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One town.
One miserable run down town.
The only thing that separated Tommy and Ranboo from the safe haven.
Well saying that it was a town was a little bit of an understatement. The first half was your usual, run of the mill, apocalyptic town full of brain eating zombies. The second half of the area, however—
It was a desert. Sort of. The safe haven built for whatever humanity was left nestled far out into this sweltering hot desert that looked like it was slowly taking over the town that was in front of the two.
The town was rumoured to have the most zombies in miles. It was ironic really, the town closest to the safe haven meant for humans was filled to the brim with slobbering, groaning zombies.
Both Ranboo and Tommy were hiding in an outpost on the outskirts of the town, scavenging for any sort of supplies that they could add to their own. The place seemed to have been raided multiple times already, meagre supplies that wouldn’t be of any use to them being the only thing they found.
Ranboo spread out a grimy map on the floor, vague markings that hardly made sense to Tommy scratched into the paper with smudged charcoal.
“From what we’ve gathered based on those groups we met over the mountains, these parts are the most infested areas,” they began, pointing out some of the markings.
“That’s literally ninety per cent of the central parts of town,” Tommy deadpanned, looking at the messy paper.
“That’s why we’re armed aren't we?” Ranboo chuckled weakly, the joke falling flat. Tommy let out a deep breath, looking over at their pile and bags of supplies.
“Are you sure we can’t just go the longer route?” the blond asked, sitting on the dirty floor next to Ranboo.
“We’d die of hunger and lack of supplies or the sun would take us out within seventy two to ninety six hours.”
Tommy muttered a curse under his breath, “what did that lady say, about the journey?”
“It’s faster through the town,” Ranboo replied, voice low, “maybe about a day or two’s worth of journey less. It’s just a town, Tommy, relax.”
The blond stood up, wringing his hands together as he began to pace.
“Just a town,” Tommy repeated, letting out a shaky breath, “we’ve raided so many of these before why would this one be any different? Just because it has a story? Of people who never make it through? Just because people choose to brave the longer route? It’s just a dusty old town with no living people left—”
“Tommy,” Ranboo cut him off, “you’re overthinking. Just one more town. One last trip. One last encounter with the zombies. Then we can do whatever it is we wanna do in the sanctuary.”
“One last trip,” Tommy parroted, “promise me.”
“Promise what?”
“Promise me that we’ll both survive this. That we’ll make it out of there alive. That we both will reach the safe haven. Together.”
“I promise.”
Ranboo folded the map back up and placed it in his bag. They spent the rest of the day preparing for tomorrow’s journey, boarding up the outpost as the night approached.
The two took turns keeping watch out the window as the moon rose behind dark clouds, casting an eerie shadow on the moving swarms of undead. When the sun returned, weak and red, they put out the smouldering pieces of wood and set off, silently making their way towards the fabled town.
By the time the sun fully rose, they had crossed all the security outposts and were nearing the points where the town actually began. Tommy was slightly weirded out by the fact that they hadn’t encountered even a single zombie yet.
The silence was unsettling, pressing down on the two of them as they entered the town. Tommy’s hand tightened around the gun attached to his belt. From the corner of his eye, the blond could see Ranboo’s fingers curled tightly around the sword attached to their belt.
Tommy straightened up subconsciously, his hand moving from holding the gun to a dagger that was attached to his belt. It was a small thing that once belonged to some guy long ago back in Tommy’s hometown. An unimportant detail, but one that he remembered nonetheless, the man’s face stark clear in his mind, as the zombies began invading the area where he, Tommy and a few others were hiding.
“Tommy,” Ranboo muttered under his breath, “something’s wrong.”
Tommy nodded in silent agreement. They quietly drew their weapons and continued walking, passing residential areas and nearing the centre of the town.
The town circle was— for lack of a better word, horrifying. Dead zombies and humans alike were strewn all over the large circle. The two boys hovered at the edge of the circle, standing at the end of a road, looking at the carnage. Not a single living— or well, moving undead thing lay in the area. Ranboo and Tommy, now completely vigilant, set a tentative foot into the town circle.
A small breeze had picked up, so small that Tommy wouldn’t have noticed if his senses weren’t on high alert.
Ranboo adjusted the sleeves of their jacket. They slowly stepped over a dead body, tiptoeing to avoid stepping on anything that could attract attention to them.
The two of them managed to cross a quarter of the town circle in complete silence. Tommy took another tentative step forward, looking up at Ranboo who was waiting for the blond to move forward when a resounding crack echoed throughout the area.
Tommy froze, looking down at his foot which had landed on some dead dude’s now broken in half rib. He looked back up at Ranboo whose eyes were wide, the rest of his expression hidden behind their mask.
The silence that followed after the crack was filled in by low groaning noises. Noises that were made by only a certain type of thing.
Zombies.
“Tommy,” Ranboo said warningly, drawing his sword.
“Do we run?” Tommy whispered, removing his gun from its sheath, “or fight?”
“It’s the town circle,” Ranboo’s grey eyes were calculating as they mentally began chalking out an escape plan while Tommy kept an eye out for zombies.
“I can tell,” the blond replied, shifting to a fighting position as the groaning and mumbling noises increased.
“What I meant to say is that we’ll be surrounded by the time we make it across the circle.”
“So fight?” Tommy said, heart thudding as the first wave of zombies made their appearance.
“Bit reckless and stupid but also our only way of escaping without an ambush.”
Tommy tightened his grip around his gun, the two getting into a fighting position as the zombies approached, making a beeline towards the duo.
“Try to fight your way to that end of the town circle if possible,” Ranboo mumbled behind his mask, “if we get separated, I’m gonna assume that you’re there.”
“You’re placing way too much trust on me bossman,” Tommy let out a shaky laugh, turning the safety off with a sharp click .
“You’ve managed to survive for this long,” Ranboo replied, “sooooo—”
“Whatever,” Tommy aimed and fired, “let’s get through these pieces of shit first.”
They began fighting the zombies, their backs facing each other. Tommy and Ranboo moved through the gurgling undead, sword and gun being used in a somewhat unusual combo. Fighting side by side for approximately two years had the two boys to know each other's fighting styles like the back of their hands.
Zombies approached them from all directions. In a brief moment of chaos, Tommy suddenly found himself surrounded by zombies. Alone.
He could barely see anything other than incredibly decimated zombies and incredibly hungry for human flesh zombies. Tommy shot a zombie through its head, the bullet taking out its friend that was right behind it. In a singular second of peace, he managed to sight the pre-planned meetup spot thing Ranboo had pointed out.
He hoped that Ranboo was fighting his way there and not— well— you know. He shook the thought away as soon as it arrived. Ranboo had more experience with zombies than he did considering the guy was closer to the initial outbreak than Tommy was.
He aimed and fired his gun almost robotically, letting his instincts take over. He stepped through zombie guts and whatever shit was on the floor when his gun clicked, the magazine empty. Reaching into the pouch attached to his belt, Tommy began to load his gun, dodging the zombies that reached out to grab him.
All of a sudden, his gun was knocked out of his hands by a stray rotting hand, getting lost in the mess of limbs before Tommy could even react. Punching a zombie that was getting a bit too close for Tommy’s liking (probably a reckless move), he unsheathed his dagger and began stabbing his way through the crowd of undead.
Tommy went on a defensive leg while he looked for an opening instead of killing every zombie in sight like he did with his gun. He slowly inched towards what he assumed was the exit. A particularly persistent zombie warbled its way over to him, grimy fingers reaching out for him.
The blond stumbled backwards, dagger outstretched. A rough hand curled around his ankle, yanking him to the floor. Tommy’s reflexes kicked in on time and drove the dagger through the ankle grabber’s throat, effectively silencing the zombie.
Head spinning due to his fall, Tommy scrambled backwards as all the zombies that were around him turned and started shuffling their way over to him. He scrambled backwards until his back hit a wall.
Panic began to inch up his throat, groaning masses inching towards him. The gargling noises and squelching of their feet as they stepped in the previous carnage pressed down on Tommy as his hand tightened around his dagger.
It dawned on him that his bag was no longer strapped to his shoulders. His dagger and the bits and pieces in his pockets were the only things that remained with him.
He opened his mouth to let out a panicked shout as multiple rotten hands reached out for his face when a loud, echoing BANG , resounded.
Multiple zombies dropped followed by a series of bangs. It gave Tommy enough leeway to get back on his feet.
Standing in the middle of a bunch of zombie remains was Ranboo, their mask surprisingly intact, his varsity jacket not as much, the arms tattered, the jacket buttoned up for some reason. Tommy’s gun was in the other’s hand, a terrified look on his face.
The blond crashed into Ranboo, arms wrapping around the other. Ranboo was stunned for a moment before wrapping his arms around Tommy.
“Celebrations after the town is behind us,” Ranboo muttered, wincing slightly. Tommy nodded, taking the gun from Ranboo who was more than glad to give it back.
“You’re a good shot,” Tommy said, looking around and realizing that ninety per cent of the zombies were dead, “I thought you didn’t know how to fire a gun.”
‘
“I do,” Ranboo replied, shuddering slightly, “doesn’t mean I like handling guns.”
“That’s fair,” Tommy muttered before letting out a gasp of surprise, seeing his bag lying on the ground, some of the items strewn out. Ranboo covered for him while the blond gathered his things. The moment they both were settled and no zombies were in attacking distance, they booked it from the town circle.
Tommy stayed in front while Ranboo stuck to the back. Both of them were injured from fighting the zombies and to Tommy’s relief, neither of them had any bites. Ranboo seemed to have gotten more bruises, the boy significantly slower than he had been before the zombies arrived.
As it turned out, zombies seemed to have stuck to the town circle mainly, only a stray rotten alive (?) body here and there that either Ranboo or Tommy took out immediately.
At some points, from the most random of places, like a storm drain, multiple zombies would appear, taking at least one of the two teens by surprise.
Tommy was nearly bitten on the ankle if it weren’t for Ranboo’s reflexes, the two jumping away from the drain thingy on the side of the road.
“At least you won’t have to keep saving me when we reach the safe haven,” Tommy let out a nervous laugh, staring at the decapitated zombie head on the road.
“I have to make sure that you reach the safe haven without too many injuries now don’t I?” Ranboo replied, looking equally as spooked, “I’m your friend after all.”
“When we get there I’m gonna cause so much chaos you’re gonna still have to save me from shit actually.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“I’m excited now,” Tommy rocked on his feet, “I understand what you meant that one time now.”
Tommy and Ranboo made it through more than three-fourths of the town by the time the sun began to dip over the horizon.
Nighttime meant more zombies would be appearing. Neither of them knew what exactly lay for them out in the desert but they knew for a fact that it’d be better than staying in town overnight.
They tried to move through the place faster, both their weapons drawn. Tommy and Ranboo were almost at the end of the town, the buildings turning more rural and spread out. The road went from smooth asphalt to uneven cobblestone tiles.
Tommy would’ve probably stopped to appreciate the area if he weren’t fighting to survive the night. Maybe the Tommy in a different universe who liked hitch hiking would stop for the night here in one of the small run down cottages
A small yell behind the blond cut him out of his thoughts. Whipping around, he saw Ranboo fall facedown onto the ground, ankle twisting awkwardly.
Tommy lurched forward reaching out to grab Ranboo but missing by an inch, the other crashing to the ground. The blond stayed like that, arms outstretched, waiting for Ranboo to get up.
They didn’t.
“Ranboo?” Tommy said hesitantly, “are you okay?”
Ranboo let out a groan, pushing themselves up slowly. Tommy watched with slight confusion as the other stayed like that, kneeling, palms flat on the ground.
“Ranboo?” Tommy repeated once again, “is everything alright?”
Ranboo took in a deep breath and straightened up, standing upright. He completely missed Tommy’s look of concern, adjusting his backpack instead.
“Ranboo?” Tommy said for like the third time in the last two minutes.
“Yeah?” Ranboo replied, looking up at Tommy, who, for the first time saw genuine pain in his friend’s eyes.
“You good?” Tommy asked after a moment, “you had a pretty nasty fall.”
“I’m fine,” Ranboo mumbled, wincing a little, “the zombies really like knocking you to the ground before trying to take a bite out of you. I’ve probably got big bruises all over.”
“Do you need me to take a look?” Tommy asked, alarmed, “I’ve got some of that balm thingy from a couple of towns ago if you need that.”
“No!” Ranboo exclaimed loudly, causing Tommy to flinch back in surprise, “I mean— no— no, I’m fine. You don’t need to take a look.”
“Are you sure?” the boy asked, concern in his voice, “we could find a safer spot to apply it if you’re worried about safety.”
“Tommy, I’m fine,” Ranboo insisted, “it’s just a few bruises, not much.”
“Alright,” Tommy relented after a moment, “but you have to apply the healing balm after we reach the sanctuary.”
Ranboo hesitated, before letting out a small nod. Satisfied, Tommy began leading the way again, the beginnings of the desert now in sight.
As it turned out, the zombies that resided in the desert were harder to kill. They didn’t even look the same which was absolutely baffling. Ranboo seemed to have suffered the effects of that fall more than he let on, his attacks with the sword becoming ever so slightly sluggish.
Or maybe he was just tired. Tommy didn’t really know. Ranboo was a mystery in that aspect.
It was only after Ranboo swung at a sand zombie which was what Tommy was officially dubbing them, and missed that the blond convinced them to swap weapons.
The sword wasn’t unfamiliar in his hands, although slightly foreign due to its weight.
They moved through the desert, the reddish moon illuminating a faint path through the dunes. Ranboo insisted that Tommy stay in front of him the entire time saying that the blond was better at finding a route than he was.
Tommy didn’t mind however, his thoughts were only full of the fabled sanctuary. Of life that he and Ranboo had dreamed of ever since they were driven out of their hometowns with a need to survive the virus that spread through the world like wildfire.
Soon enough, they spotted a sight that caused Tommy to light up in excitement.
Massive walls loomed in the distance, large lights shining just beyond them. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what lay out on the horizon for them.
“Ranboo!” Tommy exclaimed, spinning around to face him, “Ranboo we’ve nearly made it!”
Ranboo looked past Tommy and into the distance, squinting to see the large looming walls.
“We’ll be there by sunrise if we manage to avoid the hordes,” Tommy said, grabbing the other’s hand and pulling them along.
They moved forwards through the desert, the silent night broken periodically by a groan followed by a loud bang.
The sand shone under the dim moonlight. If he tuned out the distant grumbles and groans, Tommy could imagine a time before the apocalypse where this desert would’ve maybe been beautiful. It was cold, the two boys' shoes making almost negligible crunching sounds as they quietly avoided the zombies.
Wooden warning signs were scattered all around the desert. ‘BEWARE OF THE HUSKS’ being the most common message painted on them. The large walls stuck out on the horizon like a sore thumb amidst the hushed beauty of the desert that came with the night.
It fit right in with the large hordes of zombies and tumbleweed, however.
Tommy’s nerves buzzed at the prospect of being so close yet so far from the sanctuary. Ranboo hadn’t said anything in quite a while, their footsteps and the occasional bang of the gun the only thing Tommy could hear behind him.
He couldn’t help but imagine how excited Ranboo must be considering he was the one who found out about the sanctuary in the first place.
“There’s a settlement down in the valley,” Ranboo said as a way of greeting, “it’s quite large.”
He had just come back from scavenging the area around them, Tommy keeping watch for any attackers. They both had found this small cave on a mountain, hidden from the harsher elements and difficult to climb up to.
“Do you wanna join them?” Tommy asked, taking some of the things from Ranboo with a frown. There were many things, including medical supplies and canned food.
“No,” Ranboo replied much to the other’s surprise, “they’re too trusting. It’ll be the cause of the entire settlement’s downfall.”
“They did give a bunch of stuff for us, however,” the taller boy continued after a moment, “including this map thing. That’s where I think we should go.”
Tommy reached inside the large sack and brought out a roll of paper. Unrolling it, he spread it out on the cold stone ground, Ranboo switching on his flashlight.
It marked a passage from their current spot through multiple towns, a range of mountains, and some unidentifiable thing to this large box at the end.
“Where does this lead?” Tommy questioned, looking at the town marked in red that was right in front of the thing he couldn’t identify.
“A sanctuary.”
“A what?”
“It was built long before the apocalypse by some billionaire dude who was convinced that this exact situation would arise,” Ranboo explained, “he finished the construction right as the apocalypse actually began. Rumours have it that they’ll take any and all remaining humans in, help restart civilization y’know?”
“And this?” Tommy pointed at the town marked in red, “what does this indicate.”
“Some people called it the true apocalypse. I dunno for sure but everyone who has attempted to pass through it and managed to come back alive said that it’s teeming with zombies. No one was willing to risk their lives. Hardly any people can make it through.”
“And you wanna go to this sanctuary?” Tommy asked, “via hell town or whatever.”
“It’s worth a try,” Ranboo suggested, “we’ve raided many towns before.”
“Mhm.”
“It’d be nice to live in a relatively normal situation again,” Ranboo continued. Tommy could see the longing in the other’s eyes.
“Okay,” Tommy said.
“What?”
“Let’s make the journey to the sanctuary,” Tommy said, “it’d be nice to have some hope for something again.”
As they moved through the desert, the wooden signs began to say ‘BITTEN INDIVIDUALS ARE NOT PERMITTED INSIDE THE SANCTUARY.’
That wouldn’t be a problem for the two of them, Tommy thought as they passed one of the signs, a bite-sized chunk missing from it. The sand zombies were increasing in number, much to Tommy’s annoyance.
He couldn’t stay annoyed for long though, the walls in front of him filling him with determination and hope.
“What is the thing that you’re looking forward to the most if we reach the sanctuary?” Tommy asked, striking flint and stone together.
“When,” Ranboo said simply.
“You’re that confident that we’ll make it?”
“Yep,” came the reply, “we have each other’s backs, don’t we? Besides, hope is a good thing to hang onto.”
Tommy snorted, striking the flint, sparks flying.
“To answer your question,” Ranboo said after a moment, “it’d be nice to sleep in a clean area again. And have a warm meal too maybe.”
“It would be nice,” Tommy agreed quietly.
After what felt like forever, a couple of sand zombies gunned down or slashed to death, they reached the edge of the sanctuary.
A small metal door, enough for one person to pass through quickly, blended in with the wall. The only thing that separated them from freedom.
The door opened, almost as if the people inside had sensed that they had arrived. A large sign, ‘BITTEN INDIVIDUALS WILL BE KILLED IF THEY ENTER THE PREMISES.’ greeted them.
“Ranboo!” Tommy cheered, “Ranboo we made it!”
The blond strode up to the doors, riding on a cloud nine high. There weren’t even any sand zombies around them. It was too good to be true. He half expected to wake up, still at the outpost before the town.
He couldn’t hear Ranboo behind him, Tommy realized as he stepped up to the doors.
“Ranboo?”
“You made it, Tommy,” Ranboo had a grim look on his face, a hint of sadness in their eyes.
“What?” Tommy’s mind went blank, confusion taking over, “Ranboo c’mon, what are you talking about?”
Ranboo took a deep breath before going to unbutton his varsity jacket. Tommy nearly stumbled backwards in shock as his friend revealed a bloodied grey t-shirt.
No.
“Ranboo?” Tommy whispered, mouth agape in horror.
“The sign says that I can’t come past this point,” Ranboo said weakly with a shrug.
“No,” Tommy breathed out, horror laced in his words, “no no no. You’re joking. You aren’t bitten.”
Ranboo simply shook his head, “I’m sorry Tommy.”
Something wet dripped down Tommy’s face but he was too numb to care. There was no way Ranboo was bitten. Not when they were so close. There was no way.
“You’re lying,” Tommy shook his head, “this is just some sick joke, isn’t it? You’re not bitten, you can’t be.”
Tears were welling up in Ranboo’s hazel eyes as well, “Tommy please, just go.”
“No!” Tommy yelled, “not without you!”
“Go!”
“Not without you!”
“It’s too late for me Tommy,” Ranboo begged, “ please , just go.”
“You promised!” Tommy cried, “you promised that we’d both make it.”
“I promised that I’d get you to the sanctuary safely,” Ranboo replied, lower lip wobbling.
“Fuck you! ” Tommy yelled, “you can’t just— find a fuckin’— fuckin’ loophole you absolute asshole! You can’t just do that!”
Tommy heaved, confusion, anger and horror swirling in his gut. The sun was coming up now, casting a dull pink and red light on the sand.
“Tommy—”
“There has to be another way,” the blond sniffled, “there has to.”
“It’s been over eighteen hours,” Ranboo said, “it’s too late. Go inside the sanctuary, Tommy.”
Tommy shook his head stubbornly. Regret flashed across Ranboo’s face at that. Tommy could see a sand zombie in the distance. He looked back at Ranboo who loaded his gun.
“Ranboo?”
“I’m sorry Tommy,” Ranboo said, looking genuinely apologetic, “stay alive for me yeah?”
“What—?” Tommy was cut off by a series of gunshots.
Aimed at the ground in front of him.
Tommy stumbled back out of reflex and fell backwards into the sanctuary entrance. The metal doors slammed shut with a resounding thud as the blond scrambled to his feet and flung himself at the doors.
“ No! ” Tommy screamed, pounding at the doors, “no nononono— Ranboo!”
Tears began streaking down Tommy’s face as he received no response from the other side of the doors.
Tommy sobbed quietly, shoulders shaking as he leaned against the metal doors, silently willing them to open again. It was all silent for a moment, static buzzing in Tommy’s ears.
Bang.
A singular gunshot.
Tommy didn’t think much of it at first, but then he remembered the missing weight at his side. The gun that was in Ranboo’s hands. He was so stunned that he stopped sobbing for a moment.
No .
Tommy burst into tears again, remembering Ranboo’s initial rambles about the sanctuary. The hope the other had. The anticipation for whatever lay on the other side of the walls.
They were so close. So close to freedom. So close to living the life they both dreamed of since they acquired the map. The life they’d be able to have.
Tommy didn’t notice someone coming to pick him up, his ears fuzzy, vision blurry. He didn’t notice someone leading him to a sleeping area with a bag of new supplies to help him build a life for himself at the sanctuary.
Alone.
Without Ranboo. Without his best friend.
He was at the sanctuary. Safe.
And alone.
Outside the metal walls, a body lay, bleeding out, a gun in its hand. The body’s face had resigned acceptance, face streaked with tears. A husk happened upon it, groaning and slobbering, food, being the only thing it recognized the body as.
The sun shone down on the scene, dull and lamenting for the tragedy it witnessed. A tragedy among thousands of others. To the story that didn’t get its happy ending. The sun grieved as life went on.