With A Whimper (Part Fourteen)

[missmara]

Title: With A Whimper (Part Fourteen)
Author: Mara
Rating: R
Warnings: Violence, death, language, blood. Did I mention violence and death? And Blood? lol
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.


PART FOURTEEN




It took a moment for them to realize that the gun in Ryan's hand hadn't fired. "Ryan?" Summer asked gently.

"I'm not like him," Ryan said to Zach, pulling the clip out of his waitsband and sliding it back into the gun. "I'm not a murderer. But if you ever do anything to hurt me or anyone I love, I will kill you. And I want you to pass that along to Volchak and his little minions when you see them again. Right after you tell Trey that I'm alive and that you caused me to get shot."

With that, Ryan slowly and painfully turned around and left the room, leaving a stunned Summer, Luke, and Zach behind. "Shit," Luke said.

~~~~

"We gotta make them weak," Volchak told Trey. "We take out the leader's little girlfriend and we do that."

"I don't know," Trey said. "We're gonna kill some girl who hasn't done shit?"

"No, you are," Volchak said. "Me and Donnie are hurt, Z doesn't know how to sneak around, Casey... well, she can't shoot worth a damn at close range. You're good though, you can shoot and you can get in there without them knowing until it's too late."

"But... she's some girl, I don't wanna kill some innocent girl..."

"She's one of the ones holding Zach hostage, that makes her not so innocent," Volchak said. "Besides, if their guy will kill us, and what do you think they'll do to Casey and Lindsay if they get ahold of them?"

Trey frowned. "I don't know... I mean... they've gotta be watching..."

"The rest of us'll create a diversion," Volchak said. "And don't worry, if you fail? If you can't pull it off, me, Donnie, and Z'll take good care of Lindsay."

Trey's jaw tightened as he glanced over at Lindsay. "She gonna go with you to create the diversion?"

"Nah, she's staying with Donnie, keep the idiot from being... well... an idiot."

Trey nodded. "Okay man, I'll do it."

"Good man," Volchak said with a smirk, watching Trey go back to Lindsay's side.

"Idiot," Z muttered.

"He'll be dead by the end of the day," Volchak replied.

Across the room, Trey sat down beside Lindsay and leaned in close, a false smile on his face. "Pretend like we're having a happy chat," he said quietly. "Everybody but you and Donnie is going out at first light. Volchak wants me to kill one of the girls in the other group."

"What?" Lindsay asked, hiding her horror with a laugh.

"Once we're gone, I want you to give Donnie some water with some major sleeping pills in it, then grab our stuff and meet me at the park we saw coming in," Trey said. "I'll get there as soon as I can."

"Why are we..."

"Volchak... I don't trust him anymore. I don't give a damn that he got me out of jail, I don't trust him. We're gonna be next."

Lindsay nodded. "Okay."

"Be careful," Trey said, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "I have a handgun tucked inside my bag, before you leave the building, get it out and be ready to use it if anyone but me comes to the park."

Lindsay closed his eyes. "I will," she promised.

~~~~

"What the hell was all that?" Summer asked when she walked back into Ryan's room and found him sitting up, pale and sweating, while Kirsten helped him hold a bottle of water steady and stroked back his hair reassuringly.

"What exactly happened?" Kirsten asked.

"He took a gun and threatened Zach," Summer replied.

"I took out the clip so I wouldn't be tempted to really kill him," Ryan said, his voice tight as he lowered the bottle.

Summer saw how his hand was shaking as he lowered the bottle, and she quickly moved to take it and close the cap. "You could have hurt yourself," she said gently, reaching out to check his forehead for a fever.

"My brother's alive," Ryan said. "I mean, you heard that right? You heard him say Trey's alive?"

"Yeah but..."

"I didn't tell him about Trey, so unless someone else did..."

"I know I didn't," Summer said.

"So how did he know unless it's true?" Ryan said. "Unless Trey is alive?"

"What are we suppose to do about it?" Summer asked.

Ryan shook his head. "I don't know. But... he's my brother, Summer. My brother, my..."

"He's family," Kirsten said. "We have to find a way to let him know Ryan's here."

Summer sighed. "How without getting all of us killed?"

"We let Zach go," Ryan said. "We tell him that he can redeem himself, at least a little, if he tells Trey the truth."

"How can we be sure we can trust him?" Alex asked from the door. "Luke filled me in, he's watching the kids," she added.

"I can't just walk away if my brother's..." Ryan began, only to stop as an explosion went off out front. "That was a cherry bomb stuffed in a trashcan," he said.

"How the hell do you know?" Alex asked as she stepped back into the hall.

"Because Trey used to do it all the time," Ryan said, trying to get up.

"Stay here," Summer said as Luke appeared and he and Alex headed towards the explosion.

"Go get the kids," Ryan told her. "Bring them here. I've got a bad feeling about this..." Summer nodded and took off running towards the kids, leaving Ryan and Kirsten alone. "Kirsten, get where you're not visible," he said.

"I am not leaving you," Kirsten replied.

"You have to..."

"I have to protect both my children," Kirsten said, taking Ryan's gun and turning the safety off again. "I may not be the best shot, but I will kill anyone who tries to hurt you."

~~~~

Trey crept down the hall, his hands shaking. He had understood Volchak's threat against Lindsay all too clear. Kill the girl, or Lindsay would get hurt, and he wasn't about to let anything happen to Lindsay. So when he spotted the darkhaired girl going into one of the rooms ahead of him, he got up and quietly ran to it, taking a deep breath before lifting the rifle and entering the room.

She was just turning with a curly haired little girl in her arms, and she immediately spun away and hunched down to protect the child, along with two other children and a younger teenage girl. "I'm sorry," Trey said as he aimed.

"You're Trey!" the younger girl blurted out, and the darkhaired girl turned to stare in shock.

He faltered at hearing his name. "How'd you know..."

"Because your brother's been leading us," the darkhaired girl said. "Until he got shot 3 days ago."

Trey stumbled slightly, the end of his rifle dropping. "What?" he said.

"He's gonna live, he's gonna be okay. But he thought you were dead until Zach told him otherwise a little while ago," the darkhaired girl said. "I'm Summer, I'm a friend of Ryan's. I can take you to him, if you lower the gun."

Trey hesitated, then pointed the barrel at the floor. "He's really alive?" he asked in a shaky voice.

Summer nodded. "Yeah, he is," she said. She set down the little girl. "Kaitlin, stay with them," she told the younger teenage girl.

"Sure," Kaitlin replied.

"Come on," Summer said, leading the way out of the room and down the hall. When they reached Ryan's room, Summer made sure she stepped in first. "Chino? You're not gonna believe this."

"What?" Ryan asked warily.

Summer stepped further in, followed by Trey, who dropped his gun entirely the moment he saw Ryan. "You like like shit, little brother," he said.

Ryan couldn't help smiling. "You don't look so great yourself, Trey."

Trey cross the room in two quick steps and pulled Ryan into a tight embrace. "I didn't know... I saw the house, in Chino, and Eva... the blood... I thought... your shit was still there and I thought..."

"I couldn't do it," Ryan replied using his good arm to keep Trey close. "I couldn't go back there..."

"Where's Theresa?"

"She's dead," Ryan said, pulling away. "Her and the baby both. I couldn't... I let them get killed..."

"Don't you pull that blame shit," Trey said firmly. "Those fucking freaks that lost it... no one can go up against them and survive."

"But I did. I bashed Deacon's head open on the sidewalk..."

"That was Deke?" Trey asked. "Shit."

"He was gonna kill me..."

"You did the right thing, but... shit... somebody I know..."

"Chino," Summer said. "Trey said that Volchak guy sent him, which means he knows where we are... he's probably the one who set off the explosion up front."

"Did you tell that psycho about the cherry bomb in the trash can trick?" Ryan asked.

"It distracts the things," Trey said in his own defense. "Volchak's not comin' in here. He's waiting to hear a gunshot, then they'll take off."

"Why?" Ryan asked.

"Either I did what he told me to do, or I got caught and killed, either way, he wins," Trey said. "He told me to kill her," he added, gesturing towards Summer. "Kept saying it make you guys weak."

"More like make me weak," Ryan said. "It would kill me," he added quietly, looking over at Summer.

"Yeah, well, you get yourself killed by running around on your screwed up leg, and I'll kill you," Summer said.

"I'm up for firing a shot to fool him," Trey said. "If... if you'll..."

"Are you seriously asking if we'll let you come with us?" Ryan asked.

"Well..."

"Shit, Trey, I was just telling them that I wasn't leaving without trying to see you!" Ryan said. "Of course you're coming with us!"

"There's someone else," Trey said. "She hates Volchak and the others as much as I do, but couldn't have stayed alive on her own. We were gonna take off after I did this, go on our own, 'cause I can't trust Volchak not to hurt her..."

"You trust her?" Ryan said.

"Completely. Lindsay like a science geek, she's smart, she's figured out how to fix radios and stuff, I've been teaching her about fixing cars."

"How do we get her?"

"She's waiting at a safe place," Trey said. "I told her to go there after the rest of us left. She's waiting for me to go get her."

"Summer, go tell Luke and Alex that they're gonna hear a single gunshot from back here, and not to panic, but act like they are," Ryan said. "Then take Alex and Kirsten and go get the kids and load them into the rover. Send Luke to grab the gear from the gurney outside. Trey can help me stay upright to get to..."

"Oh no, Chino, you agreed to lay down from now until we got to the cabin if I let you put on clothes, and you've broken that once, you aren't doing it again," Summer said. She rounded Trey. "You push him in the bed, just follow Luke," she said before leaving.

"Damn," Trey said. "You know how to pick them, little brother."

"Hell yeah," Ryan replied. "Oh, uh... Trey, this is Kirsten, my... my foster mom."

"Hi," Trey said, lifting a hand. "Sorry about the swearing."

"Don't worry about it," Kirsten replied. "But watch it around the kids."

"You got it," Trey agreed.

"Alright, fire into the ceiling," Ryan told Trey once he figured Summer had had the time to tell Luke and Alex.

~~~~

Outside, Volchak heard the gunshot and they saw the shadows of Alex and Luke running from the doors back towards the rear of the hospital. "Alright, let's go!" he said as he, Casey, and Z got into their truck and peeled away. They went right past the park and sped on to the warehouse.

When they walked inside, Volchak immediately noticed that Donnie was alone, and two packs were missing. "Shit," he said. "Wake your ass up!" he yelled shoving Donnie's shoulder.

"What?" Donnie said tiredly.

"She's gone, you idiot!" Volchak said. "The little bitch took off!"

~~~~

Luke was watching Trey warily as they reached the rover and SUV, tucked into the old parking garage. "Alright, how do we get him in?" Luke asked Summer.

"Well, since Trey's joining the party, I think Ryan's probably gonna want him to ride with us in the SUV," Summer replied. "So get in there and grab the end of the mattress closest to you," she continued, gesturing. "Once Luke's got the other end lifted, pull him in and try not to drop your end or he's gonna be in a lot of pain.

"Got it," Trey said, grabbing the mattress. When Summer nodded, he pulled, and Soon Ryan was laying flat in the back of the SUV, grimacing in pain. "You alright?"

"Yeah," Ryan said. "Who's driving?"

"I am," Kirsten said, getting behind the wheel.

"Luke and Alex are gonna be with the kids, you know they'll keep 'em safe," Summer said as she made sure Ryan's feet weren't hit by the hatch as Luke closed it. Then, she squeezed between Ryan and the supplies and checked his pulse. "Trey, I know you probably want to..." she began.

"I'll move up front," Trey agreed, climbing out the side door and getting in front. "He's okay, right?"

"Yeah," Summer said. "Where's your friend waiting?"

"3 blocks east of here," Trey said. "Big park."

"Luke knows to follow us," Ryan said. "There going to room for her with us?"

"We can squeeze her in," Summer said. "Kirsten pull up where Trey says with the passenger side towards the park. She can sit in back."

~~~~

Lindsay was crouched down in her hiding place inside the playground playhouse, keeping watch for Trey. She saw two dark vehicles pull up and her hand tightened on the gun Trey had left her until she saw him get out of the first one.

"Linds! It's safe!" he called.

Lindsay grabbed both their bags and tossed them to the ground before climbing out herself and grabbing them. "You're sure?" she said as she reached the SUV Trey stood by.

"Yeah," Trey agreed, taking his own bag and stuffing it into the space on the floor in front.

"Put it here," Summer said, gesturing for Lindsay's bag to go against the back of the front seat. "It's gonna be cramped, but it's better than nothing," she added. "Hop in, we want to get far away from here fast."

"Lindsay, meet my brother, his girl, and his foster mom," Trey said, gesturing around as they all climbed in and doors were closed. Kirsten quickly peeled away from the curb, followed by the rover, and they were on their way.

Lindsay craned her neck to see the other vehicle following, then looked around at the people. "Wasn't expecting this, Trey," she said.

"Yeah, well, I didn't expect for the girl Volchak wanted me to kill to tell me my little brother was alive, and he was the guy Volchak and Donnie shot."

To Be Continued...