Chapter Text
Taako doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to the smell of death.
Rotting flesh is not something that the nose can just ignore, even when it has been three years, he thinks. He remembers being a teenager and reading somewhere that death is the worst and most distinct smell ever, and not necessarily believing it or noting it. After all, teenage Taako wasn’t going to go into any career that involved being around dead bodies.
But now, a few years after the end of the world, Taako can’t avoid them.
He has his twelve-centimeter blade in his left hand and cuts through the walkers easily as he strides forward. In his right hand he holds a compass, helping him keep on track to the community he’s trying to get to. The herd is about a half mile behind him, maybe less, but straggler walkers are all around and it’s all he can do not to panic and try to run to the gates once he sees the large structure of Phandalin Community emerge in the distance. He stops himself because he knows he’d attract even more walker attention if he tried running, and he wouldn’t be able to defend himself as well as he can going slower.
Above even that, he’s never been a fantastic runner. And even with three years of defense against walkers (solo edition!), he’s not the most athletically capable.
He sweeps under the legs of a walker and smashes its head in with the heel of his boot, the brains splattering on the sidewalk as he approaches the gate. Phandalin itself isn’t the most notable community he’s ever seen. It’s actually quite small, in Taako’s opinion, but it’s not like he’s going to turn up his nose at shelter, especially when the herd is so close and he’s out of options. Taako doesn’t usually like to stay at communities, either - relying on other people for supplies and such is not his thing. Him being a solo scavenger intimidates people and causes them to not trust him, but he’s not a bad person. He’s decent, and moral - as moral as one can be the way the world is now.
The Phandalin gates are made out of scrap metal welded together - some hoods of cars, metal doors, the tops of old garbage containers. As aforementioned, it’s kind of shabby, and kind of small. It’s known among people in this area of the Faerun that Phandalin is a settlement of about twenty to fifty people, depending on the season - during the summer, people are much less likely to rely on communities because the weather is tolerable for travel. Also, not only to Taako but to most people, travel is much less dangerous than staying in one place in a community like sitting ducks. But during the harsh winter, not many dare to travel, especially while not in a group. Even Taako, who prefers to be on his own and constantly moving around, knows that during a snowstorm, it’s futile to try to keep moving.
When Taako approaches the front gate of Phandalin, the watchguard, a large, gruff half-elf, peers at him from the top, before shouting down: “There’s about 10 walkers near ya, think you can kill them? We can’t open the gate unless there’s no chance they’ll get in.” Taako’s slightly irritated because he knows that he can slip in the gate without letting any walkers in, but he obliges anyway, knowing that to argue would most likely mean being left outside for the herd to get him. And while it’s the cold and the walkers are moving much slower than they usually do in the warmth, Taako doesn’t think he’d stand a chance in the thick of thousands of zombies, and if he’s being honest, he doesn’t want to stay and find out.
So he kills the walkers around him. Like the watchman said, there’s about ten around him. He’s kind of perfected the art of killing walkers silently and quickly, if he does say so himself, and it’s a process made easy by the cold weather, too. The brains of the walker need to be destroyed to truly kill it, so Taako’s method is simply sweeping the walker to the ground and inserting his knife quickly into the face. He does it fast and monotonously. He hasn’t made it this far and this many years by himself for being bad at killing walkers.
Once he’s done with the nine walkers around him, he wipes the blood from his knife and hands onto his filthy jeans. Then, he approaches the gate entrance, still staring up at the watchman for approval. He gets a nod from the half-elf watchman, and the gate makes a creaky unlocking sound, followed by someone from the inside pushing it forward, making a small gap for Taako to slide into. He does, and feels relieved as the gate locks behind him, a young tiefling woman nodding at him in recognition. He’s not sure of her name. He’s only stayed at the Phandalin community twice and doesn’t really know anyone well enough to consider them anything more than acquaintances, but he nods back, grateful to be in some sort of protection from the herd.
He’s about to head to the community bar, which is the building he remembers to be the warmest in this facility, when he hears a loud scream from one of the apartment complexes that echoes through the entire commune. It’s loud and human and rocks Taako to his very core. An air of unease falls upon him and his first instinct is to leave the commune just as soon as he got inside, but he also knows that that would be the worst thing to do right now, seeing as how the herd is even closer to the community and will be rattling against the walls in no time. Instead, he follows what seems to be everyone else in the entire commune to go to the scream, joining the crowd as they all try to figure out what had caused such a noise. When Taako sees what has happened, he gasps, and the urge to get out of the commune intensifies.
Outside the apartment building, there are clotheslines - some as tall as 10 or 15 ft, with accompanying ladders. They were built out of necessity, and all of the citizens of Phandalin can use them. However, there is something different and unsettling about these clotheslines. There’s a small girl, looking to be around thirteen years old, hanging dead from one of the tallest ones. She looks to have hung herself. The worst thing about the picture, though, is that she has turned already - and Taako knows from experience that turning to become a walker usually happens about a half hour to an hour after death. Her lifeless body is newly zombified. Her skin, which Taako can tell is usually a brownish color, has turned a bluish green in both suffocation and death, and her eyes are as black as oblivion. She seems to be struggling within the noose, wiggling and growling, small walker noises escaping from her throat, red raw and bruised from the rope. Taako can’t look at her directly for too long because the image makes him not only feel sick, but also incredibly depressed.
Why did this girl take her life - and so young, too? Did she feel the way Taako feels occasionally, like there is no future to really look forward to?
Although Taako can’t look at her directly for too long, feeling that the little girl is too disparaging of an image, what’s worse is what looks to be her family crowding around on the ground a little below and next to her. A middle aged woman is crying out in anguish, and Taako knows in his heart that the blood-curdling scream came from her, and it’s a reaction that can only be of a mother. Two young men are also next to the girl, both seeming to be in their twenties. One of them, the older-looking one, is standing solemnly, his head bowed as some people try to talk to him and offer their condolences, while the other, younger-looking one is on his knees, his head touching the pavement, a few feet from the girl. All three family members seem to be crying, and Taako can feel the tragedy and helplessness radiating off of them as he backs away from the situation.
Of course, if Taako knew the family, maybe he’d try to go and comfort them. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t live in Phandalin and only just got to the compound a few minutes prior. He doesn’t want to intrude, or act like he knows the situation - he can merely guess what’s going on. He’s about to turn his back on them all and try to head back to the bar area to warm up when he hears a gunshot ring out, loud and sharp. He turns quickly on his heel and, to his horror, sees that the little girl is now limply hanging from the clothesline, a clean, bloody hole through her skull.
He’s not horrified at the fact that they killed the little girl. After all, that walker hanging from the noose was no longer that girl that they had once known, and he knows that he himself would not want to live on as a walker, really - everyone deserves the dignity to actually die when they die, not just turn. No, he isn’t horrified at the girl dying. He’s only really appalled at the use of a gun.
As soon as that gunshot rings out, that loud noise echoes for a mile around outside the complex, and with them being so close to the herd, Taako's mind races with panic that the herd will somehow be able to breach the walls and capture the compound. But that’s unrealistic, he thinks to himself, trying to calm down. Phandalin is reinforced, and advertised as a safe community and compound for waiting out the herd. There wouldn’t be any dangers to that, and even if it is idiotic to use a gun while there’s an imminent herd, there’s no actual danger looming, Taako thinks, and he knows that he can feel comfortable and safe while he’s here.
At least that’s what he thinks until he hears the second scream of the afternoon.
It’s coming from a few yards away from him, at the edge of the crowd that has formed around the dead girl hanging. He sees as he whips his head over to the scream that a walker has bit into the shoulder of the woman that greeted him at the gate with a nod, and chaos breaks out in the thick of both citizens of Phandalin along with walkers. There’s a swarm of dozens of walkers around the group now, and Taako immediately draws his knife and wand, his eyes darting around the compound to look for high, safe spots. He knows in his mind without having to check that there’s been a breach in the walls. “Shabby but safe” was never really safe at all, he thinks, and reminds himself that it’s always safer and better to keep on the run than to stay in compounds and trust other people. He sees that the highest building is a church, and sets to go to the belfry, but while he’s on his way (easily sweeping and stabbing two walkers as he strides towards the church), his heart pangs as he remembers the family that has just lost their little girl.
He glances back at the scene, and while he doesn’t really want to get involved in trying to “save” someone, he thinks that those family members, once the thick of people are out of the way and running somewhere else to survive, are doubtful going to run themselves. They’re too stricken with grief to move, and these thoughts are confirmed as he sees that the young man he saw before on his knees has not moved, or even seemed to have taken note that there has been an influx of walkers. Frustrated at himself for giving into emotional urges, he wades through the group and takes the man by the arm, tugging him to his feet and dragging him along with himself as he makes way for the belfry again.
“Hey, wait, what are you-” the man stutters out, seemingly shocked and displeased to be moved out of his grieving position.
Taako doesn’t answer - he’s not sure what exact he’d respond with. He knows in his heart that the man is probably expecting Taako to go back and try to “save” the rest of his family - presumably his mom and brother - but Taako isn’t going back to that battle area at least for a day, seeing as the thick of the herd seems to be flooding in the crack in the walls now and Taako is relieved as they get to the door of the church and make it inside. He locks the door behind them and begins to climb the stairs, letting go of the man’s arm finally as he starts the flights. He thinks there’s probably about 3 flights to climb, which isn’t necessarily as high up as he’d like, but regardless, no walker is going to be able to climb 3 flights of stairs up to the belfry.
It takes Taako half of a flight of stairs to look back and realize that the man isn’t actually following him up the stairs. He sighs, and in his mind is already scolding himself for going back for the guy, but goes back to the church’s front door where he finds the man slumped against the wall, once again crying, his knees to his chest.
So, yeah. Taako’s not necessarily a softie. Even before the apocalypse started. But that doesn’t mean that he’s not compassionate. “Hey, I’m sorry, about the girl and all. And your family. I wouldn’t have separated you from them unless I thought that it would be safer for someone to come with me. But I’m sure your family will be fine,” Taako lies, and it comes out smoothly through his teeth. He’s not sure how convincing he sounds, considering he rarely has any emotional interaction with people. The most interaction he has on a weekly basis is buying or trading for batteries or bullets, and the trader he usually works with is an asshole.
The man doesn’t respond to him, but he stops sobbing, which is relieving to Taako. He’s not sure how to deal with people crying. He really is not equipped for that. For the first time, Taako can actually see the man’s face in detail, and he studies it while the man seems to get his bearings. It’s a good face, Taako thinks. His skin is a medium brown - resembling the dead girl in complexion, except for the splotchiness that Taako supposes is coming along with his grief, and he’s got freckles dancing upon his face. His hair is red and untamed, a beard and sideburns messily outlining his features. The man’s eyes are a dark brown, eyes that are currently red-ringed and watery, and his face is unique in shape, with a hooked, broken nose.
Taako is jerked out of his study when the door that the man is slumped against receives a thump from the opposite side, and the telltale growling and gurgling of a dead man, or what he supposes to be many dead men, against the door, attempting to knock it down so they can get in. He feels awkward and out of place telling the man to get over himself and his dead family members (and about-to-be-dead family members) so that they can save themselves, but he supposes if he’s a dick in order to save lives, then it’s okay to be a dick. “Okay, we have to go now, sorry.”
He’s not sure if the man would actually come with him willingly, and they don’t seem to have much time before the old church door and lock give in to the hundreds of walkers flooding into Phandalin, so he once again grabs the man by his arm and tugs him along as Taako begins for the second him his ascension to the belfry. There’s three flights of stairs and the first is the most difficult because the guy is basically dead weight. Sure, Taako’s basically a master-zombie-killer, but like he clarified before, he’s not an athlete of any kind, his frame not even close to being muscular. So supporting a seemingly grown man through a flight of stairs is not exactly his cup of tea. Eventually, though, as the second flight comes around, the man seems to support himself and walks along with Taako to climb up the stairs. When they get to the top, safely in the belfry at the highest point in the city, Taako is relieved. He sits down criss-cross and isn’t surprised in the slightest when the man slumps next to him.
Although he knows and remembers from years ago what’s socially acceptable, that in this situation that would mean comforting the man again and attempting to know him more, but what Taako needs to assess right now has almost nothing to do with the man. He needs to know how long they can stay in the belfry safely, and that depends on what he’s got in his pack. He wasn’t planning on packing extra supplies and only packed enough at the last compound to last him until he got to Phandalin, but there was not much time once he arrived here until he had to escape to the top of the church tower, so he’s anxious that there isn’t much - and for good reason.
As he spills out his pack onto the rough wood in front of him, there really isn’t too much there in terms of food and water, which is what they need if they want to stay safely on the belfry for a while. He’s got two energy bars, which he usually eats as breakfast or a snack in between meals. He has his reusable water bottle, which has about 400 milliliters of water in it, which he is grateful for. Then there’s the things that he always has with him- his mini first aid kit, which includes gauze, bandages, a small package of painkillers, and neosporin; his Walkman CD player, along with his 7 CDs that he has collected over 3 years, with earbuds to listen; his extra clothes, and his weapons, which include his twenty-centimeter knife, his twelve-centimeter knife, along with a handgun, a small pistol. Tucked next to them is his wand, worn from time but still usable. In a small box, he also has some batteries - some dead, some not - along with bullets. He hasn’t been paying much attention to the man’s reactions to any of the items, but he sees out of the corner of his eye that his eyes widen when he sees the handgun. He raises an eyebrow at the man in front of him. “What, never seen a gun?”
The man in front of him glances downwards, and then again up at Taako’s face. “I have. Never used one, is all.”
While Taako shouldn’t be surprised, because he knows that a lot of people have spent the entirety of the apocalypse within a compound, never needing to defend themselves, he still holds the fact that the man in front of him has never used a gun in disbelief. He’s got to be at least twenty years old, an older young adult, but has never used a firearm.
Taako realizes probably later than he should have that the man doesn’t know his name, and he doesn’t know the man’s name, and he has been looking over his items in silence trying to determine how much they would need to ration to wait out the herd, rather than have basic human interaction with the person he knows he’s going to have to spend probably the next couple days with. “I forgot to say, but my name is Taako. And you are…?”
When he looks up from his pack, he sees that the man is dangling his legs over the side of the belfry, and he’s looking over the town. The view from the church, the highest point, gives the man and Taako clear vision over the entire compound, and he can clearly see that his eyes are connected with the small, lifeless girl still attached by the neck to the clothesline only a few buildings away. “My name’s Magnus Burnsides. That girl... her name is Rose and she is my sister.”
Taako’s chest steels and although he guessed that the man - Magnus - would be the dead girl’s brother, the trembling in his voice is cutting to his heart and he doesn’t like the feeling. He tries to shake it off as he divides 400 ml into what they will be drinking for the next two days in his head. While he wants to ignore the situation, though, Magnus seems to have different ideas, and continues to talk, as he stares down to the town below. As Taako glances down too, he sees that the streets of the once safe compound are now filled, packed entirely with walkers.
“Her name is Rose and she is twelve years old. She’s been with me ever since the world ended. She likes - she liked music, and she had a music player too, except hers was a boombox, not a Walkman. She liked to braid her hair and others’ hair, even mine,” Magnus gets out, before his voice falters and he pauses for a moment. Although he wants nothing more than to put in his earbuds so he can escape the emotion of the conversation, Taako listens on. “She was pure and everything in this goddamn world is so dirty now. Everything’s going to shit.”
Something about the conviction in Magnus’s voice and the way that the words are clearly coming from the heart strikes Taako to his core. He doesn’t have much interaction with people. He can’t remember the last time that he has had an emotional conversation with someone. It must have been before the outbreak. He reaches out and touches Magnus’s shoulder lightly, and Magnus’s eyes shift from where he’s been looking - at the body of the hanging girl - to Taako’s face. Their eyes lock.
Taako’s not entirely sure what to do. He knows in his heart that there’s nothing he can do. Magnus may not realize it, but the rest of his family is most likely being torn to shreds down in the compound. There is very little chance that anyone got out alive. If most are like Magnus, untrained people who live out their lives in compounds with walls surrounding them, then they wouldn’t have the same quick reaction as Taako. They’d panic, or they would stay grieving, just like Magnus did before Taako grabbed him.
Taako doesn’t say anything because he doesn’t want to fuck anything up, just looks into Magnus’s eyes and hopes that he feels some sort of comfort. Without warning, Magnus leans forward and hugs Taako tightly, his arms fitting reflexively around Taako’s shoulders. Taako is taken aback.
He hasn’t had a hug in 3 years.
After a few quick seconds, Taako’s arms wrap around Magnus’s waist and he hugs him back. There’s a sort of squeeze from Magnus, and Taako relishes in the warmth and closeness for a moment before he’s pulling away. When he does, he realizes that Magnus isn’t pulling away and is in the same position, clinging to Taako. Biting his lip as he does, Taako softly separates himself from him, and when he does, realizes that his shoulder is warm and wet with tears. Magnus’s pretty eyes are red-rimmed again, and tear tracks separate the dust and grime on his face.
“I’m sorry,” Taako manages, and Magnus nods, and they go back to their previous states: Taako sorting out his possessions, and Magnus dangling his legs off of the belfry, his eyes watching over both the lifeless little girl, her forehead covered in blood, as well as the hundreds of walkers swarming the compound.
After a little while, though, Taako realizes that one of the things he might have overlooked while choosing this as their hideout is weather. It’s fucking freezing, and it’s even colder at the top of the church tower. While they have the safest place in the compound to hide from zombies, they have the worst place temperature-wise. I don’t think I’m as accurate as a thermometer, Taako reckons, but it must be about negative ten degrees. He’s not wearing the most thermodynamic thing possible, but he’s just wearing what he’s been wearing for at least a year; his dark jeans, a black “I heart Faerun” shirt that he’d found in an abandoned grocery store, and his Doc Marten boots that he’s had for too long to remember. He pulls his jacket out of his backpack to shrug on (it’s rather big on him - a collared zip jacket with wool lining, but he feels at home in it), and feels a little better, but then remembers that Magnus’s there too, and wonders if he’s feeling cold.
Right now they’re fairly north within Faerun, and it’s colder weather than what Taako is used to- but Magnus doesn’t look bothered. He’s wearing a long sleeved shirt, and Taako reckons that’s good enough. Taako’s mind trails lazily to where he might go to find a new shirt, because this one is getting worn down too quickly and it’s got a hole in the shoulder, when he realizes that Magnus is standing up. Magnus’s entirely up and still gazing at the girl when Taako reaches for his knife.
Magnus steps towards the edge of the belfry, and Taako grabs his body, pulling him back and drawing his knife to the man’s throat. Like Taako expects, he struggles, trying to release himself from Taako’s grasp, but Taako has an iron grip and with the twelve-centimeter blade to his throat, Magnus’s not trying anything. “What - the - fuck,” he makes out, but Taako just tightens his grip even more and they step back from the edge of the belfry.
He’s not entirely sure what compels him to try this hard to keep Magnus from stepping off. There’s something about the way that Magnus’s eyes and crooked nose make him feel. It’s nothing personal. He doesn’t know much about him at all - basically, what he knows is that Magnus thinks the world is shit, and he’s sad because his sister died. But that isn’t a good enough reason to become a walker. “You can’t waste your life when the entire world has been robbed of theirs. It’s not fair. To anyone,” Taako spits. “You don’t get to do that.”
“My entire family is going to be dead or walkers if I don’t go and try to help them. My little sister just died. You have no idea how I feel, so shut the fuck up about fair. How about you don’t get to regulate my actions?” Magnus quips right back, but his body is not as tense in Taako’s grasp as it was before. He’s relaxing slightly. Taako doesn’t move the blade. “How about that?”
“And what, you think my family’s alive?” Silence. “Everyone dies, Magnus. Everyone I once knew? Dead. My entire hometown is wiped out. Nobody’s alive - not my family, not my friends, not even my fucking twin sister. I don’t care what you think about me not letting you leave this belfry. You will die if you go.” Magnus’s eyebrows furrow and Taako can tell he’s processing his words. “I’m not a fucking saint. I don’t make friends with people. But I’ll be fucking damned if you jump off this belfry to your death. The world has enough walkers. I’m not letting you add to them.”
Taako slumps to his knees, taking Magnus down with him, and they inch away from the side of the building. The silence and tension is thick but Taako has no intention to try to dissipate it. He’s exhausted from the amount of interaction he’s had with Magnus - emotional interaction, no less - and the amount of dialogue between them, but still, he’s sitting on the ground with Magnus in front of him, the knife still at Magnus’s throat. He doesn’t trust Magnus. The belfry is small, only about 10 square ft, and he’s unsure that if he took the blade off, that Magnus wouldn’t just get up and leave.
Silently, he wonders why he cares so much whether Magnus is going to die or not.
Like, sure. It’s not good for people to die. He thinks Magnus’s a decent person from what he’s seen. There’s endless amounts of walkers and Magnus becoming one doesn’t help him in any way. But something creeping up in Taako’s chest tells him it’s not just about him ensuring his own safety. It’s something else, and he pushes the thought and feeling away like a slow, legless walker.
The adrenaline is starting to wear off, and even though it’s morbid, he’s glad that Magnus’s body is pressed up against his own for warmth. The sun is setting and it’s going to be dark soon, meaning that it’s even colder than it was when they first got to the top of the belfry.
As time inches by and the sky fills with colors, Taako watches it and tries to focus on this instead of the cold, or the awkwardness, or the little dead girl. Magnus actually slumps against him, exhausted and shivering, and Taako thinks for once maybe it’s okay not to be alone.
Late at night, when Taako thinks Magnus is asleep, he hears him talk, his voice rough and scratchy. "Can I come with you? When you leave?"
Thinking for a moment, Taako wonders how much of a liability Magnus will be. He is naturally brawny and large, but has no idea how to use a gun, and is stricken with grief for his family. He seems to be a big softie. Everything in him that is logical tells him to say no, to tell Magnus to find another community to settle down in. But there's a part of his heart that rejects that, the part of him that knows Magnus has been watching his dead sister's body swing back and forth with the winter wind for the past few hours. He exhales the tension in his shoulders, and allows himself to say, "Yes."