Chapter Text
“Blessed be God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” One by one, people added stones to the graves, all while Hershel prayed. “ Praise be to him, for the gift of our brothers, Techno and Otis. for their spans of years, and their abundance of character. Otis and Techno, who gave their lives to save a child’s, now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace they enjoy in your embrace. They died as they lived. In grace.”
Techno would have hated this. He probably would have joked through the whole thing. He was never religious, he never liked doing things seriously, or by the book. He probably would've wanted a simple grave on a hill, in the state he was born in. With only his team and close family there to say goodbye. But, sadly, they aren't anywhere near California, where Techno was born. Nor did the others really give Tommy a choice on how they were going to bury Techno, or at least, the funeral they were going to give Techno, since there wasn't a body to bury.
They claimed ‘he would be happier, being sent to heaven. That he needed a proper burial, fit for the sacrifice he made.’ which was bullshit.
Tommy was brought out of his thoughts by Hershel speaking up again. “Shane, will you speak for Otis? And maybe even Techno?” the older man asked. Tommy tensed.
“I'm not good at it. I'm sorry.” the man replied. Bowing his recently shaved head.
“You were the last with him, you shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning.” Patricia, Otis’s wife, begged. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
Shane looked shocked as he fidgeted in his spot, before looking away guiltily and muttering a quiet “okay”.
Tommy clenched his fists in a white knuckle grip, he could feel a familiar sting in his palms. Him!? Let that asshole speak for his brother? No, he didn't think so. Just as Tommy stepped forward, to do what? Tommy didn't know, he was stopped by a hand grabbing his arm in a firm grip. He froze from the touch, before he looked down and met Purpled’s red rimmed and angry eyes.
‘Not now’ he seemed to say with the look he was giving Tommy. ‘Please, not now.’ he seemed to plead.
Tommy hesitated for a moment, as he thought it over. Before reluctantly he stepped back to Purpleds side.
Shane, who did not notice Tommy and Purpleds interaction, stepped towards the graves, standing in between them.
“We were about done.” the man started. “Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping, it was bad. Ankle all swollen. ‘We got to save the boy.’ see, that's what Otis said. He gave me his backpack, and he shoved us ahead. “Run.” he said, “I'll take the rear. I'll cover you.” and when I looked back…” he paused for a minute before continuing. “We were almost to the car, when a walker got a hold of Techno. Bit ‘I'm, right on the shoulder. We knew he wasn't going to make it out, so he- he gave me his bag, and told me to keep going, told me to tell his brothers he was sorry, that he’ll never forget them up in heaven, and that he hoped to never have to see them up there anytime soon. After that, he turned around and started yelling to get the walkers attention, to get me more time. By the time i had gotten to my car, he was gone.” He finished.
Tommy was frozen in his spot, as he stared at Shane wide eyed.
He’s lying. Why was he lying?
Techno would never claim to be going to heaven. Not just because he wasn't religious, but also because he would probably make a joke about going to hell. Never would Techno say some sappy shit like that without adding at least one horribly timed joke, to make light of the situation, and never would he say it to Shane of all people. Shane was lying, and he needed to know why. Did he do something? Was he the reason Techno didn't make it back? Or was he just trying to make them feel better, by putting words in Techno’s mouth. He doubted it was the latter, they didn't like each other enough for that, in fact Shane hated them. Always had. Probably always will.
So why? Why would he lie? What was he hiding?
Tommy was shaking, and something wet dripped from his clenched knuckles. Looking down, he noticed it was blood. His nails cut his palms. The slight sting seemed to ground him somewhat from his anger, that, and Purpled’s hand that was still holding onto his arm. Tommy looked at Purpled and saw him glaring at the bald man with his eyes, the rest of his face was perfectly smooth, not a single twitch out of place to show his anger. Tommy was sure his face would be the same.
“If not for those two, I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl too. It was Otis, and it was Techno. They saved us both… if any death ever had meaning, it was theirs.”
The teens watched as the man limped towards the wheel barrel full of rocks as he spoke. He grabbed two and slowly made his way towards the two graves. One after the other, he placed the rocks. What did he do? What did that asshole do to his brother!?
Tommy was glaring daggers at the man. if looks could kill, that man would've been dead 10 times over.
Seeming to sense the eyes on his back, Shane turned towards the brothers, before freezing slightly from the glares he was receiving. He became pale, and sweaty, before he hastily turned away. He seemed scared. Good. he also seemed guilty. Not good.
Tommy could feel Purpled's grip on his arm turn bruising, but he didn't care. The sting and the reassurance that Purpled was there was what was keeping him from going after the asshole.
Tommy watched as Shane limped back towards his previous spot. Not meeting anyone's eyes.
The funeral continued on, before finally ending. Tommy felt a tug on his arm and he looked down to his brother, who tilted his head towards the house.
The younger nodded, before following the older teen. Tommy followed Purpled towards the front of the house, where the rest of the group (who had just gotten there that morning) had set up camp. The two teens made their way towards one of the trucks, where a handful of the members had gathered around, Hershel and Maggie included.
The teens heard Rick speaking when they walked up. Everyone was huddled around a map of the area that was placed on the hood of the truck and weighed down by rocks.
“We’ll grid the whole area, and start searching in teams.” the man said. Tommy noticed he was dressed in his police uniform.
“Not you, not today.” Hershel said, looking at Rick. Before he turned to Tommy, making the teen tense. “Not you either. Rick, you gave three units of blood, you wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out. Tommy, i don't think i need to explain why you can't go out.” Tommy's eyes widened. What the fuck!? He wasn't fucking weak, he didn't need ‘bedrest’. He needed to be out there, looking for the little girl. Tommy glared slightly at the older man. He was gonna show this motherfucker that he was ‘weak’.
Tommy moved slightly, preparing to march over to the man. Before he felt someone grab his wrist. Looking down, Tommy saw Purpled give him a warning glare, before squeezing his wrist slightly. God damnit.
Tommy and Purpled had a silent argument with their eyes.
‘Let me go’
‘No’
‘He called me weak.’
‘No he didn't, he just didn't want you to fucking die.’
‘No, I'm pretty sure he called me weak.’
Purpled rolled his eyes. ‘You're a fucking idiot.’
Tommy's eyes widened, before he gasped silently. Insulted. ‘How fucking dare you.’
‘You're not going to beat up an old man Tommy.’
‘I'm not going to hurt him’
‘Tommy’
Tommy averted his eyes from Purpled for a moment, before turning back.
‘Ok fine, I won't go after the old man.’
Purpled looked pleased, seeming happy he won the silent argument. All while Tommy slumped in defeat, settling to just glare at the old man across from them. (no, he wasn't pouting.)
Tommy also distantly noticed, as they listened to Hershel tell Shane he also couldn't go looking, because of his ankle, that Purpled never let go of his wrist, seeming to not trust that Tommy was truly calmed down enough not to attack. Tommy never shook his hand off, as the feeling did help calm him down.
Tommy noticed from the corner of his eye as Daryl sent them both a confused but amused look, Rick doing the same. The younger ignored them both.
Daryl spoke up after he turned back to the map. “I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there.” Tommy watched as the others nodded to Daryl.
“Ima go out too. I'll go with Daryl then maybe branch out later. If that's alright with you?” The last sentence was directed to Daryl, who in turn nodded towards Purpled, agreeing to that idea.
“I can still be useful.” Shane spoke. “ I'll drive up the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back.” The man finished.
Rick nodded to that. “Alright, tomorrow then. We’ll start doing this right.”
“That means we can't have our People out there with just knives. They need the gun training we’ve been promising them.” Shane said.
“I'd prefer you not carry on my property. We’ve managed so far without turning this into an armed camp.” Hershel spoke. Tommy’s eyes went wide at that. Wait what? No guns? What happens if walkers get onto the property and they need to take them down? Knives would work if it was one or two, but if it's a hoard, like the one on the highway, then they're gonna need their guns.
“What happens if a horde of walkers stumble onto the property?” Tommy questions “we’re gonna need that protection.”
Tommy still wasn't calmed down fully from the funeral, nor his (almost) outburst earlier. He felt like a bomb ready to go off at any moment. Hershel also seemed to still be upset at Tommy for his comments the night before, as the man glared at the teen.
Tommy matched the glare with one of his own. The longer they glared at each other the thicker the tension got.
Tommy felt a squeeze on his wrist, drawing his attention to it. Right right, not hurting the old man. He focused on the feeling of Purpled’s hand holding his wrist. Forcing himself to calm down, to not feel the anger that's threatening to blind. He pushed the anger down, he would deal with it another day.
Rick speaking up seemed to break the tension somewhat. “This is your property.” Rick gave Tommy a warning look, “and we will respect that.” When the cop finished, he put his revolver on the hood of the truck. Soon followed by Shane.
All of them looked at Tommy and Purpled expectantly. And Tommy could feel Purpled’s gaze, questioning what his plan of action was.
Tommy huffed silently before he reached for his gun, placing it on the hood. He turned to Purpled and gestured for him to do the same. The older teen nodded, doing it with no hesitation.
Tommy hated the feeling of not having his gun on him. The only thing keeping him from completely ignoring Rick and keeping his gun, was the fact that he still had his knife, his duffel (which was still full of many weapons. Weapons that he will make sure Rick nor anyone else from the group will find out about.) and Purpled by his side, watching his back.
Rick continued talking after both teens put their guns on the hood. “First things first: set camp, find Sophia.”
Shane spoke before Rick could say anymore. The man was visibly agitated. “I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody’s gotta. What happens if we find her and she’s bit?” he questioned. “I think we should all be clear on how we handle that.”
Tommy put his head down at that. As much as he hated to admit it, he had to agree with Shane. They had to think of all possibilities. Prepare for all outcomes. And sadly, Sophia being bit, was a scarily high possibility. She was a little girl, lost in the woods, with walking cannibal corpses stumbling around.
Rick seemed to realize the same thing, because he too put his head down. “You do what has to be done.” the cop said.
“And her mother? What are you gonna tell her?” Maggie questioned, looking at the cop concerned and shocked.
“The truth. She knows what being bit means.” Purpled said, staring at the older woman.
Maggie’s head whipped to Purpled, before she put it down.
“I'll gather all the guns, keep track of ‘em. But we will need a rifleman on watch, Dales got experience.” Shane said, looking at Hershel for permission.
Rick seemed to see Hershel's hesitation and turned to the older man. “Our people would feel safer. Less inclined to carry a gun.” The man reasoned.
Hershel seemed to think on it for a minute, before finally nodding his head.
Maggie looked back and forth between Rick and Tommy. “That medical supplies you brought. You got anymore?” the woman questioned.
Rick shook his head and Maggie turned to Tommy. The teen hesitated, thinking over the pros and cons of giving up their supplies. Before ultimately deciding to nod his head. “Techno had more, in his duffel. I'll go get it.” Maggie and surprisingly Hershel nodded thankfully towards the teen. Making Tommy nod back before he walked away.
Tommy walked over to the car the brothers had been using and opened the trunk. They still hadn't set up their tent yet so they were keeping everything in the car for now. Tommy moved his and Purpleds duffels aside and pulled Techno’s towards him slightly. After making sure no one was around to see inside, Tommy reached to open it. He hesitated for a moment, before he pushed through it. Now wasn't the time.
When he opened the duffel, his breath hitched. Sitting on top of the weapons, was the boar skull mask Techno wore during missions. Tommy felt his eyes sting, but he blinked it away. Don't feel, you know this Theseus.
With a trembling hand, Tommy moved the skull. Continuing on with his task. Various weapons from guns to sharp and blunt objects greeted him, along with a bag that was about the size of the skull. It was the bag Techno used for his medic shit.
Tommy quickly grabbed the bag and opened it, taking out about half of the supplies to put into his and Purpled’s bags just in case. He wasn't about to give them everything, not when he and Purpled might need it at some point. When he was done with that, he quickly closed both the duffel and the medical kit, before closing the trunk with a ‘thunk’. Med kit securely in his hand, but now noticeably lighter
As Tommy turned away from the car, he froze. There standing a bit away, eyes moving back and forth from the trunk to Tommy in shock, was Quackity.
Fuck.
Tommy quickly made his way towards the man. All while the man in question stumbled back a step.
“Quackity.” Tommy said when he reached him.
“Ayyy! Thomas!” The man chuckled nervously as he yelled his name.
“You- you got some cool looking tools over there.” Quackity said, a slightly alarmed smile on his face.
“That i do.” Tommy crossed his arms, a show that he wasn't out for the man's blood… yet. “Ya gonna say shit about it?”
Quackity started rapidly shaking his head. “Nope! I swear!”
Tommy nodded his head slowly. He would need to keep an eye on the man, he couldn't let the others know about the weapons, especially Shane. That bastard would snatch them the first chance he got, and Tommy couldn't lose his backup plan if this all went to shit and he and Purpled had to leave.
Tommy backed away from the man without another word, allowing him to walk away. As soon as he could, Quackity sped away, away from Tommy. Hopefully the man was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.
The teens eyes lingered on the older man for a moment longer, before he started heading back to camp. The walk would take a minute because of how far away they parked.
He was stopped before he could get into camp.
“you leaving?” Tommy asked. The other teen was probably just heading to the car to get shit for the search.
Purpled nodded. “Ya, I'm just heading to the car to get some supplies, just in case the search runs longer than it's supposed to.”
Tommy nodded also. Before looping his free arm around Purpled and pulling him into a hug. “You be careful, I don't know what I would do if I lost you too. Ya hear?” Tommy murmured into Purpled’s hair.
“Of course, idiot. Besides, I'm not some noob like you, who finds the one person in that forest with a gun and gets shot.” The shorter teen pulled away with a smug grin, while Tommy huffed in fake annoyance, trying and failing to hide his grin.
Both teens stepped away from each other, small grins on their faces. Before the atmosphere grew serious again. “I'm serious though, don't do anything that could put you in danger, and I mean anything. Okay Purp?”
Purpled, seeming to see that Tommy was serious, nodded. “I know, I'll be safe, I promise.”
Tommy nodded again. “Good-” he turned towards where the main group was and saw Daryl standing around, as if waiting for Purpled. “You should get going, I don't think he’s going to wait much longer.” He chuckled.
Purpled laughed too, before turning towards their car to continue on his task. As he walked away, he raised his hand in a wave, not even looking back at Tommy.
Tommy shook his head in amusement, before he too, continued his task.
He found Maggie as she was riding into camp on her horse, leading another saddled horse behind her.
He managed to stop her before she could make it into camp. “Hey! Maggie!” Tommy called.
The woman turned to Tommy when she heard him speak and she smiled when she saw the bag he was holding. “ ‘s that the med kit?” she asked, gesturing towards the bag from on top of her horse.
Tommy nodded, lifting it towards her. “Ya, You heading out?” the teen asked when she took the bag.
Maggie nodded her head. “We're going into town to see if we can find more med supplies.”
“We?”
“Ya, Glenn’s going to be coming with me.” she answered.
Tommy’s head then turned towards the horse the woman was leading and chuckled. “Ya, I don't think that man has been anywhere near a horse in his life.”
She looked amused by that, but not surprised. A smug smile formed on her face. “ I know. I wanna see him try though.”
Tommy barked out a shocked laugh at that. “Alrighty then.” he then gestured towards the bag. “Keep that with you when you leave, it should be able to fit more stuff.”
Maggie nodded before smiling. “Thanks, is there anything you or your brother need while we're in town?” the woman questioned.
Tommy shook his head. “Not anything we can't get ourselves, thank you, though.”
“No problem.” she then nodded to Tommy, before she clicked her tongue and walked off.
Tommy hadn't even been able to make it fully into camp, before T-Dog and Dale came marching in.
“Uhh, guys? We have a bit of a problem.” the darker man announced, gaining everyone's attention. Including Maggie and Glenn who were just about to leave.
–
They all stared down the well with various different expressions. The most popular being disgust and slight horror.
Waddling around in the well that was used on the cattle, and not the house (luckily), groaning and moaning as it went. Was a bloated and soaked walker.
Shit. This was going to be a pain in the ass to get out.
“Looks like we've got ourselves a swimmer.” Dale supplied. Flashlight lighting the well for them to see the walker.
Tommy could only nod. A swimmer indeed.
“How long do you think it's been in there?” Glenn questioned.
“Long enough to grow gills.” Andrea input.
“Long enough to melt more like it.” Tommy wrinkled his nose slightly in disgust. This had got to be one of the grossest shit he’s seen, and he's seen a lot of gross shit. The walker's skin was literally on the verge of falling off. He didn't even think that water was even drinkable at this point, it was like the fucker had became one with it.
He could say one thing for certain, him and Purpled were most definitely not drinking this fucking water, even if they were able to get the living swim floaty out of it.
“We can't leave it there. God knows what it's doing to the water.” Lori helpfully supplied.
“Ya, we gotta get it out.” Shane added.
“Easy, put a bullet through its head.” T-Dog said. Tommy tilted his head slightly at that.
“But would that make it worse? Like with the blood and brains and shit spewing all into the water?” Some of the people around him looked visibly disgusted by the description. But others nodded in agreement.
Even though it looked to physically pain him, Shane agreed to Tommy. “He’s right.”
“So it has to come out alive?” T-Dog questioned.
“So to speak.”
“How do we do that?” Quackity questioned. Speaking for the first time since they got there.
Maggie seemed to come up with an idea, before running back to the house.
She came running back a few minutes later holding a big thing of preserved meat with a rope and stick.
“We’re fishing it out? Literally?” Tommy questioned.
Maggie nodded. “Yup, if we put a little rope on the stick, then add the meat to it, the meat should attract its attention, and when it attacks the meat, we drop another rope that will go around it so we can pull it up.” the woman explained.
The idea seemed doable, until Maggie opened the meat. Everyone recoiled slightly from the sight and smell.
“If the walker goes after that, I'll start praying to god, because that would be a fucking miracle.” Tommy commented while shielding his nose slightly. Everyone ignored him. Except Quackity and T-Dog who nodded in agreement as they eyed the meat skeptically.
They followed the plan exactly like Maggie had said, but the walker wouldn't take the bait.
Great.
“Maybe cause it doesn't kick and scream when you try to eat it.” T-Dog said.
“Or because it looks like a block of cheese.” Quackity added.
“I think it's because it doesn't smell dead.” Tommy also added.
“They're right.” Lori started “there’s a reason the dead didn't come back to life and start raiding our cupboards.” Tommy felt inclined to agree. Techno told him about how Him, Rick, and Glenn had to wear walker guts in order to get out of Atlanta. ‘If it smells dead, then it is dead to them. They wont touch it.’ he had said. And sadly, that meat smelled very, very, dead.
“We need live bait.” Andrea said. And all, one right after the other, looked towards Glenn and Quackity. those poor men. Tommy winced slightly in sympathy.
They both looked to the rest of the group, then to each other. Quackity lifted his hands in a ‘rock’ motion, putting his other hand palm up under it. Tilting his head in silent question.
Glenn brought his own hand up, and they both started. Best out of three.
Quackity ended up only winning one, Glenn winning the other two. Quackity instantly looked like his soul was sucked out of his body when the others started preparing. Tommy included. This may be a stupid idea, but he was sure as hell going to help.
When they had the rope tied around Quackity’s torso and legs, like a harness, the man started praying in Spanish. This was going to end horribly, Tommy could feel it.
Everyone, except Maggie (who refused to be a part of this), all lined up to the rope that was going to lift and lower Quackity. Preparing to lower the man.
“Oh, you people are crazy.” Maggie said, staring at them as if they had lost their minds. Well, she wasn't far off. They sure as hell were not sane.
“You want to get it out of your well or not?” Shane asked. Not taking his eyes off of the well.
“Give us an eye there Maggie.” Dale asked. The woman marched over towards the well, before peeking her head in.
Very slowly, they started lowering Quackity into the well. Everything was going fine, till they heard creaking from the tap they were using to hold the rope.
They all watched in slow motion as the tap creaked and eventually broke. Causing the rope to go slack. They all scrambled to catch the rope before it could drop the man fully into the well.
Tommy managed to get a hold of the big water tap that the rope was still attached to. The sudden weight of the tap and Quackity strained his muscles, making them burn with the effort. He could also feel the stitches in his side pull. Shit.
They all heard as Quackity yelled various different Spanish insults, while also screaming in English for them to get him the fuck out of there.
Everyone scrambled to where Tommy was straining to keep the tap from falling in. everyone managed to all very slowly pull Quackity back up. All the while everyone was screaming to ‘pull him up!’ and Quackity was screaming ‘get me up! get me out you assholes!’ in Spanish and English. Along with many many more desperate pleas and insults.
When the man finally managed to climb out, he practically kissed the ground.
Everyone scrambled to him, checking to make sure he was okay. All the man did was pant and shake on all fours, obviously trying to calm himself down.
Tommy stepped away from the man, turning his back to him and the rest once he made sure Quackity was fine. He slowly lifted his shirt and opened one side of his bandage. He slumped in relief at what he saw. No rips, thank fuck. He didn't think he would be able to listen to Purpled’s lecture while the older teen stitched it back up. He hated when he made Purpled mad, it was fucking scary.
The teen turned back to the others when he heard Dale speak up, panting heavily. “Back to the drawing board.”
Shit. Tommy didn't know how much of this he could do without ripping his stitches. And he would like to avoid doing that, preferably.
“Says you.” Quackity quips, sarcastically. Handing the rope that he was supposed to attach to the walker, to Dale.
Dale looked to Quackity confused when he grabbed the rope. But his eyes quickly widened when he was yanked towards the well from a tug on the rope.
Everyone except T-Dog and Quackity ran towards the well, peering down it.
Holy shit.
He did it. He actually managed to catch the fucking walker.
Everyone quickly sprung into action. Tommy and most of the rest kept hold of the rope, while Maggie ran back towards the house to grab one of the horses she saddled.
She tied the rope to the saddle and started leading the horse away from the well, as everyone started pulling.
They all strained to pull the rope, even with the horse helping. It was like the walker weighed the same as a fucking car. Every single one of them (except T-dog who was watching the walker to make sure he got up fine, and Maggie, who was keeping the horse calm and moving.) were struggling to pull the walking water balloon up.
The walker was about halfway out of the well, when it got stuck on the ledge. They all pulled as hard as they could, to try and get it unstuck and on land. When they all fell back, the weight vanished.
Tommy sprang back up and watched in disgust, as the bottom half of the walker, along with all its guts, fell back into the well. Instantly contaminating the rest of the water down there.
Tommy had a feeling he and Purpled weren't going to be the only ones not drinking that water after this.
Everyone just watched with various levels of disgust and resignation. All of them panting heavily and sweating.
The top half of the walker raised its arms and started growling more frantically at the living around it.
“We should probably seal off this well.” Dale said.
“Ya, you're probably right, big man.” Tommy mumbled, stepping closer to the walker.
Just as he was about to pull out his knife to kill it. T-Dog shot forward with a crowbar and started bashing its head in. Tommy jumped back in surprise, while the other recoiled in horror, noses scrunching in disgust.
When T-Dog was finished, he tossed the crowbar to the side. “Good thing we didn't do anything stupid, like shoot it.” the man snarked.
–
After the whole well situation. Tommy went to his and Purpled’s car and started setting up a tent next to it.
When he was done he made sure to put the duffels inside it and hide them with some clothes and blankets, so unless someone was looking for it, it won't be visible.
Tommy was just getting back into camp when he saw Daryl and Purpled get back. The younger teen smiled slightly in relief when he saw his brother.
Tommy started walking towards the other teen, managing to get his attention. Purpled smiled when he saw Tommy approaching and met the younger halfway.
“Wow. not injured worse then you already are. Color me impressed.” Purpled quipped sarcastically. Smiling smugly at Tommy.
Tommy grumbled under his breath and rolled his eyes as he pulled Purpled into a brief hug.
“How’s your already existing wound?” The older questioned, raising his eyebrow slightly.
Tommy winced slightly at that. Purpled was not going to be happy. They might not have ripped, but they were scarily close. That and the fact that he was doing all this ‘heavy lifting’.
The purple wearing teen seemed to catch Tommy’s hesitancy, and his face fell. “Tommy.”
Shit.
“It's fine… ish.”
“Tommy, did you rip the stitches?”
Tommy perked up at that. “Nope!”
Purpled looked at Tommy confused. “Ok… then what did you do?”
“Well-” Tommy turned around and started heading towards their tent, Purpled walking right next to him. “ i helped the others try and get a walker out of the cattle's well, which did fuck up my side a bit. But I'm fine!” he hurried to say.
Purpled looked at him doubtfully. “Does the bandage need changing?”
The younger one slumped slightly at that. “Ya, actually. Turns out trying to lift a walker out of a well is very strenuous. It is bleeding a bit.”
Luckily Purpled didn't seem too pissed, just annoyed. Good. good. He can deal with an annoyed Purpled.
–
The next morning, the brothers found themselves standing around the same truck as the day before. Planning out there search. With various members of the group. (even though Tommy was still banned from looking, which, in Tommy's oh so humble opinion, was bullshit.)
They had their guns in front of them. Each person making sure to grab their own, Tommy and Purpled included. (even though Tommy wont be able to keep it after they leave. So he’s mostly just cleaning his while the others get ready.)
When Daryl tells his plan to borrow a horse and ride around the ridge, get a view from above, T-Dog chuckled.
“Good idea. Maybe you’ll see your Chupacabra up there too.”
Tommy and Purpled started chuckling. Tommy remembered that story.
Quackity turned to T-Dog confused. “Chupacabra?”
“You never heard this?” Dale questioned. Both Quackity, Rick, Beth’s (Hershel's daughter.) boyfriend Jimmy, and Tubbo all shook their heads.
“Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time he went squirrel hunting and he saw a Chupacabra.”
Jimmy laughed, seeming to not quite believe the story.
“What’ya braying at, jackass?” Daryl snapped, defensive.
“So you believe in a blood sucking dog?” Rick questioned, trying to stifle his laughs.
“Do you believe dead people walking around?” Daryl snapped back. Rick still had an amused grin on his face, but he backed down.
Jimmy moved to grab the gun that was in front of Rick, but the older man intercepted him.
“Hey hey, ever fired one before?” the man questioned, picking up the rifle Jimmy tried to grab.
“Well if I'm going out I want one.” Jimmy said. Tommy saw Tubbo nod in agreement next to Jimmy.
“Yeah, and people in hell want Slurpee's.” Daryl snarked, while he grabbed his crossbow and marched away, probably to start his look for Sophia.
Tommy chuckled from Daryl’s response, while Jimmy and Tubbo looked annoyed. Tommy’s attention was brought from his gun to his brother when he saw him start packing his shit to start his search.
“Ya’ heading out?” the younger asked.
Purpled nodded. “Mhm, me and Daryl had planned yesterday to continue looking like we were yesterday. instead this time i'm the only one that's going to be looking around while Daryl keeps a view from above.”
Tommy nodded, before putting his gun’s parts down and turning to Purpled, wrapping his arms around him. “Remember what I said last time. Stay safe, alright?”
“Of course.” There was no sarcastic remark like last time, which surprised Tommy slightly, but he ignored it.
Soon after, Purpled grabbed the rest of his stuff and followed after Daryl.
Before Tommy could continue cleaning his gun, he heard Shane speak up.
“Why don't you come train tomorrow, Tubbo, Jimmy? If you're serious, I'm a certified instructor.” the older man asked. Oh right, they had said something about gun training hadn’t they?
Tommy saw Tubbo’s face light up while Jimmy’s was contemplative and hesitant.
“For now they can come with us.” Andrea said, turning to Shane.
“They’re yours to babysit then.” the man replied, watching as Andrea turned and moved to the other side of the hood.
Tommy went back to cleaning his gun. Ignoring what the other started planning.
Tommy spent most of his day cleaning his knife and guns (he made sure to clean the ones the group doesn't know about in his and Purpled’s tent.) he only stopped when Tubbo came and started dragging him around the farm, and when he went to check on Carl, who luckily had woken up.
He was sitting in the main camp area, listening to Tubbo gush about how much he loved bees, and why, when he heard an alarmed shout from Andrea.
“Walker!”
Instantly Tommy was up from his seat, with his freshly sharpened and cleaned knife in his hand. He watched as the others did the same, instead grabbing their own weapons (except guns).
Tommy walked over to the R.V right next to and under Andrea, who was sitting on the roof. He also saw Rick walk over to them and stand next to Tommy.
“Just the one?” Rick questioned, while he surveyed the field. Tommy did the same, having to shield his eyes because of the glare of the sun.
He was only able to see one figure, but it was far away so he couldn't tell for sure. It also seemed to be big.
Andrea scrambled to grab her binoculars and looked into the field.
“No, there’s two actually.” she reported. Two? He couldn't see another one.
“I bet I could nail them from here.” the woman said while reaching for her rifle.
“No, No! Andrea. Put the gun down.” Rick ordered. Reluctantly the woman complied.
Everyone walked up to where Tommy and Rick were standing.
“You’d best let us handle this.” Shane said.
“Shane hold up, Hershel wants to handle walkers.” Rick said. Hershel? Why?
“What for man? We got it covered.” Shane replied. Rick relented, seeming to see that Shane wasn't going to listen no matter what he said, before running into the R.V to grab a weapon.
Tommy followed as everyone jogged out into the field, taking the lead quickly because of his speed.
When they got up to the walkers, they stopped, tension melting from their bodies. They all lowered their weapons.
The supposed ‘walkers’ were just Purpled and Daryl. Purpled had Daryl’s arm around his shoulder, supporting him. They both looked like shit, although Daryl was the only one to look injured.
The lack of wound did not stop Tommy's eyes from darting all around Purpled’s body to make sure he wasn't in pain or bleeding. They were trained to ignore the pain, after all. Luckily, other than fatigue and mud, Purpled seemed fine.
“Shit man, we thought you were walkers.” Tommy joked, his lips tilting up slightly. Purpled smiled slightly in relief also.
The older teen opened his mouth to reply, but never got the chance.
They heard the bang before they saw it, making Tommy tense on reflex, reaching for his gun that wasn't there.
It seemed to happen in slow motion, as Tommy realized the bullet wasn't meant for him. The soldier’s breath caught in his throat, chest freezing, as he watched his only living brother’s head jerk back, before his body fell to the ground, dragging Daryl down with him.
–
“Who the hell are you?”
‘Oooh
Uh oh
They seem dangerous’
The man kept his hands raised when his rescuers asked the question.
“My name is Techno-” The man- Techno said “Thank you for your help. Is there anything I can do to repay you?” he asked. These people saved his life, he owed them more than he was comfortable with.
The person in front of him lowered their gun, removing their hood. The person next to them, doing the same.
The person with the gun spoke first. “No problem. My name’s Puffy, and the woman next to me is Michonne. We could actually use your help in return.”
Techno tensed, squinting his eyes suspiciously. Well, might as well get it over with.
‘See! Nothings free here!
Shut up man, nobody cares
Rude
E
E
Stop with the E’s!’