You feel so pathetic right now...so helpless. The sound of your feet slamming against the cement is the only thing you want to focus on. People are following you...or things. You didn't bother to get a good look, you heard noise and ran. Like you always do. You run. Vriska constantly affronts you with that fact. You trip, your face falling to the blazing road. You can hear the roar of the monsters behind you.
No no no no no, please no...I can't die like this...
Your eyes squeeze shut and you cowardly cover your head.
"I'm sorry, Vriska...I couldn't do it..."you whimper to yourself. CRACK! SLICE! A pair of feet walk up beside you.
"Man, hoooooooow can you get weaker than you already were? Fuck, Tavros, get up and stop embarrassing yourself!" Remarks a snide voice. You look up to her. She currently has her hands on her hips, her blue sword soaked in black blood. You struggle back to your feet.
"S-sorry..." you stutter. Vriska punches you in the arm then grins.
"You should be. But it's getting pretty damn annoying to hear you say sorry so much." You rub your arm and smile weakly.
One month ago, everything was normal. Your family was putting up Christmas decorations, something you desperately wanted to help with. Due to an accident when you were younger, you have lost the use of your legs. It was Boxing Day when everything changed. It was 14:00 when the sky turned dark, almost black. This caused great curiosity in your neighborhood, almost every family on the block noticed it and came outside to investigate. Large tar black things about the size of children fell from the sky. Before anyone had time to react, the dark masses began to fall onto people, crushing them. One of the last things you remember from that day was your parents rushing you inside on your wheelchair. When you awoke, your family was gone and you were mysteriously able to walk. You met up with your childhood friend Vriska and her neighbor Equius Zahhak. Equius parted ways with you after a week to find his friend. Ever since, it has been just you and Vriska.
The two of you continue walking down the road. Vriska slings her sword over her back with twine.
"Damn, it's so hot and it's only January!" She moans, "I like it better when it's cool out." The heat is starting to get uncomfortable for you as well.
"I...uh...really don't think that's the weirdest thing." You say with a shrug.
"What? Sure, the only living things we came across so far were crazy looters and those monsters, but obviously the heat is definitely the weirdest." Vriska jokes and nudges you, "you can walk now. That means you need to fight for yourself. Face it, without me you wouldn't have made it this far!" You shrug halfheartedly. The girl ignores your silence.
"You need a weapon. One that's easy for you to carry around. Unlike that lance you insisted on. I mean really, Nitram, a lance?"
"I thought it would...er...you know...be cool? Like I could impale them!" You grin a little at the thought. Vriska hits you again.
"It was too bulky, you idiot! I wouldn't help you carry that shit around." She growls, then puts her hair in a ponytail. "Did you manage to get any food before you ran off like a chicken?" Your shoulders slump.
"No..."
"Of course you didn't. I have to do EVERYTHING by myself. One day you'll learn to do things for yourself. Your punishment...issssssss...to try again." You raise an eyebrow to her. That doesn't seem much like a punishment.
"What?"
"But this time, we're getting food from..." she looks to you with an evil smirk. "The Center City Market Place." Your eyes go wide and you shake your head. The CCMP was a market support store located in, as one might guess, the center of the nearby city.
"B-but the city is filled with looters. And I, uh, don't have a weapon and I can't fight off the monsters myself." The store was ideal for food. The monsters didn't seem to eat things normal humans ate, so they didn't eat the food. When people tried to get near it, they would be killed by the monsters. Really, the only ideal thing about it was the aisles upon aisles of untouched canned goods.
"No more whining! What's a better way to prove your worth than to go into a highly dangerous area and sneak out some sweet loot? I'll even let you take my sword." She thrusts the handle into your hands with a grin.
"I-I'm serious, Vriska!" You plead.
"So am I! When you're done, meet me at our usual shelter." With that, she walked away, leaving you standing there awkwardly in the middle of the street.
Your journey to the city wasn't too difficult, your only problem was dehydration. Luckily you still had one last bottle of water in your bag. You would have to make it last. The entrance of the city was crowded with rubble. Many different signs were attached to standing walls reading: "THIS IS OUR TERRITORY ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK." Despite this, you nervously continue onward in the city. The streets are littered with bodies and rubble, the smells of rotting waft to your nose and causes you to cringe. You try to ignore it. About halfway in, you notice some people up ahead. They are most likely planning to go into the CCMP as well. Scared to know what they would do to you if they found out you had similar plans, you keep your distance and watch.
The group consisted of three girls and two boys. Most of them seemed about two years older than you. All of them had weapons like boards with the nails exposed, crowbars, and the biggest and strongest kid had a sludge hammer. You can clearly see all the monsters trudging around the entrance to the store. Only about three...but that's only the front of it. Suddenly, the group charged at the monsters. Now was your chance. While both the creatures and the others were distracted, you snuck around. A girl with red hair and a hatchet sliced at each appendage of the creatures. The boy with the hammer was smashing his way through. They seemed to be doing well, it makes you a little sick to your stomach that you were hoping they would kill eachother off.
Once successfully in the store, you put on your jacket from your bag. With your hood up and Vriska's sword firmly in your hand, you wander through the halls of the CCMP. The only light coming through is from the little windows in the front and the broken skylights. You always associated this lighting with whenever a teacher turned off the lights for a powerpoint or video. How you would give anything to be sitting in that classroom right now.
You make sure you don't do anything to give away your location. Avoiding the broken glass and spilled potato chips in the aisles, making sure you don't knock anything off of the shelves, anything that would cause something to investigate. Finally, you make it to the canned food aisle. Quickly, you sit down and remove your backpack. You fill it with baked beans, corn, peas, soup, and even water chestnuts. There is so much more to take, however you fill it to the brim. Surely, Vriska would be proud of this. Though, you feel as though you need to do something special...something that would make her know that you went above and beyond in this little "punishment" she gave you. After a little bit of thinking, you come to the conclusion that she would appreciate a soda. She has been complaining of the heat for so long, people drink soda when it's hot! You are a genius.
You remember your way around this store. You sometimes came her grocery shopping with your family. Because of this, you make it to the soda part with no problem. As you put two cans of root beer in the bag, you hear a faint noise. You freeze. A door that reads "Employees only" is to your left. As fast and quiet as you can, you zip up the bag and put it on your back. You try to reach for Vriska's sword, but...oh no. You left it back at the canned food aisle. You are defenseless. Hurriedly, you turn on your heel, this time not catching the pile of broken glass ahead of you. CRACK! The door swings open and you bolt as fast as you can. You're used to running away, however this is the first time it caught up to you so fast. Something grabs your right arm, so, almost instinctively, you punch it with your left. It relinquishes your arm. You see the sword ahead. Your hand wraps around the handle. You are about to leave, but you think what Vriska would do...so you go back to the thing that chased you. A boy your age lays upon the floor, not even bothering to get back up. He has messy hair...and strange clown makeup. Shakily, you point the sword to him.
"Wh-why w-were you ch-chasing me?" You gulp, sweat trickling down your face from the humidity. The other boy sat up slightly, resting the weight of his torso on his elbows. His nose only an inch from the tip of the sword.
"That's a pretty boss sword right there. Why is it blue?" He grabbed the dull side and examined it. You can feel your heart pound.
"Wh-what?" He looks at you and gives you a teethy grin.
"Oh, you must be thinkin' I'm pretty motherfucking rude, huh? I'm Gamzee." He sits up all the way and holds out his hand for you to shake. You don't take it. You've seen a lot of the tricks looters use. Some of them are simply blood thirsty and greedy. If someone took residence in this store, you would imagine they wouldn't be too likely to just let you leave with their goods. Gamzee looks a little confused at your refusal, however doesn't let it bother him. He stands.
"G-get back! Or b-back...uh...down! Get back down!" You shake the sword in his face. He is much taller than you, so you honestly feel intimidated. He shakes his head.
"Shit, I won't hurt you. We're on the same side here. My fuckin' group left me here, and I can't get out without having to fight those things." Gamzee runs his fingers through his black curly hair, in anxious thought. "I mean, I managed to keep them outta the place, but I can't just all up and leave...without help." He looks to you with dark purple eyes. Gamzee is obviously not scared of you, and there is no way you could take him in a fight.
"Will...y-you let me leave if I help?" You ask, lowering the sword from him. He smiles kindly at you.
"Motherfuck, man! You're seriously gonna help me? Awww maaaan! This is so sweet! I've been waitin' for someone like you since this shit started! Here, follow me!" He scatters back to the door where he came from. You hesitantly follow. Inside the room, you see that he has colored the white walls with crayon and paint, most likely from boredom. Gamzee kneels on a pile of unfolded cardboard boxes (which was probably where he has been sleeping) and starts filling his own backpack with the same brand of soda. Faygo. You've seen it before, however you have never tried it. Once he shoves the last possible bottle in and struggles the zipper shut, he the bag over his shoulder. The backpack looks like it is about to burst from the seams.
"You ready?" Gamzee says while bouncing on his heels excitedly.
"Uhm...we should probably wait for the people out front. They, er, didn't come in yet." You suggest. He stares at you.
"Bro, sorry to tell you, but if they ain't in yet, they're probably dead." Gamzee points out.
"Th-that's not why I'm worried. They would kill us."
"Man, don't worry about that! Either way, we're gonna have a motherfucking fight, whether it's the monsters or the people." He hoists the other strap on and grabs two juggling clubs stained with black and red. "I'm ready for a fight, you?" Nervously, you grip Vriska's sword and nod.
The two of you are kneeling below the front store window. Gamzee peers through the window and spots human corpses and one creature.
"Man, one's still out there."
"Then that's good right?" You ask.
"'til more comes, but yeah, I'd say it's pretty fucking good. Let's fight it."
"Uhhh, c-can't we just sneak past?"
"Look, my way of thinkin' is that there should be less and less of these motherfucking things in the world, so I say: 'Shit, why the fuck not?' You catch my drift? Come on!" Gamzee rushes out the door before you can stop him. You follow after him anxiously. The creature is trying to grab a hold of him with one of its shadowy tentacles. You're amazed that he is able to get so close to it without being terrified. You stand there in awe as he takes it down singlehandedly, much like how Vriska does. Once he is finished, he grins at you. Immediately, you feel a little hot in the face.
"S-sorry I didn't help. I know I'm-"
"Don't sweat it. Hey, I didn't catch your name."
"Uhm...sorry, my name's Tavros Nitram." This time it is you who smiles at him.
"That's more like it! Ahahaha!" Gamzee takes in an exaggerated breath of the humid air. "Man, is it good to be free!"
"We should go before more show up." You say. He nods at you. The two of you sneak through the city, having whispered conversations with eachother.
"So, why's the sword all up and blue?" He asks you. "Some kind of group thing? Blue weapons?"
"Uh, no, actually, it's my partner's. So I don't know." Gamzee gives you a look of sympathy.
"Aw, no bro. I had no idea you were on your own too. I'm so fucking sorry."
"Wh-what? Oh! No, my partner isn't dead. She just kinda, uh, lent me her sword, cause, uh, I didn't have one aaaand-"
"Wait, so your partner motherfucking let you go to this place by your motherfucking self?"
"Er...it's too much to explain." You sigh. Not even you really understand why she puts you under all these tests. Vriska claims it's to make you stronger, but you only get hurt from it. "Heh, m-my turn for questions. Why do you have that makeup on?" You inquire with a smile. He shrugs.
"I like it." He states as he climbs over a broken wall. "Man, am I excited to all up and be in a group again!"
"Um...actually..."
"HEY YOU TWO!" An adult man with a shaved head grabs you by the arm. You let out a little shriek of terror.
"Empty your bags." Hesitantly, you remove your bag.
"Hey, you too, clown kid." He growls. You turn and look at Gamzee who slipped back over the wall to where you are.
"We don't want no motherfucking trouble." He says. Gamzee is almost as tall as the man.
"And you won't get any so long as you empty your fucking bags!" He growls. Before he had any time to react, Gamzee clubbed him without a second thought. This knocked him down, he looks up to the two of you.
"What the fuck?! You're gonna fucking regret that!" He pulled a gun and aimed it to Gamzee. He slammed the club on his wrist, pinning his armed hand between the concrete and his club. With the other hand he hits him in the skull more until the man ceases to struggle. Gamzee stands up straight again. He stomps his foot down to where he had been hitting, causing his skull to collapse and blood to gush onto his purple Converse shoe. You stand there, dumbfounded at this act of extreme violence.
"Put your pack back on." He says as he places the gun in the back of his pants. You do as you're told and climb over wall as you have seen him do twice. He follows after you.
"What were you gonna say?" He asks.
"Oh, what? Er..." you stop moving and rub your neck. "Vriska, er, I mean my partner, isn't really, uh, trusting? She doesn't like people she d-doesn't know."
"Oh..."
"B-but you can come!" You stammer. No matter how capable he is, you would hate to abandon him. Besides, with someone like him AND Vriska on your team, the three of you would be unstoppable! Gamzee's smile returns to his face and he gives you a hug.
"Fuck, man. You really don't know what this means to me." Upon hearing some voices behind the both of you, you hurry to get out of the city as fast as you can. Once out, you lead Gamzee through town.
"I don't think I've ever been here before, Tav." He says in wonder. "The buildings are so motherfucking small."
"You never left the city?" You ask with bewilderment.
"Not really. When I was a little dude, my dad took me to the beach. But I don't remember that shit too well." You walk into an alleyway between what was once a small clothing store and a bakery.
"Uh...Tav? Where're we going?" He narrows his eyes and looks up and down the walls.
"Up here." You crawl through a hole in the fence at the end of the alley. Your hands get scratched by the uncomfortably dry grass. You roll to the side to make room for Gamzee to get out. Gamzee had a little trouble getting through at first, but eventually made it.
"Woooah, you guys have your own house?"
"No...Vriska says this would be too inviting for looters. The front gate is locked, but easy to climb over. "But we have to go through it to get to our hideout." You climb through a broken window and fall in on a bed. The two of you joirney down to the basement, a finished basement done up to be a man cave of sorts.
"There's a lot of beer over there." Gamzee stated. You nod.
"There's actually a funny story about that. Heh, so Vriska said we should try some, and we uh, opened a bottle at the same time and drank on the count of three. We ended up both spitting it out at the same time. It tasted nasty." You cringe a little then laugh. Gamzee chuckles with you.
"So, where to next if this isn't where it is?" He asks.
"This is really cool. I don't know why it's here, but it is. " you open a cabinet behind the bar and crawl into it, Gamzee close behind. This leads to a tunnel with lights all through it. When they were able to stand, they were in a warehouse with no windows. Lights filled the large space.
"Holy SHIT." It leaves Gamzee slack-jawed.
"It's one of the only places we found electricity." You grin. Suddenly you are met with the sight of Vriska. She had clenched fists and pressed lips.
"Who the HELL is this, Tavros?" She spits, jutting her finger at Gamzee's chest. He drops his weapons to help show that he doesn't mean any harm.
"I'm Gamzee." He grins and offers his hand as he did previously with you. She narrows her eyes.
"...Vriska Serket." She gives him a hard handshake.
"Um...he was trapped in the CCMP, I helped him get out..." Thinking back, you really don't think you helped him at all. If anything, he helped you.
"So you actually made it in? Glad you could at least do that right. What did you get?"
"Um..." you remove your backpack, kneel down, and rummage through it. "A bunch of different kinds of soup...corn...peas...water chestnuts..."
"Any water? Because we don't have any water." You look away. Shit. You forgot water.
"I-I got soda?" She hits the back of your head.
"You idiot! Soda DEHYDRATES you! That's the last thing we need!" She growls, then turns to Gamzee. "What about you?" With a crooked, almost apologetic smile, he took off his bag and revealed only soda. She hit her face with her palm.
"Okay...okay...don't worry, I have a plan. We can try and break open the drink machine next to that Subway restaurant. I doubt we'll find anything, but it's a plan. "
"Oh, and I also got this." Gamzee pulls a bugle horn from his sweat pants pocket and honks at her. She raises an eyebrow, then sighs.
"You can stay. FOR NOW. No funny business, I won't hesitate to kill you if you annoy me too much." She says with a sly smile, attempting to scare him into listening to her command.
"Oh, right, I just remembered! Why the motherfuck is your sword blue?"
"ARRG!"