Something Like 'Okay'

Taako was still in disbelief. It hadn't all caught up to him yet. He was currently in a wagon with Sazed, driving off at top speed away from the Sizzle It Up! With Taako studio in Glamour Springs. If they were lucky, they'd get out before any cops came. If they were luckier, the cops wouldn't find them at all. But then again, there wasn't much anyone left to call the cops to begin with.

They were all dead.

Taako had killed all of them.

As soon as the first person got sick, Taako had gotten Sazed to pack up all their things and they drove off, not looking back. It'd been two days since then, and they hadn't stopped yet. Taako had been staring out the back of the wagon for a while now, watching the sunset and trying to ignore the intrusive thoughts running wild in his head.

Murderer, they said. You killed them all. You're a filthy murderer. You deserve worse than this guilt. You should be dead with them. You should die just as horrible a death as them. You're a disgusting, horrible person.

"How far are we?" Taako asked Sazed, who'd been driving.

"Pretty far now," Sazed replied. "I don't think they'll catch up with us at this rate. You're fucking lucky for that, you know."

"I know..." Taako mumbled. "Thank you so much for helping me, Sazed. I dunno what-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Taako bit his lip to shut himself up. He was talking too much. Sazed didn't like it when he spoke too much. He should stop. He felt the wagon begin to slow, and he turned to face its driver.

"We're stopping?" He asked.

"Yeah," Sazed said. "I think we're safe for now. We can stop here for the night."

"A-are you sure?" Taako pressed, standing. "I can drive if you-"

"Taako, you just poisoned a whole town without even realizing it," Sazed said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do you think I should trust you with driving a wagon while I sleep?"

"I... No," Taako conceded.

"Finally thinking for once, huh?" Sazed said, ruffling up Taako's hair as he walked to the back of the wagon. He untied the knot holding up the canvas to the back of the wagon, letting it fall and a shadow cast over the two.

"We'll sleep in here tonight," he told Taako, setting his bag down to use as a pillow.

"I- Okay," Taako replied, taking his own bag and dropping it on the floor of the wagon next to Sazed's.

"What are you doing?" Sazed asked.

"I'm... Aren't we sleeping here?"

"Not so close, you dingbat."

"Oh. Right, yeah." He picked up his bag and moved it closer to the other side of the wagon. Taako lied down and watched Sazed do the same, facing away from Taako.

"Good night, Sazed," Taako piped up after a moment. Sazed didn't reply. Taako felt his heart sink a little. Sazed always did this, but it still hurt. They were supposed to be equals, they were supposed to have mutual respect and love or whatever the fuck this was.

"...I love you, Sazed," he tried. Still nothing. He watched the back of Sazed's head for a minute or so before flipping over onto his right side and closing his eyes. Things would be okay soon enough, he told himself. They'd make it to the next town in about a dozen miles, and they'd get a place to stay, and they'd figure things out, and everything would be okay. Or at least, something like 'okay.'

***

Taako woke up with a stiff back and a crick in his neck. He didn't get much rest last night; the wagon wasn't really built for a comfortable sleep. Even when he did manage to fall asleep, it was restless, and he ended up waking up a dozen times to try and get comfortable again. He sat up, groaning, and rubbed his eyes tiredly.