Work Text:
August 7, 14:17
“Hello, this is Sarah Baker. I unfortunately can’t get to the phone right now, please leave a message.”
“M-Mom? I-It’s me. Tommy. Your son. I-I’m in—I’m in America. I-I know—ugh—I know you aren’t—I know you probably aren’t hearing these. But I-I just wanted to—to talk to you. Let you know I-I’m still alive. Ha, I, uh, I found Dream. And—and George. Sapnap. Wilbur. You remember Wilbur? He—uhm, he—he and the others are taking care of me. We have—there’s a lot of people with us. I—agh—fuck—“
“Tommy, get down!”
“On it! Just gotta find my phone! Ow, fuck!”
“LANGUAGE!”
“Tommy, get somewhere safe! This isn’t an—“
“Got it! I know, I know, I’m—“
“Call disconnected.”
August 7, 22:56
“Hello, this is Sarah Baker. I unfortunately can’t get to the phone right now, please leave a message.”
“Hey Mom. Tommy again. Sorry about that. We kind of got attacked. Everyone’s fine. A little roughed up. I know in England that they’re dealing with, like, dragons and stuff. Here we just have acid-spitting snakes, hah.”
“Tommy, make sure you can get some sleep, okay?”
“Yeah, right.”
“Want a blanket?”
“Sure.”
“Are you…calling your mom?”
“Yeah. Trying to. I—I just, I miss—Wilbur, I just—“
“Yeah. I get it. Well, we’re going to—“
“Call disconnected.”
August 23, 8:00
“Hello, this is Sarah Baker. I unfortunately can’t get to the phone right now, please leave a message.”
“Hey, Mom. Tommy again. Sorry about the cut off, my phone died. We made it to the, uh, Austin emergency center. The government’s telling everyone to get away from California, so, uh…I guess we’re turning around. They’ve managed to keep the damage pretty limited, electricity in most cities is still shot except for emergency generators. But, hey, they still have the phone lines up and apparently there’s a group going out to make sure the global internet stays fixed. I think our next step is to tour the East Coast, see if we can find some people’s parents. Uhm…Sapnap and Skeppy are looking for their families while we’re in Austin. If, uhm…if you get these…just…let me know? Please?”
“…Tommy!”
“Yeah?!”
“We’re packing up! No news!”
“Ugh…alright! Give me two minutes! Okay, I gotta go, Mom. Tell Dad and the dogs I love them. I love you, too. I’ll call you when I get the chance.”
“Call ended.”
+++
“Call ended.”
Sighing, Tommy looked down at the phone in his hands. Ran a thumb over the screen for a moment. He’d changed his home screen to an old picture of him, his parents, and the dogs. His dad was holding a miserable-looking Walter in his arms. Tommy had thrown Betty over his shoulders, cackling as he looked at his mom where Betty’s tail had just thwacked her and knocked her glasses loose. Ian Baker was reaching for his wife with wide eyes.
Shutting his phone off, Tommy tucked it into his jacket pocket. They had grabbed the pocket from the emergency center’s free clothes store. Charities had set it up after the whole…apocalypse. It wasn’t quite the real apocalypse. Apparently there wasn’t enough casualties or damage to count it as that. Nope, this was just a regular, good old catastrophe.
Personally, Tommy thought it might count as an apocalypse.
Outside the chain-link fence of the Austin Emergency Center, the woods stood silent. There were so many of them now. Trees had just begun…sprouting. Full forests swarmed across cities, shearing through concrete like it was nothing . Some of the mountains, apparently, had changed, too. Some of the news from the Pacific Islands mentioned new islands popping up.
That was why people weren’t calling it an apocalypse. The world wasn’t being destroyed. No, it was changing. Something had happened. Whatever it was, Dream seemed to have a theory. He wouldn’t share it, not with Tommy.
Walking into the Center, which was the cannibalized remains of an old Costco or something of the sort, Tommy picked his way through the various different beds and assorted hospital curtains separating different rooms. Their group had been forced together into the same size area as any of the other places. Which meant about…twenty-something people. Packed into about a ten by ten foot space.
They did make it work, albeit with some effort and the help of some random youth pastor from Oregon who came in and aided them with set up and bed organization. They had ten cots, only two of which were doubles, which meant they had fourteen beds to split between…a lot of people. Thirty-one people. And fourteen beds.
Stepping around the cot bags, Tommy leaned down and scooped up his own bags. Settled it around his shoulders. Then, he walked out into the parking lot. Made his way out to the bus. Wilbur was standing next to it, looking at a checklist he’d taped to a piece of wood as a makeshift clipboard. When Tommy got there, he tapped Wilbur’s shoulder and made his way up the steps. Ducked under the entrance.
“Yooo, Tommy! We’re sitting back here!” Tubbo joked, waving an arm next to Ranboo. Laughing, Tommy shook his head and made his way through the aisle. Apparently, Ranboo was joining them for the day, not that Tommy minded.
Bad had settled in the driver’s seat, Skeppy outside and chattering with him about what kinds of drinks they should pick up from the closest Way station. Sapnap, Quackity, and Karl were currently curled up in their row, Sapnap showing his two partners (if Tommy remembered right they were a…Quap? Q-per? Something, he really needed to ask Tubbo and Ranboo because it was like their Minecraft characters) some of the mobile chargers they had picked up. Some were solar-powered, others were hand-powered. The whole group had been stumbling around in the middle of Arizona and New Mexico in dreadful heat trying to find their way with nothing more than two phones with battery. They found their way because of some really sweet people living in Gallup, New Mexico, working a soup kitchen out of a now-defunct Cracker Barrel.
Meanwhile, George and Dream were in the row right behind the driver seat. Dream had placed his back against the window, head already fallen to the side and a couple pillows braced against his back. On top of him, George was already snoring away softly. They had been up all night, keeping watch and planning the next driving routes and desperately trying to see which cities they could hit to find the other members’ families. Now they got to sleep.
Punz was standing next to Alyssa and Callahan as they took up their little row. Connor was sitting on the floor next to Punz’s legs, searching through bags and chatting about snacks and stuff that they could use for the trip. Purpled had squished himself between Sam and Ponk, Ponk’s hand in Purpled’s hair as he slept against Sam.
In the backseat, Techno was speaking with Phil, Kristin, and Eret. The food and water had been refreshed and stored with the weapons under the backseat. Ant and Velvet were curled up together, too. Jack and Charlie were trying to edit videos on their laptops. Honestly, Tommy didn’t blame them. No one had been able to stream. They needed some sense of normalcy.
Maybe I should vlog this, he mused, smiling weakly. It sounded like a total Instagram-influencer type of thing. But if his parents weren’t responding to his calls…maybe they just couldn’t. But maybe they could access the Internet? Maybe he could get a message to them that way?
A hand suddenly scruffed its way through his hair. “Yo, Tommy! What are you thinking about, you’ve been standing there for like ten minutes!” Schlatt joked. When he looked at him, though, his eyes actually had a bit of concern there.
Laughing, Tommy shrugged. “Just thinking about getting more clout. Got to get the ladies, you know?” He replied, scoffing and pushing past Schlatt. In the seat behind him, Fundy and Puffy exchanged nervous glances. Niki and Minx seemed to do the same thing, too, although Tommy ignored it.
What he didn’t ignore was Ant. He and Velvet were curled up. Which looked totally normal, except Ant was lying on top of Velvet, breaths coming in quick, labored bursts.
Sitting down between Tubbo and the window, Tommy asked, “Is everything alright with Ant? He seems…worse than yesterday.” He pointed out as Ranboo handed him an earbud. They were just watching some old Dream videos, manhunts that Tubbo had downloaded onto his phone. All three of them paused. Listened to Ant’s breathing. He was gasping, almost, sucking in a breath every two seconds or so. Face scrunched up from pain and head resting on Velvet’s chest. Velvet kept an arm around him, glanced around with his pillows braced under them to prop Ant up. His breathing had been off for a day or two.
“He is worse. We’re not going to talk about it.” Ranboo whispered to him, meeting Tommy’s gaze. Nodding, Tommy turned back to the screen. Watched out of the corner of his eye as Ponk walked over with some ice chips and coaxed them into Ant.
Something was happening, and Tommy wasn’t sure he liked it.
+++
August 25, 18:35
“Hello, this is Sarah Baker. I unfortunately can’t get to the phone right now, please leave a message.”
“Hey, Mom. Tommy again. Uhm…Ant is…sick. We don’t know why, we don’t know what’s happening to him. But, uh, he’s…he’s in really bad shape. So is Velvet. His, uh…boyfriend. Partner. Velvet’s not sick, obviously, but…we don’t know what’s happening. I know you’re not religious, but if you still have contact with Gran, can you…can you ask her? Think the thought might help Velvet just a little bit. He’s scared. We all are. I just—ugh, God, I don’t want to lose my—I don’t want to lose my friends. If this happens to him then it can happen to others, you know? But…yeah. I should probably go. I love you.”
“Call ended.”
+++
Getting up, Tommy walked to the showers at the way station.
Thankfully, fortunately, there was some kind of really, really sweet doctor. Unfortunately, as Tommy walked over, he could see the expression on the man’s face. See Velvet being practically held up by Phil and Kristin and Sam. Ant was lying on a low concrete sort of barrier to the nearest planter. There was a couple of lines hooked up to him and then a little handheld machine in the doctor’s hands. As Tommy made his way over, he could hear the quiet beeping of one of the machines. Schlatt was pacing nearby. When he saw Tommy, he hurried over and then took Tommy by the arm.
“Schlatt?” Glancing over, Tommy blinked as he was pulled away. “What’s happening to Ant?”
“It’s worse than we thought. We’re just going to leave Velvet and the others to have some—some privacy, okay?” Tommy looked at him, swallowed. Schlatt was obviously nervous, sweat dripping down the sides of his face.
“Schlatt, are you alright? You’re sweating.” He said. Looking over, Schlatt paused for a second. Reached up with his free hand and brushed the side of his head. Pulled his hand away. Looked down for a second. He shook his head.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sick?”
“No.” Schlatt replied. “I’m not sick. I’m fine.” There was a pause as they made their ways to the bus. Silence lapsed between them.
“Is Ant…Schlatt, is Ant dying?”
Schlatt paused. Looked over at him. “I don’t know, Tommy. But…” Tipping his head to the side, Schlatt said, “He’s breathing over thirty times a minute. His heartbeat is something like a hundred and seventy, I think. He’s got a fever of a hundred something degrees. It’s—the doctor doesn’t know what’s happening. I think he got bit by something and it’s starting to affect him now.”
“What?”
“Right before we found you, we got attacked by…something. I don’t know what. Ant was the focus, I think, got Velvet away. And now it might be…” Glancing back, Schlatt sighed and added, “Well, we might be saying goodbye soon.”
Gently, he pulled Tommy after him into the bus, leaving Ant and the others with the doctor.
+++
October 1, 3:33
“Hello, this is Sarah Baker. I unfortunately can’t get to the phone right now, please leave a message.”
“Hey, Mom. This is Tommy. Good news is that Ant’s whole…thing is sort of stable. He hasn’t gotten worse. Bad news is…he’s still really sick. But, uh—hah, you know how I thought Dad snored badly? Yeah, uh, Velvet sounds so much worse. Not even Ant. You’d think he’d sound awful, he kind of just has a really gross rasp. But yeah I—“
“Tommy—“
“Ant? Hey, what—“
“Call ended.”
+++
“Guys, wake up!” Tommy yelled, holding onto Ant in his arms. Looking around, he took a breath. Covered Ant’s ears. And he screamed .
Around him, people stirred and flailed around. “Tommy, what the hell—“ In Tommy’s arms, Ant literally convulsed and gagged. Blood dripped past his mouth, and Tommy glanced down. Something sharp slashed across his fingers and he cried out, yanked his hands back.
“Fuck! Ow!” Pulling his hand away, Tommy glanced around. Already, Velvet was crouching down in front of Ant, holding onto his feet. Ponk and Sam ducked down the aisle, Sam taking Tommy’s place and holding Ant still. He jerked again, head tipping to the side.
“Hey, mate.” Phil’s hand wrapped around Tommy’s shoulder. “Come here.” He took a small roll of bandages and some water. Pulled Tommy towards the door. “Let’s get outside. Kristin, Wil, Tech, get Ranboo and Tubbo. Punz, Connor, Callahan, get Purpled.” Nodding, the others set off quickly. Tommy was pulled outside after Bad opened the door.
Behind him, Dream ordered, “Okay, everyone out. Let’s give them some space. Velvet, stay with Ant. Sam, Ponk, keep treating him. If you need anyone, ask for them and we’ll help where possible.”
Cool night air hit Tommy’s face. It was a bit humid, and Phil pulled him over to one of the nearby rocks. “Wait, not there.” Fundy suddenly said. Pulled Phil and Tommy over to another rock. After a second, a snake whispered away.
“How did you know?” Tommy asked, looking to Fundy. In the dim moonlight, he could have sworn that Fundy’s eyes flashed slightly. But no. No way that was happening. It was just a trick of the moonlight and blood loss.
“I just saw it.” Fundy replied, shrugging. Before Tommy could ask more questions, though, he felt cold water suddenly wash over his hand. Yanking it back, he looked down at Phil and then his hand.
“Are those…bite marks?” Niki asked, walking over and tipping her head to the side slightly. Both Phil and Tommy glanced down at his hand. Sure enough, there were bite marks across Tommy’s hands. Fang marks.
“I-I think Ant might have bitten me. But…canines don’t do that.”
“On humans.” Leaning down, Niki frowned. “That looks like when my cats used to bite me.” Blinking, Tommy looked up at Phil. Frowned in concern, glanced at the bus. Then, pausing, he looked at the moon.
Joking, although the tone was far too weak for a true joke, Tommy suggested, “Maybe Ant’s a werecat now.” Both of them exchanged a look. Glanced up at the moon, following his gaze.
Above them, the moon was full.
+++
October 5, 12:23
“Hello, this is Sarah Baker. I unfortunately can’t get to the phone right now, please leave a message.”
“Tommy again. Hi, Mom. Hope you’re doing well. Uh, so…we’re in…New Orleans? I think we’re going to be in Florida sometime soon. Good news is that Ant’s doing a bit better. Some of the others are acting weird, and my back has been killing me. Apparently Phil’s been dealing with the same thing. I don’t think it’s anything in particular. But, uh…if something does happen. I love you. According to Dream we’re going to be heading to the Florida Emergency Centers and then the other ones on the way up to Purpled’s house. So, uh…if you want to get into contact with us then I guess just call those? Apparently they’ve started to set up systems to transfer calls between them super easily. I, uh…I didn’t see your name on the list of people missing from Britain. They might not have updated the screens, I know they’re sending a message over to Britain once the global systems have been set up to let the government know I’ve been accounted for. In the meantime…I hope to see you soon. I love you. And Dad. Betty, Walter. The others. Please call me back soon? Please?”
“Call Ended.”
+++
Running a hand over his face, Tommy sniffed. Hung up the Emergency Center phone.
Glancing over his shoulder, he made sure the line was empty. At this time of day, most people were getting their lunches from the various soup kitchens around New Orleans. That, or they were trying to spot some of the unicorns. They’d appeared a lot, and apparently…Burmese pythons were on the menu. Not humans, though.
Tommy had learned that the hard way.
Resting his head against the cool metal by the phone, he sighed. Opened his eyes. Turning, he grabbed his cane, started slowly limping towards the place where they were sleeping and eating. The bandages around his leg needed to be refreshed. He’d been almost eaten by a massive Burmese python.
And then a unicorn ate it. Grabbed it with its giant, mildly terrifying canines. Ripped it right off of Tommy, threw it up in the air. Caught it by the neck and broke the snake’s spine in one bite. Now, it was a pretty animal, some sort of reddish brown with a rippling red-gold mane and tail. White on its lower legs, on its face. A twisted red-gold horn sprouted from the middle of the white mark between its eyes. Bright brown eyes had met Tommy’s, it had snorted and bent its head down to check on him, and then it had turned and disappeared into the trees.
Now, he had seen Shire horses in person. This thing dwarfed them, easily twice their size. If what he remembered from the current data on them, they were omnivores and fifteen feet or so at the shoulder? Freaky.
Rubbing at his shoulder, Tommy sighed. Made his way through the maze of different people and curtains. Laughter filled the air. People were starting to settle. Somewhere, some little kids shrieked with glee as they sprinted to their dad. The sight made Tommy stop and pause.
Face flushed with heat, he ducked his head. Limped into their little area. Ant and Velvet were sharing a cot, talking to one another softly. Apparently, Velvet made some kind of joke, and Ant made a noise Tommy swore was purring. Probably just the oxygen mask.
Dropping down beside Wilbur, Tommy leaned over and rested his head on Wilbur’s shoulder. Techno moved to him, Phil sitting at Tommy’s other side. “I miss my parents.” He whispered. His voice cracked. Shoulders shaking, he reached up and rubbed at his nose. “I miss them so fucking much. I just want them back.”
“I know, mate.” Phil whispered, kissing his hair. Closing his eyes, Tommy felt Wilbur’s calloused hands and Techno’s somewhat smoother ones wrap around his. Squeeze once, gently. He returned the gesture.
“I want to be back home in Britain. I don’t want to be here.” He leaned into Wilbur a little more, felt Phil shift slightly. A hand rubbed between his aching shoulders.
“I’m sorry, Toms.”
Sniffing, Tommy opened his eyes. Looked at Ant and Velvet, chatting away. “It’s alright. It’s not your fault.” Taking a slow breath, he called out, “Hey, Ant! How you doing?”
Raising his head in a way that made Tommy swear his ears perked up like a cat’s, Ant turned. He grinned wickedly, sharp canines flashing in the bright lights on the ceiling. But that wasn’t the weirdest thing. No, the weirdest thing was his eyes. Tommy wasn’t even sure if his eyes used to be blue, but they weren’t that shade of blue. On top of that, Ant’s eyes used to be human. This was not— his eyes no longer looked human. Instead, his whole sclera was a deep, deep Siamese blue color. The freckles around his nose and mouth had darkened, and he beamed brightly. That wasn’t just it, though. His pupils had changed, sharpening into little points.
“I’m doing great, Toms.”