The Apocalypse [Dreamnotfound AU]

We're Leaving

(No trigger warnings but everyone is a little shaken after the attack)

"I'm gonna be honest," Karl says. "I would kill for some alcohol right now. Maybe not the best choice of words," he adds, huffing a laugh. But Sapnap notes that he's still paler than usual and the smile doesn't reach his worried eyes.

Actually, none of his friends are smiling, he notes as he looks around at their camp.

The tents are mostly untouched, thank God, except that one of them is partially crushed for some reason that Sapnap can't understand until Bad lets out a frustrated sigh.

"Skeppy tripped over it while he was busy running away from me."

Skeppy, who's been standing at Bad's side, his gaze unfocused, flinches and looks at his boyfriend. "I thought you were a zombie."

Bad rolls his eyes, but he's as pale as Karl. "Would a zombie be yelling Skeppy while he chased you?"

"I don't know, maybe," Skeppy exclaims, running both hands through his hair. "Can they talk?"

"Definitely not," Sapnap mutters, thinking of the zombies he'd fought. The sounds they made, the growls and groans, were terrifying but he'd never heard of zombies talking.

The rush that had burned through him during the fight disappears as he remembers the details more clearly. The zombies with their decaying bodies and bloodied mouths, their hands reaching for his friends. He thinks of the tears he saw in Karl's eyes and the panic on Skeppy's face when he'd told him about the attack. The zombies might not have reached the camp, but they had come too close to harming the people he cared about. And he wasn't going to forgive that any time soon.

Karl sniffles next to him and Sapnap's attention snaps to him. He'll kill the zombies that scared Karl.

"You okay?" he asks Karl gruffly.

Karl nods, dragging a hand over his face. He smiles weakly and a sudden jolt of respect for him runs through Sapnap. Despite everything, Karl is still trying to see the glass half-full.

Sapnap stares at him for a heartbeat longer than he needs to before he makes his decision. "We're leaving now," he announces just as Dream joins them. George is dragging behind him, and Sapnap notices that his cheeks are inexplicably pink. Something tells him it's not only because of the fight and he wonders if he even wants to know what happened between his two best friends while he was sprinting for Karl.

After the fight, he'd left his friends to check on the others. At least, that was what he'd told himself as he made a mad dash for the camp. But his gaze had skipped over Bad and Skeppy to land on Karl. Karl who was uninjured and who's eyes had brightened at the sight of him. For once, neither of them had said anything, but Sapnap had seen the relief shining in his eyes. Relief that he was alive, that the zombies hadn't hurt him. And Karl had been glued to his side since, hovering as close as he could without either of them actually touching.

Even if Sapnap had the weirdest urge to grab his hand.

Dream frowns, meeting Sapnap's gaze. "In the middle of the night?"

Sapnap has no idea what time it is, but he doesn't care. Even if that means waking up everyone in that whole damn school. "We need shelter. Our base has been compromised." He holds in a curse. "We shouldn't have camped so close to the woods. I should've realized."

He nearly jumps out of his skin when he feels something graze his hand. But Karl only taps him on the knuckles. "Don't beat yourself up about it. None of us knew any better either."