Work Text:
A small kid ran through the forest, his name was buck, his father………he didn’t even remember his name, he just knew they were from tallahasse, so he just called him that if they ever wanted a name, it was a weird theme survivors had, but he kept his name, he wanted his dad to find him again, he had to find him.
Buck:’adjusts the rifle, he walks around the area’
He winced a bit, his feet were still sore, everything felt sore, he felt hungry, thirsty, tired, but he couldn’t afford to rest, not when he was running from the group that took him, the group that had abused him.
Flashback……….
Buck:’gags as his collar was pulled’
Man 2: Keep moving, we think there are some zombies around, but we need bait, and you were the only one that was healthy enough, now go, if you want to live, you’ll make sure it’s safe for us to go.
Buck:’shaking’
Man 2: Do you want to live?
Buck: y-yes……….
Man 2: Then you’ll do this, if we live, then you leave, especially if there are other survivors here, you know what they’ll do.
Buck: y-yes……….
Then he gags when he’s pulled to the ground, even when he played nice, even when he obeyed, they were still cruel to him.
Buck:’winced when he stood up, blood slowly stained the dirt, his feet were still healing from some cuts’
The men in charge of the group had cut the feet of the kids and others they held hostage, it was to ensure that they couldn’t run away, but buck had the privilege to get his cuts healed if he had played nice for a certain amount of time, buck had to survive, he had to, if he wanted the cuts to heal, he had to play nice.
Buck:’looks up as some zombies approach’
End of flashback…….
Buck:’thinks’i hate that it took so long for me to escape, I got too bold from time to time, and my feet got cut so i couldn’t go………but i won’t let the win, i won’t be chained down, i won’t let them use me as bait again!
Then he gets flashbacks of the other kids.
Buck:’feels tears fall down his face’i will live, i won’t die, i’ll find my daddy again, i won’t die, i won’t……….
Then he stops hearing footsteps.
Buck:’quickly holds up the rifle he had, shaking, he didn’t know who it was, zombie, human, he couldn’t risk it’
Figure:’slowly appears, he wore a heavy cloak with dirt, a hood that hid his face, along with his long, graying hair’
Buck: s-stay back, this thing is loaded!
Figure: I'm not going to hurt you.
Buck: What do you want?
Figure: nothing.
Then he drops a sealed packet of dried meat.
Figure: you look like you haven’t eaten in days.
Buck:’looks at the packet of dried meat, then looks up, not letting go of the rifle, but slowly lowers it’who are you?
Figure:.........ohio, my name is ohio.
Buc: ohio? Really? That’s the name you picked?
Ohio: I'm from Columbus, Ohio, don’t judge me for the name I decided to use……….are you hurt? You seem to be in a lot of pain.
Buck:’huffs a bit’i’m fine.
Ohio: you’re favoring your right leg over your left one, and the rifle is too big, but it looks like you’re using it for support as well.
Buck:..........how do you notice this stuff?
Ohio: I was an introvert, a bit of a hermit, but I notice things that no one else does, and I would have mostly stayed inside if it weren’t for this…….
Buck:.......why are you helping me?
Ohio: because I'm also being hunted down, but it's mostly because of the zombies, and I know that you probably don't trust me due to what happened to you, and I don't know the full story, but I promise that I'm not a threat to you, i have a lot of disadvantages, i'm an old man, I'm an introvert, not to mention I'm missing an arm.
Buck:...........
Ohio: and i know better than to start a fight, not to mention that i don’t have the personality or energy to be malicious.
Buck:’slowly puts the rifle down, then he picks up the packet of dried meat and opens it, he slowly chews it’
Ohio:...........
Buck: My name is Buck.
Ohio: nice to meet you, buck.
They were silent, they just stared at the ground, buck continued to eat the dried meat, it had actually started to fill his stomach, it was good to eat something, especially since it wasn’t being threatened to be taken away from him.
Buck: I was in a group………I was in the group for a while, they took kids, they used us, they used all of us.
Ohio:’frowns and looks at him’
Buck: they chained us, they put collars on our necks like we were animals, they were heavy ones so we couldn’t escape so easily, especially with how small and weak we are, not to mention that……..they cut our feet, just enough so we wouldn’t leave, after all, they needed bait for the zombies.
Ohio:’eyes widened’
Buck: I pretended to be obedient, I made them think they broke me, after i made them think they won, all i had to do was play the waiting game, until i was healed enough to run, and when they healed, i ran, and i’ve been running ever since.
Ohio: and you’re still running.
Buck: I'm still looking for him, we’re from Tallahassee, he’s very loud, and from what i remember, he is obsessed with twinkies.
Ohio: wow.
Buck: ya, but he’s the toughest son of a bitch i’ve known for most of my life, well, at the beginning of my life, I've been looking for him since I escaped, but I haven't had any luck so far, I'm just too busy running in a way to be able to look for other survivors, not to mention I don't know if there would that group or not.
Ohio: so you don't know whether to trust someone or not.
Buck: yup.
Ohio: I don't blame you for not being able to trust people so easily now, I understand that very well, If it helps, I'm looking for my son.
Buck you are?
Ohio: We weren't living together because he was an adult by the time this whole mess started, i want to make sure he’s ok, that he survived, or at least get the confirmation that he’s dead, I just want to be able to see him again.
Buck: damn.
Meanwhile…………
Columbus and Tallahassee were in a supermarket, looking around for what they could find, they were trying to see which items were there, not to mention they had to figure out which items would last them the longest and which ones were the priorities, they had to find what they could get, and what they could eat.
Tallahassee: Don't forget to check the pharmacy aisle, this is one of those supermarkets, we're going to need antibiotics and painkillers.
Columbus: ya, I heard that there were some upcoming zombies, we better make sure that we have what we need in case something happens.
Tallahassee: That's the idea, we got to make sure we're stocked up on the basics, and we pray that we don't get really sick.
Columbus: I just hope our luck stays that way.
He continues to walk around the store, getting anything he could get when it comes to medicine, they needed to stay stocked up.
Columbus: Hey, do you smell that?
Tallahassee: all I smell is bleach and dead rats.
Columbus: no-well yes, i smell that, but i smell something else, i’m not sure what it is, but it smells familiar.
Then his nose twitched, the store was very dusty.
Tallahassee: what are-
Then he sneezes, covering his mouth with his arm.
Columbus: bless you.
Then he sneezes, his nose twitches.
Columbus: sorry………
Tallahassee: damn allergies and dust, not a surprise since this place is filthy and dusty as hell, like, holy shit.
Columbus: ya, it’s really dusty.
Back with ohio and buck………..
Buck: You know, you’re not what I expected.
Ohio: what did you expect?
Buck: a monster, or a ghost.
Ohio: I'm just an introverted dad who has to survive.
Buck:........where do we start?
Ohio: I'm not sure, we just go where we have to go in order to survive, and I'll be watching our backs.
Buck: You only have one arm.
Ohio:’holds up his stump and attaches a machete’and i still got one more arm, which is better than two bad ones, now let’s go.
They grab more stuff before leaving.
Buck:’thinks’i will survive………don’t worry dad.