Zanvis: ALIVE. (Part two of Apocalypse AU!)

Chapter Three: Zane.

     Zane's back was killing him and his arms were tired by the time they finally managed to get back to the base. Zane had said virtually nothing the entire time while Garroth rambled on and on about different things. Zane knew that he did that when he was nervous and couldn't help but be amused that even the apocalypse couldn't change his brother.
     He shifted Laurence's weight on his shoulders, stepping aside slowly to let Garroth open the door.
     "Knock first," Zane mumbled, eager to get rid of the extra weight.
     "What?" Garroth put one hand on the wall so that he could balance on one foot.
     "Knock."
     "Why would I do that?"
     "There's people in there. And, I don't think you want to get shot upon entering, do you?"
     "N-no.. How should I knock?"
     "Twice, pause, one."
     Garroth followed his instructions. Things moved around inside.
     "Now wh—"
     "Open the door!"
     He quickly stumbled forward and opened the door, nearly collapsing in the process. Zane sighed loudly and turned sideways, maneuvering himself in so that Laurence wouldn't hit the doorframe.
     "Sit down in the chair. I'll put Laurence in that room over there." He nodded at the room where Aphmau and Aaron were peeking out from. "Aphmau. This one needs urgent medical care, and that one over there needs his leg seen to. I'll feed him while you take care of this one. How is Travis?"
     Aphmau blinked at Garroth a few times, then nodded at Zane. "What are their names?"
     "Garroth and Laurence." Zane shuffled over to the door, waiting for them to move out of the way before carrying Laurence to the place where Zane slept before Travis's... injury. "He can stay here until we make a proper bed for him." His eyes swept over to the still body of Travis, and images of Travis as a terrifying monster flooded his head.
It's okay. Aaron missed. He's still alive. Aphmau fixed him. He'll be okay.
     He heard Aphmau walk silently over to Laurence and crouch with an armful of medical supplies next to him. Zane tore his gaze away from Travis and walked back out to the main room, where Aaron was standing still, staring at Garroth. Zane's brother fidgeted under his intense gaze.
      "Oh. I see your leg has been fixed up," Zane observed, noticing the bandages wrapped tightly around Garroth's leg.
     "Aaron fixed it. He said that Aphmau showed him how."
     Aaron nodded in agreement, then turned and walked into the room Zane had just come from. Zane walked to the opposite side of the main room to get food for Garroth.
"...Who are you?"
It was the same question from earlier. Zane hadn't yet prepared himself to have a conversation with him about this. What if it ruined everything? How were both of them still alive? Laurence was a friend of Garroth's before the apocalypse. Zane hadn't known him too well, but Garroth sure had.
"Who am I?" Zane asked. "Not who I was, that's for sure."
Garroth leaned back in his chair as Zane opened the door to the little room where everything was stored. "No. Give me your name."
Zane dug around through the packed shelves before selecting a can of fruit and a spoon. He decided not to get water, already mentally calculating the amount of water that you could get from the fruit in itself.
"Name," Garroth said sharply, his patience apparently wearing thin.
"How did you get out alive?" Zane asked. He stood in the door, leaning on the doorframe.
Garroth's mouth opened and closed a few times, and his eyes hardened. "Out from where? Take off the gas mask."
Zane ignored him. "I didn't get to see you when this whole thing started. How did you escape? Where did you find Laurence? Why isn't Vylad with you?"
He could practically see Garroth's brain working, desperately trying to piece things together. His eyes snapped up to Zane's hair, and then he was on his feet.
"Zane! How aren't you dead?!"
"I'm asking you the same question and I don't plan on answering until you answer first."
Garroth's face was a strange mixture of relief, joy, and anger. "You ran! You ran before anyone could stop you! Mom was- she was worried- I was- Vylad—" He sank back onto his chair. "We thought you were dead!"
"I thought the same thing about you. Tell me what happened."
"When you ran and took your bag, Mom, Vylad, and I gathered what we could to search for you. We left the house and almost immediately got separated. I found Vylad." His eyes narrowed accusingly at him. "You could have stayed. Mom wouldn't have gotten lost. She would still be here!"
     "Lower your voice. The walkers will come."
     "Good! Let them come! I'll kill them! I'll shoot every single one of them! It's their fault this happened! No, it's your fault!"
     "The apocalypse isn't a blame—"
     "You—"
     "Let me speak!" Zane snarled, his temper lost. Garroth flinched away very slightly, but Zane easily picked up the movement. "The end of the world can't be pinned on anyone, and you shouldn't waist your time and breath arguing with someone about something that can't be changed! You can't go back in time and fix things! It's not worth arguing over things like that at a time like this!"
     Aphmau peeked out through the door, a worried expression covering her features. Zane stalked over to the table, put the fruit in front of Garroth, and walked to the room where everyone else was. He pushed past Aphmau and sat down heavily beside Travis, letting his head fall back against the wall. He tore the gas mask off and placed it beside Travis's bed. Travis appeared to be sleeping soundly, his chest rising and falling with every soft breath. His skin was still pale and dark around his arm, but he looked so, so much better. Zane wished he could just lay down beside him and forget the world was ending.
     On his other side, Laurence was sleeping, but not as soundly. His hands and feet twitched, as if he was having a nightmare. Zane wanted to call Garroth in to help him, but he didn't really want to speak to Garroth right then. Garroth could sleep next to Laurence, and Zane would sleep in his now normal spot- on the floor in the main room under the window. With Travis in his condition, he didn't want to risk anyone breaking in. And, Aphmau kept him out of the sleeping room.
     Aaron walked out to the main room, and Zane heard the faint conversation through the walls.
     "You two are brothers, right?" Aaron asked. There was the sound of a second chair moving across the floor as Aaron took a seat near Garroth.
     "Yeah. I think. If that really is Zane."
     "Yes, it is. You two must be going through a lot of emotions right now."
     "Yeah. Tell me about it. He abandoned us and then got angry at me. My b- my friend is dying!"
     "So is his."
     Zane's body went cold for a moment.
     "...What?"
     "Travis. Zane's friend. He almost died and he's not in the greatest condition now. He's in charge of this group right now, and he's trying to hold everything together. Supplies are becoming scarce. More people keep trying to raid us. New people add onto the stress, especially new people who just so happen to be a lost brother and his boyfriend."
     "He's not my—"
     "Shh. Yes he is. You're not good at hiding that, by the way." Aaron sighed. "I know you're both under a lot of stress here. I understand why. But, for the sake of this group, please try to get a long with your brother. I'm going to talk with him later about this same thing."
     He heard Aaron get up and move the chair back to its spot against the wall. Aaron cleared his throat and resumed. "I assume he's letting you sleep in his bed with Laurence. Try not to move too much in your sleep. If you bump Laurence or move his bandages somehow while you're asleep, it can hurt his wounds. Okay?"
     There was a long silence before Garroth responded. "Okay."