Chapter Text
Day 32
It had officially been one month since the beginning of the end. Techno thinks its a Tuesday, he hasn't kept track of that. He's honestly surprised he survived so long. Every day he wakes up thinking a zombie will be munching on his leg.
The fear still remains, even though Techno doesn't travel alone anymore. There's always someone watching his back, but that doesn't mean he's stopped looking out for himself. In a group composed of an old man he found on Day 12, a kid who lost his brother, and his two friends, who he all found on Day 22, he was definitely the strongest.
The old man, Phil, wasn't really that old. But a man in his thirties only proficient in hand to hand combat could only do so much against a hoard. And the kids couldn't be older than 12, though one child, Tommy, always claimed to be the biggest man ever. Those kids sure could fight, but it didn't mean Techno wanted to let them.
Now Techno himself wasn't some kind of super strong ex-military tactical genius. He was just a guy in his twenties who happened to be really good with swords. Long range weapons were scarce, and ammo was even rarer, so blades were your best bet.
They hadn't seen any zombies since the morning, and a hoard hasn't attack since Day 29, so Techno was starting to get worried. It's not like they all suddenly disappeared, so something must be up. He could tell those kids were itching for a fight, especially a certain child with a taste for explosives.
Their little group had been walking since sunrise, and if his compass still functioned, in the direction of south. Last night they had set up base in the woods and today, they were on track to arrive in what used to be the city of Manberg before nightfall.
Cities can be good and bad. On one hand, more food and resources, maybe more survivors. On the other hand, more dead, more undead as well. They were short pretty much every supply you could think of, but he wasn't sure they could survive another attack.
"Are we there yet?" Tommy asked, for the fifth time this hour.
Ranboo answered on Techno's behalf. God, he loved that kid. "No Tommy. Techno said we'd be there by dinner, and we just had lunch."
Tommy pouted. "I bet Will woulda been faster."
"Yeah, but Techno is stronger."
"Thanks Tubbo"
The kids went on bickering, as kids tend to do, and Techno found himself subconsciously falling behind, walking at the same pace as Phil. They fell into a comfortable rhythm beside each other.
"Those boys really are resilient."
Techno gently nudged him. "You too, old man. Still got a few more years left." Phil laughed out loud, and he found himself chuckling too. He lived, and would probably die, for these moments of peace. A bit of happiness, though few and far between, can go a long way.
So of course at this moment in time he hears branches snapping in the distance. Too heavy to be an animal and too many to be just one monster. Great.
He saw them coming from the right. Unfortunately, the nice shade of trees provides the side effect of zombies not burning in the sun. A bit of a win-lose scenario. There had to be at least 10, not good at all.
"Get behind me." Techno didn't want to shout, but it definitely wasn't a whisper, more of a command then anything. The kids shuffled behind him, Phil opting to stay at his side.
The monsters became clearer. He could see their grotesque faces, all bugged out eyes and rotting flesh. Their mouths hung open dripping with blood from their last feast. Techno wasn't about to be their next.
Techno drew his sword from its makeshift sheath on his back and watched Phil do the same. The hoard was close now, maybe twenty feet. Alright Techno, get ready.
They were closing in now, 10 feet.
Techno jumped first, taking his blade and slicing clean through one. The weak zombie flesh cut with ease, leaving one decapitated zombie down and 9 more to go.
A glance to his right showed Phil running through two more. Behind him the kids had their hands up in the ‘defense position’ he had taught them on Day 24. Cute.
Or it would’ve been cute if it weren’t for the zombie approaching them. The monster reached its filthy claws out, and you couldn’t describe the pride that swelled his heart when Tubbo punched it so hard it fell over.
Phil was doing fine, the two he fought with both lay slain. Techno stepped forward and impaled the one Tubbo had knocked out, declaring it dead. “Nice job kid.”
4 down, 6 more.
Two ran towards Phil, the other four and him and the kids. One limping towards him had some kind of zombie blood leaking out it’s leg. He took it down with ease. A screech from behind.
He whipped around to see the other three practically on top of those kids. Shit, this was bad. Techno made quick work of them, barely paying attention to how the blood splattered around him.
He felt the last one take a bite out of his side before he stabbed it into the ground. Two more lay dead by a panting Phil. They were gone, good.
“Everyone alright?” Phil asked, already fishing through his bag of things, probably for medical supplies. Techno figured he was fine, he could sort it out once they arrived in Manburg.
Tommy gave him the thumbs up motion. Tubbo responded, “I’m okay, but I don’t think Ranboo is.”
Ranboo was laying in the grass, his hand clutching his leg tightly. Techno ran over and pulled his hand back.
It was a nasty wound, probably already full of bacteria. Curse this whole apocalypse. “Phil! Bandages and alcohol, now!”
Phil ran over with said supplies in tow and began unwrapping the first roll. Techno took an old rag and the alcohol, positioned over Ranboo’s wound.
“This is gonna sting a lot.” Ranboo nodded, and when he pressed down, the kid barely flinched.
Techno carefully treated the wound to the best of his ability, with Phil passing him some bandages. Once he’d finished, he asked all the kids again if they were sure they ok.
“Techno, mate, are you fine? You did most of the fighting.” The cut on his side didn’t hurt all that bad, and he’d used the last of their medical supplies of Ranboo. He could wait till Manburg.
“All good Phil. Let’s go.”
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It was in fact not all good.
Three more hours into their trip and it was nearing dusk. The city was close, only half an hour more at most. Ranboo was holding up alright, still keeping up with the other two balls of energy, who started singing road-trip songs an hour ago and haven’t stopped.
Techno might have found it annoying if it weren’t for the even more annoying pain in his side. Every step he took put some kind of pressure on the bite, and the way he knotted his shirt wasn’t doing much to cover the bloodstain. Luckily he was covered in many other unreleased bloodstains, so no one would question it.
Half an hour till the city and he could fix himself up. No need to inconvenience the group any further, they already had too much to deal with today.
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He could see the skyline of Manburg. Also his side was on fire.
Tommy rushed forward into the street, cheering that they’d ‘made it’ or whatever. Tubbo and Ranboo were just staring at the building, probably excited at the prospect of theft. Was it even theft if the person who owned it is dead? Whatever, philosophical questions later. Bandages now.
Techno staggered toward the nearest convenience store, glad the sun was still out or this place would be packed. He saw a faded box of what he thought were Bandaids. Good enough.
He turned back around with his box to see Phil standing there, doing his disappointed dad pose. The kids stood behind him, clearly trying to mimic his pose. Why were these children so darn endearing?
“Techno, what are those for?”
He tried to reason. “We need more supplies?” Wow, that was great Techno, vote of confidence for yourself.
“Mate, I saw you limping into the londis, I know you’re hurt somewhere.”
Techno sighed, so much for not worrying everyone. “Fine…” He pulled up the knotted area of his shirt. Tubbo shrieked and Tommy looked like he was gonna pass out.
Ranboo looked almost confused and worried, “How are you even alive?”
Honestly, Techno wasn’t sure. His side was still burning, and now that he was actually looking at it, it was probably extremely infected.
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I’m an idiot, obviously. Plus we used all the bandages on Ranboo, we didn’t need to waste them on me.”
Phil sighed, throwing his head in his heads. “I-I had another roll in my bag Techno, I just didn’t grab them all.”
“Oh.”
“Idiot.”
Yeah, he was.