A New Day - Act V - No Time Left
Part IV - Mercy
Ben panted and stood from beside the closed attic door, turning to Lee. "Here, um...I'm not good with these. You dropped it down there."
Lee looked and saw his handgun in the teen's hand. He took it and placed it in his back pocket, simply nodded to Ben in thanks. The teen nodded back before going over to stand with Wendy.
Kenny paced around the attic. "That coulda gone better."
"Everyone okay?" Christa asked.
"Lee's still bitten." Kenny said.
"Shut up." Carley glared.
"Okay, let's get out of here and keep moving." Omid said.
"He's right, we gotta keep moving." Kenny nodded. "Think there's any chance we get Clem and Mabel and catch up to those goddamn thieves?"
"I don't know." Lee shrugged. "Maybe…"
"Well we're not going out through the window." Wendy said, inspecting the large glass frame. "No latches, no roof access, and thirty feet straight down."
"Anyone have any ideas?" Kenny asked.
Omid chuckled and stood before a miniature bust. "I bet this guy would. He's got a resourceful air about him."
"Knock it off." Christa muttered.
"Dixon Kent the third, industrial-"
"Omid."
The man glared. "Christa, I'm just trying to lighten the fucking tone."
"We need SOLUTIONS, not stupid jokes!" She shouted.
Silence fell over the attic.
Christa's eyes widened. She sighed. "I-I'm sorry."
"...so, no ideas, then." Kenny shrugged.
"There's gotta be another way…" Lee muttered, wiping some sweat from his forehead. He grimaced, his skin felt hotter by the second.
"Check the floor for any other access." Carley said. "A vent or, well...anything."
"Or we wait for the house to clear out and stick to the high ground." Robbie shrugged.
Lee coughed, catching everyone's attention. He rubbed more sweat from his forehead. Christa approached, slowly reaching up to feel. "You're not looking great...and you're warm."
"I-I'm okay." Lee stepped back. "Don't-"
"Lee?"
Everyone's eyes widened and locked onto the walkie talkie attached to Lee's belt.
Clementine's voice.
"Lee, I'm okay, I-I'm where my parents- oh no-!"
"What does that mean?" Christa asked.
"I-Is Mabel there?!" Dipper exclaimed. "I can't take it, I-I have to know where she is!"
"She's at the hotel, where her parents were staying." Lee said. "He hasn't moved her."
"Yet." Kenny muttered.
"Yeah...yet." Christa nodded.
"We need to start thinking about more than just the girls when it comes to our...urgency." Kenny muttered.
"What do you mean?" Omid asked.
"How do we get out of here?"
"That's...the whole point. We don't know."
"Okay, now your life depends on it; how do you get out of here?"
"I don't know." Omid shrugged. "I don't get it."
Christa glanced at Lee. "I do."
"Like I said, everyone needs to keep looking for a way out, dammit." Lee said. "We're trapped in here."
"Do you think that worked?" Kenny pointed to the man's missing arm.
Lee stared at his stump. "I...I don't know. I hope so."
"I think we need to have...an "adult" conversation, about what happens if Lee takes another spill."
"Kenny, you can't...you can't be saying what I think you're saying." Dipper glared.
"Hey, we could be looking at a Larry situation here." Kenny shrugged.
"Who's Larry?" Christa crossed her arms.
"It don't matter." Kenny shook his head.
"Okay, what do you wanna do?" Lee asked.
"Just talk about it."
"Does that conversation end with me getting something dropped on my head?"
"Now HEY." Kenny glared.
"Guys." Christa got everyone's attention. "I don't know what happened before Omid and I showed up, but we can cross this bridge when we get to it."
"Lee, I'm not advocating anything here, but how is this not a thing?" Kenny resumed pacing. "We're all so worked up about the girls that we're forgettin' what the fuck happened to you."
"My arm is not the issue. I'm not the problem!" Lee argued. "The five-hundred walkers in the house and no door in this room are the goddamn problem!"
"Yeah, maybe at the moment, but who's to say when it becomes an issue? At that point, there may not be any time left to deal with it!"
"Guys, calm down, this is getting out of hand!" Omid tried to step in.
"You're gonna listen to ME." Kenny got in Lee's face. "We will get those girls back, with or without you, because I haven't given up everything to die because we were stupid."
"I'm sorry, okay? Fuck, we can't do this!" Lee shouted.
"We're gonna have to!" Kenny shouted. Then, without warning, he grabbed the nearby bust, whirling around throwing it hard against the wall. A piece of the wall chipped off, leaving everyone in silence.
"...you ruined that dude's face." Omid muttered.
"Shut up sweetie, look." Christa said.
Kenny knelt down by the wall and ripped out a chunk of wood. "It's corroded to hell."
"What's on the other side of this wall, a thirty foot drop?" Wendy asked.
"No, this mansion butts up against the one next door." Omid explained.
"I'll be damned." Kenny muttered, standing back up.
"We're not lifers on Alcatraz here." Christa said. "We can't spend the next three months digging through a wall-"
Everyone looked to the wall, hearing the snapping of wood. Lee stood there, holding an old coat rack, having just bashed it at the wall. "This wall ain't shit."
"...is this really possible?" Dipper asked. "Like...we can just break into the other mansion?"
Lee set the rack down, Kenny picking it up next. "Yeah, we can do this. We'll work in shifts. Omid, Christa, and I. Lee, you rest with the others. We have to work fast."
Lee sighed as Kenny began bashing through the bits of corroded wood. "...I wasn't gonna hurt you."
"Sure pal, I know." Kenny nodded, resuming the destruction of the wooden barrier.
Everyone went off to do their thing. Dipper sighed and slumped over against the wall. So many thoughts raced through the boy's mind. He still had no idea if his sister was with Clementine and the stranger, or somewhere else. He was starting to become incredibly paranoid that something else had happened to her. Was she with them, or did she…?
"Hey." Wendy plopped down beside him. "Quit looking so down."
"How can I look happy." Dipper sighed.
"Well you just gotta be hopeful." She chuckled. "We'll break out and we'll find the girls and-"
"We don't know if she's there." Dipper argued. "We know he has Clementine, but does he even have Mabel?
Wendy sighed. "Look, Dip, I know you're worried, but chill the fuck out. At least hope he has her, okay? Look on the bright side, would Clem and Mabel really separate?"
"Why wouldn't he tell us then, if he has her or not?" The boy asked.
"Probably just to fuck with us, to make us come to him." Wendy shrugged. "Look, we'll find them, and we'll beat the living fuck out of the dude, and we'll be doing this together, alright? I'm not going anywhere."
After a moment of silence, Dipper smiled. "...thanks Wendy."
"Don't mention it." The girl smiled back. "Now here's hoping one of us doesn't take a stumble crossing over into the other mansion, we need everyone we can have to go get the girls."
"It'd probably be Robbie or - no offense, but Ben. One of those two." Dipper joked.
"Mm...yeah, probably." The two laughed.
"Grah!" Kenny grunted and stumbled back, setting the coat rack down. "Well shit...I'm through!"
"Is there a drop?" Carley asked.
"Nope, direct hole into the next building." Kenny said. "C'mon, let's get a move on."
The group nodded and started climbing through, one by one. Omid chuckled as he climbed through.
"Things are looking up."
The room they entered was a small hotel room. The furniture was still neatly in place, and nothing seemed to be disrupted or out of the ordinary. Once everyone was in the room, though, their eyes fell on the bed. There were two bodies, a man and a woman. Both of them had bullet holes in their heads, a small silver revolver in the man's hand. Neither of them had decayed much, though they hadn't died recently. It looked like they ended their time a while ago, to save themselves from any further pain and suffering.
Kenny sighed and looked away from the bodies, staring out the window.
"...let's keep moving. We gotta go." Lee said.
"Yeah…" Christa nodded. "...we've seen so many people, I don't know why these ones break my heart."
"What's heartbreaking is not giving yourself a chance." Kenny said. "It's what Katjaa did."
"You did everything you could." Lee consoled.
"No, Lee." The man shook his head. "She left me...my son...people that cared about us...I forgive her, but it don't make it any less wrong. You don't just...end it cause it's hard. You stick it out, and you help the folks you care about. So let's figure a way out of here and get those little girls."
"We should move." Carley said.
"Yeah." Ben nodded.
Kenny picked up the revolver. "Got at least one shot left…"
"Let's clear the room before we move on." Christa said. "While we're at it, one of us should figure out where we're headed."
Wendy grabbed Dipper's hand. "Dude, c'mon."
"Huh?" The boy felt himself be pulled across the room to a patio door. "What about the door?"
"Check this out." She pulled it open. "Sha-bam!"
Dipper blinked. "...it's just a balcony."
"I know, but look!" She stepped onto it. "See how close it is to the other building?"
"Yeah, so?" The boy asked. Though, after a moment to process what Wendy had said, his eyes went wide. "Wait, are you saying- WAIT!"
The redhead teen was already balancing up on the balcony pole. "We can just stand on top and jump across! Then we call follow the roofs to get to the girls!"
"Are you crazy?! You'll fall and get yourself killed!"
"Dude, I'll be fine."
Without warning, Wendy leaped. Dipper tried to grab her, but she was out of reach. The girl grabbed the edge of the adjacent building and flipped herself onto the roof. She panted and balanced herself, then straightened out.
"Are you okay?!" Dipper exclaimed.
"I'm fine, man! Parkour is in my skill set!" Wendy boasted. "Now it's your turn!"
"My turn?!" Dipper's breathing picked up. "I'm not gonna risk dying, Wendy!"
"Dipper, chill! It'll be fine!"
"No, I'm not jumping, and that's-!"
"Dude, it's okay. Just jump. I'll catch you."
Dipper stopped panicking, standing still. He sighed as he locked eyes with Wendy. She knelt by the edge of the roof and held out her hand. Her reassuring smile helped a little to calm the boy's nerves.
"Just stand on top and jump. It's a short distance. I'll grab your hand immediately."
The boy gripped the balcony railing. He slowly pulled himself up onto it and wobbled as he tried to regain his balance. His legs quivered and shook somewhat. He was terrified.
"Hoo...okay...I-I can do this. I can do this." He muttered. "Short distance. Wendy's there. I'll grab her hand. She'll pull me up. Then we all go find Mabel and Clementine."
"Exactly dude. Take a breath if you need to, but just jump. It's okay." Wendy nodded.
Dipper inhaled and exhaled a large breath. Then he bent his knees slightly and leapt forward. The boy soared over the alleyway below, and his arms momentarily flailed before he stretched them out and forward. His hands grabbed Wendy's hand and wrist, and as he felt himself fall, it stopped. Wendy grunted as she pulled the boy up and onto the roof top. They both fell back and panted on the stone roof, eyes closed and on their backs.
"Oh my God...phew..." Dipper panted. "That...w-wasn't so bad."
"Yeah...yeah it's all good..." Wendy sat up and nodded. "Alright...who's next- oh."
"What do you- oh."
Robbie stumbled out and onto the balcony, bumping the rail and shaking the metal structure. He gripped the bar and shook it slightly, feeling the vibrations. "Whoa, this...doesn't exactly feel stable."
"Just shut it and jump the fuck over." Wendy rolled her eyes and held out her hand.
The teen grumbled as he climbed up onto the slanted bar, trying to steady himself.
Pkang!
Robbie's eyes widened, the metal cranking and bending. Finally, the balcony's hinges snapped, and the silencing of the metal let the structure careen forward.
"Oh shit-!"
The teen slipped back and fell with the balcony, a sickening snap sounding in the alleyway below.
Dipper and Wendy were silent as their eyes widened. They peered over the edge of the rooftop at the boy. He was flat on his back and underneath cardboard, unmoving.
Was he...?
"Oh fuck." Wendy hurried down a nearby ladder. Dipper blinked and followed her.
The two reached the bottom and went through an open gate to reach the teen. Cardboard and metal covered him, and he groaned. He was still alive and he struggled to move.
"Oh god, Robbie, holy fuck...are you okay?" Wendy knelt by the teen.
"Hot...fucking...ugh." Robbie's eyes slowly blinked. "I'm...I'm good, g-good. My back f-fucking aches though, and I think my legs h-hurt..."
Wendy breathed, moving the cardboard. "Don't worry. You'll be fine, we'll get you out of here and back up-"
The girl stopped, dropping the cardboard and staring down at Robbie.
Dipper knelt beside her and his eyes widened in dismay.
Oh god...
In the lower part of his gut stood a long metal bar. A piece of the balcony had broken off, and had impaled him through the stomach. It was blood soaked, and kept the teen immobile.
Wendy placed a hand to her mouth. "Shit...no..."
Dipper simply stared. They could still save him, right? Or was he...?
Robbie lifted his head slightly and his eyes widened at the metal bar sticking out of him. "F-Fuck...!"
Wendy pressed her arms under the teen and tried to lift him. "Alright, you fuck, get up...!"
"SHIAUGH!" Robbie winced and whined in agony. "STAPAHG!"
The girl stopped and fell back. "Shit, what do we do?!"
"Just pull him off, we can-" Dipper stopped as he began to hear growls, looking on both ends of the alleyway. Walkers were beginning to pour in. "...oh no."
Robbie looked to his left. "O-Oh God...d-don't let them get to me!"
Wendy looked at the walkers, then felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Dipper.
The boy simply shook his head silently. "We have to go."
"No!" She shook his hand off, tears in her eyes. She felt terrible, treating him so poorly and having it lead to this. "I can save him, we both can!"
"You have to stop. We couldn't save Larry, we couldn't save Soos, we couldn't save Chuck...we can't save everyone Wendy. We have to go."
Wendy looked down at Robbie, slowly standing. Dipper nodded and took her hand, but then the girl pushed him back behind the gate and shut the door, clicking a lock on it.
Dipper's eyes widened. The boy hopped up and shook the gate. "Wendy, what the fuck?!"
The girl took Robbie's handgun from his pocket, checking the rounds. "Only three left."
"Wendy, this is stupid! You can't save him!" Dipper yelled.
"I know!" Wendy argued. "But...I have to do this. I have to make it up to him. I've been so bad to him, and I feel terrible about it. This is what I have to do.
"Now go, okay?" She was calm now. "You go get those girls. Get your friend back. Get your sister back. That's what matters."
"No, not without you! Come on!" Dipper violently shook the gate.
Wendy stepped back and aimed the gun, the walkers reaching them. "Alright, you sons of bitches, come get some!"
Dipper watched as his friend fired two rounds at some walkers, before she ended up slamming the butt end of the revolver into their heads.
"OH GOD!" Robbie screamed. "WENDY, PLEA-!"
The final bullet shot from the gun, and Dipper grimaced as he watched it silence the suffering teen forever.
Robbie was dead.
Tears flew from his eyes as he watched Wendy vanish, the alleyway becoming filled with walkers. He slumped against the wall and cried.
Two of his friends were gone, just like that.
-(End Of Chapter)-