no way out {eddsworld survival au}

six

longer chapters start after this one

days had passed tord was kicked out. edd, matt, and tom had managed to survive and keep their system going. surprisingly, tom wasn't that bad of a hunter.

meanwhile, tord was doing pretty well now that he didn't have to share food or a 'bed.' the isolation, however... didn't exactly have a good impact on his mental health.

—tord's pov—

tord let out a shout of victory as a squirrel hung limply in his grip, the blood pooling on his hand. he looked down at the dead, helpless animal, a sort of crazy flicker in his merciless green eyes. all of a sudden, realization washed over tord. he shook his head to clear his thoughts, dropped the creature, and kicked some sticks over it to hide it.

"why did i kill it? i'm not even hungry, i just ate." tord murmured to himself as he began to trudge towards the creek, holding out the blood-stained hand in front of him. with a shrug, he quickly forgot about the incident and kneeled next to the creek. tord placed his spear next to him and focused on washing his hands.

"well, if it isn't commie larsin." a voice growled harshly.

tord looked up and saw tom standing with crossed arms across the creek. his green gaze narrowed as he stood up and picked up his spear.

"do you need anything, jehovah's? maybe a punch to the face?" tord cocked his head challengingly. "how's your berry-gathering going?"

tom tensed up. "i hunt now. how's your friend-betraying going?"

tord scoffed. "pretty nice, actually. it's quieter and i don't have to see your face." he brought his spear down forcefully so it dug into the ground. the two kept their gazes locked as tension hung heavy in the air.

tom was the first to turn away. "whatever, commie. i'm leaving."

for a moment, tord thought about chasing after him and pushing him to the ground, watching as tom let out choked cries while the tip of his spear buried deeper and deeper into his chest until-

an audible gasp left tord.

tom whipped his head to glare at his enemy, raising an eyebrow. "the hell was that?"

tord ignored him, simply turning around and storming away. when he was out of sight of tom, he leaned against a tree and pushed his face in his hands. fuck, what the hell? why was the vision so real? what the fuck's wrong with me? he sighed heavily before going in the direction of his shelter, when suddenly a muzzle protruded from a bush.

tord stopped walking and looked at the animal, eyes widening as a deer poked its head out and blinked innocently with its black eyes. his grip on his spear tightened when he noticed that this deer must've been a fawn due to its size.

where's its mom? tord wondered, eyes darting from side to side. he took a small step towards it. "all alone, bud?" he murmured. the fawn gazed at him blankly. "you look like you'd make for a nice meal..." the crazy look in his eyes was back; he could feel it somehow, power coursing through his veins.

"did your parents abandon you?" tord raised an eyebrow and took another couple steps. "hm.. sucks." it lowered its head slightly.

a few moments of silence passed. tord suddenly leapt at the vulnerable animal before it could escape, bringing his spear down into its head. a loud crack was heard as the poor thing's skull shattered, blood spattering everywhere. tord laughed and began to repeatedly stab the dead fawn, a new wound appearing on a new place in its body. not much time passed before all that remained was a bloody pulp of organs and soaked fur.

tord panted heavily and dropped the spear, gazing at the remains. he slowly felt guilt building up in him. jesus christ, what did i do?

—tom's pov—

tom watched in confusion and surprise as tord stormed off into the forest. "what crawled up his ass?" he muttered, turning away and heading back to his camp with edd and matt. tom made a small stop at a tree, disgustedly grabbing the carcass of the rabbit he had placed on a branch to come back for.

when he reached their shelter, edd was starting up a fire and matt seemed to be making something out of plants. tom stood there and gazed at them silently. a feeling of brotherly love warmed his chest and a smile spread across his face. he walked over to them and sat down. "i caught a rabbit."

"nice job." edd gave him a thumbs up. he took the rabbit and examined it. "i know how much you two hate watching me gut it, so i'll be right back." he stood up and walked off, out of sight.

"what're you making?" tom asked, looking at matt.

"a flower crown for myself," matt responded proudly. "isn't it nice?" he held it up.

"is that what you've been doing all day?" tom crossed his arms. "did you not help edd with anything?" that 'brotherly love' seemed to be replaced with brotherly irritation.

matt's wide smile faltered. "..well..."

"exactly." tom scoffed. "sometimes you're worthless to this 'system', matt." he scowled, using finger quotations. regret soon slapped tom in the face as he noticed the way matt looked drained of the happiness he'd had just moments ago.

the ginger suddenly stood up and flung the crown into the fire, the flames crackling louder.

"matt, wait-" tom stood up.

"i'm not worthless! i- i can do stuff to! i'll prove it!" matt yelled, clenching his fists and then running off towards the forest.

tom watched, eyes wide. "shit.." he whispered.