Half a Heart~ (Dream SMP)

[4] Rescue Mission

Song Choice: Fly Away by Khai Dreams
Content Warning: language, knives, death, injuries, destruction.

"I'm sick of waiting around." Val said, standing up and pacing around the room. The streamers were currently sitting at home, waiting to see if Niki and Wilbur would come home on their own. "We need to go look for them."
"I'll come with you!" Tommy said determinedly, standing up from his chair.
"Me too." Tubbo added.

"I'm going to stay here and help George out with the technology." Dream said as the three were getting ready to leave.
"I should stay too, and make sure those two don't do anything... sus." Sapnap said, adding a wink at the end.
"Sapnap!" Dream protested.
Val laughed.
"Okay then." She said, gathering the two teens and heading out the partially intact door.

The city was even more horrific than the three might have imagined. Their previously crowded city street was abandoned, cracked and empty. Some of the less expensive houses had been completely destroyed, with no trace of people inside.
"What happened to those people living there?" Tommy asked quietly.
"We'll never know." Val whispered back.

And the people. There was no sign of people who survived, but you could see traces of those who didn't. Splatters of blood littered the streets, as well as burnt, unrecognizable body parts.

Val felt like throwing up. Whether their survival was some fluke or just luck, she couldn't stand looking at those who weren't as lucky.
"Come on Val." Toby said, seeing her grim expression. He tugged on her arm lightly, leading her away. She nodded and stumbled past.

The walk to the grocery store was not easy. To begin with, it was far. While only a 5 minute drive, it would take 45 minutes to walk there, on a perfect day.
But the roads were not perfect. They were cracked, missing pieces, it just blocked off by a fallen tree or destroyed car.

While Tommy attempted to lighten the mood by yelling "parkour, parkour!" every time they had to jump a gap, the air was tense. If you were there, you would have been able to feel the tension in the air, filled with worry and solemn thoughts.

It took them over an hour and a half to get to the grocery store. Val breathed out a sigh of relief upon seeing that it was mostly intact.
The glass that previously lined the front of the store was smashed and cracked. Shards of the glass lay on the ground, making it dangerous with them pointing every which way.
Some of the roofing was crumbled or cracked, but overall, the building was okay.

"They're fine," Tommy said. "They have to be." Although, it seemed like he was trying to convince himself, or convince fate.

The three of the carefully stepped over the glass shards, making sure not to damage their shoes or hurt themselves. Faster than Val could think to stop it, an arm grabbed around her waist, pulling her up backwards to another person. Looking up, she saw a man, a knife in his hand.
"Val-" Tubbo shouted, his mouth quickly being muffled by another man, who was holding both Tommy and Tubbo now.

"What is this about!" Val shouted at the man who was holding her captive, struggling to break free. His only response was holding the knife up to her neck, putting pressure but not enough to cut her, yet. She gulped, stopping her movement.
"What are you three doing here." The man growled out, angry.
"We're looking for our friends!" Tubbo said desperately.
"Your friends aren't here. This is our grocery store."
"They have to be here!" Tommy responded. "They would have been here when the earthquake happened."
The man shook his head.
"I don't know if you noticed, kid, but there's something going on out here. Our homes have been destroyed! So this is our grocery store now, we need the food and shelter. So I recommend you scram, before we have to hurt you."

Val paused to think.
"Surely, we could share! This is a big place!"
"Did you not hear me right?" The man demanded angrily. "This is our territory! Your friends aren't here. Leave."
"We just want to look-" Val started, but was interrupted by the man punching her in the stomach. She groaned in response.

"Get your dirty hands off of her!" Tommy screamed, wrestling out of the grasp of his captor and lunging at the man holding Val.
Tommy only made it two steps before one of the men behind him hit him in the back of the head, hard. He blacked out, falling to the ground in what seemed like slow motion to Val.
"Tommy!" Both her and Tubbo screamed.

"Let's take them inside since they won't listen." The man in charge said, nodding to the other two. One guard yanked the unconscious boy from the ground, while the other two dragged Val and Toby into the store.

———————-
Uh oh.

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