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There was a warning written on the fallen door. Very simple, and very direct. It read Live zombie, chained up. Four words, straight to the point. Quite convenient, Techno thought.
It was right in front of the door, impossible to miss, unless you were an idiot. But by now most idiots were killed off, so it was a pretty good warning, and not that uncommon either.
Sometimes people couldn’t manage to kill their loved ones after they were bit, but didn’t want them to hurt anyone else. Or even sometimes someone who was bit and alone put the warning sign before chaining themselves up.
Techno didn’t really get it. Well, he did, but he didn’t. When someone was bit it was kinder to just kill them outright. They’re gone, why make them suffer?
But he can still appreciate the warning.
Despite common belief, zombies don’t actually have better hearing than humans. Nor do they have better smell, nor eyesight, none of it. There just tended to be a lot of them, and if one notices you, they all notice you. But Techno was only expecting one zombie, so stealth would work pretty well.
Carefully he opens the door. Slowly, but still fast enough to avoid any creaks, and tilts his head. He listens for any groaning or gurgling, the sounds zombies just passively make. He heard none of it.
That didn’t mean the man put his guard down either. Sometimes they were quiet when they didn’t hear anything, so it was very likely a zombie was still there. But it wasn’t in the front room, nor adjacent kitchen, so he could scavenge without being interrupted.
Even before rifling through the damp and collapsing wood cabinets, Techno knew he probably wasn’t going to find much, if anything. Clearly other survivors were here, they left the sign. But maybe they missed something, or didn’t take it all. After all, right now Techno was looking for fabrics and similar items. Any of it. Carpets, blankets, towels, clothes, curtains, all of that was useful. Now that his group has a home, defended and stable, they didn’t need to focus solely on survival.
If other survivors were here earlier they’d go after things like medication, water, and food. For the first time in months Techno had plenty of that, and ways to get more. They had a secure outpost outside the city limits, with a clear river, water processing system, chickens that laid plenty of eggs, and a lush garden that seemed to have no troubles producing plants.
Others could have cans of beans and month old water bottles. He just needed fabrics, and other things to be repurposed.
From the looks of it, the survivors here earlier were definitely the more desperate type, as they didn’t touch the embroidered dish cloths hanging off of the rusting oven, nor the rather crisp napkins left on the table. In all likelihood they were dead by now, but that's not his problem.
He shoved both of those into his bag, along with a thin woven rug in front of the long broken TV. That especially would have to be washed, but they could take care of that later. For now he just had to collect.
After ruffling through those two rooms Techno checks the first locked door, only to find a bedroom. Jackpot.
Even without looking, the large, queen sized bed was made with plenty of sheets and blankets. All of which Techno eagerly stripped off and showed into his backpack. One good thing about gathering fabric was that it was rather light compared to almost everything else.
But as he reaches to pull off a pillowcase Techno knocks over a lamp on the bedside table. Desperately he tries to catch it, but can’t reach it before it shatters on the ground with a loud and deafening thud.
He winces, expecting to hear the groaning of a zombie, which could always bring more zombies.
What he wasn’t expecting was a yell. “Hey! Is anyone there?” The man froze, but the voice wasn’t done. “Please tell me you’re a human. I’m going to be pissed if you’re another zombie. I hate those fuckers.”
Techno froze. A child? The voice sounded young. Really young.
Techno wasn’t one to talk to other survivors. In fact he tended to avoid them. But even he couldn’t leave a screaming child without at least making sure they were ok. “Hello?”
“Thank fuck!” The boy screeched. “I’m in the bedroom, the one with the bunk beds. I’m stuck here, but I know where the key is. Can you help me? Please? I’ll trade you something. Anything. Just get me out of here!”
The key? That was weird, how did he get locked inside? Whatever, Techno can just let him go and get whatever this kid deems as valuable, and maybe help him get home.
But that was a big maybe.
There were only two other doors in the hallway. One was the bathroom, so the other must be the bedroom.
He put his hand on the knob and turned with little resistance. It wasn’t locked. How odd.
Then he pushed the door open and froze at the sight before him.
There, chained to a metal bunk bed, was a zombie boy. His skin had taken the expected greenish hue, eyes a reddish shine, and clothes had started to wilt away. But he looked different than most zombies. He sat up straight, held himself up with confidence and awareness. Despite the red shine in his eyes, they still reflected clear intelligence.
“Thank fuck! I’ve been here for two weeks!” The zombie yells, throwing his hands up, making the chains rattle.
The zombie just spoke. Something zombies never did.
“What?” He stared, dumbfounded.
“What? You got something in your ears? Need me to yell louder? I’ve been stuck here for two weeks! The key is on the dresser, can you please just let me go?”
“You’re a zombie.” He stated, because really, what else is he supposed to do? This kid is a zombie. Like he’s clearly undead. But he’s speaking. “You’re dead.”
“I think.” The kid shrugs. “You think that would be a pretty simple question, but nope! I have no idea.”
The man was starting to feel a little dizzy. “You look like a zombie.”
“I feel like a zombie. At least I think I do. I don’t feel pain or hunger anymore, and I don’t need to sleep. It’s actually really fucking boring.”
Techno rubbed his temples. A headache was starting to form. “Do you want to eat me?”
“No? Did you not hear the whole ‘I don’t feel hunger anymore’ part?” He looked at Techno like he was stupid. “Why would I want to eat you? I bet you taste like shit. You look like you taste like shit.”
This kid had to be somewhere in his teens, thin and dirty. His blonde hair was limp and filthy. Despite being crouched down and chained to the bed bunks by his hands, it was clear the boy was tall.
“What's your name kid?”
“Tommy. And I’m not a kid. I’m a big man!”
Techno sighed, as he started to remember why he hated talking to people. “Alright, what happened Tommy?”
“Well,” He hesitated, “I was bitten by a zombie. At the local pharmacy, the one with that triangle logo, cause all the letters fell off.”
“I know that one.” It was a couple of miles away, and had long been picked clean, so not even worth his time. There were also a lot of high shelves that blocked the view, so it would be easy to get ambushed. Just a stroke of bad luck, and you’d be worse than dead.
“Yeah, fuck that place. Anyway I was with two friends of mine and told them immediately. We got to this apartment and hunkered down, but you know how it is.” He smiled sadly. “There isn’t much to be done, besides cutting off limbs if you’re lucky. And the bastard got me in the stomach.” Subconsciously the boy places a hand on his side, presumably where his bite is. “I really only had a couple of hours left.”
Techno nods sympathetically. You don’t survive zombie bites. The only person he knows who did is an old world doctor, Ponk. She went out with Sam for a scavenging mission, and returned hours later missing an arm.
At the time all their focus was on keeping them alive, making sure he didn’t bleed out or get infected. Only days later, when Ponk was weak but recovering, did Sam finally tell them what happened.
He finally confessed that Ponk was bit on the hand by a zombie, and without thinking, Sam used his sword to chop her arm off.
It was gruesome, and Ponk is still struggling, but he’s alive, and he’s the only person who managed to survive a bite.
Well, not the only anymore at least. “Did your friends lock you up here?”
Tommy bites his lip, looking like he was about to cry. “Yeah, yeah they were. I don’t know everything, I was delirious at the end there, but I know they didn’t leave my side until I died.” Once again he rattles the chains. “They must have done this after, not wanting to kill me.” He laughs. “Probably Ranboo’s idea. Boob boy was always soft hearted like that.”
“Did you say Ranboo?” Immediately Techno perks up. He knows a Ranboo, a kid with that name came into their sanctuary about a week ago.
“Yeah, Ranboo. Do you know him? He’s tall, shy, doesn’t like looking you in the eye, two-toned hair. Couldn’t forget him if you tried.”
Techno nods. “Yeah, that's him.” Tommy wasn’t wrong, the boy had a very unique appearance and demeanor, but he was quite endearing.
“Was he alone?” The zombie asks frantically. “Was there another person with him?”
“There was.” Techno confirms. “A short boy named Tubbo. He’s really good with tech.” Techno didn’t know him much yet, but him and Sam seemed to get along.
“That's them! That's my friends!” Tommy yelled excitedly. “They’re alive! You have to let me out, you have to let me see them!”
Techno was still hesitant. “How can I trust you? You’re a zombie. You’re still conscious now, but that might change. How can I trust you won’t become like all the other zombies on the street?”
With this Tommy deflated, losing his almost overwhelming excitement. “I don’t know honestly. I didn’t expect to get this far.” Then he pauses to think. “If it makes you feel better, there's a pet store nearby. You can get, like, a muzzle. I’ll wear it, if you let me out.”
Techno blinks. “A muzzle.”
“Just don’t get a metal one please? They look like they’d hurt a lot.”
Goddamn it. He can’t muzzle a child. “Where's the key again?”
The boy beams, his earlier energy back tenfold. “On the dresser! It’s bronze and might blend in a bit, but it’s there, I saw it!”
After a few seconds of looking, Techno finds it. The thing was slightly rusted, but would hopefully be strong enough not to break. At least not until the kid was out.
He hesitates before leaning down, very aware of how close he was to the zombies mouth. But the boy was almost deathly still, clearly being extremely cautious not to spook Techno, or make any sudden moves.
When the cuffs fall away they reveal a complete lack of skin underneath. Techno could see veins and bones, but only for a second before Tommy dashes out of the room and into the hall. “WOO-WHO! THIS IS AMAZING!” He screams, running back and forth.
“Be quiet!” Techno scolds harshly. “Zombies could hear you, and unlike you, they could still kill me!”
Tommy just shrugs. “They don’t care. I’ve been yelling for the last two weeks, there's nothing in this building.” He finally comes to a stop, still beaming. “Well? Can we go? I want to see Tubbo and Boob boy!”
Techno sighed. “Yeah, we can go home.”
“Yay!” The boy was clearly ecstatic, but there was only one thing on Techno’s mind.
How the fuck was he going to explain this to Phil?