Preface: Good day. I'm sorry if any of this comes off as edgy or confusing. I am trying to capture these experiences as best I can through writing, and currently I'm experimenting with different forms of writing to see how it is received. Hopefully, they get across well enough.
Also: the song choices are there as an option, sorry if it breaks your immersion but I love weaving music and writing together, and I think the writing becomes MUCH more immersive with music.
Enjoy!
Chapter XVII: Riposte (Part III)
...
...
...
Hhhh...
P...Please... don't be dead.
The first thoughts surfaced back to my mind once I came to; all of them screaming in terror. I didn't want to imagine the fates of Joel and Ellie. Rapturous energy shot through me like a thousand bullets, and I began heaving myself through the piles of debris layered over me from the artillery explosion.
Unreal. Bizarre. Surreal. I could not find the words to describe my sheer, utter, complete and unescapable stupidity. I could not form a single thought that wasn't set on panic or murder. In those heart-stopping moments, a gunshot to the head felt infinitely more bland to the evils swirling inside my mind; the evils of what I would see, what I would do.
As soon as I dug myself out, I felt an-
|-======= (Music: "Balor", by Elephant Music) =======-|
-acute change in my perception. Oh, shit... like something had just drugged me intensely. The... fungi? What the hell?!
I tried looking around, but the environment began to tw
ist and contoooooooort. This was horrifying; I could bear- could ber- barely comprehend my surroundings. My
thoughts and action-s were disjointed and dela
yed. I was... l00000sing rationale...
Through the pier-cing atmosphere of war, guns- bombs- fire- screams- I f0cused only on finding E-L-L-Y and J-O-EL. Jo-EL. The li i i ghts wer flashing, bright, red, grain.n.n.n.y
I stubmled through th e rocks and rebar, and gaazed down to see Ellie-
Hh! HH- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
Hhhhhh, oh, godddddddddddddddd. NOOOOOOO! Oh, godddddd! HHHHHHHHHNNNNNNN!
AAAAAAAAAAAA! Whyyyyyy? Why does she bleed like thaaaaaaatttttttttt?! HeeeeeerrrrrrEEEYYYYYYYEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS EEEEARS NOSE TEETH SKIN AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! JESSSSUUUSSSSSSSS CHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSTTTTT!
STTTTTTTTTOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP-
THisisnotrrealnotrealnotrealnotreal, I'm drugggggged, remember I am drugged. DRUGGGG, FUUUUUUUUUUCK! She mustt b-e a-live. Please, godddddd
Hhhhhhh, Joeeeeeeeelllllllll...
Hhhhhhhh Move legs. move... legs... Hhhhhnnnn I hate this i hate this i hate this
Ely is ok, Ellie okay, okay, alive, SHE... IS... ALIVE...
I pased by rock falln everywhere, blood is everywhere, coming out of walllls, the cracks, ceILing. Hhhh, I see rocks smashed legs and peepul alike. Oh, please, no, do no tlook.
Jesd, e, Jeollll, Jeol, Joellll please, plese be alive. Please.
I climbb up stairs, l 0 0 king. At the far end of halllwaay-
J_O_E_L.
I rush, legs twitching and thoughts coherent for a moment-
J...oe...l...
Blood leaking from the floor, I see a great rock tumbled over him, over him...!
PICK THE ROCK UP! P_ICK IT U-p! PICK.. THE FJCKING... RIOCK UYP!
Th e rock si raised, I pick joel Up and carry him to Elli-
Blood seeps from every crack, every lining, everything is so vivid and lucid; thoughts become coherent, then l
ost, then coherent once more.
The fungi- the fungi is in me, it fills me with energy-! SO ... ,mUCH ... ENERGY
I... regenerate... tendons, ligaments, joints, msucles, bone, I feel it heal with every second passed, past, passt
Horror. I am in horror. Not... my rea;ity
Great explosions rock around in the distance, I nog- ignore it. I must keep two alive. Just them.
I lay Joel next to E-Elll...Elliy. I stare at them, convincing myself they are alive. The blood continues seeping from every part of them; every orifice, every wound, every scar and gash and feature and hair and- and- and-
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH! I CAN'T BEAR THIS! ARE THEY ALLLLIVVVEEEE?!
HNNNNNNNNNN! HNNNNNNNNNNN! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH! WHAT IS REAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL?!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH! HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!
I'LLL - KILLLL - YOOOOOUUUU - AAAALLLLLLLL!
AAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL OFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF YOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E!
AIGOHAWEPFQOEF QOPIHFWEVHSKJEHGLSUHVIOSUEBILFGSUKKKKIIIILLLLLLDYSAKEKDGVBAKEHFJBCWOOOOLLVVVESSSSSLSUHEKGJQBJVHLEKJBLAKJYGFJAHFGJHSAYDGTKJHAEGBKFYTSAKEJHFGASFAVCGSHAWJEFVAKJDGAGAAAAAAAAAAFGFGGGGGEASHAGEKAHJGDFAJHGXDKAJgdUFYPWUIFOSYDG SYEKFGSILEKQUCYIQEYKGAGSILVUGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGELFHSILGTALQWFBEGAILUEFGBLISEA-
...
Tommy
Consciousness returned all at once. I coughed and wheezed from the dust and powder that layered every part of my body; I had to wipe my eyes and mouth to avoid being blinded. Slabs of broken infrastructure layered over my body, nearly crushing the life out of me. I summoned enough strength to push aside the debris, crawling over the piles of broken rubble to see that city hall was mostly in ruins, and partly caved-in. Once my senses returned, I became distraught at the thought of Marie's health, and dogmatically dug through the rubble to locate my wife.
A stream of relief soared through my mind once I lifted a slab and saw Marie's face, quickly digging out the rest of her body and carefully carrying her out of the building.
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!"
I nearly fell on my ass in fright; my eyes drew toward the guttural noise. I was surprised to see Jack, who was standing in the midst of city hall's remnants, gripping his head and shaking uncontrollably.
"TOMMY!"
My gaze whipped towards the left now, seeing a team of Jacksonites approaching from a side street. Hurriedly, I ran over to them, recognizing the team lead, Mark Duffman, and off-loading Marie's body into his squad's collective grasp. Duffman's squad role was to transport wounded in the scenario of high-casualty battles- like the one we were in now.
"We just saw the shell hit! We'll deal with the wounded in city hall. We've got a clinic set up just west of here, at Doherty's!" Mark said urgently. "We'll take her there and let you get back to leading the rest!"
I nodded hesitantly, still grief-stricken about Marie's state. The artillery bombardment had only decreased her chances of survival, but the fact that she was still breathing gave me hope to hold out on. It was an act of God that the surgeons had managed to close her shrapnel wounds before the shell hit.
And now, I was putting all my faith into the doctors at Doherty's store...
Before Mark departed, I clenched his jacket and pulled him back for a moment, waiting until he was looking me in the eyes to speak clearly.
"You tell those doctors their lives are tied to Marie's- I'll make sure of it."
Mark grew pale in the face, but nodded quietly and sprinted back to his squad. I would certainly lose a few relationships thanks to that threat, but if it raised the chances of Marie making it through, then it was more than worth it.
Once the rescue team hauled her out of sight, I switched my gaze back to Jack, shocked to see him pick up a handgun from the rubble and rush through the debris back out onto the open street. He didn't seem in his right mind at all- his actions and behavior were wildly different from the calculating personality I'd seen of him at the start of the siege. I needed to go get him calmed, and back him up if possible; though, with the way he was acting and the fact he had a gun, I wasn't keen on approaching him just yet...
Unslinging the rifle around my shoulder, I followed after, stepping through the debris of the building until-
"H-! JOEL, ELLIE!"
I shouted involuntarily as I stumbled upon the bodies of my brother and his surrogate daughter, dropping my rifle and checking over them. I checked their pulse- both were still alive, and I heaved a shaky sigh. I didn't need any more of my family dying to this bullshit siege by these bullshit WLF fuckbastards. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to monitor them- Jack, whom both Joel and Ellie seemed fond of, was looking like he was about to get himself killed. In the span of a few seconds, I looked around and spotted the team from Doherty's heading over to transport more wounded and signaled them here. As soon as the two were placed on stretchers, I picked up my rifle and sprinted in the direction Jack had traveled, determined to keep him alive.
He'd saved our settlement before, now it was time to repay the favor.
At the same time, I used the radio on my shoulder to get in touch with all the surviving lieutenants, to get everyone re-organized for a counterattack. Unfortunately, there were only about 4-5 Jacksonites I could radio-communicate with, because the majority of the population was not part of the volunteer force -which numbered around 30 to 40- and they were fighting with weapons they kept in their families or had distributed to them from the city armory before the siege started. Our fighting force, almost all of it, was not organized in the slightest. It was guerilla warfare.
Even if there were over 600 occupants of the city, most of them armed, it was practically balanced with the enemy's weaponry, experience and organization, not to mention the extra firepower they brought with them. The only reason I thought we might win this thing is because of the simple fact that in settlement sieges, the attacker almost always lost. Fighting in an urban environment was incredibly difficult for coordination, especially since the defenders had the advantage of being in their home territory; making it much easier to outmaneuver and outflank the enemy.
With the hope of victory and saving the settlement balancing on my shoulders, I had to justify my position as the 2nd in command for the city's defense force, here and now. I knew what I needed to happen next, if I wanted to turn the tables on these out-of-state cocksuckers. I switched between the different channels, checking in on the three main lieutenants who oversaw the rest of our forces.
"Lieutenants, sitrep."
"Harry here, squad is holding the east end of Jackson with Nucky and Derek. Wolves are trying to push from the front gate breach. No progress made."
"Clyde here- lots of Wolves at the north end of Jackson! *CRRRRK* We're getting overwhelmed, need backup!"
"Logan here. City Hall collapsed, we're regrouping and helping Mark's team evacuate the injured to Doherty's. Three of my guys are wounded, one confirmed dead."
I grimaced, sensing the desperate state of our situation. I quickly radioed in once more as my legs carried me on Jack's path.
"How many wall breaches are there?"
"Harry here, only two spotted, east and north walls. The enemy is choke-pointed at the front gate (east wall), but they've been flooding in bigger numbers from the north."
"What about the inner streets?"
"*CRRK* Logan here, inner streets are mostly clear, but a few are slipping through the northern wall and ambushing our guys. Our garrisoned neighbors seem like they're keeping the enemy pinned down from inside the buildings, and they've barricaded some of the streets to slow 'em down, but it's getting bloodier by the minute. Our neighbors... Christ, the shells have been hitting families inside."
At hearing Logan's statement, my rage and fear grew to immense proportions. We'd been sitting ducks for the artillery since the beginning, with no prepared countermeasures against it. I had to act fast, and stoop to whatever methods were needed to secure a victory and stop these shells from coming down.
"Harry, take half your team and converge on the north and reinforce Clyde's team! Logan, take your team and push through the front gate- you need to outflank their mortars and disable them ASAP!"
"Copy!"
"Roger- AAA SHIT, OOOOWWW!"
"You got it, Tommy!"
I was about to leave it at that, but I had an itching desire to tune in to the last frequency I had aside from Marie- the radio attached to Joel. In subconscious concern, I turned the knob on the radio to Joel's frequency-
"KRRRTCH- Tommy, come in! Tommy!"
I shook with fright for a moment, but then relief quickly shunned my worries at the sound of Joel's voice.
"Joel! How the hell are you up so quickly?"
"WHERE'S JACK?"
The combined panic and desperation in Joel's voice unsettled me, and I hastened to answer.
"I... I'm pursuing him right now, he's not in his right mind!"
"Jesus CHRIST, that boy is gonna be the death of me! I'm heading over, where are you-"
"Joel, hold on!" I radioed urgently. "I'll keep a bead on him and make sure he stays alive, but I need you to get a squad together and-"
"HELL NO! My son is out in a fucking warzone-!"
Joel suddenly stopped in the midst of his sentence. The radio cut out momentarily, and so did my brain-...
His... son...?
...H...U...H...?
"TOMMY, LOCATION, NOW!"
I put every ounce of willpower into focusing back on the dilemma at hand, trying not to acknowledge the nuclear bombshell Joel had just dropped over the radio.
"I... Joel, listen to me, please! Every second those mortars aren't taken down, they might kill another family with each building they hit! You have to help Logan take them out, and I promise you, on my life, that I will keep Jack alive!"
A long radio silence passed as I continued running to keep pace with Jack's trail, and I was beginning to fear that Joel had gone on his own. Until-
"You better... fucking... protect him. And keep your mouth shut."
The tense conversation ended, and I heaved an exhausted sigh; I was not happy in the slightest about sending my brother out on such a risky mission, especially with the leg injury he was still suffering from; but at this stage in the siege, every breathing human needed to get a rifle and help out, or there'd be no wounded to treat in the aftermath.
With that resolved, I closed in on Jack's footprints in the snow, sticking closely to the sides of buildings and darting between makeshift cover in open areas, hoping I didn't lose Jack's path. It wasn't long until I spotted one of the patrolmen, Jesse, crouched behind a park bench with a bolt rifle in his hand, eyes scanning the area for hostiles.
"Jesse!"
Jesse swiveled his head in shock, then relief as he saw me running up to take cover and crouch down next to him, accidentally kicking up snow in his face.
"Tommy!" He exclaimed, wiping clumps of snow off his face and out of his hair. "Glad you're still alive, man. We're in a fucking shitshow! I got cut off by these WLF fuckers-"
"Just call 'em Wolves." I quickly interrupted; using the whole term 'WLF' over the radio was a whole lot more frustrating than just 'Wolves'- I'd picked up the expression from one of the Jacksonites in city hall, who had mentioned hearing about this faction-
"Uh, Tommy, please don't space off right now!"
I shook my head in annoyance at myself.
"Right, sorry- anyways,.. listen, I'm trying to find Jack-"
"Jack?" Jesse interjected. "I just saw him running through this street! Dude looked like a fuckin' demon! He was just babbling and screaming randomly..."
"You didn't say anything?"
Jesse seemed horrified by the question.
"You kiddin' me?! He was holding a Beretta and a big-ass knife in his hands! His eyes, man- he looked like he'd taken a hundred acid tabs and had the worst trip of his life. I couldn't trust that."
I nodded, biting my lip in contemplation of what to do next.
"Alright," I started. "Let's stick behind him. If we find a chance to get him back to his senses, we'll take it. We owe him for all he's done for us."
"I mean... yeah, but isn't this, like, really risky to do? Just follow him while also watching our backs and surrounded by enemies?"
I laid a hand on Jesse's shoulder, nodding empathetically.
"I'm thinking the same thing, trust me. But the least we can do is just make sure he stays alive, and hope to God he can still differentiate the enemy from us."
That last sentence seemed to spark an acute response in Jesse, whose face visibly shifted into an expression of horror. I knew he'd been at the Wyote raid, and saw Jack's fighting for himself. I, personally, had not seen Jack in combat yet, and I remained desperately hopeful that my first experience would not be as his opponent. To think that a teenager would have such a reputation...
Jesse was clearly hesitant about this course of action, considering what he'd just said a second ago. I was getting itchy and impatient with every second we spent here- that Jack might be getting further away or in serious trouble. Jesse's wary eyes darted around the environment, and he peeked over the bench a few times before returning his attention to me.
"Alright," He muttered. "But we're gambling with our lives. He really looked unhinged, man. Like- the craziest I've ever seen a person in my life."
"I get ya there. So stick by me," I assured him. "I'll deal with any talkin' that might happen. You're not gettin' killed today (at least, by him). Just watch my back."
Forming a duo, We left cover and followed Jack's footsteps, watching our flanks for Wolves as we moved further up the street. From the direction we were heading in, it seemed like the north wall was soon to be in our sights. I hurried myself, knowing that Jack would be walking into a bloodbath if we didn't catch up to him in time. After turning another corner-
"Oh, sweet Jesus-"
I stepped back subconsciously, standing just behind the corner of the building and peering out to view the gruesome scene in front of me. Four bodies, dressed in WLF uniforms, were splayed across the ground- their blood seeping into the snow and staining it with crimson-red. Kneeling on top of a Wolve's corpse in the center of the square backlot was... Jack.
I covered my mouth in nausea, watching in silent horror as Jack tore away at the dead soldier with his knife, slashing and stabbing the cold body in wild abandon. He grunted, growled, and yelled incomprehensibly in his bloody activity, sending chills down my spine. His head lifted and stared skyward for a moment, allowing me to see his massive pupils dilated as if he'd been given a dozen kinds of hallucinogenics; and his face, pinched painfully into a hateful and fear-induced grimace.
What the fuck was wrong with him?!
"Tommy, what's the hold-up?"
"Stay there!" I whispered urgently. "And keep quiet. Watch my back."
Even as horrified as I was by the sight before me, I wanted desperately to protect Jack's reputation in the community- I didn't want to risk Jesse seeing him like this, mutilating bodies and talking to others about it. Jack was seriously fucked up in the head right now from what I was seeing; through no fault of his own (I hoped dearly), and I wanted to make sure he had a social life to return to if he survived this; though I wasn't sure if he would be recovering from whatever this insanity-induced rage was.
I owed it to Joel- who had, in retrospect, just revealed his biological relationship with Jack. That was a monumental subject I would be scuffling with Joel about later on. But,
That also meant this boy was... my nephew.
...
I kept myself stashed behind the wall, keeping an eye the alleyways around the lot as Jack began slowing his mutilation of the WLF's body. He fell to his knees in front of the corpse, a catatonic look falling across his tired and bruised face. I thought this would be the time to step in and softly approach him, possibly get him calmed down and out of here before some stupid bastard showed up to set him off.
Not just that, but... he'd just killed four Wolves while seriously impaired and out of his mind- from the rifles lying in the snow near their bodies, all of them had been armed and prepared for wartime; experienced soldiers. Compared to the half-baked militia we had, Jack was like some kind of superhuman being at this point. I was deathly afraid of calling attention to ourselves the longer I stared at Jack's insane expression.
I hesitated.
Because... at this point, I was beginning to ponder if I'd be a hindrance trying to protect Jack.
I... genuinely didn't think I could do a better job of keeping him alive than he was doing himself.
