The Sky Beneath Us (on hold)

SEVENTEEN

Day 28. 06:27.

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"Becca! Becca!" Avery desperately called into the burning Settlement, "has anyone seen Becca?"

Sadie was tending to the wounded around them, Wesley was limping after her carrying an array of first aid materials. Diego sat smoking, head in hands. Chad, Aki, Michelle and Clark were extinguishing the flames that ripped through and scorched their new home, their new lives.

Pam and Richard carried Sid's lifeless body over to the pile of casualties. Lost people, some burnt so bad or butchered to mush that they were unrecognisable. Avery just hoped, beyond anything else, that one of those bodies wasn't Becca's.

Ben sat a little away from them, crying over another body. His boyfriend Joe comforted him, as did his mother. The body was Joseph's. He had been shot during the battle, the shock of it triggered a heart attack, and he died of cardiac arrest whilst the fighting raged around him. Most people shared in the grievance of their fallen leader, the man who gave them weeks of safety and happiness.

"Rich!" Eve's voice called breathlessly as she and Brady entered through the hole in the jail's wall.

She jogged over to him, signalling Avery to join what was certainly going to be a private conversation. He walked over, waiting impatiently for Eve to refill her lungs of oxygen.

"The last group is heading towards the surface, we followed them to the second tier" she panted, "they have a direct route that'll lead 'em straight into the city. They have...captives", she turned to Avery, "one of them is Becca".

Avery's feet remained on solid ground, yet he felt as if he was falling - falling far and long into the sky itself. He saw what these people could do, what they were happy to do. There was no end to the horrid ways Becca could die. This couldn't happen. Avery wouldn't let it happen. He had to do something, anything...

"If we're gonna hit these bastards, we ought to do it now", Eve continued, "I'm in, Brady's in".

"No" Richard said flatly but with an air of finality, "I'm sorry but no, we need to get our own shit together. Without us, The Settlement would be defenceless. We'd be putting more good people at risk".

And just like that, every bad thing that had happened to them so far - The Flip, Nancy's death, Tom's, Danny's, Melissa's, Paul's, the eight days of captivity - all came rushing back to Avery. All terrible things that led them here, led them to where they were now, this very moment in time - facing another death of someone Avery promised to protect all those days ago...Becca.

And then, in the final build-up of all that sorrow and pain and suffering, he snapped.

"No offence, Richard, but it seems you haven't noticed that we just had our asses handed to us!" Avery shouted, all his anger, frustration and bad thoughts boiling up and pouring out in a fit of explosive rage.

"My...friend is out there along with the people that it's your job to protect! Now if you wanna stay here and bury your head in the sand, then you better go do it damn fast because I am going after those savages and I'm gonna kill every one of them if it means saving our people, our friends! So join me, or back away 'cause I'm ready to leave without you, and I'm ready to see you try and stop me!"

The shouts brought a crowd, and Mark stepped forward.

"Hey, Avery, I'm in" he voiced gruffly.

"Me too" Eve chirped, "let's go teach these son of a bitches a bullet-filled lesson aye? Brady?"

"I'm in, yeah" he responded, nodding in respect towards Avery and his defiance.

"No...you're not going. As head of security, I'm ordering you to step down Avery" Richard barked angrily.

"You can't stop us. So don't even attempt to try. Head of security, go and guard The Settlement. Rally the other Fighters, just in case", he turned around and picked Pam out of the small crowd. She had been crying, her cheeks were wet. She and Sid were close, like brother and sister - his death broke her calm demeanour and steady mind. But Avery needed her, to ensure Sid's death was not in vain. He only hoped she'd understand that.

"Pam. You got this?"

A heartbeat of silence around the group. The last flames extinguished, the last dying citizen tended to. Pam swallowed hard. She lifted her head a little higher, wiped her eyes.

"I've got this. Good luck, Avery".

Avery smiled to her reassuringly, urging her to know that it was going to be ok, that he would be there to help her get through.

Richard looked at him, defeated, before walking off towards the barracks.

"Ok guys, check your ammo count" Avery called to his three followers as he pumped his rusty rifle with bullets and secured his 5-shots-left revolver in its holster. He made sure his flashlight had power, made sure his boots were laced to a comfortable tightness that he could run in. He cleared his head, took a swig of water. He needed to be at his best, give his optimum performance, win.

He scrounged through the supply piles, found a grappling hook and a rappel line - now they could come in handy. Eve, Brady, Mark - all behind him and ready to go. All ready to risk their own lives to save others.

As Avery left the destroyed Settlement behind, a familiar voice called his name.

He turned on the spot, and came face to face with a fully armed Chadwick Martins.

"You're not leaving without me now are you, mate? Because I think you know all too well that I quite enjoy bashing a few heads together".