March of Pain 2026 𐴱 10k Masterlist 𐴱 Main Masterlist 𐴱 Taglist 𐴱 Reading List 𐴱 Pinned Post 𐴱 Moodboard side-Blog
Summary: 10k gets shot in the chest during a shootout. You do what you can, but at a certain point, you both realize that there is no saving him this time.
Warnings: Angst, Whump, Hurt/NO COMFORT, Blood, Bleeding out, Major Character Death
This is Day 3 of my March of Pain writing challenge, where I post a whump piece inspired by a list of prompts every day.
Prompt: Bleeding Out
WC: 970 Words
He knew from the second the bullet tore through his abdomen that he was done for. He hadn't felt it right away. Had just been knocked back a step from the impact and instinctively pressed his palms to the spot where blood was quickly blooming against his shirt and stared at his bloodied hands with a furrowed brow.
His ears had started to ring once the pain registered. It was white hot and blinding, like someone had shoved a hot fire poker through his chest and held it there just to inflict the maximum amount of damage.
His legs came out from under him, his free hand scrambling for purchase against the bar stools behind him only to fall anyway, crumpling in a heap on the stained carpet.
The first lungful of air burned. He hadn't realized that he'd been holding his breath since he'd taken the hit, and breathing through it only seemed to make it worse. Each contraction of his diaphragm put a strain on the wound, drawing jagged gasps for air that hurt worse than a steady breath might have. It felt like he couldn't get a proper lung-full of air and it took him a second to realize that one must have collapsed.
He could hear you calling out to him, screaming your throat raw as you ducked for cover, too far away from him to help. Your voice was barely audible over the gunfire, muffled and choppy beneath the ringing.
His rifle had slipped out of his grasp almost immediately and he briefly wondered if he'd actually been holding it at all. It had felt like an extra limb since the dead had started to walk, constantly out in front of him, even when he was asleep some nights.
Things had been a little different since you'd come along. He'd swapped the rifle out to cradle you in his arms on cold nights and couldn't help but worry he'd never get to do it again.
There was little he could do but lie there and writhe in pain, hoping that nobody else had been hit.
When the gunfire stopped, for a second, all he could hear was his own ragged wheezing and he felt the panic surging through him.
You weren't screaming anymore.
He couldn't hear Doc, or Warren. Not Addy, or Murphy. No one.
The sound of your knees hitting the ground next to him was deafening, but filled him with relief no matter how surprised he was that you'd gotten so close without him noticing.
"No." You breathed, eyes darting from his chest, wide with panic. "No, no, no."
He could feel your hands replacing his over the bleeding wound and immediately gasped in pain.
"I'm sorry!" You sobbed like it was hurting you just as badly "Oh, god, Tommy. I'm so fucking sorry, but I've gotta do this. Don't move, baby."
You were trying desperately to apply pressure to the gaping wound in his chest with your hands, but they weren't big enough. Nothing was big enough. Even your coat, shrugged off in your haste did nothing but soak up the blood, drenched through in what felt like seconds.
He tried to say your name. To try and calm you down a little. Let you know it would be alright. But, all that spilled from his lips was a gurgling sound and a drop of blood. You weren't letting yourself look, too engrossed in trying to heal and fix, but his brow furrowed all the same.
Why couldn't he speak?
He was trying, with everything in him to get a word out, but it felt like he was choking.
"You can't die on me." you choked out, finally looking up at his blood-splattered face with hot tears rolling down your cheeks. "God, Tommy. You just can't."
He was so pale. His skin ashen and gray like he was already dead. Like he was hanging on by a thread, and shit, maybe he was.
"It's-" He managed to choke out, so soft and shaky that you almost couldn't hear it over your ragged breathing. "It's-Okay"
"It's not okay!" You shouted, "Nothing about this is okay!"
"I can't-" A sob wracked through your body hard enough that your knees would have buckled had you been standing. Instead, your shoulders slumped and you gave him a look so full of defeat and sadness that it seemed to have made him start crying too.
Tears cut through the semi-congealed blood painting his cheeks, carving a trail of misery through the gore.
He tried to reach for you, but his limbs felt heavy and not quite in his control.
That couldn't be a good sign.
You seemed to understand just from the way his fingers twitched through, because you grabbed his hand and held it both of yours, cradling it to your chest.
You seemed to have realized that holding pressure wouldn't help at this point. That all you could do for him was hold his hand and try to comfort him in his last moments.
His head was spinning, dizzy from the blood loss. His thoughts grew sluggish, like they were traveling through jello before they had the chance to become fully formed.
It was only getting harder to breathe.
"I love you." You breathed, looking down at him with a devastated look "Do you hear me? I love you so much that it hurts, Tommy."
He tried so hard to say it back, but all he could do was mouth the words.
"I'm gonna be okay."
It was a lie if he'd ever heard one. He wasn't sure that he'd ever hear you any more not-okay in all the time he'd known you. But it didn't matter. It still brought him some comfort.
Enough to rest his eyes for just a second.
Dividers and Banners by me. for more graphics, check out my side-blog @dividers-are-us
Gonna give everyone their own post because they deserve it <3
I need to preface this by saying I have never met anyone even remotely famous in my life and starting with Nat who I used to have a fat crush on was a HORRIBLE idea, but he was really nice and even though I was awkward in the picture he was really sweet and asked if my siblings wanted to get in one too. I didn't talk a ton with him, but that's mostly my fault I was really scared, but he signed my pic with all of them.
I didn't get a pic with Gracie sadly so I'll add them in here (they're married they can share the post) oh my godddd I regret not getting a pic SO BAD she was so fucking sweet and lovely and when I told them I was nervous they held my hands as we talked 😭😭 she asked me a few questions about the show and all and then I said I liked her in Teen Beach Movie and that Falling For Ya was my favorite song and she was like "aw you're just saying that" (lies!) so I said I also like other ones if that makes it feel less biased. Ughhhh I need to see them at another con eventually and get a picture cause I regret it sooo badly. Also the day before when I got the big pic, they held the zombie baby up to me and it scared me.
Unrelated to me being there: I was watching Keith Allan get interviewed for a bit and while it was happening Gracie went over to Nat's booth and was leaning on him and they were sooo cute 😭😭 I love them so much I wish them nothing but the best
i met nat and anastasia!!! i met gracie too but didn't get a photo :'(
anastasia was the absolute sweetest person ever! when i walked up to her, before i even said anything other than, "hi," she called me a "beauty queen!" she gave me a hug, completely unprompted, and we had a ~5 minute conversation. i told her addy was my favorite character on "z nation," congratulated her on her wedding, told her how beautiful she looked in her dress, talked to her about the 2016 movie she starred in called "welcome to willits" (which she called an extremely deep cut), and we talked about zombie babies! i paid for one selfie, but she took my phone and took multiple as well as having a con volunteer take multiple full body pics for us! it was truly just the most unforgetable experience :)
i also got nat to sign my 10k photo card!!
i mentioned to nat that he had already signed something for me, aka my "puppylove is canon" autograph that i got thanks to the streamily live they did in august. he said he remembered me! and the fact that "puppy love" is my fanfic (shameless self-promo here)
i also got to show him my lockscreen (done by my good friend @/solyumesystem) TO WHICH HE SAID IT LOOKED FAMILIAR??? even though i never tagged him in it! so...who here snitched? (/j)
(peep my semi-closet cosplay as my sona in this c0mm)
i am so so so eternally grateful to my dad and sister who volunteered to make the 14 hour drive with me because i otherwise would not have been able to go! they were real champs for coming with me even though neither of them have ever seen a single episode of "z nation"
ps, to those who follow nat and gracie's indie film project "mile 666," i asked them about when it will come out on streaming, and they are hoping it will release soon! they're in talks with a certain streaming service (idk if this is top secret stuff or not, lol). i'm so excited for it to come out!!
I am freaking out so bad with anxiety. Literally two days ago I found out about the con in Altoona PA and bought tickets, because practically the ENTIRE cast of ZNation will be there.
Its one of my favourite shows and I have never gone to a con before in my LIFE, let alone one where I'm supposed to meet eight of my favourite actors at once. I always thought I'd be able to ease into cons with 1-3 famous people at a time, but I am just so nervous I literally feel like my organs are eating each other.
Imagine giving 10k his first bj, like he's whining and whimpering, and his head is thrown back your name slipping from his lips and when he cums he lets out a long drawn out whimper
Summary: The gang is going crazy with the new addition keeping them up. 10k has to make a call, and Torch worries about how it's going to affect him in the long run.
Torch sat there with 10k all night, even after they’d covered enough ground to stop and stretch their legs. She didn’t eat, sleep or move until he finally woke up the next afternoon.
His eyes had fluttered open, and Torch breathed a sigh of relief.
She looked down at his head in her lap and couldn’t help but get misty-eyed while he blinked at her.
“Torch?” He muttered, his voice scratchy.
“Hey,” she breathed, smiling.
“What’s wrong?” 10k frowned, reaching for her face. “Are you crying?”
“I ain’t cryin’.” She shook her head, but all it did was let a tear drip down onto his forehead. She wiped it off quickly. “I thought you were gonna die for a second there, is all.”
“Was it really that bad?”
“Scared the fuck outta me.” She admitted, digging the heels of her hands into her eyes “Ya can’t do that shit again. I know it ain’t your fault and ya didn’t do it on purpose, but shit”
10k looked up at her while she stared up at the sky, trying to collect herself.
He must’ve been really sick if it had her so upset that she’d been crying about it. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her cry in all the time he’d known her. Torch just didn’t do that. But there she was with her watery eyes and shaky voice.
If anything had happened to her, he’d be a wreck, and it felt reassuring in a way to know she was too. Hell, the time she’d been shot, he was the most worried he’d ever been. She was difficult to read, even after they’d crossed the line outside of friendship territory some time ago, and he couldn’t help but wonder at times if his big feelings were reciprocated or if it was something else to her entirely. He was seeing more and more lately that she might be feeling exactly the same as he was, and if anything, this proved it.
“Y’alright?” She cleared her throat finally, looking down at him with concern.
“I think so.” He cracked a weak smile, sitting up with a groan, “I’m pretty tired.”
“I’ll let ya get back to sleep then,” Torch threw her leg over the edge of the truck bed. “I’ve gotta talk to Warren.”
He opened his mouth to tell her that she didn’t have to go and that he’d rather sit up with her than sleep, but snapped it shut and watched her land on the ground and walk off towards the front of the truck.
“Boy,” Doc leaned his arms up against the side of the truck, “am I glad to see you awake. Gave us a real scare there.”
“Yeah,” he shrugged, nodding to Addy when she popped up at Doc’s side, “I don’t remember much.”
“Yeah,” she frowned, “I had it too, but I wasn’t nearly as bad off as you were.”
“If you’d have slept any longer, Torch would be climbing the walls by now,” Doc scoffed, glancing over at the girl who was sheepishly apologizing for pulling a gun on Warren and Vasquez. “I tell ya, she was a wreck.”
“It was sweet.” Addy knocked her shoulder into the old man’s playfully. “That girl loves you.”
The boy's cheeks burned, but he couldn’t keep the goofy grin off his face.
“Hey where’s-” He looked around, trying to change the subject. “Did she have the baby?”
“Yeah.” Doc gestured to Murphy, who was off on his own with the blue bundle, “Murphy’s having a moment with her.”
“Hey,” Addy suddenly remembered, tossing something in the truck bed next to him. “Speaking of babies… Got a present for ya”
“Billy boy condoms?” 10k turned the box of condoms over in his hands and looked back at them with wide eyes.
“You’re not gonna die a virgin.” Addy told him with a cheeky grin “I promise. But, when it happens, don’t be stupid.”
“Thanks,” The boy smiled sheepishly, struggling to maintain eye contact.
“Incoming.” Doc nodded towards Torch, who was walking back over.
10k scrambled to shove the box of condoms in his bag before she could see, while Addy laughed, ducking into the cab.
“Should be sleepin’.” Torch muttered, sitting next to him with a tired sigh.
“What did you need to tell Warren?” He asked instead of trying to pretend he wasn’t still tired.
“Had to say sorry to her and Vasquez.” She frowned, “pulled a gun on ‘em yesterday.”
“Why?” his brows pulled together. “What did they do?”
“Got in my way when I was tryna get ya some medicine.” She shrugged, looking guilty, “flew off the handle a lil bit after ya started coughin’ up blood. Didn’t know what to do with myself.”
“It’s okay now.” 10k took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m gonna be fine.”
“Don’t know that for sure.” She grumbled, still looking worried “Ya inhaled so fuckin’ much of that shit 10k.”
“We’ve got antibiotics and Doc doesn’t seem worried, so you shouldn’t be either,” he told her gently, nudging her arm with his elbow.
“Ya make me fuckin’ crazy.” She looked up at him, “Ya know that?”
“What did I do?” He laughed.
“Just-” Torch started, but couldn’t find the words, so she grabbed him by the back of the neck, careful not to be too rough, and kissed him hard, not caring that Doc could still see them from where he was standing.
10k’s hands cradled her face until he had to pull away, breathless.
“So yelling at you and almost dying.” He cracked a goofy grin. “That’s all I’ve gotta do to get you to kiss me?”
“Y’ain’t ‘almost dyin’ ever again.” Torch jabbed a finger into his chest, still a little flushed.
“I’ll try my best,” he teased, slinging an arm over her shoulder and pulling her into his side. “Did you sleep even a little bit?”
“Nah,” She shook her head, yawning despite her best efforts.
“Go to sleep,” He nudged her gently, resting his chin on the top of her head.
“I ain’t the one that’s sick.” The girl muttered into his chest, suddenly exhausted.
“One of us doesn’t always need to be awake, you know.” 10k leaned back and made himself comfortable, feeling his own eyelids drooping. “We could just both sleep.”
Instead of a response, a soft snore fell from her lips. He chuckled under his breath and pressed his lips to the crown of her head before shutting his own eyes.
Torch was startled awake by the baby screaming and shot up in the bed of the truck. Once she was able to process what was happening, she deflated, but only slightly, and cupped her hands over her ears.
She shot Doc a wide-eyed look, but he just shrugged, looking about as tired as she felt.
10k wasn’t far behind her and groaned a few moments later. He pulled his bag over his head in an attempt to muffle the insufferable screeching sound that had woken all of them at least once every time they fell asleep. Over the last few days, the sores on his face had mostly healed, fading more with each day that passed. Anytime he so much as coughed, he’d find Torch looking over to check on him for a half-second.
“Jesus fuckin’ Christ,” The girl grumbled, sighing in defeat when she realised her hands were doing little to help. She dropped them to her sides and glared into the cab of the truck, where Murphy was trying to soothe Lucy. “Got half a mind to hurl myself onto the road.”
“I’m right behind ya, kid.” Doc frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Me too,” 10k’s muffled voice came from below the backpack.
Addy just nodded, looking like she was about to start pulling out her hair.
In Illinois, they lost the truck.
It had overheated to the point where flames were coming from under the hood. Warren was pissed because it had happened while she was sleeping and Vasquez was driving.
Since the baby had only allowed him a couple of hours, he was exhausted, and his nerves were fried from being stuck in the cab with the screeching infant. He’d been going fast and just kept pushing the old vehicle as if it would somehow get him away from the baby.
They all stood at the roadside and watched as the fire spread until the whole vehicle was burning and the tires were starting to go.
They walked down the side of the highway until they reached Springfield.
The baby hadn’t stopped screeching for a second, and everyone was seconds from losing it when they found themselves surrounded by Zs. For some reason, the little girl’s cries attracted them like nothing they’d ever seen.
10k pulled Torch up on top of a car and started taking out Zs with his slingshot while she used her knives. She knew it’d be a hassle to get them all back, if they even had time, but was well past out of ammunition for her baretta and rifle. Since she’d started carrying it, Torch couldn’t understand how 10k hauled the damn thing around everywhere they went. It was heavy and caught on everything, and she was close to just tossing it aside.
Warren and Vasquez were on the ground, cutting down what they could while the young couple picked off the rest. Doc and Addy were on the other side of an abandoned school bus, along with Murphy and Cassandra, who were trying to keep the dead away from Lucy.
It didn’t seem to be going well, and when Torch heard Murphy call out to Doc, her head whipped to the side, ready to hurl a knife at whatever was trying to take a chunk out of the old man.
Instead, she saw the baby sailing through the air in Doc’s direction and gaped at the scene unfolding in front of her. Luckily, he caught her and made a run for the bus.
Torch spotted movement in the dusty windows, followed by Doc trying to open the door back up, screaming for help.
“Shit.” Torch breathed, jumping down from the roof. She hit the ground running towards the bus, where Addy and Warren were trying to pry open the doors, while 10k covered her.
“Get me outta here!” Doc yelped. “Guys, come on! Open the door!”
She grabbed on and helped them get the doors open just in time for Doc to spill out with Lucy still in his arms. The screaming never stopped, and the flood of Zs dressed like Abe Lincoln poured out after him, so he threw the baby at Addy, who threw her to Warren, who shot Torch a look.
“Don’t you fuckin’ dare!” She jabbed a finger at her, horrified at the prospect of having to lug that thing around. “I’ll cover, just run!”
She threw her last knife, clearing a path for their leader, who made a run for it with the baby tightly clutched to her chest.
Torch started ripping her knives out of skulls and immediately tossing them into the next target’s head until they were all down, and the standing group of survivors found themselves breathing raggedly, taking stock of all the bodies surrounding them.
When she caught her breath and got visual confirmation that 10k was alright, Torch started collecting her knives, wiping them off on a bandana she pulled from her back pocket before strapping them back to their designated spots.
When she rejoined the group, Doc was wearing a tophat, so she shot him a funny look.
“This was so wrong.” He grimaced, looking down at the dead Lincolns.
“I’ll take her now.” Murphy rushed towards Warren with his arms outstretched. He took Lucy and rocked her in his arms. “There you go. Adorable, isn’t she?”
Torch opened her mouth to argue, but Doc nudged her in the ribs and shot her a disapproving look.
“Ow!” She hissed, “What was that for?”
“You think he wants to hear that you hate his baby?”
“I don’t hate the baby,” She rolled her eye,s “I just think she’s creepy.”
“But she’s Daddy’s precious angel. Aren’t you?” Murphy’s baby-talk reached her ears, and she couldn’t help but scrunch up her nose, looking to 10k, who was equally unsettled.
“I ever talk to anythin’ like that, shoot me.” She muttered, shaking her head. “‘Less it’s a dog. Always wanted a dog.”
“I’m not sure there are any dogs left.” He looked amused.
“There’s gotta be,” Torch scoffed, “There’s other animals. There’s gotta be a dog somewhere.”
“So you want to start looking for one?” 10k asked, nudging her playfully.
“Course not,” She rolled her eyes. “Can’t just go lookin’. If we stumble ‘cross one, then we do, if we don’t, we don't.”
“So if we find a dog, we’re keeping it?”
“If it wants to be kept.” She shrugged, “Ain’t gonna make it hang out if it don’t want to.”
“You guys really just say anything that comes to mind, huh?” Addy walked past them, chuckling under her breath.
“Yesterday you were yappin’ bout cantaloupe!” Torch jabbed an accusatory finger in her direction.
“Can’t a girl miss fruit?” she defended, “You can’t tell me you wouldn’t shove someone in front of a bus for a piece of fresh fruit.”
“Yes, I can!” The younger girl exclaimed while 10k laughed.
“Let’s move!” Warren shouted, pulling their attention.
They walked until they hit the treeline at the edge of town, taking advantage of the rare couple of hours that the baby had decided she was going to sleep. 10k had grabbed Torch’s hand a few minutes in, and although she looked startled by it at first, she didn’t pull away.
“I can’t believe people used to wear these.” Doc muttered a few hours later, examining his hat, “I mean, they’re cool and all, but what’s the point?”
“Storage.” Addy shrugged, slowing to a stop in front of Murphy and Cassandra, who seemed to have decided they were taking a break.
“Can you imagine sitting in a theatre behind somebody wearing that?” Murphy scoffed, “No wonder they shot Lincoln.”
Doc shot him a look.
“What?” Murphy laughed, “Too soon?”
Doc rolled his eyes, but then got all serious, trying to sneak a peek at the blue baby.
“How’s little Lucy?”
“Finished all her sugar water like a good little girl, didn’t you, Lulu?” He cooed to the baby in his hands.
The baby farted and Murphy laughed loudly.
“That’s my little stinker!”
“Oh.” Doc fanned the air away from his face, taking a good step back.
“Have you smelled yourself lately?” The new father rolled his eyes. “Please.”
“Come on.” He spoke to the baby, standing, “Let’s get away from the big bad man.”
Torch watched him walk off and scowled when Cassandra sat defensively at his side, as if she were a guard dog.
“Come on,” 10k gave her hand a tug after watching her react. “Let’s see if there’s anything around here.”
“Like what?” Torch muttered, kicking a rock.
“Like that.” He pointed out a pond beyond the trees.
“Oh.” She cocked her head to the side. “Yeah, let’s go over there.”
The young couple wandered over and sat down on a rocky ledge overlooking the water. 10k shrugged off his bag and started digging through it.
“Hell are ya doin’?” Torch’s brows pulled together as she watched him wind some fishing line around a stick.
“Fishing.” He shrugged, filing down a soda can tab on a rock, repeating the action twice more until he had a set of macgyvered hooks.
“That’s actually real smart.” She nodded, impressed as he tossed the contraption he’d made into the water and tied the end to his bag.
“Don’t need to sound so surprised.” He teased.
“I ain’t!” She smacked his arm playfully, “m’just sayin’.”
10k leaned back against the bluff, pulling Torch along with him until she was tucked into his side before dropping the pack of cigarettes in her lap.
She chuckled, pulling a lighter from her back pocket.
“We sharin’?” She looked up at him through her lashes.
He swallowed hard and nodded.
“Reckon they’ll last longer that way.” She shrugged, lighting one and setting the pack down next to him. She inhaled, sighing happily before holding it out to him.
“Wish we could do this every day,” Torch muttered, making herself comfortable. “Can’t hear the baby, no Murphy. Ain’t had a minute of peace since- well shit,” She scoffed “I don’t even know when.”
10k held the cigarette out to her and flinched when her lips brushed up against his fingers as she took a drag while he was still holding it.
His eyes widened slightly as a bolt of electricity shot through him.
If Torch noticed, she didn’t let on.
They stayed like that, passing the cigarette back and forth until there was a tug on the line and 10k reeled up three impressive-looking fish.
“Shit.” Torch nodded appreciatively. “Can’t believe that worked.”
He just rolled his eyes and stood, holding a hand out to her.
With the fish in one hand and Torch’s in the other, he led them back to the rest of the group, soaking up the tranquility while they still had it.
He wouldn’t mind spending forever with Torch like that. Just the two of them out in the woods. They could live in a tent for all he cared, he just wanted to spend all his time with her, uninterrupted and free from wandering eyes and screaming babies.
Torch tugged on his hand and pulled him down to a crouch, nodding to their left.
Vasquez was walking through the woods, looking over his shoulder every few seconds.
“Told ya.” She muttered, “Somethin’ just ain’t right ‘bout him.”
“Come on,” 10k nudged her back up, walking in the opposite direction of their newest groupmate.
They found Warren, Addy, and Doc in what was left of a wooden structure. It looked like the wind, or maybe the tornado that had almost killed them almost a year before, had destroyed it.
“Got some trout.” 10k announced, holding up the fish as they approached.
“Kid,” Doc stood, brushing his hands off on his jeans, “You are a fishing Guru.”
“What’s your secret?” He took the fish from the boy.
“Be one with the fish.” He replied seriously.
Torch laughed quietly behind him, sharing a look of amusement with Addy and Warren.
“Far out.” Doc nodded, impressed.
“Atta boy.” Warren smiled as they approached.
“Got some foil over here somewhere.” Doc called out, rifling through his bag, “We’re gonna fry one of them bad boys up.”
“Alright!” Addy beamed.
10k crouched to look at Murphy and Cassandra off in the distance, dropping Torch’s hand so she could sit across from Warren.
“We’ve got to get a look at that baby,” Warren muttered to them.
“Ain’t no we.” Torch scoffed softly, “I ain’t pressed to get anywhere near that fuckin’ thing.”
“Torch.” Addy rolled her eyes. “It’s a baby.”
“I ain’t never met a baby I liked.”
“You know a lot of babies?” Doc tilted his head to the side as if he already knew.
“No.” She snapped, “But it ain’t a lie, cause I just ain’t never met a baby ‘cept for that one.” She nodded towards Murphy and the blue bundle in his arms.
“Super dad over there isn’t gonna let us get anywhere near her.” Addy interjected, “Probably thinks we’re gonna leave her behind or something.”
“Which we’re not seriously considering, right?” She sounded hesitant.
“Something tells me she’s gonna outlive us all.” Warren scoffed before looking around with a furrowed brow. “Where’s Vasquez?”
“Disappeared again.” Doc shook his head.
“We passed him in the woods.” 10k told them, “headed South, towards town.”
“Well,” she frowned, pulling herself to her feet, “I’m gonna see if I can find out where he keeps disappearing to, and you guys see if you can’t get that baby away from Murphy.”
“I ain’t touchin’ it.” The young girl shuddered.
“You never want some of your own?” Doc asked her, looking amused.
“I ain’t got a motherly bone in my body,” Torch scoffed. “'sides, it ain’t right to bring anythtin’ into this.”
“Does 10k want them?”
The girl looked taken aback.
She’d never considered even asking. Torch hadn’t taken the time to contemplate her future or the longevity of her relationship with 10k. In fact, she actively avoided it, sure she’d fuck it up at some point in one way or another.
She wasn’t even sure what 10k was to her.
Was he her friend that she liked to kiss?
Maybe her boyfriend?
It felt stupid to put a label on whatever it was they were doing, but there was a voice at the back of Torch’s mind urging her to flee so she didn’t have to try and figure it out.
She liked spending time with 10k and trusted him more than she’d ever trusted anyone in her life. That, she could say for sure. Watching him almost die had only solidified her feelings and the need to be close to him, but it had also made her hyper-aware of the fact that she never wanted to be more than 10 feet away from him.
If he suddenly decided that he didn’t want her around anymore or if she ruined things with him somehow, she’d be crushed.
Torch sat there frowning with a furrowed brow, unmoving while Doc stared at her in concern.
“You okay, hun?” He gently rested a hand on her shoulder, unsurprised when she flinched away from his touch. She hadn’t seen it coming despite her eyes being locked onto him since he’d asked his question.
“Sorry,” She cleared her throat, looking apologetically at his still-outstretched hand “What?”
“You alright?”
“Yeah.” Torch frowned, tugging at the ends of her hair.
Torch stayed back when Addy, Doc, and 10k tried to see if Murphy would let them take a look at the baby. She had no interest in getting within ten feet of either of them, so she watched, perched on top of a boulder.
At some point, Murphy stood, clutching the baby to his chest as if he was scared they’d tear her from his hands. He muttered something to Cassandra before staggering into the trees.
She frowned, resting her palm on the hilt of her buck knife when Addy tried to follow, only for Cassandra to step out in front of her defensively.
After a brief standoff, the three turned around and headed back to where Torch was waiting, looking both concerned and annoyed.
“I take it that it ain’t went too good?” She asked with a raised brow, unsurprised.
“He took off with the baby.” 10k told her, leaning back against the rock next to her. “Told Cassandra not to let us go anywhere.”
“I’m gettin ‘real sick of watchin’ him order her around like a damn dog.” Torch frowned, shaking her head “It ain’t right.”
“I think we should go out there after him.” Addy said after a few minutes, “He shouldn’t be out there alone. Especially not with the baby.”
“So, what about lil miss sunshine over there?” Doc nodded towards Cassandra, who was staring at them from where Murphy had left her. “He told her to stop us.”
“Can’t go after all of us at once.” Torch shrugged. “If we all pick a direction and start runnin’, she’s gonna have to make a choice.”
“Well, I don’t know.” Doc looked uneasy. “I think we should wait for Warren and Vasquez. They’ll be here soon.”
“We don’t even know where they are.” Addy shook her head. “Torch’s right. What if something happens to the baby? Or Murphy? He didn’t take any food for the baby. Why wouldn’t he take any food?”
“Oh, he wouldn’t do that.” Doc muttered, unconvinced, “Would he?”
“Ain’t a person on earth who can confidently answer that.” Torch frowned. “It’s Murphy.”
“There’s four of us, one of her.” 10k agreed, “If she tried to stop us,” He sighed, looking pained, “we’ll do what we have to do.”
“What does that mean?” Addy frowned.
“She’s not Cassandra.” 10k shook his head solemnly. “Not anymore.”
“I don’t know, man.” Doc shrugged. “She’s getting weirder. And you‘ve seen how strong she is.”
“She would not hurt us.” Addy sounded far too confident. “Not really.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Doc muttered.
“We all run in different directions.” 10k laid everything out “She’ll grab one of us, the other three go look for Murphy.”
They all nodded, standing.
“All right.” Addy sighed, “We’re doing this.”
“I hope she doesn’t overreact and do something crazy,” Doc mumbled.
They all exchanged a look, waiting till they all looked ready.
“Now.” Torch hissed.
She sprinted east, cursing under her breath when she heard footsteps headed after her.
Cassandra wouldn’t have hurt her, but her friend wasn’t in there anymore, and the animal that Murphy had turned her into only knew loyalty to him.
She inhaled sharply when a shoulder rammed into her side, and Cassandra tackled her to the ground. Torch landed on her back, hard, and had the wind knocked out of her. She gasped for air, trying to hold her off with her arms but struggling under the weight while her brain processed what was happening.
When she finally got a lungful of air, Torch headbutted her former friend, hissing in pain, but was relieved when she was able to roll the stunned woman off of her. She pinned her shoulders to the ground and just stared at her for a minute, ignoring the nails clawing into her arms as she tried to look for any trace of her friend left in there, but found none.
“Cassandra, Stop!” Torch shouted at her, realizing that she wouldn’t be able to kill the creature, regardless of whether or not Cassandra was still in there. “I don’t want to hurt you!”
She snarled at her, tossing the younger girl to the ground like it was nothing. Torch rolled ten feet before bashing her head on a rock and yelped in pain. It was already throbbing from the headbutt, and the feeling stunned her for a moment.
When she was able to sit up, she reached up and prodded the side of her head. She frowned at her hand when it came away bloody, a little dizzy and disoriented for a moment before Cassandra was on her again, pinning her arm to her back while she cried out in pain.
“Get off me!” Torch flailed in her grip, feeling lightheaded. “Get the fuck off of me!”
She heard footsteps thundering in her direction and sighed in Defeat.
“Torch!” 10k called out to her, the first to reach the clearing.
“Cassandra!” Addy was next, prompting the half-Z to let Torch go. “What the hell are you doing?”
She scrambled to her feet and stumbled forward, narrowly avoiding tripping. 10k’s hands steadied her as he looked down at her bleeding head in horror.
“Nobody leaves.” Cassandra hissed.
“I told you .” 10k looked from Torch’s head to his former friend angrily, “It’s not her.”
He slung an arm over her shoulder protectively and led her back to the spot they’d run from, casting looks over his shoulder at Cassandra.
“You okay?” He asked Torch, who still looked a little bleary-eyed, as he guided her down onto a rock.
“M’fine.” She grumbled, jerking away from Doc when he tried to push her hair out of the way.
“Hey,” 10k nudged her gently, sitting next to her, on the uninjured side, looking concerned. “Let him look at your head.”
Torch sighed heavily and tilted her head to the side, allowing him better access.
Doc parted her hair and frowned at the still bleeding wound before going to his bag and returning with a wad of gauze. He dabbed at the cut on her scalp, careful not to press too hard.
“You’re gonna have quite the bump.” Doc sighed, “Hold this over it.”
She replaced his hand with her own, holding pressure on the throbbing side of her head.
“How bad does it hurt?” He asked despite knowing she was about to downplay it.
“Two.” The girl muttered, wincing when she put a little too much pressure on it, “Maybe three.”
10k only seemed to be growing angrier by the second. He was glaring at Cassandra while Torch shut her eyes for a minute.
“What are we doing about it?” He asked coldly, “We can’t just stay here. Who knows what Murphy’s up to?”
“Could we try talking to her?” Doc frowned.
“I don’t think she’s in a talking mood.” Addy scoffed, nodding to Torch.
“She’ll talk to me.” 10k stood, pulling his gun from his belt and setting it down next to Torch before stripping off his vest and draping it over her. “Get ready to run.”
“What about Torch?” Addy looked concerned.
“M’fine.” Torch hissed, opening her eyes. “I can run.”
“Are you sure?” Doc asked her, shooting 10k a look.
“Course I’m fuckin’ sure,” she snapped, pulling herself to her feet.
“Be careful.” She told 10k, looking at him pointedly.
“You too.” He nodded, only looking over at her for a second.
“What the hell is he doing?” Addy breathed
“I dunno.” Doc shrugged, tying his shoes while Torch rushed to check her own. “But when someone tells me to get ready to run, I get ready to run.”
10k walked with determination, crouching down in front of her.
“Cassandra.” He said seriously, staring into her eyes while she kept her gaze fixated on the other three, “We need to talk.”
“You seriously hurt Torch, Cassandra.” His hands balled up into fists at his sides.
She hummed.
“Hmm.” 10k fought not to snap at her. “Cassandra, listen. We need to look for Murphy.”
Her eyes snapped over to him for a half second before going back.
“We want to help him.” He spoke slowly, trying to keep his cool. “But we need to find him first.”
“Nobody leaves.” She growled.
He turned and gave Addy, Doc, and Torch a look before mouthing the word ‘run.’
Torch took a deep breath and took off, unsteady on her feet but determined. She was worried about 10k, but wholly aware that he wanted to do this by himself. She wouldn’t have been of much use anyway. Not with her view being distorted by the tilt-a-whirl that was affecting her balance.
She hadn’t realised that she was supposed to stay with Addy and Doc until she found herself lost.
Unsure how long she’d been running, Torch looked around with a furrowed brow, cursing herself for not thinking straight.
She took a minute to get her head straight, scanning the ground for her tracks until she found them. The girl followed them back towards where she’d come from, but tore a knife from her belt when she heard a twig snap to her left.
She startled, flinging the knife before she finished turning, but managed to tilt her wrist slightly when her eyes locked onto Doc, Addy, Warren, and Vasquez, who were all frozen in shock.
Luckily, she’d corrected enough to miss them, and the knife landed a few inches next to Vasquez’s head, in a tree trunk.
“Jesus.” She muttered, looking at Warren and Vasquez’s pale clammy skin and Doc and Addy’s flushed faces “Fuck happened to ya’ll?”
“Those two got shot.” Addy nodded to the first two before gesturing between her and Doc, “and we’ve been looking for you. You ran the wrong way, Torch.”
“No shit.” She scoffed, “But let’s not act like it was clear that we’d be stickin’ together.”
She walked over and tore her knife out of the tree, staggering back once she got it dislodged, still a little dizzy. The girl steadied herself against the tree.
“You good?” Warren asked her, stepping forward to help if she needed it.
“M’fine.” Torch huffed, righting herself. “Whacked my head earlier.”
“Where’s 10k at?” She asked Addy.
“We haven’t gone back yet.” She frowned.
“Let’s go then.” The younger girl waved them all forward, “C’mon.”
The more she thought about having left him back there, the more she started to worry.
Cassandra had turned on her immediately and showed no mercy. There was no reason to believe she hadn’t done the same thing to 10k. If she hadn’t been so out of it when she’d started running, she would have never left him behind like that.
She walked ahead of everyone, following her tracks despite the pounding headache she had.
Torch found him standing over a fresh mound of dirt, staring down at his feet, and froze, unsure what she was looking at.
“Well,” Addy called out when they finally caught up, “We didn’t find Murphy.”
“But we found these two.” Doc nodded to Warren and Vasquez, “And Torch.”
“Not a minute too soon. We didn’t have much fight left,” Warren sighed, climbing down with the rest of them, frowning when she saw Torch just standing there.
“What’s that?” Doc asked, looking down at the dirt.
“Cassandra.” 10k spoke flatly, looking up, but not at any of them.
His face had a trail of blood going down his cheek, and he was covered in bruises, but he looked beyond devastated. There was no emotion left on his features.
Torch lowered herself to the ground and felt worry bloom in her chest. He wouldn’t want her crowding him right now, same as she wouldn’t if it were her over there burying their friend.
“Oh my god.” Addy fell to her knees in front of the mound. “What happened?”
“I did what I had to do.”
“You mercied her?” Warren asked, rushing over.
“She gave me no choice.”
“Saw that one coming,” Vasquez muttered, flinching when Torch tossed a pebble at him and shot over a dirty look.
“She was our friend,” Addy told him angrily.
“No.” 10k muttered just as flatly as he’d started, “No, she wasn’t. She wasn’t our friend. Cassandra was our friend.”
“That’s not Cassandra.” He finished, looking down.
“It’s okay, kid.” Doc reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder. “We understand.”
“Don’t try to make me feel better about it.” 10k shrugged him off, “I don’t want to feel better about it. There’s nothing to feel better about. Nothing. That’s what I want to feel.”
“What’s going on here?” Murphy’s voice came from behind him. “Where’s Cassandra?”
“She’s dead.” Warren stepped in, “I’m sorry.”
“Dead?”
Torch pulled herself to her feet with a soft groan, dusting her hands off, fully aware of where this was going.
“How?” He asked, looking down as he approached, “What happened?”
“I mercied her.” 10k looked at him sharply.
Torch slowly wandered closer to the blue man.
“You.” he frowned. “I gave her life. You had no right to take that away.”
“She wasn’t human.” The boy clenched his fists at his sides. “That wasn’t human. Not since you bit her.”
Murphy shook his head, but stared 10k dead in the eyes.
“3,255.”
Murphy took a menacing step forward, but Torch was ready and slammed her fist into the side of his face, knocking him onto his ass. She swayed, but managed to stay upright.
He tried to scramble to his feet, but Torch pulled her gun, leveling it with his head.
Warren grabbed her arm and lowered it, pulling her back a few steps.
“Not now.” She told the girl sternly.
Torch scoffed and shrugged her off.
10k was still standing there, staring at Murphy, who was staring right back.
“Where’s the baby?” Warren asked the man, “Where’s Lucy?”
“You don’t have to worry about the baby anymore.” He told her before pulling himself to his feet and walking off.
Torch went to 10k and looked him up and down, inventorying every visible injury. He seemed to be fine, so she said nothing and just softly nudged him in the direction they were headed while he stared a hole into the ground.
“I don’t wanna talk about it.” He muttered, unable to look at her.
“Won’t make ya.” She sighed sadly, giving him a little bit of space.
Torch watched from a few paces back as they walked.
Murphy kept looking at her over his shoulder, scowling, and 10k kept his eyes glued to the ground.
After another hour of dizziness and a sudden onset of nausea, Torch figured that she had a concussion, but kept her mouth shut until she had to stagger to a tree and hunch over, throwing up.
She turned back to the trail just as quickly as she’d darted away and leaned back up against the tree while her head spun, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
Everyone had stopped to stare at her.
“M’fine,” she assured them, stumbling forward.
“No, you’re not!” Doc accused, rushing over to her.
“Doc,” She said lowly, looking up at the rest of them, “Please. We ain’t makin’ a big deal outta this.”
He looked conflicted for a minute, but waved everyone forward when he saw the pleading look in her eyes.
“She okay?” Addy called over, a little surprised that 10k hadn’t run over.
He stood there, looking concerned, but still out of it.
“Yep!” He shot over a fake smile and walked next to her, prompting everyone up ahead to continue.
“S’just a concussion.” She muttered after he shot her an expectant look. “Ain’t nothin’ new, I can keep walkin’. Ain’t no reason to fuss over it. There’s enough shit goin’ on.”
“You can see okay?” Doc frowned, looking concerned. “You’re not dizzy?”
“Course I’m dizzy.” The girl scoffed quietly, “But it ain’t that bad, I’ve had worse.”
“You always say that.” He sighed, “Some of that shit has been pretty bad Torch. You got anything you wanna tell me?”
“Like what?” She frowned.
“Like maybe why you keep shrugging off major injuries?”
She opened and closed her mouth a few times, feeling the urge to tell him for some reason beyond her understanding.
“'Cause it ain’t nothin’ new for me.” Torch looked ahead and shrugged, “Been takin’ licks since long before the dead started to walk. Had a dozen concussions and I’m tellin' ya, this one ain’t that bad.”
“Dad or boyfriend?” He asked, trying not to scare her off, but glad that she felt like she could open up to him like this.
“Dad.” She frowned. “Liked his drink.”
“Mine too.” He confessed, resting a hand on her shoulder gently. “I have a feeling it wasn’t as bad as what you’re hinting at, but I get it, at least a little.”
“He wasn’t handsy or nothin’.” The girl felt the need to say “Just liked smackin’ me around or burnin’ me with cigarettes n’ shit. Sometimes used the belt. Wasn’t that bad.”
“That’s pretty bad, Darlin’.” Doc gave her a squeeze. “You’ve got a habit of minimizing things. I guess now, I know why.”
She just shrugged, letting her hair cover her burning cheeks.
“Are you gonna tell me if your head gets any worse?”
“Probably not.” Toch smiled sadly, finally looking up at him. “But it ain’t gonna get any worse. Might hurl a couple more times, but there ain’t much in there to get out.”
“If you throw up again, we’re stopping.” He told her seriously, “I’ll hang back with you, I don’t care.”
“Think 10k’s gonna be okay?” She asked, trying to change the subject.
“I hope so.” The old man shot a concerned look at the back of the boy's head. “He’s doing what you do when you don’t want to talk about stuff.”
“I figured.”
“He’ll come back to you.”
“I ain’t worried ‘bout that.” Torch sighed, “He kept sayin’ it wasn’t Cassandra, but I know he thought there was at least a little bit left of her in there. It’s like with his dad. He’ll keep sayin’ that it wasn’t him that he mercied, it was a ‘thing’, but then he went and told Homer that he killed ‘em. He’s tryin’ to believe it. He wants to.”
“He’s lucky to have you, ya know?” Doc smiled softly.
She scoffed under her breath.
“He is.” The old man insisted, “It goes both ways, I see the way you two look out for eachother. You’re a team. That’s love, kid.”
“I don’t know my ass from my elbow when it comes to love, Doc.” The girl shook her head sadly
“It doesn’t matter what you think you know.” He shrugged, leaving it at that. “That’s the funny thing about love. It just happens.”
10k didn’t speak again until they stopped for the night.
Torch had told Warren that she’d take watch, pretty sure that 10k would join her since he was unlikely to sleep after the day's events.
They picked out a small clearing, and Torch got started on the fire before the sun went down. She got it going within the span of a couple minutes, and sat a little closer than she should’ve, poking it with a stick and feeding it with leaves and twigs.
10k sat next to her and tugged her back a couple of feet so she didn’t burn herself, but didn’t look at her. Instead, he stared into the fire.
Doc cooked up the trout from earlier and passed it around.
Torch, who had neglected, until that moment, to tell anyone that she hated fish so bad that she’d rather starve, refused her portion and watched 10k pick at his.
“Is your head okay?” He asked so quietly that she almost didn’t hear.
“Yeah.” She shrugged.
“You threw up.”
“I did.” She hummed, trying not to push him into more talking than he was ready for. “M’alright though.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t ask earlier.” He breathed, looking up at her finally with guilty eyes.
“Ain’t nothin’ to be sorry for.” Torch shook her head sadly and reached out, running her thumb over the dried blood on the side of his face.
“It’s hers.” 10k shut his eyes for a second, looking pained.
Torch reached for her bag and pulled out a pack of baby wipes, holding them out to him.
He took them and held them in his lap, blinking at them.
“Y’ain’t gotta use ‘em.” She suggested gently, “M’sorry ya had to do that.”
“I hate him.” He muttered after a few minutes, still staring at his lap.
“I know.” Torch frowned. “Me too.”
“If it wasn’t for everyone else, I would say we just leave.” 10k’s eyes met hers. “If you wanted to.”
“Course I would.” She smiled softly, “Where you go, I go.”
The corners of his lips curled up, only slightly.
In the time it took everyone to fall asleep, 10k very slowly scooted closer to Torch until their arms and legs were touching.
He leaned into her, taking her hand and playing with it in his lap absently.
“We could go if ya really wanted to.” Torch said after a good hour had gone by, “meet back up with everyone after California. If ya need out, we’ll go. I’d follow ya anywhere.”
“I don’t think I could leave Doc, or Addy, and Warren.” He sighed, “I know you like to act all tough, but I don’t think you could either.”
“It would suck.” She admitted, “But I’d do it for you.”
“I don’t think we’re going anywhere.” 10k smiled sadly, eyes full of adoration. “But it feels good to hear that.”
“We’re a team.” She shrugged, thinking back to her conversation with Doc earlier.
Torch wasn’t sure that she loved 10k. She had no point of reference and had never come anywhere close to caring about anyone the way she did for him. She knew it had to be something, and what she was feeling was so far beyond friendship that she couldn’t even see it in the rearview mirror anymore.
It terrified her to think that it might be love.
Whether it was that she was scared they’d fight like her parents had or he’d die and leave her out there on her own, she wasn’t sure.
All she knew for sure was that she never wanted to be away from him, ever.
