Chapter 13: A Band of Survivors
"O Hamlet, doth thou instigate a pretentious sort of visit from the demons below? Or hath thee a speck of Aesop's power to foretell the destiny of those in betwixt light and darkness? Hark, drive thyself to-"
Fucking kill me, please, I thought in agony.
Ever since we had stumbled upon a library in our travels, Soos had gone ham on the whole selection of the Classics section. He had delved into almost every book he could find, and after only seemingly minutes of profuse page-flipping, he seemed to have taken a liking to Shakespearean English, and would not stop speaking in the FUCKING dialect. Six hours into the travel by foot and I was now ready to shove my makeshift knife into my throat and end it all.
"Let's stop here."
I looked up towards the voice to see Stan, who was at the front of our formation. Mabel, of course, was nearly clung to me, though in a much worse state than before. She was coughing a lot, though she made sure to cough away from me whenever she did. As much as I despised her, I had to give her credit for looking out for my health, even in a terrible condition. This psychopath was dedicated.
Meanwhile, the bots that had surrounded us in a protective perimeter were stopped by Soos, who tapped away at the device like some sort of poet writing, most likely a result of mimicking Classical culture.
I suddenly felt myself cough a few times, but I didn't consider anything of it. Hopefully, Mabel wasn't getting me sick.
"...Help….Please…"
From the distance, I heard sounds of screaming and yelling in panic. My heart began to race as I sensed danger from that direction, and yet my curiosity was peaked.
"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes. Open, locks, Whoever knocks!" Soos spewed randomly.
"Ignore them."
I was surprised by what Stan had just said to me, turning my head towards him.
"What?"
"Ignore them. Everyone has to deal with their own battles in this world. We can't risk our lives trying to help them."
He wore a grim expression on his face, as if he was used to doing this. In my mind, I had no reason to disagree with him, as I was fearful for my own life. And yet…
Something in my chest was rebelling, resisting what my mind was set on. Something made me feel as if I couldn't just leave them.
Stop it, I thought to myself firmly, trying to suppress my emotions. I can't go off-
"HELP…!"
The single word rang in my ears, shaking my very bones.
So full of emotion, desperation, anger, sorrow...
The singular word stirred so many emotions within me.
Without further thought, I took off running towards the sound, the wind whistling past my ears. I could hear the faint sounds of Stan protesting loudly in shock as I was running off.
"HELP! PLEASE, OH GOD!"
The screams were getting louder as I closed the gap between myself and the people in distress. My heart was pumping with adrenaline as my fear shot up, and yet…
I felt bold. Emblazoned with bravery.
"AAAHHH!"
Finally, I made it through the clearing of trees, which opened up to a small gas station tucked behind the folds of pinewood. The next thing I noticed, however, was the giant beast that stood over the gas station.
Its head, which sported goat horns that curved backwards, blunted teeth, and glowing red eyes, was peeking in towards the entrance of the gas station, reaching in with one claw to try and swipe at a terrified group of people huddled inside the gas station. The sliding doors had been ripped off their hinges and thrown to the side, leaving a large crater in the front, where the beast was reaching into.
I shivered in fear as I gazed upon the beast, who had not yet noticed my presence, his gaze too focused on the terrified group inside the gas station.
You could just leave.
Leave them to die, and save yourself.
They're dead anyways.
How are you going to stop that giant beast?
Despite my conscience picking away at my mind, trying to cave me in to cowardice, the feeling in my chest did not fade away.
I felt...brave. Courageous.
I came to a decision, and I began scanning the environment around the gas station for a plan.
The beast, in its efforts to grab at the people inside, had caused one of the gas lines to rip. Oil was leaking all over the floor, and especially around the beast's feet, into its fur…
My mind lit up with an idea.
"HEY, YOU GUYS!" I shouted towards the huddle group inside. One of them, a younger woman, heard me and looked, her face a mixture of relief and desperation.
"HELP US, PLEASE!" She shouted in fear.
"I WILL, BUT YOU NEED TO DO SOME THINGS FOR ME!"
She nodded her head, not daring to waste time questioning what I had in mind.
"DO YOU HAVE A LIGHTER ON YOU?"
She pulled one out of her pocket immediately, which I could see, even from the distance I was at. To my relief, the beast had still seemingly not focused on me.
"NOW, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING FLAMMABLE, THAT CAN BE THROWN FAR?"
The woman looked around desperately, trying to find something as he was describing.
CRACK!
She and her group screamed in fear as the metal canopy over the gas pumps was starting to break under the weight of the beast, who was using it as a resting place for his other paw.
"I, UM, UM-" She stuttered, frantically looking around for what I had described.
"COME ON, NOW!"
"HERE!" She finally proclaimed, picking up a sparkler from the floor and holding it against her chest tightly, looking at Dipper with fear in her eyes.
"WHAT DO I DO, NOW?!"
I took a deep breath, trying to prep myself for the risky maneuver I was about to pull.
"GET READY TO LIGHT AND THROW THAT SPARKLER IN THE OIL AROUND THAT FUCKER'S FEET WHEN I TELL YOU!" I shouted back. She nodded frantically, and without another second of thought, I sprinted forward towards the gas station, aiming in between the gushing oil tanks under the metal canopy in front of the entrance.
"HEY, YOU BIG BITCH!" I shouted at the monster, trying to attract its attention.
What the FUCK ARE YOU DOING?! My inner conscience was screaming at me, sending panic signals all around my body. And yet, I kept headstrong in my task.
The beast lifted its head up as it noticed me and stared at me with its glowing red eyes, sending a terrible shiver down my spine and into my bones. It took all I had to keep going with my plan.
Its claw was still reaching forward at the group in the station, and I took this moment to gun it towards its forearm, thrusting my spear into the beast's skin.
Schlick.
"ROOAAAAAAAAUUUGGGHHHH!"
The powerful, angry roar nearly caused me to faint as it rang in my ears like a megaphone. In the moment of adrenaline, I was unfazed by its attempted disorientation, and hopped over the arm. I could feel the beast's eyes on my back as he lowered himself to look at me, and I noticed its arm shifting away from the group and towards me slowly, as it was bent at an awkward angle.
CREEEAAAAAK.
The metal canopy could barely sustain any more pressure from the giant beast leaning on it, and I knew it was time.
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE!" I shouted back at the group, who took no time doing just that and fleeing. "LADY, LIGHT AND THROW THE SPARKLER NOW!"
I had no time to look back and make sure she was doing it. All I focused on was getting out of range of the beast's swiping claw, which was angling towards me.
FwOOOOMPH!
I heard the fire of the gasoline light from behind me, and I knew what came next. Instinctively, I took a few more strides to get as far away as I could, then dove for the ground, covering my head and ears.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!
Even with my ears covered, the sound that reverberated from the explosion sent my prone body flying a couple meters backwards, and I landed in the grass with a hard smack. I could feel my skin singing with the heat waves that had traveled.
I was surely disoriented by the blast. Despite this, I could see clearly as I lifted my head up, and I witnessed the giant beast before me, engulfed in flames, half of his body melting. He was flailing around wildly as he screamed in pain, which pierced my ears from the pure amount of volume he was producing from his maw.
Eventually, his flailing slowed, and he remained still, having painfully died, his body burning over the remains of the gas tanks.
…
…
…
From the other side, I noticed Stan, Mabel, Soos, and the group from the gas station meeting with one another, and I was anxious to make sure that Mabel didn't scare them off. I got up shakily from the ground, my heart still pounding away like a train from the experience. I made my way over to the group that was amassed by the trees.
"...Don't know where he is?! Where the fuck is he?!"
I could hear Stan's panicked, angry voice as I got closer to the group, and I felt a wave of reassurance washed over me.
"Guys…" I said, huffing heavily as the full-on sprint I had made caught up to me now, my adrenaline receding from my veins. Stan's face shifted from the woman to me, and I saw his eyes fill with relief. He rushed over to me and surprised me with a bear hug.
"Thank God! Thank God!" He kept chanting to himself, and shortly Mabel joined in, hugging me from behind weakly. As much as I detested her, the extra hug was consolation to me. I was glad to have people that cared about me in this terrible, terrible world.
Stan's hug was cut off quickly, and he grabbed my shoulders, his face contorting in outrage.
"What the hell, Dipper?! I fuckin' told you to IGNORE the threat, and you run TOWARDS it?!"
I felt ashamed as he chastised me. Granted, everything was telling me that what I was doing was incredibly stupid, but in the end…
I looked at the group that I had saved, who were making their way over to me as well. Within moments, I was enveloped with people hugging and crying over me, overwhelming me with emotions.
"Thank you...Thank you…"
Praise and thanks were muttered into my ears. I had no idea how to respond, so I just stood there, taking in their emotional relief.
After a few more moments, they let go of me, and the lady that had used the sparkler came forward, smiling at me with tears in her eyes. Now that I saw her close up, despite all the dirt and grime covering her, she was relatively pretty. She had black hair tied up in a ponytail, hazel eyes, and looked to be in her 20s.
"Thank you so much, friend. You saved our lives from that beast. Thank you."
"Um...you're welcome." I was lost for words. How did you respond to someone who was thanking you for saving their life?
She outstretched her hand to me, and I shook it.
"I'm Amy."
Another person popped forward from the group, an athletic-looking male with blonde hair, blue eyes, a scar stretching across his nose, and looking to be in his 20s as well.
"I'm Josh."
A shorter female with glasses, brown hair tied up in a bun, brown eyes, and looking to be around 17-18, came forward shyly, waving slightly.
"I'm...Mary."
Another male came forward, his eyes darting around constantly, seemingly in fear. He had short dark-brown hair and a circle beard, brown eyes, and looked to be in his 20s. As he spoke, Dipper could hear a distinct Irish accent accompany his speech.
"I'm, uh, Sean. Nice to meet you."
Finally, a short, stocky man came from behind the rest of the group, looking to be of Italian descent, having slicked-back black hair and brown eyes. He looked to be much older than the young adults next to him, and he seemed to be much more grim in his facial features than they were. When he spoke, it was accompanied with a thick Italian accent.
"I'm Vito. Nice to meet you."
Quite an interesting group of people. I thought to myself. Strange, but...at least they're not insane or trying to kill me.
With that, I attempted a smile towards the group.
"Hello. I'm Dipper."
"Alright, enough of this." Stan interrupted, stepping into the conversation. "Look, your lives were saved, and we wish you good luck on the road."
Immediately, Amy's face became plagued with fear.
"Wh-what?"
"What? I simply wished you good luck on the road. We have to be going now."
"N-No! Please...we came to the gas station to try and scavenge for more supplies, because were we already empty, and that's when that dreadful monster attacked us!"
"Well, what's the hustle, then?" Stan pointed back at the gas station, which was still standing, despite the massive, fiery corpse and debris in front of it. "You can still get your supplies. Avoid the giant dead monster body and pick up your-"
CRACK!
We all watched on as the gas station, which was already crumbling from the collapse of the metal canopy, implode in on itself, leaving behind rubble and ruins.
"...Shit."
Stan looked back to see everyone staring at him.
"What are you lookin' at me for?!"
"Please, sir! We can't survive in this harsh world without supplies, I'm sure you know this! You've been on the road, right?"
"Yes, but-"
"Stan, they should join."
I knew I was going to face Stan's angered gaze from saying that, but I wanted to stand my ground. My cowardice was yelling at me to back down, but I pushed it down into my gut and pressed on.
"Look, we only have four people in our group, and one of them is incapable of fighting, and the other is...well…"
"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune! Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries! On such a full sea are we now afloat!"
"...You get my point."
Stan stood silent.
"What I'm trying to say, Stan, is that we could definitely do with some more able-bodied people. For fighting, for setting up camp in the future, for protection, and all that." I turned my attention to the group. "If you guys do join our group, you'll contribute to what we need to have done, right?"
All of them nodded adamantly, and I turned my head back to Stan, my point having been made.
"...Fuck's sake. Fine. However…"
He walked over towards the group, peering at them with his eyes.
"...I don't trust any of you right now, so you'll do as I say, when I say it. Got it?"
They all nodded, despite a clear rebelliousness in the eyes of the teenager and young adults.
My god, even in this terrible world, there's still that.
And yet, seeing the sight, I felt relief. It reminded me of...of…
Of what?
Something, I'm sure...I just can't tell.
Not yet, at least.
"Ooh, new members for the band of survivors, eh? Wonderful, simply marvelous, MARVELOUS! Marbled cake, now that is a simply scrumptious meal-"
As I watched the group members listen to the driveling of our madman, I couldn't help but crack a smile as I saw their disturbed expressions.
This was going to be quite the trip.
Author's Notes
Apologies for the long break, my friends. There was a lot going on, but I will be back with doing this. There should be at least one chapter coming out biweekly, though I may create more if there is popular reception to this series.
If you like medieval fantasy, check out my other series - Doki Doki: Worlds Collide
If you like Steampunk and Gravity Falls, check out my other series - Steampunk Falls: Victorian Ventures
If you like Dark Fantasy, check out my other series - The Stygian Legacy: New Lands