A Regular Outbreak
Season Five: Dead Man Walking
Episode Two: Removal
May 16th, 2024, Sunset
Alpha held the steering wheel with an extreme force. He was exhausted, but who else would drive? Mordecai and Rigby were fast asleep in the back seat, and it's not like the kids could drive. Alpha glanced out his window and watched the sun set. He rolled down the window and leant on the frame. He ignored the wind that was blowing against his face and slowed the truck down a little.
He glanced at the speedometer. "I'm sure this'll be fast enough." Alpha whispered to himself, easing his grip on the steering wheel. He glanced out the window for the second time and noticed that the sun had finally set. His arm began getting soaked by rain that was beginning to fall. Alpha shook his head and rolled the window back up. He reached behind the steering wheel and switched on the windscreen wipers.
He reached behind the steering wheel again and switched on the lights. Alpha glanced ahead of him and noticed a green sign on the side of the road.
"Welcome to Eden." Alpha read, as he drove past. "Finally, I thought we'd never get here." He breathed a sigh of relief. Alpha tapped Sean on the shoulder. Sean jumped awake and yawned. The smaller wolf glanced back at him with a confused look. "We're here." Alpha said, pointing to the back seat. Sean nodded and began waking up the others.
Alpha dimmed the lights of the truck and noticed that the windscreen was covered in fog. Alpha attempted to wipe it off, but it was stuck to the glass. Alpha cursed under his breath and reopened his window. After rolling it down, he stuck his head outside and looked ahead of him. As the truck entered the town, the first thing Alpha noticed was a light further down the road. Eden was a fairly small town, so it didn't take them long to reach it.
Alpha stopped the truck in front of the light and noticed that the light was emitting from inside a liquor store. "Just my luck." He muttered, putting the truck in park. The wolf reached behind the steering wheel and removed the keys from the ignition.
"A liquor store. What did I say?" Sean looked over Alpha's shoulder.
"I know, right?" Alpha shrugged. "This would be the ideal place to spend the night." Alpha added, opening his door. Sean leapt over the front seat and followed Alpha through his door. Mordecai and Rigby quietly exited the truck with Luke. The five men met in front of the liquor store.
Alpha turned to Rigby. He noticed that Rigby was pale, and that he struggling to stand. Mordecai was keeping him on his feet. "Is he okay?" Alpha asked, directing everyone's attention to the raccoon. Rigby looked back at him and shook his head.
"He's just feeling a little sick. He should be better in the morning." Mordecai covered for him. Alpha gave him a sceptical look. "It's probably just pneumonia." Mordecai shrugged.
"Does he even know what that means?" Luke whispered to Sean. Sean shrugged and looked up at Alpha. Alpha shook his head and entered the liquor store. A few minutes later, he returned to the front. He gave the nod of approval. "It's safe." He said, ushering them back into the store. The group followed him inside.
Several minutes later, the group gathered around a fireplace, which fortunately for them, remained lit. The group members said goodnight to each other, and one by one, they eventually fell asleep.
Later that night
Alpha opened his eyes. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "I can never get to sleep." He muttered to himself, looking at the fire. He scooched closer to the fire and rubbed his paws above it. He looked over at Sean, who was fast asleep beside Luke and Mordecai. Alpha looked over to his left and saw his raccoon friend lying beside him.
"We're almost there." Alpha said to nobody in particular. Alpha looked back down at Rigby, but before he could do anything else, he noticed something. Rigby's left sleeve had a tear at the bottom, and blood had poured down Rigby's arm.
Alpha crawled closer to Rigby and studied it closer. The wolf reached over to Rigby's sleeve and pulled it up slowly. As he moved the sleeve up, the bite became more and more visible. "What the hell?" Alpha said, rather loudly, causing Rigby to wake up.
"Urgh…what are you doing?" Rigby asked, opening his eyes. The raccoon looked down at his sleeve and noticed Alpha holding onto it. He noticed Alpha's horrified face and instantly felt a wave of guilt rush over him.
"When did this happen?" Alpha asked, in an angry tone. Rigby remained silent, and just stared at Alpha in the eyes. "Don't think the silent treatment is gonna work with me." Alpha's anger intensified. Before Rigby could say anything Alpha punched him in the shoulder. "Tell me!" Alpha shouted.
The sudden outburst woke up the other survivors. Rigby backed away from the angered wolf and held his left arm with his paw.
"What's going on?" Mordecai asked, walking over with Sean and Luke. "You woke us up." Mordecai yawned. Mordecai looked down at Rigby and saw his distraught face. Alpha stood up and approached the blue jay.
"Why didn't you tell me he was bitten?" Alpha asked. Mordecai was taken aback by this. Alpha noticed this and his angered somehow continued to intensify. "You're in on it aswell?" Alpha asked, disbelief obviously showing in his voice. "You have two children with you!" Alpha pushed Mordecai back.
"What's happening?" Sean asked, looking over at Alpha. Rigby walked back over to the group and sighed. Before Alpha got any angrier, Rigby began to explain how it happened. Unfortunately for him, explaining what happened only made Alpha angrier.
"Okay, so you thought it was a good idea to keep it a secret?" Alpha asked. "We could've done something for him!" Alpha exclaimed. "We could've taken his hand off!" Alpha shouted.
Suddenly, the whole store was filled with silence. "Wait." Mordecai broke the silence. "Do you think it would work?" He asked, looking down at Alpha.
"It's worth a try!" Luke chimed in. "If it isn't too late, there might still be a chance to save him." He added.
The whole group looked over at Rigby, who was holding his wrist. His face was covered in fear. "You're gonna cut my hand off…?" Rigby asked, in a hoarse voice. Mordecai approached him and knelt to his height. He placed a kiss on the raccoon's forehead, before looking into his eyes.
"We have to do this." Mordecai said. Rigby remained silent. He looked back up at Mordecai, who was returning the look with reassurance. Rigby nodded wearily. "Is that a yes?" Mordecai asked, already feeling sorry for his smaller partner. Rigby nodded once again.
"Is there anything sharp we can use?" Rigby asked. Alpha walked over to his backpack, while the rest of the group stood around in silence. A few seconds later, Alpha returned with a knife. "This could work." Alpha said, holding the knife in his right hand. It looked like an average kitchen knife, except that the handle was made of pure gold.
"Where did you get that?" Sean asked, with a hint of curiosity.
"Are you sure you can do this?" Alpha avoided answering the question.
"Of course I'm not." Rigby said, trying to lighten the mood. Mordecai and Alpha brought Rigby over to a nearby counter. Mordecai pushed the cash register off the counter, so Rigby could have enough space. Rigby placed his arm on the counter and sighed. Sean and Luke approached them.
"Obviously this isn't something you kids should be seeing." Mordecai said, grabbing Sean and Luke by their shoulders.
"We'll be fine." Luke said. Both Mordecai and Sean were taken aback by this and looked over at him. "We can watch, it doesn't matter how bad it is. If we're gonna learn how to survive, we're gonna probably have to watch things like this." Luke explained.
"Are you sure?" Mordecai asked, looking over at Sean. Sean looked over at Luke, before looking back at Mordecai. Sean nodded. "Alright then…just…let me know if it gets too much for you." Mordecai said. The two kids nodded. Mordecai walked back over to the counter.
Rigby reached for Mordecai's wing with his other paw. Mordecai quickly grabbed it. He felt Rigby squeeze it, though due to Rigby's lack of strength, he didn't feel much.
Alpha looked at Rigby one last time, before raising the knife above his wrist. "I'm gonna have to cut further up the arm, so we can take off the whole wrist so the bite doesn't spread." Alpha explained. "Is that okay?" He asked.
"Yeah...just…just cut it." Rigby begged. Alpha moved the knife further up his arm and rested the knife on Rigby's fur. Rigby watched as the knife sliced some of his fur off. He swallowed his courage and shut his eyes tight.
He began breathing a little faster, before reopening his eyes. "Just…to say something before we begin…" Rigby began. "If…If I don't make it through this…take-…" Alpha interrupted Rigby and begun digging the knife into the raccoon's arm. Sean cringed and looked away. Luke however, didn't take his eyes off it.
"FUCK!" Rigby screamed, as Alpha began moving the knife back and forth. Blood began to spill out of the newly made wound. "Just keep calm, it'll be over soon." Mordecai reassured him. Unfortunately for both of them, it didn't make a difference.
"GOD…DAMN…!" Rigby screamed. The pain was unbearable. "It's almost through! Just hold on!" Alpha shouted, pushing the knife further into his arm. He began cutting through the bone, as Rigby's blood began staining the blade. Blood had splattered all over the counter and was all over Alpha's face. Alpha pushed the knife with all of his might through the rest of the bone. And after a few seconds, he made one final cut and the knife went straight through. Rigby raised his newly-cut arm and screamed.
"OH MY GOD! MY ARM!" He screamed, he backed away from the counter. He began to fall backwards, but Mordecai managed to catch him in his arms.
Rigby passed out. Mordecai noticed his eyes close and began to panic. "Oh god! Is he dead?" Mordecai asked. Sean turned back around and saw Mordecai's horrified expression. Luke followed his glance.
"No." Alpha said, walking over to him. He put two fingers on Rigby's other arm. "He has a pulse. He's just passed out." Alpha explained. "I'll quickly grab the bandages." Alpha said, running over to his backpack. The wolf dropped the knife beside it and pulled out a bandage wrapped in a small package.
Alpha ran back over to Mordecai and brought him over to the counter. Mordecai laid Rigby's arm on the counter. "Wait, don't we need to disinfect it?" Mordecai asked, while Alpha ripped the package apart.
"We can use this." Luke approached with a bottle of alcohol. He placed the bottle on the counter. Alpha thanked him and pulled the cork out of the bottle. He raised the bottle and emptied some of its contents into a pad and rubbed the pad with Rigby's wound.
A few seconds later, he wrapped the bandage around the newly-cut arm. "Think that worked?" Alpha asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
"It sure as hell better have." Mordecai said, growling slightly at the question. "It better not have been for nothing." He added.
"It wouldn't have. It should have worked." Alpha replied. He looked over at Rigby's bandage, which had already been stained with blood. "But it looks like he could be out for a while." Alpha added.
Mordecai nodded in response. "Okay, everybody get some sleep." Mordecai said, carrying Rigby over to the campfire. Alpha looked over at Luke and Sean.
"I don't know how you could have watched that." Alpha shook his head. Alpha walked over to the campfire and sat beside his backpack. Sean and Luke followed him close behind. The two kids sat in front of the campfire. Luke rested on Sean's shoulder, and eventually fell asleep. Sean on the other hand, was too busy worrying about his friend.
He looked over at Mordecai, who was cradling Rigby in his arms. Sean was still shocked about the whole fact about Rigby being bitten. He knew Mordecai and Rigby were the only two people who had taken care of him since his parents were killed. And just the thought of Rigby dying made Sean feel ill.
He knew that Mordecai cared about Rigby more than anyone or anything else, and that was the thing that saddened Sean the most. He was extremely worried that Rigby would never wake up again, but unfortunately, they wouldn't find out until morning. He glanced over at Alpha, who was overwrought. He had folded his arms and put his face into his knees. Sean noticed the bottle of alcohol beside him. "Can I?" Sean asked, reaching for the bottle.
Alpha just nodded and handed the bottle over to him. Alpha returned to staring at the fire, with his knees folded into his chest. Sean pulled out the cork and glanced at the bottle's contents. He brought the bottle to his mouth and begun drinking it. Sean savoured the taste of the alcohol, before pausing for a second.
He noticed Alpha staring intently at the fire. "Looks like you need it more than I do." Sean said, handing the bottle over to Alpha. Alpha smiled at him and thanked him for the friendly gesture. Sean smiled back at him and glanced over at Luke. Sean rubbed Luke's hair and rested his head atop of Luke's.
He looked one last time at Mordecai and Rigby, then to Alpha before sighing once again. Everything was going to shit, and there was nothing he could do about it. He pushed these thoughts away and closed his eyes. He needed to get as much sleep as he could, because tomorrow, they had a lot of ground to cover.
A few minutes later, Mordecai looked over at Sean and noticed that he was fast asleep. The blue jay looked over at Alpha, who had fallen asleep while drinking his bottle. He looked down at Rigby, and leant against the shelf. He kept thinking to himself.
"I had one job." He muttered to himself. "One job. Protect the only people I care about." He continued. "Thomas, Margaret, Benson, Skips..." Mordecai shed a tear. "And now you…" He looked down at the raccoon.
"I'm so sorry." He sighed, before looking over at Sean. "But don't worry. You'll be here to help me protect Sean and Luke. Alpha will help you too." Mordecai tried to remain positive. The bird knew he was talking to himself, it didn't matter though, and he had a feeling that Rigby was listening somehow.
Mordecai put these thoughts to rest and rested his head on the shelf behind him. Eventually, he closed his eyes and fell into deep sleep.
He had a big day tomorrow, and he had to have his rest.
There we go, another chapter. I hope this one sufficed for you all! Only three more to go after this. Thanks so much for reading, and I will update as soon as I get the chance. Special thanks to AeroAlpha for his continued support through the whole series. Thanks friend!
~RSM