The Last Will - Chapter Eleven: In Concert
Thanks to TheAdmin, GameLover88, MoonRein, Old School Assassin, and Azazel (azazel will not be in this story) for reviewing.
A rat scurried across Isaac's path, but he pointedly ignored it. He'd eaten enough rats during his time in the catacombs to last him the rest of his life, how ever long that was going to be. Not to mention the fact that the current situation had him all but sick to his stomach with anxiety. Eve kidnapped, Maggie wounded. possibly fatally, and Judas glaring at him every chance he got. Isaac knew what his friend was thinking: he should have bargained harder for the fruit or at least demanded to know if Eve was even still alive.
The other survivors in the hut had made it clear that they weren't in the negotiating mood though. Isaac truly felt as if his hands were tied and if Judas couldn't see that, well then, he'd just have to deal with following a weak leader. Isaac couldn't muster the energy to care at the moment.
"We'll have to cauterize Maggie's wound if we can't get a needle for stitches." Judas was muttering to himself more than anyone else, nevertheless, Isaac picked up his words.
"I don't know if we'll be able to cauterize a wound like that." He responded, kicking at the ground as he walked. "It's too long. It's a gash. We'll have to improvise something to sew her up with. I think I remember seeing some twine in one of our bags."
"We're still going to need a needle."
"I'll think of something."
"Heh." Judas scoffed. "I wish I had your confidence. This place would be a lot brighter if we all saw things the way you did."
"And what way is that?" Isaac tried to soften the bite of his words, but he was frankly frustrated and a little too tired to be worried about hurting Judas's feelings.
Judas held up his hands.
"Don't get defensive. I'm simply saying that you're a rare breed, Isaac. Not many people would be so hospital to those raiders back there."
"They aren't raiders, they're just confused. I'm not done making my case. When we get back with the food, I'm going to talk to their leader again, try to get him to see reason." Isaac watched the ground as they walked. "If we can work out some sort of agreement, then maybe we won't have to give up all the food. Who knows? Maybe we all might end up working together, surviving, like we should have been doing in the first place."
"Whatever you say." Judas shook his head. "I doubt they'll agree to anything like that though, not after what you did to that girl and not after what they did to Maggie and Eve."
"Still. I've got to try. At the very least, I need to make it clear that we aren't a threat." Isaac led the way around a bend in the corridor. "Maggie's not much further now, assuming that she wasn't forced to move at some point."
"I certainly hope not. She wouldn't get far in her state." Judas didn't have to say it, but he did anyways.
Isaac was used to his pessimism by now, but that didn't make his behavior any less irksome. He was just about to tell his friend off once more, when they rounded a second corner and found that not everything in their make-shift camp was how they had left it. All of their backpacks were still there, as was Maggie and the bag of fruit under her shirt. The difference was that there were now two total strangers huddled over Isaac's girlfriend.
For a single second, Isaac and Judas were shocked motionless. However, their arrival was still noted. One of the men shot bolt upright as if struck from an electric shock and, smooth as a whisper, drew a long revolver from the hostler on his hip and leveled it at Isaac's chest.
"Don't move." He ordered, his voice hoarse from underutilization. "Hands up, where we can see them."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Isaac growled under his breath. He exchanged a quick look with Judas, who looked equally furious, before begrudgingly hefting his hands into the air. Judas, with his arm still in his sling, did his best and grunted horribly as he shifted his damaged limb. Isaac addressed his new aggressor. "You don't want to do this. We aren't a threat to you."
"Obviously." The revolver did not waver as the man moved forward and pulled Isaac's hatchet from his belt. He examined it for a second before dropping it to the floor and kicking it backwards to his companion, who collected it. Both of the men were a little intimidating in their own right. The one with the gun was slim, with dark hair, a thin face, and even an eye-patch where his left eye should have been. The other one was much broader and muscle-bound, his long curtains of brown hair were pulled back with a red bandana, and a blood-splattered framing hammer seemed to be cemented into his large hand.
"Is this your camp?" Continued the one with the eye-patch. He nodded to the backpacks and, of course, Maggie, who had not moved this entire time.
"Yeah. Yeah, this is our camp." Isaac gestured to Maggie. "She's one of ours. She's wounded."
"We noticed that." Spoke the second man suddenly. He had been standing behind his comrade, but now moved to crouch over Maggie once more. "Looks like she was stabbed. What happened? Did one of the monsters get her?"
"Another group. We were robbed, she was stabbed, and another one of ours was kidnapped."
"Where were you guys just now?"
"Trying to get our friend who was taken."
"Hmm. Got it. We were wondering who would leave this one out here alone to die like this. My name is Samson, by the way. What about you?" The man named Samson turned to Isaac. He appeared to be much friendlier than his one-eyed friend, despite his hulking appearance.
"Isaac, this is Judas, and she's Magdalene.
"Nice to meet you guys. So what's the plan with Maggie here? You got bandages or medicine or anything like that. We'd offer you something if we… for god's sake, put down that damn gun Cain. You aren't going to shoot them." Samson shot a glare at his companion and moved as if to push the revolver aside.
However, the man named Cain stopped his approach with a hand on his chest and kept the pistol pointed forward menacingly.
"They could be lying." He said evenly.
"Why would they lie about any of this?" Asked Samson.
"Maybe they're only passing through, just like us. Maybe they want us to turn our backs so they can take this girl." Cain's eye narrowed. "They might not know her at all."
Isaac felt his blood pressure crank up a few notches. He was not in the mood to put up with this kind of shit.
"We aren't lying." He seethed. "She is my girlfriend."
"Why did you leave her alone?"
"We didn't have any choice! You want proof? I can tell you that that backpack right there has a canteen half full of water, a blanket, and a book full of Judas's nonsensical ramblings tucked into the outer pocket. I can tell you what's in all of these bags because they're ours, but better yet, wake Maggie up and she'll tell you herself."
"She's comatose." Said Cain simply.
"Dammit." Isaac made to move around him to get to Maggie, but Cain raised his revolver an inch higher, stopping him in his tracks. "Move! Let me see her!"
"Relax." Cain commanded. "Don't make any sudden movements."
He blocked his path for a second more, before finally stepping aside and allowing Isaac to move to Maggie's side, albeit much slower. With the gun still pointed at the back of his head, Isaac gently shook his girlfriend's shoulder, attempting to rouse her. Her head lolled to the side and he caught it by the cheek, rubbing warmth into her face with his thumbs. Her skin was cold and pale, like stone, and Isaac held his breath until her blue eyes eventually flickered open with some difficulty.
"I- Isaac." She wheezed, forcing a smile. "You're here."
"Of course. Where else would I be?" Isaac smiled as well and breathed a sigh of relief, both for Maggie's return to the world of the living and the soft click as Cain's revolver was stowed away again. Isaac kept his attention on Maggie though for the time being. "How are you feeling? Is there anything I can do?"
"You can stop me from bleeding." She offered, chuckling slightly, then coughing. "Ugh. Isaac, it hurts."
"I know. You just have to hold on for a little while longer. We'll work something out, alright." Isaac turned then to regard the crowd standing nearby. Judas had moved to his shoulder, while Cain and Samson still kept their distance. The two newcomers were speaking in hushed tones amongst themselves, all the while casting furtive glances in Isaac's direction.
"Did… did you get Eve back?" Mumbled Maggie, drawing Isaac's attention back around. "How did it go?"
"Not well. They want the food." Isaac responded. "Judas and I are working on it. You just need to focus on you for now, okay? Here, let me wrap you up a bit more."
Very carefully, he pulled the aforementioned fruit sack out from under Maggie's shirt and took a moment to examine her wrappings. Blood was still seeping through the cloth, but at a much less dire rate. Still, she needed more. Digging through a nearby bag, Isaac pulled out a blanket and ripped it with his teeth, wrapping Maggie tightly with yet more cloth. As he worked, Judas leaned in to speak into his ear.
"You know who Mr. Sociable over there is, don't you?" He hissed. "Eye-patch, revolver, Cain. This is Eve's friend that she told us about."
"I know." Isaac had quickly made a similar connection. "Do we tell him about Eve?"
"I was hoping you'd have an answer to that one, friend." Judas listed the pros and cons on his fingers, speaking quietly still so as not to be overheard. "If we tell him, then he can help us with the raiders, possibly join our team. The more survivors we have with us the better. Plus, look at his friend, Samson. Man's built like a bear. I definitely want him on our side."
"But?" Isaac prompted.
"But Cain seems to be a little unstable, if you ask me. I dunno if we can trust him one hundred percent not to turn on us first chance he gets. He's a little too liberal with that gun of his. Also, if he and Eve are as close as I think they are, then we might end up with a secret alliance on our hands."
"Yeah, well…" Isaac ran a hand through his hair, his work on Maggie done for the moment. "If we take into account your unreasonable paranoia, then I'd say that it's in our best interest to team up with these guys. If they'll even have us. Samson seems reasonable and… and Cain deserves to know about Eve, I suppose."
"Ignoring that paranoia jab, do we tell them about Eden?"
That was a good question, one that gave Isaac more pause than anything else so far. If Eden was a truly safe place, then it was best to keep it hidden from as many psychopaths as possible, but then again, Cain and Samson might know something that Isaac and his group wouldn't. It was a delicate situation. Isaac decided to let it play out as it will.
Straightening up from Maggie, he turned back to Cain and Samson.
"Is it safe to assume that no one is getting shot anytime soon?" He asked, folding his arms.
"Yes." Answered Cain, although he still rested his hand on his holster.
"Good. We aren't looking to pick any fights, not now, not ever. In fact, we're looking for the exact opposite." Isaac found his eyes drawn to Samson, the much more personable one of the pair. "The more friends we have down here the better. Can we all agree on that?"
"One hundred percent." Nodded Samson. He stepped forward then and offered Isaac his hand. Without hesitation, Isaac took it. As soon as the large, callused fingers enveloped his own, Isaac felt a sense of ease wash over his shoulders. He knew then, just like he did with Eve, that Samson was one of them. "Sorry that we got off on the wrong foot there. Cain's run into some rough people before and we didn't feel comfortable leaving a wounded girl with just anyone walking by."
"Understandable. Thanks for looking after her." Isaac forced his attention back to Cain. "Listen, uh- Cain. I don't really know how to say this, but… you wouldn't happen to have known someone named Eve, would you?"
Cain started, but recovered quickly to set his full attention on Isaac.
"I knew her." He stated quickly, stepping closer to Isaac. Isaac resisted the urge to flinch as he moved to his side. "Why? Have you seen her?"
"She was traveling with us." Isaac answered. "We found her in the maze, kept her alive. She told us about you."
Cain bristled.
"She's the one that was kidnapped, isn't she?"
"Yes."
Grimacing, Cain raised his hand to his face and firmly pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. A long sigh escaped his lips before he eventually turned back to Isaac. Whatever frustration he'd just experienced was gone, replaced with focus.
"Where?" He asked.
"Where what?" Responded Isaac.
"Where's the group that took her? You met with them, didn't you? Where's their camp?"
Isaac folded his arms again and regarded Cain with interest.
"Why?" He asked, genuinely curious. "What are you planning on doing? Kicking down their door and shooting everyone you see?"
"Not a first."
"There's too many of them for that." Isaac dismissed the idea. "I doubt you have enough bullets, besides, Eve could get hurt. We already have a deal in place to get her back with no bloodshed."
Cain's eye roved over Isaac, Judas, Maggie, the camp as a whole, before finally settling on the bag of fruit, carefully set on the floor by Maggie's side. He quickly moved over to it and knelt to pull it open. When he saw the fruit inside, he chuckled once.
"Let me guess, you're going to trade this fruit for her?"
"It's what they want."
"And what if they decide that she's worth a little bit more than that?" Cain rose to his full height and turned back to Isaac. "What if they turn on you? You've got a deal in place for that?"
"They're just as desperate as we are for food. They'll take it, no arguments."
"Maybe, but desperate people do desperate things."
"And your solution is to go in there and kill every single last one of them?"
"I never said that."
"But it's still on the table?" Isaac shook his head. "No. Judas and I have already worked this out. You want to help Eve, I get that and I sure as hell won't stand in your way, but we are going to do this my way. I made a deal with their leader and I trust them to stick with it."
Cain fixed his gaze on Isaac and studied him for a long moment. Isaac was sure that he was going to argue again, and was already preparing a retort, when Cain finally nodded his head, jaw tight and mouth drawn up into a thin line.
"Alright." He said. "You're the boss, Isaac."
Isaac wasn't sure if he could take Cain's submission at face value or not. Call it a gut feeling or the simple fact that Isaac couldn't judge his facial expressions very well thanks to the missing eye, regardless, Isaac made a silent resolution to keep a close watch on the newest addition to his group, if Cain even decided to join them when all this was over.
"So what's the plan?" Asked Samson, patting Isaac roughly on the shoulder.
"The plan…" Isaac repeatedly dully. He'd already formulated something on the way back to Maggie, but the appearance of Cain and Samson had thrown him for a loop, or had it? Quickly, as everyone watched, he conjured something up: "Judas," He pointed to his friend. "You're going to stay here with Maggie, keep her safe, organize our supplies, and check again for anything that we can use to fix her up. Cain and Samson, you're with me. We're going to take the bag and swap for Eve, with no violence. Afterwards we'll all regroup here and… figure out what to do next. Any questions?"
No one spoke up.
"Alright then." Isaac stooped and grabbed the bag of fruit. "Let's go then."
Isaac retraced his steps through the maze, with Samson and Cain in tow. The path back to the kidnapper's camp was all but committed to his memory at this point and within a few minutes, they were approaching the entrance to the large room. Samson asked general questions why they walked:
"How long have you, Maggie, and Judas known each other?"
"Pretty much since the beginning. I found Maggie shortly after I woke up and then Judas after that."
"Do you remember anything before waking up?"
"Not a single thing. I guess you don't either?"
"No. Have you had trouble with other groups like this before?"
"Just once. It didn't end well."
And so on and so forth. Cain kept his peace for the most part, only speaking when spoken to, and then only in clipped responses. He kept his hand on his revolver as they walked and Isaac wondered if he was actually a good shot with that thing or not. He didn't ask.
Isaac wouldn't admit this aloud, for a number of reasons, but having the two men with him made him feel slightly more at ease. They both seemed to be capable of taking care of themselves and compared to the one-armed Judas and the wounded Maggie, they were a veritable army of super soldiers. Having the extra muscle wouldn't hurt in confronting Eve's kidnappers, especially if things went south.
"This is it." Isaac brought his group to a stop right outside of the archway, beyond which lay the outsized room and the wooden cabin. "Let me do the talking. I've spoken with this guy before"
"How many are there?" Asked Cain.
"Only saw three last time I was here, but I bet there were at least two more inside their camp." Isaac peeked into the room. It was as he remember, deserted, with the room's occupants most likely huddled in the hut. "It shouldn't matter though, as long as this deal works. Come on."
"Wait." Samson pulled Isaac's hatchet from his belt and passed it back to him. "You probably want this back."
"Oh. Thanks." Isaac accepted the weapon gingerly. The wooden handle felt rough against his palm, heavier than he remembered too. In the short time it had been out of his possession, things had changed. It was still stained with blood though. Grimacing, Isaac stuck it in his own belt. He made a vow then that he wouldn't use it again unless absolutely necessary. Even having the thing on his person made him feel a little queasy. He squashed the feeling down. "Alright. Come on."
They crossed the threshold and approached the cabin, coming to a stop around twenty yards from the front door. Isaac opened his mouth, prepared to call out and announce his presence like before, when the door suddenly opened and out stepped Joseph, flanked by two other members of his group. They carried new spears that had obviously been recently crafted, albeit poorly.
Isaac wiped the sweat from his palms on his trousers.
"Howdy." Greeted Joseph, although his inflections didn't quite meet the cheeriness normally associated with that type of hello. "I see you brought more friends this time."
"They wanted to stretch their legs." Isaac answered plainly. He raised the bag of fruit in his fist, displaying it openly. "We brought the bag, fruit and all. Where is she?"
"Inside." Joseph extended his hand. "Give me the bag."
"Bring her out first."
"You don't get to make demands."
"Like hell I don't." Isaac ground his teeth together. "We made a deal, a fair swap. I have the bag, you can see that. Now show me her."
Casting Isaac a quick, scathing glare, Joseph turned and called over his shoulder back to the hut.
"Bring her out!"
The front door opened once more and two more survivors exited, shepherding a bedraggled Eve between them. Isaac recognized one of Eve's current captors as the short-haired woman he'd all but dismembered earlier, during the initial scuffle. She recognized him too and narrowed her eyes viciously in his direction. Her arm was heavily bandaged and bloody, but she stood tall despite the pain.
"Satisfied?" Joseph asked, as if he was acquiescing a spoiled child. "Now the bag."
Eve's eyes roved quickly over her rescuing party. She shot Isaac a quick smile, glossed over Samson, and finally set her sights on Cain. Her eyes widened to almost comical proportions when she saw him and her mouth opened to speak, before she thought better of it and clamped her teeth together with a sharp snap. There would be time for reunions later.
"Let's meet in the middle and trade at the same time." Offered Isaac. "I'll carry the bag and…"
"Judith!" Joseph shouted over Isaac and motioned for the short-haired girl to carry Eve forward. "Hurry up and get this over with."
Roughly, the wounded Judith dragged Eve forward, causing her to trip over her own feet and stumble, unable to gain her balance with her hands still bound. Isaac advanced as well, carrying the bag, and a few paces later, stood face to face with Judith. Eve tried to move away, but Judith held her firm by the arm.
"Remember me?" Judith spoke to Isaac, her voice rigid and icy. From this distance, Isaac could smell the sour stench of blood from her wound and see a distinct tinge of green in her cheeks.
"Yeah." Isaac swallowed hard. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Judith released Eve. "You won't..."
A deafening boom seemed to shake the entire world, like an almighty earth quake from hell, drowning out Judith's words. Isaac was sure that the walls would rip themselves apart, along with the ground, dropping him and all of his friends into an eternal abyss. He whipped his head around just in time to see Joseph's head explode into a million pieces. Blood, bone, and brain flew sky-high and showered down upon everyone.
A woman screamed, someone, probably Samson, let out a warrior's roar, and then next thing Isaac knew, Judith was lunging towards him with a shiv flashing through the air. He staggered back, felt the force of her swipe tousle his hair, and tumbled back onto his ass. In a second, Judith was on him, pressing the shiv towards his face with all of her weight.
Isaac barely registered what was happening around him, too preoccupied with pushing up against Judith. Elsewhere, skulls were cracked with powerful hammer falls, someone was still screaming, there weren't any other gunshots, but there were plenty of sickening squelches as blades were driven through skin.
Judith's shiv came down and drew a thin line from the corner of Isaac's eye to his ear, but he ignored the glancing blow. All that mattered was that she didn't get a second shot.
"You son of a bitch." She was growling like an animal. "You fuckers!"
A thick arm wrapped around her neck and she gagged horribly as she was ripped off of Isaac and tossed away bodily. She landed heavily on the ground and cried out in pain, but Isaac couldn't bring himself to give two shits. Through the haze of confusion, Samson's hand came down and grabbed Isaac by the collar, hauling him to his feet.
The scene outside of the hut was a bloodbath. All of Eve's kidnappers lay dead, Joseph's cranium was scattered in the dirt, others sported crushed heads, and one even had his own spear turned on himself. Cain and Samson had killed everyone.
As Cain helped Eve to her feet and began untying her hands, Isaac spotted Judith attempting to crawl away.
"Stop!" He rushed to intercept her. With a long step, he kicked her onto her back, reversed their positions and pinned her under his knee. "Stop, dammit!"
"Get off of me!" She shrieked. "No. NO!"
"SHUT UP!" Isaac wanted to strike her, but merely shook her by the shoulders instead. "We had a deal, you idiots! You didn't have to do this! We had a fucking deal! You would still be alive if you hadn't… if they hadn't… FUCK!"
Judith was acting just as rational as Isaac was feeling.
"murderers!" She howled to the heavens. "KILLERS AND THIEVES!"
"We're not killers." He shook her again. "Shut up. Just… shut up"
Isaac's grip slackened, and she wriggled out from under him to scramble to her feet and sprint from the room. The last glimpse of her that he got was her tattered shirt whipping through the doorway and disappearing. Samson moved to give chase, but Isaac stopped him.
"Let her go."
"What if she comes back…"
"She won't. Just let her go."
Isaac wiped his nose with his hand, trying to wipe away the fresh blood collected there, but unintentionally smeared just more across his face and mouth. He didn't realize though, everything already tasted coppery and bitter.
"What the hell happened?" He asked, spitting red to the ground and turning to his friends. "Anyone care to explain?"
"He pulled a knife." Cain was tiptoeing through the corpses. He stopped over Joseph and bent to pull his bowie knife from his limp grasp.
"Was he going to attack one of us?"
"Looked like it."
"It looked like it?" Isaac repeated, incredulous. He stepped forward and ripped the knife from Cain's hand. "Is that what you do? Just fire that thing off the first chance you get?" He gestured angrily to the revolver hanging from Cain's side. Blood was rushing thunderously in Isaac's ears. "I had it under control!"
"That girl, Judith, was ready to gut you." Cain responded coolly, too calm for Isaac's liking. "They were going to double cross you."
"You don't know that." Isaac spat again, but still couldn't rid his mouth of the bitter taste. "You don't fucking know that."
The two men stared stiffly at each other for a moment. Isaac had been positive, to an almost ridiculous degree, that he could pull off the trade peacefully. A part of him wanted to repent for the senseless violence earlier, but apparently that was impossible. Cain could see that.
"Take a walk, Isaac." He said, as he turned and moved towards the house, drawing his revolver again as he went. Eve followed and together they entered the shelter to ravage it of it's wares.
Isaac watched the pair of them disappear inside and flinched violently when Samson's hand came down on his shoulder. He turned to find his new friend looking at him concernedly.
"Are you alright?" Asked Samson. "You're bleeding."
Isaac rubbed his face again and ignored his words.
"Be honest with me Samson. Was he going to attack us?"
For a beat, Samson's eyes flickered towards the large knife in Isaac's hand, then they shifted upwards again. He took a quick breath.
"It… looked like it."
Chewing the inside of his cheek, Isaac nodded slowly.
"I see." He muttered, examining Samson's face carefully. "Do you- Do you think I can trust Cain?"
A small smirk quirked Samson's face this time.
"I do." He answered and, with a final pat to Isaac's shoulder, he walked away and began looting the corpses.
Inside the wooden hut that had once belonged to the kidnappers, Cain was rummaging through their supplies as Eve stood against the wall and watched. It was quiet for a few minutes, save for the soft clinks as Cain shifted through the many bags. There weren't many useful items, although he was sure to grab a coil of wire that could be used for sutures, as well as a needle and some gauze. Maggie would need all to recover from her stab wound.
Eventually, Eve spoke.
"You're alive." She said.
Cain looked up at her for a fraction of a second.
"So are you."
"That's good."
"I know."
Cain condensed all the useful items into one bag and slung it over his shoulder as he straightened up. He turned to leave, but found his path blocked by five feet of pale skin and dark hair.
"Is that it?" She demanded. "I haven't seen you in days. I thought you were dead."
"I thought you were dead too."
"And this is how we're going to be reunited? Just a simple 'hello, nice to see you'?"
"What do you want? A hug?" Cain shook his head, but couldn't hide the smile that tugged at his lips. With one quick movement, he brought his hand up and ruffled her short hair. "It's good to see you, Eve."
"Yeah." Eve stayed still as he moved around her and stepped back out to rejoin Isaac and Samson. She reached up and fixed her hair. "I suppose it is."
With their arms heavy with new clothes, a few spears, and a single bag of fruit, Isaac and his group headed back into the catacombs and followed the path back to Maggie and Judas. With the medical gear taken from Eve's kidnappers, they could sew up Maggie and prevent her from bleeding out, and as happy as Isaac was about that miraculous stroke of luck, he couldn't help but feel guilty about what had transpired, and the fact that Judas had been right all along. Thing would have been a lot simpler just killed them in the first place, the results were the same regardless.
As they walked, Isaac thought of the woman, Judith, and heard the soft sound of distant, terrified screams echo though the stone hallways. None of his companions responded to the noise though, so Isaac chose to ignore it, chalking it up to his guilty conscious.
Well the main six is all together now, so that's nice? I'm glad that this is story is getting the response that it is, since this is a relatively small fandom and all. It really makes it all seem worth it, you know? If you have any questions about the story, don't be afraid to ask. Next time: the road to Eden gets a little smoother?
Thanks for reading. It means a lot.
- Mike
