Yeah... I know... tad bit emotional that chapter. I don't think this chapter is that bad. Idk. That's up to you guys to decide that. So, I'm gonna stop talking now and let you guys reading.

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Disclaimer: I do not own R5, The Vamps or 5 Seconds Of Summer, all rights go to Hollywood, Mercury/Island & Capitol Records!

Chapter 27
Gashes To Ashes

Ross's face dropped "What?"

Brad sighed "I'm in so much pain right now. My minds playing tricks on me... I can't go on anymore... please. Just shoot me."

Ross didn't know whether to laugh at the suggestion or completely ignore it. He knows that the gashes on his arms are infected and they're going to make him start thinking and seeing things that are stupid and that he wouldn't normally see or think. But this was by far the stupidest. The Brad Ross knows wouldn't ever want to be killed by somebody. Even if it was his own choice.

Ross shook his head "No, c'mon Brad, we're almost at the Epoch." He said, grabbing him by the wrist and beginning to drag him down the hallway.

Brad pulled his arm away from Ross "No. Ross please. This is the last thing I want."

Ross looked at him confused "Why?" he asked, angry and upset. He'd already lost Rocky, then he lost Luke seconds ago and now Brad wants to die. That would be everybody he knows dead. And if the Epoch doesn't work then he'll have nobody in his life at all that he knew.

"Because... If we don't make it to the Epoch, then I won't survive much longer anyway. My arm feels like it's hanging on by a thread. In fact, I can barely feel it anymore but it still hurts. I'm seeing things I shouldn't and I'm thinking about things I shouldn't."

Ross nodded "I know you're thinking things you shouldn't. Take now as a good example."

Brad sighed in frustration "Oh my god, Ross! Why won't you do it?! I'm gonna die anyway! Whether if you do, do this for me or I die slowly and painfully from the infection which is happening right now. In all honesty Ross, I wanted to make it to the end so I could remember this stupid apocalypse but now I don't. I don't want the memory of me killing one of my best friends and remembering everybody else suffering. I'd rather die right now and wake up in my bed, if this does work, and think it was all a stupid dream I can barely remember."

Ross shook his head and looked away from him. On one hand he wanted to put an end to his friends suffering, but on the other he didn't want to lose anybody else. Half an hour ago there were six people together, and now there is three left over with one of them wanting a bullet through their skull. His bestfriend. His best friend he had to live without for a year and a half thinking he was dead, and when he found him he thought and hoped like hell he wasn't going to lose him again along with Luke.

But he was wrong.

Luke died and now Brad wants to die.

Why can't everything be more simpler than this?

He felt the gun burning a hole in his hand as he gripped it tighter and tighter, beginning to consider doing this for Brad. Ross looked up from the gun and over to Brad "I don't know if I can do it..."

"Why...?" Brad asked, it coming out like a whisper.

"Because. I've lost too many people this past week. First Will, then Rydel, then Riker and Rocky, then Luke and now you. There's only three of us left. The Epoch room isn't too far from here, five maybe ten minutes walk. Less than that if we run. You can make it there. And if you still want to die before we do what we do, then fine. I'll shoot you dead."

Brad shook his head "I want... I want you to..." Brad took a deep breath as suddenly he felt very weak and his head began to feel like it was being smashed off a brick wall. He stumbled backwards until he was against a wall and had something to support himself with.

Ellington looked at him in concern and turned to Ross "I don't think he has five minutes, Ross. Let alone ten," he said, he walked closer to him "if he wants you to put him out of his misery, you might as well do it. If you leave him any longer he'll die a slow and painful death and I know that's something you don't want to watch. I've seen it. Kelly died a slow and painful death, it wasn't nice because in the end I was glad she was dead so she wasn't suffering. Yes, your going to hurt and find it sad if he dies quicker but it's for the best. And I'm one hundred per cent sure that if it was you who got scratched by the zombie and were in this state, he would shoot you dead too."

Ross looked down at the gun, letting his fingers trace over it. He shut his eyes as he felt tears again. He knows that if Brad comes with them all of this could be over within fifteen minutes or less, but now they're just wasting time either trying to negotiate Brad to come with them or for Ross to shoot him dead.

He looked up at Ellington "I can't. I can't shoot someone who doesn't deserve it dead."

Ellington nodded "Yes, I know. He doesn't deserve it. But he needs it. Ross, I don't see why you are getting so upset and worked up about Will, Rydel, Rocky, Riker, Luke and Brad dying for. You've explained to me what this Epoch machine does. If it goes back in time, you'll get them all back. No, they're not going to remember any of the apocalypse because it'll feel like a dream. No, Rydel and Riker will not have a single clue who you are. But they'll be alive. The chances are you've already used the Epoch and they're back to living their life's to how it used to be before the apocalypse. Regardless whether or not Brad dies now, you're going to see him again. You'll even see Ashton again. Just depends how far back you go doesn't it."

Ross breathed shakily, looking over to Brad who leant against the wall looking like he was in more pain than anything. Ellington put his hand on top of Ross's that held the gun "I can tell you want to do it to put an end to your friends suffering, but you don't want to because you don't wanna lose another friend. So if it helps, kinda like a win win situation, I'll do it if you want."

Ross looked at Ellington with uncertainty. He shook his head "No. I'll do it." he said, walking away from Ellington.

Slowly he approached Brad who came off the wall and walked to him. Ross took a deep breath, holding the gun in both hands before he made eye contact with Brad again "I'm going to do this, okay," Ross said, seeing the relief rush through Brad "but, I'm not doing it because you want me to do it. I'm doing it because you're my best friend and I love you. I don't want to see you suffer or die a slow painful death. I want it to be as quick as it can possibly be and for you to wake up in our dorm from this stupid nightmare, roll back over and go back to sleep. You got that?" He asked, his voice breaking.

Brad nodded "Got it."

Ross nodded too, shaking. Ellington watched from where he stood, feeling nervous but in a sad way. Ross managed to stop shaking after a couple of seconds and he stood next to Brad "I'm gonna do it from here... cos... chances are it'll be faster this way." Ross said, Brad nodded. He lifted up the gun and pressed it against Brad's temple. He took a deep breath, feeling like he was about to break down crying at any moment "I-I'm sorry if this doesn't work and you end up in more pain than you already are..." Ross said, making Brad laugh softly "and erm... if the Epoch doesn't work, then I am very, very sorry and... do me a favour? Say hi to Ashton for me. It's been a while."

"Can you get on with it, you're making me nervous," Brad said quickly in nervousness, his voice cracking "but yes... I will." he calmed.

Ross pulled back the hammer. Ellington turned around as he didn't want to witness this happening and Brad shut his eyes tightly, and Ross turned his head away too, with his finger wrapped around the trigger. "Ready?" Ross asked.

Brad nodded "Just do it."

Ross took a deep breath, keeping the thoughts in his head that he would see Brad again as well as Luke in less than half an hour if the machine worked. Without so much as another word, Ross moved his finger and pulled the trigger on the gun.

BANG!

Ellington jumped at the sound of the gun-shot before hearing a body collapse to the floor. He re-opened his eyes and turned around where Ross stood with the gun still pointing where Brad stood, as well as Brad now being on the floor obviously dead.

Ross kept his eyes shut tightly for a couple seconds after he pulled the trigger before slowly turning his head where Brad was no longer stood there. He looked down on the floor where Brad laid dead, with blood coming from his head where Ross shot him. Ross lowered the gun and took a deep breath "That's it..." Ross said, feeling and looking like he didn't know where he was or what he was doing anymore "that quick."

Ellington nodded, stepping towards Ross "Yeah. That's it."

"Nobody else. It's just us two now, isn't it?"

"Yeah..."

Ross looked away from Brad and over to Ellington "Well then, we better get going before something else happens and we have another interruption like this." he walked over to where Brad dropped the gun he shot Luke with and picked it up as well as picking up his backpack he had left at the door of the armory.

When Ross came back out into the hallway where Ellington stood, looking like he had heard something and was trying to find where the noise had came from. "What's wrong?" Ross asked, quietly.

"I heard groaning... and it didn't sound like one groan... it sounded like multiple..." Ellington said. He didn't even look scared. He wasn't. He was too used to this now, he wasn't scared of the zombies or being eaten by them anymore. Ellington was more scared of being left on his own again.

Ross opened up the gun that Brad had and saw there were no bullets in it and he sighed heavily, throwing it away before running back into the armory and grabbing the nearest gun he could find. Which was an assault rifle. Yes, it could come in very handy, even more handy than the weapons they had all been using, but there was no way in hell he was letting Ellington use it.

He came out of the room and tossed Ellington the gun he had, a pistol, and he caught it. Ellington caught it, looking down at it and over to Ross "Awe, how come you get the big one and I get the little one?" He asked, disappointed.

"Because," Ross said, going over to him "you're an idiot. I don't trust you with a gun bigger than a pistol." as he passed Luke's dead body, he picked up the box with all the bullets he had gone into the room for. He looked in it and took as much as he needed out for himself and Ellington too, putting the rest into his pocket.

Both of them walked, being cautious of anything coming from behind or in front of them until they came to the cross-roads in the middle of the hallway. Ellington looked down all the hallways "Which way?" Ellington asked.

Ross didn't look "This way." he went to go walk down the hallway to his left but stopped when he saw about three zombies stood in front of him, metres away. His eyes widened and he turned around to go walk down the opposite one but saw about the same amount, maybe four or five more, of zombies stood in that one too. "Now what way?" Ellington asked.

Ross looked to his left and saw that, that hallway was clear. "This way!" he said, beginning to run down it with Ellington following and before they knew it they were running for their life's with about ten or twelve zombies chasing after them.

As they ran they kept on turning round every now and then, firing their guns at the zombies to try kill them or knock a limb off in the hope it slowed them down. By the time they had gotten down the hallway, they had only managed to knock one zombie to the floor by knocking both it's legs off which meant it had to crawl with it's arms and lets face it, it wasn't going to get far with only it's head and arms.

Ross stopped running when they came to the end of the hallway, seeing only two ways that they could go. Knowing that one way led to the gym where they used to train and the other led straight to the Epoch. He kept turning his head quickly to try figure it out whilst Ellington caught up. He looked to his left where at the very end of it, he could make out a large metal door with worn out letters engraved into it.

And Ross was pretty sure that the gym didn't have metal doors with letters engraved into it.

The letters he could make out where an E and a P.

Behind them metal doors were where the Epoch machine was.

"Ellington, this way!" Ross called, running down in the direction of the door.

Ellington stopped firing his gun behind him at the zombies and followed Ross, running as fast as he could to catch up with him. The lights were getting very dim down this hallway so he had to be careful where he ran in case he tripped over something he shouldn't have and ended up running into something he shouldn't. Soon enough he caught up to Ross and they both ran as fast as they could side by side.

The zombies that were behind them fell behind by quite a lot and soon enough they reached the metal door. Ellington took a deep breath, regaining his breath "Is it in this room?" Ellington asked.

Ross nodded "Behind these doors," he said, also trying to get his breath back "but... but... there's a lock on the door. The only other way you can get through is by a pass and we don't have a pass. And we can't open it with our bare hands. It won't open that easily."

Ellington looked back down the hallway where he saw the zombies down it, coming towards them. He looked back at the door and cracked his knuckles "Well, then. It's time to use every ounce of strength we've got to try get his open, but I'll tell you now I have never opened a metal door before in my life."

The pair of them counted to three and they both began pushing on the door and hitting it as hard as they could, trying to break something on the door that would allow it to break open and let them in. It was taking a lot of strength from both Ross and Ellington because these metal doors that led to the Epoch Machine were not so easily persuaded to open. Back before the apocalypse started, these doors were always opened with passes by the scientists and technicians that were all allowed in there. At least, that's what Ross witnessed anyway every time he was bored and always wondered what were behind these doors.

Having enough of trying to pry the door open with their bare hands and every piece of strength they had, Ellington looked at Ross and snatched the assault rifle that was hanging around Ross. Ross turned quickly, feeling the gun being took from him.

Ellington lifted the gun and aimed it almost perfect at the corner of the door, where it opened at "Move." He said, threateningly as Ross was in the way.

Ross wasted no time and moved out of the way of, god knows how many, bullets from the rifle being fired at the corner of the door where it opened.

After a good solid 30 seconds of firing none stop, Ellington stopped firing as they thought they heard something fall from the other side of the door and make a clang sound which echoed throughout the opposite side of the door. Ross and Ellington looked at each other and then behind them where they saw the zombies moving dangerously close in on them. Ross pushed the metal door, to see if what Ellington had done worked, and it slowly opened up. Having just enough room for them both to squeeze through and get into the room.

Ross smiled and nodded at Ellington, being impressed. Before Ross could get a word in, they heard many growls and groans come from behind them where they saw the zombies a metre away from them at the most. In panic, Ellington dropped the gun and quickly squeezed through the gap in the metal door and ended up in the room with the Epoch. "DUDE!" Ross shouted.

Ross scrambled the rifle up off the floor and fired it at the zombies as he got to the gap in the door and squeezed through it. Once he was in the room, he pushed the metal door shut so that the zombies couldn't find a way through and he breathed in relief.

"Oh my god..." Ellington said, looking around the room.

Ross turned around to see what Ellington was saying 'oh my god' too and saw it for himself. The room. The Epoch. The thing they had travelled miles and miles for to get too.

They had finally got to it.

Yeah... so erm... the beginning of the next chapter, I WOULD have added into this chapter but... bc of how the next chapter ends, I think it would make more sense for me to of not done that. Don't worry. It's nothing bad... ish. But you know me. I say things aren't gonna be bad in my stories and they end up seeming like they've came from the spawn of Satan. Though, you guys and people on Twitter do tend to call me Satan... oh well. Off topic.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

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