[ ☢ - endgame !! ]

[strawbs.]

// 𝙻𝚄𝙲𝙸𝙰𝙽

lucian keeps himself stable for the other boy, though fails at that after the rest of his body made it through the window. he tried to soften tobias' fall, or at least stop it from happening but didn't make it, slipping backwards to fall on his bottom while his partner landed on his stomach. he could agree that he wasn't the strongest. the blonde gives his friend an apologetic smile when he looks at him, then his expression turns into one of confusion. "bear?" lucian realizes seconds later that it was a joke, from the way tobias laughs. he rolls his eyes. "oh, ha ha." he says sarcastically in response, then gets back up to his feet when his teammate begins doing the same. he appreciates the other's ability to joke during these times; it helps a little bit to ease the tension on his shoulders.

he moves a few feet further into the dingy room, eyes wandering over the messy desks and decaying walls, the ceiling which is falling apart. he was idly looking through a set of papers when he heard tobias speak up, and he was quickly at his side once again. lucian was hardly a fighter. before they had met, he remembered only putting an end to maybe one or two lurkers. he didn't handle it well, ever. he avoids it when possible, which is why he's better at running than anything else, better at slipping away unscathed. when it comes down to having to kill, when there's no other way, it seems to always be tobias doing it. he pretty much lets him. so he sticks close to him wherever they go, in case they run into a situation that they have to fight out of, because lucian doesn't believe he could easily survive one on his own.

lucian tenses up at the noises from downstairs, and gives a short nod when tobias points upward. he follows him closely, quietly, up the stairs until they make it to a pause. he looks over at the other before flinching when gunshots are heard. the blonde lets tobias guide them to another room away from where the commotion came from and watches in a daze as his partner tries to move a desk. he snaps out of it when he hears his request for aid, stepping in to push the desk with him. he was shaking, with his heart pounding against his chest, by the time the duo were sat in a corner. lucian listens to the sounds coming from whoever was downstairs, at the same time trying to steady his own breathing. he gives tobias a glance before staring ahead with wide eyes. "are they insane?" he breathes out in bewilderment, "they're going to lure all the zombies of the universe to us." he doesn't think whoever's down there is going to leave anytime soon. it sounds like they're moving more into the building, even, instead of just passing through, like he had hoped.

[nyah,]

── ❝ 𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚𝐬 !
tobias listened to lucian as his heart was beating out of his chest. he could feel it beating in his throat all the way down to his feet. it was unlike anything he's felt before. until now, he thought him and lucian were the only survivors. it wasn't too surprising though. if the two of them were able to make it this far then it's very likely for somebody else to make it that far too. "if they don't get killed first." his breath was heavy and staggered. his green eyes were locked on the door as they waited for the gunfire to die down. he couldn't help but scoot closer and closer to lucian for comfort. after a few moments, it became quiet. he peered over at his partner before asking, "did they leave?" there's no way they'd invade a building just to clean house and leave. they have to want something.

the sound of footsteps approached the barricaded door and tobias hoped they didn't attempt to break in. it went exactly like he thought it would at first. the silence became flooded with sounds of voices from the other side of the door. it was loud enough for tobias to make out three different voices: two females and a male. he looked at lucian since he didn't know what they should do. he whispered to him, "why would they want to raid an office building?" it didn't make sense. there obviously wouldn't be any food or first aid supplies, so why shoot it up? his hand was placed on the handle of his knife and the other was holding onto lucian's arm. though the two were constantly arguing, he still had a heart for him. they went through a lot together and this time wasn't anything different.

the door handle began to shake and was forced opened by a man. the nose of his gun enter abruptly before forcing the door open. "get up!" his voice boomed through the silent room and brought tobias to his feet as soon as he spoke. his hand left the handle and his other felt lucian follow after him. out of instinct, he threw his hands up before saying, "we aren't armed. we aren't bit." his attempt to make his voice as dominating as the stranger in front of him, but it wasn't very successful. though he was intimidated, he remained planted in front of lucian. "out of the room, now." tobias looked back at lucian before following instructions. at that moment, he thought his heart was going to burst.

[strawbs.]

// 𝙻𝚄𝙲𝙸𝙰𝙽

lucian's attention zeroed in on the noise of the intruders downstairs, listening in on whether they were coming closer or not. if he were to be honest, real living people were more terrifying than the zombies. he gripped onto his knees to stop his hands from shaking, curling his body tighter to make himself seem smaller, maybe feel more safe even though he was the opposite. he welcomed the comfort of tobias, even leaning into him a little more as the other scooted closer. if this was it, then this would be it. there was no way they could protect themselves against a group of people wielding guns. it was just the two of them, at a dead-end, with a barricaded door. they were cornered. when it grew quiet, with only the ringing in his ears and the voice of his partner from beside him, lucian let out a breath that he had been holding.

"i don't know, maybe they needed some office supplies or something." lucian answers sarcastically, clear agitation in his voice. he didn't feel well about this at all. didn't feel safe. his eyes widened when the intruders were suddenly heard from the other side of the door that they had barricaded. he moved further into the corner that they were in, if it was any more possible, staring at his partner for a moment before they flitted back over to the door as it was shoved open by a stranger. the blonde jumped up after tobias, loosely holding onto his arm and lingering a little behind him.

lucian winced at the man's loud, commanding voice, before a scowl settled on his face. he took a step to stand beside his partner, attempting to stand his ground and look all mighty, despite being terrified underneath. this wasn't the plan, to run into anyone living. they were meant to get somewhere safe, away from all the lurkers, as a trio. that didn't happen; things began to go awry when spencer passed and now it seems that bad luck is on their side. when they get booted out of the room, he keeps his brown eyes trained on the ground, while following closely after tobias. what did they want from them? lucian held onto his partner's arm, because somehow, it made him feel just the tiniest bit better. their relationship was rocky, but he still cares. he couldn't deny that. lucian looked around, glancing at the other strangers before eyeing the possible escape routes. he could run, but it wouldn't be smart. can't risk it. if it was just him, he probably would've tried.