I'm so utterly sorry if I took too long to answer your reviews and messages this week ;_; I've been...preoccupied. I think it's safe to say my life has been changed, cause I finished The Dove Keeper. If you've never read it, you must. It changes your entire outlook on life and it's simply the best thing I've ever read.

(Then again if you're in the MCR fandom you've probably already read it XD)

Enough about other peoples' fics. Here's mine ^_^

CHAPTER 22: TAKE MY HAND, WE'RE LEAVING HERE TONIGHT

October 28, 2013

College Hill, Los Angeles, California

7:16 PM

Amy was tired.

Amy was always tired these days. It was a side effect of the pregnancy. No matter how much she slept every night, she always woke up tired and remained exhausted throughout the entire day. Her body was barely hers' anymore.

But this was a different kind of tired. She was mentally exhausted of the secrecy and hiding she and Chester had undergone in the past two weeks, all the hiding in darkened back rooms and only spending a few minutes outside in the dead of night. The pair hadn't seen anyone but Adrienne and a couple of her most trusted friends at the college, Taylor Momsen and Adam Gontier. Taylor and Adam were the other two people who worked at the store when Adrienne wasn't there. At first, Adrienne had tried to keep them completely secret for their safety, but when Taylor had burst into the back room one day looking for a missing box of supplies, she'd realized it would be impossible to hide them from everyone. Adam and Taylor had kept their presence thankfully quiet, and Amy and Chester hadn't been found by anyone else thus far. They managed to live in the back room in complete secrecy.

It was a very loose definition of living, though. Spending ninety-nine percent of your life in one cramped, fluorescently-lit closet while trying to keep as quiet as possible was neither easy nor comfortable, and both were at the end of their tether.

There was also the constant threat of being found out hanging over their heads. If BL/ind even caught the hint of a word that they were hiding there and came to investigate, Amy would be killed without a second thought and Chester would be arrested, Adrienne, Taylor and Adam along with him. That was the hardest part: knowing that not only were they endangering themselves, but three completely innocent people who had done nothing but help them.

It was all these thoughts that drove Amy's mental debate that night. On one hand, she and Chester had the precarious but temporary safe haven of Adie's cramped back room, complete with boredom and cabin fever. On the other hand, there was…unknown.

Everything about their future was unknown. They wouldn't be able to go back to Battery City until they were both twenty-one and lawfully able to keep their child. But the three years in between was a great big blank, a question mark on the timelines of their lives. They had nowhere to go. They certainly couldn't stay locked up in a back room for the entire time, much less deliver and raise a baby in secret. It would be too loud, too obvious, and besides, Amy and Chester couldn't do it alone. And they couldn't shove all that responsibility and pressure on Adrienne.

They had to leave, Amy decided, watching her fiancé's slowly rising and falling chest as he slept peacefully. And as soon as possible. They just had to figure out where to go.

A soft knocking came at the door just then, three short taps, a pause, and then one more. It was Adrienne's code for 'it's just me.' There was a different one for it there were more unknown people with her, but they hadn't had to use it yet—thank God.

"Come in," Amy called out tiredly. Chester blinked, then sat up, yawning.

"Dinner," Adrienne said softly, setting down two Styrofoam trays in front of them. "I think the Dracs are getting suspicious—they keep asking me to double-check the inventory to make sure nothing's missing."

"Shit," Chester muttered. Amy didn't respond, as she was already digging into her food ravenously.

Adrienne sat down cross-legged across from the pair, resting her hands on her folded knuckles. "How are you guys holding up in here?"

The brunette boy shrugged. "We're alive," he said simply, taking a bite of dinner.

"Well, that's what's important," Adrienne sighed.

She watched them eat in silence, the younger couple too hungry to talk in between hurried bites of food, but a smile graced her face as Amy pushed her empty tray away.

"Adie, Chester," the teenage girl said quietly. "Um…so I've been thinking."

"'Bout what?" Chester asked.

Amy exhaled heavily, blowing small curls of black hair off of her forehead. "The future."

Adie and Chester frowned. It was the exact thing they had been trying not to think about, as it was so incredibly dangerous and uncertain. None of them had any idea what to do.

"I think…I think we have to leave," Amy whispered, reaching for Chester's hand. He squeezed her fingers tightly, signaling that he was listening and understood. The simple gesture gave her confidence.

"It's too dangerous for you, Adie," she said more loudly. "And Adam and Taylor, too. I can't let them get hurt for us. There's always the chance they'll find out, and if that happens, we're all screwed. You're in jail, I'm dead. It's already hard, but think what it'll be like with the baby. It'll be absolutely impossible. Sooner or later, we'll have to go, and I'd rather it be sooner so we're already somewhere safe when the baby comes."

A defiant, frightened look had been crawling onto Adrienne's face slowly as Amy made her speech, and when her younger sister was at last quiet, she began to shake her head vigorously.

"No. No way!" she exclaimed vehemently. "Amy, you've got no idea what's out there! Where will you go?"

"Wherever we can," the younger girl shrugged.

Chester had been oddly silent during this exchange, his thumb stroking absently over the back of Amy's hand as he thought. On one hand, it was his priority to protect his family. For the time being, Amy and the child would be safe here. But what his fiancée was saying was one hundred percent true, and he couldn't go on doing this to Adrienne…

"I agree with Amy," he murmured, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Chester!" Adrienne began shooting daggers at him with her eyes. Obviously she'd expected him to take her side in the argument. "Don't you think it would be safer if you stayed here?"

"For us, maybe, but not for you," the boy answered.

"I'm fully prepared to take responsibility for hiding you from BL/ind if it comes down to it," Adrienne stated.

"But what about Adam and Taylor?" he countered. "Do you want them condemned, too?"

Adrienne frowned. "Well, of course not, but—"

"Then the only safe way is if we go," Chester finished.

The older woman eyed them carefully, staring her sister and her boyfriend down. They stared back, unyielding.

Finally, Adrienne sighed heavily and slumped, averting her gaze. "I heard from a friend of a friend that there might be people living in the desert," she muttered. "They apparently take refugees and outlaws from Battery City. You'll wanna ask Taylor about it, she knows more, but it might be your only option."

"Oh, Adie," Amy whispered, throwing her arms around Adrienne. The older sibling's eyes had begun to water, and she reached to brush them away fiercely.

"I'll get Taylor and make supply packs for you," she said brusquely, patting Amy's back. "You two are complete idiots. I love you, and you had better live so I can see my nephew or niece."

"Thank you, Adrienne," Chester said sincerely, embracing her too. "For everything."

She smiled waterily. "It's what big sisters do."

Fifteen minutes later, Taylor poked her blond head in, glancing at the pair. "Hey, guys," she yawned. "Any reason Adie had to come get me in the middle of the night and told me to visit?"

Amy blushed lightly. "Sorry about that. We were just wondering, cause Adie said you know something about it…what do you know about the people living in the desert?"

"Oh, the Killjoys?" Taylor dropped to her knees, seating herself and leaning back on her hands. "They're sort of more like an urban legend than anything else. I don't even know if they're real."

"Killjoys?" Chester questioned curiously.

"Yeah. My friend Renee was telling me about them the other night. Supposedly, there's an army of rebel soldiers living in this massive abandoned top-secret complex. They're planning to take over BL/ind or something. Legend is they run a radio show, but whenever anyone has tried to listen to it all they get is static…"

"Do you know what station it is?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, it's 104.1, but don't bother. I've and Renee's checked and it never plays anything other than static. I bet the whole thing's some ruse that BL/ind uses to keep us in line, like, 'Don't go in the desert or the big scary Killjoy army will get you.'"

Amy and Chester exchanged wide-eyed glances. The idea was sounding more and more ridiculous every second.

"Why do you need to know?" Taylor questioned.

Amy closed her eyes and sighed. "Well…um…we're—Chester and I—we're leaving."

"What? Really?" the blonde girl gawked. "But you're still…" she trailed off, seeming lost for words, and gestured to her massive stomach.

"Exactly," Amy smiled. "We need to get someplace safe before it comes."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Taylor asked skeptically.

Chester shrugged. "It's the best one we can come up with right now."

"Well, be careful." Taylor stood, dusting her palms off on the front of her black jeans. "Don't do anything stupid. Make careful decisions and all that good shit, and tell us before you go. Me and Adam will want to say goodbye."

"Of course," Amy promised.

The older girl yawned. "Night, guys."

"Night, Taylor."

The blonde threw them a careless smile as she exited, calling out something incoherent to Adrienne as she left. Adie came in a few minutes later and sat down. "What did she say?" she asked.

Chester shared a look with Amy. "Do you have a radio?" he questioned.

"Why?" Adrienne asked suspiciously.

"I wanna check something Taylor told us."

Adrienne raised an eyebrow, then bustled out of the room, returning a moment later with a small portable transmitter clutched in her hands. She set the tiny device, barely bigger than her palm, down in between the pair.

"Good luck," she murmured. "See you in the morning."

"Night, Adie," Amy whispered, pecking her sister lightly on the cheek before turning her attention to the radio.

"104.1, she said. Right?" Chester confirmed, already twisting at one of the dials. Pure static filled the room, and Amy cringed at the loud sound, slapping her hands over her ears.

"Sorry, sorry." He frantically fumbled for the volume dial and turned it. The static immediately cut in half.

"S'okay," she mumbled, moving closer once again. Chester furrowed his brow, staring down at the device in concentration.

"It's on the station," he muttered, staring daggers into the small plastic transmitter. "So why isn't it doing anything?"

"Maybe it's just an urban legend, Chaz," Amy sighed.

He shook his head. "No way! This is our only option, Ames! We can't just give up!"

"We're chasing the chance of a dream," she argued. "Taylor said it herself: the Killjoys are probably some made-up tale straight from the company's headquarters, designed to keep us under control."

"But what if they're not?" he asked. "Just what if? What if it's all true? We've solved all our problems right there! If there's even the slightest possibility they might be real, we have to go for it."

"But there isn't a possibility!"

"Amy—"

But at that moment, a noise pierced the static, just a single spoken word. But it was enough.

"Killjoys."

"What?" Chester exclaimed, spinning back to the device. Amy's mouth snapped shut, and she stared, wide-eyed at the tiny machine, unbelieving.

And then sound filled the room, but not static. There were three distinct voices cutting through the air.

"You're here with Doctor Death Defying tonight," a gruff voice informed them.

"Crash and Surgeon here, too," a younger, more excitable male cut in.

"This can't be real," Amy whispered, staring at the plastic box. But still, the voices continued.

"We're still working to solve the mystery of the rayguns, but so far, BL/ind hasn't sent any more of their Draculoid scum after us—thank God. We've shown them once. If they come at us again, we'll show them again, and this time we're armed." The pair could almost see the speaker's grin penetrate the airwaves.

"They're sending Draculoids after them," Chester reveled. "It's got to be them, Ames! We found them! The Killjoys!"

His fiancée shushed him. "Not yet we haven't," she reminded him. "C'mon, keep listening in case they give a clue about where they are."

The pair stared, rapt and attentive, as the voice that called itself Doctor Death Defying interviewed the one called Surgeon about the rayguns, which the couple gathered had been stolen from passing Draculoids. Their vital clue didn't come till the very end of the announcement.

"Come join us, rebels," the oldest man said. "Head straight into the desert. Drive around for a bit. If you don't find us, we'll come find you. And if you're a fucking Draculoid, we won't think twice about ghosting you."

Chester and Amy shared a wide-eyed, ecstatic glance. There it was—the solution to all of their problems!

"Killjoys, make some noise!" Doctor Death Defying yelled, his voice blasting through the room. The voice abruptly cut into static and the couple was left shocked in the wake.

"Told you," Chester whispered wonderingly. Amy nodded mechanically, apparently too shocked and confused to talk. Her eyes stayed locked on the transmitter.

"Let's go," she answered quietly. "Tomorrow. Let's go into the desert and find them."

A few minutes later, Adrienne checked back into the room, overwhelmingly curious about their decision. Her eyes nearly filled with tears once more when Amy told her, but she brushed them away quickly and promised her sister that she, Adam and Taylor would be there at six a.m. before the rest of the college students were up, to say their goodbyes. They slept soundlessly and peacefully that night.

At five forty-five, Chester's phone blasted an alarm and the pair roused themselves. A knock came on the door, signaling the coast was clear for them to depart.

"Ames, are you sure?" Adrienne asked, clutching her sister's hand. "You're safe here, you know."

Amy nodded. "I'm sure," she said clearly.

Adrienne sighed and enveloped her in a hug, slipping a backpack into the younger girl's hands. "Food, supplies and clothes," she told the pair. "And my phone number. Call me if anything happens."

"Of course," Amy whispered. "Thank you so much, all three of you, for everything you've done."

"Stay safe," Adam murmured. Taylor nodded silently, her eyes fixed on Amy.

"And never hesitate to come back," Adrienne finished.

"Thanks," Chester nodded. He grabbed Amy's hand tightly and turned to go.

"Wait." Adrienne reached out and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him and Amy around to face her once again.

"Whatever you do, take care of my niece or nephew," she said seriously. "You protect it with your life. And make sure it gets to see its' Aunt Adie someday."

Amy smiled weakly. "Of course," she murmured, her hands moving to cradle the baby bump.

"Good luck," Adrienne said. "I'll see you again."

The three college students didn't stop waving at Chester and Amy until the couple was out of sight, their forms slowly disappearing over the crest of the hill the college sat on. Amy sighed and slipped her hand into Chester's, knowing they had a long walk ahead of them. The desert was a four-hour walk through deserted suburbs, and from there, who knew how long it would be until they found the Killjoys. Yet again she was struck with a sense of foreboding as she realized how utterly unprepared they were. What were they going to do if they ran out of food, or got stuck alone in the desert after nightfall, or were caught in bad weather?

Chester seemed to be reading her mind, because he squeezed her fingers and murmured, "By nighttime, we'll be safe with the Killjoys."

"I hope," she sighed. "God, our lives have gotten turned upside down, haven't they?"

"This entire year has been absolutely crazy," he agreed. His thumb absently toyed with the ring Amy wore on her fourth finger, stroking over the silver band and blue gem absently. "But at least we're together. It hasn't been that bad, has it?"

"Well, let's see. I moved in with the love of my life, got engaged, and am now pregnant with his baby. I think that's pretty good," she teased, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

"I think so too," he smiled.

It was nearly noon by the time Chester and Amy finally entered the desert, their feet happily deserting the rough, broken asphalt for soft, warm sand instead. It came as a welcome relief to the weary travelers, and Chester suggested that they celebrate with a quick break. Amy collapsed gratefully onto the golden sand.

"Almost there, Ames," Chester assured her, joining his fiancée on the desert ground. "We're nearly out of the woods."

Amy sighed and kicked off her boots, tipping her head up to look into the gray sky. "It looks rainy," she observed.

"That's how it always looks in Battery City."

"I know," she said. "I just feel like it should be…I dunno, brighter? I thought it wasn't supposed to rain in the desert often."

"We probably just caught it on an off day," Chester smiled. "Anyway, we'll be safe by tonight."

Still, the foreboding gray cloud cover hung over them as the pair resumed their journey quickly. Both were worried by the imminent rain and wanted to find shelter as soon as possible, be it with the Killjoys or not.

But the desert was still scarily empty. There hadn't been a single sign of life since they'd left Adrienne, Taylor and Adam on the top of the hill hours and hours ago.

"It's getting worse," Chester commented grimly, glancing again at the darkening sky.

"We should go find somewhere to rest," Amy agreed. She pulled her jacket tighter, shivering lightly.

He noticed. "Are you cold?" he asked quickly, grabbing at his own coat to try and give it to her.

"N-no!" she exclaimed. "Keep it, Chaz, I'm fine. I don't want you getting sick."

"You sure?" he murmured, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm—what was that?"

Amy looked down, confused, at her wrist. She'd felt a sting like a bug there only a moment ago. There was a small, round pink blemish on the pale skin.

"What?" Chester questioned.

"My wrist—ow, there it is again!" She lifted a hand to feel the spot on her dark hair where there had been another sting.

Chester frowned and glanced around, surveying the area. There was still no one moving in the vicinity, and he didn't see any insects. But then he felt it too—a burn on his cheek, small but painful. He had no idea where it could have come from.

"It's probably nothing to worry about—" he started. But at that moment Amy cried out and lifted her hands as if to shield her head. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

And Chester understood—because now those tiny burns were peppering his body, splattering onto his bare skin and cutting holes through his clothing.

"Shit," he muttered, and then, louder, "Shit!" He grabbed Amy's hand and began to run, tugging his stricken fiancée after him as he sprinted across the slowly dampening sand.

Acid rain.

Of course. After all that they'd already been through, they just couldn't be allowed a quick, easy departure. God just wanted to fuck with them as much as he could.

Amy was slowing down behind him. Her poor, abused body was already weak from the pregnancy and more tired yet from the long walk. This last sprint was just too much for her to take.

"C'mon, Amy!" Chester yelled. But it was hopeless. The young girl had fallen to her knees, her chest heaving, and she looked up at him with wide, shining blue eyes.

"Go on without me," she gasped.

"Never!" Chester growled. He turned back and ran towards her, throwing himself next to her limp form.

"Don't be an idiot, Chester," Amy whispered. "You'll die."

"But you will if I leave you out here!" he gasped.

Amy smiled weakly. "Better one of us than both."

This was not happening.

Chester let out a strangled growl and threw his arms around Amy, heaving her tired form into his arms. His fear and frustration opened unknown reserves of energy in him, and he stumbled forward, supporting Amy as best he could.

"Chazy…don't…" Amy murmured weakly. A violent shiver passed through her body, and her eyelids fluttered.

"Just hold in there, Ames," he promised. He held Amy's body closer to his own, trying to transmit some of his body heat to her and shield her from the worst of the rain.

And there it was, on the horizon. A tiny shack on the side of the road. It looked rickety, and Chester had no idea what it was doing there, but he wasn't going to question. It was shelter.

"We're gonna be fine," he nearly sobbed to Amy. "We're gonna be fine."

His head and neck were raw and burned by the time they reached the building, but they had escaped the worst of the rain. The moment the door shut behind them, Chester could hear it begin to pour down, battering the small refuge they had found. It had already taken a heavy beating from the previous apocalypse, and it was hardly what you could call 'safe.' It shook with every gust of wind and deadly rain seeped through the holes in the ceiling. But it was a savior. They were safe from the worst of it.

Chester could only spend the hours they spent sheltered in the small building worrying. He ignored his own condition—he was a burned, shivering mess. But Amy was worse. She was slowly deteriorating, sleeping in small, restless fits before waking in a burst of consuming shudders. She complained of her stomach paining her. And to Chester, that was the scariest part. At least he could monitor Amy's condition. He had no way of knowing what was happening to their child.

It happened while she was sleeping, and for that, he was thankful. He had no idea how she slept through it. The sound was like a bomb exploding.

The ceiling sagged, and then, with an almighty groan, tore itself from the rest of the structure. Chester barely had time to scramble out of the way before the roof of the shack landed at his feet. Within seconds, a torrent of rain was pouring in.

"No," he gasped, jumping to his feet. But the stinging was returning anew. He felt his skin assaulted by the miniscule acid drops and cried out, shielding his arms.

"Chaz?" Amy whispered sleepily, blinking.

Chester whirled around. "Go back to sleep, Amy," he begged.

"But…the ceiling!" she exclaimed, sitting up. Then it hit her—literally—and she curled in on herself, forming a protective ball.

He gritted his teeth. "I know, baby," he whispered. "We have to go on."

For fifteen agonizing, desperate minutes, Chester endured the rain silently. He held Amy close to his chest, sheltering her shivering form with him own. The acid pounded down relentlessly as if it was determined to kill them both. He tried—oh God, he tried—but eventually, it was too much for even strong, willful Chester to take. He gently set Amy's feet on the ground just as the rain began to let up.

"Look, I think we're almost there, Chazy," she murmured. She was tired, oh so tired, but she didn't want to put more strain on her exhausted fiancé. So she forced her feet to keep moving forward, shuffling through the wet sand, even though all she wanted to do was lie down and sleep forever…

"Chazy?" Amy whispered, suddenly aware of the absence of his footsteps. She turned back to look at him. He was frozen in place, looking exhausted and ready to drop. "Chester!"

"Go find someone," he sighed. "I can't go on."

She watched as he fell to his knees, then slammed his palms into the sand, hunched over. A roar filled her ears. She wasn't sure if it was an external noise or just blood rushing to her head.

"No!" she gasped, shuffling back over to him. Her body protested her every move, but still she forced herself forward. She kneeled next to him and placed her hands atop his. But he slumped over, his eyes sliding closed, and was gone.

"Chaz!" she sobbed. She stumbled to her feet once again, but she had reached her breaking point, mentally and physically. She was barely aware of running feet as she fell to the ground.

And then someone was leaning over her, a pale face framed with curtains of black hair. He placed his hot fingers on her neck, then her forehead, and she shivered involuntarily.

"Help…" she moaned. She had to get to the Killjoys. They would help.

He stared down at her, concerned. "Help is coming soon, just hold on…"

"Need…Doctor Death Defying…" she managed to gasp out before her world faded to black.