Realistic or Modern Patient Zero (A Zombie Survival RP)

[shadowz1995]

 AFTERMATH
Part 4
​

Owen was pacing by the time Colt and Nessa returned. He opened the glass door for her and greeted the woman with a small smile. It hardly felt like the time for smiling, and he was exhausted to his bones, but it was always good to see her alive and well. His eyes scanned back over the lodge when they entered in and he closed the door behind the girls.


“Wait,” He started, eyebrow wrinkling. “Where is Milly? Wasn’t she with you?” He had assumed as much, maybe he shouldn’t have. The idea that she was also with Liam made his blood run icy.


Colt did not meet the man’s gaze as she entered. She put her rucksack down and squatted down. She ruffled through her pocket and pulled out a little box of ammo and began reloading her assault rifle, eyes firmly down on her meaningless task.


“Colt?” Owen’s voice cracked when he addressed her. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, and the Twin felt his heart sink to the soles of his shoes. Colt turned her head away from him, a fist to her mouth and biting her knuckle. It seemed the words were jammed in her throat. He snorted, feeling the emotion creeping up into the corner of his eyes.


“Jane,” his voice was soft, but firm. “What happened?”


It was another second before a small gasp escaped from the vet and she finally turned to face him, her eyes still down.


“Owen I… I’m sorry.” she screwed up her face, struggling, “Milly… Milly is dead.” it was blunt but not cold. She finally met his gaze, her bloodshot eyes shimmering and face flushed. She was shaking, the weight of what she just said doubling onto her shoulders.


He only stared at her face at first, the news coming as such a shock to him that Owen was convinced that he misheard her. But she had said it so clearly and the look on her face made it so there was no way he could misunderstand. There was a lot he wanted to do, not that any of it would do any good. The banister looked like a great place for his fist to go in frustration. The back door looked inviting to go for fresh air while he tried to digest everything. Owen wanted to yell, he wanted to cry, he wanted to find every single person who looked like one of Liam's men and beat them until their facial features were no longer distinguishable. Instead, he reached out and grabbed Colt by the shoulders and pulled her into his chest, wrapping his large arms around her shaking form. His rage was still heavy on his chest, but it couldn’t do anything for the dead now, Owen had to do his best to focus on serving the living.


Colt walked into that grab and pulled him just as hard into her own embrace, the man’s huge form in her grip, tears flowing now but the veteran refused to sob… Soldiers did not cry. “I held her, Owen I held her, it was quick,” she spoke to him gently in a faster tempo than she ever had before in a low voice, “She didn’t suffer. She didn’t suffer…” her grip increased as the pair stood there holding each other. Soldiers don’t cry, she had to keep thinking, soldiers don’t cry…


But Aubrey did, unapologetically. Silent sobs wracked her battered form as she cried into her hands. Each heave brought a fresh wave of pain through her, but the grief overpowered her agony. Milly, one of the first people she became friends with at the lodge, was gone. Just like that. The sweet smiling girl she played checkers with, talked about Disney and Pixar, made a pinky promise to look for her mother…


Slowly, she pulled her hands away from her face. Waterlogged eyes glanced down to her wrist where a braided blue and white thread hung. Milly had a matching one. Once a symbol of friendship, now a constant reminder of what was lost. And at that realization, she crumpled into herself once more, quietly mourning.


Nessa stood awkwardly near the door and looked between the other survivors. Everyone seemed so torn up about Milly, but she had been so close to preventing it. If she had just been able to finish off that man, then the girl would still be here. That's what upset the carnie, in truth. She leaned against the wall next to the door and crossed her arms as she grumbled out in a sour tone, "I could have saved her, but I was stopped…" In truth she felt a little resentment. Colt had acted like Nessa was crazy for attacking that young man, but look how that ended.


Between Owen’s arms, the veteran flashed a furious but brief glare at the acrobat warningly. Now was not the time to respond, Leliana, Beth and Andy were still missing, still in Liam’s grasp. They, those still alive, were in peril. But she did not release her grip of Owen, the closest person she had to family, waiting for him to make the first move to break the hug.


Owen tightened his grip on Colt, resting his face on the top of her head in a final act of comfort before breaking free. His hand remained on her shoulder even after the embrace ended. Emerald eyes rested on Aubrey’s tear stained and bruised face. A hug would only injur her further so instead he gave her a small sympathetic smile from across the room. With a final long breath to clear the emotion sticking to his throat he finally spoke.


“It doesn’t matter now,” Owen addressed Vanessa. “No one could have predicted what would happen. We all do the best we can in the moment. There isn’t time to mourn her properly right now,” he let his hand fall from Colt’s shoulder and took a moment to look around the room. Most of them were battered and the ones who weren’t looked run down in other ways. It didn’t matter though. Leliana needed them.


“We will give Milly the time she deserves when Leliana is back to mourn with us. She has to be our focus now. Does anyone know where they might have-”


“HECTOR!” Owen was cut off by his radio. The panic in his sister’s voice was so thick that he had no choice but to freeze at the sound of it. “Hector please,” the rest of what Andy tried to say was unintelligible through her cries. “...Luca’s been shot. Please!” The intensity of her sobs made it hard for Owen to make out what she was saying. It sounded more like choking than actual words.


The graying doctor locked eyes with the red-headed twin for a ghost of a second before he shot out of the chair he was slumped in. He tossed the freshly crimson-dyed gauze aside and grabbed his rifle in almost one movement. The abruptness with which Hector jumped into motion snapped Owen out of his paralysis. He grabbed the radio from his belt, doing his best to ignore the pounding from his chest.


“Andy, where are you guys?” She didn’t respond. He stared at the radio as if he could will it to light up again with her voice. It didn’t. “Andy! Where are you?”


“Hector, please hurry…shushhh,” it sounded like she was talking to Luca now. “It’s okay. It’s okay. There’s so much blood. I don’t know what to do Hector. I don’t know what to do.”


Aaron was already on his feet too, heading for the back door. He looked over at Hector who grimaced as he moved and shook his head. It would take too long to get to them at that rate and it would do little good to get there without the good Doctor in tow.


“I’ll go grab the ATV,” he said. Without waiting for confirmation, the redneck bolted out the glass door, leaving it open, and headed for the shed where it was parked.


“Andy, where ARE you?” Owen repeated again, he had already grabbed his bat again, making his way over to Hector to offer his shoulder as support. He could hear the ATV roar to life as Aaron got to it. Andy wasn’t talking to him anymore, he wasn’t even sure if she realized she still held down the radio button. It was making it impossible for him to get through the frequency. She continued to sob and plead, breaking down in a way he didn’t think possible for her to do.


“Luca, hey stay with me,” Andy wasn’t hearing him, she couldn’t in her panic. “Hector PLEASE!”
She screamed it. The severity of her desperation caused the audio from the radio to cut out. “I need you. Please, I can’t do this.” There were more unintelligible sobs as she tried and failed to regain her composure over and over. “Please don’t go, come on, just hang on. Hector will be here soon.” More sobs. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Finally, his sister had the sense to let go of the button. Hector took the opportunity to rip the radio from Owen’s grasp.


"Niña, where are you? We are ready but we need to know where you are." Hector replied through his teeth into the radio. His tone was level and clear so as to not peak the radio's input like Andy had moments ago. Though, he certainly felt like yelling his questions due to the urgency.


“The car. We were almost there,” she sobbed. “We were almost there.” Owen nodded to Hector.


“I know where they are.” It had been him and Luca who had hidden the getaway car in the woods afterall. The sound of the ATV outside alerted Owen that their own getaway had just arrived. “Andy, we’re on our way. Just hang tight okay?” But his sister never came back over the radio. No matter how many times he called to her.


“Andy?!” he finally screamed, but the line remained silent. Owen cursed and turned to the others.


“The rest of you hold down the fort. Protect the injured. With any luck, we will be back soon and we will need you guys here. That includes you.” He gave a pointed look at Vanessa who looked like she was ready to bolt out the door at any moment.


“Andy and Luca will need you here when we get back.” It was easy for Owen to look intimidating when he wanted to, and he put that effort into his command. He pushed his weight under Hector and headed for the back door. “Let’s go.”


Nile, finally returning to something close to normal, caught maybe half of what was said and whipped his head towards the two from where he still knelt next to Michael. “No fucking way, you’re walking into a literal minefield there. Let me take the lead on this one, I know what I’m doing here,” Nile said. While a lazy man, and most of all a coward, he couldn’t in good conscience knowingly let the two die three feet into the forest because of Andy’s trust issues given physical form.


“Nile, the fuck are you talking about buddy?” Owen snipped, frustration in his tone. “We don’t have time for this shit. Make sense quickly, or I’m leaving.”


“It’s, um, kind of like bear traps? No, no, it’s more like the shit the Ewoks on the Empire, yeah. And uh, you know, every saw movie combined into one, that makes up a good chunk of it I think.”


Owen pinched the bridge of his nose ready to yell at Nile, when suddenly the nonsense he was spouting clicked with something Andy had told him. She had told everyone to avoid a chunk of the woods because she had put hunting snares out there and she didn’t want anyone getting hurt. That was why Nile said she had a plan when she had led all of Liam’s men into the woods.


Traps. The woods were filled with-


"Traps, fuck. I meant human-sized traps. Shit, I should've just led with that."

Maj Togy Rumble Fish Hyped_Taco FireMaiden TheMightyRedLemon Corgi

 

[Maj]

​

“Luca, hey stay with me!” Andy called, desperation clinging to every syllable. It felt like his blood was nearly up to her elbows. It pooled in her cuticles as she tried to keep pressure on the wound in his chest. The harder she pressed the more crimson seemed to bubble up and between her fingers. Her free hand went to the radio, it slipped, her hands slick with plasma. She pressed down the button and begged. Andy didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t a doctor. The closest she had ever gotten to practicing first Aid was bandaging someone's hands after a bad arrow shot. It had nothing on this.

Each time she watched Luca gasp for air she felt like he was stealing all the breath from her lungs too. It was so hard to stay calm, to think clearly at all. She was failing, she was failing him. He was going to die. Andy screamed for Hector, either into the sky or into the radio she was no longer sure. He had saved Owen when he was shot in the chest. He could save Luca too. Right? She just had to get him to hang on a little longer. Just a little longer. Time. All she needed was time.

But it was the one thing she didn’t have, and she knew it. Luca grasped at her, his shimmering ruby hands clung to anything they could, trying to sit up, clinging for help. His fingers knotted in her hair, the color of his insides blending almost seamlessly into the hues of her curls. He left finger prints of blood down the sides of her face and her throat. Her shirt had perfect replicas of his hands down the front. Andy kept the pressure and kept calling for help. She was vaguely aware of her brother’s voice on the other side of the radio. Shouldn’t they be here by now? How much time had passed? It somehow felt like an eternity and seconds all at the same time.

She watched as he grew weaker. The pink that once kissed his nose now leached out of him, his eyes once so fearful and confused grew distant. Andy begged him to stay close. She tried her hardest to make her voice soothing. However, he didn't seem comforted, only less awake.

“Hector PLEASE!” she screamed. There was no time. It had all been stolen from her. She had no time to tell him that she loved him. There was no time to keep his heart from beating all of his blood into the frozen earth. His hands barely grasped anything now, barely lifted from the ground at all. Her knees were wet with his essence. Somewhere deep in her core she knew it was too much blood. Everything felt like it stood still as his gorgeous icy eyes grew blank and dull. She screamed her plea, to Hector, to Luca to the fucking universe. Whatever it took to keep him from leaving her behind. Everything around them faded away. The taste of iron and tears and the sight of both of them drenched in blood filled her senses to the brim. She didn’t hear the man approaching from the treeline, she didn’t care. All Andy could focus on was the faint beating of his heart against her hand on his chest. She willed it to keep beating. Andy didn’t notice the gun cock or the giant hand that held it near her head, or if she did, she didn’t pay it any mind. She wasn’t going to leave Luca. There was nothing on this earth that could pull her away from him now. Not while there was still a trace of heat left to him.

“It’s time to go, sweetheart,” she heard a voice say. It was the same voice that haunted all of her nightmares. No matter how much time had passed she remembered it so vividly, and it always caused her blood to run cold, but not now. Andy couldn’t be bothered with his presence, she had to keep Luca alive. Just a few seconds more, then Hector would come. He would save him. He had to save him.

The monster grabbed her when he realized she wasn’t going to look up at him. She fought and kicked and screamed, reaching for Luca even as the cloth covered her face and her vision blurred, but he did not reach back.

Mentions: shadowz1995
Mood Music

 

[Maj]

​

Two Weeks Prior:
The Lodge
The sketchbook was wrapped tightly in Andy’s long fingers. The green nail polish had long started to chip, leaving her nails looking worn as they tangled in the wire spiral of her book. She could see Nile out in the distance, staring at the fence and uttering the occasional curse or monologue, as if the fence could be reasoned into complying with his demands. The redhead had wanted to speak with him for a few days but had resisted. They had hardly spoken. In fact, the only words Andy remembered uttering to him was a vague threat of castration as he had been roped into Luca’s stupid attempt to force her out of the bedroom weeks prior.

However, Andy needed him and his expertise. That much was certain. Traps were within a hunter’s wheelhouse of skills. The archer knew how to make basic snares and even how to work some of the more unethical traps used for larger game. She never used them, but she had found them out and about in the woods from time to time and knew enough to set and unset them to avoid anyone losing a foot. Those traps were for animals, and Andy needed something for much larger prey. With a final sigh of acceptance, the girl stepped off the back porch and cleared the distance between herself and the man she was looking to see.

“I’m sorry to interrupt such an intense interrogation” Andy called from a few feet away so she didn’t startle the man, who seemed very invested in his work. “But if I could tear you away from arguing with a literal fence post for a minute, I’d like to go over something with you.”

“I was starting to swing it around to my viewpoint,” Nile shot back, before fully processing the woman’s words and hesitantly turning towards them. Nile squinted, obviously confused about why she was talking to him.

“Alright, I’m not gonna mince words here because this is already more awkward than I want it to be.” Andy took a breath and opened the sketchbook and handed it to the man. Her hands shook slightly as he took it from her. On the open page were some loose sketches, more thoughts on paper than actual diagrams. However, it was enough to get the point across.

“I’m not proud,” she said softly. “But I can’t sleep since Liam showed up. My gut says I haven’t seen the last of him and I have pretty good instincts. I thought maybe it would make me feel better if I was a little prepared, but I don’t know how to rig any of this shit.” Andy ran her fingers through her hand nervously. “I know how to set traps for animals but…” she trailed off, surely Nile understood what she meant.

“Wait, hold on a second,” Nile said, flipping through the pages, “Just to be clear, Liam’s the guy that beat me over the head with a water pipe, right? Same Liam?”

“Yeah-”

“Well fuck that guy!” Nile shouted, snapping the notebook shut and tossing it back into Andy’s hands. “Fuck it, yeah, that guy’s an asshole, I’m on board.”

Andy cocked an eyebrow at his lack of knowledge. She was grateful that she didn’t need to go into the whole “my dad is highly abusive and dangerous” speech again. Nile had his own reasons it seemed and that was fine by her.

“Well, great,” Andy agreed, stunned. “I would be surprised if we had seen the last of him and I doubt he’d come back alone.” The more she talked about him, the more clearly shaken up she was about the whole situation. She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and produced a joint, rolled carefully, and stashed away for just such an occasion. Andy flicked the lighter to life and inhaled, the shake of her hands leaving almost immediately.

“I want to set up some traps, but here’s the thing,” Andy stopped to cough a few times before taking another drag. “I don’t want you to tell anyone else about this.”

“Why? I mean, might catch the wrong guys if I just set this shit up without telling anyone” Nile pointed out, physically leaning away from the smoke of her joint.

“Right,” Andy said with a nod. “Which is why I already told everyone a week ago that I had set up hunting snares in the area I planned to do this in. That way no one will go over there.” The twin held her hand out to Nile, offering him the rolled cigarette. “I just don’t want them to know what exactly is over there.” Her round, green eyes stayed on his face as if to plead for his help. All at once, Andy looked a lot less like the hardened, sarcastic woman who had been stomping around the lodge and giving orders and a lot more like a frightened twenty-two-year-old girl.

Nile crumbled under the woman’s gaze immediately, putting his hands up in surrender. “Fuck, man, okay. I’ll help, alright? You don’t gotta tell me shit if you don’t want to.”

Glancing at the joint, Nile shook his head. “And thanks for the offer, but…nah.” Andy nodded and put it out on one of the posts of Nile’s fence, saving the rest for later. She gave him a rare smile as thank you for his help and then nodded toward the tree line for him to follow.

It took a few days to set up everything Andy had drawn out. She helped Nile as much as she could, and under his instruction was able to place all the traps with intricate care. Her shoulder threatened to give her issues a few times while she worked, but it appeared her puppy dog eyes days prior had been enough to convince Nile to help her whenever she needed it. Andy wasn’t sure how to properly thank him. He had no reason to help her, and even less reason to agree to do so without more background information, but he had all the same.

“Well, I think we have successfully made these woods basically untraversable by anyone who isn’t you or I,” she said, standing to admire her work. Andy brushed her dirty palms on the leg of her jeans as she turned to Nile.

“Thank you,” she said earnestly. Her voice barely sounded hers without the sarcastic bite to it.

“Eh, don’t mention it. Kinda nice doing something productive for once” Nile hummed, rubbing the palm of his hands from where they were red from rope burn. He’d heard Andy around often enough to at the very least know something heartfelt like this was most likely foreign, and Nile thought it was best not to press it. He wouldn’t even try to say he understood how much this meant to her if she went through this much effort to prepare for it, and he highly doubted she wanted him to either.

“Why’d you pick me for this anyway?” Nile asked, thoughtful as he double-checked the last trap. “I mean, I haven’t really given off the impression of reliability, have I?”

“I’m smart enough to know I’m not the best man for a job,” Andy said, looking over at Nile. She cocked her head realizing that she hadn’t really answered his question. “What I mean to say is that I recognize that other people are better suited to do shit than I am. Your abilities haven’t gone unnoticed. I’d be a fucking idiot to not recognize the person who built our fence, created the barracks in the yard, and was the primary force behind repairing my home.” She began twisting her hair into a braid, the way she often did when she was in thought. “You are good with your hands. This job required someone with your specific talents.” With a pause, Andy reached down to pick up some of the tools she had been using and put them back in her side satchel.

“And I guess I see you are a little bit like me. We don’t talk to people, or at least we don’t really like to. I needed this to be discreet and I figured you had no reason to go blab to anyone anyway.”

“Fair point,” Nile agreed instantly, because yes, he wasn’t a very social person. When he arrived, he hated having to talk to the other people in the lodge. Now, unfortunately, there wasn’t any avoiding that if he was supposed to be getting better. If he’d stayed high, he never would've had to talk to anyone. Hindsight was a bitch like that.

As a lull in the conversation stretched on after his words, Nile gave a small, helpless shrug and turned to leave. There wasn’t much else that needed to be said. Nile stopped, then, because yes, actually, there was. His mind jumped to questioning why only the two of them could know about the traps. With another shrug, he kept moving. She said not to ask, and he said he wouldn’t ask, so…

“Everyone is already walking around on eggshells around me,” Andy bit out a bitter laugh. “Ever since Liam showed, they treat me with kid gloves. I didn’t want them to realize how scared I was. The last thing I want is everyone thinking I’m being some paranoid crazy bitch.” Andy sensed his question and answered it. He had earned it, she supposed. She shrugged.

“Maybe I am a little paranoid. I am pretty sure someone at the lodge is selling us out. I’ve had my suspicions for a while now, but I don’t have any hard evidence. In the event that is the case, I don’t want anyone tipping Liam off about the traps. That’s why I didn’t want anyone else to know.”

Nile blinked in surprise at that. He hadn’t felt owed an explanation, but, well, it was almost nice. Almost because that a BIT of a bombshell.

“Why do you think someone’s selling you out?” Nile asked, a little awkward. He didn’t know whether he was overstepping or not. She cocked an eyebrow at the bluntness of his question.

“My real name is Andrea.” She said with a sigh. God she hated her name. “I don’t like it and I don’t use it. The only people who know that are Luca, Owen, and Hector all of whom I trust. When I was out on a run, some people called me by name. The guy that randomly showed up at the lodge not too long ago also called me Andrea. It’s convenient he found us, especially since my uncle built this place literally off the grid. All the power here is his own, all the water too. There is nothing linking this place to anything and there isn’t anything or anyone around for miles. There is no reason anyone would just be traveling through the woods and end up at our backdoor. It’s all too neat, there are too many coincidences and when that’s the case, I tend to believe they aren’t coincidences at all.” She watched her feet as she began to walk back toward the house. It was a fairly long trek and she would have to be careful of her footing so that she didn’t fall victim to one of her own traps. Andy waited for Nile to catch up and follow her.

“I thought it might have been Marcus at first. He was a little slime ball. Then Brian, especially since the Hazmats ended up on our door shortly after he joined us. But I don’t think so. If I’m right, whoever it is, is still here.”

Nile nodded slowly, obviously confused. What the hell had he been missing out on? “Right. I would…love to help more, but honestly, I barely know anyone here. Any ideas I’ve got on who it might be would just be witch hunting” Nile said, trudging after Andy.

“And, I mean, I would’ve thought I was the first suspect, really, and I probably shouldn’t say that, but c’mon” Nile said, giving another shrug.

“You are too dumb to pull a coup like that,” Andy said, a smile turning the corner of her mouth.

“That…that is true,” Nile said with a begrudging nod of his head.

“But that’s why I haven’t said anything. I don’t want to cause a witch hunt because there is always the possibility I’m wrong.” But Andy didn’t believe she was. “And If I’m right, it won’t be long before it becomes clear who it is anyway.” She gave Nile a playful shove of the shoulder as she walked past him. He stumbled a little. Man, he was weak.

“You keep doing what you are good at and build all the cool shit we need. In the meantime, I’ll keep plotting up schemes. That’s what I’m good at.”

Collab: Togy
Mentions: shadowz1995

 

[shadowz1995]

HOW THE MIGHTY FALL...


​

Current Day

Owen could feel his stomach turning as he looked around the woods. It had been slow going, a lot slower than he wanted after hearing his sister’s desperation on the other side of the radio, but for good reason. The traps Andy had set had caught their prey. He wanted to cover his ears, surrounded by a horrifying symphony of zombified gurgles and pained moans. The air smelled of pennies and bile. There were men everywhere. They were in holes with spikes through their torsos, they were stuck on traps that jutted from the ground like the earth had opened up and grown teeth. It was grotesque and if Nile was to be believed, his sister had been the mastermind behind all of it.


“You are telling me that my sister is responsible for this?” Owen asked in awe.


“Mostly. I mean, I helped-” Nile said before gagging at the sight of an impaled corpse and quickly looking away, “-unfortunately, but she was the one who brought it all together. I…I don’t remember the saw blades though. Or the railroad spikes. Or the…well, mostly everything. I guess she added her own artistic touch.”


Owen swallowed hard. It was hard to look at, and even harder to believe that the same girl who freaked out at the sight of him beating someone up with a baseball bat was capable of such ruthlessness. Surely, she couldn’t have been much further. She had said over the radio that they were almost at the getaway car that Owen and Luca had set up. They had avoided this chunk of the woods because Andy had warned them she had hunting snares set up. She never specified what she had been hunting, he supposed.


“I can’t believe she’s capable of this,” The twin muttered.


“Can’t you?” The hispanic breathed heavily. “How many men has she killed by this point, Niño? She’s barely lost a wink of sleep over it. Then, the one monster she has in her closet shows up on her front door and she falls apart at the mere sight of him.”


Hector then squinted his eye at the dangling mess that was once a human being, kept suspended by saw blades and spite, “I would not only say that she was capable of this but that it was also expected. She felt this was a necessary amount of force to face her demons.”


The scientist then looked down and nudged a discarded shotgun on the floor from one of Andy’s victims, “And it may not have been enough.” He stated coldly. His gravelly voice took on a darker tombre, serving as a grim reminder that they needed to get moving and find her.


Owen felt something in his chest ache at the reality of Hector’s statements. He chose not to speak on it, agreeing with Hector. Finding her and Luca was all that mattered now.


“I think I see something up ahead,” Aaron called, pointing into the distance. Owen had to squint, but it seemed the redneck was right. Something laid in the leaves on the horizon. Without thinking the hulking man started toward the figure on the ground. If that was Luca that meant Andy was no longer with him and there was no reality where that was good. He lumbered forward, picking up speed with every step.


Until a large hand pulled him back before he let his foot move another inch. Hector had damn near been pulled off his feet trying to stop Owen. Normally, it would be no issue but it was becoming increasingly difficult to stop the redhead from killing himself when it was at the expense of the elder man’s well being.


Hector nodded at where Owen’s foot would have fallen had he not stepped in. A paper-thin wire lay hidden in the leaves and snow. Just barely 3 inches off the ground. The wire and the sun just so happened to be in the perfect position for Hector’s one functioning eye to catch a glimmer of light that had been out of place. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have paid it much mind… but circumstances being what they were...


“Por favor, Niño…” Hector almost pleaded, “Stop testing how close you can get us to death before it takes us.” Owen gulped loudly and nodded. He turned back to Nile.


“Am I clear from here?” he asked.


Just now catching up, Nile waved the question away. “Yeah, sure, we’re good-But I mean, c’mon man, it’s a trap forest. That’s its entire shtick.”


Under normal circumstances, Owen would have laughed but he was too focused on the body just out of reach. He stepped over the tripwire that Hector had saved him from and with Nile’s blessing began running in the direction of the heap on the ground.


The closer he got, the more his heart sank. He kept hoping that a detail would stick out that would clear it from being Luca, but it never came. It had his dark hair, his build and as he got closer to the bloodied body on the ground he realized it even wore his necklace.


Owen hit his knees and let his body slide up next to his old friend. He let his hands rest on his throat, searching for any sign of life. The blood on him was still warm, but he was so fucking still, even as Owen called his name. His hands shook as he searched for a pulse, staining in his blood.


“Hector?” he asked hoarsely, as the Hispanic approached. “I can’t… I mean. Maybe you should try..” He hoped desperately that he was wrong, that there was something still in him that could be salvaged.


With an agonal groan, the doctor kneeled down next to the two young men. He started to look the Italian over but with every passing second, the verdict just became more and more clear. A practiced hand pulled Luca’s eyelids back and even to the untrained gaze, there was nothing there. Blue eyes that saw past the pale veil were all that remained. Hector moved the mobster’s head into a dim ray of sunlight that had pierced through the overcast and his pupils stayed dilated and unchanged.


With a sigh, Hector shook his head. He removed his hands from the corpse and only barely managed to stand back up on his own two feet. “Bullet tore through his heart and shattered the thoracic spine on the other end. It took seconds, Owen. There was nothing I could have done even if I was here when it happened.”


Owen’s face contorted, scrunching up as hot tears festered in the corners of his eyes. He shook his head in disbelief, punching the ground next to him. Curses flew from his lips, but his gaze remained on the sky, almost too scared to look back down at his friend’s face.


Luca had been like a brother once. They had spent nights sleeping on the floor of his house, talking about trading cards and girls. Luca had backed him up in every fight he picked, even if he knew they were going to end up on the raw end of it. With a few more weeks, they might have been able to finish patching things up, but it was time they wouldn’t be allowed. He was gone. It was hard to swallow. Luca Brasi had always been invincible. A force too big for the small town of Aurora, but in the end it didn’t stop him from being lifeless in the dirt.


“Fuck,” the word came out waterlogged and broken. There was a lot of blood, still warm or not. It had been a dream to think there was anything Hector could have done for him now. Owen reached down to where his sister’s jacket lay beside him, drenched in Luca’s blood. It looked like she had tried to use it to put pressure on his wound, but Andy was nowhere to be found.


“She wouldn’t have left him,” Owen said quietly, his whole body vibrating with emotions that he couldn’t let free just yet.

Maj Togy​

 

[Maj]

HOW THE MIGHTY FALL...​

"She didn't." Hector answered with a dark grimace upon his features. A swift, directed nod revealed the tracks in the dirt and snow. You didn't need to be a hunter to see that some kind of fight broke out just a few feet away. It didn't last long, it seemed because the "fight" tracks died down after it moved a bit further away. Leaving only the footsteps of several men by the looks of it.

"It looks like they got her after shooting Mr. Brasi." He explained, his tone icy and reserved at how these events unfolded. Hector's anger was never explosive or hot. It always manifested as cold fury just underneath the skin, glinting like hidden daggers behind the pale grey of his eyes.It ran chiral to Owen's. A contrast to Owen's own sorrow and rage and yet, mirrored in its nature.

“Andy wasn’t the one with the radio, was she…?” Nile cut in hesitantly, lifting up the crumpled remains of the walkie-talkie off the ground.

“God damn it,” Owen sobbed. His face was in his hands, large fists full of his own ginger hair, pulling from the scalp so hard that for a moment it looked like he might rip it free. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly as the tears streamed from them, leaving streaks on his face from the dirt.

Of course, they took her when he was shot. There was no way he would have let her go if he was still able to fight and there was no way she would have left him unless they had physically pulled her away. The idea that his sister was gone was incomprehensible to him. His grief had so much gravity that it felt like his heart was sinking into the ground. It was almost impossible to look at Luca, his face still, eyes closed, his sister’s handprint stained on the side of his face in his own blood. Owen wanted to scream, he wanted to yell and curse and stomp his feet like a toddler, but when he opened his mouth nothing but a small squelch of air came out as more sobs threatened to take place instead.

Owen wrinkled up his nose and exhaled harshly, trying to get some sort of grasp on both his heart that pounded quickly in his chest and his head that raced wildly with thoughts at a rival speed. With one last long exhale, Owen opened his bloodshot eyes and looked down at Luca. His throat tightened so hard that it stole all air from him for a moment before he caught it once more and laid a hand down on his friend’s chest.

“I know you wouldn’t have let them take her,” Owen spoke softly. His words were meant for Luca, and even though he knew they fell on deaf ears, he felt that Luca was owed them anyway. “I talked a lot of shit when you came back into our lives, I did my best to keep Andy as far from you as possible because I thought you were a danger to her, to all of us.” He let out a bitter laugh. “But I know now that you never were, I was just angry at you. But I know how much you loved her, she was safer with you than she ever would have been with me.” His voice waivered again, he cleared his throat and wrinkled his brow again. The tears couldn’t be contained anymore and he didn’t fight them. They flowed silently now though, down his face and pooling in his collar bone, causing the winter air to sting his cheeks with each of the gentle breezes that wafted over him.

“I’ve always been willing to die for Andy,” Owen admitted. “But you were willing to do whatever it took to survive for her, and that’s a lot better.” It was one thing to keep throwing his life on the line to make sure his sister was okay, it was another to do whatever it took to make sure he stayed around to fight for her another day. That was something Owen lacked. He wasn’t capable of the bloodshed that seemed to drench the woods around him. Many of the others were. Hector, Andy, Luca, they all took lives when it had to be done, and all Owen was ever capable of doing was throwing himself in the line of fire.

That wasn’t going to be enough anymore, and he knew it.

Owen pulled the handgun from the waistband of his pants. It felt heavy in his palms still, foreign. Despite the fact he had swung bats with enough force to total cars, Owen wondered if he had the strength to lift the pistol. He tried to keep his hands from trembling as he lifted it, but he was unsuccessful. It had to be done, he knew that. Luca would berate him even now for the hesitation that clung to him, threatening to suffocate him.

“I don’t know how I ended up estranged from both of my siblings,” Owen let out a bitter, watery laugh. “But you were my brother, even if we never got to patch things up.” His finger was on the trigger as he looked down at his forehead where it was pointed. The longer he looked at him the more his hand shook.

“I loved you man. Despite it all. I promise I did.” Owen willed his finger to tighten. It wouldn’t take much pressure, but the joint was locked. He felt like his whole body was frozen and vibrating.

The old doctor waited in silence. Equally solemn as he was spiteful. The boy had been through this once before and it was a sorrow Hector hoped he would never come to know. There were no words one could offer that would have any meaning here. Only respectful silence was fitting for this.

But of course, God was not willing to allow such small platitudes during a pandemic whose violence and fury were downright biblical.

A small hair of movement out of the corner of his vision caught his. The graying man's attention turned towards its origin and spotted nothing. Several seconds went by and still nothing. More seconds and Hector was about to look away until it happened again.

Luca's fingers had twitched. That must have been the second one that Hector had only noticed now. How many had gone under the radar?

Hector spoke up, a new sense of urgency invading his voice, "Owen, we're out of time." His warning was punctuated by a very visible twitch of the left shoulder, alerting everyone to what was coming.

Owen’s face distorted, horror and grief squinted his eyes but his hand stayed on the handle of the gun, finger on the trigger. He willed himself to squeeze. It wouldn’t take much pressure, but it was like the joint was frozen in place. He had put his mother down, this wasn’t new, but somehow it was harder. Was it the gun that made the difference? Was he so weak that he couldn’t pull the trigger, even to keep his friend from the horrors of undeath? Tears flowed freely down his face as his hand shook harder. It didn’t seem fair to have someone else do it, most disliked Luca to begin with. Few understood who he really was. And yet-

“Hector I-” he choked.

Another twitch passed but Hector now studied the Jordan's twin's face before a small sigh escaped his bloodied, cracked lips.

Soon, his hand laid upon Owen's gun hand. Warm and comforting but with a very real sense of urgency in his action. "I'll do it for you, Owen. But you must not look away. You must be strong enough to see it through to the end at least. He is owed that, at the very least."


Owen wasn’t capable of speech anymore, but nodded releasing the grip on the gun and relinquishing it to the older man. He crossed his arms over his chest in an almost self-conscious gesture and kept his eyes forward.

The scientist the took his gun back and quickly brought it level to the former mafioso head. His eye narrowed slightly at the sight of him. Hector took pity on the boy meeting his end in this way. It would have been a noble death… had death's permanence not been called into question as of late. He felt that it marred his sacrifice. Perverted it into something it should not be.

"Tienes mi respeto y gratitud por pelear para ella. Que descanses en pas, Luca. Te lo mereces."

“I love you man,” Owen added.

The crack of gun signaled the permanent end to Luca Brasi. The forest had been silent and so the signal carried and echoed through its still, crestfallen air. Hector remained still for a moment, the heat of mercy billowing gently from the gun's barrel, made visible by the contrast of cold and heat.

He took another deep breath, releasing it slowly before turning to Owen once more and relinquishing the gun to the young man.

"I won't always be there to carry the weight of the choices you must make, Niño…" he said quietly to him, the silence of the forest making his words seem louder than they were. The redhead shook his head, a sarcastic smile pulling at his lips, making him look more like his sister than he realized. Tears still brimmed from his eyes, falling on rosy freckled cheeks.

“Fuck man,” Owen gasped. “Can you give me ten seconds to collect myself before you start lecturing me?”

Hector looked down for a moment in thought before slowly locking eyes once more, "I'm sorry, Owen. Truly."

"But we can't afford hesitations. Not anymore. We're out of time.” Under normal circumstances, Owen would have been shocked at Hector’s apology. He wasn’t sure that he had heard Hector apologize since he had met him. But Owen wasn’t able to pull any emotion forward. All he felt was the coldness of indifference because that was far easier than the grief that he was keeping behind the floodgates. The large boy sniffed, wiped his nose on his sleeve, and stood.

He didn’t respond to Hector. Instead, he secured the gun that had just been used to dispatch his best friend into the waistband of his pants. With another sniffle, he reached to Luca’s side where his rifle lay, discarded. It was heavier than Owen expected, but it took the strap and placed it across his body, letting the cool metal lay against his back. He went to walk away, and paused, looking down at Luca once more and sighed.

The last thing the man deserved was to be left out here in the woods alone, exposed to the elements. Milly didn’t deserve it either, but there wasn’t time right now to bury either of them. They would have to come back when their work was complete. In a spur of the moment decision, he reached down to the cross necklace that donned Luca’s throat. It was saturated in blood, but Owen recognized it all the same. It was the same one he had worn since he was a child. When he found Andy, and he would find her, his sister would appreciate the memento. Wordlessly, Owen started off in the direction of the getaway car.

“Whoah, hey hold up,” Nile called jogging after Owen and motioning him to stop.

“What?” Owen snapped, without turning around.

“Pungee sticks,” Nile said, gesturing to the floor where a veiled pit covered in leaves sat, “Trap forest. Seriously, man. And the lodge is that way.”

“I’m not going to the lodge,” he growled. “I’m going to get my sister back.”

“I don’t think I follow. How are you going to do that?”

“However I have to,” He wasn’t in the mood for Nile right now. He wasn’t in the mood for Hector’s lectures, no matter how right he was. All he knew is that Andy was here minutes before, and now she was gone. He wasn’t a tracker like his sister, but if he had to comb every tree, building and street until he found her, that was what Owen was going to do.

“Yeah, okay, whatever-Your buddy over there looks ready to keel over and if he does I’m sure as hell not gonna be able to pick him up. Just help the guy back to the lodge before doing something too stupid, alright?”

Owen wanted to scream, he could feel the heat in his cheekbones. However, Nile’s words were able to get an ounce of logic back into him and he exhaled sharply through the nose.

“Fine.” Was the only response Owen gave before turning on his heels to help Hector back to the ATV and eventually back to the lodge.

Collab: Togy shadowz1995
Mentions: Rumble Fish

 

[Maj]

​

Owen hadn’t said a word since he had agreed to go back to the lodge. His mind was a wild combination of frantic and still, hyper-focused on the task at hand but running through infinite scenarios in what felt like minutes. His heart was in his throat but his breathing was slow and regulated, even as he used his weight to help Hector up the broken back steps of the porch and back into the lodge. He didn’t say anything to anyone when he entered. Andy and Luca’s absence would speak for itself, and if it didn’t that was someone else’s problem to solve.

The redhead helped the doctor into the chair he had been sitting in when they got the call. A quick glance around the lodge showed that little had changed while they were gone. That was a small comfort at least. He did his best to ignore the gazes that he was sure were on him from around the room. Instead, he slid down to the floor, sitting next to Aubrey with his back to the wall, the cold metal of Luca’s rifle biting into his shoulders. A surprised hiccup escaped the blonde woman at the presence, but upon wiping her face and looking at who sat next to her, she relaxed- back to the wall and shoulder to shoulder.

Aaron hadn’t spoken much either. He remembered how terrified Andy had been when she came to him just days before and told him she thought about running away. He had assured her that she wouldn’t be alone, and now she was. It was hard to see the aftermath of her disappearance, lost lives, and broken hearts.

“Luca is dead,” he spoke softly but clearly. It wasn’t much, but taking the load of telling everyone the news was the least Aaron could do for Owen. “We didn’t find Andy, but there were visible signs of a struggle. She fought tooth and nail from the looks of it, but it seems like they got her too. From what we can tell, they took her alive. ”

Owen didn’t look up, but was grateful to Aaron for telling everyone. In fact, his eyes didn’t change at all. The only reaction he had was to swallow hard and reach a large hand out and cup it over Aubrey’s, giving it a small squeeze. Aubrey gave a reassuring squeeze back, but she said nothing. She lost her sister once before so knew there were no comforting words that could be said.

Colt had been pacing back and forth, eyes darting from window to window and with a constant grasp on cigarettes. She had been silent all while the men returned, leaning against the wall and observing them. Seeing the expressions on their faces during their return, Colt knew that the worst had come. When the news of Lucas’ demise and Andy’s abduction left Aaron’s lips, the veteran released a sharp intake of grief. She looked at Owen, the man looked as though he had lived a hundred years of misery. Colt knew how she had felt about Luca, but now was not the time for her own emotions.

Colt approached him and knelt at his side, not forcing his gaze to meet hers, it did not have to. She placed a hand on the man’s broad shoulder, giving it a small pat and then a squeeze that she held, hoping to wordlessly communicate her understanding. She knew, more than most, that words did nothing to ease pain. All she could do now was stand with him in solidarity. This was war- all they had now was their comradary.


Mismatched eyes stared daggers at Aaron as the acrobat crossed the room. "You are lying." She accused, her face contorting in anger.

Aaron didn’t have to turn to see who addressed him. He’d recognize that malicious accented voice anywhere. Instead, he sighed heavily and raised an eyebrow before finally turning to address her.

“And why in the hell would I lie about something like that?” His voice had lost its softness now, becoming cold.

"Don't know," Nessa said curtly "Maybe you are hiding something?" As she spoke she inched closer to him, her hand slowly curling into a fist. "Maybe it's your fault those people knew when and where to attack."

“Yeah?” He asked, stepping closer to close the distance between them. “Or maybe it was you. That knife guy that was here not too long ago is your friend, isn’t he?” Aaron bit the words at her, dark eyes becoming dangerously narrow.

Murderous rage flashed through the young acrobat's eyes. "Friend? FRIEND?!" Vanessa began to laugh in a frenzied manner as she tilted her head back before swinging it forward with all her fury into the mechanic's face. "Oh, I will show you the kind of 'Friend' he is…"

Owen came to his feet with enough force that it almost knocked Colt over in the process. He was between almost instantly, With his left hand he pushed Aaron by chest hard enough that the man was forced to the ground, landing on the hardwood floor and rubbing his backside. Vanessa on the other hand, he grabbed, unsure of how the woman would react. His right hand was around her arm and shoulder and as soon as his left was free he grabbed her other side as well lifting her into the air momentarily before letting her go with enough force she stumbled back.

“ENOUGH!” His bellow came from his core, raw and hurt, filling every corner of the lodge until there was nothing left but silence. He stood tall in front of Aaron, shoulders square, towering over Vanessa.

“He’s not lying.” His voice cracked as he said it, whether from anger or grief, it couldn’t be determined. With a massive hand, he reached down to where he had been sitting and retrieved the jacket he had carried back from the forest. Andy’s jacket, soaked in Luca’s blood. Owen threw it down at Vanessa’s feet.

“My sister held on to him until they pulled her away, no matter what that meant for her. She did the same for you once from what I understand.” His voice was soft, but not gentle. It was soft like the earth of an unsteady cliff, ready to crumble at any moment.

“I don’t care how angry you are,” his emerald eyes held Vanessa’s, looking less like his own and more like his sister’s in their icy indifference. “I don’t make a habit of playing the oppression Olympics but no one in this room has lost more than I have today. Leliana is my cousin, Andy is my sister, Luca is-” He choked for a moment.

”Was my brother. For god sakes, Liam is my fucking dad. My family is in shambles. If you value the sacrifices Andy made to keep you alive, and then welcome you into her home after you tried to kill her with your own two hands you will stop with your paranoid self-righteous bullshit and put your anger somewhere productive.” Sobs threatened to come back but he bit through them and continued. “Your debt to Luca will never be paid, but Andy is still alive, and if you continue to waste precious time threatening the other people she fought so hard to save I will put you in the ground next to Brasi so you can serve him in death.”

Vanessa's wide orbs stared stunned back into the emerald eyes that held her gaze. She tried to respond, but words did not come forth when she opened her mouth to speak. Slowly her eyes shifted to the blood soaked jacket at her feet. The carnie's legs began to shake a little, threatening to give out under her as the man's words sunk in fully.
Togy Rumble Fish Corgi TheMightyRedLemon shadowz1995 Hyped_Taco FireMaiden

 

[shadowz1995]

DEBT UNREPAID PT. 2
​

Colt, after recovering from being unseated, sprang up but remained quiet as first the bickering began, and Owen unloaded his anger upon the acrobat. She did nothing to stop him. He had been right, out of everyone he had suffered the greatest loss. She stood behind him in a flank, letting the man speak. Her own anger at Nessa still burned, but at this time, Owen’s anger was more righteous. Her eyes looked down to the blood soaked jacket. Images of blood stained clothes, faces and bodies flashed in her mind. The veteran let out a small grunt and averted her gaze, choosing to watch the window instead, her gun in her grip. Despite the tension, they could not allow themselves to drop their guard.


“Now really isn’t the time for any of this,” she finally spoke, directing her gaze toward Nessa and Aaron “we’re against the clock here.”


"I confirmed Mr. Brasi's death myself. I also confirmed that there didn't seem to be any more blood spilled in the immediate area. So, we can assume that Ms. Jordan was not killed."


Hector's breathing was shallow and it took a fair amount of effort for him to pull his head up to look straight ahead towards the bulk of the group. "Owen isn't incorrect in what he said, but likewise," the doctor paused, looking at the back of Owen's head pointedly then switching his glare to Vanessa as well, "Running in blind will be equally counterproductive. What we really dont have is time to waste on your petty squabbling. We need a plan of action. The longer we flounder, the smaller the chances are that we will ever see Andy again."


The tan giant then let his back slump against the chair again with an exhausted grunt. As if just the action of speaking took everything he had right now. Owen was still staring down Vanessa when he saw Aubrey move out of the corner of his eye. She winced and groaned as she made her way over to Hector to check on him, slowly wheezing, “You, uh… don’t look so good. Can I help? I may be able to get around a little better than you at the moment.”


A listless, gray eye peered up through stray salt and pepper curls to the young woman who had offered her assistance. The thought to deny her help crossed his mind as this woman was also fairly injured herself and her skills in first aid were amateur at best.


But as it stood, he didn’t have many options. The doctor tossed his gaze behind the woman’s right shoulder and gave a light nod in the direction of the kitchen.


“Med-kit in there. Suturing is beyond you right now but I think dressing the wounds should be within your capability.”


Without another word, the blonde obediently made her way to where she knew the Med-kit to be, steeling her nerves to make sure she doesn’t mess up the directions given. Returning to the man, she shakily passed it to him.


The older man shook his head lightly, “I won’t be doing it. You will.”


A light flush quickly dusted her cheeks as she clasped the kit with both hands, a nervous laugh escaping her lips followed by a groan of pain, “Right.” She murmured, opening the kit and glancing at him expectantly.


“Don’t be nervous.” His spanish-tinted words ordered, soft but firm. “Grab the trauma scissors and cut the shirt off of me. I’ll guide you from there.”


Her eyes widened momentarily at the thought- shirts weren’t necessarily something easy to come by- but she wasn’t going to defy direct orders. Picking up the scissors, she cut away the fabric and gazed at the wounds. Aubrey lived on a boat by herself for several years, so treating injuries was something she was accustomed to, though maybe not bullet wounds.


Carefully, Aubrey followed Hector’s instructions


Owen finally turned away from Vanessa who was still staring down at his sister’s jacket. He looked over at Aubrey, hard at work. Even as battered as she was, the girl was still putting others above herself. If he wasn’t so preoccupied with other things, he might even have found it endearing.


“The plan is simple,” Owen said curtly, addressing the group. “We go find my sister and we bring her back.”


“Alright, usually I don’t get involved when you guys are discussing important stuff… but-” Michael slowly got up from the sofa he was resting in and looked at Owen “Imma have to intervene on this one”


The neckbeard walked towards where the redhead was, his head still hurting as hell while doing so. Once in front of the standing man, Michael put his right hand over his shoulder.


“Owen, buddy, I think your current plan sucks and will get us all killed.” Emerald eyes narrowed slightly as he shrugged out of Michael’s grasp.


“And what’s your plan?” Owen snipped. “Sit here and do jack shit? My sister is out there somewhere and I’m sure as fuck not going to twiddle my thumbs while she needs me.”


“Yo, If I said I knew what you’re going through I would be lying man. Truth be told, I don’t want to even come close to experiencing as much shit as you’ve in like the last hour” Michael replied back. “But… come on man, look around you. We ain’t got shit on these guys, we got attacked by god knows how many of them and now half the group is dead, wounded or… well, now your dad has them I guess. The fact we’re not all dead yet is that they probably didn’t want to waste the bullets.”


“Sorry if I don’t agree with your idea to go kamikaze on their ass, but getting yourself or worse, all of us killed will not get Andy any less kidnnaped man. So yeah, my plan is absolutely to ‘sit here and do jack shit’, at least untill we put any actual thought into our next step.”


“I’m not asking anyone else to come with me,” the redhead growled.


“Listen bud,” Aaron was finally picking himself up off of his seat on the floor that Owen had so lovingly forced him into. “We all want to help Andy and Leliana. But she’s a tough ol’ bird. We have time to figure out a game plan before we go runnin’ off half-cocked. Andy’s gonna be alright.”


“She’s in the clutches of someone who brutalized her as a teenager.” Hector interjected with a pointed look from over Aubrey’s shoulder. “There are some things that people would prefer death over.”


“Exactly,” Owen agreed with vindication. He reached down to grab his bat off the ground, letting his knuckles go white around the leather-wrapped handle. “I’m not interested in biding my time until it happens again.” He started for the front door.


“Dios mio, Where are you going, Owen?” the older man inquired, almost incredulously. The redhead threw up his hands in frustration.


“Where the fuck do you think? Am I speaking in tongues? I’m going to get my sister.”


“No, you-” It was Hector’s turn to be frustrated now as he shook his head, ignoring the pain it sent down his body, “WHERE are you going? As in specifically. Do you have the slightest idea where they could have taken her? To the city? Somewhere in some other woods? Do you even know the direction? Nino, how do you intend on getting her back if you don’t have a singular clue as to where she is?”


“I’ll look,” he said without turning to face him. “I’ll comb every street between here and the state line if I have to. We aren’t going to find her sitting on our asses.” Owen’s voice got more aggressive the longer he spoke, raising with every syllable.


“And just how much time are you willing to waste searching aimlessly? You will waste an immeasurable amount of time kicking down every door and searching under every rock in Colorado as opposed to if you sat down and formulated a plan first. Every second you spend searching uselessly is a second longer she is with Liam. Use your head for once and think before you act. Let’s compile the information we have, narrow down our options, and we will have the best chance of finding her on the first try.”


The one-eyed scientist spoke every word with authority and conviction. Regardless of his broken state, his voice carried firmly and clearly despite not being spoken loudly.


“Yeah well,” Owen shrugged. “You and Andy are better at plans. I’m going to go do what I am good at. Radio me if you find anything.” He started toward the door once more, his stride unbreaking despite the voices that called after him.


“Good at getting yourself killed?” The doctor retorted in disbelief, his expression twisting to incredulity. Exactly how many of Hector’s limbs was Owen willing to sacrifice for his absolutely moronic antics of misguided heroism?! “How are you going to save Andy with a bat, a rifle you don’t know how to use, by yourself against at least thir-”


As Owen turned away, on instinct Aubrey took steps after him, forgetting about the bandage she was wrapping around Hector’s shoulder that was clutched in her hand. Immediately upon feeling the tug of the bandage, she became incredibly aware of what she had done and gasped, a slew of apologies flowing from a rueful expression. Hector in turn, screamed out in pain, spewing Spanish curses over the girl's regretful tone.


Putting the remains of the bandage in the man’s hand, she hurried after Owen, knowing Hector would understand… or at least willing to make him upset at her for the redheads sake.

 

[Hyped_Taco]

PT. 3​

“Owen wait,” Colt finally found her voice, getting up, she limped after the redhead hoping to catch him before he could step out, gun in hand, across her back and in its holder, “I’m going with you. You know I will, but they know you’ll do this! They’ll have lookouts, traps, all kinds of stuff, we need to think about this even for a second!”

“And how are we going to know about those traps without someone going to find them?” He didn’t stop, his hand was already on the door. With one tug he pulled it open, letting the cold air flow into the lodge around him.

“I’m done talking about this. You guys wanna sit here and talk, then talk. I’m going to get my family back.” That included Leliana. As long as he had air in his lungs, Owen wouldn’t stop until both girls were safe.

“You deaf? I said I’m coming,” Colt barked, joining him at the door, “at least then we’d have more of a chance! If you think I’m gonna let you risk your neck out there by yourself you’ve got another thing coming.” Sure, they had no plan or any idea where Liam even was but at the very least going with him could give him a chance to survive even if it meant she did not.

"I should go." Nessa finally interjected, her eyes still fixed on the jacked. "So no one else has to." She looked up at Hector now. "I have not been here long, and I have not exactly made friends. If I do not return, no one is sad." The carnie spoke with a matter-of-fact tone. "If I find something, I radio back. No need for anyone else to be risked." Owen did turn at Vanessa’s words, shaking his head.

“It’s not about who’s expendable or not,” in a different time he might feel bad that Vanessa felt this way. If there was less on the line, he might even have taken a moment to ensure Vanessa that he didn’t see her that way, nor did anyone else. However, Owen’s vision was entirely tunneled, leaving nothing but Andy and Leliana on his mind.

“If you want to come with me, get in the car. But I’m going regardless.” He nodded to Colt. “Same goes for you.” Owen didn’t care if they followed, he was so tired of talking about this. Nothing was going to make him feel better until he could set eyes on his sister again, and that wasn’t going to happen here. He left the front door of the lodge open behind him and headed for the nearest working vehicle. Shuffling his bat from his right hand to his left, Owen reached for the door handle, pulled it, and cursed when it didn’t open.

Michael exited the battered lodge and walked in Owen’s direction. Even though the redhead was obviously done with all their attempts to talk him down, the neckbeard wasn’t ready to throw the towel in yet. Keeping his distance from the man, Michael pulled out a set of keys and extended his arm so it was clear what he was showing him from afar.

“Dude, you didn’t even grab your keys.” The neckbeard dangled the set of keys as if they were treats in front of a puppy. “Step one of your plan to haul ass and get your sister back didn’t even include grabbing your keys.”

“Hand them over, Michael,” Owen growled. He didn’t have time for this. Why couldn’t anyone see that? He closed the distance between the two of them when it became clear that he didn’t plan on tossing the keyring in his direction, his gaze darkening.

“Give me the keys.”

Upon seeing Owen walking towards him, Michael put the keys in his right pocket to avoid having them snatched off his hand. The neckbeard’s heart began pumping faster with each step that Owen took, his body subconsciously giving him the warning signs that what he was doing was a bad idea, yet he stayed put.

“Look man, you want to go? Then go, but you’ll have to walk. I’m not helping you speedrun yourself to an early grave.” Owen let out a low breath, doing his best to control the red that was rising from his cheeks and into his vision.

“Michael, I’m done fucking around. Give me the god-damn keys,” Owen bit out his words. “Or I’ll take them from you.” At a different time, he would recognize the purity in Michael’s intentions. Now, all he saw was a very defiant obstacle in his way to his sister.

Owen’s usual gentle and friendly demeanor was nowhere to be found, Michael was left standing in front of a terrifying behemoth that wanted nothing more than to get him out of the way. Maybe after two months of living in the apocalypse and the most traumatic day in his life he finally cracked, lost his fucking mind amongst the chaos that surrounded the once cozy lodge, but he wasn’t going to yield.

Ever since David’s rampage, Michael tried really, really hard to think things through before acting, to stop being the useless dumbass he’d been his entire life. He now couldn’t think of anything at all, and knew what he was about to do was going to be really stupid.

“Sorry Owen… but I can’t let you do that”

And not a second sooner than those words left his mouth, Michael sucker-punched Owen as hard as he could in the jaw. Maybe he hoped he’d fall or be shocked for even a second yet Michael didn’t stick around to watch, as soon as his right fist ceased touching Owen, the neckbeard booked it towards the lodge, hoping he could lock both himself and the keys out of the red-heads reach.

Owen hissed through his teeth, reaching up to grab his face. Shock and pain halted Owen for a breath as he shook his head clear of the daze that blurred his vision. The punch had more power behind it than the twin would have expected, but it didn’t stop his body from lunging at Michael. It was instinctual. How many times had the redhead chased after an assailant, bat in tow? It was lucky for both of them that it wasn’t in hand now, left behind by the car, because the pain that pulsed through his jaw threatened to be enough to send him tumbling over the edge he had been clinging to.

It was hardly five steps before the lumbering redhead was able to reach out and grab Michael by the back of the shirt. He ripped him back, the snag and pull of the fabric stretching under his strong grip. He hadn’t intended to pull so hard, but his muscular arms moved in the ways that felt most natural without logic to pilot them. Even the bulk of Michael's form couldn’t save him as he was jerked backward, colliding with the dirt.

Michael’s fall was a swift one, yet to him, it felt way longer than it should have been. His plan had failed, and that somehow hurt worse than his body slamming into the ground. With no time to react, Michael abruptly tumbled backward, hitting his head for the second time today. Had it not been for his body working overtime and pumping out as much adrenaline as it probably was right now, the neckbeard would surely have been knocked out by the hit. Yet even this was not enough to avoid the headache and feeling of dizziness he felt as the sensation of falling down the stairs return to him.

It was hard maintaining himself awake, and even with his best efforts, Michael couldn’t move even a single muscle in his body. After taking his body to its absolute limit to survive, it finally gave out. His vision failing to stay in focus, Michael saw Owen slowly crouch near him, his hand moving towards his pocket to get his keys back. The red-head had finally won.

His mind was as blank as a white page, and being led by instinct by this point, Michael slowly moved his right hand and weakly latched onto Owen’s arm in a last show of defiance.

The sensation of Michael’s hand on his arm was not dissimilar to that of a wet blanket on flame. Something in him fizzled as he looked down at the weak grasp around his forearm. The keys were already in hand, there was nothing Michael could do to stop him. Beaten, battered, and damn near broken in the dirt, Owen’s friend did his best to try to stop him. Not for his own benefit, but for Owens. To save him.

“Fuck man,” he growled. “Why in the world would you do that? What did you think would happen?”

Owen’s eyes stung as the same recycled tears threatened to break free. He had been swallowing the same sobs for hours. He wanted to stop, to check on Michael, or at least help him back to the couch but the redhead knew that the sentiment was ultimately empty. Nothing else mattered but getting to Andy and Leliana. Almost gently, Owen pulled his arm free from Michael’s grasp. He stepped over Michael and back toward the car.

Michael was powerless to do anything else; from keeping his grip on Owen’s arm to standing up and continuing the fight was just impossible for the neckbeard to do, the last fumes that kept him running through their entire struggle having left him long ago. He had tried everything he could think of to keep the keys away from Owen, yet nothing was enough to stop the redhead.

Michael failed Owen just as much as he did Leliana.

Struggling to keep himself from falling unconscious, he saw Owen walking slowly toward his car. The question of what did he think would happen continued to plague his mind, and perhaps out of earshot already, Michael responded with a voice low enough that it could be mistaken for a whisper.

“I don’t know …”

Collab with: Maj Owen Rumble Fish Colt TheMightyRedLemon Vanessa
Mentioned: FireMaiden Leliana Maj Andy shadowz1995 Hector

 

[Corgi]

​

Aubrey stood frozen in the doorway as she took in the scene before her. Everyone was experiencing grief and loss. Milly was a precious little girl that she played games with, she had wanted nothing more than to see her home once more and had sent Aubrey in her sted. Now she would never see it. Luca, one of the first friends she made here and worked out together almost every single day, was dead. Andy was the first person that ever made Aubrey feel like she had a real girl-friend. She was the first person that Aubrey had ever felt comfortable dropping her façade with and talking openly about her emotions. They had gotten drunk together, talked about boys together, and despite everyone always saying she was mean, she was the first person to ever make her feel fully welcome. Now she was gone too, taken away. Lelianna, Beth, Valarie- all of them gone in an instant. All too quickly their group of fourteen was essentially cut in half.

A fire burned in her chest and it felt like she was suffocating from the smoke. Her vision blurred with tears as she realized she had only known these people for a few months. Owen has known them for years- some his entire life. If she felt this badly, she could barely imagine how he felt… but Aubrey did know she would do anything for her sister, and Owen is no different in that regard.

Aubrey also knew he would get himself killed if he left on his own.

Despite her better judgment and to her body’s chagrin, Aubrey jogged after the red-headed boy she had grown so fond of, wheezing out, “Owen- wait!”

Her tired voice was like a siren's song, threatening to pull him over the edge of the ship and into the warmth of the water below. If he stopped now, gave her any quarter, Owen knew he would be undone. He had to get out of there before his resolve crumbled. The athlete ignored the magnetism that urged him to turn and swallowed, opening the driver's side door.

Aubrey's head throbbed and her ribs screamed in protest, but Owen did not stop so neither would she. Speaking and moving were both agony to her already exhausted form, so she had no choice but to take it one step at a time. Once she got close enough that she knew her rasping voice could be heard, Aubrey called to him.

“Owen, if you go by yourself you’re going to die.”

"Nothing is going to stop me from getting to Andy," Owen's words were icier than the Colorado air. "Not even you." He slid into the driver's seat without looking at her, scared of what he would see if he did.

Aubrey recoiled at his tone. She had spent a lot of time with Owen over the last few months, and even in some of the most desperate and trying times she had never heard him sound so heartless. If it had been anyone else, Aubrey would have left it alone at that, but this was Owen. He had been there for her at every single turn. Owen had buried literal bodies for her, comforted her, and stood by her when she was the most lost. On various occasions and without a moment's hesitation he had thrown his life on the line for her. Aubrey had no doubts that if the situation was flipped Owen wouldn’t stop. If biting her tongue meant losing him, there was no way she could stop.

Grabbing the top of the car door, she pulled herself towards him, “Andy wouldn’t want you to die. If we take a moment to gather our thoughts and resources and plan-” He still wasn’t looking at her and as the desperation built, she reached out to try and comfort him, “Please, Owen, we all love you. No one wants to see you-”

“Get the fuck off me!” The brute snapped. No one had ever told Owen that they loved him. Which was a shame because he once loved so fiercely. It didn’t matter how much he loved Beth or Charlotte or any of the other girls he had crossed paths with over the years. None of them could ever return the favor. What had he ever been to anyone except broad shoulders and strong arms to keep the boogie men away? No one had ever really loved him except Mary Jordan, who was now cold and dead and would never love him again. All he had left was Andy, who would share their mother’s fate if he continued to waste precious seconds. He ripped his arm from her grasp, uncaring as the abrupt movement knocked her off balance and left her falling into the dirt.

Pain shot through all of her nerve endings as her body collided with the ground, reminding her of all of the injuries that she had only recently obtained. Tears, hot and unwelcome, began to pour down her cheeks. She had been here before, palms and jeans dirty from being shoved down. Aubrey had taken her fair share of shoves and harsh words from people who she thought were her friends. It took her a lot longer than she cared to admit to realize that they weren’t. While she knew that this was different, and that Owen wasn’t like the others who bullied her, she couldn’t help the familiar reaction from bubbling forth. She was left frozen, silently crying and watching him leave her behind.

“You don’t love me,” the laugh that came from his chest dripped with venom. “You don’t know me. You don’t know Andy. None of you do. That’s why none of you want to come with me. You don’t give a fuck about us. You guys value your own lives over hers? That’s fine, but don’t sit here pretending that it’s because you love us.” Owen slammed the car door shut, not giving Aubrey a second glance, and put the key in the ignition, letting it roar to life.

Aubrey begged herself to move, to try to stop him, but her body shook in denial. She couldn’t help but feel that everything she tried to touch fell apart in her hands. It was like trying to keep water cupped in her palms, or holding onto the fleeting details of a dream upon waking. It was always right there, but slipping through her fingers faster than she could hold on. Aubrey had been stupid to think she could stop him. She hadn’t been able to help Charlotte or save any lives that were lost today. If anything her capture had been the catalyst of a day filled with so much grief. She fought against the thought that everyone would have been better off if she hadn’t been here at all. Overwhelmed and spiraling with guilt and hurt, the blonde stayed trembling on the ground.

Regret consumed Owen’s every molecule, it poured out of every pore. It pooled in the corner of his eyes and ran in scalding streaks down his cheeks. His knuckles were white around the steering wheel as he let the familiar vibration of the engine run down his arms, begging it for comfort. He wanted to get out, to fumble through apologies that wouldn’t be enough and pick her up out of the dirt. But pride wouldn’t let him go back now. If he did, all of the chaos he caused, all of the people he hurt, would have been for what? A tantrum? A panic attack? It didn’t change the fact that Andy still needed him. If he was still around to apologize tomorrow, he would. He let his massive hand rest on the gear shift, moving it from park to drive.