Claustrophobic | Skephalo

Armed and Dangerous

updating early bc this story hit 4k! love you guys so much thank you for reading so far

•••

Vincent

"Just... Stay really still. I've dealt with hundreds of these things, and half of them never detonate." Vincent stands a few yards away from Zak and the Creeper.

"W-what about the other half?" Zak asks, his voice trembling.

"Don't worry about it, you're gonna be fine." Vincent glances down at the metal disk under Zak's door. The Creeper was almost completely rusted over, the only sign of it being active being the flashing green light on the side.

Of course he had to step on the one Creeper in a hundred-mile radius.

Vincent sighs, plucking the knife from Zak's shaking fingers. He crouches down next to the bomb, examining it as best he could. "Please, for the sake of both of us, do not move."

Zak nods quickly. "I won't, I won't move."

He gets to work. "You know, the fact that someone placed this thing near a stream and it rusted over is probably the only reason it hasn't exploded." Vincent explains, using the knife to unscrew a tiny panel on the side of the Creeper. Inside were a bunch of wires Vincent has seen more times than he can count.

The order of disarming a Creeper was always the same: Cut the blue wire on the inside panel first, then the green wire on the outside, and finally, connect them together without electrocuting yourself. The third step was the hardest, obviously, because sometimes the wires were so old or destroyed that they wouldn't match up perfectly, resulting in a jolt of electricity. Vincent has been shocked a number of times, but he always shakes it off and disarms the Creeper before any real damage is done.

If Zak removed his foot or released even a tiny bit of pressure from the Creeper's sensor on the top, however, it would explode, and probably take out half the forest. Vincent knew Zak wouldn't be able to stay completely still for long, so he worked fast, almost mixing up a faded blue wire with a purple one.

Now on to the green.

"I'm gonna work around you now, Zak."

"Okay."

Once Vincent had the blue and green wires in hand, he used the tip of the knife to refine each one as much as he could. Each wire was frayed and in poor condition, much to Vincent's dismay.

I don't really have a great set of tools to work with. Oh, screw it.

He jams the wires together, a mechanical whirring being the only sound Vincent focuses on once finished. He isn't electrocuted, so that means that the Creeper is officially disarmed.

"Am I okay to step off?" Zak asks, sighing in relief.

"No, it takes a minute or two to settle," Vincent lies to keep Zak from running again. "Listen... You can't go back to Darryl. Not yet."

"What?! Why not?"

"Because! You're gonna tell him that I kidnapped you and that I chased you through the woods and that I'm crazy!"

"That's exactly what happened!"

"Look, how about we make a deal?" Vincent pinches the bridge of his nose. "The only reason you're alive right now is because if I kill you and Darryl finds out, he would never forgive me. I've seen how close you two are, you're practically inseparable."

"And?"

"And, I'm sure whoever rescued you from... I don't know, a bandit or something—"

"—A bandit?"

"It doesn't matter! If you tell him that I saved your life from some bad guy and returned you home, which- it wouldn't be a lie- then boom, everyone's happy."

"I wouldn't be happy!"

"You said Darryl has talked about me before. What did he say? Was it something along the lines of: 'Vincent was my best friend before the apocalypse, and he's a good person, even though he's done bad things.' Does that Ring a bell?"

"How... Do you know that?"

"Because, Zak, I was his best friend! I knew everything about the guy, and before he was kicked out of the Skeletons I would have spies listening to every conversation he had with other recruits. Wouldn't it make you happy to let Darryl's best friend back into his life? To see him happy again?"

"He's happy with me, not you."

"Okay, how about this. If you don't tell Darryl I rescued you and that I'm a good guy, I'll kill you." Vincent waved the knife in front of Zak's face. "Remember who's in charge here, Zak."

Zak gulps. "I won't lie to Darryl. You said it yourself, if you kill me, Darryl would never forgive you. Or... Did you forget that part? My advice, Vincent, is to not make empty threats. I know you won't—"

He's getting on my nerves. I didn't expect him to be so... What's the word? Courageous? Noble? Whatever. I need time to come up with a new plan.

One pops up in Vincent's head when he remembers the other Skeletons he had brought with him and were by Zak's house. "—Fine. You win. You can go back home."

"Really?"

"Yes. But I just want you to know that I have backup stationed near your house, and if I don't return with you, they've been ordered to strike."

He doesn't need to know they're just spies sent to gather information.

Zak is quiet for what feels like forever. Vincent assumes it's because he's finally trapped him in a corner.

When he finally responded, Zak's voice was quiet and sad. "Fine... Have it your way."

•••

Darryl

"Maybe he'll find his way home today. How long has it been again? Two days? Three? Oh Rocco, I really hope he's okay."

Rocco blinks at Darryl a few times.

"I can't help but feel like this is all my fault. If I hadn't left to look for a stupid fish, maybe Zak would still be here."

Darryl laid down in the grass of the field him and Rocco were sitting in, running his hand over the dog's soft fur. He had spent the past couple days at this field; he liked open it was. Darryl figured Zak and his friends used to play sports or other games here when he was younger, since it was so close to the house. He told himself he would ask Zak about it when he found him.

"I wish you could just tell me what happened. Or... Sniff him out, or something, like the dogs in movies do." Darryl focuses his attention on peeling a piece of grass with his fingers. "I don't know where else to look, Rocco. We already searched in any nearby towns and all down the main section of the stream. Unless he got in a car and drove off, I don't know how we haven't found him. Does the stream branch off anywhere that we haven't looked? We should check it out today, just in case there is. You in?"

Darryl turns his head over to Rocco, who was fast asleep next to him. He rolls his eyes, turning his head back and looking towards the sky.

Where are you, Zak?