Zombie Cantos: Another Sky
Title: Another Sky
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Universe: Zombie Cantos
Characters/Pairing: Team - gen
Genre: Horror/Drama
Summary: Before the fall.
…
There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests, Austin,
Never mind silent fields -
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is ever green;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my brother,
Into my garden come!
There is another sky - Emily Dickinson
.
Things are more like they are now than they ever were before.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
…
Four months before the Zombie Apocalypse
It’s New Years Eve, and Penelope Garcia is delightfully wasted.
For the first time in what feels like eternity, they’ve been taken off rotation for the holiday season, so tonight, she can drink without the fear that they might be called in. Of course, that also means that tomorrow morning, she’s going to have a killer hangover, but what’s New Years without one?
Morgan, for some reason that Penelope assumes can only involve football, has an impressively sized television, upon which the Death Star blows up in high definition glory. She’s seen Empire Strikes Back no less than fourteen times, but it remains one of the few movies in Morgan’s collection that is actually suitable for Henry and Jack.
The point is somewhat moot, considering both boys are fast asleep. Their childlike enthusiasm has been replaced by an inebriated argument between Reid, Emily and Kevin over the philosophical implications of the Rebels’ actions.
‘It’s like the terrorist bombings of the Resistance on New Caprica,’ Kevin argues. ‘They did what they had to do in a difficult time to ensure that the cylon regime was overthrown.’
‘And it’s that kind of thinking that inspires vigilantism,’ Reid says with a frown.
‘Oh come on, you’re saying that if you met Batman, you wouldn’t want to shake his hand?’
The frown persists. ‘Batman’s a fictional character - there’s no conceivable way for me to shake his hand.’
‘Oh, cut the pedantic crap, Reid,’ Emily snorts, and she’ll no doubt be embarrassed about this in the morning when Garcia provides photographic (and video) evidence. ‘It was an allegory, and you know it.’
‘Actually, an allegory-’
‘Spence.’ JJ pats his back as she slides into the chair beside him. ‘Nobody cares.’
He gives a slight pout that’s almost certainly in jest; it’s happened so often, Garcia kind of doubts that he’s still upset by the team’s sometimes aversive reaction to his spouts of intellect.
Hotch has an almost amused smile on his face, and Garcia takes the opportunity to shift the camera in his direction, because a smiling Hotch is a rare, beautiful sight. An endangered animal that may yet be extinct.
‘Any words from the camera, O’ Captain, My Captain?’
‘If any of this ends up on YouTube, you’re fired,’ he says in a deadpan voice. One, because he’d never actually fire her for something like that (she hopes), and two, because there’s no way she would ever put something like this on YouTube.
YouTube is for kitties jumping into boxes, or of lions being reunited with their lost owners. Something like this is for her own private collection, to be brought out after the toughest of cases. Even more than baby pandas and puppies playing in the snow, even more than troll dolls and World of Warcraft, this is her antidote.
It’s watching Emily and Reid and Kevin argue about the philosophy of science fiction, it’s about Morgan sitting back with a beer and pretending like he isn’t a nerd, even though he happens to own Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-Ray, and quotes Yoda when he thinks no-one’s paying attention.
It’s about watching JJ hold hands with Will as they both stare down at their sleeping son. It’s about Rossi still trying to act like he’s a lone wolf, when really, he’d be lost without them. It’s about Hotch’s smile.
They keep drinking, and they cheer as the New Year rolls in, and fireworks crack the sky. In the morning, the hangover is as wicked as she’d expected, but the video footage is far more blush-worthy than she’d anticipated, so it’s a good trade-off. Two months later, when they’re hunting down a serial rapist/torturer in Philadelphia, it dries her tears. Five months later, when they’re hunting down zombies in Arizona (she doesn’t actually have the battery power to watch it, but she remembers every single second anyway) it makes survival just that little bit easier.
Three and a half years later, after she pulls it off the internet (she might not have put it on YouTube, but her information back-up procedures are second to none) and watches it again.
It’s almost surreal.
She’d like to think that thirty-three months they’d spend in hell had somehow made her a stronger person, but she barely makes it a minute in before the tears start to swell.
Kevin wraps an arm around her, and he doesn’t ask what’s wrong. She tells him anyway.
‘I miss them,’ she manages, through wracking sobs. ‘Oh, God, Kevvy, I miss them so much.’
He holds her closely as she cries herself to sleep.
Author’s Note: There is exactly one chapter left in this story. No more, no less. If there is a plot line you would like to see concluded, tell me now. Additionally, seeing as I love Apocalypse stories so much, I’m considering doing another (with considerably less death). No concrete plans yet, but at this stage it’s probably going to be either Robots, Aliens or Ice Age. Tell me your thoughts. Will put up a poll later.
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Universe: Zombie Cantos
Characters/Pairing: Team - gen
Genre: Horror/Drama
Summary: Before the fall.
…
There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests, Austin,
Never mind silent fields -
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is ever green;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my brother,
Into my garden come!
There is another sky - Emily Dickinson
.
Things are more like they are now than they ever were before.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
…
Four months before the Zombie Apocalypse
It’s New Years Eve, and Penelope Garcia is delightfully wasted.
For the first time in what feels like eternity, they’ve been taken off rotation for the holiday season, so tonight, she can drink without the fear that they might be called in. Of course, that also means that tomorrow morning, she’s going to have a killer hangover, but what’s New Years without one?
Morgan, for some reason that Penelope assumes can only involve football, has an impressively sized television, upon which the Death Star blows up in high definition glory. She’s seen Empire Strikes Back no less than fourteen times, but it remains one of the few movies in Morgan’s collection that is actually suitable for Henry and Jack.
The point is somewhat moot, considering both boys are fast asleep. Their childlike enthusiasm has been replaced by an inebriated argument between Reid, Emily and Kevin over the philosophical implications of the Rebels’ actions.
‘It’s like the terrorist bombings of the Resistance on New Caprica,’ Kevin argues. ‘They did what they had to do in a difficult time to ensure that the cylon regime was overthrown.’
‘And it’s that kind of thinking that inspires vigilantism,’ Reid says with a frown.
‘Oh come on, you’re saying that if you met Batman, you wouldn’t want to shake his hand?’
The frown persists. ‘Batman’s a fictional character - there’s no conceivable way for me to shake his hand.’
‘Oh, cut the pedantic crap, Reid,’ Emily snorts, and she’ll no doubt be embarrassed about this in the morning when Garcia provides photographic (and video) evidence. ‘It was an allegory, and you know it.’
‘Actually, an allegory-’
‘Spence.’ JJ pats his back as she slides into the chair beside him. ‘Nobody cares.’
He gives a slight pout that’s almost certainly in jest; it’s happened so often, Garcia kind of doubts that he’s still upset by the team’s sometimes aversive reaction to his spouts of intellect.
Hotch has an almost amused smile on his face, and Garcia takes the opportunity to shift the camera in his direction, because a smiling Hotch is a rare, beautiful sight. An endangered animal that may yet be extinct.
‘Any words from the camera, O’ Captain, My Captain?’
‘If any of this ends up on YouTube, you’re fired,’ he says in a deadpan voice. One, because he’d never actually fire her for something like that (she hopes), and two, because there’s no way she would ever put something like this on YouTube.
YouTube is for kitties jumping into boxes, or of lions being reunited with their lost owners. Something like this is for her own private collection, to be brought out after the toughest of cases. Even more than baby pandas and puppies playing in the snow, even more than troll dolls and World of Warcraft, this is her antidote.
It’s watching Emily and Reid and Kevin argue about the philosophy of science fiction, it’s about Morgan sitting back with a beer and pretending like he isn’t a nerd, even though he happens to own Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-Ray, and quotes Yoda when he thinks no-one’s paying attention.
It’s about watching JJ hold hands with Will as they both stare down at their sleeping son. It’s about Rossi still trying to act like he’s a lone wolf, when really, he’d be lost without them. It’s about Hotch’s smile.
They keep drinking, and they cheer as the New Year rolls in, and fireworks crack the sky. In the morning, the hangover is as wicked as she’d expected, but the video footage is far more blush-worthy than she’d anticipated, so it’s a good trade-off. Two months later, when they’re hunting down a serial rapist/torturer in Philadelphia, it dries her tears. Five months later, when they’re hunting down zombies in Arizona (she doesn’t actually have the battery power to watch it, but she remembers every single second anyway) it makes survival just that little bit easier.
Three and a half years later, after she pulls it off the internet (she might not have put it on YouTube, but her information back-up procedures are second to none) and watches it again.
It’s almost surreal.
She’d like to think that thirty-three months they’d spend in hell had somehow made her a stronger person, but she barely makes it a minute in before the tears start to swell.
Kevin wraps an arm around her, and he doesn’t ask what’s wrong. She tells him anyway.
‘I miss them,’ she manages, through wracking sobs. ‘Oh, God, Kevvy, I miss them so much.’
He holds her closely as she cries herself to sleep.
Author’s Note: There is exactly one chapter left in this story. No more, no less. If there is a plot line you would like to see concluded, tell me now. Additionally, seeing as I love Apocalypse stories so much, I’m considering doing another (with considerably less death). No concrete plans yet, but at this stage it’s probably going to be either Robots, Aliens or Ice Age. Tell me your thoughts. Will put up a poll later.