Chapter 5: Bingo

***2009***

In a little apartment on Warren Road on the outskirts of Brisbane a young couple is having dinner. Well, one of them is having dinner; the other is too busy working to eat.

"Bandit, come on. You have to eat something." Chilli said as she prodded him with the back end of her fork.

Bandit waved away the utensil. "I will in a minute, just let me finish this page, okay?" He continued typing on his laptop at the small table in the kitchen of the studio apartment the two shared. It wasn't too bad for a studio. There was a sofa-bed the two slept on in the other room, along with a few dressers that doubled as side tables and a TV stand with an old CRT from Chilli's childhood bedroom. On the opposite wall were a half dozen bookshelves filled with reference materials and textbooks, as well as a few carefully preserved items dug up on a trip to Cairo that a certain blue heeler had managed to sneak past airport security.

Chilli shut the laptop, pinning Bandit's paws between the two halves.

"Hey!" He pulled his hands clear as she picked up the heavy device and placed it on the desk in the next room.

"Your thesis will wait twenty minutes for you to eat something and have a more than three syllable conversation with your wife." She scolded, her brow rising slightly as she returned to the table.

"Um, yeah, I suppose so." He coughed, "Sorry, you know this is stressing me out."

"I've known for the past five months." She said. "But that doesn't mean you have to let it consume every waking moment of your life." She looked at the pill minder on the table. The slots for Monday and Tuesday both still had the familiar little white tablets in them. "You didn't take your pill this morning. Or yesterday." Her brow furrowed in worry as she noted the untaken medicine.

"I didn't?" Bandit asked, glancing at the plastic device. "Oh, I guess I forgot." He waved his hand. "I'll take it tomorrow, okay?"

"Look, I know your thesis is important, but you've already got 132 pages done. You're over halfway there." She sighed, "Right now I don't have a husband; I have a roommate who's always muttering about trilobites and ancient phytoplankton. I know you're going to do fine, but you need to take a break every once in a while."

He frowned, "I can take as many breaks as I want once I'm done. Then I'll get a gig at a nice museum somewhere and work from home on research papers. But right now I need to get it finished." Bandit said, standing up.

"Please Bandit, just leave it be for right now. For me." She grabbed his arm. He looked at her, please face trembling as she looked up at him.

He huffed, sitting back down. "Okay."

"Thank you." She smiled, holding his hand.

***2011***

"I still can't believe your parents are just giving you their house!" Chilli marveled as she stepped into the Queenslander.

"Well Stripe and Trixie have a place already, and Rad's on the rig so he doesn't need something this big to stay at only a few weeks out of the year, so mum and dad figured it'd make sense for us to have it since they're moving to their new place." Bandit shrugged as he unloaded the last box from the back of their hatchback into the front room.

"Still, to give it to us for free…"

Bandit rubbed his arm, his family had money, they'd always been comfortable, so it wasn't unheard of for something like this to happen. They'd helped pay his and Chilli's rent while he worked on his doctoral degree, and now that he had graduated and had a job at the Brisbane Natural History Museum it made sense for them to settle down. The Cattles weren't poor, but they were definitely a different type of dog than the Heelers, so it always made Bandit slightly uncomfortable whenever he had to talk money with Chilli. "I guess they want us to have it for whenever we have kids of our own."

Chilli paused, turning back to him. "Did you just say when we have kids?"

Bandit shrugged. "Well, it makes sense, y'know, since we're together and we've got stable jobs… it's the next step, right?"

She smiled, "I thought you wanted to stay just the two of us. Whatever happened to mister 'let's travel the world and make love in every country…' We won't be doing that with kids."

Bandit blushed; he'd certainly said some things in his younger years. "Well, we might not be able to do that, but I've been thinking. A bunch of the guys I went to school with already have families and they seem… happy. It's not like when you're married, with that stuff changes, but it seems like even more with kids, it changes but, like… I dunno, it's different in a good way?"

Chilli leaned against the sofa bed the two had struggled to get through the front door. "Well, if you're serious I can think of one thing we can do about it…" She flipped open the sofa bed and sat on the edge.

Bandit immediately blushed. "Chilli, we don't even have blinds up!"

"So? It's not like someone's going to come over and look in the front window."

He smiled, his tail wagging furiously. "Well, I suppose I can accommodate…"

***2018***

Bluey looked at her parents from the back seat of the car. She took her knuckle out of her mouth and furrowed her brow, trying to form a cogent thought. After a moment she spoke. "Mum, why you happy?"

"Because today's a special day Bluey, today we get to take your sister home!" Chilli declared.

Bluey smiled. "I'mma meet Bingo?!" She narrowed her eyes, "For real life?"

"Yeah mate, for real life. No more behind plastic. She's all cleared to go home." Bandit replied.

"Yay!" Bluey cheered, her tail wagging. "Bingo! Bingo!" She paused. "So I'm big sister, right?"

"Yes Bluey, you're a big sister. Just like you've been the last few months. Only now you'll be around Bingo all the time, not just when we visit the hospital." Chilli stated.

"How big she?" Bluey asked, not having seen her younger sister often due to her time in the NICU. "She still littler?"

"Yeah, she's still little. Chances are she'll always be a bit on the smaller side, but maybe one day she'll be bigger than you, who knows?" Bandit said, looking back at his daughter.

"No! Big sister always bigger!" Bluey declared, horrified at the idea of her sister one day being bigger than her.

"Not always. My older brother Rad's shorter than me; he only looks taller because he puffs his hair up." Bandit stated.

"Who?"

"Your Uncle Rad, he was here at Christmas." Chilli said.

"Who?"

"The big man with red puffy hair." Bandit said.

"Who?"

"He carried you on his back all around the house?" Chilli suggested.

"Muscle man!" Bluey smiled.

"Yes, the muscular man." Bandit said, he turned to Chilli, "Of course that's what she'd remember."

***2021***

Bandit sat beside the bed, rubbing vapor rub on his daughter's chest. Bingo had a nasty cold and was home sick. Bluey was at school and Chilli at work, meaning it was a father-daughter day for the two. It was a miserable day. Dark grey clouds pelted rain down against the window as a distant crack of thunder went off. Bingo sniffled as she blew her nose and added it to the mound of tissues overflowing from the waste basket beside her bed.

"Dad?" She asked.

"Yeah kiddo, what is it?" Bandit said tenderly, placing the lid back on the jar.

"Can you tell me a story?"

"Course. What do you want me to read?" He scooted over toward the bookshelf.

"No, not a story from a book, from you."

"From me?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Okay, a real life story or a made up one?"

Bingo scrunched up her nose, a mucusy sniff as she did so. After a moment she replied, "Real life. About you when you were little, like me!" She raised her arms slightly and coughed at the last part, slightly too excited for her infirmed body to handle at the moment.

Bandit chuckled. "Okay… did I ever tell you of the time I first met your Uncle Stripe?"

Bingo shook her head.

"Well, it was 1983…"

***Present Day***

Bandit opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling in the science storage room. It was quiet, so at least the zeds hadn't broken in while he was asleep. Rad was on watch at the moment. He cracked his neck and back as he got up, pushing off the ground and getting to his feet. Frisky and Jeff were still asleep on the ground not far from him, he was sprawled out with his limbs all over the tile floor. She meanwhile attempted a more graceful pose, her head tucked into her chest as she lay on her side.

Bandit stepped out of the room and was greeted with a bit of sun coming through the windows high on the wall.

"Hey. You sleep okay?" Rad asked, concern in his voice from the unresolved issue the night before.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Bandit lied.

"Okay." Rad nodded, "It's about seven. We should get the others up, explore the school-maybe there'll be something we can eat."

"You really wanna eat cafeteria food?" Bandit joked, remembering how when the two were kids Rad more often than not dumped his tray in the trash without touching the grey-green meat and lumpy sides.

"Well, I don't want to eat it, but I'm pretty sure that it's either that or go hungry, so lesser of two evils." Rad retorted.

"Fair enough."

The two got up Frisky and Jeff and the four started exploring the school. They'd seen the cafeteria the night before, but only on a cursory glance to make sure there weren't any zeds present. It was a fairly typical space for a primary school, there were hardwood floors and a stage on the far side. It was clear that the room was clearly also the gym and auditorium. It didn't stink, which was promising.

"Well, I don't smell rotting food, so that's a decent sign at least." Frisky commented as they entered the kitchen.

The kitchen and serving area was clean, there were grey tiles on the floor and a handful of silver serving tables. Walking back behind the entrance the food prep area was mostly empty. The four split up to search for food.

"Looks like there's a few cans of stuff here." Jeff reported, gesturing to a shelf with some cans of food in the back corner of the kitchen.

"Walk-in's empty!" Rad declared, exiting the large refrigerator.

"Nothing in the pantry either." Bandit reported.

"So what do we have?" Frisky asked as the group walked to Jeff.

"Well, looks like a few cans of mixed vegetables, pudding, and some instant potatoes-which we don't have the milk or butter to prepare, let alone a way to cook them so they thicken." Jeff reported.

"So pudding and vegetables?" Rad recapped. "Well, it's not the worst breakfast I've had since shit hit the fan."

After a quiet breakfast the group decided the explore the school further. As they entered the backstage area of the auditorium part of the multipurpose room Frisky noticed something.

"Hey, where do you think that goes?" She pointed to a large ladder mounted to the wall.

"Up?" Bandit guessed.

She slapped him.

"I deserved that." Bandit noted.

"Maybe it goes to the roof. If it does we can see the zeds more clearly, maybe figure out how to get out of here." Jeff suggested.

"Well, only one way to find out." She stepped onto the ladder and began climbing. Rad followed, then Bandit, and finally Jeff.

After a short climb Frisky forced open a hatch and they exited to a small room.

"What is this, a bell tower?" Rad asked, dusting himself off as he stepped to the side.

"No, I think it's a utility room." Jeff said, pointing to an electrical panel.

"Well, either way there's a door here. Let's see where it goes." Frisky pushed open the door to reveal sunlight.

The school roof was a large, flat area. It was covered in asphalt paper and occasional patches of black or grey tar. All around the building there was a small lip to prevent anyone from accidentally walking off the edge. The four walked toward the lip and looked over at the schoolyard below.

"Where are the zeds?" Bandit asked, noting the empty asphalt below.

"Did they go to the other side of the building?" Rad asked.

The group walked the perimeter of the structure, there were no zeds in sight.

"Did they just leave?" Jeff again looked at the clear ground below.

"I guess they got distracted by something else and left, they must've figured we weren't worth the trouble." Frisky guessed.

"Well, in that case I suggest we start heading toward that medical research building you were talking about." Bandit stated.

"It isn't far, you can actually see it from here." Frisky pointed toward a mid-sized glass and steel building about two blocks away.

"Huh, well, lead the way." Bandit gestured.

They descended the ladder again and after picking back up their weapons the group picked their way through the streets until they arrived at the building. The front doors were locked tight.

"Now what? Anyone know how to pick a lock?" Bandit asked.

"I do." Rad smashed the glass door with a hunk of asphalt. The glass tinkled to the ground as he waved them through the missing door.

Bandit rolled his eyes. "You're lucky no one's around to hear that."

"Well considering this place hasn't had power for at least a year I don't think we have to worry about any alarms going off." Rad replied.

They walked through the lobby and found a set of stairs. It wound upward out of sight.

"Please tell me we aren't going to have to search every floor until we find the stuff we need." Jeff said, looking at the plethora of stairs in front of them. "Because unlike all of you I'm not exactly a herding dog. I'm not built for endurance."

"Don't worry, there's a floor guide here." Frisky motioned to a black and white board with a list of departments posted next to the stairway entry. She ran her finger down the list. "Looks like research is on the sixth floor."

"Great…" Jeff sighed, not looking forward to the ascent.

After climbing the stairs they entered through a metal door and swept the floor for zeds. After checking a dozen offices, a break room, and a research lab they knew it was clear.

"I guess they shut down and never got anyone back to work." Bandit muttered.

"Well, their loss is our gain. Come on, let's get this stuff loaded up." Frisky instructed the group to grab a handful of devices from the research lab.

"Holy shit… this thing weighs a ton!" Rad grunted as he attempted to lift a device off a table.

"Well, it is a medical grade centrifuge." Frisky said, "It's heavy duty."

"Yeah, it's heavy alright…"

"There's no way I can carry this back down all those stairs." Bandit huffed as he put down his device on the ground.

"Hold on. I think I saw something that might be useful…" Frisky left the room and returned a moment later with a mail cart. "We can put all the stuff in here, then just push it out."

"Okay, great. How do we get that down the stairs?" Jeff asked, looking at the large cart as he remembered the small set of stairs they'd just climbed.

"It won't fit." Bandit replied. He looked at Frisky, an idea forming, "Don't places like this have an emergency generator, y'know so that they can keep running if something happens? Maybe it still has enough power to get the lift running. We could use that to get the cart out of here and down to the street."

"Yeah, our building had an emergency power supply, but it had to be turned on manually." Frisky said, remembering when she'd had to help turn it on during a freak power outage.

"Where is it?" Jeff asked.

"Probably the basement." Bandit replied. "That's usually where they put them."

"That's where ours was." Frisky agreed.

"Of course it's the basement." Rad groaned.

"What, still afraid of the dark?" Bandit smirked, remembering how his older brother still had a nightlight in middle school.

"No, more like I don't want to end up torn to bits." Rad crossed his arms. "In every horror movie going to the basement is a death sentence."

"Well, this isn't a horror movie, and it's the only way we can get all the stuff we need out of here." Frisky said, leaning over to her husband's face. She pecked him on the cheek before pulling back. "Bandit, you and Rad will get the generator on. Jeff and I will get everything loaded and be by the main elevator to get out of here. When the power's back on we get out of here as fast as we can. There's a chance the alarm system might go off and we don't want to be here when the zeds swarm the sound."

"Got it." Bandit nodded, looking at his brother. Rad was still hesitant. "Come on, mate. Time's wasting."

The brothers left the research lab and started down the stairs. As they descended an uncomfortable silence settled until Rad eventually cleared his throat. "What you said last night… About everything. About wanting to die… did you mean it?" He looked at his younger brother, stopping in the stairwell.

Bandit sighed. "No, not really… I don't want to die, but I don't know, I don't exactly want to live either." He wrung his hand through his hair. "Look, can we just focus on the task at hand and do the whole 'sharing is caring' bullshit later?"

"Mate, I'm just worried, okay?" Rad said, blocking Bandit's path. "And you know as well as I do that it isn't bullshit to share how you're feeling." He paused, "Least, I hope you do."

Bandit huffed, "Yeah, I do, okay. But now's not the time."

"Mate, we've got at least twenty minutes before Jeff and Frisky get everything loaded up, and until the power's on there's no reason for the zeds to check this building out. So talk or I'll just keep standing here until you do." Rad crossed his arms and widened his stance to block the stairs.

"Fine." Bandit grit his teeth.

"Thank you." Rad smiled.

"I… I don't really know how I feel. Everyone else seems like they've moved on, but I can't, and so now I just feel like I'm broken. I feel like I failed, and like I'm going to have it happen again. I feel like I can't do anything right and that maybe you all would be better off without me. But I don't really think that, just sometimes when I'm really down. I know it wouldn't help if I was gone. And I love Chilli and Bluey and Lee, and I'd never want to hurt them like that. So I don't know, I just can't stop thinking about her. Bingo, she was my miracle. Now she's dead. I mean, fuck, it's not exactly easy to process. It's been three months and I still feel like she'll just turn up. I pray that maybe somehow she'll just be fine, and I'll see her playing with the other kids and it'll be alright. I know it'll never happen, but it… I… look, I don't know. It just fucking hurts? Okay? I mean, every dream I have. Every thought I have when I'm not busy. It's all her. Do you have any idea what it's like to have someone that you love that you know you'll never get back? Someone you spent six, almost seven beautiful years with. I love her. She was my daughter. What the fuck am I supposed to do?! I can't exactly just get over it. But it seems like everyone else has… So I guess that means I'm just fucked up, as usual." Bandit was crying, tears and mucus running down his snout.

"Woah! Hey…" Rad stepped up and embraced his brother. "First off, I'm glad you don't want to die. Second, you're not fucked up for still caring for your daughter. It's normal to still care for someone when they die. As for the memories and thoughts, that's a good thing. You have memories of your daughter. You know how many memories I have of Bingo? Maybe three. I only saw her once a year, and the best memory I have of her was that night that Frisky and I double babysat." Rad paused. "When we get back you're talking to Chilli and Bluey and the three of you are figuring this out. You're a good dog Bandit, and this is eating you alive. You need to let it out. I know Chilli and Bluey are probably the same way. The world's changed, but that doesn't mean you have to. You can still be the same loving dad you've always been, and you can still grieve."

Bandit wiped his eyes. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, now let's get that power on, okay?"

***ST***

As predicted as soon as the power was turned on an alarm started blaring courtesy of the smashed in front door. Frisky and Jeff were ready, and pushed the mail cart into the elevator and headed for the lobby. Bandit and Rad met them there and the four ran out the back of the building.

"We can't push this thing all the way back to the highway. We'll never make it!" Bandit huffed as they ran through the parking structure attached to the back of the building.

"Who said anything about going back to the highway? We didn't leave anything in the 4x4, there's no reason for us to go back." Rad noted.

Bandit frowned, he knew that it wasn't rational, but it hurt. The idea of leaving the little orange 4x4. It had been the family car for years, and most of the memories of his girls pre-zed were tied to it. "Yeah. Okay."

They found a green pickup and hoisted the mail cart into the back, quickly securing it before getting into the vehicle. Rad did actually know how to pick locks, and how to hotwire cars it turned out.

"How do you know how to do that?" Bandit asked, watching his brother connect a set of wires under the dash.

"Would you believe me if I said I saw it online?" Rad grinned sheepishly before pulling out of the parking lot, running over two zeds in the process.

"I'll choose to because I don't think I could handle the implications otherwise." Bandit replied.

"Best to do so." Frisky and Jeff replied in unison.

Within twenty minutes the four had left Darwin, supplies secured and selves unharmed.

"We are never doing that again." Jeff said as they passed a "Now Leaving Darwin" sign.

"Agreed!" The others chorused as the pickup headed back toward Rankin.

***Author's Note***

Hello everyone! Hope you liked this chapter! I wanted to explore a bit into Bandit's psyche here and give a bit more about his relationship with Bingo. I promise there'll be some healing later on for the Heelers, but before I need to make sure it's clear just how much they're hurting at the moment. Because today is a holiday I actually managed to get some extra writing done and will be posting a chapter here AND on my Motherhood story (awesome, right?). If you like this please review and check out my other works, as well as my collab with Kodiwolf321. I am also open for commissions if you would like me to write something for you. Thanks again!