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The raiders broke down the barriers that were built up by the survivors, Bandy rushed into the House Depot, getting shoved around by stronger raiders as usual but he didn’t care. Bandy was able to scare away a few survivors and even take some supplies for his team and himself. Bandy took a few bandages and a box filled with weapons, passing it to another raider. Everything was chaotic, raiders were destroying everything in sight, sounds of survivors and raiders brutally colliding with each other repeated, and the screams. Oh, the screams.
It should feel good, right? It should feel good to terrorize survivors for their own gain, but there was something in Bandy that felt a sense of pity for them. Why? He didn’t know.
Maybe it was because he was friends with a survivor-
Wait.
Survivor.. Friend… Percy. Where is Percy?
Bandy’s heart dropped for a moment when he remembered Percy, where is he? Bandy’s mission suddenly switched from raiding the House Depot to searching for Percy, his mind was screaming at him to find him, keep him safe. Percy was the only survivor that he found interesting, Percy was unique to him, Percy was.. the only survivor he spared.
The only one he was willing to keep safe.
Bandy desperately ran around the now destroyed House Depot, getting pushed around by fights or other raiders, but that didn’t stop him. Bandy was struggling to find Percy, he couldn’t even see the color blue in the crowded place, until one spot was cleared out. That’s when he saw that sight.
Another raider, he had Percy on the ground. Percy was defenseless, eerily accepting of his fate. It made Bandy stop breathing, this can’t happen, he can’t let this happen. He was indecisive about what to do, does he risk getting in trouble for Percy or does he let Percy get hurt?
When Bandy finally made up his mind and started running towards Percy to save him, his hand curled into a fist, he was getting closer, he was so close to landing his punch on the raider however..
Percy must’ve noticed Bandy running behind the raider, he quickly tried to get up, but the other raider must’ve been prepared for this.
The sound of a single gunshot went off, making Bandy stop all of his movements, it felt like time had slowed down, the realization of what just happened was unforgiving and brutal to him. His eyes widened as his ears began to ring, Bandy’s hands trembled, his breathing becoming uneven, and then his vision suddenly became a blur. He can barely recall the events due to how quick they went, all he could remember is the way he stopped for a second, the way his breathing intensified, and the way that other raider looked at him in confusion before everything escalated.
He could barely recall what he did, what that other raider did, but all he knew was that he got physical with them. He knew that he did something he was going to regret sooner or later as the other raider was now on the ground, face covered in bruises, and a bleeding nose. That didn’t matter to Bandy right now, his eyes shifting to Percy, the sight of Percy bleeding out made him panic more.
Bandy rushed to Percy, almost falling face first to the floor but he was able to pick Percy up, and started running out of the House Depot. Bandy knew he already fucked up enough, he doesn’t need to be caught holding a survivor by the other raiders. Once Bandy was far away from the House Depot, he could barely stand, falling down to his knees while still holding Percy in his arms.
Bandy wanted to look away from the sight but he couldn’t, he looked at Percy longer than he wanted to. Percy was losing so much blood so quickly, the life in his eyes was fleeting, and there wasn’t much Bandy could do. Bandy had never felt this amount of guilt and sorrow before, it made his body tremble in stress, tears building up in his eyes as he couldn’t do anything else but watch the one survivor he actually cared for die.
Percy’s facial expression softened when he looked into Bandy’s eyes, he could feel those hands shaking, trying to hold onto his weakening body as much as he could. Percy knew that his time was running short, he shakily exhaled, beginning to speak. “..You.. You beat up your own teammate? Why? Why do that for me?”
Bandy didn’t know what to say, what could he say? He knew he shouldn’t have done that, he knew that he was going to be in trouble, but at the same time..
He cared.
Bandy opened his mouth but no words came out, he was having a hard time figuring out what to say. He sniffled and stammered. “I just.. I don’t know. It just made me snap and.. Now, here we are.” Bandy’s shaky hand brushed a strain of Percy’s hair out of his face, Percy just stared at him with an expression with a mix of emotions.
“..You are a strange one, Bandy.” Percy said, his voice getting weaker, and weaker. “But I think.. I’ve always liked that about you.”
Bandy sniffled once again. “Percy- I.. I can’t let you die like this, I can.. I can get-”
“Don’t.”
“..What?”
“Don’t get help, it’s okay. It’s time to let me go, Bandy.”
“W- Wh..” Bandy was shocked. Percy didn’t want to get help? But why? Didn’t he want to survive? Percy has been surviving for so long and now he suddenly wants to go? Why is Percy not willing to live now?
“Isn’t your whole thing surviving? Why don’t you want me to get help? You’re getting closer to death!”
“I knew that my time would come to an end.” Percy casually said. “I can’t live forever, I lived as long as I could, and I think I am satisfied with being able to live that long. It may sound weird for me to say this but I am okay with passing.”
“But Percy, I can’t just let you die in my arms. If I just did something sooner, if I just didn’t stand there then maybe..” Bandy was stubborn about letting Percy die, he just couldn’t let him die due to his own team, the team that he’s on.
“Don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault. I understand.. that you just didn’t want to be seen doing such things.. for me.” Percy reassured, he looked like he was in so much pain from talking, but he somehow managed to stay calm, almost like he had been prepared for this.
“N-No- You don’t understand- I could’ve..”
Bandy usually doesn’t feel guilt. When he did, it was only because Bandy still had a small amount of sympathy that the other raiders lacked, but he would eventually brush it off. This wasn’t something he could push off though, this wasn’t something he can move on from. This was more than just occasional sympathy.
Bandy is watching Percy slowly being taken away from his life by death, soon he will end up being nothing but a memory to him. Once that Percy is gone, he’s gone.
That survivor. Oh, that survivor he was passive with, that survivor he wanted to spare from the raiders’ treatment, the survivor he failed to save.
Why did he have to go now? Why did he have to be too late to save him?
Bandy couldn’t accept this, the guilt was too strong, way too strong for him to handle. Bandy couldn’t finish his sentence so he breaks down, pulling Percy closer, as apologetic whispers slipped out of his lips. Percy began to tear up the more he listened to those broken whispers coming from Bandy, this was the first time Percy had actually cried after so long.
Percy didn’t say a word, he just leaned into the touch, there was one side of him that felt bad for saying that he should pass, but on the other hand, it would be better for him to go. Percy was satisfied with how everything has been and honestly, he would prefer to die like this than die to a zombie alone.
“..B- Bandy.” Percy’s voice was quieter, more shaky. Percy was sweating and his vision was fading out. Despite how he was fighting with his vision getting worse, he still did everything in his power to keep his eyes on Bandy.
“Huh..?” Bandy looked at Percy, it made his heart ache seeing him a lot more pale than usual due to the blood loss. Bandy felt sick but he couldn’t look away.
“Thank you.. Thank you for everything.” Percy exhaled again, he breathed heavily a few times before speaking again. “I should’ve.. told you that sooner, huh? I’ve.. always appreciated your presence, the.. the way you were always so intrigued, so curious.. about me.”
Percy breathed heavily again, it was clear that he was about to die right here, right now. His body tried to fight back as long as it could but it had already given up but despite that, Percy gave Bandy a small yet gentle smile. “Thank you for making me feel special.”
Percy took his final breaths then his body slowly went limp, his eyelids lowering as his fate was sealed for good. Bandy broke down again but this time, he was grieving. The familiar warmth in Percy’s body had already been fleeting but he was just now noticing how harder it was to feel it, almost like it was fading away, just like how the shine in Percy’s eyes did.
Sure, Bandy may have experienced many losses throughout the apocalypse, especially with the other raiders, but this hurt him more than those other losses. This wasn’t just a random name that Bandy had heard a couple of times, this was someone he knew, someone he was actually close with.
This was Percy and now he’s gone.
He’s dead.
Bandy began to recall everything that the two have been through. Their first meeting, Bandy pulling a prank on Percy once, Bandy offering Percy food and then Percy doing the same thing 3 days later, Percy helping him when he was sick, and Percy opening up to him.
The damage had been done and now he had to start moving on. Bandy stared at Percy’s corpse, unsure on what to do now. Bandy quickly remembered that the other raiders could be looking for him, so he decided to bury Percy somewhere, somewhere that he knows he’ll visit often.
Bandy carried Percy’s lifeless body, looking around for a spot to bury him in, he eventually found one. Bandy placed Percy down and decided to try finding a shovel without being seen by one of the raiders, he snuck into a few houses until he eventually found a shovel, making his way back to the spot, and began the process of burying Percy.
Bandy dug a hole on the ground with the shovel, he paused and looked at Percy’s body, then sighed. Bandy dropped the shovel, picked up Percy again, and gently placed him down into the hole. Bandy looked away when he was shoveling up the dirt and covering Percy up with it. Once he was finished, he let go of the shovel, and just stood in silence.
The silence wasn’t comforting in the slightest to him but at least there was nothing in his way to interrupt his mourning. Bandy then spoke as if Percy could hear him from the afterlife.
“..You know, when it comes to raiders, we always remain respectful to the ones that have died. Whenever a raider of ours is dead, we take our time to stand in silence to mourn for their loss, however when it comes to someone that had a lot of respect from us, we make sure to honor them by keeping reminders of them so they are never forgotten.”
“..And I respect you a lot, Percy.” Bandy pulled out a picture of the two from his pocket, he had been keeping it safe for a long time, and he never planned on letting it go. Bandy felt tears building up in his eyes again but he didn’t start sobbing again, he just continued to look at the picture.
“I always have.”