Claustrophobic | Skephalo

Creeper

Darryl

Aww, man.

Darryl gagged as he climbed down a disgusting ladder to get into the sewers. He heard a zombie moan in the distance, so once reaching the floor, he pulled out his sword.

Fortunately, Darryl knew exactly what to look for to find a Creeper. A bright green blinking light. Unfortunately, a bright green blinking light meant that the Creeper was armed, and if Darryl walked too close it would explode, killing anything nearby.

He had no idea what an unarmed Creeper looked like. He only knew that they were stored underground because of Vincent telling him so.

Vincent always dealt with these stupid bombs. It would be nice if he was here now.

Darryl kept walking, keeping an eye out for any zombies or for anything that could be a Creeper. The first time he thought he saw one, it was just a zombie. Darryl killed it quickly, not even giving it time to react or scream.

Come on Creepers... Where are you?

He was worried sick about Zak. The fact that he had been completely fine earlier and now couldn't walk on his own terrified Darryl.

It's probably just a fever. Completely normal. He'll be fine by tomorrow— Oh! is that a Creeper?

Darryl approached a small silver disk that was attached to the wall of the sewer. He didn't want it to explode underground, that would just make the street cave in and attract way too much attention. So he carefully used his sword to unscrew it, and carried it with both hands as he made his way back to the ladder. He walked extremely slow, trying his best to not do so much as bounce as he took a step, just in case the bomb was sensitive. The Creeper didn't have a flashing green light, so it wasn't armed, but Darryl was still afraid of being killed in a giant explosion.

Once up the ladder and back on the surface, Darryl glanced over to where he had left Zak.

Zak had passed out again, slumping over to one side as a zombie stumbled way too close for Darryl's comfort. So Darryl entered forty five seconds into the Creeper's detonator, threw it as far as he could in the direction away from the house, and charged the zombie near Zak, killing it instantly.

He then picked Zak up again, and ran. Zak stirred, wrapping his arms around Darryl's neck.

The explosion a few seconds later almost knocked Darryl off his feet. The street shook, and zombies screamed as they ran towards where the bomb had exploded, clearing the path almost immediately. Darryl took this to his advantage, looking for the red house Zak had mentioned before.

He found it, and practically leaped inside, leaning Zak against the wall and blocking the door with a table. Zak just watched from the side with heavy eyes.

"How do you feel?" Darryl asked him.

That was a stupid question.

"Hot," Zak responded, his voice cracking.

Darryl grabs Zak's hand and guides him upstairs. "I'm pretty sure you have a fever. Come on, you should rest. Which room are your things in?"

Zak points to the room, and they go inside, where he instantly lays down on top of his sleeping bag.

Crap. What time—

"Darryl, can you get me some water?"

"Yeah, of course." Darryl grabs a bottle from off a shelf, and checks his watch.

I'll be late if I don't leave soon.

"Thank you."

"Zak, I need to go take care of something in a minute. Do you think you'll be okay?"

"Please don't go." Zak whined, reaching for Darryl's leg.

Darryl took a step back.

I can't be late.

"I have to, Zak. I'll be back as fast as I can, I promise. Just rest, you'll feel better."

Zak complied by simply closing his eyes. Darryl checked to see if he was actually asleep after a minute, and he was completely out.

Darryl didn't want to leave him there, all alone and completely defenseless, but he didn't have a choice. As he ran out of the house past the zombies and towards his destination, Darryl realized: he was running out of excuses.

•••

Zak

Zak woke up feeling like a giant bubble was about to pop inside his head. He looked around the room, to see if Darryl had come back yet, but he wasn't there. Zak had no idea how long he had been out. He checked the time, and it said it was 10:28.

I'm starving. Have I eaten today?

Zak fumbled around in the darkness, trying to find a snack. When he couldn't find anything except a can of beans, he settled for that, banging it on the edge of a dresser to open it. He could care less about the noise— He was too hungry. His legs still felt weak and his muscles still ached, so Zak knew his fever hadn't gone away while he was asleep. He sat back down on his sleeping bag as he ate, his eyes still adjusting to his surroundings.

I guess I slept for a while.

Zak brushes his hand against his cheek, which was stinging with pain. He couldn't tell if it was bleeding, but it hurt. Everything hurt. Zak finished his 'meal' and laid back down, this time inside the sleeping bag.

When will Darryl come back?

He ached to see him again, and it's only been a couple hours since he left. Zak never expected- or wanted- to get so attached, but ever since Darryl showed up, he hasn't felt so alone. Before, Zak didn't realize how much he hated being by himself.

Zak drifted off to sleep again, watching the ceiling spin as he dreamed of the past.