Thank you for the reviews and follows on this fic so far. To LushColtrane, you were close with your review on what's going to happen. I won't give much away, but this chapter has some more character death in it.
If you were expecting Goomer to be like he was on 'Sam & Cat', sorry to say he won't be. I have no real explanation, so I'll just say surviving changed him and leave it at that shall we? (Honestly, never written as him and I didn't want him to seem OOC, but I don't see that as a real reason to make him OOC.)
Currently, my internet is down at home, so if I take a while to respond to anything, that's why.
Disclaimer: I don't own 'VicTORious', any characters, or any other shows some characters were originally in.
No POV
"Not here." Tori says before Jade starts questioning the group of four. "We're still out in the open, so let's move to somewhere more hidden." She says, nodding to Cat and Beck.
"And where do you suggest? Haven?" Jade asks, using a codeword for Hollywood Arts so the others don't suspect.
"No. My old house. I doubt anyone would use it since the locks were busted." Tori says, catching on to what Jade meant by 'Haven'. "Follow me." She says, walking towards the old Vega house, using back alleys and cutting through buildings so the horde doesn't notice them.
"Haven?" Melanie asks, sticking a bit close to Beck, Goomer in the back acting as guard.
"Don't worry about it. Depending on how this goes, you may or may not find out." Beck answers, looking behind him for any infected that might've caught wind of them. "You sure about this Tori?" He asks her, calling out loud enough for her to hear, but not enough for it to carry.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Tori says with a nod, eyes in front of her. "Beck, you and Andre watch the doors." She says as they sneak through the backyard. "Andre, use the shotgun and watch the backdoors. Beck, the front." She says, sliding the glass door open and climbing in, noting how the group who destroyed the locks must've raided the place by the looks.
"What are you guys doing in L.A.?" Jade asks once Beck heads for the front door and carefully closes it.
"Wandering. Our base was destroyed by some raiders a few months ago, and we've been on the move ever since." Wendy answers, acting as the leader of the group. "We drove most of the way, but ran out of gas. We were hoping we could get some from the cars around here and be on our way."
"You've been driving for three months?" Cat asks, staring at the other redhead. "Where were you driving from?" She asks, looking between the group of four.
"From Seattle. We've made frequent stops because of how many infected we've seen and how bad the roads are." Melanie answers, staring at Jade. "The cars make too much noise to sneak by, and since we ran out of coolant, we have to stop so the engine doesn't overheat."
"It still took you more than a week to get to L.A. though? I don't buy it." Jade says, right hand on her handgun. "No way it took you so long between Seattle and here."
"Well, we didn't come straight here." Wendy replies, the guys of the group staying silent. "We've been in multiple states, usually staying in an abandoned house for about a week before we would leave." She says, staring down the dark brunette woman.
"How did you get the gas to last? Did you have a lot of containers full or something?" Andre asks, glancing over his shoulder before turning his attention back to the doors.
"Yeah. Plus siphoning what we could form abandoned cars." Wendy answers. "Which we dropped the ones we had when the horde came." She says, realizing no one had the extra fuel containers on them.
"We'll grab them later." Gibby says from the stairwell, watching the door beside the kitchen. "Where's that lead?" He asks, catching Tori's attention.
"The garage. Only door is the garage door, but the machine to work it broke before the infection spread and was never fixed." Tori answers, not looking at him.
"You sure? Because there's some infected shambling towards us." Gibby says, raising his gun and shooting, dropping the one in front as a total of four more walk in, moving to the group.
"Shit. They must've come in through the doors. Shoulda checked the place." Jade says, shooting another.
Within a few moments, the five infected are lying on the Vega's floor, not moving. "You're the one that went straight into questioning them before we could check the place." Wendy says, referring to Jade's earlier comment.
"Shut it. Robbie, you and Cat do a sweep upstairs. Tori, you and Andre check the rest of the first floor. Beck and I'll watch these four." Jade orders, pretending not to see the glare from Tori as she passes.
"Trouble in paradise." Gibby says, chuckling.
"Excuse me?" Jade says, glaring at the shorter man, her gun raised.
"Drop it." Wendy says, her, Melanie, and Goomer quick to aim their guns at Jade.
"Okay. Everyone lower your guns. Now." Beck says, looking around. "For all we know, killing those five could've alerted more, so let's keep the noise, and death, down." He says, nodding when everyone minus Jade and Goomer lower their guns. "You two as well." He commands, sighing when they finally do. "Now, what are you four planning on doing after you get your fuel?" He asks, changing the subject.
"Probably leave, find a place to stay for a bit first." Wendy answers, eyeing Jade.
"Where are you supplies? Were you planning on finding more when you found a place?" Jade asks, keeping her gun out but at her waist.
"In our car. We locked them in the trunk and glove compartment. Figured it's better to lock them up a bit in case anyone survivors find out car. Trunk can't be opened without the key, and all we have in the glove compartment is half empty bottles of water and half empty cans of beans." Wendy says, weary of Jade.
"Upstairs is clear." Cat says, her and Robbie joining the others downstairs.
"Same with here." Tori says as she and Andre join.
"What are you eating?" Jade asks, staring at Andre.
"They had chips in a cupboard, and I was hungry." Andre says after swallowing what he had in his mouth, shrugging at Tori rolling her eyes.
"Anyway." Jade says, turning her attention back to Wendy and her group. "What should we do with you?" She asks, glaring at them.
"Beck, call the boss and ask him to meet us here, or somewhere else." Tori says, nodding to Beck.
"What are you planning?" Cat asks Tori when Beck heads upstairs with the walkie talkie in hand.
"Well, you told me he was a good judge of character. I'm thinking he might know what to do." Tori says, shrugging. "I have to ask, are you Sam from 'iCarly'?" She asks Melanie, her curiosity in her eyes.
"No. That was my twin sister. My name is Melanie." Melanie answers softly, head down.
"Was?" Tori asks as Beck makes his way downstairs.
"I was visiting her when this happened, and on our way to the 'iCarly' set, we were attacked. She got bit, but because she tried to fight back, it tore out her throat." Melanie answers before clearing her throat. "I don't want to talk about it, okay? What did you find out?" She asks, seeing Beck.
"He said he'll meet us where we first met Jade. Let's go." Beck says, understanding Melanie's pain.
"Lead the way." Jade orders Beck, softer than usual.
"I'm sorry." Tori tells Melanie as Cat nods. "My sister was bit too, but she chose to kill herself so we wouldn't get infected if she lost control. I can't imagine what you've gone through." She says, knowing there was a difference in how their sisters got bitten and died.
"So, who is this 'boss'?" Wendy asks, changing the subject for Melanie's sake.
"No concern of yours." Jade says, back to not trusting Wendy or her group. "How long do you figure?" She asks Beck as they walk, not used to the path they're using.
"Not long." Beck answers, not looking back. "Shit." He says, stopping.
"What?" Andre asks, looking where Beck is facing. "Shit." He mirrors, going straight for his gun. "More than one horde, I'm afraid." He says, answering his own question.
"Take them out. This one's bigger than the other." Jade says, throwing a grenade she had hidden, readying her shotgun when the grenade goes off in the middle of the horde.
"The one from before is back as well." Melanie says, shooting an infected from the first horde.
"Fuck." Jade says, grabbing her handgun since the infected are too far away for a shotgun to be effective. "Now what?" She asks, firing a few rounds.
"Come on. We can barricade ourselves in here." Beck says, firing his gun before heading for an abandoned record store, the others following suit.
"Fuck!" Gibby screams when an infected catches up to him and bits his shoulder before Goomer can shoot it. "Shit." He says, applying pressure to the bite with his left hand.
"Get in." Goomer says, grabbing Gibby's left elbow.
"No good. Got part of my neck." Gibby says, stumbling. "Go." He says, pulling away from Goomer.
"It's no use." Jade says, shooting an infected and pulling Melanie in and Beck grabs Goomer.
"He's a goner. No use you are too." Andre says, slamming the door. "Fuck." He says at the image of a few infected crowding around Gibby before the door closed.
"We could've saved him." Wendy says, pushing Jade.
"How? Do you have a cure we don't know about?" Jade asks, pushing back.
"Enough." Melanie says, grabbing Wendy. "You know he wasn't going to survive." She says, pulling Wendy away.
"Please tell me there's another way out." Robbie asks, panting, the group ignoring the screams from outside.
"Loading dock. That's all I know." Tori answers, a somber tone at the silence after Gibby's final scream.
"Let's go." Jade says, not looking back.
"That's it? Gibby was just mauled, and you're acting like it was nothing?" Wendy asks, following Jade. "He was a stranger to you, but he was our friend."
"I understand that, but it's not use mourning him until we're safe." Jade counters, not looking back. "I know it sucks shit, but if you mourn now, you're bound to be dead by morning." She says, remembering when the infection broke out and her parents. "Contact Sikowitz, tell him to meet us at Hollywood Arts. We're safe there." She says, not bothering with any codenames or anything.
"Are you sure that's safe?" Tori asks, following after Jade.
"Safer than in an open market where infected could be hiding." Jade says, making it to the loading dock. "It's clear. Let's run for it. Stay behind us." She says, the last aimed at Wendy and her two remaining group.
"Don't argue. Trust us." Beck says, cutting off Wendy's coming argument.
Climbing out the window after finding out the steel door is locked, the group of nine run, Jade and Cat leading the way, Beck and Andre taking up the rear. "Infected." Beck says, shooting one in the head.
"He brought friends." Jade curses, dropping another.
"Gibby." Wendy says, freezing at the sight of an infected Gibby moving towards them, a chunk out of his neck and a few smaller ones missing from his arms.
"Go. I'll hold them off." Goomer says, unable to shoot Gibby but managing to punch him, his martial arts training coming into play as he fights off infected.
"You'll get bit too." Melanie says, shooting an infected that made its way past Gibby.
"Better me than you girls." Goober says, pushing Gibby back and swinging on another infected, shattering its skull and dropping it. "Run!" He yells after kicking another.
"I'm sorry." Tori says, grabbing Melanie's arm and dragging her away, Jade doing to same to Wendy.
"We can save him." Wendy tries, failing to free herself from Jade's grasp.
"No, we can't. There's too many, and if we stayed, there's no chance any of us wouldn't get bit ourselves." Jade says, tightening her grip as she runs.
Within a few minutes, the tired group of eight arrive at Hollywood Arts, Sikowitz standing beside the hidden entrance. "What happened?" He asks, holding the door open for everyone to enter.
"We'll explain later." Jade says, pushing Wendy in. "Take them to Sikowitz's room." She tells the others. "They were a group of four, but one got bit and infected. The other told us to run as he fought off the horde and led them to him so we could escape." She says, heading in.
"Dear Ghandi." Sikowitz says softly as he follows Jade in and closes the door, barricading it so no one outside can enter.
That's it for this chapter. And to jori-belliceIsMyLife, you were right. It is from 'NCIS'. Since you said you didn't have an OC, I didn't message you, sorry.
Hope you liked this, and sorry for killing off Goomer and Gibby. I know we haven't seen them die, but still. We know it happened, or will happen if we see them again.
Please review.
Blessed Be.