revivalproject | [Open] Run Boy Run

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[Open] Run Boy Run

WHO: Tommy Shepherd, Open
WHERE: Beach Area, Near Greenhouse
WHAT: Escaping Running Zombies, Fighting Zombies and Hiding Bite Status
WHEN: Beach: October 13th (Worst Birthday Ever, Again); Greenhouse: Vaguely late October
WARNINGS: CW: Discussion of hidden injury in Greenhouse thread

I. They're Dying To Stop You | Beach Area (October 13th)

Some part of him says this is punishment. That part of his brain ignores the fact that shit like this has happened, nearly reliably, around their birthday every year, that he really should have been prepared. But come on, yesterday was so magical and he felt like he was owed time to bask in that. Instead he wakes up to feel it. The sort of low tremble in his body that says his powers are long since gone. That he's been like this for hours. Has to have been for hours because his body feels the sort of sluggish that says he's been asleep for a while.

It took time to haul himself out of bed, to get Billy up and ready for the trip back to the city because the beach wasn't safe if it was a storm doing weird things. And then they had set out.

The zombies hadn't taken long to become a problem. They hadn't taken long to separate the boys either. Honestly, it was harder to stay together when being chased by running zombies. Which Tommy thought was distinctly unfair. He thought it really hard when he was running with all the speed and grace as one might find in an average high school track star, fleeing from Kate's mangled face. From a masked form that could have been Eli or Patrinot. From David. From his mother.

Too many faces. Too many fears.

Tommy can't help but sob as he runs. Which is a horrible choice, given it messes up his vision as the sand gives way to something a bit more plant rich and he trips. Falls. Ends up tumbled over the ground.

"Fuck," he whimpers before pushing himself back to his feet. "Fuck."

II. And Disappear in the Trees | Southern Temba (October 13th)

It takes more time than he'd like to make it into Temba proper. Normally, outside of a storm, it's barely minutes to cross the distance. Now it's hours sneaking in the trees and along the cleared path between the city and the beach to make it here. Tired. Scratched up more by plants than by zombies. Afraid.

It's only been hours. It's been hours since he went to sleep in peace and happiness. Hours.

Now what?

He stumbles out of the tree line and tries to figure out where he is in the fog. At last, despite the risk, he throws back his head and shouts. After all, he can always retreat into the trees if he needs.

"Is there anyone out there!?"

III. The Secret Inside of You | Near Greenhouse

These sorts of things didn't last this long back home, Tommy thought. A few hours. Maybe a day or two at most. There were just too many people with powers, magic and otherwise, for any serious undead incursion to linger. Maybe that was why there were movies and books about it. Because it was maybe the sort of disaster that humans could survive after powered people slaughtered themselves against it. Tommy didn't know.

David had always spoken about it with irritation, Tommy remembered that much. Back home the other mutant had dealt with too many instances of being attacked by dead people not to notice it and have opinions. The only time Tommy had run into it had been the day they found Mom.

That had been years ago. So many years ago. Billy had gone off and been stupid, Nate had shown up. Wanda had remembered himself. Cassie...

Tommy shunts that thought aside. He was getting too melancholy, which was foolish.

"Focus, Speed," he berated himself as he pushed through the doors of the greenhouse and then closed them back up behind him. "Focus. You've got to get the food to deliver. You've got no clue how long the storm will be nice enough to let you have your powers."

Probably not long enough to get back. He'd have to get to the mines in stages, just like he'd gotten here. At least the path should be mostly open given he'd blown up just about every zombie between here and the diner on his way over.

Not all of them fast enough, he thought as he adjusted the sleeve of the coat he'd grabbed from his apartment at the diner. Not enough to keep him from getting hurt.

But perhaps he wouldn't have to head back alone. His explosions were noisy things, and the path was temporarily clear. Maybe someone would come and join him. Find him. Walk back with him.

Maybe he didn't have to do this alone.

"You're a hero. You should be able to do it alone," he reminds himself as he picks up one of the supply crates he always left by the doors. "Which isn't important. Get a huge load of tubers, man. That's what you need to focus on. And some of that elfroot stuff. Come on. Focus. Get moving."

What else was he going to do, after all? Sit down and cry again? He was tried of that. Really tired of it. He was a super hero, dammit, and he was going to do his job.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah. That shout was hard to miss, even with the fog. And Keith felt the fog... both physically by walking around in it, and with how it affected his senses. It was amazing to him just how much that silly weak bit of quintessence sense he had affected him. It was so little that he'd never considered himself different from a human for his entire life, and yet... here he was, feeling like everything was dulled.

But he still heard that. It was hard to miss someone yelling into the fog seeking someone out. And, he was fairly certain he recognized that voice.

"Tommy?!" he called back, trying to locate where the sound was coming from, but it was hard than usual for him to do that. "Tommy! Where are you?"

Oh. He knows that voice! A zombies don't seem to talk. So it's a good sign. He's got hope now.

"Keith!" he shouts back. "By the trees!"

he needs help. But can Keith even see the trees?

~~seeing the forest for the trees......~~

Keith's far enough that there's definitely a foggy effect going on, but he could what looked like a person in front of a blob of shapes, so that was good enough. The fog made it hard to pinpoint the sound exactly, but it seemed right, so he headed that way. His choice was proven right as he got closer and what he saw got clearer.

He had Kosmo with him, but even the wolf was having a bit of trouble. Granted, wolves naturally had stronger senses, but anything that was beyond normal for either of them had been cut off, and the two of them were definitely at more of a disadvantage than usual.

When Keith came into clearer view, he was a bit beat up, but not injured. Same for the wolf. He was carrying a 2x4 about the length of a baseball bat that had several nails driven into the side at one end. He was wearing his Paladin armor, but none of the lights were lit, and he didn't seem to have his bayard on him... hence the board.

"Hey! You alright?" he called once he was close enough to be sure it was Tommy. He was jogging a bit now that he was more sure and could see better.

"Huh, you doing the Harrington thing," Tommy says as Keith approaches. But he doesn't explain more.

"No, man, I'm not alright. I got separated from my boyfriend on the beach, I got chased by running zombies, and this is adding to the fucking run of terrible birthdays in this place. I'm in hell."

So no, he's not cool. And he looks bad. Scraped up, hair ruffled, in pajama pants and a t-shirt. Guy looks like a mess.

Keith gave Tommy a concerned look, not even bothering to acknowledge the first comment. He didn't understand it, but now wasn't the time to be asking what it meant.

"Are you hurt at all?"

"Uh..."

Yes. In ways that he normally couldn't get hurt. And he hates it. But admitting to it might make him seem weak.

"Nope. I'm fine for now."

Keith raised a skeptical eyebrow at that response.

"You look pretty roughed up." Please let it be that he at least didn't get bit. "We should probably get somewhere safe... ish..." Because, really, was anywhere truly safe right now? Keith wasn't sure at the moment, but at least he was somewhat armed and protected.

Next to him, Kosmo was on alert, but he gave Tommy a quick sniff over, like he, too, was checking for injuries.

Okay, yes, but did you have to have eyes to notice all of this? Because Tommy doesn't like admitting when he isn't good enough. Being merely human had never really worked out for him.

"Well, I can verify that the beach, especially by the caves, isn't safe. So, uh, any thoughts?"

Because Tommy's are mostly 'scared hurt where is billy'.

Though there's at least Kosmo. The one dog-like thing that doesn't freak Tommy out. He reaches out to lay a hand on his thick fur.

"Thanks Kosmo, for worrying."

Keith glanced back towards the beach for a moment, but couldn't see anything thanks to the fog. He frowned and then nodded a bit.

"Then, we don't head that way," he said. Mr. Obvious over here.

Kosmo gave Tommy a slight tail wag, leaning against him momentarily before moving back to be next to Keith. He couldn't teleport with the fog, but he was still a working wolf trained to fight, and he knew Keith's signals and commands.

Keith nodded for Tommy to stay with him. Being in his armor and holding a weapon, Keith was definitely better prepared to take on anything that came at them then Tommy in his PJs. No offense. That was just a fact.

"We can head back toward town, maybe... try holding up in the diner for a bit. It's got food and stuff, so it's not a bad place to gather people towards."

Of course Tommy wasn't offended. Facts were facts. The storm meant that he couldn't be more dangerous in his pjs than Keith was just by being, you know, Keith. But dammit he wasn't going to be a hindrance if he could help it.

"Diner might work. I could leave a note for people."

Because he won't stay somewhere that's mostly just a building that could easily be broken into. All those big windows were a problem.

Keith nodded.

"People will probably head there anyway for food and other supplies like that," he said and started moving in that direction, away from the beach and away from where Tommy had said the swarm he'd run from was. "Maybe use that note direct them to the hotel or the hospital... something that'll be easier to secure." There were a few options for that... also thinking about the agriculture building and the hangar.

Thankfully, even without special space wolf powers, Kosmo was still handy to have along because his hearing and sense of smell were more sensitive than Keith's or Tommy's, so he'd pick up on any approaching zombies.

They probably would. Which was also probably stupid, given the big glass windows taking up two whole walls. It was a horrible place to retreat to in this situation.

But it's also where his boyfriend would look for them.

"Hospital has a lot of entrances and exits and windows. Shit to secure. If we had more people, maybe."

But they don't have more people, so it's a bad idea.

"We can go up a level in the hospital, though... reduce the access to just the stairways, leaving less for us to have to watch out for."

Though, there were a lot of other options.

"The hotel... or the hangar..." Keith frowned a bit. "There's also the mines." If the swarm was at the beach, then the caves over there were probably not a great idea because they'd have to go through that swarm to get to them.

Would it really help? Tommy doesn't know. He avoids the hospital when he can so he's got no clue how many staircases there would be. Hell, there could be more than there were doors. And there were the tubes.

"I've seen that movie, and it sucks," he says rather than expressing just how terrified he'd be of being trapped, powerless, in a hospital during a zombie incursion. Hell, he'd be scared in the mines too.

"Hangar might be a good goal in the long term. If there wasn't the storm the ships would be a perfect choice."

But there was a storm, so that wasn't an option at all.

"Yeah..." Keith looked thoughtful. "We'd at least have supplies on the ships, too, and they'll be easier to defend or seal up against incoming monsters." Considering the ships were practically each a small replica of the town, they'd have everything there, anyway.

"Alright... we'll head towards the hangar."

Which would make them ideal locations to hang out. Fuck the storms for fucking them up then. But Tommy can't really fix that problem.

"Wait, what?"

Because now he's seeing he's led Keith astray.

"There's no food in the hangar though."

"But the ships-?" Oh, wait... the ships wouldn't have power. Keith paused. "Right..." Stupid storm. He took a breath, thinking for a moment.

"So, diner first, get supplies, then to the hangar?" he said. That sounded better, right?

Storms suck. Yeah. So yeah, it wasn't like that at all.

"Sounds like a good plan for now. Let's not be sold on it. Flexibility matters."

Edited 2024-12-10 23:22 (UTC)

Keith nodded. Yeah, he definitely understood about being flexible with plans. He'd seen them go south often enough.

Okay, then... for now, to the diner!

He's clearly not protesting. Barefoot and tired, Tommy shuffles after Keith. He'll keep up. If nothing else, even without his powers he can do at least that much.

Keith did actually kind of feel a bit bad for him. He definitely understood the sensation of feeling like something was lacking. He could feel it with his own quintessence sensitivity, higher endurance, stronger durability, and a few other small things. But Keith had never really considered any of that part of his identity the way Tommy seemed to... how proud the other was of his power. Being half-alien with a few weak special abilities and no real way to distinguish himself from being human had left Keith kind of taking that for granted as he really didn't consciously acknowledge it unless it specifically came up in conversation. It wasn't like he had anything super visible or noticeable that marked him as half-Galra. It wasn't like he had super strength or could fly or anything like that. And he certainly didn't walk around introducing himself like, Hi. I'm Keith. I'm half-Earthling, half-Galra.

He wasn't even sure how fast Tommy could even move without his power at this point. Keith himself was a pretty fast runner for someone who wasn't a speedster, so he wasn't sure if Tommy could keep up with that. Plus, the barefoot situation didn't help. So, he kept up a medium pace for now, not wanting to outpace anyone or risk a foot injury, but also because running fast in the fog reduced their sight distance in a way, and they would be noisier... more likely to attract zombies in their direction.

Not that it couldn't happen anyway, and it was at that moment, about 50 yards out from reaching the diner, that they did just that.

Keith barely heard them, but Kosmo's canine hearing and sense of smell picked it up first. The wolf froze in place, standing perfectly still in his alert pose, ears and nose twitching as he worked to figure out where they were coming from. Keith stopped, too, putting his free hand out the side to signal for Tommy to pause with them.

"Oh that can't be good," Tommy whispered when he caught the look of Kosmo's tension. He was used to seeing poses like that.

Honestly, it was a pose out of his nightmares, but he trusted Kosmo, and was behind him, so it was... probably okay?

Keith shook his head. No, it was not. Once Kosmo was more sure on the source, he bared his teeth, starting to growl in warning at the approaching zombies as they began to emerge from the mist to their right. Zombies, though, had no idea what an angry growling wolf meant and just kept shambling closer.

"We gotta go," Keith said. There were more shadows behind the initial line, indicating more in the fog. And, well... many of these zombies were from Keith's past. Thace, Ulaz, Kolivan... Krolia (Keith's mom), and even his dad... Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Lance, Coran, Allura. These were people from Keith's home. But there were others, people Keith had known in Drift Fleet, like Looma, Prompto, Kirk, Kaname, Mikleo, Sorey, and Minfilia, many of whom Tommy might not recognize.

Keith backed away. Most of them he could deal with. They were alive. He knew that. The idea of them being zombies was something his brain could firmly dismiss as a hallucination from the storm.

But some of them... some of them were dead back home. And that made it harder. It wasn't something Keith wanted to deal with.

"Yeah, clearly," Tommy grumbles before grabbing Keith's arm and turning to pull him away. When it came down to it he didn't care too much about pain in his feet or fucking them up. And maybe he wasn't speedster fast, but he was still fast when the spirit moved him. No ability behind it, just years of training as a runner.

"Don't look back. It always hurts to see their faces, so just don't look back."

Keith didn't fight against Tommy pulling him away. There was a moment as they ran where he trusted Tommy and Kosmo to lead him, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his teeth in an attempt to shake who he saw from his mind before pushing himself through it and running on his own again.

He definitely was able to keep up with Tommy's currently human speed. For someone without speed powers, he was definitely fast and agile.

Thankfully, the zombies were still slow at this point, and they were able to get inside the diner before they could be reached.

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