Dead Frontier/Issue 46

This is Issue #46 of Dead Frontier by Walkerbait22, titled What If. This is the fourth issue of Volume 8.

Issue 46 - What If
When Quinn finishes telling him everything about Charlie--Brady’s death, the camp full of only men made to be ruthless soldiers, his instability--Abe feels himself sweating. They can’t willingly go there. It’ll be a suicide mission.

He stands and so does Quinn. “Thanks for all the help,” Abe says and holds his hand out to him. Quinn goes in to shake it, but Abe pulls out a pair of handcuffs and clicks them over Quinn's wrist.

“What the fuck?!--” Quinn starts.

Abe almost laughs at him. He spins him around and places the handcuffs over his other wrist as well. “Now sit here and be a good boy, alright?”

“Oh, fuck you!”

Cole sits outside of the office, and when Abe exits, he jumps from his chair. “What happened? What’d he say?”

“The father of the boy she stabbed--Charlie? Yeah, he's some psycho, absolutist leader. Just what we need,” Abe says. “They must’ve seen the gear on Elle and known she was from here. He sent those three guys here to take Hannah back to him.” Cole feels woozy, but he manages to compose himself. Abe suddenly begins to walk away, but Cole grabs him by the arm.

“Did he tell you where he is?” Cole asks.

“Yes.”

“Okay, then when are we going to get her?”

“We’re not.”

Cole stares at him, baffled. His blood starts to boil. They have all the information they need; why wouldn’t they get her? “What? Are you...are you crazy?”

“No, I’m pretty sane actually. He’s filled to the brim with soldiers, who have no empathy. And guns. He’s got lots of those. I’m sorry, but we can’t risk sending people over there.”

“So you’re going to leave her there so he can do...God knows what? Are you fucking kidding me? What if it was Devon? Or Peter or Amy?”

“Please don’t bring my family into this.”

“I’ll bring whoever the hell I want into the fucking conversation!” Cole shouts. People begin to crowd around. “Where are they? Tell me.”

“I told you. You’re not going. It’s one life against several. We go there, we're not coming out! Do you understand that, Cole? Because I don't think you do."

"I understand it loud and fucking clear, Abe. But I don't care. What kind of leader are you anyway? One of your people is in danger, and you just say 'fuck it' and leave them in the hands of some psycho?"

"Let me try to explain it in a way you'll understand. This guy, he only wants Hannah because she killed his son. He doesn't care about us. If we instigate, he's going to be out for all of us. Do you get it? All these kids here, these families, they'll be demolished because you want to go on some suicide mission for your girlfriend!"

Cole clenches his fists. "Abe, you need to fucking tell me where Hannah is."

Abe sets his jaw. His decision's been made: "No."

Cole lunges at him. He grabs Abe by the shoulders and pushes him against the wall. Abe feels a 'pop' in his hip and screams in pain. "Dad!" Devon shouts. She goes to run to her father's defense, but Peter grabs her, stopping her. She just watches as Cole starts to pummel her Dad's face.

Cole's almost on the verge of tears, flinging mindless punches onto Abe's face, head, midsection. He abruptly stops his assault when he hears the click of a gun near his head, and he holds his breath instantly. He looks behind him see people staring at him, some disturbed and some completely shocked. For some reason, none of this feels real. He feels distanced from everyone, as if he's having some kind of weird out of body experience. Like this is a dream and he'll just wake up if he tries hard enough. But it's not a dream.

"Get off of my husband," Amy demands. She firmly holds the gun next to Cole's face. He obeys and lifts his hands in surrender, walking away. Mulligan grabs him by the arms and drags him away from Abe. Devon and Peter rush to their dad, and Amy inspects his face. But Abe pushes them away, saying he's fine.

Abe’s top lip is bloody, and blood runs down the side of his face. He's holding his hip in obvious pain as he struggles to walk. "Okay, Cole! You want to go get her?! They're near the forest, in a few cabins about 90 miles northwest of here. Go ahead! But know you're not welcome back here if you're lucky enough to make it out alive."

"Abe, you can't do that," Billie says. "This is his girlfriend we're talking about. Be reasonable."

"You want to go with him? Be my guest! But don't fucking come back." He storms away, filled with an uncontainable rage.

"I'm going, and I'm going tonight," Cole says. He pushes Mulligan away.

"You're not going by yourself," Billie says. If there's ever been a time Cole needed her to stand by him, this is it. "We'll get her back."

Adam sees Chloe in the cafeteria with Billie, who's helping Chloe assemble her gun. She's having some trouble, for even after all this time she hasn't really brushed up on her skill with weapons.

"Okay," Billie says. "Let's go over this again. First, the slide...then the barrel." Adam sits on the chair across from them as Billie proceeds with her impromptu lesson. Chloe seems to be getting it, somewhat, but looks frustrated.

"Chloe," Adam says.

"What," she says, still concentrating on all of the pieces on the table.

"You don't have to go. If you don't feel confident with that--" He points to the weapon. "--no one's forcing you."

Her hands freeze, and she looks up. "It's not about that," she says. "If you guys go, and you're not allowed to come back, I don't want to come back, either. And this is for Hannah. Whatever...doubts I have about this, I don't care. This is for her."

Adam nods, and scratches his head. "And I've been talking. Seeing who's coming and who's not. Tyler's not."

Her face falls almost instantly. "What? He's not? But he..."

"He said he couldn't give this place up. That we tried so hard to get here and he couldn't throw it away."

"...Oh." She places the gun on the table and stands. "Then...I need to talk to him."

Billie and Adam watch her leave and lock eyes across the table. "How are you feeling?" he asks.

She continues to put the gun together. "Fine, considering. You?"

"...Just can't shake this shitty feeling."

"What feeling?"

"When everything...went down in the forest, and we first saw those guys, this infected just came out of nowhere behind us...you know what happened."

"Yeah. You got scared, and yelled. Right?"

"Fear got the best of me. And I can't help but feel like it's my fault we're in this whole fucking mess. And if something happens to her..."

"Nothing. Is going to happen to her. And there was nothing we could've done to stop this, and no one's to blame. Trust me on that."

Adam nods.

"Tyler!" Chloe shouts throughout the terminal. He turns, and swallows hard when he sees her. She stops in front of him and crosses her arms. "You're not going? What the hell?"

"Can you not yell? People are staring at you," he says.

"You need to tell me why," she says, this time more quietly.

"Because...do you realize what you're doing? This Charlie guy isn't sane. And I can't think of any reason why he wouldn't kill you--all of you. And I don't wanna die. I'd rather stay here, where it's safe. And you should stay too."

"I won't. I can't. I thought you were brave, Tyler."

"I'm rational. And don't think I don't want Hannah to be safe. Because I do, but I'm just not willing to go. To leave this place. I'm sorry."

Chloe is silent for a little while, searching his eyes. He's serious. "That's it then?"

"That's it."

She wants to cry, but she doesn't. They've been through so much together, and this is like a punch to the face. She feels betrayed almost, but she can't blame him for his decision. "Okay," she says and grabs his face with both of her hands, giving him a long kiss on the lips. He's surprised at first, then kisses her back. He hadn't known she felt like this, and always thought she viewed him as a good friend. But she doesn't, and this makes his decision to stay even harder.

Chloe breaks their kiss, and smiles bleakly at him. She doesn't say ananything else, and instead walks away, past Robbie, who stares at her. "Damn, girl. Didn't know you were like that." He follows her, matching her stride.

"There's lots of things you don't know," she says. "You coming or what?"

"Yes, ma'am. I've got your back."

Dex drives along the dark road, finding his way back to camp. He wonders if Miles and Quinn made it out. Maybe they're already back. He looks in the rearview morrow where he sees Hannah stir slightly. Her lip is bloody and there's a huge gash on her cheek. He also tied her hands together with a thin piece of rope, which she tries wrench herself out of, but with no success. They lock eyes in the mirror, and he smiles.

"How's it going?" he asks.

"Fuck off."

He laughs. "Dylan told me how that mouth of yours has gotten you in trouble." He notices the startled look on her face. Ackerman? "You remember Dylan, right?" She doesn't answer, so he continues on. "He told me he wanted to see you again. Admitted he kind of had a crush on you, and felt really bad when he fucked up your face. He thought maybe you guys can get on good terms again." He sees her expression and laughs loudly once again.

She puts the pieces together. "You're..."

"Mhm. Remember that kid you stabbed in the fucking chest?" His tone is more serious now. "He was the kid of one of my best friends. And now, he wants you. And let me tell you now: he's not nice. Neither am I." He watches her face fall in the mirror, then puts his eyes back on the road.

Dex pulls up to the camp about a half hour later. The men at the gate open it up, and he rides through. He drives through the open area, and parks behind Charlie's cabin. He exits the car, then opens the door to the backseat, where Hannah has her back pressed against the far door. She shakes her head vigorously, and with wide eyes. "We're here," he says, but she doesn't move. He sighs and pulls out his gun, pointing it directly in front of her face. "Let's go."

She complies and slowly exits the car. Dex grabs her by the elbow and leads her to Charlie's front door. He knocks, and Hannah stands there, shivering severely. The door opens, and she stares into the familiar eyes of the man in the forest. His face changes from sheer anger to excitement in just a fraction of a second; he claps his hand on Dex's shoulder. "Nice work. But I don't expect any less."

"Quinn and Miles make it back yet?" Dex asks.

"Miles got here a little while ago. Not Quinn. But there’s more important things to deal with right now. Take her down."

After Dex takes Hannah to the basement of Charlie's apartment, he makes his way to Paul's cabin. He knocks, and when the door opens, Paul covers his mouth with both hands. Dex enters and closes the door behind him, and immediately afterwards he pulls Paul into a tight hug. "Told you I'd make it back." He kisses Paul for a long time, realizing only now how much he's missed him these past weeks.

Paul breaks. "Did you get her?" Dex nods, and Paul looks slightly disappointed.

"Charlie's got her."

"...Hopefully this'll all be over soon, right?"

"Maybe. Come on." He grabs Paul's hand and pulls him to his bedroom.

Cole stares out the terminal window a few minutes before living. Billie stands next to him, her hands in her pockets.

“Think they killed her?” he asks abruptly.

Billie takes a disturbed glance at him, then swallows hard. “Don’t think like that,” she says. “You can’t think like that, Cole.”

“They probably killed her. Right? Probably.” He nods his head, as if confirming this as a fact in his mind.

Billie grabs his shoulder firmly. “Stop fucking saying that. Just stop. We don’t know what happened, so assuming the worst is the worst thing you can do. So stop.” She waits for him to acknowledge her advice, but he stares into her eyes blankly.

“...What if she’s dead?” he asks, barely audible.

“If she is,” Billie says, and Cole lets out a rough whimper. “If she is, we’ll deal with that. You just need to focus now on getting her back. Because we will. Do you understand me?”

He tries to say something else, but words escape him and he just pulls her into a hug, burying his tear stained face into her shoulder. She pats his back, not knowing how to make someone feel better in this improbable situation.

Behind them, they hear footsteps. They ignore them, until a voice says coldly: “Maybe she deserves this.”

They break their hug and stare at the man. It’s Jim, Elle’s husband, and his expression only contains anger. He stares at Cole especially with clenched fists.

Billie stares at him, disbelieving. “What did you just say?” she asks quietly and takes a step toward him. She pushes Cole back with a firm hand.

Jim stands his ground, not afraid of this 18 year old girl. “I said she fucking deserves it. The bitch is probably the reason why my wife is dead, and my kid doesn’t have a mom anymore. So yeah, maybe she fucking deserves this.”

Billie sees red, and before she knows it, Jim is on the ground with a bleeding nose and busted lip, and her fists are stained with his blood. She leans down next to him as people in the terminal crowd around. “Your little girl already lost her mom,” she says harshly to him. “She doesn’t need an asshole of a father, too.”

"What do we do with him?" Jen asks. She and Abe stand outside his office, where inside Quinn sits, still handcuffed.

"I'll deal with that. Everyone just needs to relax," he says.

"Well, I can't relax. I need to know what you're planning to do with him."

"You really need me to tell you?"

"Abe. You're not a murderer."

"Then maybe I am. Because unless you have another solution, it's got to be done. What, you wanna fight me on this?"

Jen sighs, looks at him in silence for a long time. "Whatever you need to do." She walks away, and Abe re-enters his office. Quinn sits there, teary eyed.

"Let me go, man. Nobody has to know. You can tell them you killed me and then--"

Abe reaches into his desk and pulls out a pocketknife, then silences Quinn with a stab to the forehead.

Trivia

 * This issue was originally titled "Nothing To Lose."