Days Gone By

Frank shoved her off, blood pouring from his arm as he fell back against the floor; his head spinning as he cried out in agony. Lindsey whipped her head up towards a screaming Gerard as he stared helplessly at the scene. She ran at him, snapping her bloodied jaw at him as she tried to grab him. Gerard quickly snapped into action, running past her and into the nearby bedroom; his heart pounding as he struggled to keep the door closed. He frantically looked around the room, trying to find a way out of the apartment. Lindsey smashed her fists against the door, growling as she began to force her way inside. “Frank... Frank!” Gerard screamed, hoping that he was ok, that maybe there was a way out of this.

Except this time, Frank didn’t reply.

A cold breeze floated through the room. Gerard spun around, pressing his back firmly against the door as he saw the large window leading to a fire escape. He took a deep breath, bracing himself as ran towards the open window. Lindsey burst through the door, snatching at the back of his shirt as he jumped out of the window and climbed down the fire escape; fear coursing through his veins as he heard her growling from the window, her cries echoing through the street.

*****

Still. So still in the city tonight. Twelve o’clock; when all that is good slinks away like a beaten dog and black, black shadows are alive with the dead. Twisted poetry in broken English. Flesh and blood and staring faces. So alone and despairing. Strong as steel but collapsed inside. Gerard laugh’s under a street light, a voodoo smile of one who has lost everything, alone and lost in the world and somehow still lives. He slowly makes his way home where he can be shapeless in the dark and paint his face in the colours of joy.
Of course, there is no joy in this world. Not anymore. She made sure of that. For now, he is alone. Alone in this dark and empty world. As he makes his way to his apartment, the rest of the group look out from their flat, harassing him with all sorts of questions.

He remains silent. Pushing open the door, he makes his way inside his apartment and stares outside the large window in the centre of the room; unmoving, yet seeing nothing, lifeless and sick, slumped in despair. Outside, quiet streets lined with nondescript houses passed by, abandoned cars by the dozen on busy roads, fields stripped bare of life. He spies a young family running through the street, struggling to flee the monsters which lurked in the dark.
As the time passed he paid no attention to these sights.
His eyes fall upon his lover’s fallen corpse, tears welling in his eyes as he struggles to hold himself together. Yet, at the same time, he feels nothing. His being has been stripped bare of every emotion for Gerard is now the ghost of his former self.

He could not help him; there was nothing he could have done…

Gerard turned his back to the outside world, making his way over to an old arm chair and falling into its embrace. Closing his eyes, he feels himself drifting off to sleep for the first time in a long, long time.

****
His eyes snapped open, sweat dripping from his brow, breathing heavily as stared disorientated around the room. He was back in the apartment. Falling back into the chair, he rubbed his temples impatiently. It was just another horrific dream that seemed to haunt him every time he closed his eyes. It was as though he could never escape the horrors of the world, even in his dreams.

He glanced over at the bedroom door on the far side of the room; a scratching noise was coming from behind it. He sighed, taking out his gun and slowly walked towards the door. There’s nothing he can do for her now. She’s gone. Probably has been for most of the night now. He felt his fingers curl around the cold metal of the door handle, switching the safety off before making his way inside.

“Gerard...” a voice croaked quietly from behind him.

Gerard turned sharply on his heels, his eyes wide with shock as he watched Frank scramble to his feet. He staggered towards him, covering his face with his hands as he moved. A chill ran down Gerard’s spine; he had seen this scene before. He kept his finger on the trigger as he watched Frank slowly move towards him. Suddenly Frank’s knees buckled beneath him. Gerard quickly grabbed him, holding him in his arms. “Baby...I think I’m sick” Frank said softly, slowly moving his hands away from his face.

Gerard stared at him for a moment, brushing a dark strand of hair out of Frank’s face as he stared into his eyes. He was right, something was wrong. You see, right before they change, the infected always have yellowed eyes and cold, grey skin.

But Frank....frank appeared not to be affected by the walker bite at all.

He cupped his lovers face, not daring to take his eyes off his as a small blood clot formed in the corner of his left eye. “Am I infected?” Frank asked, breathing heavily as the pain in his arm intensified. Gerard stared at him, unsure of what to say. He was warm, his skin was pale but he was always pale and his eyes...they were normal.

“....No...no your.... your gonna be ok” Gerard stammered, not taking his eyes off him. Frank smiled, wincing in pain as he tried to move his arm. “Always said that bitch was a pain” He chuckled, smiling up at Gerard who still possessed a puzzled expression. He slowly reached up, stroking his cheek as he planted a light kiss upon his lips; an overwhelming sense of love washing over him as he looked up at Gerard; the man he had fallen so desperately in love with.

Gerard slowly rose to his feet, walking towards the bedroom door. He pushed it open and fired two shots at the corpse inside; hitting her in head and leaving her to bleed out on the floor. He glanced back at Frank who had propped himself up against the counter. “Your all that matters anymore” Gerard said, tossing the gun to the floor and sitting down beside him. Frank smiled, resting his head against his shoulder and closing his eyes. For the first time in a long time, he finally felt peaceful.

“Frank... did you know you were immune?” Gerard asked cautiously as he continued to stare across the apartment. Frank shrugged, cuddling up to Gerard. “I didn’t know anyone could be immune” He replied quietly. Gerard gazed down at him, his eye quickly focusing on the wound in Frank’s arm; the bleeding had finally stopped.There were so many questions on his mind, how could he be immune? What did he have that others didn’t? But as he locked eyes with him and felt that warm smile slowly form upon his face.

He knew that none of that really mattered.

He was still here and that’s all he really cared about.

Gerard kissed him tenderly on the lips, picking up Frank bridal style and led him into the living room. He gently placed him down on the sofa, the pair slowly stripping down to their boxer shorts as they lay down next to one another. Frank smiled as Gerard held him close, listening to his steady heartbeat in the dark as they drifted off to sleep.

*****

The group packed up their belongings and shoved them into the back of the land rover. Gerard leaned against the black paintwork of the car, smoking a cigarette as he pushed his sunglasses further up his nose. “Where are we going?” Levi asked, slamming the boot shut and walking back round to the side of the car. Gerard shrugged, flicking the butt of his cigarette to the ground. “Fuck knows” He replied, opening the car door and climbing into the driver’s seat. He quickly glanced over at Frank who sat wearily in the passenger seat. “You sure your ok?” Gerard asked, his voice dripping with concern as he flashed his boyfriend a worried look.

Frank rolled his eyes, pushing his hair off his face. “I’m fine, just tired that’s all... someone had me up early this morning” He replied, winking at Gerard as a cheeky smile began to form on his lips. “Urgh it’s too early for this” Billie moaned, leaning back in his seat and staring up at the ceiling. The pair laughed a genuine laugh as the warm light of the sun flooded through the windows.

Perhaps there was hope after all.

Gerard turned the keys in the ignition, heading up the main road towards London while Frank fiddled with the radio, sending out a transmission.

This is Frank Iero, calling out to any survivors out there. If any of you are hearing this then please know that you are not alone. There is still a chance, there is still hope....

There is a cure.

THE END

Notes

So this is the final chapter of Days Gone By!

Please subscribe to the sequel Bury All Your Secrets In My Skin and thank you so much for your support in writing this xxx