After The End

Chapter XV

The sun rose in the east. The air was calm as the birds chirped and the biters growled and groaned. By now a good amount of the biters had disappeared but there was still a sizable amount remaining. Xavier looked out of the window to see how many were left. Ronny and Omar had woken up after the blast. Omar, for the most part, was unharmed. Ronny, however, felt disoriented since he woke up. "I can fight," he said as he tried to stand up. Sarah said, "Please Ronny, sit and rest. You need time to recover. In case you forgot, that was a grenade. Not many can just walk that off, let alone walk at all. So please rest". She then gently pushed Ronny back onto the bed he was laying on. Ronny said, "Fine, I'll rest but I'm gonna be in that fight". Sarah said, "For once, why can't you sit one out"? Ronny said, "Gavin and Suzy are still at Mount Vernon. I need to see them. I need to help them". Sarah felt uncomfortable when Ronny mentioned Gavin, however, she said, "Don't worry Ronny. We'll make sure they're safe. Please consider staying here to rest". Nick was nearby as he said, "Ronny. You're one tough motherfucker. But I agree with Sarah. I think you need to rest". Ronny said, "Tough motherfuckers don't sit out". Nick said, "You're right, just like how normal people don't survive a grenade blast with just minor head trauma. You don't need to be in every fight to prove how tough you are when everyone already knows". Ronny said, "This is more than just being tough. It's about saving my friends, my family". Nick said, "What do you mean"? Ronny said, "Julie, Shaun, Kyle, I never had a chance to save them. I feel like I need to keep my family safe". Nick said, "You did keep them safe. Julie, you saved with the rest of us back in Seattle. Kyle, you saved him with the rest of us at the Biker camp. Shaun was the only one you couldn't save. You can't save everyone. Sometimes when your times up, it's up. No one can prevent it, it just happens. You're a good person, Ronny, with great intentions. But for once, please consider sitting this one out". Ronny looked at Nick and Sarah as they pleaded their case. Ronny wanted to consider it. He said, "I can't guys. I need to go. Gavin and Suzy are just as much my responsibility as yours. Besides, we're all in this together. We need to end this together". 

Xavier said, "Guys, I think now's the best chance we have of getting out of here". Omar stood up as he said, "Alright guys. While it seems like we were defeated, we weren't. We were the winners. They retreated, not us. We stood our ground to the very end. Now let's go end this". Despite the fact that Ronny believed Omar to be evil, he couldn't help but feel inspired by his words. If Omar had one thing going for him, it was his ability to make people feel the same way he felt.

Everyone prepared themselves for another fight as they held their weapons. Ronny was the closest to the door as he said, "Remember people, use guns as a last resort. We don't need more attention than what we already have". Ronny then opened the door as everyone flooded outside to kill as many biters as they could. Every time Ronny killed a biter, he stumbled as he was still very disoriented. Ronny saw a biter eating a dead military officer. As he pulled his knife into a fatal position, the biter turned around and lunged at Ronny as if it was expecting Ronny to be behind it. It scared Ronny as he fell back which allowed the biter to get onto of him. His fall caused him to lose his knife as he struggled to keep the biter from biting him. He pushed the biter with one hand on its face and the other on its neck. As he began to lose strength, he could see the biter getting closer as he began to give up. Suddenly, he saw the biter throw up blood as it bled from its mouth and nose. The biter stopped struggling to attack Ronny as it felt onto Ronny's body. Behind the biter was a knife that was wedged into the back of its head. Standing above the biter was Xavier as he offered his hand to Ronny. Ronny used the remainder of his strength to push the biter off of him as Xavier helped him us. When Ronny recollected himself, he saw that most of the biters were dead and those that weren't hadn't noticed the people sneaking up on them. 

Finally, Ronny, Omar, and the others were able to check on the other homes to see how many people were left. Ronny walked up to the nearest house with Xavier. As they opened the door, they saw it was infested with biters. Xavier slammed the door shut and locked it. Xavier said, "Someone didn't tell the group they were bit". Ronny looked out the window to see a dozen people were in the building and not one of them survived. After seeing this, Omar and the others were more cautious when they approached the homes. Omar walked up to another house, he peeked through the window, only to see more of the same. Everyone inside were biters. Omar didn't bother opening the door. After checking the other homes, it was concluded that all of them were filled with biters. Omar said, "How unfortunate. They died in vain. A moment for our brothers and sisters". As Omar bowed his head, Xavier, Nick, and Sarah looked at Ronny and Thomas as if Omar was crazy. Omar then rallied the survivors to follow him. Ronny and Thomas met with Xavier, Sarah, and Nick as Ronny said, "I promise you, that's the sanest thing I've seen him do". The three of them looked at Thomas for confirmation. Thomas nodded his head as he said, "This guy is fucked up. I'm sure you know he eats people. Well, he also uses biters for clothes, tent cloth, and weapons". Xavier, Sarah, and Nick collectively shared a shocked expression. Xavier said, "So after this battle is over, what will we do"? Thomas said, "I have a suggestion. I heard north of here there's a settlement. It was started and ran by regular people. Not by the military and it's getting noticed". Ronny said, "Well, it's getting colder. How far north is it"? Thomas said, "Just south of Juneau in Alaska". Thomas was met with dissatisfied and uncomfortable looks as he said, "I know it'll be cold and it'll be tough to live there but think about it. It's the perfect place to be safe. It's in a colder location so fewer people are likely to live there which means less of the crazies. Also, the biters will be slower, if they haven't died already from the cold". Thomas gave everyone time to think about what he said before Ronny said, "Sounds like a plan. Once this is all over. We'll regroup north of Mount Vernon and start to head there". Sarah said, "Ronny, are you crazy? Juneau? Do you even think we'll make it there before we freeze to death"? Ronny responded with, "I'm not hearing any other ideas. If you have any other ideas, please say it". Ronny looked around at everyone waiting for a response before he said, "So Juneau it is".  

As the group walked, they approached the bridge. For the first time to everyone, it looked eerie, perhaps because some knew it would be the last time they crossed the bridge. For others, it's because they knew what they were about to do. Regardless, it was the feeling of dread. Omar paused as he approached the bridge. Jackson stood next to him as the two looked at the bridge. Omar said, "For the first time, I see this bridge for what it really is -- a gateway for two ideologies to face off. A way for two cultures to collide". Jackson continued to look at the bridge as he listened to Omar. Omar sighed as he said, "I know I won't survive this encounter. Make sure you let our way of life survive". Jackson finally looked away from the bridge to focus on Omar. "Stop it, Omar. You will survive. You will lead these people in the right direction and I will be right beside you the whole way". Omar smiled as he said, "I like your optimism, Jackson. We shall see". Finally, Omar took his first few steps onto the bridge as he took a deep breath. Jackson followed close behind as the group began to walk again. Everyone tried to brace themselves for what would happen when they got to Mount Vernon. Everyone walked across the bridge expecting to die, however, if they would die, they would take several others with them. They knew whoever came out as the victor would have the island and the losers would perish. As Omar said before, everyone involved would be fighting for their life, for their home, and for their way of life. Ronny knew this and he knew Omar couldn't survive this. However, he also knew Mount Vernon couldn't win. As they walked across the bridge, Ronny began to think about how he could destroy Mount Vernon, kill Omar and Jackson and still make sure his people could escape. It was something Ronny needed to figure out before they attacked, but it was something he didn't have much time to think about.