Hi guys, yet another update today!
But, this all does have reasoning.
Guys, I'm sorry, I fucked up.
I accidently updated chapter 25 for what was suppose to be the spot for chapter 24.
I nearly fucked everything up.
Thankfully, I fixed it due to noticing that the chapter numbers didn't match up (I pre-type everything in word), and after a while, I figured out what I fucked up.
And so, I'm sorry.
And so, here's my gift for my mistake!
THREE CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY!
...Love me...
And so, with nothing more to say, ONWARDS!
It took a whole two hours to haul Fero's ass to the base, and almost longer to get him down the stairs and inside.
By the time they had arrived, the sun had begun to set.
"Get this man medical attention now." Erin ordered, as Jake and Jacob came to help Fero sit on a stair.
" 'e'll 'ave to wait." Oliver aid from behind a bar, a clutter of bloodied cloth, rubbing alcohol and other medical things on the bar counter, "We've got more to worry about."
Erin was about to bite back, until she turned around, eyes widening. All over the base were boys, little boys younger than herself, all injured. Some of them were on the ground, others propped up against the couches. Some were dying, others long gone.
"What is this?" Erin muttered, eyes filled with horror.
"While you were out at the meeting, strong'old four was attacked." Oliver muttered, his legs shaking from the exertion of tending to wounded for who knows how long, "I've been swamped for 'ours now."
"Where's everyone else?" Erin asked, already fearing the worst.
"The leaders are 'elping to move the wounded," Oliver said, before casting a look at the bar, glaring at Max as he took another drink from his cup, "Most of them, anyway."
"I'll trade you." Erin muttered, basically dumping Fero onto Oliver's shoulders, before taking the bandages and whatnot from Oliver, "You four follow him, help him with whatever he needs done."
Not waiting for a response, Erin stormed her way over to Max, fury behind her eyes as she came to a stop behind him, "Mind if I take a sip?"
"By all means," Max muttered, sounding dazed as he handed her the cup. Giving him an odd look, she took a sip, only to spit it right back out.
"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET VODKA!?" Erin shouted, before whacking Max upside the back of his head.
Max said nothing, not giving any sort of reaction, before casting a dim look over to Tyler. Following his gaze, Erin's gut threatened to drop right out of her body, watching as Luke's near lifeless body was carted by on a makeshift stretchers.
"I can't right now," Max murmured, eyes looking lost as he looked up to Erin, expression begging for forgiveness, "I'm sorry."
"...Don't do anything stupid." She muttered, patting him on his back. As bad as it was right now, she didn't have the heart to force Max back to reality, not when he was like this.
She instead walked on into the base, each direction only serving to make her feel worse and worse by the second.
The twins, who for once weren't causing mischief, were rushing around on Oliver's orders, doing what they could with their slowly reddening hands.
Mathew was bandaging a kid, Thomas, on the other side of the room, the bandage over his right eye, which was still bleeding.
Even David and Jamie went to help, doing what they could for the dying, while Alberto went over to sit by his father, who'd knocked out from pain. He sat with his mother, who remained stone faced.
Suddenly, a harsh slap came to Erin's face, Zig now in front of her, furious, "What happened?"
Erin sighed, too tired to retaliate, "Take a look, Zig. What do you think? We're at war, and half of us are already dead."
"We'll get help from Fero's gang," Zig said, eyes glowing with pride, "I've already talked to Valentine, he's willing to help when we need it."
Erin nodded, before sighing, "Good, thanks. Now then, we need to help them."
Zig cringed, about to say something, only to have Cameron clears his throat, "We need to get more supplies."
"I'll go." Zig said quickly, walking over to Cameron, John, Theo and Dylan, taking them with her as she walked off.
Erin sighed, looking around, before holding her head, letting out an annoyed groan. It was too much. All she'd done, what she'd achieved, what she'd lost, it was getting to her.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, before sighing, "Zig, I thought you left-."
"I'm not Zig."
Confused, she looked up, only to scowl lightly, "Why aren't you helping the injured, Hank?"
"What are you talking about?" Hank asked, gesturing to her, "I am."
She couldn't really argue. Even without the bullet stitches, she still had multiple cuts, bruises, burns, and all sorts of other things she didn't know.
Nor did she want to.
Hank gave her a small smile, before wrapping the white clothes around her bleeding arm, "What took you so long to get back? You decide to take the scenic route back, or something?"
"Shit went down," Erin murmured, "Gold came after us, saved Fero's family, nearly died. You know, the usual."
Hank laughed, "In a place like this, I'd be surprised if you didn't come near death."
Erin nodded, "Yeah…You know where Willy is?"
At the name, Hank paled, "I know where he is…But I don't know his condition."
At that, Erin jolted up, just as Hank rubbed alcohol onto her arm, making her wince slightly, "Where is he?" She asked.
Hank sighed, before pointing, "Oliver's working on him right now…I'll tell you, Erin; it's not pretty."
She ignored him, as she lurched up, walking over to the counter. Oliver was on the other side, working on someone that was lying down on the counter, someone screaming, flailing around, before Oliver put something down.
A bloody saw.
Eyes wide, she walked over, about to ask what happened, only to see the large bloody mess. William laid there, eyes filled with pain, as he looked down at his legs.
Or, more accurately, the two fleshy stubs that came to an end under his knees.
Oliver looked winded, breathing in and out deeply, while William continued to cry, "I'm sorry, Willy; you 'ad to lose it." He murmured, before looking up at Erin, " 'e got shot in the shoulder, took two big lashes to 'is legs. I could save the shoulder, but I couldn't get to the legs in time."
Erin nodded, looking at the end of his severed legs. It had began to turn a slight green with red all over, "Infection?"
"Infection." Oliver sighed, before taking out a small rag and a bottle of alcohol, "I'm sorry, Willy; but it's not over." He said, lightly placing the rag into his mouth, "Bite down 'ard if you need to…"
William looked up, confused, before Oliver poured alcohol over it. His eyes widened, before he began to thrash around in pain, screaming through the rag.
"Damnit, 'old still!" William yelled, before giving Erin a look, " 'old 'im still!"
Erin gulped, before nodding. She took hold on his arms, holding them down, nearly slipping as his limbs were covered in sweat and blood.
It was a long fifteen minutes, heaven achieved when Oliver had bandaged up the legs, wiping the sweat off of his brow, "It's been awhile since the last amputation I 'ad to do." He murmured, before looking to Erin, "Take care of him, I've got a lot more people to 'elp."
Erin nodded, seeing the other boys, before wincing, "We need more help." She murmured, pulling the now sleeping William over her shoulder.
Oliver shrugged, "We'll 'ave to do with what we 'ave."
Erin sighed, before nodding, "Right. I'll put him in his room then." She murmured, walking away. She passed by many other broken people, wincing at what she'd seen.
One boy was covering a bloody red stub on his face, the remains of his right eye.
Another held his shoulder, looking down at the arm he no longer had.
Another boy laid face up, eyes milky; dead.
She wanted to hurl, to scream, to do something; but she didn't.
All of this was to familiar.
This was how her victims close ones felt. The anger. The desperation. Yes, it was all to normal to her.
But, normally, she wasn't on the receiving side.
Sighing, she opened the door, walking up to the bedrooms of the boys. It wasn't anything to rich, just large room with bunk beds, like how they had in the military. She placed William on his bed, grinning lightly at what the name plaque said, "William 'Willy Billy'. Weirdos." She murmured, having a small laugh, before looking the boy over.
With the blanket on, he just looked like a kid who'd had a long day of playing, with the small amounts of dirt in his face, his dirty messy hair. If only that was the story. If only he hadn't been shot in the shoulder. If only he hadn't lost his legs, the ability to walk, for the rest of his life.
If only he was normal.
"…I'm sorry, Willy." She murmured, sitting at his bedside, laughing bitterly, "I seem to be saying that often these days. All of this…It only happens because of what I've done. You may be dead right now, as I speak, all because of me."
"It's not your fault."
Erin jumped, turning around quickly, only to sigh, "Good God, John; I thought you went to get supplies."
"Just got back." John murmured, before easing down next to her. His eyes were full of internal pain, all the torment added onto his already sickly body, "And, as I said, it's not your fault. This all happens for a reason."
Erin sighed, "How can you be so sure?"
"You've never done something with the intent of hurting those close to you." John replied, stretching out a bit, "After all of the times that Max has cursed at you in anger, how many times have you hurt him?"
Erin sighed, "Never."
"And what about the twins? They pull all sorts of shit on you, and how many times have you gotten even?"
"Never."
"See my point?" John said, before sighing, "Say this really was all your fault; if that was the case, why stop now? Why do what you can to make it right; no matter the costs?"
Erin shrugged, before laughing, "Damn me for being such a good person."
John laughed weakly, only to begin to cough violently. Erin patted his back, "You really should go and sleep; you need to take it easy."
John shook his head, grinning weakly, "I don't want to."
"You're going to work yourself to death." Erin insisted, "What would your brother think?"
"I'm holding him back," John murmured, sighing, "I know he won't say it, but we're all thinking it. He's trying, but I can feel it, Erin. I'm dying."
"No, no you're not." Erin murmured, shaking her head, "You're important to everyone here, and you know it."
John nodded, before rising, "I need to get going; they're expecting me back downstairs." She watched as John hobbled down the stairs, quickly going out of sight.
Erin sighed, feeling so close to death. She just wanted to lie there, maybe even sleep, only to have a loud ruckus downstairs.
She tried to ignore it, but that didn't last too long, before she forced herself to rise, walking over to the staircase.
The base was a mess. All of the boys had been taken care of, but now, a fight had broken out. It was so big that even Zig couldn't calm them all down.
Erin sighed, before walking into the crowd. She pushed past those fighting, even the newly injured boys were in on it, shouting and arguments all over the place.
Erin made her way through, before standing up on a couch, looking over the crowd, before sighing. It was simple to control crowd, all you need is leadership, respect and attention.
She pulled her right glove off, setting it on fire to her hand, before sighing, "Last person to shut up becomes my target board."
Silence.
She grinned, "No I won't, I just needed your attention." She said, laughing lightly, before looking around, "So, what's the problem?"
They all gave each others looks, before one spoke up, "Dusty, what's our next move?"
Erin gave them all a look, "THAT'S what the fight was all about!?" She said, eyes wide, "The fuck!"
"Well, yeah." Another boy said, his left arm amputated, "I mean, we are at war, are we not?"
"We are." Erin nodded.
"But we've all been injured!" The first boy said, "Are we still going to fight?"
Erin sighed, tilting her head to the side, "Of course not."
"But then we can't win!" Another shouted, "To win a war, we've got to fight!"
"But why fight when we're all injured or dead!?" Another screamed.
"Why can't you just shut the fuck up!?"
"You shut up!"
"Why can't you just stop being a bitch!?"
"Do you even know what a bitch is!?"
Just like that, the fight had started once again. But, thank God, a certain tiger had been awoken by the sounds. A loud roar sounded from the base of the middle staircase, making everyone freeze.
Fang stood there in all of his glory, looking pissed as possible. Erin sighed, "God damnit, you guys! You woke up Fang!"
Fang growled, stalking about, fangs bared. Erin sighed, before walking over, shaking her finger, "None of that, mister. Most of them are already injured. Don't bite anyone! Remember that other kid?"
Fang growled, only to have Erin growl back, "No. Bad tiger."
Fang purred lightly, only to nod, sitting down next to her. Erin sighed, giving all of the boys a look, "…Look, we'll have it all figured out, and then we'll tell all of you. Till then, you should be in your rooms, sleeping, recovering; not worrying over this. Got it?"
She got many mixed reactions, but the most she heard was "yeah", so it worked out for her. Erin sighed, before nodding, pulling at the collar of her jacket, "Dismissed."
Just like that, some boys laughed, happy , while others soberly nodded. Erin sighed, giving the leaders looks, before walking towards the cave.
She walked in, Fang right after her, rubbing his held up against her hand, giving her a questioning look. Erin sighed, "I'm fine." She murmured, a lie so bad that even Fang gave her a look.
Erin took a seat, Fang sitting next to her, purring once again, "I'm fine."
"Who are you talking to?"
Erin looked up at the group that stood in the doorway, "Fang. Who do you think I'm talking to?"
They all pulled at their collar, the twins giving each other a look, before shrugging, "Righto, boss!"
Erin nodded, before she gestured to the chairs, "Come on, we've got a lot to deal with."
They all nodded, taking seats, before silence took over the table.
Max looked around, clearing his throat, "So…We're fucked." He muttered, eyes still hazy.
"Agreed." The twins murmured.
Kian scowled, "Shut up, all three of you."
Tyler snickered, only to have Kian slap him in the back of his head. Theo snickered, only to duck when Dylan gave him look, hand slowly raising.
"Will you boys quit it?" Zig murmured, giving Fang a look that said "You too", "Stop pretending to be men."
They wanted to snap back at Zig, but all of that stopped. Cameron sighed, before looking over at Erin, "So…What do we do?"
Erin shook her head, "I've got a plan, but you guys won't like it."
"We never do, boss." The twins murmured.
"But, I know what could be done."
They all gave her a look, waiting for her to go on, "…Okay…I'm going to need a bit of help. Some info, if you could."
"I can do that."
All eyes went to the door, watching as Fero limped his way into the room. Erin nodded, gesturing to the open chair, "Thanks."
Fero nodded, sitting down slowly, before leaning forward, "What do you need?"
"Information on the people against us." She said, leaning back, "We've got a group of three against us. There was one that was hired to work with Crayden, the one after us at the bar, what were they called?"
"TD, why?" Fero asked.
Erin nodded, wincing, "Knew it. I know what it stands for. Only two people would go through so much work to kill me."
"Oh?" Cameron asked, "How many people hate you, Erin?"
"Shut up." Erin growled, before sighing, "That group is funded by Alois Trancy and Peter Dominic."
"And why would they hate you?" Zig questioned.
Erin wanted to answer, only to get a bit choked up, "Reasons."
Zig wanted to press on, only to see Erin's expression, "…Alright…Go on…"
Erin nodded, before going on, "I know where Alois Trancy is;I'm willing to bet that if I find him, I find Peter. But, I don't have the time to go after him."
"What do you mean?" John asked, confused.
"By the time I arrive at Trancy's, the gang will be killed. But, if I stay with the gang, we'll simply die slowly. We need real help, I need to be in two places at once."
Zig nodded, before looking at the others, "Is there anything we can do? I mean, does anyone have a plan?"
"…We could give up." Tyler murmured, only to have Kian hit him again, "Fuck a duck, seriously!?"
"You will not talk like that!" Kian grumbled, "You little fucker."
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Cameron murmured to Dylan, both sharing a small laugh, only to have Kian shoot them a look.
Fero cleared his throat, "I can stay behind and go over both of the gangs. I can control both of them."
"No, no you can't." Mathew murmured, "It's too much to manage. Why do you think there are so many of us?"
The twins chuckled, "Mass production."
Erin groaned, holding her head, before her eyes widened, "My God, Zig…"
"What?" Zig asked, confused.
"You'll run the gang!"
Just like that, the table was thrown into chaos. Some wanted Kian to be in charge. Others wanted Hank. Some wanted Fero to do it. The twins wanted to rule.
Erin growled, "Do you want Fang to rip your throat out?"
Silence.
Erin sighed, "Perfect." She murmured, before turning back to Zig, "Zig, I don't trust anyone here more than you. You're my best friend, and I know you want to be the leader. I know that you want me to be replaced by you."
Zig gave her a look, "And how would you know that?"
"I've read your diary."
Zig gave her look, before shaking her head, "…So, am I really going to be in charge?"
"That's what I want." Erin murmured, before looking around, "Unless someone else here wants to defy me."
No one spoke up, and for good reason. John cleared his throat, "Umm, Erin…the table."
Erin looked down, pulling her hands away from the now-melted part of the table, "Oh…whoops…"
Fero cleared his throat, "So, it's settled then. Zig will be in charge while Erin leaves. But then, who's gonna help Erin?"
Erin petted Fang, "Fang!"
Fero gave her a look, "…You're planning to kill someone with a lot of power and money. If there is two of them, you'll definitely need help."
"Hell no." Erin murmured, standing up to stretch a bit, hands still warm, "I can do it alone. I'm only taking Fang because I need someone to talk to."
"…And she's insane…" Hank murmured.
"Anyway…" Erin murmured, before yawning, it's late, I'm tired, and we've got a lot to do tomorrow. We really should just go to sleep."
She paid the rest of them no attention, as she walked out, Fang at her heels. She quickly walked up the stairs, closing the door behind her, before collapsing onto her bed. She heard Fang growled lowly, causing Erin to sigh, "Buddy, please, not now." She murmured. She was so tired that she fell asleep seconds later, Fang's growls going ignored.
But, little did she know, someone was watching her from the shadows. The being held a small smirk, before stepping out.
He smirked, trying to rub the tiger's head, only to have it growled, baring teeth. The being laughed lightly, "A feisty little one now, aren't you? Just like her." He murmured, before pulling out his pocket watch, "You took long enough, Erin. I'll be seeing you tomorrow."
With that said, the being stepped back into his shadow, disappearing into nothingness.
Or, so it seemed.
So...
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I've got nothing else to say, so, cya, ya little fuckers!
Bai bai!