AN - Here it is, the second part of the second story in the Paradise Trilogy. Remember I own nothing and please support the official release. Please read and review.

Making their way down the path the trio paused seeing plenty of spent casings on the ground but no sign of the guys. Pointing out the tire tracks Tori sank to the ground tears threatening to break free from her eyes at the loss of Robbie and a hint of the old High School days Tori came back. Noticing the markings on the ground she noticed that there was a pair of boot prints that resembled the markings on the bottom of army boots.

"Looks like something happened here, there's drag marks going both ways but the army boots came back before heading off to the left there," Beck said.

"And look, there's an arrow in the ground here," Jade also noted, "They went that way."

Gathering herself Tori rose and nodded allowing Jade to return to point and followed her with Beck walking behind making sure not to be attacked from the rear. They kept going until they found the tree with Philip's second arrow and a dead Tonguer. Groaning about the smell Jade actually got a giggle from Tori but instead of the usual scowl she smiled at Beck and earned an honest smile and nod from him. Not much longer after that they noticed the bent down grass where Philip had once been now however he was gone. Moving to his space they looked around to see why Philip squatted here for a while.

"Look at that," Jade said and no one needed to ask what as they saw the same compound Philip was scouting only now it was completely empty. They couldn't see inside the buildings but there wasn't a single soul around and a few cages were open and also empty but a few still closed ones held unmoving bodies in them. Not speaking but motioning for them to follow her Jade took lead crouch walking down the hill over to the side of one of the buildings. Getting flat against the wall she moved like the characters in one of Beck and Robbie's video games. Hearing someone scream and not being able to make out the sex they rushed forward Jade's eyes searching for the source. Tori however glanced up and noticed something that the couple failed to notice since Beck was now ahead of her as well. Shoving him forward into Jade they both fell as a spiked wooden wall fell where he was once standing. Looking at them through the patch work wood Tori looked for a way to get past them but another scream came from further ahead. It was then that they realized that they were inside of a tunnel made of those same spiked wooden poles. Staying with Tori for a second Beck looked for an exit with her while Jade scouted ahead.

"Beck!" she called back and he turned to see a lone black woman in a night gown sitting alone on the dirt floor crying. Turning back he whispered to Tori.

"Go find Robbie, save him. We'll meet you back at the boat I promise and if I'm lying I left my wallet behind, there's a picture in there I want you to use for the wall."

"No you will come back." She said and he nodded. While he was telling her this Jade moved closer to the woman, gun lowered just a bit in case because even though the woman looked normal something felt wrong. Once she was a foot away the woman sniffled and looked at her and that's when Jade noticed that she had deep scratches in her cheeks and one dead eye. Lifting the gun she fired but the woman managed to still scream and the spell was broken. Suddenly there was a flood of infected charging at her so she ran back to Beck.

"Beck!" she screamed and he turned pointing his gun as she started to fire. "GO NOW!" she screamed at Tori who remained for a moment before running away.

"Why are you doing this?" Robbie asked as the men wrapped his leg where the mutated gorilla freak had bitten him. Instead of answering they just shoved him against the wall of the small building and waited. Suddenly Robbie knew what they were waiting for as a jolt of pain shot though his entire body causing him to curl into the fetal position. Talking to each other in the native language one drew his pistol but stopped when they heard the gun shots. Cursing to each other they left Robbie alone to see what the hell was going on out there. Moaning in pain Robbie tried to get up and escape but he just couldn't it hurt that much. Instead he closed his eyes and just listened hearing someone else come up into the building. In that pain filled haze he felt someone kneel down next to him and stroke his forehead.

"Tori?" he asked thinking it was too good to be true, it was probably a freak just about to bite him but the figure spoke.

"Calm down hon, you're burning up," and he knew that was Tori. She tried to help him up as a second figure entered the building. Robbie tried to speak but Tori sensed someone else was there and reached for her gun.

"No need for that," Philip said and she spun around with a smile on her face which fell when she saw him, he looked like he just survived an MMA match, just barely. Before she could ask Philip held out her knife which she has lost in that leopard earlier. With Philip's help they got Robbie up between them and started out of the building. Before they could get far though they were greeted by three men with guns, the sounds of gun shots were no longer in the air and Tori feared the worse. Before she could get too far one of the men came up and kicked Philip's knee causing him to cry out and hit the ground. Slipping out of her grasp Robbie fell to the ground as the second man grabbed at Tori. His hand never made it as in a flash Robbie was back up twisting the man's hand. There was something different with him, he was breathing heavier like an angry bull and his arms seemed to appear twice their normal size. There was a crack as Robbie snapped his fingers. The man uttered a guttural cry as Robbie threw him into the third guy before rushing into the first gun man before punching him in the stomach catching his head and throwing him into the pile as well. Once they were all out cold Robbie's throbbing arms returned to their normal size before he collapsed again. Tori and Philip came up and lifted him again deciding to ask about it later when they were safe and back at the boat.

Helping pull Robbie onto the deck Geoff asked what happened as he helped bandage Philip while Tori mopped Robbie's brow again.

"When we fell off the truck two Tonguers caught us and pulled us in opposite directions. When I got free I went for Robbie only to find he was gone but his Tonguer was dead which was a good sign. I found the compound but the assholes weren't just taking care of smuggling things they were feeding people to those freaks. Before I could go save him that fucking leopard attacked me, your knife saved my life Tori which I got out after it got a few good cuts before I struck him back. Kicking him away I rose and the world just started to turn red and suddenly it leapt to attack me only it was moving very slowly and suddenly I could move faster than I could ever. I stepped around the beast and started to stab the leopard over and over again and once the colors returned to world I noticed that the five stabs I thought I did and discovered fifty or more wounds."

"I saw red and white in the world too, when that man touched Tori.

"You were both Tongued before they bit you right? You have that red marking where they grab you," Geoff thought out loud, "Maybe the infection changed when they combined." Everyone nodded at him and he continued, "And these new powers or whatever you want to call it are the result of it, can't be sure if that's the result is or something else."

"Okay well let's rest for now and then head back out to locate our friends again."

"What? No!" Tori complained but Robbie just hugged her.

"We're either immune or infected and we can't get turned so we're taking weapons and going back out there to find Beck and Jade and I promise I will come back to you," he said cupping her face in his hands and kissing her before leading her to bed so they could at least rest together before he went out. Philip followed suit as Geoff returned to the wheel. Two hours later Philip and Robbie were trudging through the shallow waters.

"Think you can use your ability to locate them?" Robbie asked hopefully but Philip shook his head.

"Not yet, it makes me feel so drained, tired afterwards." Philip said to which Robbie nodded agreeing. Calculating where the compound was they cut through the grass in order to get there quicker.

Once they were out of sight Geoff tried to pull up anchor but it was caught on something. Peering into the water all Tori could see was brown seaweed.

"I need to go in and just cut us free," she said turning to him and looked at him strangely as he looked scared and she was about to ask why he was scared when she felt something touch her forearm and felt herself yanked back. Grabbing and holding her he pointed towards the beach with his pistol and started to fire, that was when Tori looked down and saw the gray tongue. There was a burst and the tongue went slack as he hit the Tonguer, quickly she tore the flesh from her arm. Walking over to where her knife was on the crate and went to the side. "We have to be free," she said and he nodded watching the beach for another Tonguer just in case. Diving in she swam down and began to cut at the strange feeling seaweed until she got clear. Coming up she shouted for Geoff to try again which he did and it came up easily enough. Swimming for the boat she felt fingers on her ankle and before she could scream she was under. Diving in after her he swam hard and saw the one armed freak trying to pull Tori to her death. Pulling her down further the freak tried to grab her with her other arm, if she had it Tori might be dead but instead the spiked stump just scratched her leg. Reaching her Geoff kicked the freak so hard that her head was snapped back and she let go. Taking Tori up he used the chain of the anchor to help both of them up onto the deck of the ship however he didn't make it far enough as the one armed freak was back again. Rolling her head Tori saw the freak and while memory recognition didn't kick in the world turned red, she remembered one of the medals on Geoff's chest snagging it and flinging it down into the freak's head. Since it destroyed the brain she let go and drifted down into the depths. Using her new ability Tori actually helped Geoff onto the ship.

A few minutes later once they were out again onto the deck. Trying to catch her breath Tori explained the feeling of the world turning red allowing her to have extreme precision with her attack.

"I feel left out," Geoff said joking earning a laugh from Tori who shook her head. Once they caught their breath Geoff went to the wheel and took to the middle of the cove as Tori went to go lie down. As she slept she silently cried not knowing why but in her heart she knew who that freak was and was dreaming of better times spent with her big sister Trina.

Once Tori was gone Beck spun and joined in firing at the piles of freaks rushing at them. Honestly he was afraid that they would run out of ammo but they worked like a team and were never caught unprepared. The river was lessening but that was only half of the problem as they could see men running over towards them. Grabbing Jade Beck pulled her along the freaks while keeping the bodies between them and the men until they reached an area where they might be able to get out. Turning Beck fired breaking the wall allowing both of them to come out and run across the field. Rushing across the field Beck spun and fired a few shots back at the guards hitting one before they realized the escapees were armed and fired at them. A few bullets came close but there was a shed up ahead and that's what they were gunning for. Making it they went inside and closed the door behind them, looking around they noticed a ladder going down and quickly went down it. Dropping down the pair realized they were in a tunnel and randomly picking a direction Jade started to run as Beck followed. Soon they entered a large room that seemed impossibly large. There were cages upon cages of exotic black market animals.

"Sick bastards," Beck muttered as they moved through the cages, he could feel the tears wetting his cheeks at the cruelty of it all, it was like visiting the most depressing zoo. Coming up to a large cage with a hippopotamus on its side Jade pointed at the image of the hippo.

"Babies?" she asked but her voice caught the attention of those babies as they rose, instead of small hippos there was a group of freaks. Seeing them they charged the bars smashing into the bars reaching out for them. Lifting her gun Jade was about to fire when a tongue caught it and yanked it away. Slurping up the tongue Jade and Beck looked up at where the Tonguer was and before he could fire Beck gasped.

"Isis?" he asked as the once beautiful woman spat her tongue out again causing Beck to rush and shove Jade down as the tongue caught his arm and tossed him into the bars of the hippo cage where several hands reached out and took hold of him, one sinking his teeth into Beck's shoulder. Screaming out in pain he punched back grabbing his pistol and firing into the biter's face. Shaking off he fell to the ground turning to fire at the other freaks. Jade reached for her own pistol turning back to Isis and taking aim. Before she could fire she noticed Isis' tongue was already out and she barely had time to react as a piece of metal was thrown at her. Rising Beck's world saturated turning red as he could see the projection of the metal and realized he could kick the metal at the right time and kill Isis which he did. The metal flew through the air and went through her throat like a knife through butter, Isis didn't know what happened until her head fell off her body. Making quick work of the remaining freaks he rushed to Jade to make sure the metal had really missed her. Looking up at him Jade smiled weakly at him and that was when Beck saw why. The metal hadn't missed, it had sliced her stomach open and she was attempting to hold the wound but failed.

"Oh God no," Beck muttered holding her in his arms.

"Find the others, protect them," she whispered and he shook his head.

"I won't leave you," he said. Kissing her cheek Jade smiled feeling his warm tears hit her face as he started to cry.

"I love you Beck." She whispered.

"I love you too Jade, so much." He was going to protect the others, honor her last wishes but she wasn't going to let her die alone in a strange place, he would stay with her.

"So you have speed and I have strength," Robbie said as they came up to the compound. Going silent they stalked the compound but found it really empty this time. Coming around the back they both gasped at the piles of dead freaks, Beck and Jade did a good job of it. Moving around the side they noticed the hole in the cage where Beck had broken through. There were two dead Mambas lying on the ground, one had a radio on him and Philip bent down to check it since it was squawking out cries for help.

"The tunnels, oh my god, something is with the animals I don't know if it's a freak or not."

Going back to the compound they looked around for anything useful and discovered a map causing Philip to nod.

"The real black market is underground, that's why no one was able to catch them. I believe that there's an entry point nearby and then we head north to head towards the animal section."

"That's probably where Beck and Jade are holding their ground." Robbie said as Philip took the lead running towards the shed that hid the way into the tunnels. Once inside they noticed the tunnels had electricity and lights so they started towards the animal area coming upon several bodies across the floor. Looking at each other they nodded and entered the rage mode turning on before rushing forward into the area. Robbie tore off a pair of bars from a nearby monkey cage as they howled and hooted at him. Philip took off alongside of the wall seeing a way to run around the side climbing up and getting around the attackers, or attacker seeing Beck twirling what looked like bones as he threw it at Philip who easily dodged before tackling him.

"Beck stop!" Philip cried as Robbie ran up coming out of the mode. Beck stopped but kept crying breathing heavily as Philip let go.

"Where's Jade?" Robbie asked as Beck looked over a something before starting to cry again. Turning to see Jade, now dead on the floor Robbie gasped before turning and throwing up. Philip shook Robbie awake from his daze, pointing for him to grab Beck.

"We have to leave now," Philip said going to Jade and hoisting her up.

"What are you doing?" Beck asked.

"We're not leaving her here, we can bury her at the beach, was she bitten?"

"No," Beck said and that was good enough for Philip as he carried Jade towards an exit he saw earlier on the map and soon they were out and back towards the beach. Geoff brought a spade from the boat and wanted to help but Beck wouldn't let him and he dug silently on his own. Robbie and Tori watched on the deck as Tori filled him in on her infection as well. Due to the newness of the ability Beck only got a foot deep finally allowing Philip and Geoff to take over and soon the job was done and Beck stuck a cross into the dirt. Once they were all onboard they started off out of the cove and towards the open water, the plan had changed with the amount of fuel they acquired and it was now LA or bust. Standing at the back of the boat, looking at the second island, Tori and Robbie held each other and wished they could go back to the beginning of it all and turn down Hank's offer.

"I love you Tori."

"I love you too Robbie."

Kissing her Robbie didn't pull back, after all the death and destruction and their now unknown future thanks to the freaks and all Robbie knew was that he felt happy and he would do anything to keep it that way.

The smoking remains of the ruined beach city could be seen from binoculars. Lowering the binoculars he sighed,

"How are we going to do this?"

"Looks deserted out there"

"Geoff stays here while the infected look for survivors," Robbie suggested as Geoff came up behind them.

"I'm going home, if it's okay I want to take the boat as well, the Panama channel if it's still open to get back to Texas, to my family." Everyone nodded but Philip.

"I'm staying too; my family is in New Mexico. If it's clear I'll come back to LA to find you guys again." Philip said and Geoff nodded. Beck was stoic and clung to Robbie or Tori at one time or the other. Robbie looked at Tori and Beck and smiled.

"We're going home then."

Two days later a phone in the Vega house started to ring, the tune of Make It Shine filled the empty home for a full verse before stopping and stopping again. This time, it was answered.

"Hello?"