1Notes: Hello all. This is my first story. Now I've read about a thousand fics from this fandom and it just makes me super nervous to post this because there are many many many writers out there 1000 times better than me. I've had the idea of a zombie apocalypse AU for a while and I was just kind of hoping someone would have the same idea and write one lol...but they didn't, or at least I can't find any. I haven't really read over because if I do, I'll probably convince myself it's bad and end up not posting it. I feel like I kinda rushed the last part and it took me like to write this...I was procrastinating a lot. This is an alternate universe with Oliver being around twenty-two, Thea being eleven, and when she's introduced, felicity will be 18. I just hope it's decent. And without further ado, here's my story...I really really hope at least someone likes it.
The world wasn't always shit. Oliver Queen can remember when he didn't have a care in the world. He remembers when the extent of his worries included participating in some meaningless archery classes so as not to disappoint his father. Remembers the days he partied endlessly and he would come home to his mother's disapproving looks when he brought home the next random girl when he had a perfect girlfriend he could go to instead.
He remembers the days he'd come home to his little sister, wanting to play hide-and-seek inside "their castle," as she had taken to calling the mansion they lived in, that rarely ever felt like home. He'd always pretend that it was the last thing he wanted to do. "Don't you have anything better to do Speedy," he'd ask. But he couldn't deny the joy that filled him as hide-and-seek would turn into him chasing her around the mansion and subsequently catching her. There was nothing he loved more than seeing her happy and he'd do anything to keep her smiling
That's why he's panicking now, as he cradles her in his arms and applies pressure to the gash in her leg. She's bawling her eyes out and there's so much blood and there's a zombie trying to break down their door and he's internally freaking out. He's freaking out because he has no fucking idea what to do and all he can think about is how not even six hours ago, his life was as good as it gets. Or at least a hell of a lot better than this.
Earlier
Zombies exist.
Oliver finds himself thinking about this more and more lately. He's always known, with his father telling him endless stories about when his dad was young, and the authorities couldn't contain them nearly as well as they are contained today.
"I know that it's likely to not happen, but you need to learn to defend yourself, and protect your sister. Just in case." His father always says this to him, from age ten and he hasn't stopped reminding him for twelve years since. His idea of defending himself included various training exercises and most importantly archery, in case, you know, he needs to shoot a zombie in the head without getting to close and risking infection. Which is why he finds himself in his fathers abandoned steel factory, which was redesigned for the sole purpose of his archery lessons, practicing his skills with a rather outdated bow and arrow that his father insists he use.
He knows somethings wrong. Robert Queen is a put together man. He rarely lets his emotions show and his number one priority is running his company, Queen Consolidated. Thea had taken to calling it Queen Incorpserated (a name he had tried countless times to get her to stop calling it) because of what their company has been dedicated to doing for years; finding a cure for this godforsaken zombie issue, and putting an end to it for good. The company keeps captured zombies on site and perform tests to see what makes them, what method is the easiest to kill them, and why they exist in the first place. A lot of people don't see what good the company is doing, how it can help the human race as a whole. A lot of people think that the company poses a threat, housing flesh eating infectious zombies as it does. It's one of the reasons why he and his sister are home schooled, why he has to sometimes explain to Thea when he finds her crying in her room that it's not safe for her to go out to the mall and make new friends because there are people who are very much against what their family does; who are out for their family's blood. Lately Robert had been coming home happier, showing more affection and two nights ago he came home bringing some fortunate news.
"Kids, I have some great news. It's huge!" he'd said. Oliver paused his video game and exchanged a look with his sister who was sitting next to him reading some fashion magazine. She looked just as puzzled and shocked as he did. Their father rarely showed this much excitement, and in that moment Oliver would swear he was bouncing a little, and was that a sparkle in his eyes?
"Okay," Oliver said, "what is it?"
"Alright, so our company has made a huge breakthrough in this undead pandemic. We're a hairsbreadth away from finding a cure! A lot of people give us animosity for what we do but imagine what they'll think when QC announces we've found a cure!"
Thea noticeably perked up upon hearing the news, "So if Queen Incorpserated does this really good thing, people won't after us anymore! I'll actually be able to make new friends! I won't have to be stuck with Ollie all the time."
"Hey!" Oliver pretended to be truly hurt, but he was sure Thea could see right through him, "You know you love hanging out with me Speedy. And I thought I told you to stop calling it that."
He laughed as she then reached over to punch him on the arm, "I told you not to call me that! And I don't like to hang out with you, you're stinky," she replied with a mischievous grin.
He rubbed his arm and was about to contradict her when his father spoke up, "Kids, stop fighting. But really, this is a great opportunity for us. I wish your mother were here to share the news with. She'd be so happy that we can put a stop to the monsters that ended her too short life."
And just like that, the mood died down to something more somber. With Robert thinking about the wife he missed, Oliver reminiscing the mother he once had, and Thea wondering what she was like having not been old enough to remember much about her.
Oliver was brought out of his musings by the snap of his bowstring. The old thing had finally gave out. Great, maybe now his father would let him use his new compact bow. He's sure it would be way more accurate and manageable than the piece of shit his dad had him using. He figures it's time for him to go home, with his bow being ruined and all, so he collects his things and heads to his car. On the long drive home he gets lost in his thoughts once again, focusing on his dad and his strange behavior.
He may have been happy two nights ago, but last nights behavior is what worries Oliver. He had come home looking worse for wear and slightly worried. Once again, that fact that he's not hiding his emotions behind the "put together businessman" mask sets off warning bells in Oliver's head. Oliver had asked what was wrong but he had brushed him off and said not to worry. "Everything is fine Oliver," he had said, "just promise me that if something does ever happen you'll take care of Thea. Protect your sister and don't forget about the safe house." He had told his dad that of course he'd take care of Thea, she's his top priority. And even though Robert had tried to assure him that all is well, something just wasn't sitting right with him. His gut was telling him something was off.
He had decided to take the long way home, which meant traveling through the business area of Starling City. It was more quiet than usual today which kind of defeated the purpose of taking the long way home. As he pulls up at a stoplight he looks in the distance at his father's company and his heart just drops. Through the windows he can see red flashing lights. He remembers a few years back when he had been inside and there was a false alarm. The guards thought that one of the experimental zombies had scratched a worker, and that the said worker was loose and bound to infect the rest of the building. Alarms had blared and just in case you were deaf, there was the added effect of the flashing red lights that illuminated the entire building. His dad had yanked him into the nearest empty room, which happened to be a cramped storage closet, and they hid there until the alarms stopped. They were informed that there was a misunderstanding and everything was fine, but he is not above admitting that it was one of the most terrifying experiences of his life. And now he's worrying about what the problem is this time.
His dad is in that building and he makes a turn towards it while pulling out his phone to dial him. He'll admit that he's a little distracted, so he shouldn't be surprised when he looks up and just narrowly misses hitting a woman, a woman who looks a little…sick? She's bent over retching and he thinks there's blood. She looks up at him and he takes in everything about her. From the paleness of her face, to the way her eyes are sunken in and most importantly, the scratch marks on her face that look dirty and infected.
"Fuck!" There must have been a real problem this time. He needs to make sure his dad is ok. And he needs to call Thea. As soon as he's done with that thought his phone starts ringing. He opens his phone to see Thea's name flashing on the screen.
"Speedy, I was just –"
"Ollie! Ollie, y-you have to come home now!"
He can hear tears in her voice and his mind just jumps to the worst case scenario. "Speedy! Thea, what's wrong?"
"It's dad." the wheels in Oliver's head are turning. Their dad worked today, in fact he should still be in the office, especially if the building is in lockdown. "He came home but he was acting weird Ollie. And he looked like the scary movies we watched. Like-like the zombies. And he didn't recognize me and he started coming after me so I went upstairs and I'm really scared Ollie."
The fear in her voice breaks his heart and he's already re routed so that he can get to her as fast as possible. "Okay, listen to me. You need to calm down. I'll be there in less than four minutes. If you can get outside, I want you to go to the garage, hide in one of the cars and lock the doors. If not, you stay upstairs and get in a closet. Do NOT get anywhere near dad, do you hear me? And keep the phone!"
He hears her sniff, and then in a small voice, "Okay. Just hurry please."
"Two minutes," and then he hangs up.
He pulls up into the long driveway of the Queen Mansion and pulls out his phone dialing his sister. The phone doesn't ring for two seconds before he hears her frantic voice, "Ollie! Are you here?"
"Right outside. Where are you?"
"I tried climbing out the window but its too high! I got scared, and when I came back inside I cut my leg on something. It hurts, and I cant make it stop bleeding. I'm in my room, in my closet just like you told me."
He gulps, "And where's dad?"
"I don't know. I can't hear him anymore, I think he might be downstairs?"
He sighs in relief, although he finds it strange that Robert wouldn't be upstairs with the smell of Thea's blood, "Ok. I'm coming up now."
Oliver contemplates bringing his bow and arrow, but he knows it would be of no use to him, what with it being broken. So he reaches in the glove compartment and takes out the glock he keeps there. He's not exactly the best with handling a gun, but it will have to do.
He cautiously enters the open doors of the mansion and takes in his surroundings. He doesn't see his dad yet, so the coast is clear for him to pass the kitchen and go upstairs to his sister. But it's when he does pass the kitchen that he realizes why his dad isn't upstairs with Thea. He had forgotten about Raisa, their housemaid, who his dad is currently feasting on in the far corner near the ovens…and he should really stop calling the flesh eating zombie his "dad." He supposes Raisa was already dead, possibly bumped her head the wrong way or something judging by the the wound there, which should be a depressing thought but it's really good news. First off, it means she doesn't have to endure what she's going through now and second, she won't turn into another zombie. People can't be infected if they're already dead, they won't come back to life as a monster.
He must have made some type of noise, because Robert's head snaps up and turns to face Oliver. He's no longer bent over Raisa, but he stands fluidly in one motion to stare down Oliver, which is kind of unnerving because since when were zombies ever graceful? Oliver finally gets a good look at what his father has become. There's blood all around his mouth from Raisa, not to mention three very deep cuts on his face where Oliver suspects he was scratched and subsequently turned into a zombie. Oliver searches his eyes, desperate to find some recognition although he knows he won't find any… And he's right. Robert Queen's eyes are void of all emotion, basically dead, if eyes can be that. And it's so strange, because even though there's nothing in those empty eyes, it's clear as day that Robert is focusing intently on Oliver, almost…planning?
The first rule that Oliver was taught when it comes to taking on zombies is to never let your guard down. Because they may dead dumb and dead, but you don't ever want to be distracted lest they get the drop on you. After all, all it takes is one scratch or bite. Oliver is one again lost in his thoughts, his grip on the gun a little too relaxed,when he should actually be taking a kill shot…Robert had stressed enough times that it's what he would want. But Oliver doesn't get that chance because suddenly Robert is sprinting, yes sprinting, at Oliver from across the kitchen. Oliver doesn't dare try to take him on, he's seen enough to know that this is NOT your average zombie. Right now his priority was getting to Thea and figuring out what to do next.
So before Robert can make it all the way across the kitchen, Oliver makes a beeline for the stairs and takes them two at a time before he reaches Thea's room. He glances behind him, down the hall to see that Robert isn't that far behind. He yells at the top of his lungs, "SPEEDY, OPEN THE DOOR!" He's afraid she didn't hear him, because he's getting closer to the door and its most definitely not open. He's braced himself to just ram right through and turns his body kind of sideways so that his shoulder will absorb most of the impact, when the door flies open revealing a pale faced, terrified looking Thea. He was half expecting her to stay in the closet so he's not prepared to stop and runs right into her. She falls to the ground and Oliver can see that yeah, that's quite the cut on her leg, and the blood is indeed, not stopping. It's what Spurs him into action because if Robert makes it to the room, he'll go crazy at the sight and smell of the blood and he'll go straight for Thea. So he puts on a burst of speed and slams the door shut, locking it, just as there's a resounding thud of Robert slamming into the door.
Oliver releases a ragged breath, and runs his hands through his short hair.
"Holy fuck," he says.
He looks over to Thea, sitting on the ground, with tears in her eyes and approaches her. He sits down next to her, "What's going on?" She asks.
"I-I'm really not sure. But Speedy…that man, on the other side of the door, that's not our dad anymore ok? Dad's dead."
She says nothing but she's nodding her head and he knows she understands. But she no longer holding back her tears and Oliver figures it's ok to take a small break, so he scoots over and takes her small frame in his arms and just hold her while she cries. And he's not entirely sure what's next. So yeah, he's sort of panicking now, as he cradles his eleven year old sister in his arms and starts to apply pressure to the gash in her leg. She's bawling her eyes out and there's so much blood that he's tried to ignore up until this point, and there's a zombie trying to break down their door and the situation just sucks.. He's freaking out because he has no fucking idea what to do.
Bang! Bang! Creeeaak!
Oliver looks up to see that the door is giving way, but damn it one zombie alone should NOT be that strong! Just what kind of experiments were they doing at Queen Consolidated? He figures break time is over and honestly, their only escape is out the window. At least that way they'll be closer to the garage, which means cars, his compact bow and a way out.
"Speedy, we have to jump out the window!"
"What? No!"
"Listen, I'll be with you the entire time, and he's gonna be though that door in about twenty seconds, so we really don't have a choice!"
She sniffs, "Fine."
He nods, "Ok."
He really wanted to have time, to brace himself and Thea for the jump, but before they reach the window Robert has shattered the door and is running after them. So Oliver picks up Thea and doesn't think he just jumps backwards out the window, so that he takes the brunt of the fall. She screams, because who wouldn't when they're basically being thrown out of their window. When he lands he hits his head pretty hard and his body is aching, but he'll take that to broken bones so he pushes past the pain and gets to his knees. Thea is sitting next to him, unharmed (thank god his not-so-much-of-a-plan-because-he-didn't-really-have-time-to-plan-or-prepare worked) and staring up at the window. He rubs his head and looks up too, only to see Robert looking down on them from the window. He's seen enough to know nothing will stop him so he yanks on Thea's hand, pulling her up with him, and runs the short distance to the garage. They rush though the door and yanks open the door to the nearest car which happens to be a high speed bullet proof Bently. "Get in the car Thea. Lock the doors."
"What? No, what are you—,"
"Just do it!" he snaps. He regrets his behavior immediately. He sighs and gently grabs her shoulders, "Listen, you know how dad is always saying he'd rather be dead than become what he is now? Well I have to take care of this. He'd never forgive me if he knew I let him go on like this, go on jeopardizing our lives and everyone else's. So I need you out of the way and safe. That means stay in the car and lock the doors…and close your eyes. You don't need to see what I'm about to do."
He can tell she knows what he means, that he's going to have to kill their own dad, permanently this time, and he doesn't want her to watch. So she does as he asks, sliding into the passenger seat and squeezing her eyes shut. He can hear the moas and feral growls of Robert in the distance and knows he doesn't have much time. He goes to the corner of the garage and gets his compact bow, sliding the quiver on his back and goes to the door, waiting and as ready as he'll ever be. He can see Robert getting closer, broken nose and awkward angled limbs from the jump that he took out the window making him look grotesque, like something out of a horror movie. But he's limping on, because nothing really hurts him and he's never not hungry for human flesh anymore. Oliver knows there's only three ways to definitely kill a zombie; incinerate them, decapitate them, or substantial damage to the brain. Oliver only has the tools for the latter, and takes aim with his bow. He's satisfied that something has actually rendered Robert a little slower, giving him some actual time to prepare. He looks back to make sure Thea's eyes are still closed, she doesn't need to see her big brother kill their father. Once he's sure that she's not looking he focuses all his attention on the zombie in front of him.
Oliver is shaking a little, because he never thought he'd actually have to do this. He thought the zombie issue was taken care of, something he'd never have to worry about, but this is a disaster. He's been trying to stay strong but the reality of the situation comes crashing down on him. He has to kill his father. Sure he's already basically dead, and if Oliver doesn't kill him he will not hesitate to harm them, but it's just a little overwhelming.
Robert isn't five feet away now and Oliver steels himself for what he's about to do, what he has to do. He steadies his arm, takes aim and let's them arrow fly. It hits its target, embedding itself in Roberts head and his already dead eyes get a little more lifeless if possible. He falls to the ground and stay there unmoving. And because he seemed to be so resilient and different than the other zombies, Oliver aims another arrow but this time he closes his eyes and let's a few tears fall before he lets go.
He can't bear to look at what he's done, so he turns away, unfeeling, and heads to the car. He's surprised and a little angry to see that Thea was actually watching. She unlocks the doors and he gets in the drivers side and it's pretty quite for the next five minutes. Oliver fears that Thea won't look at him the same anymore, but then, "You were right earlier Ollie. Dad would have never wanted to live on like that. You did what you had to. And—and you were really brave about it."
He looks at her and nods, tries to muster a smile. Fails. But he notices that although the wound in her thigh has slowed its bleeding, she's just getting paler, and she's sort of shivering like it's cold outside when they're actually in the middle of a spring that's gravitating towards the warmer side of normal. He grimaces and starts the car. "Thanks Speedy. Now let's go get that cut patched up."
"Where are we going."
He chooses to pretend he didn't hear that though because honestly, he has no fucking idea.
So there it is. How was it? Please tell me. Is there another word for 'zombie'? Because although that's what this story is about, I just feel like I used the word too many times...I'm kind of just writing as I go and it's not really planned out. So I can see myself being one of those people who don't update very regularly or post shorter chapters here and there...all of which I hate. But hey, now I know the struggle. But if I don't get a semi good response, then I'm not even going to continue...which is kind of not fair to those who may like it. You know what, I will continue! Ok whatever, bye.