DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VICTORiOUS.
Chapter 16
Too Late
No one's POV
One hour later.
"Where are we?" Cat asked no one in particular.
"I think we're in Bakersfield." Beck answered. Everyone was looking out the windows to see the surrounding area. It seems that the majority of SoCal got hit by the hurricane. There were similar forms of damage seen as there was in LA, though not as substantial. There wasn't anybody in sight as well. Beck had slowed down when he got off the I-5 and everyone was looking around for signs of the military.
"How much gas is left?" Robbie asked. As if in answer, the car started to stall and slow down.
"Empty." Beck answered nonchalantly, after the car stopped dead in its tracks.
"Well, fuck; that's not good." Cat replied.
"Ya think?!" Jade shouted as everyone climbed out of the car. Beck went to the back and opened the trunk and took out the duffel bags. Andre took one while Beck took the other.
"Where to now?" Robbie asked.
"Well, I don't know Bakersfield very well, but we need to keep going north." Tori answered.
"Why north?" Cat asked.
"There's probably a base camp near the center of the town and that's probably where the capitol building is and those areas are typically very large. They probably are in a large park too, if not at the capitol building." Tori explained.
"Well, we're on the edge of town and near the suburbs, so we should head north to the rural areas." Andre stated.
"The sun is starting to set." Beck pointed out. And indeed, it was starting to get a little darker.
"We need to move fast." Jade added and she started walking towards the town. Everyone followed her and they entered Bakersfield.
The group were in the suburbs area and were entering the urban part of the town. Bakersfield is fairly small, so it wouldn't take them too long to reach the center. There didn't seem to be any power in the buildings, as it got darker, it became harder to see and the street lights weren't turning on.
"We should find a place to stay the night, because I doubt that we'll find anyone before nightfall and we have only one flashlight and no clue where to go." Tori said after what felt like forever. It was dark outside and Beck had pulled out the flashlight earlier and was using it to light there way.
"There's a hostel over there." Robbie pointed out.
"What hostile? Who would want to be hostile to us?!" Cat freaked.
"HostEL, not hostILE, idiot." Jade snapped at the freaking out Cat.
'Oh, phew!" Cat sighed. Everyone rolled their eyes and headed towards the hostel. Andre tried the front door and was surprised that it was unlocked. They went inside the dark building and stood there.
"Stay here for a sec." Beck said. He shone the light to the front desk and went around it and start rummaging around.
"Should we use a flare?" Andre asked.
"How many are there?" Robbie wondered.
"A pack of 6."
"Use one then." Jade said. Andre started looking around in the duffel bag he had and a few seconds later a crack was heard and the room was filled with red light from the flare. Andre held it up high above his head and moved towards Beck.
"Babe, what are you looking for?" Jade asked.
"These." Beck replied, straightening up and showing them keys. Jade smiled and Beck came around the desk and pointed towards the door that led to the stairs. Andre led the way, shining the dark building with the flare. They reached the stairs and opened the door and started ascending until they reached the second floor. They entered a hallway and Beck pointed to several close doors. Beck tried a door and it was locked. Beck then flipped through the keys until he found one that was marked '2nd floor'. He put the key in the lock and turned it and opened the door. Andre went inside and looked around. It was a small room. It had a full sized mattress, a nightstand, a bureau, a table, and a small TV. Andre returned and told them what he saw.
"They're big enough for a couple of us, so we can take three rooms."
"Better than nothing." Robbie stated.
"Totally." Cat said.
"Let me unlock a couple more." Beck said and he unlocked the door next to the one where Andre was standing and the one across it. Andre and Tori took the first one, not before Andre passed out the remaining 5 flares; Beck and Jade took the one next to them; and Cat and Robbie took the one across Beck and Jade.
Once inside, Beck started to ration the food they had to last them longer. Afterwards he puts the duffle bag on the bureau and lies down on the bed, kicking off his boots. Jade joins him and cuddles with him. Beck kisses the top of her head.
"I love you Beck." Jade says.
"I love you too Jade." He replies, with a smile on his face. He and Jade sleep peacefully, after sleeping together twice.
The next morning.
"Wake up you guys." Came someone's voice from above.
"Huh?" Beck replied groggily. He opens his eyes and Robbie is standing above him. "What time is it, Rob?"
"A little past 11." Robbie replied.
"Ok, we're getting up, give us a few."
"Yup." Robbie replied before leaving and closing the door behind him. Beck turned to his sleeping girlfriend and started shaking her.
"Babe, wake up; its past 11."
"No. Give me coffee." Jade ordered. Beck rolled his eyes.
"How?"
"Think of something, damnit."
"You're no help."
"Neither are you."
"Whatever, just get the fuck up so we can get out of here." Beck snapped.
"Alright!" Jade groaned as she sat up. Luckily both of them had the sheets to cover them. Beck threw her clothes to her and they both got dressed silently, Jade slacking. Afterwards, they both left their room and headed downstairs to find the others ready to go.
"Breakfast anyone?" Beck offered, holding up a candy bar.
"Dibs." Tori stated and Beck tossed her the bar and she ate it promptly, causing everyone to stare at her. "What?"
"Give us some food, Beck." Andre said. Beck obliged and everyone had a 'healthy' breakfast.
Three hours later. Downtown Bakersfield.
The gang spent the last several hours searching every park, town center, kook, and cranny for any signs of the Guard, with no luck.
"This is getting ridiculous. Where the fuck are they?" Robbie asked, voicing everyone's opinion.
"Yeah, really. But, we're almost to the center of the town and there has to be some more parks that we missed." Tori said.
"Well, let's keep going then." Andre said. And they continued on their journey. The further they travelled, the more rural the town became. Eventually, they turned down a street that led them to the town center. They followed the street and came upon the town center, and a National Guard base. Excited, the group ran towards the front entrance and are stopped by guards.
"Are you kids alright?" one of the guards asked.
"Despite being trapped inside a house with no means of escape, we're fine; how are you?" Tori gasped. The guard's expression didn't change.
"Well, come on in, let's see if you need medical attention." The guard said and he directed them to the tent with a red cross on it. The gang walked through the camp and observed the camp. There were multiple tents, all ranging in size all around them. There were several Jeeps and Humvees and a single tank. There were citizens all around them. They went to the medical tent and are greeted by a doctor there.
"Hello there, new arrivals?" the doctor asked kindly. He was an middle aged man, who looked weary from all the medical attention he had to give.
"Yeah, from LA." Beck explained.
"Wow. Glad you could escape, the storm hit there pretty hard."
"Yup; we were directed here by one of the guards." Andre said.
"Yes; I'll need a sample of your blood to run tests to see if you have any diseases that may be beyond any medical attention I can give you." The doc explained.
"How long have you guys been here?" Robbie asked as the doc took their samples.
"Only a couple of days; we've been getting survivors from all around SoCal, the least from LA; there are other camps, but this one's closest to LA, since we don't know if another storm will hit."
"That's good thinking, there was that flash flood a few hours after the storm subsided." Andre inputted and the doc nodded. After getting their blood samples, the doc told them they would have results in a few days and to talk to one of the base personnel to settle in. The gang did that and were settled in a couple of tents within an hour.
3 days later.
"Excuse me, do you know if anyone name Vega is here?" Tori asked the guard who had taken names of all survivors. She looked down the list for 'Vega'.
"No, I'm afraid you're the only one." She replied.
"Ok, thanks for checking." Tori replied and left the guard. "Shit." She whispered to herself as she headed back to her tent.
"Anything?" Cat asked Tori as she entered the tent. The boys had a tent for them and the girls were next to them. No one was particularly happy about this, but went along with it.
"Nothing. When's the doc coming back with our results?"
"Not sure." Cat asked as a groan was heard nearby. Cat and Tori turned to source. Jade was on her bunk and was moaning softly. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she was rubbing her stomach gingerly.
"Jade? Are you alright?" Tori asked.
"No!" Jade groaned. Tori went to her and put her hand on the Goth's forehead and retracted it quickly, as it was very hot.
"You're on fire, Jade; I think you have a fever."
"You think or you know?" Jade groaned.
"I'm afraid it's more than a fever." Came a voice behind them. Tori and Cat turned around and saw the doctor, who had a serious expression on his tired face.
"What's wrong doc?" Cat asked.
"All of your tests came back positive for typhoid fever; I need to start vaccinations now or it'll be too late." The doc said.
Chapter 16. R+R plz. Two chapters left.