Oh, my god, we're at the chapter. . . .
Lord help me.
Comment, vote, share, let me know what you're thinking!
xoxo
I'm going to do these shorter double updates instead, so that we get to the end faster. Plus, it makes it much easier to write the chapters when they're shorter.
Thank you for understanding
Question of the Chapter: Are you nervous? I'm nervous.
----------
Thomas and Lori were both armed with a pistol, and sat together closest to the door of the van.
"Are you sure you want to come? I know that WICKED want you for something, and if you're scared, that's okay. I can go alone."
"I'm not scared, and I'm not letting you go alone," She replies. "I'm doing this to help our friends; to help everyone. Besides, you couldn't make me stay behind even if you tried." They both grin, before Lawrence looks at them both.
"Okay, remember the plan," he instructs firmly. Because that was something they were planning on forgetting.
"And what was the plan?" Thomas asks. Lori can't help but wonder whether he's being sincere or not.
"Make it to the hangar without dying."
Lori nods, "Sounds like a good plan. Dying would probably make it a bit hard to stop WICKED, after all."
Thomas chuckles under his breath, and Lawrence just shakes his head disapprovingly.
The whole van goes silent as they begin their journey to the hangar.
The roads were empty as they drove along the dark cement, hoping not to run into any danger. They didn't really feel like getting attacked by hoards of Cranks again.
Light was starting to peak over the horizon as the sun began to rose, illuminating the dark path ahead of them.
Thomas was staring at the cars they pass, spotting how many contained Cranks, and whether or not they looked like they wanted to eat their flesh.
After what felt like ages, Lawrence took a turn in the road, leading down a much narrower, longer highway that ended in a gate that kept them out of the walled city.
"This'll take us all the way," Lawrence tells them. "The hangar is probably our most protected facility, so all we have to do is make it there. An hour from now we'll be up in the air, happy and safe."
"The sooner, the better," Lori say.
"Good that," Thomas agrees.
The pilot doesn't say anything.
After several miles, the van begins to slow, and Lawrence lets out a small gasp. "What in the world?"
Lori looks out the windshield, trying to see what Lawrence is seeing.
Not too far ahead of them, multiple cars are driving around and around in circles, pulling up dust everywhere.
"I guess I'll just try to get past them," Lawrence mutters. The cars continue to spin, not yet noticing the approaching van. We all know though, that that won't last long. They're bound to notice them, and when they do, trouble was bound to follow.
The car moves along slowly, Lawrence looking around everywhere. "It'll just take us forever to backtrack and try a different way. I'm just going to try to get through."
"Just don't do anything stupid," the pilot, who had been quiet this whole time, snaps. "We certainly won't get there if we have to walk."
The cars are still circling, but that's not what has now grabbed Lori's attention. Not far from the cars, there is a large number of Cranks all in one spot. They seem to be scavenging over a number of piles of garbage. They are ripping them apart, pulling out the contents and searching for something to eat, most likely. Scraps of old meat, left-overs, packaged foods and more go flying all over the place as the Cranks tear away at the bags.
"What are you planning?" Thomas asks Lawrence. The man hasn't changed the speed on the van, just continues to drive towards the groups of Cranks at a moderate pace.
"You need to stop," The pilot yells at Lawrence.
He pays no attention to the order, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "No. I'm going through."
"You'll get us killed!"
"We'll be fine. Just shut up for a second!"
They're getting even closer to the scavenging Cranks, when Lori is able to get a better look at them. Most of them are bloodied up, covered in scratches, hair missing from their heads and covered in dirt.
There are Cranks who are picking up things left and right, and then there are Cranks who are only allowing five seconds before taking those items from the hands of the others.
Suddenly, the van veers off to the right with a loud scraping sound. It had happened. The drivers in the car had stopped their vehicles, lining the front of the cars to to be directly facing the van.
"This isn't good," Lori mutters beneath her breath.
Lawrence doesn't slow down. If anything, he speeds up. He straightens the van up and aims for the biggest gap between the second and third cars. Swiftly, the first car in the lineup rapidly speeds towards, twisting in a direction so that they can try to attempt to stop the van.
"Hold on!" Lawrence screams at them, speeding up even more, his knuckles white.
The three passengers all grab on to something as they close in on the space that is to be their escape route. The third car gets closer, but the other two don't even bother to make a move.
It felt like they were going to make it, but then the daunting reality washes over them all.
It's too late. We're not going to make it. There's no way we can make it before that car hits us.
And she was right. Just as they're about to pass between the two other cars, the third slams right into the side of their van. They all get thrown to the side, Lori hitting her head on the glass window of the car door.
An immediate aching sensation passes through her skull, causing her vision to blur for a minute.
The glass from the window of the side the car hit smashes and sends shards flying through the van, giving all the passengers and the driver small cuts along the way.
As the van is spinning, Lawrence hits the brakes on the van, causing them to come to a screeching stop, the metal scraping sound of the brakes ringing out from beneath them.
The squealing sounds stop the instant the van hits a cement wall.
As Lori pulls herself back up onto her seat, there's a high-pitched ringing in her ears. There are bruises and cuts up and down her arms and on her face, and her head was pounding in pain from the window.
All the crank cars drive off, the four in the van staring out the windshield at them go. The scavenging Cranks don't leave, however.
Lori rubs her head as she looks out the window, believing she may have suffered brain damage during the crash.
For when she looks out the window, she's see something she never thought she would see again.
Out the window, in the group of Cranks, one certain Crank is staring intently at the van, their eyes never leaving them.
This Crank looks horrible and dirty, his hair missing in spots and his clothes torn and stained.
But even though his appearance has totally changed, Lori would never be able to forget his beautiful eyes.
The Crank staring at them, is Newt.
n
/\/\/\/\/\
Lori can't believe her eyes. She touches a finger to her head, to check for bleeding. Is that really Newt standing over there, or is it her imagination?
He looks absolutely dreadful. His dirty blonde hair is actually dirty, multiple patches missing from his scalp, leaving red sores behind. His face is covered in blooming purple and blue bruises, and short and long cuts are scattered across his face.
His clothing looks as bad as he does himself. Every piece is torn, barely clinging to his body, slathered in dirt and blood.
Lori doesn't want to admit it to herself, but he looks like a Crank; and that's what scares her the most.
He just stands there, staring at the van, as Lori and Thomas stare back.
Lawrence keeps turning the key, trying to start up the engine. "We're okay. She's shot to hell, but hopefully she'll get us another couple of miles to the hangar." He puts the van into reverse, and manages to get the van to move. It shudders the whole time, rolling away from the wall as he begins to drive away.
Lori leans forward to look at Lawrence. "Stop the van!" She screams. "Stop it right this second!"
"What?" Lawrence questions, his face crinkling in confusion. "What're you talking about?"
Thomas leans forward also, "Just stop the freaking van!"
Lawrence does as he's told, the van pulling to a screeching halt. Before the van has even stopped, Lori and Thomas are out the door.
Lori starts to walk away with Thomas in tow, before Lawrence leans and grabs them both, pulling them back towards the vehicle. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He shouts at them.
Lori tries to pull away, but the grip on her shirt is too tight. Thomas manages to pry himself loose, and grabs his gun from his waistband, aiming it directly at Lawrence.
He looks at Lori, and she gets the hint. She twists uncomfortably in Lawrence grip, pulling her gun out of her back pocket and pointing it at Lawrence also.
"Let us go, Lawrence! Let go of us right now!"
She can feel tears burning at the back of her eyes, threatening to spill.
Lawrence lets go, holding his hands up defensively, looking at both of the guns. "Whoa, kid. Calm down! What is the matter with you two?"
Lori looks away, not wanting to say it out loud, afraid that will make it real. But it is real, and he is out there.
Thomas speaks for them both. "We saw our friend out there - we want to see if he's okay. If any trouble starts, we'll run back to the van. Just be ready to get us out of here when I do."
The pilot shakes her head disapprovingly. "You think that things out there is still your friend?" Lori feels the strongest of urges to slap the woman across her stony face. "Those Cranks are way past the Gone. Can't you both see that? Your friend is nothing but an animal now. Worse than an animal."
Lori can feel her nails digging deep into her palms, the pain keeping her from taking her anger out on the woman as she grinds her teeth.
"Then it will be a short goodbye, won't it?" Thomas bites back. He begins to walk away from the van, grabbing Lori's arm. "Cover us if we need it," he says to Lawrence and the pilot. "I have to - we have to do this."
"I'm gonna kick your butt before we get on that Berg, I can promise you that," the man says angrily. "Hurry. If those Cranks by the garage heap head this way, we start firing. I don't care if your mommy and uncle Frank are out there."
Lori takes a step towards them with her fists balled, but before she can do anything, Thomas pulls her back.
"Good that."
He slides the gun back into the back of his pants, and Lori does the same. They both turn away from their vehicle and look directly at Newt, slowly making their way over.
When they are only a few feet away from their friend, the three of them just stand their staring at each other. Newt's eyes remain the same shade, but there's something difference. Lori can see the insanity behind them, and feels her heart strain looking at him.
"Hey, Newt," Thomas starts. "It's me, Thomas. And Lori is here, too. You remember us, right?"
Lori can't help but cringe at his words. She knows he's trying his best, but he sounds so condescending.
The blonde tilts his head to the side a little, his eyes widening slightly. "I bloody remember you, Tommy. Lori, too. Of course I remember Lori. You guys just came to see me at the Palace. Ans you, Tommy, you rubbed it in that you ignored my note. I can't go completely crazy in a few days, you know."
The girl's eyebrows furrow, looking from one boy to the other. "What note?" When no one answers, she looks directly at Thomas. "Thomas, what note?" She asks with a harsh tone in her voice.
He looks at her, a sad look in his eyes. "Lori, not now," he says softly. She goes to say something back, but doesn't want to start a conflict right now. Not when she's finally seeing Newt again.