The Ones Who Remain/Issue 4

This is issue 4 of The Ones Who Remain, entitled: Force.

Issue 4; Force
The following morning, Brenda was up bright and early with Mike, who fumbled around with a gun, which laid in his hands. He was nervous, rocking back and forth in the chair he was sitting in, silently murmuring curses under breath.

"It'll be okay..." Brenda said, putting her hand on his shoulder. He looked back at her hand, and knew immediately she was lying to him. They were going to war... and Emma betrayed them.

"Why did she do this to us?" he asked, looking over his shoulders, where Foster was already making his way toward them.

"She wants to save her own skin." Brenda said, casually. "There's nothing more to it."

"Ma'am," Foster said, gripping his assault rifle tightly. "A couple of scouts reported back-- a huge convoy coming our way."

"Is Jared and the rest ready?" Brenda asked, as Mike stood up, watching the two.

"Yeah.. are we gonna fire on sight, ma'am?"

"No, have them ready to though... let's see if we can end this as peacefully as possible."

"Yes ma'am..." Foster said, before turning right back around, heading back to the way he came. Brenda looked back at Mike who put his pistol in his holster.

"I want you to take Nikki to the warehouse with everyone else... okay?" she asked, and her tone had changed dramatically when Foster left. She turned away from Mike, tears now in her eyes.

"What about you, Auntie Brenda?" he asked, not taking his eyes off her.

"I need to be no the front lines-- talk them down." she said.

"But-- can't you come with me?"

Brenda quickly shot around, pulling Mike into a huge hug. "I love you, Mike... my son... but I need you to make sure Nikki is safe. Make sure all the kids and all of the elderly are safe as well, got it?"

As Brenda pulled away from Mike, looking right into his eyes. Mike could only nod, and Brenda gave him a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Now... go." she said, before hurrying off in Foster's direction.

Mike watched her leave, tears brimming his eyes, and watched as a bus drove throughout the streets, passing him. The bus, filled with all the kids and elderly, didn't stop for Mike, and drove right past Adrianna who walked through the streets, toward Mike.

"Shouldn't you be with all the other kids?" Adrianna asked, reaching him, before seeing the total despair in his eyes. "What's wrong, Mikey?"

"Just leave me be..." he sighed, before storming off in the direction of Brenda.

Nikki sat with Cal in her bedroom. She looked emotionally distraught, and Cal was stuck babysitting the girl until Mike got back. He didn't know what to say or what to do, so he just awkwardly sat there with her, offering a shoulder to cry on or, just someone to rant to, but Nikki didn't seem very interested in doing so. She sat on the bed, her head in between her knees, ready to cry at any moment.

"Why are you even here?" Nikki asked, looking up at Cal, who just looked back at her, blankly. "If you're going to just sit there and do nothing, do it somewhere else!"

"I ain't leaving." he said, sitting back in the chair, relaxing himself. "Not until Mike comes back, or someone comes to take you to the warehouse."

"Mike isn't fucking coming! He's been acting weird to me all day yesterday, and now, he's probably even more pissed at me now that my mom fucking betrayed us all."

"He's not mad at you, Nikki. And I'm sure your mom didn't betray you-- you know that. What she did, she did wanting to help us."

"I sware-- if those assholes touch my mother..."

"They won't, Nikki. Just, calm down, girl."

Nikki ignored him, before lying back down in her bed, taking a huge sigh. Cal got up from his seat and moved to the bed, sitting at the foot of the bed, patting Nikki's knee, reassuringly.

"I know what it's like to have someone you love betray you." he said, as Nikki sat back up, looking at him.

"You do?" she asked, looking at him with big, misty eyes.

"I do." he said, offering a fake, but reassuring, smile. "And, I know you want to be left alone, so did I, but, truth be told, that's not how you should deal with it. Talk to someone... it'll help."

"Like, you?" she asked, to which Cal gave a light, warm-hearted chuckle.

"Fuck no." he said. "I ain't good with this type of shit-- I just, know how you feel. I know a few therapists or some shit in the zone, if that's what you need..."

"I dunno, maybe..." she said, mirroring the small smile Cal was giving her.

"Alright, now get your ass ready. Pack up all your shit, and let's get ready to head out, okay?"

Nikki quickly nodded her head, and Cal got up, stretching his back out, before leaving the room.

Jared stood on the front gates, standing in the middle of Brenda and Foster. The three stood in the middle of eight other guards, all eleven of them holding tightly onto their assault rifles, looking stern and stoic. They were awaiting Davie's men to arrive, and then from there, for Brenda to give the signal.

But, when off in the distance, the loud sound of the trucks came speeding down the road toward them, and there were even more than they anticipated, Brenda let out a soft gasp, barely loud enough for Jared to hear it. He quickly looked over at her, and gave her a quick pat on her shoulder.

"It'll be fine... just, show no fear." he silently said, to which Brenda nodded, not taking her eyes off the convoy ahead.

As the convoy of Echo soldiers pulled up in front of the zone, one of Livingston's guards opened up the gate. The five trucks, full of soldiers, drove right into Livingston, and once inside, they all piled out.

Out of the last truck though, Emma hopped out of the passenger seat, Davie with her as well. Brenda laid eyes on her, and she stared back. Brenda could see the guilt on her face, and so could the other residents of Livingston-- all eyes were on her.

Davie walked forward, looking at the eleven Livingston guards on the wall, while his soldiers looked amongst the much larger crowd of civilians who stood there.

"Brenda," he said, his voice loud and demanding. "I know about your plan-- you wanted to attack us? Well, here's what's going to happen, you're going to come with me, and your people are going to abandon those plans."

Both Jared and Foster looked from each other to Brenda, who stared at him, emotionlessly.

"You take me, and you leave my people alone?" she calmly asked, to which Davie nodded.

"Of course, that's only if your people don't go all jumpy and attack my guys." he said, pulling a pistol out of his back pocket-- just for protection.

Jared quickly grabbed hold of Brenda's arm. "Don't do it-- we can take them." he muttered silently.

Davie smiled, looking at Jared. "Jared? Old buddy... long time no see."

Jared tenses up upon hearing his name cone out of Davie's mouth. "And I hoped to keep it that way." he said, coldly.

"I should have you killed, you fucker." Davie muttered, clenching his fists, before relaxing them again. "But, alas, I will not... but Brenda, you have to come with me."

"Can I have a moment?" she simply asked.

"Of course," he said, before stepping back, looking at Emma.

Brenda turned toward Jared, who still held onto her Brenda's arm. "I can't let them just-- kill all of you." she said, offering a light smile, to which Jared nodded, bringing her into a light hug. She then turned to Foster, who sighed, rubbing his temples. "Take care of these people, Foster, please."

"Of course, ma'am." he said.

Brenda walked forward, climbing down the ladder, into the crowd of Echo soldiers, Foster close behind her. He escorted her out of the crowd, and into the crowd of civilians.

She received hugs and kisses, left and right from her people. They were the ones she protected, the ones she loved, she didn't want to have to leave them. After she was done saying her goodbyes to the group, she turned back to Foster, who hadn't left her side.

"Tell Mike I love him-- but I gotta go." she said, to which Foster nodded.

As Brenda started to make her way to the crowd of Echo soldiers, they all of a sudden drew their weapons, all aimed in Brenda's direction. She stopped short, not knowing what was going on, until...

"You can't take her..." the soft, shaky voice of Mike said, walking toward them, his gun pointed into the crowd of Echo soldiers.

Brenda quickly shot around, looking at Mike, who approached her, his finger twitching over the trigger.

"Mike..." she said, putting her hands in the air. "Put the gun down..."

"Listen to your aunt, boy." Johnson called from the crowd. "I'd hate to see your body drop to the floor."

"You--you can't take her." he shouted back, tears in his eyes.

"Just shoot the kid." Davie muttered, to which Brenda shot back around, looking at the Echo soldiers.

"Don't do it!" she called back.

"Then tell the boy to put the gun down... or he dies." he called.

"Mike," Brenda said, trying to draw his attention away from the group of Echo soldiers. "Please, put the gun down."

"So what?" he muttered. "So they can torture and rape you? I won't let that happen."

"Just kill him..." Davie said, completely done with this confrontation-- he had other matters he needed to attend to.

As one of his men takes the shot, Brenda immediately jumps in front of the hostile Mike, and her body goes limp. As she falls to the ground, Mike just stares at her body in shock, before dropping to his knees himself.

"Auntie--Auntie Brenda...?" he asked the corpse-- hoping, just hoping to get a response.

Jared, from the wall, falls back, not knowing what to do. One of the other guards catches him, as he continues to stare in shock at the scene.

Emma turned away from the scene, her eyes flooded with tears while Davie looks absolutely unremorseful... he even lets out a small smile. "Take the boy..." he muttered.

Two of his soldiers lead the large crowd of Echo soldiers, and hurry over to Mike, who still sits there weeping to Brenda's corpse. Foster, Brenda's guard, hops in their way, stopping to the two guards in their tracks.

"You ain't taking the boy." he muttered, his assault rifle aimed at one of their heads.

But, another guard quickly fires a shot at Foster, and the bullet connects with his knee. As he topples over, holding onto his knee, the two guards grab the weeping Mike by the arms, dragging him to trucks.

Adrianna, who pushes her way from to the front of the crowd, stares, open-eyed, as Mike is thrown into the back of one of the trucks. She looks toward another one of the guards, a weak, skinny man.

"What just happened?" she quickly asked.

"The boy--the boy got Brenda killed..." he said, fumbling over his words, pointing to Brenda's corpse.

Adrianna just stares as the trucks start to speed away, until she hears...

"MIKE?!?" the loud, piercing voice of Nikki as she runs through the crowd, Cal close behind her.

The two push their way to the front of the crowd, and Nikki even runs further after the trucks, collapsing to her knees as she reached the front gate, watching the trucks speed away. Cal slowly walked behind her, placing his hand on her shoulder, as she turned back to him, sobbing into his chest.

Mike lies in the back of the truck, hands handcuffed to the seat, still sobbing about Brenda's death. She raised him, she took care of him, everything he has and everything he knows he owes it all to her... he was the only parent he's ever had.

"Kid, it's your fucking fault." Johnson said from the driver's seat, Emma next to him. Emma sat their, eyes closed, trying not to think about what was happening. "You should've just-- let us take her."

"Fuck...you..." he muttered, voice still shaky.

"Now, instead of her being tortured and raped-- guess who gets to take her place?" he said, a weird, inhumane smile on his face.

"You're not doing...anything to him." Emma muttered, looking up at Johnson.

"Just a joke, and we have you to thank for this wonderful-fucking-day!"

Emma turned back away from Johnson, staring out the window, while Mike just eyes Emma from the backseat.

"You fucking bitch..." Mike muttered, still crying. "After years of protecting you, you let her die! Now you're going to let me die too? Whatever happened to 'you were like a son to me', you... bitch."

"It wasn't supposed to happen this way." she cried into her hands.

Nikki stood in her room, tears still in her eyes, and Cal stood behind her, shaking his head. He had a big backpack on his back, and Nikki was packing hers up. Clothes, some food-- picture albums, whatever she could fit into her bag she did.

"Everything will be here once we come back." he said, watching her. "No need for all this stuff."

"Yes there is." she silently muttered. "Even if we don't come back-- I need to see him again."

"And you will," Cal said, giving her a hug from behind. "We'll get him back, no need to stress."

"It's just to be sure." she said, before zipping her backpack up, throwing it over her shoulders. She grabbed her pistol from her dresser, along with a couple of clips, before looking back to Cal. "I'm ready."

Nikki and Cal both hurried their way through Livingston, not wanting to waste any time. By the rime they got to the front gate, Jared was awaiting them, a backpack of his own on his back. He stood with another man, and the two were kissing each other, passionately.

"I'll be back." Jared said, pulling away.

"I know." the other man said, wiping a few tears away from his eyes.

"Don't worry, we'll keep him safe." Cal said, as they got to them.

"You better," he said, before giving another kiss to Jared and walking away.

"You sure about this, man?" Cal asked, looking at Jared.

"Of course I am. Brenda was my friend, they can't just get away with this." Jared said, fire in his eyes.

"We all ready to go?" Nikki asked, wanting to quickly head out and get Mike back.

"We're waiting on one more." Jared said.

"Right here." Adrianna said, shotgun readied.

"Her? You have got to be shitting me!" Nikki said, obviously annoyed and pissed off.

"I think you'll need the extra hand, baby." she sarcastically replied. "Besides, I owe it to Mike."

"You don't owe Mike shit." Nikki exclaimed. "Just because you banged him once..."

"Wait," Cal said, quickly cutting Nikki off, before turning to Adrianna. "You and Mike banged?"

"We did." she said, nodding her head.

"My man..." Cal said, smiling to himself.

"Yeah, and then he came to ME crying. Saying he made the biggest mistake of his life." Nikki said, hate in her words.

"Look," Jared said, interrupting the small argument. "It's three verses the entire Echo army-- we'll need the extra help."

Adrianna let out a small smile, looking at Jared. "Thank you," she said, before turning to Nikki. "I know you hate me-- but Mike doesn't, he's my friend, and he saved my life. I'm coming."

"He saved your life?" Nikki asked.

"Oh what, he didn't tell you that? I guess that'll make for a fun story one day..."

"Guys," Jared forcefully said. "We have to go get him back, and once we're done, and he's safe, you two can tear each other's throats out."

"I just think they should kiss and make up..." Cal said to himself, before getting two awkward looks from the girls.

"Let's go-- I want to get Mike back." Nikki said, before brushing past Adrianna, and exiting Livingston. Cal quickly followed her, and Adrianna behind him. As Jared walked past the gates of Livingston, following the three before him, he passed Foster, who was leaning on a cane, watching them go.

"Take care of these people, man." Jared said, patting him on the back.

"Good look out there." Foster said, before pulling Jared closer to him, looking him directly in the eyes. "This could be it, you know that right?"

"I know." Jared said, looking back at the three, who were now waiting for him to catch up with them. "I'm taking them to Nichols."

"Good..." Foster said, before Jared turned away, hurrying off to the three who waited for him.

As the gates closed behind them, and the guards on the wall watched them leave, the guards knew they were done for. They were such an awkward group, a girl who barely knew how to kill, a hot-headed killer, an over-confident boy, and a snobby woman. All the guards paid their respects then and there... because they knew they weren't coming back.