Chapter 15: Until Death
The group walked in a tense silence. Eyes alert for movement, fingers hovering over triggers. The reality of all that had happened in twenty-four hours was starting to dawn on them.
They had all had their own private thoughts of what they would do now.
"Daze?" Clara's voice broke the stillness, "What will we do after we're done with this?"
"Fight, I think." Daze said, surprised by his own words. The idea had at that very moment entered his mind and now he knew it to be true. "We'll try to live as best we can, but I think we have to fight."
"We won't always be so lucky Daze." Jack said quietly. "It wont always go as it has."
"You call this lucky?" His own outburst caught him off guard. Daze sighed, "Then maybe I'll fight. No need to endanger you guys."
"I wasn't telling you not to," Jack looked straight ahead as he walked, "Just reminding you of the inevitable. Frankly, I'd be the first to join you."
Daze looked over and met Jack's glance. Jack's calm, quiet gaze reassured Daze, things would never get too bad.
Or so he hoped.
"Maybe I'll join the Cog." Daze's statement shocked the others.
"No way man!" Jordan looked almost angry, "You can't do that!"
"Yeah, we need you more than they do!" Clara stared hard into Daze's eyes. "You mean to much to us!"
"Where would we be without you?" Justin asked quietly.
"Probably right here." Daze knew in his heart this wasn't true.
"Not a chance!" Susan spoke up, "More likely lying in pools of our own blood in the room where we met Rojas."
"Or countless other places!" Jet spoke now. So they were all getting a word in.
Daze looked at Holly. She was walking in front of him, looking straight ahead. What was she thinking? Did she know he cared for her? He hoped she hadn't misunderstood their talk in the vault. He had been kind yet she had to have detected the softness and caring that he had tried to show her.
A new thought crossed his mind. What if she couldn't let "him" go? What if her thoughts still revolved around her old boyfriend?
"Just don't be too hasty," Susan said calmly, "You don't want to do something you'll regret later on."
"You're right." Daze looked at the ground. What was he really thinking. What did he really want to do. "I'm not even sure that's what I want, I just can't risk all of your happiness for my foolhardy idea."
"Hey," Clara stopped next to him and hugged him, "Our happiness is more tied up with you than you know. You're our friend, when you're happy, we're happy." Then in a more conspiratorial tone. "And I'm almost as happy killing locust with you as I am any other time!"
"Thanks." Daze returned the hug. "It means a lot to me."
"Don't worry about it."
"You know what Daze?" Justin turned to Daze as he spoke,
"What?"
"I think we should deal with this Cog idea when we have to. Otherwise it'll just make everyone miserable."
"That sounds like the best idea." Daze answered.
They all walked on for another hour before they came in sight of the first Cog checkpoint. A sharp voice haled them as they approached.
"Hands up!" A Cog stepped out from a small house and leveled a shotgun at the group.
"We're human." Daze said as he walked forward.
"I don't care if you're angels!" The man threatened them again with the shotgun, "Now put up your hands before I blow your fcking head off!"
Daze stared at the man, shocked at his aggression towards another human being. Sure the Cog generally hated the Stranded and vice versa, but this didn't make sense.
"Okay," Daze slowly raised his hands, "but don't do anything you might regret later."
"Oh don't worry," The man gave him a sly smile, "I'd sleep fine tonight."
"Sure you would." Daze stood uneasily, not liking the situation or where it was going. "So my hands are up, where do we go from here?"
"Put down your weapons," and this time he looked beyond Daze, "and that means all of you!"
"No deal," Now Daze was firm, "We may not be here to fight but there's no way in hell we're giving you our guns."
"Give me your weapons now!" Daze noticed the man click the safety off.
"Okay, okay!" Daze didn't want this to go the wrong way, "I'm going to take my pistol out very slowly and toss it to you."
Daze slowly drew the pistol out of it's holster, emptied the chambers, and tossed it to the Cog. While the revolver was still in the air he suddenly pulled the rifle from his back and aimed it at the man.
As soon as the Gear caught the pistol and turned back toward him, Daze shot. The bullet struck the man's shotgun and sent it flying into the street. The man was reaching for his snub pistol when a round from Clara's sniper rifle shattered it.
"Now do you believe me?" Daze asked.
"You can't just!" The man fumed and sputtered, "I'll have you all…"
"Sarge?" A voice came from the building that the Cog had exited from, "I really don't think they want to hurt us."
"Shut up Wallace!" The sergeant turned and shouted at the building. "I'll ask for editorials if I want 'em!"
"Yo, Wallace is right man!" A new voice echoed from the guardhouse.
"Jose!" Sarge's face had turned such a comical shade of red that Clara started giggling, "You shut your damn mouth!"
"Man that's some bullsht!" Jose replied, "at least R squad is gonna be here soon."
"What?" Sarge's face turned from red to white so quickly that Justin burst out laughing. "You shut up right now!"
"Who's gonna make me?" Justin continued laughing as Sarge spluttered for an answer.
"So how about you give me my pistol back." Daze asked coolly.
"How about I smash it on the ground!" Sarge raised his hand to throw it down.
Daze brought up his carbine to fire when a sharp command checked him.
"Stop right there Travis!" A grizzled old Cog walked up behind Sarge along with three younger male Cogs and one female, "I heard a commotion around here."
"Ah, no sir. No commotion here." Sarge stammered.
"Then why did one of your men call for backup?" The old Cog asked, a knowing look in his eye.
"Um, well, uh we thought that these stranded might be attacking us to uh, you know, to take our guns and stuff."
"You know what? I think he's lying Doc." The female Cog said to the old man.
"Yeah," Jose's voice piped up again from the guardhouse, "It's pretty much a pile bullsht."
"Travis, take your squad and hoof it back to base. Oh, and give the boy his gun back!"
"Yes sir!" Sarge scrambled at the order, first stopping as if to salute, then thinking better of it and running to pick up his shotgun off the road. He came back, gave Daze the revolver then turned and hurried off down the road.
"And no more behavior unbefitting of an officer," Doc shouted after him as Sarge and his squad made their way back to base, "Otherwise there'll be hell to pay!"
The group of teens meanwhile, had been watching the whole scene with smiling faces.
"So, what are you kids doing out here?" Doc asked as his squad got comfortable around the guardhouse.
"We came to see if we could get married." Daze blurted out.
"All of you," Doc let out a deep chuckle, "At once?"
Daze blushed then pointed to Clara and the others. "No, just those four over there."
"Just those four?" Doc shot Daze that knowing look of his.
"Um," Daze glanced at Holly, yet she refused to make eye contact with him, "Yeah, just those four."
"Well you kids are in luck!" This time Doc let out a great, grandfatherly laugh, "I just so happen to have been an ordained Chaplin back in the day! Hmm, now let's see if I can remember what to say."
Daze smiled as he saw the look on Clara's face. Justin was no less excited and neither were Susan and Jordan. All four rushed up to where Doc was standing.
"Now stand here and hold each others hands like this," Doc said while he positioned them just the right way, "Now you boys are gonna repeat after me and then the girls will and before you know it we'll have ourselves to genuine married couples!"
"Oh, wait!" Doc slapped his forehead with mock frustration, "We can't have ourselves a weddin' with out some maid's of honor and whatnot!"
"Oh, come on!" Clara was almost jumping up and down from excitement, "We don't need maids of honor!"
"Now missy, you just settle yourself down. We are gonna do this thing good and proper," Doc looked at those who were gathered around, "Boys you go stand over behind the other boys and girly, you stand behind those other two. Now this has to be even, lets see…Hey Blaze, git yourself over here!"
"What's up Doc?" The female Cog came out from the guardhouse.
"We need this to be even, tell Cypher to git his ass out here!" Doc looked like he hadn't had this much fun in years.
"Hey Cypher!" Blaze shouted, "Get out here for a minute!"
Two men came walking out of the building. One was a tall white kid with spiky blonde hair, and the other was a Latino.
"What do ya need Doc?" The Latino answered.
"I need you to go stand by Blaze and that other girl over there, you're gonna be a maid of honor in this here wedding."
The blonde Cog laughed as he stood watching.
After everyone had taken their places Doc began. It was a short ceremony, and Doc had to stop a few times to try and remember what to say. Forever afterward he always said that it was the "most absurd thing I ever did see!" But he finally got to the last part about sickness and health, for richer or poorer, at which point Justin cracked a joke that had everyone laughing.
When Doc had gotten everyone calmed down he said with grave solemnity, "I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may both kiss your brides."
Justin took Clara in his arms and kissed her as Jordan did the same with Susan. They stood that way, kissing for a while before a cough from Daze signaled that they should probably wind down.
"Yes!" Clara gave a little shriek of joy and rushed over and hugged Daze, "Finally!"
"Finally is right!" Daze smiled down into her eyes, "Now I can have Justin tell you to heel when you get on my nerves!"
Clara slugged him in the arm and shot him a dirty look, yet her eyes betrayed her joy.
"So where are we gonna stay for the night?" Clara asked almost breathless.
"Calm down already!" Daze laughed heartily, "You're hornier than a dog in heat!"
"Oh shut up! You would be to if you had just gotten married!"
"Probably, but right now I can say whatever I want!"
"Kids, kids!" Doc was laughing with them, "How about you guys get headed to wherever you're going, I don't want you all around if another squad shows up. They might not take a liking to stranded the way I do!"
"Alright, Thanks for everything Doc." Daze said to him as he walked a little ways off.
"No problem. You kids take care now."
"Oh, one more thing," Daze pulled the Cog tags from his pocket and tossed them to Doc, "A tank was attacked by a Brumak a ways back. They didn't make it."
Doc looked at the Cog tags and frowned. "Thank you son, I'll get these to any family members ASAP."
"So where do we go?" Susan asked as they all gathered around and left the Gears to their business.
"I think we should head back to the orphanage." Daze said in a rather subdued tone, "We can give our friends a burial and the locust probably left the supplies untouched."
"That sounds like a good idea," Justin said giving Clara a nudge, "and we got beds to."
"Well why not. Lets say thanks to Doc and them and then get on our way." Jack walked over to where the Doc was sitting, writing in a journal.
"Hey, thanks for everything…" Daze didn't hear the rest of the conversation as he saw Doc rip out the page and put it his pocket then shake Jack's hand.
Daze waited a short distance from the guardhouse while the others said thank you and goodbye. He wondered if he should ask Holly before they left, but then the others were already coming toward him and he didn't want to hold them up.
Some other time. Daze thought as he started walking along the dusty street back towards the orphanage.