PARTIES: Oliver (@oliver--fox and Caleb (@dirtwatchman) LOCATION: Harmony Hill TIMING: April CONTENT WARNINGS: A small mention of vomit SUMMARY: Oliver and Caleb are enjoying a day out when the surge/blackout hits.
“Does it need to be human?
There were very few people left that Caleb felt like he could turn to lately. In times of need, times of distress, times where he just wanted to get away from his empty house and have someone to talk to, the list of names he could contact in his phone had withered to almost nothing. But the few he still had were treasured beyond belief. There was nothing like sitting with someone he could trust in the middle of Harmony Hill under a large oak and being able to relax enough to enjoy the silence, something he hadn’t been able to do for a long time now. Silence wasn’t relaxing anymore, bringing on memories he’d rather not relive. Silence was too loud until there was someone there to break through the destructive screaming of it all.
He was leaning back against the trunk of the tree and staring out over all the headstones littering the old cemetery while he waited for Oliver to pay his respects, headphones softly playing one of his favorite songs. To whom his friend was visiting, Caleb wasn’t sure. He didn’t ask as it was Oliver’s business but he was happy to provide the company that he so desperately wanted himself.
It didn’t take long for Oliver to come striding back, Caleb removing his wireless headphones and letting them rest around his neck. He sent a somber smile to the other before speaking, his voice low. Even being dead himself, he had always believed that the buried dead deserved their peace as well. “You want to hang out here for a bit? It’s a nice day out.”
Oliver stood up from where he had been squatting, taking a moment to look at his parents' graves. He made sure they were well cared for and nicely decorated, but that didn’t do anything to ease the oldness that radiated off any of the graves in this area. Sighing softly, he turned and walked back over to Caleb. It was nice to have someone who didn’t mind stopping by a graveyard and didn’t ask many questions. However, Oliver supposed it helped that Caleb also worked here. Can’t be too scared of the place you work after all.
“Sure, that sounds great.” Oliver grinned, thankful for the invitation. He often wasn’t the best at initiating hang-outs, so used to his being on his own that he would forget that there was any other option. “I think they might be doing a Shakespeare In The Park thing, any interest in-” Oliver was cut off by a sudden wave of vertigo that was so forceful he thought Wicked’s Rest was having an earthquake. Blinking quickly, Oliver glanced around, but the prickle of uneasiness grew as he realized the trees weren’t moving in a way that would suggest that anything was shaking them. What's more, the dizziness wasn’t disappearing. In fact, his vision was starting to get more distorted, as if his eyes were on a five-second delay. There was a wetness above his lip, and Oliver raised a shaky hand (when had he started shaking?) to wipe it away; a crimson streak appeared as he pulled his hand away. This didn’t make sense. These symptoms were signs that he was overusing his powers, that his reservoir of power was getting low, but he hadn’t used his powers yet today.
“Something-Something is-” His own words sounded far away, almost muffled by the sudden rush of blood pounding in his ears. Oliver tried to take a step back, his body choosing the flee option before his mind could thaw from the freeze, but his balance was off, and suddenly he was on the ground. He turned his head, dark spots dancing around his peripheral vision, and froze when he saw his vines. The vines that he always had hidden, a glamor that had never failed. The dark spots around his peripheral vision were growing, and his body felt heavy. No. No, this wasn’t happening. This wasn’t the ending that he was supposed to have. Oliver put a trembling hand on the ground, desperate to do something, anything. His eyes flared gold, trying to pull a solution up from the ground. Maybe he could get a root to get above whatever was causing this. However, the only thing that came up from between his fingers was a single bud of a flower; barely there at all. A wet sob caught in Oliver's throat, as he frantically looked to where he was pretty sure Caleb had last been, darkness closing in around him. “Help-” He all but whispered before the darkness took hold and dragged him under.
Oliver wasn’t sure how long he was out, but he woke with such a start that he half expected to find someone standing over him with a defibrillator. Blinking, Oliver thought for a moment that it had been a nightmare, and that he was still at home in his bed. He could see the sky above him, and turning his head to the side, he could see the graves. Was he a ghost now? Could nymphs even become ghosts? He had always thought he would just go back into the ground when he died. Bringing a hand up to his chest, Oliver felt the thump, thump of his heart. Ok. So not a ghost. His eyebrows furrowed. What had that been? He would have to ask Caleb if-Caleb! Oliver sat up so quickly that his vision greyed out again. “Caleb! Caleb, where are you?”
“Oliver?” It had happened so quickly that Caleb almost hadn’t seen it. Something about his friend shifted before his own eyes. One minute they were talking about what they were going to do that day and the next the zombie was watching his friend turn into something else. He’d seen it once before with another, some sort of shield or something that a faun had put on himself so others couldn’t see what he truly was had fallen when a fire had broken out. This wasn’t exactly the same thing as Oliver definitely didn’t have goat legs, but it was somehow weirder than that…something that Caleb didn’t think was possible.
Vines covered Oliver’s body. No, vines were his body. Suddenly Oliver’s love of plants and his ability to have some of the most magical ones in his shop made all the sense in the world but made no sense at all at the same time. There wasn’t too much time to dwell on any of this though.
As soon as Oliver started having his issues, Caleb’s own started up. There was a fast build up of that familiar hunger starting in the pit of his stomach but it didn’t make sense. The zombie had eaten the day before and he had eaten well, he shouldn’t have to worry about finding a meal again so soon. But even as he thought it a sense of dread mixed in with that hollowness that started to spread through his body. “Oh no.” As soon as the thought of Oliver’s brain hit him Caleb started stepping away. His friend was writhing on the ground, easy prey for the undead who most definitely was going to need a meal, but Caleb would not allow that if he could help it. Besides, were plants really that appetizing to a carnivore?
He quickly turned, trying to make a note to come back and check on the man as soon as he had eaten, but his focus wasn’t really on that, at least not enough for him to file the thought away. He could only truly focus on getting as far away from Oliver as possible before he completely lost himself.
It didn’t take long for him to lose all thought. His body slowly decaying, Caleb was now on the hunt for one thing and one thing only. Too bad they were in a cemetery full of only dead things. His legs carried him with no sense of real direction, his ears perking up at every sound that could penetrate those shot nerves. The shell of Caleb was lost to his predatory nature and the voice that called out to him could only register as one thing; food. Quickly, his body veered towards it, the zombie taking off at a run straight for the person he could no longer recognize.
Spotting Caleb brought Oliver relief, if only for a moment. He expected questions, probable concern from his friend who had just witnessed…whatever had just happened. However, the sense of relief vanished as he watched the other. There was something in Caleb’s stance, in the way his skin seemed to have lost its typical paleness, now taking on a grey undertone, and the face that no longer held a smile but instead looked almost…crazed.
Several possibilities were running through Oliver’s mind. None of them were good. There was a smell of decay in the area, and while they were in a graveyard, that smell hadn’t been present only a few minutes ago. Oliver had heard about zombies before, had run into a few throughout his travels. Was Caleb one? How long had he been turned for? It wasn’t as if Oliver could be upset about not knowing, not when he held his own secrets, but he hoped that it hadn’t happened while they knew each other. To know that a friend had suffered like that? It would only cause more heartache.
As Caleb started sprinting towards him, Oliver scrambled to get up. “What’s going on? Are you ok?” He yelled out, moving to dodge the other as he got closer. Oliver had just barely recovered from his power source essentially being turned down to empty, but now it almost felt like he had too much power coursing through him. He hadn’t been at 100% in years, and now it felt like he was even further than that. It felt good, in an almost weird way. As he moved from place to place, roots were coming up around him.
One thought and one thought only. Oliver’s flesh was overtaking anything else that could have been running through his mind, Caleb lost to the hunger devouring him from the inside out. He couldn’t even mind the headstones and in his frantic race towards the one living being in this cemetery he was tripping over more of them than he normally would have. It was the only reason he’d been slowed down…but not long enough. The pain that should have registered was nonexistent.
One second he was racing towards Oliver unnaturally fast and then the next the zombie had slammed into the man, knocking him onto his back. He straddled Oliver but the other’s hands had come up to hold Caleb back the best he could. With him being pushed back by his arms, his mind not clear enough to think about turning his head to bite Oliver’s arms, his teeth just kept gnashing in the direction of the fae’s head. The hunger kept building, his body decomposing more and more until one his fingers snapped clean off in the struggle.
Oliver’s eyes widened as Caleb didn’t respond and instead continued to come after him. “What the fuck-” He was cut off by the other slamming into him, knocking him to the ground. His hands went out instinctively, moving to protect his face from the punches he was expecting. Oliver had been in enough fights that he knew how to tussle. However, he quickly realized that Caleb wasn’t trying to fight him, but bite him; something he was a lot less proficient in. He almost wished it were winter, when he would have been wearing a coat, something with more protection. Currently, nothing was protecting his skin from the other if Caleb got a piece of him. Oliver didn’t want to know what would happen if he were bitten; could nymphs become zombies? Would Caleb even stop after one bite? Or would he be eaten alive by someone he considered a friend? Oliver wasn’t interested in finding out the answers to any of those questions. “Caleb-Stop!” Oliver pleaded, though he had a feeling the other couldn’t hear him. The movements were too unorganized for Oliver to think that the other was even fully conscious, which meant that there was only one way for him to end this.
Beneath him, Oliver could feel the ground moving; the earth itself was reacting to him even without him activating his abilities. His powers were flowing out of him; Oliver could see the trees around them that were growing, with flowers and plants coming out of the dirt and blooming. At first, Oliver had felt like he was at full power, but now it felt like he barely had control over it. Caleb swiped at him again, causing Oliver to block with his arm, pushing it away with apparently enough force that one of the other's fingers came off, falling down near him, causing Oliver to turn a shade paler than usual. ‘His body is decaying; it would have fallen off with any touch. This wasn’t your fault, he would understand.’ Oliver told himself, repeating it as a mantra as he swallowed down the vomit that had started to rise.
This wasn’t a situation where Oliver had the luxury to just wait for whatever was happening to right itself, or even something where he knew how to cause his friend to return to himself. The longer he let this go on, the more dangerous it was for both of them. Oliver brought his leg back towards him before kicking upwards into Caleb’s stomach. He cringed at the grunt that the other let out, but was grateful that it seemed to pause the attack for at least a moment, allowing Oliver to scramble away. ‘Rise’ Oliver thought, eyes burning gold as thick tree roots followed his command and wrapped around Caleb tightly. It wasn’t enough to cause any long-lasting harm, but it at least kept him still. Oliver just needed time, needed a second to think about next steps. Kneeling next to Caleb, Oliver breathed heavily. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Oliver murmured, gaze darting around the area. He hadn’t noticed anyone earlier when they were here, but it was suddenly very important that no one had shown up in the meantime. “I just…I need to figure out where to take you. Where we can go until this is…” Oliver started, but trailed off. It wasn’t as if the other was listening anyway.
His body was lurched backward as the other kicked him away but Caleb didn’t waste any time getting back to his feet. Pain wasn’t registering at all, strength flooding his body with every second that passed still in this state. Food consumed his every waking thought and he would not be stopped until he was able to feed. Not even by the tree roots sprouting from the ground to coil around him.
He wasn’t registering those either. A few broke under his sheer strength while he barreled towards Oliver for his meal but soon enough the stronger roots had taken hold. The zombie was slowly brought to his knees, trying to fight it with every step but eventually not being able to as the roots wrapped around his legs and arms to secure him to the ground. Still, Caleb didn’t care. He couldn’t understand why he wasn’t moving, couldn’t register that he was trapped, his teeth gnashing in the air in a desperate attempt to tear into Oliver’s flesh while he fought foolishly against the restraints. All he wanted was to eat and sate the hunger that was consuming him from the inside out.
Until that somehow started to fade. Never before had Caleb come out of one of these fits of hunger without eating a part of the human body but somehow it was ebbing away. His strength was lowering, the fight in him withering until he just accepted that he was trapped and stopped fighting against it. His mind was starting to return as well. The hunger was still there but it wasn’t as strong as it had been. It wasn’t consuming him anymore. He could fight it now.
Looking around him at the roots that were restraining his body, more confusion settled in. How the hell had Oliver done that? It was good that he did, of course, and he didn’t mind it, but how? His gaze fell on Oliver’s Caleb feeling sheepish as he decided it was best to leave himself restrained. “I’m sorry…I don’t know what just happened.” Especially since he had fed not that long ago.
Oliver had just started to devise a plan to get Caleb to the building that bordered the cemetery that had been abandoned for years. If he could get him somewhere with a door, he could protect both Caleb and himself. Whatever was happening, Oliver was certain that they were not the only ones experiencing it, which opened up a whole other can of worms of what was going on around town. How long until people started running around like chickens with their heads cut off? How much time did they have to keep their secrets hidden? Oliver shut his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before releasing it slowly. Upon opening his eyes, he glanced down at Caleb again, but paused when he realized that the other’s chaotic movements were slowing, and that light seemed to be returning to the other's eyes.
It was then that Oliver realized that it no longer felt like his power was more than he could control. It was funny, going from the shock of his powers disappearing, to feeling like it was like water gushing out of a faucet, to now having it slowed to its typical stream. His chest ached, and Oliver brought a trembling hand up to it. Oliver’s body didn’t seem to deal with the fluctuations well, but his vision only swam a little as things re-adjusted, so it could have been worse. The roots that held Caleb loosened, but didn’t fully retreat, not yet. “Caleb? Are…are you ok?” Oliver asked quietly, wary of getting within biting range. At the sound of the other’s voice, though, all bets were off. Oliver felt a wave of relief so strong that all he could do was reach over and pull the other into a hug. “It’s ok, it’s totally ok” He murmured before releasing him and pulling back slightly to get a good look at him.
“I’m just glad that you’re back. I’m not sure what happened either. But we should get out of here before people start coming by” Oliver said, looking at the chaos that surrounded them. The broken headstones, the new plants, the dirt unsettled by their fight. There wasn’t exactly an easy answer for any of it.
As soon as he felt the roots start to loosen he tried to shake his head, tried to tell Oliver to keep him like this. Caleb wasn’t exactly sure he could control himself even if the worst of that hunger had lessened. But the man was pulling him into a hug and the zombie had to clench his teeth to keep from biting into his flesh. He gave up on trying to feign breathing, not wanting to risk smelling the deeply human smell of Oliver’s flesh. “I would back up if I were you.” He was horrified to hear how guttural his voice sounded but he was too focused on how his body was starting to shake with the effort to not tear Oliver’s neck open.
He needed to eat and he refused to eat his friend.
“I think you need to go without me.” With Oliver not as close to him he was able to think again even if the edges of his mind were fuzzy. Caleb didn’t move from his spot, silently wishing for the roots to tighten around him again. “You should keep these things on me as long as you can. I’m not completely back.”
He allowed his gaze to roam around the area to take in the destruction the two of them, mostly him, had caused. The rubble from a broken headstone sat near him and he sighed at the sight, knowing he would need to come back and try to fix some of this at one point. There went more of his savings. “I need to eat, Oliver. You don’t need to be around when I’m doing that.”
Oliver’s smile froze at the other’s statement, slowly dropping into a frown as Caleb continued talking. “I’m not just going to leave you!” He exclaimed loudly, fingers curling into the dirt at the thought. For better or for worse, Oliver was never one to leave someone behind. It didn’t matter how much it would technically inconvenience him. He wasn’t about to let someone he cared about go through this alone. “Listen, I don’t know what happened, but I’m not just going to flee when you’re dealing with…whatever’s going on.”
He blinked at the other’s statement. “You need to eat…” Oliver repeated, glancing around. “Does it need to be human? Can it be an animal?” He asked, mentally calculating what he could potentially find around here. Oliver was pretty sure there had to be some squirrels or birds around. They had probably fled during the fight, but he doubted they would be too far away. “There’s an old abandoned house at the edge of the graveyard, we could go there? If you don’t feel comfortable being free, then I can totally keep you a little bit contained while I go hunting for you if you need?” Oliver asked, biting his thumbnail. The last thing he wanted was for Caleb to feel uncomfortable, but he didn’t love the idea of using his abilities to harm someone he cared about.
“If…if it has to be human, how much do you think you would need?” Oliver asked, quietly glancing at his own arms. He didn’t really know zombie bites worked in real life, but perhaps that wouldn’t be needed. “I…heal pretty quickly? So maybe I could, you know, cut some parts of me off for you?”
His eyes widened as absolute horror filled him. As grateful as he was for Oliver’s offer there was no way he was letting himself eat off of his friend. Not only would he never forgive himself for it, Caleb knew he could lose the careful control he had over himself if he let it happen. Swallowing thickly, he shook his head while trying to tear his eyes away from Oliver’s outstretched arms. “No, I’m not doing that. I don’t care if you heal quickly.” How embarrassing was it that his mouth was watering at the thought of sinking his teeth into the very flesh that was being offered to him despite how vehemently he was refusing to give in? It didn’t have to be human. An animal could hold him over until he got home, right?
If Oliver was determined to help, unwilling to leave him behind, then he’d have to settle for that. Closing his eyes, Caleb did his best to keep the disgust he felt for himself in that moment at bay. It was bad enough telling people what he was but showing them was a completely different animal. “Besides…I need a brain. Regular flesh wouldn’t help enough. Not when I don’t know what’s going on.” He refused to risk it. The little blip was too much and he’d almost taken Oliver’s head off anyway. “I would…grab two if you could. Unless it's something large.”
The shame was clear in his words, his eyes glued to the ground in front of him where the roots were pushing through the earth. He almost wished Oliver would drag him down to where he belonged, under the cool dampness of the earth to live out the rest of his miserable eternity. What a sweet end that would be.
Oliver nodded at Caleb’s refusal, “Ok.” He wasn’t going to push it, not when it seemed like Caleb was opening up about accepting his help to begin with. If he were honest, there is almost a sense of relief that Caleb didn’t want to eat any part of him. If he had agreed, it would have opened a can of worms that Oliver wasn’t sure he ever wanted to see the contents of. “Brains, got it.” Oliver repeated quietly, glancing around at the destruction of the area. “I’m assuming it’s better if they're still alive?” Oliver asked, standing slowly. “...Is it ok if you stay here while I go hunting?” Technically, Oliver was sure that he could help Caleb get to the house, but he wasn’t sure which option was better. Oliver was a little hesitant to completely remove the bindings from Caleb until he had eaten. Caleb seemed ok for now, but Oliver couldn’t help but feel a twist of anxiety within his chest about the possibilities of what could happen if whatever event that had just occurred repeated itself. He had barely had time to process what had happened to himself fully, but right now he was pushing those thoughts away and turning his focus to something he could actually do. He could help Caleb. He could worry about himself later.
“I’ll be right back.” Oliver offered a small, shaky smile to the other before turning on his heel and walking to the edge of the graveyard. It was near the abandoned house, but Oliver was more focused on the vegetation, trying to spot any sort of movement that would tell him there was something nearby. He crouched down, working to keep his movements quiet and breath almost untraceable. It reminded him of when he had gone hunting with his father, how the goal was to basically become invisible. To not allow the thing you're hunting to realize you are there until it’s too late. It was a certain skill that he had been able to curate over time. Of course, when he had been hunting with his dad, he had at least had a gun. Right now, he had a rock he had picked up along the way. Technically, he could always use his powers, but he was hesitant to do so. He could still feel them, thrumming under his skin, but after dealing with the whiplash of them disappearing and then coming back stronger than ever before returning to baseline, Oliver was a touch skittish about trying them out right away.
A quiet squeak made Oliver glance to his right. There, a small mole scampering on the edge of the fence, stopping every few seconds to smell something. It wasn’t very big, which meant that Oliver would likely need to find something else for Caleb. But 1 was better than none. He crept closer. Moles didn’t have the best vision, but Oliver knew that their other senses were better because of that. Luckily, this one seemed too focused on whatever it was looking for to sense Oliver getting closer and closer. Oliver’s hand shot out, grabbing the mole with his hand as it squealed and wiggled in his grasp. “Sorry, buddy.” He said with a grimace. Perhaps he could drop this off to Caleb and then go back out for something else. A dash of blue caught his attention, and glancing up, Oliver saw a small bluebird on one of the branches. Oliver glanced down at the rock in his hand and then back up at the bird, which was tweeting happily. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Oliver brought his arm back and threw the rock, hitting the bird dead center. It squawked as it fell to the dirt ground, and Oliver ran over to it, ignoring the mole that was still desperately trying to get out of Oliver’s grasp. The bird had landed awkwardly, and it was obvious that one of its wings was broken. It chirped angrily as Oliver got closer to it, trying to peck him as he picked it up around its middle. Oliver could feel both animals' hearts racing underneath his fingertips, and bit his bottom lip hard as he carried both of them back to where he had left Caleb. “Ok, I got these two.” He held them up to show the other. “The bird has a broken wing, but the mole is definitely going to try to escape, so…just keep that in mind.” Oliver explained as he placed each creature in Caleb’s open hands. “I’m just…going to go over there.” He was pretty sure neither of them wanted him to be a witness to what was about to happen. “Just call out when you’re ready, and I can come… release you.” He hated how that sounded, but with a final nod to Caleb, Oliver turned and made his way back towards the front of the graveyard. He stopped at the midway point, ducking to sit under one of the old oak trees. Oliver drew his knees up, resting his crossed arms on top of them as his nails dug into his arms. “Fuck-” The words came out strangled, his breathing picking up speed as he was allowed to sit with his own thoughts for a moment. Had he truly died? What did it mean? Could it happen again? Oliver didn’t have answers to any of them, but as his body trembled under the possibilities, he kept his eyes locked on the entrance, determined to keep both Caleb and himself safe until they could leave and have this whole situation become nothing but a distant nightmare.
