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missmara13Title: With A Whimper (Formerly 'Untitled One Shot')
Author: Mara
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mentions of violence, sex, underage drinking, character death, murder, and other nasty stuff. Nothing graphic.
Summary: Most of the world is either dead or Crazy, but in California a group of survivors tries to find a way to avoid both fates.
Notes: This picks up where the first part, the one I called a one shot, left off.
Note #2: Okay, so, this takes place sometime in late summer of 2004 (Between Season 1 and 2, and all Season 1 events did happen). I'll explain the couple of inconsistancies (like Alex being in the group already, the reference in the original one-shot of Jimmy and Julie being married, how Ryan came back to Newport from Chino and Theresa, and a character who appears in this chapter who was gone by the end of Season 1) at some point... just not in this part... lol... Probably in Part Three...
This Is How The World Ends... Not With A Bang, But A Whimper...
Part Two
Ryan managed to sleep for about 4 hours before he woke with a start and bolted straight up in bed, shaking.
"Ry?" Summer asked, sitting up beside him and rubbing his back. "Nightmare?"
Ryan nodded, his movements jerky. "They got in, and... and started... and I... I couldn't move... I just listened while they... and the blood, all over... and... her arm..."
"It was just a bad dream," Summer said gently. "Everyone's okay. Trust me, we could not have slept through Kaitlin's screams if something bad had happened."
Ryan nodded slightly, but clearly he was still troubled. "Yeah, you're... you're right." He took a deep breath and started to get up, only to have Summer pull him back. "Sum..."
"We've got hours until morning, get some more sleep, Ryan..."
"There's too much to do," Ryan replied, turning to kiss her softly. "We gotta figure out our next move, and plan supply runs."
"But... Kirsten's doing that," Summer protested.
"And she's good at planning stuff, but she's not the one going out there," Ryan replied.
"He shouldn't be the one going out," Summer said, unable to hide the bitterness in her voice. "He's the grown up and you're still a kid!"
"I don't trust Jimmy to get supplies," Ryan replied quietly. "You know that. And I'm not a kid, not anymore. Kids don't think about killing people all the time." He got up again, this time without resistance from Summer, and after moving the chair and unlocking the door headed out into the hall, greeting Alex as he did.
When Summer emerged from the room a minute later, she caught Alex's glance and shrugged. "He refuses to go back to sleep."
"4 hours is better than 5 minutes sitting on a couch with a couple kids piled on his lap," Alex replied, smiling at the memory of catching that scene a few days ago.
"I wish I knew why we're alive and sane," Summer said as she went to Alex's side and looked out the window at the dark streets, the only light coming from the almost full moon overhead. "Why those three kids downstairs survived when their parents and siblings didn't."
"Look, I'm not a philospher or any shit like that," Alex began. "But maybe it's because we're meant for something special. Maybe we're the people that can fix this world so it's not a dangerous hellhole like it was. Keep there from being as many wars."
"There do seem to be more women than men," Summer quipped, and both girls started laughing, though they tried to be quiet so as not to disturb anyone.
~~~~
Ryan closed his eyes and leaned against the wall at the foot of the stairs as he listened to the soft laughter filter down the stairs, then he took a deep breath and walked into the livingroom, where Kirsten and Luke were huddled over maps and notebooks. "The kids all in bed?" Ryan asked as he sat down on the floor next to Kirsten and looked over her shoulder.
"Tucked in and hopefully dreaming nice, peaceful, dreams," Kirsten replied, looking up and gently brushing Ryan's slightly shaggy hair off his face. "Kaitlin's watching them."
"Did you sleep at all?" Luke asked, worried.
"A couple hours," Ryan said, nodding. "So, what are you guys up to?"
"Working out the best routes out of Newport if we decide to leave," Luke explained.
"Good idea," Ryan agreed, taking a look at the map of the city and the routes they had marked. "Any ideas on where we could go?"
"My Dad owns a cabin up in the Sierras," Kirsten said. "It's big, and should be completely empty, and so should the other half dozen or so cabins that are also around the lake. There's even a big lodge where everyone used to hang out. I think we could be comfortable and safe there. We could jury rig bars on the windows, and I know the lodge probably has a full pantry of non-perishables, but we can also raid all the towns nearby. All the cabins, even the lodge, had solar power as well as gas run generators, so we'd have power, too."
"You think there were many people there when it... got bad?" Ryan asked.
"Probably not," Kirsten said. "The place was basically a ski resort, after about April it pretty much emptied out. Maybe two or 3 caretakers, the owners of the lodge, and... a few maids. A dozen people at most, and they would probably all be in the lodge."
"I like that idea," Ryan said. "But the roads are a mess, it might take us a long time to drive, so I'll need to do one hell of a supply run."
"Let Jimmy go," Kirsten began.
"I don't know if we can trust him not to wander off," Ryan replied. "Or... worse."
Kirsten nodded, knowing Ryan was right. "At least take someone with you, this time."
"We need to pick up more vehicles anyway, some big ones that can carry large groups, plus supplies."
"So, are we deciding?" Luke asked. "We're going?"
"We gotta ask Alex and Summer what they think, but... yeah, I think we need to," Ryan said. "Newport's not safe anymore. There's more and more of the Crazies wandering the streets, and... and we're better off out in the middle of nowhere."
"When we get there, a couple of us need to go inside armed, just in case the people there..." Luke began, not bothering to finish the thought as he saw Kirsten pale.
"You know it's a possibility," Ryan said gently, putting a hand on Kirsten's back. "We can hope that... that they died and that was that. But..."
"Or maybe they survived, like we did," Kirsten countered.
"They're better off if they died," Ryan replied as he got up again and headed towards the doors to the patio, going on his nightly patrol around the house.
Kirsten and Luke both watched him go, then Luke turned back to the table and slammed his fist into his leg. "He's right," he finally said. "They would be better off. I think maybe we all would be."
"Luke..."
"I'm not saying mass suicide is our best option. We're alive, we gotta fight to stay that way," Luke said. "But the people who died, they aren't see the stuff we are. They aren't living in fear, crowded in a house. They didn't see whatever the hell Ryan did in Chino before he came home."
Kirsten sighed, but nodded in agreement. "I know."
Jimmy came out of what was once Sandy's office but had become another bedroom with the addition of two matresses dropped on the floor, and walked over. "Aren't you going to bed?" he asked Kirsten.
"Still too much to do," Kirsten replied tensely, and she noticed Luke's hand resting near the but of his gun, a rifle like Alex had. She had tried to pretend there was nothing wrong with Jimmy, so she wouldn't scare the little kids or upset Kaitlin, but he'd been acting more and more erratic everyday, and she knew both Luke and Ryan were worried. "Why aren't you asleep?"
"I wanted to check on you," Jimmy said, sitting down beside her and going to rub her back.
Kirsten jumped up instead and smoothed her hands over her jeans, which already had a few stains on them. "I'm going to go check on the kids, see if Kaitlin is ready to let me take over for her," she said, making a quick exit.
~~~~
It was mostly quiet outside, and Ryan wandered around to the far side of the Cooper's yard until he could catch a glimpse of the beach far below. He saw several figures moving around, and pulled his gun from it's holster, ready in case they spotted him and started up to the houses. After a few minutes of watching them, he slowly backed away, slipped the gun abck into it's holster, and headed back for the Cohen house. They couldn't stay in Newport much longer, not when the Crazies were starting to invade the beach as well as the streets.
Early on, he'd had an idea about stealing one of the big yachts from the marina and sailing to Hawaii, were the last news reports had said the virus had somehow, miraculously, not yet struck. But now, after over a month, the chances of Hawaii still being safe and still having room for more refugees was low. And the only person among them who knew how to sail was Jimmy, and Ryan didn't trust him not to sail them straight into a storm and kill them all.
So it was Kirsten's idea of the resort town and Caleb's cabin that seemed like their best option. Maybe deep in the mountains, where hardly anyone was to begin with, they could be safe and manage to live more normal and happy lives. Ryan was almost back to the Cohen's house when the door burst open and Summer came out, looking panicked.
"What happened?" Ryan asked, pulling his gun again.
"Jimmy lost it," Summer said. "He and Luke got in an arguement and he's holding a gun on Luke."
Ryan dashed inside to find Kirsten trying to get Jimmy to lower the rifle, while Alex tried to keep a sobbing Kaitlin away. "Put it down, Jimmy!" Ryan said, lifting his pistol and aiming it. "I don't want to shoot you, but if you don't put the rifle down, I will."
"He has no right to question me!" Jimmy replied, anger radiating off of him.
"You've got no right to harass Kirsten like you are!" Luke replied, though the shaking of his hands indicated he was scared of the man in front of him.
"Put down the gun!" Ryan replied, stepping closer.
Jimmy glanced over at Ryan, then at the sobbing and terrified Kaitlin, and slowly bent to set the rifle down on the floor. Luke grabbed the gun the moment Jimmy let go of it, and Ryan started to lower his pistol in relief. He didn't want to shoot Jimmy, he really didn't, but if it was a choice between Jimmy or someone else, he knew what he would do.
"I know we're all tense, and things are really looking bad," Ryan began. "But we're gonna be out of here soon, and..." Ryan didn't get a chance to finish, as Jimmy suddenly leapt at him, grabbing for the pistol. There was a struggle for it, Jimmy trying to turn the gun on Ryan and Ryan trying to get it out of Jimmy's hands. Ryan's back slammed into the wall, and then there was a single gunshot and Ryan's face took on a look of shock as they both stopped moving.
TO BE CONTINUED...
I promise, the little inconsistances between the reality of the summer of 2004 and this universe WILL be explained... lol... after the cliffhanger is resolved next chapter, I think I may do some flashbacks... lol
Author: Mara
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mentions of violence, sex, underage drinking, character death, murder, and other nasty stuff. Nothing graphic.
Summary: Most of the world is either dead or Crazy, but in California a group of survivors tries to find a way to avoid both fates.
Notes: This picks up where the first part, the one I called a one shot, left off.
Note #2: Okay, so, this takes place sometime in late summer of 2004 (Between Season 1 and 2, and all Season 1 events did happen). I'll explain the couple of inconsistancies (like Alex being in the group already, the reference in the original one-shot of Jimmy and Julie being married, how Ryan came back to Newport from Chino and Theresa, and a character who appears in this chapter who was gone by the end of Season 1) at some point... just not in this part... lol... Probably in Part Three...
This Is How The World Ends... Not With A Bang, But A Whimper...
Part Two
Ryan managed to sleep for about 4 hours before he woke with a start and bolted straight up in bed, shaking.
"Ry?" Summer asked, sitting up beside him and rubbing his back. "Nightmare?"
Ryan nodded, his movements jerky. "They got in, and... and started... and I... I couldn't move... I just listened while they... and the blood, all over... and... her arm..."
"It was just a bad dream," Summer said gently. "Everyone's okay. Trust me, we could not have slept through Kaitlin's screams if something bad had happened."
Ryan nodded slightly, but clearly he was still troubled. "Yeah, you're... you're right." He took a deep breath and started to get up, only to have Summer pull him back. "Sum..."
"We've got hours until morning, get some more sleep, Ryan..."
"There's too much to do," Ryan replied, turning to kiss her softly. "We gotta figure out our next move, and plan supply runs."
"But... Kirsten's doing that," Summer protested.
"And she's good at planning stuff, but she's not the one going out there," Ryan replied.
"He shouldn't be the one going out," Summer said, unable to hide the bitterness in her voice. "He's the grown up and you're still a kid!"
"I don't trust Jimmy to get supplies," Ryan replied quietly. "You know that. And I'm not a kid, not anymore. Kids don't think about killing people all the time." He got up again, this time without resistance from Summer, and after moving the chair and unlocking the door headed out into the hall, greeting Alex as he did.
When Summer emerged from the room a minute later, she caught Alex's glance and shrugged. "He refuses to go back to sleep."
"4 hours is better than 5 minutes sitting on a couch with a couple kids piled on his lap," Alex replied, smiling at the memory of catching that scene a few days ago.
"I wish I knew why we're alive and sane," Summer said as she went to Alex's side and looked out the window at the dark streets, the only light coming from the almost full moon overhead. "Why those three kids downstairs survived when their parents and siblings didn't."
"Look, I'm not a philospher or any shit like that," Alex began. "But maybe it's because we're meant for something special. Maybe we're the people that can fix this world so it's not a dangerous hellhole like it was. Keep there from being as many wars."
"There do seem to be more women than men," Summer quipped, and both girls started laughing, though they tried to be quiet so as not to disturb anyone.
~~~~
Ryan closed his eyes and leaned against the wall at the foot of the stairs as he listened to the soft laughter filter down the stairs, then he took a deep breath and walked into the livingroom, where Kirsten and Luke were huddled over maps and notebooks. "The kids all in bed?" Ryan asked as he sat down on the floor next to Kirsten and looked over her shoulder.
"Tucked in and hopefully dreaming nice, peaceful, dreams," Kirsten replied, looking up and gently brushing Ryan's slightly shaggy hair off his face. "Kaitlin's watching them."
"Did you sleep at all?" Luke asked, worried.
"A couple hours," Ryan said, nodding. "So, what are you guys up to?"
"Working out the best routes out of Newport if we decide to leave," Luke explained.
"Good idea," Ryan agreed, taking a look at the map of the city and the routes they had marked. "Any ideas on where we could go?"
"My Dad owns a cabin up in the Sierras," Kirsten said. "It's big, and should be completely empty, and so should the other half dozen or so cabins that are also around the lake. There's even a big lodge where everyone used to hang out. I think we could be comfortable and safe there. We could jury rig bars on the windows, and I know the lodge probably has a full pantry of non-perishables, but we can also raid all the towns nearby. All the cabins, even the lodge, had solar power as well as gas run generators, so we'd have power, too."
"You think there were many people there when it... got bad?" Ryan asked.
"Probably not," Kirsten said. "The place was basically a ski resort, after about April it pretty much emptied out. Maybe two or 3 caretakers, the owners of the lodge, and... a few maids. A dozen people at most, and they would probably all be in the lodge."
"I like that idea," Ryan said. "But the roads are a mess, it might take us a long time to drive, so I'll need to do one hell of a supply run."
"Let Jimmy go," Kirsten began.
"I don't know if we can trust him not to wander off," Ryan replied. "Or... worse."
Kirsten nodded, knowing Ryan was right. "At least take someone with you, this time."
"We need to pick up more vehicles anyway, some big ones that can carry large groups, plus supplies."
"So, are we deciding?" Luke asked. "We're going?"
"We gotta ask Alex and Summer what they think, but... yeah, I think we need to," Ryan said. "Newport's not safe anymore. There's more and more of the Crazies wandering the streets, and... and we're better off out in the middle of nowhere."
"When we get there, a couple of us need to go inside armed, just in case the people there..." Luke began, not bothering to finish the thought as he saw Kirsten pale.
"You know it's a possibility," Ryan said gently, putting a hand on Kirsten's back. "We can hope that... that they died and that was that. But..."
"Or maybe they survived, like we did," Kirsten countered.
"They're better off if they died," Ryan replied as he got up again and headed towards the doors to the patio, going on his nightly patrol around the house.
Kirsten and Luke both watched him go, then Luke turned back to the table and slammed his fist into his leg. "He's right," he finally said. "They would be better off. I think maybe we all would be."
"Luke..."
"I'm not saying mass suicide is our best option. We're alive, we gotta fight to stay that way," Luke said. "But the people who died, they aren't see the stuff we are. They aren't living in fear, crowded in a house. They didn't see whatever the hell Ryan did in Chino before he came home."
Kirsten sighed, but nodded in agreement. "I know."
Jimmy came out of what was once Sandy's office but had become another bedroom with the addition of two matresses dropped on the floor, and walked over. "Aren't you going to bed?" he asked Kirsten.
"Still too much to do," Kirsten replied tensely, and she noticed Luke's hand resting near the but of his gun, a rifle like Alex had. She had tried to pretend there was nothing wrong with Jimmy, so she wouldn't scare the little kids or upset Kaitlin, but he'd been acting more and more erratic everyday, and she knew both Luke and Ryan were worried. "Why aren't you asleep?"
"I wanted to check on you," Jimmy said, sitting down beside her and going to rub her back.
Kirsten jumped up instead and smoothed her hands over her jeans, which already had a few stains on them. "I'm going to go check on the kids, see if Kaitlin is ready to let me take over for her," she said, making a quick exit.
~~~~
It was mostly quiet outside, and Ryan wandered around to the far side of the Cooper's yard until he could catch a glimpse of the beach far below. He saw several figures moving around, and pulled his gun from it's holster, ready in case they spotted him and started up to the houses. After a few minutes of watching them, he slowly backed away, slipped the gun abck into it's holster, and headed back for the Cohen house. They couldn't stay in Newport much longer, not when the Crazies were starting to invade the beach as well as the streets.
Early on, he'd had an idea about stealing one of the big yachts from the marina and sailing to Hawaii, were the last news reports had said the virus had somehow, miraculously, not yet struck. But now, after over a month, the chances of Hawaii still being safe and still having room for more refugees was low. And the only person among them who knew how to sail was Jimmy, and Ryan didn't trust him not to sail them straight into a storm and kill them all.
So it was Kirsten's idea of the resort town and Caleb's cabin that seemed like their best option. Maybe deep in the mountains, where hardly anyone was to begin with, they could be safe and manage to live more normal and happy lives. Ryan was almost back to the Cohen's house when the door burst open and Summer came out, looking panicked.
"What happened?" Ryan asked, pulling his gun again.
"Jimmy lost it," Summer said. "He and Luke got in an arguement and he's holding a gun on Luke."
Ryan dashed inside to find Kirsten trying to get Jimmy to lower the rifle, while Alex tried to keep a sobbing Kaitlin away. "Put it down, Jimmy!" Ryan said, lifting his pistol and aiming it. "I don't want to shoot you, but if you don't put the rifle down, I will."
"He has no right to question me!" Jimmy replied, anger radiating off of him.
"You've got no right to harass Kirsten like you are!" Luke replied, though the shaking of his hands indicated he was scared of the man in front of him.
"Put down the gun!" Ryan replied, stepping closer.
Jimmy glanced over at Ryan, then at the sobbing and terrified Kaitlin, and slowly bent to set the rifle down on the floor. Luke grabbed the gun the moment Jimmy let go of it, and Ryan started to lower his pistol in relief. He didn't want to shoot Jimmy, he really didn't, but if it was a choice between Jimmy or someone else, he knew what he would do.
"I know we're all tense, and things are really looking bad," Ryan began. "But we're gonna be out of here soon, and..." Ryan didn't get a chance to finish, as Jimmy suddenly leapt at him, grabbing for the pistol. There was a struggle for it, Jimmy trying to turn the gun on Ryan and Ryan trying to get it out of Jimmy's hands. Ryan's back slammed into the wall, and then there was a single gunshot and Ryan's face took on a look of shock as they both stopped moving.
TO BE CONTINUED...
I promise, the little inconsistances between the reality of the summer of 2004 and this universe WILL be explained... lol... after the cliffhanger is resolved next chapter, I think I may do some flashbacks... lol
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