The Apocalypse [Dreamnotfound AU]

Don't Panic

Some needed angst.. (I promise the next chapters won't all be like this)

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Tw: angst, zombies, blood, weapons, anxiety

"Fuck!" Karl gasps through the tears blurring his vision. "Stay with me, Nick!"

"With us," Quackity adds through gritted teeth, straining to hold Sapnap up. "Or the others will kill you."

Karl's arms and legs are shaking with the effort of dragging Sapnap up the stairwell. Sapnap, who's covered in blood and unconscious, his eyes fluttering weakly like he's dreaming. Karl lets out a shuddering breath as they stumble up another step. Then, they're at the top of the stairwell and the door to the roof is in front of them.

"I got him," Quackity promises and Karl ducks out from under Sapnap's leaden arm to yank open the door. Sunlight streams over them, making the blood splattered over Karl's hands gleam.

He turns back around to help Q carry Sapnap the rest of the way, and his heart stutters to an almost-stop.

In the sunlight, with the light washing over all of them, Karl can finally see the extent of Sapnap's injuries. His white hoodie is soaked with blood, his skin peppered with cuts and bruises. One of his eyes is blackened and swollen shut. He lets out a quiet groan of pain, and Karl brings his hands to his mouth, clamping them into tight fists. Even the pain of his nails digging into his palms isn't enough to stop the tears flooding to his eyes.

"Karl, you're fine," Quackity says, and Karl knows he's trying to keep the panic from his voice. "Don't panic."

But Karl's heart is hammering so hard in his chest that his vision starts to darken around the edges and he falls to his knees on the stone roof.

Quackity's POV

Quackity practically drops Sapnap in his rush to get to Karl, and he can't even bring himself to care. Not when Karl is panicking in front of him, hysterical sobs escaping from behind his cupped hands.

"No, no, no, no, no, Karl!" Quackity drops to his knees so that he's at Karl's level and Karl collapses into his arms, sobbing into his shoulder. "It's gonna be okay."

"Nick's dying," Karl hiccups, his entire body shaking. "What are we gonna do?"

"It's gonna be okay, we'll find a way to help him," Quackity says. He holds Karl tighter, feeling his own heart galloping in his chest. He doesn't know if he's more worried about Karl or Sapnap or George and the others, but he sure as hell will do anything to stop Karl from crying. "Techno told us he has a plan, remember? We just need to wait for him and the others to find us."

But what if they don't? a voice whispers in the back of his mind, and he does his best to ignore it as Karl sniffles and nods against his chest.

"What should we do now?" Karl asks, pulling back to look around for Sapnap. "Did you drop him?"

"No!" Quackity says indignantly, moving to block the evidence. "Why would I ever do that?"

Karl looks like he doesn't know if he wants to laugh or yell at him, and his eyes are still watering with tears. But he gives Quackity a half-smile, squeezes his hand, and moves to Sapnap's side. There's a gentle look in his eyes as he brushes his hand over Sapnap's cheek, tracing the contours of his cheekbone, roving over the eye that's bruised shut. It's intimate enough that, for a second, Quackity feels exposed, like he's witnessing something he shouldn't.

But then, Karl turns to him, the worry back in his eyes. "What should we do?" he says again, and Quackity doesn't know what to say back. He doesn't know what to do with Techno still downstairs.