End Of Days

46: Tragedy

433554: i have info you want. i was a friend of wilbur's.

Tubbo_: who are you?

It took a day for a response to finally come through.

433554: unimportant.

Tommy scoffed, exchanging tentative glances with Ranboo and Tubbo. "I don't trust that."

"Me neither." Tubbo muttered, typing in a reply.

Tubbo_: what information do you have?

Ranboo raised an eyebrow. "Not gonna ask why they want to help us?"

"They've already said. They're a friend of Wil's." Tubbo shrugged, leaning back against the bed. Silence fell across the bedroom, with little more than the distant crashing of waves to break it.

"So what do we do now?" Ranboo asked, sighing with what seemed to be resignation.

"I guess we wait." Tommy said, unable to tear his eyes from the messages on the screen.

—

He only wandered around for two days before he stumbled into Haven.

Some would have called it good luck, but Karl knew better. Luck hadn't existed for a long, long time, and Jimmy had made sure of that.

The gates of Haven were well built and sturdy, but it was obvious to see that the foundation had been little more than scraps of wire. A man and a woman stood guard by the entrance, but as soon as he'd shown his lower lip was clear of infected veins, he was waved through with no fanfare.

The Similarity was an interesting little box, and Karl kept it tucked safely in the palm of his hand as he wandered through crowded alleyways, eyes scanning over every face, searching for familiarity.

The box was similar to a rectangle, with one side curved to form an oval. There were countless switches and dials, as well as a couple of tiny globes that Karl had never seen lit. It sat easily in the palm of his hand, a reassuring weight that promised that he would not be found if he did not want to. The Similarity was a mystery to most of Jimmy's team, but that was just fine by Karl. Less information meant less of a chance of finding him.

A woman broke him free from his thoughts, coming to stop in front of him with a polite smile. She asked something, but he couldn't quite catch the words.

"I–I'm sorry?" He stuttered, blinking and seeing clearly for the first time.

"I asked if you were searching for somebody." The woman said kindly. "I've been here since the beginning, I know almost everyone. I might be able to help."

Karl nodded slowly, cycling through names and faces as he tried to determine who had the best likelihood of showing up here. He blinked, and the woman was waiting for an answer. There were so many names he could have given, but he needed to choose one that would have left an impression. Who was the most likely to make it here? And who was the most likely to be remembered?

He tried for a smile, but he was sure it came out as more of a grimace. "Has a Tommy turned up? Tommy Watson?"

Recognition flashed in the woman's eyes, and he felt his body relax. "Oh! Yes, I know Tommy. I have to ask though, as a precaution," Karl frowned, but she kept going, "could you tell me the name of his best friend? And who he played sports with in school?"

Karl squinted slightly. There was something to this– she was asking for a reason. He could dissect it later. He had to prove that he was a friend. "Uh, his best friend's Tubbo. And– and he played lacrosse with Dream and Sapnap."