Mosaic/Issue 9

This is the ninth issue of Mosaic by Dixonlovessquirrels, titled "Roll With the Punches".

This issue was released on August 1st, 2014.

Legend
Present

Flashback

Dream

Roll With the Punches
 1 Week Before The Outbreak '''As his eyes slowly opened, he heard the sound of people screaming, hearing footsteps running towards him. His head felt weird, and as he regained consciousness, he realised that he was upside down. The blood had rapidly rushed to his head.'''

'''He felt a sharp pain in his chest, looking at the seatbelt that lay on it. The airbags didn't come out, which suddenly frightened Danny. He looked to his right, seeing his sister hanging upside down on the passenger seat, the seatbelt keeping her there. Her head was bleeding, she was unconscious.'''

'''Danny felt his heart tearing out of his body, making its way up his throat. He felt many different emotions within three seconds. Guilt, sadness, anxiety and even worse, withdrawal. He felt sweat pour from every inch of his body. He couldn't stay there any longer.'''

'''He went for the seatbelt, trying his best to unbuckle it. But when he got a closer look, he saw that it was smashed against the handbrake, stuck in its position. He needed a knife, something to cut him out.'''

'''People were now approaching the car. They managed to open both of the doors. Danny tried to tell them to go for his sister first, but they hadn't seen her. As they cut through the belt, he fell onto his head against the roof. He was pulled out, in excruciating pain. But he didn't waste any time before jumping back in for his sister.'''

'''He ignored the pain, powered through it. He went for the seatbelt, using his other hand to catch her in case she fell hard. It took a few tries and some serious man power before the belt gave in and unlocked. She fell onto the roof, Danny not having enough strength to catch her. '''

'''He could smell smoke, seeing the hood of the car engulfed in flames. All of a sudden he felt a sharp pull at his foot. The people outside were trying to pull him out. He grabbed a tight hold of his sister's arms and they were both pulled out together.'''

'''The glass was cutting his sister, so he did his best to lift her up when he was out of the car. But the pain in his chest prevented him from doing that so one of their rescuers managed to lift her. They hurried away from the car, as all of it was now surrounded by twenty foot flames. It was raining heavily, but not enough to stop the fire.'''

'''Danny had no idea what to do, all he could do was cry. He felt like he had failed her, but there was still hope, she was still breathing. As the man who carried Jane lay her down on the sidewalk, he took out his phone and called an ambulance.'''

"You don't want to do that," a woman standing over Jane said, she was one of the other rescuers.

'''"Why not?" the man asked, "If we don't get her to a hospital soon, she won't make it!"'''

'''"It'll take forever!" she shouted, the sound of the flames and people screaming were too loud, "It'll be faster if we drive them."'''

'''The man looked up at Danny, who was in a trance watching other people get the other driver out of his car. At least he was fine, which made Danny feel less guilty. But the man looked angry, which scared Danny.'''

'''"We're gonna drive you to the hospital, okay?" the man asked Danny, who nodded at him. '''

'''The man lifted Jane into his car, as the woman watched the other angry driver approach Danny. Danny was in the car, holding his sister as he laid her head on his lap. The car was gone before the man could get to Danny, but this wasn't the end of it.'''

Michael stared at the girl, who was still lying on the ground. She was wailing, screaming. She just lay there, as if she wasn't going to fight it. Michael had no idea what to do, he just stood there and watched as she drained herself of every last tear.

After a few moments of silence, she raised her head. Her face was wet, but the crying had stopped. She looked confused, as if she had expected Michael to just up and drink her blood.

"Do it..." she pleaded, "I deserve it."

Michael couldn't move, he couldn't think. He felt every emotion at once and was ready to burst. She was becoming impatient.

"DO IT!"

Michael shook his head, sitting down on the bed. He put his head in his hands, letting out a deep sigh while the girl just watched. She was blond, beautiful. But everything about her so far was creeping Michael out. Why was she so desperate to die?

He heard her move, but didn't dare move his head out of his hands. She crawled over to the wall on his left, sitting against it quietly. As Michael sat in silence, trying to think to himself, she slowly began to cry again. He heard her weeping, it was just barely noticeable over her heartbeat. Michael suddenly jolted, his body glitched.

He was still on the bed, whatever that was gave him a fright. But now all he could think about was her heartbeat. He could hear the blood pumping through her veins, the blood seeping inside the various arteries and the heart beating rapidly in her chest. Sweat poured down his face. It was as if blood was a drug, and he needed his fix. He didn't know why he wanted it so much, but it was beyond that. He needed it.

'''The car's tires screeched as the driver stopped the car suddenly. The driver door opened. The man ran to the back door, helping Danny pull his sister out of the car. She hadn't regained consciousness, which was worrying Danny.'''

'''They ran into the hospital, Jane being held by the driver. They were greeted by nurses as they entered through the main doors, leaving a thunderstorm behind them. The nurses put her on a gurney, asking Danny what happened.'''

"She... she uh-" he couldn't think, everything was so blurry, "We were in a car crash."

'''As they pulled her towards the emergency room, he had to give them all of her details. He was on the midst of crying, holding it in so that he could be strong for her. Suddenly, he was held back, she was brought through double doors.'''

'''He wasn't allowed to go any further, so he stayed there. Thanking the driver was the hard part. The man had saved his life, and it was all Danny's fault. He didn't think about the drugs, he didn't think about the car, he barely thought about his sister. What he thought about was his parents, and how much trouble he'd get into.'''

"What's your name?" Michael asked, as the girl was still crying. She raised her head, looking into his eyes. She didn't know if he was serious.

"Angela?" she said, hoping that this wasn't a trick.

"Angela what?" Michael asked, hoping that if he got to know her, his urge to rip open her neck and drink her blood would decrease rapidly.

"White..." she muttered, gulping down her tears.

Michael looked at her, trying to see what emotions she had. Fear was what he had seen at first, and that helped him to calm himself down.

"How old are you?" he asked, not expecting what would come out of her mouth.

"26?" she replied, as she began to feel a little easier being there with him. She looked a lot younger than that, but he had no reason not to believe her.

"How long have you been here? In this... forest?" Michael asked. What else could he call it? It was just a big forest.

She started fiddling with her fingers, "About a week... Give or take a day."

"They just took you?"

"Yeah, I was just minding my own business... walking down a never-ending road. Suddenly, everything went black," she explained, "They're monsters. They... Eat people. Or... drink them. I was in a cellar, with others. One by one they were taken away. We could see through the bars, we watched as people like you would bite them. You're the only one that's been put in here."

"Why am I in here?" Michael asked.

Angela stared at him, "Because you were the only person that was with a group before being brought here. I've heard some things, things about what you are."

"I think I know what I am," Michael said, "I just wanna hear it from someone else."

Angela smiled, "We've all been there..."

Silence grew, as she thought about putting it in a way that mightn't make him upset. But there was no real way to break it.

"You're a vampire," Anglea noted, "Not yet, at least. But you will be one."

Michael hung his head low, trying to fight back tears. Suddenly he built up all this rage. He was upset, pissed off and confused.

"How do I get back to normal?" Michael asked.

Angela sighed, "You can't. You're one of them. You have no choice but to drink my blood and become a full vampire."

Michael couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears began to flow down his face, just as his fist flew into the wall. It all stopped, not just the tears, but time itself. He stared at the broken concrete wall in front of him. It was cracked. Did he really have that much power?

He looked down at his fist, seeing small cuts on it. They slowly began to fade, and suddenly, his fist was healed. It was like magic. He looked back at Angela, who was now cowering in the opposite corner of the room.

"I'm sorry," he said, as her heart began to beat louder.

"It's okay..." she muttered, frightened of what he might do next. As he sat down on the bed again, silence grew once more. He wanted to scream, shout, kill everything and everyone, but not before asking one more question.

"What happens if I don't drink your blood?" he asked.

She was expecting another outburst after this, "If you don't do it within a few hours... You get sick, and then sicker and sicker until... You die."

They all sat in the living room, shocked at what they had just heard. They had already experienced Michael dying, but knowing that he'd have to endure a long, slow death was uncomforting. And even worse, if he drained someone's blood and became a vampire, he'd go after Danny.

Holly took one last sip of the last of the water, which was offered to her by Danny. It was hard enough worrying about Michael when there is also food and water to think of.

"It's all gone..." she muttered, as Peter, Dom and Danny looked at her.

"What now?" Danny asked, looking at Peter and Dom.

Peter looked at Dom, who stared back at him.

"What?" Dom asked, snapping at Peter.

"You know anywhere we can get water?" Peter asked him.

"Do I look like a fucking scientist to you? Find your own damn water!" he snapped once again.

Peter looked back at Danny, who was sitting in the corner of the room, "Scientist... Okay. Can you check the map? Maybe there's something nearby."

Danny took out the map, studying it carefully, "There's that lighthouse but that's no use. Can't drink salt water. Wait... there's something there."

He pointed towards a small blue dot on the map, which made Peter smile. Peter looked back at Dom who wasn't amused.

"Looks like a creek," Peter noted, "Might be dirty. Might be empty, but it's worth a shot."

Danny stood up, as did Holly, "When do we leave?"

Peter looked back at Dom, "Nightfall. So that way he can't leave our sight."

"He's the one keeping us here, not the other way around," Danny noted.

"You might wanna leave now," Dom said, "At nightfall... The vamps come out to play. But one of you stays with me. That way I can be sure that you'll come back."

"I'll stay," Danny said, handing Peter the map.

"I'm not leaving you here alone with him," Peter said.

Danny tried to be convincing, "You're the survivor. And I'm not letting Holly stay here with him alone. It's better that I stay."

Peter pushed the map against Danny's chest, and Danny took the map off of him.

"I'm staying," Peter snapped, "No arguments. Just get us some water, okay?"

Danny wanted to stop him, but he knew that he wouldn't win any arguments. So he had no choice but to leave him here, and go to find water with Holly. Danny packed the empty bottles of water in the backpack, as Peter handed Holly a knife.

Before Danny walked out the door, Peter stopped him. He handed him a knife too, smiling at him.

"If the creak isn't what we hope it is," Peter said, "Let's just hope it starts raining."

Danny smiled, "Let's not."

'''The rain pounded against the windows, the wind made howling noises which echoed through the halls and rooms in the hospital. A storm arrived in the city of New Orleans, stronger than anything the city had seen before.'''

'''Danny sat in the waiting room. Shocked by the fact that he wasn't injured, he turned his focus towards his parents. No time to think about God or anything like that. God. That's it. He could pray!'''

'''He closed his eyes, leant his elbows on his laps and put his hands together. He didn't care about the dozens of people around him. There were many people in the waiting room, a lot with injuries. The emergency room had become so packed that they leaked into the waiting room.'''

'''Danny tried to stay calm, keep his heart rate at a normal level. He thought about what he could pray for. There were many things, his sister surviving, his parents not killing him, and then there were the drugs.'''

'''He felt like an ass. Thinking about drugs while his sister lay in one of the rooms dying. How could he be that selfish? There were so many things on his list of mistakes so far. Greed. That would be the main one. When cooking the meth, he knew that he and Ace should've just stuck with the lowlife junkies in run-down neighbourhoods. But yet, they became too greedy and wanted to take it a step up.'''

'''At least they didn't go too far. They could've gone to another drug lord, who was supposedly more dangerous than the one they had gone to. But instead, they went for the lesser-known, less dangerous guy. Which led Danny to get beaten up.'''

'''Maybe he could pray for more than one thing. Maybe he could pray for all of it. But once again, his head went back to how greedy he had been, and how he wanted to be from now on. So, for now, he was just going to pray for his sister. Pray that she'd be okay. He prayed for her to be perfectly healthy again, be able to walk, talk, and dance. But as long as she's alive, that would be good enough for now. '''

'''He was crying now, tears flew down his face as he felt his heart break into a million pieces. But what could he do? What's done is done. Whatever happened, happened. No going back. '''

'''"Mr Miller?" a voice from the hallway called. '''

'''Danny's head shot up, his heart raced faster than a Formula 1 driver. He stood up, looking at the tall, dark, strong looking doctor standing in front of him. The doctor stood in the hallway, Danny now walking to him. '''

'''He wanted to get it over with, he didn't want to feel the pain or anxiety anymore. But he wanted it to last forever, he didn't want to know if she was okay or not. He didn't want to hear any bad news.'''

'''As they stood in the hallway, the doctor guided him a few feet down the hallway. He had a sympathetic look to him, which was what led Danny in the wrong direction.'''

'''"Is Jane okay?" Danny asked, millions of questions to ask with this being the first.'''

"She's alive," the doctor began, at least he started with that, "Unfortunately, there was major trauma to the head. While under she experienced a seizure. Now unfortunately, since she has been out for a few hours, there is an increased chance that she may develop epilepsy in the future."

'''"But is there a chance she'll be okay?" Danny asked, "Is she awake now? Can I see her?"'''

"There is a chance she'll wake up, and be normal again in a few weeks," the doctor noted, "But she's still unconscious. She's in comatose and it's very hard to define when she'll come out of it and if she'll come out at all. You can see her now but I think you better keep trying to get on to your parents."

'''Danny had told the hospital that he'd notify his parents when he brought Jane in, but he lied. He couldn't tell them, especially over the phone. But he had to do it. He had no choice.'''

'''He left the doctor there, after being told where Jane's room was. He went to a payphone that was in the waiting room. It was loud in there, babies crying, people screaming. It was already hard enough to deal with this.'''

'''As the dial tone came up and he typed in the number, his heart began to race again. '''

'''All of a sudden, everything was quiet. A whistling sound entered Danny's ears. He felt sweat pouring from every pour in his body. All he wanted to do was cry and sleep. He felt light headed, and for a second he was about to reach for some meth in his pocket, before realising he had none.'''

BOOM!

'''The windows burst open, shattering and the glass flying towards everyone inside. A nurse jumped into the waiting room, advising everyone to move to another floor. But Danny took no notice of it. He kept his head buried in the payphone, his eyes closed as he didn't even notice the phone broke.'''

'''He felt a hand on his shoulder, which began to drag him away from the window. He just now noticed the window, which shocked him as he didn't know how he couldn't hear it. '''

'''As he was dragged outside into the stampede of panicking people, he chose to just go to his sister's room. He turned around, running against the crowd. He could hear the rain and the wind flying in through the holes in the walls.'''

'''He made it to the elevator, pressing the button. After waiting a few seconds, watching everyone panicking and pushing each other in the hallways. The elevator didn't arrive, indicating that the storm had somehow cut the electricity. That didn't make sense, as the lights were still working. Funnily enough, just as he thought about the lights, they began to blink. '''

'''He didn't want to waste time, walking towards the staircase. He ran up two flights, making it to the second floor. He walked through the desolate halls, quieter than downstairs. It was almost scary, creating goosebumps all over his body.'''

214. That was the number.

'''He walked along, reading every number slowly and carefully. As he came up to number 213, he couldn't handle the anxiety. He sat on the floor, putting his back against the wall. His head became buried in his hands as he let everything out.'''

'''Danny had never cried so much, never felt the pain and anguish that all of this was causing. He'd never be able to live with himself if anything happened to Jane, and his parents would never forgive him of forget.'''

'''He felt the last of the tears exit his eyes, before looking up and seeing the number 214 on a sign on a door. She was on the other side of that, unconscious and in pain. He wasn't ready to see this, and as he thought about it, more tears came flooding out. He wailed and screamed in pain, as he knew that things would never be the same.'''

Danny and Holly walked for about five minutes away from the house, doing their best to follow the map. The compass led them to the east, but they weren't sure how far away the creak was.

"Do you trust him?" Holly asked, breaking the silence.

Danny turned to her, still walking, "Dom?"

"Yeah," Holly replied.

Danny smiled, "I don't even know if I can trust you... or Peter. So far, Dom is the one I trust the least."

Holly smiled, "Who do you trust the most?"

"Me," Danny said, without hesitating.

The forest was surprisingly quiet. No sound of wind, no crickets or leaves making any noise. They hadn't seen any zombies since the night Michael died, which confused them. Everything out there was confusing.

Danny looked at Holly, who had a faint depressed look on her face. He tried to read her, try and look inside and see if he could figure her out. He thought Michael was hard to read, but Holly was harder. So far, she acted light-hearted, like she didn't have a bad bone in her body. But something about her made Danny think there was something that made her seem... broken.

"Stop staring at me," she said, staring at the ground.

Danny quickly turned his head, "Sorry."

She looked up at him, the depressed look quickly disappeared. She had a glow on her face, her smile lit up the forest and made Danny feel like he was somewhere else, away from all the bad that had been going on the past couple months.

But suddenly, her smile was gone. Her face looked shocked as she looked down at the compass in Danny's hand. When Danny saw the expression on her face, he looked down at the compass. The needle was moving around rapidly, as if it was possessed.

Danny started looking around, trying to figure out what was going on.

"You wearing anything metal?" Danny asked, trying to see if she was.

"No..." she muttered, before looking down at her chest. She put her hand up and grabbed a long metal chain, pulling it out from her shirt. It revealed a small cross, obviously made from metal. She looked up at Danny.

"We need to... stand a few feet apart,” Danny said, "I don't know the distance or anything but..."

That was when they noticed how close they were standing next to each other. It was an awkward three seconds, but it was interrupted by the noise of water. They could hear things splashing close by.

Danny took off, Holly close behind him. He ran much faster than her, this was the first thing in a long time that brought hope.

They ran as fast as they could, through hundreds of trees and stomping on the grass and leaves below them. As they ran towards a big bush, filled with thorns and branches, they were greeted by a beautiful sight.

'''Danny opened the door slowly, it creaked as it moved millimetre by millimetre. The noise of machines inside made him hesitant to see the sight. But he brought himself to keep going.'''

'''He didn't look at her until he closed the door behind him. He was now inside the room, feeling like he was locked in there. He took a few deep breaths, closing his eyes as he hoped that she didn't look as bad as he thought she would.'''

'''But when he turned his head, and saw his bandaged up, comatose sister lying on a hospital bed with tubes attached to her, he felt guilt grow inside of him. Here he was, untouched, yet he was the drug abuser, he was the one who took everything for granted. But she was the good girl, the one who had made his parents prouder than any other parents out there, yet she was the one in a coma.'''

'''Danny walked slowly up to the bed, looking at her limp body. She looked so helpless, so lost. He couldn't help but cry. He wanted to let it all out, but most of all... in a shocking, bizarre way, he wanted Jane to die. Have her leave all the badness and terror that the world created and go to whatever awaited them beyond death. '''

'''He wanted to leave with her, go hand in hand to what he had hoped would be heaven. But he wasn't all too sure if that's where he would be going. He wouldn't want to drag her down with him. But all he wanted was for Jane to be okay, even if that meant that she had to die. He wished that there was some way to go back and undo the past... But there wasn't.'''

'''There was nothing he could do, nothing he could say so he chose to say silent, leave his thoughts behind and forget for a moment. Forget the shit that he caused and the fact that sooner or later he'd have to tell his parents, have them disown him and push him away. But he needed to say something, he needed for her to know that everything was okay and tell her how sorry he was for everything that happened.'''

'''But he couldn't bring himself to say anything, so he tried his best telepathically communicate... hoping that she could somehow hear him. But he knew she couldn't. He just wished that he could apologise for everything, all the suffering and torment he put her and his family through, and tell her that he loved her. '''

'''As he closed his eyes, leaning above her bed, he imagined what it would be like to escape. Just float up into the air, leave the world and everything else behind, watch as everything became smaller and smaller until it just magically... disappeared.'''

They looked at the incredible view in front of them. This wasn't a creek, but a huge lake. They saw the magnificent sight in front of them, the mirror effect that the lake created, seeing the reflection of the trees and the birds rest on the top of the water.

They both had smiles on their faces, but didn't even realise. It was a joyous moment, knowing that they had an unlimited water supply. They didn't know if this water was safe to drink, but they didn't care. The view was so peaceful that they didn't care about anything else.

But the moment was short-lived, as a completely different sight came into view. Part of the water was red, as they saw a figure across the other side of the lake. The figure was bent over something, something red. Danny and Holly squinted their eyes, trying to make out what it was.

They could make out that the figure had its mouth on what looked to be another person. Obviously, the other person was dead. Suddenly, the figure looked up at Danny and Holly, seeing their shocked faces staring at it.

Before Danny and Holly could run, they turned, and were met by a man. The man had blood all over his mouth, he stared into Danny's eyes with a menacing look. A big smile grew on his face, revealing sharp fangs covering his teeth. The fangs and teeth were covered in blood.

Once Danny and Holly got a good look at the man, they realised that it was the same man that fought off Dom. The same man that Dom said wasn't on the "good" side of vampires.

If Dom was on the good side, then how bad is this guy?

  Previous Issue: Issue 8|Next Issue: Issue 10

Credits

 * Danny Miller
 * Peter Singer
 * Holly Anderson
 * Dominic Halpert
 * Michael Gunn
 * Jane Miller

Deaths
None

Title Meaning
"Roll With the Punches" mean to tolerate or endure through the unexpected mishappenings you may encounter from time to time. This would refer to Danny, having just been in a crash and putting his sister in a coma. There are more mishappenings that will occur in the future, especially for Danny.

Trivia

 * In Issue 2, Danny noted that he had only prayed twice in his life. In this episode, his first prayer is shown.
 * His second prayer will be shown in a future issue.
 * This issue shows the beginning of the hurricane that Danny said he was in.
 * This will be shown more in the next issue.
 * This issue shows that Michael is a "half-vampire", and it also shows that half-vampires have powers too.
 * Michael can heal his own cuts, and even break concrete with his fists.
 * Being a vampire also comes with its disadvantages such as hearing heartbeats and blood flowing in someone.