The Chosen Ones: Book 3: The War

11

Back at the house Matt and Casey joined the others, just in time for the final toast of the night.
"Tomorrow is for Gab." Shannon said, raising her glass.
"For Gavin." Sam said. Shannon had given her a shot of tequila. It was to be her first taste of alcohol.

"For all the ones we've lost along the way." Matt said. "We fight for them tomorrow."
They took the shot. Sam coughed, much to the amusement of the others.
"Horrible isn't it?" Shaun said.
"Jesus." Sam remarked, covering her mouth.
"At least now you can say you did it." Casey said, putting her arm around her.

Ben and Mary came up from the basement with the kids. It was time to say good-bye. Hugs were given out and more tears were shed. Matt couldn't wait for a time when the good-bye hugs and the crying stopped. It hadn't even been a year and it was already weighing on him.

Even if this was in fact their lives from here on out, it had to get a little easier than this. The Nest was the heart of this monster. Everything so far, from the cult, to the random attacks, to the monsters that hunted them- it was all started by Walker and the Nest. If they destroyed it, they should have their freedom back.

"Why you crying?" Sierra asked Shannon.
"Cause I'm gonna miss you, silly." She took her little sister from her mom and held her tight.
Matt hugged Mary and shook Ben's hand.

"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure she comes home." He told them.
"Son, there is nobody I trust more with my daughter's life than you." Ben replied. "Take care of yourself too, that boy is going to need you."
"Hey, if anything happens......"
"He'll be taken care of." Ben said, cutting him off."

Casey pulled Mary aside. "Last time you talked to me you told me this was all about me, that it was my story."
Mary smiled. "It is your story, dear. You are ready for whatever is going to happen tomorrow. You're stronger than you know. You just have to trust yourself. When the time comes, you'll make the right decision."

"Do you know what happens tomorrow?"
"I only know of the war. Tomorrow was written about a long time ago. As for the outcome, I honestly don't know."
Casey nodded. She hugged Mary right before she walked out the door.

Jenna and Sam went to bed. Casey told Matt she would put Tyler to bed, and the others went out to the back deck for one more beer. Matt, Phil, Shannon and Shaun. The last of the original group.

"One final beer on the back deck." Phil said.
"You guys know at this time tomorrow, this is going to be over." Shannon told them. "One way or the other."

"We'll either be dead, or we'll be right here again, having another beer." Matt said.
"I don't know about you guys, but I would really like to be here." Shaun said, seriously.

They sat for a minute, enjoying the quiet and the company. They were all nervous about tomorrow and the uphill battle they would be facing. But right now they didn't want to talk about it.

"Hey Shaun." Shannon said, suddenly.
"Hey Shan." He replied.
"Since we're going into tomorrow with a limited chance for survival, I wanted to ask you something that's been on my mind for a while now, years actually."

This made Matt and Phil picks their heads up as well.
"Sounds serious." Shaun said with a smile. "Ask me anything. I'm at your disposal."

"So senior year homecoming, we were all at John Larz's house for the after party." She started.
Shaun put his head down and smiled, knowingly. He had avoided this story for years. He sensed Shannon had an idea, but she never confronted him before.

"I was with Jim Cummings then." She continued. "It was late. Matt, Amy, Phil, Gab, Bill and his date were all leaving. Do you remember that?"

Shaun nodded. "I remember." He admitted.
"You went with Ashley Rigglio." Shannon reminded him. "I wanted to stay, I remember I was hammered, Matt you tried to get me to leave."

Matt nodded as he recalled, then Shannon continued. "Anyway I saw Ashley fighting with you trying to get you to leave, but you stayed, I remember her storming out, all pissed off at you." Shannon said.
"Yeah." Shaun laughed. "She wasn't happy. She was a bitch, though."

"The last thing I remember I was being led upstairs by Jim, and that's it, I blacked out. All of a sudden I went from drunk to not being able to stand, like in a blink." She recalled. "Then, the next thing I know I woke up in my bed at Matt's house the next morning. I was under the covers with a bottle of water on the nightstand." She finished.

Shaun looked up. "What are you asking me again?"
"Yeah Shannon, why you bringing this up five years later?" Matt asked.

"I remember that Monday in school Jim wouldn't talk to me, and he had two black eyes." Shannon said, grinning. "I thought I did something wrong, I didn't know why he suddenly didn't want anything to do with me."

"You were better off. Jim Cummings was a jerkoff." Shaun said.
"I remember him with the black eyes, people said he got the shit kicked out of him that night." Phil said.
Shannon just stared at Shaun. "So what happened?" She asked.

He took a deep breath. Since so much time had passed he really didn't think this story would ever come up.
"I just hung back to make sure you were okay." He admitted. "You were plastered. I knew the kind of guy Jim was. He practically dragged you up those stairs. I'm pretty sure he put something in your drink. I think you probably knew it too. So I followed him up there. When I opened the bedroom door you were passed out on the bed and he was getting ready to pull his tiny ass dick out."

Shaun had to pause. He felt himself getting angry just thinking about it again, a whole five years later. He didn't like the attention either. Which is why he preferred not to ever tell anyone about that night so many years ago.

"So, I grabbed him and beat the shit out of him." He glanced up and grinned at Matt and Phil. He knew his two friends would like that part of the story.
"I told him if he ever so much as looked at you again I would kill him. Then I carried you down the stairs. By that time the party was pretty much over so I drove you to Matt's, took you upstairs, covered you up, and drove home. End of story." He finished. "No big deal."

When he glanced up at Shannon she was crying. She walked over and hugged him. "Thank you." She whispered.
"Any one of us would have done it." Shaun said.
"But you were the one there for me that night." She told him.

Matt and Phil just looked proudly at him. They had never heard the story either. That's the way Shaun was. He didn't do it to get a thank you, or for anyone to tell him what a good guy he was. He simply did it because Shannon was his friend.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Shannon asked.
"I didn't want you to feel ashamed, or embarrassed." He replied. "Or think it was your fault. I don't know...."

"You're a good man, brother." Phil told him.
"Don't go telling anyone." He said with a smile.
"Everyone already knows." Shannon said.
"You're are a 3 a.m friend." Matt said, grinning, as he looked at Phil and Shannon.
"Hell yeah he is." Shannon agreed.
"Uhhhh, what exactly is a 3 a.m friend?" Shaun asked, with a look of confusion.
"You are, brother." Phil told him.
Shaun just laughed. It sounded like a good thing so that was enough for him.

The closeness of their group might just be the reason they survive the war tomorrow. They will not only die for one another, as Gab had shown, but more importantly, they would kill for each other.