DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VICTORiOUS.
Chapter 14
Desolation
No one's POV
Desolation everywhere they looked. Destruction and rubble. The neighborhood vaguely resembled the Hollywood Hills. There were cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, rubble, plants and trees and corpses everywhere.
The gang was shocked beyond belief and were brought to tears again as they saw the destruction cause by the storm. How could some wind and rain do so much damage? It was unbelievable! They were all paralyzed with shock and could do nothing but stare at all the damage surrounding them.
"L-l-lo-ok." Tori said shakily, pointing west. Everyone turned and saw a path cut through all the rubble, caused by the National Guard from last night.
"L-et's s-s-t-art that w-wa-y." Robbie muttered. The gang slowly made their way through the cleared path, sticking close to each other and deviating slightly to avoid bodies that littered the streets. It was eerily quiet. There was no wind and no sounds of military or other people nearby. The gang needed to find some form of life and had to work with other survivors to live another day. The gang, so desperate to escape, forgot to bring food and drink with them.
"W-w-ait; we n-need t-to get s-sup-plies." Cat said. Everyone stopped and looked back to Tori's ruined house. Beck and Jade moved to the house to check on the rubble where they escaped.
"N-n-n-no no no no no!" Jade screamed and ran. Beck followed her. Everyone else turned to see what was going on and ran back to join the other two. They caught up to Jade and saw what was going on. The rubble had caved in, sealing off Tori's house from the outside world. Without help with cranes and other equipment, it would be impossible to reenter the house.
"Shit! Our supplies were in there!" Jade shouted.
"Does anyone have their phone with them?" Tori asked. Everyone shook their head.
"Fuuuuck! What are we gonna do? We don't know where the military set up base." Robbie groaned. Everyone shrugged and said their 'I don't knows'. For all they know, the National Guard aren't even in LA anymore and could be in any adjacent city.
"I say we follow the path the Guard cleared and hope we stumble upon something or someone." Andre said.
"Agreed." Beck replied. They turned around and started walking down the street, heading due west.
After several hours, the gang followed the street and met no one and saw no signs of life anywhere. They needed to find a working vehicle and supplies.
"I'm thirsty." Cat stated.
"Hi Thirsty, I'm Jade; nice to meet you." Jade said sarcastically. Cat looked upset by this.
"Not necessary, Jade." Tori chastised.
"There needs to be food and drinks somewhere, anywhere!" Andre said. The gang searched many houses, only to see them abandoned and dry of food and drink. Several house were trapped like Tori's or were completely destroyed.
"This is ridiculous." Robbie muttered.
"Totally." Andre agreed. The gang continued walking for another hour or so before they stopped to massage their aching feet. The sun was out and was high, signaling that it is the afternoon. Everyone was tired, hungry, and thirsty. They laid down on a grassy front lawn. Well, grassy, with other debris in it.
"How long can we go without food and drink?" Tori asked.
"Uh, three or four days without water, and a week or so without food." Robbie answered.
"We barely ate anything this morning, so it'll be less." Beck pointed out.
"We can't let that stop us." Jade said.
"SUV." Cat said out of the blue. Everyone looked at her. Cat pointed to a green Jeep Grand Cherokee that was abandoned on the side of the road and seemed to be intact.
"Holy shit." Tori voiced everyone's thoughts. They leaped up and ran towards the vehicle. Beck tried the door, but it was locked.
"Give me a rock!" he shouted. Everyone started looking.
"Here!" Robbie said and handed Beck a medium-sized rock. Beck took the rock and threw it with all his might against the driver's window. The rock broke the glass and collided with the passenger door. Beck reached in gingerly to avoid cutting himself on the broken glass. He unlocked the door and withdrew his hand and opened the door. He cleaned off the driver's seat from broken shards of glass and climbed in and looked for keys.
"Try the visor." Jade told him. He did and nothing was there.
"Jade do you have scissors on you?" Beck asked his girlfriend. Jade smirked and produced a pair of small scissors from her waist. She took Beck's place and opened them and put one of the blades inside the ignition and wiggled them around and turned the ignition and the SUV turned over after a few seconds.
"Yes!" cheered the gang. Jade moved so that Beck could climb in the driver's seat and he unlocked the doors, so that everyone could get inside. Jade went into the passenger seat; Tori, Andre, and Robbie took the middle section; and Cat took the last section.
"We ready?" Beck asked.
"Yeah." Andre replied.
"Where do we go?" Cat asked.
"Follow the path the Guard created; that'll lead us somewhere." Jade replied.
"Agreed." Tori said.
"Alright then. Here we go." Beck said and shifted gears and pushed on the gas pedal and the SUV started moving. Beck navigated it to move down the street in the middle. He drove cautiously, to avoid debris, bodies, and other cars that littered the streets.
"How much gas do we have?" Jade asked after they reached a wide street. Beck stole a glance at the odometer.
"Full tank." He replied.
"SUVs don't have a very good fuel economy." Andre pointed out.
"Yeah, this things gotta have a 30 gallon tank or something and have like 12 mpg." Tori added.
"Of course I can't go faster, as that'll burn the gas quicker and there's no power still, so no gas stations are working." Beck added.
They drove in silence for the next hour. While Beck concentrated on the road and avoiding obstacles, everyone else was looking out the windows and observed the ruins of their hometown.
"Where are we now?" Cat asked.
"We left LA, and we're heading north." Beck replied. Everyone turned to look forward past the windshield. They were on a long stretch of road that was nearly bare, except for debris. Beck had sped up a bit. They had left their homes far behind them. Can anyone blame them for wanting to escape the desolation?
Chapter 14. R+R plz. The last of the 4 D's. I might end DOTS in a couple of chapters, now that they have escaped Tori's house. I know it was early, but that's where the fun begins.