{ON HOLD} Where My Loyalties Lie (Vanoss Crew Fanfic)

Chapter 8

Sup guys... been a while since I've updated. Lax and shit had gotten in the way of my writing, and as I said before, I'm just not good at updating. Plus, I got a life, okay? I got friends to hang out with and sports to play and parties to attend. But anyways, I'm sorry, and I hope that this drama filled, 2448 word chapter is enough to keep you happy. Peace.  

I closed the door behind me softly, too physically and emotionally exhausted. Sliding down the door, I sighed, covering my face with my hands. I'll admit it; I felt like crying. My friend was dead, his base destroyed by an unknown enemy and the zombies are getting closer and closer to the base. I was just about to give in to my sorrow when I heard Jonathan trying to break the news to the crew about Speedy – and about Alice. The second in command was trying to break the horrible news.

I immediately felt ashamed, selfish and irresponsible. How can I mope here and leave the explaining of our situation to Jonathan? Where was the leader that the crew needed? So, steeling myself, I shakily stood up and walked into the living room, where the whole crew was assembled.

I quickly assessed the situation. Jonathan was standing in the middle of the room, while everyone else was gathered around him, either standing up or sitting on the couches. I could see that some of them had red eyes, as if they had been crying. Jonathan turned around when I walked in, looking lost. Alice was behind his right leg, clinging on to him and peeking at the crew. She also turned to look at me when I walked into the room.

Looking around, I thought "How the hell am I supposed to fix this?" We all looked so broken beyond repair; all of this shit was hitting us hard.

Jonathan came up to me. "Evan," he said in a rush, Alice trailing behind him, "I really tried to calm them down but I just couldn't I can't do this-"

I put my hand up to stop him. I didn't want him pulling his hair out about something that was my job to do. He stepped aside and as I moved to take his place, the crew all looked at me expectantly. "There is no way I can sugarcoat it." I said after a moment. "We're stuck between a rock and a hard place." I let that sink in. "Since Speedy's dead, we have no backup and no more emergency supplies. It also means something else: there's a dangerous group out there. And if they could take down Speedy, that sure as hell means they can take down us.

"Fortunately, Speedy said that he had hid supplies in our emergency hideouts across Los Santos. Tomorrow, we'll send teams to go and retrieve them." Gazing around the room, I saw that the crew was watching with bleary eyes, although they intently listened to what I had to say. "But there's a catch," I continued slowly, "even with those supplies I don't think it's gonna be enough to take out the bastards who killed Speedy. We're undermanned. And we need a solution to that"

Jonathan, who had before been leaning against the wall suddenly straightened out with a look of alarm in his eyes. I could tell he knew where I was going with this. I ignored him and continued on. "I have a solution though." Jonathan was now purposely walking towards me, and before I knew it, he was looking at me, face to face.

"Don't do it Evan." He said the warning in his voice evident.

"Jonathan," I retorted, "it's true. We're undermanned and I have a solution."

"I know what your solution is, and I don't like it."

"It doesn't matter whether or not you like it. It's not your decision." Now the crew was looking at the two of us with confused expressions on their faces. Alice, hearing our argument, had run away into the corner of the room, watching the exchange with wide eyes.

"This is madness! You can't do this!"

"I made a promise, Jonathan."

"Yeah, I know, to us! Your family!"