Rapture (ON HOLD)

.:Chapter Eleven:.

     What's there to say to someone who's had their entire world taken away? An apology is unfit, words can't heal the wounds. Materialism doesn't equate to kindness, just like company doesn't equal to joy. What's the best thing to do for them? Well, getting their world back is one way to help. But what if that isn't possible?

     It is always possible, a voice whispered softly inside of Jimmy's heart, to save not only your own, but many other worlds.

     Suddenly, rescuing Johnny didn't seem so hard to Jimmy anymore.

     The blue-eyed man picked up his pace, suddenly gripping his weapon with vigor and seeming to have gained a certain strength. Zacky nudged his brown-eyed lover, a brow raised in curiosity as he nodded in Jimmy's direction. Brian followed his boyfriend's gesture with his eyes and looked upon Jimmy, unable to keep a small smile from cracking across his lips. There we go. He thought.
     "What's gotten into him?" The smaller man murmured, his hazel eyes shining with a childlike curiosity. Brian shrugged, signifying that he didn't know what was going on with Jimmy, either. It's almost like he has hope again... Zacky mused in his head. That was a reassuring thought, in a way; maybe, just maybe, if Jimmy could get his hope back, they could save Johnny.
     "I just hope whatever it is keeps him strong enough to fight." Brian's voice whispered softly, his brown eyes flickering like dark fire when Jimmy glanced backwards. The brown-eyed man was right; every single person in the group needed every bit of strength they could muster. They were walking to New York, for God's sake! They would all have to buckle down and tough through it if they were going to make it there in time to save Johnny from whatever was happening to him.
     Why did they kidnap Johnny, I wonder? He's the smallest and, well, probably the weakest of us.. What could they possibly want with him? Experimentation? Torture?  The hazel-eyed man wondered as they trudged along, his fingers nervously dancing along the barrel of his gun as though he were waiting for something to happen. I don't know.. All I know is that I really hope that Johnny's okay, and not only for his sake, but for Jimmy's as well..
     Suddenly, Jimmy's swift walking came to a screeching halt, and he held his hand up to signal to the others that they should stop, as well. Brian tilted his head curiously, stepping over next to Jimmy and following his line of sight to see what he was looking at. The group was perched atop a large hill that seemed to suddenly drop into a steep valley below, but that wasn't the worst part. There were dozens, maybe hundreds, of wild horses.. But they weren't normal. They had somehow been infected with the deadly virus that was sweeping the country; some of them were walking around aimlessly with their heads held to the side, a few of them were munching on what looked to be a human carcass, and the rest were huddled together, occasionally braying or snorting as if they were communicating.
     "What the fuck?" Melita asked softly, her brows furrowed as she looked upon the horses. "They're.. They're infected! How?!" She looked at her burly lover for an explanation, but he seemed to be out of any kind of answer.
     "My guess?" The brown-eyed man spoke darkly, his heart-shaped lips barely moving. Zacky couldn't help but stare at them, knowing exactly what those lips could do.. Stop, stop, stop it. He mentally scolded himself, tuning back in to what Brian was saying afterwards. "They probably got bitten, or at least one of them did. The rest of them probably infected each other somehow."
     "How the hell are we going to get through an entire hoard of infected wild horses?" Zacky whispered, sounding a bit more frightened than he meant to.
     "We could kill them." Matt suggested, which immediately caused Melita to smack him upside the head.
     "We are not killing any of those horses!" She cried softly. "We have to figure out another way. Is there any way we can go around them?" She asked, stepping up a little farther to better examine the infected horses.
     "No, honestly," Brian sighed. "The hill drops off too steep on both sides for us to walk down, and there's no way we can go around them without being seen. We'll just have to be quick and hope for the best." He muttered grimly, reaching over and lacing his fingers into his boyfriend's hand. Zacky glanced down for a split moment, a smile crossing his lips for a brief second before his expression hardened once more. He had to be tough right now.. The entire group was about to risk their lives, there was no time for smiling or happiness. All they felt was determination, strength, power.
     "Well then.." The blue-eyed man spoke for the first time that day, shocking the rest of the group into silence. "Let's do this." With that, the entire group began to descend towards the valley of infected wild horses below, their hearts pounding with fear and adrenaline. The brown-eyed man sighed softly, letting go of his boyfriend's hand to more firmly grip his weapon. 

     Creeping slowly towards the easily-alerted horses, the entire group bit their lips in anticipation. This would be, by far, the stupidest and most dangerous thing they'd ever done. I just hope we all get through this without getting infected.. Brian thought, his brows furrowed as he crept even closer towards the valley of infected animals. His smaller hazel-eyed boyfriend walked right next to him, shaking in fear. Not only was Zacky afraid of horses, but these were infected horses; twice as dangerous. His brown-eyed love could sense this, so he inched a bit closer and kissed him on the cheek in a reassuring way, focusing straight ahead afterwards.
     They're so fucking cute.. I wish Johnny was here.. Jimmy thought, feeling the hot prick of tears begin to sting at the back of his eyeballs for the hundredth time that day. I had the ring ready and everything.. I was going to propose this weekend, but of course, life had to fuck me over something major. He gripped his weapon tightly, no longer feeling sad; he was suddenly overcome with rage, seeming to be angry about losing the love of his life. He gritted his teeth, storming ahead of the group and walking towards the infected horses.
     "Jimmy!" Melita hissed, trying not to alert the animals yet still get her friend's attention. He seemed to ignore her, though, as he pulled his gun out and squeezed the trigger. The bullet pierced through the infected animal's skull, and it immediately dropped to the ground; however, at the sound of the loud gunshot, the rest of the wild horses turned around and flared their nostrils.
     "Shit.. Run!" Brian called, grabbing his lover's wrist and dragging him along as they both sprinted from the hoard of animals. Jimmy was the last one to take off running as the animals charged him, but that didn't stop him from firing a few more times and taking out a few more of the horses. Suddenly, Melita's foot snagged the wrong way on a twisted root, causing her to fall down and land on her front side.
     "Mel!" Matt screamed, too far ahead now to help her up. He tried to run back in her direction, but Brian grabbed him and held him back, telling him that they had to keep moving. The burly man tried to break away from his friend, but it was no use. Brian was too strong at the moment. Melita turned over on her back just in time to see the heard of stampeding horses bearing down on her. She released a scream, and just when she was about to be trampled, several un-infected horses came from the opposite side of the valley and began neighing loudly, storming towards the herd of the infected animals.
     "They're buying us time! Matt, go grab Mel and let's get the fuck out of here!" Jimmy cried, but he didn't even have to say a word; Matt had already broken free from his friend's vice grip and sprinted over to his love, scooping her up in his arms once he reached her. Once the entire group was reunited, they began sprinting away from the horses and up the opposite side of the valley. They didn't stop running until they were at least a mile from the infected animals, but once they did, everyone collapsed on the ground and began to pant for breath.
     "You almost got us killed, you fucking imbecile!" Matt snapped as he set Melita on the ground, walking over to Jimmy and shoving him backwards hard enough that he slammed into a tree.
     "Matt!" Melita cried out.
     "We're still alive, aren't we?" Jimmy asked, a grin crossing his lips.
     "Don't pull any stupid shit like that again, or you won't be." The burlier man growled darkly, giving him a hard glare before he walked back over to his petite girlfriend. He began to tend to her injured ankle, while Zacky and Brian simply sat beneath a tree and panted for breath.
     "We need to keep moving." Brian stated, standing up once he caught his breath. Zacky nodded in agreement, rising to his feet as well. Once everyone else had regained their breath and were able to walk, the group set off towards New York, still thoroughly determined to rescue Johnny.

  
     And maybe even the world.