Hope that you enjoy!
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You are so thirsty.
Your throat is so sore, with no moisture to soften your swallows. It feels like you're swallowing razorblades. Your head spins with dehydration and the world moves blurrily in your eyes. Your eyes move lazily at the sky in front of you.
You're sprawled out onto the road, limbs too weak to move. You feel plastered to the concrete. You close your eyes, feeling the spin of your head in their darkness. The group is the same around you, except for Murphy.
He runs in circles around you, looking the most sickly with his discoloured skin. But he has the most energy, like he isn't in the blazing middle of nowhere with his insides drying up.
You open your eyes as you watch Doc come around the corner. He holds a can upside down with a sad look on his face.
"I read once that you could drink your own urine," he starts, making you screw up your face. "But all I'm pissin' is dust."
You grimace, then close your eyes again to shield them from the brightness of the cloud above. You hear shuffling sounds and Murphy pipes up, panting.
"Water isn't gonna find you just sitting there," You frown as you hear his voice, a diluted hatred rushing through you as you're too drained to fully give in to the emotion.
Doc replies to him, but your attention is shifted quickly, unable to focus on two things at once. Something is touching your side. You pop an eye open, then move your head slightly to the side to observe.
10k has flopped onto his side, one arm flung over your side with fatigue. You glare at it, but can't be bothered moving it. His head rolls closer to yours slowly, him clearly trying to be close to you but can't make it. And you can't either. Plus, it's like a million degrees and his touch would make you feel like you're on fire. More than you already do.
You can hear something in the distance, and you furrow your brow without opening your eyes. At first you think it's your head. It's been pounding for a few days, feeling like someone is doing construction on your dehydrated brain. But this is louder. The thought that you could be dying passes your mind, and you almost find relief as it would all be over.
But then you hear Murphy's calls and the thundering is louder, coming closer. You finally open your eyes, wincing at the sun. You move your head to the side, watching Murphy help Warren up. Warren starts shouting and with energy that you didn't know you had, you leap up.
You look out in the distance, spotting dust clouds following figures. You look closer, squinting your tired eyes against the bright horizon. Oh, shit. That's not a horde, that's a... You know what, you're about to die so it's okay not to think of a quirky name for it.
Warren motions toward 10k, who is still laying on the ground with his eyes closed. Adrenaline rushes through you. The horde is moving closer, their feet pounding against the pavement and their groans filling the air. You lean down and grab onto 10k's arms.
'Get up,' You say, which makes his brow furrow.
You pull onto his arms, which makes him open his eyes slowly. 'Come on, 10. Get up!'
He looks up at you. 'Can't...too-'
He's interrupted by the yelp he lets out when you pull harshly on his wrists, yanking him to a sitting position. He glares at you. You point toward the incoming horde and his eyes widen. He pulls himself up and then wobbles.
You quickly put his arm over your shoulders and the pair of you hobble toward the rest of the group. The horde is snapping on your heels, teeth gnashing and arms flailing. You let yourself sneak a peek behind you. Yup, they're really hungry.
