Tommy and Tubbo's Survival Guide to the End of The World

I Almost Die. Painfully.

tw: excessive blood and mild gore. most chapters from here on out will also have this, so this will be the only warning

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*Still Tommy*

"I spy..." Tubbo drawls, scanning our bland surroundings with intense eyes, as though he'd be able to find something new by sheer force of will. "Something pink!" His tone was cheery enough, though he was clearly forcing it through their hunger, the same as me. A short puff of air left my nose, choosing to follow along and find something pink in the bleary view.

It took us a day of moving at an abnormally slow pace, but we managed to stumble into another nameless town, famished and impossibly sore from our travels, still somehow sustaining ourselves off the meager supply of granola bars from nearly two days ago. Like the last town, almost all the buildings were collapsed in on themselves and the streets remained flooded, the only noticeable difference being the narrower streets. I glanced around between the buildings, the remaining walls still high enough so that my view was limited to the winding road and deformed entryways.

"Is it that flag?" I mumbled half-heartedly, pointing towards a pride flag that was submerged in the water, barely visible through the muck. Tubbo sighed, but still smiled as he nodded, a rumble sounding from their famished stomach, reminding me how desperately we were in need of food.

"Do you think we should go through some cars?" I shoved his side lightly, motioning him to a car leaning precariously on its side, a hard enough shove all it needed to topple over. The rear end was smashed and dented severely, making it impossible to enter through, but perhaps with Tubbo's help I could weasel into the passenger side and raid the glove box. Tubbo merely frowned.

"I- I don't think that's a good idea, Tommy," They confessed, fingers fumbling nervously with the hem of his shirt, brows furrowed and for some reason, surprisingly tense, eyes flitting about the empty street much more erratically than before.

"Well, why not?" I grunted, already making my way over to it. Tubbo's hand instinctively reached for my sleeve, holding me in place by his side as he continued scanning the area, now squinting. A tingle ran up my spine as I joined him, not enjoying this sudden shift in demeanor in the slightest.

"The dents," He muttered under his breath, the water around us stilling and the dirt settling at the bottom. They turned their head sharply to face me, eyes intense and accusatory as he motioned towards the few other cars on the street with his other hand. "They look... Man-made." At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but his words caused me to look closer.

The dents I had assumed came from falling debris were all clustered, similar in size and shape, with no indication as to what caused it laying nearby. The rubble from the buildings had fallen far enough away from the car that it would've been impossible for it to have caused the great away of damage done to the vehicle. There was mud on its hood, and upon closer inspection, I could see the vague outline of a hand, one that would have been washed away in last nights rain. My eyes widened as my hand fumbled, not particularly caring as I slid my hand down to grab Tubbo's, our grips tightening in each others for some sense of reassurance.

"We need to hide," I choked, eyes flitting around just as nervously, if not more, as Tubbo's. "Now." Tubbo nodded rapidly, both of us walking on shaky legs as we made a beeline for a small hole in a wall, being careful not to move the frail rocks lest they avalanche on top of us, the knowledge that somebody else was in the area as early as this morning making it a little difficult to breathe.

Tubbo and I rested in the small nook provided by the collapsed shelter in silence, the only sound being our heartbeats as we stared out into the sunny road. Memories of the first person we encountered flashed vividly in my mind, and surely in Tubbo's as well. We had seen her from afar, delighted in finding another survivor, about to make ourselves known and approach her. I doubt I would ever be able to forget that moment, scenarios of what would have happened had we been but a second sooner with our introduction still able to give me nightmares.