Risen from the Grave

We All Fall Down

"Let's talk, Robert." I quickly stood up, pointing my gun in the direction of the voice. Amongst the darkness, I could just about make out multiple figures standing just outside the fences, one of which was stood on top of a large vehicle.

"Who are you and what do you want?"I yelled, too scared to get any closer to these people. "And how do you know my name?"

"That's not important, just come a little closer and I'll explain everything, okay?"the figure replied. Keeping my gun raised I slowly made my way towards the group, holding out a hand to Luke, signalling he should stay behind. He respected me and hung back as I crept forwards, keeping my eyes glued on the figure.

"What do you want from me?"I asked, trembling as the vehicle came into view and revealed itself as a tank.

"Well, a few things,"the man said, "But maybe I should start with an introduction. My name's Ryan, Luke knows me." I briefly looked back to see Luke, who I could barely make out in the darkness. I turned my attention back to Ryan, who was grinning at me. "So, for starters, I'd like him back. Secondly, how smart of you to take refuge in a prison! I want it, along with all your resources. Failure to comply will result in death, and I promise you Robert, none of us want that." I stood there like a fool, in shock.

"I... why?"I asked, unable to think of what else to say.

"Why? Because my people are more worthy of it. Chad here was in the military before all this, shouldn't you respect someone who fought for your country?" I sighed, realising I couldn't argue.

"I'll talk it over with my people. How long do I have?"

"An hour, at most. But you must let us in those gates, it isn't safe out here." I nodded, walking over towards the gates and pulling back the first layer. Once they were all in, I jogged back to Luke, who was still stood where I left him and explained the situation. As we walked back towards the cell block (glancing behind us every now and then to ensure Ryan's group were staying put) I mentioned how Ryan knew him somehow.

"Did you know a Ryan before all this?"I asked, wondering if they'd been close. It would be cruel, but perhaps we could use Luke against him.

"Yeah... he was my boyfriend... he used to cheat on me all the time though, so he never really loved me,"Luke responded, eyes glued to the floor in front of him. I paused, and Luke stopped too, turning to face me. "What's wrong?"

"I don't understand how anyone could want to cheat on you,"I replied, mumbling a bit. In the corner of my eye, I saw Luke smile a little, his cheeks turning slightly red.

"Were you going to kiss me? Before we were interrupted?" I paused, thinking for a second.

"No, I wasn't,"I responded, starting to walk again and ignoring the way his face fell. "I'm not gay, Luke. Not for you." I didn't hear him follow behind me, but I didn't bother turning to see what he was doing.

"Someone wants to hurt us,"I exclaimed, entering the cell block. Alex turned to face me, Willie and Owen mirroring him. Reggie and Dad were probably in the infirmary, but Julie and Caleb were nearby, and also snapped their necks towards me.

"What?!"my sister responded, standing up and walking over to me.

"This guy Ryan, who knew Luke, is here with a group of people and are asking for the prison and our resources, and if we don't do that, they'll kill us." Alex stood up, pulling out his gun.

"How many are there?"he asked, walking over to me.

"I don't know, at least a dozen,"I told him. "We won't be able to take them all on."

"Shit..."he muttered, glancing around the room as if counting everyone. "Where's Luke?"he suddenly asked, turning to me. "Wasn't he out with you?"

"Uhm yeah, he was just behind me,"I replied, turning back to see if he was just outside. Nowhere to be seen. "Crap..."I mumbled, realising my mistake. "I should've checked before I left..."

"Luke's missing?"came Reggie's voice as he pushed his way towards me, Ray close behind him. "He was out there for one god damn minute and you lost him?"he cried, lunging towards me with his fist at the ready. I was in too much shock to react that I just let him hit me, square in the jaw, following by lots of smaller punches to the gut and chest, as well as a few pushes. Eventually, Julie pulled him away, and I looked down briefly to assess the damage. Nothing hurt enough to be broken, maybe a few bruises at the most, but my nose was bleeding. I didn't even recall him hitting my nose. Alex passed me some tissue to clean up the blood.

"I'll go look for him,"he offered. "He won't be far. Worst case scenario he's wondering around the field."

"No, Alex,"Reggie added. "Worst case scenario those goons got a hold of him and will use him to blackmail us. Or maybe just kill him straight."

"They won't kill him,"I argued. "The dude out there is Ryan. Apparently he's Luke's ex." Reggie's face immediately changed from anger to fear. He grabbed his gun from his belt loop and rushed out the door, quickly followed by Alex.

"They don't stand a chance alone,"I warned. Willie looked at me, then pulled out his gun and turned to Owen, kneeling before him and handing him the gun.

"You stay here, okay? Take care of my dad and Ray, can you do that?"he asked, placing the gun in Owen's small hands. Owen nodded, then looked at the gun in awe. I shoved a tissue up the side of my nose that was bleeding and grabbed my own gun, heading out myself, Willie and Julie right behind me.

By the time we reached the gate where Ryan had been left, what had happened to Luke became clear. He was kneeling in front of Ryan, hands tied behind his back and a rope over his mouth. Another guy I didn't know the name of had a knife just in front of his throat, obviously finding the situation amusing. Reggie and Alex had established their ground and were stood on our side of the gate, guns raised towards Ryan. "Look, I made the rules very clear to your friend Bobby here,"Ryan teased, grinning maliciously. "Didn't I, Robert?" He looked over at me and Reggie glanced over his shoulder to glare at me briefly before turning back to the antagonist. "Have you spoken with 'your people' yet?" Willie leaned in towards me.

"We're screwed,"he whispered. "We don't have nearly enough ammo to take them all down. We're gonna have to leave."

"We shouldn't have too,"I replied, trying to appear like a half-decent leader in front of Reggie and Julie. "We shouldn't have to give up what we rightfully earned."

"What if we destroyed it?"Julie suggested. "At least then they won't have any advantage. Sure, we lose all our stuff and that sucks, but at least they're in the same boat as us." She must have noticed my uncertainty. "There'll be other prisons, Bobs. We'll just have to get back on the road."

"What about Caleb, and dad, and Owen. They're vulnerable Jules, we can't keep running."

"We won't. Just this once. C'mon Bobby, I get what you're trying to do but it's just not worth it. If we try to take them on, we're going to lose someone. Let's just go. Burn the place to the ground as we leave." I nodded, finally giving in. We crept forwards towards Alex and Reggie to alert them of the plan whilst Willie headed back inside to tell the others and grab anything of importance.

"Alright, fine,"I announced, grabbing Ryan's attention. "You can have the stupid prison. Just give us Luke back." Ryan laughed maniacally.

"What?"he gasped, sarcastically. "I told you, Robert, I wanted the prison and Luke. My god, do you not listen?" Reggie looked over at me, distrust evident in his eyes. Guilt washed over me. I'd completely forgotten about that part.