November 28, 2019.
Thanksgiving.
Virginia, North America.
"Happy Thanksgi!-"
Louis was interrupted when Francis ripped his small calendar from his hand when he held it up with joy. His joy was replaced with despair as he watched his irritated friend clench his teeth and chucked the calendar with so much force, it smashed through a window and vanished outside.
"I hate Thanksgiving." Francis growled, folding his arms.
"Stop being an asshole." Bill resonated. Already walking in with a broom and dustpan from hearing glass shatter and giving him a sour look.
"Ya'll forgot cranberry sauce?" Beth erupted from a kitchen. "What the shit. This dinner is unholy if there isn't cranberry sauce." As she complained she could be heard rummaging noisily through cabinets and shelves.
"You didn't think of it either." Zoey deadpanned also from the kitchen. "'Sides it's most likely gone bad anyway."
"There is no dinner if there's no cranberry sauce." Beth consequently insisted.
"You're gonna eat it expired if you find some."
"Yes."
With Louis examining the window to figure out a way to board it up, Bill was sweeping the glass that didn't make it outside. He stopped to look at Francis now thrown back on a large bean bag chair and snoring. He looked from the biker, to the broom and pan to Francis again and dumped the glass on the floor; then drew his arm back to chuck the dustpan at him. It bounced hard against his chest, jolting him awake. Francis yelled out looking around in alarm, and settled his eyes on Bill who was returning the look with a stern one of his own.
"Eh!" Francis boomed in anger. Bill simply held the broomstick in front of himself like a staff. "Pick this shit up yerself. You broke the window after all." He let the broom drop and walked away, as Louis hurried outside in a panic to retrieve the calendar before it was lost to the elements.
Francis rolled his eyes but felt too lazy to argue. He begrudgingly obliged, reaching over to snatch the pan and rose to grab the broom as well.
"There's isn't much for dinner here!" Beth announced as he swept. He heard a door slam followed by, "not even a Turkey. How is thanksgiving without a Turkey?"
Jordan suddenly came rushing through the living area from a bedroom at the far end of the home. "Darling, I can go hunt for one!" He offered, disappearing into the kitchen, with Keirstan descending a set of stairs from the second floor.
Her face contorted into suspicion. "I wouldn't eat any meat. God knows how the virus affected animals even if they're not showing it."
Jordan popped his head back inside, "you got an idea of what we should have then?"
"I don't fucking know," Keirstan raised her arms either side. "Go to town and hopefully find some non perishables for a makeshift meal?"
"Brilliant!" Jordan immediately praised. He whirled around and marched off, swinging his arms to and fro, with Amber hollering from another direction inquiring what was going on.
Francis and Keirstan side-eyed each other while Louis came panting back inside.
"I've got it." The analyst proudly declared, holding the calendar up. Francis turned to him, and Louis threw it against his chest while twisting away. Holding it tightly, shooting the biker a hateful look.
He scurried off as Francis suddenly heard obnoxious sipping. He turned around finding Kayla laid across the back of a couch drinking a glacier freeze Gatorade. Quietly watching him pick up the glass. They watched each other as he remained confused wondering where she came from while her sips grew louder.
"Young ones-and Francis-get your asses ready. We're going to town!" Bill shouted.
Hearing this, Francis whirled towards the kitchen entrance and dropped the pan with a loud clunk. "Who you callin' old?!" He shouted back demandingly. "And why?"
"Where'd you get that anyway." He adds, pointing back to Kayla's drink.
"We're gonna hunt down thanksgiving shit to…"
"Upstairs." Kayla overlapped the answer. "There was a six pack in one of the rooms."
Ian suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs. Steadying his breaths and looking wildly scared with a Gatorade of his own. "AMBEE I'M!-" He screamed, before stepping on his pant leg and falling painfully down the flight. Screaming the whole way.
Amber sighed and ran in hearing the noise as Ian laid sprawled on the floor. He loudly gasped and moaned strange noises with her kneeling by his side getting ready to help him. "Are you alright, can you get up?"
She was answered with more strangled sounds and him shakily trying to raise a hand.
"If you die can I have that?" Kayla asked excitedly, pointing to his Gatorade rolling across the floor.
"You're fine get off the ground." Amber swatted his hand away and started to pull him up. Almost effortlessly, due to her strength buildup from surviving the apocalypse so far. As she did so her boyfriend released even more hysterical gibberish. He earned himself a strange stare from Francis as he leaned over to wrap his arms around Kayla's torso. Then he dragged her off her perch and out of the room.
…
Louis' hand trembled when he reached for a door handle. Keirstan was looking on from beside him. "Nervous much?"
"No!" Louis exclaimed, shooting her a quick glance. He grabbed the handle and the door shook violently for some seconds until it creaked and fell inwards. Banging on the floor.
"You sure." Keirstan said as he stared inside in paranoia.
With melee weapons in hand the two stepped inside the store. Francis, Beth and Kayla trailed after them. The other half of the team was investigating a building next door.
"I admire your bravery Louis." Beth praised sarcastically. "So fierce, so courageous."
Louis knitted his brow together with a lopsided grin and boldly flexed his muscles. Then Francis stormed by, which made the smaller man shrink back and follow him with his eyes. And the biker flashed him a cocky smile. However they were interrupted when a heavy sack of flour was chucked across the area and exploded against Francis' back, creating a thick cloud of powder.
Solid as a wall, Francis turns around incredulously with flour all over his clothes. Louis was laughing his ass off as whatever canned or packaged goods left was being tossed from shelves by Kayla, after she'd look them over just to discard. So Keirstan and Beth flailed around trying to catch them in baskets they grabbed off a counter.
Meanwhile, a storm of arguing had erupted from the other market as the girls' flailing got more aggressive.
"I got it!"
"No I do!" Both shouted at each other competitively.
"The fuck's going on." Francis mumbled. Louis moved away from the girls while he dusted the flour off. The arguing was too faint to make out though, so he ignored it as a can soared by and connected with Louis's face.
"Was that cranberry sauce!" Beth yelled and abruptly stopped. Her face brightened as Louis' neck snapped sideways with a pained cry. The contents spilled out of her basket when she dropped it in exchange for the can, and gasped happily reading the label. Then she sat down, tore the lid off and started hogging it all for herself. Her back hunched and turned on them.
"You aren't gonna check if it's still good Senpai?" Keirstan had paused from checking what she caught and grabbed Beth's attention. Her tense face said it all.
Keirstan shrugged, "ok." She said, turning away and being sure not to step on Louis who laid face down on the dirty tiled floor.
As Francis bent down to examine what was dropped on the ground with Kayla continuing to run around and throw things, the arguing grew louder until glass sprinkled on the tiles. Crunching under footfall.
"And I said we should-"
"No! That's disgusting!" Bill cuts Ian off in a loud voice. "Stuffed mushrooms with scalloped Oysters is beyond disgusting. I'm gonna find us a grand corned beef even if have to murder Louis with my own damn hands."
"I'm assuming there wasn't much in there." Keirstan guessed when Amber came up to her. Louis choked out a sob over the squabble as he slowly picked himself up.
"Not at all. But Ian suggested some strange dinner combos that enraged Bill if we find anything somewhere else. What did you get?"
"Nothing much either. Though we barely started till Kayla decided to make a mess of things." Keirstan replied, showing Amber cans of soup, vegetables, chopped fruit and a box of herb stuffing.
"Quit throwin' it everywhere." Francis scowled when his sister kept it up. She side-eyed him and started tossing whatever she held upwards like confetti. Francis gave her a bored expression and looked just in time to see Jordan recoiling in fear with Beth hissing furiously at him, looming over her cranberry sauce like she was guarding it with her life.
Ian then held up a loaf of wheat bread in one hand and a large container of yogurt in the other. "How 'bout this combination." He challenged with a gaping smile.
"Son that's bread's moldy I can see it through the bag n' the yogurt's more than likely spoiled." The veteran shot down after turning from investigating shelves.
"Well you come up with something," Ian laughed dropping both items then putting his hands behind his head. "Besides the corned beef."
"I will find us corned beef!"
"What if it's gone bad too huh?!"
Zoey looked outside to see some common infected heading for them. "OH! I've got this!" She threw her hands up before drawing her rifle.
"I want round toast." Kayla randomly announced as Francis picked her up by the scruff of her jacket with ease. His forehead wrinkled in confusion. "You want what?" He asked over the gunshots and fighting.
"Round toast."
"...Bagels?" Francis made a guess, squinting his eyes and raising his brows. "Yes bagels." Beth confirmed, she held up an index finger with the other hand on her hip as Kayla licked her top lip.
"-At's also disgusting."
"Everything I say is disgusting."
Beth then kicked Jordan's hand when she saw him reaching for her sauce. He screeched a very unmanly screech while pulling his hand away, now sucking on his knuckles and giving her a sorrowful look. Keirstan, Amber and Louis watched it all in amusement.
"With the right recipes I'll make us a buffet!" Bill angrily roared.
Before Ian could retaliate, there was suddenly a loud bang. Then a car alarm was piercing the air.
Startled, all whipped their eyes at Zoey who had gritted her teeth and stared at what she did. Her firearm still held out in front.
It wasn't long when figures started to emerge from where they were hiding. Searching for the noise in agitation with their numbers growing. Quickly, they spotted the wailing vehicle, its headlights flashing and began screaming and running in their direction.
Zoey drew her weapon back to rest it on her shoulder. "I got 'em." She states proudly.
"Yeah great job Zoe!" Francis shouted sarcastically.
Windows soon started to shatter around the store, as infected crashed through in a crazed frenzy shoving and falling over each other to get in. With guns going off Keirstan hastily threw their goods into her bag and zipped it up, pinching her finger hard enough to yank back and shake her hand from the feeling. She was about to go however felt a heavy weight slam into her back. Keirstan yelled as the infected dragged her down while pulling on her straps, snapping its jaws as saliva flew from its lips trying to rip at her neck. She cursed in frustration, trying to thrash it off as it pulled itself dangerously closer until a boot kicked it hard in the face. Its head snapped back and gave Keirstan time to scramble up whilst grabbing her cricket bat from the floor.
Kayla kicked the common back a second time before Keirstan broke its neck with a mighty swing. Both then retreated to Francis who pumped bullets in their attackers, being sure the girls were behind him as he fired.
"Get out! They'll swarm this place soon enough!" The biker shouted.
Ian, Beth and Jordan swung their melee weapons back and forth together. Squirting blood all over as Ian shoved one away by its chest. The group was being forced towards the back of the store as most fired into the infected crowd. Others had their faces smashed in if they got too close.
Bill shouted as he stabbed through the jugular of another, causing it to convulse and gurgle on his blade. It grabbed his clothes and left bloody finger marks before he pushed it off by its forehead and stomped its face in. Bill then double looked out one of the broken windows and spotted a logo spelled in large red letters.
"QUICK! Head for that price chopper none of us saw!" Bill hollered, pointing with his knife.
"Shouldn't we get to safety?!" Louis reminded, as he shot attackers charging to get in.
"Not! Without my! BEEF!" Bill roared in determination, pumping his limbs while running towards the window and hurling himself outside on the last booming word.
Francis watched him leave when he felt impatient shoving. He looked down to see Kayla and Amber flimsily throwing themselves against him yelling, "come on move! You said we need to leave! Let's go!" Over each other.
He took a step back while also hearing distraught screaming louder than anything else.
Francis saw it was Beth wailing at the top of her lungs with Zoey holding her in a tight hug. She was apologizing profusely and he shifted to see them staring sorrowfully at what was left of Beth's cranberry sauce spilled out of the can, and splattered on the floor.
He shot them an unbelieving face. "We'll find more!" Francis hollered, throwing Kayla and Amber in front of him and pushing all four towards the exit.
"No, No! My sauce!" Beth cried fighting against him.
Francis sighed and bent down to pick her up. He followed the survivors outside as Beth laid limp in his arms sobbing.
"AAHH!...Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Bill's laughing dominated any enraged screams or wails as the sick pursued.
"Remember!" Jordan panted, cupping one hand by his mouth and swinging the other. "Everything's-"
"Fucking shut up!" The veteran bellowed, glaring over his shoulder. Just as he reached the entrance Beth performs a flying kick which sends him soaring, screaming and crashing through the damaged sliding doors.
"Atta girl!" Bill heard Francis roar in laughter. Groggily, he lifted his head where he laid to see the young survivor race for the aisles.
Francis came stomping in next. He bent down to grab Bill's jacket to haul him up then threw him away as he watched his sister take off deeper into the market. "Beth wait, hold up a second!"
"No waiting. Grab what ya'll can n' go!" Bill exclaimed, also taking off.
Eventually the survivors were scattered about. Running through the nearly empty lanes and grabbing what they could to throw in their baskets or carts with the infected barging in.
"AAAHHH!" Louis bellowed as he beat one away with a stiff loaf of garlic bread. "CARBS FOR EVERYONE!" Kayla hollered over him from nearby, also weaponizing bags of bread while standing on a display case. The infected were stopped in their tracks when she chucked loafs that burst open against them, and were rubbing crumbs out of their eyes as moldy, crumbling slices flew all over. One tripped over its shoelace and fell face first through a stand that broke in half and Kayla stomped down on its head. As she ran Louis double looked to see her go and hurled what was left of the bread away. "KKAAYYLLAA!" He screamed and chased after her.
From another section, Amber thrusts two boxes in each hand in front of herself. "What kind of rice do you like. Brown," she shook the brown rice package. "Or wild."
As the chaos went on Ian read both from next to her and shrugged. "Take both I don't think anybody will be picky."
"You can find another weird combination to piss off Bill even more." She chuckled, throwing them in her basket.
"What do you think he'd say to grilled pineapple?"
"He'll probably stab you."
Infected came scrambling up and over the shelves either side of them. Amber dropped the basket at the same time one fell onto Ian and he stumbled towards the shelves. She went to beat it off him when a second knocked her aim off target. "Augh!" Ian Shouted when her baseball bat was slammed across his shoulders.
"Sorry!"
Both survivors twisted around and pushed them away. Amber went to swing at one with two more coming from both sides, however the infected she tried to hit moved and she ended up swinging into Ian's stomach.
"I'm sorry!" She cried through gritted teeth when she saw his pained expression, placing a hand over the spot.
He blew through his cheeks and brought out his M16A4. "You shall not have my rice!" Ian hollered, firing away. He felt her eyes boring a hole into him and adds, "or my Amber!"
She grinned raising her bat, and he glanced over his shoulder with a wildly concerned look when she brought it down hard repeatedly. Deeply caving in an attacker's forehead.
"I've got it." Amber assured with her arms spread apart. The infected dropped to its knees and hits the ground with blood leaking out from its veiny, pale eyes. "Not the first couple times." Ian reminded looking over the corpse and baseball bat.
When she opened her mouth to reply, a couple gunshots rang out. Blood pooled down on the floor from above as another body collapsed at their feet. "Eh, you seen any alcohol layin' around?" Francis called while they turned to him.
Amber cupped a hand over her ear, "what!" She replied with a confused look and Ian shooting another one charging from behind the biker.
"Alcohol! Have ya seen any left." He repeated impatiently.
"Nope. Sorry friend." Ian answered.
"Son of a fuckingsaurus!" Francis exclaimed in annoyance, stomping away without waiting for another response. Shouldering his shotgun, he blasted rounds and cursed up a storm that increased in volume while passing the empty wine and beer aisles Francis previously checked. He traded the firearm for his machete, and slashed a common's throat wide open when it barreled towards him. Then, from the corner of his eye he saw another one coming. The thing lunged, so he ducked which had it roll across his back onto the floor, where he quickly stomped a boot down on its cheek.
"Fra-han-cis!" He heard an excited sob right as he raised the machete. He looked to find Beth running at him with a basket half full of cans on one arm and holding a can high in each hand. She was in absolute joy, smiling an enormous smile with the shelves tipping each other over in a domino effect behind her. Several panicked commons, including Jordan, Zoey, Keirstan and the cart they had soared over head with them.
"I found so much cranberry sauce!" She hollered, louder than the extraordinary thunderous booms, shattering glass and roars of pain. She held them up to him and he smirked while stabbing the pinned infected between the eyes.
"Good work love." He praised, earning a proud tongue blep. She went to open one still bleping, so he placed a hand on the can resulting in a pout. "Why don't you save it for later."
"'Cause I've got plenty."
"I know but," Francis gestured at the craze as a reminder, and giving her a questionable face.
"I can multitask."
He tugged it out of her hand and dropped it in her basket. "Later." To his luck, she begrudgingly obliged.
"Have you seen Kayla?" Both then asked in unison, surprising each other.
As if summoned by the question, from above there was a loud snapping noise. Alarmed the pair whipped their eyes up to see her, Bill and Louis holding onto a string of ceiling lights. Swinging down towards them, the younger two also had baskets of their own with their merchandise bouncing around inside. They were yelling, Bill looked madder than hell and rambling about something. Francis and Beth scrambled out of the way as the lights broke, the trio swung by and crashed into a small crowd of infected like bowling pins.
"How in the fresh fuck did you pull that?!" Francis exclaimed as he and Beth ran over to her. Louis was now fighting a few of the sick over a can and Bill roared in fury, scaring the rest of the swarm back. "Are you alright?"
Beth stamped her feet a couple of times in disappointment. "Now I want to do that."
"No." Francs sternly answered, pointing at her.
"Look!" Kayla yelled with pride digging through her finds. "I found canned peas, canned potatoes, a bunch of spices…" she went on as Francis blinked and looked ahead of her in time to see Bill grab Ian by the collar of his jacket. Amber looked in amazement from what she saw then to the boys.
"There's no corned beef anywhere!" He yelled psychotically in Ian's startled face.
"I di-"
"I looked everywhere."
"Bill I d-"
"EVERYWHERE I SAY."
"It was all gonna be rotten and disgusting anyway!" Came Zoey's voice, flailing from the destructive mess with Keirstan hanging onto her jacket's sleeve looking half dead.
Bill let go and stuck a hip out, a hand rested on it with sass. "Oh so you're suggesting we feast on Ian's unreasonable food combinations?" He snarked, snapping his fingers.
"I'd rather eat those than rotten meat!" Zoey yelled, with hands out over the continuous infected screaming and rampaging.
"NO! These are my apricots!" Louis angrily protested amid his ambush. They piled on him, all thrashing and sinking to the ground battling for the can. "MIIIIIIIINE!"
"SOMEBODY FUCKING HELP HIM!" Jordan bellowed in a sobbing tone. He ran with his firearm pointed in front of himself and started shooting away, the infected's heads snapped back or fell over with streams of blood squirting about. Louis stretched his long arm out from under the pile as far as he could to save his apricots.
"Some of those combinations don't sound too bad actually." Zoey said thoughtfully, remembering a few suggestions.
"I'm not eating hot sauce and soup concoctions!" Bill protested, "I dunno what else his family liked for thanksgiving but a lot of it sounds atrocious."
"Till you try it!" Ian grinned, flashing a thumbs up.
With the arguments going on Francis, Amber, the sisters and Keirstan were keeping them at bay; while Jordan continued to cover Louis as he dug himself out of the corpses. Their shrieks and fake cries mixed with furious roaring until Jordan fired behind the analyst at more of them barreling through flammables.
Beth turned around in time to see the danger, and her eyes widened. "Jordan stop! There's flammables over there!" She yelled, racing to him. "That blind bastard." Keirstan sighed and followed.
Francis looked from left to right in alarm, and saw Amber grit her teeth with her face drowning in fear as she passed the two girls. His own face dropped and orbs widening as he realized what was going on. "Beth get away from there!" He shouted giving chase. As he did Kayla whirled around holding something high above her head. "Hey Frannie I even found-"
Whoosh.
BOOOOOM!
Merchandise and stands were destroyed as black smoke swelled to engulf everything and set off alarms. The survivors felt the ground shake as explosions went on, making them stumble into a run or dive for the ground when debris flew their way.
Beth skidded to a stop and scrambled away passed Francis, who bulldozed her in the opposite direction. He raised an arm to shield himself from inhaling smoke, and felt small pieces of metal slicing through his clothes and the back of his neck. He ushered Beth to keep going when she stopped to wait for him while covering his wounds.
Infected wailed in agony, flailing out of the smoke with flames licking their skin. Some kept reaching for and chased the survivors until they dropped to their knees. The survivors, as they got up to run, picked up what edibles laid on the ground to throw in their packs on their way out.
"I see the van!" Keirstan shouted, pulling out the keys from her pocket. "Hurry!"
As he ran, Francis caught something from the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he raced for what was on the ground. Not letting anyone know what he was doing. So they ran far ahead without him.
The survivors staggered out of the entrance. Helping each other or tripping over debris when Kayla looked around to see her brother wasn't behind them. "Where's Francis!" Her whole body filled with panic, searching more frantically for him.
In the same moment she yelled he was running for the doors. He jumped out, his chest heaving and his knuckles white gripped on his find. Louis looked down to see what it was. To his disbelief, it was a thirty pack of busch.
"Are you serious Rivers?!"
Another explosion rumbled. "Haul ass!" Zoey barked. The team sprinted away from the price chopper as fast as they could, summoning attackers who appeared among abandoned vehicles. They screamed their unnatural screams, scrambling over hoods and knocked over carts to get to them.
Finally, the whole building went up. Glass from the front of the market violently shattered outwards, with orange lighting the inside and overwhelming the rest of the horde.
"NO!" Bill dropped to his knees screaming. Those large red letters sparked while breaking away. The steel in them twisting and moaning when they crashed down into the pavement.
"I could've gone and taken another look…" he dropped to his hands next with his head bowed.
"WWWHHHYYY?!" He howled at the sky in absolute distraught. "Wwhhyyhhhyyyy…"
"What the fuck's his issue?" Amber questioned. Fire swelled into the air from the roof as the group stood behind him.
"I coulda made us a glorious feast."
"The corn beef's all gone Bill." Zoey shot down with her hands on her hips. "Give up."
"Hey," Came Francis' voice. Grabbing Ian, Kayla and Jordan's attention. The biker stalked towards them, the beer still in his hand. His face scrunched with a deep frown. Kayla and Ian backed away as he towered over Jordan who was staring up at him with a gaping smile.
"Were ya shooting with yer eyes closed, you coulda killed us all!"
He held an index finger up with the other hand on his hip. "But I didn't. I killed the sick.~"
Francis stared at him unbelievably until he peered his eyes at Beth. She merely waved at him, with Louis and Zoey dragging a distraught Bill to their hijacked van. Keirstan waited by the door as the veteran babbled, and he was thrown inside.
Francis gazed back at the burning market when he walked over the van. He then noticed both of his girls looking between him and the alcohol unamused. "That's what you went back for?" Beth demanded.
"It's the same thing with your cranberry sauce. A man's gotta have his drink." He chuckled, climbing inside. "Hey. Don't bring your alcoholism in with my berryism. Alcoholism will kill you, berryism will not. There's a difference." Beth educated while he watched her with pursed lips.
"I don't think that pack's enough to kill 'im." Kayla stated, gazing between them. Amber leaned out from behind the van to give the three a strange look.
"I love you guys too," Francis remarked sarcastically, moving over to give them room. "Get yer little asses in here."
Before Beth could say more, Kayla lunged and shoved her inside. Her shocked face broke Francis into laughter with them crawling across his lap.
With their groceries in the back, the doors were slammed shut as Bill continued sobbing over the beef. Zoey was yelling at him to move on and Keirstan turned the engine over. And merrily drove away.
…
Whack!
"Hey!" Jordan pulled his hand back and shook it from getting slapped.
"I said hands off my apricots." Louis warned.
"Who's the one that got ya outta that ambush?" He laughed while Louis tugged the lid open. He greedily stuffed his mouth full, "yeah and who's the one who blew up the market." He blackmailed through sloppy chewing.
"My hands are so abused." Jordan wept, scurrying away.
The counters were lined with groceries. Stuffing, canned chopped fruit, canned vegetables, spices, rice, instant potatoes, soup, boxed pasta, sauces, jugs of water and many infamous cans of cranberry sauce. There were also items for a makeshift dessert like cereal, granola bars, various cookies, pie filling in case they wanted to somehow make one, bags of chips and chocolates.
"I still want corned beef." Bill grumbled. He stared down at some cookies he took with his arms folded on the table.
"For fuck sake, get over it William!" Zoey exclaimed, whipping a wooden spoon at him. Sauce splattered on the floor since she was busy making pasta although he didn't spare a look at her.
Francis kicked back in a recliner next to the boarded up window he destroyed earlier. He felt the bandages on his neck stretch while pulling the foot rest out. He opened a busch with one finger, tore open a bag of potato chips he snatched and settled in. Then watched Keirstan, Amber and Ian trying to fix the T.V until something in it sparked making all three jump back.
"I think I saw a CD player outback. Probably runs on batteries. We could listen to somethin' if you wanna give that a try." Francis suggested with crumbs flying from his mouth.
"Alright I guess." Keirstan replied.
As they left Francis washed down the chips with some beer, and reached for some more just to grab thin air. Confused, he looked where he put them down until he heard chewing, and found Beth had taken the bag. She stared at him, chewing slowly and loudly.
"Francis…" someone whispered.
The biker half-lidded his eyes and looked at his right. Kayla stood on her knees with a thin grin. He went to ask what she needed when she held up a bottle of imperial blue. "~Look what I found.~"
A chorus of heavenly music ran through Francis' head and his eyes grew enormous at the sight. "Oh…"
"Augh." Beth gave it a disgusted look.
Francis set the beer down and pitifully reached for the whiskey with his bottom lip quivering. Kayla yanked it back, earning herself a look of despair. She giggled twisting it open and took a large swig. Her face quickly scrunched with her lips pursed and eyes squeezed shut, regrettingly swallowing it with Francis laughing smugly. "You ain't built to down a whole bottle." He grunted, taking it when she handed it over and swallowed an even larger gulp.
"I've done it with Jack Daniels before." She argued and stole his busch.
"Then you broke our friend's ice tray." Beth reminded. "Among many other things."
"I thought she dropped the bottle!" Ian called.
Francis chuckled some more through sips until Zoey yelled out. "Ya'll, come get your food!"
The CD player was dropped when the trio came back inside. Almost immediately, the survivors stampeded for the kitchen extremely loudly. Making even more noise as they disappeared through the entrance.
"Jesus." Francis proclaimed, watching them go. Beth watched as well with horror filling her face. "Fuck!" She sprang up and raced after them. "Anyone touches my sauce before me dies!" She promised on her way in.
"Don't be throwing them at me!" They heard her yell as Francis got up. He pinched and rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked down at Kayla who was now lying on the floor, her face hidden.
"Don't take much for ya." He shook his head, and bent down to grab her ankles to gently drag her inside.
"Happy thanksgiving!"
"Francis and Kayla get in here now!"
"Quit shouting or I'll take longer just to piss you off." Francis threatened.
And so the team had a glorious feast together. No corned beef, the food was simple to Ian's dismay. And everyone survived the clusterfuck of total chaos this thanksgiving has bestowed to see another day.