Zanvis: ALIVE. (Part two of Apocalypse AU!)

Chapter Five: Zane.

     "I can't help but think something's going to go wrong."
     Zane tipped his chair back onto two legs and put his own legs on the table. "Let something go wrong. We'll survive. I'm confident."
     Aphmau gave a quiet sigh across the table. "But what if something happens and we get separated?"
     "Then we survive. We survive and try to find each other."
      Aaron shook his head from where he stood across the room. "I say we go on a scouting mission. Make sure there's no one else hiding in any buildings. If we didn't notice Garroth and Laurence, and they were yelling the whole time, what does that mean for people who are trying to be stealthy and hide?"
     "I wasn't yelling the whole time," Laurence put in, tossing his head. He and Garroth were sitting next to each other on the floor.
     Garroth laughed softly. "You were passed out."
     "That still... proves my point." Even though his pain was numbed for the most part, it still came and went. Zane guessed his wounds were bothering him now.
     Aaron shook his head again. "Still. This town could be a lot safer."
     "What if we made a town?" Zane asked.
     Everyone stopped, looking at Zane. He thought about it- having a town all to themselves. With all of those empty buildings and all of the people who pass by the city, they could develop a functioning city with their group at the top.
     He realized Aphmau had said something. "Hm?"
     She seemed slightly annoyed, but it vanished quickly when she spoke. "What do you mean? We have a town."
     "We have an empty town."
     He watched her face become overcome with confusion. He saw Aaron's expression shift to that of realization. "I get what you mean."
     "I don't." Garroth looked up at them, glancing between them. He and Aphmau shared an equally confused look.
     Aaron moved closer to the table, something like excitement lighting up his eyes. "That would be good for us! Higher defenses, more gatherers- bigger base! Though, you have to calculate your risks with things like this. Think about what that would mean for us. We'd be in charge of so many people. If they don't agree with us, what's stopping them from revolting and shooting us where we stand?"
     "I'm confused!" Aphmau interjected.
     Laurence shifted his tired gaze to her. "They're talking about turning the town into an actual functioning one. Putting walls up, letting people in. That kind of thing. I— Ngh!" He wrapped his arms around himself, leaning forward. Aphmau was out of her chair and across the room within seconds.
     Aaron took her seat to sit across from Zane. "Are we actually going to go through with this?"
     "Not yet. We need to talk to Travis. He's a part of this. Everyone else has to agree, too."
     "I'm... for it," Laurence mumbled as Aphmau inspected his bandages. Aphmau's input was a tiny shrug.
     Garroth squeezed Laurence's hand briefly. "If Laurence thinks it's a good idea, then I guess it is."
     Zane let his feet fall from the table. "Then I guess that's our next objective."
     "Next objective? You're considering one huge thing that we've put very little thought into that could change our lives our next objective?" Aaron squinted at Zane.
     "Fine. That's our next..."
     "Goal?" said Aphmau.
     "Plan?" Garroth suggested.
     "Objective?" Laurence asked sleepily.
     Aaron rubbed his face. Zane cracked a smile.
     "I don't see how this could go wrong, honestly." Zane grinned and looked at Aaron. "Do you see any issues with it?"
     "Yes. I do, actually. Sure, we think it would be a good idea to build a huge town and allow many unknown people to come in, but we have to consider the consequences. These people could rob us without us realizing. People could try to kill us."
     "That happens on a daily basis," Garroth mumbled. Laurence leaned over to put his head on Garroth's shoulder.
     "He's right. People already try to kill us. So now what's your input?"
     "People did try to kill us before.. But now it would be a collection of all of them in one area from which we have one escape. One escape if we build it securely enough."
     "There's too much... business-y talk in here.." Laurence said quietly, waving a hand at them. His eyes were beginning to close.
     "I just think we should put more thought into this before we make any rushed decisions," Aaron sighed, leaning back in his chair. The tension died down in the air.
     "I agree." Zane nodded at him. "We'll all discuss this later. When all of us are well and conscious enough to speak clearly." He tipped his head towards Laurence.
     "Rude.." he mumbled in response. Garroth chuckled.
     A creak caused all of them except Laurence to jump and become fully alert. Zane turned his head quickly, a brief moment of panic rushing through him.
     Travis stood in the doorway to the sleeping room, leaning heavily on the doorframe. His eyes were nearly closed and his breathing was ragged.
     "..T-T-" Zane didn't understand why he was so shocked to see him, but he couldn't seem to move any limbs.
     "Hey, Travis... how are you?" Aphmau got up and approached him slowly, a small smile on her face.
     Travis blinked at her, eyes widening.
     "Do you need something?" she asked, reaching out to help him back to bed. "You should get some more sleep."
     His eyes flicked down to her hand. Zane could see his jaw tensing.
     She put her hands behind her back. "Come on. Let's go." He turned in slow motion, shuffling back across the room to the pile of blankets he used as a bed. Aphmau followed close behind, making sure nothing happened to him.
     Zane stared at the empty doorframe. His head reeled.
     "Zane, I think you should lie down..."
     He wasn't sure who was speaking anymore.
     "Zane?"
     One second, he was watching the doorway.
     The next, everything was going black and he was falling towards the floor.