Low on Time/Issue 50

This is issue fifty of Low on Time, entitled: Dinner and A Toast To The Future.

Issue 50; Dinner and A Toast To The Future
The next morning, Olivia sleeps heavily, her head on Ryker's chest. He was unconscious, and had quickly fell back asleep after he regained his consciousness for the first time. Olivia didn't want to leave his side-- she couldn't. She owed him that much, for saving her-- for trying to continue the fight, as hopeless as he may feel.

Katy is in the kitchen also, where she is pouring herself a cup of coffee. She has a pistol close to her side, just in case Olivia tries anything funny. Katy was a mess though. Two days in a row she's had to work under pressure, on two complete strangers, and then hope their psychotic friends didn't try to kill her.

She was so paranoid at this point that she didn't realize the coffee she was pouring had overflown until the steaming hot coffee drips onto her bare feet.

"Fuck!" she muttered, jumping back, dropping the coffee pot in the process. She quickly sat down on the floor, holding onto her burning foot. "Fucking bitch..."

"You okay in there?" the voice of Ben calls from the next room over.

"Yeah-- fucking bitch." she muttered, watching as her foot starts to swell up.

Ben enters the room, rubbing his eyes. "Might need some ice for that..." he said, smiling.

"No fucking shit."

Ben laughs to himself as he goes into Katy's freezer, pulling out an ice pack. He nonchalantly passes it to Katy, who immediately shoves it on her aching foot.

Before Ben can make another comment though, Ryker started to heavily cough. Ben quickly looked over at him, and watched as Ryker turned his head toward him, blood shooting out of his mouth.

Katy watched too, but instead of showing any concern, she immediately went into an effort to calm him down. She put her hands into the air, and walked slowly over to him.

"Kid, it's okay..." she said, her tone hushed and calming.

As Olivia awoke, Ryker had already looked, in a state of panic to her. She quickly tried to speak to him, calling him by his name, offering him reassuring words...

He can't hear anything though, besides a ringing in his head and the faint voices of the two people around him. As far as he can tell, there's two of them, one woman-- who looks a lot like Kelly, and a man who clutches onto a pistol at his side.

"Ryker...?" Olivia asked, looking over him, as his eyes moved frantically between Katy and Ben. She quickly grabbed hold of his head, and turned it toward her, so he was looking at her. "Ryker... it's me."

''Olivia sat with Kelly, the day following Langston's death. Kelly was visibly shattered, both mentally and physically, and the only person she would even think about breaking down in front of is with her.''

''The two girls sat on a couch in the living room, and as Kelly cried, Olivia held Kelly close to her. Kelly has been Olivia's best friend now for years, and seeing her like this wasn't easy. Olivia knew that she was a "princess" compared to what Kelly's been through. Losing Dylan was hard enough on her, and the one person she found in comfort from died-- by Olivia's own hands.''

''"It's okay..." she reassured, rubbing Kelly's head.''

''"No it isn't." she muttered, wiping a tear away from her cheek. "He's--he's gone and he's never coming back."''

"I'm so sorry."

"It--it wasn't your fault. You were just trying to protect Jule & Ry... I know that... I just-- can't believe he's gone."

"He was a good guy--"

''"The best." Kelly interrupted in a harsh whisper.''

''Those words hurt Olivia more, as if she wasn't hurting already. She may have just as well have kicked out the chair from under Kelly's feet herself.''

"Everything will be fine, Kelly. We'll go somewhere safe... there has to be somewhere for us."

''"You guys will get to wherever that place may be." she said, lifting her head, and sitting up in an up-right position. "As for me-- I'll just make sure you get there."''

''"You'll make it to." Olivia said, grabbing hold of Kelly's shoulders. "We all will-- me, you, Jake, Ike, Manning-- we'll all make it. You'll see."''

Olivia and Ben help lift the still-tired and pain-filled Ryker from the table. His whole body hurt now, his foot all the way to his head-- he doesn't know what hit him.

"What--what happened?" he asked, looking at Olivia. "Where's Julia? Where's Kelly?"

That's where it hits her-- he doesn't remember losing Julia? He doesn't remember getting separated from Kelly? As she and Ben helps him onto the ground, where Katy hands him a pair of crutches, he just blankly stares at Olivia, waiting for his response.

Olivia doesn't know what to tell him. Ryker is still covered in his own blood, huge cuts all over his forehead are covered by whatever Band-Aids Katy could find-- and she knows that's not the worst of his injuries... it's the emotional ones.

"We got--we got separated, Ry." she said, grabbing his shoulders. "We were attacked, and Kelly and Julia had to flee the scene... I'm sorry."

"They didn't die though... did they?"

"No... they didn't." she said, giving him a hug. It was her way of saying I'm sorry, although Ryker was completely oblivious. "What's the last thing you remember, Ry?"

"I don't know... I think the last thing I remember was me talking to you and Trevin... I can't remember though."

Olivia sighed, but didn't let go of Ryker... he was all she had, and she couldn't force herself to tell him what really happened.

"He'll re-gain his memory." Katy interrupted, looking at the two. "It'll happen, just, give it time."

"Thank you." Olivia said, looking back at Katy and Ben. "For everything."

"Here, I'll bring you somewhere where you can get yourselves cleaned up." Ben said, offering a smile.

"And, Ry, is it?" Katy interrupted again. "I want you to come back here, tonight, if possible. I'll need to check up on you."

"I--I guess." he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Alright, now, if you'll follow me..." Ben offered, walking toward the front door, Olivia making sure to keep close to Ryker's side.

As Kelly awoke in her bed, yawning, Ike was already gone. She could hear the shower from the bedroom, and simply smiled to herself, knowing he was probably enjoying that little bit of water.

She rolled out of her bed, and put a bath-robe on. She quickly wandered down the stairs and before she was able to check out the house for herself... there was a knock on the front door.

She sighed, and walked straight to the door, and pulled it open. Eli stood there, and smiled upon seeing her.

"Hey," he said, his voice so charismatic & charming.

"Hi." Kelly simply said, smiling now too.

"You clean up well, probably looking better then half the women here..."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Anyways, I'm here to ask you and your boyfriend out to dinner tonight. At Katy's place." he joked, handing her an envelope.

"Boyfriend? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" she asked, still smiling.

"You two are adorable together... although you better watch yourself, Ike might just get torn apart from you."

"Whatever," she said, looking at the envelope.

"Well, will I see you at dinner then?"

"Yeah, totally." she said, looking back at him. "Thanks."

"Of course..."

As Eli left, Kelly shut the door behind him, smiling.

"What was that about?" Ike asked, still wrapped in a towel, walking into the room.

"We're going out tonight."

"Can't we just stay in and watch Christmas movies like a normal family?" he asked, sighing.

"Nope." she said, smiling, playfully punching him on the arm. "And we might just get you laid."

"About goddamn time." he said, smiling as well. "Hey, don't you have to be somewhere...?"

"What time is it?" she quickly asked.

"Like, eight..."

"Shit," she muttered, hurrying out of the room, Ike close behind her. "I need to be at the wall soon."

As Kelly grabs her gun, Ike just watches her as she panics-- unnecessarily.

"It's nothing to worry about..." he said, forcing a smile.

"Yes it is. If I want to earn us a spot here, I need to do this."

Ike shrugged his shoulders, as Kelly gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Better be ready when I get home." she said.

"No problem, mom." he said, crossing his arms as Kelly quickly went upstairs to get changed.

''Ike and Isiss sat together on watch duty outside of a broken down house. It was back in the early days, when Kira, Valerie, Trent were all still alive. Back in the good days. Isiss' head rested on Ike's shoulder. She was the only person Ike has been able to connect to recently, and that was mostly because she saw him in his most vulnerable state. He was near-death, and she cared enough to stay by him. That's more than he could say about anyone else.''

''"Why do you do it?" she asked, looking up at him.''

''"Do what?" he asked.''

"I know you better then everyone else, Ike. You're a better person then you present yourself to be."

"Everyone already hates me. See what I care what they think..."

"I don't hate you."

''Ike forced a smile, and Isiss smiled as well. "Well, I like you... far better then everyone else here."''

"But, why don't you try to be nice to Paul or Trent or something?"

''"Because, I approach them, they shun me. I try and talk to them, they tell me I'm worthless. There's nothing I can do to change their opinion of me." he muttered.''

''He could already feel himself getting worked up, and Isiss could tell to. She quickly pulled Ike's head closer to hers, in an effort to calm him down... and it worked. He took a couple of deep breaths, and Isiss forced another smile.''

Olivia and Ryker had just gotten into their new house. They had already talked to Henry Smith, the leader of the zone, and both were exempted of doing anything until they had settled in and healed up.

The two were in the living room, and Olivia was helping Ryker onto the couch. Olivia was still contemplating telling Ryker what really happened-- but she doesn't want to risk him attempting another suicide.

"Do you think there's a chance we'll see them again?" Ryker asked, as Olivia took a seat next to him.

"I definitely believe we will." Olivia said, forcing a smile. "It'll happen, no doubt in my mind."

Ryker nodded... that was the answer he was hoping he would get. He rested his head against the couch, and sighed.

"Hey, we should get you cleaned up." she said, looking over him. "You look like you to get everything cleaned out... they got running water."

"What should I about all my casts though?" he asked, drawing attention to the casts on his arm and ankle.

"But a garbage bag over them, I don't know." she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Come on, Olivia will take care of you..."

''Kelly sat outside of the farm house, a pistol in her lap. It was the day after they had gotten there, and Kelly couldn't stop thinking about Emily. The two had become real good friends over the short amount of time they knew each other, even though they were polar opposites.''

Langston sat next to her, his arm around her shoulders.

''"What's wrong, pretty?" he asked, poking her shoulder.''

''"Stop calling me that... I hate baby names." she said, smiling.''

"Alright... pretty."

''"Yeah, real funny." she said, rolling her eyes. "How about you put that pretty-boy mouth of yours to the test? Come hunting with me."''

''"Hunting? My specialty." he said, smiling, and standing up. "I'll go grab my things."''

''As Langston went inside, Ryker stumbled outside. His head was clearly hurting, and he took a seat next to Kelly, holding his head. The two haven't spoken a word to each other at this point, so, Ryker just nervously sat there, fiddling with a small pocket knife.''

''"You're quiet." Kelly simply said, watching him, as Ryker looked back up at her.''

''"Oh, uh, sorry." he said.''

"What's your name?"

"Ryker..."

"Ryker, have you ever had to kill?"

"Not yet, ma'am."

''"Good. You're coming with me then." she said, standing up.''

"Going where?"

"Hunting."

"Uh, I don't know how to though, ma'am."

''"First of all, call me Kelly." she said, offering a smile, and her hand. "Second of all, I'm gonna teach you."''

''Ryker took her hand, and she pulled him off the chair. "Be ready, we're leaving in five."''

As Kelly stood on guard duty, with a couple of heavy-set men, they eyed her down. They were both in their thirties, so, obviously they didn't think Kelly belonged up there with them.

"Hey blondie," one of them called to her, grasping her attention. "I guarantee you won't be able to hit the next of those biters that come on over here."

"And I guarantee you I will" she said, smiling.

"Oh yeah? Let's see it then. Right up there." he said, pointing toward the woods.

Kelly took a look, and as she suspected, a zombie came limping out of the woods, moaning and groaning. She nonchalantly raised her pistol, aiming down the sights, while the other two men watched casually. She took a deep breath and pulled the trigger, and almost instantly the zombie fell. She smiled, and looked at the other two men, who both looked impressed.

"Alright," the first man said. "You're a good shot blondie, I'll give you that... you'll fit in just fine."

Kelly smiled, pleased with herself. "Thanks."

"Where'd you learn to shoot like that?"

''Trevin stood in front of a line of five people at the farm house, Kelly, Owen, & Kira included. He paced back and forth, discussing the safety precautions of guns, while Kelly only really cared about getting to shoot something. So, she stared at the pistol in her hand, and just imagined the thought of her shooting a zombie straight in the face.''

''"Kelly," he said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "You paying attention? This shit is important."''

''"What?" she asked, to which both Kira and Owen laughed to themselves.''

''"Pay attention please." Trevin said, to which Kelly nodded.''

''"Nice one..." Owen said under her breath, giving Kelly a playful nudge.''

"Whatever," she said, shaking her head.

''When the group started to shoot, Kelly made sure she was planted on the ground. She closed one eye, and aimed down the sights at the bottle that stood in front of her. Owen and Kira both watched as she pulled the trigger, but just receiving the clicking sound of the pistol.''

''"Mines broken." she said, looking at Trevin.''

''"Take the safety off, kid." he quickly said. "Maybe if you paid attention earlier..."''

''Kelly looked at her pistol, and switched the safety butting from on to off. "Oh," she said to herself, as Kira and Owen continued to laugh. "Fuck off, guys."''

''As Kelly got back in position, aiming down the sights, Trevin also shifted his attention to her. As she pressed back on the trigger, the gun went off, and it hit the bottle cap, knocking it off.''

''"Wow, were you aiming for that? That's fucking impressive..." he said, looking at the bottle.''

''"I was actually aiming for the bottom..." she said, wiping sweat off her forehead.''

''"Good enough." he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Just keep on aiming low then, and you should be fine."''

''Kelly nodded, smiling. She looked back at Kira and Owen who both gave her a thumbs up, but still laughed amongst themselves.''

''"Assholes..." she jokingly said to herself, before turning her attention to the next bottle.''

As Kelly got back to her house, and the sun started to set. Ike was waiting for her by the front door. He was all cleaned up, freshly shaven, he even gave himself a buzz-cut.

"Wow," she said, looking at him. "You're looking... hot."

Ike smiled, taking a bow. "As do you." he said.

"You ready to go?"

"You know it."

Kelly smiled, and Ike took her by the hand.

"I guess I should say thank you--" he said, as they started to walk.

"For what?" she asked.

"Saving me-- I mean look at this place. It's absolutely amazing... we're safe."

"Too bad no one else made it..." she said to herself, quietly.

"Yeah, I know how you feel." he said, looking toward the ground. "But at least we have each other."

"Yeah, that we do have... and I'm thankful." she said, smiling.

Olivia is dressed up in a black & white striped sweater, and black jeans. Her hair is all straightened and clean now, and Ryker is next to her, leaning against the wall. Olivia had cut his hair, and he was wearing a purple sweatshirt with a pair of jeans. This was the best they looked and felt in months-- although Olivia was feeling guilty. Guilty she didn't tell him the truth about Julia. Guilty that she never paid much attention to him until it was just him and her. Just guilty in general.

"My fucking ankle is burning..." Ryker muttered, sitting down at the base of the stairs.

"Give it time, it'll heal." Olivia said, joining him.

"I know... just... this fucking sucks so bad."

"What does?" she asked, putting her hand on his shoulder. "We're finally safe."

"I know," he said, sighing. "But, this is all Kelly ever talked about-- a place like this, y'know? It's hard knowing we're here while she's still somewhere out there."

"We'll find her, Julia too. Just, trust me."

Ryker nodded as Olivia forced a smile, and playfully nudged his shoulder.

"C'mon, let's go get you checked out." she said, standing up.

Kelly, Ike, Ben, Katy, & Eli sat around a large dining table together. A bottle of champagne was already being passed around, and Ike had a huge glass in front of him, and it took him effort to not drink the entire glass in one gulp. He tried to focus on something else, like, the paintings scattered around the rooms-- or anything to take his mind off the alcohol.

Kelly however, was chatting away with both Ben and Eli... she was having fun. She loved the idea of having more people to talk to, especially with how badly things turned out. She needed this support.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Both Ben and Eli smiled, looking at each other, and the to Katy.

"Your patient's here..." Ben said.

"I got it." she said, standing up, quickly exiting the room.

Katy hurried over to the front door, and opened it quickly. Both Olivia and Ryker stood there, and Katy's first impression came from how well they cleaned up. The two looked like they probably did before all this, and it was something they all took for granted.

"Come on in." Katy said, smiling. "We were having some champagne, if you'd like to join us."

"Ryker..." Olivia started, entering the house with him. "You in?"

"No, thanks." he said, forcing a smile.

"Alright," Katy said, leading them toward the dining room.

As they entered the dining room, and are met by the surprised faces of Kelly and Ike, both Olivia and Ryker didn't know what to do. They were at a loss for words-- but Olivia wasn't happy. She looked, and felt, angry.

"Olivia...Ryker...?" Kelly asked, standing up, as did Ike.

"What the hell." Olivia muttered.

"Kelly?" Ryker asked, before looking to Olivia. "Where's Julia? You said she was with Kelly."

"We never saw her." Kelly said, still offering them a reassuring smile. "Why?"

Ryker, without words, stormed back off in anger. He couldn't believe Olivia lied to him-- about the death of his best friend. Olivia quickly followed him to the front door, pleading with him to stay, but he was long gone.

She just stared out the door, watching him go, hoping he would just come back. She turned back around, where she was met by the stares of Ben, Eli, Kelly, and Ike.

"This is your fault!" Olivia screamed, looking at Kelly and Ike. "You abandoned us-- you fucked us over, Kelly."

"We had no choice." she said, not taking her eyes off of Olivia.

"Bullshit. You could've fought back-- but instead I watched as Jake's body was destroyed by bullets. Julia was shot right in front of the poor kid-- and he can't even remember it. Instead, you bailed on us and me and Ry were stuck in a closet while those fuckers looked for us."

"I'm sorry..."

"It doesn't matter." Olivia muttered, before quickly running back off after Ryker.

Kelly stumbled back against the closest wall, and silently wept as Ike and Ben tried to help her back up. She couldn't believe it-- she thought everyone was dead! How was she supposed to know that they lived? How were they supposed to help them?

"This is all our fault." Eli muttered, throwing his face in his hands in stress.

"That was the last we saw of them, for a while. Every now and again I'd see Kelly on the streets or Ike with that doctor around his arm. I ignored them the best I could-- the best Ryker and I could. I missed them, but what they did to us was unforgiveable. My main focus was getting Ryker back on the right track. The poor boy was suffering from depression and night terrors. He'd wake up screaming, and I'd have to calm him back down, and a lot of nights he couldn't sleep unless I was there. It didn't take long for the memories he had forgotten, the memories I wanted him to forget, to come back... and they came back without warning. Julia's death flashed in his mind every second of every day and no matter how hard I tried... I couldn't get him back. He died a couple of weeks ago. Not by suicide, not by zombie, not by human... but by fucking nightmares. I miss him everyday now, he was all I really had left, the only person I treasured. I still remember the day I found his body. He was supposed to wake me up for wall duty, and I woke up a few hours later, with no sign of him. I quickly went to his room, because, he was a suicidal boy-- but he was doing better... or at least that's what I thought."

Olivia stood in a cemetery, standing over a grave labeled:

Ryker Daniels.

1998-2015

It's been a year since Ryker's death, and Olivia still thinks about him everyday. She stills makes the time and effort to go to his tombstone, place her respects-- talk to him. She would just go there to talk to him... and sometimes he talked back to her.

"Mind if we join you?" a familiar voice asks.

Olivia quickly turned around, seeing both Kelly and Ike standing there. Olivia sighed, wiping a few tears from her eyes, as Kelly and Ike took a spot on either side of her.

"We're sorry this happened." Kelly said, after a long moment of silence. "We know how much he meant to you."

"It's ok." she said in a hushed tone, looking toward the ground. "I miss him."

"We do too." Ike said, throwing his arm around Olivia, as Kelly grabbed Olivia by the hand.

"We miss you." Kelly said, to which Olivia just nodded her head. "Can we start over?"

Olivia just gave a tearful nod, and was quickly pulled into a tight hug by both Kelly and Ike. The three had to stay strong, had to keep going... why? Because they had a place to fight for. They had a place where they could live happily, free of danger. They had a life to live.

Credits

 * Kelly Gay
 * Olivia Bell
 * Ike Dennis
 * Ryker Daniels
 * Eli
 * Ben
 * Katy

Deaths

 * Ryker Daniels