Consequences
Disclaimer: I do not own Warm Bodies or anything related.
A/N: Surprise! Because I'm awesome, I decided to upload my new chapter at 2AM! XD Now carry on!
The next morning, R found himself laying motionless on his rickety old bed in his apartment. Various boxes and things were strewn around the room, things M and Nora had helped bring back from his "jet-house" that he had yet to go through. He had decided a lot of it he would give to the city, but there were a few keepsakes he wanted. He stared at the boxes without actually seeing them. Last night he had a nightmare, one of the many 'perks' of dreaming again. He had killed Julie in his dreams. Instead of absorbing Perry's memories, he had seen only his draining life and had then brutally attacked and killed Julie. He took a deep, shaky breath and let it out.
A knock on his door roused him from his grim thoughts and he glanced over at the door. It was probably Nora or something, coming to get him to go see Julie or something. A part of himself smiled. Nora had become a pretty good friend, seemed to look out for him almost as much as she looked out of Julie. Despite her jokes about 'wanting him', he knew how much Nora supported his and Julie's budding relationship. Another scowl marred his face. He still felt uneasy about being near Julie, despite Julie insisting she didn't give a rat's ass about his concern that he might hurt her and that he was stuck with her. A smile threatened to spill forth from him at her fiery determination. Talk about roller coaster emotions...
The knock was more demanding this time, so R pulled himself off the bed, kicking a box out of his way and trudging toward the door. He was more than a lot surprised to find John Grigio standing there, holding a pair of shotguns. R glanced at the weapons and then nodded solemnly. "Please, do it... do it quick..." he muttered, closing his eyes. He only hoped Julie would be able to move on.
"What?" John blinked at him in confusion. "You think- no! No, son, I'm not going to shoot you," John told him, shaking his head. "What's in your head, boy?" John sighed. He supposed R had a reason to think that he wanted him dead, and again felt guilty about that. "I came here because... because I decided to give you another chance," he told him. R's eyes opened and he stared at the older man incredulously. "You wanted to prove yourself, right? Well here's your chance," John roughly pushed one of the shotguns into R's hands. "Meet up at city central to get geared up, we're going on a Boney hunt," he told him.
R was surprised at himself for accepting whatever fate decided for him. He didn't want to die, but knew he deserved it. He had done... horrible things, and eating a bullet sounded about as much as he deserved. A part of him accepted this, but he also wanted desperately to live, wanted to love, wanted to be human again. He wanted what he had been denied for who knew how long. He wanted to make amends, to redeem himself. He hadn't expected John to actually offer him a chance to do this. "I..." R didn't know what to say. He had been sure after everything that John would want him gone. "I don't know how..." R glanced at the weapon uneasily.
"It's easy, I'll show you when you're getting geared up. Ten minutes," John told him, then left. R stared down at the tool of death and sighed. He really didn't want to kill anymore, anything at all... but then, part of him really wanted to help get rid of those damn dried up skeletons. Besides, if this helped R earn John's trust, then he'd be willing to give it a shot. As he made his way out, after having cleaned up and gotten dressed, he spotted a fading poster. Squinting his eyes and trying to remember what Julie had taught him, he tried reading what it said. Love conquers all darkness.
...Love?
And then R remembered what Julie had told him last night. She loved him, was in love with him. This memory of her holding him close, whispering the words he had yearned to hear from her, made his smile reach his eyes. Maybe fate had something altogether different in store for him? Yes, he would kill again, he would help John hunt down those Boneys. He would do it because he wanted to give Julie a world she would be safe and happy in.
When John met up with R again, he noticed a change in him. There was that familiar fire in his eyes, the look of conviction. John could tell some of his men were surprised to see R, some of them even looked a bit angry, but no one said a thing, not even when John began to show R how to hold a shotgun properly. John just hoped they wouldn't try anything stupid out in the field.
"Are you sure you haven't used a weapon like this before?" John questioned, his brow rising suspiciously.
"I... I don't remember," R shook his head. It did feel almost natural though. Had he been a survivor or something before dying? Had he belonged to a group that went on food hunts? Fighting zombies and Boneys off with rifles? It made him sick to think of how that would have ended up. Had he become a zombie and eaten his former group? Or what? Part of him wished he could remember, but the other desperately hoped he wouldn't. John handed R protective gear, not that it could do much against Boneys, but it was mostly used in case of hostile humans.
As they left the protective walls of the city, R was relieved to find Kevin in the group, who nodded to him in greeting. The group was mostly made up of men, but there were a few tough looking women there too, a few even in their teens. John didn't seem to discriminate between men and women when it came to protecting the city. It was an admirable quality, though some would question it. It was also dangerous. Women could potentially distract the men or influence them to drastic measures to protect them. An inner, primal drive. But John had taught his own daughter to be a capable warrior, he would be damned if the rest couldn't defend themselves just as well.
The group walked on in silence, watching their corners and glaring into shadows. The city was eerily quiet as always, made even more ominous from the lack of zombie groans. It was just dead silent. "God, what I'd give for a zombie attack or something right now..." a nervous man said. R felt slightly indignant at the man's words, but he understood his sentiment. Even he was a bit nervous as they carried on. It was disheartening to realize just how many of the men and women there seemed to distrust him, keeping some distant from him, but R didn't blame them either.
"Sir!" One of the teens of the group whispered urgently. "I saw movement, there!" He pointed into a dark alley. The group stopped and formed a tight circle like formation. R felt embarrassed as Kevin grabbed him and placed him in the proper spot. The man was only trying to help but R only wished he could blend better with them. He supposed it would take time before he learned their formations, rules, and lingo. He knew well that the hopefully coming end of the undead threat was not the only threat. Humans could be just as sick and monstrous as the dead who hunted them. He had caught men abusing a women several times before when he had been a zombie. He always seemed to go for the men first though, ripping their throats open. He had always meant to spare the women, but back then he had been driven by the deep and ugly impulse to devour to stop himself. Suddenly R felt very sick. Memories like that were the kind he wished he couldn't remember so well.
The group slowly made their way into the alley, guns pointing behind them, ahead of them, and above them. No one seemed to bother pointing below them however. The group was completely caught off guard when a half dozen Boneys spilled forth from a manhole, rushing at them from their hideout in the sewers. Had they always been this crafty? What made them move and behave the way they did? Why were they so drastically different from the zombies they had been before? Was it just another progression of the virus? Whatever it was, they seemed to be driven far greater now with the intent to kill.
"Oh God! Get it off me!" One of the teenager squealed, having lost his weapon when it rammed into him. All around the soldiers were attacked at all angles as the Boneys scaled the alley ladders and tried to cut them off.
"Stay together!" John yelled, blasting the Boney off of the fallen young soldier. The group pressed together in a tight formation again and even R managed to blast one of the Boneys' head. The Boneys seemed particularly interested in ripping into him, but he didn't care, as long as it kept their attention on him and not on-
"Shit!" Kevin screamed as one of the Boneys yanked him and one of the women from the group. Without thinking, R charged in to help him. He slammed his body into the Boney before it could bite the girl, sending it flying into the building. R raised his shotgun, but it slapped it out of his hands. He dodged a swipe and punched it in the head. The Boney staggered, but it was just enough time for R to grab his shotgun again and blast the horror's skull in. Kevin nodded in thanks to him and together with the other soldier they ran back, helping the rest of the group.
"No!" One of the Boneys managed to latch it's jaw into one of the veteran soldiers of the group.
"Sam!" John yelled angrily and kicked the Boney in the head. He slammed the but of his weapon against it, knocking it down, and then shot it twice in the head.
"K-Kill me!" 'Sam' requested, tears running down his eyes.
"Wait!" R jumped in front of John and the man. "He'll be fine," he said, then turned to the man. "We'll get you better," R insisted to him. If others could cure themselves from being zombies, surely this man could as well?
John paused for a moment before pulling out a rope used for pulling down rotting walls in the way, and tied the man up. "This is for yours and our protection, son," he told him. There were at least three Boneys left. R saw one of them drag one of the men into the sewers and leapt to try to grab him, but didn't make it on time. "Look out!" John yelled. R turned and saw two Boneys rushing toward him. R got to his feet quickly and dodged them. One of them turned sharply and grabbed another soldier, another teenager, and used R's distraction on the other Boney to pull him into the sewer as well.
"No!" R growled, using his shotgun like one would use a bat and slamming the Boney keeping down away from him. He gathered his nerve, then jumped into the manhole after the Boney.
"R!" John yelled, but was distracted by the remaining two Boneys to do anything. Kevin shot one in the head, and another soldier managed to off the other. That left two in the sewers with R... The group rushed to the manhole, pointing their guns into the gaping black hole and hesitated. The lights of their weapons barely penetrated the darkness.
"Should we-" Kevin began to ask, but stopped when they heard muffled sounds of gunfire and splashes, followed by very angry screeches. "Shit, we should go down there and help!"
"That would be too dangerous. It's too tight down there for all of us," John shook his head.
"Fuck. I hope the light on that weapon is enough!" One of the men muttered. Some rifles they used had flashlights all but taped onto them crudely. There was a few minutes of agonizing silence before they started hearing someone coming up. Their weapons ready, they held their breath. When R's head popped up out of the hole they all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. They all readily went to help him out and were even more surprised when the two other soldiers appeared behind him. R collapsed heavily on the wall of one of the buildings, his eyes closed as he took deep breaths. The other two had a few scratches, one of them had a vicious looking bite in his shoulder and arm though. That man wouldn't make it, he was losing too much blood.
While the others tended to their injured and their dying comrade, John walked over to R and paused. R's clothes were ripped and he had lacerations in several places. "Did any of them..?" John trailed off. R shook his head slowly.
"I wasn't bitten but..." he panted slightly. "I don't think... I would turn again... anyway..." he said, out of breath. He at least hoped he was immune to the virus now! The fight against the two Boneys had been brutal. It was fortunate he knew how they moved fairly well. It was also fortunate he knew how to think like they did, knew the drive they felt and which points of his body they would try to bite. Even so, it was probably one of the most frightening experiences he ever put himself through.
"You killed them both?" John questioned with an impressed look in his eyes. When R nodded again and felt not at all a small amount of respect toward the young man. R had dived into the sewers after the men. One of them had even been from the couple of soldiers that had initially glared at him and mistrusted him. R had rescued them at the expense of his own life. John had severely misjudged the boy.
Meanwhile, since the hunting party had left, another party had formed with an altogether different mission. Led by Scott, he and his men crept toward the 'healing' zombie's 'lair' with not so honorable intent, unless you asked them. They had lured some of the 'corpses' out with friendly smiles and kind words, taking them some ways into the city, before killing them. By the time the skies began to darken that day, a few dozen 'reborn' had been slaughtered. The men returned to camp laughing and boasting to each other. Two patrolling men near the wall had heard them. "Kill them!" Scott hissed at his men, not wanting anyone to find out what he did, what he would be doing. For the good of the city. One of the men fell, but the other ran into the bar, halting Scott's men. Scott scowled angrily, this would not bode well for him.
Elsewhere, John led his group back home, noting how tired and sore everyone was. Maybe this hunt wasn't such a good idea. If they stuck to themselves for a while, wouldn't the Boneys just die off by themselves? John sighed inwardly. But no, he couldn't be soft on them now. Surely there couldn't be that many more Boneys in that city, right? John allowed the guard to perform infection tests on them. They had brought Sam, still tied up with them, and John insisted the guards stay out of it when they protested. No one would argue with John Grigio. Well, almost.
While John requested a couple of the less injured or exhausted men to lead Sam to the recovering zombies, hoping they knew how to help better than them, he led the rest back to central command. When they got there, there was a commotion going on, people yelling at each other, two groups of men shouting, some even fighting each other. "What the fuck is going on here?!" John demanded in a booming voice. The men settled down and turned to look at their leader. One of the soldiers, a particularly tough woman, pushed another toward John.
"Tell him!" She demanded.
"Tell me what?" John frowned at the nervous looking young man.
"Scott and his men..." the man began. "They killed Ricky."
"What?" John walked closer to the man, his brows furrowing deeper. "What do you mean they killed him?"
"Me and him were patrolling the wall earlier and we heard them talking. They went over to that place where zombies, or uh former zombies or whatever are staying, lured some out and killed them," the man explained, seeing his leader turning red. "Uh, um well, we ran and they tried to kill us. They shot Ricky in the back with a silenced pistol but I managed to run into the Orchard."
"Find Scott! Bring him here!" John said to the room. Several of the soldiers ran off to do his bidding. "Get some rest," John told the man gruffly. He glanced over at R, who was standing some ways behind him with a shocked and sick look on his face. It wasn't that hard to imagine how the young man felt. Probably about as bad as John would feel if some of his own people were dragged off and murdered too. R probably knew some of the people that Scott and his men killed. Fresh anger rippled through John as his jaw set, waiting impatiently for his men to find the bastard.
When Scott got there, the man had the gall to look completely comfortable. He strolled up to John and cross his arms, raising a brow as if he was doing something important and John was bothering him. "What do you want, Grigio?" Scott muttered.
"You better have a pretty good explanation for murdering people, Scott" John blew up.
"Murder?! People?! I didn't murder anything! I finished killing half-dead freaks!" Scott yelled back.
"They were alive!" John howled. "How can you justify a massacre like that so easily!" John wasn't blind to the fact that this man was acting very much like John had not too long ago. Maybe Scott no longer had a child worth changing for, maybe he didn't know R as well as he did, didn't see the miraculous change. Maybe John could see himself in Scott and was angry at what he saw. This furious anger he felt, John knew was not just because of the horrible things that Scott had done.
"They're monsters! They're just waiting for us to let our guard down!"
Not this time, he wouldn't do that again. Those people might have been monsters at one point, but killing even one of them would be like killing R... and the boy was starting to grow on him. "I don't care if they're still undead or not! At least they're changing! Those 'half-dead' are less monster than you are! You're the one that's killing unprovoked, at least zombies only killed because they needed food!" John yelled.
"You're a damn fool, Grigio!" Scott spat.
"And you're out of here! You and your men! Get out of this city! Don't let me fucking catch you anywhere near here again!" John snarled, his face as red as blood.
"You're making a mistake, John," Scott growled.
"The only mistake I ever made was letting you stay in this city, Scott. I should have left you to your scavenging when I found you," John snapped.
Scott spat at John's feet. He turned to his men and nodded to them, roughly shoving passed John on his way out. Scott stopped by R and glared at him. "I know what you did to Tommy, you undead freak. He's in a coma now you little fuck. Just 'cause I'm leaving don't mean I won't able to keep my eye on you, corpse. You better watch your back from now on. One of these days you're gunna wind up with a well deserved bullet in your head," Scott sneered, then walked away with his followers.
John took a couple minutes to calm down, bracing his fists on his waist, he took deep breaths, then turned to his men. "If you have any problem with helping former dead with their rebirth, accepting them as people and welcoming them back into society, you're free to leave with Scott," he said, pointing toward the direction of the gate. "The exit is that way." He waited, watching just barely a handful of the people there walk off. It was fortunate how many people decided to stay, most of the men and women were loyal to John and beyond feeling that John knew best, felt what they were trying to accomplish was right.
John nodded to his people and let them go, then turned to R again. "Don't pay Scott and his lackeys any mind. You did a good job today, son. Go get yourself looked at," John pat R's shoulder in a friendly manner before turning and walking toward his office, leaving R and a lot of his men speechless. As R made his way out, he was shocked to discover that they all looked at him with something akin to respect and acceptance. At least, those who stayed did.
"Great job, man," Kevin smiled at R, nodding to him with respect as he made his way out.
"Thanks a bunch, R," another man nodded as well.
"Yeah, glad you were with us, man!" One of the soldiers actually reached over and pat him on the shoulder too. R felt himself blushing and ducked his head slightly, smiling at them and nodding back. He had never felt so welcomed. They had accepted him, he had proven himself in their eyes. He felt so much relief that he barely felt his wounds. He barely felt the pain of knowing some of the people he might have known, well, as zombies anyway, were now permanently gone. Somehow though, he knew M wouldn't have been naive enough to be lured out. He knew his friend was okay. Once he stepped outside, he was met by the eager faces of his friend and his love.
"R!" Julie, with Nora's help, limped over to him. "Oh my God what happened?" She asked, seeing his hair and clothes caked in blood. She struggled out of Nora's grasp, stumbling slightly as she forced herself to move toward him. She didn't care how much blood got on her, she fell into his embrace and hugged him tight. His arms went around her and it was all she cared about. He was home and he was alive. She hadn't known where he had disappeared to that morning, until one of the guards told her he had gone with John on a hunt. To say she was flabbergasted would be an understatement.
"I went on a hunt with your dad..." R explained, his arms pulling her closer, cocoooning her against him. "I might have gotten carried away?" He smiled weakly. No need to tell her exactly how much danger he had put himself in. "Don't worry, it looks worse than it is," he insisted. When she nodded and just held him, he sighed inwardly in content, feeling a different kind of relief with Julie in his arms.
After a few minutes of just standing there, Nora decided it was enough of a reunion for now. "Come on. To the infirmary with you!" She declared, and led them to the medical tent.
It was a relief as well to find out that he didn't have quite as many scrapes and injuries as he first appeared. The ones he did have looked more like scratches on the surface of his skin than anything else. There were a couple deep gashes that had to be covered in gauze, but for the most part, once he was cleaned up, he didn't look quite so horrible. Fortunately, he healed so quickly that they would probably fade pretty quick anyway. He wished everyone could heal as quickly as he seemed to. Again he wondered why that was. Could it be the same type of energy that made him a zombie? But something else? He had felt something in him turn inside out when he had finally become human again... could the virus reverse itself somehow? Was it really that simple? It was probably something to bring to Martinez' attention some time.
Later on, Nora and Julie accompanied R to his apartment, intending on helping him unpack and decorate the place. He showed them in and helped Julie sit on his bed, despite her protests that she was capable of opening boxes and sorting through them. To appease her, R grabbed one of the boxes and set it by her feet. She rolled her eyes but smiled at him and opened it. While they looked through the boxes, sorting out what stayed with R and what would go to the city storage, R told them what had happened. He told them how when he left Julie's house, John had stopped him. John had apologized and that morning, had offered him a way to earn his respect.
"So what happened?" Nora asked curiously, sitting between two open boxes on the floor, a bit of dust on her cheek.
"We went into the city to search for a hive. Boneys have them too," R explained. "We made it down an alley when we were attacked... the Boneys had set a trap for us," he frowned. "I think they're getting desperate now," he muttered more to himself than to the girls. "We fought them off but two of the soldiers were taken... down to the sewers. I jumped in after them and fought off the Boneys... I didn't get bitten, but it wasn't an easy fight." R glanced up at Julie and saw the worry knitting her brows together. Luckily, she didn't make a big deal about it... for now.
"Then you came back?" Julie asked.
"Yeah, but we stopped by the center to put gear away. That's when we learned what Scott and his followers did... to the recovering dead," he frowned, glaring at the floor. "Scott and his men killed a lot of people while we were gone."
"What! Seriously? Was that what all the yelling was about?!" Julie's brows furrowed.
"Your dad kicked him and his men out," R nodded.
"I'm so sorry, R," Nora muttered.
"It's done," R shook his head. "I just hope..." he trailed off with a frown.
Julie and Nora glanced at each other. "I'm sure M is okay," Julie smiled hopefully.
"So anyway, now that those bastards are gone, maybe we can move the others into the city?" Nora suggested.
"Maybe. We'll probably have to deal with Scott and his lackeys bothering us though, that and the remaining Boneys in the city," Julie turned to look out R's window, a shadow falling over her face.
"Julie?" R probed quietly.
"..." Julie remained silent for a moment before shaking her head to at him and offering him a small smile. The 'attack' was still fresh in her thoughts too. She could almost still see that Boney still deliberately making her feel pain. She shuddered.
"You know," R began, trying to change the subject again. "I noticed a lot of people still... well, afraid of me," he began. "The soldiers I was with on the hunt I mean."
"That sucks, R," Nora frowned.
"It did. But I guess after I went after the two men taken by the... Boneys... I must have earned their respect or something. They seemed to... accept me, when we got back home," he smiled a little.
"I'm happy, R," Julie said, finally turning to look back at them from her horrible spot somewhere down in memory lane.
"I'm pretty sure people are still afraid of me though..." R said sadly.
"I'm not," Julie retorted immediately, looking him straight in the eye. "I would trust you with my life, R. I'm sure others will come to see what a sweet guy you really are, what a selflessly amazing person you've always been," she told him firmly. Yeah, what she was saying was cheesy, but also true.
"You... really think that about me?" R questioned softly.
"I know that about you," Julie answered. R and Julie shared a long and loaded look. They didn't seem to need words to convey their feelings for each other.
Nora noticed the heavy tension in the air and felt they should probably be left alone. There was something going on between them, something that just started to weigh heavier. She figured if they didn't figure out what that was and deal with it soon, they'd explode. That thought in mind, Nora decided they needed time alone and got up with a dramatic yawn and a stretch. "Well, I'm exhausted! My test is tomorrow so I better turn in early. Goodnight you crazy kids!" Nora smiled at them and left before they could say anything to stop her.
"She's been doing that a lot lately..." R muttered with a half-smile.
"I think she's just playing Cupid," Julie sighed.
"Cupid..." R frowned.
"You forgot who Cupid was?" Julie's eyes widened a fraction. "What about valentine's day?"
"That sounds familiar," R shrugged but his smile got a little wider.
"Cupid was this Greek or Roman god or whatever that made people fall in love... or something like that. I didn't pay attention to that sort of 'useless' information my parents tried to teach me. I was more interested in learning how to shoot a gun at the time," she shrugged. "Anyway, it just means she was trying to get us together..." Julie smiled.
"Why?" R frowned in confusion.
Julie laughed and slipped off the bed to crawl over to him where he sat on the floor, making sure to keep her weight off her leg. "To do this, cheeseball," Julie grinned and leaned into him, laying a chaste kiss on his lips.
"Oh," R nodded. When Julie leaned in again, R still felt a little hesitant, still wanted to keep Julie safe, even if that meant from him as well... but as usual, Julie wouldn't let him do that and forced her tongue in his mouth. It wasn't as though R tried very hard to stop her though. Bending to her will, R let her crawl onto his lap, shivering in the process and let his arms wrap around her.
Julie grinned into the kiss when R's hand slipped under her shirt. He was getting more bold every day. "Go ahead," Julie murmured against his lips after feeling his hand hesitate on his way up her shirt. Opening her eyes a bit, she could see him frowning slightly, as if having an inner fight with himself. He was trying to control himself! That bit of fact made her heart beat just a little faster.
R seemed to make his mind up soon enough and his hand continued to trail up. She felt the heat of his hand on the skin of her back and shuddered as he reached her bra-strap. When he played with the band a bit, she wondered if this was going too far. Why did she have to be so responsible all the time? She sighed and pulled away, smiling apologetically at his confused expression. "Am I doing something wrong?" he asked, concern evident in his glacier eyes.
"No, you're definitely not doing anything wrong," Julie insisted. "But maybe... this isn't the best time to.."
"To what?" R cocked his head to the side in a motion akin to a confused dog. Julie felt a bubble of laughter at the sight rise up her chest but squashed it.
"Get carried away?" Julie supplied lamely. But oh how much she would love it if he'd just not listen to her and continue! She was sure he would probably not remember exactly what to do, but she would be more than willing to remind him. But with all that had happened to them recently, this was probably not a good time to explore each other's limits.
"...Alright..." R still looked confused but now he clearly also looked frustrated. "It's... getting hard to stop..." R admitted softly, a look of confusion filtering in his face. Funny how before they started kissing he was so hesitant, now he felt flustered that they had to stop. He was aware that the more they kissed and the more she let him touch her, the more... stimulated he felt. He wasn't completely clueless, he knew what that meant, but a part of him was terrified of pursuing this deep... need he had for her. He also knew at one point he wouldn't be able to stop himself. Though he also knew that Julie would probably not stop him either.
"I know, I agree," Julie sighed. She wasn't a fool either, she could feel how strained R was starting to get too.
"So... anyway," R decided to change the subject and slid his hand out of Julie's shirt, resting it on her waist. "I was thinking," he began.
"Oh, I'm sorry, that must have hurt," Julie teased.
"Sometimes," R smiled back in amusement. This almost felt normal again, almost felt like they hadn't gone through piles of horse crap just hours ago. "I think I'm going to see if Martinez will let me find work tomorrow. I... want to prove myself to the people here," he explained.
"I think that's a great idea," Julie smiled brightly at him, her smile fully reaching her eyes for the first time in twenty-four hours. After a little more talking, R insisted on helping Julie back to her house. When they got there, Julie was surprised by how civil her father was to R, nodding to him in greeting, even bidding him a good night.
Things were looking up again, now if only she knew what other catastrophe would follow? Surely things would get bad again? That's how it always seemed to work in their world now. Things would look bright one moment, then get filth dumped on it and it would go back to looking brown and awful. Their life almost seemed like a roller-coaster sometimes. She wondered if tomorrow would bring gloom or happiness. Hopefully with Scott and his men gone, things couldn't get that much worse... right?
Guess she would just have to wait and see.
TBC...
A/N: Whoa! What a long freaking chapter! Well aren't you lucky! I didn't even notice lol. Do NOT expect a lot of other chapters to be this long, this was a fluke. I dunno about you, but I was drowning in all the angst! Good riddance! Scott was a jerk lol. Just saw the new episode of The Walking Dead. It was exciting! Rick is off his rocker! Ugh, Daryl, stupid choice, man!
Shout-Outs:
4MeJasper: Yes! Respect is earned in the oddest ways in post-apocalyptic societies... but hey, whatever works! XD
MaddiegreeN: LOL! Oh my gosh, I've never heard it phrased that way! You'll know if I decided to add any of that kind of "action" sooner or later. You'll just have to wait! I've seen it spelled both ways, YouTube isn't exactly known for good spelling, you know?
AhhMyLife: Thanks, yeah FFNet need to get their act together! To tell you the truth, The Walking Dead is a big inspiration to all the angst and negative feelings in my story lol it's just so much more realistic, in my opinion.
Masterday: And you don't think my story is gory? Lol okay good? No no, I know you weren't nagging, I'm just apologizing because I promised a daily update lol it's a general apology really. Maybe it might have been more difficult for R if he wasn't so ready and willing to help all those in need lol I guess people see passed what he did? Besides, now that all Scott's men left, it just left the people most willing to accept the changes, eh? How convenient lol. Kicking? Well, I didn't detail the fight but I did mention R got in a good kick here and there. Glad you liked this!
OmatikayaClan: Thank you! Yes! That's what I'm trying to do lol I intentionally tried to make the story start out slow but speed up. Have I succeeded? :D
Rue Bladesinger: Glad it was worth the wait! R does love Julie a whole lot though lol... ehem, anywho, I stated at the beginning that there would be language. I don't want to put author's notes at the beginning because I would prefer that people just jump right into the story.
JMV1997: What about Amazon? Or Ebay? There's always a way!
warmbodies1d: Alright, good, then I'll leave it alone!
Kuratu: Oh there will be, be patient lol.
weasleywarrior: I'm planning something that will have an M rating... not a sequel, but something. It's tied to what's coming in the future, if that's any hint lol. I'm such a tease.
Surely Sherlocked: I'm so glad you think so! That's precisely what I was trying to accomplish! If there's any way you think I could improve further in depicting that, let me know!
Aki Yuhi: I'll do that. When something particular happens in a chapter, I'll put up a warning. Thanks.
CaptainMeghanSparrow: LOL! I love it when some of you get so ansty! XD Don't worry, as long as I get plenty of input, good or bad, I update regularly! If you like this story, you should check out my Chronicles of Narnia story, that one's complete at least lol.
Girl In RandomLand: Every version of R, be it book or movie, is indeed incredibly adorable. Nicholas Hoult makes him even more so lol. Don't worry, randomness is the spice of life!
