(Anne Marshall belongs to AquaDestinysEmbrace!)
(Chris Rudy, Misty Rudy, and Chelsea Jernigan all belong to Chris Rudy!)
(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.
"Who the fuck are you?!"
"Who the fuck are you?!"
"I asked first, asshole!"
The rescue team and the three teens stared each other down with confusion, worry, and a general sense of confrontation. Guns were drawn and held at the ready by some in the rescue team and also from the boy in this new group, but no one was aiming them... yet.
Neither group expected to find the other here. Tensions were high. If anyone did anything wrong, then people could easily die here. No one wanted a fight but no one was willing to take the chance of lowering their guns first.
Alexandr frowned at the three newcomers. "Where did you come from? Are you with Carver?!"
"Who the fuck is Carver?!" one of them, the boy, retorted with a question of his own. He had no idea what was going on! "Look man, we had no idea you people were here! We thought this whole county was filled with biters and nothing else!" he added.
"We saw this place on a map yesterday and we thought it'd be a good place to find some food!" one of the girls, the blonde-haired one, told the rescue team. She looked as pissed as she was frightened about all the guns being aimed at them.
"You're not in luck unless you like dill pickle potato chips, lady." Miranda muttered with a disgusted look on her face. Those chips sucked so bad.
Rick kept the barrel of his gun pointed at these strangers and he kept his finger on the trigger. He wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, but the last time he did that was in that bar in Senoia and everyone knew how that went - Christ, it's the reason why they're even here in Tennessee right now! The rescue team simply couldn't afford to let itself get in another situation like that.
These people may have been teenagers. Kids. But after what happened at Senoia and with Josh before that, Rick wouldn't dare take the risk of lowering his gun before that boy lowered his first. He hoped this kid was smart enough to not escalate the situation...
"We asked you who you are." Rick frowned at the new strangers. "So either talk, or just keep walkin' before something bad happens here." he warned them.
"Everyone calm down! They're just kids!" Lee said to everyone who was there.
"Josh is 'just a kid' and look at what happened with him!" Alexandr retorted. The less new people that they had to deal with, the better. The Russian teen then looked over to the former deputy. "Rick, we can't trust these people! We've been burned too many times by this kind of thing! Who knows what these guys can do to us?!"
"We're not hostile in any way!" the second girl told the rescue team.
"Then put your guns down and prove it!" Patrick demanded, keeping his iron sights aimed right to the boy's head.
"You first, asshole!" the boy growled as he aimed his gun right back towards Patrick.
Suddenly, a single gunshot rang out. The group and the newcomers almost began to shoot each other before they realized that it wasn't any of them who had fired the shot. Everyone's eyes turned to the source of the gunfire.
Close by, Jeremie had his pistol aimed up into the sky and burnt gunpowder smoked out of his pistol's barrel. Looks like he succeeded in getting everyone's attention...
"Enough! All of you!" Jeremie frowned to everyone as he lowered his gun and holstered it. "We've all wasted too much time as it is, and these kids are just hungry and lost! No one here is a threat to either of our groups! So all of you just put away your guns and all of you just... SHUT UP!"
Everyone went silent at Jeremie's loud outburst, even the newcomers. Those who were in the rescue team hadn't expected Jeremie of all people to yell like that...
Several moments went by before either group did anything. But then, hesitantly, Rick lowered his revolver. The boy in the newcomers did the same with his gun, and soon some of the others had lowered their weapons too. There was still tension in the air, but at least they weren't at the risk of being shot at... for now.
The two groups awkwardly stood and stared at each other before Miranda suddenly approached the newcomers. The three of them took a step or two back out of caution as they watched the girl approach, but they soon stopped when they noticed the friendly smile on her face.
"... you guys hungry? Thirsty?" Miranda asked as she unexpectedly opened up her backpack and offered the stuff inside of it. As good as some of the snacks and drinks she looted from the gas station were to her, these teens probably needed them more than she did right now. Plus, it could hopefully help break the ice and begin to make up for the stand off they all just had.
The newcomers were very hesitant, but they were starving and they couldn't even remember when the last time they ate was. After a momentary pause, the three of them each thanked Miranda and they started to grab snacks from the bag and eat them almost like animals.
Miranda smiled softly at the sight and she backed away. Her own belly rumbled from hunger but she ignored it. Going hungry was worth helping those who were in need.
As the three newcomers ravaged the contents of Miranda's backpack, the remainder of the rescue team slowly began to lower their weapons. It was pretty clear by now that the newcomers weren't much of a threat...
"Who are you kids?" Luke inquired as he put away his pistol.
The newcomers were so caught up in eating for the first time in days that they didn't answer Lee at first. It was several more moments before the teens finally looked up from the snacks and answered.
"My name's Chris... Chris Rudy." the boy introduced himself and then gestured at the two girls with him. "Here's my sister Misty, and this is my girlfriend Chelsea Jernigan."
"Nice to meet you all." Jeremie said before he introduced himself and the rest of the rescue team. After the introductions were out of the way, he apologized. "Sorry about all of the stuff that just happened..." he said to the three teens.
Chelsea nodded. "It's fine... we're sorry too. We hope there's no hard feelings."
"There isn't. We've just been on edge, lately..." Jeremie explained to the three teens.
"That's putting it mildly." Alexandr deadpanned. "Basically some friends of ours were kidnapped by a psychopath and we're heading out to try and rescue them..."
"Alex..." Rick frowned at the Russian teen for divulging information to these three strangers. Though things were peaceful between everyone now, it was best that the rescue team don't give any details to people who they had just met on the road. Rick couldn't think of anything good that could come from trusting strangers. They had learnt their lession with people like Josh, and the people in the bar at Senoia.
The newcomers seemed surprised by the revelation. "Your friends were taken...? Oh god, I'm so sorry to hear that..." Chelsea said with sympathy.
"They're still more than a hundred miles from us and one of our cars just gave out on us..." Pete said as he gestured at the car suffering from problems.
"Maybe I could try to fix it for you? I know my way around an engine." Chris offered to lend a helping hand to the group. "I can't make any promises, but I'll try my best to get your car running for you again. If you'll let me, that is."
The rescue team exchanged curious glances at this. The group still weren't sure if they could trust this guy or the girls, but they didn't really have another option aside from going out to find another vehicle to take - a very risky option given how many walkers could be out, and an option which might not even bear fruit to begin with. Most of the cars they came across on the way to Tennessee were ruined wrecks dotting the roads and highways.
If they couldn't get the car working, or find another, then they'd be screwed. And it would take them much longer to reach their friends when time was of the essence...
Sighing, Rick nodded and crossed his arms. "Alright then..." Rick said and gestured over to the broken-down car. "Just don't try anything funny, kid... understand?"
Chris held up his hands as a gesture of peace before making his way towards the car. Alexandr and Pete followed him since they wanted to help, but they also wanted to keep an eye on him just in case. Chris popped open the hood and sent Alexandr to find some tools for him in the garage.
As Chris started working to try and fix the engine, Misty and Chelsea both went to sit by the gas pumps and eat what was left of Miranda's snacks together. Most of the others all went to keep an eye on the perimeter in case walkers or more curious strangers decided to show up. Miranda stayed close to the two girls to keep an eye on them both. She may have given them food, but she wasn't ready to trust them just yet...
After what happened with Josh at the farm, who could blame anyone in the group for being a bit reluctant to trust outsiders?
After Alex brought Chris some tools and as Pete watched and lent a hand whenever he was needed, Chris went to work. But after about twenty minutes of tinkering with the guts of the engine, Chris suddenly pulled away and shut the hood of the car. The teen sighed, wiping some sweat from his brow as the others all went to him to see if he was able to get the car moving again.
Unfortunately, Chris didn't have good news for the rescue team.
"Engine's unfixable." Chris broke the news with a sigh. "I'm sorry guys, but the timing belt is busted and I can't fix it. The belt being broken caused some pistons to strike some valves and destroy them. Essentially - your car's engine is completely dead."
"Wonderful, just fucking wonderful..." Patrick mumbled with frustration. How the hell were they going to make it to Carver's settlement and rescue their friends if stuff like this keeps happening?!
"You said you could fix the engine!" Alexandr glared at the newcomer. He was just as angry as Patrick was.
"I said I'd try my best, and I did." Chris corrected, shooting back with a glare of his own. "I'm pretty good with engines. But sometimes the problem is just too serious to be fixable by anyone - especially now that civilization's completely collapsed and you can't order any new parts on eBay anymore. I did my best but I ain't a miracle worker."
Alexandr rolled his eyes and he stormed off back to the car which still ran. Verity and Odd were in serious trouble if their rescuers had to rely on people like this asshole...
Chris crossed his arms as he watched the Russian teen walk away. He then turned his attention back to the others. "Look, I'm sorry that I couldn't fix the engine, but I have a backup plan for you if you want it." Chris offered. "There's a town a few miles down the road and there's plenty of vehicles on main street. There's walkers in the town, but I think at least one or maybe two of those cars might still run."
"Fuck that! We'll take our own chances." Daryl interjected. For all he knew the town could've been a hornets nest of the dead.
"Do we have any better options?" Miranda retorted with a shrug. No one could argue with her statement, so she continued speaking. "I think we need to at least check out the town. The sooner we get another car running, the sooner we can keep going and get to Carver's place."
"As risky as it is, it's probably our best shot at getting through the rest of the state." Jeremie agreed since he saw the logic of the idea.
"We barely know these guys! We can't do what they're suggesting." Patrick protested to his friends.
Miranda deadpanned at him. "Okay, Patrick," she began to say. "What did you have in mind? What should we do to get moving again?"
Patrick remained silent at the question, having clearly not come up with any alternative to Chris's suggestion. Miranda simply nodded at her friend's silence and she turned to the others. "How about any of you guys? No...?" she asked, then she shrugged after no one spoke up either. "I guess since no one else has any better ideas, we're all gonna head into town to find a new ride then." she stated to everyone.
"Who put you in charge, Miranda?" Jeremie wondered sarcastically as he crossed his arms.
"Me, myself, and I." Miranda responded with a casual shrug. "Now, the sooner we all get to it, the sooner we can get back on the road. Anyone object to that?"
No one spoke up in opposition to the plan, much to Miranda's satisfaction. Maybe now they could finally get this show on the road...
Luke and Lee volunteered to stay behind and keep an eye on the group's supplies and also the car which still worked. Everyone else began to follow Chris, Chelsea, and Misty down the road which led to the nearby town. It was a couple of miles away, and they all made sure to keep a watchful eye out for any threats. Hopefully they'll find a working car somewhere in town...
As they walked, a few like Alexandr and Rick were still pretty suspicious of the three newcomers. They made sure to keep a close eye on them during their time together.
Those guys better not try anything funny...
Back at the farm, Ulrich was looking around all over the place for Yumi.
After the rescue team left, Yumi had stormed off to her tent and zipped it shut. Ulrich couldn't convince her to leave and he had some chores to do here and there around the camp, so he left her for a while. When he returned to Yumi's tent, the flap was wide open and she was nowhere to be seen.
Ulrich had been searching for Yumi for the last hour or two. He was almost ready to head back to camp and form a search team before he finally found Yumi quietly sitting by herself near Hiroki's grave. Ulrich felt like such a fool for not searching there first...
As he approached his grieving girlfriend, Ulrich could see that Yumi was holding her phone in her hand. Yumi was staring at the screen, and Ulrich could faintly hear voices from the distance he was at. It took him a second to realize they were the voices of Yumi's mother and father... was she trying to call them? Or was she just trying to hear their voices again...? How did she even still have power in her phone battery?
Ulrich decided to wait to speak to Yumi. He wanted to see what she was trying to do, and hear whatever she said... Yumi was too focused on her phone and her broken heart to notice her boyfriend.
Yumi sighed as she found her father's number on her contact list again. She pressed it and the phone began to ring as she put it back on speaker.
"Hello, this is Takeho and Akiko Ishiyama's home phone." she heard her father's voice from their answering machine back home. "I apologize but no one is available to come to the phone right now. Please leave your name and contact details and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you."
Her father... Yumi couldn't help but wonder how he died...
Did he go quick? Did he get lucky enough not to become one of those monsters? She could only hope that he went very fast and that he didn't feel any pain from the walkers, but she knew that was unlikely...
Was her just another pair of random walkers making their way through the streets of Paris right now? Or were her mother and father just another two more nameless corpses rotting away under the summer sun...? Yumi didn't know which was a worse fate...
Either way, those monsters probably tore him and her mother to shreds as they screamed their lungs out...
After she heard the beep to leave a message, Yumi sighed again. "... I miss you, dad ..." was all she could say before she hung up. She would never get a response from her father...
Yumi scrolled down the contact list on her phone and she reached her mother's phone number. She pressed it, and the phone began to ring once again. Yumi stared at the photo of her mother which she used for the contact image until she heard her mom's voicemail pick up.
"Hello, this is Akiko Ishiyama. Please leave a message." she heard her mother's voice from her voicemail, then the beep.
"... I miss you too, mom... so much..."
The grieving teen hung up after leaving that second message. Like the call to her father, the call to her mother would be forever unheard and forever unanswered.
Then Yumi scrolled further down her contact list, past the numbers for Aelita, Jeremie, Miranda, Chase, Odd, and all of the other Lyoko Warriors. She stopped on Hiroki's, and her thumb hovered over the call button on the screen. For several moments she stared at the goofy picture of her brother's face which she used as his contact image... she couldn't press the button. She just couldn't...
The teen scrolled back up to her father's number and called it again, starting over.
"Hello, this is Takeho and Akiko Ishiyama's home." she heard her father's voice again. "I apologize but no one is available to come to the phone right now. Please leave your name and contact details and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you."
Yumi heard the beep again, but this time she didn't speak. She saw that the battery on her phone had gotten really low. The farm didn't have any generators... soon, she would lose the last connection she had to her parents.
She powered down the phone for now, as she was not ready to say goodbye to them yet... not yet...
As Yumi stared at Hiroki's cross in silence, Ulrich finally approached her. "Yumi...?" he cautiously asked, but she didn't respond to him. It was as if he wasn't even there.
Ulrich's face fell as he went closer. "Yumes...? What're you doing...?" he wondered.
Silence again was all that greeted Ulrich. The boy simply sighed and he went to sit down next to Yumi. He wanted to at least show her that he was there for her, even if he seemingly couldn't do much for her...
The two teens sat in silence together. Yumi didn't take her eyes off of her little brother's grave at all, and Ulrich struggled to figure out what to do for her. He didn't want to do nothing while she suffered from her loss, and he didn't want to risk doing anything which might hurt her even more. He hated not knowing what to do while Yumi suffered...
Half an hour quietly went by before Ulrich tried to get through to Yumi again. "Yumi, please... just please say something to me... anything..."
Like before, Yumi stayed silent. Whatever was going through her mind right now was for her and only her to know. It was driving Ulrich crazy as much as it was worrying him.
What if Yumi never recovered from what happened to her brother...?
What if... what if Yumi does something drastic...?
"... what's the point?"
Ulrich's eyes widened as he finally heard Yumi say something to him for the first time since last night. "Huh...?" he asked as if he didn't hear Yumi correctly. She spoke so quietly to him that it was barely more audible than a whisper.
After another silent moment, Yumi asked him the same question again. She still didn't look away from her brother's grave. "... I asked you what the point of any of this is ..."
Ulrich's face fell upon being asked a question like that. Was Yumi really so depressed that she didn't want to keep going anymore? To just... give up?
"... we have to keep going for everyone we lost, Yumi ..." Ulrich told her after thinking about her question for a moment.
Though his girlfriend remained silent and still didn't look away from her brother's grave, Ulrich continued to speak. "None of them would want any of us to just give up and die... they'd all want us to keep going. Jeremie's cousin, Jim, Milly and Tamiya... even your parents, and... Hiroki..."
"... don't mention my family ..."
"If we die, then the memories of the people we lost die with us..."
"... Ulrich... please, just..." Yumi trailed off before sighing some moments later. " ... never mind... just... please just drop it, okay...?"
Ulrich went silent as he realized that nothing he said was getting through to her. It was heartbreaking...
All he could do was just try to be there for her... to be supportive. Yumi was in a dark place right now and he was just going to have to wait and hope that she would get out of it soon, no matter if it was easier said than done. He'll be by her side throughout it all...
"How about you come and sit by one of the campfires with me...?" Ulrich offered, gesturing out to the group's campsite over by the farmhouse. Even from this distance they could see many of the others resting by some campfires. The sun was setting, and now was the time for everyone to start trying to stay warm. "You could use some warmth and some food, Yumes. Some company too..."
Finally, Yumi looked away from her brother's grave and up at her boyfriend's face. Her expression was blank and emotionless, as if all the life had just drained out of her. It was something that worried Ulrich straight to the core...
After a moment, Yumi nodded softly at Ulrich's suggestion.
"... okay."
Odd glared down at the cement floor under him as he focused on trying to figure a way out of his cell.
The cone-haired boy was determined. He, Verity, and Nick were going to try to get out of here tonight.
The dark room that Odd was being held prisoner in was very small, and it was made of only concrete. Aside from the ball he found, Odd was the only thing in there. The only source of air or light that he got was through a small crack at the bottom of the locked door, and there was also at least one armed guard who was still sitting out there so he could keep an eye on Odd and Verity's cells. As far as Odd could tell, there was no other way out of this room than through that door.
Fiddling with the lock on the door wouldn't work - the guard would hear. There was no window to break through, and the crack in the bottom of the door was too small for Odd to slip his fingers through, not that that would even help much.
He couldn't break through the door, and obviously going through solid concrete was a no-go as well... hmm...
... maybe simply crying wolf and knocking out the guy might be the best?
Odd set aside his tennis ball and he curled himself up, clearing his throat. He then hugged his arms to his chest and he started coughing, whining, and groaning loud enough to get the attention of the guy with the rifle outside.
"H- Help me..." Odd groaned loudly, trying to give the best performance he could. "Some... Something's wrong... with my chest... I- I can't breathe..."
Outside, the guard had been busy whittling a stick with his combat knife since he was bored out of his mind. He had heard Odd's pained groans and tried his best to ignore the kid, but he was forced to holster his knife and set aside the stick when he heard him whine about his chest. Carver wanted the kid locked up - dead would be a problem.
"And why I should give a fuck about you croaking?" the guard asked through the door. He didn't even bother to get out of his chair.
"I- If you help me, I'll tell Carver where all of our friends are..."
"Ha! Yeah, sure you would, kid..."
"I- I mean it, sir..." Odd tried his best to sound convincing. Everything hinged on that. "Please help me, a- and Carver will get the information he wants... all of it..."
The guard outside huffed, annoyed that he had to get off his chair and deal with this stupid kid who couldn't help but make himself a pain in the ass. But Carver's orders were clear. If the kid really was willing to give information on his people then the boss would need to hear it himself...
Also, it helped the guard to think that Carver might reward him for getting the kid to finally come clean about where the community's runaways were hiding. Some better food or a softer bed would be great. Or maybe even some time alone with that girl who he's got locked up in the other cell...
This kid better be worth all this trouble though, or else the guard honestly might just shoot him and throw him out to the walkers for fun no matter what Carver wanted. Damn kid and his stupid fucking hair were the biggest pain in the ass he's suffered in a long while...
Annoyed, the guard lowered his rifle and he used his key to unlock the door to the psuedo-closet that Odd was being kept in. The guard opened up the door to see the naked boy curled up on the cold cement floor with his hands on his chest as if he was suffering from extreme pain. The guard simply shook his head and wondered why he of all people was unlucky enough to have to deal with this.
"Get the fuck up to your feet. Now." the guard demanded. When Odd didn't move, the guard grew more and more angry. "C'mon, just stop fucking whining and get up." he again ordered. "I'll take you up to Carver and you can sing like a canary to him..."
The guard impatiently waited for Odd to get up to his feet, but the boy simply wheezed and coughed where he laid. Seeing this, the guard groaned from annoyance and he leaned down to try and yank up Odd by his arm. Sick or not, the stupid brat was gonna tell Carver whatever the fuck it was he knew about his-
Suddenly, Odd reached out and pulled the guard downwards by his arm. The guard fell to the ground and Odd kicked away his rifle before he could try to reach for it. This was a fucking ambush?!
Dazed by his sudden faceplant into the concrete floor which busted up his nose, the now-infuriated guard turned over and he tried to reach over and grab Odd by the hair so that he could beat the living shit out of him for what he had just done. Carver could have whatever the fuck was left of this little bastard when he's done with him! He'll beat the little bastard until he really couldn't breathe! Fucker!
However, the guard never got the chance to get his vengeance. Because as soon as he saw an opportunity to do so during their struggle, Odd reached down to unsheathe the guard's knife, intending to force the guard to surrender.
Odd didn't get the chance to get the guard to surrender. The guard grabbed Odd's arms to stop him from using the knife, and he repeatedly tried to knee the teen between the legs to stun him. The guard had a murderous rage within him and it was quickly becoming a fight to the death. Odd quickly realized what he had to do to survive...
Suddenly, Odd headbutted the guard and dazed him. Then the teen raised the knife and he slammed the blade as hard as he could into the guard's chest. The guard let out a scream with no sound thanks to a now-punctured lung and he desperately clawed at Odd's arms hard enough to draw blood. The teen ignored the pain from the guard's clawing and he simply forced the knife deeper into the guard's chest until it was deep enough to reach his heart.
As the guard finally started to weaken and die, Odd scurried back away from him and watched in horror at what he had just done. The guard gasped desperately for air as he reached towards his fallen rifle to at least fire off a shot and warn the community, but he went limp before he could do it. His now-lifeless eyes stared straight at Odd as if to ask him: "what have you done?"
Odd had just killed another person...
His stomach churning in disgust and horror at his own actions, Odd couldn't look away from the dead man's wide eyes until he suddenly had to vomit. He was already having so much trouble coming to terms with how he killed someone during the firefight at the bar in Senoia, and now this...
Odd wiped off his mouth after he emptied his stomach on the floor, and then he turned to look at the dead guard again. As bad as Odd felt about killing again, he had to try and focus on escaping with his friends. He'll find a way to live with the guilt when he's back home safe and sound.
Wordlessly, Odd lifted the guard's rifle off the ground and yanked the knife from his throat, and he took the keys to the prison cells out of one of the guard's pockets. Though it made him feel even worse and more guilty than before, Odd also took the guard's pants so that he wouldn't have to run around Carver's settlement without his modesty. The trousers weren't his size but the guard's belt kept them on for him.
Odd kept the rifle and the knife close to him as he poked his head out from his cell, seeing no other guards outside at the moment. He hurried over to Verity's cell and he unlocked her door.
Verity cringed and held her hand over her eyes as the door opened, filling the cell with bright fluorescent light. The last thing she expected then was to see Odd standing there with a rifle in his hands. He escaped his cell?!
"Odd?!" Verity gasped at the sight of her battered, bruised, and now-armed friend. "What the fuck are you doing here?! Where did you get that gun?!"
"Not important right now!" Odd shushed her as he reached to offer her a hand. They had to focus on getting back home! "Let's go get Nick and leave this horrible place!"
The raven-haired girl nodded as she reached out to take Odd's hand. Verity hesitated for a second due to shock when she saw blood on his arms and his torso.
It wasn't Odd's blood... it was immediately clear to Verity what her friend had to do to get that gun.
But Verity quickly collected herself since she knew that they didn't have time to waste, then she took Odd's hand and let him help her up to her feet. Since they were in great danger right now, Odd handed Verity the knife which he snatched off of the dead guard in his cell. She would have to do what had to be done if they get spotted.
The two teens then hurried out of her cell and down the hall. Odd kept a firm hand on the stolen rifle as they moved. Luckily it seemed to be nighttime outside right now, so hopefully that meant there was less people out and about in the settlement. The teens would need every advantage they could get.
Odd and Verity made it into the main floor of the store and they took cover behind shelving in a dark area. Odd peeked around a corner to see that there was at least seven, maybe eight guards still patrolling around the store. A few were going through the isles, a couple were walking along the tops of the shelves and up on a catwalk. Two were by the checkout lines and were chatting about something. Another was cleaning his rifle by what Odd could only guess was an armory.
"How bad is it?" Verity whispered. She was terrified of making her way through this place but she was braving her fear as best as she could. She had to.
"Not great." Odd replied in a hushed tone. "Where was the last place you saw Nick? Was it Carver's office?"
"Yeah, its up some stairs somewhere..."
With a determined nod, Odd tightened his grip on the rifle he took from the guard. He was as terrified as Verity was, and he was doing whatever he could to keep himself together. They couldn't afford to panic in a place like this.
"Follow me and stay close, Ver." Odd whispered to her. "We won't get another shot at escaping..."
Verity did as Odd said, keeping her knife ready in case it had to be used. The two teens carefully and quickly began making their way through the store. They stuck to the shadows and avoided lanterns, electric lights, and the moonlight pouring in from the skylights. The guards shouldn't notice them so long as they did this.
Both teens had to hide behind shelving more than once thanks to passing guards unexpectedly crossing their path.
"Shit!" Verity whispered as a couple of guards looked her and Odd's way. Luckily they didn't seem to notice the two teens hiding in the dark, and it was only a few moments before they walked away to resume their patrol.
Odd sighed with relief as he watched the guards walk away. That was far too close...
The two teens hurriedly made their way through more of the settlement. By some miracle they didn't get spotted by any of Carver's goons - or Carver himself, as Verity and Odd had spotted him talking to Troy and some red-headed woman over by the settlement's armory. They had heard Carver say something about increased walker activity in the area and that the community needed every gun in working order. He didn't like it when the woman explained that the armory was suffering from a lack of spare parts to actually repair all of these guns.
If there were a lot of walkers in the area, then getting out of Carver's settlement alive might not be the biggest difficulty they'll face...
Odd and Verity pushed those thoughts out of their minds as they kept moving. They'll deal with the outside if and when they made it out of this place. The two eventually found the stairwell which led up to Carver's office, where they hoped that Nick was still being held.
When they reached the door to Carver's office, Verity opened it. They were greeted with a terrible sight in the room...
Nick was a bloody, bruised, and barely conscious mess that was tied to a chair in the corner - a victim of Carver's 'kindness.' Nick was missing a few of his teeth, and a couple of his fingers were broken and bent backwards in defiance of the wrists bound to the chair's arms. Nick had fresh cigarette burns all over his arms and his face. One of his eyes was reddened badly by a burst blood vessel. Cuts were seen all along his arms and chest...
Carver showed no mercy to his captive. That much was clear.
Verity's eyes widened in horror when she saw the extent of Nick's condition. "What did that fucking monster do to him?!"
"What he'll do to us if we don't get out of here..." Odd reminded his fellow Lyoko Warrior, grimly. "C'mon, we've gotta get Nick on his feet and find a way out of here."
The raven-haired teen nodded before she and Odd hurried over to Nick. But before they could work to untie him, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching behind them. Both of the teens stopped what they were doing so that they could hide before whoever was coming up the stairs came into the room.
With nowhere else to go, Verity and Odd dived behind Carver's desk and prayed that they wouldn't get spotted and killed. The pair heard the door open and shut, followed by footsteps coming into the room.
When Odd peeked his head around the corner of the desk and saw who came in, he froze from nothing less than pure fear. Carver.
"Sorry it took so long to get back up here, Nick. Busy day..." Carver spoke to his captive as he pulled up a chair, sitting down in front of him. He seemingly hadn't noticed the teens cowering behind his desk. "I'd say you know how things are around here these days, but I'd be wrong... y'know, cause of how y'all ran away from us like cowards?"
Nick only let out a quiet groan in response. It was unclear if he even realized that Carver was there in front of him again. That monster sure did a number on him...
"Anyway, I'm gonna spare more of the pleasantries." Carver continued to speak. "You know the drill by now, Nick - tell me where you're all hidin' out, or we'll have to go through the routine you hate all over again. I even got these new pilers for your teeth and I'm anxious to try 'em out..."
The two teens were horrified by what they were seeing, what they were hearing. Suddenly, Carver reached out to take his captive by the throat. "Or maybe I should just cut my losses and toss you out to the herd right now...?" Carver glared with anger. Nick merely let out another quiet pained groan in response. Could he even hear that monster correctly after all he put him through?
Verity and Odd were both tempted to try and rush Carver while his back was turned to them. But their nerves faltered when they saw he was armed with a revolver - not to mention the fact that neither teen was in the best shape for a fight right now. Any shots fired off by the teens or by Carver would only serve to alert the whole community, and they would never get out of here after that. All they could do was wait and hope he'll leave soon...
The two Lyoko Warriors then heard Carver chuckle as he picked up something made of metal. "Guess we've gotta go through the routine again..."
The sound of metal pressing against a human tooth was heard, and both teens didn't have time to cover their ears before they heard Nick start to scream. Verity and Odd heard the sound of something be yanked, and then... then they saw Nick's tooth fly over the desk to land by their feet. That monster ripped it right out of his mouth...
"Jesus, you need to floss more often..." Carver joked before he tossed away the ripped-out tooth. "So... you ready to tell me where all of you've been hiding, or are you itchin' for me to play with these pliers again?"
When Nick didn't answer him after a moment or two, Carver simply went back to work. The two hidden teens prayed that he would leave the office soon for Nick's sake...
So the two teens waited and tried to be quiet. They waited for Carver to stop torturing their friend, and for Carver to just get up and leave. In the meantime, all they could do was stay silent and listen in horror to Nick's muffled screams...
"- okay, then how about that one over there?"
After reaching the town full of abandoned cars, the search team and the newcomers spread out on main street and looked through any car or truck that still looked drivable. So far, they weren't having the luck that they'd hoped for. Some cars suffered flat tires or broken windows, and a lot looked like people siphoned the gas out of their tanks. There was also plenty which looked like people scavenged parts from their engines.
"No, that one ain't good." Pete said in response to Patrick pointing out a red Pontiac van parked at the curb. Its hood was wide open and they could see the engine... or at least what was left of it. "Someone definitely scavenged everything they could from the engine."
"Well, what about that one?" Patrick responded by pointing out a silver Mercedes at the end of the street. From this distance, Patrick couldn't see anything wrong with it.
Unfortunately, Pete could make out a few problems with the car. Namely, the tires. "Nah, it won't work." he said before pointing at the car. "See the tires from here? I see at least two of them are slashed wide open. We won't get very far like that even if the car can still drive."
"Can't we just swap out the tires?" Patrick wondered since he was growing desperate for the group to get back on the road again.
"Sure, but it'd take time and tools which we don't have on us. And we can't afford much time to begin with in a town full of walkers."
Patrick grumbled impatiently even though he saw Pete's logic. He just wanted to get moving again so that they could finally rescue Verity and Odd! Why the fuck did that car have to break down today of all days?!
"They can't wait much longer for us, Pete..." Patrick stated to the adult as they walked to look at more cars.
"I know that, and I feel the same way about Nick as you feel about your friends. It's driving me nuts that he's a prisoner right now." Pete responded with a sigh. "But you know as well as I do that there ain't nothin' we can do until we get moving again... we just need to stay calm until we can find Carver and gut him."
When he saw that the teen still looked worried, Pete went to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Your girlfriend's gonna be okay, kid..." Pete assured him. "We're gonna find a new car, we're gonna get her, Odd, and my nephew, and then we're all gonna go home together..."
"But what if we're too late? What if Carver's-"
"We won't be too late." Pete assured him. "Patrick, you know as well as I do that we're all gonna do all we can... it's about all we can do in a situation like this."
Pete then crossed his arms and looked off to the distance, searching for more cars that might still run. "When we get to Carver's and rescue them, we'll make sure to tear Carver a new asshole with a Bowie knife before we head back home." he spoke. "The bastard is gonna regret ever coming after us..."
Patrick stayed silent after that, but he seemed to have been reassured by Pete's words. He just needed to keep hoping and praying that they'll rescue their friends in time...
The two continued walking and searching for a functionable ride along with the rest of the group. Everyone also took the opportunity to scrounge through many of the cars and trucks on main street for anything useful. It actually proved to be fruitful, as several pocket knives, a dozen packs of batteries, a few good flashlights, and even a nine millimeter pistol were all found. Though some walkers still seat-buckled into their seats had to be killed to retrieve a few of these things.
As Alexandr pacified a walker in the driver's seat of a Chevy, he suddenly noticed Jeremie run up to him and all of the others from a building on the corner of the street.
"Guys, you all should come look at this." Jeremie said to everyone before hurrying back to where he had been.
The rescue team and the newcomers were all confused by this but they all hurried after Jeremie to see what he wanted. Everyone had their weapons ready in case they came across more of the undead in this damned town.
Before everyone could run around the corner of the building and onto the next street, Jeremie stopped them all in their tracks. He then put his finger up to his lips to silence everyone, and then he gestured over his shoulder towards the street they almost ran into.
When the group took a look at the street, they saw dozens of walkers stumbling all over the place. The whole street seemed to be swarming with the dead.
"Oh fuck..." Patrick muttered in shock and even a bit of fear.
"Thanks for making sure we didn't run head-first into that, Jeremie..." Pete said to the teenager.
Jeremie nodded back. "No problem..." he said, then looked back out onto the street. "But there's something else out there that you guys might want to look at..."
The supergenius pointed out to a a pickup truck on the walker-filled street. To everyone's surprise, the truck looked perfect - even the windows were all still intact. "You guys see that truck out there? The blue F-150?" Jeremie asked the others. "From here, the truck still looks like its in really good condition..."
Rick nodded in agreement, though he could tell it wouldn't be easy getting to their prize. "Yeah, but that's still a hell of a lot of walkers between us and it..."
"Any of you guys have any solutions?" Misty wondered. Even from afar, the stench from the sheer amount of biters was nearly making her gag. Everyone paused as they tried to think of a way to get past all of these undead, or to get them to move somewhere else...
Miranda sighed, stuffing her pistol back in her jacket as a risky idea unfortunately came to mind. "Ahhh, fuck me..." she groaned to herself. This was going to be stupid even by her standards, and that was honestly saying something.
A moment later, the blonde teen astonished everyone by running straight out into the street and getting the attention of as many walkers as possible. She let out some yells and whistles to get as many of them to follow her as she could. The others could only watch in astonishment at a few dozen walkers instantly turned and headed for Miranda, all snarling and growling at the prospect of eating fresh meat.
Now she's done it...
"Go on! Hurry up and do it while they're distracted!" Miranda called back to the group from down the street as she continued walking west, leading the dead away. "I'll meet you all back home in a few days! Now get that pickup truck moving before more of these freaks shows up!"
"She's completely friggin' nuts..." Patrick muttered in astonishment and worry at what his friend had just done. He hoped that Miranda knew what she was doing...
Kicking her walk up to a light jog as more and more walkers noticed and followed her, Miranda continued to lead all of the dead away down the street with loud cries to keep their attention on her. Some of the stuff that Miranda said was... interesting:
"C'mon! There's some tasty raw Miranda meat waiting right here for you to sink your teeth into! Organs and bone marrow included! Yum!",
"Can you all hurry up and try to eat me alive already?! I know that none of you are vegans!... well, maybe not anymore at least...",
"Is it a bit fucked up that I think a couple of you look like you used to be kind of cute before you became angry rotting corpses...?",
"For a limited time only: 'free human girl flesh' for the very first walker that comes up and catches her! Get her while supplies last!",
"I know that I've got a delicious body, so come on over here and get a taste of me!... wait, fuck! That came out wrong!",
"I should ask Jeremie and Aelita to calculate what the odds are that at least one of you was a cannibal before the end of the world!"
"You can't catch me! You can't catch me! Nanananananaaa! Nanananananaaa!"
Though Miranda drew at least a few dozen of the dead away from the truck, there was still too many for the group to fight on their own. One of the bastards was stuck in the windshield of a wrecked car next to the truck they were after, and the noise it was making kept a bunch of walkers too distracted to go after Miranda. These walkers would have to be dealt with before the group could do anything else...
Now... how the hell do they actually take the undead all out - or get them all to move - without getting themselves killed?
"Dammit, Miranda couldn't get all of them to follow her..." Alexandr muttered to the others.
"You guys have any ideas...?" Rick wondered as he surveyed the area with them.
Carlos took a good look around as well. Soon, his gaze fell on something on the road. "I think I have one, but you all won't like it one bit..."
"What do you mean?"
The doctor then gestured out to the street, specifically to an abandoned firetruck which was left out there when the first responders rolled out to fight the outbreak and lost. There was a lot of walkers around the firetruck, but the group noticed that the firetruck was also at the top of an incline which led into a residential neighborhood. Everyone started to realize what Carlos had in mind...
"Do you all see that fire truck?" Carlos inquired to the rest of the group. "One of us needs to get inside of it. If the battery still works then one of us will need to turn on the sirens. Then we release the parking brake and let it roll down the hill. The walkers by the pickup truck will follow the sound of the sirens."
"You're fucking serious?" Chris asked on behalf of all the others. They were as shocked as he was by this crazy idea.
Carlos calmly nodded. "Yes..." he replied. "Like I said: the sirens will easily make enough noise to draw the rest of these walkers away from the pickup truck."
"It'll also draw half the walkers in this county straight towards us." Daryl deadpanned at what he thought was the most insane idea he has ever heard. It was suicidal!
"Then we better do this quickly so that we can go before they get here." Carlos retorted bluntly. "Unless you'd prefer we waste more time in what will likely be an unsuccessful effort to find another vehicle in this town?"
"What about Miranda? Will she be fine?" a worried Misty wondered aloud. There were a lot of walkers following that girl when she left the group.
"She's been in worse situations back home. And she was also the best track runner in our academy." Jeremie assured her. "She'll lose all of the walkers somewhere in town and she'll get herself back home safe and sound, trust me."
Misty sighed and nodded. "I'll just take your word for it and hope for the best..."
As utterly crazy as Carlos's suggestion was, no one came up with another alternative. But starting up those sirens would be kicking up a hornet's nest, so if they were doing this then they would have to be as quick as possible. Otherwise, they'd be lunchmeat for the undead.
They had to get that pickup truck...
Daryl was the first to head out into the street since he had the crossbow, a quiet weapon. Following behind him was Pete, who left his rifle with Jeremie and was now using a Bowie knife instead. Together, the two men carefully and as silently as possible made their way towards the fire truck while killing any walker that got too close to them. The rest of the group watched Daryl and Pete and also kept an eye out for anything else that could be a threat.
When the two men made it to the passenger side of the firetruck, Pete went into the firetruck's cab while Daryl kept him covered outside. The undead firefighter in the driver's seat was kicked out of the already opened driver's door by Pete, who then shut it so the walker couldn't get up and get back inside. The noise caused many of the walkers on that side of the firetruck to immediately trample on the kicked walker as they went for Pete, but luckily they couldn't get through the door.
Pete quickly went to work on trying to get the siren working as the walker snarled and clawed at the door. Daryl was getting anxious since there was so many walkers just on the other side of the firetruck, but he kept his nerve and waited for Pete to get the sirens blaring.
Nearby, the rest of the group was waiting to make their move for the pickup truck on the road. A few walkers stumbled up to them from here and there, but they were taken out with knives. The situation could get out of control any moment.
Suddenly, Pete flipped a switch and the sirens of the firetruck began to come to life in full volume - the loud and high wail immediately blaring for many blocks all around them. It was certain to all in the group that every last walker in the town was now heading straight for main street, straight towards them.
If they don't get the pickup truck up and running... they'll all die.
Pete released the brakes of the firetruck before he hopped out of the canopy through the passenger-side door. Daryl protectively moved to take out a couple more walkers which approached as Pete climbed out of the firetruck. Soon, a couple of walkers turned into a couple dozen.
The group hurried to help Pete and Daryl and to try and get the pickup working as more and more walkers moved into the street. Meanwhile, the firetruck slowly began to roll down the inclined street as walkers started pour in. It immediately picked up speed as Daryl and Pete hurried towards the pickup to rejoin the others.
Suddenly, the group heard a loud crash come from the firetruck. They saw that it had accidentally rammed into a car before careening left and into a store, crashing straight through the storefront windows and destroying much of everything inside. The impact, to the group's newfound worry, had also taken out the firetruck's siren.
Without the sound of the sirens to distract them, every walker on the street began to stumble randomly and without any aim. A lot, no less than a few dozen at least, began to head towards the group by the pickup truck. With every passing second, more and more walkers began to follow them.
"Fuck!" Patrick's eyes widened in horror when he saw how many undead were approaching.
"Hold them off!" Rick ordered the others as he readied his revolver, then he looked at the newcomers. "Chris, get that truck moving before they overrun us!"
Chris nodded and hurried to the front of the pickup to check the engine while the others worked to keep him covered. As gunfire started ringing out, Chris popped the hood of the pickup and he made what could only be described as the quickest engine inspection in human history. After seeing that the engine looked (hopefully) fine, Chris slammed the hood shut and he hurriedly jumped into the pickup.
As the others kept firing their guns and stabbing walker heads, Chris suddenly peeked his head out of the driver's side window. "I can't find the keys in here!" he said to all of the others. "I looked under the seat, in the glove box, up in the visor - its not here!"
"Боже, ты сейчас серьезно?! (God, are you serious right now?!)" Alexandr exclaimed in shock and sheer anger at hearing this. They were all going to get killed!
"Christ - speak American! We can't understand a word you're sayin', dumbass!" Daryl demanded as he shot an arrow into a walker's head. This earned him a string of angry cuss words and insults all in Russian from the Lyoko Warrior - all of was were ignored entirely by the Dixon brother.
"The key has got to be around in there somewhere - keep looking!" Carlos urged the teen as he and the others kept holding off the walkers. They were slowly losing ground.
So many walkers started to swarm the group that all of them had to jump onto the truck itself to avoid getting bitten or scratched by the undead. A few of them like Jeremie or Pete would actually have suffered some if not for the clothing they were wearing, and also sheer luck.
"OH MY GOD!" Jeremie exclaimed when he felt a walker's teeth rip off part of the left sleeve of his turtleneck. Though he shot the walker in the face immediately after this, he was clearly shaken by how close he had just come to getting bitten - which would have either made him amputate his arm or die.
"Chris, get this truck moving! We don't have much time left!" Rick barked to the teen in the driver's seat as he saw even more walkers coming in. God, there must've been herd after herd pouring into this town right now!
Chris had practically torn apart the interior of the pickup truck to no avail. Wherever the keys were, they certainly weren't in this pickup anymore...
In desperation, the teen used his knife to pry open the kick panel underneath the steering wheel. Chris tossed the plastic panel away and pulled out some of the wiring which he knew connected to the truck's engine - he was going to have to get creative to get himself, his sister, his girlfriend, and everyone out of this terrible situation.
"I'm gonna hotwire the thing! Get ready!" Chris told the others as he sliced some of the wires and began connecting them one by one. A walker breaking through the driver's window startled the teen for a moment, but luckily Patrick took the creature out before it could harm Chris at all.
God, this pickup better have gas in the tank...
Once Chris connected a red wire to a white one, the engine of the pickup truck suddenly came to life. Chris wasted no time in putting the truck in drive and putting a lead foot down on the gas pedal to get everyone the hell out of there!
The truck instantly heading out in a high speed made everyone fall flat on the roof of the pickup and in the truck bed. Patrick nearly fell straight out of the truck and straight into the middle of the walker congregation, but luckily he was saved by Alexandr grabbing him by the arm just in the nick of time. Unfortunately, Patrick accidentally lost his gun when he nearly went over the side... but at least he was still alive.
Everyone held on as Chris drove as fast as he could and went in any direction where there was less walkers. The teen drove down streets, through a park, through a couple of backyards, and through a few half-empty parking lots in his desperate attempt to escape the herds. Luckily, this worked... As he drove the truck out of town and back towards the gas station where Luke and Lee still were, he noticed that there wasn't any walkers all around them anymore...
Patrick breathed a sigh of relief with the others as they realized they were finally safe again. The group had made it out of the herd with the pickup truck, and they could get back on the road towards Carver's settlement again.
Verity, Odd, and Nick just had to hold out for a little longer...
Carver wiped some sweat from his brow as he sat back down in his chair, having spent the last few hours busting his ass trying to get information out of Nick. Much to Carver's growing fury and frustration, nothing he did was working.
No matter what Carver did, Nick didn't tell him anything about where the group was hiding out. The bastard was tougher than Carver gave him credit for...
Tossing his bloodied hammer to the side for now, Carver went to his deck to get a drink from the bottle of Jack Daniels he kept hidden away. Normally he didn't drink unless he really needed it, but right now... he really needed it.
Verity and Odd were silent and terrified as Carver reached around the desk and rummaged through one of the desk drawers. The teens went as low as possible so they could avoid bumping into his arm. Their hearts were beating so fast that it was like they would simultaniously explode.
"Here we are..." Carver said as he found the bottle of whiskey and pulled it out of the drawer. He unscrewed the cap and took a swig as he went to sit back down across from Nick. After getting his fill for the moment, Carver grinned as he showed the bottle to his semi-conscious torture victim. "Found this a few weeks ago when I was looking for you guys..." he explained.
Carver set the bottle aside and let out a sigh. "I was hoping to save it for when I get you all back home... A little celebratory drink, y'know?" he shrugged. "Honestly, I was even willing to share some of it with you guys... well, not you, but the others I mean."
Nick didn't respond to Carver... Honestly, it was debatable if he even understood anything Carver was saying. The monster did a number on him...
With each passing moment, Carver was growing more impatient to get answers from Nick and more pissed by the bastard's refusal to give him what he wanted. Nick might be absolutely fucked up right now but Carver knew that Nick, as bad as he was right now, could hear him. He was going to get all of his people back one way or another - even if he had to head downstairs and give the same treatment he gave Nick to those two brats he has locked up right now instead...
Right after Carver grabbed a lit cigarette and prepared to use it on Nick's face again, the walkie-talkie on his belt began to crackle to life.
"Bill? Bill, are you reading me? Can you come to your radio real quick?" a man's voice was heard.
Carver let out an annoyed grunt, setting down the cigarette and bringing the walkie up to his lips. "Yeah, I'm up in the office... The hell is it, Vince?"
"Bill, we've got visual on more walkers coming in on the highway. A lot more walkers."
"How many?"
"Too many."
"Can you handle them if they start heading this way?"
"I don't know, Bill. All of us are low on bullets, you know that."
More and more bullshit to deal with... it never ends in this goddamned place.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Carver stood up from his chair. "I'll be up there in a minute. We'll talk about it in person." he said before he hooked the walkie back onto his belt. He then turned his gaze back to his captive, a big grin on his face as he did. "I'll be back in a little bit, so don't you go anywhere." he joked. It was kind of funny in his own mind at least.
Verity and Odd heard Carver's footsteps, then a door opening and shutting. When they cautiously peeked around the desk, they saw that the madman had indeed left the office. If they were going to get Nick out of here then this was their chance to do it.
The two Lyoko Warriors sprung into action a few moments after Carver left. Odd kept his stolen rifle at the ready, keeping a watchful eye out for any guards as Verity hurried over to free Nick from the chair he was tied up to.
As she freed Nick, Verity studied his wounds with horror. "Oh god, Nick, what did he do to you...?" she muttered as she freed his wrists from their restraints, then his ankles. She couldn't believe how much blood was covering Nick, how many burns were on his body, how many cuts and bruises he had... It only gave her even more motivation to get as far away from Carver as possible.
"Ver, we've gotta get moving!" Odd quietly urged after he took a quick glance out the window and into the store's interior, seeing many guards moving around down there.
"I've got him!" Verity quietly replied as she lifted Nick off of his chair by his arm. The raven-haired girl immediately became overburdened by the weight on her shoulders.
Odd set his rifle down on Carver's desk and he hurried over to help Verity. "Go get my rifle, I can carry him." Odd told her as he took Nick off her hands. Despite his soreness and pain from everything that's happened over the last few days, Odd managed to keep Nick upright.
Taking the rifle, Verity started to look around and wondered how she, Odd, and Nick were going to get out of here. There were too many guards between Carver's office and the exits on the ground floor... how were they going to escape?
Suddenly, Verity felt a drop hit the top of her head. When she looked up, she was greeted with the sight of a skylight - their new escape route!
"Up there! We can get out onto the roof and hopefully we can find a way outside the building from up there!" Verity said to her fellow Lyoko Warrior.
"Good thinking, Ver!" Odd smiled at her. "We'll have to find something we can use to climb up to the skylight though."
"Maybe we can push Carver's desk over there?" Verity wondered, pointing to some metal shelves which were up against the wall right under the skylight. It would take a bit of climbing on their part, but it didn't look impossible.
Odd nodded in agreement. "Okay, yeah, that might work." he said before he gently set Nick down against a wall. They had to be quick about this.
Verity set the rifle down and hurried over to Carver's desk with Odd. The two teens prepared to put their backs into it and they prayed that the desk wouldn't make too much noise while they pushed. Luckily for them, the scraping of the wood against the office floor didn't let out enough sound to alert anyone outside of the office.
As they pushed, Verity accidentally lost her grip on the desk and hit her hand against one of the dresser drawers. She bit her lip hard to avoid letting out a pained scream. But as her hand throbbed, she noticed something tucked away inside the desk...
Even though they were low on time as it was, the teen's curiosity got the better of her. Verity reached inside the drawer and she pulled out... a double barrel Derringer? Wait a moment, did Carver actually use this stupid little thing? It looked like a baby's gun!
As she took the Derringer out of the desk drawer, Verity stared at the small pistol with an incredulous look on her face.
"... you've got to be kidding me." Verity simply couldn't believe how a man who talked so much tough guy bullshit owned the tiniest gun in the universe. She'd honestly laugh at the irony of it if she was in better circumstances.
"We've got to focus, Ver!" Odd reminded his friend as he strained against the heavy wooden desk. They couldn't waste a single minute!
Verity nodded as she was brought back to the situation at hand. She pocketed the Derringer and went back to helping Odd push the desk until it was pressed up against the shelves under the skylight. The best idea that the teens figured here was that Odd would climb up onto the roof and Verity would lift Nick as Odd pulled him up. Then, Odd would lift up Verity... piece of cake.
"Okay, try and lift him." Odd instructed his friend before he took his rifle and went on top of the desk. He carefully climbed up the shelving and up to the skylight.
"Be careful, Odd..." Verity warned. She strained as she lifted Nick up onto Carver's desk, waiting for Odd to be ready.
Odd used his stolen rifle to push open the skylight, then he tossed the weapon over and up onto the roof. He pushed through the pain across his body to reach out and grab the edge of the new opening, then he hoisted himself up through it. Luckily, when he reached the roof, he saw no guards around. He made a quick check of his surroundings though just to be on the safe side.
When he was certain that the rooftop was clear, Odd went back to the skylight and reached down towards Nick. Verity went onto the desk and gritted her teeth as she started to lift Nick up (with great difficulty) up towards her fellow Lyoko Warrior. Odd grabbed Nick's hands and pulled him up with some difficulty as well. Verity helped as best she could by pushing Nick up by his legs and feet.
After a few minutes, the two exhausted teens managed to get Nick up onto the roof. He was still semi-conscious and delirious. Carlos and Hershel were going to have to look at him if... when they finally get back home...
"Your turn, Ver." Odd said to his friend down below. "Come and take my hand and I'll try to pull you up here."
"Are you sure you can lift me up?" Verity wondered. He might've gotten Nick up to the roof but that was with her help.
"If we want to get out of here then I don't really have much of a choice, huh?"
Verity shrugged in agreement, and after a count of "one, two, three!" she jumped up and she caught Odd's hand with her own. The svelte teen used all that was left of his strength to start pulling Verity up towards the roof. He wouldn't leave her behind even for a moment.
As Verity inched closer to the roof, she tried to reach for the skylight frame and help Odd pull herself up. Just before her fingertips could touch the skylight frame, she and Odd suddenly heard the door to the office creak open again.
"Alright, Nick, I'm ba-"
Carver stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that not only was Nick missing from his chair, but that girl Maya was dangling from his skylight and that dumb friend of hers was trying to pull her through it. Both he and the two teens stared at each other for several moments since none of them could believe what they were seeing right now.
When he finally realized what was happening here, Carver rushed forward and he grabbed Verity by her ankles to prevent her escape. Verity kicked and thrashed against the madman and Odd kept trying to pull her up to the safety of the roof, but Carver's grip was too strong to break her out. Inch by inch, he was pulling the teen back towards captivity. Odd struggled to not let her go as well as to not be pulled back into the office with her, but he was losing the battle.
Verity got a lucky kick to Carver's face as she struggled to free herself. Carver was dazed for only a moment and he even nearly let go of her, but something like that would've been too easy for either of the teens after all they've been through...
Carver, now even more infuriated, retaliated by punching Verity as hard as he could in her stomach. "Stop fightin' before I kill you, Maya!" he demanded as they struggled.
The teen coughed and shivered in tremendous pain from the punch before Carver suddenly yanked her out of Odd's grip as hard as he could, causing her to fall back into the office. Odd had been holding onto her arm until the last possible moment, and he fell in with her. Carver had them now...
A punch to the gut hurt. The impact of Odd and Verity's faces against the hardwood floor hurt far worse.
Dazed and in tremendous pain, Odd and Verity were both left to Carver's mercy. And that psychopath wasn't entertaining the idea of it...
"You really thought you'd get away from me?!" Carver growled as he gave a harsh kick to Verity's back, then a hard stomp on Odd's fingers. Both teens couldn't hold back their screams of agony. Carver was gonna make them suffer for this!
Carver took the walkie-talkie off of his belt and brought it up to his lips again. "Bonnie, Wyatt, Tavia - fuckin' everybody! All of you need to-" A brick from who fucking knew where suddenly hit the top of Carver's head and caused him to drop his walkie, making it break apart into several pieces on the floor.
Up above them, Odd and Verity noticed that Nick had managed to crawl over to the edge of the skylight and help them both out despite his grievous injuries. It was about all Nick was able to do before he slumped over, immediately falling back into a state of semi-consciousness.
His vision blurred and now with a pounding headache, Carver wasn't giving up just yet. He managed to crawl over to Verity and climb on top of her, and then his hands went to the poor girl's throat to squeeze as hard as he could.
Verity's eyes widened while her throat was being crushed by Carver's grip. She clawed and kicked and punched as hard as she could against Carver in a desperate attempt to get air back in her lungs but nothing was working. Odd managed to jump onto Carver's back to hit him, bite him, and punch him to save his friend, but none of this worked either. Verity's face slowly began turning blue as she kept fighting as hard as she could...
Carver's grip only tightened on Verity's neck as he felt the girl start getting weak. He was going to choke her to death right in his office... he was-
*BANG!*
Suddenly, Carver screamed and rolled off of Verity after a bullet ripped its way through his shoulder, his own smoking Derringer in Verity's hand. She had taken the stolen gun from her pocket and she shot him...
Verity violently coughed and she gasped for as she forced herself back up to her feet, her legs shaky from the fear and adrenaline coursing through her body. She ignored the searing pain in her throat as she went to help Odd up. The pair of them heard some startled voices and shouts from down in the main floor of the store - everyone in this whole goddamn settlement had heard the gunshot.
If they were going to escape, then it was now or never!
The two Lyoko Warriors hurried back up onto Carver's desk while he was distracted by his brand-new gunshot wound. Verity hoisted Odd back up onto the roof quickly before he turned and leaned down to take her hand to repeat their failed attempt. As he lifted Verity up, they heard the sound of footsteps running up the stairs to the office.
Verity was pulled onto the roof just as some of Carver's guards entered his office, saw what was happening, and started to open fire at her and Odd. Luckily the two teens had gone over the top just as the first shots began to ring out, so they avoided getting shot.
They weren't dead just yet...
After they got reoriented on the roof, Odd and Verity looked around at their new surroundings and they were unsure what to do or where to go next. Carver's men were going to be up here any minute, so they were going to need to think fast.
"What the hell do we do now?!" Verity asked in desperation as she grabbed Nick's arm and hoisted him up. She saw that there was a forest across the street, but to reach it would involve running through the parking lot - a move that would be suicidal if Carver's men saw them.
"I don't know!" Odd told her as he picked up the rifle he took from the guard he killed earlier. He had the same idea as Verity, but he couldn't see any ladders or stairs or anything which led out to the parking lot down below them.
The two teens suddenly heard the sound of a door being kicked open. They saw that some of Carver's men had arrived from a stairwell next to a rooftop greenhouse further down the roof. The guards were armed, but they weren't firing off shots at the teens at all. Others had baseball bats or some other blunt melee weapon instead of firearms. Guess they really were low on bullets...
Carver himself was with the group that came to the roof. He was putting pressure against the gunshot wound on his shoulder to keep himself from bleeding out. The teens had never seen him look this angry before.
... They needed to hurry out of here before he could recapture them.
"Grab those little motherfuckers! One of them killed Tyler down in the cells!" they heard Troy bark an order from afar.
Verity looked around for any way to escape. She saw only one way... and neither she, Odd, or Nick were going to like it very much.
Before Odd realized what was even going on, Verity suddenly grabbed him by his shoulders and she pushed him over the side of the roof. Odd landed on the asphalt with a hard and very painful thud, his rifle landing right next to him. Odd turned just in time to see Verity push Nick straight off over the side next. He landed on the asphalt right next to Odd. It was only by some miracle that neither of them broke or sprained anything.
Even though she was terrified of being captured again, it still took an extra moment or two for Verity to will herself to jump off the roof. Jumping from this high up was not something she ever could have prepared herself for.
But when Verity did jump, she heard a bang followed by the sound of a bullet whizzing very closely past her ear. It was only after she landed hard on the asphalt below that she noticed that the bullet had cut some strands of her hair off her head - much to her own astonishment and horror.
"Do it! Walkers or not - I don't care!" the teens heard Carver bark back up on the roof.
Verity and Odd didn't have time to gather their bearings before Carver's men hurried to the edge of the roof and started shooting at them. Low on rounds or not, the threat of walkers on that highway or not, Carver was determined to get Verity, Odd, and Nick back inside no matter the cost. He wasn't going to risk losing the trail on the rest of those runaways either!
Before she and Odd grabbed Nick by his arms and hurried for the treeline across the street, Verity shouted something to both Odd and even herself as bullets hit the asphalt all around them:
"FUCKING RUN!!!"