October 2012
Part two
"Are you sure, John?" Peter asked him,
"I'm sure. Dr. Bishop said that they are still scarring and any physical movement may cause them to rip open again."
John's wounds on his back hadn't gotten infected but after so many weeks, they had only just begun healing. He struggled to move, which may be why he offered to watch over Ashley so much; once she was asleep nothing could wake her. All he had to do was sit there and make sure she was safe and didn't crawl [or roll] away.
"Okay well Olivia's in the office feeding Ashley, so once she's done we can go." Peter stated.
By the time Peter and Olivia returned from their 'alone' time, the boys had finished the test tubes. It seemed the second they entered to lab, Ashley was screaming for food.
Olivia was sitting as comfortably as she could on the couch, her shirt was on the arm rest and her left bra strap hanging off as Ashley suckled on her breast. Her little fingers poked at it several times before she latched on. It had taken both her and Peter to get her to drink the first time, but now it seemed like she wouldn't let go.
Peter entered the office, sitting on the couch next to Olivia.
"Hey, how's she doing this time?"
"Better. Doesn't hurt much now, but once she gets more teeth..." Peter laughed.
Peter turned her head away from their daughter, lifting her chin so he could kiss her. Keeping one hand supporting Ashley, Olivia used her free hand to tug Peter closer, deepening the kiss.
At that moment, Ashley decided to move, flailing her legs outward, kicking at Peter.
"Greed little girl isn't she?"
"Yeah, well she must get that from you." She teased, "You don't want to share do you, baby girl?" she asked, looking down at her daughter. Ashley made a soft gurgling noise. Peter and Olivia took it as a yes and laughed.
When Ashley let go of Olivia's breast, Peter took her so Olivia could dress. Peter cradled his daughter in his arms, rocking her softly. She yawned, before she started sucking on her thumb. By the time Olivia was dressed and they left the office to join the others, Ashley was sound asleep in Peter's arms.
POPOPOPO
They each carried five (what Walter had named) Test-tube bombs, a torch each and their guns. It wasn't dark yet, they still had a while, but once they used the test-tube bombs, they would only have their torches for light. Solar powered torches only lasted so long and only worked so well. They had a nasty habit of dying at the worse moments.
The 'hive', the resting place of the creatures during the daylight hours wasn't even a 30 minute walk from the lab.
Olivia was already antsy leaving Ashley behind, but with John still healing, she didn't want the others to go and have something happen because they were one man short. Four was always better then three.
The test-tube bombs flickered in their containment, still alight but starting to fade. Walter had been certain that at the heat and pressure Olivia used, they would survive long enough for them to get there, with time to spare.
"So, who wants first throw?" Peter asked. It was clear that they were all eager to try their new weapon. Even Broyles had a smile. They were situated on the balcony of a two story building. The gaping hole on the road was the easiest entrance to the tunnels without endangering them. This way they were further enough away that the creatures would burn in the sunlight before they attacked them.
"May I?" Olivia asked. The others nodded, and she moved to perch on the ledge of the balcony. She stood up and looked at the hole in the road. Taking the first test-tube bomb from her waistband, she threw it, full force, over arm perfectly into the hole. There was only a second between the sound of the glass smashing, and the explosion from the fire and gas.
They could hear the wailing of the creatures below as the explosion caught them. The others didn't hesitate in throwing theirs.
It didn't take long before the test-tube bombs were gone and the screams of the creatures were now low moans of pain.
POPOPOPO
"Nice to know that we're not the last ones here." Charlie stated, though somewhat fearfully. They were returning to the lab after a successful first 'live' trial of their weapon.
Olivia wasn't exactly paying attention, her thoughts wondering to Ashley every 10 seconds.
"Huh... Oh sorry, Charlie. I guess I wasn't really paying attention." She apologized.
"Don't worry. Don't blame you. No mother should have to part for their child." He spoke as if he had experience, or had witness such a thing. Did Charlie have a child? Or had?
Olivia was ashamed to think that she and Charlie had, though they were still friends, lost touch. With her being a part of Fringe, she didn't get much chance for social, and Charlie (and Peter) were about all her social life, with the exception of Ella and Rachel when they were around. Before the end of the world, they hadn't seen each other for nearly 5 months.
"Sorry, Charlie. What were you saying?"
Charlie pointed to a scattered pile of ash and burnt wood inside a small room of a building. A bank by the looks of the ruins.
"It's nice to know that there are others alive. But with night only an hour away, we better hurry with this plan or else we won't be."
Olivia wasn't listening, again. But this time, not about Ashley, she was thinking about the ashes. "Hey, Peter, Broyles?" Olivia called out. The two men who had walked ahead, quickly returned to their side. Charlie pointed out the ash and wood.
"If you had survived around here, where would you go?" Olivia asked this as though the answer was painfully obvious. She wore a smile.
When no one answered, she nodded her head towards the wall that held a gold plague with the banks levels and what occupied them.
'Level 3 – Senior Staff Offices
Level 2 – Junior Staff Offices
Level 1 – Accounting
Ground Floor
Vault'
"The Vault." Broyles answered.
"Uh huh. It's what I'd do. It's locks are probably better then the labs."
"What about air? Aren't bank vaults airtight?"
"Not this one. Do you remember that article from, ah... well it was before Walter's birthday. 'Bank Attendant Suffocated in Vault Lock Malfunction.'"
"Yeah, I remember. The women were getting a deposit box when the vault locked on her. No one knew she was there til hours later." Charlie recalled, "I remember working the case. Thought it might have been a test by possible thieves. Test the vaults capabilities and all. It was just a malfunction."
"They removed the seal; the air can get in and out, but nothing bigger than an air molecule. It's the perfect hiding place." It was Peter who spoke this time.
They found the stairs to the vault easily. The bottom half of the bank seemed intact. The destruction hadn't gotten that far underground.
"You don't think there are survivors? Do you?" Charlie asked. He been holding up well all things considered. Probably the best out of all of them.
John got trigger happy at the slightest sound at night.
Broyles...was well Broyles, but more silent.
Ella was having nightmares again, but they had never really stopped.
Walter was being Walter. Experiment this, test that.
Astrid managed to keep distracted by looking after Walter and Ella occasionally.
Peter had Olivia, and vice-a-versa. They held each other together well.
But Charlie had no one. Sonia was gone, and unlike John, a tennis ball only entertained for so long. He was a social person, but spending what seemed like eternity with the same people, and now a baby, he was starting to break, albeit secretly. Not on the surface, no that mask he wore was a thick as concrete, but under the surface, he was fragile and could break any second. Like a glass balancing ever so dangerously on the edge of a table. One slip, one bump and it would fall, hit the ground and shatter into a million pieces with no hope of ever being fixed.
It's an understatement to say that they all had high hopes. Since Dylan's death, they'd given up on finding others.
But none of them were expecting the sight they saw in front of them...
A/N: Sorry about the cliff-hanger but I thought the suspense would be surprising when you guys read the next chapter. Not what you expect. Your welcome to guess what might be behind the vault door (dun dun duuuuunnn) :P
**IMPORTANT**Anyway, just a little heads up, the next chapter will contain some dark themes, minor child abuse and a bit of cannibalism – so if that not your thing, I suggest you skip that chapter. Just PM me and I can give you the basic (none detailed) details of what you missed.
:D
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