III - Eight Fifty-Two
-One Day Later-
The sun was nearing the horizon, shining an orange light at the side of the buildings at Albany.
Bobby and Ronnie Anne were standing above the rooftop of the Corning Tower, where they could see the entire city. They each had their binoculars facing west, though they looked at different areas of the city. Bobby was looking at the individual streets in the city while Ronnie Anne kept hers locked on to the I-90 highway.
"We should head back now," said Bobby. "It's about to get dark soon."
"We have our flashlights," said Ronnie Anne.
Bobby grumbled.
"You're right though. We shouldn't really be using our flashlights at night. Makes us easier to spot."
Bobby nodded.
Ronnie Anne removed the binoculars from her eyes and took one last sweep of the city. But just like yesterday, and the day before, the city was quiet.
"Okay. Let's go."
Bobby and Ronnie Anne walked over to the stairwell.
Just as the sun continued to descend, three vehicles in the distance began to approach the city from the south. The vehicles were not slowing down.
A low humming echoed around the room.
Indistinct footsteps were distant.
A cough filled the room.
Lynn opened her eyes and blinked twice. Small pieces of dust fell from the concrete ceiling and onto her face. She lifted her head and looked around. She was inside a small cage with Benny, who was sitting down in a fetal position next to a corpse. Further out the room, Lucy sat below a table and a shirtless D sat next to an empty chair. Becky was pacing around the room.
Lynn lowered her head to the cold and damp stone floor.
"So it wasn't a dream," whispered Lynn.
"Indeed it wasn't," responded Lucy. "You slept for quite a while."
"Really? What time is it?" asked Lynn before sighing in realization. "Never mind. I forgot that there is no way to tell time in this... stupid desert of a room."
"Judging by how hot this room is... I'd say it's daytime," said Becky.
"It feels like nighttime," said Lucy.
"How does it feel like nighttime?"
"It's hot... but it's not getting hotter," said Benny. "If this room is cooling down, then that must mean that it's nighttime outside. Right... Lucy?"
"Yeah," said Lucy unconvincingly.
"Why am I still in a cage?" asked Lynn.
"You and Benny still ain't listening to the rules," said D. "At least that's what them motherfuckers said. They were gon' put Becky in there too, but then it would've been too tight for y'all three. Y'all would've cooked to death."
"And they think... this will bend me to their rules somehow."
Lynn looked down at Benny.
"Benny Boy, you alright?"
Benny lifted his head up.
"Don't call me that," said Benny.
Lynn inspected his face. Benny's eyes were red and dry, his skin was red, although there was not a drop of sweat anywhere on his face. He was breathing slightly heavier than normal and his lips were parched.
"Dang," said Lynn. "You're really dehydrated. I think you're about to have a heat stroke."
"It's fine. I'm... fine."
"You don't have to be here with me. Just eat your food. Listen to what they tell you. Follow the rules."
"I said... I'm fine. Besides, if I did that, then they'd put Becky in here... and I can't have that."
Becky gave Benny a guilty look. She then sighed and sat down on the empty chair.
"Take off your shirt then, at least," said Lynn.
Benny did not move at all. It seemed as if Lynn's words passed through his ears, with his brain receiving no understanding of what she just said. He continued to look ahead into nothingness.
Lynn stood up above Benny and leaned closer to him.
"Did you not hear me? Take off your shirt!"
Benny shook his head nonchalantly which surprised Lynn.
"You must be dazed and lightheaded. Let me take it off for you."
Lynn grabbed the collar from Benny's shirt and began to pull it up. As she pulled up, Benny grabbed her wrist and gripped it hard. Lynn pulled the collar and Benny pulled down her wrist. Lynn then removed her grip on Benny's shirt.
"What are you doing?" asked Lynn, puzzled about Benny's behavior.
"I told you. I'm okay. I'm-"
Benny coughed into the ground. His raspy voice prompted Lynn to start pulling on Benny's shirt again. Benny tried to grab Lynn's wrist again, but she managed to grab his wrists first. Lynn pulled his hands up while she took off his shirt. Benny continued to struggle.
"No! Keep it on!"
"What's wrong with you? I'm… only… trying to help!"
Lynn removed Benny's shirt, revealing what Benny has tried to hide for so long.
Benny's face turned red as the others stared at his chest and his left shoulder, with even Lucy appearing surprised.
"What happened to you?" asked Lynn.
"I-I-I got cut. And burned."
"Jesus, that burn mark looks painful," said Becky. "Your bandage looks stained."
"Benny! You should've told us about this sooner!" cried Lynn. "It looks like you're falling ill from some sort of infection. Did you get bit?"
"No," said Benny. "Sherry did this."
"What did she do to you exactly? Were you guys fighting or something?"
"She kept me tied to a chair. She pushed a knife into my chest and cut me up. She then ironed my shoulder. But nothing else. There were no roamers involved. I promise."
"Looks like she loves torturing people, don't she?" scoffed D. "I'm surprised that bitch didn't force a roamer on us."
"She's... she's actually evil," said Becky. "I should've killed her when I had the chance."
"They would've killed you," said Lucy.
"What does it matter? Look what she did to our people!"
"The lives of every person in this group matters. To sacrifice yourself for vengeance is not something that would benefit our group. No matter what you think about yourself, we want you here, alive."
"What about... giving up your life to save someone else?"
Lucy looked at Becky. She knew she was thinking about Tad.
"Only if it's the only option," said Lucy.
Becky grit her teeth. She had nothing to say and instead only remained seated silently.
Lynn faced Benny and grabbed his shirt. She handed it back.
"I wouldn't want you to put this back on," said Lynn. "But if you feel the need to, then wear it back on. I'd understand."
Benny refused to put his shirt back on. The room was cooking all of them.
As Lynn looked closer at Benny, she was able to see the intense sadness in Benny's eyes. Almost as if he didn't want to live anymore.
Lynn leaned closer to Benny and wrapped her arms around him.
Benny's eyes were stinging him as he couldn't cry anymore. His tears have been dried up and used.
Lynn lay her head on his right shoulder and closed her eyes.
"No matter what happens," said Lynn, "we're here for you."
A teardrop from Lynn's dry eyes fell into Benny's shoulder. He felt the warm teardrop run down his chest and into his bandage, where it absorbed the salty water.
Footsteps became more distinct as they approached the small room. The tunnel echoed the naturally quick pace of the Piranhas' footsteps. The knob of the door was twisted, and the door was then opened.
Andrew, Gina, and John walked inside the room.
"It's showtime," said Gina.
John grabbed Becky's arms and forcefully escorted her out of the room.
Andrew pointed his pistol at D and forced him to leave the room with him.
Gina grabbed Lucy's wrist and walked out of the room.
Lynn and Benny were left alone in the room, locked in a cage together.
The sunset had disappeared out of the horizon, with only a moon to illuminate the late evening.
"Ponytail and the katana boy are still down there," said Andrew.
"I'll get them," said Sherry. "If David and the others arrive, and I'm still not here, make them wait for me."
"Got it."
Sherry walked inside the hot room and towards the cage. She and Doug pointed their guns at the two young teens.
"You know this cage's not locked right?" said Sherry.
She pulled the cage upwards to Lynn's dismay.
However, Benny seemed to not care.
Sherry grabbed Benny's arms, and Doug grabbed Lynn's wrist.
"Hey, where are you taking us?" asked Lynn. "Answer us, you assholes!"
The four walked out of the room and climbed up the stairs.
Lynn was too exhausted to fight back, though she couldn't help but fear what was going to happen next.
The four then walked out of the warehouse before Lynn was kicked in the back of her calves, causing her to fall to her knees in line with the other hostages.
"Ow! Asshole!"
Benny lowered herself voluntarily. He then looked as fear filled Lynn's face. He reached for her hand.
"We're together in this, right?" asked Benny.
Lynn was hesitant before she grabbed Benny's hand and nodded. She then grabbed Lucy's left hand with her right hand. Lucy did the same with Becky, and she did it as well with D. Sherry looked at the group and smiled.
"How sweet," said Sherry. "Just to let you all know, what I'm going to do is nothing personal."
The sound of a gun cocking caused the fear among the hostages to grow.
Becky was panting heavily, looking for a way out of this situation.
D was trying to keep himself composed, but his body trembled on its own.
Lucy kept her head down, trying to avoid looking at anyone or anything.
Lynn felt her head spin and her stomach gurgle. Sweat dripped from her face as she tried to keep herself grounded.
Benny looked up at the night sky, seeing the moon in the sky, where only part of it was illuminated. He closed his eyes as he felt the cold tip of a pistol press against his neck.
He then heard the sound of an engine and opened his eyes where he saw bright headlights coming closer. The lights then shined on the hostages, revealing all of them on their knees in front of the hostages.
Sherry looked at the vehicles angrily and walked over to a shipping container as Doug kept his pistol pointed at Benny's neck. She walked inside the container, then came out with a roamer with a snare attached around its neck. The snare was connected to a grabber which was held by a hook in the shipping container.
Sherry removed the hook and held the grabber. The roamer's growls increased the heartbeats of every hostage, even Lucy, for she feared for the life of the others.
David opened the door to the RV and came out of it with his pistol aimed at the Piranhas.
Richard followed him, his Python aimed at Sherry.
Lori kept cover behind her door, using the rolled-down window to let her gun pose a threat.
The rest of the group members followed suit, save for a few, and the hostages looked in fear as some of them had guns pointed against their heads.
Vonda came out of the RV with a bow. She didn't have it aimed at anyone.
Sherry revealed herself while she held the roamer by the neck with her grabber. The roamer was extending its arms and clawing at the air, trying to bite the hostages.
"Good evening, everyone!" exclaimed Sherry, forcing a smile. "Well... here we are. At each other's throats again. Just after I thought I could trust you again."
"We have you outnumbered," said George. "I'd ask you to let the kids go, but that's not your style, is it?"
"You know me well, Agent Cane."
"What do you want?"
"I want all of you to die," said Sherry. "But that's not gonna happen because you're right, Agent Cane. We're outnumbered. But... we do have your people. So I have a proposal."
Sherry looked over at the group members.
"You all hand George and my daughter over. And you kill David and that blond asshole there. You do that... I'll let your people go."
David looked back at the group. He expected them to chatter amongst themselves, to give that offer some thought. But instead, they all looked to him and shook their heads.
"We're not doing that," said Lori. "We won't kill our own just for your own amusement. Besides... we don't trust you."
David looked back at Sherry and nodded.
"You don't trust me? Explains why you had your people follow me. You broke our agreement. Agent Cane... you broke your word. The way I see it, you have no option. Have any of you ever been bitten by a roamer? I guess not, since you wouldn't be here. It's a slow, painful way to die. The fever, the nausea, the muscle cramps, the headaches... the feeling of knowing you will die soon... and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. "
The roamer growled loudly as the group members continued to aim their weapons at the Piranhas and vice-versa.
Luna and Sam were at a rooftop, with the former aiming David's M110 sniper rifle at Sherry. The two of them were sweating nervously.
"Maybe one of you should've asked Lola how she felt throughout the whole ordeal," continued Sherry. "I can't imagine she'd say anything good."
Lori felt her heart race and anger build up inside her. She wanted to shoot Sherry right now. Her finger was already on the trigger.
"So... if any of you don't want your people to die a slow death, then you know what you have to do."
George grit his teeth as he looked at David.
Richard growled as his iron sights lined up with Sherry's head.
Suddenly, Vonda stepped forward.
"Fucking hell," said Richard.
Sherry smiled, thinking Vonda was walking over to her. However, Vonda then paused, standing in between the group and the Piranhas. Sherry's smile faded fast.
"Well?" asked Sherry. "What are you waiting for?"
"What are you doing?" asked Vonda.
"What I should've done before."
"No one has to get hurt. You can still go. Your group too. All we want is our people back."
"Not after what I did to your group. Look at Missy's husband over there. You think he's gonna let me get out of here alive?"
"Why didn't you just go when you had the chance? You should've just left my friends here and you could've gone."
"No. There's no damn way in hell I would've let your group get away with what happened in Hudson."
"Did you really care about them that much?"
"They're my people. I've known them way longer than your group known each other."
"Not true. My group were friends for years before the world went to shit. Friends, partners, family... and then you came in and took that from them! They only killed your people because they went after my group first!"
"Not true... hadn't George stuck his nose where it didn't belong... none of this would've happened."
"You think this is what Dad would've wanted?" asked Vonda.
"I don't care what your father wanted. All he wanted to do was save people other than his family. Had he just been selfish this one time... he could've been here with us."
"Then... do you care about what I want?"
"It doesn't matter what you want. Your people... care more about themselves than about you.
"No, I promise they won't do anything if you just leave them alone. And if you don't believe me..."
Vonda grabbed an arrow from her quiver and drew it back as she pointed her bow at Richard.
"...I'll kill him if everyone doesn't lower their weapon."
Richard looked at Vonda with shocked eyes, holding his breath as he saw the sharp tip of the arrow.
George gulped, knowing what Vonda was capable of. He lowered his gun just as Richard has.
"David, tell Luna and Sam to lower their weapons too," said Vonda.
David glared at Vonda before taking out his walkie-talkie hesitantly.
"You see that building to your left? Look at the roof."
Sherry slowly looked up, seeing Luna aiming her sniper rifle at her.
"Luna," said David. "You girls lower your weapon."
"No," said Sherry. "Tell them to come down here too."
David grumbled.
Luna and Sam looked at each other in confusion before they heard the walkie-talkie crackle again.
"And come down here."
"Alright," said Luna.
"Is it over?" asked Sam.
Luna shook her head.
Vonda looked over at Sherry.
"So... do we have a deal?" asked Vonda.
"It's like I said. Your people... cannot get away with it. There's no telling if I'll get followed again. They don't trust me. And I don't trust them."
"You know, for a while, I thought my mother didn't care about me. You know what my earliest memory was? It was Dad crying after you left him. That moment you disappeared from my life... is the moment I can recall everything there is to remember about myself. You were there, but I could never picture your face. Dad didn't even want to show me pictures of you. And for a while... I thought it was better that way. To act as if you just didn't exist. As if I didn't need you in my life. But then... then the world went to shit. And Dad was no longer around. For a while there, I thought there was no one around that would be able to love me like he did. But then... you came into my life again. And even though I don't approve of what you did... I was willing to forget about that all because I cared about you. And I cared about you because you loved me. But right now... I'm having doubts. If you really love me... you'll let my friends go. And I... I'll come with you. Wherever you want to go. And we never have to cross paths with David's group again. And I won't complain. Because then I'll know... that you really love me."
Sherry's heart fluttered. She then looked over at her Piranhas, before seeing Andrew shake his head slowly. Sweat formed on her face as she felt an immense weight on her shoulders. She felt her eyes getting wet.
"Heh, it's that easy, huh?" muttered Sherry.
There was silence except the growling of the roamer.
Sherry then released the grabber and kicked the roamer forward. She quickly backed away as Richard drew his revolver with his left hand and fired a shot, which missed her.
She yelped and stumbled to the ground.
Vonda aimed the bow away from Richard and shot it at the roamer, slicing off its ear. The arrow shot caused it to turn its head and move a different direction though.
John quickly grabbed Sherry and dragged her behind a shipping container as Richard fired off more shots, all of them missing.
All the Piranhas were behind cover as the group members had their weapons raised.
Lori had her rifle aimed at the roamer, but was unable to pull the trigger. The roamer was too close to her sister.
"No!" screamed Lori.
Lynn looked forward as Vonda grabbed another arrow from her quiver. She held onto Benny's hand tightly as sweat continued to drip down her face. She then turned around and saw the roamer.
Her heart came to a halt.
Vonda was too late.
The roamer had sunk its teeth into its victim.
Vonda's mouth widened and her eyes grew as she struggled to comprehend what just happened.
The roamer ripped the skin off of the back of the victim's neck, causing her blood to squirt onto its teeth.
Becky shrieked as she and D ran away from the roamer.
Lori cried out as Lucy fell to the ground, revealing the gash on her neck.
Andrew then returned fire, aiming at Richard.
The group members all took cover, except Lori, who was still unable to pull the trigger.
A bullet then struck the roamer, killing it. Lori turned to her left, seeing smoke flowing out of David's M9 pistol. The two then quickly took cover as the other Piranhas fired their weapons at them.
"Oh my god," mumbled Lynn, looking at Lucy. "Luce..."
Vonda crouched before seeing her mother try to run inside the warehouse as the Piranhas were firing at the group. She yelled in anger and aimed her bow at her before firing the arrow, which pierced through her right arm.
Sherry screamed as she felt the pang of the arrow. Andrew pushed the door open and dragged Sherry inside the warehouse.
The Piranhas reloaded their guns, which gave the group members a chance to open fire. However, they held their fire as David peeked out of cover.
"Guys, come over!" he exclaimed.
Vonda ran over to the vehicles along with Becky and D, while Benny and Lynn dragged Lucy behind an abandoned truck next to the warehouse entrance. She then paused before looking back.
"Vonda?" called out Becky.
Vonda then ran in the opposite direction, though avoiding going through the entrance of the warehouse. Instead, she ran past the abandoned truck to go around the warehouse.
"Vonda!" exclaimed George.
As Bertie peeked, David fired a shot, causing him to move his head back into cover.
"Man, we're in some serious shit," panted Doug.
"We had a good deal," said John. "Why didn't Sherry take it?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" asked Bertie.
"I'd have to get out this motherfuckin' place first."
"I'll give you guys cover. Ready?"
"Yeah."
Richard fumbled his cartridges as he tried putting them into his revolver. He groaned in frustration as his bandaged hand got in the way.
David kept his eye on the shipping container before Bertie fired off a couple bullets towards Vanzilla, causing Lori and others to duck.
John and Doug then ran towards the entrance of the warehouse, causing David to pull on the trigger of his pistol, hitting John in the shoulder. John groaned, though he kept moving, entering the warehouse as fast as he got out of cover.
"I got a grenade," said Lori. "Should I use it?"
"Too risky," said David. "Benny and Lynn are too close. Seems like the Piranhas can't get 'em at that angle, but..."
Bertie panted as sweat formed near the edges of his glasses.
"You have to go too," said Bertie.
"You're not coming?" asked Gina.
"I gotta provide cover."
"We can both go at the same time."
"I gotta give you cover fire. You have to go back to the van and patch Sherry up."
Gina nodded.
Bertie then came out of cover from the other side of the shipping container and fired his submachine gun at the vehicles, causing the group members to take cover again. Gina ran away from the shipping container and into the warehouse, leaving Bertie alone.
"It's just one more, right?" asked Lori.
"Yeah," said David. "Remember what we did last time we were here?"
Lori nodded.
David and Lori came out of cover and slowly moved towards the shipping container as George and Sergei stayed back, keeping their weapons aimed at the warehouse entrance. The two then diverged, with David taking the left and Lori taking the right. The two approached the shipping container before Bertie popped out of the cover, ready to fire his gun again. However, he received a burst of automatic gunfire, blowing blood and smoke off his chest. He lay dead on the ground with blood on his glasses as Lori panted heavily.
George and Sergei moved forward, approaching the entrance to the warehouse. David motioned Lori to stay as he entered the warehouse with the two men.
Gina panted as she ran out of the back door. She saw the van parked near an alleyway, causing her to run over.
"There she is," groaned Sherry. "My savior."
Gina smiled as she ran over.
"And Bertie?" asked John.
"He's still back there," panted Gina. "He's probably coming any second now."
Vonda came out of an alleyway and aimed her bow at Gina, causing her to raise her gun quickly. However, Vonda loosed her arrow, striking Gina in the chest and piercing her lung open.
"Shit!" gasped John.
Andrew raised his gun before Sherry grabbed his wrist.
"No!" yelled Sherry. "Not her! Just drive, Doug! Drive!"
As Vonda reached for another arrow, the van began moving and John shut the back doors. She aimed her bow at the van and launched another arrow, striking the back doors, though it only pinched it before dropping to the ground.
"Get back here!" screamed Vonda. "You fucking asshole!"
She panted heavily before hearing the sounds of gagging. She turned around and saw Gina clutching her chest as blood seeped out of her mouth.
Gina tried to flip herself to the side as Vonda stared at her. Tears rolled down Vonda's face as she did nothing but stare at her.
Sherry looked out the windows of the back door and saw Vonda getting smaller and smaller until the van made a turn. She gasped in pain as the arrow remained lodged into her arm.
"Take this shit off of me!" she groaned.
Andrew took out a knife and cut the arrow so that the arrowhead would fall to the ground. He then pulled out the rest of the arrow backwards.
John took out some bandages and wrapped them around Sherry's arm.
"Damn, I can't believe she did that," panted Sherry.
"What do we do her now?" asked Andrew.
"Not fucking kill her. That's what."
"She shot you with an arrow."
"She's my fucking daughter! Raise your gun at her again and I'll cut your balls out and shove 'em down a roamer's throat! You got that?"
Andrew nodded before looking away with a smirk. That's the intimidating Sherry he knew.
David, George, and Sergei came out the back door. David quickly raised his pistol and fired at a roamer approaching Vonda.
However, despite how close the roamer was to hitting Vonda as it fell, the girl didn't react. She simply stood above Gina, who lay in the ground, motionless.
George walked over to Vonda.
"Hey, you alright?" asked George.
Vonda sniffled as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"She... she got away," said Vonda.
"That's alright. We'll find her."
George looked down at Gina, seeing the arrow on her chest. He then looked back at Vonda and felt immense sorrow for her. He holstered his pistol and placed his hand on her back before walking her to the warehouse again.
Lori backed up to the abandoned truck, keeping her rifle aimed at the entrance door.
Dana and Wavehead had their weapons aimed at the sides of the warehouse.
Lynn's hands trembled as she looked down at Lucy, who was breathing with a raspy voice.
Benny's eyes widened as he looked down at the bite mark, seeing the saliva bubbles spreading throughout the wound.
"Lori-" said Lynn.
"What?" panted Lori, trying to hold back her tears.
"Lucy needs help! Right now!"
"No one move yet. We're still not safe."
"There's no one left," said Benny. "The other four must have gotten away."
"We don't know that for sure."
"Please, Lori," said Lynn. "Get Lisa over here."
Lori began to tear up as she kept her rifle aimed at the door.
Suddenly, David, George, Sergei, and Vonda came out of the warehouse from the entrance door, prompting Lori to lower her rifle.
"They got away," said David.
Lori gasped as tears fell down her face. She then turned around and knelt down.
"Lisa!" called out Lori. "Get over here!"
"Don't... yell so loud," said Lucy. "You're going to attract all the roamers."
Benny looked over at the vehicles before running over to Luan.
"Oh, thank god..." whispered Benny.
"Benny, oh my god, what happened to her?" gasped Luan.
Luan ran over to Lucy, as well as her siblings.
"Lucy!" shouted Lincoln.
He and his sisters ran towards the dying girl, who was holding her neck in pain. Even Leni understood what was going on with her little sister.
Luna scoped into David's rifle as she slowly approached the vehicles. She then quickly lowered it and ran over to the warehouse as Sam was caught off-guard and followed her.
Lana looked at her older sister, realizing that she would have to face another huge loss.
Lisa inspected Lucy's bite mark closely as Luna ran over to her.
"What happened to her?" asked Luna.
"She got bit," said Lisa.
"What do we do?"
Lisa gulped as she slowly backed away from Lucy.
"Lisa, please do something," said Lori.
"There's nothing to do," said Lisa. "This bite is incurable."
Lori continued to let her tears fall as Lucy cleared her throat.
The Loud children leaned close to their beloved sister as she started to speak.
"Luan…" Lucy said softly, causing Luan to come closer, "You're alive."
"Y-Yeah," said Luan. "You thought I was dead, huh?"
"No. Never had a doubt in my mind you were still breathing. Right, Lynn?"
Lynn tried to nod before being unable to hold her tears back any longer. She looked away and broke down, unable to handle seeing yet another one of her sisters succumb to the infection of the dead.
"Don't cry," said Lucy, while moving her bangs away from her eyes. "Do you see me crying?"
"There's gotta be something we can do," said Lynn. "Maybe we can cut off this bite mark from the rest of her body."
"It's the back of her neck," said Lisa. "If Lynn's having trouble moving... then it's surely affecting her spine already."
"Still! We have to try!"
"Lynn, it's alright," said Lucy.
"No it isn't!"
"Lynn, please. It's alright. It happens. Death has always been around us since the dawn of mankind. There's nothing you can do to stop it. Any of you."
Lucy cleared her throat as she felt her body stiffening and her lips drying up.
"But that doesn't mean you have to fear it once your fate is revealed. Accept it. Embrace it. That way... you don't have to suffer in a futile attempt to keep yourself alive."
"Lucy, I don't even know what I'm going to do without you," said Lincoln. "We were supposed to reunite with Mom and Dad together. We were going to make life the way it was."
"You'll be fine without me. You all will be. To tell you the truth, I never really believed life was ever going to be the same as it was in Royal Woods."
Lincoln looked at Lucy's eyes. Tears were starting to form on her eyes.
"But it's alright. You can make a new life that is worth living. Ironically, given the state that this world is in... life isn't all gloom and doom."
"I only wish you were going to be around to see whatever happy life we made," said Luna.
"It's not going to be the same without you, Luce," said Lori.
"We'll miss you," cried Lincoln.
Lucy looked at Lana. Lana rubbed her exhausted and dry eyes and placed her hands on Lucy's chest.
"I have no words right now…" whispered Lana.
"I understand. You don't have to say anything. I know how you feel. I… love you guys."
Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lincoln, Lana, and Lisa looked at Lucy in her eyes.
"We love you too," said all of the Louds, except Lori.
"Now if you can... can you guys... give me and Lori a moment alone?"
The Loud siblings were all confused, though they didn't hesitate to fulfill her demand. They all walked away, with Lynn being the last one to go, removing her hand from Lucy's hand slowly.
"Goodbye, Luce," said Lynn.
"Goodbye, Lynn," whispered Lucy.
Lynn walked away from the abandoned truck and headed back to Vanzilla with the others.
David and the others stood by the vehicles, staying on the lookout for roamers.
"What is it?" asked Lori.
"My diary. It's under the back left corner seat of Vanzilla."
"You want me to get it right now?"
"No. I want you to make sure no one ever reads it. Not even you."
"Is... is that all you wanted to tell me?"
"I'm serious, Lori."
"I know."
"I'll haunt you if you don't do this."
Lori seemed too upset to even process that statement.
Lucy was unable to clear her throat as she felt her windpipe getting clogged with mucus.
"Well... I guess this is it."
Lori looked at Lucy with guilt in her eyes.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more to save you," said Lori.
"Hey. It's not your fault."
Lucy let out a raspy breath.
"No matter what anyone says, you're... an amazing sister. Stay alive for our family. They're gonna need you."
Lori nodded softly.
"And don't go too hard on the roamers. They were once people too. Remember who the real monsters are."
A teardrop fell onto Lucy's shirt.
"And one last thing... don't let me turn into one of them. I want to be at peace already."
"Okay," whispered Lori.
"Goodbye, Lori."
"Goodbye, Lucy."
Lucy gagged softly as she looked up at the waning moon in the sky. She then closed her soft blue eyes.
Lori gasped out in sorrow before placing her hand on her chest. Her heart was no longer beating.
The Loud siblings were all in tears as they looked at the sight in front of them.
David slashed a roamer's skull apart with a knife.
Sergei slammed the butt of his gun on a roamer's face, crushing it.
Lori reached into her holster and pulled out her M9 pistol. She stood up and pointed it at Lucy's head.
Lincoln turned away, as well as Leni.
Luna and Sam were hugging each other tightly, as well as Luan and Benny, having their eyes closed.
Lisa held Lana's hand as they looked away.
Lynn was the only one looking, though she could see the hesitation on Lori.
Lori let out another pained gasp before lowering her pistol, unable to go through with it.
Rusty sighed as he felt confused as to why he felt sorrow.
Like Tabby, Clyde was in tears as well, and Zach was patting them on their backs softly.
Wavehead and D grabbed each other's right hands and gave each other a brotherly hug, patting each other's back softly as they remained quiet, out of respect for the Louds.
Carol tapped Richard and asked for his revolver.
Richard nodded and handed his revolver over to Carol, as well as a cartridge.
Carol walked over to the abandoned truck as Becky and Dana watched, wondering what she was going to do.
Lori held her gun softly before Carol tapped her on her shoulder.
"Can I?" asked Carol.
Lori noticed Carol was holding Richard's Colt Python. She wiped her tears and nodded softly as she backed away.
Carol gripped the revolver with both hands and closed one eye. The iron sights of the revolver was lined up with Lucy's head. She then sighed as she placed her finger on the trigger. She then pressed it.
A loud gunshot went off.
Lynn flinched before tears rolled down her face again.
Carol turned around and saw Lori in complete tears. She then walked forward and hugged Lori, crying along with her too, though softly as she consoled her.
Richard looked at his watch. His eyes opened up before slowly closing, revealing the exhausted bags under his eyes.
It was 8:52.
Bobby looked out the window of his apartment. The city looked completely dark and empty. He was tapping his foot nervously before hearing his sister's voice.
"You really shouldn't be looking out the window," said Ronnie Anne. "What if a bullet comes flying through?"
"The gunfire stopped completely," said Bobby. "I'm just wondering what happened out there."
"Can you even see anything out there?"
"Not really."
"Then what are you doing still looking out?"
"I... don't know."
Bobby then gasped before closing the curtains and dashing out of the apartment.
"What the-?" muttered Ronnie Anne. "Wait!"
Ronnie Anne ran out of the apartment to follow her brother downstairs.
The two walked out of the apartment building and saw the four familiar vehicles. The two smiled before David came out of the van with Lucy's body in his arms.
"Oh my god..." whispered Ronnie Anne.
Lori limped out of Vanzilla, her face soaked red from all the crying she was doing earlier. She then stumbled into Bobby's arms and hugged him.
Bobby hugged her back as the group members all quietly entered the apartment building.
Ronnie Anne saw Lincoln's face. He appeared to be in shock, as if tears didn't come out of him at all. She gulped and followed him inside the apartment building.
Vonda looked out into the city as she stood by the doors of the apartment building. Even in the darkness of the city, she could still see Lori and Bobby hugging each other. She closed her eyes and walked inside the building.
She knew what the group had to do now.