Chapter Text
3 months after initial outbreak
“Mom, I found more berries!”
Virgil looked up to see his eight-year-old brother holding out a handful of dark purple berries with a wide grin stretched across his face.
“Thomas, put those down!” their mother Emma cried, rushing over to Thomas’s side. “Those are pokeweed berries, honey, you can’t eat those. They’ll make you very very sick if you eat them, okay?”
“Oh…okay. Sorry.”
Thomas’s lip wobbled a little, and Emma smiled, smoothing back Thomas’s hair.
“It’s okay, sweetie, you didn’t know. They’re very pretty berries, aren’t they?”
“Uh huh,” Thomas agreed, nodding. “That’s why I thought they were fine to eat.”
“There’s lots of things in the woods that look pretty, but not all of them are safe, okay? Pokeweed berries are never fine to eat, they make you really sick. Do you understand?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Good boy.” Emma smiled, and pointed over his shoulder. “Now, see those white flowers behind you?”
“Uh huh.”
“Those are Queen Anne’s lace flowers. And their roots are actually wild carrots! Why don’t you go over and dig some up for us, okay?”
Thomas nodded eagerly and skipped over to the patch of flowers. Emma sighed in relief, and sat back on her heels, smiling fondly as she watched her son.
“I thought pokeweed was okay sometimes?” Virgil asked, coming up behind her, causing her to jump a little.
“Virgil! You startled me, who taught you to move so quietly?”
Virgil grinned.
“You did. When you insisted you take me paintballing for my sixteenth birthday.”
“Fair’s fair,” Emma laughed. “What did you ask me just now?”
“Pokeweed,” Virgil repeated. “I thought you could eat it sometimes?”
“Ah, I see,” she said. “Well, that’s true, but never the berries, or the roots. You can eat the leaves sometimes, but only if the plant is young. If you see the berries start to form, even if they’re still green, you shouldn’t even try. And you should boil the leaves first too. If you’re not careful, you could get vomiting or diarrhea…and that’s something we want to avoid when we’re fighting for our lives, isn’t it?”
She said it in an upbeat tone, but the sombering nature of their reality couldn’t help but settle over Virgil’s shoulders anyway. He tugged the sleeves of his hoodie down over his hands, gripping the soft fabric tightly.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Emma said softly, and Virgil shrugged.
“S’not your fault. The whole world is kinda upsetting right now.”
It had been three months since the outbreak, three months since Virgil’s father had died and he’d been on the run with his mom and brother, trying to stay alive. Fortunately, Emma was an avid camper and lover of the outdoors, so the three of them had been able to avoid towns for the most part. Sure, staying away from civilization meant that they were living off of mostly foraged plants and birds eggs, and it’d been ages since Virgil had taken a real shower, but those were small prices to pay for being able to mostly avoid the terminals. They tended to be in larger groups closer to towns and cities, so sticking to the country meant fewer encounters with the deadly infected creatures.
People, Virgil thought grimly. They may be like monsters now, but they used to be people.
“I know it is, sweetheart,” his mother said, pulling him from his thoughts. “And it’s not fair, how fast you’ve had to grow up now.” Emma sighed, looking over to where Thomas was eagerly digging up roots for their supper. “You should be enjoying your summer, deciding on a college or a career…not this.”
Virgil shrugged.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do anyway.”
“I know that,” Emma said, giving him a sad smile. “But you had time to figure it out, to explore the world and decide what kind of man you’re going to become. Now that’s a luxury you don’t have anymore.”
Virgil looked down at his shoes, swallowing nervously. It wasn’t like his mom to be so openly melancholy; if anything, since they’d gone on the run she’d become even more upbeat and cheerful than usual. He had a feeling that she was trying to keep a brave face up for him and Thomas, but just because he knew it was partly an act didn’t mean he didn’t appreciate it. Some days he could almost pretend that this whole thing was just an extended summer camping trip, and then they’d go home and their dad would greet them at the door and they’d tell him all about it while sitting on the sofa in front of the TV.
That illusion shattered every time they came across a terminal.
“Virgil, listen to me,” Emma said, and there was an urgency to her voice that made Virgil look up. “Right now, the only thing we can be certain of, the only thing we can rely on, is each other. It’s my job to look out for the both of you, and it’s your job to look out for Thomas. Protecting him has to be the top priority, alright?”
“Yeah,” Virgil nodded, swallowing down the lump in his throat. “Yeah, I know, Mom. I…I won’t let anything happen to him.”
“Oh, honey, come here,” she said, and Virgil let her wrap her arms around him.
He felt exceptionally small in his mother’s embrace, but not the bad kind of small where he felt powerless and afraid. He felt safe, protected, shielded from all the horrors of the world. Her grip tightened, and Virgil realized with a start that she was trembling.
“Mom?”
“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered. “You’re so strong, and so brave. Thomas is lucky to have you for a big brother.”
Virgil didn’t feel strong most days, and he certainly didn’t feel brave. Most of the time he just felt scared; strength and bravery were attributes he’d be more likely to apply to his mother than himself. But the way she held onto him now, as though he’d disappear if she let go for one second made him realize that she was also scared. Scared for herself, but scared for him, too, and for Thomas; scared that she couldn’t keep them safe in this new world full of dangers.
Virgil may not have had much faith in himself, but he had faith in his mother. And she was putting her faith into him, and he’d be damned if he let her down.
“I won’t let anything happen to him, Mom,” he repeated, hugging her back tightly. “I promise.”
Virgil’s heart was pounding so heavily he was sure it was going to burst out of his chest. Wouldn’t that just be his luck, he’d escape being eaten by terminals only to fall over dead from a heart attack. His lungs were on fire, and his legs threatened to buckle underneath him more and more with every step. But then Thomas whimpered in his ear, burying his face deeper into Virgil’s neck, and Virgil took a deep breath. He adjusted his grip on Thomas’s legs and pressed forward, his mother’s instructions echoing in his ears and urging him onward.
The old cabin had seemed deserted enough, with no trace of the previous inhabitants anywhere, so they’d gotten a little too relaxed as they searched the building for supplies. But it turned out the area wasn’t as deserted as they thought, and the sound of his little brother screaming had brought Virgil barreling out of the bathroom and into the main room to see three terminals bearing down on his family. Virgil’s mother was gripping a tire iron like a baseball bat and standing between Thomas and the advancing creatures.
“Virgil,” she’d said in a low voice. “Take Thomas and get out of here, now.”
Virgil hadn’t wanted to leave her, but the look in her eyes had left no room for argument, so he’d scooped his brother up piggyback style and fled towards the back door, wincing as he heard his mother let out a primal roar, followed by a sickening *thwack*.
Virgil didn’t stop running until he stumbled back into the clearing where they’d made camp, collapsing to his knees and letting Thomas climb off his back. Every muscle in his body ached, and for a moment he just stayed on the ground, gasping as he fought to get his breath back.
“Virgil?” Thomas asked, voice wobbling, and Virgil looked up to meet his brother’s tear-filled eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Virgil gasped, managing to give his brother a small smile. “I’m…I’m okay…just…just catching my breath.”
“Is Mom okay?”
Virgil opened his mouth, then closed it again. Part of him wanted to lie, to promise that their mother would be just fine and would come and get them when the scary monsters were all gone. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it, and he met his brother’s gaze with a grim expression.
“I…I don’t know, Thomas.”
Thomas fell silent, and for a moment neither of them moved, Virgil still gulping down breaths of air, trying to get his wind back. Then, so suddenly that it made Virgil jump, Thomas crawled forward and nestled himself into Virgil’s lap, wrapping his arms around his middle and laying his head on Virgil’s chest.
“Your heart is beating really fast,” he said, and Virgil nodded, wrapping his arms around Thomas and drawing him closer.
“Yeah, it is, buddy,” he said quietly.
“You should count your breaths like Mom says to do. Okay?”
“Okay, yeah. That’s a good idea,” Virgil said, grateful for something that could distract them both. “How about we do it together? Remind me how it starts again?”
Thomas scrunched up his nose as he thought.
“You breathe in for four counts, right?”
“That’s right, good job. Let’s do that together, okay? In, two, three, four…”
Virgil led them through the rest of the breathing exercise over and over again until Thomas drifted off to sleep, exhausted by the stress of the day. Virgil wanted nothing more than to join him in a nap, but he couldn’t sleep now, he had to stay up and keep watch, to see if their mother…or anything else, would approach the camp.
He waited for what felt like hours, every sense straining for any sign that somebody was coming. Finally, just as the sun was starting to dip in the sky, he caught sight of someone slowly walking towards the campsite. His heart leapt as he recognized his mother’s silhouette, short but strong with hair pulled up into a high ponytail.
“Thomas?” he murmured, giving his brother a small shake. “Wake up, Mom’s here.”
“Hmm?” Thomas asked blearily, still half asleep.
“Mom is…” Virgil trailed off as he looked back towards where their mom was walking.
Something was wrong.
Oh no…oh god, no, not this, please not this…
“What about Mom?” Thomas asked again rubbing at his eyes.
Oh god, I can’t do this, I can’t deal with this, please…
Virgil’s grip tightened on Thomas, and he scrambled to his feet, backing away while keeping his eyes trained forward.
“Virgil, what’s–”
“Thomas, listen,” Virgil said urgently, setting his little brother down. “I need you to hug this tree here and close your eyes, okay? Whatever you do, whatever you hear, don’t open them until I tell you. Do you understand?”
“Virgil, is Mom–”
“Do you understand?” Virgil asked desperately, and after a beat, Thomas nodded. “Good,” Virgil breathed, pressing his forehead against Thomas’s for a moment and taking a deep breath. “Close your eyes now,” he whispered, and he stood back up, turning back towards his mom.
No. That’s not Mom. Not anymore.
The woman that was lumbering towards him moved her limbs in broken, jerky motions, as though she was a poorly controlled marionette. Her eyes were bloodshot and empty, and saliva drooled out of her open mouth. A low moan escaped her lips as she came closer, and Virgil’s heart tightened in his chest. He’d seen terminals before, knew how they worked and how to kill them. But this…this was different.
This was his mother, and now she was a monster.
Virgil scrambled towards the log at the edge of their campsite where they’d stashed their supplies. There wasn’t much there, just one change of clothes, a few handfuls of food, the last of their bandages, and…there. His mom’s .22 rifle.
“We only have one bullet left, Virgil. So until we can find some more ammo, we’re not going to hunt or travel with this anymore, okay? We’ll keep it here in case there’s an emergency.”
Virgil’s hands shook as he pulled out the gun and checked to see that their last bullet was properly loaded. He’d never cared much for shooting, but after they’d made a run for the woods, his mom had insisted he learn to use it, teaching him how to hunt rabbits, possums, and other small animals that she’d then showed him how to clean and skin before cooking.
He’d never shot a terminal before.
Realistically, one of three things would happen. One, Virgil’s mother would attack them and he and Thomas would die, leaving their mother to feast on their remains. Two, Virgil’s mother would attack them and he and Thomas would turn terminal themselves, which basically boiled down to being brain dead while your body shuffled around in search of food. Or three…
Virgil raised the rifle up, tucking the butt to his shoulder and blinked away the tears that were forming in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, then he squeezed the trigger.
The gunshot echoed through the forest, and though Virgil’s ears were instantly ringing, he could still hear the sound of Thomas’s scream from behind him. Everything seemed to slow down as Emma’s body dropped to the floor of their campsite, instantly going still. A blur flew past Virgil, and he just barely dropped the rifle in time to catch Thomas as he rushed towards their mother.
Thomas struggled desperately against Virgl’s grip, sobbing as he tried to get free and run towards her. Virgil just held him tighter, ignoring his own tears as he pulled Thomas away.
“Thomas,” he choked out as Thomas kicked and struggled. “T-thomas, no, it’s not safe…th-they can still turn you when they’re dead if you’re not careful…”
Thomas just kept kicking and sobbing, and Virgil could do nothing but hold him back, even as his own tears fell. Eventually, Thomas went limp against him again, though his little body still quivered with sobs, making Virgil’s heart ache even more. He wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball with his baby brother and sleep, sleep until all the anguish bled away and left him empty.
But a steely voice inside him insisted that no, he couldn’t do that. The terminals were drawn to loud noises, and the gunshot was sure to attract more of the creatures to this spot. They needed to move, and quickly, if they wanted to avoid any more confrontations with the creatures, and with only his hunting knife left to defend themselves with, Virgil would rather avoid running into more of the terminals.
“Thomas,” he said, drawing away to look his brother in the eyes. “Thomas, look at me.”
Thomas looked up, his eyes puffy and red with tears trailing down his cheeks, and Virgil had to resist pulling him close for another hug. There would be time for grief later.
“I need you to go to the log and gather up all our things, okay? Can you do that for me?”
“M-mo…M-mom–” Thomas choked out, and Virgil cupped the back of his head, pressing their foreheads together.
“I know, Thomas, I know,” he said, more tears pooling in his eyes. “I am so, so sorry, but it’s not safe for us here. More of them will be coming, and Mom would want us to get far, far away so that we can be safe. Okay?”
Thomas sniffled, but nodded, and Virgil smiled at him through his tears.
“There’s a brave boy. Now go gather up our things, we need to move.”
Thomas stumbled over to the log, and Virgil took a deep breath before turning towards his mother’s body in the clearing. His stomach churned as he approached, and he swallowed down the bile that rose in his throat. It wasn’t pretty, but he knew what he had to do.
Virgil pointedly kept his gaze away from his mother’s face and carefully knelt down, sliding the straps of her knapsack off her shoulders. He took care not to touch anywhere near her now foam filled mouth, remembering what the news reports had said about the creatures when the outbreak had first occurred…back when they were still running news reports.
The virus is transmitted via bodily fluids; even if the infected subject is deceased, their corpse may still infect others if their blood or saliva comes into contact with open wounds.
Virgil tugged the bag out from under her, stepping away as she fell back against the ground. A quick rifle through its contents revealed most of the supplies that they’d gathered from the cabin, and his heart twisted again in his chest. By the looks of things, she’d managed to fight off the three terminals from the cabin and had stayed herself long enough to gather up their supplies and head back towards their camp. She probably hadn’t even realized she’d been infected until it was too late.
Virgil took one last look at his mother’s body, and paused as he saw a glint of gold around her neck. He looked over his shoulder to where Thomas was packing up their bag, then bent down and quickly pulled a heart-shaped locket from around his mother’s neck.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered again, allowing himself one brief look at her face. “I’ll look after him, Mom, I promise.”
He slipped the locket into his pocket, then turned and walked over to Thomas.
“Hey, buddy. Got everything?”
Thomas looked up at him and nodded solemnly.
“Good. It’s time for us to leave then, okay?”
Thomas looked over at their mother one last time, then back up at Virgil.
“Can you carry me?” he asked.
Virgil could already feel exhaustion creeping over him, and his limbs still ached from their earlier escape, but right now? There was no way he could say no to his little brother.
“Sure, buddy. I’ll need you to carry the backpack though, okay?”
Thomas nodded, and after Virgil had helped slide it over his shoulders, Thomas climbed up and linked his arms around Virgil’s neck. Virgil gripped Thomas’s legs and stood up with a grunt, taking a moment to readjust his hold now that he was standing.
“Ready?” he asked, and he felt Thomas turn his head to look behind them again. His chest ached, and he reached up and gave Thomas’s hands a squeeze.
“Yeah,” Thomas said eventually, laying his cheek against Virgil’s back.
“Okay,” Virgil murmured, grabbing hold of Thomas’s legs again and stepping away from their campsite, one thought repeating over and over again in his mind as he walked.
I’ll keep you safe, Thomas. I promise.
Keeping an eight-year-old alive and safe in the woods during the apocalypse turned out to be harder than Virgil had anticipated, and it wasn’t long before he was completely desperate. He’d tried to replicate the traps his mother had set, and tried to fish using makeshift spears or reels, but he was either doing something wrong or had horrible luck, because the traps remained empty, and he was unable to catch more than one or two tiny fish per attempt. It wasn’t long before their meager food supplies ran out, and eating roots and leaves could only satisfy a growing boy for so long. Virgil was out of options.
So he found himself here, gripping Thomas’s hand and standing on the outskirts of a small town at the edge of the woods.
For most of their time living wild with their mother, they’d avoided towns. Areas that were once populated may have meant more supplies, but they also meant more chances of running into terminals, and Emma had wanted to avoid that at all costs, choosing instead to rely on her history of camping rough with her family as a child for survival.
But Virgil simply wasn’t good enough to scrounge up enough to feed the two of them from the forest alone, so here they were.
“Okay, buddy, remember what we’re looking for?” he asked, looking down at Thomas.
“Canned food, clean clothes, blankets, and medicine,” Thomas rattled off, and Virgil smiled.
“Yeah, that’s right,” he said. “Now, anything you find, you bring to me first to check the expiration date first, okay? We don’t want you eating something and getting sick.”
“I can read the dates myself, you know,” Thomas muttered, kicking at the pavement. “I’m not a baby.”
“Right, of course,” Virgil agreed with a smirk. “You’re not a baby, you’re just a pipsqueak.”
He reached down to ruffle Thomas’s hair, but his brother ducked away.
“I am not!” he huffed, glaring up at Virgil, and Virgil held his hands up in surrender.
“Okay, okay, whatever you say. Just let me look at the food before eating it anyhow, okay?”
“Fine,” Thomas grumbled, and Virgil held back a sigh.
The two of them had been on their own for just about three weeks now, and while some days were perfectly fine, other days there was an unmistakable tension between the two. It was worse when they were hungry, and with nothing but flower roots to eat for the past three days, it was fair to say they were pretty hungry now.
“Thomas?” Virgil said, kneeling down so that he was eye level with his brother. “Can you look at me?”
Thomas glanced over at him, and Virgil offered up a small smile.
“I’m sorry if I seem too…overbearing. You know why that is, don’t you?”
Thomas shrugged, and Virgil placed a hand on his shoulder.
“It’s because I want to make sure that nothing bad happens to you. I know I’m not always the best big brother to have, but all we’ve got is each other now. So if I…make some mistakes along the way, just know it’s because I want to keep you safe, okay?”
Virgil was expecting Thomas to nod and move on, so he grunted in surprise when instead Thomas threw his arms around Virgil’s neck in a suffocating hug.
“Okay,” he whispered, and Virgil didn’t care that he could barely breathe, he hugged his brother back just as tightly. “You were wrong about something though,” Thomas added, his breath tickling Virgil’s ear as he spoke.
“Oh? What’s that, buddy?”
“You’re the very best big brother to have,” Thomas mumbled into Virgil’s shoulder, and suddenly Virgil was blinking back tears.
“Thanks, Thomas,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut and pulling Thomas closer.
He was about to let go when suddenly Thomas gasped, his whole body tensing up. Virgil’s eyes flew open in an instant and he stood up on instinct, gathering Thomas into his arms as he did so. There, barely a hundred feet away ambling into the street from behind one of the houses, were two terminals. It didn’t seem like they’d noticed the two brothers just yet, but searching the houses on this street had just become last on Virgil’s list of things to try that day.
“Don’t make a sound,” he breathed in Thomas’s ear as he slowly stepped away.
He tried to turn back the way they’d come, but froze as he saw three more staggering towards them from that direction. He spun around, his eyes scanning the street, and his heart slowly sank into his stomach. There was no way out of this neighborhood that wasn’t blocked off by private fencing or didn’t involve going past the growing number of terminals.
Well.
Not for him anyway.
“Thomas?” he said quietly. “Listen very carefully, okay?”
Thomas nodded, his cheek brushing against Virgil’s, and Virgil held his breath for seven seconds.
“I’m going to put you down,” he said slowly. “Then when I tell you, you’re going to run straight down the street back the way we came, do you understand?”
“Virgil?” Thomas asked, and Virgil pried him off his neck, setting him on the ground and staring at him intently.
“Do you understand?” he asked, and Thomas’s wide eyes filled with tears, but he nodded. “Good,” Virgil whispered, squeezing Thomas’s hand.
The terminals were ambling closer now, and he straightened up. He allowed himself one more squeeze of Thomas’s hand, then he let go and opened his mouth to scream.
All of a sudden there was a *thwap!* sound that came from between the houses, and then the terminal closest to Virgil and Thomas had an arrowhead sticking out between its eyes. The creature fell forward and Virgil froze, too stunned to move.
“Woo hooooooo!” a voice yelled from the direction the arrow had flown from, and the terminals turned towards the new source of sound. “Perfect headshot!”
“Virgil?” Thomas asked, and Virgil dropped to the ground again, gathering his arms around Thomas and pulling him close.
Another arrow flew into a nearby terminal’s chest, accompanied by more cheers, then a wild looking man in a dirty green t-shirt with a white streak in his hair burst out onto the street, a machete gripped in his hand.
Virgil barely had time to wonder where on earth that maniac had gotten a machete before he was charging the terminals with it, squealing with delight every time his blade connected with a creature’s neck or head. It wasn’t long before every last one of them was no more than a bleeding corpse on the ground.
“Coast is clear!” he called over his shoulder, wiping his blade off on his already filthy pants. “Oh, no…wait,” he added as his gaze found Virgil and Thomas crouching beside a house. “Looks like we’ve got a live one, Dee!”
Another man emerged from across the road, a yellow beanie on his head and a bow and quiver strapped to his back, though Virgil’s eyes were first drawn to the large burn scar covering the right side of his face.
He approached calmly, ignoring the way Virgil scrambled to his feet and shoved Thomas behind him. He stared at the two of them for a moment, at Virgil’s narrowed eyes and Thomas’s hand clutching at Virgil’s leg before turning to his companion.
“Remus, put your blade away, you’re scaring them.”
The wild man, Remus, apparently, rolled his eyes but slid the machete into a sheath on his back and gave the pair of brothers a toothy grin.
“Whoopsy! Wouldn’t want to give off the wrong impression. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you, as long as you’re not a terminal or about to turn terminal or about to steal our stuff or hurt our friends or just be a dick in general!”
“Forgive Remus, that’s just how he greets new people,” the man with the burn said, rolling his eyes in a fond sort of way. “He really does mean no harm…as long as you don’t fall into any of the aforementioned categories.” He raised an eyebrow at the pair. “Do you fall into any of those categories?”
“We’re not thieves, if that’s what you mean,” Virgil growled, and the man raised his hands.
“No need for the hostility, how about a ‘thank you for saving me and my…’” he raised a questioning eyebrow at Thomas, and after another moment of silence, Virgil mumbled,
“Brother. I’m Virgil, and this is my brother.”
“I see,” the man said, then he surprised Virgil by squatting down so he was at Thomas’s eye level.
“What’s your name, little man?”
Thomas looked up at Virgil, who placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small nod.
“Thomas,” he whispered, and the man smiled.
“Thomas? That’s a wonderful name. How old are you?”
“Eight,” Thomas said, then he puffed out his chest a little. “Almost nine.”
“Almost nine, my my! So grown up!” he smiled, then glanced up at Virgil. “And what about big brother?” he asked, standing up.
Virgil frowned, and pulled Thomas a little closer to his side.
“What’s it to you?” he growled, and the man quirked an eyebrow.
“Just wondering if big brother is grown up enough to take care of an almost nine-year-old all by himself.”
Virgil should have found the question insulting, but oddly enough, meeting the stranger’s eyes, Virgil didn’t sense any malice from him.
“I’m eighteen,” he admitted quietly, and the man nodded.
“Got anyone else in your party?” he asked, and Virgil clenched his fist at his side.
“No,” he said, forcing himself to keep his eyes dry. “Wouldn’t be trying to scavenge alone with an eight-year-old if I did.”
“Almost nine!” Thomas insisted, tugging on Virgil’s pants, and Virgil allowed a small smile to pull at his lips.
“Okay buddy, almost nine,” he said quietly.
“Right,” the man said, a smile flitting across his face as he looked down at Thomas. “Well, if scavenging alone on the streets with an almost-nine-year-old is getting a bit much to handle…I may have somewhere you two could stay for awhile.”
“You’re offering them a space at Eden?” Remus asked behind them, shaking his head. “Wade’s not gonna like that much, Dee.”
“Fuck Wade,” the burned man grumbled. “If he doesn’t like it, he can leave and they can take his bed. They’re just kids, Remus.”
“Hey, I didn’t say I had a problem with it,” Remus said shrugging. “And I’ll take any opportunity to fuck Wade. Not the fun kind of fucking, mind you, the violent kind.”
“Virgil, they said a bad word,” Thomas whispered, tugging on Virgil’s pants again, and Virgil didn’t know whether to attempt scolding the strangers or to laugh.
“Seriously, though,” the man called Dee said, turning back to Virgil. “We have a place out in the woods. Nice and secluded, hardly any terminals around, and plenty of people to fight them off in case a few do show up. We don’t have much, but we can offer you a warm bed and a roof over your head.”
It sounded tempting, Virgil had to admit. He could barely remember what it felt like to sleep under a roof, let alone in a bed, but he was skeptical.
“What’s the catch?” he asked. “What do you have to gain by taking two strangers in?”
Dee shrugged.
“We’re not a charity, if that’s what you mean. You’ll be expected to pull your weight around the place. But if you’re up for that, then you’re welcome to join.”
Virgil thought it over, but it didn’t take him long to come to a decision, really. He couldn’t ensure Thomas would be safe and fed every day if he stayed on his own. If there was even a chance that what these men were saying was true, Virgil would have to take it. He leaned forward, fixing Dee with a glare.
“Anything happens to him and I’ll kill you, you got that?” he asked in a low enough voice that Thomas didn’t hear.
Dee grinned, not unkindly.
“Got it.”
“Okay.” Virgil took a deep breath, then looked down at Thomas. “What do you say buddy, do you want to go somewhere safe with these, uh, gentlemen?”
Thomas seemed to consider it, staring up at Remus and Dee, then his stomach growled audibly.
“You have food?” he asked, and Dee chuckled.
“Yes little man, we have lots of food.”
“I wanna go then,” Thomas said, and Virgil smiled.
“Okay then,” he said, holding out a hand to Dee, who shook it. “We’re in.”
“Yay, new friends!” Remus said cheerily, bouncing on his heels. “This is gonna be fun, it’s been way too long since anyone interesting joined the camp, it’s no fun having only stinky Wade to share patrols with…”
Remus continued rambling on, about what exactly Virgil wasn’t sure, but he didn’t really care. He looked down at Thomas’s hand in his, then up at Dee who was watching the two of them with an unreadable expression, though it morphed into a smile when he saw Thomas looking up at him.
“Thank you,” Virgil mouthed at Dee, and the man nodded back.
Virgil couldn’t say exactly what he was getting himself into with these two, but he hoped that whatever it was, it would mean he could keep his promise. He slipped his free hand into his pocket, fingering his mother’s locket.
I’ll keep him safe, Mom. No matter what.