(At last, I've found the time to proof read this chapter! It's actually been finished for about a week now. Anyways, the story continues! Enjoy!)
Dave slouches at the dinner table, pale and red eyed with a fork held limp between his fingers, staring with a blank expression at his untouched breakfast of runny eggs, grits, and bacon, while Jeanette and Eleanor eat quietly at the other end of the table. The air is thick with silence and despair, and the clock on the wall ticks in time with their broken hearts.
Jeanette rubs her puffy eyes before continuing to eat, and her sister sighs, then sets her fork down, "Dave?", says a weak spirited Eleanor, "When will the police find Brit? And Theo and the others?"
Dave looks up at her with heavy eyes and a look of utter loss and sorrow. His mouth opens to say something, but not a sound escapes his lips. He hesitates, then gives up and looks back down at his food.
Jeanette looks up at the clock. It reads 11:04, "I've lost my appetite...", she whimpers, "I'm gonna try to get some sleep. Don't bother me for lunch..."
With that, Jeanette hops down from her chair and traipses out of the dining room. "Same here...", says Eleanor.
Dave watches the green-clad chipette follow her sister out of the room, then reverts to his pathetic position, with his elbow on the table, his fork spinning between his fingers, his mouth agape, and his eyes glazed over on the far wall.
Dave jumps slightly at the sharp crack of knuckles on wood, and his head whips around to the front door. He's reaches the door knob before he can even comprehend what he's doing, and he hastily presses his eye up to the fish hole. When he finds nothing, he curses and storms over to the couch, and plops down with a grown of annoyance. The knock emanates again.
Alvin goes to knock once more, but stops when he feels a light tap on his elbow. He looks down to find Theodore, "I wanna knock.", the small chipmunk squeaks.
Alvin nods and steps aside.
Dave hesitates with his hand gingerly wrapped around the knob. Carefully, he listens for another knock.
As Theodore's paw hits the white wood, the door swings open in response, revealing Dave, pale and unkempt, with an expression of fearful anticipation that then melts into a broad smile and wide eyes.
"Boys!", Dave screams and quickly kneels down as Simon and Theodore clamber into his arms, "Oh, God, thank you! Are you all ok?!"
Simon and Theodore both just smile in Dave's embrace, tears materializing in their eyes.
Jeanette and Eleanor, aroused from their bedroom by the commotion, quickly materialize in the doorway from behind Dave, looking both shocked and exponentially excited. They freeze abruptly however at the sight of their eldest sister.
"B-Brittany?! Are you ok?!", Eleanor exclaims.
Alvin kneels down to bring said chipette closer to her distressed sisters' level, "Not really...my leg is pretty messed up.", Brittany replies weakly.
"Hey, w-where's Alvin?", Dave asks, his voice beginning to waver again.
Brittany, Simon, and Theodore all look at each other, inducing a sudden foreboding silence over them all, then look over at the large, russet and grey-furred chipmunk, who assumes a serious and grim expression and stands up, bringing himself to eye level with the kneeling Dave, "Alvin is...gone. I no longer fit that name."
Dave stares in silent shock. His mind races to think of a response, but nothing seems to surface.
"I can try to be the son you knew and loved, but I'll never be the same."
"Everyone", Gutdrench steps forward, "We should head inside. We may stay for a time, but we will need to flee to a safer place."
Alvin nods to Dave, who reluctantly complies and carries Simon and Theodore into the living room, followed by the rest of them.
Alvin lays Brittany atop a pillow and stands beside her while the others all sit down, with the exception of the green-furred chipmunk who remains up right with his scythe erect by his side.
Dave places his head in his hands in an attempt to recuperate, then looks up Alvin, "What happened?", he asks weakly.
"The Cataclysm happened...", Alvin answers plainly,"...that night when we performed our last concert...that's when its minions took us to its sick world."
"It was horrible!", Simon adds, "The creatures there are absolutely evil! They want nothing more than to kill us all!"
"W-what are you talking about? What creatures!", Dave replies, not quite yet understanding the magnitude of what he's being told.
"He means to bring news of your demise.", everyone looks over at Gutdrench, "The Cataclysm has been here for centuries, hidden behind a break in the fabric of space, through which he can freely traverse. It has finally revealed itself, and it plans to destroy everything. As we speak, your world is now rapidly progressing towards its end."
"I-I haven't seen anything though. This...thing is destroying our world?", says Dave incredulously.
Dave then turns to the TV and quickly switches it on with the remote. Immediately, hysterical shrieks of fear emanate from the television, and the screen depicts the shaking view of San Francisco and its panicking citizens as the heavily panting camera man runs towards his van. As he reaches the door, his arm juts out in front of the camera for the handle, but is abruptly pulled back again with an ear splitting scream as the camera falls to the ground on its side. Everyone hears a few desperate pleas from the man before a sloppy tearing silences him, and blood sprays across the tarmac and the van.
"No more!", Dave cries and quickly grabs the TV remote from the coffee table to switch the channel. The screen blinks for a moment, but the next channel bears only the same gruesome scene.
"We need to leave. They will reach us very soon.", says Gutdrench.
"Why is this happening?!", Dave cries.
All of a sudden, the window beside them shatters, peppering Dave, the chipmunks, and the carpet in glass shards. A corrupted stands before them with a delirious grin, which immediately vanishes as he finds himself alone with two corruptors and another corrupted.
"What are you doing here?", it questions.
In response, a bolt of red energy explodes in a spray of sparks at the chipmunk's feet, causing it to jump in surprise.
"Shit!", the corrupted yelps and bolts back out through the window.
Dave watches Alvin lower his paw and turn to him and the others,"Yeah, we've gotta go.", the powerful chipmunk confirms.
"W-wait, what was that?!", Dave exclaims.
"No time Dave, get your keys. We're leaving!", Alvin replies and once again hoists up Brittany into his arms.
The rest of the group follows Alvin to the garage as Dave obediently scrambles to the master bedroom. Not long after the chipmunks and chipettes get situated in the car, with Gutdrench, Bloodnick, Simon, and Theodore in the back and Alvin and the girls in the front, Dave busts through the door into the garage and clambers into the driver seat. As he shoves his key into the ignition, a loud crash from inside the house jerks everyone's eyes to the door. Through the open slit, multiple brown blurs flash by, and objects zip past the opening before emanating more crashes and bangs.
Everyone but Theodore, who finds his eyes find themselves locked with those of a corruption, looks back at Dave with panicked expressions, and Bloodnick yells to snap Dave out of his petrifying fear, "GET US OUT OF HERE!"
Dave reverts his attention to the key and turns it, and the engine of the vermillion car roars to life. Unexpectedly, Dave wastes not a moment more as he flours it, propelling the car forward whilst a high pitched scream emits from the back seat. The car crashes through the garage door before sharply turning left down the street, where corrupted suddenly appears before them and flies over the hood of the car, spraying blood across the windshield and receiving several shrieks from some of the passengers. Dave swerves and quickly flips on the wind shield wipers. As the blood smears away, the growing image of the entry hedge materializes. Everyone yells and screams as the car plows through the shrubs, tearing off the wipers and the left rear view mirror before exploding through the other side in a halo of branches, metal, and leaves. As Dave turns and enters the main road, he swerves again to avoid a speeding van, but manages to quickly regain traction as he further pushes down on the gas. Dave glances back at their fleeting home to check if they're being followed, and finds several corrupteds running after them. The corrupteds' persistence doesn't last long however, and they soon give up.
Dave, wide eyed and white knuckled, brings his attention back to the road, and shudders in both relief and shock, "W-we made it!", he exclaims, seemingly in disbelief.
"O-o-oh m-my go-osh!", Brittany shudders in Alvin's arms.
Jeanette and Eleanor huddle next to Alvin and their sister, shaking in fear, while in the back, Simon comforts a likewise shaking Theodore with a hug.
Eleanor speaks up with a stutter, "Let's n-not ever d-do that again!"
"Agreed!", says Jeanette.
"To be a stickler, it's not actually up to you whether or not we must run over everything to escape, as you are not in control of our means of transportation.", Gutdrench replies, putting his two cents into the subject.
Everyone ignores the green-furred psychopath and remains in silence as Dave makes his way out of the residential area and eventually approaches a T intersection. As he drifts into the right lane to turn towards the city, Alvin quickly grabs Dave's arm for his attention and shakes his head. Dave slowly nods, then cuts back to the left lane as he reaches the intersection and turns left, towards the country.
*SCENE TRANSITION*
Several hours have passed now, bringing forth the moon and the stars, and everyone has fallen asleep; all but Dave, of course, and Theodore...
After all the time that's passed, his new found itch still persists. Theodore brings his rear paw up to his ruffled cheek for what seems like the infinith time and scratches furiously, reigniting the burning sensation in his now raw flesh. However, just like before, his efforts to find relief are to no avail, and he gives up with a quiet sob. After what seems like an eternity of gingerly pawing at his burning cheek, Theodore at last doses off in his misery.
*SCENE TRANSITION*
Sunlight cascades over the sleeping chipmunks' faces, the warmth arousing them from their slumber. Brittany, followed by Alvin and Eleanor, is the first up, and props herself up on her elbows to peak over the dash board. Outside, forest surrounds the paved road on both sides; tree after tree approaching ever quicker before turning into a green and brown blur as a drowsy looking Dave continues driving on. Brittany stares at Dave's exhausted expression, and feels suddenly very sad. Everything in the world is crumbling around her, and no happiness is to be found to combat the sorrow it brings.
"Dave? Y-you don't have to keep going you know. We can take a break.", says Brittany.
Dave moans slightly at first in response, then speaks, "I could use a rest...but...I can't. I have to get you all to safety.", he answers weakly.
"*Yawn* *sigh* Hm? W-what's going on? Where are we?", asks a drowsy Jeanette.
"We're still on the road.", Brittany replies as she absent mindedly picks at the jagged scar on her chest.
"Oh..."
Jeanette then lays down again, rolls onto her side, and closes her eyes with a sigh.
"Hahahaha, sleepy head!", Brittany giggles, "I'll wake you up when we find somewhere to stop."
In the back of the car, Simon sits upright and awake, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with his balled up paws. Beside him, Theodore groggily sits upright with his head limply tilted to the side, blinking deliriously from inadequate sleep. Simon looks over at his exhausted brother and frowns sadly, then begins rubbing his back. Theodore rolls his head over to look at Simon and gives him a pathetic smile.
"Theo, you seem to be really out of it. Are you alright?", Simon softly asks.
Theodore starts to nod, but stops and lowers his head, "I...I thought that things would go back to normal when we got back..."
"...I thought so too. I figured that...when we got back, we might've had a chance to recover. I don't think we'll ever be the same again..."
Bloodnick and Gutdrench begin to stir, and they too eventually awaken.
Bloodnick blinks a few times to adjust to the light shining in through the window, "Sheesh, that's bright! What is that?"
Gutdrench briefly stretches before answering, "*sigh* It is called the Sun. It is a source of light and life in this dimension.", Gutdrench answers, and presses his face against the window, feeling the warmth absorbed by the glass.
"Yep, and it's blinding me.", says Bloodnick plainly.
Simon smiles in amusement at the remark and glances out the windshield, and his smile vanishes. Beyond the tree line and far in the distance, he notices wisps of smoke swirling into the air.
"Hey Dave. There's a fire up ahead.", Simon warns.
"Huh?", Dave leans down to see further over the trees, "Oh, I see it."
"I hope it's just a forest fire...", says Eleanor.
Dave slows down and cautiously drives around a few bends in the road. Upon turning a sharp right, he is caught off guard as the hood of his car connects with the corner of another with a sharp creek and the crack of glass, quite quickly jerking everyone out of their sleepy trance.
"Shit!", Dave exclaims and quickly turns away from the wreckage and stops.
"What happened?!", Jeanette yells.
"Calm down. We just hit a car. I think it's abandoned though.", Alvin explains.
Jeanette, Eleanor, Simon, and Theodore all hop up to the windows to look at the car they'd struck, but as they look out, their attention is not drawn to the damaged car, but the burning ones beyond. Smoke and violent flames engulf several vehicles ahead of them and the surrounding trees and foliage. Some cars are even piled atop each other on the left side. The sound of a creaking tree emanates far ahead, and the black skeleton of a pine tree topples over part of the road.
"What the hell happened here?!", says Dave.
"We can't let this stop us. Keep going.", Alvin starts, "Gutdrench, teleport somewhere to provide overwatch. With how many cars that have been stopped on this one spot, this can only be a location for an ambush."
"Hmph. Very well.", The green-furred chipmunk grumbles, then murmurs something about being told what to do before disappearing in a ball of darkness.
"Are you sure about this?", Dave asks nervously.
"You'll find that being serious is all I'm capable of now, so drive, before more trees fall in our way."
Dave hesitates, but lets off of the brake. The car sluggishly lurches forward and accelerates to a very slow speed as Dave cautiously begins to navigate the maze of blazing wood and metal. The chipmunks all stare out the right side as they turn about a fiery truck in the road, and as they do, their hearts sink. On the other side of the road, in the ditch, lay several charred corpses...huddled together.
The chipmunks cringe in fear and disgust, and Theodore begins to cry.
"Ooook...I'm gonna cover you guys from outside. We are definitely not alone. Keep an eye out for whatever did this.", says Alvin. He sets Brittany down on the seat before opening the door and hopping out.
"Wait! Alvin, don't go!", Dave hisses.
"I'm only going to be right outside the car.", Alvin replies and shuts the door.
"Oh, God, this is bad. This is really bad!", Dave quietly repeats as he continues to drive around the flames and debris.
Alvin treads ahead of the car until he reaches what appears to be the end of the destruction, and the car is no longer in view. He scans the area.
Only a few vehicles litter the rest of the road ahead, and the fire is minimal, indicating the worst of it is now behind him. To the right of the road sits the last car engulfed in flames. Alvin stares at it for a moment, admiring the dancing flames that lick at the air and the glowing embers that ascend with the drifting smoke.
He's about to move on when he notices something bright orange and yellow ooze out from the side. It drips down onto the pavement and forms a very viscous puddle that slowly spreads out.
The red car makes its way about the last car blocking Alvin from view and pulls up beside him. Simon calls out from it, "Hey Alvin! We made it through, let's go!"
Upon saying this, a mass of what appears to be lava pushes the flaming car's door off its hinges and flops out onto the pavement in a heap. It then rises up and darkens in patches, leaving jagged, glowing cracks along its form, and finally begins to take shape, molding arms, legs, and a head. A crooked, illuminated grin cracks along the chipmunk like creature's face from end to end and gapes open with a gargle at the helpless passengers of the car in front of it.
As the abomination takes a step forward, Alvin puts himself between it and the car, "You're not going anywhere near them.", he states.
A ball of black energy forms behind Alvin and dissipates, leaving Gutdrench there.
The strange corruption glares at the green-furred chipmunk, "YOU! HOW DARE YOU BETRAY THE CATACLYSM!", the molten corruptions voice bellows.
"My allegiance has never lied solely with The Cataclysm. I've always done as I pleased. For now, I am assisting this group. Now leave us, lest we be forced to destroy you.", Gutdrench answers, sparking a grin from the corruption.
"IF THAT IS THE SITUATION, I THINK I'LL KILL THEM FIRST!"
Suddenly, the molten curruption swings its arm in a wide arc, spraying streams and chunks of lava and rock at Alvin and Gutdrench. The substance causes them to flinch, but does no harm to their unnatural bodies, and yet, that was all the corruption needed. Screams jolt their attention to the car, where they find the creature's paws already melting to spread along the hood of the car, and even setting the steal on fire from the sheer heat. Using the widely touched surface as a better grip, the corruption hoists the entire car into the air.
The chipmunks and Dave all scream and latch onto their seats as they feel gravity betray them, and they stare in horror at the ghastly vision that is the demented face that grins at them from outside the car. The corruption's maw widens and expands until its glowing orange and yellow esophagus nearly engulfs the entire view out the front windshield, and the horrendous creature convulses as streams of magma expel out onto the window and hood, melting holes in the only barrier between it and the helpless prey inside.
Everyone shrieks in fear and shock as the curruption's side explodes in a hail of red, orange, and yellow, causing it to stagger and shake the car violently. Theodore slips and claws wildly at the air for something to grab onto, but he finds nothing and plummets. Theodore screams, but no sound seems to come out. His little heart pounds heavily in his chest, and time seems to slow down. Above Theodore, he sees Simon silently yelling from his perch behind the head rest, with his paw extended towards him. He sees Bloodnick crouched on top of the back of Dave's seat with his paws gripping the door handle with an expression of anger and frustration on his face. As Theodore begins to flip upside down, he sees Brittany...trapped on the dashboard along the groove where the window meets. Jeanette and Eleanor are found huddled in the alcove of the floor board, and Dave has his feet against the dash and his back pressed against the seat. Theodore continues to fall, and looking through the hole in the window he's headed for, he sees the terrifyingly gruesome maw of the corruption, gaping open as an invitation for him to fall in and be incinerated. Theodore passes through the hole, and the broad, molten opening expands even wider from only inches away. He closes his eyes and shrieks as the heat bubbling off of the corruption singes his fur...and then nothing. Theodore collapses onto the pavement hard, scraping himself in several places and breaking his nose on the asphalt. Adrenaline drives him to get up however, and he quickly rolls onto his side and clambers to his feet. Beside him, he finds an enraged curruption lying in two halves only a foot away. Above him...the car towers over him...resting on its hood. Only a second passes, and the car begins to creak and topple over towards Theodore. The injured chipmunk wastes not a moment more and dashes to the side, just before the mass of metal connects with the earth.
While the chipmunks and Dave crawl out of the wreckage, Alvin and Gutdrench approach the fallen corruption.
As they stand before the mutilated corruption, the creature makes no attempt to get away, but just stares back at its conquerors, "Why doesn't it try to escape?", Alvin asks.
"This corruption has manifested itself into the molten core of our world. This is one of The Cataclysm's personal guards, not that it needs one. It takes time to remove itself from the tangible matter it is now made up of."
"YOU FOOL...YOUR EFFORTS ARE IN VAIN. YOU ARE MERELY ALLOWING YOURSELVES A DAY MORE TO LIVE.", the creature bellows.
"Where is The Cataclysm!", Alvin yells.
The corruption smirks, "OUR MASTER? WHY, IT IS ABOLISHING ALL THAT IS GOOD AND ENSLAVING HUMANITY!", it chuckles heavily.
"Alright. That's enough out of you!".
Alvin then grasps the corruption's head, digging his claws into the hard rock layer and drawing lava like warm blood, then forces the corruptions glowing eyes to align with his.
As black wisps begin to channel between them, the corruption screams out, "NO! I AM A SUBJECT OF ONLY THE CATACLYSM!"
It's too late though, and the corruption shrieks with unnatural sounds before being engulfed entirely by Alvin's power and its life is sucked away forever.
The body the corruption once controlled falls limp and breaks open, allowing its contents to pool around it.
"A-Alvin, that was amazing!", Dave exclaims behind said chipmunk.
The red-clad chipmunk turns to him and finds only Simon standing beside him. On the opposite side of the car, Bloodnick yanks furiously at a terribly deformed car door.
"Heergh! Hergh! Aargh! Ugh, why?! I can break rocks with my bare hands; what the hell is this shit?!", Bloodnick yells.
"Here, let me.", Alvin responds and calmly strolls to the passenger door Bloodnick was attacking. Rather than grabbing the handle, he punches the glass, shattering it effortlessly. Placing his paw on the face of the inside of the door, he tears the door off its hinges and tosses it across the tarmac.
"Show off...", Bloodnick mutters to himself.
Looking inside, Alvin finds Jeanette and Eleanor kneeling beside Brittany. Blood...blood everywhere. Black clouds lay a dark shadow over them, magnifying the sinking feeling Alvin suddenly feels as he stares at the reopened gash in the bleeding chipette's belly.
Jeanette turns to Alvin with tear stained cheeks, "H-help...", she whimpers.
*SCENE TRANSITION*
The black void accumulated over the world screams and flashes with bouts of powerful thunder and jagged cracks of lightning that cut through the sky. The relentless downpour turns the earth to thick mud, and the merciless winds slice through the grass and trees, making the world shift and sway. Below the oppressing clouds, Alvin sprints as fast as he dares, so as not to slip. In his blood and rain soaked arms lies his dying friend, Brittany, and the rest of the group trails behind.
The ever weakening chipette looks up at Alvin with hazy eyes, "A-Alvin...", she says pathetically.
The russet-furred chipmunk hears her, but concentrates on getting her somewhere out of the weather and continues running.
As he navigates a bend in the now mud composed road, he stops instantly as he finds himself at the thresh hold of a large, picket fence bordered field to the right of the unending path. Lightning flashes across the horizon, revealing the outline of a two story house beyond a few stray trees. As the flash dissipates, the orange light of a window is all that's left to convince him it was not a hallucination.
"Guys! Follow me!", Alvin yells behind him before hopping the fence and running into the field.
"What did he say?", Bloodnick yells over the rain and thunder.
In response, the field comes into view, and the chipmunks and Dave all run after their red-clad leader towards salvation.
Alvin almost stumbles across the property in his haste to get Brittany to safety, since they had been running for a long time now, and he'd been worried that time may be running out. Using these thoughts as fuel, he pummels the dirt with his feet, kicking up mud and bits of grass as he quickly covers the rest of the distance between him and the house.
Upon at last reaching the house, Alvin is first greeted by an adjacent barn; its double slide doors left ajar. Walking inside, Alvin sighs in relief to finally escape the maddening water droplets that assault him.
The barn interior isn't far from typical. It reeks of animal, hay litters the ground and loft, various farm tools and equipment are arranged throughout the building, and several sleeping horses occupy stables that line either wall. Despite the poor conditions though, it's surprisingly warm and cozy.
Alvin walks off to an empty stable to his right and opens its gate, and he is pleased to find that fresh hay forms a bed like mound in one of the corners. As Alvin gently lays Brittany on the hay, the others scramble through the barn door to escape the weather, joining him inside.
After Alvin finishes settling Brittany down in her hay bed, he exits the stable. Dave attempts to dry out his shirt while the chipmunks shake the water out of their fur.
Bloodnick is the first to speak as he forms an expression of disgust, "Ugh, what's that smell?!"
"It's just the horses. We're in a barn.", Simon explains, seeming unphased by the odor.
"Who cares about the smell!", Jeanette exclaims, "Where'd you put my sister? Is she ok?"
Alvin's ears fall, "She's in the stable. Honestly...I don't know if she'll make it. She's still bleeding, and I'm pretty sure my powers are not the ideal method for cauterization."
Eleanor frantically looks around, "W-we need to find something hot! Don't farms have branding sticks?"
Gutdrench briefly looks around, considering her idea, but suddenly forgets it completely and smirks as his eyes land on an object in the back, "No...what we need...is something that can burn for only a brief moment.", he says before walking over to the object.
"Like what?", Alvin inquires, confused.
When Gutdrench turns back to them, he is holding a small item in his paw, "A...bullet?", Simon questions, "Wait, where did you find that?"
Gutdrench gestures to a crate behind him, "That box there is full with them. Whoever lives here must have a thing for guns, but anyways..."
Gutdrench then makes his way into the stable, where he finds Brittany barely conscious. Everyone else follows and crowds around her.
"W-what are you gonna do?", says Jeanette.
They watch Gutdrench break open the bullet and carefully poor its contents along Brittany's wound, "I need something to start a spark or a small flame."
"Oh my God, you are not doing that!", Dave exclaims.
"Dave, you are in no position right now to try acting protective!", Alvin yells, "This is a matter of whether or not she lives, now get a hold of yourself and help us!"
"But...surely this won't work!"
"Dave!"
Dave sighs, "Fine...", he pulls out a lighter and hands it to the russet-furred chipmunk, then walks away.
"Dad, are you ok?", asks Theodore.
He receives no answer.
"Don't worry. He'll be alright. Now come on. Let's get this over with.", Simon comforts his little brother.
Alvin flips open the lighter with his thumb and then rolls the mechanism. From the top, a tiny flame ignites and flickers in his paw, casting an orange glow that rolls over his fingers. The others watch Alvin kneel down beside Brittany and place his free paw over her forehead, then moves it to the gash. Brittany sharply gasps as Alvin gently touches near the wound to test
how bad it is.
"...Brittany...if you can hear me, you should grit your teeth, because the pain is about to get worse...", warns Alvin, prompting Theodore and Jeanette to turn away from the scene about to unfold.
With that, Alvin carefully brings the flame to the gash. As the fire ignites the gun powder, the flame ripples through the gash, cauterizing it instantly. At the same time, Brittany's eyes shoot open and her mouth gapes in shock, yet she emits no sound more than a terse wheeze from the searing agony. The fire quickly dissipates, leaving the surrounding fur singed and the blackened wound closed with drifting smoke. The shocked chipette suddenly falls limp in the hay, unconscious.
Brittany's sisters gather around her, checking to see if she's ok, and Alvin closes the lighter with a sigh and sits down in the hay beside his brothers.
Simon briefly joins the girls and examines Brittany's wound, "Hm, that looks...pretty good. I think that worked perfectly.", he says.
Theodore swallows a lump in his throat as he begins to speak, "I can't believe you did that to Brittany. W-what if it killed her?"
"Let it go, Theo.", Simon answers, "What matters is it worked, and for that we should be grateful."
Alvin looks over to them, "Alright guys. Pick a spot to sleep for the night. We need our rest if we're to have any hope of survival."
"Very true.", says Simon, "We've had a long day...so let's hit the hay!", Simon chuckles at his analogy matching the situation.
"Alright...", Theodore replies.
As the chipmunks all disperse, Alvin speaks to Jeanette and Eleanor, "Are you two gonna stay with Brittany?"
"Yeah.", Eleanor answers, never taking her eyes off her sister, while Jeanette doesn't say a word and she too watches the golden-furred chipette with concerned eyes.
Alvin murmurs a quiet confirmation and stands up before leaving the stable. Looking around, he sees Bloodnick crawling up into the loft along with Gutdrench, and Simon an Theodore cuddle next to each other in a mound of hay beside the stable closest to the door, where Dave stands just outside.
Alvin walks up beside Dave, who continues to stare up at the cascading downpour, "We're not gonna make it...are we...", says Dave.
"Hm...perhaps not all of us. Brittany will survive though...for now. Oh, and here's your lighter.", Alvin holds out the item to Dave, who reluctantly takes it.
"*sigh* This whole ordeal has just been...traumatizing. Every time I try to grasp what has been happening, my mind just...rejects it. I just can't believe it."
"I felt that way back in their world.", Alvin leans back against the door and crosses his arms, "Everything was so overwhelming that I didn't even realize just how bad it was...it was utterly abhorrent..."
"What's their world like?"
"...The place is a wasteland. I've no idea how they get food, since there's no vegetation, 'cept for a few dead or burning trees. The skies are red and thick with pitch black clouds...the only wild life are once sentient chipmunks, mutilated and deformed beyond recognition. Ugh...perverted; the things they do to them. They defur them...severe theirs limbs...gouge out their eyes..."
"Wha-...Why?"
"The corrupteds call them traitors, corrupteds that once served The Cataclysm but had enough will power to fight off their corruption. They're put through extreme physical and psychological conditions to break their minds before either tying them up or abandoning them in the wastelands to survive like animals."
Dave's expression is that of disgust, "I-I digress...", he thinks for a moment, "How about we talk about you? H-how'd you get like this?"
Lightning flashes across the sky, followed by the rubble of thunder, "Well...I don't really think I'm a chipmunk anymore..."
Dave turns to the Alvin,"What do you mean?"
"When I underwent my transformation, instead of infecting me with a corruption, I was...turned into a corruption. Or more specifically, a corruptor."
"And what does that mean?"
"Well...I guess it means I'm no longer restricted to this body. I have...powers. I can create, infect with, and extract corruptions. I don't even think I've learned all I can do yet."
Alvin looks out into the distance, gazing at the distant flashes along the horizon,
"But my becoming a corruptor has ruined everything. Even if the world wasn't in turmoil, it wouldn't make a difference. I'm just...not the same. I remember how I used to act, but...now I don't know why."
Dave turns to Alvin, "Come on, son. We should really be spending more time resting than feeling sorry for ourselves."
Alvin smiles, "Alright...dad."
(And that concludes chapter 7! The mayhem ever yet continues, even after the chipmunks escape the dimension of The Cataclysm! Please review! I value your opinions very much!)