A/N: Quite simply, onto answering reviews!
ShatteringSoul- Hello and thank you for leaving a review, feel free to leave more in the upcoming chapters if you so wish, I'm glad you like the survivalism theme in 2000 days and GTR and RTR will be a mix of both political stuff and survivalism, I also consider a lot of past trauma's and try to link them to the remaining characters (i.e. Nick) but what you pointed out Clementine being anxious about being watched went completely over my head! So thank you for addressing that as it will be an interesting point to bring up in future chapters, also good observation on Luis and Clem. Everyone would assume Luis is the all wise survivor but he actually does have a lot to learn from Clementine, also thanks for the grammar advice (I'll try my hardest) and the point about characters such as Luke and Rebecca being pushed into the background, as I'm establishing the new characters in the first section of this story they have been neglected slightly but expect to see a lot more of them later on.
catwoman286- You seem like the only one to have picked up on that line and what could it mean, it's down to the reader to interpret what Clementine sees Sarah as, her best friend or even, possibly something more. Clementine is 14 now she's not the romantic type but I wanted to show the reader she's not a child anymore... and as for that mistake with Nick living in Nick's shadow... yeah I always make typo's in every chapter, I'll have to clear it up if I go back and re-write this fic in the future (or at least polish it up) but yeah It meant in Luke's shadow and not Nick's.
santiago. poncini 20- Going to Ruin? Yep it's going to ruin for now, but you'll soon see why this fic called Ruin to Redemption.
TWDRUNNER- sip tim es un idiota, pero como personaje creo que él quiere lo mejor para el grupo, su absolutamente como ben paul y una vez más gracias por la revisión!
ffapathy- You brought up a lot of interesting points, I'm really glad you picked up on the foreshadowing in the earlier chapter about Luis statement and how that eventually applied to Tim and you'll see in the lead up to the riot plenty of foreshadowing in the previous chapters and some this chapter as well and also I enjoyed writing the Nick/Sarah scene in light of all the tangled plots and mysteries in this story so far it's also nice to take it back to basics.
Micidonalboss- I imagine Tim's eyes were somewhere else... but yeah he was quite foolish and don't worry I'll be sure to introduce your OC soon, I'm just trying to find an ideal point in the story to introduce him, suffice to say if Wellington doesn't fall to the riot or airborne virus then he will be ideal to introduce in rebuilding things...
Kristal-Dynamite- Thank you for reviewing once again! Scott and Draco are quite alike and that's the vibe I get when I write him,and I loved how well received Nick and Sarah's scene was. In light of Luis and Clem's bickering, Father Jordan's saga with the wolf and the Moore Triplets drama it's nice to focus on the characters I've been writing from the start.
A Writer with Mixed Interests- Yep, I can confirm Chapter 10 is where all the shit will officially hit the fan, with the wolf, airborne virus and riot arcs all coming together there will be chaos and maybe Character death... (laughs evilly)
Chameishida- I find it overwhelming too, to try and develop and write the mass cast of characters so Nick/Sarah, Sarah/Clem scenes were a great way to link NGB and GTR to RTR. However... another life is strange fan! Yeeeessss! The game is awesome and If I have the time I'd love to write a fic of it in the future!
and thanks to everyone else who reviewed onto chapter 8!
IMMUNE SURVIVOR OSCAR WILLIAMSON IDENTIFIED AS WALKER VIRUS BECOMES AIRBORNE!"
The big, black and bold letters that filled the top half of the page of the Wellington Weekly were certainly noticeable, the forensic and Trevor had a copy of the issue in their fingers, Stacy was looking down at a copy of her own on her desk, she seemed to be grinning manically down at the issue in a way that made Trevor concerned about his sister, with a grunt of disapproval he lowered the paper down to his waist level.
"I know" Stacy huffed, her green eyes rolling upwards towards her brother "The headline's too long, isn't it?"
Trevor didn't say a word, he simply threw the paper down on her desk, to showcase his fury and disapproval.
Stacy only smiled at her sibling.
"What?" she eventually inquired, her smile looking ever thinner by the second, her pupils beginning to shrink into the pools of her light green iris', brother and sister held each other's glares for a short while, making the forensic uncomfortable as he pretended to read the small text crammed below the headline.
"You" Trevor seethed "You've been sleeping around to get...!"
"We know who it is" Stacy cut through him, she sounded bored and her strained smile was still plastered on her pale face.
Trevor didn't say a word, the forensic gulped loudly,his Adam's apple bobbing up and down in his throat as he peered closer at the black smudges of print on the printed paper in front of him, not absorbing a single word there.
"I found who was immune, I have evidence" Stacy argued, her smile finally starting to wane, as she gestured the vials of Oscar's blood on her desk "I have his blood, I have video evidence, if anyone doubts this story then I have proof! I'd be willing to do anything to get this story out there, you knew that Trevor"
Trevor remained silent still.
"Erm, Miss Moore" The forensic suddenly spoke up, nervously peering over the printed paper to look at the editor of the publication.
"Yes" she responded turning to face him.
"What's this at the bottom of the page? About there being three headlines?"
"Ah yes!" Stacy shouted, "So much to reveal this week, Page 1 to 3 has all the news on the airborne virus, why Edith died, the 5 metre radius of the airborne virus and I used your words as a reliable source" Stacy mused to the forensic, the forensic was a generally curious man and caught onto things very quickly and from the way Stacy was speaking to him so positivity, he knew something was very wrong. Something but him on edge yet he couldn't explain it. He opened the two page spread to find Page two was donated to the revelation of the airborne virus. He saw his own name in print... everything seemed factual and close to the truth at this stage.
"Page three, is all about how Oscar Williamson, my findings on the man, Tim Akastu's revelation and how his group hid him and why they did so"
The forensic glanced at the page to find this information was also accurate, at his sister's words Trevor scooped his copy up of the paper and flicked to the second and third pages to find this information was indeed accurate.
"Whatever happened to framing the president for hiding this information?" Trevor growled at her.
"Overturned" was her simple reply.
"Overturned?" Trevor grunted, raising a busy crimson eyebrow to her explanation to as why the president was let off so easily.
"Pages four and five are on the troubles in Wellington and possibility of a riot" Stacy explained as both the forensic and Trevor turned the page. On the double page spread the headline read clearly...
"WELLINGTON TROUBLES AND UPCOMING RIOT! PRESIDENT IGNORES PLEA FOR CHANGE!"
Trevor's eyes analysed every word about the riots, but there was nothing, nothing there to actually provoke the public into rioting, there was no slander as far as he could tell. Just thoughts and opinions from the general populace of Wellington, from both rich and poorer sources, the fact the president had refused to sign the petition however seemed to cause a ripple.
"This is too tame for you Stace" Trevor muttered, Stacy now seemed to be shaking in her seat but she didn't look nervous, on the contrary she looked very excited about something as she faced both her brother and the forensic.
"Turn to pages five and six" she mused "The headline there will set things straight"
Trevor turned the page, to find a glaring headline gazing up at him.
"THE DOMESDAY REPORT! TRUST NO ONE!"
"The Domesday report?" Trevor asked, as his eyes began to adjust to the writing below the sordid headline, as Stacy nodded.
"Yep, remember the last editor?" she inquired as the two men nodded "He committed suicide a few months ago, no one knew why, but I found a message from him, written on this cabinet draw" she passed the forensic a sticky note, as he read aloud.
"Open the cabinet, when it's time" the forensic read out the cryptic message.
"When it's time, the fuck does that mean?" Trevor snarled.
"When it's time for people to learn the truth" Stacy responded "I opened the draw this morning, I'd been tempted so many times to open it, but I always stopped myself. Knowing that when shit hit the fan that was the time and now is that time. I know now why he committed suicide the information was too much, it drove him insane, he didn't know whether he was right not to publish it, or wrong not to publish it. This report has power, he couldn't handle that power, he was weak and pathetic and chose the coward's way out, I'm not like that" Stacy told both men in defiance, as Trevor's eyes finally adjusted to the what the Domesday report actually was.
He let a gasp of horror.
Their was a picture of a person in a small box, followed by smaller text listing all of their crimes and secrets, Trevor's eyes locked upon one man's profile, he was a middle aged man with black hair and bright eyes who looked sheepishly at the camera.
Harry Evans
- He murdered his brother in insanity and jealously, he lied to his brother's girlfriend and began a sexual relationship with her afterwards, which is still continued here in Wellington. He has also been cheating on his girlfriend with Georgia Rattz, 25, their last meeting was 4th July 2006, 12:34AM.
This "Domesday Report" was written months back according to Stacy, so Trevor imagined that Harry Evans had many meetings with Georgia Rattz since this was written, but this seemed completely up to date otherwise. But Trevor couldn't imagine this report out there, it would cause chaos, it would ruin Harry, Georgia and Harry's girlfriend's lives and add that to the riot... it... it would be complete madness and it wasn't just Harry on the list, on the first page alone there must have been about 50 residents on there, all their crimes and secrets listed down for the world to see.
Both the forensic and the Trevor's stomachs seemed to churn sickeningly when they realised, why the paper was as thick as it was.
"That's right boys" Stacy said, as if she could read their minds, as she hauntingly announced
"Every Resident in Wellington is on that list"
All 4000 odd people who lived in Wellington now! Crammed into a single newspaper! Trevor couldn't believe it, but he saw that some names simply had no picture next to them, or any listed crimes or secrets. Those must have been the one's with clean records, Trevor's eyes raced down the page, he saw briefly that Cristina King was listed, but with no picture nor crimes to her name. Henceforth she was as innocent as could be and Cristina was Violet's friend, surely... surely...
"Sis, we are not in there, are we?" Trevor begged.
Stacy only grinned at him.
In horror, Trevor swept past the names, they descended down the pages in Alphabetical order by surname, past the K's into the never-ending L's and finally onto the M's...
"You can't publish this" someone announced, Trevor was seconds away from finding his name on the list, but then he heard the click of a gun and his reached for his own pistol in his holster. Stacy looked up at the white faced forensic who had pulled a gun (from God knows where) on the editor of the Wellington Weekly. Trevor knew the forensics's name, he looked down the paper and saw the listed crimes next to his name and he suddenly knew why the forensic didn't want this information out there.
"This is an invasion of privacy!" The forensic yelled in anger, brandishing his gun as his voice rose with every passing syllable.
"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET THIS! WHO THE HELL KNOWS ALL THIS!" He screamed "I TOLD NO ONE! FUCKING NO ONE ABOUT THIS! HOW...!?"
BANG!
The forensic fell to the floor, as dead as could be. Trevor pistol was aimed upright he had pulled the trigger while the forensic was busy ranting at his sister. He had failed to notice his enraged boss on his left, who had shot him down with a look pure rage plastered onto his face. Stacy didn't glance in the dead forensic's body, nor at the blood that soaked through the carpet on the floor, instead her eyes remained locked on her brother.
"He left a family to die at the start of this" Trevor began, his voice quivering "He went around stealing supplies from groups who desperately needed them, even here in Wellington he was suspected of stealing money and he stole a damn car! He was a thief and a liar and...!" Trevor finished his rant there, because his sister's stare told him that the forensics's crimes paled in comparison to his own. Trevor had shot the forensic not only out of his own very impulsive hot head, but also for another reason... a selfish reason.
"Go on" Stacy urged him "Check your's".
Trevor's eyes sped down the page, eventually finding the surname "Moore" printed down to the chief of police's anticipating dread, however first up he was surprised to find his own sister's name printed there, as he read her crimes...
Stacy Moore
- Left her siblings to die at the start of the apocalypse in an act of cowardice, is suspected of murdering 7 people in supposed self defence, In Wellington she has had sexual affairs with men and women, as she has tried to gain their favour. Using this she has risen in the ranks in the Wellington Weekly and is suspected to be the next editor of the paper.
"Y-you're allowing yourself to go into print?" he gasped in disbelief, everyone in Wellington would know that Stacy Moore, the editor of the paper was someone who had murdered over 7 people and was a notorious whore had a slept with anyone and everyone in order to rise in the ranks and become the editor of the paper, her reputation would be ruined but then again, if her reputation was going down the gutter, than his own...
Stacy insane smile was the only answer he got, as he read his own list.
Trevor Moore
- Had a reputation as a bully in his days in the armed forces, during the apocalypse he murdered over 20 people, some in suspected self defence and others in anger. During one incident, Moore's girlfriend suffered a freak heart attack during intercourse with him, leading to him developing a traumatized obsession with the dead and suspected cases of necrophilia, an obsession that has carried on into his days in Wellington. He has received treatment for this disorder and his anger management issues. Moore is currently the Chief of Police in Wellington.
Trevor felt the wind get sucked out of his stomach, as he struggled for breath, his world spinning wildly out of control as he gripped the edge of his sister's desk with his one hand and gripped his pistol as tight as can be in other hand. How? No one other than his sister knew about how many people he had killed outside Wellington's walls, no one knew about what really happened to Trevor's girlfriend. He told Violet she simply died of a heart attack and his little sister had believed him. It was Stacy who had found him... with his deceased girlfriend. It was Stacy who knew the truth behind his anger issues... but his sister had not obtained this information, unless...
"You, you didn't tell anyone this, did you!" Trevor demanded of his sister.
"No" was the flat response.
"Sure you didn't sleep with the editor and tell him this, to gain favours?" Trevor snarled at his sister, a pronounced poison evident in his voice.
"I didn't tell anyone" Stacy spat back with just as much venom, she exhaled before she looked down at her own copy "A few people are missing here, people such as Oscar Williamson, whoever wrote this report clearly don't know he was immune or else that fact would have been listed. His record is completely clean, despite the fact his group has a rather stained record..." her eyes whizzed across the page as she told her brother "Look at the list and tell me, who is missing?"
"No one" Trevor responded "You said everyone was on that list"
"Wrong, nearly everyone" Stacy said clearly, before she spoke on, discussing her final findings with her brother "No one on this list is the identifiable Wellington Wolf, the Domesday report doesn't tell us whose immune, or who the wolf is. and notice how it also omits the President and the top 12 per cent of the population..." Stacy smiled as her brother gazed up at her.
"I used data from the central hub" she said "Those living with raised incomes, the majority with fancy housing, money and cars... they're not on the Domesday report. Whoever gave the editor the last report was clearly a rich man or woman who wanted the crimes of us inferiors exposed. If this report is released can you imagine the anarchy it will cause, the riot won't be just towards the rich and the president it will extend far beyond that, people will turn on each other. The airborne thing and the immune thing are only extra ingredients to add to the pot... the self destruction..." Stacy's eyes were reflective at this point, as she envisioned the destruction one of these papers would cause.
"Also" she added "How these rich people earn such a living, their jobs seem a bit a shady and this report comes out detailing everything that the majority of the population have done wrong. That is physically impossible without spies, without spies stationed all around Wellington..."
"Whoa" Trevor began his brain starting to boggle at the vast amount of information he was receiving "Are you saying, that the reason these people are rich is because... somebody has been paying them vast amounts to spy on the general population?" he inquired of his sister who shook her head, her crimson hairs bouncing on her shoulders as she did so.
"No" she answered "I believe the president hired these people to spy on the population. To keep them in line and yet for some reason somebody must have done something wrong, because the president must have allowed this report to get out there. Why? To doom us commoners?" Stacy asked with a raised eyebrow, before she let out a shrill laugh and continued to speak "These people, this specific 12 per cent, they all arrived at Wellington at pretty much the same time, in mass groups that showed up day after day after day, no one saw it as suspicious at the time but connecting all the dots" Stacy was dawning on a conclusion now, as Trevor's world seemed to further plunge into darkness.
"Imagine, such a mass quantity of people showing up in a few days" she said "Imagine who else the president would have hired to spy on us all. Because that group were experts on spying on us on the outside. They saw what we did, they followed us, overheard our conversations, they know everything about us. A large amount of people here have had to pass that group, that group who gave us hell, shot at us if we refused to join and learnt all our weakness..."
"That... that fucking cult!" Trevor spat, coming to the conclusion instantly and seeing all the evidence Stacy had gathered, it all made sense now.
"Did you...?" he began
"Back page" was all she said.
Trevor turned the paper the other way around and sure enough the headline couldn't have been anymore bold or straight to the point.
"THE DOMESDAY REPORT, WRITTEN BY GUN TOTTING EX-CULTISTS WHO MAKE UP THE ELITE TWELVE PER CENT OF THE POPULATION!"
"The cult are going to destroy Wellington if this report gets out!" Trevor bellowed, flinging the paper across the room and past the body of the forensic, as it fell to the floor in a heap, he paced around the room (pistol still in hand) as he felt his temper flare "Those fucking cultist pieces of shit! Spying on us... I'm gathering the force together, give me every name Stacy, every fucking name of every cultist. Where they live and everything were gonna wipe them out, one by fucking one..."
"I don't think that's very smart" Stacy argued, as Trevor's face fell "I'm releasing this paper regardless".
"WHY!?" Trevor exploded.
"Because" Stacy argued back her voice controlled as she spoke on "With every name on their other than the cultists and the President's, they may be destruction. Us commoners as they like to call us might turn on each other and kill each other, but won't the population do it for you? When they discover the cult has been spying on them, revealing all of their secrets it is very likely they will fulfil their original objective of killing the cult and the president and you know what? I prefer to live in a society which doesn't mirror George Orwell's 1984, I want to live in a society of freedom and truth!" she spoke passionately as she slammed her fists down on the table.
"This report, reveals what the elite are. Everyone knows how evil the cult were, they thought they were better than us. They still do, they'll hide their own truths but have no problem throwing us into the dirt. This paper will ruin them, it will give us the freedom of the press we so badly need!" Stacy urged her brother, yet to her sheer disappointment he shook his head.
"Even if you kill the president and those cultists" Trevor growled "Do you think anyone will look at anyone else in the same way after this comes out? No one will trust each other, ever. Society will fall, nothing will function!"
"No, we have a right to publish this!" Stacy spoke up "We have a right of the freedom of speech and everyone has the right to know the truth!"
"THE TRUTH WILL GET EVERYONE KILLED!" Trevor screamed at his sister, all he saw was red, he was losing control.
"THE TRUTH IS WHAT WE ARE ALL ABOUT!" Stacy squealed back at him "IT'S JUDGEMENT DAY TREVOR! EVERYONE! YOU, ME... EVERYONE IS GOING TO JUDGED! I KNOW YOU ARE SCARED...!"
"I'M FUCKING NOT!"
"I KNOW YOU ARE! THAT'S WHY YOU KILLED THAT FORENSIC, YOU WERE AFRAID HE'D TELL SOMEONE ABOUT YOUR SECRET! GUESS WHAT TREVOR!? IT'S ALL COMING OUT! VIOLET IS GOING TO KNOW ALL THE SHIT ME AND YOU HAVE DONE!"
"IT'S FUCKING EASIER FOR YOU! SHE'LL NEVER LOOK AT ME AGAIN!"
"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT! OUR LITTLE SISTER DESERVES THE TRUTH! NOT TO BE SHIELDED LIKE A FUCKING BABY!"
"ALL WE'VE EVER TRIED TO DO IS PROTECT HER! YOU'LL DESTROY HER IF THIS COMES OUT! YOU'LL DESTROY THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN US! BUT I GUESS THAT'S IT!? ISN'T IT!?"
"WHAT'S IT!?"
"YOU! YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN JEALOUS OF ME AND VIOLET! WELL I'M SORRY YOU'VE FELT THAT WAY STACY, I REALLY AM! BUT WE CAN'T MAKE THIS PERSONAL YOU WANT THAT REPORT OUT THERE TO DESTROY ME! SO YOU CAN BE THE GOOD OLDER SISTER! YOU'RE NOT! YOU'RE AS FUCKING INSANE AS I AM!"
"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT!? I DO! THIS IS NOTHING PERSONAL...!"
"IT IS, I WILL DESTROY THE CULT WITHOUT THIS FUCKING REPORT!"
"I WON'T ALLOW IT!"
There was a distinctive click of a gun, as Stacy found herself gazing into the black abyss of the pistol that was trained on her forehead, her brother's face was redder than his hair. His eyes wide and crazy, Stacy looked down at the Domesday report once again, this report and the power it had held had truly driven her brother insane in the space of minutes. No wonder the past editor couldn't handle it, the power it held was enough to drive him to suicide and others to madness, but she wouldn't succumb to this.
"Now come on" she said through a baited breath, as she gazed into her brother's eyes "You, you're not seriously considering killing me. I'm... I'M YOUR SISTER GOD-DAMMIT!"
Trevor was silent as could be.
"But I guess you've always wanted me out" she spat "I'm the unwanted one, aren't I? You can shoot me now have your perfect little world with Violet. Try and take out the cult with your pathetic police force, maintain order and all that shit, but guess what Trevor, I'm not backing down... she inhaled then before uttering her last words.
"I'm releasing this report"
BANG
Stacy fell backwards, a red hole indented in the middle of her head, as she tumbled off her chair and onto the carpeted floor, her blood forming a crimson halo on the carpet around her. The editor of the Wellington Weekly was dead, murdered by her own brother. Trevor himself stumbled out of the office, almost blindly, blood splattered onto his police uniform, his head as dizzy as could be, his head not really registering the fact that he had murdered his sister and someone he thought he could trust.
There was a man stood directly outside of the office, no doubt the noises of gunfire had brought him there.
"Stop the publication" Trevor heard himself mumbling, raising his shaky pistol to the man's head.
"It's too late" the man muttered "Miss Moore gave us orders to print it just before you arrived".
Trevor couldn't utter a word, the game was truly up he had murdered his sister in the faint hope the paper wouldn't be published when she must have already known it was going to be published. She must have been testing him, she must have truly wanted...
Her brother's approval.
She must not have suspected he would murder her, Trevor's guilt seem to overwhelm him in those seconds, she must have worked hard on that paper, figuring it all about the cult and managing to get it into print in the very last minute. and now there were hundreds of copies, already being distributed, he could envision the rolled up copy of the newspaper awaiting the sleepy residents of Wellington, they'd wake up and grab it from the front yard... and...
All hell would break loose.
"Going to shoot me too?" the man challenged from what seemed like the end of a tunnel to Trevor, Trevor himself felt himself shove the man into a nearby desk, the man crashed papers and boxes all over the place. Trevor was aware of himself sprinting towards the door of the building, bursting into the outside world he jumped into his police car and drove out the vicinity.
He had to reach his sister, he couldn't let her see the truth.
"Now, get me those samples Father remember not too turn around"
Father Jordan felt himself walking, his feet felt numb the wolf's threats still lingering in his ears as he tried to wipe away the never ending stream of sweat that rolled down the crevasses of his face. He put one foot in front of the other, one step, two step, three step... he was nearing the stairs of the morgue. He was close to leaving, oh so close, yet he could feel the wolf's penetrating glare at the back of his head. But the wolf didn't pursue him.
The second Father Jordan was back on level ground, he took a look behind him at the morgue. No one was there, no wolf was hunting him now.
He took of in a mad dash, jumping over the crumbling tombstones and graves of people long deceased, Father Jordan didn't waste any time as he had been saving up money, he had managed to buy himself a rather luxurious car. The bright turquoise coating of the car reflected the moonlight easily, acting as a beacon for the panicking priest as he located it in the pitch black of night.
Merely seconds after stumbling into the car, he had put his foot down on the pedal and tore out of the area. Not daring to look back once.
His destination in mind, was the building where the Wellington Weekly was posted, he couldn't go to the police because their chief, Trevor Moore. Trevor Moore was the Wellington Wolf.
All the dots connected, Trevor's voice was identical to the one of the wolf, the mid-western accent that the chief of police had mastered was intimidating and certainly matched that of the wolf. Besides, who else would have so many contacts around Wellington and have such much power to wield? Trevor Moore. Father Jordan was aware that Moore's triplet sister Stacy was the editor of the weekly, but he had to make her see what her brother really was.
A dark thought crossed the priest's mind, what if they were in league? What if this reckless gamble was for nothing? There was no way in hell Father Jordan was going to do the wolf's bidding. No, Father Jordan was not going to be someone else's puppet there was a way to play the game to survive, he wasn't becoming the wolf's errand boy. No doubt the wolf would eventually use someone else and Father Jordan's secrets would be exposed, The Wolf scared him, but a mob of angry rioters scared him more.
The wolf had made a fatal error, Father Jordan acted like the helpless victim but now it was time to do, what Father Jordan did best.
Be the Snitch.
He was too late.
The anxious priest arrived too late, to find a few Journalists scurrying around the building, he received the news pretty quickly Stacy had been murdered by her own brother along with a forensic. The bodies were still in the office, Father Jordan saw them both as the gory sight washed over his eyes. Offering a silent prayer for the red-head Journalist and the forensic, the local priest departed from the office.
Then he learnt why they died, the Domesday report.
Father Jordan read the paper in a surreal fashion, his secrets, his fling with Amelia, her pregnancy, what he had done to stop it from becoming public, his status as a snitch, his greed and corruption, all of this was already out there. The Journalists in this building now knew this information and soon the whole of Wellington would too.
"Hey, you alright?" One Journalist asked, his voice edged however with a tint of hostility, now that he knew the type of man his priest really was.
"Forgive me" Father Jordan croaked "I have sinned"
"Haven't we all?" The Journalist responded flatly, he picked up a copy of the paper, he sighed before flinging it to the floor once again, "Say Father, why are you here?" he suddenly asked "Priests don't just show up in the middle of the night" and Father Jordan knew what else he wanted to say, of all the nights he could have turned up, why tonight? Why the very night in the last hours before the storm hit the entire population of Wellington.
"I came to give information, to the editor" Father Jordan responded. What he knew about the airborne virus was already in the paper. The Immune survivor was confirmed as Oscar Williamson, but how the hell Father Jordan was meant to get some vials of blood from him was beyond his reasoning. The Wolf must have used this "Cult" mentioned on the back page to spy on everyone, "That's how the bastard knew!" Father Jordan seethed to himself, Trevor Moore had contacts in high places indeed.
"Information of...?" The Journalist left the question hanging.
"The one thing you don't have in here" Father Jordan responded, he stood up as he said it. His knees felt shaky and his world was spinning, but he took a brave gulp of oxygen because he knew what he had to do next. "The identity of Wellington Wolf, his Trevor Moore"
The Journalist blinked in surprise "How do you know this?" he inquired.
"He threatened me with death, so I kept quiet" Father Jordan explained "But I could tell by his voice that it matched Trevor's, it must be why he killed Stacy, he didn't want that paper out there giving him infamy. He wanted a low profile as he already knew he was guilty, his sister must not have known this fact. Moore had his own agenda and... and I think he wants to save Wellington from this airborne strain of the virus, because he asked me to get vials of the Immune... I mean, Oscar Williamson's blood. But Trevor is mad, he is deluded he thinks he can save everyone by murdering innocents, by smuggling walkers into Wellington just to test if survivors are immune, the cult must have helped him, but the fact remains, Trevor Moore is the Wellington Wolf, it may not be the paper but tell everyone you know that" and it was with that final instruction that the determined priest swept past the Journalist, but not before the curious Journalist could enquire further.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"To Kill the wolf and atone for my sins" Father Jordan responded, leaving a silence in his wake as he left the building.
He knew where Trevor lived, that would be his first destination. Father Jordan got into his car and sighed, wondering how on earth he was meant to actually kill the wolf, he didn't have a gun. He wasn't a policeman nor a watchman on the wall, those were the only people allowed access to guns. Some criminals probably ran amok in the streets with guns too, but Father Jordan wasn't that violent a criminal. All he had were a few sharp knives, and Trevor had a gun and God knows what else.
To the priest, this was a suicide mission, but the paper was already out there. He'd be ripped to shreds, unless he actually did something to redeem himself and he could imagine the admiration he would receive if he was the slayer of the wolf.
It was a long-shot, but Father Jordan either killed the wolf, or he died. In this game, he guess you won or you died, there was no middle ground.
and right now with the paper out there his name was in ruin.
Time to go from Ruin To Redemption.
Tim had snuck back in the house, just as the morning sun peaked over the horizon he had mustered up every sort of bravery he could muster, to walk back towards that house and face his group once again. He expected they'd all be awake now and that they'd wonder where he was, yet to the African american sheer relief everyone still seemed to be dozing upstairs. He managed to put some clothes back on, he was as quiet as a mouse. Yet his mind was still plagued with worries.
How could Stacy ditch him like that?
Stacy... he... he was so stupid to believe that a girl like her would want anything to do with a guy like him. He was such a fucking idiot, he had deluded himself into thinking it was love. When he should have known from the start she was using him for her own ends, if he had thought more with his head and not his private parts. He wouldn't be in this situation, right now and now Stacy knew that Oscar was immune and that would be in the next week's paper. He tried to remember what day the paper came out on...
His heart stopped.
It was today.
He raced to the front porch of their house to find the newspaper usually at the front of the house, it was gone.
Panicking now, he raced back inside and tore into the living room, he saw a curtain of curly blonde hair draped behind the largest couch, he should have known. Terri was a morning bird, she always woke up hours before anyone else, right now she turned to face a clearly terrified Tim.
"I was wondering" she said "How long it would take you too notice that I'm here"
Tim took a shaky step towards her, to his heart stopping horror, he saw the daily copy of the Wellington Weekly curled up in Terri's fingers, he couldn't fathom any words but he finally managed to stutter "G-give, me the p-paper..."
"No" Was Terri's damming verdict.
"Please" Tim begged.
"I know you were fucking that editor of the paper" Terri began "You told her Oscar was Immune, now the whole of Wellington knows too, added that to the fact the cult are here and spying on us..."
"WHAT!?" Tim exploded.
"It's all over" Terri's stare was usually terrifying but right now Tim kept his eyes firmly on the ground, as Terri made a strange sort of laugh from where she was seated on the couch, "It's funny isn't it? Fourth day of school and Wellington is already fucked, you know the virus is airborne too? Just thought I'd mention that"
"Need... paper..." Tim began in a deluded fashion, aware of himself stumbling towards the crumpled copy of the Wellington Weekly.
"Stay back" Terri instructed calmly, when Tim refused to acknowledge her words, she pulled out the large knife she had taken from JJ earlier, she pointed it dangerously towards Tim who seemed to freeze in his tracks, Terri cold glare freezing his bones in place as he lower lip wobbled, never had Terri seen someone look so utterly pathetic.
"I could kill you" she droned, as if she were at an ordinary office job and not in tense situation "But, why rob your brother of that right?"
"Terri..." Tim was pleading now, tears about to burst over his eyelids.
"GUYS!" Terri shrieked in her loudest and most high pitched tone, the reaction was instant Tim heard the creaking of bedsprings above him, he heard the first footsteps from the celling as they pit patted across the floor upstairs...
Without thinking Tim dived at Terri knocking her down to the ground as he desperately tried to wrestle the paper out of her hands, Terri's knife slid under a nearby sofa, but before a struggle could even become apparent there was a yell and Tim felt the air get knocked out of him. He rolled onto his back to find a furious and red faced Brandon towering over him.
"What the fuck?" he spat "Don't fucking hurt my sister!"
He must have sprinted down the stairs at lighting speed upon hearing his sister's panicked yell, indeed it was a full 5 seconds before the rest of the group even appeared at the top of the stairs before clambering down the narrow things, all of them still in their sleeping gear and all look disgruntled and sleepy as they rubbed their eyelids, as Tom stepped forwards and asked the Rogers siblings "S'matter?"
Upon seeing his twin, Tim eyes found the floor as he tensed up, not preparing for any of this at all.
"Read it" Terri instructed thrusting the paper at Tom, who took it and soon as he unfolded it and he saw Oscar's name printed down for the world to see, along with the fact he was immune... it was more than enough to cause several shocked gasps.
"How?" Ana barely mouthed the word, as Oscar went a shade paler than he already was.
"Read it" Terri instructed again "Read every word out loud"
It was over.
Tim lay there not bothering to get up as his brother read through everything... each word being a stab to Tim's already frail stomach he didn't dare utter a word or look up at the group. He was even afraid to move in case it angered them. No one reacted or said a word when details about his affair with Stacy came out, Tom read on his voice not changing in the slightest and this scared Tim even more. No one reacted at the other news either the cult spying on them, the airborne virus and the Domesday report, obviously Tom didn't read every single person in the report, in fact he skimmed over a few, read the last page and put the paper down.
The silence was overbearing, Tom stood up and Tim saw his brother's bare feet approaching him. Tom couldn't bear it he had too look to face his brother.
"YOU FUCKING RETARDED PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT! YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Tom exploded, in a sort of shrill scream that made everyone else in the room flinch uncomfortably, Tim cried in pain as his brother kicked the life out of him, each powerful foot leaving blood trailing down Tim's head, or leaving a bruise on his stomach.
"STOP THIS!" Maria screamed, the Mexican woman (by some magical means) managing too hold Tom back, it was only then the others seemed to come to life, as they helped Maria to hold back the raging lion who came in the form of Tom. Tim's twin would have probably killed him had the group not intervened and that wasn't even a joke.
"The cult, fucking airborne virus and this!" Ana shrieked, jabbing a finger at Tim in hatred, "EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" she roared at him.
"a..." was the only word that came out of Tim's mouth before he was blocked off by a dozen shouts.
"SHUT UP, JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Brandon spat at him.
"GAME OVER, IT'S GAME OVER! WERE FUCKING DOOMED!" Luis bellowed with the force of a bullet.
"We have to hide, when people see this..." Maria was stating, the room seemed to fall quiet again as Tim found his shaky voice as he dared mutter "I was... I was trying to help us. I was trying to help us gain money off her so we wouldn't fall into poverty! I know, I've been an idiot" he stated sadly "and I don't expect to be forgiven..."
"Damn straight you ain't!" Wilbert ranted "Fucking darky can't be trusted, I knew it all along..." yet Wilbert's ranting was so common now that it was (in a strange way) soothing to Tim's ears. At least Wilbert wasn't that mad with him, because Wilbert was treating him the same as he always did.
"I... I just..." Tim began once again.
"Out" came a single snarl.
Tim looked up at his twin who had uttered that word of hatred.
"OUT!" He bellowed, once again sending a ripple of discomfort across the room, Tim gulped and looked at his brother's face which was scrunched up in hatred.
"His... his your brother Tom. Don't do this" Maria pleaded weakly for Tim's defence.
"His nothing to me now" was Tom's cold response, something about this made Tim lose what ever sort of restraint he had left, as he found himself blurting out all of the emotions he had bottled up for so long.
"I TRIED!" He screamed, drawing all attention to him "HAVE YOU ALL FUCKING FORGOTTEN, HOW LONG I LED YOU!? KEPT YOU TOGETHER!? TRIED TO POSITIVE!? I KEPT US ALL GLUED TOGETHER AND EVEN HERE IN WELLINGTON I TRIED TO HELP US AND I TRIED SO HARD... I DID LOADS OF STUPID FUCKING THINGS, I KNOW THAT ALREADY RIGHT!? BUT I TRIED TO HELP US LIVE HERE! WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL STILL ACTING LIKE WERE OUT THERE, WITH THE WALKERS! YOU'RE ALL SO DISTRUSTFUL OF ONE ANOTHER AND THE ATMOSPHERE ALWAYS SEEMS... TOXIC! I TRIED TO HELP! THAT'S ALL I WAS DOING, BUT YOU PEOPLE NEVER APPRECIATE IT! NEVER! LOOK AT THAT DOMESDAY REPORT, I'M NOT THE ONLY FUCK UP HERE, YOU ALL ARE! ALL THIS CAME OUT BECAUSE WE CAN'T BE A GROUP! NO ONE SUPPORTED ME! YET I SUPPORTED YOU, JUST... JUST THINK ABOUT THAT!"
Tim finished his outburst panting heavily, leaving another silence across the room, would they all hate him now? Defiantly but Tim didn't care for now he had nothing else to lose.
A few approaching shouts from outside seemed to fill the void in the house, as JJ cautiously went to peer out of the window, that was before there was a sudden shattering of glass and a large brick flew through the air, sending shards of glass with it, the brick skidded right up to Terri's feet and the shouts suddenly became much more distinguishable.
"FUCKING TRAITORS!"
"GIVE US OSCAR!"
"PUSSIES!"
"YOU DOOMED US ALL! GIVE US OSCAR!"
"WE'LL DIE OF THIS AIRBORNE SHIT! GIVE US THE IMMUNE GUY!"
"Gather what you can" Tom's voice was shaking as another window shattered in an opposite room, "and get out the back, don't stop running for anything" these instructions were met instantly as the rioters approached the house at an ever faster pace, it was already starting as the crowd approaching the house grew in number, those flocking out of nearby houses to join the chant of hatred, those that had read the paper and now knew the truth.
Tim lay on the floor, aching from Tom's beating he didn't expect to go with his group. So he could certainly say he was surprised when someone tapped at his head with the sole of his foot, looking up Tim saw Tom's stern face above his own.
"I'm coming with you?" was all Tim asked, rather surprised by this gesture.
"You're not forgiven" Tom growled, however he helped his twin brother to his feet, as he added "But I don't want you dead".
and with that an ashamed Tim lingered at the back of the group as they sprinted out of the back of their house, maybe his outburst had some sort of effect on them. Maybe they would finally start acting like a group for once, either way he promised he would never, ever fuck up again. He would kill anyone who threatened his group and he meant anyone, even anyone that appeared to be a threat to them. Tim knew he would shoot them without a moment's hesitation.
Because no one, not one of his group was going to die because of his error.
JJ meanwhile was telling the group that he knew a place they could hide for a while, he remembered Sarah mentioning a tree on a small hill, he had seen that hill before and knew where it was located and Sarah mentioned that her house was right in front of the hill.
Oscar meanwhile looked back, the riot had started and he was the epicentre of it, should he have been running with Ana by his side?Her sword tight in her hands she had sworn to protect Oscar from any sort of harm, yet Oscar wondered if he was worth the trouble. Did he really want to see his friends die to protect him?
He ran on for now, but he knew this was simply an illusion of freedom, his secret was out.
He was already a dead man walking.
Clementine and the group were bustling around in the kitchen, preparing for another school and work day. Rebecca lay back on the sofa Eddie seemed rather eager to go on the school run today, she asked him what the cause of this was, he sheepishly replied that he enjoyed the walk. Which she translated that he'd probably come across a teacher he liked the look of, it was probably Violet Moore, the redhead who was the youngest and prettiest teacher at Lilly and AJ's school.
"AJ tells me you were chatting with Miss Moore yesterday" Rebecca informed Eddie, Eddie shot a glare at a grinning AJ, before returning his gaze to Rebecca.
"Well, she seemed nice" Eddie mumbled, as Molly walked past them, munching on an green apple (her form of breakfast) she overheard Eddie's comment the blonde woman rolled her eyes.
"Nice in bed?" she muttered, these three words were enough to make Eddie turn as red as tomato.
"N..n...no... nothing like that" was his poor recovery.
"What's going on?" came the curious inquiry from Sarah, who had picked up on the situation. Molly grinned in victory there was nothing better than using Sarah's innocent mind for her own form of entertainment, as the blonde woman merely muttered "Oh, Eddie's got a girlfriend, we just learnt she's pregnant"
"Eddie's got a girlfriend!" Sarah exclaimed loudly enough for the whole kitchen to hear "and your having a baby together! Cool!" Sarah mused, as every head turned towards an embarrassed Eddie, to further add to the confusion Lilly turned to Nick who asked "Oh, so does that mean I get a new friend now?"
"Erm no, Molly's just joking" Nick told her, it took a short while to clear the confusion, at which put Molly was laughing hard enough anyway, she had her entertainment. Rebecca scalded her "You shouldn't keep joking like that" she snapped "It will confuse the kids" yet Molly really didn't give two shits, she needed something to lighten up her day before she spent it pulling up weeds in a field.
Clementine meanwhile was busy munching on some dried toast, she had barely gotten any sleep last night, thinking of what school would be like today. What she would say to Luis today or how she could get the upper hand on Scott or Lizzie. Or what stupid thing Miss King would do... either way she was tired. Sarah was scribbling away in her private diary last night. Clementine pretended she was asleep but she heard the Hispanic girl enter and begin to write away, she only wondered what on earth had happened between her and Nick to make her update her diary so fast, it must have been something relevant.
Clementine looked up at Sarah as they both smiled at each other, Clementine remembering those moments on the hill last night and how it made her happy just thinking about it now, she would stick by Sarah today in school. Seeing as JJ was suspended for two weeks and then...
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK
Frequent and urgent knocking on their front door suddenly seemed to catch the group's attention, Luke looked back at the group as they all approached the door in curiosity.
"Hmm, I didn't think Gertrude was an early bird" Luke muttered to himself, usually the only person to visit their house was Gertrude, seeing as she only lived next door and would come around every so often, but Luke never saw her come around this early.
He opened the door to find 10, complete unfamiliar faces gazing back at him, they looked terrified.
"Is... is erm Sarah in?" one blonde boy asked.
"Yeah" Luke replied, shooting this group a very odd look indeed "Erm, what do y'all want?" Luke made no attempt to cover the suspicion lingering in his voice to find ten strangers camped outside of his house. They all looked over their shoulders nervously as if afraid to be seen, the second Sarah came into vision. The blonde boy yelled "Sarah!" as Sarah smile lit up the house "JJ!" she mused.
"Brilliant you know each other" a black woman responded dryly, and then (before Luke could stop him) a large African man at the front of the group shoved the southern man out of the way.
"HEY!" Luke yelled.
"We need to hole up here a while" was all the man said, as this new group suddenly just seemed to barge right into their hallway, the twin of the man at the front of the group quietly closed the door behind him. JJ greeted Sarah, but Sarah noticed that he seemed unnaturally nervous and one thing both Luke and Sarah picked up about this group was that they were all dressed in their sleeping gear.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Tom yelled, as he burst into the main living area of the house, causing many too look up in surprise "Were hiding here for a while, you know the drill, get those windows covered, doors blocked..."
"What the actual fuck!?" Nick shouted, standing up and approaching the large African american man.
"It's you" Luis growled, glaring openly at Nick, as Nick glared back at him, it was then Nick realised this was the group of ten whose house was attacked by that walker a few days back and if what Trevor said was true then... they had a immune survivor with them. Nick eyes rolled naturally towards Oscar.
"Luis" Clementine said.
"Clementine" he replied.
"Tom, Tim, Oscar?" Eddie muttered.
Oscar waved back at him silently.
"Oh it's you" Stephanie snarled, glaring at Wilbert.
"Hate too see you too" was his grouchy reply.
"What the hell is going on here!" Luke exclaimed, bursting onto the scene, as Tom turned him and muttered "You haven't read the paper yet?"
"Well, no..."
He thrust the paper at Luke, who picked it up, but it was on the wrong side as he saw the cult make the headline on the back page. He shouted (for his whole group to hear) "THE CULT!? WHAT THE FUCK!"
"What?" Clementine sprang up, not liking this news in the slightest.
"That's right, the damn cult are back" Tom growled as he felt free to take a seat on their couch to rest his aching legs.
Luke looked back at him blankly.
"Y-you know about the cult as well?" he asked.
"Erm yeah..." Sarah spoke up, as she looked at the ground "I meant to tell you guys, JJ and his group came across the group as well, but I kinda forgot..."
The two groups looked over at each other.
There was a lot of explaining to do.
