The Ones Who Remain/Issue 8

This is issue 8 of The Ones Who Remain, entitled: When There's A Will, There's A Way.

Issue 8; When There's A Will, There's A Way
As night started to fall, Jared, Adrianna, Nikki, and Cal took shelter in an abandoned farm, barely out of the way of their destination: Jacksonville.

The four were all gathered together around a fireplace, Nikki lying down, eyes closed, her head in Cal's lap, Jared & Adrianna sitting together, Adrianna staring blankly into the fire. But, Cal couldn't take his eyes off of Jared...he had so many questions, he didn't even know where to begin.

"So when are you gonna tell us what the fuck was that all about?" Cal suddenly asked, his voice irritated. Nikki's eyes pop open, staring up at Cal's face. Adrianna is quickly taken out of her thoughts, staring back at Cal, but Jared seemed unfazed by the question. He knew it was gonna come sooner or later. "You just shot some guy in the fucking leg, talking about some sort of rebellion and all this random shit...what the fuck are you getting us into? We're only here to get Mike back."

"And these guys will help us do it." Jared simply said brushing Cal off.

"That doesn't answer my fucking question." he retorted.

"You wanna know what the hell is going on?" Jared suddenly snapped back, standing up. "Echo has been ruling most of this state for almost ten fucking years. They're killed thousands of innocent people, and no one gave them a second look. These people are scared-- they need someone to fight for them. That's what this rebellion is. If I die doing this, and we take over Echo...we saved hundreds of more lives."

Cal grows quiet as Jared storms off in anger. Before Adrianna has any time to stop Jared, he's outside, and Adrianna is quick to get up and go after him.

Nikki quickly reaches up to Cal's face, diverting his attention away from the door Jared stormed out of, in an effort to calm him down. Cal looked back down at Nikki, who's half-asleep at this point, and takes a beep breath in an effort to calm himself.

"It's okay," she said, offering a light smile, which he quickly reciprocated. "he's just dealing with a lot of stress, we all are."

"It's just frustrating. We're blindly following him into something we have no business being in. I just want to get Mike back; I want to help you get Mike back." he said, grabbing her hand.

"I know...thank you."

"Only thank me when he's back." he quickly said, cutting her off. "Now try and get some sleep, okay? We all know how bad it can be out there, especially when we're out of Echo control...this is where the biters thrive."

Nikki nodded. "You don't have to remind me. I know what's out here."

"I know, but reminding you won't hurt."

"Yeah, I guess." she said, to which the two of them smiled. As Nikki closed her eyes, Cal looked back out the door, where he could hear the faint voices of Jared & Adrianna go back and forth.

"I don't care what you think, douchebag, you should've told us!" Adrianna spat at him.

"I don't give two-shits. You guys wanted Mike back, that's what I'm doing! These guys will help us get Mike back, and not only that, we can overthrow Echo." he retorted, trying to keep his voice low to avoid attraction from any unwanted guests.

The two both stood on the porch going back at each other, Adrianna pacing back and forth while Jared just watched her, arms crossed.

"Look, I'm just being smart." Jared said.

"Your plan was smart. Not letting us know was retarted."

"Just...shut up. Why the hell did you even tag along?" Jared asked, pulling a cigarette out of his back pocket. As he lit it, Adrianna finally stopped pacing, looking at him.

"I owe Mike...everything." she firmly said.

"Sure you do." he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I can't wait to hear this story..."

"You don't get to hear my 'story'." she simply said, before storming back inside.

''A twenty-five year old Adrianna sat in the kitchen of her freshly-painted house. Her stomach was huge, her smile was radiant, her confidence was shining. A man stood in the kitchen, cooking eggs and ham over the stove, and a little girl, around the age of two, sat next to Adrianna.''

''"Mommy is it a boy or a girl?" the little girl asked, looking at Adrianna's stomach. Adrianna herself looked down at it, smiling to herself, before squeezing the girl's cheeks.''

''"I don't know yet, darling." she said, still smiling. "Daddy and I want it to be a surprise."''

"But I want a baby sister!"

''"Well, it doesn't really work like that, Eliza." the man said, walking over to the counter with a plate of eggs for Adrianna.''

''"Please!" she exclaimed, looking from Adrianna to the man.''

''"I'll tell you what." Adrianna said, pulling Eliza out of her seat, and onto her lap. "If this one's a boy, we'll have another one, and it'll most definitely be a girl."''

''"Fine." she said, giving an exaggerated frown.''

''"Don't give me that face!" Adrianna quickly said, pulling Eliza into a tight hug, giving her as many kisses on the cheek as she could.''

''"Honey," the man said looking at the clock. "Don't you need to be somewhere...?"''

''Adrianna, quickly taking a look at the clock, quickly mutters "Shit." before picking Eliza up off of her lap, and handing her over to her dad, who gives Adrianna a quick kiss goodbye.''

''"Be safe." the man said.''

''"Please, when am I not?" she retorted, giving him a longer kiss, before grabbing a coat off the chair she was sitting on before, and hurrying out of the kitchen.''

''"Bye mommy!" Eliza yelled out as Adrianna hurried out of the front door.''

''Adrianna walked through the bright street, smiling to the sight of children playing football. As she passed them, they all yelled out a little "Hi ma'am," or a smile and a wave, to which she smiled, waving at the group of children.''

Adrianna rounded the block, and in front of her was a large barricade, A large fence spread out along the outside of their community, and along the fence were a group of people, who dispatched of the biters through the holes in the fences.

One of them, a tall, skinny guy with red hair looked back at Adrianna, and the two both smiled, greeting each others.

''"How are the fences holding up?" she asked, to which he looked back at the other's who continued to take out the biters.''

''"There's a couple big groups at the south-west end up on Boulevard. But other then that we're pretty good." he said, turning the baseball cap he wore around so the sun wasn't hitting him in the eyes.''

''"Alright, thanks." she said to which he gave Adrianna a quick salute. As Adrianna turned to walk away, he quickly grabbed her shoulder, turning her around. "What?"''

"One more thing, a couple of the runners said that there were some huge herds coming this way, coming from that town across the ways."

"I'll send a group in to intercept it. Thank you."

''"No problemo, ma'am." he said, before going back toward the fences.''

''Adrianna turned back around and continued her walk down the street. She is quickly met by a blonde woman and a blonde man, both early twenties, both in a panic.''

''"Did someone already tell you about the herds?" the woman asked, her voice trembling.''

''"Rick just did." Adrianna said, looking between the two. "Amy, Luther, the two of you just need to...calm down for a moment."''

''As the two started to take deep breaths, Adrianna offered the two a warm-hearted smile. "Now, here's what I need you two to do, ok? Go take Uriah and Benjamin down to intercept them. No need to shoot 'em all up and waste the ammo, just take a car, drive around them, and lead them away from here. Got it?"''

''"Yes ma'am." Luther said, nodding his head quickly.''

''"We'll get right on that!" Amy said, and the two hurried off.''

Adrianna smiled to herself as she continued to walk down the street.

Mike, Freddy, and Caitlyn all sat in the cell together. Caitlyn's head rested on Freddy's shoulder, and Mike brought his knees up to his face, sitting against the back wall. It has been generally quiet the last day, and, the silence just made Mike feel even worse. Aside from seeing the man's brains hit the floor, he has to sit in silence, and the ones he's looked to for guidance since he got there didn't even have anything to say.

It isn't until the loud clashing of metal pulls all three of them out of their thoughts.

"Not again." Mike silently said to himself, just loud enough for Caitlyn to hear.

It doesn't take long for Johnson to come strolling through the hallway, two Echo guards at his side. As he gets to Mike's cell he stops, and smiles at the sight of Mike quiet and scared.

"You." he said, pointing to Mike. "Come here."

Mike looked back at Freddy, who just simply shrugged his shoulders. Mike slowly stood up, gritting his teeth through the pain coming from his ribs, and limped over to the bars where Johnson stood.

"How did you enjoy the show?" he asked, smiling, to which Mike doesn't answer. "I thought it was a funway to relieve stress and man was I right! I tell you buddy-boy, it isn't everyday when you get to kill your kid's killer and boy...it felt nice."

"What do you want?" Mike suddenly spat back, and he instantly regretted it. He just saw what Johnson was capable of...why would he speak out like that?

"I want to know how it feels to have someone you love die." Johnson said, almost casually.

"Mike..." Freddy said, rising from the bed. He knew something was off.

"When your aunt fell to the ground...man was it cool. You literally fell to the ground like a little baby. So, my question stands. How does it feel, Mike? How does it feel to be the cause of your aunt's death?"

Before Mike even knew what he did, Mike punched Johnson as hard as he could through the bars, Johnson stumbling back a few feet, grasping onto his jaw. "Don't you ever say anything about her again." he muttered, to which Freddy quickly pulled him away from the bars.

"You made a big mistake, kid." Johnson said, still holding his jaw, before turning to the two guards beside him. "Grab him."

A blind-folded Mike is violently thrown onto a metal table by a couple of Echo soldiers, strapping him down so he is unable to move. One of them rips Mike's blindfold off, and his eyes fly around the room.

The two Echo soldiers instantly leave the room, and in the corner of the room stands Emma. Her face still full of regret, her smell of alcohol...all too familiar with Mike.

She quickly approaches Mike, bending over so her face is right in front of his. "Mike, I need you to listen to me. You're going to get out of here, ok? You're going to be okay and I'm so sorry this needs to happen."

He doesn't know how to respond, so he just says the first thing that comes to his mind. "Is Nikki okay?"

Emma doesn't even know how to respond to that one. A couple of tears fall from her face, and she starts to shake her head 'no'.

"What do you mean? Please Emma--please be honest with me." he said, choking over his words.

"She's dead." she lied. It was so much easier to tell Mike that she was dead, instead of giving him the false hope that he might still be able to see her again.

"No, no, no, no..." he said over and over again. He didn't want to believe it. His one friend, the one who stayed with him through...everything was gone. He couldn't help but let the tears flow down his face, as Johnson bursts into the room, a rag in one hand, and a bucket of water in another. A couple of other guards stormed in behind him holding more buckets.

Johnson puts the bucket on the floor, and instantly presses the rag down on Mike's face. One of the other Echo guards then walks around the other side of the table, pouring the bucket of water over Mike's face, giving him the sensation he was drowning. No matter how hard Mike tried to move his arms or try to resist it, he couldn't break free of the restraints.

As Mike's body twitched from the water torture, Emma stood there, needle in hand, tears coming down her face more rapidly now. When Mike's body stops moving, Johnson looks back at Emma, nodding his head. She approached Mike's body as Johnson takes the rag away, and injects Mike with some sore of stimulant, because, within a minute, he's awake again, and they then repeat the steps.

Adrianna lied awake on the couch in the house they were staying at, staring at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep, she didn't know why, but with everything going on around her she just felt the urge to...let go. But, she knows she can't. She still has people she cares about out there.

She looked over where both Cal & Nikki slept heavily, the two using each other for warmth. She can't help but feel bad for them, especially Nikki. Losing a friend or someone they cared about was never easy, and Adrianna knew that better then anyone, and Adrianna just wanted to sit down with her and tell her everything was gonna be alright...but she knows that's not true. And even if it was, Nikki wouldn't wanna hear it from her.

''Adrianna, twenty-six now, sits at the same counter as before, but now she has an infant in her arms, who was sucking on formula. Eliza sat beside them, watching her baby brother drink from the bottle, as Adrianna's husband smokes a cigarette in the next room over.''

''"Babe," Adrianna called to Eliza's dad, her boyfriend, who looked at her. "Can you watch the kids tonight? I gotta check up on Uriah, he's getting sicker they say."''

''"Of course sweety." he said, offering Adrianna a faint smile.''

''"Thank you." she said, giving the baby a kiss on the forehead, and rubbing Eliza's head. "Can you tuck Nicky into bed tonight, Eliza?"''

''"Of course, mommy!" she said happily.''

Adrianna smiled, looking from her baby, Nicholas, to Eliza...the perfect family.

''That night, Adrianna stood in a bedroom with Rick, the red-headed guard, and looked down on another survivor. Dark skin, sickly eyes, dry skin.''

''"Gabe said he wasn't gonna make it." Rick said, bowing his head. "He said his case is too far along to treat...Uriah was always stubborn as hell." Rick let out a dry laugh as Adrianna put her arm around him, putting her head into his shoulder.''

''"He'll be in a better place soon." Adrianna said, to which Rick threw his arm around her shoulder.''

''"I hope you're right, A, I hope you're right." he said.''

''Suddenly, the sounds of screams and yells took the two out of their moment, and Rick's immediate reaction is to run to the window. Adrianna follows him, and the two watch the chaos in the streets.''

''A herd of biters somehow made their way in, and as the survivors ran, they were caught by the biters. If they held their ground, they were taken down with ease.''

''"No!" screamed Adrianna, watching the street. Everything she worked so hard for, the life she started to live...she can't let it all go down the drain now.''

''As she span around to go help her people, she is met by an undead Uriah, who immediately pounced on top of her. Adrianna's head hits the door hinge with such force that her vision is blurred and she could feal the warm blood trickle down her face as Uriah goes to take a bite out of her.''

''Lucikly, Rick pulls Uriah off of Adrianna, throwing the biter into the wall. Rick quickly threw Adrianna over his shoulder, and he ran out of the room as fast as he could as Adrianna's eyes closed.''

''When Adrianna awoke, she was in a small Hyundai, strapped into the seat, Rick next to her, driving the car as fast as he could. Her head was still killing her and as she grunted in pain, Rick immediately looked in her direction.''

''"Yeah, I wouldn't move too much..." he said, putting his attention back on the road.''

''Truth is, she didn't give a shit about her pain...where were her children? She immediately looked into the back of the car, only to find it filled with guns. No...they couldn't be gone.''

''"Where are my babies?" she asked, looking back at Rick.''

''"I couldn't find them." Rick said, sighing. "I went to your house but they weren't there."''

''"Well, we gotta turn around." she said, not taking her eyes off of him.''

''"A, you've been out for three days." he said, not taking his eyes off of the road. "They're not gonna be there...or anywhere near that area. I already did a couple of runs around the area...no one else made it, A."''

''Adrianna went quiet, taking it all in. Her babies, the only people she truley loved were...gone? As the tears started to fall down her face, she shut her eyes, just hoping it was all a dream.''

As Mike awoke again, this time only met by the pitiful face of Emma, he couldn't help but vomit on the floor next to him. His face was bruised and bloodied, his hair stained with his own blood.

"Em--Emma." he could only desperately try and say, and tears still flew down his face.

"I'm sorry, Mikey." she said, rubbing his face gently. "I'm so sorry this had to happen."

Cameron sat with Davie in his office as the sun began to rise. Her face was red with anger, her fists clenched as Davie went through her crates of supplies.

"There. Now give me my son back." she said, arms crossed.

"You can pick him up tonight." Davie said, yawning. "I'll let you lend one of the hotel rooms for the day."

"Fine." she muttered, before standing up, and storming out.

As the prisoner's ate lunch in the prison cafeteria, Freddy and Caitlyn say together on one of the far tables, in silence. But, the sound of a large metal door opening drew their attention, and an unconscious Mike was suddenly thrown onto the floor of the prison cafeteria.

Freddy was the first one up, and he ran as fast as he could to Mike. He put his fingers on this throat, feeling for a pulse, and found a light one after a couple of seconds.

"C'mon, little man..." he said, lifting Mike over his shoulders. Caitlyn made her way over toward them, as the rest of the prisoner's watched in silence.

Johnson stood with a young soldier, twenty years old, who was shaking nervously, his gun raised in Mike's general direction.

"Prove your loyalty." Johnson muttered, eyeing the soldier. "We know what the tattoo means. We know what that signifies. You say you're loyal to us? Then prove it. Shoot one of them."

After a few seconds, the young soldier went to turn his gun on Johnson, but was quickly caught in the act. Johnson grabbed hold of his gun, and before the soldier could react, Johnson reached into his back pocket for a hunting knife, which he then lodged in the soldier's throat.

"If you won't, I will..." Johnson muttered as the body fell to the ground. Johnson picked up the gun off the floor, and quickly took aim at the three prisoners, before picking his target.

With the pull of a trigger, blood spurts from the back of Freddy's head, and he collapses onto the ground, landing on top of Mike's unconscious body.

Jared, Adrianna, Cal, and Nikki stood on the highway, and in the distance were skyscrapers stood. The city of JAcksonville stood before them...and Jared looked the most excited.

"Now, before we go, let me warn you guys. These are where the criminals, thieves go. That means Nikki, don't talk to anyone, alright? I don't care what they say they're all dangerous killers...same goes for the rest of you, okay?"

"I'm not seven..." she muttered.

"Yeah, but you're the baby here. All of these people are dangerous, okay? Just stay close to one of us at all times, got it?" Nikki nodded her head hesitantly, and Cal playfully nudged her shoulder.

You guys ready for this?" he asked, looking at the three.

"More than we'll ever be." Adrianna said, mostly to herself.

''A couple of years later, a twenty-nine year old Adrianna limped through the woods. She was much skinnier then before, a revolver with one bullet in the chamber by her side...she was hurting with every step. Her face was bruised, her eyes bloodshot, her smile long gone.''

''As she got to the out of the woods, she was met by the beautiful sunset. A pink sky, red clouds, the sun going down ever-so-slowly... the perfect way to end...in peace.''

''Not taking her eyes off of the sky, Adrianna sat down on the hood of a red Hummer. She looked down at the revolver, before opening the chamber, looking at the one bullet left. She quickly closed it again, and slowly put the gun to her head.''

''Finally. Now she can be with her babies, her boyfriend--everyone she cared about. She'll be reunited with everybody she loved. The tears rolling down her face, she took one last look at the sunset before shutting her eyes, ready to go.''

''"Wait," a faint voice calls out to her. Her eyes flew open, and she looked to her side, where a sixteen year old Mike stood, his hands in the air. "Please don't do that."''

''"Kid...just go." she muttered.''

''"I'll stay here as long as you need, talk to you as long as I have to, just, please don't do that." he said, hands still in the air, but still moving closer to Adrianna.''

''Suddenly, a biter emerges from behind the car Mike walked past, but he's too busy with Adrianna to notice. Adrianna wants to say something...but she can't find it in her to make any words come out. The biter is quick to tackle Mike, who gives a loud yell as he's taken to the ground.''

''Instinctively, Adrianna quickly turned the gun on the biter attacking the kid, blowing it's head off. Mike quickly crawled away from the biter, before jumping to his feet, wiping sweat away from his forehead.''

Adrianna doesn't know what happened next, but, next thing she knows they're back in the woods, Mike practically dragging Adrianna by the hand until they reach Livingston, where they are met by a slightly younger Emma who looks in disbelief at the two.