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Dancing Dead	By : Need2ScreamNow Category: Singers/Bands/Musicians > Avenged Sevenfold Views: 1141 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own nor know the members of A7x or their girlfriends. I'm not making any money. This is All Fiction, i.e. Total Bullshit.

Chapter List
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Five Years Later

The air was crisping again, soon the mild breeze would turn into frigid gusts. Already the leaves were deep golds and reds and the last of the berries were shriveling on their vines. Matt stared intently at the rabbit a few yards away and relaxed his fingers. With only a small sound the arrow released and hit its mark. He let out a breath, they were seriously low on arrows, out of the original twenty only about seven were still around. The others had either broken or been lost. The cold from kneeling on the ground made his joints stiff and he staggered a little when he stood, it was rapidly getting dark under the trees. The others would definitely be worried, but it was worth it. It was nearly impossible to hunt in the mountains during the winter the unpredictability of the weather made it dangerous. They could have an hour of clear skies and then a storm would blow up in ten minutes and last for three days.

He made his way back to the cabin, Brian was still out chopping wood, it seemed they spent the entire summer chopping wood and still only barely managed to make it through the last storms of winter. He looked up when he heard Matt approach, “Zacky’s ticked.” He said without pausing and splitting another log. Matt held up the rabbit and he smirked, “That’ll work in your favor.” He wiped the sweat off his forehead grinning. Matt followed him inside and dropped the bow and quiver off by the door. Brian put the axe by the sizeable pile of wood already inside. Zack poked his head out of the bedroom and as soon as he saw Matt scowled. Matt held up the rabbit and he smirked when the smaller man’s angry expression faltered. It came back full force though when he caught Matt laughing. Johnny came out around him and grabbed a few logs from the front stockpile and took them to the bedroom. Was already cold enough that they needed the fire in there?

He went over to the fireplace and grabbed the knife off the mantle that they kept there specifically for dressing game. Also on the mantle was a pair of Jimmy’s drumsticks and his simple note and the .357. Lined up next to the gun were four bullets each with a name carved in the jacket. He sat down in front of the fire and began work on cleaning the rabbit. Zack sat down in front of him, “You still wanna do this?” he asked lowly, in the back Johnny coughed thickly. He turned to the sound with worry on his face, Matt finished cleaning the rabbit and dropped the pieces of meat into their cooking pot by the fire and rinsed his hands in a smaller pot. “Yeah, if we don’t go tomorrow we probably won’t be able to go until next year.” He answered equally quiet. Zack didn’t seem to like his answer, “Maybe we should leave him here.” He suggested still staring at the bedroom. Matt looked at the bedroom too, he knew Zack was worried about The Virus, he was too. With Johnny already coming down with something there was a better chance he could catch it, but he wouldn’t want to be left behind. Zack made a frustrated sound ran his fingers through his tangled hair and instead stared into the fire. Matt scooted over to sit next to him and draped an arm around his shoulders, “We won’t be down there long. We’ll see what’s going on and then come right back.” At least that was the plan. They had no idea what the world was like down the mountain, they may not be able to get even close to the city. “I don’t know Matty, I just have a bad feeling about this.” Zack leaned against him and continued to watch the yellow-orange flames.

The next morning they were up earlier than usual selecting which guns they would take with them and going over their plan again, they had decided they would travel in pairs, each person with a hand gun and one with a rifle. Zack and Johnny were a pair, Johnny wasn’t too much worse, a running nose and cough and a little bit of a fever. Zack still watched him though, worry etching lines in his face.

It had been so long since they used the trail down Matt wasn’t sure if he remembered it, the once well groomed path had been reclaimed by nature, probably by the second year they had hidden in the cabin. The treated wood posts they had used to mark the trails were still visible though and they made it to the bottom. The car was pretty much how the expected it to be; rusting, five years worth of leaves on and around it, flat tires. Brian sighed, “Ah, my baby.” As he looked at the hopeless wreck, “I really don’t think this is going to work.” He said pulling the keys out of his pocket. Matt shrugged; there was only one way to find out, he was secretly hoping it would be as dead as he looked. He dreaded seeing what their hometown looked like, but he was more terrified that They would still be out there running around undiminished by the years. Brian pulled on the handle and his fingers slipped off, “The hell?” he tried the door again and laughed, “I locked it. Jesus Christ.” He continued to snicker as he finally pulled the door open. The engine clicked painfully the first time he tried the key, it coughed and sputtered the second time, and the third it caught for a second and died, the fourth it caught and held. It wasn’t the quiet purr Matt remembered but it was working.

“Great,” Brian sighed, “now we just have to find someplace to air the tires.” He closed his door as the others piled in. Déjà vu pounced on Matt as he slid into the passenger seat and Zack and Johnny took the back. “There’s a gas station at the bottom of the mountain.” He said looking out the window. Brian nodded, “I know, it’s just so far.” He said mournfully slowly turning the car around muttering about an oil change and needing to find a working car wash. Matt smiled faintly and watched the scenery creep by. They had figured it would take about two hours to get to the gas station to air up the tires and hopefully fill the tank. He divided the time between watching the clock, something almost magical since all of their watches and cell phones had died some time ago, and looking out the window. He could hear Zack and Johnny sleeping in the back and Brain spent the entire time lamenting his car.

They made it to the gas station and filled the tires, when they all held air Brian did a little dance. The gas was still flowing, although how well it would work was a test still to come. Finally, they were on their way, actually on their way, to the city. Zack and Johnny didn’t sleep and Matt spent the entire trip carefully watching the landscape, Brian stopped muttering about his car and kept a near white knuckled grip on the wheel.

If society had rebounded they hadn’t allotted anyone to clean up crew. The drive to the city held the same wreckage as it had five years ago, although none of it was burning now.
Just inside the city limit Brian coasted to a stop chewing his lip. Matt looked around carefully, “What’s up?” he asked quietly. He didn’t see anything but he had been looking out his window when they stopped, not the windshield. Brian didn’t answer immediately, “I gotta know.” He said at last. Matt looked at him quizzically, “Gotta know what?”

“If there are any left.” Zack said dreamily from the back. Matt turned around and looked at him but he was staring out the front too, he looked over at Johnny. The smaller man shrugged and looked back and forth between the raven haired men. The car started moving again and then came to stop a little further down the road. “What the hell are you guys talking about?” Matt asked looking around nervously, then he saw it. The music store. The windows were smashed in and the opening yawned darkly. He looked over at Brian, “Well, we’re not gonna find out sitting in the car.” He checked the area again and then opened the door. They approached the store carefully, Zack and Matt with their rifles trained on the darkness and Brian and Johnny keeping an eye behind and around them. Nothing came out of the darkness, and the street stayed silent.

Inside they found most of the front of the store destroyed by the elements, but further back it was relatively unscathed and there they were. Three rows of guitars thick with dust, untouched in five years; across from them basses hung the same way. They didn’t move at first, just stood and stared and then it was like someone gave them the okay and they scattered. Matt wiped a hand down the neck of an acoustic, half an inch of dust fell to the floor but the strings were still strong, he plucked a string, it was sorely out of tune but it was a beautiful sound nonetheless. He could have stayed there until the sun started to set, but Johnny’s sneeze followed by a cough pulled him out of his bliss. “Guys, we need to get moving again.” He said pulling the guitar off the rack. Turning around he saw Zack cradling a light brown acoustic with the happiest expression he had seen in a long time.

“C’mon Zacky, we can play when we get back.” Brian took his arm and tugged him back toward the busted glass. Johnny followed them hugging a deep brown bass to his side, Matt followed with his.
They stowed their treasures in the trunk and once again got into the car, the silence as they continued on was a content one. “Christ, I had no idea I missed it that much.” Brian said rubbing his temple. Matt nodded, he couldn’t wait to get back and sit in the cabin with his guitar. It would snow soon and when it did they would be trapped inside for awhile.

Their excitement sobered quickly as they drove past more and more of the same destruction, there were a few new cars disabled on the road but they were still old enough to have rusted. “There’s nothing.” Johnny whispered. Matt stared out his window, he was right, there weren’t any people, no animals even, just echoes of what had been. Johnny coughed again, it sounded worse, but that might have been from the dust, or his cold was getting worse. “Let’s see how messed up the Wal-mart is.” Matt said. Brian glanced at him, “Why?” they hadn’t planned on stopping anywhere, just doing a quick drive-by and then heading back. They had already messed up their plan once and gotten lucky they hadn’t run into any of Them.

“They might still have some cold medicine.” Matt said. Brian chewed his lip but made a turn and headed to the store. The closer they got the more uncomfortable Matt could feel himself becoming with the idea. The silence was tense again and he almost suggested they just head back to the cabin, but if there was anything that could keep Johnny from getting as sick as he had been a couple years ago he would take that risk. He shuddered at the memory, they had no idea what his fever had been but it was too high, even with strips of cloth soaked in melted snow he sweated and shook, his breathing shallow and fast. The hallucinations had been the worst, he had convinced himself at some point that he had The Virus, he talked to Jimmy and his parents. Three days he spent talking to the phantoms of his mind and screaming incoherently. When the fever finally broke it was still another three weeks before he had the energy to do much more than get up and relieve himself.

He shook himself from the memory when the imposing front of Wal-Mart loomed into his vision. The parking lot was littered with cars parked askew or sitting on their roofs or sides. Rusty carts lay everywhere. A couple letters from the sign had fallen to the pavement scattering fiberglass everywhere. “End of the Goddamn world and Wal-Mart still has a monopoly on us.” Brian muttered. Matt snorted and took a moment to get his nerves under control, “Alright, let’s see if they have this stuff and then get the fuck outta here.” He checked the area but nothing moved in the parking lot. Inside the broken doors was darkness more complete than had been at the music store. He tightened his hold on the rifle as soon as he was out and raised it to his shoulder. Someone was watching him, he could feel it. The back of his neck prickled and he swung around checking behind him surveying the deserted landscape again. Everything was quiet.

Inside it wasn’t as dark as it had looked from the parking lot, it was gloomy to be sure but it wasn’t a thick darkness. Once their eyes started to adjust they could see the scattered shelves and debris making an obstacle course out of the floor. The heavy feeling of eyes on him continued as he moved deeper into the store but nothing moved.

“Matty,” Zack called softly he glanced over to him and stopped, “Find something?” he kept his eyes on the surrounding area searching for whatever was watching them. “yeah.” there was a low thump and he actually turned to see what he had found. A bunch of plastic tubs, “What do you plan on doing with those?” he asked once again probing the darkness when his curiosity was satisfied. “Right now we can carry shit in them and when we get back we can use them to hold water.” He said practically.

“I’m so glad we’re stranded together.” Matt said smiling, he never would have thought of that. Zack snorted and then ordered Johnny to get the lids and they started moving again. Most of the shelves were complete chaos or scattered on the floor making it difficult to find anything. Every now and then he would hear either Zack or Johnny or maybe even Brian drop stuff into the tubs but that was only a soft sound in the silence. The eyes continued to watch.

“This is going to take forever.” Brian said after they had wandered up and down a few aisles. Matt nodded, “Do we want to split?” he bristled at the idea but they really had to get back to the cabin before it got dark and cold. He knew the others were thinking the same thing and after a moment Zack sighed, “Yeah, we gotta get back.” He and Johnny scooted past him, Zack had the rifle over his shoulder and he could see the dark outline of the hand gun in Johnny’s waistband but he still worried. “Maybe we shouldn’t.” he muttered. Brian came up and tugged his shirt in the way they had been going, “We don’t have time for you to pussyfoot around, let’s go.”
Matt watched the other two until they turned a corner and then followed Brian. They wandered into the electronics section, most of the stuff had been looted and Matt snorted cynically, “I wonder how much they’re enjoying it.” Brian didn’t comment. They split away from each other, Brian to search down another aisle and Matt, still close, went up and down the CD aisles looking at the thick covering of dust.

He was about to join Brian when he paused and wiped the dust off of a row of CDs and pulled one out, Avenged Sevenfold, once he wiped the rest of the dust off the cover the deathbat smiled out at him. He stared back at the skull and then flipped it over and read over the track listings, or tried to, in the dark it was mostly by memory. He turned it over again and stared at the deathbat. Had it really been five years? Longer since the CD had come out, but five years since he had gotten back from tour and spent the day sleeping. Five years since Jimmy, The Rev, had killed himself. “Syn.” He jumped when the other man, their lead guitarist, answered him. “What’s up? What’re you doing?” he looked over the CD and then at him. Matt shrugged and carefully put it back with the others, “Just…Nothing.” He shrugged again and headed away from the electronics.
*~*~*

Johnny and Zack found the tossed shelves of medicine, whatever junkies had been in the area had cleared out a fair portion of everything but they had left enough for them. Johnny surveyed the floor and then one of the still standing shelves, “What should we get?” he picked up a box and squinted at the name before putting it back on the shelf. Zack shrugged, “Just grab everything, who knows what we might need.” He started gathering things up and tossing them in the tub. They had gotten three and stacked them and in their search for medicine the make shift basket had come in very handy. It was now full of blankets and a couple small comfortable pillows, new sheets and a book on edible plants.

Johnny followed a trail of boxes and bottles around a corner and let out a quiet squeak. Zack brought the rifle up to his shoulder, palms sweating and heart racing. And before he could move cold metal pressed against the back of his neck. He froze. “Put your gun down nice and slow.” A gruff voice commanded. Stiffly he lowered the gun, as soon as the muzzle was pointed to the floor someone jerked it out of his grip. He curled his lip in a snarl but didn’t move, “Johnny?” he called softly. There hadn’t been any shots but they probably had knives. “Zacky?” his shaky voice came from around the corner and Zack’s shoulders relaxed an inch.

“Move.” The gun dug deeper into his neck and he growled but moved anyway, they were prodding him toward Johnny’s voice. He came around the corner and his stomach dropped, there had to be a dozen people with guns pointed and him and Johnny. Even if Matt and Brian managed to find them they weren’t going to be any help. Zack pulled Johnny against him, his fever was getting worse. “What the fuck do you want?” Zack growled. He didn’t care if they took the guns, he just wanted to find Matt and Brian and get back to the cabin. His nerves were frazzled. He heard footsteps behind him but didn’t turn away until he heard a familiar growl and a low string of curses.
Four more men with guns were pushing Brian and Matt to them. One of them had an eye already starting to swell and another had a bleeding nose and busted lip. Zack smirked and hugged Johnny closer, Matt had a welt across his cheek but that looked to be the worst of it. Matt went around and stood in front of him, he had to be scared shitless but it was impossible to tell. “The fuck is your problem jackass?” he snapped. Zack bit back a nervous giggle, Brian didn’t bother and snorted.

One of the men in front lowered his gun some, “What are you doing here?” he asked glaring directly at Matt. Matt crossed his arms, a position Zack knew well, this guy was in for a fight. “Me? I’m minding my own fucking business, just trying to survive and your little bitches back here jumped me. Now what the fuck are you doing here?” he said sarcastically. The man’s glower deepened, “This is our territory.” He growled. Zack could almost see Matt raise his eyebrow.

“Your territory? When does it become a state?” Brian deadpanned. Johnny tried to hold in a laugh and ended up making himself cough. The change was instantaneous, before he had even caught his breath every gun was pointed directly at him. He cowered against Zack and both Matt and Brian moved to stand in the line of fire.

“You brought a sick person here?” the man yelled. “It’s just a cold.” Matt said low and smooth. Zack hugged Johnny closer and held his head under his chin. He could understand their fear, if any of them had been sick he would have reacted the same way, but they hadn’t been very hospitable up to this point. The quiet clicks of guns being cocked echoed through the silent store, “Now how do you know that? We all thought it was just a flu and look at what happened. How do you know ‘it’s just a cold.’” He stepped forward until the muzzle pressed into Matt’s chest.

“Matty.” Johnny whispered, his breathing was shallow.

“Wait, wait. Jordan, wait.” A firm female voice came from the back and got louder as she pushed her way to the front. A familiar dark head of hair came up next to the lead man.

“Michelle?” Brian breathed. Michelle smiled wanly, “Hi Brian.” She took a step forward but Johnny coughed again and she jumped back. Johnny buried his face in Zack’s neck and shivered. Once she was a safe distance from Johnny she focused on Brian again, “I went by your house once the fires were mostly out and found Jimmy, I figured you were either dead or one of Them.”

Brian flinched at the mention of Jimmy, “He did it himself.” He whispered staring at the floor. Zack reached back and took his hand. Michelle nodded, “At least he gave you the easy way out, I had to kill Val. She got sick from someone at work.” Her voice was impassive and Matt sucked in a breath. They stood in silence in the circle of guns until Michelle spoke up again, “We have a settlement, a safe place, come with us. There are people from all over Cali and even Washington and Mexico, we’ve got food and water.” She looked at them hopefully and Matt slowly took a step back until he was only inches from Johnny and Zack, “You won’t let Johnny in, will you?” he said softly.

“You can be safe though, Brian?” She insisted stubbornly. A heavy arm slid around Zack’s waist and pulled him against Brian’s warm body, “No Michelle, I won’t sell my soul for safety.” He whispered. Michelle shook her head, “He could have The Virus, he could already be one of Them!” she hissed. Zack reached up and held Johnny’s warm forehead closer to his neck, “Then we’ll deal with it.”

Matt turned away from Michelle and the bulk of the gunmen, “Let’s get the fuck outta here.” He murmured. Brian let go of him but lingered a second, “Stay safe, Michelle.” And then he followed the other three. Zack and Matt grabbed the tubs and they quickly slinked to their car. Johnny and Zack crammed themselves in the back again while Matt got in the passenger seat and Brian drove again, cursing the group for taking all their weapons.

“We’ve got arrows.” Matt said to appease him, “That means we can keep hunting.”

“Let’s just get back, my nerves are shot.” Zack groaned leaning his head back, he saw Johnny’s head bob over the pile of blankets and medicine.

He never thought he would be happy to make that long trek up to the cabin again but it felt like he was heading home after a year of touring. He chuckled at that thought. Matt was in front of him with the other end of the tubs, “What?” he called back. Zack shook his head, “I was just thinking.” He answered. Johnny fell into a coughing fit behind him and they stopped, Zack waited with worry. He had given him some medicine in the car but it didn’t seem to be helping. The smaller man leaned against a tree trying to catch his breath.
“It’s the hike Zacky, he’ll be fine when we get back to the cabin.” Matt said slipping past him. “Brian?” he asked coaxing Johnny to put his arms around his neck. The other raven haired man went to the front and picked up the tub again. Matt hefted Johnny up and they continued on their way.

They made it back to the cabin just as darkness began to cloak the forest. “Home sweet home.” Zack panted. Matt was still behind him breathing heavily, but Johnny’s coughing had almost completely stopped. Brian got the door open and they dropped the tub off to the side with a heavy thud and once Matt was in locked the cabin up tight. Matt took Johnny to the bedroom with Brian and Zack following.

Matt set Johnny on the bed and then lay down next to him, “Holy fuck.” He panted. “I don’t remember him being that heavy.”

Brian laughed and lay down beside him, Zack climbed up next to him and squeezed between them, “Bedtime.” He wiggled around until he was comfortable. Matt laughed and got up again long enough to set Johnny beside him and then he collapsed again, “Bedtime.” He sighed. Brian’s breathing was already soft and even and Zack felt himself caving into sleep.
*~*~*

Shadows lengthened in the cabin as the fire died down to embers, soon one of them would get up to put another log on since chill was already creeping in. Brian stirred restlessly, another nightmare. He brushed a gentling hand down his cheek, he had so many nightmares, so many memories that tormented him. He wanted him to smile again, laugh. It had been so long since he really laughed he almost couldn’t remember the sound. But his memories were faded, fading actually, it was so hard to remember the little things like the sun warming his skin or the cold bite of winter or, worse yet, his love, the feel of peddles under his feet and the weight of drumsticks or the roar of the crowd, the sharp sound of cymbals crashing.

Brian settled soon and he drifted out of the bedroom and into the cold living room. Against the wall the three guitars and bass leaned silently. He ran his fingers through them, soft notes floating through the air. So hard to remember the screaming notes that came from their electric cousins. But with his forgetfulness came knowledge. He left the living room and phased through the door. He didn’t leave the cabin often, he liked being close to the others but sometimes he felt the need to roam.

It didn’t take him nearly as long to drift down the mountain as it did for them to climb. As he went he brushed against the rotting sign posts and dropped them into the thick underbrush. By summer no one would find them again. Scenery blurred by him until he reached the haphazard wall of the compound. When he left the cabin this was usually where he went. Leana had survived the initial wave and ended up at Haven with Michelle.

The armed sentries wandering the battlements took no notice of the shadow that moved among them. Inside people still milled about in the darkness talking or trading for food and supplies. He wandered, searching, until he found Leana’s tiny hut. She sat alone inside with a few candles burning while she laboriously stitched a patch over a hole in a shirt. Further in the back on a thin cot a small girl sat playing with a makeshift doll made from sticks and a tennis ball head. Her bright blue eyes raised curiously as he entered, her mother remained oblivious, she smiled happily and waved. He drifted past Leana with a passing caress that flickered the candles and kneeled in front of the girl, Jamie. Her thick black hair curled at the ends and she giggled and grabbed a smaller doll from next to her and held it out to him. It was hard, but if he focused hard enough he could manipulate physical objects. He held the doll and made it twirl once before he put it down, exhausted. He leaned over and brushed a chilled kiss against her cheek before getting up and dissipating. She blew him a kiss and laughed again before returning to her play.

He drifted through the compound a little longer, his final visit. Soon it would collapse, already the second wave of The Virus was spreading. A few were immune, the couple from Washington that couldn’t understand how they had made it out alive. The young woman walking the battlements but the others would soon become what they feared. He found himself at the tiny hut again, the closest thing he had to pain echoed through him. He had tried to get Leana to leave but her fear of being alone and the unknown had overridden his warning. He watched Jamie carefully put her toys away and curl up on her cot when Leana enforced her bedtime.

He left, he had done what he could and now fate would take care of the rest. His restlessness remained and he wandered further than he had before. Low cries floated through the air and figures prowled the dark, red eyes glowed dimly with violence but they didn’t bother him. He forced his dim memory to recall the familiar path and with only a few wrong turns it did.

Through the door, barely on its hinges now, and down the familiar hallway. The basement door was gone, destroyed five years ago when They broke in. Down the stairs he drifted, the darkness was of no concern for him. At the bottom he paused, memory sharp and piercing streaked through him. The heavy gun and his aching body, cold fear and nausea twisting his stomach. Had he any breath he would have gasped, as it was he froze mouth open, waiting for the feelings to pass. It didn’t take long, but time really didn’t hold much merit anymore. He continued on, the memories already fading, and passed through the subtle door under the stairs.

Brian’s in home studio was small but it got the job done. The small pro-tools rig against the wall and a comfy chair took up a good deal of room, the left over space was occupied by guitars. He focused all of his energy and knocked one of the guitars off its stand. The black and white pinstripe finish was gray with a thick coat of dust, not even a fall to the floor dislodged all of it. He ran his fingers down the neck knocking the final layer off and revealing the faded SYN and deathbats. He stood up, exhausted, and left the room. One day he would be strong enough to take the guitar to Brian, until then he would be happy playing the acoustic. He left the house and drifted back to the mountain and finally returned to the cabin.

He faded into the shadows in the bedroom, the fire had been stoked again and the bedroom was warm and comfortable. He lay down behind Brian and pressed a wintry kiss to the back of his neck, “Smile.” He whispered. Brian stirred and woke, “Jimmy?” his speech slurred with sleep. Jimmy kissed him again, “Smile.”

A/N: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I hope everyone had a fan-tabu-lous night! Candy for everyone, take three a piece! =D
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Dancing Dead