Well That's Not Good

Chapter 12 - Hm. Yikes. Need a Hand?

The zombie ignites as Seto and Lox step back. It goes up fast, an awful gurgling rising from it's throat as the scent of burning skin and hair rises. Seto stumbles back, looking down at his arm. It's a small scratch, just off the edge of his wrist. The cut is black as the night. 

"Seto..?" True asks. Sky stays silent, his hands covering his mouth to prevent any stupid words from falling out. Seto manages a broken laugh. 

"Heh. Well. That was fast. Gotta say, thought I'd last longer-"
"Cut it off." 
"WHAT."

Seto's eyes go wide and he looks up as Lox lifts up an emergency hatchet. It looks cleaner than usual, and Seto realizes they had to use something to cut True's fingers off before. 

"No- no. Back off, no." Seto backs into True who, to his dismay, pulls him to the ground. 
"Seto... I agree with him. Does it spread through blood and injury?"
"Yes but-"
"Would this save you?" 
"Most likely but-" 
"Bite this." 

Before Seto can protest again, the sleeve of True's jacket is shoved into his mouth, Sky is holding his good hand, and True has him pinned to the ground at his shoulders. Of course, Lox doesn't hesitate. True shuts his eyes and Sky grits his teeth as Seto screams through the makeshift gag. Lox picks up Seto's loose arm and tosses it into the remains of the zombie fire, black blood already dripping from the ends. On Seto's side, it remains red, but it's spreading fast. 

"True, jacket," Lox orders. True carefully takes it from Seto, who seems to be spaced out completely at this point. He mumbles something about being warm and Sky rubs the back of his hand in an attempt at comfort. Lox rips the jacket apart, tying it around the stub of Seto's left arm. Most of it was still intact, and True can't help but wonder if that'll make it easier to get him a prosthetic. He's only lost about half his forearm, leaving the elbow and upper arm intact. That's good, right? 

Right?

"We should get back in the car," Lox says. True doesn't move. Sky curls up closer to Seto. Lox sighs. 
"Alright, fine." 

Slowly, one at a time, Lox gets everyone into the car. True sits up front, a decision made when Sky refuses to let go of Seto's hand. For the rest of the night, they don't drive. True bursts into tears when Seto falls asleep, panicking that he might have passed out from blood loss and was going to die in moments. Because of True's panic, Sky panics, forcing Lox to calm them both down as a confused, dazed, and hurting Seto wakes up again. 

Lox makes sure the windows are up and doors are locked before leaning back and going to sleep mode. It might not do much, but he's guessing he's going to be driving a lot more with Seto missing an arm, and he needs to save any battery he can get. 

Sky watches Seto until the sunrise gets too bright to bare. he holds his hand until it's too sweaty and gross to stand anymore, and instead pulls Seto's head into his lap, running fingers through his hair in anxiety. When it gets bright, he pulls down his blindfold, letting himself fall asleep only when he feels True climb into the back seat. 

Seto wakes up with his head on Sky's lap, his legs draped over True's, and the hum of the car rocking him slightly. It's soothing, and for a second, he forgets what happened the night before. 

Only a second. 

He glances down at his side. the blue of True's jacket has been stained dark red around the end of his arm, and the sight makes him dizzy. 

He had figured he's be smarter in something like this. Silly half-drunk conversations in the past about what to do in a zombie apocalypse, how they'd be fine. It wasn't serious, but it was practical. True would build a bridge from the house to the barn, they could take apart Seto's pete house for heat, and they could all live together until it all died down. Everyone had jokes Seto and Lox would be the last two, between magic and technology it made sense. 

Seto considers this as he lays in the back seat, missing part of his arm, sprawled across Sky and True's laps. It's warm, the rocking of the car is comforting, and he's missing an arm. He's missing an arm. 

He doesn't realize he's crying until True pulls him up into a hug. It's enough movement to wake up Sky, and Seto is quickly enveloped in hugs. 

"You're okay."
"I don't have my fucking arm True."
"That's okay. I mean- not it- It'll be okay." 
"This just started and I froze up."
"It's okay."
"I froze up."
"It's okay."
"I froze." 

Sky rests his chin on Seto's shoulder, and True wrapping his arms around both Seto and Sky, squishing Seto in the middle of a hug sandwich. In the front seat, Lox sighs, adjusting the rearview mirror to look at them. 

"You're all very cute, not put your damn seat belts on before you go cutely through the windshield," he grumbles. Seto manages a laugh, and True slowly pulls back. 

"Yeah. Right. Here, Seto's I'll help-" True starts. Sky reaches around blindly, finding the seatbelt first. 
"Nope! I'm helping!" He chimes. Seto laughs.
"Boys boys, calm down, I know I'm beautiful..." he murmurs. 

True and Sky laugh, and Sky finds the buckle, helping Seto before doing his own. Clearly, Sky isn't someone to listen to every single airplane rundown ever. 

"Alright, you guys want a snack? I found jerky in the glove box," Lox offers. Seto nods and True takes it from him, keeping his arm looped through Seto's. Sky goes back to leaning on him as soon as his seatbelt is on. Seto tries not to look down at his arm and instead live in the moment, sitting warm (and maybe a little overheated) between two people that care about him.