Fan Fic: Dark Side of Today - Part 9 (WOWP) (Jalex)
Title: Dark Side of Today
Fandom: Wizards of Waverly Place
Pairings: A little Justin/Alex, some Zeke/Harper, hints of T.J./Gigi
Characters: Justin, Alex, Max, Harper, Zeke, T.J., Gigi, Mr. Laritate
Rating: PG-13 (Teen?)
Warnings: Violence, horror, some language, incest, character death, various liberties taken with New York geography (lol, don't kill me!)
Word Count: 26,000+
Summary: A deadly virus outbreak decimates the Wizard World and sweeps through the mortal world, killing those with magic and turning mortals into monsters. Justin and Alex will need to find strength in each other if they and their small band of friends are to survive. “The world might be ending, but all I need is you.”
Part 9 - Rescue
Justin wakes to the sound of his phone alarm ringing, and he nearly dumps Alex out of his lap when he moves to stand up.
She lifts a hand to her messy hair and groans. “What the hell time is it?”
“Early.” He rubs his eyes and stretches until he feels more awake, then he goes to the center aisle between the pews and makes sure all their belongings are still packed.
Zeke and Harper are the next ones fully awake, the early risers they usually are. Max takes just as much convincing as Alex, but once the two of them start moving, the energy in the room warms up. Justin changes T.J.'s dressing again, careful to check the progression of his healing. The wounds are hardening, building a protective layer of skin, which makes Justin even more certain he was right. Magic might have started this mayhem, but now it's the only possibility to save the human population.
Everyone gathers around to hear Justin's plan.
“All right. The hospital is only a few blocks away. But as soon as we step outside, we need to be fast and quiet. We can't draw attention to ourselves. We'll go out the front doors and head left. At the next main road, we turn right, and it's a straight shot from there. I say we hold off on breakfast until we reach the hospital. I don't want to miss the helicopter for any reason. Okay?”
“No food?” Max holds his stomach which must be grumbling in protest.
He is surprised when Alex doesn't say anything because she is the biggest eater in the family after Jerry. But she's been exceptionally helpful and understanding this whole time, and he doesn't take that for granted. He looks at T.J., however, and realizes none of them can make it far on little sleep and no nourishment.
“I have fruit and granola bars we can eat on the way, but we need to get moving before it's too late.” He shoulders two of the duffel bags and unlocks the front doors.
They leave the safety of the church and walk into the brisk morning air. Harper and Gigi both hold flashlights while Zeke assists T.J., who is nearly able to hobble on his own. Max acts as the eyes of the group from the front. Alex passes out the granola bars, and Justin watches around them from the back.
Moving as quickly as possible, they make it to the next main street without issue. From there, they walk down the middle of the street in a huddled group. When Justin falls back a ways, Alex follows suit.
“What if this hospital is full of the infected?” she asks, making sure the others can’t hear her.
“I thought of that. So far, they’ve only been coming from the North. But it’s still a possibility, that’s why we need to be careful. If anything, we just need to plan on making it the roof. I hope T.J. can make it.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Without power, our only option is a lot of stairs. Walking this far will already put too much stress on his body when he should be resting. Maybe Zeke and I can carry him up or something.”
“I can help.”
Justin laughs louder than he intended, and Harper throws a curious look at them.
Alex slaps his arm. “It wasn’t funny.”
“Did you hear that?” Gigi asks from up ahead.
“Justin being annoying?” Alex says, sticking her tongue out at him.
“No, that.”
They stop walking long enough to pick up the unmistakable scream from one of the monstrous infected. A chill spreads through Justin’s spine. At Alex's worried expression, he tries to soothe the group.
“All right, don’t panic. Pick up the pace, but keep the noise to a minimum. They sound far away.”
They stop talking as the early light of the morning falls over the buildings, casting shadows all around them. In the grey light, Alex thinks she sees things moving in the corner of her eyes, but she can’t be sure.
The cries of the monstrous infected continue, and as they travel south-east along the street, they can practically feel safety within their reach. That’s when an angry roaring shout comes from behind them. Justin doesn’t need to turn around to know they are suddenly in a bad way.
“Run!” he yells. “Just run to the hospital!”
Justin tries to keep with the others, but they’re slowing down due to T.J.’s injuries. He checks over his shoulder to find there is a group of six infected gaining on them too quickly. They won’t all make it like this. He stops running and takes his heavy flashlight in hand.
“What are you doing?” Alex yells.
“Keep going! I’ll hold them off as long as I can!”
“No! You’ll be killed!” She frantically pulls at him, but he plants his feet and pushes her away.
“Just go and make sure you get out of here. I’ll try to catch up if I can.”
Harper starts pulling Alex along with her, but Justin realizes Max is right beside him, holding his own flashlight.
“Hey, my karate can finally come in good use,” Max says with an uneasy smile.
Justin wants to tell him no, but his rapidly beating heart says he needs the help. They don’t wait for the infected. They keep running after their friends until they hear the pounding footsteps behind them. Justin whirls around and lands a hard blow to the first guy’s head, and the momentum sends the infected falling to the ground.
There’s no time to think after that. Justin launches into the offensive, hoping Max can keep up. The back of his mind knows there is something wrong because he was trained to hunt monsters not humans, but in this instant he can’t tell the difference. Every time he thinks he might have taken care of them, the infected right themselves and keep attacking. If they feel pain, they don’t care.
Justin struggles for breath, and once he knocks them down again, he and Max take off. Somewhere along the battle Justin lost his bags. But the others are half a block ahead, and the hospital isn’t far. They can make it. Checking over his back, the infected have definitely slowed down. It looks like Max broke one of the girl's legs, but she’s still trying to chase them.
Another infected screams from up ahead. Justin can’t see anything yet, but he pushes his legs faster than he’s ever run before with Max at his side. Sprinting puts quite a distance between the infected group behind them and within range when infected appear out of the side streets. Before they can attack his friends, Justin swings his flashlight into the base of an infected guy’s head, making him fall to the ground. The infected doesn’t get back up again, and Justin keeps running to take down the others coming out of the alleys.
Three of them are almost on top of Alex and Harper. Justin’s panic wells up into a familiar feeling in the center of his being. He raises his hand and releases an invisible wall of force that sends the infected flying apart, tumbling to the ground. Justin heaves a laugh despite his burning lungs and the stitch beneath his ribs. Zeke, T.J., and Gigi are turning into the lot for the hospital. They are so close.
“Justin!” Max’s shout comes too late as an infected throws himself at Justin.
They both go down, and Justin slams his head against the pavement hard enough to see stars behind his eyes. He can hear Max screaming from somewhere above him, and the body rolls away so he can catch his breath. Max pulls him to his feet and the world spins around him. He tries to run in a straight line into the lot, guided by Max who is saying something Justin can’t make out. He can only hear the ringing in his ears.
Somehow, they both make it into the hospital through one of the only manual doors. Justin tries to stop to block the door, but when he looks outside the glass, he sees about twenty infected running for them. Max pulls him to the entrance to the stairwell off to the right, and Justin stops after the door closes.
“Someone has to hold the door,” he says. He doesn’t even know if he said it loud enough, but Max’s face says he understands.
Justin reads the words “I’ll do it,” from Max, so he shakes his head, which causes his stomach to roll. He sits down against the bottom of the door, bracing one of his feet against the opposite stairs.
“Please, Max. Make sure everyone gets to the helicopter. Do it, or I’ll never forgive you.”
His brother’s brown eyes are too sad. Justin closes his eyes, leaning his head gently against the door. He feels Max’s hand on his shoulder for a brief moment, and when Justin peeks, Max is running up the stairs.
Justin's hearing is starting to return, and breaking glass sounds far away. He knows it’s not. He smiles to himself. He’ll just have to keep the infected out long enough. Only long enough.
-/-/-
Alex is out of breath by the time they reach the rooftop. Zeke and T.J. collapse to the floor. Alex has to look away from where blood is seeping through T.J.’s shirt.
“Do you hear that? It sounds like a helicopter!” Harper points the sky.
She holds her breathe until her lungs burn as she peers up at the cloudy grey sky. Dawn is fast approaching, and a warm yellow light lends a haze across the skyline. She does hear the faint sound of the helicopter then, and sucks in a deep breath.
The helicopter breaks through the clouds, and they wave to the pilot as if he might not remember the reason why he’s flying toward them. Alex watches the copter fly lower and lower, and the sound of the propellers drowns out everything else. She nearly jumps out of her skin when Max opens the door, but she doesn’t see Justin with him.
“Where is he? Max, where’s Justin?” She couldn’t hide the panic in her voice if she tried.
Max spots the helicopter, but his eyes start watering.
“He’s holding the door against the infected.” He has to shout to be heard.
Alex rushes to the railing of the stairs. She can’t see Justin from several flights up, but she can just barely hear the commotion. Dismay settles around her heart when she sees the helicopter is almost hovering over them. She can’t leave him. She can’t.
She quickly embraces Max, speaking close to his ear. “Do you still have that piece of paper with the address for Dad’s cousin?” She doesn’t wait for him to respond. “Just in case. Make sure everyone here is safe, then try to find Mom and Dad. Justin and I will get to Atlanta on our own. We’ll see each other again, I promise. I love you, Max.”
Her brother is already protesting, but she shoves him through the doorway and closes the door. She hits the latch to lock the door from the inside, so no one can get in or out. She can barely hear Max shouting her name. The helicopter sounds like it must have landed. She hesitates and sends up a prayer for their safe flight. Then she takes off down the stairs as fast as she can.
Alex lands on the first floor, horrified to see Justin struggling to keep the door to the lobby closed. Four arms reach through the narrow opening, clawing at Justin’s clothes. She can see the snarling faces, and without thinking, she launches her body at the door. The infected squeal at the additional pressure against them, and the arms disappear through the opening.
In between his heaving breaths, Justin says, “Alex? What-?”
“Let’s go!” she cuts him off.
“I can’t.”
“We can’t hold them off forever.”
Justin lurches forward with the door, but between the two of them, they manage to keep it closed again.
“I locked the door to the roof. Everyone’s safe,” she says. “Let’s just get out of here.”
A strange light appears in Justin’s eyes. “On the roof, did you see another door?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t get a good look. The helicopter was coming.”
“It’s worth a try,” he says, clearly talking more to himself. “We need to get out on the second floor and head to the other side of the hospital. Think we can outrun them?”
She leans harder against the door as Justin stands up. “Guess we’ll find out.”
With one look, they both leave the door, traveling up around the stairs as fast as they can. The door bangs open behind them, but they make it to the second floor entrance first. Alex takes Justin’s hand in hers, and they keep running.
>>>Part 10 - Horizon