Chapter Text
The soft sound of the dirt crunching beneath his feet was the only sound that reached the man's ears as he walked with a loaded gun in his hand and the heavy weight of an axe on his back. He cautiously moved through the trees as he went further and further away from the safety of his base with each step.
Despite all that the world threw at him, Phil thought he was doing pretty fine on his own in this apocalypse. He had found this cabin in the middle of the woods one day, and decided to fortify it into a sort of base. Hardly any of those monstrous things came into the woods. They mostly gathered in the nearby town if any showed up. The town was pretty large as towns go, and wasn't too far away on foot, so Phil could easily go to it whenever he needed to stock up on supplies.
Yeah. He was fine on his own. He managed to make these trips fine and find what he needed to stay alive. He knew one day he might need to venture further once supplies ran low, but he wasn't terribly worried.
As he ventured closer to the town he pauses and peers from behind a tree to get a look at his surroundings. He could see a few of those things lumbering about, but he sees a clear path and knows he can make it to the store he remembers seeing canned food in last time.
He carefully steps away and starts walking to his destination, careful to keep his steps quiet and avoid the view of any of the things. He walks between buildings to keep cover and tries not to wince at the few rotting corpses littered about.
Truth be told, the man hasn't seen any other living person in a long time. Some days he was convinced that one day he'd be the only one left if he wasn't already. A survivalist left in the world alone he mused. It seemed like a poor living, but it's all he knew. He still hoped though. Hoped someone would come across him and say hello. Each body he saw made him cling on less to that hope though.
When he reaches the store he looks around before he quickly makes his way into the building, slinging his sturdy bag off of his shoulder and making his way through the mostly empty aisles.
He looks wearily at the cans left stacked there. People may have went in a frenzy when there were talks of infection and monsters, but still those cans remained on the shelf. He swipes the most appealing ones, making sure to inspect the date on them before he quietly puts them in the bag. When his shoulder begins to ache from the weight he stops and turns to make his way back home. But then he hears a noise.
It's not any noise though. It's the sound of a footstep, and Phil ducks down in the aisle without a thought and holds his breath. He carefully puts a hand over the axe on his back. If it was just one of those things it wouldn't be best to pull out the gun and make so much noise. He hears more footsteps. They sound quicker and more rythmatic than the usual steps of the slow and spastic things. He feels himself freeze, his mind immediately thinking these damn things must have evolved somehow.
He stands up, prepared to quickly fight off the thing. The slight rustling noise of him standing up is quickly followed by the sound of the footsteps stopping.
He doesn't move, and judging by the lack of sound from the other, they haven't moved either.
It's a long minute of just silence. Phil's heart hammers in his chest, but he manages to keep himself calm. These things were not smart. Even if it was faster than normal, Phil can easily out think it. He hears the footsteps start again and stands ready. They get closer and Phil narrows his eyes before he gasps when the culprit comes into view.
"Shit- Not a walker.", The man says. Man. A person. A person with a knife in his hand and a similar bag to Phil's own over his shoulder.
"A..A walker?..", Phil says. His voice falters as his brain short circuits. He hasn't spoken to anyone in what must have been a year. He wonders briefly if his mind is playing a trick on his lonely self, but no, this man was very much real.
"Yeah. The monsters? Ones that eat you?", The man clarifies dryly and Phil actually laughs a bit. This smart ass was a person, and he was alive.
"I haven't seen anyone else in so long- Thought I was the only one.", Phil says.
"Well, then you must not get around much. I've come across others. They usually form groups.", The man says. He frowns. "So you're actually alone?"
"Yup- No one around here but me.", Phil says and the man nods. He puts his knife down but still grips it as he walks closer to Phil.
He was taller than Phil, and had a young look to him. Definitely younger than Phil, but not a child. Maybe in his early twenties. He had long hair tied up similarly to Phil's own but the man's hair was braided and had an odd tint to it. Almost as if he died it pink recently but the color was barely beginning to fade away. Phil almost wanted to laugh and ask how the man found the dye and time to do that in the middle of an apocalypse but he decides that might take things off on the wrong foot.
"There's people alive..", He says mostly to himself in awe.
"Yup. Have you been staying in this store?", The man says as he chucks the remaining cans on the shelf in his bag.
"Hell no-", Phil says. "I have a cabin in the woods nearby. Hardly any of those things go over there but I've been taking precautions."
"Ah.", The man says. He's barely looking at Phil now.
"Are you staying around here long?", He says and almost cringes at how that sounds. But he's finally found another person. And he doesn't want to be alone again.
"No.", The man says and Phil tries not to let his heart sink at the words. "I don't stay in one place long. And this place looks like it'll empty out soon."
"Ah.", Phil says back. The weight of the bag on his shoulder starts to make his shoulder ache more and he carries it with his hands. "Well. It's getting late. I should head back but- If you want you can come over too. There's room."
"Come over?", the man says as he raises an eyebrow.
"Yeah- Where are you going to sleep around here? It's safe where I'm at.", Phil explains.
The man stays quiet and looks him over before he shakes his head.
"I work alone. Good luck out here. Usually people don't stay on their own like this.", The man says. Phil frowns a bit but smiles. Ah. This guy was the lone wolf type. He looked like he managed well enough. He wore a large red coat and had an assortment of weapons on him. Phil idly wonders how he carries all of it without tiring. Of course this man wouldn't want to stay with some random stranger though, Phil couldn't blame him. And it looked like he could manage fine by himself.
He's about to express the same luck back to this newfound stranger before a loud sound breaks through the lulling silence outside and breaks the calm of the situation. The man immediately stands up straight, his brow furrowing as he looks towards the door. Phil frowned. That was without a doubt the sound of a gunshot. The sound was quickly followed by many more.
"What kind of idiot-", The man says underneath his breath and Phil can only agree silently to the resentment. That loud noise must have alerted every thing, walker as the man had dubbed them, around the two for miles. They needed to leave.
"We need to go.", Phil says and the man looks at him incredulously. He slings the bag over his shoulder to balance the weight of his axe in both of his hands. "Don't look at me like that lad- Every one of those things must have heard that. They'll swarm over here like bees to honey. The cabin is just a walks away."
"I should take care of whatever idiot did that-", The man says and Phil doesn't doubt he would wring the trigger happy person if he could. He shakes his head. "I'll follow you. Lead the way."
"Alright.", Phil says with a nod. He doesn't comment on how the man avoided agreeing on staying, but he was relieved he at least agreed to move away from the city. They both quickly leave the store with their weapons in hand.
Phil can already hear the offputting groans of the gathering bodies. He winces. Those gunshots must have been closer than he originally thought.
"Stand back. These guys lose it when you aim for the head. If one comes close-"
"I know how to fight y'know. Didn't end up this far on my own without swinging at dozens of these things.", Phil almost laughs as he interrupts the man's advice. He expects a look of annoyance, but it pleasantly welcomed the amused smile on the other's face.
"Alright then. Then let's get the hell out of here already.", He says and Phil only nods in agreement as he starts to walk.
Their path is quickly blocked off by the things, but Phil doesn't hesitate to swing at the nearest one. The axe meets the head and it collapses forwards and Phil wrenches his axe out and looks over and sees the man just done stabbing the other thing in its head.
"Alright. Actually surprised you can fight.", The man says as they keep walking. Phil laughs.
"I don't know why- I don't carry an axe for show. It's a little walks away, but if we manage to make it to the woods without any of those things following us we should be fine.", Phil says and the man nods and wordlessly takes out another one of the things that make it close nearby them.
"You're not so bad yourself at fighting y'know. But all the blood on you told me that just fine..", Phil says. The man snorts.
"No time to stop and wash my clothes old man. Red suits me just fine anyways.", The man says.
"I see..", Phil says with a laugh. They keep walking and taking out nearby walkers as they come nearby.
"So how big is this cabin..uh..", The man says as he trails off at a loss for a name. Phil smiles. He's glad the man stood around long enough for him to introduce himself.
"Phil.", He says. He tips his hat down a bit. A nervous habit.
"Ah. Techno. Technoblade."
"Techno? That's a strange name! But a fitting one..", Phil says with a grin. "Well, the cabin has some extra rooms in it. You can stay in one for as long as you want."
"I'll see.", Techno says with a hum and Phil smiles. He's not alone anymore for now.