The Fire -1-

-S1, Ep6: Chapter 27-

-Chapter 27: The Choice- 

"He's been gone a long time." Kate said.

"Yeah." Anna agreed, wondering what was taking the older Gecko brother so long to get back.

"Let's just go." Kate suggested. "We could hitchhike. Pay someone to take us to the border."

"I've put you in enough bad situations already without asking you to do something that could be much worse." Jacob denied.

"We can't just stay here!" Kate said.

"I don't think we have a choice." Jacob said.

"How can you say that, dad?" Kate asked.

"Because Seth was right." Scott said. "He thinks this is judgment." Kate looked her dad in question.

"Is that true, dad?" Kate asked. "Is God judging us?"

"No." Jacob said, shaking his head. "I'm the only one who fell from grace."

"Daddy, you're scaring me." Kate said.

"I'm not trying to frighten you." Jacob said, taking his children's hands. "Listen to me, both of you. We have to have faith in us, that we can bear this tribulation as a family, and that we might be—"

"Who are you trying to convince?" Scott cut his father off as Kate stood up. "Us or yourself?"

"I'm gonna go try and find Richie." Kate said.

"He's crazier than his brother." Scott said.

"Well, at least he hasn't lied to us." Kate said and walked away into the crowd. Anna sighed before getting up.

"Now where are you going?" Scott asked, annoyed. Anna turned to him, annoyed just as much.

"To find Seth." Anna said. "He might have lied to us...but I trust him more than I trust Richie." She looked at the last two Fullers before walking off into the crowd. She looked around and couldn't find the older Gecko anywhere. So, she decided to check outside. She walked towards the front door, ignoring the long looks she was getting from the men around her, and pulled the door open. She walked outside, closing the door behind her. As soon as she stepped outside, she heard motorcycles. She looked up and saw Seth chained by his arms to two motorcycles. And the men on them, were trying to pull him in half. She was horrified. True, she didn't particularly care much for the older brother yet, but she didn't wanna see him hurt. Not like this.

"STOP IT!" She yelled, running forwards to stop the horrid act. "STOP!" Two men quicky ran over and grabbed her, holding her back from interfering.

"Calm down." One of the men said.

"Ah, just on time, my sweet, creamy Carrot Cake." Chet said, as she struggled against the two men. "I have gift for your boyfriend here." His words caused her to look at him, causing him to smile and look at Seth. "Now, Imma do something for you and give you something that your momma never did, and that's a choice. Gutted like a puerquito, or maybe just quick surgery at the joints, huh?" They pulled the chains more, causing Seth to groan in pain. "Que quieres? What you want?"

"STOP!" Anna yelled again. "LET HIM GO!"

"Why don't we ask your lovely sweetheart here?" Chet asked, gesturing for the men to bring her over. "Hmmm?" Seth looked up as the two men passed Anna to Chet, causing her to struggle against him. "Ah ah ah." He held the machete to her neck, causing her to stop struggling. "Your choice, Carrot Cake." He put his face near her ear. "Does your boyfriend get gutted...or joint surgery?" He smelled her neck, causing her to tense up and be even more disgusted than she already was.

"H-He's not my boyfriend." Anna confessed.

"He isn't?" Chet asked, and she shook her head no, trying to hold back her tears. "Oh well! I guess it's dealer's choice!"

"Yeah!" The men around them cheered.

"NO!" Anna shouted as Chet raised his machete from her neck, laughing. Suddenly, a gunshot went off as the machete was knocked out of Chet's hand. He let Anna go and held his hand while Anna fell to the ground. Seth groaned as men walked over to the group.

"You?" Chet asked, seeing a man, Narciso. "But...no! No!" He looked at Seth. "No! He broke my nose! He broke my nose!"

"Untie him and go." Narciso ordered. Seth groaned in pain as the motorcycles backed up, giving him more chain. Seth fell to the ground, gasping in pain as the men unchained him.

"Seth." Anna said as she quickly crawled over to him. She gently grabbed his arm and helped him steady himself. The redhead and older Gecko looked at Narciso, who was now kneeled down next to them.

"You're a long way from Kansas City, Mr. Gecko." Narciso said and then looked at the girl. "Please help him up, Miss Gilbert." Anna was shocked this man knew her last name but ignored it as she looked at Seth.

"Can you stand?" She asked.

"Yeah." Seth said, nodding. She grabbed him gently and helped him stand up, putting his arm around her shoulders. A man came over and unchained Seth's wrists before walking away. The two looked at Narciso.

"Let's get you two inside, yes?" Narciso asked. They hesitantly nodded before walking inside. "This way." Narciso gestured for them to go to a private table. Anna helped Seth over to it and helped him gently sit down. "Here." Anna turned and saw Narciso passing her a first-aid kit.

"Thanks." She said, before sitting down in a seat next to Seth, with Narciso standing behind her. She opened the first-aid kit and took out a disinfectant wipe. She reached over and gently pat Seth's head wounds, causing Seth to wince and pull away in pain.

"Jesus." He cursed.

"Sorry." She said, and gently continued to clean him up a bit. So at least he'd be presentable in front of someone who saved their lives.

"Hey, uh...you're pretty good at this whole...patching-up-assholes-thing." Seth complimented.

"Well, my dad used to come home with some bad wounds." She said, throwing away the disinfectant wipe in the nearest trash. "And I was the one to fix 'em...at 5 years old." She closed the first-aid kit.

"I'm sorry." Seth said, causing her to look at him with a bit of shock. Narciso saw the two staring at each other for a while, before purposely clearing his throat. The Gecko and Gilbert looked away from each other, Anna pushing her hair behind her ear in embarrassment.

"Miss Gilbert, would you mind if I had a private conversation with Mr. Gecko?" Narciso asked.

"Not at all." Anna said, standing up. "I'm just gonna...sit with Jacob and Scott, I guess." She nodded before walking away, awkwardly.

"She's a sweet girl." Narciso complimented as they watched the redhead walk away to Jacob and Scott's table. "Fiery, but sweet."

"Yeah." Seth said, before getting back to the conversation they needed to have.