Chapter Text
It was surprising how quickly Sam was becoming adjusted to gaming with a single hand. That being said, the games he typically gravitated to didn’t require much swift movements and precise patterns and even those that did, he was discovering work arounds with his limited options. Well, that or ask Dan to handle the trickier parts anyways.
He had decided to play a quick session that morning before heading out. Yet, near the end of his in-game mission, he began to feel little pricks at the end of his nub for an arm. Taking a quick glance, Rat Baby was nibbling at his arm, thirsty for his blood.
Sam inwardly groaned, “Can’t we get you something else?” He stopped playing for a minute to stroke the rat baby’s back. Its two muzzles bore a pointy toothed smile as it squeaked with delight.
“What else is there to eat though?” Dan took up nearly the entire remaining couch as he was sprawled out with his head leaning against the arm rest. “I’ve been telling you to grab snacks, but all you ever come back with is more stinky chemicals and a vending machine that doesn’t even dispense food!”
Audrey glanced at them with one of her many eyes before going back to Joel who was rambling on and on about his little fuzzy.
“Food’s just been pretty scarce, but I’m sure we can make it the remaining week.” Sam shrugged and quickly finished up his game. “Speaking of, maybe I should head out soon.”
“And leave me out of it.” Dan crossed his arms and sunk deeper into the couch. “But take that shapeshifter with you. I don’t want her anywhere around me.”
“Did someone say they wanted to see me?!” Leigh jumped on the back of the couch, precariously balancing on it like a cat. Her wide, bloody grin overtook her entire face. “Ah, who am I kidding, no one said that. But yeah! Sam! Go find us some food! I bet Lyle’s eaten most of it. Why don’t you kick him out?”
“Wh-what?!” Lyle shot up on his many legs after resting on the blankets and pillows they had scavenged. “I-I do not!”
“Do too! Don’t lie! I know that huge second mouth of yours can consume an entire creature whole!”
“N-no! I’ve never done that!”
“Leigh.”
Leigh groaned as she looked over her shoulder at the towering form of Hellen. Even standing on the back of the couch where they were basically at eye level, it was easy to feel the tension that radiated off her.
“Haven’t seen him eat in over a day.” Hellen claimed, glaring through her mask.
“My point still stands. Sam, go get us more food!” Leigh exclaimed while leaning against his shoulder with her wide grin basically yelling in his ear.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Every pair of eyes instantly gravitated towards the door before looking back at Sam who always took charge in these situations. More tired than scared of the frequent occurrence, Sam rose from the couch and headed towards the door. Everyone began moving as silently as they could. Audrey corralled Joel into a back corner, (who could easily hold his own if needed, but Audrey wasn’t willing to risk his life.) Leigh, Lyle, and Hellen were quick to stick to both sides of the door, ready to jump in and fight if necessary as Sam crossed the room with Rat Baby following him at the heels. Dan took charge of storing the video game Sam left behind.
Leaning up to the eyehole, Sam saw a pretty normal looking human on the other side. Such a sight was becoming rarer and rarer the longer this apocalypse went on for. He was holding something in his hand and he called out, “Delivery!”
“Delivery? In this economy?” Hellen quietly commented.
“It’s so a trick!” Leigh couldn’t withhold her excitement. “Let me at him, Sam! Let me at him!”
Instead, Sam called out, “Who are you?”
“Delivery guy. You order a pizza?”
Sam glances at the people in his apartment, to which no one gave him a nod or affirmation. While Leigh’s claim sounded correct, curiosity overtook Sam and he took the doorknob.
“S-Sam! Don’t get yourself hurt!” Lyle’s panicked whisper added onto the creak of the opening door.
The delivery guy didn’t attack on sight. Instead, he said, “Hi. Um, I’m at the right place. I think. I got a medium cheese pizza. It’ll be six dollars.”
Hopefully out of the delivery guy’s hearing range, Sam heard Leigh sniff the air and confirm, “I take back everything I said. Sam! Get the pizza!”
“Did I hear pizza?!” Dan had jumped onto the couch and howled.
“B-but what if it’s a trick?” Lyle’s internals whirred with worry.
The guy looked normal, but Sam’s learned all too well about those who can appear normal and sane, but want to scoop out your insides for a grand meat and bone stew. Then again, there were many cursed who were sane as well, (take a look inside his apartment it’s currently a one to four ratio.) Sam debated internally for a moment, before deciding to get some info before taking a possible mystery item: “So, uh, how’s business?”
The delivery guy shrouded in darkness shrugged, “I don’t know. I just have... a lot of pies to deliver. So I guess business must be good. It's a bit of a blur. I feel like I've been on this shift forever. I don't even remember driving here. I just... uh…. What were we talking about? I shouldn't be talking this much on the job. I got a lot of work to do.”
Sam’s gaze caught Hellen’s for a moment, silently asking her for advice. The burly woman simply shrugged, but Sam could see her grip on her cleaver tighten. Finally, after considering all of the conceivable odds, Sam answered, “Sure. I’ll take the pizza.”
He quickly scrounged up six dollars and traded for the hopefully good food. Once the hot box was in his hands, a large hand from Hellen extended through the doorframe and gave the man a three dollar tip, something that Sam admittedly forgot to do, (a lot.)
The extra cash seemed to make the delivery guy’s day as he exclaimed, “Thanks! See ya.” And with that he was gone.
“Why did you do that?” Lyle skittered alongside Sam as he walked from the now shut door. “Th-there’s no way that’s an actual pizza.”
“Woah! Is -hhh- is that a -hhh- pizza?!” Joel scrambled up to them from his containment and silently Audrey followed.
“I call dibs on the first slice!” Leigh bounced around as if she was a dog begging for table scraps. Rat Baby was doing the same.
“Stop crowding him.” Hellen stated as Sam finally placed it on the table.
“Stop crowding him? He’s got actual food! It smells fresh and ready for the taking too! Gimme some!” Dan joined the fray.
Sam’s thumb and finger gripped the flap of the box and hesitated, unsure of what exactly they were going to find in there. Yet, as everyone else claimed, it smelled and felt like an actual pizza. So, he finally bit the bullet and pulled the top of the box back.
An actual, plain cheese pizza sat in the box. Sam could feel the heat from the freshly baked pie radiating up and into his face, stuffing its cheesy smell into his nostrils.
“Oh… my gosh.” Sam stared at it in disbelief.
“Yo! If there’s one thing the world can get right, it’s how to cook a pizza! Even in the apocalypse! Hold up, I need to go live to get everyone’s reactions!” Dan swiftly brought out his phone and began setting up his stream.
“Huh. That’s surprising.” Hellen commented with Lyle adding on, “Very…”
“I call dibs on the entire box!” Leigh exclaimed and had to be held by the back of her shirt collar by Hellen. The short woman scrambled to grab the entire thing.
“We shouldn’t fight over it. We -hhh- should share!” Joel claimed. “There’s eight slices and eight -hhh- of us! It’s like a subtraction problem!”
An aluminum can thunked at the bottom of Audrey’s slot. Joel grabbed the can and read, “Very good, Joel. Thanks, Audrey!”
“Okay. Okay. Everyone’s getting a single slice.” Sam claimed as he gave one to Rat Baby. The little creature grinned in delight before scurrying off with his food. He took himself a slice before standing back to watch everyone grab their own.
Joel was allowed to go next, taking two, but giving one to Audrey. The fleshy vending machine on legs smiled at the tooth child as she enjoyed her share. Hellen kept a flailing Leigh at bay as Lyle cautiously took his slice right before Dan stepped in and exclaimed, “Chat! Look what we got! Can we get a poll if you guys think it’ll give us food poisoning or something? Come on mods!” He grabbed his slice and claimed a spot on the couch.
Finally, Leigh was released and she scrambled for the pizza. She inhaled a slice and Hellen grabbed her own and walked off, intentionally refusing to look at the others as she had her share. Leigh went for another, just to find an empty box: “Darn…”
Unfortunately, one slice of pizza each wasn’t cutting it for a meal. Sam watched as the majority of his group finished their slices just a minute after grabbing them. He was slower, trying to savor each satisfying bite, but it wasn’t long until he too was finished. The gnawing sensation arose back in his stomach, informing him that it had not reached its fill.
A hand holding a slice extended out towards him and Sam had to question how in the world he hadn’t seen or heard Lyle approach him. His anxious voice that didn’t pair well with his new, huge body, offered Sam, “You can have my slice, Sam. I’m sure you’re hungry.”
A touch of unease trickled through Sam, yet he always treated the situation with kindness. Holding out a hand, he told Lyle, “No. You eat it, Lyle. We all need our share.”
“I-I…” Once again, Lyle’s face brightened with an unusually red hue spreading across his cheeks. A giddy grin accompanied his slight overbite as he giggled, “Thanks, Sam!”
As he ate uncomfortably close to the man, Sam couldn’t help but let his mind wander. That strange delivery guy looked completely human, but he had claimed to come from the outside. Surely he did. Where else would he have gotten a perfectly fired pizza?!
“Do you guys think there’s a society outside?” Sam wondered out loud, half wanting to actually discuss stuff, but also worrying about the consequences from his questions.
“Huh?” Leigh removed herself from licking the inside of the box. Some other eyes gazed towards Sam.
“If we were to take what the delivery guy said was true, then what if there's a sort of… probably screwed up society outside? Do you think there are cursed beings living just like we were before the visitor arrived?”
“Chat, you hearing this madman?” Dan asked his livestream audience.
A thunk was heard from Audrey and Joel read out loud for her, “Has anyone cursed -hhh- looked -huhhhh- outside since the first day?” Joel gazed up at the cursed. “I don’t get it.”
“O-of course not!” Lyle shook his head. “I… I don’t want to imagine what it’s like out there.”
“Sam could be right.” Hellen shrugged as she rearranged her mask, ensuring it was covering her face. “But doubtful.”
“Chat, what are you talking about?” Dan raised a brow. He threw his head over his shoulder, “Chat’s saying there’s some form of society outside. Been calming down with each day, but still crazy.”
“If it is, do you guys think there could be some way to go out there and maybe scavenge outside of the apartment?” Sam wondered.
“Humans can’t go.” Hellen shook her head and motioned to Sam and Dan.
“Right, but…”
“I want to go outside again!” Joel exclaimed.
Audrey swiftly delivered a can that Joel read silently. His excited demeanor swiftly soured, “Aww… but I wanted to go. Audrey says it’s too dangerous… probably.”
“Dangerous should be my middle name! I’ll go outside!” Leigh exclaimed and dashed out of the door. Just a couple of moments later, she came back and asked, “Why am I doing this again?”
Sam pinched the bridge of his nose, “Look. Maybe we can split into two groups today. I can take Dan and a couple other people to explore more of the apartment. Then the rest of you could head out and see if there’s a grocery store open or something? Literally anything that can give us food.”
“I want to go with the outside party!” Leigh bounced.
“I guess I’ll be needed outside.” Hellen shrugged. “Keep everything straight.”
“Audrey doesn’t -hhh- want me outside, so I’ll stay.” Joel pouted.
As Sam spoke to Joel, Leigh slid up to a certain photographer and smiled, “Join us.”
“What? Huh? Me?!” Lyle nearly tangled a group of legs and pulled his cloak in tighter. “No, no. I couldn’t imagine-”
“Stay behind and I’ll tell Sam your secret.”
“WHAT?! How do you know?!” Lyle struggled to stay on all twenty legs. His eyes narrowed on her soon afterward, “Do you know?”
“I don’t know. Want to find out?” She swung in a spin on her foot and made a step towards Sam.
“OKAY! OKAY! I’ll go!” Lyle cowered, thankful to see her retreating towards the door.
Sam picked up one of Audrey’s can and said, “Of course you can stay. That just leaves Rat Baby with…” Sam looked at what he was dealing with across the room. A group consisting of a strong woman who was reasonably rational, an over the top insane short woman who could shapeshift in an instant and probably would do so to rip someone to shreds, a behemoth of a twenty-legged anxious and obsessive shutterbug, and a literal baby.
Yeup. That’s the best I’m going to get.
“Hellen. If this is how we’re going to split up, can you keep up with them all?”
Hellen gave a stoic nod.
“If not, at least keep Rat Baby safe.”
Rat Baby clambered up onto Hellen’s shoulder and she said, “That much I can ensure.”
“So are we just going to stand around or are we going to go? I want to kill!!!” Leigh exclaimed with wide, crazy eyes.
“Can you not, for once?” Sam asked. “The apartment may provide more protection than we actually know of. Throwing yourselves outside may bring more trouble than you can handle. At the end of the day, just try to come back safely?”
Hellen went to speak, but Leigh cut her off, “Nah! We’re going by up in flames!!!” She cackles like a literal villain before dashing off.
Lyle and Rat Baby uneasily followed. Hellen stopped at the door just long enough to wish Sam, “Good luck.” She followed them out the door.