The first thing Alexander did when he woke up, was vomit. He could barely see, curled up in a ball, on the floor; as his body forcibly removed all chemicals from it. He shook with each convulsion, trying his best to push himself into an upright position. He managed to prop himself up on his elbows and decided that was well enough; he stayed in that position until his stomach was empty of all acid.
It was only after he caught his breath, and spit on the floor; did he realize he had visitors. Glancing to his left, he saw a handful of people. A man sat on the floor, drawing shapes in the dirt. A woman was pressed up against the wall, like she was trying to keep as much distance between her and the rest of them as possible. Two teenagers were making out in the corner.
...Where was Thomas?
Alex slowly pulled himself to his feet, once he was sure he could stand. Looking around, it appeared that they were in some kind of animal pen. There were vertical bars surrounding them, like a cage; and hay on the floor.
In the corner behind Alex, there was a hay bale. He sat on it and glance around the room. It seemed like no one was going to bother him, so his gaze ventured further. There were more cages surrounding theres, some had different types of bars or wires. A few were empty; but most had about four or five people sitting in them.
The cage next to Alex's was a little different. It only had three people inside it. One of them was a little girl, who stared blankly at the ceiling, her eyes fluttering about. Another one was a man so old he could barely stand on his own. And the last person in that cage?
"Thomas!" Alex whispered, thankful his friend was alive.
Thomas was curled up with his back pressed against the bars, close to Alex's hay bale. He watched as Thomas opened his eyes and twisted around to look at him. A smile spread across his lips and he immediately sat up and pulled himself to his knees. Alex pressed his face up against the bars, happy tears forming in his eyes.
"Are you okay?" They asked at the same time.
Alex giggled, pressing his cheek against Thomas' hand. "I'm fine. Are you?"
"They took my leg." Thomas admitted, glancing down at his missing prosthetic. Alex didn't want to look. He didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to understand how terrifying and difficult this will make things. He takes a deep breath, nods, and carries on.
"What is this place? Why'd they separate us?" Alex asked, glancing at the others in his cage.
Thomas shook his head, keeping his voice low, "I dunno, but I hate it. We need to get out of here pronto."
Then, Alex remembered something, his eyes flew wide as his head whipped around and he said to Thomas in a rush, "Myfamily'salive!"
Thomas blinked in surprise, is expression unreadable, "...You're sure?"
Alex nodded, "They called me 'Philip Hamilton' - that's my son's name!"
Thomas frowned to himself, "It could be a coincidence."
"No, no, I'm sure of it." Alex felt a growing sense of purpose - a need to find his family; to see them once more. "My son is out there somewhere, being hunted down; alone and defenseless. I need to save him."
The other was quiet for a moment, before he said, "Please be careful."
Alex's grin lowered, his expression faulting, "What do you mean?"
"If it's not really your son, if Phil is hurt or missing or-" He cut himself off, deciding to finish with, "I just don't want you to get your hopes up."
Alex saw the worry in his friend's eyes. Gratitude warmed in his chest; he was lucky to have Thomas. Alex pressed a quick kiss to Thomas' nose; his cheeks squished against the cold bars. He heard a small gasp escape Thomas' lips as he pulled away. The other man's cheeks were flushed. He clearly wasn't expecting that reaction.
When Alex sat up straight, there was a loud SLAM as a metal door at the end of the room closed. Two men came walking in, they were both carrying guns, and they strode straight to Alex's cage.
Alex shot a wink to the worried Thomas, "I'll be fine. Pinkie promise." He stuck out his pinkie and watched as Thomas looped his finger around his own. They continued to hold pinkies as the men yanked open Alex's cage door and stepped inside.
Everything was dead silent; everyone's eyes were on Alex's cage and the men who stared him down. The teenagers had stopped kissing. Alex smiled, "Evening, gentlemen."
The men grabbed him before he could say anything else. They pulled him to his feet and dragged him out of the cage. Thomas was shouting, and Alex did all he could to twist around and wave at him. He caught the other man's eyes and he smiled. It was okay; they'd find a way out of this.
They were going to. So he could see his family again.
While they walked, Alex took the time to look around the place. It seemed like a weird mix between a zoo and a football stadium. All the halls were curved, and Alex could almost imagine where the concession stands were supposed to go.
The halls were filled with people milling about; they either sat on the floor, were eating, or were talking to each other. The demographic seemed predominantly male, but there were a few women sprinkled throughout. They all seemed to be wearing skirts or dresses, which seemed bazaar in a post-apocalyptic world. They were also walking around with drink platters; shamelessly flirting as they passed out water bottles.
"Mind sharing?" Alex asked a woman in red, who awkwardly averted her gaze. Actually, now that Alex noticed it, very few people were looking at him as he was being forced down the hall. Maybe they didn't know who he was. He felt like shouting 'I'm Philip Hamilton!', just to get a little attention. Instead he got smacked on the back of the head for talking.
When they arrived at Jackson's room, the doors were opened by two other guards. Alex was pushed into the center of the room and then forced to his knees. He glanced around, impressed by the fine decor and high ceilings. Jackson sat on an elephant skull, with a woman on either side of him. Alex half-expected them to be feeding him grapes and him petting a cat while twirling his moustache.
"Philip Hamilton." Jackson said slowly, his lip curling around the name in a way that made Alex's gut churn. He wanted to keep this man thousands of miles away from his son. "After months of evading my forces, you've finally been captured."
Alex shifted on his knees, getting a little more comfortable. He had a feeling he'd be here a while.
"How does it feel?" Jackson asked, sneering at him, "Knowing that everything you've worked for is going to collapse into pieces?"
Alex tilted his head, squinting at Jackson, "What makes you say that?"
Jackson was caught off-guard by the answer. "Uh, what?" He snorted and glanced at the women next to him, who seemed equally confused, "Cuz' I captured you, dumbass. And now you're going to tell me where your camp is, and I'm going to kill everyone you know and love."
"What if I wanted to get captured?" Alex challenged, raising an eyebrow. "Do you really think I, the great and powerful Philip Hamilton, would get snuck up on by one of your pathetic lackies?"
One of the women snickered, and the other had to cover her mouth with her hand. Jackson stood up and stormed towards him.
Alex didn't have time to react before he was punched square in the jaw. He felt the impact before he felt the pain. He only felt the pain after his head snapped to the side, his jaw throbbing, and his muscles clenching. He was pushed back into a straight position on his knees, so Jackson could grab him by the hair and tilted his head up, maintaining eye contact.
"You best be careful what you say around here." Jackson warned with a furious snarl, "I don't fuck around. I'll fucking kill you in front of your fucking wife and kids. I don't care."
Alex spit a mixture of saliva and blood into Jackson's face, laughing when the other man pulls back in disgust. Jackson wipes at his face as Alex grins, "You'll never fucking find them. My family is invincible; and together, we're gonna put an end to your sadistic play-time."
He got another punch to the jaw, this one Alex saw coming, and he braced for. He grunted in pain, his eyes flashing with dots as he tried to keep up his bravado. His body was shaking and he glared up at Jackson, breathing through clenched teeth.
"Tell me where the fucking camp is!" Jackson shouted. He grabbed Alex by the hair again and dragged him forward. Alex whined and whined at having his hair pulled; only to be jarred up so he could look at a map of the forest.
He panted, his mind not retaining any of the information on the wall in front of him. There was a circle, which he assumed was Jackson's base; where he was now. Everything else just looked like green or lines.
Alex stared at the map for a minute before glancing up at Jackson and shrugging, "I dunno how to read maps." He lied. "I always used a GPS."
"Then lead me to your camp." Jackson said, pulling Alex to his feet.
Alex shook his head, pouting, "But I'm tired, can't we go later?"
He got hit again, and this one took the air out of him. He was on the floor again, couching and gasping for breath, when Jackson pointed a finger in his face and sneered, "One way or another, I'm gonna find where you keep all'a yer fuckin' whores and I'm gonna slaughter them all."
"Oh, really? That's good to know." Alex grunted, speaking in his exhales, "Thanks for the heads up."
"Fuck it." Jackson said, standing up and turning to the others in the room. "I'll fuckin' burn down this forest before I let those sluts sleep safe. Tomorrow we throw-" He kicked Alex in the stomach, causing the small man to groan and curl tighter on himself. "this one in the area, and tomorrow night? We light the world on fire."
Alex was gasping, his eyes watering, as he tried to settle his breathing. He prayed that none of his organs exploded or something. One of his hands reached up and curled around his rosary; clutching it tightly. It brought him some comfort, knowing that Thomas was safe, for the moment.
Jackson was back in his face, grinning at him with yellow teeth, "Tomorrow, you're gonna die."
Alex smiled sweetly back at him, "Can't wait."
The guards grab him again and pull him to his feet. The women by the elephant skull where whispering to each other; but Alex only had eyes for Jackson. The man was a terrifying force; tall and strong. His punches had power behind them; Alex had plenty of proof behind that. He knew he had to defeat this man; he had to keep him as far away from Philip and the others as possible.
As the doors closed after him, Alex blew Jackson a little goodbye kiss, which only made the other man's scowl tighten. He was quickly led back to his cell; only this time, when they were in the halls, Alex noticed that he had eyes on him now.
It took him a moment to recognize the feeling of being watched, but when he glanced up, every eye painted in scavenged mascara was watching him. The mindless brutes with guns paid him no mind; but the ladies caught his stare. Some looked away; some continued to observe him as he walked. He wondered what could have caused the change, and what made him so interesting.
He was pushed into a different cell; one on the other side of Thomas', that was smaller, and empty. It was considerate of them, he rather enjoyed having some alone-time. As soon as the guards left, Alex scrambled to the cage wall, where Thomas was already waiting.
"I'm oka-" Alex was already saying, but he didn't get the opportunity to finish his sentence, because Thomas was pulling him into a kiss. The bars hurt his face, and it wasn't the best kiss he's ever had, but it was Thomas; and that meant it was home.
Alex closed his eyes and relaxed, sighing at the comfort that Thomas brought to him. He found Thomas' hand, and clasped their hands together. When they pulled away from each other, they still kept their faces pressed against the metal, trying to get as close as possible.
"I was so worried about you." Thomas whispered.
"Shh, I know." Alex lowered his voice and spoke quickly, "They took me to Jackson; he's trying to find some camp or something that Philip must live at. He wants to burn the forest."
Thomas' expression shifted to one of fear and concern, "He can't do that!"
"He will." Alex continued, trying to remember everything he saw, "There are a ton of people who live here and work for Jackson; men and women. Almost all of them have weapons. Somewhere they're getting food. I couldn't find any exits, but I think we're in a basement right now."
"Okay." Thomas said, taking all the information in. "Anything else?"
Alex hesitated. He didn't want to tell Thomas about what Jackson said:
Tomorrow, you're gonna die.
He didn't want to worry Thomas. But "tomorrow" doesn't give them a lot of time, and if they were to make a plan, they would need to do it now. He had a feeling they would only have one chance at escape.
But he was looking at the hope and fear in Thomas' eyes, he glanced down at their clasped hands, each clutching onto the other for life. He couldn't tell Thomas about empty threats. He certainly didn't need the extra stress.
"No." Alex finally settled on, unable to look Thomas in the eye, "No, that's all. Did you find out anything? Talk to them?" He nodded at the other people in Thomas' cell.
Thomas glanced at the little girl, then nodded. He said quietly, with a barely stable voice, "Alex… they have zombies here."
"What?!" Alex asked, his grip tightening on Thomas' hand.
Thomas nodded solemnly. "These people?" He gestured to the others in the cages, "They're here to be thrown into a pit, to fight against captive zombies, for Jackson's entertainment."
Alex shook his head, his distress shooting through him like lighting. He glanced at the little girl in Thomas' pin. "No…"
"And the ones who can't fight?" Thomas gestured down to his leg, "get to be turned into zombies."
Alex refused to think about that. "Okay. Okay. So how are we getting out of here?"
"Already on it." Thomas smirked and winked. Alex felt himself smile as Thomas spoke, "While you were gone, a woman came in here. I know her, from France. She was my cousin's best friend."
"Small world, continue." Alex said. He couldn't help but grin at Thomas' excitement. The man shushed him, and finished his story.
"I don't know what she's doing here, but she said she can get us out." Thomas whispered, glancing over his shoulder at the other prisoners, "She left a while ago, but she'll come back. I told her to find my leg."
Alex frowned, "Can we trust her?"
"Yeah, Adrienne has been with my cousin and me through everything." Thomas said, "She's family."
"Okay." Alex relented, forcing himself to relax. They had help on the outside; this was good news. He just needed to trust Thomas, and trust this Adrienne person. He was quiet for a moment, thinking.
Thomas piped up, reaching for Alex's cheek, "Are you hurt? That looks bad."
Alex winced when Thomas' finger brushed against the bruise. He shrugged and took Thomas' hand in his own, pulling it gently away from his face. "I've had worse. Guess that's what happens when you mouth off to an angry zombie war-lord."
"God, you're insane." Thomas said in a half-laugh. He shook his head, and his words were soft; "You're gonna be the death of me, one day."
Alex watched as Thomas' gaze settled on him, open and emotional. In those brown depths, held a thousand questions; and Alex didn't have an answer for a single one of them. Keeping eye contact, he pressed a kiss to each of Thomas' knuckles. His voice was gentle when he said, "You're important to me."
"You're important to me, too." Thomas mumbled instantly. Alex smiled, thankful that he had one person by his side through all of this shit. He couldn't imagine what he'd do right now, if Thomas wasn't here with him.
Thomas froze up as Alex admitted shyly, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Even if that's just a couple more hours."
"It-" Thomas cleared his throat, offering Alex a small smile, "It's going to be way more than a couple of hours."
Alex could only smile sadly, as the lump in his throat kept growing. He knew that Adrienne was going to try to help them. But he couldn't help but feel like he was on dead man's row. He expected to be getting his last meal soon. If she wasn't fast enough, or if something went wrong, Alex was going to die knowing that he did what he could to keep his family safe. And Thomas?
He hoped that he would see Thomas on the other side, soon enough.
"We're going to get out of here." Thomas told him with certainty. "We're going to find your family. We're going to go to Canada. And we're going to survive the apocalypse."
Alex gave him a small nod, silent tears running down his cheeks. Thomas brushed away the moisture with his thumbs, smiling at Alex with the kindest eyes.
"And I'm going to be with you through all of it." Thomas said, softly. "I promise."
Alex leaned forward and kissed him; it was slow and gentle, the kind of kiss that made you feel loved. Alex desperately wished there wasn't a wall between them. He wanted to crawl into Thomas' lap and cry; he wanted to hold the other man and make out like those teenagers in his old cage.
But he couldn't do any of that right now. The timer was counting down until tomorrow; all of his cards were betting on Adrienne. He needed to focus if he wanted to get out of here alive. No matter what was going to end up happening, Alex knew one thing for sure.
Tomorrow is going to be one of the most interesting days of his life.
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