A Regular Outbreak
Season Five: Dead Man Walking
Final Episode: Stay Close to Me
May 17th, 2024, Evening
5:45PM
"Can you hand me the bottle?" Mordecai asked, his voice cracking slightly. The group were closing in on Swan Valley and Rigby's condition was worsening by the second. Luke reached over to the bird's bag and pulled out a bottle of water. He handed it to Mordecai. "Thanks." Mordecai thanked him.
He held Rigby in his arms. He raised the top of the bottle to Rigby's lips. He emptied the rest of the bottle into his mouth. "Thanks…" Rigby quietly said, cracking a small smile.
Mordecai smiled right back at him, trying to keep things between them positive. Meanwhile, in the front seat, Alpha tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Five miles out." Alpha announced, as they passed another sign.
"What's the plan when we get there?" Alpha asked. "We can't just go driving in." He added.
"Not sure." Mordecai honestly replied. "But we need to find the haven. It's not like they'd leave a sign saying where it is." Mordecai added.
"Good point." Alpha replied. He thought for a moment, before speaking again. "We're four miles out." He announced.
"Okay…get ready." Mordecai said. He looked at the two kids and nodded. "Get your things ready. Because when we get there, we're not returning to the truck." Mordecai explained.
Sean nodded wearily. He reached over the front seat and grabbed his backpack. He moved forward a little bit and put it on. He put his arms through the straps and sat back into the seat. Luke mirrored his actions, while Mordecai stared intently at Rigby.
"You'll be alright…" Mordecai whispered, cradling his smaller companion. "I promise…" He added. He rested his head on Rigby's shoulder.
"Three miles." Alpha announced again. "Sean, throw my backpack into the front seat, would you?" Alpha asked. Sean nodded and reached for the wolf's backpack. He picked it up and heaved it into the front seat.
"Thanks kid." Alpha replied, moving forward a little. He put on his backpack and adjusted his position on the seat.
Luke eyed Sean for a moment. He was having his doubts that they would make it to the haven alive.
"Two miles." Alpha announced. The truck suddenly began slowing down, and odd sounds emitted from under the car. "What the?" Alpha looked over at the fuel gage. It had completely depleted.
"Damn it!" He cursed, smashing his fist onto the dashboard. The truck soon came to a stop.
"What happened?" Mordecai asked, peering over the front seat.
"We ran out of fuel." Alpha answered. "Looks like we're going on foot." He sighed. He opened the driver's side door and jumped out. He was suddenly greeted with clumps of snow being thrown at him.
Luke and Sean exited the car and approached Alpha at the front of the truck. "This is the biggest snow-storm I've seen in a long time." Alpha said, looking at his surroundings.
Alpha trudged over to the back door of the truck and opened it. Mordecai slowly stepped out of the truck with Rigby. "Do you mind carrying his backpack?" Mordecai asked, eyeing Rigby's backpack, which he'd left on the back seat.
"No, I wouldn't." Alpha replied. He reached into the car and pulled out the small backpack. He shut the door and looked over at Rigby. "He's gonna freeze to death." Alpha said.
Mordecai looked down at Rigby, who was shivering vigorously, even with his jacket on. "Is there anything we can give him?" Mordecai asked.
"Only our jackets, and we can't take them off." Alpha answered. "Just try to cover him from the storm." Alpha added.
"I will." Mordecai wrapped his wings around the raccoon. Mordecai shivered. "Let's get moving…" He said. Alpha nodded and he began walking down the road.
Visibility was extremely low, due to the snow-storm, so they just had to follow the road until they reach Swan Valley. "Just keep to the road, and we won't get lost." Alpha said.
"I would, if I knew where it was." Sean commented. The snow had covered the road, so it made it almost impossible to follow it.
"Just keep moving forward, we'll eventually hit the town." Alpha replied. The four survivors trudged through the snow. A few minutes passed, before Rigby started to cough again.
"God..." Mordecai wiped the blood off of Rigby's mouth. "We need to move faster." Mordecai said.
"I know." Alpha sighed. He crossed his arms and shivered a little. He noticed a sign a few feet in front of them. He approached the sign and attempted to read it.
It was covered with snow. Alpha used his arm to brush the snow off of the sign. "One mile." He read. "Perfect." He added.
"Only one mile?" Sean asked, approaching him.
"It also says that there is a turn off half a mile up the road." He said. "To a gas station. We should probably check that out." He suggested.
"Agreed." Mordecai agreed with him. "We should get moving then, we don't want to be out here for too long." He added.
Alpha nodded and began trudging through the snow again. Soon enough, they approached a turn off. They followed the turn off for a few minutes and eventually made it to the gas station.
"Perfect." Mordecai muttered. The sound of moaning could be heard nearby. Alpha peeked into the gas station and saw a few walkers eating somebody.
"What should we do?" Mordecai asked. "Should we just keep moving to Swan Valley? It's only half a mile away." The blue jay suggested.
"We can't risk it, let's just get to the town." Alpha said.
Mordecai nodded and watched Alpha walk back towards the main road. Sean and Luke followed him close behind. Mordecai glanced at the gas station, before catching up with Alpha. He shook his head and ran towards him.
"We're almost there hon." Mordecai said, running his wing through the raccoon's hair. "Just wait a little bit longer." He added.
The snow storm died down a little, and the group could finally see what was ahead of them. "There it is!" Alpha exclaimed, pointing ahead. The entrance to the town was mere meters away.
Suddenly, a red dot appeared on Alpha's shoulder. He took immediate notice to this and look down at it. The wolf looked up, but only had a split second to see a bullet fly through the air and pass right through his shoulder.
"Fuck!" He exclaimed, falling into the snow. Sean looked over at where the bullet came from and noticed somebody on top of a makeshift tower not far away.
"Up there!" He pointed, catching Mordecai's attention. Alpha had trouble getting back up and looked up at Sean, almost begging for help.
Sean wrapped his arms around Alpha's chest and glanced at Luke. He groaned as he picked Alpha up. "Help me with this…!" He exclaimed. Luke quickly ran to his aid and lifted Alpha's legs up.
"Bring him this way…!" Sean began slowly carrying Alpha with Luke to a nearby wall. They put him against the wall carefully and Sean surveyed his wound.
"Alpha, are you fit to move?" Sean asked.
"Just…just give me a moment…I should be able to move soon…" Alpha grunted, as he adjusted himself on the wall.
"I know you're there!" Mordecai heard somebody shout.
"We need to move…!" He whispered, as loud as he could. "Alpha, we need to go." Mordecai said. Alpha took one look at Rigby before letting out a short sigh.
"Give me a moment…help me up, would you?" Alpha turned Sean. The latter nodded and put his hands on Alpha's uninjured shoulder. Alpha desperately pushed himself up the wall, with the help of his smaller companion.
He rested his hands on a window pane and panted. "Thanks kid." He said, breathless. Sean looked back at him, his face filled with worry. Luke peered around the corner of the wall, searching for the person that'd shot his taller friend.
But before he could lock eyes with him, a bullet pierced the wall, only mere centre meters from where his head was. He quickly pulled his head back folded his arms.
"What now?" Luke asked, in a panic-like voice. Mordecai peered through the window.
"Smoke him out!" A different voice shouted. Luke peered around the wall again and noticed somebody approaching rather quickly, a Molotov in his hand.
"Go!" Mordecai whispered. He pointed to the window. He quietly climbed through the window, with Rigby in hand. Luke quickly leaped through the window after them. Sean lifted Alpha to the bottom of the window.
Alpha pushed himself through, with the help of Sean. "Go on!" A familiar voice shouted. Sean quickly followed Alpha through the window and slammed the window shut behind them.
"Where now?" Alpha asked, standing back up, with the help of the two kids. Mordecai scanned the building they were in. It was a two storey apartment complex. "Upstairs." He said.
Mordecai quickly ascended the stairs, with Alpha trudging close behind, with Luke and Sean helping him up.
"Go ahead, get up there." Alpha said, his voice gravelling a little. "I'll be right behind you." He added.
"Are you sure?" Sean asked, stopping in his tracks.
"I'm sure." Alpha answered. "Go…go on." Alpha closed his eyes for a moment. Sean and Luke quickly climbed up the stairs.
Alpha slowly climbed up the flight of stairs, only to be greeted with worried faces at the top. "We're trapped up here!" Mordecai exclaimed.
"I think I heard them in the apartment!" Somebody shouted. Footsteps began to echo through the café.
Mordecai quickly noticed a table beside the top of the stairs. He put Rigby down on the ground and walked towards it. "Help me move this, it'll block the stairs." He ushered Sean over to him.
The wolf nodded and approached the table quietly. Mordecai and Sean picked up the table and placed it at the top of the stairs.
"That ain't gonna hold, we need to find a way out of here." Sean said. He had a feeling that Mordecai already caught wind of that though.
"We…we might need to take a stand…" Mordecai said, reaching for his pistol.
"I'm not sure…that that is such a good idea…" Alpha coughed. "Maybe we should just hide…" He suggested.
"That won't work, they'll find us within seconds." Mordecai whispered back.
"Go on! Up the stairs!" Another voice echoed within the café.
"How many bullets have you got?" Alpha suddenly asked. He had changed his mind in a matter of seconds.
"Uhm…" Mordecai pulled out his gun. "I count six." He answered. Alpha went ahead and checked his gun aswell.
"I've only got three." Alpha said, putting his gun in the pocket of his jeans. "There is no way we can do this." He sighed.
"What's this doing here?" One of the men had climbed up the stairs. He began pushing the table out of the way.
Alpha pulled his gun back out again and aimed it at the man. He pulled the trigger and watched the bullet pierce his skull.
He fell forward onto the table. "Shots fired!" Someone on the lower level shouted. Alpha turned to Mordecai.
"Give me your ammo." Alpha said, running over to him. "I can hold them off." He added.
"There's no way you can do it on your own." Mordecai argued. "You'll be killed!" He exclaimed.
"All I'm going to do is distract them, so you'll have enough time to escape." Alpha said. "Now hand it over!" He shouted.
Tears were clearly visible in both of the adult's eyes. Mordecai gave in and pulled the magazine out from his gun. He handed it over to Alpha and watched him put the bullets into his own gun, by hand.
Alpha handed Mordecai's gun back. "I left two in there for you. Just in case." Alpha looked up at Mordecai one final time. "Also…take this." Alpha handed over Rigby's backpack.
"You'll need it." He said. Mordecai took the backpack and looked back at him.
"Find a way out of here." The wolf said, aiming the gun at the staircase.
At almost that exact same moment, Luke pointed at a window. "There!" He exclaimed.
Mordecai looked over at where he was pointing and noticed that the building beside them was just as tall as the bottom of the window. Luke quickly ran over and shattered the window with his elbow.
"Ouch." He groaned, pulling a piece of glass out from his arm. "We can jump onto the next building." He said.
Two more people began to ascend the stair case. Alpha pulled the trigger and watched the first person fall back onto the wall. The second one took cover at the corner of the stairs.
"This can all be easy for you!" Alpha shouted. "You can just go, and leave us alone!" He shouted.
"No way!" The second man shouted, firing a bullet from his cover. The bullet narrowly missed Alpha's ear. Alpha ducked down behind the table and noticed a brick lying beside it. He grabbed it and looked over the table.
At the second that the second person's head entered his sight, Alpha threw the brick. It hit him in the head, causing him to fall back against the wall, right beside his fallen comrade.
Alpha used the distraction to quickly put a bullet in his head. That was two down. Alpha watched as Mordecai carefully climbed through the newly smashed window onto the roof beside them.
"Hand him up." Mordecai said, dropping Rigby's backpack onto the roof.
Sean and Luke picked up Rigby and handed it to the blue jay.
Mordecai rested the raccoon on the roof and reached down to pick up Luke. Luke grabbed his wing and Mordecai pulled him up. Two more shots were heard, as Luke made it to the roof.
"Alright, now Sean!" Mordecai reached his wing down a final time. But before Sean could go, he looked back at Alpha, who at that direct moment was looking back at him.
He saw Alpha smile at him. Sean cracked a smile back at him. "Will Uncle Alpha be okay?" He asked, as he grabbed Mordecai's wing.
"I'm sure he'll be fine." Mordecai reassured him. He pulled Sean up onto the roof. Sean looked over the ledge and looked through the window.
"Come on assholes!" Alpha shouted, firing one more bullet towards the stairwell. Alpha watched as the bullet went straight through another one of their heads.
"I'm good at this." He muttered to himself. He could hear a ton of footsteps under him, indicating that there was lots of people on the floor below him.
"Holy shit!" He heard somebody shout. "Ben, go up there and shoot him! We don't need any more casualties!" The same person shouted again.
'Ben' cautiously climbed up the stairs. Alpha hid behind the desk, holding his breathe. He waited until he heard Ben reach the table before peeking out from cover. He pulled the trigger and blood splattered all over him.
The bullet went straight through Ben's heart. He fell back down the stairs and stopped at the bottom.
"Oh for god's sake, put an end to this!" The same person before shouted. Alpha peeked out from cover and aimed at him. He had the perfect shot. He pulled the trigger, but the only thing that came out of the gun, was a clicking sound.
"Ha! I know that sound! Men! Get up there!" The same guy shouted, as he frantically ascended the stairs.
Alpha took one last look at Sean. "Alpha, come on!" Mordecai shouted, trying to get Alpha to go over there. But Alpha ignored him, he knew that if he did, the men would be aware of the group's location.
Alpha waved at them. Sean slowly waved back, before Alpha disappeared out of view. The people from downstairs practically threw the desk out of the way as they made it up the stairs.
"We gotta go!" Mordecai picked up Rigby and looked at the two children.
"But what about Alpha?" Sean asked, his voice cracking a little.
"He…he's gone…" Mordecai sighed.
"Where did he go!?" The leader shouted. "Fucking find that asshole! And bring him in!" He continued to shout. "Fan out! He has to be in here!" He finished. The group split up, with two of them approaching the open window.
"This way!" Mordecai whispered loudly, as he began running away from the building. Sean snatched Rigby's backpack and followed Mordecai across the roof with Luke. Eventually they made it to the end. Mordecai looked down and noticed no walkers or people below them.
He also noticed a ladder that was conveniently placed against the roof opposite of them. He put down Rigby on the roof and reached for it.
He grabbed it and carefully brought it over to their side. "Okay…I'll go down first." Mordecai said.
"When I get down there, throw him down." He pointed to Rigby. Sean nodded and watched Mordecai carefully climb down the ladder.
A few moments later Mordecai reached the bottom. He tapped the ladder to let them know the fact.
Sean and Luke peered over and used their strength to pick up the raccoon. Mordecai outstretched his wings and prepared to catch him.
"One…" Sean said, swinging Rigby slowly with Luke. "Two…" He said. "And…three…!" He exclaimed, dropping Rigby down. Mordecai immediately caught him at the bottom.
"Well done." Mordecai whispered. Sean looked down at him and nodded. He climbed down the ladder first, with Luke climbing down close behind him. Sean put down Rigby's backpack against a nearby wall after he got down.
"M-Mordecai…" Luke heard Rigby mutter as he made it to the bottom.
"Are you okay…?" Mordecai asked.
"If…if I'm being honest…no…no I'm not." Rigby coughed. Blood coming out of his mouth with each cough. "Can you…can you put me down?" He asked, looking up at Mordecai.
He eyes had lost most of its colour and Mordecai caught tell that Rigby was in serious pain. "We can't stop here…we need to-…" Rigby interrupted him.
"Put me…down…" He ordered, in as loud of a voice as he could. Mordecai shook his head and rested Rigby on the ground, right beside his backpack. Rigby immediately fell against the brick wall.
Mordecai knelt in front of him, while Sean and Luke just stood beside him. "We're almost there." Mordecai smiled.
Rigby attempted to smile back, but failed. It instead turned into a frown.
"I'm gonna die, Mordecai." He bluntly said. "There's no cure. There's no hope. There's no point." He sighed.
"I'm already dead." He frowned.
"Don't talk like that." Mordecai scolded him. "We can get help." Mordecai argued.
"Mordecai…you're…you're in denial…" Rigby coughed. "There's no way that I can be saved." He sighed.
"Unless you want a walker as a pet." Rigby chuckled a little. "But I think you don't want that." He shook his head.
Mordecai shook his head. "Don't do this to me man…you could be fine." Mordecai continued to argue.
"Mordecai…I…I love you very much…but I need you to hear me…" Rigby put both of his paws on Mordecai's face. "There's….there's no point in dragging this on…" He looked down at Mordecai's gun, which was still holstered on his hip.
"What are you suggesting?" Mordecai asked, following Rigby's gaze.
"Shoot me." Rigby bluntly said.
"No!" Mordecai shouted.
"Keep quiet." Sean shushed him. Before turning his attention back to the dying raccoon.
"I'm begging you Mordecai…don't leave me here to turn." Rigby begged.
"I'm not leaving you." The blue jay replied. "I'm bringing you with us, to safety!" He exclaimed.
"Well…I'm…I'm not going anywhere. So…you either shoot me…or leave me here to turn." Rigby's head tilted a little. His eyes slowly began closing.
"Come on…stay with us." Luke shook Rigby back awake.
"I'm…I'm trying." Rigby cried. "Please Mordecai…" He begged.
Mordecai's cheeks were stained with tears. "This…this is not possible." He practically collapsed onto his hands.
"I can't…I can't argue for long…do it." Rigby slowly spoke. Rigby outstretched his hands. He wrapped them around Mordecai's neck and pulled him as close to himself as possible.
"Just remember…you have kids to take care of now." Rigby whispered. "I'll be one less burden you'll have to worry about." He added.
Sean watched Mordecai move back. The bird stood up and looked down at Rigby. He touched his hip and pulled out his pistol.
"Thank you…" Rigby cracked a small smile.
"Stand…stand back." Sean said, moving back with Luke.
"I love you." Rigby spoke. His final words echoing through Mordecai's head. Mordecai watched Rigby's eyes close and his head fall onto his shoulder.
He had passed away, right in front of his eyes.
"I love you too." Mordecai muttered. He raised the pistol. He wings were shaking as he held the pistol to the smaller one's head.
He rested his finger on the trigger. He let it drag out for as long as he could, before he finally mustered up the courage to pull the trigger.
The shot rang echoed through the entire area. There were a few minutes of silence.
Mordecai collapsed to his knees. "I'm sorry…" He sighed. Sean and Luke approached him.
"We should go…" Sean said, as quietly as possible.
Mordecai got up after a few seconds. He checked how much ammunition he had left.
One bullet. He holstered the gun at his hip and looked down at the two children. "We're right behind you." Luke said, wrapping his arm around Sean's neck.
Mordecai wiped his tears away and reached for Rigby's backpack. He picked it up and walked down to the end of the alleyway. Sean and Luke quickly followed behind him.
Sean quickly noticed black smoke not too far away from them, towards the east. "We should check that out." He said. Mordecai followed his hand and nodded.
"Come along…we don't have much time." He walked onto the street with the two kids. "Stay close to me, alright?" He said.
Luke and Sean nodded as they began heading towards the smoke.
An hour later, at the haven
Eileen and HFG sat in front of a massive fire, along with a dozen other survivors. "I'm starving, I hope we'll get fed soon." Eileen said, rubbing her stomach.
"I'm sure we'll get fed." HFG replied. "Just give them some time." He added. Eileen nodded and proceeded to open her backpack.
She pulled out a small book and shut her backpack again. "Haven't you read that book?" HFG asked, recognising the title of the book.
"Yeah, this has to be my tenth time reading it." Eileen chuckled. "We really need a library here." She added.
"Heh, yeah." HFG chuckled a little, before looking back at the fire.
Eileen noticed two soldiers behind her, talking about something. They were talking loudly, so she could easily understand what they were saying.
"There was this massive firefight downtown." One of the soldiers said. "We lost a few good men, but I think they're all taken care of." He added.
"We should tell the commander about how many casualties there were. There aren't many of us left to protect the area." The other soldier replied.
"We'll just have to recruit a few more people. The more we recruit, the more soldiers we have. Simple." The first soldier responded.
The second soldier nodded, before they proceeded to walk to the front gate.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" A soldier shouted over the loudspeaker. Eileen jumped at the sound of it.
"Looks like something's happening outside." HFG said, looking up at the makeshift tower – which was atop of the main gate - where the man with the loudspeaker was standing.
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" He shouted again. Eileen looked up at him with a curious look.
"Hope it isn't any more of those bandits." Eileen shrugged. HFG nodded at her, before turning his attention to the gate again.
One minute earlier, outside the haven
Mordecai slowly trudged through the snow, still carrying Rigby's backpack in his right hand. He looked down at the two kids, who slowly followed him.
The blue jay looked ahead of him and saw what he'd been looking for all this time.
"There it is…" He said, eyeing the massive fortress in front of them.
"It's about time…" Sean stood beside him with Luke.
"You're telling me." Mordecai laughed a little.
"I just wish Alpha and Rigby could've been here to see this." Mordecai sighed. "Boy, wouldn't they have been happy-…"
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" A soldier on a loudspeaker suddenly shouted. Sean jumped a little bit after hearing that. Mordecai looked up and saw a man atop of the gate, in a small make-shift tower.
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" He shouted. Mordecai looked down at Sean and Luke, before pulling his gun out from his hip and throwing it into the snow. Sean put his axe in his backpack and Luke just folded his arms.
The man looked at them for a few seconds, before he spoke again.
"APPROACH THE GATE, SLOWLY." He said, lowering his voice a little.
The three survivors obliged and began to slowly approach the gate, just like the man had told them.
Mordecai was confused. There was no door on the gate, so how would they get in?
"LOOK TO YOUR RIGHT." The soldier said.
The bird looked to his right, and sure enough there was a small door.
"APPROACH THE DOOR WITH BOTH HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD." The soldier commanded.
"Why do they want us to put our hands behind our head?" Sean asked.
"Because they might want to make sure we aren't bandits, or whatever they're called." Mordecai answered. Sean nodded, satisfied with that answer.
The three survivors put their hands behind their heads and approached the door. A soldier opened the door and looked at the three survivors.
"How can I help you?" He asked.
"Uhm…we've come a long way…" Mordecai began. "We've lost a lot of people to get here…I just…want to make sure these two are kept safe." Mordecai moved his hands away from his head and put them on both of the kid's shoulders.
The soldier eyed Mordecai for a moment. "Give me a second, would you?" The soldier asked.
"No, it's fine." Mordecai agreed. The soldier nodded and carefully shut the door. Luke and Sean removed their hands from behind their heads and looked up at Mordecai.
"Will we be safe here?" Sean asked.
"Safer than being out here." Mordecai replied.
"Not safe enough." Luke sighed.
"Try not to worry." Mordecai shook his head. "You'll be fine here. You'll meet new people and make new friends." Mordecai smiled.
"And I'm sure there'll be a ton of kids here for you to play with." Mordecai shook both of their shoulders.
"Awesome." Luke chuckled.
The soldier from before opened the door and looked at the three survivors. "There is only two beds left…so…only two of you can enter." The soldier sighed.
"No…it's cool. Sean and I can share a bed." Luke said. Sean's cheeks immediately turned red.
"You sure about that?" The soldier asked, taken aback by this. Luke nodded. "Alright then…you may enter." The soldier fully opened the door and ushered the three survivors inside.
Mordecai looked around the area. He was delighted when he saw children running around, adults having friendly conversations on nearby chairs, and a dozen people sitting around a nearby fire.
However, two of them suddenly caught their attention. One of them suddenly jumped up. "No freakin' way!" One of them exclaimed. It was Eileen.
She ran over to Mordecai and wrapped her arms around him. "I missed you so much!" She squeezed Mordecai.
Mordecai didn't have any time to react before HFG wrapped his arms around him. "I'm so glad you're okay…" He pulled away.
"This is…this is amazing!" Mordecai laughed. "I'm so happy that you made it!" He exclaimed.
Eileen smiled at him and noticed Luke and Sean hiding behind Mordecai's legs. "Sean…I missed you too." Sean ran up to Eileen and jumped into her arms. Eileen pulled Sean close to her chest and hugged her. Eileen put him down and smiled at him. Sean went to meet HFG, while Eileen approached Luke.
"Hello…what's your name?" She asked.
"I'm Luke." He quickly replied. "What's yours?" He retorted.
"Eileen." She extended her paw. "It's a pleasure." She added.
"Is it just you three here? Did you leave everybody else back at camp?" Eileen asked. Mordecai looked down at the ground and frowned.
Eileen's excitement slowly diminished when he saw his face. "They're…all…gone…" Mordecai sighed.
"What?" Eileen asked, her smile fading. "How?" She asked. "There were so many of you…" Eileen sighed.
"Not long after you guys left…Thomas died." Mordecai cringed at the memory. "Then we met Luke." Mordecai pet the kid in question on the shoulder.
"Axel got shot soon after…" Mordecai frowned. "Then Margaret got shot…Vivian was eaten alive…" Mordecai shook his head.
"What about Alpha and Rigby?" Eileen asked.
"Alpha…Alpha sacrificed himself to save us. He fought off waves of bandits to give us enough time to escape…" The blue jay wiped a few tears away.
"Then…then Rigby…god…" Mordecai broke down. "He…he collapsed on the way out. He told me to shoot him…to put him out of his misery…" Mordecai tried to keep his cool.
"And…so…I did." He bluntly said.
"Now…it's just us." He saw Sean approach him.
"I'm sorry…" Eileen apologized.
"It isn't your fault." Mordecai replied. "None of them died in vain." He added.
"They all died to get us here. And we made it." Mordecai chuckled a little. "And I'm just happy that these little guys got it here in one piece." Mordecai hugged the two children.
Mordecai approached the massive fireplace and sat in front of it. Sean and Luke sat either side of him, while Eileen and HFG sat close by.
"Thanks for not giving up on us…" Sean said. "It would've been easy for you to do." Sean crawled into Mordecai's lap. Luke rested on Mordecai's shoulder.
"Rigby was right…you would've made a great father." Sean said, closing his eyes. Mordecai's head drooped down. He rested it atop of Sean's, while Eileen and HFG watched from a few feet away.
Eileen and HFG looked at each other. HFG reached over and grabbed Eileen's paw. Eileen smiled at him. "I knew they were gonna be fine." Eileen muttered.
"I know Eileen…I know." HFG ran his hands through her hair. "But what happens now? Do we all just live here forever?" He asked.
"No. Not forever. But hopefully by next week, the soldiers will have cleared out Swan Valley, and maybe in a year's time, with all the help they could get, they could clear the whole state!" Eileen exclaimed.
"It has to end." She muttered. "It isn't always going to be like this." She added, resting her head on HFG's stomach.
"I agree." HFG simply replied. Mordecai ran one of his wings through Luke's hair.
"Get some sleep you two." He said, cracking a small smile. He looked to the left and saw Rigby's small backpack right beside them.
Mordecai carefully reached over and opened the backpack. He looked inside and noticed that there were only four things in there.
A can of sardines that Rigby had refused to eat, right at the beginning of the apocalypse. Rigby's weapon of choice; his hammer. And a small cassette tape with the words; 'Summertime Lovin'' drawn on it.
Mordecai smiled at that memory. He put all three of those items back in the backpack and pulled out the fourth item.
It was a crumpled picture. Mordecai flattened it out and looked at it with intent.
It was a group photo that was taken on their first day of working at the park. With himself and Rigby at the back making silly faces.
Mordecai shut his eyes and put the picture in his jacket pocket. He rested his head atop of Sean's again and sighed.
"It's gonna be okay." He said.
"I hope it will." Sean said, quietly.
Mordecai rubbed Sean's hair and smiled at him. He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.
"I hope so too…"
A REGULAR OUTBREAK
It's over! Finally! After months and months of work, it's over! I hope you enjoyed this series, because this is the longest chapter I have ever written in history!
OVER 5400 WORDS! It's insane! Thanks so much for the continued support, criticism and everything else, it's really kept this story going.
Special thanks – AeroAlpha, TheSilentEyes, NightWatcher, Johnsepticeye, GearSolidSnake, RegularShow565 and everybody else who reviewed! I love you all!
Do you wish to see an 'After a Regular Outbreak'? Tell me in the reviews friends, and I will consider it.
Thank you so much everybody, without you, this story wouldn't even be here today. Have an amazing Christmas and a great new year! (2015, even though it's 2014 :3)
~RSM