Seafoam (SockSMP AU)

Chapter 1: Firestorm | Meme & Socks

"Tbh!"

It was the one thing Meme had managed to sputter out as his friend collapsed to the floor in front of him, a bullet wound mixing crimson red blood with the coral of Tbh's onesie.

In front of him.

Of him.

There was a shout from somewhere off to his side, and someone's hand wrapping around his wrist as he was dragged away from the scene. Someone was shouting in his ear, possibly Socks, but he couldn't hear the words. Tbh was dead. He was positioned in front of Meme. He hadn't been before the sound of the gunshot.

As Meme finally came back to his senses, he realized he was still being tugged along by exactly who he'd guessed- Socks. With the realization that his friend was practically dragging him, he sped up his own pace to at least try to match the spaceman's longer legs. With that, he took in his surroundings of-

"Socks, why the fuck is everything on fire?!" Meme shouted, one of the flames licking at his foot. He hadn't felt the heat, hadn't heard the crackle, couldn't process what was going on.

Socks opened his mouth to answer, but could only cough in response as he inhaled smoke. Still, the two kept running, dodging between burning houses and thick smoke. At one point, they passed the village center, the bronze bell glowing red with heat as it lay broken on the floor of its sandy post.

They kept going.

Screams of terror and coughing fits coming from caved-in houses.

They kept going.

Black spots clouding Meme's vision, his lungs burning as smoke blocked out oxygen.

They kept-

"Meme look out!" Socks screeched, a loud 'CRACK' ringing out above Meme as an overhanging beam collapsed down. 

He couldn't keep going. His leg was being singed by unfelt heat as he weakly struggled to pull it out from under the burning log. This was how he was going to die. In the middle of a burning village, with shock blurring his thoughts. He couldn't hear Socks. He didn't know where anyone else was.

'This is the end.'

It was the only thing he could think before he faded out.

--------------------

Socks was breathing heavily, covering his mouth as black clouds seethed around him. He needed to get to Meme before it was too late.

He dashed towards where the beam collapsed, skittering to a halt as flames erupted out at him, blocking the way. There was no getting around the blistering heat; Meme was trapped in a ring of fire.

Socks looked around for something that could put the flames out, only to whip his head towards the sound of yet another house collapsing nearby. Still, he couldn't leave the cookie monster to die, narrowing his choices down to one option:

Going through the flames.

With a quick inhale in the opposing direction of the blackened air, Socks flicked down the visor of his helmet- which was not built for a proper space trip, never mind a firestorm- and ran as quickly as he could through the fiery wall.

The instant he touched the flames, painful heat pressed all over his body, but- as he exited the barricade of red and orange- it faded to a dull ache, at least, for the most part. Fire had caught on his right arm, which Socks quickly beat out with the back of his glove. Still, upon further inspection with his visor flicked up once more, it had left seared cloth and painfully bubbling skin exposed.