IV - The Girl
The creek flowed loudly, though the sound was peaceful to the four survivors who were now standing by the sign welcoming them to Hawk Woods. They removed their hoods before looking back at the few roamers that were following them.
Lori grabbed her knife and stabbed the closest roamer while Albert and Bruna went for the other ones behind it. Whitney stood back, feeling nauseous.
"Did they… know we were living people?" asked Whitney.
"Probably not," said Lori. "This is how herds form. If roamers see other roamers in groups, they follow it, because they're attracted to any sort of movement and sound. Sometimes, they literally just end up following each other in circles like what we just saw. Sometimes they all head to a specific sound or light source— like what we saw back home."
"It's what makes these Yellowjackets so powerful," said Albert. "They can pretend to be one of them and lead the whole herd anywhere they want."
"An army of dead people? People are so creative in this damn world," said Bruna. "Wish I thought of that…"
"What are we gonna do now?" asked Whitney.
Lori removed her raincoat and her hoodie— which was slathered with roamer blood and guts— and entered the car. She grabbed the radio microphone while turning the radio atop the dashboard on.
"What's the frequency for Auburn Hills?" asked Lori.
Albert removed his raincoat and his jacket before entering the car. Whitney and Bruna followed suit.
"Should be in the glove department," said Albert.
Lori reached into the glove department and pulled out a slip of paper with a list of numbers in it, along with letters. She then tried to change the frequency of the radio before noticing something wrong. She then let out a frustrated sigh.
"Battery's dead," said Lori.
"So we're going back home empty-handed?" asked Bruna.
"We'll still go to Auburn Hills," said Lori. "We just have to hope they don't shoot us on sight."
"I thought they were friendly."
"Not to the Laborers. This car is still under Laborer disguise."
"So we'll just park close by and walk the rest of the way there," said Albert.
"Yeah. That's what we're gonna do."
Lori turned the engine on for the car. The headlights revealed a lone roamer in front of them, who turned around slowly. Lori drove the car in reverse before turning towards the road. She then switched the car into drive and drove it forward, leaving Hawk Woods.
A flash of light lit up an abandoned tent next to burnt logs with dust and spores floating around. The flash of light was gone instantly as Jane lowered her camera, watching the picture being printed. She then grabbed the printed picture and placed it in her pocket before an arrow flew by, striking the tree next to her. She yelped and froze up before turning around, seeing Vonda walking into the backyard and towards her.
"Oh, whew. You scared me," said Jane, sighing in relief.
Vonda grabbed the arrow from the tree and placed it back in her quiver.
"Let's go back with the group," said Vonda sternly.
"Okay, just one more picture of the–"
Vonda grabbed Jane's arm and dragged her away from the abandoned camp.
"Hey, let go of me!" exclaimed Jane.
Vonda continued to pull Jane, who was slapping her arm. She then let go of Jane.
"Don't touch me again!" said Jane, her voice trembling a bit.
"What the hell are you thinking?" growled Vonda. "Wandering off on your own? Do you have a death wish?"
"No."
"Then what the fuck are you doing out here? Do you realize how stupid you're being right now?"
"I'm stupid?"
"Yeah!"
"I'm only trying to do what I want! B-By that, I mean… I mean I like going out on my own… b-because I feel alive! I feel alive when I'm out here alone."
"Yeah, well you'll feel dead soon if you keep this up. Let's go."
"No! I'm alive for a reason! I'm not stupid! I know how to avoid people! I've been pretty good at it my whole life!"
"You've been lucky, that's what you've been. Understand the situation we're in… Princess. You're in the vicinity of people who wanna murder and rob and rape you!"
"I don't wanna be sheltered my whole life. Can't I get a little taste of freedom?"
Vonda then grabbed an arrow and drew it back with her bow as she turned around, standing in front of Jane.
"Oh, hey, easy there," smiled a young stranger standing on the driveway, holding a knife. "We heard a noise and thought… someone was raiding our camp. My stuff's still in there, right?"
"I don't know. We weren't snooping around," said Vonda, lowering her bow.
An older stranger, who was using a cane, waved at the girls nervously.
"If you want to take shelter in our camp, then I'm afraid we can't… let you," said the young stranger. "Not enough space in our small tent."
"That's okay," said Vonda. "We were just on our way out."
"You girls have a camp, right? We see you aren't wearing a backpack."
Vonda felt her body tensing up as the young man continued to talk.
"We keep hearing gunshots and we're afraid it ain't that safe around here. And you seem to have very good reflexes. We'd like to stay where you guys are camping out. Strength in numbers, right?"
"Sure. We can take you there," said Vonda.
"I just want you to take me there," said the young man. "And for concession… my friend stays with your friend here. Forgive me for not being 100% trusting."
"I get it. Let's go."
"Vonda…" whispered Jane.
"I'll be right back in a few," reassured Vonda.
Jane nodded as Vonda walked away with the stranger. She then looked at the older gentleman walking into the backyard, placing down his backpack while appearing tired. He walked towards the tent, opening it up before coughing violently.
"Oh, Jesus," coughed the older man.
"Are you okay?" asked Jane.
"Oh, don't worry, sweetie. Something's in the air is all."
"Can I at least give you a drink of water?"
"If you can spare some, that'll be great."
"Okay! Give me a second."
"Thank you, sweetie."
Jane turned around and grabbed her backpack. She began to unzip it before hearing the click of a revolver. She turned around and felt her heart racing upon seeing the older man hold her at gunpoint.
"That camera around your neck… give it to me."
Jane dropped her backpack and pulled the camera off her neck. She reluctantly handed the camera over to the man.
"Now, take off your boots."
Jane looked down at her legs and nodded softly as she reached down for her boots. She took a quick breath before removing her boots, one by one. The older man held the camera up and smiled.
"I used to own one of these," said the older man. "Didn't think someone as young as you would be interested in having these."
"Please… don't shoot me."
"Take off your socks… and I won't have to."
Jane's face reddened as she started to tear up. Her hands were trembling heavily as she leaned down, lifting a leg up to take off her right sock. She then heard a whooshing sound before the sound of skin tearing and a body thudding into the ground. Jane looked up and saw the older man lying on the grass with an arrow going through his neck. She gasped and cupped her mouth, letting a tear fall down her face.
"Guy back there actually fought back," said Vonda, her face bruised. "Second arrow did the job though."
Jane put her boots back on and crawled over to the older man, taking the camera and the revolver from his hands.
"Was he…?"
"I'd rather… not talk about it…" sniffled Jane.
"Okay, let's go."
Jane stood up and placed the camera around her neck as she followed Vonda out of the backyard and into the street. She felt the drizzle splash against her hair and the water from her socks wetting her feet. She then passed by the body of the young man, seeing an arrow in his jaw and another in his eye. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.
"Hey, are you okay?" asked Vonda.
"How did you… how did you know the strangers were dangerous?"
"You didn't?"
Jane looked at Vonda, seeming as if she was going to say something but hesitated, and shook her head.
"There were spores in the tent," said Vonda. "Spores take years to form. So that camp had been abandoned for years– couldn't have belonged to those scumbags."
"Oh… I-I-I didn't even… I didn't even realize…"
"Yeah. Has something like this ever happened to you before?"
"Just once. And it was so long ago… nothing's changed…. I thought I was going to be braver and smarter than last time, but when that creepy guy was holding a gun at me… all I could think about was…"
Vonda looked as a teardrop ran down Jane's face.
"...my mother being alone. Last time… my– my dad was shot. And this time… I thought it was finally going to happen to me."
Vonda stopped walking. Jane stopped as well, wondering where Vonda was going to go now. To her surprise, Vonda hugged Jane, causing the latter to blush softly. Unbeknownst to Jane, Vonda let out a tear from her eyes, to which she quickly wiped before letting go of her.
"Thank you," sniffled Jane, still blushing. "You were right about me earlier. I'm stupid. If it weren't for you… I would have… I would have–"
"It's okay… I… should've called you something other than stupid. Foolish and naive, maybe. But not stupid. You're far from stupid… Jane."
Jane smiled softly while scratching her nose. Vonda began to walk again as Jane followed her.
"I guess it's time for me to stop going out on my own now, right?" said Jane.
"If I were you, I'd always go with someone a bit more experienced."
"Like you?"
"Yeah. You know, believe it or not, I wasn't always this much of a badass."
Jane grinned.
"Yeah, okay, maybe I was. Just a little bit. But I did get myself into some… bad situations. Situations that would have gotten me killed. But I had someone who would always go out of their way to make sure I came back to the group safely. His name… was George. He's shaped me to what I am now. A badass."
"Maybe I can be a badass like you one day… then I can really go out on my own," said Jane.
"Mmm, I still don't go out on my own. It always helps to have someone accompany you no matter what."
"Oh… then maybe I can have someone accompany me…"
Vonda and Jane both smiled as they looked at each other. They were ready to make a right turn at the intersection, but then, they heard someone crying outside the house at the corner of the intersection. They both got extremely tense and quickly rushed to duck behind the wooden picket fence of the house.
"Hey, what's wrong?" asked a familiar voice.
Vonda closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Jane looked at her, wondering what to make of the situation.
"It's Benny," mouthed Vonda.
"Nothing," said the person who was crying.
"Luan?" mouthed Jane.
Vonda nodded.
"The dogs are all fine. We're all fine. Nobody got hurt… everything's gonna be okay," said Benny. "Tell me, what's up?"
"I… I… don't know…" sniffled Luan.
Benny scratched his head as he looked around. However, in the darkness, he was able to see nothing other than the picket fence around the house they were in front of.
"We're gonna take back Royal Woods," said Benny.
"No, it's not about that. No… it's… not about that…"
Benny walked towards Luan. He took a seat next to her on the steps of the front porch and placed his arm around her. Luan then began to cry again.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
"It's okay. Just let it all out. I don't mind."
"No… it's something… you need to hear… oh, we shouldn't have messed around that night…"
"Huh?"
Luan covered her face in shame before removing her hands and taking a deep breath. Tears continued to roll down her face.
"I was… pregnant."
Benny's face grew terrified as he began to assume the worst. Vonda's eyes grew wide as Jane was too stunned to react.
"Oh my god…" he whispered, "don't tell me… you…"
Luan gulped and stared at Benny, nodding softly.
"Aw, man… oh, god. What's gonna happen now? Should we be worried at all?"
"What…?"
"Is the baby… still in you? Can it… turn?"
"I don't think so… no… no, it can't."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Haley did it too and nothing happened to her. I think… it's safe."
"W-Wait, what do you mean?"
"What?"
"She did what?"
Luan was speechless. Benny's eyes grew wide as he moved his arm away from Luan. He then stood up, his breath trembling.
"You… aborted our child?" whispered Benny.
Luan's lips quivered as she nodded. Vonda cupped a hand around her ear, trying to listen to the conversation, which went dead silent.
"What did you… think I was talking about?" asked Luan.
"I don't know, I thought you freakin' miscarried! You aborted our child? W-Wha– why… why?"
"Why not? Isn't this world too cruel to bring a child to?"
"How can you say something like that? That was a human being!"
"It was barely a fetus! A bunch of cells!"
"A bunch of…? You can't be serious! That was our child! You killed our child?"
"Oh, I killed it? Is that what you think of me? A baby-killer?"
"God, Luan… that's not what I–"
"–but it's what you want to say, right? You think I murdered our precious little baby!"
"Why the hell were you crying for then? Feeling guilty?"
"I was crying because I want a baby, asshole! You think I wanted to do this? I want a baby, but… this god-awful world doesn't allow me that choice! Especially now! Royal Woods isn't safe! And it will never be safe as long as we have people like the Laborers and the Vultures running around killing people! You wanted our child to grow up in a world like that? Where they would have to watch people they love get killed left and right? A-And that's assuming they even grow old enough to even comprehend the world around them! You know, they probably won't even get to afford that luxury because they would just end up like Zoey!"
"You don't know that."
"What the hell have I been doing the last three years then? Living it out like I'm on vacation? No, I've been enduring this hellish world day by day just like everyone else! What's going to change? Bad guys will suddenly stop existing because I have a baby coming up?"
"And your solution instead was to murder it?"
Luan scoffed and turned as tears ran down her face.
"You should've told me!" exclaimed Benny. "We would've talked about this! I would have thought of something!"
"Yeah? What would you have thought?"
"Certainly not kill the baby!"
"So you would have forced me to go through the pregnancy."
Benny sighed as he covered his face with his hands.
"You would have forced me to give birth! I could die! But if I don't, then what? Raise it for a few months just for it to get sick and die from a disease? Or for it to get shot in the face by some lowlife scum? O-Or maybe the other way around– we die and leave them without parents! And I know you know how much that hurts!"
"But you have to take the chance. Goddamn it, Luan, can't you see? Killing our child is wrong! What the hell is wrong with you?"
"It's just… a bunch of cells!"
"I can't even look at you the same…"
"I can't either! It's not even your business to tell me what I can and can't do with my body! Your only role in this is providing me your fucking sperm! So you don't get a damn say about the decision I made!"
"I'M YOUR BOYFRIEND!"
Luan flinched before taking a deep breath. Benny was panting as tears formed in his eyes.
"Not anymore," whispered Luan. "I'm done with you."
Luan stood up and walked away.
"W-Wait, Luan…" called out Benny, his voice breaking. "I'm sorry…"
"No. I can't see a future with you anymore. You want to fuck someone else and pump a baby into them and be a father? Be my guest. I don't care. But… not with me. Not with…"
Luan's voice completely broke down as she choked on her tears. She began to walk away.
"Fine," said Benny, clearing his voice. "If you're gonna be like that… just go then!"
Luan opened the gate and walked to the sidewalk before slamming the gate closed, not even glancing back. She stormed off into the street as Benny watched her.
The tiny raindrops from the drizzle splashed against Benny's face. His eyes were red and wet and his breath was shaky.
Luan was gone. Just like that.
He sat down on the porch and cupped his face, groaning to himself.
"Damn," he whispered to himself. "What's wrong with you?"
Benny then released his hands from his face and cleared his throat before preparing to stand up. An arrow then flew by and struck the door behind him, causing him to flinch. He raised his flashlight up and saw Vonda and Jane standing in front of him.
"V-Vonda… what the hell?" he gasped. "You gotta stop doing that, man."
"My bad. Geez, what's with you? Did someone die?" asked Vonda sarcastically.
"And if someone did?"
"That… wouldn't… be good. Did someone die?"
"No. Just the Laborers. And uh… yeah. Everyone's good."
Vonda gave Jane's shoulder a nudge, signaling her to console Benny.
"Oh, umm… you don't really… look… that good. I-I mean, you look terrible. A-As in sad! You know, 'cause of the– of your eyes!"
Benny wiped a tear from his eye and let out a chuckle.
"Huh, you can tell?"
Jane nodded, her face turning red. Her hands were clamped together tightly behind her back as she felt her legs growing weak.
"Well… I just got in a fight with Luan, and uhh… it's gonna take a while before we can fix things."
"T-That doesn't sound good…" murmured Jane.
"Huh?"
"N-Nothing…"
"That sucks, Benny," said Vonda.
"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not," said Benny.
"Nah. I really do feel bad for you. I'm sorry about your fight. If you want, you can come with us. Hang out with us so it doesn't have to be so awkward around Luan."
Benny looked at Vonda and then Jane. Jane gave a soft smile.
"Okay. Lead the way."
"I don't know where the group is," said Vonda.
"Oh, right. Come. They're not too far."
Benny, Vonda, and Jane walked off the front yard of the house and opened the gate before leaving. Suddenly, they saw Luna walking down the road with Sam. Luna raised her arms halfway up before letting them fall to express her disappointment.
"What's going on with Luan?" asked Luna.
"God, everyone's all up in our business," said Benny, now following Luna back to the group.
"They had a fight," said Vonda. "So, what's the situation looking like? Laborers had enough ammo or…?"
"Enough to refill our own weapons. Not nearly enough to take back Royal Woods. Their armored cars didn't have any gas either, except for the truck we just found. Probably explains why they camped it out where they were. So, Jackee is gonna take the car and drive it to Detroit. Jane, you're going to take Carlitos and take the passenger seat. JuJu might have to take a seat in the trunk. The rest of us are gonna have to keep walking."
"Well, how long is it gonna take?"
"The drive should be under an hour. The walk… maybe a few hours."
"You can't be serious…"
"I'm sorry, that's just the way it's gonna be."
"We got some water from the Laborers, though," said Sam. "So don't be afraid to sweat."
Luna, Sam, Vonda, Benny, and Jane arrived with the rest of the group. Lynn was wrapping JuJu's right shin with long bandages while Ronnie Anne was stitching Aiden's fists. Luan stood by a tree, looking away from the group while drinking a bottle of water. Benny glanced at Luan before looking at Lynn.
"Hey, guys, can you believe this bullcrap that JuJu told me?" chuckled Lynn. "He said roamers attacked him and the others and a roamer managed to trip him by grabbing his legs, causing him to bust his shin on a rock."
"Oh, wow, how unrealistic," quipped Vonda sarcastically.
"Man, I know it's possible. But I just don't think a rock is strong enough to chip his bone like that. Nah, someone kicked the shit out of his leg. Clyde?"
"Wasn't him," said JuJu.
"Shush. Lemme ask him."
"It's… the way JuJu described. He fell."
Clyde took a sip of water and looked away, causing Lynn to shake her head.
"Bullcrap," she said.
"Whatever," said Luna. "We spent enough time here. Let's go before the Vultures find us. Ronnie, are you done with Aiden?"
"Yeah, he's all set," said Ronnie Anne before she faced Aiden. "Sorry about the bullet wound, though."
"It's fine," said Aiden. "I can fix it."
Ronnie Anne stood up and grabbed her bottle of water as the group was now getting ready to leave. Lynn helped JuJu up. Luna walked up to Aiden.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" asked Luna.
"It's okay. I'm not really good with groups."
"I guess we'll see you around then."
"Doubt it. I move place… to place."
"Oh… well… good luck then."
"Thanks. You too."
Luna nodded as Aiden began to walk away. Jackee began to get on the driver's seat while Lynn helped JuJu up to the trunk.
"I hope these cages are locked good," said Lynn.
"Who has a watch?" asked Luna.
"I gotchu," said JuJu, checking his watch. "It's…"
Aiden let out a pained gasp before falling to the ground, catching the group's attention. They all turned around to see Aiden lying on the ground with blood leaking from the bullet wound in his chest.
"Oh my god," gasped Sam. "He's bleeding hard!"
The group ran over to him. Luna knelt down and turned Aiden over, seeing his shirt now drenched in blood. He rolled it up and saw blood pouring from the wound in his chest. She then looked up and around.
"Oh god, what do we do?" asked Roger.
"We can drive him to Detroit," said Sam.
"He might not make the trip," said Luna.
"Why? What happened to him?" asked Jackee.
"I don't know but we can't treat him. We need a doctor or a nurse. We need to get him on the truck and take him back to Royal Woods."
The windshield wipers wiped the small raindrops away from the windshield of the small car. Lori had only one hand on the steering wheel as she pondered what to do. Whitney fiddled with her fingers nervously.
"Are we really going to give Becky up to the Yellowjackets?" asked Whitney.
"No," said Lori.
"Are we gonna kill her?" asked Bruna.
"Nope. We're not gonna listen to the Yellowjackets."
"So we're fighting the herd?" asked Albert.
"My group has done it before. We can do it again."
"Is your friend really worth risking the lives of others in Royal Woods? She really isn't a friend anyways. She's a murderer and a pathological liar, who's probably slaughtering more people in Royal Woods right now. You say she's not evil, just misguided— so how are you gonna fix that?"
"Melissa is a psychologist," said Lori. "She can help Becky."
"Therapy is a luxury we can't afford anymore. There's way too many things that can go wrong. I know you want to think that you're doing it because she's your friend, but part of you probably wants to get rid of her because that part of you knows that keeping her alive is dangerous. That's the smart, logical part of you."
"We're building a civilization. That's something Becky doesn't believe I can do. I need to show her that I can. In a civilized world, we have to be better than people like her."
"You looked at the Yellowjackets in the face and you want to believe civilization can return? They're willing to destroy our home for just one person. Just how important was this dog?"
"She wasn't just a dog. And we'll stop them somehow."
"By killing them?"
Lori drove the car quietly.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," said Albert. "You want the return of a long-gone world, but as long as the Laborers, Vultures, and Yellowjackets of this world exist, we will always have to fight for our survival."
"And we will," said Lori. "But Becky is one of ours. Royal Woods is her home. What happened to her was not her fault. She was tortured emotionally, mentally, and physically. That's why she's the way she is, but if we can help her… just, please… let me help my friend."
The car got quiet again as Whitney reached for a book filled with CDs.
"How are you going to stop the Yellowjackets?" asked Bruna.
"I wanna convince Hana that Becky can be the person she knew before. Killing can't be the answer to everything."
"And if she can't be convinced?" asked Albert.
"Then we'll do to them what we're going to do with the Vultures."
"I got a better idea. We kill them right now."
"What?"
"I'm serious. As soon as we get to the RHQ, we convince April's soldiers to take out the Yellowjackets. They got tanks, so going through the herd would be no problem, right?"
"Can't we be diplomatic for once?"
"You and I both know Hana. She is stubborn. She won't change her mind about a damn thing. Her dog was like family to her. If, godforbid, Becky killed one of your siblings, would you want Becky alive? Becky and Hana may have history, but in how much of it were they actually friends?"
"But what about the others? We could just threaten them."
"When the herd comes, people will die trying to fight them. Would you rather want the people of Royal Woods to die or the Yellowjackets?"
Lori shook her head softly before letting out a remorseful sigh.
"Just say that you knew you were right," said Lori.
"Right about what?" asked Albert.
"Leadership. It's such a burden. I know what I have to do… but I so badly don't want to do it. Maybe someone else should be the leader of Royal Woods."
"I'm sorry, Lori. I didn't mean to make you feel bad about it."
"It's okay. Perhaps a world free of killing is a bit too idealistic to achieve, right?"
Albert nodded. Whitney looked down, now feeling awkward amidst the silence in the car. Bruna also felt awkward as a whole minute of silent glances passed by.
"It's too quiet here," said Whitney. "How about some music? Oh, Lori, you'll love this."
Whitney grabbed a CD and placed it inside the CD player built into the car.
"I don't know, Whitney. I'm not really in the mood to listen to—"
Upbeat music started playing.
"That is precisely why we need music," said Whitney. "Morale booster, you know?"
"I think I did it again…"
Lori sighed. Whitney smiled softly as she moved her arms around.
"I made you believe we're more than just friends…"
Albert and Bruna looked at each other strangely while Whitney continued jamming to the music. Lori looked extremely annoyed. Whitney noticed this and lowered the volume before looking for the eject button.
"No, no, it's okay," said Lori. "Leave it on. I… I'm fine."
"Really?" asked Whitney.
"We each almost lost an eyeball back there. It wouldn't be the end of the world if you played some music."
"Yeah, but if you don't enjoy it…"
"Come on, Whitney, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't let her best friend listen to music to cheer herself up?"
"Okay," smiled Whitney as she raised the volume.
"...I'm dreaming away, wishing that heroes they truly exist. I cry watching the days…"
Whitney then began singing along to the song.
"Can't you see I'm a fool in so many ways," sang Whitney. "But to lose all my senses… that is just so typically me…"
Albert lowered his eyebrows in annoyance in response to Whitney's off-key singing.
"Oh, baby, oh…" sang Whitney.
"Oops, I did it again!" sang Lori, shocking Whitney, Albert, and Bruna. "I played with your heart, got lost in the game… oh, baby, baby—"
Whitney joined as she and Lori began singing together joyfully.
"Oops, you think I'm in love… that I'm sent from abo-o-ove! I'm not that innocent!"
Lori and Whitney laughed as the music continued to play in the background. Albert rolled his eyes while Bruna looked out the window, trying her hardest not to join in.
"Oh my god!" giggled Whitney. "You sounded so off-key!"
"You still sound like a banshee!" giggled Lori.
"Well… we 'all can't be like Carol'!"
"Oh my god, our music teacher!"
Lori let out a happy laugh as Whitney nodded. Albert smiled softly as he continued to watch the two girls chatter happily like best friends.
"Yup," said Whitney. "Can't believe you remembered!"
"Oh man, that music teacher sucked so much," said Lori. "Constantly comparing me to Carol and Luna. If only she could hear me now."
"What do you mean? You still sound just as bad as before. No offense."
"That's 'cause I wasn't trying right now. Carol, Luna, Sam, and my husband have given me more than a few lessons now."
"Oh really? Bobby's a dreamy singer. Carol sounds angelic. Luna's got a powerful and versatile voice. No doubt the best. And… I never actually heard Sam sing. But let me see what you got."
"Okay," said Lori, lowering the volume for the CD player. "Ready?"
"Yeah."
"Ready, Pop-Pops?"
Albert looked up at the rearview mirror. He could see Lori's eyes looking at him.
"Yeah," smiled Albert.
"Okay."
Lori cleared her throat. She then opened her mouth to sing.
"Never mind the—"
A loud gunshot followed by a popping noise caught Lori off-guard as she pressed on the brakes. Whitney grabbed onto a handle on the roof while Albert and Bruna held on to their seats. The car skidded across the road as one of the wheels quickly deflated. Then, it came to a stop.
"Oh my god…" panted Whitney.
"Is everyone alright?" asked Albert.
"What the hell was that?" asked Bruna, grabbing her pistol.
Lori kept her foot on the brakes as she tried to look ahead into the dark road. She was then met with blinding headlights, forcing her to look away. Many shadows appeared to be passing by the headlights as they surrounded the car, prompting Lori to grab her Python. As she was prepared to let go of the brakes, she saw something outside her window that caused her to park instead. She then lowered the window.
"Who is it?" asked Albert.
"Hey, April," said Lori.
April Bell, the leader of the RHQ— the community in Auburn Hills— was standing by the window. She and her soldiers had the car surrounded with their rifles. However, upon looking at Lori, she ordered her men to lower their rifles.
"It's just Lori Loud," said April.
Unlike her more casual appearance back in Oscar's party, she was wearing her combat uniform, complete with the helmet and boots.
"Lori Loud?" exclaimed one of the soldiers. "The hell is Lori Loud doing in a Laborer car?"
"That's what I was about to ask," said April. "Care to explain, Lori?"
"It's a disguise," said Lori. "This isn't really one of their cars. We just put up the metallic sheets to make it look like a Laborer car. Even some graffiti to make it more authentic."
"Signed by JuJu," said April. "That boy is a bad influence. I'd tell Melissa to kick him out if I were you. In any case, I'm sorry about the misunderstanding. Laborers attacked my base and messed up my fences. I saw your car coming and got a bit paranoid."
"It's okay. You can't be too careful these days."
"Indeed you can't. What are you doing here by the way? You're awfully close to my base and Yellowjacket territory."
"We came to talk to you," said Lori.
April raised an eyebrow, curious to hear what Lori wanted. Lori took a deep breath, looking back at Albert. He nodded softly. She then looked at April again.
"We need a favor from you."
End Credit Song
Clair de Lune - Claude Debussy
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Ah, this chapter reminds me of the good ol' days when the group struggled to survive in the wilderness. Granted, the last time the group were surviving in the wild was only six chapters ago, but I did write that chapter three years ago! To me, it felt like a long time!
Anyways, things are about to get real crazy in the next chapter. Stay tuned!