Title: Tribe 3: Wonderwall

Chunk 16: Sections 76 thru 80

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.

My apologies for taking so long to upload the next chunk. It's been over a year, I know – but this story is up in its completed entirety on my site, too, just for future reference. But I'm going to try to post the rest of it here today!

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 76 thru 80

Later, that night, Jack lay in bed, wide awake. He stared at the pattern the glow-in-the-dark stars on his ceiling made. He had already connected them together to form the pattern of a duck and a rat, and now he was trying to figure out another one. Amber's words echoed through his head. "Is there ever a point to being in love? I mean, it's like a roller coaster . . . you should jump right back on and enjoy the ride and scream your lungs off . . ." He was beginning to understand what she meant. She meant that, though love could make you really unhappy, the joy it gave you, no matter how short, was really worth it. Suddenly, he heard the floor creak and realized someone was coming into his room.

"Who's there?" he asked quietly, slowly sitting up in bed. Ellie stood in the doorway, dressed in the simple nightgown that she always wore. It was white, long-sleeved, flannel, and not very revealing. But somehow, tonight, she looked absolutely beautiful in it.

"It's just me," she said softly. The light coming from the sky light above the doorway hit her blonde hair and made it look as though it was glowing. He could just barely see her face, but he could tell that she had been crying.

"Couldn't sleep?" he whispered, getting out of bed and walking over to her.

"No. You?" she asked him back.

"Not a wink," he said. He reached up and wiped away a tear that fell down her cheek. "It's going to be okay, Ellie. We can survive without each other."

"It's not okay," she said, searching his eyes with hers. "You're the only thing that has ever really mattered to me, and now I'm losing you. I haven't even left yet, and you're pushing me away. And I know you don't want to get hurt, but you're already hurting anyway. Why fight it?" She took his hands in hers. "Have you ever seen the movie Steel Magnolias?"

"What?" Jack replied, looking at her oddly. "No . . . why?"

"Shelby, the main character of the movie . . . when she tells her mom that she's pregnant, even though she shouldn't have children because it will make her sicker than she already is, she tells her mom that she'd rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special. Does that make any sense to you? 'Cause up until now, I never really understood what she meant," she said.

"Yeah, it makes sense. But what are you trying to tell me?" Jack asked.

"This," she said, kissing him. At first, Jack tried to pull away, but as she continued to kiss him, he began to kiss her back. He wrapped his arms around her waist. He slowly backed her up toward the bed, and they fell back onto it, still kissing.

Jack woke up the next morning, tangled up in the sheets. He looked over to where Ellie was lying beside him, only to find that she was gone. He got up and quickly got dressed, running down to Ellie's room. All her things were gone. He quickly checked in Alice room, but she was gone, with her things missing as well. They had left sooner than he thought. Ellie had left without saying goodbye.

Jack walked back into her room. He curled up on her bed, her scent filling his nostrils, as he cried silently. He looked over at her desk, where her typewriter sat. Her favorite pink shirt and the amulet lay on top of it. He got up and walked over to the desk, picking the items up. He started to cry harder, as the reality sank in that she was gone. He put the amulet on and walked back to his room. No one else was up yet, so he just got back in bed, and fell back asleep, dreaming of Ellie and their night together.

Lysette woke up kind of early, because Sienna was talking in her sleep a bit. After half an hour of trying to get back to sleep, she gave up and went into the café. Upon walking into the room, she noticed a piece of paper laying on one of the tables. She walked over and picked it up, reading it.

To whichever of you finds this first:

We decided early this morning to leave for the farm sooner than we had planned. We're fine, so don't worry. By the time you actually find this letter, we'll probably be there. We want to thank you for all that you've given us over the months and let you know that we will miss all of you so much. Hopefully, we'll see you soon, since your usual food order is due in a couple of days. Stay safe, and as always, keep the hope and the dream alive!

Love,

Alice & Ellie

p.s. - To Jack - Ellie says to tell you that she loves you, and she'll never forget you.

"Oh, my god. They're gone!" Lysette exclaimed loudly. She stood there in shock, staring at the piece of paper as her hands shook. Jack, who was already awake anyway, came running into the room.

"What? Who's gone?" he asked, although he already knew. Lysette silently handed him the letter, and he quickly skimmed through it. His eyes stopped at the last sentence, and a smile flashed across his face briefly.

"I can't believe they left early. I thought they were going to stay until I had figured out what I was going to do," she mumbled, sinking into a nearby chair.

"It'll be okay," Jack said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to go wake Amber up. She needs to know about this." Lysette nodded listlessly as he walked off with the piece of paper. What was she going to do? She couldn't go back to the farm. It was just too hard to look at him. And without Alice and Ellie here, she felt lonely and friendless. She laid her head in on the table and started to cry. About that time, Jack came back into the room.

"Amber's got to get dressed. She'll be in here in a few minutes," he said. Lysette didn't look up or respond, and he could hear her sniffling. "Lysette? Are you okay?" He knelt down beside her. "Lysette?" He put a hand on one of her tiny hands.

"What am I going to do? Alice and Ellie were the only friends I had outside of the farm, and now they're gone. I have nowhere else to go, Jack," she said, her voice hoarse. She looked up at him, her nose all red and her eyes an odd shade of icy blue.

"Well, you could ask Amber if you can stay here permanently. We'd have to vote on it, but I'm sure everyone would welcome you in. There's more than enough room," Jack suggested. He grabbed a napkin and handed it to her. She dried her eyes a bit.

"Why are you being so nice to me? You should be feeling just as miserable as I am right now. Your girlfriend's gone. You have every right to be upset. I'm just worrying about something that's my own fault in the first place," she responded, smiling a little.

"Well, for starters, you seem really upset about it, and you don't have anywhere else to go. Second, if there's one thing I can't take, it's seeing a girl cry. It just makes me want to cry. Third, Ellie said in the letter that she loves me and she won't forget me. That just lifts my spirits up, because I know there's still hope," he replied. "So, please stop crying, or I'm going to start crying with you, because I hate seeing you so sad." Lysette hiccupped, sniffling.

"Thanks, Jack. You're really sweet," Lysette said, kissing him on the cheek. Jack smiled, sitting down in the chair next to her.

"Besides, Alice and Ellie aren't your only friends outside of the farm. You have me and Amber," Jack said. "And we'll be behind you one-hundred-and-ten percent if you decide to stay here."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah. And if you get voted into the tribe, I'll throw a big party for you, to cheer you up. Okay?" he offered. She grinned like a little child, nodding her head. Amber and Bray walked into the room.

"You okay, Jack?" Amber said, giving him a look of concern.

"I'll be alright. There's still hope," he replied. "There's always hope."

"Glad to hear you say that," Amber responded, smiling. "So, where's this letter?" Bray opened the food store and started heating up some of the applesauce that Salene had made and stored in little jars. Jack handed Amber the letter. She sat down across from Lysette and him at the table, carefully reading the letter. Once Bray had the applesauce cooking on the stove, he came and sat down beside Amber. She handed him the letter, and he read it.

"I don't understand what could have made them decide to leave two days early. Any ideas, Jack?" Bray said, looking up at him.

"None at all. Actually, Ellie and I had a talk and we were getting along quite well last night. I'm not sure what happened," Jack lied, shrugging his shoulders. He had somewhat of an idea of why they left, and he knew it was mostly because Ellie was probably scared from what had happen the night before. He knew she'd probably come around and that she and Alice come be back eventually.

"Maybe they were just eager to get home?" Amber said. Bray nodded in agreement. They heard Michael start crying from downstairs and Amber instantly stood up to go tend to him.

"I'll go. You take a break and relax. You were up most of last night with him," Bray said, stopping her. She sat back down.

"Thanks, sweetie," she said. He kissed her gently and then stood up and headed downstairs to check on their son. Amber looked over at Lysette. "Morning, Lys. You look like you have something on your mind. Want to share?"

"Um . . . well . . . I've been talking to Jack about what my options are as far as where I want to go . . . and I was wondering . . . could I stay here?" she asked shyly, fidgeting with the napkin in her hands nervously.

"Well, we'll have to get everyone together and vote on it. But it shouldn't be a problem. We're going to have a meeting this evening after dinner anyway, to discuss Troy's progress, and for Dal, Matthew, and TaiRon to announce something. We'll just bring it up then," Amber said, smiling. Bray came back into the café, carrying Michael. Amber stood up, taking the little boy from Bray. "There's my little man. I hope you slept well. Cause Mommy didn't." The little boy cooed at her. "Let's go get you something to eat." She got up and walked off to go fix a bottle for him. Bray brought Lysette and Jack both bowls of hot applesauce, and then sat down across from them.

"So, how's Amber doing, aside from the lack of sleep?" Jack asked, taking a bite of applesauce.

"Fine. She's got a little morning sickness and occasional back pain, but otherwise, she's fine. Her diabetes is under control for the time being, and we talked with TaiRon. He'll be taking over her case as far as the diabetes, while she's pregnant. Michael's been a little restless the past few nights, and though Amber and I have been taking turns with him, I know it still wears her out," Bray answered.

"Of course," Jack said, nodding.

"You know, if you guys really need a break from taking care of him sometimes, I'm available," Lysette said quietly.

"Really?" Bray asked. "That would be wonderful."

"Sure . . . I love little kids. I was an only child, but I had lots of little cousins, and I was constantly looking after them. I don't mind it one bit," she said.

"Alright . . . we might just take you up on that offer sometime, Lysette," Bray said, smiling. Lysette finished off her applesauce and got up and left the room after cleaning her bowl and putting it up. Jack watched her with a goofy grin on his face.

"She seems really nice. I hope she gets to stay," Jack said.

"Why? Because she'll be a welcome addition and much needed help, or because you fancy her as a replacement for Ellie?" Bray asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? I'm not looking for a replacement for Ellie. I'm not looking to hook up with anybody. I love Ellie, Bray. I'm not going to give up on her that easily. It's just . . . she seems to be so lonely and looking for a friend, and I think the Mall is just the right place for her," Jack retorted, turning red. "I'm . . . uh . . . going to go watch the security camera monitor for a while. Come get me if you need me. Uh . . . yeah." Jack awkwardly stood up and walked out of the room. Bray started laughing. Jack could be so transparent sometimes.

Trudy lay curled up on her bed, watching Matthew feed Brady. He and Brady were in a chair a few feet from the bed, and he was slowly feeding Brady slices of orange, making sure that she chewed each slice up and swallowed it before giving her the next. It was such a sweet moment. Trudy knew he was going to make a wonderful father, as she had known before, when she'd first found out she was pregnant. He had always been good with little ones, up until his transformation into Zoot.

"What are you thinking?" Matthew asked, looking at her.

"Lots of things . . . like how you're a wonderful father, like I always knew you'd be, how glad I am that Brady will actually get the chance to get to know you after all . . . how lucky I am, because I didn't realize what I had until it was gone, and I'm getting the chance to fix that . . . ," Trudy replied slowly. She stood up and walked over to them, standing behind Matthew. She wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her chin on his shoulder. "I'm also thinking that we're going to have to tell everyone about all of this sometime. We can't keep it secret forever, and Bray deserves to know that you are his brother, and that you remember him and your parents, and everything else. I mean . . . he was so crushed when he thought you were dead."

"Really? All I remember about him was my extreme hatred for him, because you wanted him and not me, and because he was Mr. Perfect and I wasn't," he responded.

"Well, he never hated you, and he never understood why you hated him. But, I think all this is happening for a reason. Not just so I can get a second chance with you, but so you and Bray can have a second chance, too. Look, Bray may not actually ever say it, but he loves you very much," she said. "And whether you like it or not, you owe it to him and everyone else to let the cat out of the bag."

"I agree. It's just hard . . . TaiRon's not going to understand, and I'm still feeling a little weird about it all. I have three personalities, and they're suddenly colliding, and I don't know what parts to keep, and what to throw away," Matthew said.

"Well, I'm here to help you with that. Bray will want to help to. All I can say is . . . throw everything about Zoot away, except for the confidence. That was the one thing I liked about him. He spoke his mind, and he stood up for himself. Don't lose that again," Trudy said, kissing him on the cheek. She looked down at Brady. The little girl was fast asleep. "I think it's nap time for someone." Matthew looked down at their daughter, laughing. He stood up, taking her over to her crib. He gently put her in it, covering her with the blanket, and then walked back over to Trudy. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him.

"As long as I have you, I can do anything," he whispered.

"We can do anything," she corrected him, smiling. He laughed.

"Right. We can do anything," he said, his voice trembling with laughter. He kissed her gently.

"Alright, everyone! Please be quiet!" Bray shouted over the noise in the café. Everyone settled down, except for Zandra and Lex, who were having a loud argument about something that was probably of little importance.

"You do so ignore me!" Zandra yelled.

"I do not! I've just been a little busy with security around the mall lately!" Lex retorted, an innocently startled look on his face.

"Busy my eye! You spend more time with Bray and Ryan than you do with me or Lexi! We should come first over your buddies!" Zandra said bitterly.

"I'm not spending more time with them on purpose! There's been a lot of security issues around here recently!" Lex countered.

"Excuse me!" Bray exclaimed, stepping in between them. "We're trying to have a meeting here."

"Sorry, Bray," Zandra said, looking down at her feet in embarrassment. Lex haughtily crossed his arms over his chest.

"Save it for later. Preferably for discussion in private. Lex, you go sit by Salene and Ryan. Zan, you go sit by Amber. Okay?" Bray commanded firmly. They both nodded in agreement and stomped off to their separate corners. Bray walked back over to Amber. "Well, we have quite a bit to discuss today. The first order of business is Troy. His one month probation is up as of today, and we need to decide if he has made enough improvement to stay here permanently. Ebony, what do you have to say on his behalf?" Ebony shoved herself and her chair back from the table and stood up.

"I've spent quite a bit of time with him over the past month, and I've seen a lot. He gets along well with everyone, he helps out around here like the rest of us, and he's settled the grievances from his past by bringing Michael home and coming clean about his wrong-doings. In many ways, he's helped some of you to be happier, me included. I think he's made a great deal of improvement. So much so," Ebony said, looking over at Troy briefly, "I recommend that he be taken off probation and be allowed to join the Mall Rats as a permanent member." She looked back up at Bray and Amber, smiling.

"Is that all you have to say?" Bray asked. Ebony nodded, taking a seat again. "I guess we should vote on it then. All in favor of Troy joining the Mall Rats, raise your hand." Everyone's hands shot up. "Alrighty, then. Troy, welcome to the Mall Rats." Troy smiled, leaning over and kissing Ebony. "Now, the next order of business before TaiRon, Dal, and Matthew make their announcement is Lysette. She came to Amber and me this morning and asked to join the Mall Rats, in lieu of returning to the farm. I've talked to her, as have most of you, and I see no real reason why anyone would object to her staying here. We have more than enough room and food. So, let's vote on it. All in favor?" Everyone's hands went up again. "Again, it's unanimous. Welcome to the Mall Rats, Lysette." Lysette grinned, as Jack squeezed her hand.

"Now for the announcement from Dal, TaiRon, and Matthew," Amber said, standing up beside her husband. "The floor is yours, guys." Amber and Bray both sat down, as Dal stood up.

"Well, it seems that my medical expertise has gained some notoriety around the city. As you know, Tribe Dorkus is chiefly a science tribe, especially in the field of medicine. TaiRon and Matthew came to see me to talk about forming a medical clinic, located at the hospital in the old Locos territory. They've generously offered to let me head it up, since I'm so organized and have the most medical knowledge out of everyone they know. Basically, this clinic will service not only the Mall Rats and Tribe Dorkus, but all the other tribes in and around the city as well. Our services will be free to everyone, no payment needed. What we will need, however, is a lot of help in cleaning the hospital up, getting the supplies and making the medicine we'll need. I've already discussed in length with Tai-San about her coming on as a chemist, since she knows how to make the antidote, as well as many other useful remedies." Dal stopped, taking a breath.

"Tzara has agreed to be a nurse, but we'll still need more, so if you want to volunteer for that, speak with her, as she's in charge of the nursing staff. We're going to start scouting the city for anyone else that might be interested in helping. So, do you guys have any questions?" Everyone looked around at each other, but no one had anything to ask.

"Go for it, Dal. It sounds like a great idea," Lex spoke up. Dal looked at him, shocked.

"I agree," Bray said. "I'd thought about it before, when we first found the antidote, but never done anything. You should do it." Everyone else chorused their agreement.

"I guess that's good, then," Dal said. "That's all we have to say." He sat down beside Tzara again.

"Does anyone else have anything they want to bring up and discuss?" Amber asked. Trudy stood up silently. "Yes, Trudy?"

"Well . . . after much deliberation, Matthew and I decided to bring up something . . . well . . . you see, I don't know if most of you even knew this, because Amber, Bray, Troy, and I kept so quiet about it, but Matthew is someone we all know. Everyone does. And he's just starting to remember . . . ," Trudy trailed off.

"What are you saying, Trude?" Salene asked. She looked at Trudy, Amber, and Bray questioningly. Bray and Matthew both stood up.

"What I think Trudy's trying to say is . . . well, Matthew isn't Matthew. He's Martin," Bray said quietly.

"Martin who? We don't know any Martin," Cloe responded, confused.

"I'm Martin, as in Bray's brother. Which also means that I'm . . . ," Matthew trailed off. Salene gasped loudly, catching on.

"You're Zoot!" she exclaimed, standing up in shock. A murmur rippled across the group. "You're dead! Lex killed you! We all saw it!"

"Not exactly, Sal," Trudy said. "We just thought he was. He woke up in the boat that we set on fire and pushed out to sea. Tribe Dorkus found him and took him in, and he had amnesia and a mangled leg. He's only just now remembering who he really is. And that is Martin."

"And Zoot," Lex growled. He stood up and began to pace. "Why didn't you tell us? You recognized him when he first walked in, and you said nothing, any of you! Do you have any idea what kind of danger you put us all in, especially the children! What were you thinking?"

"That we recognized him, but he obviously didn't recognize us, so we thought were safe for the time being. We didn't want anyone to panic," Bray said. "But it's a little different now that he knows."

"You got that damn straight!" Lex said. He walked over to Matthew, standing nose to nose with him. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just beat you to a dead, unrecognizable pulp right now!" Matthew didn't even flinch as he opened his mouth to speak.

"For starters, you don't scare me. For seconds, knowing who I was, how evil I was, and being disgusted by it before I even knew I was Zoot himself makes a big difference. I can fight it and keep from becoming him. I don't want to be him ever again. Okay?" Matthew said clinching his fists.

"He's telling the truth, Lex," Trudy said.

"I can't believe you actually trust him! But then again, you've always been a little off in the head," Lex snarled at her.

"Lex! Shut up!" Zandra said. She stood up and walked over to the two boys. "I think he deserves a fair chance. He seems to be sincere about it, and like he said, he knows the wrongs he caused as Zoot, and he doesn't want to be like that anymore. Right, Bray?" She looked over at Bray and Amber.

"Well . . . uh . . . I guess . . . I guess I agree. I'd love to have my brother back. It will take a little work on everyone's parts, but it's worth a shot. Family is family, no matter what," Bray responded. "Welcome back, Martin." He smiled sincerely at his brother. And for the first time in a long time, his brother smiled happily back.

"Ellie, come on! We need help in the barn with the cows! You have to come out sometime!" Alice yelled, banging on the door to Ellie's room. Ellie lay curled up in bed, wearing the same clothes she had worn the day before, all wrinkled. Tears slid down her cheeks as Alice continued to holler. "If you don't open this door right now, I'm coming in on my own, whether you like it or not!" Ellie sighed loudly, getting up and opening the door.

"Happy now?" Ellie said grouchily, crawling back into her bed and pulling the covers over her head. Alice yanked the comforter off her little sister.

"I don't care if you mope over Jack or not, but I will not allow you to shirk your responsibilities around this farm! The rest of us work hard, so you have to as well! Got that?" Alice exclaimed.

"I don't care about the farm! I don't care about anything anymore! Now, go away, Alice!" Ellie growled, shoving her face in her pillow.

"Even if you don't help around the farm, at least get up and put some clean clothes on and act like a human being! Alright?" Alice suggested. Ellie gave no response. Alice threw her hands up in the air in frustration and walked out of the room. Ellie started to cry harder.

That's all for now, folks! I apologize again for the long wait for this update – I was just being lazy! 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 . . .