he could to join us but it will take a while.”

“I still wonder how he will do that,” sighed Chris.

“I don’t know, he talked about a ship last time we spoke. I think he embarked yesterday.”

They watched the bus pass by their home for what must have been the twelfth time today and they sighed. Soon the others would be gone and they’d have to organize themselves properly.

“I wonder if they emptied the malls.”

“Looking back at the USA’s bad choices, I think not. We like wasting food, remember?” snickered Chris, stretching on the ground. “But we will verify that tomorrow when they’ll be really far gone.”

“It’ll be so strange to be the only ones here…” muttered Ashley, anxiety filling up his throat. “It looks like a zombie outbreak will soon arrive or even worse.”

George made his way to his friend, gently patting his back.

“It’s making all of us nervous. But I’m sure we will survive this and eventually it’ll end.”

“Wow, reassuring” sneered Chris, naked sarcasm in his voice.

“Shut up man,” sighed George, getting up. “You know what you all should do? Call the one that we will not likely see again, talk a last time with them. I’ll be doing my last stream upstairs. Join me if you feel like it.”

He did not let them answer, already leaving the room, his phone light disappearing in the stairs.

Ashley turned his own phone on, looking at the screen with a heavy heart. How was he supposed to talk to his family without breaking down? Who should he call beside them?

Eliott got up from the couch and disappeared into the staircase, following his best friend. Pulco following close behind. The fluffy tail of the dog was waving happily.

The dog owner had already called his family during the first days and, as he was not a very social person, had quickly said goodbye to everyone he knew. Eliott was a man of few words, the calls had lasted only a few minutes. He had driven off to his sister’s flat with George and they had come back with Pulco, the Barlows’ dog. Lily could not bring him with her so Eliott had offered to take care of him. Which was a pretty clever idea. Having pets around would lighten the mood and bring a feeling of safety.

Ashley sighed.

If Eliott didn’t have a lot of people to call, Ashley had almost no one except his parents. All of his friends were here or on their way here.

So he only had to call his parents. He tensed a bit more, scrolling to find their number. He did not call them often, preferring to text them. But a situation like that was too strange to be resolved through texts.

Reluctantly he pressed the call icon.

The dial rang about four times before a feminine voice echoed through the speaker.

“Hello?”

“Mom? It’s Ashley.”

“Ashley! I was worried about you! Why didn’t you call sooner? Your father and I were worried sick!”

Ashley winced, glancing at Chris who was watching him with a weird look on his face.

“I’m sorry… I got caught up with a lot of things to do.”

“Oh, darling what could you possibly have to do? It’s supposed to be Christmas. Aren’t you on the road home?”

“No mom, I’m staying where I am with my friends. I think this is a better idea. I just called to see if you were alright a-”

“What do you mean you’re not coming home? You are joking, right?”

“Um... No? I think it’ll be better if I stay with George and-”

“Are you out of your mind Ashley Martin? Do you seriously think that this is a clever idea to stay with this Spanish boy? This kid has a really bad influence on you!”

Ashley sighed, exchanging a look with his friend who looked as jaded as him. What did he expect uh? Nice goodbyes with his parents? That was never gonna happen.

If he was lucky she would start to cry and stop insulting his friends but luck seemed to be out of sight for now.

“I can’t believe that you are choosing those punks over your own family! You’ve been living with them for only two years, what are you thinking?? If anything happens, they will probably leave you behind without even looking back! And don’t even talk to me about this Amadeo Palerma!”

“His name’s Chris, mom,” sighed Ashley, getting more and more annoyed as his mother talked.

“He could be Pedro, I wouldn’t care! I’ve seen videos from that punk, talking about religion and all, blaspheming every goddam minute! You really want to stay with them instead of us?”

“Yes. Definitely.”

“What?”

He winced under the high pitched voice. Things were not going as smoothly as he had wanted. What did he expect from his parents, honestly? Acceptance? Sympathy? Peaceful and tearful goodbyes?

No, it was once again the usual show: how did Ashley disappoint his parents once again?

Chris sighed, getting up. He gestured to Ashley to give him the phone and the younger happily obliged.

“Hello,” started his friend with a monotone voice. “This is Amadeo Palerma talking.”

Sudden silence.

“I’m just gonna say this and hand the phone back to your son right after so listen carefully,” he started, looking annoyed as he tapped his foot on the carpet. “Your son is staying with us because he feels safe here and because he feels more at ease with us than with your frigid ass.”

Ashely muttered a “Language”, not really realizing it but Chris raised an eyebrow as he continued:

“This, here, is his home, you may be his parents but he does not feel at home with you. Hell, he can’t even tell you that he is gay! If you want your son to be happy, be nice to him, as it’ll probably be the last time you’ll hear his voice.”

He then handed back the phone to Ashley who reluctantly grabbed it. What was his mother going to say? He outted him without batting an eye and now he was casually going to plop down into the sofa.

“Ashley?”

“… Yes, mom?”

“May the Lord have mercy for your soul.”

He opened his mouth but his mom had already hung up. He stared into the void, absentmindedly blinking.

“Are you okay?” asked Chris.

“I… I think yes. I feel lighter now. Thank you.”

He smiled at his friend, not knowing if this one could see his face, and got up.

“I’ll leave you some privacy to call your family.”

“4 – Never lose track of time. Try to live as normally as possible.”

“This concludes my last stream here. I hope that all of you stay safe and not alone. If you are nearby, need any help, are alone, I’ll put my phone number on Twitter. Ring me, text me, whatever, I’ll be there. Remember to stay civilized, don’t do things that you would never do normally, and avoid dangers as much as possible. Maybe we’ll see each other when all of this end and if not, I bid you farewell. Keep faith.”

George sighed as he waved goodbye to his webcam. Eliott mimicked him, smiling softly to the device.

“Good night everyone.”

He shut down the stream, reading the last messages his community sent him. He was surprised by how many people were still here but it had warmed his heart greatly.

Oh, he was going to miss that so damn much.

Typing his phone number on his Twitter, he hesitated, looking up at his best friend.

“Do you want to add yours?”

“Sure.”

His lips twitched upwards and he completed his tweet promptly.

“Here we go. I hope they will be okay.”

“They shou-” started Eliott before being interrupted by a loud bang on the door.

They both jumped, turning like one man towards it.

George frowned, getting up but before he could reach the door, it opened wide, revealing a grinning girl with long blue hair. She had round goggles on her head and a tear tattoo under her left eye. Behind her was standing a really tall man with auburn wavy hair and freckles who looked as shocked as George.

“We’re here for the sleepover my dudes!”