Well That's Not Good

Chapter 14 - 80s Building Montage!

By the time Lox finished charging, True had managed to remove all the glass from the downstairs windows and had drilled planks of wood over almost all the empty windows. Seeing more hands to help, Lox was handed a drill and told to finish the inside of the windows while True went outside and drilled on a second layer outside. 

"That way," he explained, "when one layer breaks down, we don't need to worry about something getting in! It'll keep it warmer, too!" 

By the time Seto got up, all the windows were blocked both inside and out, and True was taking a break. The removed windows were wrapped in scrap cloth and paper towels by the basement door waiting to be taken down. 

True sits on the floor with his legs out, a pile of fruit by his side. Seto tries to sit up, managing only to prop himself up on his elbows under the weight of a sleeping Sky. He watches for a minute as True picks up different fruits, sorting them into two piles. 

"What are you doing?" Despite his soft and sleepy tone, True jumps. Then, he laughs. 
"Oh, hey! I was hoping you might be up to helping me do some canning later! You're better at it than me." 
"Two piles?"
"These are too ripe. Better to feed them to Sky." 
"Ah, yes, the living trash bin of the household." True laughs again, and Seto feels somewhat proud. 

"When Sky gets up, I'll help you. I bet we could make banana bread with those," Seto says, gesturing at two browning bananas. True lights up. 
"Gods yes! That's been forever!" He sighs and leans back, slowly sinking all the way down to the floor. 
"Hey True, if you help get Sky off me, I can start canning those and you can take a break," Seto offers. True frowns. 
"I'd want to help you, though. Your arm..." 
"I can drop jars in boiling water with one hand!"
"The lids-"
"Lox can help me!"
"Seto-" 
"...and I'll you ask if I need more help?" True smiles, slowly getting back to his feet. His fingertips are blackened from holding screws in place for hours. 

With a little help and a lot of time, True is able to get Seto out from under Sky without waking him. After a few quick trips to the kitchen, Seto gets set up to cook and True gets back to work. 

First things first, he gets rid of the stairs. It takes a lot of work, but after about half an hour True has managed to pry the stairs apart, yielding several planks of wood. From there, he starts to fortify the porch, building up the railings into solid walls. Sky wakes up finally, and happily takes a hammer to start driving nails into random planks as True drags a ladder out to get onto the roof. Despite the horror of the circumstance, there's fun in making the house essentially into a bunker. On the roof, True starts the boring task of clearing out the gutter, unsure when he'll have the chance to again. A leaky roof should be the last of their worries. 

In the kitchen, Lox helps Seto with canning. Apples and carrots, lemons and onions, no food escapes. The steam rising from the pot and the repetitive tasks of chopping, scraping, boiling, filling- it's calming. It's hard, but Seto starts to figure out how to get around his missing hand. He tucks jars under his arm to pry open stubborn lids, and does the same when returning them. After a few hours, they run out of jars. Lox leaves Seto to prepare for True's banana bread and wanders onto the porch. 

The porch, now basically a balcony, gives Lox an idea. A quick search around gives lox a pile of fishing wire and wood scraps. While Sky nails away, he weaves a small rope ladder just big enough to throw over the porch. he smiles slightly, tugging on each rung to assure strength. It's good to know that if, for whatever reason, someone had to get in, they could assist. 

Sky starts to form a pattern with his nails, listening for different tones to find if he's nailing support or driving the nails through to the other side. He starts driving larger nails through, causing sharp points to show through on the other side. Happy with his handiwork, he gets up, leaving his dangerous wall in favor of scavenging the kitchen. 

True gets down from the roof, folding the standing ladder and putting it onto the porch. With the help of Lox's makeshift rope ladder, he climbs back in to help Seto cook, shooing Sky out in the process. By the time they get the bread cooking, the sun has started to set. Lox climbs out of the porch and finds a shovel, considering the history he's been taught for a moment before beginning to dig around the house. By the time the bread is done, the sun has set, Sky has driven every nail he could find into the wall, and Lox has dug a thin strip around the front of the house. 

Tired and dirty, the four sit down at the kitchen table for a meal for the first time in days. 

"We could wait it out from here," True suggests, "Maybe it'll all be okay without much more trouble." Seto shakes his head. 
"We already know it spread. The person that got me- that wasn't anyone official." Sky pokes his bread. For a moment, it's quiet. 
"I'm digging a moat around the front of the house," Lox comments. Sky lights up. 
"Can we put sea dragons it it?!" Seto and True laugh. 
"Sky, there aren't-" True starts, but Seto cuts him off. 
"Totally! If they aren't too expensive." True gives him an odd look, but doesn't attempt to correct him. Sky grins, looking happier than he has since Seto lost his hand. 

In the dimly lit kitchen, it's easy for the four to picture life working out quite well. The same cannot be said for everyone for long.