"My Scientific Best" | The Trio

.15

• "Try to get out but we just keep stickin' around,
Cuz it is a very good bad thing we've found!
Try to get out but we just stay stuck on the ground, foolin' down,
Cuz it is a very good bad thing we've found!"

* * *

Zak didn't move a muscle. Thick, dark blood began ooze from the circular wound that the bullet formed, and started trail down his arm, dripping. Darryl froze, running over to Zak, who appeared hesitant to even turn and look at him. Tears ran down his cheeks, and he began to shiver. He could smell it, the blood- Zak probably could too.
   "Oh my goodness- oh my god- Zak- hold-" More screams echoed from that guy who shot him... And- Wait, Vincent?
   "I'LL KILL YOU- I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU-"
   "GET OFF OF ME-"
Darryl watched as Vincent attempted to pin down the stranger, but was caught off guard when that didn't seem to work. Instead, he was forced down to the concrete, his own wrists being held down.
   That was too much.
   Darryl raced to the two, but before he could say anything, all he heard was that... That familiar voice.
   "CALM DOWN, YOU'RE INSANE. CALM DOWN." Vincent was crying, struggling against the man's grip. He began to choke on his sobs, unable to make out a single word. He squinted his eyes shut, and whispered a few more words. He sounded terrified, his voice hoarse.
   "Please- d-don't kill me."
   Silence.
   "Why would I kill you-"
   "Holy shit."
   Zak, gripping his blood soaked arm, had made his way over to them. He wasn't crying, he didn't even seem to be in much pain. He was panting of course, but his face showed only shock. His breath hitched.
All four of them froze, and Vince didn't even dare move.
    "It's you." Zak chuckled nervously.
   "You're alive..." The stranger laughed back, releasing Vincent. Both of them seemed to have snapped out of whatever situation they were in, anything regarding Vincent's sudden violence had been forgotten.
   He stood up, and ran over to Zak. Nobody had a chance to resist- as the stranger had already englufed Zak in a tight hug. He seemed to have tears in his eyes, and might've began crying- at least from what Darryl could see.

   Did Zak know him? Did they know him?

"You're- You're the only other person that I know- who-who-" Zak couldn't make out any words, and Darryl was filled with nothing but total confusion. He really didn't want to interrupt their moment though, perhaps if he and Vincent kept quiet, their mental questions could be answered.
"Skeppy-" Darryl started- but didn't finish. Zak glanced to him, and he seemed in almost complete relaxation, relieved. Whoever this person was, he had completely calmed Zak's nerves.
The stranger pulled away briefly. "You don't know who I am." He seemed mildly nervous, bringing his gaze to Darryl and Vincent. Oh, Vincent looked confused as hell; how Darryl felt on the inside to be honest.
"Your arch enemy..." He said in a sorta of joking way.
"Who the fuck are you?"
"A6d!" Darryl growled, glaring at him.
There was an erie silence, Darryl left with trying to pinpoint the man's voice. It was so familiar, on the tip of his tounge.
   Deep, and humorous. He knew that voice, he couldn't be mistaken.
   He was someone strong.
"Tech-"
"Ahaha-" Dave interrupted, chuckling, very uncomfortably.
Vincent shoved Darryl aside, and just as he opened his mouth to complain, he was interrupted. Vincent was seemingly furious. He glared at Dave, clenthing his fists.
"You shot my friend."
If they had stayed silent any longer, one might've heard crickets.
"Oh. OH." Dave turned, observing Zak's bleeding arm. He didn't seem in much pain at all, which was even more disturbing. "You can't..."
Dave's attitude changed, as he stepped back from Zak, frowning. Darryl knew what he was about to say, but each time someone brought it up, he still felt filled with dread.
   "You were bit."
"Haha, lucky me, right...?" Zak attempted to make light of the situation, but it seemed that Dave was only getting more worried for him.
"He got vaccinated though!" Darryl chimed in, but Vincent decided to add on.
"No, he wasn't. He got tested on, we don't know if he's okay."
Zak looked as if his heart had sank, which was a cue to Darryl that they should probably stop talking about the subject at hand.
"How about we... Talk about this somewhere else. Shouldn't we go to a hospital nearby?" He hesitated. "A better one...?"
Dave nodded his head, reaching for the shotgun he had dropped. "Sorry to disappoint you, but-"
Zak forced a laugh. "Oh well- let's just crash at your place Techno! No need for a hospital here, I'm completely fine!"
"I literally just shot you."
"Vincent knows how to do stitches!"
Vince opened his mouth, probably to correct him, but closed it again. "We were looking for somewhere safe to stay."
"I didn't exactly come here to stay, but I've mainly been strolling around since last night. When it hit, I didn't have time to evacuate." Dave looked a bit upset as Darryl continued to observe him. "We can just chill in this allyway I've been hanging in."
Vincent sighed. "How do we know we can trust you...?"
"Because I'm a pro pvper."
"Seriously-"
Zak interrupted, clearly uncomfortable. "Because it's him okay cool yes- okay let's gooo...!"
Darryl grabbed his and Zak's bags, given how his arm was shot. Zak speed up to where Dave was, talking with him as Dave lead the way. Would it really matter though, he was already talking pretty enthusiastically with Dave, and waving his arms around as he spoke. Darryl chose to stick back a little bit with Vincent as the other two lead the way.
"I don't trust him."
"He only shot Zak because he though he was... You know. In that sense, he was 'protecting' us."
Vincent walked a bit closer to Darryl, who knew that he hadn't calmed him down anymore than before. "You're protective, that's good."
"But clearly I'm doing something wrong, look at him!" Vincent gestured to Zak, who Darryl guessed was still telling Dave about their 'epic' journey. He appeared to be a bit more quiet now, he couldn't exactly tell what Zak was saying. He was softer now, more serious.
"He's perfectly fine, and he just got shot. No matter how much I try and help, clearly I'm just making things dramatic."
Darryl stopped in his tracks, as did Vince in surprise. Darryl took his hands, and stepped closer to Vincent's face. He spoke softer, more gentle now.
"There's no way in... in hell, that you're making things like that. It's the zombie apocalypse." Darryl brushed some of Vincent's hair from his face. "You're protecting us, you want us to be safe. But you gotta think about yourself- I lo- I really- you. I mean- like, make sure that you're also safe." Darryl tried not to show his nervousness, and pulled one hand away. He continued to walk, and Vincent stared ahead, squeezing Darryl's hand slightly.
"I'll. I'll try."
Darryl smiled, and a wave of relief washed over him. "Or I'll have to-"
A sound caught them both off guard in their tracks. It sounded like laughter. Two people, joking around. Just as Darryl was about to call out, the noises came with a soft thud, somebody falling. This was followed by a quick silence.
"Err... Hello...?" Darryl released Vincent's hand, turning around. Nobody was there, which was unnerving. "A6d, you heard that- right...?"
"I think- I think I did."
Just as Darryl was about to look around a corner, he felt somebody grab his shoulders. In instinct, he turned, and punched the stranger in the fa- Zak.
"Oh my goodness-"
Zak stumbled back, covering his nose with his hands, groaning. Vincent on the other hand, began wheezing, almost falling to his knees in laughter.
"I'M SO SORRY!" His apologies only fueled Vinny's laughter, who wiped away a fake tear. Darryl was filled to the brim with guilt, but Zak shouldn't have freaked him out like that!
Zak eventually pulled away his hands, and luckily his nose didn't seem to be bleeding. "Geez Bad- I was coming over to tell you guys to keep up-"
   "And I assume laughter and scaring me had to do with that?"
   "What are you talking about?"
   Vincent pulled himself together, now facing Zak as he spoke. "We heard you, like, fall or something."
   "I didn't- you know, let's just keep up together." He seemed uneasy, which gave Darryl a bit of suspicion. He brushed it aside, and joined Dave and Zak ahead with Vincent.
   In just another few minutes, they arrived at the little alleyway that Dave had been hiding out in. There was ammunition scattered around, as well as packaged sandwiches and yogurt, the types of snacks that you'd find at a gas station.
   Dave leaned against one of the concrete walls, and let out a long sigh. He set down his shotgun, and stared at the other three, and there was a brief, awkward silence yet again.
   "You probably have questions." He muttered.
   Darryl sat down next to where Dave was standing, and motioned for Vincent and Zak to join him. Zak took a seat, but Vince remained where he stood.
   Vincent was also the first to speak up.
   "What are you doing here?"
   "In Texas?" Oh great, they're in Texas- Texas of all places. "Funny story..." He faked a laugh, before continuing. "I was gonna rescue this kitten from a shelter here."
   Vincent seemed dumbfounded. "You traveled this far?"
   "Yeah. I was gonna get her yesterday but-" He closed his mouth. They all knew what happened yesterday, some sort of hoard must've hit.
   "There was so much chaos. My signal wasn't working- it switched on for a moment yesterday, after it hit, but then it cut out. Everyone evacuated or- they tried to. There were so many, no warning. I think the government is getting all, like, fucked up. They cancelled a bunch of flights too. Nobody should be here, but I'm not going out alone. Plus, there's a few places here I can loot."
   Darryl felt his heart sink. This was real, this wasn't some small epidemic. He couldn't really focus on what Zak and Vincent were saying in reply. Darryl pulled his knees closer to his chest, almost in a little ball. They would die.
   Alone, somehow he'd get bit or worse yet, eaten alive. That, and the fact that Zak would probably die. Holy shit- nonono.
   NO.
   "Bad! Darryl!" Zak had pulled him from his thoughts, all eyes on his panic.
   "Alri- I am-" He could barely finish his own sentence, and was completely unaware of how shaken he was. Darryl took one of his own hands, and watched in shock as is trembled. He wasn't that upset.
   Don't cry, not here.
   Suddenly, a hand was offered to him. Darryl slowly looked up to the face of Dave. The strong one, the powerful one. If they had any chance of survival, it was him. Darryl felt so goddamn weak. He hesitated, as Dave then spoke.
   "We will never die."
   Darryl paused again, rethinking what he was about to do.
   "It's the end of the world, the actual end of the world." He mumbled.
   "Hell yeah it is." Dave grabbed Darryl's hand, pulling him up. "Nothing's ever gonna be same, and it's fucked up to say this, but I think that's kinda cool."
   Zak stood up, and huddled in with the other two, wrapping his arms around their shoulders.
   In that signature, cliché moment, Vincent sighed, allowing himself to be pulled into the huddle. They all stood there in silence, a comfortable silence.
   Why try to change the world, when it's already changing.