Where Is Your Rider (OFFICIAL WATTPAD UPLOAD)

Chapter 6

They hid out in what was left of a city.

They'd left the mountains far behind, stopping in the shelter of the skeletal ruins of the roads and skyscrapers. It was eerie, Tommy thought as he cautiously climbed out of the van and into the brisk wind, heading around the front and gazing up at the clouds that were darkening as the sun hidden behind them began to set.

There had been a city here, once. Now, all that was left was the burned-out remains of a few office buildings and the occasional smaller structure and melted lamppost sticking out of the sandy, rocky ground.

Tommy couldn't help staring in awe.

"Ranboo come help me with my arm," Wilbur muttered through gritted teeth as he rolled up the sleeve of his trench coat.

Tommy peered at the bullet wound.

He gagged at the sight of torn flesh and partially congealed blood.

"Hey, Tommy," Tubbo called, waving from the sand dune he'd landed his glider on. "C'mere, help me set up camp."

The hesitant tone to Tubbo's voice was irritating.

Tommy clenched his jaw and walked over. He hated being treated like he was made of glass, even though he felt exhausted again.

Ranboo, who was walking over to Wilbur, accidentally caught his eyes.

Tommy flinched and rushed away, his heart suddenly beating much too fast.

Twice.

First the so-called prank at the range, then... whatever the hell that little stunt with letting him fall out of the fucking van was supposed to be.

Ranboo had almost killed him, twice.

Each time, Tubbo had been there to save him.

Tommy couldn't get it out of his head. The soulless stare of Ranboo's gas mask and glasses as he'd pulled out the gun, as he'd balked and pulled his hand out of reach—

"—Tommy?"

Tommy jolted back to reality.

Tubbo was frowning at him. He'd cleaned up the blood on his face, and he had a bandage slapped on his forehead. "You alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Tommy gulped.

"Ranboo's tryin' to fuckin' kill me," he croaked.

Tubbo stared at him for a long moment, his eyebrows arched incredulously.

Then he burst out laughing.

"Oh my god!" Tubbo cackled, slapping his thigh repeatedly as he doubled over. "Ranboo? Kill a guy he just met? HA!"

"I'm not fucking joking!" Tommy spat, his trembling hands clenching into fists with rage.

Tubbo wheezed. "Good one, Tommy." Then he pulled a folded tarp out of his back, still chuckling, and tossed it to him. "Here, let's go string this up and make a shelter for the night."

Tommy couldn't help making a betrayed noise.

"Tubbo he tried to fucking shoot me!" He snapped. "And he was gonna let me fall out of the van!"

Tubbo just scoffed. "Listen, bossman, you're bein' paranoid. Ranboo probably just froze up when you fell; give him a break, I told you he's got anxiety issues. Besides, I doubt he'd kill you without cause. Now c'mon, it gets cold at night. Help me build up a shelter and get a fire going."