Somewhere To Run To || Lunch Club AU

every other morning

That morning was otherwise unremarkable. Ted woke up from a night of light and restless sleep, ate a breakfast that was as small as possible while giving him enough energy to keep driving, and took a moment to admire the sunrise before starting the engine of the car again. The colors painted across the sky were one of the few beautiful things he had left, and even though it was harder to care now, he still tried to take a moment to appreciate it every morning.

Once the silence of the empty road became too much again, Ted drove. A glance at his map told him that he should be approaching a town soon. Good, he needed to pick up some fuel, and it never hurt to have access to more food and water.

Those kinds of practical thoughts were all filled his mind nowadays. He was scared of where his thoughts would wander if he let anything else in.

The sound of the engine was monotonous, but familiar in a comforting way. There wasn't really anything else to listen to; Ted's phone with its catalogue of music had ran out of battery long ago, and he hadn't had the foresight to put any CDs in the glove compartment. Not that that had been a priority back then.

The dull drone of the car was interrupted that morning, though. At first, Ted didn't recognize the sound. A strange crackling, hissing noise-

The radio! The realization came to him in a flash. He grabbed it, holding it close, desperately hoping for something, anything -

A voice, unmistakably human, probably male, filtered through. Adrenaline rushed through Ted's body, a grin spreading across his face, and he felt more alive than he had in weeks. It had been far too long since he'd heard from another human being.

"Hello? Hello. Uh, if anyone's even getting this message, I'm trying to find other survivors. I'm at a safe spot, I've got plenty of food and water with me. Oh, my name's Charlie Dalgleish, come find me at..."

Ted slammed the brakes, pulling to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road. His grin dropped, replaced with an expression of shock. The voice started rattling off an address and some coordinates, but Ted wasn't listening anymore, his mind suddenly spinning with an avalanche of thoughts.

Had he heard that correctly?

Was that name really-

The chance that he would find one of his friends out here was incredibly slim, but if it was-

It had been so long since he had allowed himself to hope-

"So yeah, come and find me. Uh, I'm repeating the message. My name is Charlie Dalgleish, and I'm -"

Ted snapped out of his daze. "Charlie, is that you?" The desperate words scraped against his throat, his voice hoarse from disuse.

It took a moment to get a response, but the seconds of silence felt like a lifetime. Ted felt as if he couldn't breathe.

"Oh! Um, hi. Wasn't expecting a reply so soon! Who is this?"

"Charlie, it's Ted. Ted Nivison."

There was another moment of silence, in which the only sound was the pounding of Ted's heart. "Wait. Wait, wait, w-what? Ted? Is that really you?" Charlie's voice was so familiar now, how could Ted have thought it was anyone else? He could almost cry.

"It's me! Charlie, I- It's me. I'm here."

"Ted..." He heard Charlie exhale, followed by a shocked chuckle. "Holy shit. Holy fucking shit."

"Yeah." Ted had no words, but he couldn't help the small laugh that tore from the back of his throat. This should be impossible, right? There was no way this was happening.

If this was a dream, he didn't want to wake up.

"I... shit." Charlie spoke up again. "How did you get out here? Why..."

"I honestly don't know. I was just driving, and I ended up here, I guess. I really don't know."

"Yeah, about the same, I think. I was trying to get away from big cities, found some supplies, settled down here for now. I don't... oh, i-is anyone with you? Madi?"

Ted felt a twist in his heart, but said, "No, she was with some college friends when the whole thing started. The town they went to was near a military base, so I think they should be safe."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad."

When Charlie paused, Ted took the opportunity to ask, "Grace?"

"Oh, she's okay. She's with family, but... yeah, they're fine."

"That's good." Ted paused for a moment, but sat up abruptly as the realization slammed into him. He could find Charlie, actually physically see him, he wouldn't have to be alone anymore. "Listen, tell me your address again. I'm coming to you, right now."

"Oh, right, yeah." Charlie replied before energetically rattling off his location, and Ted scrambled to find a pen to write it down. It didn't take him long to locate it on the map.

"Shit, that's not even far. I should be able to get to you in, uh, maybe a day? Two?"

"Oh, fantastic!" Ted could hear the smile in Charlie's voice. He started driving again, slowly at first, and didn't even realize how hard he was pressing down on the gas pedal until he was zooming down the road at breakneck speed. He had a goal now, finally, and he couldn't get there a second too soon.

"I was wondering..." Charlie's voice sounded again, "do you think this is even a good idea? I mean, it's... is it safer to be alone?"

It took Ted a moment to answer. That was a question he'd been pondering too, but he knew the answer he gave was genuine. "To be honest, I don't really care anymore."

"Yeah... yeah, that's true. Fuck, I just want to see another person who isn't trying to kill me."

Ted chuckled again, somewhat morbidly. For a moment, he drove in silence, but after that drop of social interaction it quickly became too much to bear.

"Keep talking. Just... keep talking. It's been so long since I've heard from anyone, I..." he trailed off, but Charlie picked up his train of thought.

"Yeah. It's lonely out here. Right, I'll keep talking. Uh..."

When Charlie hesitated, Ted butted in with the first thing that popped into his head. "You got powers too, right, when this whole thing started? What kind?"

"Oh, um, plants, I guess. I can make them grow and... stuff. I gathered some potted plants from the houses around here, I'm trying to take care of them, tt's a way to pass the time. Kinda reminds me of..." he trailed off. "You?"

"Air stuff. Like, wind and shit. It's kind of ironic, I made that joke before and now I'm actually an airbender."

"Oh, air?" Something in Charlie's voice changed, but Ted didn't recognize it until it was already too late. "Wow, fighting those monsters must be a breeze for you, then."

It took Ted a moment to process that terrible joke. Once he did, though, he leant back in his seat, releasing an exhale that turned into a chuckle, then a full-on laugh, sounding almost hysterical. As he struggled to breathe again, it felt like an enormous weight that had held him down for months had finally lifted from his chest.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Charlie, I missed you and your stupid fucking jokes. It's so good to hear your voice again."

Charlie laughed in response, loud and genuine. "Missed you too."