Title: Tribe 3: Wonderwall
Chunk 10: Sections 46 thru 50
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.
Big thanks to my reviewers from the last chunk – TribeFanatic, GreenBean, and Amber12987! Thanks for the feedback guys – you're awesome!
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 46 thru 50
"What is it, Amber? It's the middle of the night, for heaven's sake," Jack said, stumbling sleepily into the café along with the others.
"Tough. Look, guys, I know it's been a long day, and you're all tired, but someone's missing," she said. Instantly everyone became alert and awake.
"Who's missing?" Cloe asked.
"Tai-San has left. She packed all her stuff up and went. She's only been gone for about fifteen minutes or so, so she probably hasn't gotten that far," Bray said. "But we still have to find her. We can't risk her getting hurt or anything."
"But I thought things were better now, since the Chosen are gone," Patsy said.
"Not completely. There are still mean people out there, Patsy, and they won't hesitate to try to harm Tai-San, no matter how well she can take care of herself. Besides, she's one of us, and we always look out for each other," Amber said.
"Amber's right, we do look out for one another. What are we going to do, Amber?" Trudy said, holding a sleeping Brady.
"Well, I think we should form search parties and go outside and look for her around the city," Amber said. "Not everyone has to go, namely Salene, Trudy, Ellie, and Zandra. It's too dangerous, and we need someone to stay behind with the babies. And Ellie, you're still getting your strength back, so I wouldn't even think of asking you to go. But the rest of us will."
"So, once everyone is dressed and ready, we'll split up and look. Alice, you'll take Dal and Tzara, and search the train yard. Ebony, you take Troy, Patsy, KC, and Cloe, and search the fields and woods, since you guys know that area the best. Sasha, you, Lex, and Ryan search the metal yard and the hotel. Bray and I will search everywhere else. Jack, I want you to keep an eye on the security camera, and watch out for everyone else who's staying here."
"Why me? I know my way around the city better than most of you," Jack said.
"Because you know how to work the camera, and Ellie's your responsibility, anyway," Amber said. "And because I said so."
"Because I said so," Jack mimicked, rolling his eyes. Amber gave him a dirty look, and he shut up.
"Okay, everyone, get dressed, get your groups together, and head on out. Be back by sun up, with or without Tai-San. If you do find her, bring her back here immediately, dead or alive. Just bring her home," Amber said. "That's it, go get ready." Everyone filed out of the café, to their rooms to get dressed. Amber turned to Bray.
"You, come with me. I need to get a couple of torches and some bottles of water, then we can head out. Salene, can you watch Michael for us? He shouldn't wake up for another couple of hours, and if he does, just feed him his bottle and rock him back to sleep. Okay?" Salene nodded and headed off to the nursery. Amber took Bray's hand, and they left to go get the supplies they needed . . .
Tai-San sat down at the base of a large oak tree, putting her head between her knees. She started to sob. It was getting darker by the minute, and colder, too. What in the world made her think she could leave the Mall and make it on her own? She shivered, more from the fever she had, than from the cold air of the night. She looked at her hands. They were already starting to show signs of aging, from the virus. She was feeling tired and run down. She looked around her. There was lots of grass and trees, but not much else. It was as good a place as any to rest for the night. She pulled a blanket out of her bag and curled up on the ground, going to sleep quickly. Would the Mall Rats find her in time to give her the antidote? And would she even want to come back to the mall?
"We have to keep looking," Alice said to Dal and Tzara, as they searched through debris and the empty train cars on the tracks.
"Alice, we've looked everywhere, and there's still no sign of her at all. I think it's time we went back to the mall. Tai-San doesn't want to be found," Dal said in frustration.
"Dal, just keep looking. We're not going back until sunrise. Somebody's got to find her," Alice said. "You and Tzara check in the cars again, and I'll look through everything else." Dal nodded, rolling his eyes, and took Tzara by the hand, leading her toward the cars again.
Meanwhile, Amber and Bray weren't having much more luck themselves. They had searched all over the city and had even taken to knocking on doors at the other tribes' headquarters around the city. No one had seen her. They were walking back to the mall, about to give up, when they heard a scuffle behind them. They both turned around. No one was there. They started to walk again. Suddenly, two kids jumped out in front of them.
"Stop where you are!" one of them yelled. From what Amber and Bray could see in the shadows, it was a girl and a boy. They both were dirty and their clothes torn. "Do you have any food?"
"Not on us, but we do have water," Bray said, looking at Amber. He moved to take the bottles of water out of Amber's backpack, but she stopped him.
"Hand it over!" the girl ordered. Amber gave her a look of defiance.
"Don't you two have a tribe that you belong to?" Amber asked.
"No, and we don't want one, neither!" the girl exclaimed. Amber looked at the boy.
"We belong to a very peaceful tribe. We have plenty to share, if you and your friend would like to come with us," Amber said to him, smiling. "You'd be more than welcome."
"Do you have food and clean clothes and stuff?" he said quietly, moving a little closer to her.
"Yeah. We've got tons of food. You can eat your heart out if you want," Bray said, understanding what Amber was doing. The boy looked at the girl. He raised his eyebrows questioningly. The girl shook her head.
"Why not?" the boy asked. "I think it's about time we settled down somewhere, Sienna. This sounds like a good place." The girl looked at Amber and Bray again, looking them over carefully.
"Alright. We'll come with you. But just to see what it's like. We'll make a decision from there," the girl said. "By the way, my name's Sienna, and this is my older brother, Charlie."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Amber, and this is Bray," Amber said, smiling. They all shook hands. "Where we live is not far from here." They started to walk.
"So, what are you two doing out at this time of night? It's not very safe, you know," Sienna asked.
"One of the other members of our tribe ran away, and everyone's out looking for her. We didn't find her, but hopefully, some of the others did," Amber replied.
"Why'd she run away?" Charlie asked shyly.
"She had a fight with another member of the tribe, and was very upset by it, so she left," Amber answered.
"What is your tribe called?" Sienna asked.
"The Mall Rats," Bray said. Sienna nodded.
"I've heard the name before," she said. Amber and Bray continued to tell them about the tribe as they walked, and the sky started to brighten up a little.
"Tai-San!" Sasha yelled, as he, Ryan, and Lex walked back to the mall from the metal yard. "Tai-San, where are you?" The sun was starting to come up, it was getting a little warmer outside.
"Will you give up, Sasha? She can't hear you. And even if she did, she wouldn't come," Lex said grouchily. Sasha scowled at him.
"If I were you, I'd shut up. It's mostly your fault that she's run away to start with. Now keep looking," Sasha said bitterly. Lex set his mouth in a straight line and started to look around. Sasha looked over at Ryan.
"I wish you two would stop fighting," Ryan said. "It's not going to help bring Tai-San home."
"I know. I just can't stand him," Sasha said.
"Well, I'm not too fond of you either, Music Man," Lex retorted, getting up in Sasha's face. Ryan pushed them apart.
"Will you two cut it out? You've spent most of the night arguing, and very little searching. And it's both your faults that she's gone, so stop blaming each other. Can you at least put aside your differences until we find her?" Ryan said. They both looked at him and nodded guiltily. "Now look, okay?" They spread out as they walked home, looking around.
"Tai-San?" Sasha called out. Nearby, his voice woke Tai-San up from a troubled sleep. She sat up and gathered her things.
"I have to get out of here before they find me!" she said to herself. She stood up, putting her backpack on. Her body ached, and her hands were worse. She touched her face. She was getting worse, and her short black hair was white by that point. She started walking, slowly, trying to get away. She kept looking behind her as she ran. Suddenly, she fell into a large hole.
"Ahhh!"
Sasha stopped in his tracks, turning around.
"Did you hear that?" he said. Tai-San screamed again, as she looked around her. She had fallen into an old well, and her clothes were soaked. Lex and Ryan stopped, too, listening. Tai-San continued to shriek.
"Help me!" she yelled.
"That was her, alright!" Lex said. The three boys ran back into the woods, following the sound of her voice as she continued to cry for help. They finally found her, in the well.
"Don't worry, Tai! We're going to get you out!" Sasha said, as Lex bent over into the well, Ryan holding onto his feet.
"Go away! I don't want your help!" Tai-San said, swatting at Lex. "Leave me alone, Lex!"
"Do you want out of the well or not?" Lex asked her as he hung upside down. She stopped hitting him and nodded. "Well, then give me your hands!" She put her hands up, and he grabbed them. "Now, pull, Ryan!" It took both Ryan and Sasha pulling to get both Lex and Tai-San back up. The three boys sat on the ground, exhausted, afterward. Tai-San sat there, in shock. Lex's mouth fell open when he looked at her.
"Oh, my god," Ryan said, seeing her face and hands. Tai-San stood up to leave.
"Don't follow me. Any of you," she said angrily. She moved to walk away, when Sasha stood up and grabbed her hand.
"You've got the virus, Tai-San," he said. She looked at him, tears filling her eyes. "At least come back with us and take the antidote. Once you're well, you're free to leave, or do as you please."
"I'd rather die than go back to the mall with you," she responded, pulling her hand away.
"Tai-San, you're sick, and you're not thinking rationally. Just come back with us. I promise, once you're well, you can go if you want to. I won't stop you, and neither will anyone else," Sasha said.
"You promise?" she said, looking at each of them.
"I promise you," he said. Ryan and Lex nodded in agreement.
"Alright," she said. "I'll come with you." And with that, she collapsed, unconscious, into Sasha's arms. He picked her up, and they headed back to the mall.
Amber paced back and forth in the café, while Bray fed Michael. Salene sat quietly at one of the tables, hands on her belly. Everyone had returned except for Ryan, Lex, and Sasha. The rest of the tribe hoped that meant they had found her.
Charlie and Sienna, the two kids that Amber and Bray had brought back were eating voraciously, as though they hadn't had a decent meal in months. Amber took a good look at them. Sienna was a pretty little thing, tiny as she was. She had shoulder-length pink hair and chocolate brown eyes. Amber guessed her hair was blonde underneath the dye, since Charlie had blond hair. Charlie's hair had streaks of blue in it, and he had crystal clear blue eyes, and was as thin and malnourished as his sister, only taller. It was obvious he was the older of the two, as well as being the shy one. Sienna had no qualms about anything and had talked Bray and Amber's ears off the whole way home, while Charlie only spoke a few times, and had a very quiet voice. Jack walked silently into the café, dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep.
"No sign of them on the security camera?" Amber asked him. He looked over at her, dazed, and shook his head.
"I haven't seen anything, and Ellie and I have been taking turns keeping watch. She hasn't seen them either," Jack responded.
"I'm worried," Salene said. "What if they got captured? They knew they were supposed to be back by sunup, and it's almost 8 am, and they're still not back. It's not like Ryan or Lex to be that careless."
"Salene, you're just tired. I can't believe you stayed up all night in your condition," Bray said, smiling sympathetically. "Why don't you go get some sleep, and as soon as they return or we know something, we'll wake you up?"
"Alright. But as soon as they come back, come wake me up, you promise?" she said reluctantly. Bray nodded, putting Michael's empty bottle on the table. Salene walked out, as Bray burped his son.
"Everyone else is asleep," Jack said. "Why don't you two turn in, too? I mean . . . if they come back, I'll see it on the security camera, and I sound the alarm to wake you."
"I can't sleep, knowing my best friend is out there, possibly hurt or worse. I'm better off pacing, rather than keeping Bray awake tossing and turning," Amber said, pacing faster.
"Well, I'm going to go put Michael down for a nap," Bray said, standing up. He walked over to Amber. "Give Mommy kisses, Michael." Amber smiled and kissed her son on the head and gave Bray a quick peck on the cheek before he left the room. Charlie and Sienna followed him. Amber looked back over at Jack. "I'm going to make some hot cocoa. Do you want some?"
"Sure, that would be great. I need something to keep me awake, and chocolate always does the trick," he responded. Amber put some water on to boil and got out two mugs. Then she came and sat down across from Jack at the table.
"So, I bet you're glad Ellie's well again?" she said, attempting to smile and make conversation, though she was scared.
"Mm-hmm," he said, furrowing his brow. "She's acting a bit strange, though."
"How so?" Amber asked, getting up to take the kettle off the stove. She poured water into the two mugs and then put the hot cocoa mix in, stirring it.
"Well, she's normally really possessive anyway, but since Tzara got here, it's gotten worse. Anytime Tzara's even anywhere nearby, Ellie thinks I'm staring at her, making googly eyes. I don't know what's gotten into her. She knows I love her, so why is she so worried?" Jack said, as Amber set the mug of cocoa down in front of him.
"Well, have you told her lately that you love her?" Amber asked, blowing on her steaming cocoa.
"I tell her all the time, every day," Jack replied. "But it doesn't seem to make much of difference. She's got it set in her mind that Tzara's out to steal me or something. Or that I've got a thing for Tzara. I mean, sure, Tzara's really pretty, but so is Ellie. And I love Ellie. I just wish she'd get it through that thick skull of hers." He took a sip of cocoa, and it burned his tongue. Amber laughed as he fanned his mouth.
"I think maybe you need to sit down with her and talk about this, let her know she has nothing to worry about," she said, taking a sip of cocoa.
"I've tried. Either she avoids the subject, or she tells me she's not jealous. But then she go and get mad at me later for being near Tzara or something stupid like that," Jack said, shaking his head. "I swear, I'll never understand women."
"Hey, I am one, and I still don't understand it," Amber said. Jack laughed.
Suddenly the alarm bell began to ring. Amber and Jack looked at each other, then raced downstairs. Lex, Ryan, and Sasha stood at the foot of the stairs. And in Sasha's arms was a very ill and unconscious Tai-San.
"What happened?"
"She's got the virus," Sasha said simply. "The only way we could get her to come back to take the antidote was to promise that she could leave if she wanted to once she was well. Then she collapsed."
"She's soaking wet!" Amber exclaimed.
"She fell into an old well in the woods, and it took all three of us just to get her out," Ryan said. "Otherwise, she's okay. She just needs the antidote."
"Alright, Sasha, you take her to her room, and I'll go get Dal. Jack, you go round up everyone else," Amber said.
"But they're all asleep," Jack said, puzzled.
"Just do it!" Amber snapped. Jack scurried off, going to the different rooms and waking everyone up. Amber headed off toward Dal's room.
"Yeah, it's the virus," Dal said, taking the thermometer out of her mouth. They had changed her clothes, putting on some dry ones. She was sweaty, with a high fever, and delirious. She'd been calling out random names and words for almost ten minutes. "I'll go get the antidote. Everyone else is going to have to take it as well, since they've been exposed."
"What about the babies? And Salene? The antidote might hurt the twins," Amber asked.
"The babies aren't at risk, since they're too young to be contaminated. As for Salene . . . she doesn't have much choice. We'll just have to wait and see if it hurts the babies at all. But she'll be better off taking the antidote now. While the babies' immune systems will keep her from getting ill while she's still pregnant, there is a chance that once they are born, she could get it. The antidote will kill whatever traces she has of it in her body, and possibly inoculate the babies against it so they never will get it. I think it's a chance we need to take," Dal said, looking over at Ryan. "Is it okay with you? I mean, after all, she is your wife, and those kids are yours, too."
"It's fine. Do whatever you think is best. You know more about this than I do," Ryan said, shrugging his shoulders. He walked out of the room.
"I wonder what's eating him," Amber said, looking over at Sasha and Lex.
"I think he's just tired. We all are," Lex said. "I'm going to turn in. If there's any change, or she wakes up, come get me. I have some things I need to say to her."
"I should think you do. This is more your fault than Sasha's," Amber said.
"I know. And I plan to apologize profusely for it," Lex said. He leaned over and kissed Tai-San on the forehead, then left the room.
"I'll be back in a minute with the antidote. You guys, try to get her to sit up and be halfway coherent, so she'll swallow it," Dal said. Sasha and Amber sat down on either side of her, and pulled her up to a sitting position.
"Tai, wake up," Amber said, slapping her cheeks lightly. "Come on, girl. Time to take your medicine."
"Mmm . . . ," Tai-San groaned. "Leave me alone." Her eyelids fluttered a bit.
"Come on, Tai-San. We need you to wake up, just for minute, so you can take the antidote. Then you can go back to sleep," Amber said to her.
"Leave me alone!" Tai-San shouted, shoving Amber and Sasha off of her. She laid her head against the headboard of the bed, her eyes still closed. Amber and Sasha both stood up, startled.
"Where's Sasha? I want Sasha!" she called out in her delirium. Sasha sat down on the bed again.
"I'm right here, sweetie," he said, taking her hand in his. Tai-San cuddled under his arm, resting her head against his chest. This made Amber laugh slightly, from the startled look on his face.
"I guess her delirium has its benefits. She doesn't remember she's mad at you at all," Amber said.
"I guess so," he said smiling. Dal came back into the room, with a tray of vials that contained the antidote.
"Alright, first, get Tai-San to drink this," Dal said, handing a vial to Sasha.
"Come on, sweetie," Sasha coaxed her. She opened her mouth and drank the vial, swallowing the liquid down. Sasha handed the empty vial back to Dal.
"Now, each of you take a vial, and I'll take one," Dal instructed. Sasha grabbed a vial, as did Amber and Dal. "Alright. Bottom's up." They all three drank the antidote at once. Amber made a face.
"This tastes horrible," she said, putting the empty vial back on the tray.
"Yeah, but it might save your life, Amber," Dal said, taking Sasha's empty vial from him. "I want you to get everyone together in the café, so they can take the antidote as well." Amber nodded and left the room. Dal turned to Sasha. "Are you going to stay here?"
"Yeah. I'll stay with her," Sasha said. "We should probably take turns sitting with her, me, you, Lex, and Amber. That way we'll get some sleep and get to eat." Dal nodded.
"I'll be back in an hour or two to check on her," Dal said. Sasha nodded, and Dal vacated the room. Sasha held Tai-San close to him as she shivered from the fever.
"It's going to be alright, Tai-San," he said, stroking her hair gently. "You're going to get better, I know you will. You have to. We still have unfinished business to settle."
"Mmm . . ." She stirred in her sleep. "Sasha? Are you still here?"
"Right here, always," he said to her.
"Good . . . I love you, Sasha," she said sleepily. He kissed her on the head, growing sleepy himself. He settled down into the bed with her.
"I love you, too," he whispered, falling asleep with her in his arms.
That's all for now, folks! Thanks again for reading, now please go and tell me what you thought of what you read! I love reviews – they keep me going! Then, go check out the link to my new website in my profile – there's a picture archive, an awesome BB, and more to come! Toodles until later . . .