Code: Survival, Season One Chapter 41: Don't Give In, a Code Lyoko + Walking Dead Crossover fanfic

(Anne Marshall belongs to AquaDestinysEmbrace!)

(I DO NOT own The Walking Dead, Code Lyoko or any kind of names or brands that appear in this story. I do own all OCs unless specifically named as they appear above this message.)

Inside Hershel's living room, Dylan hissed in pain and he clenched his uninjured fist tightly as Carlos poured a bit of peroxide onto the cut he suffered while fighting Josh.

The cut that Dylan suffered on his left hand from Charles's stolen knife was deep enough that it required some stitches, but aside from that Dylan was going to be completely fine. His injured knee likewise wasn't too bad of an injury. It'll hurt for a few more days and he'll be walking with a limp the whole time, but it should heal nicely.

As for the peroxide, it felt like fire. Rebecca, Anne, and Chase could only watch with cringed looks on their faces as Dylan suffered through the treatment. The painkillers which Carlos gave Dylan didn't seem to help the pain in his hand very much.

"Fuck, Carlos!" Dylan hissed through tightly gritted teeth. "How much of that are you gonna use on me?!"

"As much as it takes to clean, treat, and fix your wound, Dylan. We're almost done with this part." Carlos replied calmly as he poured some more of the liquid. It wasn't the first time he had a patient react badly to the burning substance. "The less you struggle, the sooner this will be over."

The noises of pain that Dylan was making soon drew attention from another patient laying in another room. "Is Dylan okay in there? What's going on?" Aelita called out to the others from her bedroom, concerned for the well-being of her step brother.

"Yeah, its just Carlos using peroxide on him! He'll be fine." Rebecca assured the resting pinkette in the other room.

"Alright, good!"

As he finished up with the peroxide, Carlos sighed as he grabbed his stitching kit and went to work on sewing up the cut. The needles piercing Dylan's skin nearly hurt as bad as the peroxide did. Carlos was a little annoyed at having to waste even more precious medical supplies on yet another wound. "I honestly never comprehended that I'd ever meet people who spend more time injured than not." Carlos commented to the teens.

"It's not our fault that bad stuff keeps happening all around us." Rebecca shrugged to the doctor. Her comment was met with a long, tired sigh from him.

Even though he was on some decent painkillers, the sewing became so painful to Dylan that he nearly slammed his uninjured hand down on a table. But Rebecca pulled it into hers and held onto it, giving a supportive squeeze. Dylan looked at his girlfriend and her support helped him get through the pain for the rest of the stitching. He couldn't get angry when he was looking at that beautiful smile on her face.

Soon, Carlos finished up fixing Dylan's injury and he left the teen with advice to drink plenty of water, eat a hot meal, and to get plenty of rest. And of course to try and keep the sewed-up wound clean so that it wouldn't get infected at all. It'd be as bitter as it was ironic for Dylan to get a gun pressed to his head only to die of an infection later on.

After Carlos left, the teens were left alone. Dylan was happy that the whole mess with Josh was behind him now. Dylan glanced down at his injured hand and he inspected it, admiring the stitching job Carlos gave. Hopefully the stupid thing will heal soon so that he could get back to helping out around the camp. There were very few things which ticked Dylan Enheart off more than being an invalid.

Chase smirked as he saw his brother gaze down at his own hand. "... If you need a hand with anything Dyl, I'm afraid you'll have to ask someone else." Chase suddenly broke the awkward silence with a joke, raising up the stump which used to be his right hand.

Dylan snorted. Rebecca broke out laughing. And Anne facepalmed really hard at the tasteless joke. Chase could be such an idiot sometimes...

Chuckling at his own stupid joke, Chase playfully ruffled his brother's hair (which annoyed the hell out of Dylan) before he walked towards the door. "Well, I've gotta go help Robert with somethin'... I'll see you and 'Lita later, Dyl. You too Anne and Becca." he said, smiling at his little bro and his friends before he left the bedroom.

However, Chase's smile fell immediately after he left, and he was scowling very deeply to himself as he walked out of the farmhouse. Given what had happened to Dylan and Charles thanks to that psychopathic fucker now locked up in the shed, Chase actually had something else in mind rather than helping out Robert right now...

Rebecca and Anne were left with Dylan as he stood up from the chair Carlos made him sit on for the last thirty minutes. As happy as Dylan was about still being alive, there was one question that still lingered in his mind.

"What about Josh? What's gonna happen to him?" Dylan asked his girlfriend and his best friend. "We aren't just gonna keep him here after what happened, right?"

"Rick said that we'll take that psycho out somewhere and leave him behind in a couple of days, hopefully. Same with Randall after we're done with him." Anne assured. She had been outraged about what happened last night but she was relieved that Dylan was fine. Josh had to be taken as far from here as possible.

Dylan was very relieved by the news. "Thank God. I didn't want to see anyone else get hurt by him."

"Yeah, Josh should've been kicked out ages ago." Rebecca stated the obvious. "Frankly I'm amazed that it took this for us to finally get around to getting him out of here."

"At least he won't be a problem anymore." Anne agreed. To her especially, the thought of Josh being far away and no longer in her life was a miracle. She could only hope that this time that psychopath would be out of her life forever, never to return again. Seeing Josh's face again somewhere on down the road would be most unwelcome to her and to all of the Lyoko Warriors too.

Anne then went up to the couple and glanced down at Dylan's hand, cringing at the sight of the stitching on it. "Dyl, are you sure that you're okay? Like absolutely sure...?"

Dylan smiled and he nodded at his best friend. "I'm alright, Annie... I promise." he assured. "It was a close call, but Charles and I are still alive and Josh isn't gonna hurt any of us ever again. That's the only thing which matters in the end."

"Exactly." Rebecca agreed before leaning in to kiss her boyfriend's cheek, causing him to blush a little.

After another moment, Dylan stood up from the chair Carlos had been making him sit in for the last twenty-five minutes. The doctor told him that he was clear to help with light duty around the farm but that he shouldn't do any heavy lifting with his left hand for a while. Popping open the stitches would bring Dylan right back in here and he would have to go through this all over again.

As he walked out of the bedroom with Anne and Rebecca at his side, Dylan couldn't help but think on what would happen to Josh once they cut him loose. Despite all that had happened with him, a small part of Dylan couldn't help but feel pity towards the psychopath...

Dylan hoped that somehow, someday, Josh's insanity and evilness would leave him. But somehow he doubted that could ever happen... the guy seemed to like being the way he was far too much.

"Hey, fuckhead? You gonna help me get out of these cuffs or not?"

Randall had been locked in this shed alongside that psycho Josh for only a couple of hours but he was close to losing his mind already.

That kid - that evil, evil kid... Christ, the things he said he'd do to their captors if he ever got out... even the worst, most vicious people who were in Randall's group wouldn't do the kind of things that Josh said he wanted to do.

"I- I can't help you..." Randall stammered, praying that somehow Josh would just be quiet and leave him alone for the rest of their captivity.

"I don't accept that answer." Josh retorted, rolling his eyes at how much of a whiney little bitch this guy was. Like honestly, how could Randall not want to get free and kill all the people at this shitty farm? They killed his friends, fucked up his leg for life, beat him for information, and they're keeping him as a prisoner. What a pathetic little coward.

The other captive fell silent at Josh's statement. The kid was insane, and Randall wished that he was anywhere else but here right now... Even Dave and Tony would be more preferable to be around than this teen.

God, please get him out of this place and back to his own people...

Josh frowned at the sudden silence from his fellow captive. "Did you not hear what I said, Randall? I told you that I don't accept that answer..." the psycho teen asked with a very menacing, cold tone. "I don't care that you don't want to help me. I don't care how terrified you might be right now. You will help me get out of here, because I want to get my revenge and I want to make sure that-"

Suddenly, the door to the shed opened up, revealing that idiot Chase Enheart with a frown on his ugly face. Josh's frown turned into a sinister smirk as he watched the teen step inside the shed and shut the door behind him. Chase locked the door as well.

"Oh, look who it is! Its one of the retard brothers!" Josh chuckled, darkly. "The fuck are you even doing here? You guys got me again for the moment..."

"You're gonna leave all of my friends and what's left of my family alone from here on out Josh."

Josh blinked with surprise. What was that...? A demand? From a fool like this? It made him laugh to think of something as stupid as that.

Chase's scowl didn't fade despite the laughs. "You heard me. You're gonna leave them all alone from now on... I'm not gonna ask this again." he repeated, his tone now much more menacing.

"And who are you to demand anything from me?" Josh's amusement faded away instantly, and it was replaced with an anger equal to Chase's. The captive psycho looked like he was about to blow a gasket from how red his face had turned. "Honestly, you're more stupid than I thought." Josh growled. "What makes you fucking think that I'll ever consider that? You're all pests, you're a disease, and you all need to be punished for being-"

Suddenly, Chase went to Josh, knelt in front of him, and grabbed him tightly by his throat. The psycho's eyes widened as he was slowly deprived of air...

"You put a gun to my brother's head... My brother's head!" Chase glared down at the boy who he despised, his hand squeezing so tightly that the knuckles had turned paper white. His anger wasn't blinding him though - he knew exactly what he was doing to the captive psycho right now. "You hurt and threatened my friends and my little sister, you turned Anne's life into a living hell ever since you showed up here, and then you do this?! You tried to kill Dylan?! My own brother?!"

Randall was watching everything unfold and he was getting very nervous. "How about we all take a deep breath and calm down, and then we can-"

The injured captive immediately went silent when Chase directed his scowl towards him. "Shut up, Randall. I'm not talking to you right now."

He didn't want to risk getting choked like his new cellmate. Randall did as he was told. If he did as he was told, maybe he'll get out of here sooner...

Satisfied with the silence from the other captive, Chase turned his attention back to the psychopath who he was choking. Josh finally cracked, and now he could only look on in terror to the boy who for all he knew was going to kill him right here and now tonight. The color of Josh's face was starting to change away from an angry red to a light blue as his lungs burnt from their thirst for air.

Chase glared deeply at the person he hated. Only a stunned, fearful silence was given back to the one-handed teen. "I swear to God himself that if you hurt anyone I care about ever again... hell, if you even go near any of my friends and family again... I'll end you." Chase warned his old childhood enemy.

"Y- You wouldn't..." Josh choked out, his face turning more and more blue.

"Oh yeah? You wanna bet your life on that?"

"........."

The two stared at each other silently for several more moments all as Josh continued to be suffocated. But just before Josh could fall unconscious, Chase released his neck and allowed him to crumple over, gasping and wheezing and coughing as he desperately caught his breath.

As the psycho struggled to recover from nearly being choked to death, Chase turned and he walked back to the door. He was confident that Josh got the warning.

"Sleep well tonight, idiots..." Chase told them without looking back. "We'll be getting you out of here soon enough. You'll both need your strength to survive out there..."

When Josh looked up, Chase had already walked out of the shed and locked the door behind him. The psycho was trembling in pain and fear as he sat back upright, his throat feeling very sore after the horrible experience he had just gone through.

Neither he nor Randall felt like saying anything from there on out...

Now that Josh was no longer a problem, the group was preparing for an important mission.

Luke, Pete, Carlos, Rick, Daryl, and Lee were each gathering up all the guns and ammo they could find in preparation for the rescue mission up north. Patrick, Miranda, Ulrich, Yumi, and Jeremie all insisted on with them despite their protests. The adults didn't want these teens to put themselves at risk, but the teens were all determined to help rescue Odd and Verity and to get them back home. Kyra had planned to go with but she wasn't going to leave Charles's side until he woke up. Right now, he was laying unconscious in the back bedroom of Dale's RV.

Though many of the other Lyoko Warriors wanted to go with them, they were convinced that sending a small rescue team would be better than sending a whole army. The team would sneak inside Carver's settlement, they'd find wherever Odd, Verity, and Nick were being held, and then they'd sneak them all back out - hopefully without getting spotted by Carver's people. The plan was incredibly risky and there was always the chance that they wouldn't come back alive... but they were going anyway.

Though still feeling melancholic and depressed, Yumi volunteered to go help rescue her friends. Of course Ulrich wasn't going to let her go without him, so he volunteered too. Besides, he desperately wanted to save his best friend, his brother, from that monster Carver.

Jeremie also volunteered to go on the mission despite Aelita's worry for his safety. After all that happened last night, Aelita was terrified that Jeremie would get himself killed trying to save them. Jeremie was also scared that he wouldn't see Aelita again, but he was determined to help save both of their friends and he swore to her that he would come back alive no matter what happens up north. It didn't make saying goodbye any easier for either of them though...

Chase wanted to go with Jeremie to help rescue their friends. Even Dylan wanted to despite having just gotten hurt by Josh. But the supergenius made them both stay here at the farm for Aelita's sake. Aelita had already lost her parents after all, and she couldn't lose what was left of her family.

The two Enhearts reluctantly abided by Jeremie's demand, but Chase still loaned him his precious family pistol just so Jeremie could have a better chance of coming back alive. Jeremie promised that he would return the gun himself. Like the Enhearts, the rest of the Lyoko Warriors would also remain behind. If Jeremie couldn't live up to his promise to return alive, Aelita was going to need all of their support...

Patrick felt too much anger to be afraid of what could or would happen on this rescue mission. Carver took his best friend, the love of his life. Patrick was going to save Verity and he would kill that motherfucker himself for whatever he's done to her.

And as for Miranda...? Well, Miranda felt the same as Patrick: she wanted to save her friends and tear Carver's still-beating heart out through his ass. Literally.

As they prepared for the mission, Ulrich and Jeremie were talking by one of the cars. "We almost ready?" Ulrich wondered after he helped Jeremie load some extra guns into the back of the car. It was one of two they were taking up north.

"Yeah." Jeremie nodded, brushing his hands of some dust before he shut the car's trunk.

Jeremie glanced over to Yumi, who was over at Hiroki's grave again for one last visit before she'd leave with the others for the rescue mission. Yumi had laid down some pretty flowers which she found and picked near the farmhouse and she just stared sadly and silently at the place where her little brother was buried. It broke Jeremie's heart to see her in such a terrible state...

The genius turned to see that Ulrich was looking at Yumi as well, feeling much more of the worry and heartbreak that Jeremie did.

"Is she going to be okay...?" Jeremie asked his friend.

Ulrich sighed and shook his head with doubt. "I have no idea, Jeremie... I'm really worried about her." he said. "Yumi hasn't been the same since..." Ulrich trailed off.

"... since the barn." Jeremie finished Ulrich's sentence for him. All of the Lyoko Warriors were still reeling from what happened, but it was clear to all that losing Hiroki in such a horrific way had shattered Yumi to her core. The memory of having to put a bullet in her own brother's head would stay with her forever.

The German teen nodded at his friend. Ulrich then looked away from Yumi as he went to load the last few guns they were taking with. He loaded them all quickly, and after Jeremie tossed in some extra boxes of ammunition Ulrich shut the trunk door. The teens continued to hold onto the vain and unlikely hope that they wouldn't have to use these guns during the rescue mission.

With a sigh, Ulrich leaned against the closed trunk. "I don't know what to do for her, Jeremie. I'm not used to being a shoulder to lean on..." Ulrich said with an indescribable feeling of helplessness. "I want to help her get through this, but I just don't know how... You and I both know what happened back at the barn. How bad it got. What we all had to do to all of our friends and teachers, and what Yumi had to do to Hiroki..."

"I'll never forget any of it for as long as I live..." Jeremie said in a lowly, saddened tone. He was truthful. The memory of his bullet going through the face of his undead cousin would haunt him for the rest of his life, whether it would prove to be long or short. The heartbreak from the events of yesterday would always remain with him for as long as his heart continued to beat in his chest.

Ulrich tightly shut his eyes, his worry for Yumi filling his mind before all else. If he ever lost her then he had no idea how he could continue...

"... Yumi and I had sex last night." Ulrich suddenly admitted to his friend.

Jeremie's eyes widened with surprise at what he had just heard. Ulrich noted his reaction and he kept speaking. "It was so completely out of the blue, Jeremie... Yumi's never said that she wanted to do that with me before. Ever." Ulrich continued explaining. "It was the most incredible experience of my life, but the way that she wanted it all of a sudden like that scared the hell out of me. It was a complete 180 from how she usually is. And she hasn't spoken a word to me since then..."

Ulrich sighed in frustration and sorrow. "I- I'm confused, Jeremie, and I don't know what I can do to help her get through this... if she even can to begin with..."

To Ulrich, Yumi was the love of his life. The girl he wanted to spend the rest of eternity with. It hurt Ulrich so badly to think that he was failing Yumi in her time of grief and need - whether that was even true or not. "I don't know if she should come with us on this... I don't know what she might do."

"Why do you think she wanted to sleep with you all of a sudden?" Jeremie hesitantly asked. He wanted to be a shoulder to lean on for one of his closest friends.

"I have no idea... I honestly have no idea at all." Ulrich sighed. "I couldn't shake the feeling that there was some kind of finality to it..."

Ulrich's face fell, and his worry and fear was obvious for anyone to see. "She's... I..." he trailed off for a moment before he shook his head, feeling confusion and frustration beyond all belief as he tried to find the right words to convey how he felt. Finally he up spoke again: "God, Jeremie, I'm worried that Yumi is starting to go off the deep end! And I'm terrified that Yumi might try to do something really bad, Jer... to herself, I mean. Do you understand what I'm saying...?"

The supergenius's eyes widened in shock at what Ulrich was implying. No... No, there was simply no way that Yumi would ever consider do such a terrible thing to herself. She couldn't. She was always the most mentally strong and willed out of all the Lyoko Warriors. She would never end it.

A person like Yumi Ishiyama wouldn't just give up and end it all, right...? Right...?

... right?

The two boys went dead silent as they saw Yumi finally start walking away from Hiroki's grave. She didn't say a single word as she walked past Ulrich and Jeremie to a box of weapons sitting on the bed of Otis's truck. The two boys shared a worried glance towards each other after Yumi passed by. She looked... broken.

The Japanese teen started to go through the weapons box in search of her AR-15 rifle and some ammunition for it. It had to be laying around in this damn box somewhere... She never should've parted with her weapon after all that happened yesterday.

Yumi must've felt Jeremie and Ulrich's eyes on her, because soon she sighed and stopped what she was doing. Though she didn't turn to face either of the boys. "Do either of you need something?" Yumi softly asked them as she kept staring down at the box of guns.

When neither of them responded, Yumi looked to them and she deadpanned with annoyance. "Ulrich? Jeremie? Do you guys need something...?" she asked once again, her tone more stern than before. "Guys...?"

When Jeremie and Ulrich again remained silent for the next few moments, Yumi's anger overtook her. She shook her head and she slammed her hand down on the truck bed out of growing anger.

"WHAT?!" Yumi snapped at both of the boys. She was so loud that she drew the attention of several others nearby, though like Ulrich and Jeremie no one dared to speak up.

Yumi looked around and she noticed how so many people were looking towards her now. It made her feel really uncomfortable. Yumi clammed up at this, lowering her gaze away from Jeremie, from Ulrich - from everyone. Yumi didn't like all those eyes looking at her now, silently judging, silently worrying. God, she was such a pathetic mess. Broken, and so full of shame and sadness and regret and-

"Yumes?"

The teen noticed that Ulrich had walked up to her with a concerned expression on his face. Seeing Ulrich like that made Yumi feel so guilty... She was certain that she was just gonna be a burden to him for however long they continue being alive...

Ulrich crossed his arms as he approached his girlfriend. He had no idea what to say. All he knew was that she was hurting and that she needed help. "Yumi... Are you okay?" Ulrich hesitantly asked her.

"... I'm sorry for snapping at you and Jeremie like that." Yumi apologized after a moment, though she continued to avert her gaze. She didn't want to look Ulrich in the eye. She just couldn't. "... but you guys don't need to worry about me. I promise I'm fine." she added a lie after a moment or two.

"... I don't think that you are, Yumes ..." Ulrich hesitantly told her.

Yumi didn't say anything to Ulrich this time. How could she...? He was right in his suspicion after all... just more of a reason why she shouldn't burden him even more...

His worry for the girl he loved was too much for Ulrich to bear. He knew that Yumi would get mad at him for a long while with what he was about to say, but her safety and her well-being was more important to him than anything else. Hopefully she would understand one day...

Ulrich took a deep breath and he spoke. "... I think you should stay here, Yumi."

The Japanese teen's eyes widened in shock and anger at what she just heard. "What?!" Yumi asked in utter disbelief. How could Ulrich suggest such a thing when their friends were counting on them right now?! "Ulrich, how could you suggest anything like that?! Odd and Verity need our help! I need to be there! We both need to be there for them!"

"I know that, Yumes! But-"

"But what?!"

Ulrich cringed at Yumi's harsh and cold tone. Though he knew she was going through much pain and despair since the events with their friends and her brother at the barn, it didn't hurt any less. He kept his composure however, and he beared it all as best as he could for her sake...

When Ulrich didn't answer her question, Yumi looked to Jeremie to gauge his reactions to this and she immediately recognized that he was thinking the same as her boyfriend. They must've thought that she was going crazy... maybe they were right.

The prying eyes from the two boys and all of the others nearby soon proved to be too much for Yumi to bear. The depressed, grieving teen then turned and stormed off as her frustration finally overtook her. "GODDAMMIT!!!" Yumi shouted at the top of her lungs so loudly that her throat became hoarse.

"Wait, Yumi!" Ulrich called to her as she stormed off, but she kept going as if she didn't hear him.

Ulrich tried to go after Yumi, but Jeremie went to him and stopped him. Ulrich was bewildered and angry, but soon he realized what Jeremie had. Yumi needed some space...

As Yumi stormed into Dale's RV and slammed the door suht behind her, Ulrich turned to Jeremie. Ulrich and Yumi were supposed to help in the rescue mission, but Yumi just simply wasn't going to go in this state. Ulrich couldn't leave her alone like this, but he felt guilty about needing to stay here instead of help save his friends...

Ulrich was as exasperated as he was exhausted by all of this. "Jeremie, I need to-"

"Its okay, Ulrich. I understand and the others all will too." Jeremie interrupted Ulrich with an understanding nod. "You need to stay here so you can keep an eye on her. We can manage without you guys, I'm sure."

"But what about-"

"We'll bring them back before you know it, I promise."

Though he didn't want to just abandon the mission like this, Ulrich realized that Jeremie was right. Ulrich gave Jeremie a thankful nod and he hugged his friend tight before he hurried off after Yumi, hoping and praying that she would open up to him and allow him to be there for her. Ulrich hoped that Odd and Verity will understand why he and Yumi wouldn't be there with the team if... when they're rescued.

As Ulrich hurried after Yumi, Jeremie turned to some of the others who had gathered nearby. "Any of you guys wanna take their place?" Jeremie asked these people.

"I'll go." Alex volunteered immediately. Jeremie nodded and he gestured toward the car that he and Ulrich loaded the bags of extra guns and ammo into. If Alexandr was coming with, he was going to have to be armed just like everyone else.

Alex nodded back at the supergenius before he went to hurriedly gear himself up with a gun. He grabbed the first rifle he saw in one of the bags along with a few magazines worth of ammunition for it. Alex prayed he wouldn't have to use any of it during this run. He was sick of death...

After the Russian teen readied up and went back to Jeremie, Rick got everyone's attention.

"Alright, everyone. Y'all know what we're doin'." Rick began to say. "It'll be a long drive up north, so make sure to conserve your supplies. We'll be headin' out as soon as I'm done talkin'. If either car has to stop for whatever reason, just use the radios to let the other car know and it'll pull over." He gestured to a walkie-talkie sitting in the car next to him. The other car had its twin inside.

"We'll be takin' guns with us if we need deal with any walkers we find. If we have to use them to free our people from Carver, then we will." Lee added on to the rescue team. "Killing any of Carver's people is a last resort option though. If we can do this without any bloodshed, then we will. Last thing we need is for this farm to turn into a warzone."

"What about Carver? If we let him live, he'll just come back here again." Miranda stated.

Rick cringed at the question, remembering how he became a killer only last night. But this was a question that needed an answer. "We'll just cross that bridge when we come to it." Rick reasoned, deferring the decision on Carver's fate until if and when they actually find him. "If we can find a way to make peace with him and his people, then we'll do it. If we can't, then... we'll take him out."

"Sounds like a plan then." Daryl shrugged. That guy up north was a crazy piece of shit who needed to die. If Merle was here, he'd probably agree with him... probably.

"Above all else we all need to come back to the farm alive and unharmed. We can't risk losing anyone trying to save Odd, Verity, and Nick." Carlos spoke up next.

Patrick frowned at what he heard, though he didn't say anything about it. He wasn't going to put his friends at risk, but Patrick was going to do whatever it took to get Verity back home. If it meant he had to get himself hurt or if he had to hurt some of Carver's guys, then so be it.

Soon, the rescue team had grabbed whatever remaining supplies they needed and they got into the two cars for the long journey up to northwest Tennessee. They drove out of the farm as many of the group came to see them off, many waving at them and wishing them success and safety.

They were going to get all their friends back from that monster Carver one way or another...

*PONK*...

In his dark cell, Odd sputtered his lips with boredom as he tossed a tennis ball to the wall, caught it, and tossed it again over and over and over. The ball he found laying in the corner wall was the only source of entertainment that he had left aside from his own imagination. He tried his best to ignore how hungry he was getting, but he wasn't having a lot of success there...

Odd wanted to go back to the farm. He wanted to be with his friends again. He wanted to just wake up in his bed and realize that all of this has just been a terrible nightmare.

The boy was taken out of his cell earlier by some of Carver's people. Odd was taken to a cold room... There, they stripped him out of his clothes and they took turns beating him while demanding to know where he had been living before he, Verity, and Nick were taken by them.

Odd didn't tell them anything about the farm or about anyone who was there, but they didn't make it easy for him to stay silent. Even despite all the pain and torment, Odd would rather die before they'd find and hurt the people he cared about.

But the things they did wasn't what haunted him. It was the things they threatened to do... Unspeakable things. One of those men seemed to like young boys far too much...

If that lady Tavia wasn't there to keep that guy on a leash... well, Odd didn't want to think about what could've happened to himself. Obviously, Odd would have fought back against that sick monster for as long as he had breath in his svelte-not-scrawny body, but still... it was a pretty scary experience, and one that would haunt him for a while.

... he, Verity, and Nick have to get out of this terrible place.

*PONK*...

Fresh bruises covered much of Odd's still-naked body as he rested and recovered in his cell. His busted lip and his black eye both hurt like crazy. It was similar to what he had suffered when Carver ambushed him in that forest all those weeks ago. He still hadn't fully healed from that earlier beating by the psychopath, so Odd was feeling more than a little sore at the moment. He hoped there wasn't any permanent damage.

That really bad pain in his chest which wouldn't go away made him think that one of his ribs was at least cracked, maybe broken. He could only hope that whatever they were doing to Verity wasn't nearly as bad as what they put him through. And who knew what was happening with Nick right now either... If Odd had to give Carver and his people any credit for anything, it was for being able to beat people up... Jerks.

Odd kept tossing the tennis ball and catching it as he thought of better times. Ones which were better than being a prisoner to some psychopath at least... He missed all of his friends from school. He missed his family. He missed Kiwi too...

*PONK*...

And Sam... God, how Odd wanted to see her again. To hold her in his arms even if was only for one more time. To tell her how he felt...

He missed Sam so much, and he regretted that he never got the chance to ask her out when they first came to America with the rest of the school. Maybe he and Sam could have made a good future together if this pandemic didn't happen. Maybe she'd even be alive right now if he didn't allow himself to get separated from her when the air force first dropped their bombs in Atlanta...

... things should have been different than that. They should both be together at the farm and be safe and sound right now.

But Odd knew that Sam and all of the others who weren't among the dead in Hershel's barn were probably long gone by now... The girl he loved was probably just one of who knew how many walkers roaming across this terrible world right now. Just another walking reanimated corpse...

Or worse... the possibility of her being held by someone like Carver...

*PONK*...

The events here at Howe's Hardware, his experience with being held in captivity by Carver and his men... it was enough for Odd to actually forget that he killed one of them in Senoia last night. Odd couldn't fathom the fact that he had committed a murder, even if it was in self-defense. A person ceased to exist last night because of his actions, and although it had to be done it was still so terrible...

Odd shut his eyes tightly as he remembered how much blood gushed out of the man's neck before he died.

That man he shot suffered so much before he died...

*PONK*...

As Odd caught the ball and prepared to throw it against the wall once again, he heard a familiar tapping on the wall. Realizing who it was, Odd immediately stopped what he was doing and he pressed his ear to the concrete so he could listen to his friend more properly. He hadn't heard from her for hours...

"O. D. D. ... A. R. E. ... Y. O. U. ... T. H. E. R. E. ... ?" he heard Verity tap to him. Verity was still in her cell and she was still alive, thank God.

"Y. E. S. ... I. ... A. M. ... V. E. R. ..." Odd tapped back his reply.

"T. H. A. N. K. ... G. O. D. ..." he heard another tap from his fellow Lyoko Warrior. It didn't take a genius to know she was relieved.

Odd smiled softly. After all that he had gone through today, he was happy to have contact with a friend. Even if it had to be through something like tapping code through a concrete wall, it was comforting to know that Verity was still there. As bad as the situation was, they had to try to look out for each other until they could find a way out of this hellhole. Verity was all he had right now, and vice versa.

Odd sighed and he tapped again. "T. H. E. Y. ... B. E. A. T. ... M. E. ... B. U. T. ... I. ... D. I. D. N. T. ... S. A. Y. ... A. N. Y. T. H. I. N. G. ..."

"M. O. N. S. T. E. R. S. ..." Verity tapped back her response. "I. ... A. M. ... S. O. ... S. O. R. R. Y. ..."

"I. T. S. ... O. K. A. Y. ..." Odd tapped despite his fingers hurting from the treatment he got earlier. "D. I. D. ... T. H. E. Y. ... H. U. R. T. ... Y. O. U. ...?"

"N. O. T. ... R. E. A. L. L. Y. ..." was the reply. "I. ... S. U. F. F. E. R. E. D. ... W. O. R. S. E. ... F. R. O. M. ... X. A. N. A. ..."

Verity seemed to be okay more or less, and thank God for that... If any of these monsters tried to hurt her like how they had hurt him, Odd would die trying to save her. Verity was one of Odd's closest friends after all, and if it meant that she or any of the other Lyoko Warriors would continue to survive or have their dignities kept intact then he would gladly give his life for them.

Silence followed for a couple of minutes as Odd contemplated their captivity. He knew there was a good chance that they won't make it out of here alive...

If he lost his life here, there was things that Verity and all of their friends needed to hear from him.

"I. F. ... W. E. ... D. I. E. ..." Odd hesitantly tapped. He paused for a moment, then he continued again. "I. ... W. A. N. T. ... Y. O. U. ... T. O. ... K. N. O. W. ... T. H. A. T. ..."

However, Odd was interrupted before he could finish tapping out the sentence. "W. E. ... W. O. N. T. ... D. I. E. ..." Verity told him through the concrete wall.

Then Verity gave Odd another message which he desperately needed to hear right now, something to give him the strength to keep holding his own until they were rescued or until they could find a way out of here. Something that told him that he and Verity would be okay and that they will get out of this hellhole they're being held in.

"P. L. E. A. S. E. ... D. O. N. T. ... G. I. V. E. ... I. N. ..." Verity slowly tapped out the message. "I. ... B. E. L. I. E. V. E. ... I. N. ... Y. O. U. ..."

Odd spelt out the letters as they were tapped out by the girl in the next cell over. As he spelt out the words, a soft smile grew on his face.

If Verity was telling him not to give in, that he believed in her... who was he to argue against her wishes?

They were going to get out of this place sooner or later. Verity believed this, so Odd would believe it too. The things he needed to say can wait... he'll say them to her and their friends face-to-face when they get back to the farm.

"Y. O. U. ... T. O. O. ... V. E. R. ..." Odd told her through the wall. "A. N. D. ... T. H. A. N. K. ... Y. O. U. ..."

"Y. O. U. ... A. R. E. ... W. E. L. C. O. M. E. ... O. D. D. ..."

With that, Odd decided that he had to try and get some rest. He was naked and cold and in pain, but he had to at least try to get as much sleep as he could while he was stuck here. He and Verity were going to need their strength if they were ever to get out of this terrible place and reunite with their friends...

After Odd laid down on the cold concrete floor below, he closed his eyes. He hoped he, Verity, and Nick would be free of Carver soon...

In the back bedroom of Dale's RV, Kyra was patiently sitting by the side of her best and closest friend as she waited for him to wake up again.

Charles was incredibly lucky to have made it out of his experience with Josh alive. Had things turned out any differently by that damned tree, Kyra might've been kneeling over her best friend's freshly-dug grave right now instead of sitting next to his bed. She honestly couldn't even fathom such a horrible thought.

Charles getting killed was just... it was just impossible in Kyra's mind. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to live without him in her life. Kyra realized how close Charles had come to death last night. She was determined to never let it happen to him again.

Soon, Kyra could hear some rustling come from the bed. Charles was waking up. As the boy raised himself and looked around, Kyra set aside some book she was reading and she took Charles's hand into hers as she made him stop trying to move too much.

"Easy, Charlie..." Kyra soothed, gently pushing her friend back down to the bed. "You're fine, Charlie. You're in the farmhouse... Your head got a little banged up but Carlos said that you're going to be okay...""

Charles groggily rubbed his eyes as he remembered what happened. "Josh...?"

"We found him, don't worry." Kyra confirmed to him with a nod. "There was an altercation and he took Dylan as a hostage, but he's alright. We locked up Josh in the shed so he can't escape from his bonds again. And there'll always be at least one set of eyes on the shed for as long as he's in there."

"I never should've turned my back to that monster... It's all my fault that he got out..." Charles sounded dejected. It was so foolish of him to have let his guard down near Josh yesterday. He felt like such an idiot for allowing the situation to happen.

Kyra squeezed his hand again. "It's not your fault, Charlie. He just got lucky."

Though Charles appreciated the gesture and the kind words, he stayed silent. He was just determined to never again fail his friends like how he did last night.

As much as the events with Josh weighed on Charles's mind, he couldn't help but notice that only Kyra was here. That look on her face told him that she had more news.

"Where's everyone else?" Charles wondered.

Kyra cringed at the question. It was one she had been dreading ever since she sat down by his bed earlier. "Most are doing chores here and there right now..." she hesitantly explained. Then came the part he would certainly dread to hear. "But a lot of them went to rescue Odd and Verity."

"What? Rescue...?" Charles's eyes widened in horror at what he just heard. What happened to his friends? "Kyra... where are Odd and Verity? Are they okay...?"

"They and Nick..." Kyra trailed off due to her hesitance to explain all of the horror that happened while Charles was out. But she forced herself to press on since he deserved to be kept in the loop about their friends. "Carver found them when they went to get Hershel and he kidnapped them, Charlie. Aelita also got hurt, but she's alive and she'll get back on her feet again soon... But she, Odd, and Jeremie all had to kill some people last night to stay alive."

Charles's jaw dropped. "Oh God, they did?!" he asked incredulously. Aelita, Odd, and Jeremie had to kill some people?! Christ, this world really has changed for the worse...

"There's more." Kyra told him. "The group brought back another person last night. Someone from another group they fought before Carver showed up. He also got hurt, but he's gonna be okay... Daryl's interrogating the guy to make sure he and his group isn't a threat, and once that's done we'll try to leave him and Josh somewhere far away from here where they'll never bother us again."

The poor Australian boy couldn't believe all he had just heard. He had certainly missed out on a lot of terrible things since he was knocked out by Josh...

"... Christ." was all Charles could utter, but it captured his thoughts of shock pretty well.

"I wish I had better news for you Charlie..." Kyra told him with sympathy.

Both of the teens went silent as they processed the situation. Poor Charles looked utterly confused and shocked and worried for his friends... Soon though, Charles pushed the blanket off of him and he tried to sit up. Kyra's eyes widened as she went to hold him down so he could continue to rest.

"Charlie, what are you doing?" a concerned Kyra asked. He was supposed to rest here, not try to get up and about. He could've been killed last night!

"Getting out of bed!" Charles told her as he kept trying to break free. "Odd and Verity need help, Kyra! We can't just leave them for-"

Kyra interrupted him. "Charlie, some of the others already left a while ago." she explained to him. "Besides, you're not in good shape to go on a rescue mission right now..."

"But I have to go and help them get-!"

Again, Kyra interrupted Charles. This time she pressed her finger against his lips to shush him, and it worked since Charles immediately went silent and he ceased trying to get out of the bed. Seems like he was finally beginning to understand who was the boss here right now.

Kyra was satisfied by this compliance and she retraced her hand before sitting down on the edge of the bed, close to Charles. "Good boy..." Kyra teased her best friend with a motherly tone of voice. She had Charles exactly where she wanted him, and she wasn't gonna let him go until he was properly rested and healed.

The teen took one of her friend's hands into hers. "Now, you're going to stay right here in this bed until I say otherwise, and as your best friend I'll be here to help keep you company the whole time." Kyra sternly-yet-playfully told him what was to happen. "Today you're going to get plenty of rest, plenty of food, and plenty of water. And if you behave, I might let you get your freedom back... deal?"

"I was only knocked out by that psycho, Kyra. I've been knocked out before by some of XANA's attacks." Charles pointed out. "It's not like I got myself stabbed or got myself bit by a walker, or that I got-"

Charles was shushed by Kyra for the third time in a row. By this point, he realized how futile it was to try and argue with his overprotective best friend. He remembered how motherly she was when he broke his arm playing football at Kadic that one time. Kyra wouldn't stop watching over him at all - Christ, even Yolande didn't give Charles as much trouble as Kyra did when his arm was in a cast.

So, since he was anxious to just get this over with, Charles sighed and finally relented. Maybe he'll even come to like it. "... okay, deal."

Kyra's smile turned to a full-blown grin at hearing this. Now Charles wouldn't do something stupid and get himself hurt more...

The relieved Canadian teen then slipped off her shoes and she laid down on the bed right next to Charles, wanting to be close to her closest friend. After Kyra laid down, she snuggled up to him. Charles accepted the contact and he wrapped an arm around her before pulling the blanket over them.

After she got nice and cozy and warm under the covers, Kyra took her MP3 player and earbuds out of her pocket and she handed one of the ear pieces over to Charles so he could listen to some music too. There wasn't much juice left in the MP3 player anymore since there wasn't any electricity for Kyra to recharge it with, but it would be enough for them to be able to just enjoy this moment together.

Happy and content, the two teens laid in the bed together as Kyra played a song that they both liked. It wasn't long before they both drifted into a slumber together...

"Dammit, again?! You've gotta be shitting me!"

Patrick cursed to himself as he heard some funny noises suddenly come from of the engine of his car for the third time since they left the farm. This was immediately followed by the car refusing to go any faster than a few miles per hour no matter how hard Patrick pressed his foot down on the gas pedal.

Goddamn engine must've been acting up again... Patrick knew that he should've just borrowed one of the other cars and not this massive piece of shit one. Serves him right for being a fool about it, he guessed.

In the passenger seat, Pete sighed as he used a walkie-talkie to radio everyone in the car behind theirs. He told them about the faulty engine and he said that they had to pull over at the next place they saw - luckily enough, it turned out to be an abandoned gas station with a mechanic's garage. There had to be some tools and parts to fix whatever was wrong with this shitty engine.

Though he was annoyed that they had to stop, Patrick pulled the car up to the mechanic's garage and he shut the engine off. By then, some white smoke started to pour out from under the hood up towards the sky. The teen slammed his hand down on the steering wheel out of frustration when he saw that, as he realized that the engine problem was probably serious. The longer they took to reach Carver's settlement, the longer it would take to rescue Verity...

Everyone got out of the two cars and went to check on the broken engine. When Luke opened up the hood, the group was greeted with a face-full of smoke.

"Aw, shit!" Rick coughed as he waved his hand to get the smoke away from his eyes. Shit, that burned...

Luke coughed after some of the smoke got in his throat, but he recovered quick. "Someone oughta go check the garage, see if there's any tools or parts still there that we can use..."

Both Daryl and Lee headed inside the mechanic's garage to find tools for the car while everyone else settled in and waited. There wasn't really anything else that they could do right now anyway. Even Patrick simply sat down near a gas pump despite his impatience to rescue Verity.

Alex cracked his neck and took a look at his surroundings. It was so refreshing to get out of that cramped car...

"God, my neck is killing me..." the teen muttered to himself. He'd been cramped like a sardine for hours now. "Does anyone know where are we are now?" Alex asked all of the others out of curiosity. He hoped they were close by now. America was a far bigger country than he had ever come to expect and he had absolutely no idea how much further it would be to their destination.

"Not sure..." Jeremie replied as he unfolded a tourist map he found in the glove box. He studied it for a moment but he couldn't tell where exactly they were right now. "I saw the welcome sign for Tennessee an hour ago though, so we're in the state. We'd probably be far closer to Huntingdon if we didn't keep running into walkers all along the way."

"We're gettin' pretty close to Monteagle." Pete said. He remembered how he and the Cabin Group passed through the same town during their escape from Carver many weeks earlier. It wasn't pretty. Alvin's wife got killed in there by some infected guy who didn't tell the group that he was bitten.

While the group wasn't looking, the guy died and came back. Rebecca had the misfortune of being close by him. Her screams as the guy's teeth dug into her neck drew in walkers for blocks around, and that was the end of that for her... along with that baby she was carrying in her belly...

Pete cringed and pushed the thoughts of her out of his head. It wouldn't do him well to dwell on the horror of the past. "There was lots of walkers in there the last time me and my people went through. We'd better stay clear if we know what's good for us." he warned the supergenius. Pete was anxious not to repeat what had happened with Rebecca all those weeks ago.

Miranda's stomach rumbled as she hopped out of one of the cars with a rifle in hand. "I'm gonna go check the gas station and see if there's anything to snack on." she told the others, cocking her rifle before she walked towards the gas station close by. She hoped there was still a Twinkie left in there or a bag of Doritos or something yummy.

As the smoke cleared away from the engine of the front car, Luke went to work trying to find the problem. Whatever the issue was, it was deep inside the engine and it won't be easy for him to fix. Daryl and Lee seemed to be having no luck finding the tools he needed in that garage.

All of the rescue team couldn't fit in a single car. This was really becoming a problem...

"Dammit! FUCK!" Luke loudly cursed after his hand got caught in something in the engine. He freed it quickly, but it hurt.

"Are you okay?" Carlos asked, having nearly ran to the other car to grab the first aid kit he kept in its glove box.

Luke nodded, though he was cringing deeply. "Yeah, I think I'm good... It ain't anything bad, it just stings. That's all."

Carlos nodded and decided against getting the first aid kit for now. Luke went back to work as Carlos and Rick helped keep security around the cars. Daryl and Lee continued tearing apart the garage for tools as the Lyoko Warriors lounged around the site. Luckily, Daryl didn't seem to be giving Lee the same treatment that his brother had given T-Dog back on that roof in Atlanta. Guess the worst of Merle didn't rub off too badly on Daryl...

Jeremie continued to examine the tourist map so he could double-check the routes they planned to take to Huntingdon. If the group didn't run into more walker herds out on the road then they'd hopefully arrive at that town by the end of the day, but the supergenius knew better than to be optimistic. They have already lost a lot of time thanks to those monsters. Between that and the car troubles, luck seemed to be avoiding them...

"Dammit..." Jeremie sighed as he looked at the map. The longer they took to get to Carver's settlement, the more horror Odd and Verity had to go through until their rescue.

In the gas station, Miranda was combing through some isles of snacks in an effort to find something tasty to eat. Sadly the shelves had already been looted before the group showed up, but she still hoped to scrounge up something nice. The teen kept talking to herself in her head as she looked through the remaining food there. There was one or two good things there, but she was having a hard time finding anything else.

"Beef jerky? Sweet, I'll take that..." Miranda mumbled, pocketing the jerky as she went through the packs of snacks. "Twizzlers? Nah, hate licorice..." she tossed the pack of Twizzlers over her shoulder out of disgust. Then she found one that made her nearly gag just from the sight of it. "Oh Christ, dill pickle flavored chips? Whoever actually liked those deserved to become walker food..."

Like the Twizzlers, Miranda tossed the bag of disgusting-flavored chips out of sight. Like honestly, dill pickle flavor? That was pretty much a war crime in Miranda's mind.

Miranda chowed down on some of the beef jerky she found before deciding to check out the coolers. They weren't cold anymore thanks to the electric grid going out, but she hoped that she could find a bottle of Coke or some water or something else to drink. Damn, it was hot out here...

She approached one of the non-functioning coolers and opened the door. Miranda rummaged through the shelves to find something refreshing for herself. There wasn't much left which she liked, so she settled on a diet Dr. Pepper - which was a little gross to her, but still better than nothing. She could've drank out of the bottle of water she left in the car but she wanted to save as much of it as possible for the trip.

Back outside, Alex was taking a second glance at his rifle to make certain that it was up to par. It was one of the military-grade rifles taken from that hospital where Chase got his hand severed weeks ago. The thing seemed to work just fine but the battery on its red dot sight was dead, so Alex had to remove the optic in favor of its basic iron sights. Admittedly it was disappointing since he thought the red dot was really fucking cool - it looked like something you'd see in Star Wars or something.

Alex tossed the now-useless optic over his shoulder before he double-checked his magazine. It was only half full. The group didn't have much ammo to their names right now.

The Russian sighed to himself as he wondered how they were going to get their friends out of Carver's clutches. Sneaking was key, because if they had to use their guns and fight it simply wouldn't be an easy battle to win. They'd all likely run out of bullets long before Carver would run out of men. And God help them if Carver took more of them as prisoners...

Alexandr set his rifle back inside the car he was riding in before he went to stretch his legs some more. The boy cracked his back with a grunt before he walked towards the garage that Daryl and Lee were still tearing apart. They didn't seem to be having much success finding parts or tools to fix the broken down car.

"Any luck finding the parts we need so far?" Alex asked the two men as he approached.

"How do you say 'fuck no' in Russian?" Daryl replied sarcastically, tossing a car part over his shoulder and away from him. He had no idea what the part was, but he was pretty sure that it wasn't what they were looking for. He was far more versed in motorcycle parts instead of car parts.

"Черт нет (Fuck no.)"

"Yeah, that!"

An annoyed Lee rolled his eyes at what he was hearing right now, though he was too focused on searching for parts to say anything about it. The sooner they found the parts they needed, the sooner they could rescue their people and go back home. Lee hoped that Clementine was okay at the farm without him... He didn't like to leave that girl like that, but their friends needed help right now.

As Alex joined Daryl and Lee in looking for car parts, Patrick was sitting by the broken-down car and looking down at an old photo he had of himself and Verity. It was taken back when they first arrived at Kadic Academy a couple of years ago, when they were just best friends and not also boyfriend and girlfriend. Their time at Kadic already felt like a lifetime ago to Patrick...

He missed Verity. He wanted her to be safe...

... and if Carver laid a fucking finger on her, Patrick swore he would-

Suddenly, Patrick heard some rustling sounds come from the forest across the street from the gas station. He seemed to not be the only one who heard this, because most of the others stopped what they were doing and turned to face that direction... something was in the trees.

Miranda, who was walking out of the gas station with a bag full of snacks and drinks, had also heard the strange sounds. She immediately dropped the bag and readied her rifle before she hurried back to the others by the cars. Whether it was walkers or Carver's men or some other threat, everyone had to be ready for whatever would come through those trees on the other side of the road.

"You guys heard that too?" Miranda wondered, her finger away from the trigger for the moment. If she saw a walker or a guy with a gun, it wouldn't stay that way.

Jeremie nodded, having already grabbed Chase's pistol in case he needed it. "Yeah, we did..." Jeremie replied, not turning his gaze away from the trees for a moment.

"You think it was walkers...?" Luke asked before he went to grab his rifle, having left it inside the broken-down car.

"I ain't sure, but we shouldn't risk anything..." Pete frowned and didn't look away from the trees. He then went over to the other side of the car so that he could prop his rifle up against the trunk of the vehicle, making it a sniping platform in case something was going to happen. Soon, he had a stable and completely clear line of sight straight to the treeline. Whatever would come out of there would be in a world of hurt if it was hostile.

Rick aimed his revolver towards the trees as Daryl, Alex, and Lee hurried from the garage to him and the others. The three seemed to have noticed the rustling in the trees.

"Walkers?" Lee asked as he and the other two approached.

"We don't know yet." Carlos told him. "Be ready for anything that comes through those trees."

Another noise from the treeline drew the rescue team's attention. But when the rescue team aimed their guns towards the strange sound, they realized that it hadn't been caused by walkers. Nor did it seem to be caused by any of Carver's goons...

Instead of a bunch of flesh-eating monsters or angry men with guns, they were greeted with the sight of three dirty, hungry, dehydrated and absolutely exhausted teens. They were two girls and one boy. They were just three living people who had clearly went through some serious hell before they stumbled onto the rescue team.

For several moments, the three teens and the rescue team simply stared at each other. All seemed to be dumbfounded by what they were seeing. The rescue team certainly didn't actually expect to find survivors out here, and the teens didn't seem to think they'd find any either.

Finally, the boy in this group stepped forward towards everyone in the rescue team with a look of pure desperation in his eye. The rescue team lowered their weapons as the boy approached and spoke to them.

"... please help us."

Introducing Chris Rudy, Misty Rudy, and Chelsea Jernigan, who all belong to Chris Rudy!