Hey guys! I have a new chapter for you! since you guys have been so nice to me and so very patient, I decided this week would be update central. Unfortunately, I have no more chapters written and edited at this point. Rest assured though, I plan on getting this ship righted and back on course. I would like to have it mostly finished by Christmas. No Guarantees though. Anywho, here's chapter 13. Enjoy!
Twiin-Vii2iion2
...
Karkat was the first to wake up the next morning. He did some final checks on the packs while avoiding looking at the empty spot where Rose used to lay. The others began to wake one by one, and wordlessly they all gathered their stuff and left the cave for good, heading out in any direction, just sort of aimlessly wandering.
"Where are we even going?" Karkat spoke up, breaking the silence that had been hovering around them for almost an hour.
"Somewhere," Dave responded, his voice strained and tight.
"Where was this secret rebel base supposed to be?" Karkat asked tentatively, sensing the tension between them. No one answered. "Look, guys, stop here." The other three stopped and looked at him before he continued. "I know this is a hard moment, but if we just keep wandering, we are going to run into more trouble. We need to decide on where we're going."
They all just looked at each other, and then Jade sighed. "Well, the rumors were that it was in a hidden base in Texas, somewhere near the capital city, Austin. In a national park."
"Angelina National Forest," Dave spoke up.
Karkat looked around in a confused manor. "Texas? Austin? National Park?" he asked.
"Texas is a state from what used to be the United States before the trolls invaded. Austin is a city in that state. A National Park is basically land that people weren't allowed to build on," John explained quickly.
Karkat nodded, translating some of the words in his head into terms he could understand. 'United States' was a weird one. He guessed that was basically an empire or something. And this 'Texas State' was part of its land.
"Anyway," Dave said, "Angelina National Forest is about a four hour drive from Austin. Not to mention the fact that we're way too far north. It could take us days to reach there, weeks if we go on foot. It'd be a fucking miracle if we made it there in one piece."
Karkat sighed heavily. "Then we'll have to get a car," he said matter-of-factly.
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Dave asked, raising an eyebrow behind his shades.
"The patrols may still be looking for us, depending on if they found anyone who escaped. They may be driving the roads, scanning for more runaways. We can highjack one of these cars and go from there," Karkat said.
"There should be a road near here, if I didn't get my positions mixed up, which I never do," Jade offered.
"Which direction should we head?" Karkat asked her, making a mental note of how good she was with directions.
"South, so..." She thought for a second and looked up at the sky. "What time is it?"
"Around 10ish," Dave offered, and, after Karkat shot him a quizzical look, supplied with a shrug, "I'm good with time."
"So then south is..." Jade turned in a direction that was just off of where they had been heading, "that way."
"How did you know about the road?" John asked.
"I saw a map while we were put in the holding places. I figured we had to be close to this one road.
Apparently we are in Ouachita National Forest," Jade said with a shrug.
Karkat turned in the direction she had pointed. "We should get to the road. There, we can lay in wait for a car. With as close as it is to the complex, we might catch some trolls returning to the complex from patrols," he said. He began walking in the direction. "If we hurry, we might get lucky and catch one tonight." He set off at a brisk pace that turned into a jog and then into a sprint.
Within a half an hour, they had reached the road. They stopped, and Karkat looked around. "The trees provide enough coverage. But we won't be able to strike fast enough... we need a plan."
"What if we had a distraction?" Jade offered.
"Like?" Karkat's interest was piqued.
"Two of us should be able to neutralize the van full of trolls. The other two could get seen and run into the woods, forcing the car to stop. Now, obviously not all the trolls will get out; one or two may stay behind. One of us would take out the ones in the car while the other would follow the trolls running after the other two and take them out from behind," Jade said, using her arms to animate her plan in an attempt to get it across more easily.
Karkat nodded. "Sounds like a solid plan. Who's doing what parts?"
"Well I'm really fast," John offered. "It naturally makes sense that I'd be one of the distractions."
"I can keep up with John on a good day," Dave offered. "I can be the other distraction."
Karkat nodded and looked to Jade. Before he could ask the question he had an answer.
"I want to take out the fuckers that stay behind," She said, her tone getting across that this was not up for negotiating. Karkat nodded and turned to the other two.
"We should take up our positions. It may be a while before one comes, and it could be really late. If we get to that point, sleep lightly and be ready." Everyone nodded and took their positions: Dave and John found their spot, and Jade and Karkat hid a little further up. And with that, they waited.
…...
Karkat was awoken by Jade.
"I think I hear a car coming," she whispered softly. Karkat shot up and then shrank back down into his hiding spot. He looked around quickly. The car wasn't in sight, but he could definitely hear the hum of an engine in the distance. He glanced down the street, looking for a sign that either Dave or John were awake. He received his sign in the form of a flash of moonlight off of Dave's sunglasses as he took them off. Karkat sighed inwardly at the small relief, but his body stayed tense.
The engine sound was growing louder and louder. Any minute, the car would be coming around the bend. Karkat's muscles became taught, readying to jump into action.
The headlights were the first things to appear. Karkat's heart pounded harder and faster as the car whipped around the corner and zoomed towards them. They had to time this perfectly. Too soon, and John and Dave wouldn't be seen. Too late, and they'd be hit.
The seconds dragged on as the car drew closer to that magical invisible line that signaled when the two had to run.
"Five... four... three..." Karkat counted under his breath. Suddenly, John and Dave ran across the street. Slowly at first, then fast. The timing was perfect. The jeep screeched to a halt in front of Karkat and Jade, and the trolls inside jumped into action shouting at each other. There were 6 trolls in the jeep and four of them hopped out and ran after John and Dave. The driver stayed in his seat but the troll in shotgun got up and into what appeared to be a mounted gun on the back of the jeep.
Karkat cursed inwardly. That would make sneaking up behind the other trolls more difficult.
Or it would have had Jade not gotten up and moved silently up behind the troll. She shot up quick and grabbed his head, twisting it to the side quickly. With a sickening crack, the troll fell instantly and silently to the ground, dead before he even knew that he'd been hit.
Karkat took advantage of his new absence and made for the woods on the opposite side of the road. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the driver pulled out of his seat and onto the other side of the jeep to be killed horror movie style. Karkat shook his head and quickened his pace. John and Dave could only go for so long, and he had a lot of ground to make up.
Karkat flew between the trees, moving side to side. He heard the shouts of the trolls up ahead. He leaned forward and tried to close the distance. He caught a glimpse of one of the trolls ahead of him, and then he spotted the others. He veered off to their left and caught up to the one closest to him. He quickly changed course and rammed him at full speed, slamming him into a tree and feeling his ribs break beneath the force.
The troll gasped for air and collapsed. Karkat quickly grabbed his head and snapped his neck quickly.
Having heard the commotion, the other trolls stopped abruptly and turned around. Taking only a second to register what had happened, the three remaining trolls almost immediately started to converge on
Karkat. Karkat tensed, ready for the fight when he heard yells coming from behind the trolls. Suddenly John and Dave burst into view and tackled two of the trolls to the ground. Karkat didn't waste the distraction they had caused and immediately turned on the remaining troll.
He launched at the troll and rammed him against a tree. He started throwing punch after punch into the troll's gut. Shock or pain prevented the troll from attacking or defending, and, consequently, blow after blow connected with the enemy's stomach. Karkat broke off with a grunt and snarled as he grabbed the defenseless troll's head and began bashing it against the tree over and over and over again.
Lost in his rage, Karkat didn't stop until the troll's skull had been smashed to a pulp and the back of his head was mush. Karkat let go of him and staggered. He didn't know when he had started to cry, but red tears had started to stream down his face. He fell to his knees and stared at his hands. His head spun as he tried to figure out why he was suddenly so sad. 'Rose would have known,' he thought. And it hit him. That was why. John had told him that Rose was basically their psychiatrist. They would go to her with their problems. She was still good at it even when in a coma. He had become close to her without her saying a word. He had unloaded to her without her even being awake. She was always there though. She was great. She was gone.
Karkat felt a hand on his shoulder and he instinctively pulled away and turned to face his attacker. It was just John, his face a worried look.
"You okay, man?" he asked, his voice somber, sympathetic.
"Y-yeah..." Karkat stood up. "I just... I didn't realize how much Rose had grown on me, even though she was never awake..."
John placed a hand back on Karkat's shoulder. "I know," he said. "We all miss her, but we can't stay here. Come on. Let's get back to the road."
John held out his hand, ignoring the blood-smeared skin, and Karkat nodded before taking it. They walked together back through the woods towards the light from the car. When they exited the woods,
Karkat expected John to pull his hand away, seeing as Dave was already in the car. When he didn't, Karkat looked at him, and John just smiled back and gave his hand a small squeeze. Karkat smiled to himself and gave a much heavier squeeze back.
As the two climbed into the back seat, Karkat noticed that someone was missing.
"Where's Jade?" he asked.
As soon as he had spoken, Jade came out of the woods from the other side of the jeep. She silently walked towards the passenger side door, covered in dark blue liquid. She wordlessly opened the door and climbed into the jeep. Karkat and John stared at her from the back seat, unbelieving.
Dave gave her a once over before turning his head back to the road and starting the car.
"That color blue suits you," he said as the car lurched into motion.
