Hello again,
sorry for the long wait;
I've been feeling completely uninspired lately. This might not be the greatest chapter, but I gave it a go either way.
Nice to hear you enjoyed the previous chapter, but you didn't really believe I'd kill Bray did you? He is a star of this fic and I am not ready to do a crossover with Ghost Whisperer yet :D
Hope you haven't lost interest yet; commenting, as always, is not forbidden.
love,
missw.
The Past, The Present and The Future
The Tribe fan fiction based on the wonderful A New World book by AJ Penn.
Focused on Bramber/Jamber thing, you can also read it as the missing pages between page 363 and the epilogue.
A note - - all characters are taken from The Tribe series and ANew Worldnovel. Nothing is mine; I just made up the storyline and the dialogues. Nothing would be possible without the wonderful masterminds behind The Tribe.
CHAPTER 11
Lia grabbed a first-aid kit and ran towards Bray's motionless body.
Amber was still kneeling next to him, crying and begging him to open his eyes.
»Amber, could you please…« said Lia. She tried to get closer but Amber didn't seem to have noticed her.
»Please Bray, you got to wake up! I can't … I can't lose you again. Please, please…«
Baby boy also started to cry. Scared of his distraught mother he began screaming and frantically looking around. His small arms tried to fight off his mother, unsuccessfully.
Trudy was biting her lower lip. Her eyes too started to fill with tears. The dreadful thought of Bray, lying there dead, invaded her thoughts. She had to do something.
She passed Brady to Gel; she didn't wait for her to start complaining. She ran towards Amber and hugged her across shoulders.
"Come on, honey, let's give Lia some space to…"
"No! No, I can't leave him! Not now. I feel like all I ever do is leaving him…"
"He's going to be alright…" whispered Trudy. She tried not to show fear in her voice; she feared she had lied. It didn't look good; Bray wasn't moving, his head looked swollen and blood was still oozing. His entire face was pale as if he had lost all its blood. The tears pressed to be released eve harder; it looked like he was really slipping away.
Trudy's eyes moved to Lia. She begged with her eyes for denial of the horrible thought. Trudy couldn't bear the thought of them dealing with the loss of their leader again; not now, when he had only came back; not in such a violent way.
Lia avoided Trudy's eyes. She knelt next to Bray. She touched his left wrist, praying for a pulse.
It felt like seconds turned into centuries. It seemed like it took lia forever to smile lightly and say she could feel the pulse.
Trudy sighed with relief. She leant to Amber again, this time with a smile on her face.
"See? He's gonna be OK! Come on, lets…"
She gently took the crying baby from Amber's hands and passed him to Salene. Amber didn't seem to have noticed. She was still caressing his cheek as if her touch alone would be enough to bring him back.
"He thinks … I never told him … he can't …"
"You'll tell him when he wakes up. Which will be in no time. Now give Lia some space to…"
"What if he doesn't? I can't … I can't lose him again, Trudy…"
Trudy tried to pull Amber away. Surely sitting in the pool of Bray's blood couldn't be good for her. Trudy was genuinely concerned for her. She had never seen her friend so broke before. Both have witnessed horrible sights in this world since the adults had perished; sights no human should ever be able to see; yet nothing could compare to seeing the man she loved dying in front of her
Jay noticed Trudy's struggle. He made his way through the tribe that had gathered, worried for Bray's life.
He grabbed Amber around her waist and tried to carry her away. She didn't let him. She fought off his arms, still not moving her eyes off her lover's face.
"No, I don't wanna go! Bray, please wake up!"
"He's got a string pulse," Lia encouragingly said. She knew Amber was hysteric. Her screams weren't helpful; Bray was alive but in a bad state. His wounds continued bleeding. Lia knew she had to stop the bleeding soon; it wasn't like they were centres for transfusion nearby.
"See?" Trudy smiled to Amber.
"You're just saying that to make me … No! Bray, wake up; I love you …" she broke down in sobs as Jay's heart stopped. He let go of her and stepped back.
So he was right. There was something going on between them. He felt so dumb; he should have known. He had known about Bray even before he had ever got together with her. Bray, Bray, Bray, there was always Bray. You took Bray, she had said when they had first met. Please help me find Bray when she had finally got over her initial hate. There was Bray even when they were together. Sometimes, late at night when she was sleeping, he hugged her and she silently whispered the name.
Bray.
Jay felt like he had never really been given a chance. She had decided Bray was the one before they she had even met him, Jay. How could he possibly compete with that? He wondered for a moment why he had even bothered. It was doomed from the beginning. It couldn't end in any other way, he was simply in the way of a star-crossed lovers. He was just a supporting actor, keeping the audience interested while the main star was on a sick leave.
Maybe the only thing now left for him to do was to simply let go. Let them be together; keeping them apart would only make him hated by audience even more.
Maybe this way, his actions would be considered noble.
Maybe he would even get a contract for another season.
"He's gonna be fine, Amber…"
"He thinks I don't love him, Trudy ... I… I never told him! I thought it was the wrong time and …. And now he's gonna die and he'll never know!"
"He's not going to die, Amber!"
"Oh, what have I done…. What have I done … I am so sorry…"
Trudy rolled her eyes when she saw Jay backing away. Meanwhile, two of the Natives had approached as they had been asked by Lia to help her carry him back to the tents. Amber looked at them; they looked like the announcers of death. As if they wanted to take him away forever.
"No…"
"They are only taking him to the tents so that Lia will be able to examine him," Trudy said.
"No! No! He's dead, isn't he? Oh, god, Trudy! Bray!" she screamed.
"He's not dead, Amber, listen to me!"
"Bray, please, come back. I need you! Our baby… I can't do this again. Bray!"
With May's help Trudy managed to lift Amber but only a moment later she collapsed. She was shaking in sobs as the man she loved was carried away.
"Bray…"
"He's not leaving us," said Trudy and hugged her, "he's gonna be alright. We all are."
Amber didn't say anything. She silently watched how he disappeared inside a tent. Lia followed, with a look of extreme worry on her face.
Later in the afternoon, Amber's eyes finally dried and the feeling of hysteria was replaced by concern and guilt.
Amber felt so hopeless. She should have taken their son the moment Ebony had screamed and run away. Ebony would have never got him and Bray wouldn't be lying on the verge of death. Everything would be alright and he would still be. She couldn't stand the thought of him, dying, still believing it was over for her.
Over. She wanted him from the moment they had met. There was something about him that felt … right. From the first moment, she just knew. Nothing could ever come near. Even when they had been apart, when she had thought he had been dead, she had caught herself thinking about him. Wanting him; expecting him to just walk through the door, hug her, kiss her. She had moved on but she had kept running back to him. Maybe she had really loved the memory but nothing could ever compare.
Fate gave her another chance but she let it slip. She felt so dumb now. All she could think of was him and he was right there in front of her. But Jay, time, fear, everything drove her away. She didn't dare to admit how weak it made her; how careless she became when he was around. She made herself believe everything was more important; that it want the right time.
It was real love. The time and the place didn't matter when the love was real. She should have known.
She believed she had time. Lots of it. She planned to wait … for what? For Jay to suddenly just … disappear? For a sign from above? She and only she messed it up again. Now she had love, she had that stupid sign. But there was no more time.
She was once again left with nothing when she could have it all.
When Lia came out of tent, she very carefully said she expected him to be alright.
It didn't cheer Amber. She continued to feel the burden of the world on her shoulders.
Right after the attack, with the help of the Natives, the Mallrats managed to lock up the three warriors they were either tied up or too injured to run away and hide. Lex tried to make them talk but they kept their lips sealed. They didn't even want to tell what had happened to Ram.
Being aware of the hidden danger, Lex decided to have guards present at all times. As a leading commander and guard he was frowning all the time, even though he was aware Ebony wouldn't how up soon.
Kids were also forbidden to stray away from the camp. Sammy, careless as always, disobeyed the rule once and caused panic wave in Camp Phoenix. Women and children competed in crying, convinced he had stepped straight into the lion's haven while men were working on a strategy on how to get him back. When he finally reappeared, less than half an hour later, with a batch of bananas in his hands and surprised by the care they had shown, Lex had a really long and loud talk with him.
The only one not bothered by it all was Amber. She sat next to Bray, listening to his heart beating. It calmed her. As if nothing could happen to him when she was around; as if she was the line between death and life. She talked to him, a lot. About the change the technology had caused in the city; about Pride; about their son. Lia said talking to him was good so she talked more. But it didn't help. Bray remained unconscious. A candle of hope in Amber was slowly fading; the bright vision of the future was replaced by the illusion of death.
Trudy was worried while Jay was trying to pretend nothing was wrong. It disturbed him; his girlfriend spending so much time with her ex.
But what he could do, really?
Telling her seemed so careless.
So Jay continued to waiting for someone else to resolve his issues; hoping ignoring it would simply make everything OK.
A tiny ray of light appeared in the dark. He almost missed it at first, a thick darkness wanted to swallow it, hide it, win him over.
It was a ray of life, of hope. It outshone the hopelessness he was in. He hung on to it, believing it would pull him out of misery, someday, somehow. He was ready to go if needed but not when there was a chance to live.
The ray lingered. His eyes remained focused on it. He couldn't let it slip away. He could feel the time passing but he couldn't do anything. His body felt too tired to reach for it, so heavy. He couldn't move. So he waited.
Slowly he could feel his limbs hurting less; his lungs also stopped burning. It was the chance he was waiting for. He reached for it, for the ray. He grabbed it tightly so it couldn't slip away. He pulled himself out of the emptiness.
He opened his eyes. As he did, he was blinded by the bright light. It was so bright it felt unreal. His thoughts drifted back to the ray. Had he been tricked? Had he unknowingly stepped not towards life but towards heaven? Was he now faced by the light of redemption, holy innocence and eternity?
He blinked again. The overload of light hurt his eyes. He wanted to close them but couldn't, not until he knew for sure. His vision slowly came back and Bray became aware of his environment. It didn't feel like heaven anymore. He knew he had survived, that he had been alive, when he saw her eyes.
He was alive.
It was better than haven; he couldn't fight off a smile. He felt overwhelmed. The beauty of life; the ability to breathe, to look, to see, hear, feel. It was a miracle. It made him feel string yet so humble at the same time. He knew he could make a difference yet everything was out of his control. All he could really do was try, to live every moment. To live for moments of beauty, hope and love.
He felt like a world shone in a completely new light as she was gently caressing his face.
It was the feeling he loved, had longed for so long.
He smiled at her. He could see how her eyes filled with tears.
"Are you so sad to see me?" he said. The voice didn't really sound like his. It was husky and it was breaking. But it didn't look like she cared.
She smiled too.
"No," she said, silently, "what took you so long?"
His head followed the movement of her hand and his eyes closed again. The tiredness was taking over again. He knew it was safe; it would only bring him back to life, to her.
"Don't leave me again," he heard her whisper.
"I'll never leave you, Amber" he whispered before falling asleep.
to be continued.
broughttoyouby::: misswinter.
