Chapter Text
Being in such a dark room, with no windows, and no visitors, it was hard to keep track of time.
More like impossible, really.
Completely and utterly impossible.
She used to watch movies, back before, horror movies about kidnappers and crazy murderers keeping people hostage in basements, keeping them away from the outside world.
How did they manage to keep track of time, when there were no clocks?
No daylight?
It was fucking stupid, that’s what.
So unrealistic and painful, especially considering she had never been in a situation like this, or even thought about being in a situation like this.
Never had the thought of being held hostage and beaten by her own son ever crossed her mind.
Puffy thrashed about, crashing onto her side and letting out a cry of pain, arching her back away from the ground and trying to avoid pressing her back against the floor, the bruises and probably broken ribs causing too much pain.
The poor woman needed to get out of here.
She needed to leave with Tommy, get him out of here, but she also needed to take Dream down.
Thankfully, she had a plan, but the thing is, she needed to actually act it out, and so far, she was unsuccessful.
Puffy slammed the cuffs against the pipes in the basement, cursing through the fabric in her mouth, keeping it in as she slammed it over and over again.
There was no breaking out, she knew that as a fact, although she wasn’t going to stop trying.
A thought popped into her head, one that made her cringe, but it would do the trick.
Holding her breath, she adjusted, getting onto her knees as she brought her hands close together, taking hold of her thumb, and slowly, she began counting to ten.
Then she snapped her thumb out of place, ripping out a scream, the only thing muffling it the cloth wrapped around her mouth, and the way she bit down hard onto it.
She pulled her wrist out of the cuff, ripping the cloth down and out of her mouth, blinking away the tears of pain on the brink of escaping.
Her curls tumbled over her shoulders as she shakily got to her feet, biting her lip as she moaned in pain, catching herself on the wall before she could fall over from the dizziness, pressing her forehead against the wall.
The usually soft white curls were now stained red, parts of it pink from where the blood had only lightly touched, some of her hair matted with dark almost brown dried blood.
They had cared enough to wrap her body in bandages, tend to her wounds once, but still kept her locked up down in a dark room, huh? Didn’t even bother to clean her blood up?
Oh, how lucky was she.
The handcuff dangled loosely on her right wrist as she ran her fingers through her hair, looking around for anything she could use to pull her hair out of her face, left feeling irritated as she couldn’t find one, shaking her head.
Probably the worst thing to do with a concussion, groaning in annoyance and rubbing her temple in slow circles.
Just in time, she heard someone fiddling with the lock, holding her breath as she pressed her body up against the wall, hidden in the shadows of the staircase, relieved for once that the room was as dark as it was, watching George make his way down the stairs, holding a tray and torch in hand.
She could make out the shakiness of the man, hearing the small rattling of the cup on the metal tray.
George honestly didn’t look so good, from what she could tell of the light from the torch.
A dark bruise blossoming on his cheek, his hands shaking like a leaf, and she could just barely make out the beads of sweat on his face— or were they tears?
“Dream... Wanted me to come and check on you, to make sure you’re alright,” he began, gulping.
“I’m sorry he put you down here. If I had any authority, I’d put you in the infirmary. I know you mean well, you... You don’t want to hurt anyone, I know you don’t.”
“I remember when I got hurt outside the walls, after sneaking out. You found me, you— you saved me and you didn’t tell anyone either. Just me and Clay being idiots,” George shrugged his shoulders, crouching down as he put the tray down, rubbing at his eyes from under his glasses.
Puffy felt her heartstrings being tugged, debating whether or not she was really about to do this as she stalked forwards, holding her breath quietly, almost as silent as you’d image a ghost.
Coming up behind him, he wrapped her arm around his neck, whispering against his ear, “I’m sorry, George. No hard feelings.”
The man’s hands immediately went up to his neck, gagging as she began to choke him, squeezing her eyes shut so she didn’t have to watch.
Puffy didn’t let go, not until he stopped writhing and making choking noises, carefully laying him down on his side, checking his pulse and letting out a heavy sigh of relief upon feeling one.
She just needed him out of the situation, she didn’t want him dead. She didn’t really want ANYONE dead.
Deep down, not even her son.
She brushed his hair out of his face, giving him a soft smile, making sure he would be okay, before getting to her feet and rushing up the stairs, her hand landing on the handle as she took a deep breath.
She needed to get them out, and she’d stop at nothing to do so.
“Tommy? Toms?”
The younger boy blinked slowly, letting out a soft groan as he did so, narrowing his eyes up towards Sam, who was hovering over him, a worried expression plastered on his face.
He let out a shaky breath, his teeth chattering, “Sa— Sam?” He whispered.
“Hey Tommy Nook,” the man gave him a sweet smile, “You feeling alright?”
Sam hummed softly, brushing his hair out of his face, and only then did Tommy realise just how much he was sweating, his skin feeling all sweaty and sticky, freezing cold and steaming hot both at the same time.
Tommy shuddered, letting the older brother figure tuck him under the blanket, pulling him closer into his embrace, his arms locking around his neck, making sure he was comfortable.
“I— I feel like— like shit—“ Tommy chattered, snuggling in, “I think I’m— I’m dying.”
Sam chuckled quietly, “You’re not dying... You’ve got a fever. I promise you’ll feel better soon, Tommy.”
“Can’t be sure, fuckin— fucking don’t usually get sick... I feel like— like shit.”
“I know, I’m sorry, I wish I could help more... When Dream is in a better mood, I’m sure he’ll allow you up to the infirmary. He seems to pick favourites, anyway.”
Tommy furrowed his brows, shivering as he rolled his eyes, “He’s been— been in a shitty mood for a week now. Don’t— don’t even know what’s up his arse.”
Sam sighed, “In all honesty, I’m not sure either, Toms... But whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be alright. He often has times where he, unfortunately, gets very manic and... But at least he cools down.”
Tommy didn’t really care about Dream, nor his manic episodes, but something inside of him filled him with guilt, having to force himself not to ask if he’d be alright. No, Dream was an enemy, Tommy, Not a friend.
He killed your family, he took everything from you...
He could never be your friend.
‘Save us, Tommy’
He jumped slightly, and Sam’s embrace tightened, the green haired man giving him a worried look, relaxing when Tommy flashed a soft smile in response.
He didn’t want to worry Sam more than the poor man already was.
Sam had been through enough, he wasn’t about to traumatise him even more with ‘Oh, by the way, I hear voices that constantly tell me to save dead people and make me think I can talk to THE dead!’ Because that definitely won’t make him sound crazy.
Tommy whined as he felt the ache in his head again, seething in pain and wiggling slightly, “Sammy— It really— It really fucking hurts, man.”
Sam frowned, humming in acknowledgement, resting his head against him, “I know, I know. Do you need anything? I can get some water... The bowl is just over there, I’ll have to move though—“
Tommy tightened his grip on Sam, sulking, “No.”
“It’s just over—“
“No. Warm.”
He sighed, shaking his head, yet he didn’t move, hugging him closer, “Alright... Alright, Tommy, but you have to drink soon. You have to eat too, Tommy. When did you last have something? Properly.”
Tommy thought for a moment, “I... I think the chicken soup that Dream made—“ he mumbled, flinching when Sam sat upright suddenly.
“It’s almost been a week, Tommy.”
“I had— I had some potatoes the— the other day, the snacks—“
“That’s practically nothing, Tommy! No wonder you’re sick,” Sam sighed, pinching his brows, “God... I’m so sorry, Tommy I had no idea. I had no idea.”
Tommy shrugged slightly.
He was used to feeling hungry by now, after years of the zombie apocalypse, there are times you can’t eat for longer than a week.
There were times that his dad wouldn’t eat, just so he and his brothers could... And after their father’s passing, there were times where Wilbur and Techno went without food, just so he and Tubbo could eat.
Sometimes, eating was just completely unappetising to him. It made him feel scared, sick, that maybe— just maybe he didn’t deserve to eat.
Dream told him the world was going to come to an end for everyone soon anyway, so was there really a pint in caring about his health?
He had no parents.
He had no brothers...
Not any brothers he loved, that is.
Thinking deeper into it, how did Dream even find him? How did Dream realise he was his brother?
Tommy didn’t recognise him. Although he supposed it made sense, especially considering Dream was much older than him. Tommy was tiny when Dream left for some reason, that he wasn’t even completely sure of.
Hearing that he had a brother, by blood, that was so insanely fucked up quite honestly filled him with guilt.
His blood brother, family, someone who was meant to love him, meant to protect him and keep him safe, killed the people he truly loved, that REALLY kept him safe and sound.
Wilbur was killed, screaming for his dad, crying and yelling all while trying to keep Tommy safe.
Techno was killed, and he doesn’t even want to think of how Dream’s men managed to take someone so strong and brave down.
And he felt sick even daring to imagine the light leaving little Fundy’s eyes...
Yet for some reason, he couldn’t imagine Tubbo’s death. Not at all.
It was like, he somehow tricked himself into believing that Tubbo was immortal, unable to die like some God.
It was funny to imagine, Tubbo a God. He’s probably be the God of nature or some sweet cutesy bullshit, and he’d have bees as little follower companion things, or maybe one massive bee that he’d ride on, with some ugly striped stick that he used to command people with.
Tommy, he thinks, would be the God of chaos. That seemed to make sense. He always was creating chaos and being wild and energetic—
Although for obvious reasons, he couldn’t be himself here. Not right now.
Coughing, Tommy whined in pain, leaning into Sam’s hand as he ran his fingers through his curls, closing his eyes.
It was so comforting.
As Tommy went to ask Sam to grab him some water, they both froze at the sound of the door being unlocked, glancing at each other in confusion.
Nobody came to visit them out of nowhere, not unless it was to take Sam out and to put him off to work.
Upon instinct, Tommy clung to Sam’s shirt, hiding his face as he listened to footsteps, a loud gasp escaping Sam, causing him to immediately whip his head round, surprised to see someone that he definitely had not seen before.
“Puffy?” Sam’s voice was filled with shock, loosening his grip on Tommy, “Puffy what are you— Oh my gosh.”
Stepping into the lantern light, Tommy stared in shock at just how beaten and bruised the poor woman looked.
She was much shorter than he was, probably around five foot, but he wasn’t shocked because of her height.
In her left cheek, a smile had been carved into her skin. It seemed a few days old, but she didn’t seem to even notice her pain.
A dead serious expression on her face as she dropped to her knees, immediately working on uncuffing Sam’s ankle, and then beginning on unchaining Tommy, biting on her lip.
“We’re getting out of here, boys,” she stated, giving Tommy a soft smile, “Hiya, Tommy, right?”
He nodded.
“You look just like your father... I can’t believe you’re not actually blood related,” she laughed softly, brushing her hand against his cheek, “He’s missed you so much.”
His heart stopped.
“What?” His voice was quiet as he leant away a tad, confused, “You— You knew my dad?”
She nodded, pulling her hand away, “Tommy, your family— Philza, Wilbur, Techno— They’re alive, Tommy. They’re all at L’manberg, waiting for you. They’re not in great condition, I made my way to come save you and get rid of Dream myself. They have no idea I’m here though.”
Sam looked surprised, gently taking hold of Puffy’s shoulder, bringing her to look at him, “Oh my gosh, Puffy— Your face and head and— What the hell happened?! Who did this to you?”
Tommy ignored the conversation going on, zoning off into his own world as the thoughts began to deep in, the realisation hitting him like a truck.
His family was alive.
Wilbur was alive— Techno was alive— his... His dad was alive?
How?! How was that even possible? But, she knew his nickname too. There was absolutely no way anyone other than him and his brothers would know that, so it must be the truth!
Which meant, Dream had lied to him. Dream had tried to manipulate him even harder... He almost had succeeded.
He sort of did, in a way.
But if his family was alive then—
“Tubbo? Fundy— What— what about— What about Tubbo?!” His voice was croaky, rubbing his bloody and bruised wrists, relieved to finally have the cuffs off of him, scrunching his face in disgust at the sight of the sore red.
She shook her head, “I... I’m not sure kiddo, I’m really sorry, but we gotta head out, now. We don’t have any time. I can cause us some distractions, but you two need to get the hell out of here.”
Sam nodded, scooping Tommy up into his arms, pulling the blanket up off of the floor and wrapping the teenager up like a burrito, hugging him close as he followed after Puffy.
The blond could tell Sam was nervous, seeing the sweat trailing past his face, gulping as he tightened his grip onto him, making sure he was safe.
Tommy’s still felt incredibly sick, exhausted too, like he was going to fall asleep at any second, but the sudden spike of anxiety of escaping was keeping him awake.
Puffy seemed to be determined though, not even a hint of fear in her posture or stance. She was probably as brave as Techno, he was beginning to think.
They stepped into the hallway and Puffy pulled a finger to her lip, motioning for Sam to follow after, even as she took his hand into hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Tommy just kept most of his face hidden in the blanket, his teeth chattering to the point he felt like his whole body was shivering. His head was throbbing, yet he said nothing about the pain, keeping quiet.
He spotted the gun in Puffy’s right hand and his eyes widened, keeping his mouth shut.
If she was going to shoot someone, then he really hoped it would only be Dream, nobody else.
Tommy wasn’t sure how many people here were innocent and just manipulated like he was, nor did he know how many people actually chose to follow Dream.
He knew for a fact that Punz was one of Dream’s followers, but the others? He wasn’t so sure.
“How did you get here, Puffy? I thought you returned to the badlands? With the others?” Sam spoke quietly, stealthily making his way out of the hallway, while Puffy unlocked the door to the infirmary with the set of keys.
“I came down to visit Niki in L’manberg, I wanted to just make sure everyone was alright... They told me about Wilbur and others, but Me and Bad had already heard about the hoard. Eret advised us to go and check, just in case, so we did...” she groaned, managing to unlock the door, silently pushing it open.
“We were really lucky we made it in time. It was... It was a close one, to say the least. Had we been a few minutes late, they’d be dead and gone.”
Tommy almost threw up at that, the thought of his family dying right after he discovered they were actually alive was nerve wracking.
The blond probably wasn’t going to be the same ever again, he realised.
The two, while Sam carried Tommy, made their way through the holding, managing to avoid Minx who was in one of the rooms, arguing with someone, sneakily slipping through the doors into the outside world.
Nobody was around, thankfully.
So Puffy and Sam began to race off, Sam telling her that they needed to find Sapnap, his words cutting off as they skid to a halt, Tommy looking over and freezing up.
Stood there, was Dream, Purpled and Punz.
Dream, looked pissed for starters, a tight grip on the kid’s shoulder, his face blank and pale.
He looked quite rough, in all honesty, almost looking as if he felt the same as Tommy himself.
Punz was a few feet behind, gun in hand as he watched, his eyes falling upon Purpled every few seconds.
“Tommy... Where are you going?” Dream practically purred, tilting his head slightly, “You’re really going to leave with her? After everything I’ve told you?”
“Enough, Dream,” Puffy snapped, glaring, “You’ve traumatised him enough. You’ve hurt too many people and I’m not gonna let you manipulate him any god damn longer.”
Tommy hesitantly stepped back, suddenly feeling a lot smaller as Dream took a step forward, holding out his arm towards him, sharing a kind smile tugging on the corners of his lips.
“Toms, you know I never want to hurt you, right? You’re my little brother... I care about you. These people? They don’t. They even lied to you,” he looked towards Puffy, “Your family aren’t alive. She’s trying to get into your head—“
“You almost got them,” she barked out a laugh, shaking the gun slightly, “Just like you tried to kill Alyssa, just like you tried to kill Sam, Ponk— The list goes on, Dream! You’re messed up! You need help, and if you don’t let me help you—“
She held her breath, “I have no other choice but to kill you, Dream.”
Dream rested his palms on Purpled’s shoulders, and Tommy met the boys distressed eyes, opening his mouth to yell something, but forced to stop by the masked man digging his nails into him,
“Really? You’d kill me? I thought you loved me, Mom... Tommy, surely this proves just how bad she is?”
Tommy shook his head slowly, reaching his hand towards Sam, who took it without hesitation.
“You... You aren’t my brother. You— you tried to kill— to kill them, you almost took the only people I had left away from me— you— you psycho!”
“Tommy—“
“No! You tried— you tried to manipulate me!” He couldn’t help his voice breaking, beginning to cry, “You— you made me believe I was alone and— and you made me come to you— the person, who had supposed— supposedly killed my family— I came to you for comfort!”
Tommy was brought into a hug by Sam, the green haired man holding him so tightly Tommy thought he was going to explode, but looking up to meet his face, he was met with a stern expression.
Thankfully, it was towards Dream and not him.
Puffy motioned with her gun for Dream to step back, before putting both hands on the weapon, scowling, “Get out of our way, Dream.”
Dream smiled.
“I don’t think I will.”
Tommy watched in distress as Dream threw Purpled and himself to the ground as Puffy pulled the trigger. Tommy’s hands flew over his ears, letting Sam pick him up and practically throw him over his shoulder.
Punz shot their way, while helping Dream up, and one of the bullets barely grazed Sam’s shoulder, hearing the man grunt, but hold Tommy closer.
“YOU CAN’T RUN FROM ME, TOMMY!” Dream yelled after him, stumbling to his feet as he snatched the gun out of Punz’ hands, his eyes crazed looking as he looked right at him.
Tommy raised his hands to block himself as the gun pointed directly towards him, knowing it would do absolutely nothing, letting out a gutural scream as the loud bang went off, uncovering his face just to see Purpled falling to the ground ahead of him.
“PURPLED!” He cried out for him, trying to get out of Sam’s grasp, “STOP— STOP—“
“JUST GO TOMMY!” The other boy screamed, pressing down the bullet wound that hit his shoulder, blood soaking his shirt and hand, “RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!”
No matter how hard he tried to fight, Sam wouldn’t let go, and part of him was relieved, while the other was extremely mad.
How did Purpled get here? Why were they leaving him? He was the same age as Tommy, so why weren’t they trying to save him too? After he put himself in danger just to help keep them going?
Tommy continued to kick and wiggle in his arms, trying to shake away his growing headache, whining as tears streamed past his cheeks.
Watching as Punz threw a punch to Dream, an argument growing between the pair, watching as Purpled, strained, smiled at him, until they ran out of sight.
They had to escape, even at the cost of someone’s life.
He was so sorry, he could only hope that his friend survived.
Panting, Sam slowed down as he hid behind one of the houses, sitting Tommy down, who was still crying.
It hurt so bad, everything was so stressful and confusing. Was he even deserving of an escape?
Did he deserve people to care about him and risk their lives to save him?
He wasn’t sure, leaning into Sam’s hands as the older man cupped his face, pressing a kiss to his hairline.
“Shh, shh, I know, Tommy, I know. We’re almost there, buddy. Almost there,” he murmured reassuringly, pressing the back of his hand against his forehead, quickly retracting it and turning to look up to Puffy, who was loading up her gun.
He cleared his throat, “Puffy, I can go get Sapnap. I know where he should be, if you stay with Tommy—“
“Nah, nah, I’ll go find Sapnap. I have an idea where he could be. Tommy needs you right now. He doesn’t know...”
Tommy stopped paying attention to their conversation, looking around to see that they were pretty far from the central area of the DSMP, more on the outskirts now, able to see the walls up close and the barbed wire ontop, definitely unable to be scaled.
He had no idea how they were expected to escape, but he had a feeling, however they did it, it was going to be difficult.
Purpled should be in his place, pushing himself to get up, but crying out in pain and sinking back down, finding himself growing dizzy at a slight movement.
He took a sharp intake of breath as Sam shuffled closer to him, gently brushing the tears off of his face, shushing him lovingly.
Even now, he was reminded of Wilbur.
Everything Sam did, whether it was the way he treated him or the way he spoke, it always reminded him of Wilbur, Tubbo and Techno.
He relaxed into Sam, letting out a sob as he fell deeper and deeper into his dark thoughts, his vision blurry as he cried, unable to even speak because of just how hard he was crying.
His heart hurt.
He wanted his family.
He wanted someone to tell him they loved him.
He wanted someone to kiss his head and hold him close...
Specifically, he wanted his brothers. He wanted his dad.
“Tommy, you’re doing so well... When you get out of here, Sapnap’s going to take you to the Badlands,” he whispered, running his fingers through his hair, keeping the blond curls out of his face.
“You’ll be safe there. Dream has no idea where it is— Nobody does, really. Nobody that is a danger, that is. When you get there, you can finally rest and I’ll fix things here, I promise you. I’m so sorry, my little Tommy Nook that I... I can’t come with you, I’m sorry, Tommy.”
Tommy shook his head, “Please, Sammy...”
“People are counting on me to keep others safe, here, Toms. You have people in L’manberg you want safe,” he laughed slightly, though he could see that Tommy wasn’t the only one crying.
“You’re so— So incredibly brave, Tommy. I’ve never been so proud of someone as I have for you.”
Tommy sniffled, yet he nodded, “Thank— Thank you for keeping me— for keeping me safe, Sammy.”
The man softened, letting out a shaky breath, the cogs turning in his head, “Tommy I... I need to tell you—“
“SAM WE NEED TO GO NOW!”
The pair looked up in surprise, Sapnap and Puffy racing over, the man carrying a bag on his back, a machete in hand as he began to hack at the bushes, Sam ignoring what he was just about to confess, stumbling over and getting on his hands and knees, helping to clear the bramble and bushes, digging up some dirt enough for Tommy to catch a glimpse of a shine of metal.
Removing all the crap, he crawled over to see the grate, watching Sapnap and Puffy work to get it off, shrinking back at the low groans and moans of zombies.
He already knew what was about to happen as Sam leant in, Puffy holding onto him tightly, stopping him from falling in, observing quietly as they pulled one of the dead from the tunnel below, watching as Sapnap cleanly sliced it’s head off, watching it roll and hit his feet.
‘Help me!’
‘Please... Tommy...’
He kicked it away from him, squeezing his eyes shut tightly, listening to Puffy, Sam and Sapnap talk, tearing his eyes away as they sliced into the dead person, bringing its guts and blood all over Sapnap and Puffy generously.
Sam’s voice was soothing and kind as he lulled him into his arms, murming ‘I know’s and ‘I understand’ as he applied the blood and guts all over him.
It felt disgusting.
It felt evil.
The voices growing louder, but he forced himself to stay strong as he looked into Sam’s eyes.
“You’ve got this, Tommy Nook,” he whispered.
“Thank you, Sammy,” his voice cracked as he wrapped Sam into a tight hug, which the man didn’t return, pulling away to be led to the grate by Sapnap and Puffy.
Puffy took hold of Sam’s wrist, giving him a small nod, sharing words without having to say them out loud.
She dropped down first, the water splashing beneath her boots, groaning in disgust, helping Tommy get down, holding him upright as a wave of dizziness crashed into him.
Thankfully, the water wasn’t too high, almost reaching Tommy’s knees, looking down the long tunnel, to see a bunch of the dead, all close together and groaning, some had fallen over into the sludge-water, while others were wandering around, lost.
Taking a deep breath, Sapnap whispered.
“This will be a lot harder than we realised,” he quietly admitted, “I’ll lead, I know the way out... Hold hands and— And I think we’ll be alright?”
Even though he sounded unsure, Tommy trusted him, not that he really knew both these people, but at least he knew he could trust them, thanks to Sam.
He wasn’t about to throw it all away just because he was scared of humans.
Carefully, they stalked forward, trying to be as quiet and stealthy as they could, passing off as other zombies, and not humans pretending to be the dead, which as they got closer to the dead, Tommy’s anxiety grew, especially as one passed right by him.
Whispering...
‘They weren’t whispering, Tommy’
Thanks voice, he mentally noted, stepping over one of the corpses on the floor, watching as it’s jaw tried to move, but clearly out of place, not working the way the monster wanted it to.
Sapnap led the way, trying not to nudge or barge the zombies as they entered the crowded area, trying really hard not to just start crying due to the overwhelming heaviness of the situation.
One mistake, one loud noise, one wrong step, and all three of them were dead.
This was probably the most danger Tommy had ever found himself in, even including when Dream had attacked his family.
Even though it was brutal and traumatising, it wasn’t a death situation for Tommy, unlike everyone else.
Some of the blood was washing off of his jeans as he waded through the water, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before they could smell them, which meant they needed to speed up, even if it were by a little.
Thankfully, he didn’t need to speak up and warn them, letting the older man give him a light tug, squeezing past as they broke through into the less crowded part of the tunnel, letting out a sigh of relief.
They had probably been in there around ten minutes or so, wading through the water in silence, the groans echoing throughout the empty tunnels.
Tommy was extremely surprised that Sapnap seemed to remember where he was going, his face brightening up as he looked towards the end, his eyes gleaming as he turned to look at Puffy and Tommy.
“It’s right there. We need to just get the grate away and—“ he stopped talking, the colour, aside from the blood, draining from his face as he ushered for Tommy to move ahead of him, “Kid— kid make your way to the grate now—“
Tommy realised his fear when he looked past the dead, to see a familiar white mask, blood soaking the rest of the usual green clothed figure.
Stumbling back, he gasped, catching himself before he could trip over, quickly but carefully beelining for the grate, his heartbeat so loud he could hear it in his ears.
Puffy had tightened her grip on her gun, backing up, all while facing Dream, shaking her head slowly, trying to warn him not to come any closer.
The man didn’t take a hint, and he could practically hear him call his name in his usual sing-song voice, reaching the grate.
He needed help, he couldn’t reach it alone, looking over to Sapnap desperately.
Sapnap was just passing one of the dead, but Tommy noticed it’s sudden interest in Sapnap, the words escaping him before he could stop them.
“WATCH OUT!”
He immediately smashed the machete into the zombie’s face, cutting his head clean in half as the corpse hit the water with a splash, Sapnap wincing away from it, just for his knee to buck, a scream ripping from the back of his throat as Tommy watched in despair.
A zombie had its jaw locked around his ankle, and Sapnap’s scream had attracted most, if not all, of the dead.
Tommy stared in fear, rushing over in the water, before slamming his foot onto the zombie’s head, over and over again, until the water surrounding him was stained red, Sapnap freeing his foot and grabbing Tommy by his shoulder, dragging him away from the dead.
Somehow, even through the pain, Tommy was the man’s first worry.
“YOU GOT BIT—“ Tommy cried.
Puffy followed after quickly, horror written all over her, but relieved that she could no longer see Dream amongst the dead, although her thoughts were running a mile an hour in her head,
“We need to hurry, Dream’s probably going to meet us, so we need to fucking get out of here—“
Puffy helped Tommy onto Sapnap’s shoulders, lifting him up as he began to hit and push at the grate, groaning as he barely moved it, all while Puffy took hold of Sapnap’s machete and slashed, killing any of the monsters that got a bit too close to them.
He hit and shoved, yelling out curse words, the stress of situation helping him forget about how much pain he was in.
Tommy had the idea, looking towards the shorter woman.
“GIVE ME YOUR MACHETE, YOU USE YOUR GUN! I GOTTA— I GOTTA PRY IT OPEN!”
There was not a moment’s hesitation as she handed the weapon over, Tommy immediately working on prying the grate open, pushing as hard as he possibly can, letting out a strained yell, until it popped up, letting out a gasp of relief.
“OKAY! OKAY—“ he smiled brightly, reaching up as he pushed it away, grabbing onto the edge and pulling himself up, scrambling onto the dirt and panting.
There wasn’t any time to rest, whipping around and reaching down towards Sapnap and Puffy, the gunshots so loud he couldn’t hear himself, grunting as Sapnap grasped hold of his hand beginning to pull himself up, just to slip and cry out in pain.
Looking down, Puffy dropped the gun, her hands moving to her stomach, a look of surprise on her face as red began to leak through her fingers.
“PUFFY!” Sapnap cried, about to get up and go to her, stopped as she screamed.
“GET UP THERE, SAPNAP, YOU IDIOT!” She yelled, choking on her blood, continuing to hold her stance, slipping slightly, “YOU— YOU KIDS ALWAYS FIRST—“
Looking past the dead, the mask was taunting her.
Forcing a smile on her face, she softened, “I— I always loved you, my duckling— I’m so sorry— I’m so sorry I failed you.”
She screamed out in pain as one of the dead dug it’s teeth into her shoulder, but she blocked them off, stopping them from getting near Sapnap and the exit, even as more practically dogpiled her.
A sacrifice that a mother had to make.
Sapnap scrambled up to his feet once again, latching onto Tommy’s hands and climbing up, letting himself be pulled to the surface, his eyes bulging as he looked down, sobbing.
“PUFFY! PUFFY PLEASE—“ his voice broke, sobbing harder as her screams fell silent, watching from above as the water turned red.
There was no time to mourn.
Sapnap picked up Tommy and began to leg it, as if he hadn’t just had a chunk of his ankle bitten into, that neither of them smelt like dogshit and that they hadn’t just lost someone.
Tommy didn’t know how to feel as he looked to his shaky hands.
It should of been him...
It should of been him.
Fluttering his eyelashes, he slowly came to, a low groan escaping his throat, coughing so hard he rolled over, snatching up the bowl beside him, puking his guts out into it, scrunching his face up in disgust.
Glancing up, he froze, not recognising where he was.
It was a clean looking room, the sheets he laid in white with a floral pattern, a soft navy blue, sort of stained, carpet covering the floor.
It was like a normal looking bedroom, except it felt like he had somehow travelled back in time.
Looking down at himself, he could confirm that no, he hadn’t time travelled. He was still himself, staring at his bandaged hand.
Wilbur didn’t waste a second, remembering what had happened, throwing the covers off of himself and rushing to the window opposite his bed, tearing open the curtains and looking outside.
His breath hitched at the sight of children playing hop scotch outside, narrowing his eyes in confusion as someone riding a horse passed them, the children cheering happily.
Scanning the outside world, everything looked... Normal. A bit old, sure, but it all seemed so normal, as if they weren’t in a zombie apocalypse.
He tried to look around, for anything, practically turning the whole room over, until he spotted the piece of paper on the bedside table, stalling.
Quickly, he snatched it up, reading the only four words on the page.
‘Welcome to the Badlands.’