Title: Tribe 3: Wonderwall
Chunk 6: Sections 26 thru 30
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.
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 26 thru 30
Trudy bounced Brady on her knee as Salene fixed some applesauce for her. Salene's motherly instinct had taken over a few days before, and she was learning how to make baby food from the canned food and fresh veggies they had. She'd gotten pretty good at it, but then, Sal had always been a good cook anyway.
"Here you go, Brady. Hot applesauce," Salene said, setting the bowl down in front of them. "You might want to blow on it a little, so it doesn't burn her tongue."
"Thanks, Salene," Trudy said. She blew on the sauce for a couple of minutes before feeding it to Brady. Salene made herself a bowl of the applesauce and sat down across the table from Trudy and Brady.
"She is getting so big. It's hard to believe she's almost a year old," Salene said. She took a bite of applesauce.
"I know. But it's kind of hard to believe anything that's happened over the past year. The virus, the adults dying . . . finding you guys . . . the Chosen," Trudy shuddered when she said that. "It still seems almost like a dream, and I keep hoping that I'll wake up soon, and everything will be back to normal."
"You and I both, Trude," Salene said. "It scared me enough, the thought of raising a baby in this chaos, but twins? It's absolutely mind-boggling."
"You'll make a fine mother, Sal, don't worry. Though I wouldn't have said so at the time, you did a wonderful job of taking care of Brady. I couldn't have done any better myself," Trudy responded. "Besides, you have Ryan to look out for you and the babies. And Ryan will be a wonderful father. You're really lucky; I lost Zoot pretty early on." She looked down at Brady.
"Do you ever miss him sometimes? I mean, Martin, not Zoot," Salene asked.
"I try not to think about it, really. But sometimes, out of nowhere, Brady will have an expression on her face that looks like him, and I'll remember him and wish he could be here to see her grow up," Trudy said, her voice wavering.
"Doesn't seem fair, does it? Every child needs their father," Salene said sympathetically.
"Well, it was an accident, him dying. And I know that. But sometimes, it just gets so hard, not having him here. I feel like I can't breathe when that happens," Trudy said.
"I know the feeling. I felt like that when I found Ryan, and he was injured really badly. It was scary," Salene said.
"Well, the thing is, I never really cared for him much. At least not until he was gone. It was only then that I realized how much he actually meant to me, and how lucky I was to have a guy like him. But it's too late now," Trudy said dejectedly. She looked at Brady again. "Uh-oh. Somebody's got a dirty nappy. Care to change it, Sal?" Salene crinkled up her nose at the smell.
"No, thanks. I leave that to you," Salene said, laughing. Trudy cleaned Brady up, then took her into the bedroom to change her.
"No . . . mmmm . . . no! Stop!" the mystery girl screamed in her sleep. "Leave me alone! No!!!!!!!!!!!" Her cries awakened Dal, who had fallen asleep. "No! Don't touch me, you creeps! No!" She sat up in bed, suddenly awake. She looked at Dal, who was standing beside her.
"Are you okay?" he asked her. She was sweaty and red faced, but didn't have a fever.
"Who are you?" she said in response. "Where am I?"
"My question first. Are you okay?" Dal said.
"Yeah, I guess so," she said.
"I'm Dal, and you're at the Mall Rats headquarters. You stumbled in here last night, really badly injured," he said, pointing to her wrists. She had remarkable green eyes, and they looked at him inquisitively. "Did you do this yourself, or did someone else?"
"Demon Dog deserters did it," she said quietly. "My friends and I were traveling to the countryside, when they jumped out of nowhere and attacked us."
"Did any of your friends survive?" he asked. "Maybe we can find them."
"No. I know they didn't. They slaughtered my friends, then tried to kill me, but I fought back. When they slit my wrists, I pretended to be dead until they left. Then I wandered around the city, looking for someone who could help me," she said.
"Wow. You're lucky to be alive then," he said. "What's your name?" He got up and grabbed some clean rags and a bottle of alcohol to clean the cuts.
"Tzara Komarovsky," she said. He began to take the bandages off her arms.
"This might sting a little, but only for a moment. It'll help to keep any infections away," Dal said. He poured a little alcohol on one of the rags and put it on the first cut. She sucked in her breath and closed her eyes in pain, while he did the other wrist. Then he put new bandages on them. "As far as I can tell, you seem to be okay otherwise. No other cuts, just a few bruises, and you didn't lose much blood."
"Thank you. You and your tribe didn't have to help me, and I know that, but you did anyway. Thanks," she said, smiling. Her whole face lit up when she smiled at him.
"You're welcome. And you can stay here as long as you like. Amber and Bray said so. I'll be back in a second. I'm going to go get Amber and tell her you're awake. She'll want to meet you. So will everyone else," he responded. He walked out of the room. When he was gone from sight, she started to cry softly. The Demon Dogs would come back for her, and she knew it. She wished Dal had just let her die.
Amber sat across from Tzara at a table in the café. They'd been talking for half an hour, and found each other to be quite likable. They were talking now about who she could room with, when a voice was heard downstairs from the sewer entrance.
"Hello? Anyone here?" Amber's face went pale, as she recognized the voice. Tzara looked at her questioningly.
"Are you okay?" Tzara asked her, noticing the odd way her eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets, she had them opened so wide.
"Hello? Ryan? Amber? Anyone?" the voice called out again. Amber grabbed Tzara by the arm and dragged her toward the stairs.
"Please, come with me. I don't want to go down there alone," she whispered, giving Tzara a frightened look.
"Why? Who is it?" Tzara said. Amber gave her a pleading look. Tzara nodded, and the two girls walked downstairs, to the sewer entrance. Amber's blood ran cold when she saw him, and she clenched Tzara's hand tightly in hers.
"Well, I was wondering when someone was going to come down here," the boy said. He was taller than Amber remembered, and his hair was much shorter. He wore a white wife-beater and black leather pants, along with sunglasses and black boots. He held a guitar case in one hand, and a suit case in the other. "Hiya, Am." He took his sunglasses off.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Amber asked, bristling at the sight of him. Tzara could sense Amber's anger at this boy's presence, although she didn't know why. "You're not welcome, Sasha."
"Ah, but I am not here as Sasha," he said. "I'm here as Max Bono."
"YOU!? You're the musician Ryan and Lex hired for the christening? You've got to be kidding!?" Amber exclaimed. She let go of Tzara's hand and turned her back to him, yelling up the stairs. "Ryan, get down here NOW! Everyone else, too!" She rang the upstairs alarm bell, which sent everyone scrambling down the stairs. Ryan and Bray skidded to a stop when they saw Sasha standing there, Lex and KC running into them.
"Sasha!" Patsy and Cloe both said, running up to him and giving him a hug.
"Hi, girls. Hi, everyone. Long time, no see, eh?" Sasha said.
"What are you doing here?" Ryan asked.
"You hired me. And since it was for the Mall Rats, I couldn't turn the offer down," Sasha said. "I am Max Bono, musician and actor, at your service." He bowed to them politely.
"Ryan, did you know about this?" Amber asked, scowling at him.
"N-no . . . not at all. I had to leave a message with his manager. I didn't actually talk to him, so I had no idea," Ryan said, putting his hands up. Amber turned back to Sasha.
"Well, you're here, and we can't very well send you back to whatever rock you crawled out from under. And we don't have time to find another musician. The christening is tomorrow," Amber said, looking him squarely in the eye. She shrugged her shoulders in failure. "I guess he can stay. But he's rooming with KC and Dal. Okay?"
"Sounds fine to me, Am," Bray said, stepping forward and taking her hand in his, possessively. The others chorused in agreement.
"Come on, Sasha. We'll get you settled in," Dal said, leading him toward the stairs. Dal turned back one last time to look at Amber. He mouthed the words, "I want to talk to you later," to her. She nodded, then looked up at Bray. The other Mall Rats headed back upstairs to work on their chores and such for the day. As soon as they had gone, Amber burst into tears, burying her head in Bray's chest.
"Shhh . . . ," Bray said soothingly, stroking her hair. "It'll be okay."
"No, it won't. Why did he come back? WHY?!" she screamed angrily, pulling away from Bray. "I mean, does he honestly think I'd want to see him again? Does he think we're going to get back together? Because we're not!"
"I know, Am. I don't know why he agreed to the gig, or what his motives are. But he's here, and we're going to have to deal with it," Bray said.
"Well, make no mistake, Bray. I'm staying with you, and that's that. I want to marry you, and not even Sasha is going to stop that," Amber said. Bray held her to him as she cried some more.
"It's all going to be alright, I promise," Bray said. He put a finger under her chin, and tilted her head so she was looking up at him. "I love you, Am, and nothing's going to change that." He smiled at her, wiping a tear from her eyes.
"Yeah, nothing," she said. "I love you, too, Bray." They kissed, but in her mind, Amber was reminded of the child she hadn't told him about. His son, her son, their son. What would Bray say if he knew the truth?
Tai-San scowled as she watched Lex and Zandra giving Lexi a bath. Zandra was laughing as Lex cooed at the little girl. It should have been her and Lex giving their child a bath, not Zandra. Tai-San sighed loudly and leaned against the wall, sinking down to the floor. She wrapped her arms around her knees and started to cry.
"You okay?" she heard a male voice say. She looked up to see Sasha standing in front of her. He knelt down beside her.
"I'm fine. Just a little angry," she replied, wiping her eyes with her fingertips.
"No, you're not fine. It's not like you to cry when you get angry. In fact, the Tai-San I know never cries," Sasha responded. "So, what's up? Who's got your back up?"
"Lex," she said.
"Again? What did he do this time?" he asked, putting a hand on her arm.
"You've missed a lot, Sasha. Amber and Zandra were kidnapped by the Guardian. Missing for almost a year," Tai-San said. "We thought they were dead, along with the baby, because Zandra was pregnant at the time. During this year, Lex and I got married."
"Wow. Let me guess, he left you again for Zandra?" Sasha said. She nodded. "Does Zandra even know?" Tai-San shook her head.
"Me, being the idealistic idiot I am, told Lex it was okay to leave. Which wasn't what I wanted, but I didn't tell him that. I thought he'd figure it out. But, as usual, the blockhead didn't, and here I am, crying over it," Tai-San said.
"I'm sorry, Tai. That really bites," Sasha said. " Not meaning to change the subject or anything . . .but just out of curiosity, what's going on with Amber and Bray? Are they serious?"
"They're engaged," Tai-San said. Sasha's mouth fell open in shock. "But, I sense something between them. There's something she's not telling him, and I don't know what it is."
"So, that may be the key to breaking them up?" Sasha said.
"Sasha," she said, smiling. "Don't even bother. Danni, Bray's old girlfriend, tried to help Bray get past Amber when we all thought she was dead. Didn't work at all. I doubt you'll succeed. Look at how bitter Amber was toward you. Not only does she resent you, but she hates you. You're lucky she agreed to let you stay here."
"I know. But she wouldn't be hurt unless she still cared a little, eh?" he responded. Tai-San shrugged her shoulders. "Well, here's an idea. Why don't you make some of that wonderful green tea of yours, and we'll go somewhere quiet and talk? Does that sound good?"
"Really good," she replied. He helped her up, and they walked to her room to make the tea.
"Alright, Troy. You can come out now," Ebony called. "I want to see if those trousers and that shirt fit. 'Cause if they don't, we've got to find you something else to wear."
"Okay, okay. I'm coming. Don't get your panties in a wad," he grumbled from inside the room. "Don't laugh, please."
"I won't. Will you just hurry up?!" Ebony exclaimed in exasperation.
"Here I come," he said. He slowly stepped out of the bedroom. Ebony smiled when she saw him. She had cut his hair earlier, so it was now short, above his ears, and she'd managed to convince him to let her use some of Zandra's blue hair dye, so it was no longer blond, but cerulean. He wore a pair of brown riding pants and a white shirt that had laces at the top. He wore a pair of black combat boots, like the rest of the boys did. Troy noticed Ebony's sly grin.
"What? Does it look that bad?" He looked down at the outfit he had on, causing Ebony to burst out laughing.
"No. You actually look . . . normal. You look like the Troy I used to know, instead of the Guardian. I like it," Ebony said.
"Good, I'm glad. Because I wasn't going to try anything else on. I hate buying new clothes. I always did," he said.
"Yeah, well, now no one will recognize you and realize that you're Jaffa, so that's a good thing. Plus, you look like one of us now. A Mall Rat," she said.
"I like the blue hair, though. Nice touch. I've only dyed my hair once before, to the blond, and it never really grew out. So it's a welcome change," he said. He put his hands in his pockets, walking over to her. "So is that girl they found last night okay?"
"Yeah, as far as I can tell. Her name's Tzara. You can meet her in a little while," she replied. "We're also harboring another guest as well. Sasha, Amber's ex-boyfriend, also known as Max Bono. Turns out he's the musician Ryan hired for Lexi's christening. You've heard of him, haven't you?"
"Yeah. Nice guy. He performed once for us. When we had Brady. Said it would quiet her down, and it did. It would explain how he knew it would calm her. He'd met her before," Troy said thoughtfully. "So, what's next?"
"Well, a nice therapy session with me. So, come on," she said, dragging him back into the bedroom. She sat down on the bed, while he sat on the nearby couch. "Alright. Bray, Trudy, and I talked last night, and we decided that for your first session, you need to reveal any more secrets you might still be hiding from us. So, spill it. It's your hour." Troy chuckled at little at her last sentence.
"I only have one left, and I'm not ready to talk about it yet, seeing as the other person involved isn't here right now," Troy answered.
"And who would that person be?" Ebony asked.
"Actually, it's two people, not just one. Amber and Bray," he replied.
"What secret could you possibly have that would concern both of them, especially Bray?" she questioned, raising one eyebrow. "They haven't seen each other for over a year. What could you possibly know?"
"More than you think. And more than Bray and Amber know," Troy said. "Zandra knows about it, too, but Amber's shut her up about it."
"Alright, well, tell me. I'll be the judge of whether or not Bray and Amber need to know," Ebony said firmly.
"You promise not to tell them yet? I may seem heartless, but this is something Amber needs to tell Bray herself. At least what she knows of it, anyway," he said hesitantly. Ebony nodded.
"You can trust me, you know that," Ebony said.
"Well . . . for starters, I seriously doubt that you or anyone else, including Bray, knows that Zandra wasn't the only one pregnant when they were kidnapped," Troy said quietly.
"What are you saying, Troy?" Ebony asked, curiously.
"I'm saying that Amber was pregnant at the time we kidnapped her. And farther along in her pregnancy than Zandra. She just hid it well," Troy said. "Yes, she did, because Bray didn't even know about it, and he was the father. I'm almost positive he still doesn't know about it, which is why I haven't brought it up. You see, I made a deal with Amber, that if I let her and Zandra stay somewhere safe until they both gave birth, I would never tell Bray about the baby, never bring it up, until she had the chance to tell him herself."
"You can't be serious . . . there's no way," Ebony said.
"If you don't believe me, you can ask Zandra. She may not say anything, but the look on her face will give it away," Troy said. "Anyhow, seeing as Amber and Bray's unborn child was the next closest heir to the empire, after Brady, since the child was Bray's, and Bray was Zoot's brother, when Amber gave birth, the child was taken and hidden from her. We told her that the baby was stillborn, which devastated her, and which she still doesn't believe. And unfortunately, she is correct."
"The little boy has been living for the past several months with a caretaker, on the beach. On a very remote part of the beach. However, I did respect Amber's request, and each time I saw Bray, I never told him. Of course, he thought she was dead, so it wouldn't have made that much of a difference, but I still never told him. And I never really intended to kill Amber and Zandra, either. They were much too valuable to the cause, and could have come in handy as a way to force the hand of the Mall Rats."
"Did your informant know about this as well?" Ebony said, sarcastically, not only shocked, but becoming angrier by the minute.
"Danni? No, she had no idea. If she had, she probably wouldn't have helped us, and would have told Bray everything. Which was exactly what we didn't want," Troy said. Ebony stood up, grabbing Troy by the collar.
"You scum bag! Taking Brady wasn't enough, no . . . you had to make Bray and Amber both miserable as well! And dragging two innocent children into a problem they had no place being in!" she exclaimed. "And you wonder why I hate you?!"
"Ebony, calm down. Someone might hear you!" Troy said, terror showing in his eyes.
"No, I won't calm down. And you're coming with me. We're going to go let this cat out of the bag, right now. And then, we're going to find that little boy. He deserves to be with his parents!" Ebony yelled. She drug him out of the room and to the café, where everyone else was sitting, eating lunch. Everyone looked at her strangely, as she stomped into the room, Troy in tow.
"Ebony? What's wrong?" Bray asked, seeing her angry expression. He stood up, as did Amber.
"Alright, Troy. Tell them what you just told me," Ebony commanded. He stood there for a moment. "Tell them, or I'll rip your nuts out!"
"Alright, alright!" Troy exclaimed, as Ebony pushed him forward. He looked back at her, pleadingly. She glared angrily at him. He looked at Bray and Amber. He had no choice. Ebony had forced his hand. "First, Amber, I think it's about time you told Bray the truth." Amber looked at Troy incredulously. "Please, just do it. There's something about it I need to tell you both afterward." Bray looked at Amber.
"What is he talking about, Amber?" Bray asked her. Amber looked nervously at Dal, then at Zandra. Dal nodded at her to say it. She took a deep breath.
"Bray . . . there's something I haven't told you about. Something that happened after Zan and I were kidnapped." She looked up at him, then down at her feet. "I was pregnant at the time, Bray." Bray stood there for a moment, silent, before it sunk in.
"Wait . . . you were pregnant? When you got kidnapped? You were pregnant? And you didn't tell me?" Bray said, confused and hurt. "Why, Amber?"
"I had just found out, a day or so before Ebony kidnapped you. I didn't have time to tell you. And then at Eagle Mountain . . . it was the last thing on my mind, and just not the right place to bring it up," she replied. "So I waited, thinking I'd tell you when we made it back to the Mall. But we never made it back, Zan and I . . ."
"The baby was mine, wasn't it?" Bray said, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Of course it was. I've never been with anyone else," Amber said. Bray sank into a chair, putting his head in his hands. "I wasn't going to tell you now because . . . well, because the baby died at birth. He was stillborn." She sat down beside him, putting her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. She looked up at Troy. He mouthed "I'm sorry," to her. She looked away, tears filling her eyes. Troy walked over to them.
"Look . . . the other thing I need to tell you . . . the baby's not dead," Troy whispered. Amber's eyes widened in shock.
"What? You lied to me! You told me Michael was stillborn!" Amber screamed, standing up. She pushed him. "How could you!? How could you do that to me?!" She shoved him to the ground. "And to think, we're letting you stay here!" She reared back her fist, about to punch him, but Bray stopped her.
"Don't, Am. It's not worth it," Bray said. He put his arms around her, eyeing Troy. Amber looked up at Bray in disbelief.
"You're not mad at me?" Amber asked, smiling.
"No, because this wasn't your fault. And I love you too much to get mad about something like this, especially since this is our child. What I do want to know is where our baby is," Bray replied. "Troy? I assume you know his present location?"
"I'll take you to him after lunch. He's about half an hour away on foot, at a secluded spot on the beach," Troy answered. He turned to look at Ebony, scowling at her. "I can trust you, eh? What a load of bull, Ebony. You did the "right thing". Happy now? Leave me alone from now on." He stormed past her, brushing shoulders with Lex, nearly knocking him over. The upset look on Ebony's face showed that her happiness at doing something right was overshadowed by Troy's anger at her. Amber walked over to her.
"Thanks, Ebony," Amber said, giving her a hug. "I know it took a lot for you to come in here and make him tell the truth. Thank you for giving us our son back. I'll never forget it." Bray smiled his thanks to her also, but Ebony found it difficult to manage a happy face at the moment.
"You're welcome. No problem. I don't think Troy's ever going to forgive me, let alone trust me again. But at least I did something right for once, even if it did cost me my best friend. Or whatever remains of what he used to be, anyway," Ebony responded. She turned and walked out of the café, tears spilling onto her cheeks.
That's all for today, folks! But there's still more to come soon – someone returns from the dead, someone gets married, and there's babies abounding! Thanks again for reading, now please go and tell me what you thought of what you read! I love reviews – they keep me going! Toodles until later . . .