A New Day - Act V - No Time Left
Part V - Armed With Death
It took all of Dipper's strength just to get to his feet.
His eyes were stuck wide, tears still running down his cheeks. Wendy and Robbie...both dead, just like that. He couldn't believe he had lost them both, almost as soon as Wendy had said she would be there with them all the way. And now…
The boy slowly climbed the ladder.
Robbie. Someone he hadn't really been very good friends with during his time in Gravity Falls. Now, though, he wished he could've made a better effort to get to know him. He thought he could've, before the crash. He had the option to leave him, or open the door. He let him on the bus. The teen became one of the most skilled snipers of the group, almost as good as Carley. How he became so skilled, the boy didn't know. Now he never would.
"Lemme in! Lemme in!"
Dipper glances over his shoulder, eyes wide. Moments after stepping on the bus, Robbie is there, pounding on the glass.
"Let me IN!"
Stan said it is his call. They leave when he says. The boy looks around outside the windows. The undead is stumbling about after any remaining townsfolk. The trip cross country will have to be only a small group. Dipper sighs. He doesn't want anyone to die, anyone he knows really.
Out of the good of his heart, he presses the button.
Robbie tumbles onto the bus, pulling himself to his feet and hurrying down the aisle. He sits in a seat towards the back. He trembles, the undead having been inches away.
Dipper quickly closes the door. "Sheesh, are you okay Robbie?"
"No! I almost died!" He screams.
Dipper is about to signal before he gasps. "Wait, Wendy's not back!"
He opens the bus door and hurries out. The passengers and the driver beckon him not to leave. Dipper stands in the grass, away from the bus. Everyone yells that Wendy is a lost cause. But he would not leave his friend.
The undead began to advance on the boy. Did he run to find Wendy?
Or will he just have to leave her behind?
Wendy. One of his best friends from Gravity Falls, and now one of the many to become shameful piles of walker bait. He was going to miss her. She was kind, dorky, brave, laidback, and overall one of his closest companions. Despite cutting off any romantic feelings for her, Dipper still felt like he loved her. The girl was an amazing combatist and crossbow archer, and he found good reason to love her; she was one of them. One of their group. Their group was a family. He loved her because she was his family.
Dipper is running through the woods. The townspeople fall around him. More and more turn to less and less. Undead stumble from buildings. The town is a lost cause. Lacking anything to protect himself, Dipper continues to run. He runs through the woods until he stops in front of a large house.
He steps through the open door.
Wendy is on the floor, sniffling and sobbing rather prominently. The rest of her family is around her. They don't move. Blood pools from them.
"Wendy…"
"They're dead." She sniffles, trying to talk calmly. "I-I had to...kill them."
"...we have to go."
"...I-I know."
"...are you coming?"
No response.
Dipper steps out. He stands just before the open door. She was refusing to move. He will have to pull her, or leave her.
He is not leaving his friend.
Dipper reached the top of the top of the ladder, seeing the group jumping from the edge of the hotel room and reaching the roof, pulling themselves up onto the ledge. Lee noticed the boy and rushed over.
"Dipper, are you okay?"
"We heard gunshots!" Christa said.
"Wait...where's Wendy?" Ben asked.
"And Robbie?" Carley asked.
The boy stood in silence, wiping tears away, as he slowly walked across the roof. The others simply eyed him and followed, Lee standing by his side. Dipper simply placed his hands in his pockets and continued forward.
"They're...they're both dead."
"What?" Kenny's eyes widened. "Fuck...they just…?"
"Robbie fell." Dipper explained, stopping. "He got...impaled on a piece of the balcony. Wendy sacrificed herself to put him down, and then she just...got eaten. They're both gone."
Nobody knew how to respond. Dipper sighed and kept walking.
Without a word, the others followed.
"There it is."
Lee stood on the edge of a roof and pointed out at the peaking top half of the building known as the Marsh House. The hotel was only a couple roads over, so crossing a few more rooftops was all that remained between them and the stranger, and more importantly, the girls.
"We're so close now." Kenny said. "What's next?"
"We gotta cross the roofs, duh." Omid shrugged. "Over the streets, though. That's the only way it seems."
"Well how do we get over the walker infested streets?" Dipper asked.
"Here." Lee pointed to a rusty overhanging sign, connected between the two buildings and looming over the road prior to where the Marsh House was located. "We can climb across this and go around. Then we'll reach the building sooner."
"Are you sure? That thing looks a little rickety…" Kenny muttered.
"It's...our best chance of getting anywhere." Ben shrugged. "...but...w-who first?"
Everyone looked at each other, before Carley raised her hand. "I'll go."
Lee stepped forward. "Carley-"
"I'm one of the lightest here, and we can't send a kid across. We have to make sure it's safe." Carley said. "I'll go across. Then Ben, then Kenny."
"The fuck kind of plan is that?" Kenny argued.
"The only plan." Carley glared.
The former reporter slowly stepped down onto the large metal sign. She shuffled across the scaffolding, the metal creaking beneath her. She reached the other end and climbed up onto the other roof.
"It's safe!" She called out. "C'mon Ben, you're up."
The teen sighed and climbed down slowly onto the sign. "Commence round two of pissing myself…"
"Shut up and go, Ben." Kenny muttered softly, climbing onto the sign and waiting for the teen to reach the halfway mark before starting his trip across. Ben and Kenny reached the other end, climbing up to stand beside Carley.
"So...who next?" Ben asked.
"Me?" Dipper shrugged. "Might as well get the kid out of the way, right?"
"I'm not letting you go on that thing alone." Lee said. "I'll go. You can go with Omid and Christa."
"Or I go with you?" Dipper shrugged. "Lee, I'm not leaving you. We're in this to find the girls and get the hell out of here. Fuck Savannah."
Lee shook his head with a sigh. "Alright, be careful when you climb on. And try not to cut yourself, we don't really have anything to cure tetanus."
"Heh, this is the worst time to sound like a parent." The boy chuckled.
He exhaled. He was on.
The climb was a little shaky, but he was on.
Dipper slowly slid aside, Lee climbing down next to him. As the two held onto the sign and began to slide across, the structure whined and clanged.
Lee winced. "Omid, Christa, stay off until we get to the other side."
"Got it." Omid nodded.
"We're right behind you." Christa said.
Lee nodded, and the two resumed their journey. It was only until they reached the halfway point that the structure gave. The left end that they came from broke free, and the middle half curved slightly. The man and the boy held on tightly as the larger portion bent downwards, dangling low over the streets.
"HOLY FUCK!" Omid exclaimed.
"Jesus H. Hell!" Kenny's eyes widened.
"Are you guys okay?!" Carley yelled.
Lee panted, making sure Dipper was close. The boy was still hanging on, panting hard. "Y-Yeah...we're okay!"
"Well what the fucking fuck are you gonna do now?!" Kenny shouted.
Lee sighed and listened to the growling below them. "Fuck it...I'm going for it!"
"What?!" Ben exclaimed.
"Wait, what?!" Dipper shouted. "Lee, what the fuck does that mean?!"
"It's just us, and the hotel, and a fuck load of walkers between!" Lee shouted. "I'm already bit, I just have to push through!"
"That's crazy!" Christa shouted.
"What about the kid?!" Kenny shouted. "He ain't bit, he'll get ripped to shreds!"
"...Dip, climb up." Lee ordered. "If you're careful, you can make-"
"No." Dipper shook his head. "Fuck it, I'm gonna risk it, I want to get there, I want to save the girls, I want to see my sister!"
"But-"
"No! I'm going!" Dipper glared. "I'm going and that's final!"
Lee sighed and let go, soon followed by the boy.
"Wait, what about us?!" Christa shouted.
"Try and meet us over by the train!" Lee ordered. "It's the best meeting spot, we should all meet back there!"
"O-Okay...we'll meet you there!" Carley nodded. "Good luck you guys!"
"Go get those girls!" Kenny yelled.
Lee nodded, and took Dipper's hand. Dipper pulled it away and smiled.
"I'm not a kid anymore."
Lee smiled and walked down around a corner with the boy.
"I'm a survivor."
The two stood before the final road between them and the Marsh House. Walkers were everywhere. It was a push through hell before they reached their destination. Lee sighed. Would they be able to make it through? Would Dipper be okay? Would he be okay? The two stepped forward. Dipper stopped, feeling the crinkling of glass below his feet. He looked down at some broken shards. Eying the walkers, he picked one up and saw his reflection in it.
He noticed the blood stains on his face.
Dipper sighed and squeezed the glass shard in his hand. Blood trickled down the shard, coating the glass and dulling it. The boy took out his hatchet and Lee took out his meat cleaver.
This was it.
You fucks are the only things keeping me from my sister…
They stepped forward.
...get ready to fucking pay!
Dipper shoved the glass shard up into the head of a walker, swinging the hatchet around to chop another. Fueled by hatred, he pushed through, fighting alongside Lee to take down the herd. Dipper felt a dead hand grab his shoulder. He came to the conclusion he was surrounded.
Time to clear.
The boy swung the hatchet and chopped the walker who grabbed him, yanking out the hatchet's blade and slicing at a walker's chest with the shard. He followed up with another chop and hurried forward alongside Lee.
Almost there.
The walkers were partially cleared near the entrance to the Marsh House. The boy felt the anger and adrenaline rush through him. He turned to face one more walker. It was a small one. His size.
A child.
He stared into its cold, dead eyes, as it clawed at him. Months ago, he'd be afraid and hesitant.
But not now.
He stabbed it in the head with the glass shard.
Lee grabbed the boy and pulled him forward, the two ducking behind a large potted plant. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Dipper whispered. "Nothing got me. What about you?"
"No other bites, so I still have a chance." Lee replied. "Now let's just…"
Dipper waited, but Lee didn't finish his sentence. He was expecting the man to take another spill, but when he saw his widened eyes, he followed his gaze.
On the other end of the lot was a car.
A station wagon.
Dipper's eyes widened. "Holy fuck…"
"...c'mon, let's get inside. It's not safe." Lee took the boy's hand and pulled him along, and the two quickly hurried inside.
They had made it to the Marsh House.
-(End Of Chapter)-