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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (71,018 Views)
DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli quickly went to work, desperate to help in any way he could – and desperate just to feel useful. He rapidly searched through the pharmacies shelves, finding a white-and-pink cardboard box that said ‘SURGICAL SUTURES’ and a white-and-blue one that said ‘GAUZE BANDAGES.’ He tore them open as he made his way back to Maxwell.

As he passed the professor the supplies, he looked at the faces in the room – Jeff’s might have been the palest among them. Eli knew he liked Willow. He hoped he could maintain his recent fount of strength in the face of this.

Of course, he was more worried about Willow, though. He hoped the fact that she was conscious and talking was a good sign.

“Hey, don’t worry,” he said to her. “I’ve seen you in action. You’re too fuckin’ tough to get taken out by a few bullets. It’d take a goddamn tank to slow you down.”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Willow..." Brandon murmured.

Everything was fuzzy. His head felt... thick. Like his brain was wading through molasses to get at any coherent thought. That thought was Willow. He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees dizzily and looked around. There was broken glass and bricks everywhere. Everyone was crowded around. He looked to his right and stared in disbelief.

Willow was shot. Badly.

"Willow." was all he could manage.

Not her. he pleaded, as if it would be alright for anyone else to take her place. He knew he'd gladly trade places with her.

...

"Oh my god!" Julie gasped as she beheld the scene.

She didn't know what to do. She felt as if there was something she should be doing to help. Could she get them something, or...? Swallowing her nerves she made her way to the front of the pharmacy and out the hole. The rotters were closing in. She stood guard there. They wouldn't get past her.

"Guys we need to get out of here now." she advised.

...

Chris emerged from the back. One of their people was badly hurt. He didn't know how else the situation could have played. The fight was probably unavoidable in his mind but even so he felt a tremendous amount of guilt. Hirsch cried out for his sister outside, the sound sickened him and he longed to go out there and make him suffer. But he could help here. He owed these people so much.

"There's a hospital on Elm street on the south side of town. We can move her there, though I think the safer option would be to take her to the animal hospital to the northeast. Less chance of running into a bunch of those things. I'm no surgeon but I have steady hands and a basic medical knowledge." he offered.

...

Brooke stood up as the dust settled and gunfire stopped. Hirsch was out there. Calling to her. She walked shakily outside. Chris dropped his mace as he knelt to help the wounded girl, the one she'd spoken to. Brooke picked it up. Hirsch sat up against the rear wheel of the truck, the older lady pointing her rifle at him. He silently mouthed her name. Hirsch started at the sight of her, a grateful look spreading over his face.

"Don't kill him." she implored.

"I did it for you. I could have kept you safe. You weren't safe in that church. I showed you that. Your brother loves you but he doesn't know how to protect you. You were safe and he took you away." he explained.

Brooke didn't say anything. She walked over to the man with his big sad eyes. With a hidden reserve of strength she raised the mace up and brought it down hard on the man's knee. He howled in pain as his kneecap shattered.

"He can't go anywhere. Let those things have him alive." she said coldly, collecting his rifle off the ground.
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Is that so?
Glenda nodded in response to Emmett. He was not a big talker, but that suited her just fine. She wanted to ask where he had been, but there was time for that conversation later. What was important was that he came back.

Brooke, the girl then came to shatter this scumbag's kneecap, was the one that surprised her more. But she could not be mad at the girl; it was fairly obvious that something happened between them. And Glenda was fairly sure she didn't want to know the details, lest she shoot him herself for it. Men who took advantage of women were among the lowest of the scum in her opinion; but perhaps it was simply because of her own past that she felt this way. Either way, when it was clear he no longer posed a threat, she lowered her rifle and watched him writhe in pain.

"I think we are getting ready to go, Emmett." Glenda told the big man. "We should get the cars ready and..."

She turned over her shoulder and saw a group of people huddling in the pharmacy. She suddenly felt her heart drop.

**********

"Hey there... Brandon." Willow smiled, but grunted through the exertion of talking. "Glad you're okay..."

Damn, talking hurts. Breathing too.

But he better be okay. She just took bullets for him. She did something she never thought she would do; she jumped in front of a rifleman for a hot piece of ass. When the hell did she become someone who would do that? When did she become so stupid? She was someone who was supposed to run and hide. It was smarter and safer.

But Eli was right; she had no intention of dying here. She just had to stay conscious. Willow focused all her effort on that. Although she doubted she could pass out now with Maxwell stabbing her in the back with that needle and thread.

"The wounds are smaller than expected." Maxwell explained. "We may not need the hospital after all; if you can buy me a minute or two, I think I can get the bleeding under control. At least to a degree where we can move her around."

"What about the lung?" Randall asked as Willow coughed lightly, sending a few droplets of blood spraying out.

"I can't fix that now." Maxwell shook his head. "You would need a proper doctor to repair that. But her right lung seems to be uninjured; she will be short of breath and coughing blood, but there is little I can do. Either way though..."

Maxwell trailed off.

"I have her stitched up. It's absolute patchwork, but the bleeding will be reduced enough so that we can move her. We can worry about doing something better once we are out of here."

"Oh... and I'd... fuck that tank up..." Willow murmured in response to Eli, trying her best to force a grin.
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Strompy
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"Well let's go!" Brandon said anxiously.

He knelt beside Willow and slid his arm underneath her, with a grunt he got to his feet lifting her as gently as he could, his abdomen aching and head pounding. Nobody else was allowed to take her in his mind. She was next to him. Those bullets were for him. He growled at his pain, and his mounting worry. Anger was better.

"Did you put yourself there on purpose?" he asked, trying to be angry over what she did.

"Don't answer." he quickly cut her off before she could reply, she needed to save her strength, right now every breath counted.

He carried her out the front and around the corner to Hiawatha street where they parked. The rotters were closing in.

...

"What's the plan, chief?" Julie asked Randall.

She adopted that karate stance Brandon showed her and squeezed off a round, nailing an approaching rotter in the dome. She would have congratulated herself for it but the situation was a little too distracting for that.
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Her leg was still bleeding, and it hurt, but having Brandon support her made it so that she could kind of walk.

"Of course... I did..." She answered anyway.

If she was going to die, she was going to die. Even thought she had no intention of letting that happen, she wanted to be prepared for that. And she wanted him to know that she cared that much.

"Dammit Willow, what happened!?" Glenda came rushing over, her face stricken with a sense of panic.

Willow could only smile this time; she didn't have the strength for an answer. When Glenda realized she wasn't getting anything, she grabbed Willow by her free shoulder and helped Brandon support her.

Kelsey still trailed behind them. She looked like she wanted to help, but did not know how.

**********

"Put Willow in the back of Emmett's van." Randall told Brandon as he moved.

It wasn't the most comfortable arrangement, but it was the only place they had that she could lay down.

Randall met Julie's gaze and let out a sigh. He didn't know what they should do now. Checking out the hospital was dangerous; Maxwell said he had patched her up enough to keep her alive. If she were to survive, she could do it on her own. Honestly, the idea of trying to go down there and remove the bullets and properly close the wounds; it sounded like that was even more dangerous right now. They could cause all sorts of collateral damage and extra bleeding that could finish her off. Maxwell hadn't done that because he knew the risks. And he was not sure he wanted to trust Chris with such a responsibility. He didn't even know the kid. The decision was tough. He would need to talk to someone about it. When there was time.

"Hey. Chris." Randall called out to the young man they had crossed paths with. "What's your plan from here?"
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Strompy
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"Brooke and I need to get to Montreal. I worked for a company that specialised in medical technology there. The project I handled was delivery systems for insulin, which we also produced. If I can get there and get the equipment working I can keep up Brooke's insulin." Chris explained looking around at the wreckage.

The girl who helped him with Brooke was wounded badly, two of her friends were helping her into a truck, with a little girl trailing behind them. Now that the crisis was dying down, he could really take note of them all. Stricken faces, broken bones, bullet wounds. They were in bad shape. He and Brooke were alive because of them.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you. Thank you. You saved us. If there is anything I can do for you please tell me." he said with complete sincerity.

Brooke left Hirsch rolling around feebly clutching his knee. He croaked her name as she walked away. She rejoined her brother and took him by the arm, leaning her head against his shoulder. They were alive, and they had seen justice done.

...

Brandon took off his jacket and rolled it up, placing it under Willow head as he helped her lay down. He turned to Kelsey who had followed them out, extending a hand to help her up.

"Don't ever do something like that again. Not for me." Brandon told Willow in an attempt at a firm tone, his shaking voice ruined the effect.
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Is that so?
"I don't think we will take you up on your hospital visit, although I do appreciate the thought." Randall admitted to Chris. "It feels dangerous enough here already. And Maxwell seems to think that having anything less than a certified surgeon take it from here would be more danger than anything else. I think for now, all we can do is just monitor her."

It was a difficult thing for Randall to say. He felt like he was abandoning Willow to her fate by refusing Chris' help. But Maxwell seemed confident that she would be able to hang in there; or even recover on her own strength given some time. He was rough on the guy, but Maxwell knew more about biology than anyone else here. He was a professor of the subject so his opinion carried some considerable weight. If he was convinced that his damage control could keep her alive then he would trust his opinion. And thanks to earlier, they now had a lot of antibiotics and painkillers in their possession.

"But be careful out there." Randall warned him. "Just take one look at us. There are so many groups out there just as bad as these guys. It's hell out there."

***********

"Keep a close eye on her." Glenda told Brandon before quickly darting away; likely in preparation for getting the hell out of here. The rotters were getting close.

With Brandon's help, Kelsey crawled into the bed of the truck and looked at Willow. Even from here, she could still see moisture in those eyes, even as she tried not to show it.

"Heh..." Willow let out a pained chuckle as Brandon tried to lecture her. "I don't... regret what I did..."

It was true. Even as she lay there, broken and bleeding, she didn't have an ounce of regret about her actions. She felt an odd sense of peace with herself. Was this what dying felt like? It seemed like everyone on TV reached some sort of inner peace as they were on their way out. Was this it for her? Another bloodied cough sure as hell made it feel like it was.

"I will only accept... if you can promise me the same..."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Emmett was still as a statue as Brooke arrived and exacted her vengeance. When he heard the bone shatter under the force of Chris’ mace, he didn’t bother looking down again. He may not have been a killer himself, but he had no problem letting the roamers finish the job.

He nodded to Glenda when she arrived by the scene herself, then followed her back towards the pharmacy and the flurry of activity.

He stopped when he saw Willow emerge, supported by Glenda and Brandon. His stony expression faltered. He didn’t know her very well – he had barely even met her – but she seemed like a good person, and he sympathized with the group’s plight. He knew what it was like to care and fear for a loved one’s health.

The medical emergency had distracted the group from asking questions about his own actions, though, which suited him just fine. He turned around and drew his weapon once again, joining the Asian one – Julie, he remembered, someone he had at gunpoint not so long ago – in picking off approaching roamers.

POWPOWPOW!

His magazine ran empty after just a few shots. He replaced it with practiced speed, and reminded himself to refill the empty one when they were back on the road.

* * *

Eli followed Brandon and Willow out, warily watching as they placed her in the back of Emmett’s trailer. When she was settled, he took a deep breath and stared for longer than he could afford to. Finally, he forced himself to look away, and returned to the SUV for just a moment. He could see and hear the rotters closing in, but he knew he could make this quick.

As he moved, he glanced at Emmett and then glanced away. Once again, he reminded himself that his questions could wait.

He arrived at the trunk of the SUV, where he took one of the Sig Sauer P229’s, as well as a whole box of 9mm ammo. With those in hand, he returned to Chris. He overheard what he said about Montreal. His worst instincts wanted to blame him for what happened to Willow, but he ultimately couldn’t. He was protecting his sister. If Eli was in his position, and any single member of his group had been subjected to what Brooke had, he knew he wouldn’t be able to muster as much composure as Chris did.

“Here,” Eli said, holding out the pistol and the cardboard box for Chris to take. “Just… keep your sister safe. And good luck.”
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Strompy
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"Okay. I promise." Brandon lied.

What were they going to do? They couldn't leave a bullet in her lung. Max deemed it not worth the risk to remove it, but what chance did she have with a piece of metal tearing her organs up? She was coughing blood. Her lung was bleeding, she'd suffocate eventually. How was this a solution? Was there a solution?

She's going to die.

He just met her and already he was losing her. With one hand he held hers, and with the other he gripped his knife handle with white knuckles.

...

"Let's go, Rambo."

Julie backed up towards the others. Everyone was piling into the SUV and truck taking whatever they could with them. Emmett had reappeared, showing up just in time to pull their asses out of the fire. She crawled awkwardly into the back of the SUV next to a ghostly looking Jeff. Guy had no stomach for violence it seemed. At least not yet. He'd learn, if he didn't die first.

...

"Thank you..." Chris said in astonishment at the gesture from Eli.

Chris helped his sister into the back of the truck and clambered in after her. As soon as they were clear of the rotters they'd hop out and he and Brooke would be on their way. They both looked over at the wounded girl with a mixture of sympathy and guilt. Now that Brooke got a good look at her, really paying attention, she noticed she had pink hair. Funny how you can completely fail to notice some things when you're that deep in your own woes.

She reminded her of Jodie, except for the whole not being black thing, she was always changing her look, different hairstyles and colors. She changed her wardrobe up way too frequently, which meant a lot of unwanted clothing coming Brooke's way which she was always happy to take.

This girl had been really kind to her and she didn't even acknowledge it. Brooke sidled over to her and held her free hand.

"Thank you." she said feebly, struggling for something that didn't seem inadequate.

She looked over at Brandon and noticed how intensely he watched the girl's every breath. He obviously loved her. She'd just put Chris in that same position only minutes before. Brooke leaned over and kissed Willow's forehead, her eyes filling with tears at the mess of emotions she was feeling.

"Please don't die." she said giving voice to Brandon's fear.

Brandon made a noise at that, as he struggled to keep his composure. If he let it slip he didn't know if he could get it back. He was terrified.

The truck started up and everyone it the back swayed as it pulled out into the street and took off, effortlessly knocking rotters out of the way of the convoy.

...

As the truck and SUV took off, Hirsch looked around him. Brooke had hobbled him. Left him to a horrific fate. That fucking whore. He'd lost everything. Brooke, Ower, his troops and now his life. Accepting your death and not fearing it weren't the same thing though, and Hirsch was afraid of what was coming.

The junkheads closed in around him. He made an effort to fight back with his knife, taking one out, but soon their hands were all over him, pulling at him. Teeth tearing at his skin he howled in agony he didn't know was possible as they tore his body, his cries ended by a junkhead biting his throat. Not his life though. That kept going for a few agonising moments more.
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Is that so?
"Heh... bullshit." Willow smirked. "But I promise too."

She knew Brandon was lying. But so was she. Of course, all of these perfectly good lies were for naught if she couldn't stay alive. She hadn't really had time to lay down and process her situation, but now in the back of a now mobile van, she could really start to feel the pain. The bleeding had slowed down, but it had still taken a toll on her body. She was tired. She remembered the words that Brooke had said to her.

Please don't die.

Despite the pain and inability to really move, she had no intention of dying. Not yet. She balled her hands into fists.

"Don't worry..." She said half to Brandon and half to Brooke who sat nearby. "I'm not dying here."

For someone who looked so pitiful, laying face down in the back of a cold van, with Brandon, Kelsey, and two new friends to watch over her, she had a fire in both her eyes and her voice that neither could deny.

**********

Getting out of St. Thomas had been a relatively simply ordeal. Plowing through the remaining rotters had been a simple task and they quickly found themselves outside the small city and back on the open road, once again surrounded by the Canadian wilderness. Or rather, it felt like wilderness.

Heading northbound on the 4, Glenda found herself behind the wheel of the SUV, once again leading the two-car convoy through the farmlands that seemed so prominent in this part of Canada. It would not be long before these plots of human controlled land were enveloped by the wilderness entirely and became indistinguishable from the forests of earlier. Minus the trees, of course. It was a solemn testament to how quickly human control of the land could be wrested back.

Of course, Glenda did not busy her mind with these thoughts. What was on her mind now was likely the same thing on everyone's mind; the state of Willow. Deep down, Glenda felt terrible. She should have been looking out for her better. In fact, she should be back there with her now. But she had to suppress those feelings; the group needed her up here now. She was the grounded presence that she told herself they needed. Brandon and Kelsey were seeing to her right now anyway.

"So, why did you not take Chris up on his offer?" Glenda broke the awkward silence that had been hanging over everyone. "We can't just leave a bullet in her lung like that."

"We don't know if it is actually in her lung." Maxwell answered for Randall.

Without Kelsey or Willow, the SUV was a lot emptier. Maxwell had claimed the middle seats for himself in their stead. Julie sat with Jeff in the back and Randall in the front. Eli had opted to ride with Emmett instead.

"Besides, even if we were in the hospital, we have no access to electricity and no skilled surgeons." Maxwell continued to explain. "Digging through the human body recklessly is often just as dangerous as it can be helpful. To deal with the lung puncture, I put some special stitching on her upper wound; it it tight enough to prevent a lot of air from being sucked in, but loose enough to allow some outward flow. That should help us avoid complications like a collapsed lung."

"Complications my ass." Glenda shot back. "We should have tried it."

"The human body is surprisingly resilient." Maxwell countered. "There have been reports of some people taking upwards of 20 shots from bullets and surviving because of a lack of damage to major organs. Willow's heart, brain, and liver were all completely missed. And she doesn't appear to have that much blood leaking into her lung; I would say it was a lucky shot. I admit, the danger of her lung collapsing it still there, but the injury is rather small and located in the back rather than the front. Even then, she can still survive with her other, unharmed lung. I am not saying she was definitely be fine, but in my opinion, in her current state her odds of survival are about 50-50. As far as I am concerned, that it pretty damn good."

Glenda let out a tired sigh. She was supposed to be grounding everyone. Not needlessly stirring up panic. What was done was done; Chris was behind them and Willow was on her own.

"Look, I know Chris offered to help." Randall tried to assure everyone. "But I went with Maxwell's advice. Chris is no doctor either and I didn't want to risk making a call that would kill Willow. It isn't easy on me either, okay?"

Randall buried his face in his left hand.

"It seems like every time we stop, someone else get shot or bitten or something. The police college looked fine, but then look what happened there. There were just... too many risks involved. I didn't want someone else getting bitten or shot in the name of something that could prove to be just as dangerous, if not more so, than letting her be."

The burden of leadership was really showing on him now. This was Randall's first time making a real life or death call for someone in the group. It was clear on his face that he was worried about if he had made the right choice or not. Glenda wished she knew if he had or not.

**********

As they reached the 402, near London and about as far north as they could give a ride to Chris and Brooke, the convoy shifted over and stopped on the side of the road. From here, they would be going west and Chris and Brooke east toward Toronto.

Despite that, Kelsey still leaned in close to Willow, her face red from holding back some tears.

"Heh, what's wrong... kiddo?" Willow asked her.

Kelsey frowned.

"I know mom is dead." She explained after a few awkward seconds. "But I never really... saw it. So it made everything easier as long as I didn't think about it. But I miss my mom... every day. But thanks to you and Julie and Glenda... it feels less... less..."

A fresh set of tears started to roll down Kelsey's cheeks. Whether it was because of Willow's current state of health or because she was thinking about her mom, Willow did not know. And frankly, it didn't really matter. It could just as well be both.

"Hey, Brandon... the floor is cold." Willow paused. "My face... and boobs... are cold. Help a lady up? Besides... I gotta see these two on their way."

She was clearly referring to Brooke and Chris.
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Strompy
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"Want me to warm those up for you?" he asked with a grin making a grabbing gesture with his hands.

Gingerly he helped Willow up off the cold floor.

...

This yo yo pattern was fraying Julie's nerves. It was like every time things were looking up they came crashing back down around them. Things started out great, they had supplies and a bunch of guns. Then Mac got his head blown off, they got shot up crashed the car and lost the cure. They got the cure back, managed to have a good morning the next day despite everything. She got laid. Then Randall lost his hand and she and Kelsey got kidnapped. Emmett decided to spare Eli, and even help them crazily enough, and Randall ended up being okay. Then all of that just happened and now Willow might fucking die.

Hopefully the next upswing would make up for how shitty things just got. If Willow did die though well it'd have to be unbelievably good.
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Willow smirked, but didn't want to reply to Brandon's remark; especially with the eyes of Chris, Brooke, AND Kelsey on her. Especially Kelsey.

"Hoooooh! Thaaaat's fresh..." She groaned.

With Brandon's help, she got into a sitting position, leaning her back against the interior wall of the van. Probably getting blood all over it, but she was well beyond the point of caring. She looked a little pale and a little tired, but beyond that, she still looked like Willow. Just breathing a little more sharply than usual due to both the pain and inability to breathe deeper.

Even if it was not as comfortable, it felt good to be sitting up again. She patted Kelsey on the head and locked eyes with Chris and Brooke.

"Be careful... yeah?"
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Jeff wanted to say something, but it was Willow – a pithy remark seemed grossly inappropriate, and wouldn’t have made him better. He could tell Randall was beating himself up pretty hard, but Jeff couldn’t tell him to ease up without being a hypocrite. He was also angry and disappointed with himself. After what happened at the border, he had vowed to do better. His performance at the college was borderline, but this definitely wasn’t better. Once again, the shooting had started and he became as useless as a mannequin.

“Like Eli said… Willow’s a goddamn gladiator.” It took him a couple long seconds, but he forced himself to contribute something to the conversation. He didn’t think silence would do him or anyone else much good. “She’s gonna get through this.”

He sighed and sunk into his seat, hesitantly stretching out a little. At least he had some room back here now. It was an incredibly dark upside and he felt like a goddamn shitheel for even thinking it – but there it was.

* * *

“Do you mind?” Emmett dug an empty magazine out of one of his jacket pockets, and held it out for Eli. It was the first thing he had said since they had once again hit the road. “There’s a box under your seat.”

“Uh, sure,” Eli said, accepting the long mag and then bending over to look for that box. He found it and dragged it to his footrest.

The box was a foot-wide, and still half-full of .45 ACP rounds. Eli started methodically picking up cartridges and loading them into the magazine. Silence once again descended over the cab. Being in such close quarters with Emmett was still extremely awkward – though the awkwardness was trumped now by worry.

“We were being watched,” Emmett broke the silence suddenly. Eli paused what he was doing and slightly looked over at the bearded man, who kept his eyes glued to the road in front of him. “I wanted to be out of sight. Thought I could find their leader and… head off the situation. I… wasn’t fast enough. There was no time to explain.”

Eli took a second, and then gave a small nod as he went back to work. Probably the most words he’s ever said to me at one time, he thought. And he couldn’t say he wasn’t curious to hear them. Since leaving the pharmacy, he had been trying to figure out the best way to broach the subject. He was thankful Emmett had done it for him.

“I probably shoulda realized,” Eli said as he finished loading the magazine to capacity. “I mean, you left your ride an’ all your stuff. How far could you be going, right?”

He held the magazine out for Emmett to take back. Emmett did, without looking away from the road. Another short but painfully awkward silence descended.

“You thought I left?” Emmett suddenly ended the quiet once again.

“I, uh, didn’t know what to think,” Eli said, and that was pretty much true. “Shit went down so fast. As it tends to do.”

“I wouldn’t,” Emmett said, quicker than usual, but just as softly. “Leave,” he clarified. “Not without saying so.”

“Okay,” Eli said. “That’s, um… good to know. And thanks for steppin’ in when you did. We all appreciate that, though I know we didn’t get a chance to say so.”

Emmett seemed to accept the thanks in silence. Eli let out a silent sigh and stared forward himself.

“I’m sorry about Willow,” Emmett said after about a mile of quiet.

“Yeah, me too,” Eli replied.

The next period of quiet lasted until the SUV came to a stop ahead of them, and Emmett pressed the breaks to follow suit. Eli’s eyes looked into the rear view, watching for Chris and Brooke’s exit.
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Brooke gave Willow's hand a little squeeze as Chris opened the trailer.

"You too. Thank you for your help, I hope you get better." Chris said, helping Brooke down from the trailer.

"Good luck out there." Brooke said looking back at the others.

She and Chris walked away from the truck toward the SUV, Chris nodding to Emmett and Eli as he passed the cab. Randall stood next to the vehicle, looking every bit as tired as Chris felt. More so even. Chris shrugged his bag, securing it a little better and extended his left hand to Randall.

"I can't thank you enough for everything you and your people have done. You saved us, and you brought justice to the monsters that killed our family and friends. I can't ever repay you for that. I wish you the very best in everything." he said withdrawing a piece of paper from his pocket and offered it to Randall.

"That's where Brooke and I are headed. If you ever need a biochemist or just somebody who owes you a favor to say the least, that's where we're likely to be."

...

Brandon looked around the trailer. It was cold in there and there was nothing for Willow to lie on. She couldn't be comfortable sitting up like that either. He picked his jacket once again and place it around Willow to help keep the cold away. He noticed her boots were tied tight. That couldn't comfortable either. Sitting down he took her feet and began undoing her laces. He slid her boots off and let her feet breath a little, leaving her socks on and rubbing them with his warm hands so they didn't get cold. After a little while he slid her boots back on but let them stay untied, so they kept her feet warm, but not confined.

As he was rubbing her feet he turned his head to Kelsey. When she had spoken before was the first time he'd heard her talk about her mom. He knew, now that his own parents were gone, that he found himself wanting to talk about them all the time. To let other people know what kind of people they were. How they were good. How much they loved each other, and him and his brother.

"Hey, Kelsey. Would you tell me about your mom? I only saw her the one time, I never actually met her. What was she like?" he asked.

...

"She better be okay. We deserve some good news, I think." Julie said.

Outside the sun had finally gone down, all that was left of the day was the faint blue of the western sky. For some reason heading west made her feel more comfortable. Like they were chasing the sun rather than moving away from it.

"Don't suppose anyone is in the mood for some Rolling Stones?" she asked.
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Randall needed to do two separate movements; one to accept and slip the map that Chris had given him away for safekeeping, and another to accept his handshake afterward. It was a little awkward, but Randall had since gotten used to that. Slowly but surely he was adjusting to life with one hand. He was beginning to hope he could get some sort of prosthetic at some point though.

"We appreciate it, Chris. Thank you." Randall told the young man sincerely.

He wanted to say more; but what could he say that he hadn't already? Chris knew about the dangerous of the world just as well as anyone now. Randall had never asked what exactly happened with those people back there, but he got the feeling that it was just as good he didn't know all the details. Humans really were no better than animals at times; that was one truth that Randall could see as clear as day now.

"Good luck out there. Don't get careless. We're gonna need people like you once this ordeal is over."

**********

Glenda never cared much for music like a lot of people. But she was pretty sure that Randall would appreciate the gesture when he came back inside though. Not to mention everybody needed a distraction from what had happened earlier. Glenda needed that distraction. She didn't know if Willow was dead or alive even, and that bothered her immensely. Although if she had died, something probably would have happened by now. All Glenda could do was try not to think too hard about it.

"Let's go." Glenda told Julie as she reached her arm back to accept the CD from her. "Do we have any requests?"

**********

Kelsey turned to face Brandon. The waterworks had been short lived, but there was still moisture in her eyes. She wiped her nose on the sleeve of her shirt, but didn't immediately say anything. It wasn't that Kelsey didn't want to talk, she just didn't know where to begin. How does one describe her mother?

"I loved her." She decided to start with the basics. "She seemed kind of mean to a lot of people. But she wasn't. She was passionate. She loved me and she loved my dad. She loved Nolan, too. Dad always said that she was like a fire; beautiful, strong, and wild, but always there to keep you warm and support you."

As she recalled memories of her mother, Kelsey couldn't help but smile. It was a sorrowful smile, recalling thoughts like that. But in a strange way, it made her feel a little better talking about her like this.

"When I was seven, some kid was picking on a friend of mine. Everybody thought my dad was the one that told me to punch him, but it was actually my mom. She told me 'a girl can punch just as hard as a boy'. So next time I saw him picking on my friend, I punched him right in the nose. They sent me to see the principle, but when my mom came in, she told the principle everything that happened and they let me go." Kelsey recalled the thought with a small degree of pride. "After school, she bought me ice cream. She told me it was a reward."

Although she was still smiling, a few more tears had started to roll down her cheeks as she vividly recalled the memories of her past.

"I wish my mom... had been half... as cool as that." Willow commented between pained breaths with a wry smile.
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