Hello once again. In this chapter, you will read of blood, death, and major badassery. Enjoy.
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As much as everyone loathed the men who had captured them and what they had done, after an hour of the guard's screams and a few body parts cut off, Liz finally took the kids into the RV to distract them. Aaron soon followed, followed by Sorano and Amber. Even Grant had enough when Tristan cut off the man's ear and tossed it behind him.
The rest were simply disappointed they didn't get the chance to go at the guard themselves. They took solace in the fact that once Tristan got all the information he needed, they would march on the base.
Ella was sitting by herself, listening to the torture, lost in her thoughts. She felt someone sit next to her, and she looked up at John. He was looking at her with worried eyes. "So, I realize that you must be going through some hard shit right now. But… I have to ask. I know they raped Natalie." Ella flinched at the word. "But… Did they… Do anything to you?" He finished, worry in his voice.
Ella shook her head. "No, but…" She stopped herself. John's eyebrow was raised, expecting her to continue. She took a shuddering breath. "I think… That in the beginning, I was the most terrified out of all of us."
John examined her face. Her long black hair was twisting in her fingers, as she played with it nervously. Her light face was sullen, her green eyes full of sorrow. "Why? What happened?"
Ella was silent, hesitant to share. "I… have been… you know… before." she said slowly.
John's brows knit together. "You have?"
Ella nodded, tears falling down her face at the memory. "I was nineteen. I got into an argument with Dean, and I left the house and went to a bar using a fake ID. I got wasted, and… a guy came up to me. He acted all polite, and offered to drive me home. And…" she covered her hand with her mouth.
"…And you accepted his offer." John finished for her, eyes soft. "Ella, I'm so sorry."
She shuddered. "He took me to the outskirts of the city. That's where he did it. He kicked me out of the car when he was done, and I was barely able to call Dean to come pick me up." She was sobbing now, and to her surprise John wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "They never caught the bastard." She said. John said nothing, Ella was just thankful for the shoulder to lean on. "That was one of the worst things that has ever happened to me, John. But, as horrible as it was, I can't stop thinking about how all those women have been through so much worse. They're violated every day by those monsters, humiliated and taken advantage of. It's horrible."
"That's why we're going to kill them." John growled. "Every single one."
Ella nodded, and stood up. She turned to look at John. "Thank you, for listening." She said. She picked up her gun and walked to the RV. John watched her back as she walked. He scowled. Her story had just made him angrier at the assholes they were going to be killing. They would suffer for all they did.
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"Anything else?" Tristan growled, twisting the knife in the man's knee.
"No! No, that's all I know, I swear! Please, for the love of God, stop!" He pleaded.
Tristan yanked the blade out of his knee. The guard was covered in blood, multiple flesh wounds, six of his fingers missing, four of his toes, his left ear too. His crotch was mutilated, overall a living corpse. Tristan looked in his eyes. He wasn't lying, Tristan had gotten all the information out of him that he was going to. Tristan smiled. "Thank you so much for your cooperation. You can die now." Tristan scowled on that last part, and slashed the man's throat. The guard fell dead, and Tristan wiped his blades clean on his clothes.
He walked over to the group. "I have what I need, and I have a plan." He turned to Ryan, and tossed him the guard's walkie talkie. "I need you to find a way to permanently have something play over their radios, so they can't communicate with each other. John, Jaina, James, Sakura, you guys make sure all the weapons are good to go and loaded. Alec, you come with me and Diego. We're going to go scout out the base. The rest of you, make sure our vehicles are ready for assault. We're going in hard and fast. Let's go." Everyone moved to start their tasks, Alec picked up his pistol and followed Tristan and Diego into the woods, taking Ella's impala.
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They reached the base after five minutes. They parked in a hidden area, and the trio snuck through the bushes until the compound came into their sight. Tristan handed Alec a pair of binoculars. "Count the number of guards on watch. I'll be right back." He said. As he crept away, Alec complied. He scowled as he spotted Marlo barking orders as they tried patching the massive hole they had made in their fence. He turned his attention to the guard towers. There were six, and from what he could see each one had two men posted in it. Twelve in all, and each one had a sniper rifle. The garage opened, and his mouth dropped as a tank, not the zombie, but an actual tank was driven out.
"M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank." Tristan's voice said, causing Alec to jump. "Very tough."
Alec looked at the tank. "Won't our rocket launchers get rid of it?"
"Despite what you see in videogames and TV and movies, RPGs are actually incredibly inaccurate. It only makes impact in the general area you aim at. And that thing isn't exactly slow. It's better to use anti tank mines or C4, but we don't have either of those." Tristan answered grimly.
Alec sighed. He was furious at these monsters, but despite the weapons they had taken, it still seemed virtually impossible to take these guys down.
Tristan patted his back. "We'll do it, Alec. They're going to pay for everything." He looked at the sullen man. "We're going to make sure they suffer for hurting Natalie."
Alec nodded, determination in his eyes. "We're going to tear into those bastards."
Tristan clapped Alec on the back. "That's the spirit. Alright, I've seen enough. Let's head back."
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When they got back, Ryan called Tristan over, and Alec went to help Connor with smoothing out the armor on the vehicles.
Ryan and Amber held up the contraption they had built. Apparently, Amber was fond of tinkering, and had surprisingly good knowledge of electronics. "Once you activate it, it will play whatever you're playing non stop, cutting off their communications since the channels will be full." Ryan set the device down. "So, why are you playing music over their radios? I think we should be taking this more seriously."
Tristan was hooking up his iPod. "Aside from the fact that it will disrupt their communications, it plays into a fear factor."
Ryan raised his eyebrow. "How is music going to scare them?"
Tristan looked up at Ryan. "Tell you what. Go piss off a team of ex military, revenge hungry, ex pro wrestler people, who have a large arsenal of weapons, who you have seen first hand brutally kill your teammates. And when they march on your base, and on top of all that, Andrew W.K. is telling you to get ready to die, you tell me if whether or not you've pissed your pants." he went back to hooking up his iPod. "I'm going to be playing my 'Killing people' Playlist. Lots of dark, angry songs. Trust me, they'll be terrified."
Ryan was silent, then nodded. "Fair enough. So, when do we strike?"
"Once everyone knows the plan, immediately." Tristan answered. "Call everyone over."
Ryan complied, and once everyone had gathered, Tristan faced them. "Alright, main priority is to rescue the other prisoners in there. Second priority, kill every son of a bitch in there. We're going to disrupt their communications first, then we're going in hard and fast. We're going to start at the front gate, and once we clear the courtyard, we're going to make our way inside the compound. Our 'friend' was generous enough to give me a rough map of the place in the dirt. Once we're inside the building, the Z-Pits are going to be down a corridor near our position, along with them the prisoners forced to fight the zombies. We'll free them first, hopefully getting some of them to join us in battle. Then we'll slowly make our way through the compound. They have an emergency plan in place for this kind of situation. There's a large room in the middle of the compound. If one side of the compound is compromised, they all gather in that room. There's no way past them, so we'll basically reach a point where we can't advance. A few of us will sneak around them while the rest of us hold the fort, making sure they're distracted. Those of us who sneak away will free the women, then return for an attack from behind." He looked at Elizabeth. "You, Aaron, Sorano, Amber, and the kids are staying here."
Most of them were fine with that, except Amber and the kids. "Why do we have to stay behind?" She asked indignantly.
"Because you're not fighters, and this is going to be beyond dangerous. I'm not putting you guys in danger." Tristan answered.
Sakura walked over to her sister. "Amber, he's right. I don't want to be too harsh, but you're not skilled enough for this. This is too dangerous."
Alice and David were begging Tristan to come. "Please! You've been teaching us how to fight!"
"I've been teaching you how to defend yourselves, how to shoot. I haven't taught you how to hold your own in a real battle like this." Tristan answered sternly. "There's going to be a lot of bullets flying around, fire and explosions. That may sound cool, but it's dangerous. Very dangerous. You're not coming."
They pouted as Liz led them away so the people involved in the assault could talk. "We're ready to go. Grab your weapons."
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"One hundred ninety seven men. One hundred and ninety fucking seven of my men! Dead!" Marlo roared as one of his men gave him a damage report in front of a couple dozen other men. "No wounded, they killed everyone they saw! And you're telling me, that none of you, not a single one of you, was able to kill one of them?! Not one fucking person?! I thought you dumbasses were supposed to be guards. As in you guard the compound, and kill anyone who tries to escape!" He fumed and paced in front of his trembling men. "What the hell is wrong with you jackasses?!"
"W-we… just… we couldn't… they w-were…" A man stammered, causing Marlo to roar in anger and draw his pistol.
He shot the guard to the horror of the other guards, and turned to them. "Find them! Fan out through the woods, and bring them to me!" Marlo boomed. "I want them alive, especially the marine who got them all out! Now!" He shouted, scrambling the guards. As they scurried out of his quarters, he walked over to his window that looked over the front courtyard. He formulated exactly what he was going to do to punish them. First, he would restrain the men, then he and his own men would tie the women down right in front of them, and…
His thoughts were interrupted by the intercom. "Good evening gentlemen. My name is Tristan, I'll be your killer for the evening. I'd just like to take this chance to inform you that shit is about to go down." Following his sentence was a huge explosion, a second immediately following. Marlo glared out the window. Two of his guard towers had been blown up. Then two lights flashed from the woods, and two more towers were gone. The missing rocket launchers.
"A playlist of suitable killing music will accompany our assault over your radios tonight. See you soon!" His voice cut out, and Marlo's walkie, along with everyone else's, started playing upbeat music. Marlo scowled as the lyrics started.
This is your time to pay. This is your judgement day! We made a sacrifice and now we get to take your life!
The RV smashed through the fence, followed by the APC.
We shoot without a gun! We'll take on anyone! It's really nothing new, it's just a thing we like to do!
Marlo's scowl deepened as the marine got out of the RV, followed by the red haired woman, and the two of them started hacking and slashing at his men.
You better get ready to die! They were fanning out now, setting a perimeter. His men were shouting, followed by screams as they were killed. Tristan had the antitank rifle, and as his tank rounded the corner to face them, he fired four shots, decimating the tank. Marlo reached for his walkie, then cursed as he realized that with the damned music playing he couldn't contact his men. You better get ready to kill!
Marlo turned on his heel. Hopefully the idiots would remember the plan they had in place in case of a breach. Even he got slight shivers at the next line.
You better get ready to run, 'cause here we cooooooome! You better get ready to die! Get ready to die!
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Tristan and John kicked down the door, and they ran inside. "Ella, Rachel, James, stay outside, kill anyone trying to escape. If they yell 'Pie,' as they're running, don't shoot them." Tristan ordered. The three of them were confused by this command, but obeyed, staying outside.
Tristan took the lead, Jaina behind him. The others trusted that the two of them knew what they were doing.
Tristan held up a hand at a corner, peeked around it, then did some rapid hand gestures to Jaina, who seemed to understand what he was saying perfectly. She responded, he nodded, and stood up. He took a grenade from his satchel, pulled the pin, released the spoon, waited two seconds, and tossed it around the corner. Three seconds later, it went off, and bodies flew out.
There were two corridors. Tristan motioned for the left, and they all ran down it. Soon, they reached the long corridor full of cells. Tristan turned to the group, tossing them all key rings. "Everyone start freeing prisoners, tell them to grab a gun and wait until we've freed everyone. Move!"
They all complied, working to unlock all the cells, relaying Tristan's message. All the prisoners were freed after two minutes, and Tristan ran up to the group of men and women. "Alright, I'll make this short and simple. The exit is down that way," he gestured with his hands. "If you leave now, yell 'Pie' as you leave the building, otherwise our friends will assume you're one of the bad guys and shoot you. Or, you can help us kill these assholes, and free the women they're keeping as sex slaves." A new song was playing over the intercom. "And take your revenge on these pricks for throwing you into pits with zombies for their personal entertainment!"
If you feel, so empty. So used up, so let down. "We're going to kill every fucker in here! Now, make your decision. Go run, save yourself, or help save another life. Help us avenge all those who have been wronged by these guys!" If you feel, so angry. So ripped off, so stepped on.
A few of the prisoners had already left after he told them the safe word, a few more dismissed him and followed. But the rest shouted in eagerness, grabbing the guns they were offered, ready to fight. You're not the, only one. Refusing, to back down.
Tristan shouted with them. "Let's go kick some ass! They're just a few rooms away!"
A massive battle cry as they ran out the door to kill the bastards. You're not the, only one! So get uuuuuuuuuuup!
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Marlo's men had set up their fortifications. Their technician still had had no luck turning off the music. Let's start a riot! A riot! Let's start a riot! Let's start a riot! A riot! Let's start a riot!
Gunshots and yells, ten of his men lay dead now. Marlo growled as he saw that they had released the prisoners, and armed them. They were gunning down the defenses, but Marlo wasn't afraid. Though they couldn't see it now, he had over seven hundred men in this room. He held out his hand, and swiped. That was the signal. His men all detached from the shadows, and started to fire, instantly killing the front line of prisoners.
Marlo grinned as they were pushed back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tristan, one of the other boys in his group, and a girl sneaking around them. He grinned. Clever, but not good enough.
He turned, and grabbed a chainsaw, and headed for where he knew they were going. Unfortunately for them, he knew a shortcut.
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Liz nervously tapped her foot. The kids had been sulking in the mustang for awhile now.
Sorano noticed her nervousness. "I'm sure they're fine, they're upset that Tristan left them with us."
Liz shook her head. "They should have come out by now. I've worked with kids my whole life, they've never been this silent and isolated themselves for so long." She glanced at Corporal, who was lazily sleeping by the impala. Ella had insisted he stay here. "Alright, I'm going to talk to them."
She walked up to the car, and peered through the tinted windows, and gasped when she saw that the kids weren't inside. "Sorano! They're gone!"
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Alice and David gripped their pistols as they snuck through the bushes. The compound came into view, and they grinned at each other. Tristan would let them help with all the missions when they impressed him. They started down the hill.
Ella sat by Rachel who had her AW-50 out. They saw a man run through the doors, screaming, "PIE! PIE!"
James laughed. So far only three actual guards had tried to run. Ella was itching for a chance to take her anger out on the guards, but she knew she was playing an important part. There was no telling how many… oh shit. "Alice? David?! Oh no, STOP!" She called out.
The kids glanced her way, then disappeared inside the building.
James nudged her. "Go stop them, we got it held down out here." He said. Ella nodded, and ran to pursue the kids.
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John gritted his teeth as he shot down a line of men before jerking back behind cover. A guard came around the corner, and Sakura decapitated him. The prisoners were dropping, caught up in vengeance and getting sloppy. Natalie had almost made the same mistakes six times now, each time Ryan pulled her back.
They heard running, and he turned to see Ella run into their area, out of breath. "Did… you see… the k… kids… run through here?" She panted.
Sakura paled. "What?! The kids are here?!"
Ella nodded, standing up and shooting a man who ran behind their defenses. "I saw them run in here, they must have snuck away from the others."
Sakura sheathed her sword. "Stay here and help the others, I'll get them." She said, taking off down the halls. John tossed Ella a water bottle, which she gulped down gratefully. She picked up an assault rifle, and knelt next to John. "I've been waiting for a chance to get revenge." She growled, and started firing. John smiled at her determination.
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Alec and Natalie ran side by side behind Tristan as they raced for the dungeon, Natalie giving directions.
They turned corners, dashed down halls, and burst into a room, filled with men. Natalie gasped, and pointed at the grinning sleaze in front. "He… he was…"
Tristan and Alec drew their weapons, as did the guards. "Who is he?" Tristan whispered, as they stood in a standoff.
The guy in front laughed. "Well, look who came back! The bitch wants more!" He cackled, drawing hyena laughs from the others and scowls from Tristan and Alec.
Natalie was trembling. "He… was the first one. The first one to…"
That was all Alec needed to hear. He fired his pistol, and missed. The man scowled, and they all opened fire on each other.
Tristan groaned as they hid behind cover. "We need to get to the slaves! We don't have time for this!"
Alec and Natlalie had determined expressions on their faces. "Go, we'll hold them off." Alec said, breaking cover to fire his gun. "Go!"
Tristan nodded, and dashed out from behind cover, and ran around the guards. Alec and Natalie covered them, keeping the mens' heads down.
He escaped into the hall on the other side, running to save the women.
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Alice and David heard Sakura calling after them, but they kept running. If they could find Tristan, they could help him with whatever he was doing.
They saw Alec and Natalie in a room shooting people, and turned down another corridor. Sakura was gaining on them.
They turned down another hall, and Alice thought she saw Tristan's jacket flying behind him as he ran into a room.
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The women in the dungeon whispered among themselves. They had heard commotion outside, and gunfire. The escapees really had come back for them!
They all smiled with hope as the metal door swung open, then their faces twisted in fear when they saw the lumberjack standing in the doorway, chainsaw in hand. He grinned maliciously, and revved up the weapon.
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(A/N: I would highly recommend listening to "Monster" by Skillet in this scene. I didn't write it in because I felt song lyrics interrupted the dark battle.)
Tristan ran as hard as he could, making his way to the dungeon they kept the women in. He finally burst through the doors into the room where they… he decided not to think about it. He spotted the heavy iron door, and ran to unlock it. But as he reached it, he found it cracked open. An apprehensive feeling rose in his stomach, and he opened it. He gasped at what he saw inside.
The women had all be shredded apart. Their bodies were mutilated, blood spattering the ground and walls. And there was Marlo, grinning and waiting for him, bloody chainsaw on the ground next to him. His face and clothes were stained with the women's blood. "Was wondering when you'd show up. I'm afraid you're too late to save them, they seem to have misplaced their limbs. And heads. And blood." He laughed, gravelly and deep.
Tristan scowled, his eyes glinting and wide. "You fucking prick. You're going to pay for all of this! For kidnapping these people, for raping these women, for killing all these innocents, for fucking with my friends!" He growled.
"Come on, soldier boy! Show me what you're made of!" Marlo bellowed, beckoning him forward, taunting him. "Why don't you show me that you have a bite to back up your bark!"
"Oh, you'll wish biting is all I'll do to you." Tristan growled. He roared, and charged at Marlo. He tackled the man, ramming him into the wall. Marlo grabbed the back of his jacket, and effortlessly lifted the man into the air, and threw him at a wooden support. Tristan got to his feet, waiting for Marlo to reach him. Once he did, Tristan kicked at his knee, drawing a grunt from his opponent and bringing him to his knees. Tristan immediately followed this by kneeing him in the jaw, punching him to the ground, grabbing his mangy hair and dragging him to the support and bashing his head against it.
Marlo grunted, pushing Tristran off and turning to him, blood running from a fresh cut in his forehead. He grabbed Tristan's leg, and tossed him at the wall. He stalked over to the marine, and drew his wooden and steel ax, stained with many years worth of blood. He brought it down, and Tristan rolled away, kicking out at Marlo's stomach. He doubled over for a moment, giving Tristan enough time to grab his ax and wrench it away, tossing it to the other side of the room.
Marlo roared, and wrapped his arms around Tristan's torso, and charging at the wall. Tristan got the wind knocked out of him as he was slammed into the wall. He drew his SEAL knife, and jammed it into Marlo's back. Marlo howled, and Tristan brought his feet up and pushed off against the wall, causing Marlo to fall to the ground. Tristan got up, and growled, stalking over to the lumberjack. Marlo grinned, launching a massive uppercut, hitting Tristan's jaw and sending him crumpling to the ground gripping his jaw.
Marlo drew his knife, and tackled Tristan, bringing the blade slowly to his face. Tristan growled, using all his strength to keep the blade off of him. But Marlo's massive build gave him the advantage in brute strength, and slowly he got the tip of the knife to just above Tristan's left eyebrow. A drop of blood beaded on his skin, and then turned into a thin stream of blood as Marlo pressed into Tristan's head. Tristan was internally screaming, but on the outside he roared, and in an extreme risk pushed Marlo sideways, causing the blade to scrape across his eye. As Marlo rolled away, tristan wiped the blood from his face, and felt his eye. There was a gash above and below it, but he could still see. So the eye hadn't been damaged.
He roared again, and charged. He grabbed Marlo's knife hand, and before he could react twisted it and drew a deep gash across Marlo's gut. Marlo roared, and backhanded Tristan to the ground. He placed his hand over his abdomen to keep his intestines in, and limped over to Tristan. "You sonofabitch, you'll pay for that." He growled. He raised his knife, and swiped, Tristan narrowly dodging.
Tristan grinned, but his eyes were full of murder and hatred. "Not likely." He scowled again, and kicked out at Marlo's hand, pressing into his wound. Marlo groaned, moving his hand away just long enough for Tristan to lunge. To his horror, the marine thrust his hand into his wound. Tristan twisted his hand around inside Marlo, causing the man to scream in agony. He was helpless as Tristan ripped his hand back out, taking his intestines with him. Marlo gasped, unbearable pain all he could focus on, as his gut hung out of his wound. Tristan's eyes were shining, he had lost it. He was all caught up in the moment, and kicked out, his steel toed boot going into Marlo's wound. He howled, tears streaming into his beard. He lay on the ground. "P-please… kill me…" he begged. "Put me out of my mis…"
"No." Tristan barked, hatred in his voice. "You're going to suffer. You're going to suffer for as long as possible, and I'm going to make sure you're alive for all of it. I'm going to…"
"Tristan." Tristan head snapped to look at the doorway, to see Sakura looking at him. But what was worse, Alice and David were both staring in horror. Not at Marlo, but at him.
Tristan was suddenly very aware of his blood covered sleeve and glove, and realized he must look terrifying. "I… Alice, David…" He took a step towards them, and hurt flashed across him when they took a step back. He stared at them, then looked at Sakura. She nodded at him, and took the kids' shoulders and led them away.
He scowled as Marlo started laughing weakly. "Heh… heheheh… and you call me a monster. I think those kiddies are afraid of you now."
Tristan closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. "Shut the fuck up."
"No, I don't think I will." he wheezed. "You think you're some kind of damned hero, trying to save these people, but you're just as fucked up as I am. You're just as violent, just as dangerous. How's that make you feel, eh?"
Tristan whipped around to glare at him. "I am nothing like you. You kill the innocent, you rape helpless women, you force people to risk their life for your entertainment."
Marlo grinned, his bloody teeth adding to his ghoulish appearance. "Maybe, but you're still a violent man. You stained my halls with the blood of my men, you killed those zombies in the Z-Pits in some of the most brutal ways I've seen. You actually ripped a head off! And look at what you did to me. And I'm guessing what I've seen of you is just the tip of the iceberg. How many atrocities have you committed, Tristan?" He taunted. He laughed again, then started hacking and coughing, blood coming up. "Do the ends justify the means, West? Is your violence and brutality justified by your 'noble intentions'? Face it, you're a monster in your own right."
Tristan clenched his fists, and glared at the lumberjack. But he said nothing. This brought a wide grin to Marlo's bloodied face. "I'm right, aren't I? You're…"
Tristan replaced his words with screams as he dug his toe into the wound. Marlo howled as Tristan tortured him. After a minute, he pulled his toe away, and walked to the heavy door. Marlo watched him leave, waiting for Death, bleeding out as Tristan left him in the dark. A minute after he left, Marlo took a final shuddering breath, and died, lying among the slaves he had slaughtered.
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Sakura and the kids were waiting for Tristan in the hall outside the rape room. After minute, and some more screams, Tristan opened the door and knelt down with them. He had a pained expression, and Sakura stood up, knowing to give them some privacy. "I'm going to go make sure the others are okay." She announced, leaving the three of them alone. Tristan sighed as the kids looked at him. "Alice, David? Do you remember what I said to you when I first agreed to let you two stay with me?" he asked.
"Do what you say, when you say it. We need to learn how to defend ourselves. Don't trust anyone until you say they're good. We always stick together. You reserve the right to make new rules. And if you get bitten, we need to…" they spoke in unison, but didn't want to say the last rule.
Tristan nodded. "Good, but you forgot one. Rule three: If you ever feel unsafe with me, you tell me, and I will take you to a good, safe town. That still applies, guys. I want you two to be completely honest with me." He looked them in the eyes. "Do you still feel safe with me?"
They hesitated. "Why did you do that to him?" Alice asked after a minute of silence.
Tristan sighed. "Listen. I've changed a lot since Z-Day. I killed people in the military, sure, but I didn't used to be as… brutal. But my beliefs have remained the same. And I believe that people who do evil things, like murder the innocent, who rape, who hurt others in bad ways, deserve death. And I can get… carried away with making sure they get punished. That man was a monster. He raped women, murdered innocents. He tried to kill all of us. That's why I did what I did." He made sure they were looking at him. "I want you two to feel safe. And if being around me, knowing I do what I do, makes you feel unsafe, then you shouldn't be around me."
Alice looked at him, then hugged him, followed by David. "We do feel safe with you, Tristan." Alice said.
"Yeah, and we know that you're only scary when you're fighting bad guys." David added, smiling.
Tristan smiled, and wrapped his arms around the kids. "I realize I can be violent, scary, and intimidating. But I swear to God, I will never hurt the two of you." He promised.
They stayed like that, silent for almost ten minutes, before Sakura returned, telling them it was time to go. As they stood and walked with Sakura, she turned to Tristan. "We heard Marlo's little speech to you. And I want you to know, he's wrong." She said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Tristan kept his grim look. "Is he?" He wondered aloud, not denying or agreeing with her statement.
Sakura stopped him. "Yes. He is. You are a good man, Tristan."
He smiled at her. "Thanks."
She smiled back, then she took a good look at his face, and noticed the gash. "Oh my God, what did he do to you?"
Tristan sighed. "He drew his blade across my eye… area. The actual eye isn't damaged, I can still see, but I'm going to have a nasty scar going up and down my left eye."
She grimaced. "Let Rachel patch you up when we get back to the others, okay?" Tristan started to say that they were low on supplies when she cut him off. "That didn't work for John, it's not going to work for you. This is an injury, it qualifies for using our supplies."
Tristan smiled. "Alright, fine. I'll let her fix me up."
They continued to walk. Once they reached the garage, John called Tristan over to his position. When he got there, John gestured towards an empty parking space. "When we left before, Wade's prison truck was parked here. It's gone now, and none of us reported seeing or killing Wade. He left."
Tristan walked over to the space, and knelt down. His brow furrowed at what looked like marks. He pressed his hand against them, it was burnt rubber. He stood, and followed the faint trail out of the garage, passing the rest of the group as they prepared to leave. John was walking with him, and Sakura joined as Tristan led them around the side of the building. Up ahead was a hole in the fence, and the tracks ran right through it.
Tristan whistled, and Diego came running. "Pick up Wade's scent, I'm going to memorize the tire marks." He ordered. Diego immediately started sniffing around, while Tristan found a good mark and knelt down to memorize it. "Sakura, can you see if there's a motorcycle in there?" He asked.
Once Sakura found one and wheeled it to him, Tristan had a duffel bag with supplies in it, Diego by his side. Rachel was finishing up disinfecting the wound, and offering him some gauze, which he refused. He handed Sakura a radio, holding up his own. "I can move faster on the bike, so Diego and I are going to take a head start to track him down. I'll leave marks for you, give you directions to where I'm going. I need to head out now, so… bye."
Sakura looked at the radio. "So you're leaving us?"
"No, I'm getting a head start to find him. We move too slow all together, so I'll lead you guys to him. Sound like a plan?" Tristan answered.
John nodded in confirmation. "Alright, then you better get moving. We have no idea how long he's been gone for."
Tristan gave a small smile, and got on the bike, Diego hopping into his lap. Sakura grinned at the picture in front of her, Tristan had Diego propped up like a person, back legs with his own and front legs and paws on the handlebars. Tristan revved the bike, then took off to start the hunt.
Review! Thank you, DarkMatterPhantom, for the villain. Next time, on the Walking Dead: The Hunt for Wade.