Title: Tribe 3: Wonderwall
Chunk 5: Sections 21 thru 25
Fandom: The Tribe
Author: PinkTribeChick
Summary: I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me . . . Life goes on for the Mall Rats after the Chosen take over the city.
Extended Summary: Essentially, this is an Alternate Universe story for Series 3 and beyond of the Tribe. I won't say anything more than that, because I don't want to spoil anything for those of you who have never read this before
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Too many to name! But Bray-Amber, Lex-Zandra, Ryan-Salene, and Jack-Ellie, for starters. There will also be some Tribe-character with original character pairings.
Author's Notes: Again many thanks as always go to Brett The Mole, as he was the one who talked me into sharing this story with others when I first started writing it, and he was the one who kept bugging me to complete it. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere without you, Brett! And major thanks to Ariannya, Whit, and all the others who at various times read and proofed sections for me and gave me their invaluable feedback.
Okay, I cracked and decided to post two chunks in one day! This chunk is dedicated to my first (and so far, only) reviewer, Tribefanatic! Thanks again for the review!
Enjoy, and please review! Feedback is much appreciated!
Disclaimer: All characters, situations, and song lyrics remain the property of their respective owners. Troy Wisneski belongs to the author Paula Boock, from her Tribe novel "Power and Chaos." Any original characters are sole property of me, PinkTribeChick.
Tribe 3: Wonderwall
Sections 21 thru 25
Jack sat down on the bed beside Ellie. She was still asleep. Her skin and hair had improved since yesterday, and she was starting to look like herself again. He kissed her on the forehead, and she opened her eyes. He'd almost forgotten how beautiful her eyes were.
"Morning, Ellie," he said, smiling. He gently stroked her hair.
"Hi," she managed to say.
"How are you feeling today?" he asked.
"Not so old," she croaked, smiling a little.
"Do you want some water?" he offered. She nodded. He poured her a glass of water from the pitcher nearby, then helped her to sit up so she could drink it. "Ell . . . you really had everyone worried there, you know."
"Yeah, I know. Did I scare you?" she said.
"Yes," he responded. "Listen, Alice is going to look after you while I go with the others to the reservoir. And Amber said she is going to come visit you as well."
"Good. I can't wait to meet her. And what about Zandra?" she asked.
"She's waiting until you're completely well. We can't risk the baby getting the virus," Jack answered.
"Jack, come on! We've got to go!" Dal yelled from downstairs. Jack looked at Ellie again.
"You'll be okay?" he said.
"Yeah. You be careful, Jack," she said. He kissed her again on the forehead.
"I will, I promise." He got up and walked to the door to leave.
"Jack?" He turned to face her again. "I love you, too," she said. A smile spread across his face. Then he turned and walked out.
Later that evening, after everyone had returned from their errands, they ate supper, then settled down to have Jaffa's trial. Lex dragged Jaffa into the café, still handcuffed, and shoved him into a nearby chair. Amber sat behind a table, acting as judge, while Bray was to be interrogation. Amber hit the toy gavel on the table three times.
"Will everyone come to order please? The court is now in session," she said loudly. Everyone took their seats as Bray stood up. "Bray, you may now begin." She nodded at him, smiling. He smiled back, then walked over to Jaffa.
"For the benefit of everyone here, please state your name," Bray commanded.
"Jaffa, or Troy Wisneski, whichever you prefer to call me," Jaffa responded. "I'm also known as the Guardian."
"I'm sure by now, Troy, you've probably figured out why we're having this trial. We, as a tribe, are going to decide whether to allow you to stay here, or kick you out. First and foremost, do you have anything you wish to say in defense of yourself?" Bray asked.
"Yeah, I do," he replied. "Look, I know I was wrong in what I did. All of it. All the deaths, all the destruction. And I'm sorry for it. Sorry for killing Danni, sorry for kidnapping Amber and Zandra. Everything. But I only did it partially to carry out Zoot's orders, to continue his legacy of power and chaos, and to bring power to myself."
"Is that all you have to say? You're sorry?" Bray asked sarcastically. "Sorry doesn't cover brainwashing Trudy, or treating Ebony as you did, or any of it. You'll have to do a little better to convince us, Troy."
"I would like to straighten something out, for Ebony's sake only. She wasn't your leak. She wasn't the one who was giving me my information," Troy said.
"Who was it then?" Amber asked, leaning forward in her chair.
"Yeah, who was it?" Lex asked. Troy (Jaffa) took a deep breath before speaking again.
"Danni was your spy. She'd been feeding me secrets since she joined your Tribe. But the final trap, where we took leaders prisoner . . . she had no idea what she was walking into. Not only did she sacrifice herself for Amber and Zandra, by offering to let us kill her first, but she stabbed you all in the back. That was the main reason we wanted her dead. It's always been Chosen policy to kill any and all outside accomplices," Troy said. Amber and Bray's mouths fell open, along with the rest of the Tribe, except for Ebony. Bray looked at her incredulously.
"Did you know about this?" Bray asked her.
"Yeah. But I never said anything," Ebony said. "You wouldn't have believed me anyway, and you all know it. Danni was your perfect little leader. No way she'd ever betray you. I, on the other hand, had many crimes to my name, making it seem like an obvious choice. So it was easier to just let you all point your fingers at me than try to fight a battle I knew I couldn't win. But, Bray, I assure you, Troy is telling the truth. I can also tell you that I'm fairly sure Danni knew that Amber and Zandra were alive, even if she didn't recognize them when she was face-to-face with them. Am I correct, Troy?" She looked across the room at him, a pointed look.
"Yeah. She knew," Troy mumbled.
"Well, moving on . . . Troy, why do you think we should let you stay here?" Amber asked, trying to change the subject.
"I don't have anywhere better to go, do I?" Troy said bitterly. "Besides, I'd rather stay here than be on the outside again. And there are people here worth staying for." He looked at Ebony. She averted her eyes from his, looking at Amber.
"Will you be willing to undergo therapy and change your ways?" Bray asked him.
"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, what choice do I have? I want to stay here, and I know you'll only let me do it on your terms," Troy responded. "Anyhow, I want to change. And I'm being sincere about that. I don't like who I am, and you people seem like good people, so it's worth a shot. And if means anything to the rest of you, especially Trudy and Ebony, I really am sorry for everything that happened. I just hope you can all forgive me."
"Alright, that said . . . let's vote," Amber said. "All in favor of Troy staying, raise your hand." The first hand to go up was Ebony's, followed by Trudy, then the rest of the Mall Rats. "It's unanimous. Troy, welcome to the Mall Rats. But on a one-month probationary term. After a month, we'll gather again and see if there's any improvement in your behavior, then vote on you staying here permanently. Okay?" He nodded. "You can take the cuffs off him now, Lex. Ebony, he's gonna room with you for the first few nights, okay?" Ebony groaned loudly and stood up, walking over to Lex and Troy. She took Troy's hand and led him away. "Oh, and find him some other clothes! He's gonna scare people walking around in that Guardian getup!" Ebony put a hand up and waved, still walking off.
"Okay, court's over," Lex said, wiping his hands on his pants.
"Hey, that's for me to say!" Amber exclaimed, smiling. Everyone laughed and started upstairs. It was time to go to bed.
"Hello?!" a soft voice called from downstairs in the mall. "Anyone here? I need some help, please!" The noise woke Ryan, the guard for the night shift, up. He opened his eyes to see a red haired girl standing at the entrance to the sewers. He quietly reached up and pulled the rope that rang the alarm bell upstairs. The sound startled the girl, and she froze, while Ryan grabbed the steel pole out from underneath his chair. She spotted Ryan, but didn't try to run for it. He walked over to her with a confused expression on his face.
"Help me, please!" she pleaded to him. He saw the blood on her wrists. A large gash, one across each wrist, the blood dripping on the floor. Ryan caught her as she collapsed. The others came running downstairs, groggy.
"What's wrong, Ryan?" Bray said, yawning. He rubbed his eyes, then took a good look at Ryan. He saw the bleeding girl and ran over to them. "Oh, my god! Dal, she's hurt!" Dal ran over to them and examined her wrists. He stood for a moment, thinking.
"Alright . . . take her upstairs to my room. I'm going to have to stitch that up." Ryan and Bray ran upstairs. Dal turned to the others. "Okay, Patsy and Cloe, I need you to find some scissors, a needle, some thread or fishing line, whichever you come across first. And some clean rags to use for bandages. Zandra, Salene, take the younger kids to the café. Lex, you take over for Ryan as guard. Am, I'm going to need your help with the operation, okay?" Everyone split up, doing as Dal instructed. Dal and Amber walked upstairs to his room. They found Bray attempting to stop the bleeding on the girl, and Ryan pacing nervously.
"Amber, you take over for Bray. Ryan, I need some hot water and soap, if you can find it. Bray . . . can you just try to keep everyone calm, and go check on Ellie and Jack? They didn't come downstairs at the bell." Bray and Ryan nodded and walked off in their respective directions. Patsy and Cloe came running into the room.
"We found everything you asked for," Patsy said, handing him the supplies. Dal rolled up his sleeves and walked over to the girl.
"Amber, can you take her shirt off? I need the sleeves out of the way," Dal said. Amber looked at him questioningly. "I mean it. Just cover her up with a blanket or something. I don't care, just get her shirt off." Ryan came back with a steaming bowl of water and a bottle of liquid soap. Dal washed up, then walked back over to Amber and the girl. He sterilized the needle, and cut some thread, then set to work. He and Amber talked as he sutchered.
"Nobody knows who she is?" Amber asked. Dal shook his head. "I guess we'll just have to wait until she wakes up, then."
"If she wakes up. I have no way of knowing how much blood she's lost. It could be very little, or several pints. But I'm determined to give her a chance, even if it's a small one," Dal said, concentrating on the stitching.
"I've been meaning to ask you something . . . and while I know this probably isn't the best time to be asking, I'm going to do it anyway. I was wondering . . . Zandra's going to be a bridesmaid, but Tai-San can't, since she's performing the ceremony. Would you like to be one of my bridesmaids? Or more correctly, my best man, since you're my best friend and all?" she asked. Dal stopped and looked up at her.
"I'd love to, Am," he said, smiling. "But as long as I don't have to wear a dress." Amber smiled, laughing.
"You won't, don't worry. You'll be wearing whatever Lex and Ryan wear. They're going to be Bray's groomsmen," Amber said.
"There's something I keep forgetting to ask you, Am. Have you told Bray?" Dal said. Amber's quickly smile faded, knowing exactly what Dal was referring to.
"No, I haven't. I hadn't planned to, either. There's really no use, seeing as he died," Amber said, averting her eyes from Dal's gaze.
"He has a right to know, Amber. Whether or not he's dead, Bray still has a right to know about it," Dal said. "I know you're scared, but if you hadn't been kidnapped, you would've had to tell him anyway. Why hide it?" Amber's eyes glazed over with tears.
"It was hard enough having to go through all of it without him there. I've already grieved once, and I don't want to do it again. What's done is done. Anyway, only you and Zan know about it, so there's no way he'll ever find out. Will he?" Amber gave Dal a pointed look.
"No. Because you need to tell him yourself," Dal responded. He started to put the bandages on the girl's arms. "Alright. That's it. We're going to have to just wait and see if she gets better now. Go tell everyone that she's okay for now, and to go back to bed, okay?"
"Okay, Dal," Amber said. "Are you going to stay with her?"
"Yeah. Just to make sure everything's okay, and there's no infection. Hopefully, she'll pull through, whoever she is," Dal said, smiling half-heartedly.
"Night, Dal," she said. Dal nodded at her, then she walked out of the room.
The next morning, the mystery girl was still unconscious, and the Mall Rats were abuzz, wondering who she was. Lex and Jack were in the sewer, trying to figure out why the security alarm didn't go off when she got in. There seemed to be a glitch in the laptop's running system, something that would take a little time for Jack to fix. Meanwhile, Amber was helping Zandra with the nursery. They'd discovered a baby shop in one of the downstairs stores and were attempting to put two cribs together. Needless to say, they weren't getting very far.
"Ow!" Zandra cried as a hammer fell on her toes. She hopped around the room, tears streaming down her cheeks. The baby was also screaming.
"Zan, you take a break for a little while, okay? Lexi's getting fussy, and I can finish this one on my own," Amber said smiling. "You didn't break anything, did you?" Zandra sat down and pulled off her boot. She wiggled her toes a little.
"No, I don't think so. It just hurt, that's all," she said. She put her boot back on and walked over to Lexi's cot, picking her up. "She's just hungry, aren't you sweetie?" she cooed at her daughter. She sat down in a nearby rocking chair and began to breast feed Lexandra.
"You're lucky, you know?" Amber said, looking at Zandra and the baby. "Really lucky."
"I know," Zandra replied, smiling sympathetically. "It doesn't really seem fair, does it? That Lexi is completely healthy and alive, while your son is dead."
"No, it isn't fair. And it bothers me sometimes. Because I heard him crying, right after my last push. I heard him, Zandra. It just doesn't make any sense. How could a stillborn baby cry? It's medically impossible. Sometimes, it just makes me wonder if he was really alive, and that awful midwife lied to me. But, why though?" Amber said, putting the last bit of the crib together. She threw the screwdriver down, and stood up, stretching.
"I really don't know, Am. I wish there was some way I could help you get through all this, that there could have been some way I could've changed things. But there isn't," Zandra said, as Amber's eyes filled with tears. "Have you even told Bray about the baby? Maybe he could make you feel a little better."
"No, I haven't told him, and I don't intend to ever tell him. EVER. There's no use in reopening old wounds and pouring salt on them. What Bray doesn't know, is only for his own good," Amber said. She brushed the wood chips off her wool skirt.
"Did you give the baby a name? Before you buried him? You never told me if you did," Zandra asked.
"Yeah, I gave him a name. It's even on the tombstone where he's buried. Bray Michael. After his dad," Amber said. "Listen, I'm going to go look down in the baby shop again and see what else I can find, okay?" Zandra nodded, looking down at Lexandra. Amber left the room, wiping tears from her eyes. Would she . . . could she, ever get past the baby's death? And could she ever tell Bray?
Ebony looked over at Troy, asleep on the couch in her room. He looked so peaceful, so harmless. He almost looked like the boy she used to know. But it wouldn't last long. He would wake up soon, and she'd remember how much she resented and hated him, and things would change again. It was times like this that made her wish that things could go back to the way they had been before the virus. It also made her embarrassed of her own past actions, because she knew, at one point, she had been just like Troy. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind as she got out of bed. She wore only a men's dress shirt as nightgown, as she tiptoed across the room to get her clothes.
"Do you have any idea how sexy you look in that shirt?" Troy mumbled, stretching. Ebony rolled her eyes.
"Do you have any idea of how much I can make you hurt if you don't shut your filthy trap?" Ebony retorted. Troy walked up behind her, trying to put his arms around her.
"I love it when you get angry with me," he said. She spun around and grabbed him by the arm, flipping him onto his back.
"Hear this now, and remember it. I'm not that kind of girl anymore! And I don't want you like that! You try anything ever again, and I will not hesitate to kill you, got it?!" she exclaimed. "If you want to change, I suggest the first thing you change is your attitude toward women. Treat them with more respect." She let him go and turned back around. He got up from the floor.
"The only reason I agreed to all that crap is because of you. You're the only reason I'm staying here, instead of going back outside and regrouping everyone," he snarled.
"I know, and I harbor no illusions of you ever reforming yourself, either," she responded. "But as long as the Mall Rats are being kind enough to let you stay, you're going to make some effort. Got it?"
"Alright, but only for your sake," he grumbled.
"Don't do it for me, Troy. Do it for yourself." With that, she walked out of the room to go get dressed.
Okies – that's it for now – for real this time! Again - the next several sections usher in the return of someone who we all know and love – his name is Max Bono, but who is he really? Stay tuned to find out! And please, please, please review! I love hearing what you guys have to say! Thanks again for reading!