˚˖𓍢ִ໋❀ Zombie apocalypse au
WARNINGS .ᐟ very detailed gore, smut, SA, violence, smoking, drinking, death, abuse, drugs
cw: stockholmsyndrome!user, mean!rafe (not the abuser), mentions of guns/weapons, mentions of really detailed gore/death, mentions of drug and alcohol abuse.
You woke up to the soft beeping of the alarm again and shut it off without the usual sigh of relief, you were determined to find that shed. You got dressed quietly and walked out into the kitchen.
Rafe was already there—gray sweatpants, no shirt again, coffee in hand. He glanced over when he heard your footsteps.
“Morning,” he said, voice rough. He took a sip, watching you.
You didn’t answer. You just opened the cabinet, grabbed a mug, and poured yourself water. Your back stayed turned.
Rafe let out a short, annoyed breath through his nose. “You’re seriously not gonna talk to me?” he asked, scratching the back of his neck. “Just because I don’t want us to get kicked out of the one place that actually has beds and hot water?”
Still nothing. You set the mug down a little too hard and walked past him toward the door.
He scoffed and just let you leave when you kept walking and f or the next few days it stayed like that. Every morning Rafe tried in his own half-assed way, but you never answered.
After that, you started spending almost every day with Ronald in the makeshift hospital wing—following him on rounds, holding trays, helping change bandages, cleaning exam rooms. Anything to stay busy and away from the apartment.
One afternoon, while the two of you were alone in a quiet storage room stacking clean towels, you finally brought it up.
You were bored out of your mind, leaning against the metal hospital cart and moving it backward and forward. “Hey uh… ron… that girl, what’s her name again? bella? she mentioned something the other day about an old maintenance shed behind the east wall. She said there’s a loose panel near the bottom. Do you know anything about that?”
His hands slowed. The calm, polite expression on his face shifted for just a second—something tighter, more careful. Then he forced a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“I… wouldn’t worry about that, sweetheart” he said lightly, turning back to the towels. “Bella has a lot of strange ideas. She’s still adjusting. A lot of people invent things when they’re scared.”
You didn’t get the hint and didn’t let it go. “She seemed pretty sure, what’s behind that panel?”
Ronald’s shoulders stiffened. He kept folding the same towel over and over. “There’s nothing there,” he said, voice a little sharper. “Just old equipment. Nothing important.”
“Jesus, Y/n… i said it’s nothing—“ Roughly handling the towel.
“because she’s unstable!” Ronald snapped suddenly, the words cutting through the quiet room. His face flushed as soon as he said it. He stared at the towel in his hands for a long second, then looked at you with wide, almost panicked eyes.
“I’m—I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said quickly, voice dropping again. He reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “I didn’t mean to raise my voice. That was uncalled for. Bella just… she struggles. I worry about her. Please don’t take what she says too seriously. Okay?”
He forced another soft smile, still standing close “You trust me, don’t you, honey? I’ve taken care of you since the day you got here. I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you.”
Something in your chest loosened. He had been nothing but kind. He remembered the cereal. He checked on you every day and Rafe barely even looked at you anymore. “…Yeah,” you said quietly, almost embarrassed. “I trust you.”
Ronald smiled wider, still standing close. “Atta girl. Don’t take what Bella says too seriously, okay? You’re safe here. With me.”
You nodded, feeling a small wave of relief. He was right. You were probably overthinking everything.
“Okay,” you whispered. “Sorry for asking.”
“You never have to apologize to me,” Ronald said gently. “Now… can we finish the towels? For me?”
You smiled a little and went back to stacking them, the worry about the shed already fading.
You nodded, but the curiosity didn’t fully leave. Even as you went back to stacking the towels with him, your mind kept drifting back to the maintenance shed behind the east wall. The loose panel. What Bella had said so desperately.
He kept glancing at you while the two of you finished organizing the last of the towels.
Finally he sighed and set the stack down. “You know what?” he said softly, forcing a small smile. “What if you busy yourself and get these for me?” He handed you a short list and a cloth bag. “Just a few things from the main storage on the first floor. It’ll give you something to do… and maybe take your mind off everything. Take your time, sweetheart.”
You nodded, took the bag, and left.
But instead of going to the storage room, you turned the opposite direction.
The curiosity had been eating at you all day and you needed to know.
You walked through the streets, the compound was definitely so much bigger than you expected. Corridors, courtyards, and identical gray buildings looped into each other until you lost track of which way you’d come. Every turn looked the same. You kept walking, heart pounding, trying to follow the vague directions Bella had given you toward the east wall.
After what felt like forever, you finally found it.
An iron gate that looked almost identical to the others… except for a small, unusual mark etched near the bottom hinge. A crude circle with a line through it. “Gotcha.”
You stepped closer, fingers brushing the cold metal—click.
The unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked behind you. “Well, well. Look who decided to take a midnight stroll.” A woman’s voice.
You slowly raised your hands, freezing in place. “Please… don’t shoot—“
“Shut the fuck up and turn around. Slow.”
You turned and stumbled a bit.
The woman was older than you, mid 20s maybe, with short cropped hair and a hard expression. She kept the pistol pointed steadily at your chest, one eyebrow raised.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” she said dryly before giving a sarcastic laugh. “So you’re the new girl Ronald is fucking.”
“I don’t sleep with him—“
“Did i tell you to fucking speak?” Before she can say anything else, a figure stepped out of the shadows behind the woman.
You recognized her the moment she jumped out, bella.
She moved fast—slamming a heavy metal pipe into the back of the woman’s knees. The woman cried out and dropped, the gun skittering across the concrete.
“Run!” Bella hissed at you and you both bolted.
The woman’s angry, sarcastic shouts echoed behind you as she scrambled for her weapon. “Oh, real original! Hitting people from behind! Real fucking brave!”
Within seconds, more footsteps joined the chase—probably startled people, maybe, or other patrols as you and Bella sprinted down narrow pathways, ducking around corners.
“This way!” Bella grabbed your wrist and yanked you left.
You didn’t get far before bolting straight into a hard chest. Ronald.
He raised both hands calmly, his voice was firm but controlled. “That’s enough,” he called out to the woman and the others. “She’s with me. Stand down.”
The woman, still limping and furious, raised her gun again. “She was near the walls, Ronald. Don’t give me that ‘she’s with me’ crap.”
Ronald didn’t flinch. He stepped between you, bella and the weapon, voice dropping into that same soft, commanding tone he always used. “I said stand down. She’s under my supervision. This is a misunderstanding.”
The woman hesitated, breathing hard, but slowly lowered the gun with a bitter scoff. “Whatever you say.”
As Ronald turned slightly to look at you, the woman stayed behind him for a second longer. She locked eyes with you over his shoulder and, without missing a beat, raised her hand and made a crude sucking dick gesture right behind his back—complete with the cheek push and everything—before rolling her eyes and walking off with the other guards.
He turned fully toward you, that familiar gentle smile already returning as he reached out and carefully brushed a strand of hair behind your ear.
“You’re safe now, sweetheart,” he said quietly. “I’ve got you.”
You basically melted into his chest when he wrapped his arms around you.
After that… whole mess, Ronald walked you all the way back to the apartment in silence. His hand stayed lightly on your lower back the entire time, guiding you like you might try to run again.
When you reached the door, he finally spoke, voice soft but firm. “I told you there’s nothing there.”
You stared at the ground, still breathing a little hard from the chase. “And I don’t fucking believe you,” you mumbled under your breath.
Ronald raised an eyebrow and paused. “What?”
You forced a tight smile and shook your head “Nothing.”
He studied your face for a long second, that same gentle expression never leaving, before giving your shoulder a light squeeze. “Get some rest, sweetheart. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
Then he turned and walked away down the hall, leaving you standing alone in front of the apartment door.
After a minute, you sighed and finally knock on the door.
You knocked again, harder.
No answer again. You knew he was probably out or asleep but you actually knocked harder on the door this time because you genuinely had no patience anymore.
It took a few seconds before Rafe finally yanked it open. He was still in those same gray sweatpants, no shirt, looking annoyed as hell.
“Thought you were sleeping at Ronald’s,” he said while yawning, leaning against the doorframe. “Whole fucking penthouse or some shit. Didn’t expect you back.”
You just groaned and entered the little apartment, already done with the night.
“Why does everybody think I’m trying to fuck Ronald?” you snapped, then slammed the door to your room right in his face before he could say another word.
You stood there for a second, breathing hard, then went straight to change your clothes into a comfortable pair of pajamas but an hour later you couldn’t sit still anymore. You grabbed a jacket and headed back out into the courtyard just to keep yourself busy—anything to get out of this stupid apartment.
Rafe was already outside, leaning against the wall near the steps. For once he actually had a shirt on. He watched you walk out and pushed off the wall.
“Heard what you did,” he said, voice low and a little amused. “Didn’t know you had the balls for that.”
You stopped. “Who the fuck told you?”
Rafe shrugged, that familiar half-smirk tugging at his mouth. “Mrs. Jenkins. Old lady hears everything. Said you almost got your ass shot near the east gate.”
“Yeah? Well, fuck you.” You flipped him off without slowing down and kept walking out the door.
Rafe just watched you go, still smirking. “Didn’t think you had it in you!” he called after you.
The second you stepped outside into the dim courtyard, you nearly jumped out of your skin. Bella was standing right there, a few feet from the door, looking nervous and shifting on her feet.
“Jesus—” you hissed, hand flying to your chest.
“Sorry,” Bella whispered quickly, glancing around. “I—I was just nervous to knock. Didn’t know if you were inside…”
She looked more on edge than usual, hair messy, eyes darting toward the windows of the apartment.
You finally broke the silence. “Why are you here, bella?
Bella glanced around one more time, then jerked her head toward the outer edge of the compound. “Not here,” she whispered. “Follow me. Quietly.”
You hesitated for only a second before falling into step behind her. She led you past the last row of buildings, through a narrow gap in the fencing that had been deliberately left loose, and out into the dark. A few minutes of walking brought you under an old, crumbling concrete bridge just beyond the walls. The space underneath was dry and hidden from the watchtowers. A thin sleeping bag, a couple of stolen water bottles, and some scavenged clothes were tucked into the corner.
This was where Bella slept.
She dropped to her knees and started clearing away some dirt and debris. Underneath, drawn carefully across the concrete in a mix of spray paint and scratched dirt, was a detailed map of the entire community.
Every building. Every wall. Every restricted zone.
“This is everything I’ve mapped since I got here,” Bella said, voice low and urgent. She pointed with a dirty finger. “Main courtyard. Medical wing. Living quarters. Armory. That’s the east wall—the one you found. And this…” She tapped a heavily marked section near the back. “This is where they take people who ask too many questions.”
“And the panel?” You looked at her.
“No… i don’t know anything about it yet.” She sighed, disappointed.
“Then why are you telling me to go?” You scoffed,
“Because Ronald trusts you… let’s go again tonight. I’ll distract Fiona.”
“The woman who tried to shoot you earlier.”
You hesitated, still not fully believing her, but the curiosity won. You nodded. “Let’s go tonight, meet at the courtyard.”
That night, the two of you slipped out again.
Bella led the way through the same gap in the fencing, moving quieter than before. The compound was darker this time, most of the courtyard lights dimmed for the night cycle. You stayed close, heart pounding the closer you got to the east wall.
The iron gate with the unusual mark finally came into view. “Go,” Bella whispered. “I’ll handle Fiona. Just get to the panel.”
“Okay, shit—be careful!” You nodded and moved forward alone, crouching near the bottom of the gate. Your fingers found the loose panel exactly where she’d described. You started to pry it open—something hard slammed into the back of your head.
The world tilted. Pain exploded behind your eyes. You dropped to your knees, vision blurring as you tried to turn. “bell—a?”
Bella stood over you, a heavy metal pipe still in her hand. She wasn’t looking panicked anymore. She looked calm. Almost bored.
She pulled a walkie-talkie from her pocket and pressed the button. “She’s down,” Bella said.
Ronald’s voice came through the speaker, soft and warm as always. “Good girl.”
You tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t form right. Blood trickled down the side of your face. “Why… why would you…”
Bella kept the walkie close to her mouth.
“What about that guy Rafe?” she asked.
Ronald’s reply was casual, almost dismissive “He’ll be fine. He never even looks at her most of the time. Guy is too busy drinking and chasing other girls. He probably won’t even notice she’s gone for a while. And when he does… he won’t care enough to dig. He never does.”
Bella glanced down at you, expression blank. “What do you want me to do with her?”
Ronald’s voice stayed gentle, almost affectionate.
“Bring her under the panel. I’ll take care of the rest. Don’t worry, sweetheart… she’ll understand once she’s had time to think. They always do.”
Bella clipped the walkie back onto her belt and crouched beside you. She grabbed your arm and started dragging you away from the gate, your body still too stunned to fight properly.
The last thing you heard before everything went dark was Ronald’s voice again, soft through the speaker: “You’re doing so well. I’m proud of you.”
the completed one lol, i leaked half of it before it even finished 😭
But i hope you guys are still here with me!
What do you thinks under the panel 👀
@lilyyyyy08 @tez0 @angelicblingzari @sunny1616 @urfavlocalgirly @graciegibsonn @skankhvnt42 @nicholedraghoes19 @fleintur @rafesbunny @loveislikeathunder @xxchaelly @lolasangelz @drewmfstarkey @frrahhh h @cameronsfics @eeekwbt @diaryofawhimsicalteenager @bellas-diaryentries @stiflersbabymama @slut4joelmillerr @1laiaa @charchartumb-lr r @alorastvr @cuddleyhorror @lazyskateboarder @newatthiss @babydollrafe
