Chapter Text
Dave looked out the window and sighed. He was tired of being pent up in their apartment. Since the beginning of the Outbreak three weeks ago, October 24th (though some would argue it actually started on August 5th), he’d left a total of twice. Both on supply runs that he had begged Dirk and Hal to let him tag along on.
He was completely tired of sitting in the apartment with nothing to do.
Dean, Dave’s brother, however, didn’t mind as much. Not that he didn’t mind, he did, but he wasn’t exactly itching to get back out into the world. He was a little more okay with not having to do much, but to be fair, he also had a shit knee, so being able to stay off of it for long periods of time was nice.
“Deaaaan” Dave groaned, flopping back onto his bed. “Dean.”
Dean sighed and looked over to his brother. “What, Dave?”
“Don’t you get tired of being in the house?”
“No, not particularly.”
Dave sat up and leaned at Dean. “We should sneak out. Leave this place behind. We can go find our sisters or something.”
Dean crossed his brows. “Oh yeah? When? And with what plan?”
Dave splayed his arms. “Tonight! I don’t have a solid plan, but I know that you do! You’re the idea guy. You know exactly what this is gonna take and I know it.”
Dean thought for a moment. “Yeah, you’re right. I do know roughly what it would take. It’s possible, but we’d need weapons, and food. We can’t take that from our supply here. We’d be leaving everyone else weak.”
Dave beamed. “Yes! Yes , dude! Let’s go! Okay, so, tonight, we can climb out the window, through the outdoor fire escape. Then we’re home free!” He began walking around his room, packing up a backpack.
Dean did the same, although slower. “Yeah, alright, you’re in charge of resources, I’ll be in charge of food and weapons.”
Dave simply giggled in response.
Smoke rose from the barrel of the handgun in Kanaya’s grip, her mother’s body laying on the ground in front of her. Red hair, now clotting with blood and carpet, strewn about everywhere, hiding her face. The face that Kanaya had inherited.
Kanaya pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, and wrapped her arm around her stomach.
She felt like she was going to heave. It smelled like rot already. She stepped around the fresh body of her mother and into the hallway, where she stepped over the slightly less fresh body of her older sister.
She didn’t bother being careful with the bathroom door, she could practically hear her mother telling her to go easy on it from across the house.
With how small the bathroom is, it didn’t take long for Kanaya’s face to be buried in the toilet bowl, the contents of her bowels emptying with sickening gags and whimpers.
God, who knew watching your mother tear out your sister's throat and entrails, her going for you next, then you shooting your aforementioned mother in the throat for your own survival was as stomach wrenching as it was.
So there Kanaya sat, next to her toilet, the smell of death beginning to seep into the air, and the smell of blood infecting the house, sticking to every surface.
She didn’t even care when she heard her front door get thrown open, and the two pairs of footsteps running towards her.
She didn’t care as her vision blurred and the forms of two people she may or may not know tried talking to her, she didn’t even care that she couldn’t understand what they were trying to tell her.
The next time Kanaya opened her eyes (she didn’t even realize they were closed in the first place), she was being carried on the back of her friend. She tapped his chest, signaling to be put down.
“Karkat, should I put her down? She’s askin’,” His voice, full of its usual gravel from his torn and burnt throat, was hushed, as if he was trying to be sure no one (or nothing) heard him.
Kanaya heard Karkat hum. Oh. That’s who came to get her in the bathroom. She figured. He did live in the apartment right next to her, it made sense.
“Kanaya? Are you awake? How lucid are you right now?” she felt a hand touch her back for only a second.
Kanaya groaned. “Karkat? Gamzee?” She looked around, her vision still a little bleary. “Where are we?”
Karkat sighed. “Oh thank fuck. We’re headed to Terezi’s, we gotta go, the whole town is covered in diseased psychopaths, stay quiet, we don’t have anything that would save us.”
Kanaya thought for a moment. “My moms gun? Do you not you have it?”
Karkat held his breath. “No, we don’t, we dropped it, it ran out of bullets and it wouldn’t help us in the long run if we kept it.”
Kanaya nodded.
Gamzee shifted his grip on Kanaya. “Hey guys, we should get movin’ again. I’m seein’ shit down the street,”
Karkat nodded. “Kanaya, can you walk? It was hard enough trying to run while Gamzee had you on his back, I’d rather not do that again. This idiot almost dropped you like four times.”
Gamzee grumbled. “It was once, motherfucker.”
Kanaya nodded, and stepped down, stumbled for a second, then caught her balance. This was not as elegant as she’d hoped. Some part of her really hoped that she’d enter the apocalypse an elegant heartthrob, and eventually go out saving her team in a fire of loyalty and badassery,
But no. Kanaya entered the apocalypse vomiting into her toilet bowl so hard that she blacked out, and would probably die doing something lame, like jumping a fence and breaking her neck.
“Kanaya?” Karkat’s voice snapped her back “Kanaya, are we going the right way? You’re the only one that’s been to Equius’ house. Other than Nepeta, but she’s currently at his house.”
“Sorry,” Kanaya took a look around. “Yeah, we’re going the right way. Can’t you just text Nepeta and ask her for the address?”
“Already tried that,” Terezi spoke up. Oh. She was with them now. Cool. Kanaya must’ve spaced out for way longer than she thought. “It wouldn’t send, the cell towers are down.”
“Oh.” Kanaya bit her lip.
“It’s fine, but you’re our GPS for now, you’re the only one who knows where everyone lives.” Karkat looked back at her, and shot her a small smile.
Kanaya smiled back, then her face dropped. “Wait! What about Vriska, where is she?” She looked around frantically.
Terezi hissed air through her teeth. “We . . . couldn’t find her.”
“I'm sorry, Kanaya,” Karkat lagged back a second to put his hand on Kanaya’s shoulder. “We tried, but nothing came up,”
Gamzee looked back. “Vriska is on vacation in Florida, She left yesterday,”
Terezi, Karkat and Kanaya all shot their glances at Gamzee.
“I’m sorry she’s what” Karkat growled.
“Yeah man, she’s in Florida.” He continued his usual dopey smile.
Karkat groaned. “And you still let us search for her for half an hour!?” He slapped Gamzee on the back of the head.
Kanya chuckled. It was relieving to see something normal.
Gamzee shrugged, then looked away. Terezi starting laughing, small breaks in between breaths talking about how funny that all was, and then a single serious note about how worried she was for Vriska.
Kanaya sighed.
At least they were all alive. Hopefully.
Dave stood on the metal frame of the outer fire escape, holding both his and Dean’s bags, as Dean struggled out of the window.
“C’mon man, hurry up, Dirk’s gotta get up and take his midnight piss in like, five minutes and we gotta be gone by then!” Dave whisper-yelled, trying not to tap his foot.
Dean groaned, and bounced out of the window, slamming into Dave, almost knocking him over. “umph” He steadied himself. “Yeah, yeah, okay, let’s go.” he dusted himself off.
Dave raised his hand for a high-five. Dean ignored him and walked right past, down the steps. Dave frowned and followed after, grumbling.
Dean pressed his back against the wall. Dave walked up behind him, no amount of stealth.
“Dude, what are you doing? There is nothing here-” Dave stopped as he was pulled back against the wall.
“Shh! There is one of those . . . things . . . literally right there!” Dean whisper-yelled, using his entire arm to gesture at the diseased former-person, its skin gargling with abrasions and welts, the veins huge and pulsating, flesh grown over its eyes, and beginning to form and solidify around the mouth. Its hair was patchy, and clearly falling out. God, the thing looked like it was melting.
Dave shivered, he hadn’t seen one this close before. That shit was terrifying, and disgusting. He started at its hunched back as it shoved chunks of something into its mouth, the hands clearly covered in blood.
He stepped back a bit, trying to regain his composure, and slipped on a rock, falling to his ass.
It turned around. Its eyes couldn’t see, but Dean could see its eyes moving underneath the layers of flesh.
He thought they were safe for a moment, but it soon began walking in their direction.
Dave panicked, he pulled himself up, stumbling on the rubble and slipping a few times. He screamed, and ran.
It ran after him.
Dave didn’t pay attention as Dean called out to him, following as fast as he could.
All Dave could focus on was getting the fuck away from that fucking thing.
Dave looked back only once, to see Dean trip over an exposed pipe. He stopped and stood, staring in horror as the Thing reared itself to jump at his brother.
Then a gunshot fired, and the Thing collapsed, inches away from Dean, sitting there, hyperventilating in fear.
Dave ran up to Dean, grasping at his brother.
“Are you okay? Are- Are you hurt did, did it get you? Are you bit? Are . . . Are you okay?” Dave tried his best not to start crying, but he felt his vocal chords quiver in places.
Dean tried to steady his breathing, not answering.
“Sorry for taking so long,” Hushed voice, a younger kid stepped out cautiously from behind a dumpster.
Dean still didn’t say anything.
Dave took his place in jumping to a scolding tone. “Dakota? What the hell are you doing out here? You’re like 12, you can’t be outside, it’s not safe!”
Dakota, the younger sibling of Dave and Dean, furrowed their brow, pouting. “I’m 15! And I’m tired of you babying me! I can take care of myself, I’ll be fine, AND I just saved Dean’s life! He was about to die!”
Dave loosened up. “Okay, okay, yeah, you saved Dean, but where did you even get the gun? And how’d you get out?”
Dakota smiled and walked up to her brothers. “I took it from the Walmart on Bonner. Glass isn’t hard to break, and the alarms were broken.”
Dave shook his head. “Alright, Dakota, fine. You’re already out, there’s no point in sending you back.”
Daan sighed and his breathing slowed. “Yeah, yeah, I uh- thanks. For the save. Let’s just . . go . .”
Dave helped Dean to his feet while Dakota whooped.
The three started their path northeast, towards where they thought New York was.
It had been five hours since they had their close-to-death encounter, and Dean felt like he was ready to collapse.
He was not fit for this amount of exercise. Sure, they had stopped for a break here and there, Dave and Dakota knew that Dean had a weak leg, but it never seemed to be long enough. They could stop for a whole half hour and he’d still be losing his mind, tired of walking.
Despite his constant complaints to himself, he showed no signs of just how tired he was. No matter how tired, no matter how shell-shocked, no matter how hurt he was, he wasn’t going to fess up to any of it. Not to Dave, not to Dakota, not to anyone.
Maybe that would be his downfall, but it didn’t matter. He was the oldest, he had two people that looked up to him, of varying degrees, following him. He was the leader for now, and leaders don’t show weakness, for the better of the team. Because if he’s the leader, and he’s weak, what does that mean for the people that he’s leading? It makes them even weaker. And he can’t leave them weak.
“Deeaaaan” Dakota snapped him out of his own head, whining. “Can we stop walking and rest, I'm sleepy” they yawned halfway through speaking.
“Yeah man, we should rest. You look pretty tired yourself. We should set up camp here and chill for the day. We need a break.” Dave put a hand on Dakota’s shoulder, the two standing still.
“We can’t stop yet. We have roughly 28 days left of travel until we’re in New York, I don’t want to make our travel longer than it needs to be.” Dean turned around and adjusted his grip on the shotgun. He had taken it from Dakota, a 15 year old should not have a gun.
Dave sighed. “C’mon man, you’ve got circles bigger than a racoon. We should rest, maybe sleep a little. The sun’ll be up in like, an hour. It’ll be impossible to sleep then.”
“No. Because then we’ll have no one to keep watch, and we’ll be vulnerable.” Dean tried to put his foot down.
Dave smiled small. “I’ll keep watch. I’ve been resting as we walk. You and Dakota get some rest, then I'll sleep later.”
Dean sighed. And gave in. “Yeah, fine.” It didn’t matter. He was exhausted anyway, he did need this. He handed the shotgun to Dave, and went over to where Dakota was to set up his bedroll. Some sleep would be nice, actually.