The Damage Has Been Done (Markiplier)

Chapter 4: Tom's Brotherly Love

Mark's POV.

"Look, guys! I'm not arguing with you! This is my fucking brother! I'm not leaving here without him! I don't care!" Apparently Wade, Bob and Mandy didn't quite agree with me taking Tom with us. I wasn't going down without a damn good fight. Tom is my brother, I love him. He's all I got left.

"Mark! C'mon, he's a wreck! You think he's stable enough to go with us? Don't get me wrong, I love having Tom around, but, if he's as bad as he is, then I don't know what to tell you..." Wade said.

"Wade, he's all I've got left. I need him. I've lost everything that ever mattered to me in my family, Tom will not be another loss. If he doesn't go, I don't go. I go, he goes. That's final and we're not discussing this any further. Deal with it."

"Mark, I-"

"What did I just tell you!? Look, I need him. I won't let him die here. Even if he does die, at least he won't go alone! I'll be there for him! He's my goddamn brother. If you don't want him to go, then leave without us. Because I'm going absolutely nowhere without Tom. Do you understand me? He's going. End of discussion."

"Fine. But if we get caught by whatever those infected things are-"

"It'll be my fault. But that won't make them attack you any less, now will it?"

"Just get your damn brother."

I walked up the driveway and to my brother's door. I knocked and waited for Tom to answer. He opened the door and hugged me. Saying that he didn't understand what was going on and he didn't want to have to deal with this. I told him it'd be okay and that we just needed to go. I went inside with Tom and he grabbed his two bags. Then I saw it. His wife. In the back room. One of the kids' rooms. She really was gone. Before I could go to her, Tom called me into the livingroom, saying he was ready to go. I muttered a simple, yet meaningful, 'I'm sorry it was you, and not me' and went to meet up with Tom.

"Tom?"

"What?"

"W-where's Mom?"

Tom looked at me like I was crazy and just hung his head down, staring at the floor. I asked him again, this time more loud, and he looked up. He pointed out back, behind the house, where the side street was. I went to the sliding glass door and went outside. I made it to the side street and scanned around. Tom was behind me when I saw her. My own mother. On the side of the road. Dead. Gone, forever.

"Mark. We have to go. C'mon, little brother."

"You didn't do anything to stop it?"

"What?"

"Mom. You defended your wife, but not our mother?"

"Mark, it wasn't like that! Of course I tried to help! I couldn't do anything else! By the time I got in the middle of it, she was gone. I couldn't stop it. You think I can hold off the military and police? Mark, if I could, believe me I'd do everything in my power to stop this. But I don't have that ability. We both lost people today. I lost my wife and kids, and we both lost Mom. I don't know what you want me to do."

"I wanted you to keep Mom safe. She was about to go to a safe zone! And you couldn't defend her for the slightest second! You were focusing on your personal family! Not your own mother! Our mother, Thomas! There's more to your life than your personal little family! I love them just as much as you do, but seriously! That was Mom. She was the only parent we had left! Dad died a long time ago, so we promised each other to make sure Mom wouldn't end up the same cruel way he did!"

"Mark, I tried."

"You didn't try hard enough. Do you not see her there? Are you blind to the sight of death? If you tried hard enough, Mom wouldn't be dead. I wouldn't have to leave her there. We could've taken her with us. We need Mom here!"

"I'm sorry..."

"Whatever. We need to go. Car's out front. C'mon."

Before I walked away, I looked back and said 'This is where I should be. I should be gone, not you. You didn't deserve any of this.' Tom grabbed my arm and lifted me to my feet, pulling me with him to the front of the house and out the door. He walked with me over to his car and he climbed in. Everyone had two to a car, so there was plenty of room for everyone. After a while of driving, about an hour and a half and stopping to get the gas cans out of the trunk to refill the tank, Wade decided to break the silence.

"It's going to start getting dark soon, don't you think we should find a place to stop?" He asked.

"I guess. What'd you have in mind?"

"The parking lot right up here would work, don't you think so?"

"Okay. Molly, Tom? Wanna stop here for the night and keep going in the morning?" They both nodded their head in agreement and I waved to Bob and Mandy to follow us.

"Mark?" Bob asked me, getting out of his car.

"What's up?"

"Are you sure this place is safe? It wreaks of infected territory."

"We'll be fine. Promise. Nothing's going to happen. This entire state wreaks of infected territory. But we need to stop for today. We'll leave at the crack of dawn. Okay?"

"Alright. Who's going to be where?"

"Uh, same places. We can just have two to a car and call it good. That alright?"

"Yeah sure."

"Fair enough. Everyone needs to stay close and quiet. Understood?" Everyone agreed and we found a place in the parking lot to stay for the night.

************

"What do you mean you don't have any more ammunition? There's too many of them just to whack them with the bat and crowbar! You have to have more. There has to be more!" I yelled.

I looked frantically around the bags we'd placed in the room and threw things everywhere to rummage and look for the ammo I swore we had with us.

"No! No! No! Th-this isn't right! There's more ammo! There has to be more! I can't die here! I can't let those things eat me! I don't want to be one of them! Please, give me two bullets! One for Tom and I! Give me that much! Please!" I kept digging, trying to find the two bullets I'd prayed to discover. There was nothing. Tom took me by the shoulders, turning me around and holding me in a hug.

"Mark, calm down. There's nothing left. I'm sorry. We can't do anything else. I guess this was supposed to happen to us. Just wait for them to come in. It'll be over soon. I promise. I'm so sorry Mark."

I fell against the wall and slid to the concrete floor, my brother right alongside me. We listened to the infected pound on the door, causing the hinges and frame to slowly break. Tom kept his arms around me, keeping me calm enough not to tear my hair out.

"What happened to Bob, Wade, Molly and Mandy?"

"They're gone too. It'll be okay. I'm going right here with you."

I heard the blood hurdling screams from my friends a few rooms down the hall. They screamed mine and Tom's name, hoping we'd come to save the day, but we were just as dead as they were. I cried into my older brother's shoulder hearing the only friends I ever could've asked to have, be murdered by disgusting beings of another kind. Things that used to be ordinary, everyday people. The screams stopped suddenly. The four had gone. I couldn't help them.

Tom and I sat against the wall, on the concrete floor, watching and listening to the infected break down the door, thirsting and craving human blood and flesh. Tom turned me to face him, saying 'I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from this. This isn't what you deserve, Mark. A life ending because of someone's stupid mistake with a pill, that's not what I ever wanted for my little brother. I love you, Mark. Always.' The door broke open, sending a sea of cannibalistic, disheveled, terrifying infected plowing through.

All I could do was yell. Hoping I'd somehow, magically, be saved. I failed in that endeavor. The monsters made their way over to Tom and I. Tom kept his promise of going right with me, he kept his arm wrapped around my trembling body tightly as we were grabbed and clawed at by starving monsters.

************

I shot up from my sleeping state, covered in cold sweat and tears running down my face. Tom covered my mouth with his hand, trying to quiet my fear filled sobs. He pulled me toward him, engulfing me in a protective hug and telling me I was fine, that it was just a dream.

"Mark, you need to calm down. Get down before they see you," Tom whispered.

"What? Who?" I asked.

He pointed out the window of the car. In the darkness of the late night, I could see at least thirty of the infectious walkers, wandering aimlessly around the parking lot. Tom pulled me down to sit next to him on the floorboards, out of sight of any un-thorough searcher. In this case, aimless zombies. Tom held his hand over my mouth, silencing me before I had a chance to ask anymore questions.

"They can't see us if we stay in the dark. Just stay still and stay quiet Mark. Okay?" I nodded.

My thoughts changed toward my friends. Bob, Mandy, Wade and Molly. I hoped like hell they were okay. If something happened to one of them, I don't know what I'd do. I just stayed as silent as I could, trying to slow my breathing back down to a normal rate and making it not be so shaky. But I was scared. Scared of my dream, preparing me for that moment. Is that moment now? Will the infected find us in the car? Would they even care to look?

I listened as at least three or four of them got painstakingly close to the car, growling, hissing, gurgling on their own blood filled mouths. They were hungry, extremely hungry. I stayed still and quiet. As did Tom. We were statues. Metaphorically part of the floorboards. They walked around a while, god only knows how long exactly. They eventually went away. Tom and I let out a small sigh of relief, thankful like hell they were gone.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"In their cars. I told them to stay quiet and still, same as I told you, and to not do anything that would have a remote chance at alerting the infected of where they were. I stepped outside when I saw one, about 70 feet from where I was. So I told Wade, Bob, Molly and Mandy to get in their places and stay. They'll be fine. I'm sure of it."

"I don't want to be here, Tom. I-I just want to go home. I want this to be over. I want the kids, your wife and especially Mom back. This shouldn't be real."

"I know. I know. You'll be okay Mark. I promise. I'm here with you. I'm sorry things turned out this way..."

(A/N. Hey! Happy New Years everyone! Hope you all had fun and were safe! For a New Years gift, here's the newest update to 'The Damage Has Been Done'! Let me know what you think by commenting or voting! Thanks so much for the support so far! You all are amazing! Keep up the fabulous work as readers, and I'll keep up writing! Happy New Years!!! Best of luck in 2014!!! ~Melynda! Aka Luxor.)