Chapter 1 has been updated immensely! That's all I have to say for now. Enjoy the chapter. Author's notes at the end.
-27 Months Ago-
A tray of greasy pizza with a carton of milk was placed on a rectangular table where a chatter of noise and laughter filled the seats in the cafeteria. A young 17-year-old blonde with bangs, almost eighteen in a few months, with a blue tank-top and cargo shorts sat in her seat as she slid the tray across the table to her friend Joey.
"Thanks, Lori, but you can have it," he said.
"And break out with ugly zits in my face?" scoffed Lori. "No, thank you, I wouldn't touch this greasy crap if I were starving. That's why I got my…"
Lori pulled out a small bag from her backpack.
"Low-cal bean chips!"
"Fine. Chaz, you can take it," said Joey, taking out his phone. "I got something crazy to show y'all."
"I'm on a diet, man," said Chaz.
"If it's a video of you cosplaying as that superhero dude with your moose knuckles showing, then man, don't anyone wanna see that," chuckled Tad, "...'cept Becky, of course."
Laughter erupted from a few of the teens, prompting Becky to laugh sarcastically while shoving her middle finger at Tad's face.
"At least his would be bigger than yours," said Becky as she closed her fingers with a smile.
Some of the other teens laughed as Tad chuckled nervously. Dana stood up and walked over to Joey before placing her hands over Tad's shoulder.
"Can't say you didn't see that coming, dude," said Dana.
Leni bit into an apple and looked up as she chewed on it. Then, she swallowed and looked at her friends.
"I don't get it," she said with a bright smile.
"It's nothing- Joey, what did you wanna show us?" said Becky.
Joey turned his phone horizontally and looked above him, Becky smiling at him as a couple other teens stood behind him.
"It's some vid that's been going around on Twitter," said Joey, looking down at his phone as he played the video. "It's just… damn."
"Oh yeah, that vid with the guy eating- eww, I've seen this before," said Dana. "Don't need to see it again."
Lori, curious as to what the video was going to show, stood up and walked over to Joey, joining the other teens. Leni stood up, prompting Joey to stop her.
"You should stay there," said Joey. "This vid… is not for you. Keep enjoying your apple."
Leni nodded and chomped on the apple, smiling the day away. Lori looked into the phone, the video showing a man with blood in its mouth. He was moving erratically, and headed for another man in scrubs. The man screamed at the attacker to stop in an African language that the teens didn't understand before the attacker leaped towards him, scratching the fabric off of the man's clothing. Then, Lori gasped as she saw the attacker scratch the flesh off of the man, splattering blood in his clothes.
"Oh, damn!" exclaimed Tad.
"That's gotta hurt, yo," said Chaz.
"See, this is why I never take drugs," said Joey. "I don't wanna get fucked up like him."
Lori sat back in her seat and squeezed her eyes together as she pressed against her stomach. She sighed as Becky placed her hands over Lori.
"Hey, are you alright?" asked Becky.
"That was gross," said Lori. "Oh, god. Want my chips?"
"No… aren't you hungry?"
"Not anymore. Just take 'em."
Lori walked away from the table as some of the teens clamored at Joey to share the video to them. Becky then took a chip and chewed it, as she sat back in her seat, next to Leni.
"Lower that shit!" said Becky. "Leni and I can hear it from here…"
-Present Day-
The fires raged in the torches. Guns were aimed at the group. Screams from a little girl could be heard as Lori looked into the flames.
She raised her hands up, one holding the grip of her revolver and the other holding the wooden handle of the hatchet.
Reggie's screams could be heard. Flashing images of blood squirting out of his chest repeated in her mind. The never-ending crackle of gunfire caused her to slowly look around.
This was all too familiar to her.
Chapter 25: X
I - Marked Spot
Running water rushed and flowed over the rocks below the cliffside. Brisk air glided over the skin of the children's arms. A peace lily flower was plucked from the ground by the young girl with drops of blood on her lavender skirt before being placed on the back of the boy's corpse in the cliffside.
Lincoln shook his head slowly as Lily moved her hands away from Weber's body. She then picked up the knife and rubbed her arms as she walked towards Lincoln, handing her the knife as her breaths shivered and her nostrils flared up. She wrapped her arms around his older brother's legs while she took deep breaths.
Lana stared at her youngest sister before looking down at the snub-nosed revolver that she held in her hand. She gulped and then glanced at her victim.
"Give me the revolver," said Lincoln with a gentle yet firm voice.
"W-Wha- I'm not in trouble, am I?" Lana blurted out. "I hope you know I did the right thing, Lincoln."
"Just give me the revolver," repeated Lincoln, placing the knife in his pocket.
For what? I can give it back to Carol- I mean, Becky- I forgot Carol wasn't supposed to have this either."
"Neither are you," said Lincoln. "Give me the gun!"
"Like I said, I can give her the gun back myself!"
"So they can find out that you killed Simon Weber? Group's going through enough trouble as it is with Carol, and now they have to deal with what you did too?"
"I have my reasons you know… he was going to kill Lily!"
"I understand but that wouldn't have happened if you didn't provoke him in the first place!"
Lily tugged on Lincoln's jeans as she looked up.
"Is he coming back?" asked Lily.
Lincoln looked at Weber's body with a growing disgruntled look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Lily," he whispered, "he won't come back. He's… dead."
"You know he was going to kill me, right?" exclaimed Lana. "He had a knife to kill me! I told Lori about it… and she didn't want to do a dang thing!"
"Weber overheard you! That's how you provoked him, Lana!" scolded Lincoln. "He wasn't going to do anything if you just listened to what I said! You have to understand that this kid just lost his father! And whatever medical issues he was dealing with before- they only became worse. So we just needed to give him space like Lisa said! Weren't you paying attention?"
"So what was I supposed to do now? Not shoot him?"
"Exactly! He already let Lily go… and he had his back turned on you… he trusted you slowly and slowly… and you…"
Lincoln sighed as his voice lowered.
"...and you killed him."
Lana swallowed hard again and looked at Lily. Lincoln held Lily's shoulder.
"You got blood on her clothes, Lana. She's going to remember this moment, you know? She lost her innocence."
"I'm sorry," whispered Lana. "Are you scared of me, Lily?"
"Scared of that," said Lily, pointing at the gun that Lana held before looking at Lincoln. "Is Lana a monster?"
"No," said Lincoln. "She just made a big mistake. Big mistakes don't make monsters."
"The boy made big mistake," said Lily. "He not wanna hurt me."
Lincoln knelt down and hugged Lily as Lana looked at her revolver again.
"Give me the gun," said Lincoln.
Lana frowned and walked over to Lincoln, handing the revolver to the boy. Suddenly, a couple gunshots roared in the distance. The gunshots moved along the park, closer and closer to the direction of the cabin.
"Our group's in trouble," said Lana.
"We have to be careful," said Lincoln.
"What about him?" asked Lana, avoiding eye contact with the body.
"We'll say he got lost. Then, we're coming back here and we're going to give him the proper burial he needs. Understand, Lana?"
Lana nodded as Lincoln placed the revolver inside his pocket. He grabbed Lily's hands and lowered himself as the children lurked back into the woods of the park, heading towards the gunfire.
The flames of the torches emitted into the interior of the cabin, its orange-red light frightening the survivors inside.
"What the hell is going on out there?" asked Becky, walking over to the windows.
"I don't know but there are people holding our people at gunpoint!" exclaimed Bobby. "Dios mio."
"They look like fucking cavemen, these people," said Becky, walking back to her table where she held her ACE 23. "We gotta help our people."
"We're surrounded! You're gonna get shot dead- look how many people are out there!"
"Well.. I gotta- they… our people!" slurred Becky.
"I got an idea," said Lisa, moving through her suitcase. "Kotaro. You have the most accurate throw with the highest chance to throw the farthest in regards with the people in this cabin. I need you to do something for me."
"Sure, sure," said Kotaro, rubbing his arms. "It's getting hot in here."
The men and women wearing masks, most of them hockey masks, continued to stand around the cabin and the group, holding their torches high. The leader of the masked people observed the group members while whispering to a fellow masked survivor with dreads tied behind her head. He moved his fingers, occasionally pointing at certain people as the mask covered his moving jaws. His dark brown eyes had no empathy has it reflected the light from the torches. The masked survivors with dreads held a couple ropes over her shoulder while holding rolls of tripwire around her belt.
"We can hang the scrawny one," whispered the leader. "Mark an X, place a trap or two, call it a night. And as for the others-"
"Who are you people?" asked Lori.
The leader looked dead into Lori's eyes without moving a muscle. Then, his jaw mask moved.
"We are the X. We have no names. But I bet y'all have names."
"What are you monsters going to do to us?" asked George.
"You'll soon find out."
The masked leader looked at the cabin. Some members of the masked group began to march around the cabin.
"They're not getting out," he said. "We'll force them out. The more that we get, the better."
"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" growled David.
Some of the masked survivors tossed their torches at the roof of the cabin, while some of the others threw it across the porch. The flames from the torches slowly spread throughout the walls and roof of the cabin, causing the entrance door to be completely engulfed in flames.
"Sucks to lose this fast, right?" said the leader.
"Fuck you," said Lori.
"Right. Listen, what we're doing right now- it's not personal. But what we're going to do to you- tie your neck with a noose and hang you in that tree over there- that's personal."
"Me?" asked Lori as a couple masked survivors walked up to her, grabbing her arms. "Hey, get the fuck off of me!"
Kotaro opened up a window as he peered out the window. The group members shouted as one of the masked survivors tossed a noose over a branch, while other masked survivors began to shove Lori closer to the tree.
"Why the hell are you doing this?" exclaimed Jace. "Who even are you people?"
Kotaro pulled his arms back before tossing a liquor bottle filled with Vulcan's Gel at a couple masked survivors behind the group. The bottle cracked upon impact, causing a fireball to explode in front of a masked enemy, spreading the fire to the survivors holding a torch. As they screamed, Becky pulled out her ACE 23 and fired at the enemies, being careful to not shoot at the group members.
The group members and the masked survivors looked at the incoming vehicle heading towards the cabin as it honked. Its headlights reflected off of a few masks as Hana drove her RV towards the middle of the circle of enemies. A couple bodies were ran over and slammed into trees, as the group took cover from the masked survivors. They looked behind them and saw the burning corpses in the ground before grabbing their own firearms.
The two masked survivors that held Lori released her and grabbed their melee weapons, one a switchblade with a blade in the tip of each handle, and the other with a push dagger made from wood. The masked enemy with the double-bladed switchblade swung her knife around, though Lori kept dodging the swings. She then sliced the enemy's hand with her hatchet, causing her to grab her wrist in pain. The enemy with the push dagger pulled his hands back, though Lori elbowed him in the face, causing him to groan. Lori then hissed in pain as the enemy with the switchblade cut her thigh, holding the handle with one hand, while the other covered her bleeding wrist. She back kicked her groin, causing her to shriek as Lori turned around, shooting her in the stomach. Lori quickly turned around, glanced at the enemy with the push dagger, and swung her hatchet at his face, causing the mask to rip in half.
With both enemies in the ground, Lori limped back to the group hiding behind the RV, though David chose to walk closer to the enemies. He aimed his M9 at the enemy with the dagger and shot him in the head. Then, he aimed at the enemy with the switchblade and shot her in the head too.
"David!" shouted Lori. "Behind you!"
A gunshot struck David. He yelled as he knelt to the ground, holding his right leg, blood seeping from his hip.
"No!" yelled George.
George ran towards David, aiming his shotgun at a masked survivor and firing it at his arms. The pellets struck his arms and chest, causing him to collapse to the ground.
"Leave them!" yelled the masked leader. "Let's go!"
The leader of the X retreated away from the burning cabin along with the rest of his group. The group inside the cabin fled through the backdoor with their backpacks.
"Doctor!" yelled George. "You gotta help David! He got shot!"
Bobby walked closer to the RV while holding Carol's shoulders with Becky. Hana walked out of the RV and looked at the burning cabin, her eyebrows lowering, before unsheathing her sword.
"Don't chase 'em," said Kotaro. "You'll be outnumbered. You need to stay with us."
Hana shook her head before lowering her sword. She grumbled and cursed in Japanese as she walked back to the RV.
"You know I can understand you, right?" said Kotaro before looking into the woods. "Hey, look it's your siblings, Lori."
Lori turned around and saw Lincoln, Lana, and Lily walk out of the woods, all of them staring at the burning cabin. Lori walked towards them with a stiff leg, hugging the three.
"What happened here?" asked Lincoln before looking at a wounded survivor. "What happened to David?"
"We got attacked," said Lori. "David got shot but Dr. White's patching him up now. But that doesn't matter- you guys can't be running off like that!"
"Sorry," said Lana. "I…"
"Give me back the revolver," said Lori. "And what the hell did you do to Weber?"
"I- uh…" stammered Lana.
"I have the revolver," said Lincoln, raising Carol's gun. "Here you go. I needed something just in case there were roamers. I don't have a handgun- not that I need one, you know."
"It's okay- okay, I got it," said Lori, looking at David in the distance before turning back to her siblings. "Where's Weber?"
"We lost him," said Lincoln. "We have his knife, though."
"I got him patched up!" shouted Dr. White.
"We have to go now," said Lori.
"Now?" gasped Lincoln. "But what about Web-"
"There's no time," said Lori. "There's a dangerous group out there and we need to find shelter now."
"It'll just be quick."
"We have no time to argue about this," said Lori, walking towards Vanzilla.
"I'm just asking you this once-"
Lori turned around.
"These people killed Reggie. Not quickly. It was torture what they did to him. I can't have that happen to us, so we have to go! Understand?"
Lincoln nodded as he held Lily's hand. Lana looked back at the woods with a frown on her face. Lori looked at Lana before walking to Vanzilla. Lincoln, Lana, and Lily followed her.
George sat in the driver's seat of David's RV as he started the engine, leading the other vehicles into the road. They left the burning cabin behind, as well as two bodies in the wooded park.
The headlights lit up the road darkened by the midnight sky. As the vehicles traveled southwards, they came across signs marked by X's. Pavement marked by X's. Mailboxes carved with the same sign. Even a daycare was marked by the large symbol.
"They were like a whole tribe," Lynn told Lincoln. "The had me by the ropes, literally."
"You sound like Lori, now," chuckled Lincoln.
Lynn punched Lincoln's shoulder causing him to gasp in pain.
"No time for jokes!" growled Lynn. "A kid died, y' know! Umm, y' know, the one that had a boner for Carol."
"Can't you ever say something appropriate?" said Lori, annoyed.
"Who gives a fuck? Certainly not the X… tribe… men."
"X-men?" said Lori.
"Taken by superheroes," said Lincoln. "These X-Tribesmen sound dangerous."
"Hell yeah they are," said Lynn. "We have to kill them all, right, Lori?"
"Lynn… I'm really tired. I shouldn't even be driving right now."
Lisa turned to her left and looked at Lana, whose eyes remained fixated in the dark trees that passed by.
"You appear to have gone through a traumatic experience," stated Lisa. "What occurred back in the park?"
"Nothing," said Lana.
"Harboring secrets, now? That's fine. The secret is going to be exposed by a mental slash emotional breakdown soon."
Lincoln walked over to Lana's seat and looked at Lisa.
"Can we have a moment alone?" asked Lincoln.
"Sure thing," said Lisa, crawling to another seat in the van. "Lana's not the only one who has gone through tragedy recently, you know."
Lincoln tapped Lana on her shoulders.
"It's not easy, right?" he whispered.
"I know what I did was right… so why doesn't it feel right?"
"A first kill changes a person forever," said Lincoln. "Killing Talia was completely justified- says Lori- though I can't somehow stop thinking about it. Just knowing that you took a person's life… forever… that does damage. It means you're a good person, Lana. The fact that you feel guilt."
"I think it's unfair," said Lana. "He was going to kill Lily. So why would I feel bad?"
"Because you know there were other things you could've done. I won't keep blaming you for what happened. But I do want you to learn from it."
Lincoln then grabbed Lana and placed her on his shoulders as the image of Weber's body continued to flash in her mind. The vehicles continued to drive along dangerous territory.