The Walking Dead Apocalypse
George loaded up all the rifles within the back of his truck. It was past noon, and almost time to depart for the hospital. They had three vehicles to use, each with three to four people inside, although one was hesitant. Arber and David were more than ready to finish the fight once and for all, and even George and his men were eager to get back at Tristan for his theft. However, the one person that could not be more thrilled about all of this coming to an end was Scott.
"We're all loaded up boss," George said.
"Good, you and your men will take two of our three vehicles, each with three men inside. David and Arber will be riding with me, which is another three," Scott replied.
"Four," Logan said, popping out of nowhere like usual.
Scott turned back, just noticing Logan outside by the cars. "George why don't you gather your men, I'm going to have a word with Logan for a moment," Scott said, patting George on the shoulder. Scott approached Logan, asking "You sure? I assumed out of everyone you'd be the person who'd want to stay."
"I need to go, I need to see all of this," Logan replied.
"Logan . . . you better not be expecting a happy ending. Andy didn't get one, and neither will Tristan and everyone else," Scott pointed out, not giving Logan the benefit of the doubt.
"I know . . . I just need to see them all one last time," Logan replied.
"Well alright," Scott said. Scott took out a cigarette, and began dragging it out once again, letting the ash sit nicely. "Let's get to it then," Scott said, approaching his vehicle.
The three vehicles departed from the metal factory, towards a new destination that would lead to either safety, or an even greater hell. Each of them was prepared for the worst, but there wasn't much fear, but instead confidence. Scott was leading this assault, and the one thing he couldn't wait to see was the look on Tristan's face once he arrives.
All Roads End
Bailey gathered his stuff at his desk, sighing as he put everything in the small box. As he gathered everything he was almost mournful. This had been his life, and Jordan had taken that away from him.
The boss completely tore into Bailey. The police department was threatening to shut down the whole paper, even if they "fired the son of a bitch responsible for this," his words. Bailey was being fired, and would now have to appear in court for revealing evidence about an ongoing case.
Bailey stared down at his desk, the old computer still sitting there. Without thinking he grabbed it and slammed it on the desk. With keys flying everywhere, he threw it against the wall before he walked out, staring Jordan down with the eyes of someone with nothing more to lose.
Bailey kept rubbing his knuckles back and forth. This was something he had often done when nervous. Tristan and Matias barely made it back alive, and on top of that Derek went unconscious for hours on end due to exhaustion. Bailey in his mental state wasn't able to take much more of this, and that's why he was just praying Tristan would figure out the right move soon.
Tristan Bailey and Matias were all inside the east wing checking up on Derek. He had regained consciousness sometime yesterday, and claims he is fine now. Matias still needed to do a check up on him, and Tristan and Bailey were there just for their own sake.
Matias placed another band aid on Derek's shoulder, causing him to cringe. "Really Matias, I'm fine," Derek replied.
"If I had a nickel for every time a patient said that to me," Matias replied, feeling like it was his glory days back in the hospital, and he had the perfect scenery for the job. "You were dehydrated from exhaustion after you severed fatigue in your muscles from a beating Derek, you need to be patient."
"I'm just sick of lying on this bed all day long, it be nice to like . . . you know walk around?" Derek replied, sounding very frustrated.
"Were just being thorough Derek, no need to complain," Tristan said.
"Well with all due respect Tristan, I'm really the only one who needs to be in here," Matias replied, giving Tristan the stink eye.
"Right . . ." Tristan muttered. Tristan tapped Bailey and together they both walked out of the room, leaving Matias alone with his patient.
Bailey looked over at Tristan, who had looked like wasn't getting much sleep, due to his bags under his eyes. And on another note, he was almost pale as the snow. "Tristan you should get some rest," Bailey said.
"No that's not an option, not with everything that's been happening to us," he replied.
"Yeah well . . . that's exactly why we need to stop."
"What are you talking about?"
"Molly and Ben . . . Wesley and Alvero . . . they all died," Bailey said, causing Tristan to remain silent in their memory. "And on top of that, Phillip and Derek were captured and got tortured, and in an attempt to save them Hannah got shot. We're getting nowhere here, and for what?"
"For what? We're talking about our lives here Bailey. You think we should just roll over and let Scott kill all of us?" Tristan asked.
"No . . . I'm saying we need to leave. Escape the fight entirely."
"You wanna leave this place? After all we've given up and sacrificed for it? We've spilled blood here; we put our lives on the line. It won't be for nothing."
"Four people are dead Tristan, and more will continue to die if we continue to fight for it. This isn't the only safe haven out there, I know it isn't. We can leave; we can leave all the fighting behind. If we need to search for a new home while fighting against walker, then so be it, we've already done it before. But fighting against Scott? This is something we we're never prepared for, this is much bigger than The Foreigners now."
"You just don't understand," Tristan said, turning his back on Bailey and leaving the room. Bailey bit down on his teeth, looking at the wall and punching it. He felt and immediate pain after that action, feeling like an idiot for taking his frustration out on a wall.
"You really believe that?" Katheryn asked. Bailey turned to his left, seeing Katheryn there, leaning against the wall.
"How much did you hear?" Bailey asked.
"Enough. You think we should just leave?" she asked.
"I do . . . but I guess it doesn't matter what I think."
"To be completely honest with you here, I agree."
"You do?"
"We're up against complete maniacs here, and if we continue to oppose them, we're all going to die. It's time to leave before all of that happens."
"I just wish Tristan would be able to see that."
"He does see it, but there's something he hasn't learned how to abandon yet."
"And what would that be?" Bailey asked. Katheryn gave him a sarcastic smile, implying he already knew the answer. "Scott . . . he can't abandon Scott."
Naomi had been strolling around the perimeter of the hospital since morning, just within the trees to find what she was looking for. There was something very formal she felt Molly needed to have on her grave, but the problem for Naomi was it was winter, and it may be hard to come by. However, based on the current climate, it may be possible to find what she was looking for. For a few hours however, it proved to be pointless. She didn't run into any walkers, none that she could see at least. As her prevention grew stronger, she finally turned a corner, seeing exactly what she was looking for.
It was a wetland wildflower, once said to be one of Molly's favourite. It was as purple as could be; giving the instant impression to Naomi it would be spring soon, only she wasn't sure if she would live long enough to see it. She smiled, and carefully picked the flower out of the ground. She looked at the flower for a moment, thinking it had been a while since she saw something as pretty in a world like this.
She strolled back towards the hospital, back to Molly's grave. Walking past the gravestone, Naomi just looked at it for a moment, feeling like it's been a while since they had a conversation. "Hey Molly it's me, I guess you're probably up there talking with your sister right now, I hope she doing well. Anyways, I found a flower not too far from here, and I was hoping you could accept this as a gift," Naomi said.
Naomi put the flower down on the gravestone. "It's going to be spring soon, and that'll mean no more snow, thank god. But . . . I don't know maybe we'll see each other again before that happens . . . I would really like that," Naomi said, looking down onto the grave, trying not to shed a tear.
"Really? Cause I would like for you to see it," Phillip said.
Phillip startled Naomi for a second. "Phillip?" Naomi said, sounding a tad thrown off guard.
"I thought I'd come by and visit Molly, is that okay?" he asked.
"Yeah absolutely," she said.
Phillip walked over beside Naomi, looking down onto the grave. "Hey Molly, hope you haven't forgotten about your buddy Phillip. You said hi to Nicole for me right? Anyways I hope you're doing well . . . and don't worry I'll be taking care of Naomi while you're gone . . . she's not going anywhere."
"Phillip please don't . . ."Naomi said.
"No I mean it, I'm not letting you stand by and get killed," Phillip said.
"Yeah well . . . it might not be either of our choices," Naomi said. Naomi turned back around inside the hospital, as Phillip continued to look at Molly's gravestone, still wishing he would be able to keep his promise.
Matias heard the door slam behind him, knowing someone had entered the room. His guess would either be Kiersten or Austin, and he personally wished they hadn't entered the room. When left with a patient, he likes to be alone, not have a crowd of people surround him while he does work. It could also quite possibly be Bailey or Tristan that entered, and even then Matias wouldn't be happy. Matias turned around, seeing the most unlikely of people enter the room.
"How's he doing?" Katheryn asked.
"He's um . . . he for the most part will be just fine," Matias said.
"You could say that again," Derek replied.
Matias wiped his away, as well as the sweat from his forehead. It just struck Katheryn right there, Matias has had about as much rest as Tristan has the past few days. He went to charge Scott's hideout with Tristan, and then immediately when he returned he started aiding Derek. "Matias you need to get some rest," Katheryn said.
"No I don't, I'm fine really," he replied.
"Yeah well I know when someone is in denial, just take a few minutes even, I'll keep an eye on Derek," she replied.
Matias didn't want to, but she did have a point. He was denying it, but he hadn't gotten a bit of rest ever since he left the hospital, right before Wesley died. "Yeah okay . . . but only a few minutes," Matias said.
"Of course," she replied. Matias stumbled by, leaving Katheryn alone with Derek. Katheryn looked over at Derek, who just seemed to be more annoyed than in pain. "How are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm fine . . . and I wish people would stop asking me that," he replied.
"Well I think people keep asking you that because truth is . . . you're not fine," she replied.
"I . . . why didn't you leave?" Derek asked.
"Pardon?"
"Why didn't you leave? Ever since I met Tristan and these people, everything I've ever cared about has slowly been taken away from me. He's a curse, and yet you stay when you know you can just leave it all behind."
"If anyone's a curse here, it's me. I started this war, I'm the one to blame, all Tristan has been doing is trying to end it."
"Yeah well . . . if worse comes to worse, I'll be sticking with you instead of anyone else," Derek said, causing Katheryn to smile from that compliment.
Matias leaned against the wall sitting down, closing his eyes while trying to get some rest. He didn't want to sleep, although it seemed very tempting to him. Just as he was about to doze off, an annoying voice stopped him.
"Can we go inside and check on him now?" Austin asked. Matias opened his eyes and gave him a dirty look, as well as Kiersten. "Well can we?" he asked.
"No, not right now," Matias replied.
"And why the hell not?!" Kiersten screamed.
"Calm down. Derek just needs to get some rest, not get swarmed by people every second," Matias said.
"But we're not people, we're his friends, his real friends," Kiersten said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Matias asked.
"Ever since you and your people came here, it's been chaos," she said.
"I agree, we need to look out for each other," Austin said.
"You two really don't know a damn thing do you? We're all family now, regardless if you like it or not. If you reject my help, I'm going to help either way, because that's what family is for."
"Yeah well . . . I don't really consider any of you my family," Kiersten said.
Matias stood on his feet, eyeing Kiersten down. "I guess I'll how to show you then," he whispered.
Tristan looked at the door entering the now destroyed west wing, thinking there was something within his old room he left behind he needed to grab. He wasn't sure how many walkers were behind that door, but he needed to check. He pulled out his revolver, and slowly opened the door.
He peaked out, seeing nothing at the start. Tristan entered the west wing, walking slowly through it towards his room, feeling the cold breeze against his skin. There were still no walkers to be seen, although that always seems to vanish very quickly. Within only a minute he made it to his room, and there he entered, hoping to find what he was looking for.
He shut the door, walking over to his drawer, opening it and seeing the first thing he wished he departed with long ago. It was the black crow pin Connor gave to him. He deliberately left this behind during the destruction of the west wing, but it seems he just can't part with it anymore. He placed it in his hands; hearing the words "They will kill you all," whisper in his head again.
Immediately he put that back in his pocket, just brushing it off, because that's not what he came looking for. He opened the second drawer, finding the one thing he wished he hadn't left behind. It was Scott's old dog tags. He still remembers the day Scott left those behind, it was the most vivid memory he ever had. Tristan looked at the dog tags, pressing them against his head as he tried to hide his tears, thinking he wished everything had happened differently.
"Is it because of him?" Bailey asked. Tristan looked over, seeing Bailey just standing there with the door open behind him. He must've followed him. "Is it because of Scott you don't wanna leave?" he asked.
"Have you ever had a time where it's been so hard just to let something go?" Tristan asked.
"Yeah . . . unfortunately I do," Bailey replied, finding it hard to look Tristan in the eye.
Bailey sat on his sofa, a bottle of Corona sitting on the coffee table, and a nearly empty six pack by his foot. He nursed his beer while an old rerun of Seven Pounds was on the TV.
A few weeks had passed since he had been fired from his job at the newspaper. He had found a job at the local grocery store, but since he had been there hated himself.
How the fuck had he let Jordan do this to him, he thought. He had always been looking for a way to screw him over, now he was able to do it. Now he'd have his job and... shit.
In a moment of rage Bailey flung his half full beer across the room, then fell back on the couch and sighed. He couldn't find tears to cry, and couldn't find the strength to scream. He felt empty.
Bailey looked upon Tristan, a shattered man who is coming to terms with his loss. Never before has Bailey seen Tristan brought to his knees emotionally, not even when Mary died. Seeing everything Scott has done to him has really taken a toll on Tristan's strength, and quite frankly Bailey wasn't sure if he could handle it anymore.
"Are you going to be okay?" Bailey asked.
"If you think we should leave, then we should leave," Tristan replied, standing on his feet once again, engaging Bailey.
"But . . . what changed your mind?" he asked.
"This place is practically destroyed now, and four of our own have died fighting for it. I thought maybe I could stand up to him, fight him, defeat him, but I was wrong. Scott has proven to be too much of a threat to handle anymore."
"Look I get why you can't bring yourself to kill him, he's your brother," Bailey said.
Tristan looked down at the dog tags again, remembering the day Scott abandoned him, blaming him for Amanda's death. Remembering Scott, it was all memories of pain and suffering, just death and darkness with every cigarette he smoked. Looking at Bailey, he had nothing but memories of happiness, loyalty, and friendship. Tristan tightened his grip around the dog tags, tucking them back in his pocket.
"No . . . you're my brother Bailey, just you," Tristan said. Bailey smiled, thinking to himself Tristan might have had a great epiphany.
"Thank man . . . but if we're going to leave we should ask everyone else's opinion on the subject first. It should be a group decision," Bailey replied.
"You're right, I completely agree. Let's go talk to them," Tristan said. The two of them left the room and strolled through the west wing, feeling the breeze against them once again, from the hallways they used to consider home.
Hannah sat within the center wing, looking outside at the sunshine. She was starting to figure winter was now coming to an end, and now couldn't be a better time. Spring was always her favourite season of the year, it was peaceful, warm, but not scorching hot. The past few months in the cold have proven to be nothing but trouble.
Hannah unsheathed her machete, having the thought of Andy cross her mind. She was wondering how he must be doing right now, it couldn't be good. It was just a disgusted feeling she had that he was over there on the enemy lines, but for some reason she had this feeling he was elsewhere, but his life was at even greater risk than before.
"You said Andy was the one who gave that to you, correct?" Katheryn asked. Hannah didn't notice Katheryn standing there, but she didn't care much. She enjoyed her company, she wasn't overly emotional like Naomi was, or as panicky as Kiersten, so it was nice having another female to talk to.
"Yup," Hannah replied, referring to Andy.
"I'm sorry about him, I'm sorry for what happened," Katheryn said.
"He made his choice, nothing I can do about that now," Hannah said.
Katheryn sat down beside Hannah, looking outside at the sun. "I'm not sorry about Andy, I'm sorry about me," she said.
"What are you referring to?"
"I practically started this war. I'm the reason you were forced to fight with him."
"No don't be blaming yourself," Hannah said. Katheryn shook her head out of sigh. "Don't be blaming yourself," Hannah said more assertively this time. "If anyone's to blame here, it's Scott. Not you, not Andy, Scott, and nobody else."
"I suppose your right, but man is he one tough bastard to beat huh," Katheryn said.
"Oh you have no idea," Hannah replied.
"I mean, if he hadn't blamed Tristan for the death of his girlfriend maybe things would've worked out differently."
"There's a little bit more to that than you know. Amanda was also pregnant at the time, when she died, Scott's child also died with her."
"Oh wow I didn't know that . . . my apologies . . . to Amanda, but that's still no excuse for what he's done to us."
"Well we gotta give the man some credit, he did do one great thing for all of us," Hannah said.
"And what would that be?" Katheryn asked.
"You. It's because of him we got to meet you," Hannah said. Katheryn felt a warm feeling within her chest, absolutely not being able to deny the smile on her face. She hadn't been surrounded by people like this for a long time, or at least she's never stuck around long enough to learn about it, and in this particular case, she wouldn't be going anywhere for a long while.
"Mind if I interrupt you two," Tristan said from behind. The two of them turned around, seeing both Tristan and Bailey behind them.
"No not at all, what's going on?" Hannah asked.
"Hannah can you go and gather everyone, tell them to come back here," Tristan requested.
"Yeah sure, but what for?" Hannah asked.
"There's something we all need to talk about," Tristan said. Hannah nodded, and began to walk out of the center wing in hopes she could find everyone with ease.
"What going on?" Katheryn asked.
"I think it's time we leave this place once and for all, it's not worth fighting for, not if we're all going to die in the end," Tristan said.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yes, but only if everyone is fine with that," he said. "Speaking of which, what do you think? Should we stay and fight, or should we go?"
"With everything that's happened . . . the pain and death . . . I'm surprised you just decided this. If you all decide to leave, I'll be right behind you," Katheryn said. Tristan was relieved with her response, considering he was still worried she would leave regardless of the outcome of this war. He leaned in, giving her a big hug.
Naomi walked throughout the hallways, but she heard footsteps behind her. She peaked back, seeing Phillip quickly turn the corner, hoping not to be seen. "What are you like stalking me now?!" Naomi screamed.
Phillip slowly came out of the corner and revealed himself to Naomi. "Stalking wouldn't be the word I would use," he replied.
"Phillip really, I'm fine. I don't need you looking after me and I certainly don't need you to protect me. I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself," she said.
"Naomi I used to be a psychiatrist, and I always dealt with patients who went through a huge loss like you have. Quite often they would give me the same review you just gave me, saying they don't need therapy or that they can take care of themselves, that everything would be okay, and by the end of it they were everything but okay. It's my loyalty job and duty to not let that happen."
"I'm not your patient!" Naomi screamed.
"You're right . . . but you are my friend," Phillip said. Naomi dropped her expression of anger and instead had an expression of disbelief. "You can scream at me all you want, but I made a promise to Molly, and I intend to keep it," he said. Naomi tried not to smile, but she couldn't help it. It was nice hearing someone care for her as much as Molly once did; it was just too bad Phillip was a male.
"Hey you two," Hannah said, approaching the two of them. "Tristan wants you both down in the center wing," Hannah said.
"What for?" Naomi asked.
"I'm not sure, just go," Hannah said, walking past the two of them and turning the corner. The two of them didn't understand why they were summoned down there, but they certainly wouldn't oppose it. They both walked down towards the center wing together, as friends.
Matias let both Kiersten and Austin enter Derek's room to check up on him, but the interesting part was Derek was even more annoyed that Matias was. "I'm fine, really," Derek said, sounding completely irritated.
"You got beat like the nerd you are, don't pretend to start acting like a man now," Austin said, making a really bad joke.
"Oh yeah? Once I get out of this bed we'll see who the real man is," Derek said.
"Bring it on buddy, bring it on," Austin replied.
Both Matias and Kiersten watched the two of them continue to bicker, and they both found it oddly amusing. "Wow I mean for family . . . you guys treat each other like shit," Matias said.
"That's what families do Matias, they bicker," she replied. Matias had a slight laugh, realizing she was right. Matias and her mother used to fight all the time. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier," Kiersten said.
"Hey don't worry about it, no hard feelings," he said.
"Did you mean what you said though?"
"I did, we're all in this together, and I wouldn't have it any other way," Matias said. Kiersten had a nice smile towards Matias, and they both went back to watching Austin and Derek continue to argue about who was the bigger man.
Hannah entered the room, seeing the four of them just standing there. "Hey Hannah what's up?" Matias asked.
"Tristan wants you all to come down to the center wing, apparently he has something we all need to talk about," Hannah replied.
"You'll forgive me if I don't go," Derek replied.
"Yeah you'll stay here, the rest of us will go now," Matias said. The three of them left the room, leaving Derek alone finally. He leaned back against his bed, not a care in the world, at least not before he felt a pain in his ribs. He sighed, wishing he could get just one good day to himself.
Everyone finally gathered around within the center wing, and as each second passed Tristan was trying to think of how he would talk this out with everyone. He needed all of their consent, but he just wasn't sure he would get that. He hopes for the best, he already had Bailey and Katheryn on his side, only another seven.
"So why are all of us here?" Matias asked.
"Bailey and I talked about it, and we both agree we think it's time we leave this place. It's not worth all the trouble," Tristan said.
"Wait . . . you just wanna leave? You don't wanna finish what we started?" Naomi asked.
"What I'm worried about is what we started might finish us. We can either stay and fight or we can go and live another day," Tristan said.
"You're . . . you're serious?" Phillip stuttered.
"I am, but this needs to be a group decision. So that's why I asked you all to come down here," Tristan said. "So Phillip, what do you wanna do?" he asked.
"I got beat to a pulp because of all this, I'm more than happy to leave," Phillip said.
"Austin and Kiersten you two have lived here the longest, what do you think we should do?" Bailey asked.
"Are you kidding? I would've left his place long ago if I had the chance. I say let's get the hell out of here," Kiersten said.
"I agree," said Austin.
"Can we assume Derek would want to go?" Bailey asked.
"After what happened to him, he'll be more than glad to leave," Austin said.
"Matias how about you, this did used to be your line of work here, can you leave it behind once and for all?" Tristan asked.
"I hated working here, and although I've never admitted it, I was ashamed we were living here for so long. I say let's leave as soon as possible," Matias replied.
"Alright, Hannah?" Tristan asked.
Hannah wasn't sure if she was ready to leave yet, not with Andy on the other side of all of this. "Well . . . if it guarantees everyone's safety, then it's probably a good idea to leave," Hannah muttered, not sounding sure if it was the right move.
"All right Naomi it's all down to you," Phillip said.
"I'm sorry but I think you're all a bunch of idiots. Everyone that died defending this place, and you don't wanna avenge them? All of this would have been for nothing, and unlike all of you I don't like giving up," Naomi said.
"Naomi . . . what good is fighting if it's just going to get us all killed," Tristan replied. Naomi was speechless, not being able to think of a proper response to that. "Naomi please," Tristan requested.
"Alright fine . . . whatever," Naomi said, sounding aggravated.
Tristan now had everyone's consent to leave; all he needed to figure out now was where he was going to go, and how long it would take to get there. He knew though as long as he had his family with him, there was no obstacle that would stand in his way. "Alright, we'll start packing up everything and we'll leave as soon as we can," Tristan said.
Bailey was thrilled about them finally leaving, he couldn't wait to get back on the road again, and regardless of hard it might be. Spring was coming soon, and that meant better weather for travel, no longer would he have to look out the window and see the snow fall. Instead of the snow coming this time, he noticed something very strange outside the center wing doors, and it was not good.
Three vehicles approached the center wing from the distance, causing Bailey to whisper "No . . ."
Everyone heard Bailey's whisper, and they all turned towards the door, seeing the cars approach. They all walked towards the doors slowly, but carefully. The cars arrived at the lot, and with it came out nine men, all with high powered rifles aiming right down the path of the group. Three of them had very familiar faces. One of them was Arber, the man who murdered Naomi. The second was David, having that annoying face nobody could stand. And of course there he stood, with a cigarette in his mouth and a rifle in his hands, Scott leading the assault.
Bailey was stocking cereal when his supervisor Brooks came by. "How's everything going Bailey?"
Bailey didn't answer, just nodded and continued stacking. He was finished with this. Stacking cereal at eleven in the morning, slightly drunk, and dreading his court date. "Shit," he said. "Brooks what time is it?"
"Uhhh that's what I was coming to talk to you about. You needed this shift cut short, right?" Brooks looked confused, wondering why Bailey had forgotten.
"Fuck, yeah I do. I'm sorry, thanks." Bailey stripped his vest off and ran out of the store in his light red polo shirt. Now his heart was beating faster than ever before.
The group looked outside the windows inside the center wing, see nine men, each with a dissatisfying face come to their door step. There their leader stood, a red headed chain smoker hell bent on revenge towards his ex-brother. Bailey could already feel the heat, and in no circumstance would this go well for any of them.
"To everybody inside that hospital, I know you can see me, and I know you can see me, and that's why I'm only going to say this once. Tristan Bailey and Katheryn, we would all like you three to come out and present yourselves, otherwise we'll release fire onto the hospital and destroy it, and believe me when I tell you this, and it will burn to the ground. You have one minute," Scott said.
"No! No no no no no no!" Tristan screamed. An aggressive punch to the wall was caused from him, and for a brief moment he had completely lost his mind in rage.
"Tristan . . . what do we do?" Hannah asked.
Tristan turned back towards everyone, seeing all of them were very scared and alarmed, and they had every right to be. There was no way in hell he was going to stand by and let them all get killed. This was his fight, not theirs. "I'll go out and face him. I'll distract them long enough to let you escape, but you need to move fast," he said.
"Wait what?! You can't be serious?" Naomi asked, sounding dumbfounded.
"This is my fight, not yours," Tristan said, as he took out his revolver, checking to see if it was fully loaded. He thought he should at least take out as many as possible.
"Last time I checked they asked for me to come out as well, I'm coming with you," Bailey said.
"Bailey no, you need to stay alive," Tristan replied.
"There is no way in hell I am leaving without you. I'm going with you, end of story," Bailey said.
"I am too, they asked for the three of us," Katheryn said.
"Katheryn?!" Tristan screamed.
"Tristan we're doing this together," she replied.
"I'm not just standing by and watching you all get killed," he said.
"Tristan time is running out, either the three of us go out there and face Scott together, or all of us die right here and now together. What's it going to be?" Bailey asked.
Scott continued dragging from his cigarette, growing impatient from the lack of response he got. He knew they were listening, he knew they could hear him. A minute has gone by if not more, he put out his cigarette, and spoke to his group saying "Alright I guess they didn't get the message, let them loose boys," Scott said. George and his men raised their rifles right towards the hospital.
"Wait look!" David screamed.
Scott turned back around, seeing Tristan Bailey and Katheryn all walk towards them. Scott's face raised from a smile, whispering to himself, "Son of a bitch."
Tristan Bailey and Katheryn slowly approached Scott and his men. As he looked closer, he noticed Logan in the back of a car, just sitting there as the other nine had their rifles pointed at them. They all began to sweat, and each of their hearts was racing greatly. They were about to look into the eyes of the devil, and now the three of them stand there at the gates of hell. "Surprised fucker?" Tristan asked.
"I knew you would come out, but quite frankly I'm surprised Bailey grew a pair," Scott said.
Bailey looked around the nine of the men, and immediately he noticed David, giving him a dirty look as usual. "It's been a while hasn't it David?" Bailey asked.
"Fuck yourself, can't wait to see you die," David replied.
"Now David be nice, this is their house after all," Scott replied.
Tristan raised his arms saying "Alright here we are, what happens now?"
"Well funny you should ask. Logan has made me see a change in heart. I don't see it really fair that all of you should die, so I told him if it satisfies him, you three are the only ones I need off my plate," Scott said.
"Then what are you waiting for, kill us?" Katheryn asked.
"Always a pleasure Katheryn," Scott replied.
"She does have a point though, why are we waiting?" George asked.
"Yeah come on! Let's load these fuckers up!" Paul screamed.
"Patients boys, patience, I'm just trying to savour every moment," Scott said.
Within the hospital, the remaining six inside kept watching what was happening outside, although some of them were anxious to just leave. "Why aren't we going, this is the distraction isn't it?" Austin asked.
"You think we're actually going to leave them behind?" Hannah asked.
"Wasn't that the plan?" Kiersten asked.
They all heard a shotgun load from behind them. "Live together, die together," Matias said.
"It's time Scott paid for what he's done to us," Naomi said. Naomi tried to reach for something below her jeans, but it didn't seem to be there. She continued to look and was now just panicky.
"Naomi what's wrong?" Phillip asked.
"Molly's five seven, it was just in my jeans, where'd it go?" she asked.
Bailey kept scratching at the five seven tucked away within his jeans. Aggressively he kept eyeing down Scott, wanting nothing more than to just take out his gun and end it right here and now, but he needed to be patient, he needed to have faith in Tristan.
"Alright well there's no sense in dragging this out any longer," Scott said.
"Scott wait just listen for a moment okay?" Tristan desired.
"Alright, talk then," Scott replied.
"I'm sorry okay; this is all of my fault. We killed Alex, I get it, but I know that's not why you're doing all of this. It's because of Amanda, and you know what not even just Amanda. Savian . . . Mary . . . your unborn child. I take full responsibility for what happened, and I know there's nothing I can do to change that."
Scott expression of a blood lusting desire had changed to nothing more than rage. "You left her to die! Just like how you leave everyone to die! Karin! Did you forget about her? You just let us abandon her! You just watched by as Savian was murdered by The Foreigners. Instead of helping Amanda, you chased after someone just too exact revenge. And then there was Mary, who you took along a death trap, and you just watched her die, and you know what? None of those reasons is why I'm doing this. You don't belong in this world, you were never meant to. I left because I thought the only way to survive was away from you, but I was wrong. The only way to survive is to have you away from this world!"
"Then why punish everyone else? Tristan asked.
"They're blinded by your insight, it's like a disease. And on an additional note, Katheryn was the one who killed Alex," Scott said.
"Scott please listen to me for a moment, you don't need to do any of this. Do you remember that first run we had together, and I talked to you about what must be done? You rolling up to our doors and killing everyone inside, that's not what it was about. If you truly believe in your actions, then you'll just kill me. Spare everyone else."
"I can't just be you," Scott said.
"Well you have to know this, if you attack, I'll be forced to fight. This can go down to the last man standing, and those two will be us. It's because you're still my brother Scott," Tristan said. Scott's face turned to complete astonishment, wondering how he could still consider him that after everything that has happened. "Brother's to the end," Tristan said. Scott slowly started to lower his rifle, looking like he was about to surrender.
Tristan glanced over towards Bailey, noticing the five seven tucked behind his jeans. A drop of sweat dropped down Bailey's cheek, and immediately his arm raise with the gun, pointed towards Scott. "Bailey don't!" Tristan screamed
Bang.
Scott flew back as the bullet nailed him in the chest. He was wearing protective armor, and felt a blind rage hit him. "Open fire!" Scott screamed. Tristan Bailey and Katheryn all ran as the bullets started to fly. They ran and slid behind their car, hiding from the bullets. Scott pulled the bullet out of the vest, looking at the hospital, seeing Tristan and the other two hide behind the car. "Kill them all!"
Jordan sat at the stand, giving his account about the whole thing while Bailey sat alone with his attorney waiting for the judge to make his decision.
His heart was pounding. The charges were pretty simple. He had let loose information that the police department had not seen fit to release to the public against their specific instructions.
Bailey barely heard the judge talk. All he heard was that he would be held in the county jail pending a formal sentencing.
In that moment his heart sank, and he saw the police officers coming to escort him out to the cars and Bailey saw his life beginning to end.
Bailey fired three rounds towards Scott's direction for covering fire, although it proved useless quite shortly. Tristan also stood out of cover and fired two rounds at the general direction. The three of them hid behind the cover of the car as the bullets continued to fly by. They were completely pinned, and if they moved locations they would be gunned down instantly.
Everyone from inside the hospital dropped to the floor as each of the windows broke from the sound of a piercing bullet. There was no way they could escape now, otherwise they'll just die. All that could be done was hiding in plain sight, and none of them knew how long that would be.
Bailey fired two more rounds, but didn't have time to aim. "We're completely pinned down," Bailey said.
"I have an idea," Katheryn said. "Once they reload we'll fire back, and with that little time frame I'll enter through the window and gather everyone to escape, but I'll need you both to hold down the line."
"You know once that'll happen, we'll certainly die," Bailey said.
"She knows the risks, but we need to make sure everyone gets out of here alive. I'll put my life on the line for that chance," Tristan said. Bailey also nodded, realizing his time was about to come. Scott and his men continued to fire down the path, but within a few moments they finally ran out of ammunition. "Now!" Tristan screamed.
Tristan and Bailey quickly turned the corner, firing down the path towards the nine men. Katheryn ran past the, firing one arrow from her bow. The arrow pierced through David's vest, but he escaped clean free from damage. Once the arrow flew by, Katheryn jumped from the dirt and through the hospital entrance. Tristan and Bailey shortly hid behind cover by the car once again.
"I'm going to kill that bitch!" David screamed.
"Save your anger, I have something that might put the odds in our favour," Scott said. Scott took out a casing kept within the car. He opened it in front of David, showing about a dozen grenades inside the box. David had a smile that lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Alright she's inside, now what?" Bailey asked.
"We hold them out long enough to let everyone escape," Tristan said.
Something hit the snow beside Bailey, drawing both of their attentions. At a moment of instance, it just looked like a rock. Tristan examined it for another second, realizing it was much worse than a rock, but a grenade. "Oh shit run!" Tristan screamed. Both Tristan and Bailey stood and immediately ran towards the corner of the hospital, hoping they would escape the blast radius.
Boom.
Katheryn entered the center wing, looking at the remaining six. Matias and Hannah were both holding rifles and shooting covering fire towards Scott and his crew, while everyone else stayed in cover. "Katheryn what's going on? Where's Tristan and Bailey?" Phillip asked, sounding absolutely panicked.
"They'll be okay; we just need to get out of here!" Katheryn screamed.
Something flew by and crashed through the window in front of the seven of them. Not a lot of them knew what it was, but soon Katheryn realized what exactly it was. It was a grenade, ticking away until the implosion. Her eyes spread, screaming "Everyone get down!"
Boom.
Tristan peaked by the corner, seeing the flames burn throughout the car that had exploded moments ago. Behind the burning fires were Scott and his men, continuing to fire upon the hospital. He raised his revolver, pressing fire back upon all of them, but he shortly ran dry with ammunition. Bailey also fired back upon them. "I heard an explosion inside; do you think they made it out in time?" Bailey asked.
"God I hope so," Tristan replied.
Katheryn heard a strong ringing within her head, and a strike of disorientation gave her a blasting headache. She was dizzy, and her eyes felt like cinder blocks. Looking around it had appeared everyone was still okay, but even then there was doubt, considering a grenade just went off in their own home. "Is everybody okay?" she asked.
"I think so," Matias replied.
"We need to get out of here, and fast!" she screamed.
"What about Derek, we can't leave him," Kiersten said.
"I'll go get Derek, but the rest of you need to escape out of the south wing, we'll rendezvous at the town, just get out alive!" she screamed. Katheryn stood up and began to book it towards the doors of the east wing, hoping her and Derek would get out of this alive. She was just praying to the lord Tristan and Bailey haven't gotten themselves killed.
The remaining six of them ran towards the doors of the south wing, with Matias in the lead. The door opened, and with it Kiersten Austin Matias and Hannah ran through. Phillip looked back, seeing Naomi head in another direction, towards the west wing. "Naomi where are you going!?" Phillip screamed. She did not reply. He began to run after her.
Scott and his men continued firing down the path, but it just proved pointless. All they've been doing is shooting at a wall. "Alright hold your fire!" Scott screamed.
"Why are we stopping?" Arber asked.
"Because we don't know what we're shooting at, we need to get inside to finish this," Scott said. Scott looked over to George and handed him his rifle. "Put your car back in reverse, then slam the door right open, understand?" he asked. George nodded.
George entered his car and started the engine. He turned it around so it would be in reverse of the hospital doors. He put it in reverse, and slammed his foot down on the pedal. The car flew backwards fast, and quickly it slammed open the door with all its might. "Alright everyone move up!" Scott screamed.
Tristan looked around the corner, seeing the car that opened the door. He looked back towards Bailey and whispered, "Run, and don't look back."
Tristan turned the corner and ran for the car. "Tristan where are you going?!" Bailey screamed. Tristan ran for the car, noticing only one man in the doors. He opened the car door and punched the one man with is fist.
George pressed his foot down on the pedal, but Tristan finally put it in ignition, and the car moved forward. The two continued to wrestle within the car, up until they noticed Scott and his men were shooting right at the vehicle. Both Tristan and George ducked behind the wind shield as the bullets flew past the car. The car ran past by Scott and everyone else, and yet they still continued to fire. Tristan looked at the left rear window, noticing there was enough distance between him and Scott.
Tristan took out his knife, and looked back towards George, who was still struggling with Tristan. Tristan acted immediately, stabbing George's neck with his knife. Blood squirted, covering the windshield with a red mist. George gagged, and shortly was now deceased, slamming his head on the wheel and causing the horn to scream. Tristan looked back on the road, noticing the car was still moving forward, but slightly turning left and heading for a rock. The next thing Tristan noticed was neither him nor George was wearing a seat belt.
The car slammed against the rock, and with it both Tristan and George's bodies crashed through the windshield and onto the pavement. Tristan tried to scream from the pain, but quickly his voice shatter from lack of breath. He looked over towards George, who was now nothing more than a mushed corpse.
Scott looked down the path, seeing the car had crashed quite a ways down the road. He handed his rifle over towards Logan saying "Take this; I'm going to take care of Tristan." Scott began walking down the road, taking out his pistol and loading it while approaching the wreckage.
Logan David Arber and the rest of George's men began heading through the doors of the hospital. David remembered both Tristan and Bailey escape the car exploding and turning the corner, figuring he must still be out there. "You guys head inside, I'm going to check the corner," David said.
As Arber and the rest entered the hospital, David began walking down the path past the burning fires of the vehicle. Bailey was out here somewhere, and nothing more did he want to kill him. He was going to make it slow and painful. Once David turned the corner, he found that same face, moments before feeling a thud against his head.
David fell to the ground after being struck by the end of Bailey's pistol. There he leaned down and pressed the gun at David's face, although he was already unconscious. Bailey tried and tried, but he just couldn't pull the trigger. He knew David needed to die, but not by his hand. He stood up, leaving David alone.
"Tristan?" Bailey asked, looking around for his friend. The area was completely silent, with no call out to a response. "Tristan!" Bailey screamed, hoping this time he would get a response. Nothing pierced through Bailey's ear drum. He knew Tristan was still alive; he just needed to find him. He began running through the forest, hoping he would arrive before Scott did.
They walked outside, Bailey being escorted in handcuffs outside and there was a sea of people outside. This hadn't been the case hours ago when Bailey entered so he wondered what had changed. They looked panicked, and some of the cops escorting him had gone to try and clear a path. From a little ways away Bailey saw someone sink their teeth into the cop's neck, making him jump. As the cop fell he fired off his weapon, causing this sea of people become a sea of chaos.
Bailey fell to his knees at the sound of the gunshot, and then saw the man who bit the officer a little clearer. The flesh looked like it was decaying, like the body had been dead for a couple days. Bailey looked through the crowd and saw more people like that. As the cops left him to deal with what was going on Bailey ran off, but not before a cop stopped him. In that instance, Bailey thought he was dead for sure. Instead, the cop produced a key and unlocked his handcuffs. "Go on," he yelled. "Get the hell out of here."
Bailey turned hot on his heels and ran as fast as he could. He passed the street by his store and saw Brooks racing out. He called out his name and Brooks came running towards him. They ran off together, towards the mountains to try and get away from the danger the town was in.
Bailey continued walking through the forest in hopes Tristan was around. He kept calling out his name every second, while looking back at the hospital, and the enormous cloud of smoke that enveloped it. Their home was now destroyed, and he didn't know if any of them survived inside, however he couldn't worry about that right now. He needed to find Tristan.
Scott continued to walk down the path towards the wreckage. He had his pistol pointed, aiming down the path ready for whatever lied behind the car. Each second went by with a footstep, and as he came to a turn, he noticed Tristan had vanished. Flies swarmed a body that laid on the ground and that just so happened to be George. Scott continued looking around, but coming up clean on nothing.
He took out a cigarette, lighting it up and dragging it out as he watched the fire burn in the distance of the hospital. One of his tasks was now complete, the hospital was destroyed. All that was left was Tristan, hiding like the coward Scott knew he was. "I know you're out here somewhere you bastard," Scott said, walking straight into the forest.
From the distance, hiding within a bush Tristan watched Scott move throughout the trees. He managed to hide just in time for Scott not to see him, but unfortunately he left behind in family into the fire. He looked back at the burning hospital, realizing it didn't matter where he would go or where it would take him, Scott would always be there. He needed to die, and Tristan finally pulled back revolver, waiting to pull the trigger.