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missmara13Title: With A Whimper (Part Four)
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: The flashback part, gives some background of how the group got together, the fates of a few missing characters...
It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means.
Kurtz from the movie "Apocalypse Now"
PART FOUR
Chino - August 2004
Ryan was finishing packing a bag in he and Theresa's bedroom, ready to get the two of them, plus Eva, to Newport in hopes of things being better there, when he heard the screams. He threw open the bedroom door only to see Eva and Theresa being attacked by a handful of their neighbors, all covered in blood and visciously clawing at the two women. He knew he should be running out to help, but he stood frozen watching the scene in horror until Theresa managed to break free and dart down the hall, leaving her attackers to join the attack on Eva.
He snapped out of his stupor to grab her and pull her into the bedroom, slamming the door and sliding the dresser in front of it while Theresa collapsed on the floor, sobbing and bleeding. "What the hell was that?!" Ryan asked as he turned and dropped down beside Theresa, who was clutching at her stomach, trying to stop the flow of blood.
"I don't know," Theresa replied as they continued to hear Eva's screams. "Deacon was coming up the walk, and mama opened the door... and then there were the others... and they just came in and started grabbing and... and clawing... We gotta get out of here, Ryan!"
Ryan nodded and went to the window sliding it open and sticking his head out to find the late afternoon air outside was still and mostly quiet. Completely silent when Eva's screams suddenly cut off. "Shit," Ryan said, turning back to the door as they heard noises coming down the hall. He dropped to the floor and picked Theresa up, trying not to flinch as she whimpered in pain, and carefully helped her out the window. Once he had followed her out, he slid under one of her arms to help her to the car.
Still bleeding heavily, Theresa struggled to get her seatbelt on as Ryan got into the driver's seat, only then realizing he didn't have the keys. "Shit," Ryan muttered, glancing back at the house then at Theresa. "Wait here, I'll be back," he said, jumping out again and sneaking up to the house. He slowly walked in, listening to their neighbors, their friends, trying to break down the bedroom door, and he went straight for the key holder in the kitchen. Just as he wrapped his hand around the keychain, he heard a footfall behind him and turned, spotting Deacon, a guy he'd once called a friend, staring at him with blood smeared on his face and dripping from his fingertips.
"Deke..." Ryan began. "What are you doing, man?"
Deacon didn't reply, just started towards Ryan, letting out a sound like a growl. Ryan turned and ran back through the house, only to get tackled by Deacon as they got outside. Ryan was left dazed for just a moment as his head hit the front walk, but when he felt Deacon's fingers digging into his upper arm and drawing blood, he wrenched around and slammed the other man to the ground, then grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head again and again until he stopped moving.
Ryan froze for a minute, horrified by what was happening and what he had just done, then jumped up and ran for the car, wiping blood off his face from the gash on his forehead. When he climbed inside he immediately started the car and glanced over at Theresa, who was looking pale and shaking slightly. "It's gonna be okay," he said. "I'll get you to the hospital... you'll be okay..."
~~~~
The hospital was in worse shape than their neighborhood. Overloaded with dead and dying, with security and police in the parking lot trying to subdue several people who seemed to have lost it like Deacon and the others had. But none of that mattered, because by the time Ryan screeched to a stop outside the ER and ran around to the passenger side to help her, Theresa was gasping raggedly for air and there was blood all over her side of the car.
"Theresa," Ryan whispered, tears streaming down his face.
"Go home, Ryan," Theresa whispered, coughing slightly as blood bubbled up in her throat. "Go home to your family."
"You're my family, you and the..."
"Thank you, for trying," Theresa said.
"Don't try to talk," Ryan insisted. "I let you down, I didn't protect you..."
"I... I love you," Theresa said, trying to smile as she lifted a bloody hand to stroke Ryan's cheek.
"I love you, too," Ryan replied, wanting her to hear the words.
Theresa smiled one last time and took a breath, then let out a shudder and stilled.
"Theresa?" Ryan asked softly, reaching out to check her pulse and coming back with nothing. "Oh god," he said, bowing his head as he realized she was dead.
"What the hell?"
Ryan looked and saw a bloody, but still rational, cop standing over him, staring. "They attacked us at home," Ryan said. "Killed Eva, and did... did this to Theresa..."
"She your girlfriend?" the cop asked.
"We were having a baby," Ryan replied as he turned and sat against the side of the car, letting the cop lean in to check Theresa's pulse. "And we were gonna go to my family, in Newport... we thought it might be safer there..."
The cop picked Theresa's body up, and looked down at Ryan again. "Go," he said. "Chino's not gonna get better, last I heard this is happening everywhere. Go be with you family while you can."
Ryan watched him go inside with Theresa's body, then stood and slammed the passenger door again. He'd go back to Newport, and he'd make sure no one else he loved got killed.
~~~~
As he drove through Newport in as the sun started to go down, the streets were eerily empty, and when he pulled up to the gates, there was no security on duty, giving him his first signs that things were bad here too. When he pulled into the Cohen driveway, the door opened and Kirsten ran out to wrap her arms around him, not noticing immediately that he was covered in dried blood.
"Thank god you're okay," she cried into his hair.
"Theresa and Eva are dead," Ryan replied, burying his face against Kirsten's shoulder. "Some of our neighbors... they just... they killed Eva and Theresa..."
"Julie tried to kill Jimmy," Kirsten said. "We thought it was grief, because of Marissa..."
"Marissa?" Ryan asked softly, dreading the answer.
"Late last night," Kirsten explained. "She... she died, from the flu or whatever it is."
"Is Mr. Cooper okay?" Ryan asked.
"He went to see Julie at my dad's, and whens he attacked him... he accidentally pushed her down the stairs," Kirsten said. "She's dead. Jimmy and Kaitlin are inside, so are Summer and her dad."
Ryan nodded. "Sandy and Seth are okay, right?"
"They're sick," Kirsten admitted.
Ryan turned and slammed his fist into the trunk of Theresa's car. "They're gonna die, too, aren't they?" he asked.
"Neil thinks so," Kirsten replied, shaking with surpressed emotion. "The hospitals are overflowing, and people there... they're acting..."
"They're killing other people," Ryan finished the thought, turning back to face Kirsten. "Same as in Chino."
When Kirsten finally got a clear view of Ryan, not tainted by her joy of him simply being there and alive, she faltered, taking in the blood that covered him almost completely. "What happened?" she asked, moving to touch the gash on his head.
Ryan opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again, not respondign for a long and painful moment. "A couple of our neighbors attacked the house," he finally said. "Killed Eva in the living room... I managed to get Theresa out of the house but had to go back for the keys, and one of them... he found me and... he managed to tackle me as we got outside. My head hit the ground." He shrugged and pulled away from Kirsten's soft touch. "A lot of the blood is Theresa's. I tried to get her to the hospital, but... she died."
"I'm so sorry, baby," Kirsten said, pulling him into another hug.
"I wanna see Sandy and Seth," Ryan said. "Please."
Kirsten nodded and led him inside. They went straight to the living room, where Seth lay on the couch while Summer held a cool cloth to his head, and Sandy sat in a chair looking far too pale and still as Neil checked on him. When they walked in, Neil looked up and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Kirsten." Kirsten started to crumble in on herself and Ryan turned to catch her, holding her as she sobbed.
"He's dead?" Seth asked weakly, coughing.
"Yeah, Seth" Ryan said, staring numbly at Sandy's face until Neil covered the man with a blanket. "He's dead."
~~~~
"Hey, man," Ryan said later that night when he took over Seth Duty so Summer could sleep.
"Hey," Seth replied.
"So, what happened to Tahiti?"
"Storm off Catalina," Seth said, his voice scratchy. "Kinda ran out of food, too. When I docked, there was no one around, and when I finally found someone, they had a cold and said half the country did, too. So I sold the Summer Breeze, bought a bus ticket, and came home. Dad was already sniffling."
"Theresa's dead," Ryan said. "She... she got hurt..."
"By some of the Crazies?" Seth asked.
"Crazies?"
Seth grinned slightly. "Like the name? I think it works. Better than Zombies since they don't seem to be after Brains."
Ryan offered a pained smile. "Yeah, I like it. And yeah, it was some of them. They tore into her... I tried to get her to the hospital, but... she lost too much blood. She died in the parking lot."
"Sorry, man."
"This is all so fucked up."
"I'm with you there," Seth said. They sat in silence for a minute before Seth spoke again. "Remember the whole 'United we're unstoppable' thing?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Well, you're still unstoppable, Ry," Seth said. "Just... stay with everybody, don't get all broody and run off to fight the world alone."
"Seth..."
"Look, maybe you're not unstoppable, but I need to know you're gonna take care of Mom and Summer, and I know if you're with them, they'll take care of you, too. So just... promise me you'll stay."
Ryan hesitated, but finally nodded, reaching up to first pump knuckles with Seth, then grasp his brother's hand. "You got it, Seth. I'm not leaving without them."
~~~~
Seth was gone by the next morning, died in his sleep with Summer holding him. The Coroner had long since stopped taking bodies, so no on bothered to try calling. Instead Ryan and Neil had carried him down to the beach and buried Seth next to where they had buried Sandy the previous evening.
Kirsten had collapsed afterwards, and Neil had taken her to she and Sandy's room, giving her a sleeping pill and sitting with her while she slept. Jimmy took Kaitlin into the livingroom and they tried to clean it up to be helpful. And Ryan stole several bottles of wine and beer from the house and took Summer to the poolhouse so they could get drunk and maybe forget for 5 minutes just how many people around them had died in a matter of a few days.
"To the end of the world," Summer said, raising a glass when they were both already a little drink. "May it hurry up and finish the rest of us off, too."
"I'm with you there," Ryan agreed, downing half a bottle of vodka, which Summer had told him was Marissa's and that was enough for him to claim it as his own, in one gulp. "The two girls I've ever really loved are both dead. My baby's dead. Sandy and seth are dead. Why the hell am I alive?"
"Because Kirsten needs you," Summer said. "I need you. I can't lose you, too."
Ryan wrapped an arm around Summer as she began to cry softly. "I won't let you die, Summer. You're not allowed."
Summer laughed harshly and looked up at him in disbelief. "Yeah, sure, you're all powerful and can do that."
"Listen to me," Ryan insisted, cradling her face in his hands. "As long as I'm alive, I swear, I won't let anyone hurt you."
Summer nodded, then suddenly she was kissing him and he was rolling her onto her back on the bed, both of them pulling at their clothes. Blame it on being drunk, scared, and alone, but they needed to feel connected to someone who understood.
~~~~
Hours later, they woke to screaming. Ryan was buttoning his jeans and running around the side of the house before Summer was even on her feet, a fact he was grateful for when he saw Neil on the ground, his throat ripped out by the woman who was advancing on Jimmy and Kaitlin, the source of the scream.
This time, Ryan didn't hesitate and he grabbed the shovel that had been left by the door after the burial earlier. He swung it and slammed it into the attackers head, sending the woman stumbling. Ryan took another swing without hesitation, then a third. When the woman hit the ground, Ryan stood over her, chest heaving and ready to hit again if the woman so much as twitched, but there was no movement, and when Summer screamed and dropped down beside Neil, shaking him and crying, Ryan dropped the shovel and went to her, pulling her away from Neil and turning her away so she couldn't see it anymore. "I know," he said into her hair as she sobbed.
~~~~
Ryan carried Neil's body down by himself, as Summer trailed behind, and they buried the man on the other side of Seth. Summer cried again, silently this time and with only a slight tremor running through her body as she stood and stared at the sheet wrapped body of her father, watching as it disappeared under the sand Ryan scooped over him. "We're all going to die, aren't we?" she finally whispered as Ryan moved to stand beside her.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Ryan replied, putting a hand on her back. "Let's go back up."
Summer nodded and wrapped an arm around Ryan's waist as they started back up the path, his eyes scanning everywhere for danger, and her's downcast.
~~~~
He met Alex a week later, when he finally convince Kirsten that someone needed to go get supplies. Newport was already a ghost town, and Ryan had decided to make his first stop a conveniance store that had been smashed open at some point. He was crouched down behind the counter, trying to ignore the already decomposing body of the clerk as he grabbed a couple packs of cigarettes, when he heard glass being crushed under someone's feet. He dropped down further and reached over, pulling the handgun from the rotting hand that held it against a rotting chest.
"Shit it stinks," a girl's voice muttered, and Ryan couldn't help sighing in relief.
He was already pretty sure the people who had lost their minds couldn't form coherent sentences anymore, so he slowly stood and revealed himself. "Hey," he called, gripping the gun below the height of the counter. The girl turned, and Ryan's first thought was that she would have fit in with some of his friends back in Chino far better than she would fit in here in Newport. She didn't look like someone to be messed with, and he found that reassuring.
"Just checking here, but you don't have any urges to jump over the counter and try to rip my arm off or rip out my throat do you?" she asked, and Ryan grinned.
"Same question to you," he replied. "Ryan Atwood," he said, flipping the safety on the gun and tucking it into the back of his pants before stretching his right hand across the counter to her.
"Alex Kelly," she replied, shaking his hand. "Did I see a gun?"
Ryan nodded and pulled the gun back out to show her. "Can't be to careful, and I don't think he was gonna use it," he said, gesturing at the clerk.
"Yeah, pretty sure the freaks out there aren't Zombies, so I doubt he'll be rising from the dead," Alex replied. "You raiding for food?"
"Right now for cigarettes," Ryan replied, holding out a pack and smiling as Alex took it and ripped it open. "You on your own?"
"You try anything and that gun isn't gonna protect you," Alex threatened.
"No, I just... my family has room for another person, if you'd rather be in a group. There's 3 women there already, compared to two of us guys, so we're already out numbered, you'd make it 2 to 1."
Alex smirked. "Do I get a gun?" she said as she lit her cigarette and offered Ryan the lighter to light one for himself. "I gave up a while back, but if there's ever a time to start..."
"We can raid a pawn shop next," Ryan promised. "So? You coming with me?"
Alex shrugged. "Got nothing better to do. My family's dead, no one gonna be coming to the club I'm suppose to be managing, since everyone's dead or crazy."
"Let's grab some food and get moving," Ryan said, starting back around the counter.
"Don't forget a couple cartons, Ryan," Alex said. "Gotta keep me in cigarettes or I'm gonna have to ditch you."
Ryan tossed her a half dozen cartons. "Happy?"
"Very."
~~~~
They found Luke a few days after that. Ryan and Summer were checking the houses of friends, and they'd decided to check on Luke's mom and brothers. They'd entered the Ward home to find it silent, then heard ragged breathing and harsh gasps from the backyard and found Luke trying to dig graves for three sheet wrapped bundles that laid beside him on the ground.
"Luke?" Ryan called.
Luke looked up and sagged, only the shovel keeping him on his feet. "Thank god someone else is alive," he said.
"What happened?" Summer asked. "They... they all got sick?"
"Eric and Brad did," Luke said, his voice cracking. "Mom killed herself when she found them."
Ryan walked over and pulled the shovel from Luke's hands. "I'll dig for a while," he said, gently pushing Luke towards the patio chairs.
"What are you doing here, Luke?" Summer asked as he sat down and she sat beside him, putting a comforting arm around him.
"I wanted to visit them before school started up again," Luke explained. "Now... my dad was sick when he called yesterday, and now he's not answering."
"Coop, Julie, Sandy, Seth, and my dad are all dead," Summer said slowly.
"So's Theresa, her mom, and the baby," Ryan added as he kept digging.
"I'm sorry, man," Luke said.
"We're rallying people at the Cohen's," Summer said. "Ryan met up with this girl, Alex, a few days ago, and she's nice, and good with a rifle, so if... if the people who..."
"Some woman killed Dr. Roberts," Ryan said.
"She ripped out my dad's throat," Summer said.
"Shit," was the only thing Luke could get out.
~~~~
Finding Jessie was more of an accident than either Alex or Luke had been. Ryan had been out alone again, and gone into the mall because he wanted to try and find a worldband radio, see if he could figure out more of what was happening now that the news was off. And while he was grabbing batteries, he heard the sound of a child screaming and stuffed the batteries in his bag beside the radio before he sprinted towards the sound. When he turned a corner, he saw a woman trying to pull a little girl out of the playhouse set up in the middle of a courtyard. "Hey!" he yelled, catching the woman's attention and spotting the dried blood on her clothes and hands that had already become the signature of the 'Crazies'. They didn't care how they looked, and let the blood stay there, making it easier for Ryan, Alex, and Luke, the three who usually went on supply runs, to recognize the danger.
The woman started towards Ryan and he pulled his gun, dropping his bag so he could move faster, and noting that she didn't hesitate to charge at him. Neither did he as he pulled the trigger and hit her in the leg and leaving her on the floor, struggling to crawl at him. Ryan ran around her to the playset and looked inside the playhouse to see a sobbing little girl. "It's okay, you're safe," he said.
"Why'd my mom try to hurt me?" she asked.
Ryan glanced over his shoulder at the woman, then back at the girl. "She's sick in the head because of the virus," he said. "Please, sweetie, you gotta come with me. Your mommy isn't going to get better, and you're not safe."
The little girl hesitated, then scrambled out of the playhouse and latched onto Ryan, who bent to scoop her up and run for the rover that waited right ouside the main entrance. He opened the driver's side door and let the little girl climb over into the passenger side first, then tossed his backpack onto the floor before jumping in and starting the engine. He peeled out of the parking lot, one arm going out to make sure the girl didn't go flying and the other keeping a tight grip on the steering wheel. "What's your name?" he asked once they were away.
"Jessie."
"Well, Jessie, I'm Ryan. And I'm gonna take you somewhere safe," Ryan promised.
~~~~
5 year-old Josh and 3 year-old Marnie were cousins, and Ryan spotted them on a playground three weeks after his return to Newport, Josh pushing Marnie in a swing. "Hi," he said as he approached the pair, who looked up curiously and with a hint of fear. "Where are your parents?"
"They got sick," Josh said.
"House smells icky," Marnie added.
Ryan whinced. "They stopped waking up, didn't they?" he asked.
Josh nodded. "Daddy said it's the end of the world. Then he went into his office and there was a bang."
Ryan swallowed to keep from throwing up. "How would you guys like to come with me? We've got some nice sugary cereal at my house, and I'll bet someone can tell you some bedtime stories."
"We gotta ask our mommies."
"Where are they?" Ryan asked.
Josh pointed. "Aunt Callie brought Marnie over when Uncle David died, so she's asleep in the livingroom with my mommy."
"How about I go ask them, and I'll come back to tell you what they said?" Ryan offered.
"Okay!" Josh said, smiling.
Ryan quickly went to the house, pretending to knock and acting like he'd been invited in, not wanting to further scare the two kids. He found two women in the livingroom, both clearly dead a few days, then found a man with a bullet in his head in an office. going deeper into the house, he found Josh's room, where clearly Marnie had been sleeping too, and gathered clothes and a few toys for them. It looked like they had gained two more kids to watch, two more mouths to feed, tow mroe lives to protect.
But Ryan wouldn't leave them for anything in the world.
TO BE CONTINUED....
Next chap is back to the present, but I wanted to quickly recap the events that led up to everyone gathering together.
Later
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: The flashback part, gives some background of how the group got together, the fates of a few missing characters...
It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means.
Kurtz from the movie "Apocalypse Now"
PART FOUR
Chino - August 2004
Ryan was finishing packing a bag in he and Theresa's bedroom, ready to get the two of them, plus Eva, to Newport in hopes of things being better there, when he heard the screams. He threw open the bedroom door only to see Eva and Theresa being attacked by a handful of their neighbors, all covered in blood and visciously clawing at the two women. He knew he should be running out to help, but he stood frozen watching the scene in horror until Theresa managed to break free and dart down the hall, leaving her attackers to join the attack on Eva.
He snapped out of his stupor to grab her and pull her into the bedroom, slamming the door and sliding the dresser in front of it while Theresa collapsed on the floor, sobbing and bleeding. "What the hell was that?!" Ryan asked as he turned and dropped down beside Theresa, who was clutching at her stomach, trying to stop the flow of blood.
"I don't know," Theresa replied as they continued to hear Eva's screams. "Deacon was coming up the walk, and mama opened the door... and then there were the others... and they just came in and started grabbing and... and clawing... We gotta get out of here, Ryan!"
Ryan nodded and went to the window sliding it open and sticking his head out to find the late afternoon air outside was still and mostly quiet. Completely silent when Eva's screams suddenly cut off. "Shit," Ryan said, turning back to the door as they heard noises coming down the hall. He dropped to the floor and picked Theresa up, trying not to flinch as she whimpered in pain, and carefully helped her out the window. Once he had followed her out, he slid under one of her arms to help her to the car.
Still bleeding heavily, Theresa struggled to get her seatbelt on as Ryan got into the driver's seat, only then realizing he didn't have the keys. "Shit," Ryan muttered, glancing back at the house then at Theresa. "Wait here, I'll be back," he said, jumping out again and sneaking up to the house. He slowly walked in, listening to their neighbors, their friends, trying to break down the bedroom door, and he went straight for the key holder in the kitchen. Just as he wrapped his hand around the keychain, he heard a footfall behind him and turned, spotting Deacon, a guy he'd once called a friend, staring at him with blood smeared on his face and dripping from his fingertips.
"Deke..." Ryan began. "What are you doing, man?"
Deacon didn't reply, just started towards Ryan, letting out a sound like a growl. Ryan turned and ran back through the house, only to get tackled by Deacon as they got outside. Ryan was left dazed for just a moment as his head hit the front walk, but when he felt Deacon's fingers digging into his upper arm and drawing blood, he wrenched around and slammed the other man to the ground, then grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head again and again until he stopped moving.
Ryan froze for a minute, horrified by what was happening and what he had just done, then jumped up and ran for the car, wiping blood off his face from the gash on his forehead. When he climbed inside he immediately started the car and glanced over at Theresa, who was looking pale and shaking slightly. "It's gonna be okay," he said. "I'll get you to the hospital... you'll be okay..."
~~~~
The hospital was in worse shape than their neighborhood. Overloaded with dead and dying, with security and police in the parking lot trying to subdue several people who seemed to have lost it like Deacon and the others had. But none of that mattered, because by the time Ryan screeched to a stop outside the ER and ran around to the passenger side to help her, Theresa was gasping raggedly for air and there was blood all over her side of the car.
"Theresa," Ryan whispered, tears streaming down his face.
"Go home, Ryan," Theresa whispered, coughing slightly as blood bubbled up in her throat. "Go home to your family."
"You're my family, you and the..."
"Thank you, for trying," Theresa said.
"Don't try to talk," Ryan insisted. "I let you down, I didn't protect you..."
"I... I love you," Theresa said, trying to smile as she lifted a bloody hand to stroke Ryan's cheek.
"I love you, too," Ryan replied, wanting her to hear the words.
Theresa smiled one last time and took a breath, then let out a shudder and stilled.
"Theresa?" Ryan asked softly, reaching out to check her pulse and coming back with nothing. "Oh god," he said, bowing his head as he realized she was dead.
"What the hell?"
Ryan looked and saw a bloody, but still rational, cop standing over him, staring. "They attacked us at home," Ryan said. "Killed Eva, and did... did this to Theresa..."
"She your girlfriend?" the cop asked.
"We were having a baby," Ryan replied as he turned and sat against the side of the car, letting the cop lean in to check Theresa's pulse. "And we were gonna go to my family, in Newport... we thought it might be safer there..."
The cop picked Theresa's body up, and looked down at Ryan again. "Go," he said. "Chino's not gonna get better, last I heard this is happening everywhere. Go be with you family while you can."
Ryan watched him go inside with Theresa's body, then stood and slammed the passenger door again. He'd go back to Newport, and he'd make sure no one else he loved got killed.
~~~~
As he drove through Newport in as the sun started to go down, the streets were eerily empty, and when he pulled up to the gates, there was no security on duty, giving him his first signs that things were bad here too. When he pulled into the Cohen driveway, the door opened and Kirsten ran out to wrap her arms around him, not noticing immediately that he was covered in dried blood.
"Thank god you're okay," she cried into his hair.
"Theresa and Eva are dead," Ryan replied, burying his face against Kirsten's shoulder. "Some of our neighbors... they just... they killed Eva and Theresa..."
"Julie tried to kill Jimmy," Kirsten said. "We thought it was grief, because of Marissa..."
"Marissa?" Ryan asked softly, dreading the answer.
"Late last night," Kirsten explained. "She... she died, from the flu or whatever it is."
"Is Mr. Cooper okay?" Ryan asked.
"He went to see Julie at my dad's, and whens he attacked him... he accidentally pushed her down the stairs," Kirsten said. "She's dead. Jimmy and Kaitlin are inside, so are Summer and her dad."
Ryan nodded. "Sandy and Seth are okay, right?"
"They're sick," Kirsten admitted.
Ryan turned and slammed his fist into the trunk of Theresa's car. "They're gonna die, too, aren't they?" he asked.
"Neil thinks so," Kirsten replied, shaking with surpressed emotion. "The hospitals are overflowing, and people there... they're acting..."
"They're killing other people," Ryan finished the thought, turning back to face Kirsten. "Same as in Chino."
When Kirsten finally got a clear view of Ryan, not tainted by her joy of him simply being there and alive, she faltered, taking in the blood that covered him almost completely. "What happened?" she asked, moving to touch the gash on his head.
Ryan opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again, not respondign for a long and painful moment. "A couple of our neighbors attacked the house," he finally said. "Killed Eva in the living room... I managed to get Theresa out of the house but had to go back for the keys, and one of them... he found me and... he managed to tackle me as we got outside. My head hit the ground." He shrugged and pulled away from Kirsten's soft touch. "A lot of the blood is Theresa's. I tried to get her to the hospital, but... she died."
"I'm so sorry, baby," Kirsten said, pulling him into another hug.
"I wanna see Sandy and Seth," Ryan said. "Please."
Kirsten nodded and led him inside. They went straight to the living room, where Seth lay on the couch while Summer held a cool cloth to his head, and Sandy sat in a chair looking far too pale and still as Neil checked on him. When they walked in, Neil looked up and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Kirsten." Kirsten started to crumble in on herself and Ryan turned to catch her, holding her as she sobbed.
"He's dead?" Seth asked weakly, coughing.
"Yeah, Seth" Ryan said, staring numbly at Sandy's face until Neil covered the man with a blanket. "He's dead."
~~~~
"Hey, man," Ryan said later that night when he took over Seth Duty so Summer could sleep.
"Hey," Seth replied.
"So, what happened to Tahiti?"
"Storm off Catalina," Seth said, his voice scratchy. "Kinda ran out of food, too. When I docked, there was no one around, and when I finally found someone, they had a cold and said half the country did, too. So I sold the Summer Breeze, bought a bus ticket, and came home. Dad was already sniffling."
"Theresa's dead," Ryan said. "She... she got hurt..."
"By some of the Crazies?" Seth asked.
"Crazies?"
Seth grinned slightly. "Like the name? I think it works. Better than Zombies since they don't seem to be after Brains."
Ryan offered a pained smile. "Yeah, I like it. And yeah, it was some of them. They tore into her... I tried to get her to the hospital, but... she lost too much blood. She died in the parking lot."
"Sorry, man."
"This is all so fucked up."
"I'm with you there," Seth said. They sat in silence for a minute before Seth spoke again. "Remember the whole 'United we're unstoppable' thing?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Well, you're still unstoppable, Ry," Seth said. "Just... stay with everybody, don't get all broody and run off to fight the world alone."
"Seth..."
"Look, maybe you're not unstoppable, but I need to know you're gonna take care of Mom and Summer, and I know if you're with them, they'll take care of you, too. So just... promise me you'll stay."
Ryan hesitated, but finally nodded, reaching up to first pump knuckles with Seth, then grasp his brother's hand. "You got it, Seth. I'm not leaving without them."
~~~~
Seth was gone by the next morning, died in his sleep with Summer holding him. The Coroner had long since stopped taking bodies, so no on bothered to try calling. Instead Ryan and Neil had carried him down to the beach and buried Seth next to where they had buried Sandy the previous evening.
Kirsten had collapsed afterwards, and Neil had taken her to she and Sandy's room, giving her a sleeping pill and sitting with her while she slept. Jimmy took Kaitlin into the livingroom and they tried to clean it up to be helpful. And Ryan stole several bottles of wine and beer from the house and took Summer to the poolhouse so they could get drunk and maybe forget for 5 minutes just how many people around them had died in a matter of a few days.
"To the end of the world," Summer said, raising a glass when they were both already a little drink. "May it hurry up and finish the rest of us off, too."
"I'm with you there," Ryan agreed, downing half a bottle of vodka, which Summer had told him was Marissa's and that was enough for him to claim it as his own, in one gulp. "The two girls I've ever really loved are both dead. My baby's dead. Sandy and seth are dead. Why the hell am I alive?"
"Because Kirsten needs you," Summer said. "I need you. I can't lose you, too."
Ryan wrapped an arm around Summer as she began to cry softly. "I won't let you die, Summer. You're not allowed."
Summer laughed harshly and looked up at him in disbelief. "Yeah, sure, you're all powerful and can do that."
"Listen to me," Ryan insisted, cradling her face in his hands. "As long as I'm alive, I swear, I won't let anyone hurt you."
Summer nodded, then suddenly she was kissing him and he was rolling her onto her back on the bed, both of them pulling at their clothes. Blame it on being drunk, scared, and alone, but they needed to feel connected to someone who understood.
~~~~
Hours later, they woke to screaming. Ryan was buttoning his jeans and running around the side of the house before Summer was even on her feet, a fact he was grateful for when he saw Neil on the ground, his throat ripped out by the woman who was advancing on Jimmy and Kaitlin, the source of the scream.
This time, Ryan didn't hesitate and he grabbed the shovel that had been left by the door after the burial earlier. He swung it and slammed it into the attackers head, sending the woman stumbling. Ryan took another swing without hesitation, then a third. When the woman hit the ground, Ryan stood over her, chest heaving and ready to hit again if the woman so much as twitched, but there was no movement, and when Summer screamed and dropped down beside Neil, shaking him and crying, Ryan dropped the shovel and went to her, pulling her away from Neil and turning her away so she couldn't see it anymore. "I know," he said into her hair as she sobbed.
~~~~
Ryan carried Neil's body down by himself, as Summer trailed behind, and they buried the man on the other side of Seth. Summer cried again, silently this time and with only a slight tremor running through her body as she stood and stared at the sheet wrapped body of her father, watching as it disappeared under the sand Ryan scooped over him. "We're all going to die, aren't we?" she finally whispered as Ryan moved to stand beside her.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Ryan replied, putting a hand on her back. "Let's go back up."
Summer nodded and wrapped an arm around Ryan's waist as they started back up the path, his eyes scanning everywhere for danger, and her's downcast.
~~~~
He met Alex a week later, when he finally convince Kirsten that someone needed to go get supplies. Newport was already a ghost town, and Ryan had decided to make his first stop a conveniance store that had been smashed open at some point. He was crouched down behind the counter, trying to ignore the already decomposing body of the clerk as he grabbed a couple packs of cigarettes, when he heard glass being crushed under someone's feet. He dropped down further and reached over, pulling the handgun from the rotting hand that held it against a rotting chest.
"Shit it stinks," a girl's voice muttered, and Ryan couldn't help sighing in relief.
He was already pretty sure the people who had lost their minds couldn't form coherent sentences anymore, so he slowly stood and revealed himself. "Hey," he called, gripping the gun below the height of the counter. The girl turned, and Ryan's first thought was that she would have fit in with some of his friends back in Chino far better than she would fit in here in Newport. She didn't look like someone to be messed with, and he found that reassuring.
"Just checking here, but you don't have any urges to jump over the counter and try to rip my arm off or rip out my throat do you?" she asked, and Ryan grinned.
"Same question to you," he replied. "Ryan Atwood," he said, flipping the safety on the gun and tucking it into the back of his pants before stretching his right hand across the counter to her.
"Alex Kelly," she replied, shaking his hand. "Did I see a gun?"
Ryan nodded and pulled the gun back out to show her. "Can't be to careful, and I don't think he was gonna use it," he said, gesturing at the clerk.
"Yeah, pretty sure the freaks out there aren't Zombies, so I doubt he'll be rising from the dead," Alex replied. "You raiding for food?"
"Right now for cigarettes," Ryan replied, holding out a pack and smiling as Alex took it and ripped it open. "You on your own?"
"You try anything and that gun isn't gonna protect you," Alex threatened.
"No, I just... my family has room for another person, if you'd rather be in a group. There's 3 women there already, compared to two of us guys, so we're already out numbered, you'd make it 2 to 1."
Alex smirked. "Do I get a gun?" she said as she lit her cigarette and offered Ryan the lighter to light one for himself. "I gave up a while back, but if there's ever a time to start..."
"We can raid a pawn shop next," Ryan promised. "So? You coming with me?"
Alex shrugged. "Got nothing better to do. My family's dead, no one gonna be coming to the club I'm suppose to be managing, since everyone's dead or crazy."
"Let's grab some food and get moving," Ryan said, starting back around the counter.
"Don't forget a couple cartons, Ryan," Alex said. "Gotta keep me in cigarettes or I'm gonna have to ditch you."
Ryan tossed her a half dozen cartons. "Happy?"
"Very."
~~~~
They found Luke a few days after that. Ryan and Summer were checking the houses of friends, and they'd decided to check on Luke's mom and brothers. They'd entered the Ward home to find it silent, then heard ragged breathing and harsh gasps from the backyard and found Luke trying to dig graves for three sheet wrapped bundles that laid beside him on the ground.
"Luke?" Ryan called.
Luke looked up and sagged, only the shovel keeping him on his feet. "Thank god someone else is alive," he said.
"What happened?" Summer asked. "They... they all got sick?"
"Eric and Brad did," Luke said, his voice cracking. "Mom killed herself when she found them."
Ryan walked over and pulled the shovel from Luke's hands. "I'll dig for a while," he said, gently pushing Luke towards the patio chairs.
"What are you doing here, Luke?" Summer asked as he sat down and she sat beside him, putting a comforting arm around him.
"I wanted to visit them before school started up again," Luke explained. "Now... my dad was sick when he called yesterday, and now he's not answering."
"Coop, Julie, Sandy, Seth, and my dad are all dead," Summer said slowly.
"So's Theresa, her mom, and the baby," Ryan added as he kept digging.
"I'm sorry, man," Luke said.
"We're rallying people at the Cohen's," Summer said. "Ryan met up with this girl, Alex, a few days ago, and she's nice, and good with a rifle, so if... if the people who..."
"Some woman killed Dr. Roberts," Ryan said.
"She ripped out my dad's throat," Summer said.
"Shit," was the only thing Luke could get out.
~~~~
Finding Jessie was more of an accident than either Alex or Luke had been. Ryan had been out alone again, and gone into the mall because he wanted to try and find a worldband radio, see if he could figure out more of what was happening now that the news was off. And while he was grabbing batteries, he heard the sound of a child screaming and stuffed the batteries in his bag beside the radio before he sprinted towards the sound. When he turned a corner, he saw a woman trying to pull a little girl out of the playhouse set up in the middle of a courtyard. "Hey!" he yelled, catching the woman's attention and spotting the dried blood on her clothes and hands that had already become the signature of the 'Crazies'. They didn't care how they looked, and let the blood stay there, making it easier for Ryan, Alex, and Luke, the three who usually went on supply runs, to recognize the danger.
The woman started towards Ryan and he pulled his gun, dropping his bag so he could move faster, and noting that she didn't hesitate to charge at him. Neither did he as he pulled the trigger and hit her in the leg and leaving her on the floor, struggling to crawl at him. Ryan ran around her to the playset and looked inside the playhouse to see a sobbing little girl. "It's okay, you're safe," he said.
"Why'd my mom try to hurt me?" she asked.
Ryan glanced over his shoulder at the woman, then back at the girl. "She's sick in the head because of the virus," he said. "Please, sweetie, you gotta come with me. Your mommy isn't going to get better, and you're not safe."
The little girl hesitated, then scrambled out of the playhouse and latched onto Ryan, who bent to scoop her up and run for the rover that waited right ouside the main entrance. He opened the driver's side door and let the little girl climb over into the passenger side first, then tossed his backpack onto the floor before jumping in and starting the engine. He peeled out of the parking lot, one arm going out to make sure the girl didn't go flying and the other keeping a tight grip on the steering wheel. "What's your name?" he asked once they were away.
"Jessie."
"Well, Jessie, I'm Ryan. And I'm gonna take you somewhere safe," Ryan promised.
~~~~
5 year-old Josh and 3 year-old Marnie were cousins, and Ryan spotted them on a playground three weeks after his return to Newport, Josh pushing Marnie in a swing. "Hi," he said as he approached the pair, who looked up curiously and with a hint of fear. "Where are your parents?"
"They got sick," Josh said.
"House smells icky," Marnie added.
Ryan whinced. "They stopped waking up, didn't they?" he asked.
Josh nodded. "Daddy said it's the end of the world. Then he went into his office and there was a bang."
Ryan swallowed to keep from throwing up. "How would you guys like to come with me? We've got some nice sugary cereal at my house, and I'll bet someone can tell you some bedtime stories."
"We gotta ask our mommies."
"Where are they?" Ryan asked.
Josh pointed. "Aunt Callie brought Marnie over when Uncle David died, so she's asleep in the livingroom with my mommy."
"How about I go ask them, and I'll come back to tell you what they said?" Ryan offered.
"Okay!" Josh said, smiling.
Ryan quickly went to the house, pretending to knock and acting like he'd been invited in, not wanting to further scare the two kids. He found two women in the livingroom, both clearly dead a few days, then found a man with a bullet in his head in an office. going deeper into the house, he found Josh's room, where clearly Marnie had been sleeping too, and gathered clothes and a few toys for them. It looked like they had gained two more kids to watch, two more mouths to feed, tow mroe lives to protect.
But Ryan wouldn't leave them for anything in the world.
TO BE CONTINUED....
Next chap is back to the present, but I wanted to quickly recap the events that led up to everyone gathering together.
Later
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2006-10-13 06:18 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2006-10-13 07:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-13 02:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-13 06:26 pm (UTC)Plus, Summer's already lost Marissa, Seth, and her dad... I can see her being drawn to someone who WASN'T going out and finding trouble... who WASN'T gonna get in the thick of things and put himself at risk all the time... Zach being boring and a non-fighter is safer for Summer's heart, less chance he'll end up dead...
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Date: 2006-10-14 11:06 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2006-10-14 06:26 pm (UTC)