The Walking Dead Apocalypse
The lights dazzled off the disco ball that encircled the dance floor. Everyone had an open mind about the exhilaration you'd get just from the art of dance. The motion you feel just makes you feel free. Whether it is gentle, or courageous, it lifted everyone's spirit. It wasn't music you'd hear at a night club, nothing that adventurous. Something a little more sophisticated, like Beethoven. It was a night dedicated to couples, a night of romance. Not every song that was played had to be slow, but the message was all the same appealing to the public.
Hannah enjoyed every second the music and dancing brought across to her. She looked at the roof, admiring the architecture a dance floor building dedicated too. She had always wanted a night like this to occur, a night of complete freedom and spirituality. Her body moved to the beat, and the motion of the encircled group of all-stars. Her smile had never before erupted like it was now. She wore a dress that was almost unaffordable at the time, and yet somehow she acquired such a luxury. She felt, as well as looked, completely gorgeous.
Sean took Hannah's hand, as if she was his maiden he so desired. There the two entered the center of the dancing lights. They grabbed each other's hands, as well as their waists, and just went with the flow. They each felt completely linked to this music, and it wasn't something to be taken for granted. Hannah knew, this was absolutely going to be remembered as one of the utmost memories in her life.
"Hannah," Matias said, trying to get her attention. Hannah's smile dropped, and looked back up into the sky, watching the snow fall from above. She looked around, seeing Tristan Matias and Katheryn all stare at her. She felt as well as looked jumbled. "Do you mind?" Matias asked, pointing to something behind her.
She heard a growl, and turned around immediately. There a walker approached her, snapping its teeth. She rubbed her eyes, trying to get herself focussed once again. "Yeah, yeah it's no problem," she replied. She unsheathed her machete, beheading the walker as it fell to the ground of cold seeping snow.
First Blood
Hannah looked over her mound of books with despair. She had no idea what she was doing, and she couldn't care less as to how she got this done. She wasn't even sure she wanted to get it done.
Enrolling in an engineering class and an advanced chemistry class was probably not the smartest thing Hannah had done. Every night it seemed like what was on her plate kept rising. Her roommate wasn't much help either. She was sleeping or out or getting high, so Hannah couldn't really count on her help.
As she gazed at the problem, she determined that it would probably be another sleepless night as she raced to get this done. She sighed, burying her nose deeper in her books.
Hannah looked ahead, seeing as Tristan and Katheryn took the lead towards Scott's hideout, as she and Matias held back a little bit for support. She was nervous about this mission, and she felt like there were going to be consequences for it. She feared what Scott was capable of. He was the reason Molly was killed, and now because of him Phillip and Derek are under captivity. Neither of those situations wasn't the reason why she was going however. She was held bent on revenge for Molly, or in a pursuit to rescue Phillip and Derek from Scott. It was solely, to see Andy one more time.
Matias looked over, seeing Hannah had not been acting normal the past couple hours. She kept day dreaming, not focussing on the task at hand. He had a few theories as to why that were the case. It could've been fear, or even stress that was making her act his way. He knew however the best answer was communication, that's why he asked, "Hey are you feeling okay?"
Hannah didn't notice Matias there for a second. It took a moment to process what he just asked. "Uh yeah I'm . . . I'm not that great," she replied.
"Are you scarred?" he asked.
"No."
"Then what's the problem?"
"We're . . . we're about to kill our friends Matias," she replied with slight stutter.
"Hey no, you know why we're going and that's not the case. They're not our friends anymore Hannah," he replied, sounding almost disappointed that's what Hannah thought.
"Scott and a bunch of strangers killed our people. But Andy? What did he do?" she asked.
"Is that why you're doing this? Because of him? He made his choice, and it was to stick with that asshole Scott this entire time. Hannah if that moment comes . . . you're going to have to kill him," he said.
"Oh yeah? Can you say the same thing about Logan? Can you look him in the eye when you see him again face to face, and put a bullet in his head?"
"I guess . . . I guess we'll find out," Matias said, and he was unsure of his answer.
Tristan kept beside Katheryn as she leaded the way towards Scott's hideout. She described it to be a metal factory, only being about half the size as the hospital. She also said there were only six of them left, not including Alvero who was still back at the hospital. He knew however regardless of their numbers, they were dealing with a man like no other. He practically considered him the devil, and the four of them were marching straight into hell.
"How far?" he asked.
"A few more hours," Katheryn replied. "Hopefully we'll get there before nightfall."
"I hope so; the dark may prove a problem for us. You said a metal factory correct?"
"That is correct yes."
"Sounds fitting for Scott."
"Your friends Phillip and Derek, you think they're okay? I mean . . . I gotta tell you when I was there; it wasn't exactly a five star hotel. They weren't the most friendly of people."
"Knowing Scott . . . yeah their probably in bad shape. He's probably beaten them to a pulp I can imagine. But when Scott wants something, he'll use bait. He'll use Phillip and Derek to lead us right to his front door."
"Then how do we know we're not running into a trap? He's probably expecting us."
"I hope so. Saving Phillip and Derek are priority one yes, but in order to do that we might need to kill them all. He as well as all his men is going to pay for what they've done."
"Well I mean for Scott and that prick David I completely agree. But . . . there are two of them there that seem to be different. One of them actually set me free. The other one was just following order, but in his eyes he didn't seem to approve of what Scott was doing."
"What were their names?"
"The one that let me loose was this guy named Logan. The other was is apparently this trained assassin, goes by the name of Andy."
The light entered the room, causing Phillip to throw his hand up in his eyes. He peeked, seeing a man entering a room holding a plate of food. He lowered his hand, trying to look past the light as see who entered. It was Andy, greeting him with the word "Hey."
"Hey yourself," Phillip replied as Andy gave him the food. Phillip hadn't eaten since he got here, and the first dish didn't look promising. It looked like canned corn, completely raw also. He tasted it, almost wanting to throw up. Mixing that canned taste with his own blood was an awful experience.
"Phillip listen . . . I'm . . ." Andy stuttered.
"You're what!" Phillip screamed, causing Andy to drop his sentence. "Don't you dare . . . don't you dare say you're sorry for all of this. You went along side that bastard. You were there when Molly died. You stood beside that monster as Ben was killed. You're as bad as he is."
"I'm sorry you feel that way," Andy replied.
"You are aware that if you're on his side that means you're going to have to kill Hannah as well right?" he asked.
Andy turned around, replying "Enjoy your canned goods," not wanting to acknowledge Phillip's question.
"I wonder what she would say about you at this point," Phillip said, piercing Andy's ears as the door shut, encircling the dark around Phillip once again.
Andy left the room, feeling completely disgusted with everything that was going on. Keeping two prisoner's part of Tristan's group, torturing them for no real reason other than the pleasure it gave to both Scott and David. He kept avoiding those words Phillip just said. The words about Hannah, and how that just dropped his heart.
Andy heard screams from down the hallway, as well as something being struck very hard. He wanted to walk away and ignore it, and yet he just couldn't. He continued walking down the path, wondering what all the commotion was about. Once he turned the corner, he was exactly what he feared.
He looked seeing David holding Derek by the hair as he was on his knees. He was bleeding down from the nose, looking like he had given up on everything. He was coughing, choking on his own blood. A fist had struck him once again. It was Scott, just wailing on him.
"I think that's enough for one day," Scott said, shaking his hand due to the amount of pain he was receiving. David let go of Derek, watching him just fall face first on the floor. Scott had knocked him unconscious. Scott turned around, noticing there had been a viewer to the current play-cast. "Oh hey Andy didn't see you there," Scott said.
Andy looked over to Derek, who was just lying there, practically bleeding to death. Scott turned back also to notice what he was looking at. Scott chuckled and replied, "Yeah I may have gone a little overboard this time. I'm gonna grab a smoke," before walking past him and patting him on the back. Andy made a fist, beginning to debate why this needed to happen. He just prayed Hannah wouldn't need to suffer that same fate.
Naomi sat outside, as the snow had fallen from above. She felt cold, but not due to the weather. She sat in the snow, looking at Molly's grave. She had been there for over an hour, and she hadn't moved an inch. Not so much as even a twitch from her finger. In some sense she felt like she was visiting with her, communicating with her, but none the less she was gone. She just felt obligated to pay her respects whenever the chance came.
"You know if you stay our here, you'll get frostbite," Bailey said. Naomi recognized Bailey's voice, but she didn't bother turning around to greet him. "You should eat something Naomi," Bailey said.
"If you expect me to leave here anytime soon Bailey, you're dumber than you look," she replied.
"Then I guess there's no sense arguing with you," he replied. Bailey left Naomi alone again, and just headed back inside. He knew that when the time came, she would come back inside. He just hoped she wouldn't freeze to death first.
"The fact that you're just letting her stay out there is a mystery," Wesley said. Bailey didn't notice Wesley standing there for a moment. Bailey didn't acknowledge his words either. "Look I get why Tristan left you in charge until he's gone, but you just standing by and doing nothing is not how it should work around here," he said.
"Goodbye Wesley," Bailey said, leaving Wesley in stress by himself.
Bailey roamed through the hallways, hoping to find something to take his mind of his troubles. All day he had been stressed from the belief if Tristan would be coming back alive. He wasn't sure completely if his plan was going to go through, and whether Derek and Phillip would be alive.
Bailey heard some voices down by the corner of the center wing. He entered the room, seeing Austin and Kiersten there. Kiersten was crying immensely near Austin, and Bailey only felt fitting to ask why. "What's the problem?" Bailey asked.
"Well, while all of you we're busy crying over Molly, we're busy crying over Ben. Believe it or not he died as well," Austin said.
"I'm fully aware of that, and I'm sorry about that. He was a good man," Bailey replied.
"And now they have Derek. He's probably dead by now," Austin said.
"Well . . . I'd say if anyone's in better hands, it's him," Bailey said.
"Why would you say that?" Kiersten asked.
"Cause Tristan is on his way," he said.
Tristan and the group continued to press forward. He felt confident in Katheryn's abilities to lead them all there to safety. Tristan was also happy to have Matias around. He could hold his own against walkers, and he's proven over time to hold his own against the living as well. What Tristan was concerned about was Hannah. She had looked like something was troubling her ever since the four of them left the hospital. He knew it was because of Andy, she just hadn't admitted it to him yet.
Tristan walked over to Hannah, asking "You going to be okay?"
"Yeah I'll be fine," she replied, just trying to shrug Tristan off.
"I know how you feel. I've been asking myself how I'm going to handle Scott once I see him again. And I know the result won't be easy," Tristan replied.
"No Tristan. I know full well you're going there to kill Scott and save our lives, but that's not why I'm going," Hannah said.
"Then . . . why are you going?" Tristan asking, fearing her response.
"I'm going to save Andy," she said.
Tristan bit down on his tongue, rubbing his facial hair. "Hannah look . . . Andy made his choice. He's one of them now. He's not one of us anymore. He hasn't been for almost a year."
"And that means we're supposed to kill him? I know Andy; he can't live with something like this. He belongs with us," she said.
"Hannah how much of him do you really know? I knew Scott from the time I was enlisted in the military to the days of the Finis and the beginning of the turn. Even with all that time and knowledge, he turned on me. He became something I never thought he'd become. Now let's look at you and Andy. You barely knew him. You spent only a small fraction of time with him, and he always remained distant. Before the turn he was a trained assassin. His entire life was a purpose of murdering people. He decided to join Scott instead of stay with us. I'm sorry Hannah but . . . he's no better."
Hannah laughed a little bit, while replying "Well unfortunately for you . . . you're wrong."
"Hey guys!" Matias screamed. Both Tristan and Hannah looked ahead, seeing Matias point forward. "We got a slight problem," he said, pointing to about a dozen walkers coming down their path.
"We'll continue this discussion later," Tristan said. Tristan took out his revolver, checking to see if it was fully loaded. "You good?" Tristan asked Hannah.
Hannah unsheathed her machete once again, replying "I'm great," before running towards the herd.
Hannah's roommate Stephanie came through the door, it was the first time she had been back all day, with a big smile on her face and her hand in her pocket, poking at something. "You look bug eyed," she said to Hannah. "Like, more than usual."
Hannah rubbed her face in an effort to keep her eyes open a bit longer. "I just haven't had a lot of sleep the past few days. I don't have a lot of energy right now."
Stephanie looked at her and smirked. She pulled out a small baggie, containing a cloudy powder it looked like. She threw it on top of Hannah's book. "Take some of that," she said. "It'll wake you up." Hannah opened her mouth to protest but Stephanie shut her down. "Don't be such a square. You want some energy for a few hours, that's what I'm giving you."
Hannah eyed the powder, wondering exactly what to do with it. She sighed, feeling Stephanie's eyes on her. She poured it on the desk, making a line with her debit card. After rolling up a twenty dollar bill she snorted it, and the shock was almost instant.
Hannah leaned back for a few minutes, and then she felt something she hadn't felt in a long while. Some energy, to help her through this. It felt relieving and incredible. She saw Stephanie smirking as she began to do another line.
Hannah ran with a fierce eye. She screamed out, like a like hunting down a gazelle as she beheaded the first walker that blocked her way. Blood from the now deceased walker squirted up in the air, staining the snow with red mist. Another walker had approached Hannah right then and there, and she was prepared. She raised her mighty machete, and swung down in the walkers head. There it remained frozen, now being a true corpse. Hannah kicked down the body to free her blade from the disgusting demon.
Matias aimed down sight towards three walkers with his shotgun. "No," Tristan said, as he lowered Matias' shotgun. "Save as much ammunition as you can," he said, as he slowly took out his switch blade.
Katheryn stabbed a walker in the head with one of her arrows. She then aimed down the sight, nailing a bull's-eye in the walker's eye. A walker appeared from her side, and so she reacted right away. She swung her bow underneath the walker's feet, causing him to fall on his back. She held the walker down by the chest, and put the damn thing out of its misery with the point of an arrow. There she took out her knife, stabbing another walker in the head again, as she continued her onslaught.
Matias ran up, jumping up and kicking down a walker to the ground. He was in mid-air, and had his foot pressed directly down on a walker's head, causing it to turn into nothing more but mush. He turned around noticing the walker he kicked down was trying to get itself back up. "Oh I don't think so," Matias said. He took the end of his shotgun, and began to beat the walker's head down, causing more stains within the snow.
Tristan stabbed the first walker in the eye with his blade. Two more approached him. He had an idea that would save ammunition. He let the first walker approach him, but grabbed him by the collar to keep him from getting bitten. He looked behind, as the second walker piled up on him. He took out his revolver, at stuck it in the first walkers mouth. He fired, as the bullet went through the first walker's mouth, and through the second walker's eye.
The group continued to fight off the small herd with relative ease, and without so much having to use a bullet to get it done. Hannah had her machete. Matias could use his shotgun as if it was a baseball bat. And Katheryn had her arrows, which is practically a silent rifle that never runs out of ammo. And right then and there, it hit Tristan.
"Dear god, look at us," Tristan said.
"What are you talking about?" Matias asked.
"I'm talking about what just happened. We just fought off a dozen walkers with almost no effort at all. Hell we even took down a herd of two hundred at a time, and no casualties. This past year has turned us into something we used to dread. Something to fear. Who's to say we're not as dangerous as the men we're about to face? Who's to say that if anybody should be feared, it should damn well be Scott?"
"Tristan its cause . . . its cause they have nothing to lose," Hannah said, as all of Tristan's confidence just dropped.
Bailey stood in the hallway between the center wing and the now destroyed west wing. He kept watch, seeing if any walkers would breach the hospital once more. It would appear that most of the undead was taken care of the day before things changed.
"You know I really don't like being ignored," Wesley said. Bailey turned his head, noticing Wesley enter the room.
"Yeah I kinda figured," Bailey replied.
"I used to be ignored all the time, and I hated ever second of it. People didn't take me seriously; they thought I was a joke. Well now I'm here, and this time you're not going to blow me off," Wesley replied.
"Alright Wesley, what do you wanna talk about?"
"Why do you think sitting tight like this is fine? What if Tristan doesn't come back? We could die at any moment."
"Yeah well, believe it or not but that's why I'm relaxing Wesley. We could die at any moment, and what could we do anyways? I trust Tristan, I always have. In the meantime, I'm just going to relax. You should to. You should make every second count while you can."
"Well . . . that's better than doing nothing," Wesley said, as he left the room. As angry as Wesley just was, he felt some sort of relief, he just didn't know why yet.
Logan walked down the hallway, hearing something screech against his ears. It was not a pleasant sound, but it was one that was recognizable. Once he turned the corner, he noticed Andy who had his back turned, sharpening his boomerang once again. Logan sighed, knowing Andy was thinking about the same problem as he was. "With the amount of time you spend sharpening that thing, I'm surprised it isn't a stick," Logan said.
"What do you want Logan?" Andy asked, without losing focus of his blade, not even acknowledging Logan's presence.
Logan slowly walked over, and took a seat with Andy. He had always tried to keep his distance from him, but with everything that is going on, Andy is the closest friend he's got. "You know what we're doing is completely immoral right?"
Andy laughed, replying, "You are aware I used to kill people for a living right? You think I care about the moral perspective?"
"Alright fair enough, but I know full well you are not with what Scott is doing," Logan replied.
"Well what are we supposed to do Logan? He'll kill us if we defy him."
"No he'll kill me if I defy him. Me, I'm weak. He could kill me at any moment. Whether I try to stand my ground, or try to escape, he has every means of killing me. I'd be dead within minutes. You however, you're different. You're a survivor. That's why I'm struggling to figure out why the hell you haven't left this place yet," Logan replied.
Andy finally stopped sharpening his boomerang and faced Logan. "Logan what am I supposed to do. Leave this place, and attempt to join Tristan? Even if by some miracle he accepts me back, Scott would come back and gun that whole place down. Regardless of which side I'm on, people are going to die. The best thing to do is to sit tight and wait," he replied.
Logan had a face of complete repulsion. He looked at Andy, and now realized what his true motives are. "You are a real bastard you know that?" Logan stated.
"Excuse me?" Andy asked, sounding outrageously offended.
"You're just waiting to see which side is going to come out on top. It doesn't matter who dies, but who lives. And whichever side lives, that the one you will join with. You're as bad as Scott," Logan said.
Logan got up and walked right out of the room. Andy's expression went from being angry, to just being upset. He tried to shake off Logan's words by focussing on his boomerang once again. He tried, but everything Logan said didn't shake his mind. His blood began to rise, as well as his heart rate. Eventually he just got ticked off, and threw his boomerang at the wall, nailing it stuck. He rubbed his eyes.
Tristan looked up into the sky, noticing a change of tone for the environment. "Looks like the snow stopped falling. We'll lose our cover," Tristan said. He continued looking up, noticing the sun was going down, and fast. "It looks like we only got about an hour of sunlight left. Are we close?" he asked.
"Very close. A few minutes," Katheryn replied.
"Alright everyone make sure you're ready. This is going to happen fast, and we need to be prepared for anything," Tristan said to the group.
The group kept moving forward, and Tristan couldn't shake off the thought of killing Scott. He knew it had to be done; he just hoped it would be quick. No pain, no suffering, just a quick kill. After being forced to put Murray down almost a year ago, along with Mary a few months later, he assumed the worst had come. And yet Tristan was still very worried.
He took out Scott's dog tags, remembering the day he parted. It was one of the darkest days Tristan will ever remember, and that probably goes for everyone as well. There was an old saying, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Tristan put the same perspective in Scott's character. The more Scott changes, the more he stays the same. Tristan tried not to, but he always blamed himself for Scott turning on him. However, after what Scott has pulled, Tristan knew it was the right thing to do.
Tristan looked over to Hannah, seeing her have a face never seen before. She didn't blink, not once. She was completely focussed on something, and immediately Tristan figured out what it was. While Tristan was going there to murder one of his oldest friends, Hannah was trying to save hers. She was hell-bent on saving Andy from everything that was about to happen, but Tristan had doubts about that. He feared Hannah was risking her life for all the wrong reasons.
"Hannah," Tristan said, gathering her attention. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked.
"Don't worry about me Tristan, just worry about you," she replied.
"I just . . . I don't want to worry about you doing the wrong thing Hannah," he said.
"Then don't," she replied, looking into Tristan's eyes. There was a brief moment of silence.
"We're here," Katheryn said. The four of them looked into the distance, seeing a building not too far away from here. They hid in the bushes, looking up at the structure that would either be their rise or their downfall. Tristan took out his revolver, knowing now this was the right moment to use it to its full potential, as Hannah took out her machete, preparing to greet the very individual who blessed her with the blade.
Hannah was sitting in bed, books thrown aside, watching a Seinfeld rerun on TV. She was waiting for Stephanie to get back, having given her about $100 off her last paycheck. Hopefully she comes back with $100 worth this time, Hannah thought.
Three weeks had passed since Hannah's first time taking cocaine, and in that time she had been more upbeat than she had been feeling months before. The lows were boring and tiring, but the high was something else.
Stephanie walked through the door, sitting next to Hannah, and made out two lines. Hannah rolled up another twenty and snorted it, and waited for another great night.
The group emerged from the trees, crouching down as they approached the factory. They all had their weapons as ready as could be. They reached the door, and took a moment before entering. All Tristan could do was put his finger on his mouth, signaling everyone to be silent once they enter Scott's piece of hell. Finally, Tristan turned the handle, letting them enter their objective.
Wesley entered the center wing, seeing Austin and Kiersten sitting down beside each other. He never really got to learn about either of them, and he figured now was a good a time as any. "How are you two doing?" Wesley asked.
"Well . . . awful," Kiersten replied.
"I know the feeling," Wesley replied.
"Do you need something Wesley?" Austin asked.
"Well it has come to my attention, with everything that's been going on, we should make each second count," he replied.
"Alright well how are you gonna do that?" Austin asked.
"What kind of music do you like, or I guess what you liked?" he asked.
"Pardon?" Kiersten asked.
"I'm trying to get to know you both better, might as well before it's too late. So I'll ask again, what kind of music do you like?"
The hallway was dark, and created a sense of fear that shattered through the skulls of the four of them, but only momentarily. Katheryn roamed these hallways once, and she was in much worse shape last time, and yet she wasn't afraid. Matias as well felt the fear of death shake through his arms. He thought if anything would make him feel this way, it would be the walkers. He was wrong however, it was the living.
Tristan and Hannah felt a little bit differently however regarding being here. They didn't feel fear, or courage. They felt despair, despair for the people they used to call their family. Tristan was here, here to confront his oldest of friends Scott. And Hannah was here to greet the very man who made her the woman she is today. The assassin Andy Ta was now a target.
Tristan had pointed his revolver down the path, keeping the three of them behind him for support. Matias and Katheryn had their weapons also pointed down the sight, surely to make it so nothing would stand in their way to victory, regardless of what that might be. The four of them continued to walk down the hallway, seeing a corner, and hearing a voice coming down from that path.
Tristan peeked around the corner, seeing two men in the room. One of them was standing, wearing glasses and looked exceptionally large in weight. The second one was on his knees, which looked gagged, and bleeding all over his face. "You can't keep this up much longer, you know that," the fat man said. Tristan looked a little closer, realizing now it was Derek who was on his knees.
"Hand me a flash grenade," Tristan whispered. Matias opened up the bag, handing over Tristan a flash grenade. "Alright, give it three seconds after it goes off, then we'll go in," Tristan said.
"Come on man, I mean you can't honestly expect me to think you're out of answer?" Adam asked. Derek was in such agonizing pain he couldn't even reply to Adam. "Buddy come on don't give up on me now, I mean I'm just. . ." Adam said, before hearing something hit the ground. It was a small object, and neither Adam or Derek knew what it was. "What the hell?" Adam asked.
Bang.
Adam screamed, and flew backwards and the sound pierced his ears and the flash blinded his eyes. Derek was also blinded, but due to his constraints all he could do was fall face flat on the ground, wondering what kind of hell he was in now. "What the fuck is going on!" Adam screamed.
"Alright now," Tristan said.
The four of them entered in the room. Matias went straight for Derek on sight. He raised his head, whispering "Derek it's us." Derek slowly opened his eyes, and when he saw Matias he looked relieved. "We're here Derek. It's time to rest," Matias said.
Adam's sight was now regained, seeing four people enter his house. "Mother fuckers!" he screamed, as he tried to reach for his rifle. Tristan shot at Adam's leg, stopping him from gathering his gun. Adam screamed as the blood began to gush out. Tristan aggressively walked over, placing his revolver on Adam's head. "Christ!" Adam screamed, before hearing Tristan pull the trigger.
Bang.
Blood from the back of Adam's brain stained the wall behind him, as his now deceased corpse fell on the floor, with a bullet now implanted in his forehead. Tristan took a deep breathe, and tucked his revolver back in his holster. "That's one," he said.
Hannah and Matias laid Derek back against the wall, looking at him knowing he was badly beaten. "Derek are you okay?" Hannah asked.
"I've," Derek said, before coughing up blood, "I've been better."
"Where's Phillip?" Tristan asked.
"I have no idea," Derek replied.
"Katheryn you've been here before, do you know where he is?" Tristan asked.
"When I was here they kept me locked in some old janitor's closet. That's where Phillip probably is," she replied.
"Alright you and I will go find him. Matias and Hannah you'll stay here," Tristan ordered.
"No," Hannah replied. "I'm coming with you," she demanded.
"Hannah I don't think . . ." Tristan muttered.
"I'm coming," Hannah forcefully said.
Tristan knew why, but that's what the problem was. He was afraid this would lead into even more trouble than its worth. "Alright fine, Katheryn and Matias, you two get Derek out of here while me and Hannah find Phillip," Tristan said. "Where's this closet?"
Katheryn pointed down a different hallway than before. "Walk down that hallway, take a left. You'll see a long narrow path. Walk all the way to the end, then take a right. Continue walking, and then take a left, and then the closet should be down that hallway. You can't miss it," she said.
"Alright, let's go Hannah," Tristan said. The two of them began walking down the hallway, fearing what was about to come next. They both knew that somewhere within these dark hallways, Scott and Andy are waiting for them.
"What was that sound?" Arber asked.
"It sounded like a gun shot. Fuck you don't think Adam killed that little bitch do you?" David asked.
"He's stupid, but he's not that stupid," Arber replied.
"Guys," Scott said. He took a drag from his cigarette, blowing the smoke into the air as he said, "They're here."
"What do you mean? Like Tristan?!" David asked. Scott nodded.
"You two go see what happened, I'm going to check the perimeter outside," Scott replied.
"Yeah alright, these fuckers are going down," David said. Both David and Arber began walking down the hallways, having their rifles by their side to gun down any threat that awaits them. David was just praying that Tristan brought Bailey with him.
Tristan and Hannah turned the left, looking down the long dark narrow path Katheryn described. They walked slowly, as Tristan aimed down the sights with his revolver. Hannah had her machete by her side, looking all over the place, waiting to see what would jump out. The sweat began to drip down both their faces, beginning to really feel the fear enter through their bodies. They continued to walk slowly, praying to god this would go smoother than how they were expecting it to be. They felt like the devil himself was watching them, as they began to breach the gates of hell. The long narrow path was almost completed, and the two of them turned right as Katheryn said.
David and Arber saw two people turn down the hallway. David within seconds recognized Tristan. His face turned bright red, as he screamed, "Son of a bitch!"
Tristan turned his head, seeing David, as well as another man by his side. He was tall, black hair, and had glasses, exactly how Naomi matched Molly's killer. Tristan raised his revolver, and immediately fired upon the two of them. David and Arber began spraying bullet down the path, and Tristan and Hannah were forced to hide behind the corner. The rounds came in burst, and so often Tristan would return fire, up until he ran out of ammo.
Tristan began to refill his ammo, and he looked to Hannah. "I'll cover you, go find Phillip," Tristan said. She nodded. Tristan turned the corner, firing down all six bullets towards David and Arber. The two of them hid in cover, while Tristan shortly ran dry on ammo once again. He turned around, seeing Hannah make a left, and now completely out of sight. "Good job," Tristan said.
Matias ripped part of his cloth to wipe the blood away from Derek's face. As a doctor, he was able to tend to patients wounds pretty thoroughly. Derek had a minor concussion due to the amount of beating he had received. He was surprised Derek actually lasted this long, but he also knew he needed to be treated back at the hospital. "Man they did a number on you alright," Matias said.
"We better get him out of here before someone else shows up," Katheryn suggested.
"I thought you were hell bent on killing Scott?" Matias asked while still wiping away blood.
"We can save that for another day, right now we need to get your friends out of here," she replied.
Matias turned, replying "You mean our friends right?"
Katheryn tried to hide the smile, but ultimately she could only reply, "Yeah . . . whatever."
Matias nodded, seeing this was the first time she was trying to hide not being so serious. He looked back at Derek, whispering "Don't worry. We're going to get you out of here."
"Matias," a masculine voice from behind said. Katheryn drew and arrow, turning around and aiming down the sights. Matias loaded his shotgun, and also turned around, joining Katheryn on some quality payback time. Matias looked at the man who entered the room, noticing it was an old friend. "How have you been?" Logan asked.
Hannah ran down the path, trying to spot a janitors closet. It was in the middle of the hallway, just like Katheryn said. She opened the door, seeing Phillip tied to a chair. "Phillip thank god," she said.
"Hannah?" Phillip asked. Hannah rushed over, and went behind Phillip's chair. "How did you guys find me? Is Derek okay? I just don't understand?" Phillip asked.
Hannah used her machete to cut the rope that bounded Phillip. "I'll tell you everything later, but right now we need to leave," she said. Phillip stood up, looking ahead, noticing a man had entered the room. Hannah lifted her machete and swung it towards the man before she could make out who it was. The blade was caught with another blade, a boomerang. She looked into the eyes of the wielder, as Andy had the same expression he always had.
Hannah was looking at her books with the intention of finishing the work she had been assigned, but she couldn't concentrate. She had done two lines of cocaine, and couldn't figure out why she was having such a hard time finding the energy. I still feel so low, she thought.
For the past month now she had been chasing her first high. Nothing since had felt as good as that. She wanted that moment back, just those precious few hours.
She made ready another two lines, taking them one immediately after the other, hoping that this might help her now. She really needed it.
Hannah was still eyed, looking directly at her great successor, who gave her the same look back. The room had remained silent, and it seemed like forever. Hannah could hear Phillip screaming, but she was too busy focussing on Andy to even give a shit. Andy could've killed her ten times over by now, but he remained as still as a rock. "What are you waiting for? Kill me already," Hannah requested.
Andy disengaged the blade confrontation, and lowered his boomerang back to his side. "I don't wanna kill anyone," he replied.
"Why not? I mean that's what you do right?" Phillip asked, with great attitude.
"Stay out of this Phillip," Hannah requested.
"Look, I have never approved of what Scott had done," Andy said.
"Then why are you still here? Why did you leave with him in the first place?"
"Because it's where I belong," he said.
"Andy you belong with us, you always have. It's time to come back with us."
"Hannah I'm sorry, but there's not a place for me in your group anymore. I'm not one of you."
"So you're saying you're one of them then? Then killed Molly? Are you just gonna stand by as watch Scott kill all of us?"
"I . . . I don't know," Andy said, turning his back on Hannah and Phillip. Phillip was beginning to lose his temper, while Hannah was trying as hard as she could not to break into tears.
Tristan fired one more round down the path, as David and Arber continued to spray bullets all over the place. Tristan knew this was getting nowhere, and if he was going to make it out of here alive, he needed to leave right now. He turned around and saw a door. He figured that would be his best chance. If he ran down the hallway he'd probably get gunned down before reaching the end. He ran for the door, as he still heard the gunfire run down the path.
Tristan ran out from the door, and immediately tripped. He slid down a small narrow hill right into the snow. He was dizzy, and sighed from how unpleasant that was. He looked around, noticing it was pitch black night time, and that the town began to fall once again. "Terrific," he said.
Tristan turned to his right, stopping immediately from what he was seeing. "Hey brother," Scott said, greeting Tristan outside.
Tristan pulled out his revolver, and pointed it right at Scott's head, screaming "Son of a bitch!" as Scott just eyed him down with a smile, continuing to take drags from his cigarette.
Bailey went outside once again to check up on Naomi, who had not moved an inch from last time. He noticed it had gotten dark outside, and that Naomi needed to come inside, otherwise she will freeze to death. Instead of engaging by force, Bailey took a seat next to Naomi, in front of Molly's grave. "You doing okay?" he asked.
"Is that rhetorical?" she asked.
"No," he replied.
"Then, awful Bailey," she replied.
"I figured. Listen, I know Molly won't be coming back, and I don't expect you to get over it anytime soon, but that shouldn't mean you have to lose faith. You're not alone; you have me, as well as Tristan and everyone else to help you get through this. Believe it or not but we're a family, and we need you as much as you need us."
Naomi finally smiled, and looked away from Molly's grave back to Bailey. "We should go inside," she whispered. Bailey nodded, and the two of them stood up and headed back inside.
Andy turned back around to face his old friends. He could tell both of them were beyond frustrated with everything that was going on. He bit down on his tongue, and had an idea float through his mind about how all of this could be solved. "There is something you could do," Andy said.
"And what would that be?" Phillip asked.
"You could kill me," Andy suggested.
"What!?" Hannah screamed.
"There's no place for me anymore. I deserve to die. It's been long enough," Andy said.
Hannah's lips began to shake, not being able to stir up the proper words on how to reply to such an abominable request. She just wanted Andy to come back with them, but instead he thinks the only solution is something she would never consider. "Andy . . . I can't kill you," she stuttered.
"If you won't, I will," Phillip said. Phillip grabbed the pistol tucked in Hannah's jeans, and pointed it right at Andy's head.
"Phillip don't!" Hannah screamed.
"No do it, I deserve it," Andy replied. Phillips hand began to shake as he struggled pulling the trigger. He looked right into Andy's eyes, knowing he was fully serious about everything that was about to happen. "Do it Phillip," Andy requested.
"I'll do it!" he screamed.
"Then what are you waiting for?" Andy asked. Phillip's hand continued to shake, even more than it did before. He thought back about his time with Andy before the split, and how distant he was from the group. He left with Scott that day, and he was part of everything that has happened. Phillip knew this wasn't how it was supposed to do down.
Phillip lowered his gun back to his side. "No, you're not getting off that easy," he said. Andy's face dropped to shame, being denied the only request he thought fit. "Let's go Hannah," Phillip said.
Phillip left the room, tucking the gun away in his pants. Hannah walked by Andy, and looked him in the eye. She was trying to think of some form of departure for him. She couldn't convince him to come back anymore, but yet she felt like it wasn't time to say goodbye to him just yet. Instead of saying goodbye, she just nodded her head, and left the room with Phillip. Andy began to scratch as his boomerang, thinking it was nice to see Hannah once more.
Hannah burst through the door, feeling like she was about ready to jump out the window. She looked around desperately for her stash. She needed that now. All day she had been craving it, but her professor wouldn't let her out of class.
She opened her drawer and grabbed the small bag and poured it out on her desk. She grabbed a straw out of another drawer and snorted as much as she could before her nose started to burn. She shook that off and went in again, taking in some more. After shaking that off, she shook her head, something coming over her. She ran to the bathroom, letting whatever was in her body expel itself into the toilet.
Hannahjfkljfskfwkj Hannah caught up with Phillip down the hallway. She felt like she had just failed one of her university tests, and the amount of disappointment that came along with it. She failed, and that was one of her biggest discontents. Andy didn't want to come back, but he didn't want to have to see any more bloodshed between our families. He thought the solution was something simple, something real. Hannah didn't have the stomach to do it, but neither did Phillip. Instead, there was this perspective Andy deserves way more than that, and that's what scarred Hannah.
"Are you sure we made the right choice?" Hannah asked.
"Hell no," Phillip replied. "But I don't care. I just wanna go home."
"I can relate to that. Let's get out of here," she replied.
She was hesitant, but Katheryn lowered her weapons after seeing Logan again. Matias however kept his gun raised; still thinking Logan was the enemy. Matias looked pissed, and for good reason. Logan just had a straight face, completely understanding why Matias didn't lower his weapon. "Are you going to kill me Matias?" he asked.
"He's not a bad guy. This is the same man that let me free," Katheryn said.
"He's one of them," Matias replied.
"Matias!" Katheryn screamed, trying to get him to see reason.
"No he's right, I'm one of them. But . . . I don't know if you'll even care but I'm glad I got to see you again. I used to . . . I consider you one of my good friends Matias. You're right though, I deserve to die just as much as Scott does," he said.
Matias bit his lip, and finally lowered his weapon. "No . . . you need to come back with us," he said.
"I can't do that," Logan replied.
"Why not?!" Matias screamed.
"Because there's nothing left of me with you anymore," Logan replied. Matias looked at Logan with strong despair, completely frustrated with this situation. Truth be told, he still did consider Logan a friend, and a damn good one. The fact that he was now considered the enemy was a complete baffle on his part. He couldn't kill Logan, he just couldn't. This is why Matias felt an even greater motive for making Scott pay. "You should go before anyone else see's you," Logan said.
"He's right Matias," Katheryn said, putting her hand on his shoulder. He kept his eyes on Logan for a moment, and then drifted off, slowly heading for the exit.
"It was nice seeing you again," Logan said.
"Likewise," Matias replied, before dragging Derek out and shutting the door. Katheryn looked over to him, and just gave him a smile, thanking him for saving her life. She as well shortly followed Matias out of the factory.
Tristan kept his revolver pointed at Scott's head. Tristan was taking in deep breaths, completely feeling adrenaline course through his veins. Scott however looked as cool as a cucumber, just standing there taking drags from his cigarette. He blew smoke right in Tristan's face, finally muttering, "Is that anyway to greet an old friend?"
"You . . . you fucking bastard!" Tristan screamed. "You took Derek and Phillip and tortured them! You destroyed almost half of our home! You killed Molly!"
"Yeah you're right, I did, and truth be told I don't regret a single word of it," he replied.
"Mother fucker! I will kill you!" Tristan screamed once again.
"Then do it. You have me right where you want me," he replied.
"I'll do it!" Tristan screamed once again, as his hand began to shake.
"No you won't. You won't, you can't kill me Tristan. That's because you're weak. You always have been, and you always will be. You couldn't protect what you cared about dearly. Mary's dead because of you, you couldn't save her. You couldn't save Amanda, and you couldn't save Molly. And now here I stand, once your greatest friend now your greatest enemy, completely defenseless. You know the only way to save your people is to kill me, so what are you waiting for? Put a bullet in my head!" Scott screamed.
Tristan looked into Scott's eyes, his cold dark eyes that pierced fear all throughout his body. He had him right where he wanted him, and yet Tristan just couldn't pull the trigger. His hand was shaking aggressively, and he released a strong amount of effort vocally, but he just couldn't pull the trigger. No matter how much he hated admitting this to himself, Scott was right. He just couldn't kill him.
David and Arber opened up the doors. They looked down, seeing both Tristan and Scott standing there. "Fucker!" David screamed.
Tristan turned his head, noticing David and Arber have made their way outside, and Tristan knew he was in for some trouble. Tristan's guard was dropped, and Scott took advantage of that. He grabbed Tristan's arm, pointing it upwards. A bullet finally was fired, but only till it was too late. Scott kicked Tristan's chest, making him fly backwards onto the ground of cold snow. Tristan felt the pain course through his chest, thinking he was pretty much dead now. Scott walked over, taking out his pistol and continuing to smoke his cigarette. He loaded it, and pointed it directly at Tristan's head. "Good night old friend," he said.
A bullet hit the ground near Scott's feet, causing him to jump backwards. Tristan looked backwards, seeing it was Hannah and Phillip run towards them with a gun. Tristan looked back, noticing Scott aimed down the sights at them immediately. He kicked the gun right out of Scott's hands, and began to run straight for them.
David began to spray bullets while running down the path towards the three of them. Tristan heard the gunfire, making him scream "Run!" towards Hannah and Phillip. The three of them ran into the woods, trying to avoid any gunfire that David was shooting down. They all could hear David screaming while he shot his rifle, but ultimately the sounds drowned out shortly, David had run out of ammo.
"Fuck I can't believe I let them get away!" David screamed.
"This won't go unturned," Arber said.
"I can't believe I didn't hit any of them!" David screamed once more.
Scott laughed, and David asked what was so funny. He took a drag from his cigarette, and replied, "You're clearly not as observant as I am then."
Tristan Hannah and Phillip continued running through the woods. Tristan listened for the sound of gunfire, but the sounds had completely vanished. "Alright everyone stop!" Tristan screamed. The three of them stopped moving, catching their breath for a moment. "Alright everyone okay?" Tristan asked. Phillip nodded. "Hannah?" Tristan asked.
Hannah felt an agonizing pain down by her stomach, and placed her hand there, feeling it needed some pressure. She looked down, seeing her hand was now covered in blood. A stray bullet from David must've hit her. She looked back up to Tristan and Phillip, before collapsing.
"Hannah no!" Tristan screamed. Both him and Phillip rushed to aid to Hannah's wound. She had continued to bleed, while shortly falling unconscious. "NO no no no!" Tristan screamed. He began to question how he would get out of a situation like this now, and if at all Hannah would be around for the support.
