copycat

“I don’t know the kid’s name — all I know is that I ran faster than he did,” Liv exhaled, choking back a sob as she wiped away a dirt-stained trail of tears with the back of her hand. “Maybe I’m just pissed and I’m thinking things are worse than they are but I feel like there are more infected around here than a couple weeks ago. Like something is drawing them here…”

“wait, there was a kid? dead or alive?” archer couldn’t keep up with the girl’s conversation, and it certainly didn’t help with her tears. “hey, it’s alright. just...is there a kid we need to find? not that you aren’t important, but we should probably find him. right?” 

         crystal hues narrowed slightly as the other offered his help. it wasn’t like she was wary, exactly, but it wasn’t every day someone she barely knew offered their help. “ –why would you wanna help me ?? ” she asked, lips pressing together slightly. “ shouldn’t you be hunting for yourself ?? you look like you could use a granola bar or somethin’. no offence. ”

normally, archer wouldn’t have even thought twice. he didn’t mind helping others without anything in return. he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. and besides...there weren’t many people like him left in this world. still, he figured why not, and thought for a second before opening his mouth. “maybe we can make a deal,” the young man offered. “do you belong to one of these camps, or are you a lone ranger? ‘cause if you do stay at those camps, then maybe you could sneak me a thing or two. and if you’re here alone, then maybe we can share. what do ya think?” 

          chapped lips pressed together as minnie fought back a chuckle. she had a knack for directions, herself–very good at recognizing landmarks. but she could see where he was coming from. “ yeah–i guess so, ” she said with a little shrug. “ i’m just doing some hunting. well–i’m TRYING to, anyway. ” a sheepish smile spread across her face, very obviously having come out of her attempts empty-handed. “ i’m not usually this bad, though. it’s just–a bad day, i guess. ”

“you need help? ‘cause i happen to be an excellent hunter.” archer put his axe down first, then his bag. he dug through the multi-colored bag and pulled out a sparkling clean knife. playfully, he pretended to check his hair on the knife. “if you lead, i’ll kill.”

          minnie’s entire being was flooded with immediate embarrassment as the other came into view. she scurried quickly towards her bow, plucking it off the ground dusting it off before slinging it over her back. “ ‘m not lost. i’m exactly where i mean to be, ” she mumbled, nose scrunching slightly as she shifted her weight. “ are YOU lost ?? ” the question was quickly retorted, as if she were attempting to defend herself somehow. not that she had any reason to. 

“maybe a little,” he shrugged in response. “haven’t been around this part yet. or maybe i have. after a while, it all starts to look the same.” he continued to tap his fingers on the handle of the axe, but this time in a scattered rhythm. “what are you doin’ out here?” 

         some days minnie felt like the champion of the world when she went out to hunt. when luck and fate were on her side, nothing could bring her down. other days, she wandered around empty-handed for hours without coming across a single animal. today was the latter. typically minnie wasn’t a very angry person, but after firing her last arrow at a jackrabbit that managed to run away, her frustration was apparent. an audible groan escaped her lips as she roughly threw her bow on the ground, clasping her hands over her face before she had the chance to watch it clatter to the ground. if only she had tried a little harder–this wouldn’t have happened. had she not heard what she thought to be footsteps in the distance, she probably would have thrown something else and kicked up dirt but instead she froze, listening intently to see if her ears were playing tricks or not. “ –is someone out there ?? ” the words were called out softly, fingertips moving to gently grip the handle of her knife as it sat strapped to her thigh.

archer started humming his aunt’s favorite song, not even realizing someone was there (or was talking). his fingers tapped along to the song on the handle of his bloody axe. it wasn’t until the girl was right in his view that he noticed minnie. the boy stopped in his tracks, making eye contact with the girl. his eyes darted around the two of them; for some reason, he seemed confused. “are you lost?” 

Her eyes widened slightly, barely enough for anyone to notice it as she realised that her opponent was a living guy,seemingly around her age and that he was keeping his distance instead of going all into fight mode. That didn’t mean that he was a good person though, if the world and the humans on it had taught her anything it was not to judge a book by its cover. “Don’t call me princess, asshole,” she scoffed, though she slowly lowered her weapon, not putting it back into it’s safe spot just yet. “Keep that axe lowered then as well,” Arya pointed out, eyes darting towards his weapon.

“okay, okay, understandable. i am sorry for calling you princess,” archer replied. he never liked genuinely pissing people off, so when he took a step too far, the brunette usually tried his best to make up for it. however, he couldn’t act like he didn’t take offense to her next comment. “lower my -- ?? you are aware of what’s out around here, right?.you’re crazy. i’m not going to hurt you, okay. you have my word on that, but if a zombie appears, your best bet and mine is that i’m fully prepared. that way i can truly kick some zombie ass and look bad ass while doing it.”

“boobie…?” his mind completely blanks, unsure what the other means by the phrase – the only type of boobies he was familiar with had nothing to do with a trap in the middle of the desert. technically. jude’s eyebrows draw together in confusion. “uhh look———” he shakes his head, physically trying to clear the thoughts creeping into his mind. “it’s just a regular ole trap. you might want to take several steps back, though.” a finger points to the concealed wire just a step away from the other, clearly he needed a bit of help finding it. 

archer paused himself from speaking again. squinting, he stared at the boy in front of him. did he serious not know what a booby-trap was? as he continued speaking, it was evident that he in fact did not know. while it was impressive, archer couldn’t help but wonder how much he spent trying to set it up. i guess there really isn’t anything to do when you’re in zombie apocalypse. he followed the boy’s orders before deciding to interrogate him. “what’s your name? are you a wander?” 

@archerbrods

Arya was steadily bringing some distance between her and Camp Avalon. Eyes wearily scanning over the area, the redhead decided that she had been walking long enough and settled down in the shadow of a nearby tree, reaching for her bag to pull out a water bottle as she considered her next moves. If she was already being welcomed into a camp, she wanted to at least aid the people who were welcoming her with something in return. The least she could do was sucessfully find some loot to bring back with her. Arya wasn’t the type of person to owe anyone anything. Though she believed to be the only person around, the redhead was started to hear movement behind her, immediately turning and ready to defend herself.

archer just wanted a pack of cigarettes from some abandoned gas stop, and that’s exactly where he was headed. he had his axe in his hands, holding the blade up towards the sky. to say archer was always prepared was an understatement; it was like the boy didn’t ever experience anxiety in his whole life. with one quick swoop, his opponent was no match. however, he expected his opponent to be someone....dead. not a redheaded girl looking his way, ready to fight. “i don’t know if you want to do that, princess.” archer swiftly showed off one of his moves before returning to his original stance. “you should really put that weapon down; i’m certainly not doing to do anything. unless...you attack me first.”

        “——— stop !!” urgency claws at his throat, and the words fall from chapped lips as he stumbles from his hiding place. hazel eyes remain frozen on the human he’s faced with. jude never intended to lay a trap in a place where someone living might stumble upon it. despite the worry in his expression, he’s a little more concerned with the fact that, if they set it off, he’ll have to take the time to free them, and then he’ll be stuck helping with the millions of  needles that will inevitably be embedded in their skin. “i really wouldn’t, if i were you.” it’s his final warning. one more step, that’s all it will take. it won’t kill them, it isn’t one of those traps, thankfully. instead, it will ensnare them and drag them into the surprisingly deep pit he has dug and lined with cacti – not the most pleasant thing to cushion a landing. the whole thing is meant to be a recreation of something he had built the last time he was in arizona, but it has turned out far more amateur than he had hoped. jude was out of practice. thus, why he had been sitting, waiting to see if it might actually work on an unsuspecting zombie. 

“why,” archer questioned, carefully taking a couple steps back. the boy was only trying to get from one destination to another. preferably one with food or left over cigarettes. and then this weird encounter began. “is it, like, a boobie trap?” his eyes searched for any sign of a trap. “i don’t even,” he muttered to himself, still trying to spot the wires.

mina had barely said two words to the guys on patrol, mumbling something about leaving and being back soon, before she walked right on out of the main entrance. if anything, they should be lucky that she even told them she was off. the past few weeks, she had a bad habit of just leaving without anyone even noticing. maybe that was for the best. chryse might be her home but the past few weeks, it felt more like a prison. she strolled out of that camp, making her way into the hot desert. maybe this time she just won’t return, no, no. no matter how many times she says that, she always does. her father might be gone but there were others she had to stay behind for. maybe their time will come up soon, does she really want to stay behind and watch that happen? her mind was far from hunting. hell, mina wasn’t even sure where exactly she was heading but at the sight of some strange cabin, why wouldn’t she go inside? it’s not like she had anything to lose. perhaps she should have knocked on the door to get the zombies out but where’s the fun in that? no, no, her plain is to taunt them. thank goodness the door was unlocked as she turned the knob and went right on in. her bow came out and an arrow was in it’s place, ready to strike the second one of those ugly son of a bitch comes her way. her voice rings out into the room, hoping to bring out anything that may be lurking. “ come out, come out where ever you are. ”

hey, even always ready to kill, zombie-hungry boys like archer brody needed sleep. there he was curled up on a bed in a cabin, partly covered in leftover...zombie (for protection, of course). he thought he locked the door, but apparently that wasn’t the case. mina’s voice floated into his dreams, causing a weird new sequence of events to happen in his head. he tossed around in the bed, mumbling some unintelligible words. within seconds, he was slowly waking up only to hear the creaking of the floorboards. archer immediately grabbed the axe beside him, and prepared himself for attack. “take this, you piece of shit,” he exclaimed, jumping out of the bed only to find a girl. a human girl. 

look who’s still alive — it’s archer brody! you know, that twenty two year old from kansas city, missouri, through they are now out there are their own. heard people call them charming and fearless, but really they are sarcastic and stubborn. ( he/him & male )