So it was pointed out to me in the last chapter that I seemed to have made a mistake in which one to post, and it ended up posting the last few pages of the chapter before it. This is the correct chapter and instead of making you all wait for the finished product (This has actually been finished for years, I just have taken forever and a half to upload it) I decided to just post it all at once, hence the length of this chapter. It's actually supposed to be four or five chapters separately. I'm sure you won't have too many complaints, though. Enjoy, and keep your eye out for my brand new story coming out soon!
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Pike stumbled and fell to the ground. He supported himself with his arms and knees as his head spun. He felt Gavins arms wrap around him and pull him back to his feet, his knees buckling again and he was supported completely by Gavin, as he swung him up and into his arms. Pikes head rolled against his chest as he was carried, feeling Gavins heavy footsteps take them a couple of steps farther. He knew Gavin was tired too, it was hot, they had run out of water the day before, and everyone in the group other than Gavin had agreed that giving Pike any of their resources was a waste, so he had gone two days with no water, and no food.
"We can stop here, it's too hot to continue walking with no water." David said. Pike felt Gavin tremble, as his knees buckled and he dropped Pike to the ground. Pike groaned as he rolled a couple of times and stopped.
"Pike, I'm sorry, are you okay?" Gavin put a hand on his shoulder, Pike couldn't open his eyes. The sun was too bright and everything would spin and he would only pass out, talking was out of the question too, so he just nodded his head slowly. Gavin pulled him up, resting him against what felt like a brick wall. Pike finally forced his eyes open and regretted it instantly, the room spun and he felt like he had chugged a bottle of tequila. If there was anything in his stomach to throw up, he would have. "I'm going to go look for something for you to drink." Gavin put his hand on Pikes arm. Pike used what was left of his strength to reach for Gavins hand.
"Too...dangerous..." he whispered, throat raw and dry. His lips were cracked and bleeding, and his tongue felt like sandpaper. Even Mongo barely kept up with the group, as if the two were tied together. He now lay in Pikes lap, panting.
"He's right, we're just outside of Reno. We need supplies but you can't go alone..." David looked around the group. Only Pike, Dana, himself, Gavin, his daughter, and two or three other stray people they had gathered back in L.A. remained. Their group had shrunk down to almost nothing. "I'll go, Dana will handle things here, and you two." He pointed to two people who stood in the back of the small run down hotel room, he doubted the hotel was anything to ooh and aah at before the apocalypse. "You two come too." THe two seemed shocked, but nodded quietly.
"I'll be back soon, alright. Just relax." Gavin kissed Pike on his forehead, and left.
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Gavin threw the two water bottles they had found in his bag, and they continued scavenging. The city was picked clean, even more so than the usual wasteland of a town they saw while traveling. They had been scavenging for nearly three hours and had come up with the two water bottles, one only half full, and nothing else.
"This place is dead, even more dead than usual." David grumbled.
"Well, we're only on the outskirts of town...maybe if we go in deeper." Gavin said carefully.
"No, we can't risk it." David snapped. Gavin nodded. It was weird not being 'in charge' anymore. But he didn't exactly feel like it was a giant loss. He knew what David felt now, the concern for the group was the only thing on his mind.
"Do you hear that?" David stopped walking. Gavin pulled himself away from his thoughts and perked up his ears.
"Hear what?" He asked, being 'shushed' by David immediately. Then he heard it.
"That..." David whispered.
"Is that..." Gavins eyes lit up.
"Music?" One of the two they brought along with them spoke out loud. Gavins heart fluttered, it was very faint, but even he could practically feel Iron Maidens 'Hallowed be thy name' pumping through his veins. He looked over at David and saw his eyes watering, he was crying.
"I never thought I would hear music again..." He whispered. For a solid minute they simply stood there, listening. Then Gavin frowned.
"Why are we hearing music? There must be other survivors here." He grabbed the gun at his side and readied himself.
"Why would they be playing music? A drained would hear them from a mile away!" The man who had announced what they were hearing earlier said.
"Maybe..." David trailed off. "Maybe they have supplies." He said quietly. They were all thinking it, he just had to be the one to say it. Since leaving L.A. they hadn't been forced to be 'that group' yet. The group of marauding savages that killed for what they needed. Yet.
"We'll just go see, maybe they'll want to join us."
"Or we join them..." Someone offered, Gavin wasn't sure anymore who was talking, he was too wrapped up in the music.
"Just keep your heads low and we'll see what the situation is." David said, he tucked his gun back into the front of his jeans, and headed towards the sound the music was coming from. At first it was hard to pinpoint where the sound was coming from, but when they turned the next corner, heading deeper into the city, it was pretty obvious.
In the middle of the city, was a park. The park must have been popular before the apocalypse, green grass and a small pond. Gavin guessed it must have been occupied by ducks, or fish, before hand. But now the grass was dead, and only a few brown patches remained at the edges, and the pond was filled with a sickening brownish liquid Gavin feared was now used as a bathroom, since he could smell the foul mixture from where he stood more than a block away. The next horrid smell to reach his nose was that of the dead, piles and piles of corpses covered the street, some drained and some human. But the most impressive thing was the 18 wheelers turned on their side to form a large wall around the park. There was a small gap between two of the Semis, apparently an entrance to the park behind the overturned trucks. It was covered with barbed wire, and traffic spikes, several limbs from drained stuck to the metal coils and were rotting away. The trucks themselves had wire covering the top, with several men on each side of the truck with guns pointed down, scanning for any enemies.
"Wow...." Gavin whispered.
"Talk about firepower..." David muttered.
"It's pretty impressive, 'innit?" Gavin froze as he felt the barrel of a gun pressed into the back of his head. He assumed David and the others felt the same thing since not a single breath escaped, it was as if they were frozen in time.
"Move." he felt the gun jab him in the back of the head, giving him a headache. They stepped out from the side of the building and Gavin was allowed to see their capturers. Three men and one woman stood behind them.
"We don't want any trouble, we just heard the music..." Gavin said.
"Well, considering you obviously haven't been here long, I'm guessin' y'all are nomads..." The woman spoke again. "But where's your supplies, and the rest of your group I assume. There's no way you would travel with a group this small...too dangerous. I assume since you've survived this long you're not complete morons." She chewed on a toothpick. Gavin glanced at David who looked at him silently. "Well? I'm waitin'." She said, shoving Gavin with the gun again.
"We were just scavenging for supplies, we didn't know this place was taken...We'll leave." Gavin said.
"That wasn't my question. Where's your group and supplies?" She asked again.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Gavin said.
"Alright then." He heard the gun cock behind him and shut his eyes.
"They're in the old run down hotel outside town, by the highway." He opened his eyes to see David pointing in the direction of their group.
"David!" Gavin snapped. He heard the woman laugh behind him.
