#meruaders

    Driving down the deserted highway, weaving in and out of abandoned cars, Lily turned on the music. There was only a few cds in Target when it had closed, and Lily knew all the songs by heart. Chasing Cars was on, and unsurprisingly, she began to sing.

    Lily was the truck driver from the Target on 185th street, the larger of three stores in the county still open. When the apocalypse had struck two years ago, she had been running an errand for her mom with her younger sister, Petunia. Several things had happened at once - an organized attack from gangs and civilians on Washington D.C., army bases around the states, as well as London, Paris, Bejing and Rio de Janiero, caused nations to turn on the other, each country accusing each other of attacks. But before too much damage was done, a deadly plague struck. At first, it infected people in Asia, but it didn’t take long for it to spread elsewhere. The plague could do two things - take over the brain like a zombie, causing them to attack anything, or get uncontrollably sick and die within the week. No one could predict how or when someone would be affected, and when the official word of the plague came, the Target had quickly shut down, thanks to Marlene McKinnon, a young manager on duty at the time. A few other stores had been able to shut down, and over the next year, a network of trading and supplies had been set up.

    Marlene now ran the Target, called Camp Cooper, making sure food was rationed, jobs were done, crops were grown, and everything in between. James Potter ran the guard stationed at every entrance and on the roof, and Lily Evans ran the delivery service and doubled as the medic. She easily had the most dangerous job out of all, but Lily had no fears. She was also the only person willing to do it alone. Marlene and Lily were 21, best of friends, and James was only a year older. James and Lily at first had absolutely hated each other, but over time and multiple overnight truck jobs, they had become comfortable friends. Together, the three of them made an excellent team, and for the most part worked effectively. Sometimes, James and Lily were too stubborn to back off their point, and compromise, and Marlene would have to break up violent fights between the James and Lily when they fought for too long.

More than once on a delivery trip, Lily had been alone, and suddenly became swamped by mutants and was forced to kill them with a gun or once, her bare hands. The image had stuck with her, scaring her. Not many people would take the risk to leave the safety of the camp.  

Most people had learned to adjust to the confines of the concrete building, forgetting about green plants and fresh air. Lily wouldn’t let herself. She hated being locked up inside, and sometimes would spend clear nights alone on the roof, watching the stars. Her freedom was more important to her than the risk of death. Her sister, Petunia, held grudges against her for taking the trips alone. She said that Lily had a death wish, and she didn’t want to be related to anyone who was stupid enough to go outside. It had hurt Lily, and it was hard to avoid her in the cramped space, but she didn’t let it affect her ability to help lead and run the camp. She had expected Petunia would give in and accept Lily’s job, but so far she was still ignoring her.

    Three hours later, as Lily pulled into the medical clinic’s delivery road, a heavily armed guard signaled her to pull over and climb out. She hopped out the cab, gun at the ready and backed slowly into the clinic until the doors closed in front of her.  A tall, balding man greeted her, holding a clipboard and a pen.

    “Lily Evans, Camp Cooper on 185th, Washington County. We need some Zertec and Allegra, anesthetics, and I have fresh vegetables to trade for it,” She said briskly. The man nodded, writing the order down.

    As the man went into a large room filled with shelves of pills and bottles, beckoning her to follow, she asked “Any news from London?”

    He shook his head. “Nothing new since June. The only global news I’ve heard in the past month is that Berlin fell.”

    “What? I thought they were the most prepared. No one attacked them, they had the cleanest city, most food and everything.” She waved a hand in the air.

    “The plague got in somehow. It’s not airborne, so they think a rat brought it in. And because it was so heavily protected from the inside, the people who hadn’t gotten the plague couldn’t get out. The whole city is a madhouse now.”

    Lily frowned, crossing her arms. “Have they made any progress on a cure?”

    The man shook his head again. “No news.” Sighing, Lily took the bottles from him and handed him the sack of fresh food.

    “Thanks. Radio if there is any new news. I might need a medic in a few weeks or so. We have a lady who is pregnant.”

    “Has she had her 8th month appointment?”

    “Yeah, three days ago. Everything looks normal, but we don’t want to take any risks.”

    “Got it. Radio and we’ll send a doctor as soon as possible.”

    Pills in hand, Lily headed for the door. “Thanks again.” She scanned the area, nodded to the guard once it was clear and dashed for truck.

    On her way back, she took another route home, trying to gauge the mutant activities in the area for a report for James. Seeing only a few, she decided to take her time coming home, watching the sunset in the distance. It was rare to see it as the days grew shorter, and she stayed inside, out of the wet weather. As she watched the sunset, bleeding yellow rays and pink clouds, her mind drifted mindlessly to James once again. At first, it was just her usual thoughts - his hair, his shoulder, and his smirk. And then the list of reasons why they wouldn’t - couldn’t work. Not the right time, too dangerous to get attached, he doesn’t have the same feelings, and most of all, it was more important to survive than get into a relationship that could get messy. Leaders can’t get attached when there are mutants running around.

    By the time she got back inside, it was well past curfew. Almost everyone was asleep, and quiet snores filled the store. She made her way quietly past the sleeping bodies and into the storage area, where she logged the medicine in and joined Marlene, Emma, Peter, Sirius and James in their unofficial area.

In the front of the store, the main doors had been barricaded with shelves to prevent any mutants breaking through the glass doors. The mini hospital, which Lily ran, was in the right near the bathrooms, and the drinking fountains, the main source of water. The clothing section had been cleared out, replaced with huts, with walls for families or individuals, complete with mattresses and blankets. But the rooms were cramped, and dimly lit, so most people spent their time in the middle of the store, dubbed the “living room”, where couches and tvs had been pushed together, making a comfortable space. The back storage area was full of supplies. Delivery trucks came in through the back wall, heavily guarded. Treadmills and exercise equipment stood along the left wall, and books on the back. Food was grown on the roof, and cooked and eaten on the far side of the building.  

Tonight however, after a successful run, Lily let herself relax, laughing with everyone as they tried to forget what was going on outside. All of them were young, and none of them ever expected to be stuck in a place like this when they could - should be having the best moments of their lives.

Lily came in a few minutes after James, grabbing her sleeping bag and pillow, and laying next to James, watching as he did that thing - the hand in hair thing, once again. “Uno?” he whispered.

Lily grinned. “Trying to regain your title?”

“You cheat, and I’m going to prove it today.”

Lily smirked. “You just can’t accept that I’m the superior uno player - you aspire to be me.”

He laughed. “I think everyone aspire to be you, Lily.”

Lily blushed, immediately thankful for the dimness of the room. James dealt out the cards, pretending not to notice her embarrassment.

As the night grew longer, sleeping bags were brought out, and slowly everyone drifted off to sleep, the murmur of voices becoming quieter and quieter, until only Lily and James were angrily whispering at each other.

Lily pointed at the cards. “You stole the plus four, you can’t just do that.”

“It’s called cheating Evans, I know you’re familiar with it. And it wasn’t even really cheating -”

“Hypocrite! And I don’t cheat,” she said proudly. “But you clearly -”

Marlene angrily yelled across the room. “Would you two get a room? No one can stand your cheesiness-”

“ - And we are trying to sleep!” Sirius yelled, throwing a pillow, hitting James’ head.

A chorus of agreement filled the room, and Lily huffed, putting the cards away. She ignored the buzz from when their fingers brushed as he helped clean up the cards. She stuffed them under her pillow, and flipped James off. He laughed, and laid down.

“Night Evans,” he muttered.

She flipped him off, and blushed yet again as he laughed. How can one human being have such an attractive laugh? She silently groaned, flipped on her stomach, and tried (unsuccessfully) to push James out of her mind.

XXX

The next morning, Lily woke up to James peering down at her, his hair unusually messy. “You drool in your sleep.” He whispered, avoiding waking other people up.

“Prick.”

“Prat.”

“What time is it?” Lily muttered, sitting up. I must look awful right now.

“6 am.”

“Potter! You did not have to wake me up this early.” She punched his arm. When

he smirked, she punched him again, her heart fluttering as he ran a hand through his bed hair.   

    “Truck drivers don’t have to be up this early, so why should guards?”

    “That’s your own bleeding fault! Goodnight Potter.” Lily laid back down, turning away from him. She could practically feel him smirking as he walked away, and listened as his footsteps echoed down the aisle as he left for his rounds. Slowly she drifted back to sleep, listening to the quiet breathing of her friends, and unwillingly replayed James’ hands in his hair. Don’t think about him, don’t think about him, don’t think about him, don’t think about him, don’t think about him, don’t think -

    After a light breakfast, Lily found Marlene in the storage area, behind a rack of purses. She was leaning against a wall, repairing a chair with a broken leg, and a nail hanging from her mouth.

    “Hey Lils. How was the trade yesterday? I forgot to ask.”

    “Breezy. In and out.” Lily sat down next to her. “I was actually going to talk to you about that.”

    “Hm?” Marlene said distractedly.

    “How much longer do you think we have to stay in here? What if the mutants are all dead now? They’ve starved or killed each other. I haven’t seen more than a few together in the past month.”

    Lily had her full attention now, but Marlene was mostly annoyed. “Lily, you can’t be serious. We’re going to be stuck inside for a long, long time. Even if the mutants are all dead, the bodies are still contagious and everything they’ve touched is too. We can’t risk it. Not until there’s a cure or more research -”

    “- But there has to be other people. They must be hiding in their homes, starving. And they’re healthy. We have to save them too.”

    “We’ve been over this. It’s not happening.” Marlene stood up, brushing her pants. “I know you want to go outside, but it’s too dangerous. If they were alive, they would have found us.”

    Marlene left, leaving Lily on the cold floor, frustrated. She wrapped her arms around her knees and leaned back, letting a single tear slip down.

    “Lily? Rosier wanted -” James trailed off, unsure of what to say as Lily quickly got to her feet. “You okay?”

    “Fine. What’s wrong?”

    “Rosier banged his head on a shelf, Emma thinks he needs stitches. He’s in the hospital already.”

    “How bad?”

    He shrugged, hand in his hair again. “Emma didn’t sound too worried, but she also hates him.” Lily nodded and folded her arms, walking out of the storage room, cheeks red from her moment of vulnerability. Potter is a friend, she told herself. It’s ok to let friends see you hurt. But she didn’t believe it.

    By the time Rosier was patched up, it was her turn for guard duty on the roof - her favorite. She fetched her gun and swung it over her shoulders, not expecting trouble.     On the roof, Lily took a deep breath, forcing herself relax as the cool mist fell on her. She waved briefly at James, perched on the other side of the building, watching the empty parking lot, who responded with a mocking whistle. Heart pounding, Lily grinned and weaved through the garden beds, sitting down with her feet dangling over the concrete edge, only letting her eyes linger on his profile a little longer than what may have been ‘appropriate’.

    Each shift rotated every three hours in the day, four at night. Lately, there had been almost no activity, but today there were a few mutants across the street, looting an old Barnes and Noble store. Not too concerned, Lily pulled out an apple she had swiped from the kitchen and bite into it. Ten minutes later, she dropped the core into a compost can for later use and stood up as the group of mutants grew from four to ten, moving closer to the camp. James stood up as well, but he didn’t look too concerned, so Lily checked the other side of the wall. And she definitely didn’t watch him for an extra second, admiring his profile.  

    “James?” Lily cocked her gun and pulled out her radio. “There are at least fifteen mutants this side, maybe fifty feet from the lot. Walking fast.”

    “Ten on this side now. We need to report it.”

    “On it.” Lily radioed the information in and listened as Marlene gave orders. “Mar says to wait. If they join together and start attacking the store, pick a few off with the guns. But don’t waste ammo. That should scare them off and they should leave.”

    “We shouldn’t be too concerned,” James said, but his voice was taut, and he leveled his gun towards the group, leaning it on the cement edge. Lily pulled her jacket tighter around her as the wind picked up, and aimed her gun at the group on her side.

“James?” Lily’s voice was shaking. The images of the mutant attacks flashed through, but she forced them back down.

“Mh?”

“There’s a kid. He looks like he’s eight.”

James was quiet for a minute, but his voice came out calm and reassuring. “Don’t focus on it. Are they any closer?”

“No.” Suddenly there was a loud bang as he fired off a shot near the group. A loud scream followed, and it grew quiet, until there were multiple ear-splitting screams, and he backed away quickly.

“Shoot,” he yelled. As he fumbled for his radio, Lily shot at her group as they began banging on the door. She took a deep breath and fired at the group. A scream filled the air, but no one fell down. Shaking, she fired another shot, and this time when another scream went up, the mutants took off running away from the building, two of them hobbling on bloody legs.

Keeping her gun trained on her side, she glanced at James, who fired another shot. A few seconds later, his shoulders relaxed, and she could see his group run across the street.

“All clear?” Marlene’s voice echoed on the radio.

Lily answered, still shaking a bit. “Yes, they’ve backed off. We’ll keep a close eye tonight though.”

“Sounds good, Over.”

James turned to Lily, his hand back in his hair. “Are you okay?”

She bit her lip. “Yeah, I’m good.” But her heart was still pouding from the mutants, and although she would never admit it, James. A few minutes later, when it was clear the mutants weren’t coming back soon, he spoke again.

“It’s ok to not be. I mean, it’s ok to cry sometimes.”

“I don’t cry,” she said shortly. He moved closer to her, shrugging.

“Everyone cries.” Lily glanced at him skeptically. “You cry?”

He shrugged yet again. “Once or twice.”

Lily shoved him playfully. He’s such an idiot. “Prick.”

Scuffing his foot on the ground, he glanced at Lily, then at the skies.

“Don’t you wish we could go back to normal?”

Her voice was soft. “All the time.”

    “I wanted to play football professionally when I was little. But now, I would do anything to go to college - no matter what school, or major, or anything.”

    Lily grinned. “I just want a burger, a real, juicy burger.” He laughed and moved closer to her. “I wanted to be a doctor.”

    James was silent, head bent. “James?” He grunted. “If the plague doesn’t end, who will be the next generation of doctors?”

    They fell silent again. “I don’t know Lily. Maybe you can stay longer at the clinic next time, learn something every time you go. Become more of a midwife than a doctor, but at least you could deliver a baby, or set a bone more confidently.”

    She nodded, and pulled her jacket closer. He pulled her into a side hug, not noticing how she tensed where he touched. Her skin was burning underneath his arm, but she moved closer, towards his solid warmth.

    “We’re going to be stuck here, forever,” he murmured. “Sometimes I think I understand why you want to be a driver, but I still am too scared to even go farther than the parking lot.” Lily snorted and poked his side. She pulled away and stood on the edge of the building, holding her arms out.

Opening her mouth, she began yelling. “Everyone, listen up - James Potter, the biggest, baddest of them all has just admitted to being scared of a few lousy -”     James yanked her arm from the edge, throwing his head back as he laughed.  Lily landed directly in front of him, only inches away. His laughter slowed down and Lily glanced away, trying to imagine anything but those perfect lips, perfect eyes, perfect hair -

Lily took a step back as the silence grew uncomfortable, not able to think clearly when he was so close. He shut his eyes and opened his mouth to say something, as if steeling himself for impact. But nothing came out, and the tension increased. He was bloody beautiful, of course he was bloody gorgeous, and Lily couldn’t help but admire the soft light that hit his face.

Taking another step back, Lily began to talk quickly - “I should probably get back to my side -”

The only warning Lily got was a blazing, burning look in his eyes, mixed next to the gold and green flecks. His lips were suddenly on hers, forcing her back a half step, and the gun on her shoulder clattered to the ground. Before she could respond, he had grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer, closer than she thought was possible, his lips moving against hers. The wind whistled in her ear, her brain screamed at her to stop, this couldn’t - shouldn’t be happening but all she could think about was James, James, James. As if a switch turned on, she tossed away her fears, her hands moving from her sides to his shoulders, then to his hair.

And after so long, this felt more than right. The kiss started out slow and soft, but James’ tongue flicked her upper lip, and Lily opened her mouth quickly, groaning, and letting him pour kisses over her mouth, her lips, her cheeks, her neck. Lily threaded her hands through his hair - finally - and her lips curved into a smile. He broke away, but kept his forehead against hers, breathing hard. He looked into her eyes, grinning. “Everything ok?”

Lily smiled, catching him in a kiss in between words, one hand sliding to grip his jacket. “I should … have done this a … long time ago.”

He pulled away gently and wrapped her in a hug, pressing a kiss into her hair. “Now who was scared?”

Lily rested her head on his shoulder, cheeks burning, breathing in his scent as she watched the sun sink below the clouds. James was still holding her hand, and brushed his lips over her hair again, but was content to just wait for her to talk.

When she finally spoke, it was only to repeat her earlier statement. “James? I don’t want to get attached.”

He took a deep breath, pulling away slightly. “I don’t want something short term, Lily -”     “Neither do I. But if we start this, and something happens to either of us -”

“Nothing is going to happen, Lily. I won’t let it,” James said stubbornly. She made a noise of protest. “I won’t let it,” He repeated.

“Okay.” Lily tilted her head up to look at James again. In that moment, she felt she could trust him with anything, he was a solid, constant, steady - what she needed in her chaotic life. She bit her lip and glanced at his dark eyes. He grinned. “Admiring the view?”

Lily smirked. “You wish.” She went on her tiptoes so she was level with him, and his lips met hers again. Lily pressed a line of kisses down his neck, hands in his hair, and reaching up to find his lips again, one hand on the line of his trousers, when Marlene burst through the door to the roof.

“Are you guys hurt? You aren’t answering -” Marlen grinned, and turned to Sirius, close behind her. Sirius let out a loud whoop as James and Lily pulled away from each other, blushing. With one hand, Lily grabbed James’ hand, giving it a quick squeeze. He turned a bright red, and she just laughed.

Marlene and Sirius roared with laughter as James flipped them off, then grabbed Lily and moved behind a plant. He tugged her down, and she sat down next to him, hiding behind a bed of tomatoes. Once they heard the door close, and the soft patter of feet down the stairs, James shifted so his hands were on either side of her, leaning in with a fierce gleam in his eye.

“I love you already, bloody heck,” James whispered into her ear.