FicWad

It was about an hour until sundown when the group left. They knew that they had to take everything they could, the fact that they could never come back hanging heavy in the air. The van was packed, everyone that wasn't a fighter getting in with the supplies and half of the ammunition. There were two people per bike, the gas masks and goggles they were wearing covering the majority of their faces.
The van and bikes drove towards the rundown city the map had marked, everyone nervous with the outcome of their rescue mission. No, it wasn't a rescue mission; it was a libation movement. They were going to drive the whole city to the ground. The desert was beautiful; the setting sun sending a soft glow of yellow and orange, making the sand shimmer as their wheels stirred it before allowing it to settle on the ground once more. It was hot, and the whole group couldn't wait for the night to come and bring it's cooling air.
They stopped when they reached the entrance of the city, Ryan pulling up next to the van. He took a deep breath, steadying himself before speaking. "Go out to hideout C, we'll meet up back here in an hour. If we're late for more than an hour, run." His voice was stern, confident, completely devoid of all nervousness he was feeling.
The vehicles started up once more, the bikes going in while the van went the other way. The city was falling apart; buildings collapsing under their own weight, the deserted streets lined with rubble and sand. And cadavers. Masks were pulled tighter, blocking the stench and any chance at inhaling something noxious. Spencer gripped Ryan's waist, wishing he could ask the only question he seemed to be able to think of.
They reached the largest building that remained. Not a single window was broken, no glass door cracked. The base of it looked as if it would last only as long as the ball of radiation that was leaving the sky. Goggles were pulled to their heads, the group of four exchanging knowing glances. They all knew that they might not survive the night, but that every second would be worth fighting for. A hand was gently placed on Ryan's shoulder and he glanced to see Lightning looking at him with a soft expression. It looked as if she knew what was going to happen, and wanted to say she was sorry before it was too late. The group made their way to a large pair of double doors, a single bolt lock on the outside.
Ryan kicked it down. They all cautiously walked in, their guns raised as they looked in the dim lighting for some sign of life. Spencer muttered the single word they were all thinking as they reached a large elevator door. "Basement." The shining door opened and they all walked in, masks being pulled down.
"This is insane! Their going to kill us as soon as the doors open!" Kyle was panicking, the other three all looking completely calm.
"Boost me up." Ryan mumbled and Spencer helped him reach the top of the elevator where he pushed in the vent, climbing on top. He pulled Lightning up, Spencer following close behind. Kyle was the last one on top, a confused look on his face.
"Now what?" His voice was filled with doubt, like he thought that they were all full of shit when they said that they knew what they were doing.
"Just wait." Spencer hit the emergency stop button, the elevator almost completely to the bottom, but high enough up that they could still make it out into the floor above the one they were on. Ryan made the door to the second to last level, telling the others to go through it. Lightning was the one who stayed. She waited until the doors to the elevator were open along with the door to the last floor, and quickly threw a few gas bombs, closing the top of the elevator quickly before following the others onto the main floor.
"What did you do?" Kyle asked. He still had this air of doubt around him, though he seemed to be realizing that they did, in fact, know what they were doing.
"Gas bombs. Filled with a highly poisonous bacteria, they burst and fill the room. It cuts off the oxygen in your windpipes by clogging it. Typically you die within a minute of them going off." Spencer said this as they started to move down the hall, going as quietly as they could mange. They killed any and every person that got in their path, searching every room they could for survivors. It wasn't until after they had climbed down the steps to the last floor that Lightning found exactly what they were looking for.
"Uhh, guys. I think you should see this." The other three quickly ran over to her, going into the large room that she had found. Rows and rows of capsules filled with bodies were found in it. Some were visibly mutated, others looking beat up and malnourished. It was almost as if everyone in the place were just rag dolls they used to experiment on. Lightning quickly went to the back of the room, examining the control panel that was set up in the back.
"Holy shit." Spencer muttered as he slowly walked past row after row of people hooked up to wires in frozen tubes. He was looking for Jon, though he tried to hide it.
"We have to get these people out of here." Ryan muttered the words as he put his hand to the glass of one of the containers, staring at the girl that was left in it. She had mahogany hair that went down to her shoulders, her thin frame pressed up against the back rest as pipes pushed oxygen into her from pipes in her nose. Her closed eyes had dark purple and black bags underneath, her thin frame being covered by a mere white-
There was a scream, followed by the sound of gunshots. Ryan and Spencer quickly ran over to where it came from, the two seeing Kyle beating off some of the beasts from experiments that went wrong. They quickly moved into action, Ryan raising his gun to blow one of their heads off as Spencer used one of his knives to chop off a decaying arm that had Kyle's shirt. The three quickly killed the group of ten beasties, Lightning having the containers open not too much later.
"Let's get the fuck out of here!" Kyle screamed as he started running for the exit. An alarm went off, the red lights flashing as the sound of gun shots once again echoed through the room. The other three helped the kids that had been experimented on, screaming at them to get out, that there would be people waiting to rescue them. Not too much later, they followed the group, Spencer carrying Jon as Kyle, Ryan, and Lightning followed close behind. Of course, they weren't the only ones. The workers were following them close behind and as soon as they were close to the exit they stopped, debating what to do.
"We have to keep moving." Spencer insisted.
"Their just going to follow us, and then we'll all be fucked." Ryan argued.
"Well what the fuck do you suggest doing?" Kyle screamed, already being pushed to the limits. They were all stressed, going at each others throats like it was nothing. Lightning couldn't take it. She knew the only way to get out of the situation, and quickly voiced er answer.
"Keep going, I'll take care of it." The other three turned to face her, though she was already walking back towards the sound of gunfire.
"Wait! You can't!" Kyle was screaming the words, begging for her to come back as Ryan stopped him. He knew it was already too late, and they watched as she pulled bombs off of her belt before quickly running out of the building. Not a minute later it burst into flames, the blast being enough to knock them all down. Spencer watched as the building burst in flames, glass and rubble flying out. It took a minute for the building to completely collapse, the fire catching onto the other buildings. It lit the night sky to a bright red, looking almost like an ocean of fire. And then they started moving again.
As soon as they were away from the burning building and the pile of rubble it was becoming -finally rejoined with the group of kids that had been trapped- Kyle snapped. He tackled Ryan, screaming the same sentences over and over again as he started to hit him. "You let her die you bastard! I'm going to fucking kill you!" He was crying, Ryan trying his hardest to fight back. Eventually he manged to flip them over, pinning Kyle against the sand covered asphalt.
"There was nothing, NOTHING, I could have done to save her! If she hadn't died then we all were sure to! Her death gave us life. You and I both know that! And for fucks sake, do you honestly think I WANTED her to die? She was our friend, and the smartest fucking person I ever met." he got off of Kyle, standing next to Spencer who was looking far too exhausted. Kyle picked himself back off of the ground, their ride finally showing up.
They all piled into the large school bus, going to their next resting place.

When they made it to the camp, Louie and Loki were waiting outside, their tired faces quickly scanning the group for their sister. Their smiles quickly started to fade as soon as Ryan and Kyle walked in, closing the large bolted door behind them.
"Where's Grace?" Louie quickly asked as worry etched itself on his face. Kyle looked down, quickly pushing past the twins. Which left Ryan alone to try and explain. He looked at the two boys matching terrified expressions, and couldn't help but feel guilty.
"She fell behind." He whispered the words, brushing past them as soon as he could. He just wanted out. It seemed, that he was always doing something wrong. Brendon ran over to him, pulling him into a bone crushing hug as he saw the hollow expression that Ryan carried.
"I'm glad you came back, Mr.Brightside."

Louie and Loki were curled up together on the dusty floor of the main room. It was obvious that they wanted to be alone, the food that Spencer had made hardly being touched as it rested on the floor next to them. Kyle had been watching them; examining the different stages in which the twins emotions seemed to go through. They had started out in a state of shock, which quickly changed to pure terror, followed by crying. They were finally calm now, and Kyle could tell they wouldn't be over it for a very long time, though they had stopped crying over it for now.
He stood, walking over to them. He kept his eyes anywhere but on the boys faces as he finally stood in front of them. He pulled a small trinket out of his pocket, outstretching his hand to let it dangle, hoping one of them would take it. "She said that if she didn't make it out that she wanted you two to have this." Louie reached for it, letting his hand touch the small locket. Loki looked at Kyle's hopeless eyes, giving a small sigh.
"You keep it." Kyle looked at them, his brows furrowed.
"It's obvious that you loved her." Louie helped.
"We already have memorabilia of her," Loki added.
"So you can keep it." Louie finished the conversation, Kyle taking the silver locket back in his hand where he tightened his grip on it. He closed his eyes, giving a small sigh before thanking the twins, walking over to the bunk area so he could sleep.

Ryan was looking over the notebooks that Lightning had filled with her research, the rest of the kids asleep in their respected bunks. She was the only one who understood what was going on, and based off of the research that she found, she was far to close to figuring out the cure. He closed his eyes, tears starting to fall on the table. He was crying when Brendon pulled him onto his lap. He stayed completely silent as he held the sobbing boy, rocking him back and forth as he ran his hand through chestnut hair.
Once Ryan had calmed down, he whispered the words Brendon hated to hear. "It's all my fault."
"Shhh, no it's not. Ryan," Brendon moved so Ryan was looking up at him, the older boy moving his head so it was facing the wall instead. "Ryan, look at me." Ryan gave in, letting Brendon hold his face so he was staring into his eyes.
"She was so close."
"Ryan, it's not your fault. You had to do what you had to do."
"I've doomed us all." Brendon sighed.
"Mr. Brightside, you need to remember that not everything will be fine. You've done the best you can."
"But it's the second time."
"And maybe he's right, but it's fine. Everything will be fine."
Ryan spoke softly, hardly above breathing the words. "Do you think it will ever end?" Brendon was silent for a few seconds before responding in the same soft voice Ryan had.
"I don't know." Ryan stared at Brendon, his mind finally deciding he couldn't take it any longer; he moved his hands from Brendon's shoulders to his soft dark brown hair, holding it loosely so Brendon could push him off if he wanted to. His legs were on either side of Brendon's, and in a split second decision, he let his lips fall onto Brendon's. It was filled with hope, longing. And the built up feelings that Ryan had had for years.
He had no way of knowing how Brendon would react.


~~~~~

So the next chapter that happens in this time period will have all of your characters, but right now I just felt that I needed to get this chapter out here.

PartyPoison: I failed at getting a good battle scene. Sorry. Oh my gosh, I couldn't agree with you more. I freaking hate FujiFilm.
Umm. Hmm....Cliff-hangers....Damn, I do make those somewhat often, don't I? And by often, I mean every chapter of every story ever.
Donnie Darko makes me happy. I play it on repeat for days sometimes. It drives other people insane.
But oh well.

-xoxo Pansy.