Chapter Text
Sam smiled gently as he reached out, ruffling the blonds hair. The six year old whined pulling down the older hand, but his smile was sweet like he didn’t mind getting his hair ruffled.
“What was it like? Before the apocalypse?”
Blue eyes watched the other with interest. The child wouldn’t see how the older smile was strained. The kid was born after the world went downhill. He would never get to understand what a PlayStation was, playing in a sports team, or even rolling down the hill with people his own age at school.
There were only so many people in Possibility.
“It was… you know how we have to stay inside these walls?” Sam motioned to the large wooden walls they were sitting against. The child nodded.
“The walks keep the brain dead dummies out! And we have this huge field all to ourselves.”, the blond haired boy motioned widely with his arms emphasizing the size of the field. He almost hit Sam but the other didn’t mind, it was the childhood innocence that made him forget what was going outside these walls.
Instead Sam nodded, “Do you remember how large the field is?”
The kid pursed his lips thinking before answering, “Didn’t you say it was around 3 miles big?”. Sam could only think about the offended gasp George would have at hearing a British born using miles instead of kilometers. But Sam was one of the only ones willing to teach the kid things that would be learned in school.
“That’s correct”, the kid squealed happily at being correct. “But you wanna know something? This field is actually really small. There’s a lot more outside of these walls.”
The other gasp, “But, the field is huge! How can there be more?”
Sam pulled the younger into his lap smiling as the other protested. “This place, is only a very, very, very small area compared to all that’s outside these walls.”
“And we can’t go out because of the dummies? That sucks…” the child frowned. Sam’s hurt squeezed knowing that this is what the child will ever grow up with.
Gently he lifted up the youngest chin and held out his pinky.
“Let’s make a pinky promise”, he said “One of these days, you’ll get out of these walls and see the world, okay? And before then, you’ll learn everything it takes to survive.”
The kid’s eyes widened before nodding with a serious face holding out his own small pinky to latch onto Sam’s.
“I’ll see the entire world! I’ll train so hard I’ll be such a big man!” the kid promised.
Sam just laughed, “Come on Tommy, Dream is gunna be upset that I left without warning, maybe if we get back fast enough I’ll start teaching you some medicine”
Tommy quickly scrambled up and started running towards the tree line, “Come on Sam! I wanna get out into the world!”
~•~•~
Possibility
Population: 765
Size of around 3.2 square miles or alternatively as most people know it as due to the area being in the United Kingdom, 8.28 kilometers.
It was founded a year after the breakout. Right north of the city of Cambridge. In a small forested area where a group of people around the ages of midteens decided to set came.
Eventually the walls were built as more survivors found their way to the camp.
The walls were one of the only things that Tommy knew. He knew that he was born at the beginning of the apocalypse. His mother held him in her arms while trying to escape a horde of zombies. Sam was in his early 20’s when he found her crying and holding a blond little baby.
Sam took the baby and left her to die, not that he wanted too. But she was bit, and she did what she thought was best. Which honestly at that moment was begging a college student to take a baby and run.
Tommy wonders if he will ever go out and see his mom zombified. Would she still be a zombie or would some survivor come by and kill her by now?
Sam was one of the first 50 people to join Possibility, therefore making Tommy one of the first 50 people to join. Sam was an engineering student, so he was able to help build the walls that surrounded them.
The walls kept zombies out, and survivors in. That’s what Dream always says.
Tommy is currently the 13th youngest citizen in Possibility. Which is quite funny when you think about it, when he is one of the citizens who’ve been here longest as well.
He knew every acre within these walls like the back of his hand. And never has he felt so lost.
Climbing up into the ash tree was something he found himself doing every other day, if not every day. He would always wake with the sun and fall asleep whenever he was tired. But the moment he woke up with the sun he would put on his morning clothes and run out into the small forest and climb up into the ash tree. Then he would do what he always would do.
Jump and swing into the closest branch of the aspen tree.
If Sam were still alive, he would have a heart attack watching the blond jump off the branch and swing himself onto the next but that was minor really. It always helped Tommy wake up first thing in the morning.
Climbing up onto the top of the aspen tree he looked around the field of Possibility. He could see the tents of people who come and go, small cottages of permanent residents, the main food hall, the medic wing, fields of crops from people who farm to provide food for the residents.
Looking down Tommy could see his own house that he lives in. A simple two bedroom place that Sam built for the both of them.
It was a little bit away from the main area with permanent residents but it was close enough that if he wanted to scream loud enough that someone could hear him faintly.
Carefully swinging his body around he looked to the other side where the small lake was. Hand dug as a water resource for anyone who needed water. And just behind that was the wall. That aspen tree wasn’t that tall but it was the tallest within Possibly at just over twenty feet. But it was tall enough for Tommy to see over the walls. Sometimes he could see a small horde of zombies walking in the surrounding forest, paying no mind to the walls. Other zombies would walk towards the walls. It was the only reason that Tommy knew what the surrounding area of Possibility looked like.
Dream never let Tommy out of Possibility. Not even before the raid that killed Sam. That was three years ago but Dream said he had his reasons. Dream never minded what Tommy did within the walls as long as Tommy followed his two rules. Be ready to help in medical treatments and don’t try and leave.
One of these days though, Tommy knew he was going to see the world outside.
After watching the sun turn the sky back into a bright blue and not orange he finally started to climb back down. Jumping down into the ash tree he slowly jumped down till he reached the bottom.
He landed on the path that was worn down from being walked upon for over 15 years. The blond didn’t bother swiping off the dust and leaves that covered his shirt and pants. Instead he opted to walk down the pathway letting muscle memory take over until he arrived at the small clearing.
It was nearly November now, which meant that the chestnut tree was finally ready to be picked for the rest of the season. Tommy pulled off the small leather pouch from his belt and walked towards the tree grabbing at the lowest branch and shaking it, causing small brown nuts to fall to the ground.
Sam planted the seed for the chestnuts a long time ago when Tommy was still a baby but now the tree was producing enough nuts to last a long time. One of Tommy’s best memories was when the tree was 7 years old and Sam pulled him out one autumn morning to the clearing and told Tommy to pick the small brown nuts growing on the tree.
A small part of him felt guilty he wasn’t with Sam anymore but he could live past it. When he traveled outside of the walls he wanted to have the seeds of the tree so he could plant his own chestnut trees. After he traveled the world of course.
Grabbing one of the nuts on the ground he hummed as he dropped the pouch to grab the small metal tool on his belt instead. It was a chestnut cracker that Sam had gotten a few years ago when Tommy was nine. He probably got tired of the blond crushing his fingers on rocks to eat chestnuts.
After plopping the guts of the nut into his mouth he looked around the ground. It was around time to pick up the season's worth of nuts.
~•~•~
It was high noon by the time that Tommy filled up his two leather pouches and headed back to his home.
Walking towards his home, he noticed a dark haired male waiting on his doorstep. His hair was pulled up in a small high ponytail with dark bangs covering their forehead. A white bandana was the only thing that was holding bangs out of the person's eyes.
“Snapchat, Whatcha doing here?”, Tommy yelled towards the other who immediately turned to look at the younger mumbling “It’s Sapnap”
“Tommy! I was just waiting for you, Miss. Kathy just cut herself and we need you to stitch her up.”
The blond nodded as he stepped up to the porch and opened up his front door. Dropping the two poaches of nuts inside the doorway quickly. “You mean the head lady who makes the evening meals?”
Sapnap hummed a ‘yes’ as the teen walked into a kitchen and dipped his hands into the cold water filled up in the sink. Washing off the dirt on his arms and hands, he pulled them out and dried them on the towel next to the sink. “Let’s go then, I would rather my dinner not be with hints of human blood”
The other snorted as he shook his head, “I don’t think you would taste blood, I would think it would be cooked out”
“You don’t know that,” Tommy huffed as he walked back out the front door closing it silently behind him. Stepping down the steps he walked alongside Sapnap towards the more active part of Possibility. It was a routine really for Tommy at this point.
Wake up, climb the ash and aspen trees, look around, go down into the woods and into the clearing. At some point Sapnap, George or someone else will come find him, go into town, be a medical person for an undetermined amount of time, wander around town, cause chaos, go back home. Sometimes “help with local events” was in there or an emergency like someone breaking a leg would occur but the rest is the same.
This day would be no different.
Walking into town was a simple thing but Tommy always found some reason to run ahead. Sometimes he would be lucky to see flowers in bloom, a group of children playing in the streets. This time it was the smell of pumpkin pie wafting from a someones window. Sapnap held back a laugh as the blond tripped over himself to look at the pumpkin pie on the window seal of one house. The main hall was where anyone who didn't want to cook or simply couldn't cook could go and get at most 3 meals a day. All food found was sent to the main hall and storage, a way to prevent running out. If someone grew an own personal garden they could keep whatever they wanted. And if the smell of this pumpkin pie was anything to go by, then that means-
"Hello Tommy" a female voice said, a hint of amusement in her voice.
Looking up, Tommy met eyes with a girl crossing her arms and leaning over her counter to look at the boy who definitely wasn't about to sneak a small bite out of the pie. Gray eyes watched him with both a fond and knowing look, one that let Tommy know he couldn't sneak his way out of a bite. Just as Tommy was about to pull away he pause and frowned. "You look different", he stated bluntly.
Niki smirked as she tilted her head. "Do I, Racoon boy? I swear I looked just the same as I always do" she puffed out her cheeks while pulling a stand of her hair forward. "Maybe it's my hair, it does look a little pink today"
A snort behind Tommy startled the boy as he turned to see Sapnap had caught up to him. "I see you finally dyed your hair Niki"
Niki just laughed, nodding, “I did it last night, I had to get some help with the back but it was worth it.”
Tommy gasped excitedly as he pulled himself closer to the window seal and on his toes to look at the others hair which was indeed a bright pink.
“Is that what dying your hair does?”, the blond laughed as he took in the unnatural hair color. Niki nodded as she reached for something out of sight and held it out towards Tommy.
“You look like you have somewhere to go, so take this for now okay?”. Tommy curiously grabbed the bag to find roasted pumpkin seed. Smiling he thanked Niki before running back onto the main path towards the clinic where a patient was waiting.
Turning his back he wouldn’t see the small pitting look that Niki and Sapnap shared with each other.
“Tell Tommy to come by after Dinner to get some pie, okay?”Niki smiled sadly towards Sapnap.
“Sure thing”
~•~•~
Carefully Tommy pulled the last stitch in the lady’s hand closed and snipped the nylon stitches extra string off the last suture.
“Finally, the other two doctors were taking forever so Dream sent over Sapnap to get ya. It’s amazing how much medical shit you got in your head Thomas.”
Tommy rolled his eyes as he placed down the scissors and needle, and now picked up a small vial of hydrogen peroxide and poured a few drops over the stitches. He held back a small snort when Miss. Kathy flinched.
“It’s nothing impressive, I just know some of the fucking basic stuff”
Kathy quirked her eyebrow. “ Sure kiddo, basic”
Tommy dried off the extra peroxide before placing a bandage over the wound.
“Don’t you have some thousand people to feed today?” Tommy snarked as he stood up motioning for the exit. Kathy just smiled and stood up walking towards the door before she replied, “Once a cafeteria lady, always a cafeteria lady”
The blond shook his head as he started to clean up the small examination room. Throwing away the small amount of trash that he did have and placing the used tools into the bucket that was later taken to be sterilized at the end of the day.
Walking into the lobby he looked around to see if anyone else needed help. Luckily it was silent, meaning that he could probably go wander around town.
What he wasn’t expecting was to walk out of the clinic and run right into someone.
“Ouch Bitch what the fuck-“, the other cursed bring a hand up to his forehead. Blue eyes were quick to try and glare at whoever he bumped into just to immediately freeze.
“Hey Tommy”
“Big D!”, the teen smirked as he looked at the other. Tommy couldn’t say that he looked up nor down at the older male when they were both over 6 feet.
The other gave a wave before pulling down his green hood to reveal dirty blond hair underneath. His green eyes revealed the smile that was hidden underneath the cloth mask the other always seemed to wear.
“I thought I told you to stop calling me that”, the other laughed as he motioned for the younger to follow him. Tommy just gave a smirk and followed others down the compact dirt roads.
“Dream, Big D, my man, founder of Possibility, what do I have the honor of having your attention today”
Dream shrugs while waving absentmindedly in a random direction, “Nothing to do you know”
Tommy did know, it did get boring after living years inside of the wall. Tommy lived here his entire life so he honestly knew the best if he had to say so himself.
The lighter blonde just quirked his eyebrows in doubt though. When Dream said it he kinda held some doubts. This man was like, the President of Possibility, he was sure that he had president-y things to do. President-y is a word, Tommy said so.
“Don’t give me that look Tommy, less you wanna go and help organize the storage center this month? I’m sure Karl would appreciate the help-“
Tommy immediately turned away, one thing that he didn’t want was to help clean the storage facility. Especially since Sapnap and Ash just came back from a raid with a shit ton of loot.
“That’s what I thought,” Dream snorted just as the sound of someone yelling through the streets caught the two’s attention.
Turning around both saw a man with dark brown and fluffy hair running over towards them. A pair of white goggles lying on his head and a bright blue shirt that was soaked in sweat.
“Dream! You need to-“ the other wheezed, bending over trying to catch his breath. The younger blond honestly thought it was funny how easily out of breath the other seemed to be if it wasn’t the urgency on his face.
“What is it?”, the green cloaked male asked his friend. Tommy pushed back the urge to tease Dream in his soft spot for George. Instead he walked towards them and forced the brunette to straighten out his back muttering how it’s hard to catch your breath when you crush your lungs.
After a few minutes George finally seemed to grasp enough oxygen to get his words out. “A couple of people are at the west gate, they're injured so we probably need a medic.”
Dream and Tommy shared a glance before nodding. Immediately they began to sprint towards the west gate, it would be best to get there as soon as possible. It didn't help that it was nearly a 30 minute walk from the medical wing.
All Tommy could hear was George giving an exasperated cry on how “he just caught his breath”
~•~•~
Tommy reached the west gate just a few minutes before Dream did. The teen would like to say he was rather proud that he could out run the older man but it was rather the fact that the other had to grab something from the town hall and told Tommy to run ahead.
When the blond glanced around it took him a moment before he saw Bad waving at him in front of the west gate building. Ignoring the subtle squeeze in his chest he walked towards the out building and nodded a small greeting towards the other.
His eyes scanned the room until it landed on two unfamiliar faces. One was a blond with blue eyes just a bit darker than his own while wearing an atrocious white and green bucket hat. He had a shredded cloak that covered his skin absorbing the blood that was leaving various wounds. He was leaning on his companion like it hurt, placing pressure on one leg.
The other was a strawberry blonde. He had blood running down his scarred face. At Least Tommy thought they were a he. Their hair was in a long braid that reach down the middle of their back. In the arm that wasn’t supporting the first blond was holding a bloody machete. The rotting smell of blood was enough for Tommy to know it wasn’t human blood on the weapon.
Dark gray eyes were immediately glaring in his direction once the words “what the hell?” left Tommy’s mouth.
Bad hissed a scolding Language behind him just as a deep voice spoke out. “Are you Dream?”
Before Tommy had a chance to respond, a firm grip landed on his shoulder. He glanced back to see Dream behind him. “Nope, that would be me,” Dream playfully pushed Tommy forward. “This is Tommy, he’s your resident calendar”
The two guests gave a confused look while Tommy turned to glare at Dream. They wouldn’t get the
“Now that’s just fucking cruel at this point” Tommy hissed as he crossed his arms. Dream just laughed as he approached the duo in front of them.
“Tommy will patch you guys up, afterwards we can talk, deal?”
The bucket hat tipped downwards in a nod while the short blond finally spoke. A friendly tone was in his voice which did surprise Tommy, when said someone looked like they had seen hell and back.
“Sure thing mate! I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm Phil, this is Techno”