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tameodesza · 7 months

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Dead Ends (BretShawn) ch.1

masterlist | AO3 link | ch.2>>

Summary: After stumbling upon a cabin in the woods, Bret's quest for food turns into him meeting a fiery blond instead

a/n: starting off spooky season with a zombie au (tho I have a folder full of unfinished drafts 🥴)...sounds about right

Date: May 6, 1996 Time: 9:07pm Location: Outskirts of Calgary

Bret’s boots crunched softly against the soggy leaves on the forest floor as he navigated his way through a thickly wooded path with only one goal in mind. He needed to find his way back home.

It had been over a week since his bunker was raided, forcing him away from the only family he had in the post-apocalyptic world – his younger brother Owen.

Bret still couldn’t wrap his mind around how he’d gone from surviving comfortably in his brother’s bunker to fending for his life every day against zombies, or Walkers as they were commonly referenced on news outlets at the start of the outbreak.

It was still a mystery as to what spawned the virus. Was it a mad scientist? Did it come from a diseased animal? Was it created by the government for population control?

Bret and Owen had spent many months brainstorming various conspiracy theories, but the answer remained unknown.

Now that the bunker was no longer a viable home and his brother was nowhere to be found, Bret was on a mission to head back to his childhood home.

Although he’d been shown nothing but death and carnage for the past week since he began his lone journey, Bret still held onto hope that his parents were safe and alive. They had to be. That thought alone was the only motivation keeping him sane at the moment.

Bret headed down another winding trail, shoving stubborn branches out of his way before his feet came to a stop at what lay before him. There in a short distance stood a small wooden cabin, most of its windows boarded up with no light peeking through from the inside.

The logical side of Bret told him to keep moving, to walk past the cabin unknowing of the possible dangers that lie inside. However, the rumbling of Bret’s stomach was a reminder that desperation could lead a man to do irrational things.

He approached the cabin slowly, convincing himself that he was just going to check it out, that maybe he’d get lucky and find some food or weapons that the previous owners left behind. He further surveyed the area and noted that the cabin seemed to be vacant, luck seeming to be on his side.

“Please don’t be wrong,” he uttered to himself.

Bret made his way towards the back door of the cabin, double-checking his surroundings before twisting the doorknob. He let out a sigh of relief realizing that the door was unlocked.

“Ok, in and out, Bret. In and out,” he reminded himself as he opened the door to see what appeared to be the laundry room.

Bret slowly closed the door behind him before treading lightly out of the laundry room to the living room. With the majority of the windows being boarded up, Bret moved through the small cabin with much difficulty.

Through the dim light, Bret was able to make out the shape of a couch that sat across from a broken television. But there was still no evidence of the cabin being occupied, so Bret continued moving forward to finally find what he’d been looking for. The kitchen.

As he scanned the room, his eyes landed on a few chocolate bars sitting on top of a microwave. He also spotted some canned vegetables stacked in the corner of the countertop.

Without thinking twice, Bret made a beeline for the chocolate bars and stuffed them into the pockets of his jeans to save for later. Then, he grabbed a can of green beans, quickly becoming frustrated as it was hard to lift the metal tab with his short nails.

Just then, his fingers stilled when he felt the pressure of something poking at his lower back. He heard a rough voice with a slight southern accent say menacingly, “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t bust a cap in your ass.”

Bret’s whole body froze at the unexpected presence as he stammered, “H-Hey, I don’t want any problems-”

“Shut the fuck up and put down my shit.”

Bret slowly lowered the can back onto the counter before raising his hands in surrender.

He attempted to turn around, but stopped at the stranger hissing, “Don’t you fucking move! I’ll pull this trigger and leave you for the Walkers. Don’t fuck with me.”

Bret gulped, wishing he’d listened to the part of him that said to avoid the cabin.

The man behind him proceeded to say, “Now, tell me why you’re in my cabin stealing the food that I worked hard to get.”

Bret’s heart rate quickened, hands shaking in the air as his nerves set in. “I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t know anyone was in here.”

The stranger tsked, “You damn sure didn’t try to find out. What all did you take?”

“I didn’t take anything-”

“Don’t you fucking lie to me! Where’s the chocolate?”

Bret sighed in defeat saying, “My front pocket.”

“Just like I thought. Take it out and set it on the counter. Slowly. No funny business.”

Bret did as he was told, setting the chocolate bars on the counter before raising his hands back up in the air. “There.”

“What else?”

“That’s all, I promise.”

“Fuck you and your promises. You come into my cabin, steal my shit, and expect for me to believe anything coming out of your mouth? I should kill your ass right now just for that.”

“You’re right,” Bret quickly added, not wanting to further piss the man off. “Whether I knew someone was in here or not, I tried taking your food and I was wrong for that.”

Bret’s goosebumps rose as the man’s humored breath brushed against his cheek. “Well, at least you know. Now,” the man led as he leaned closer to Bret’s ear. “I’m feeling a little generous tonight, but only because I really don’t feel like dealing with another dead body. So guess what? I’m going to let you go, and I don’t want you coming back. Got it?”

Bret rapidly nodded, “Yes.”

“Now, run along before I change my mind.”

Bret slowly lowered his arms as he said, “Ok. Ok, I’m going.”

The smart thing for Bret to do would have been to leave the house with his tail tucked between his legs, thankful to still be alive. But as previously mentioned, desperate men tended to do irrational things.

As soon as Bret felt the pressure of the gun lift from his back, he swiftly turned around to send a flying elbow to the man’s nose, the gun being knocked loose in the process as it fell from the man’s hand and flew far out of reach across the tiled kitchen floor.

“Fuck!” The man shouted as he clutched his nose.

Not wanting to waste any time, Bret grabbed two cans of food and a chocolate bar before trying to run past the stranger. However, he unexpectedly received a knee to the gut which caused him to drop the food onto the floor. He then felt a hard closed fist hit his cheek.

Bret hit the floor in a groan, slightly out of it. Running on pure adrenaline, Bret scrambled to his feet to throw a punch of his own.

And that’s when he finally locked eyes with his attacker whose voice certainly didn’t match his appearance.

He was a beautiful man, which was hard to come by these days for obvious reasons. And even in his rugged state, the man made Bret do a double take as he quickly looked him over – pretty blue eyes, scruffy beard, and long blond hair. Unfortunately, Bret didn’t have much time to admire the man’s beauty due to the kick to the balls he received.

Bret let out a cry of pain as he folded over and grabbed his crotch in agony.

With Bret now immobile, the man turned around to make a lunge for the gun. But with what little strength Bret had, he grabbed the blond man’s ankle causing him to trip and fall face first onto the floor.

Bret kept a hold on his ankle to prevent the man from crawling towards the gun. Then the man turned onto his back and kicked Bret in the face, prompting Bret to drop the man’s ankle as he clutched at his head in pain.

Now that he was free, the blond got up on his feet in a haste. But at that moment, both he and Bret came to a stop at the sound of a gurgled snarl coming from outside the cabin. They slowly turned their heads toward the kitchen window hoping they’d heard wrong.

Then there it was again. Another loud snarl – this one a bit closer.

“Shit, it’s Walkers,” the blond said as he ran towards his gun, picking it up and tucking it into his holster before running out the kitchen.

Bret stood up painfully, still nursing his aching crotch as he followed the man into the living room. He watched as the blond packed a medium-sized bag before saying, “They must have heard the commotion.”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say as the man turned towards Bret with an accusatory finger, whisper-shouting, “A commotion that you caused!”

“Me? You were the one threatening to shoot!”

“That’s beside the point! I’ve been staying here for weeks with no issues. Then here comes your klepto ass trying to steal my shit!”

“You-”

Another snarl pulled them from their heated discussion.

The blond walked up to a boarded-up window and peeked through a small gap to see three Walkers approaching the front steps of the cabin. But that was the least of his concerns as his eyes locked on the cluster of Walkers approaching the cabin from a far distance.

Bret was startled as the blond suddenly moved from the window, shoving him out the way as he ran back to his bag to fit anything he could in the limited time he had. Bret looked on clueless as to what was going on.

“What did you see,” he asked urgently. But the blond ignored him which led to Bret asking, “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting the fuck out of here,” the blond relayed as he slung his bag on his back. He headed towards the back door, saying over his shoulder, “I don’t care what you do.”

Unfortunately, the blond threw open the back door to reveal two Walkers lurking around. He quickly slammed the door shut and locked it before heading back to the living room. “We’re surrounded,” he threw out as he walked past Bret.

Bret caught him by the arm saying, “Wait. What’s the plan? We need to find a way out of here.”

The blond snatched his arm away saying, “We aren’t doing shit. I work solo and I’m finding a way out of here.”

The two men jump at the sound of a loud bang coming from the front door followed by pounding at the back door of the cabin.

The blond grunted, gripping his hair in frustration saying, “Fuck, come on. I don’t have time to deal with this shit.”

The men ran to the bedroom and made their way towards the window. They tried to lift it, but the window wouldn’t budge.

“Shit, this thing probably hasn’t been opened in ages,” the blond squeezed out in a grunt. “We’ll just have to break it.”

Before Bret could warn against the noise possibly alerting more Walkers, the blond picked up a small wooden chair and smashed the window open, the glass shattering into multiple pieces.

The blond rushed to get out the window, gaining a few small cuts on his hands in the process. As soon as he landed, he ran, not waiting for Bret to catch up.

Hearing the front door burst open, Bret rushed out the window as well, collecting a few scrapes on his hands along the way. He dropped from the window in a thud, quickly hopping up to make a run for it.

But out the corner of his eye, he saw the same blond man with his back against a tree as he struggled to fight off a Walker that seemed to catch him by surprise.

After the altercation they’d just had, Bret had every right to leave the man to fend for himself, but he wasn’t that kind of guy.

Bret pulled out a knife from his pocket and ran in the blond’s direction. As soon as he was within reach, Bret raised the knife above the Walker’s head, driving it straight down into its skull causing the Walker to immediately cease its movement.

Bret pulled out his knife and shoved the Walker aside before looking at the blond in concern asking, “Are you ok?”

“Not until I get the hell out of here. Now move!” The man shoved Bret out of the way to take off running through the forest. Bret had no choice but to follow him as there were Walkers approaching in every other direction.

The men ran for miles nonstop, careful not to trip as the trees blurred past them on their escape into the night. They continued running until the blond slowed to a stop, resting a hand on a nearby tree as he panted heavily trying to catch his breath.

Bret stopped not too far behind, bending over as he placed his hands on his knees desperately gasping for air.

Seeing that Bret was still with him, the blond complained, “You’re still following me? I told you I work solo.”

Bret stood tall, stretching his back as he responded, “I wasn’t following you. I was running to safety just as you were.”

“Well, we’re safe now. So you can leave.”

Bret raised a brow at the man. “How about you show a little more gratitude after I just saved your ass?”

The man marched towards Bret as he said, “You saved my ass? Please. Things were just fine before you showed up roaming through my shit. Now I’m out of a cabin. Fuck your gratitude.”

Bret rubbed tensely at the back of his neck as he watched the blond man stump off to sit at the base of a tree.

As harsh as the words were, Bret could understand the man’s anger. If he hadn’t been snooping in the cabin, none of this would have happened. And to be honest, he did feel guilty about it. But how was he to know any of that was going to happen?

Bret apprehensively approached the man, making sure to keep a safe distance as he didn’t want to get kicked in the nuts again. “Look. You’re right. You are in this situation because of me. I’m sorry.”

“Keep your sorries to yourself. It’s not going to change anything,” the man sneered as he stared blankly at the ground.

Bret decided to throw caution to the wind and sit on the ground next to the man, his invasion of privacy not going unnoticed as the blond looked at him like he grew two heads.

“Just listen to me,” Bret said with his hands stretched out defensively.

The man rolled his eyes, looking forward as he chided, “Oh, this should be good.”

“I…I want to make it up to you.”

The man scrunched his brows together as he turned to look at Bret. “All you’ve done is fuck shit up. What could you possibly do to make this up to me?”

“I think we should stick together.”

The stranger let out a loud snort, genuinely humored at the ridiculous request. “You’re joking, right?”

“Just hear me out. I’ll watch your back. I’m from around here, so I know the layout of the land. And it seems like you’re pretty skilled yourself. I think we could both benefit from teaming up.”

It was apparent to Bret that the man before him was a little rough around the edges, but he also saw him as a potential asset. The man seemed to have more experience than him, and, selfishly, Bret could really use his help.

However, his hope dwindled when the man responded sharply, “I don’t need your help.”

So Bret tried a more logical approach.

“I’m sure you’d benefit from having an extra pair of hands around. You’d have another person to help scrounge for food, to watch out for Walkers, for added protection-”

“I don’t want your damn protection. I’ve made it this far by myself just fine, so why would I want you weighing me down? I don’t need you around me making irrational decisions.”

Bret answered smartly, “Says the guy pulling out a gun like it’s a free for all.”

“Oh, forgive me for being a little on edge when we live in a world full of fucking Walkers!”

Seeing that he was only making the blond more agitated, Bret considered it a lost cause. He stood up and dusted off his pants, the blond’s eyes following him intensely. “Ok,” Bret said dejectedly. “I’ll leave then. Just wanted to help.”

Bret backed away hesitantly, his eyes lingering for a moment on the blond beauty before turning away to head who-knows-where.

He’d only walked a few feet when he heard the blond call out behind him. “Wait,” the man said with a hint of annoyance.

Bret paused his step, turning around as the blond walked up with crossed arms saying, “Fine.”

Bret gave a look of surprise. “Fine?”

“Fine,” he reiterated with an affirmative nod. “But only because I need someone watching my back while I take a piss.”

“Oh,” Bret said, unsure whether to be offended or respect the man’s honesty.

The blond walked a few steps closer, just inches away as he stared Bret down with a straight face. He said lowly, almost ominously in warning, “But just know that the moment you fuck up, I’m out.”

Bret swallowed nervously before nodding and holding up a hand as best as he could in their confined space. “Ok, deal.”

The blond looked at Bret’s hand for a quick second before walking away saying, “Come on. I’d like to find shelter before daylight.”

Bret looked on dumbfounded as his hand hung in the air, not receiving the handshake he’d expected. Shaking off the cold shoulder, he moved quickly to catch up to the man.

They ventured through the thick forest in an awkward silence. Well, it was certainly awkward for Bret, the only sound to break the silence coming from their shoes against the ground.

In an effort to break the ice, Bret cleared his throat saying, “I’m Bret, by the way.”

However, he didn’t receive a response as the blond continued to look ahead focused on not tripping on fallen branches.

Bret looked at him warily, the man’s expression was unreadable. He asked, “Can I know your name?” He again went unanswered, prompting Bret to say in an irritated huff, "If we’re going to be teammates, it’ll do us some good to at least know each other’s name.”

A short quiet moment passed between the two before the blond said curtly, “Shawn.”

Bret had to hold back asking ‘was that so hard.’

“Shawn,” Bret repeated to ingrain the name into his head. “Nice to meet you.”

Bret nearly facepalmed once formal greeting left his lips out of habit, especially considering that the circumstances of their meeting was anything but nice.

Thankfully, Shawn didn’t seem to harp on it, the blond instead asking, “Where were you headed before you rudely broke into my cabin?”

“To be fair, the door was unlocked,” Bret said lightheartedly. But seeing that Shawn didn’t see the humor in it, he said earnestly, “I said I was sorry.”

“Don’t care.”

Bret sighed tiredly, carefully stepping over a large fallen branch before answering, “Home. That’s where I was headed. I wanted to see how my parents were holding up. Took a shortcut through the woods to get there and that’s when I found your cabin.”

Bret had to stop himself from walking ahead of Shawn when the smaller man came to a stop. He gave Bret a confused look, saying flatly, “You’re headed home. Why the hell would you do that?”

The question came out rudely, but Shawn was genuinely puzzled. Every neighborhood he’d come across was either a ghost town, filled with Walkers, or was a hotspot for unfriendly run-ins with other survivors. It was the last place he’d want to lay low.

Bret took some time to respond, a bit taken aback by Shawn’s question. His eyes drifted up to the starless sky, breathing deeply before answering, “The last time I saw my parents was Christmas day. I’d promised them I would visit them again soon, but I was so busy with life that I never made the time. I just kept putting it off. Then all this shit happened, and it was too late. So… I don’t know. I just need to see if they’re ok.”

Bret was well-aware of the possibility that his parents had met an unfortunate fate, but he couldn’t dwell on that. The guilt of not visiting his parents weighed too heavily on his guilty conscience, and in his mind, this was the only way to fix it.

Bret was too buried in his thoughts to feel Shawn’s eyes watching him inquisitively, thoughts of his own swirling beyond those blue eyes.

Shawn was a brash man, molded to be so by the harsh experiences he’d faced since the outbreak began. But as cold as he could be, he had the decency not to express his true opinion – that it was more likely that Bret’s parents had turned into a five-course meal for Walkers by this point.

Instead, he looked back at the path ahead and walked forward to continue their route as he asked, “How long do you think it’ll take to get there?”

Bret snapped out of his stupor to catch up to Shawn as he answered, “If we don’t run into any trouble along the way, maybe a week.”

“A week,” the blond repeated to himself with a nod.

Bret almost ran into Shawn as the blond stopped suddenly, slinging his backpack forward to rummage inside of the bag. Bret stiffened at the sight, not knowing if the blond would brandish another weapon his way as he had back at the cabin. However, Shawn’s hand emerged from the bag holding a slightly melted chocolate bar.

“Here,” Shawn said gruffly as he forced the bar into Bret’s palm.

Bret, not expecting the kind gesture, said appreciatively, “Thank y-”

“Don’t get all sappy about it,” Shawn muttered as he zipped up the bag. “I at least want a partner who’s not malnourished.”

After securing the bag onto his back, Shawn set foot once more down the dark path. As Bret followed, he couldn’t help wondering what he’d gotten himself into.

#divider cr: @firefly-graphics #dead ends #zombie au #hartbreak #shawn michaels #bret hart #bretshawn #bret hart x shawn michaels #alternate universe #wwe fanfiction

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