Chapter 35: Heartbreak.
Austin saw it. He knew he couldn't stop it. He was too far away. But still he ran, and he ran as fast as he could. He watched the creeper plunge it's teeth into the crook of Ally's neck, and a shrill scream escaped her lips. Austin stabbed his knife into the creepers skull, and tossed it away.
He caught Ally before she hit the ground, and he pulled off his jacket, and pressed it against the wound. She was gasping for air, and Austin's eyes were filling with tears.
"No no no no no no," Austin bundled her against his chest, and Ally cried out.
"I-It h-hurts," She gurgled, and blood seeped out of her mouth.
"I-I-" Her eyes fluttered closed, and her head rolled back.
"NO!"
Austin shot up, and he came face to face with Ally. He was dressed in a blanket of sweat, and he was gasping for air.
"What's wrong!?" Ally asked urgently, and she reached out to him.
"Nothing," He looked away from her, and she rested her hand on his chest.
"Did you have a nightmare?" She whispered, and he looked into her eyes.
"I couldn't stop it from happening," He whispered back. "The creeper got you before I could."
Ally leaned forward, and kissed him gently on the lips, then she hugged him tight. Austin wrapped his arms around her protectively, and pulled her down onto his lap.
"You just got to remember it was just a dream...there's something I need to tell you," She pulled away, and gazed into his eyes.
"What?"
"I didn't mean to keep it from you for so long, it's just I've been trying to come to terms with it myself, but Cal...He's immune to the creepers...he saved Jess, she didn't get lucky with getting bitten by a creeper without venom...Cal gave her some of his blood, so she's immune to it now."
"What!?" He exclaimed, and Ally saw he was going to move her from his lap, but she rested her hands firmly against his chest.
"He doesn't want everyone to know, and I understand why, but you deserve to know, and I'm doing it to put your mind at rest, if anything like that does happen to me, the likely hood of me dying is slim. We just need to find a safe place, and the equipment for Cal to be able to transfer blood again. He had it all back at the prison, but that's all gone now."
"Why didn't you tell me?" He narrowed his eyes at her.
"I just didn't want you to talk to Cal about it. I would've never found out if it wasn't for Alice, she was the one who discovered the truth," Ally explained. "Please don't say anything to him."
"But-"
"Austin, please," She begged, and Austin rested his forehead against her shoulder.
"Fine."
...
They were driving down a long road. Every vehicle was packed full of supplies, and people. Ally was sat in the passenger seat with Nathan in her arms, whilst Austin was driving. Jess and Nevil were in the back, and Billy was sat on Derek's lap.
"Mommy, are you going to have another baby?" Jess sung, and she grabbed the tips of her small boots.
Ally glanced over at Austin, who didn't seem fazed by Jess's question, and it brought a smile to Ally's face.
"I'm not sure sweetie," Ally replied. "Let's focus on getting to the farm."
"But, I want a little sister," She whined, and Ally laughed. "I hate being around boys."
"Hey!" Nevil snapped. "I'm a man, not a boy."
"No, you're a little boy," Jess said, and Nevil narrowed his eyes at her.
"I'm a man," Billy added. "I'm just like my daddy."
"Yes you are son," Derek ruffled his hair, and Billy giggled.
"I'm a man," Nevil grumbled.
"Of course you are honey," Ally smiled at him, and Nevil smirked, then turned to Jess and stuck his tongue out at her.
"So," Jess whispered. "Can I have a little sister?"
"Maybe one day," Austin spoke up, and Ally glanced at him. He looked at her, then flashed her a smile.
"How long till we get to the farm?" Billy asked.
"We should get there soon. In a few hours," Austin explained.
Ally had to admit she was on the edge of her seat. She wanted to see what it was like now. Jaime had said they'd redone it all, and rebuilt the barn, and built log cabins. It all seemed so surreal, and Ally hoped that when they got there, no one else occupied the land, because even though Frederick is the owner, rules like that don't apply in this world anymore.
...
They were taking a break on the side of the road. Ally had Nathan wrapped up in a blanket, and resting against her chest. She watched all the kids sat in a circle, playing a game. She saw Jack trying to flirt with Jaime, but he was soon cut off when Wayne came over. Ally looked to see Gregory was glaring daggers into the back of Jack's head, and Ally laughed to herself. She saw Trish and Dez having a heated argument, by one of the cars, and Ally wondered if everything was okay between them both, she'd have to talk to Trish later.
Then she saw Kira. She was sat in the bed of one of the trucks, on her own. She was chewing on the side of her thumb, and staring down at her lap. Ally got to her feet, and wandered over.
"Hi," Ally broke the silence, and Kira looked up.
"Hey," She whispered in response. "You don't have to be here."
"I want to be here," Ally said. "You should try to talk to everyone, they won't bite."
"It's hard...to be around people that clearly don't want me here."
"We do...it's just hard to adjust. We've all been through a lot, and we're all one big family. You could be a part of it, all you got to do is try," Ally explained, and Nathan stirred in Ally's arms, and it caught their attention. "You saved him, and I'm eternally grateful for that."
"But-"
"That earns you a place in our family," Ally added. "Whatever may have happened between us before, we can forget that. I forgive you, shouldn't that be enough?"
"I suppose your right. I know Jaime, because I got her out when Rufus kidnapped her."
"Jaime's a friendly person-" They both look over, and saw Jaime swiftly tackle Jack onto the floor. Jack yelled, and they both tumbled down the little embankment. "Okay, she might not be friendly," Ally laughed.
"She's probably one of the most toughest people I know. I saw the things Rufus did to her, and she didn't even seem fazed by it," Kira explained.
"Once we get to the farm, promise me you will try to talk to the others. I'm here, if you ever want to talk," Ally flashed her a smile, and she felt someone's eyes burning into the back of her head. She glanced over her shoulder, and saw Austin leaning against one of the trucks, staring at her. "Remember, anytime you want to talk."
Ally turned on her heel, and made her way over to Austin. He glanced down at her, and she smiled up at him.
"Why were you talking to her?" He asked, harshly.
"She saved our son," Ally responded.
"And?"
"And? Austin seriously-"
"Are you forgetting what she did to you? Huh? You almost killed yourself-"
"I know!" Ally snapped at him. "Don't you think I know that? Austin, it happened to me not you!"
"Hmm," Austin gritted his teeth, and narrowed his eyes at her. "Okay, fine," He turned away and left.
"Austin!" Ally called after him, but he walked over to Lucas, completely ignoring her. Then Nathan began to stir in her arms, and Ally sighed.
...
Austin didn't come to the truck. Dez took his place. Ally flashed Dez a weak smile, and he nodded at her. They took off, and with every minute that passed, they got closer to the farm.
Nathan began to cry in Ally's arms, and she rocked him gently, shushing him. He cried louder, and louder, but no matter what Ally did he only seemed to cry louder.
"What's wrong with him?" Jess asked, urgently.
"I don't know!" Ally panicked, and she kissed Nathan's head. "C'mon baby, I need you to be quiet."
Ally looked him over, and she noticed something different. His head...it looked bigger...swollen. Ally would've laughed at the weirdness of it, but something wasn't right.
She could feel it deep down...
"S-Something's not right," She stammered.
"What do you mean?" Derek asked from the back.
"Something's wrong," She whispered. "What's wrong with his head..." Nathan stopped crying, and his eyes fell shut. "Dez...Dez...DEZ STOP THE TRUCK!" She screeched, and Dez slammed on the breaks, halting the truck behind them, and the others ahead.
Ally kicked the door open, and she ran ahead, towards the truck she knew Cal and Alice were in.
"Help! HELP!" Cal was the first out of the truck, and she raced up to him.
"SOMETHING'S WRONG!" Ally screamed at the top of her lungs, and Cal took Nathan from Ally's arms, and glanced at him. He saw the dramatic increase in the size of his head, and Ally watched his eyes widen. "What's wrong..." She whimpered, and Cal stared at her.
"What's going on!?" Austin stormed over, and he paused when he saw the tears falling from Ally's eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Where's the nearest hospital?" Alice asked, urgently, and Kira stepped forward.
"There's one in the next town, last time I was there it still had everything there," Kira explained.
"We need to go there, NOW!" Cal demanded, and Ally's eyes widened.
"What's wrong!?" She shouted, and Austin reached out to her. "GET OFF!"
"Ally, I need you to trust me. I can save him, but we need to get to a hospital," Cal assured her.
"Save him?" Ally gasped. "B-But-"
"What the hell is going on!?" Austin yelled.
"We need to get to a hospital!" Cal went straight to the truck, and Ally went to follow, but Austin reached out and grabbed her. Without saying a word, he pulled her into one of the trucks, and pushed her into the backseat, and he sat down next to her.
"What's wrong with him..." Ally whimpered.
"I-I don't know," Austin croaked, and Ally reached out for him, a sob coming from her mouth.
...
They pulled up outside the hospital. Austin and Ally ran out of the truck, following Cal and Alice. Wayne, Lucas and Ronny ran ahead, and swiftly took out any creepers. Cal ran down the dark corridor, and into one of the hospital wards. Ally felt her legs trembling, and her knees hitting against one another.
Cal placed Nathan's tiny frame down onto the hospital bed, and Alice began rummaging through the cupboards. Ally ran forward towards the bed, and Austin came up behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist, then pulling her back against his chest.
"What's happening to him?" Ally whimpered.
"Hydrocephalus," Cal said, and Alice handed him a needle with a fluid inside.
"What does that mean?" Austin asked, and his grip tightened around Ally's waist.
"Fluid on the brain."
"WHAT!?" Ally shrieked.
"Ally," Cal stepped in front of her and cupped her cheeks. "I need you to listen to me, I can save him, but I need you to be calm. I'm going to give him an anaesthetic, and I need to drain the fluid off his brain."
"NO!" Ally screamed at him, and Cal glanced at Austin.
"Okay," Austin said, tears in his eyes.
"What! NO!" Ally screamed again, and Austin began to drag Ally away. She began kicking and screaming, as he pulled her from the ward. When they rounded the corner, he pinned her against the wall. Ally stopped screaming, and she looked up at him with wet eyes.
"C'mere," He whispered, and she wrapped her arms around him, crying loudly. They both slid to the floor, and he cradled her in his arms.
"Mommy...what's wrong?" Ally pulled her head away from Austin's chest, and she saw Jess, Nevil and Billy standing there. "Is Nathan going to be okay," Jess cried.
Austin outstretched his arm, and the three of them ran forward, racing into the gap between Austin and Ally's bodies. Both of them wrapped their arms around the three of them, and cried in each others arms.
AN: Okay...don't kill me...emotional I know. I had this planned for a while now, and things will get better, but maybe not so soon. I've got more drama planned, because as you should have all gathered by now is that I love love love drama. Don't worry Nathan will be fine...
Anyway, thank you all for your reviews for the last chapter, but I'd really like to hear more from you all, because I love you all so much, and please no hate for this chapter, it makes me sad, but I also loved to hear what you think...LOVE YOU ALL!
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