User blog:Joeaikman/Wiki: Apocalypse - Chapter 11 - Doctor's Orders

Joel, Brandon and Kung are all on their horses. Clyde runs over to them and starts to put bottles of water in their satchels. Trip and Jake are on the walls above them. Sly, Tedward and Nial then appear from inside the town. Jose and Mendes are stood to the side, too.

Joel: We shouldn’t be out there for too long. Five days at most, Clyde.

Clyde: Don’t take too long. I’ll miss you.

Joel leans down and the two of them kiss for a few seconds, and then Joel is back up. Kung looks on in disgust, whilst Brandon tries to look anywhere else. Sly places his hand on the rear end of Joel’s horse.

Sly: I wish I could be going with you, but, well, you know-

Joel laughs at that, and turns to Brandon.

Joel: Sly says that every time. He’s bullshitting, ain’t ya? You ain’t built for life outside the walls.

Sly: Running isn’t in my skill set.

Joel and Sly shake hands.

Kung: Are we fucking going or not?

Joel: You need to chill out, dude. We have traditions before we go.

Brandon: Come on, Kung. Just let him do his thing.

Joel winks at Brandon, who flushes slightly, before he turns to Nial and Tedward.

Joel: I’ll see ya around, you two. Try not to fuck this place up while I’m gone.

Tedward: Yes, well-

Nial: We’ll do our best.

Joel laughs, and then rides for the open gate, with Brandon and Kung following him.

Joel: Come on, boys. Time to experience what being a supply runner is all about!

-

Rob is sat in the cantina. Grenn is sat next to him.

Rob: You said he’d get here soon. Where is he?

Grenn: Trust me. He’ll be here. Just be patient, kid.

Rob: And you said that this guy knows stuff about Nial?

Grenn: That’s what he claims. I don’t trust him, though.

Just then the doors open, and then Morty sits down opposite the two of them.

Morty: You wanted to see me, Grenn. What’s this guy doing here?

Grenn: He doesn’t trust Nial. He wants to know the truth.

-

Joel, Brandon and Kung have stopped their journey outside of the forest from before. Brandon is eyeing up the trees carefully, whilst Joel and Kung are looking at a map. The two look like they are arguing.

Kung: Look, I grew up around here. I know where we need to go. If we go through the forest then we can get where we need to be quicker.

Joel: The horses don’t do well through forests, and those places are crawling with the dead. We would get penned in. We go around.

Kung: I know the quickest-

Joel: And I don’t care. We need to be there, but it isn’t worth the risk of going through. It only cuts a few hours off our journey either way.

Kung kicks out at the ground, and then Brandon turns to Joel.

Brandon: Thank you…

Joel: What for?

Brandon: Not listening to him...

-

Leege is awake again. This time it’s Cooper checking all the instruments, whilst Tenton sweeps the floor with a brush.

Leege: Does everything look good, doc?

Cooper: Everything appears to be in order. I must say, though, your recovery is a sporadic one.

Leege: What do you mean?

Cooper: When I worked in a hospital, before all this shit happened, I dealt with coma patients. Some of them would be awake at times, others would just never wake up. Its hard to predict how this will go. I don't know if you'll ever truly get better.

Leege: Han died to get me here. I have to get better for him, or he died for nothing.

Cooper: That's the way to think. Sometimes fancy medicine is nothing compared to the human will.

Leege: Its good to know that I have at least one proper doctor here.

Tenton: Hey...

Cooper and Leege laugh, but Tenton looks slightly offended, before getting back to the sweeping.

Leege: How did you get here, doc? If you don't mind me asking.

Cooper: It wasn't easy, but, well, when you tell people that you're a doctor they tend to listen. People will always need medical help. It's my ticket to safety, no matter what happens.

He looks to the ceiling wistfully.

Cooper: I was only a couple of years off retirement. The things I've seen... Well, none of them match up to the dead walking, but it still cuts deep. Kids that I haven't been able to save... Kids who became orphans because I couldn't save their parents... It isn't an easy life.

Leege: No life is easy now, doc.

Cooper: No. No, I suppose that is true.

-

Jordan, Rob, and Tedward are walking along the street. Tedward and Jordan are holding hands. Rob appears to be lost in thought.

Rob: ...if what Morty is said is true… Well, then we are all in danger. Nial isn’t who he says he is. Hmmm…

Tedward: What’s he talking about, dear?

Jordan: How should I know, Teddy? Why don’t you ask him?

Tedward: He seems a bit weird…

Jordan: So does Nial, but you still do whatever he says.

Tedward: Nial is a good man…

Rob: How long must he have been here before he took power? How long has he been in power? Has anyone been here longer than that? He can’t be working alone…

Tedward: Seriously, that muttering is getting annoying.

Just then, Judith and Jose walk around a corner, and bump into the three of them. Jose knocks Tedward, who falls to the floor. Jose offers him a hand up.

Jose: Sorry, mate. I should be watching where I’m going.

Tedward: Yes, well, it’s good to see the two of you.

Jordan: Is there something going on here?

Judith: Jordan! How could you say, that? So soon after Barry…

Jordan: Just a joke, Judy.

Judith looks at the three of them, but glares as her eyes fall on Rob.

Judith: What’s he doing here?

Tedward: He lives here.

Jose: Judith…

Judith: He killed Barry. Motherfucker.

Judith punches Rob in the face, and sends him flying. Tedward and Jordan go to see if he’s ok. Jose turns to Judith, but finds that she has already disappeared.

-

Giz is sat at his computer. Tedward, Cooper and Sly are all in the room with him. It’s dark, and the only light is that of the computer screen. They are watching a video of someone attacking someone else from behind. It is footage of the incident involving Rob.

Giz: He ain’t never reported this as happening.

Tedward: Who is it that attacks him?

Sly: That ain’t Joel. He was with me that night.

Cooper: Nobody said it was.

Giz: I’ve tried to look closer at the footage, but I have no idea who it is. They hold him like that for a few second, then they just let him go. It’s weird.

Cooper: Yeah. Why do you think?

Giz: Why do I think he was attacked?

Cooper: Why do you think he never reported it? Do you have a theory?

Giz: Maybe he didn’t want anyone looking into his past. Maybe he’s dangerous. Maybe he’s planning something like that here.

Tedward: That seems like a leap…

Giz: Nial wants me to be prepared. I think this guy is a threat. I’m going to check him out.

Sly: Then I’ll leave that up to you.

Giz: That’s all that I ask.

-

It’s dark, and Brandon, Joel and Kung are sat in front of a crackling fire. Kung has his hands outstretched, warming them on the flames, whilst Brandon is staring at it, a haunted look in his eyes.

Joel: The stars are beautiful tonight.

Kung looks up, and nods to that.

Brandon: It’s strange, isn’t it? We’ve all lost people, and yet we make friends, get married or start relationships, even though we know that we may lose that person, too.

Kung: What you talking about, Brandon?

Brandon: Barry was married, wasn’t he, Joel? They met after the apocalypse began. He told me that. I thought it was weird at the time.

Joel: Barry and Judith were strange, to be fair. He loved her, and she saved his life. I always thought it was nice to see love in this world. Kind of like we can carry on living, y’know? Barry was the one who encouraged me to go after Clyde.

Kung: You didn’t strike me as being one of them?

Joel: One of what? Gay? I wasn’t before this went down. I decided after that it was time to stop pretending. My parents are dead anyway. What was the point? If I’m going to die then I might as well do it with everyone knowing who I am.

Brandon: How did you meet him? Clyde, I mean.

Joel: We picked him up on a supply run a few months ago. He was pretty useless, but had managed to survive with his sister. She- She didn’t make it. I was there for him, and then it happened.

Brandon: What happened?

Kung: He kissed me, and then I kissed him back. It was his first time, I think.

Kung: That’s enough. I think you’ve heard enough, haven’t you, Brandon?

Brandon and Joel share a look. Joel winks at him, and then goes back to drinking.

-

Rob is sat at a desk again. This time the person sat opposite him is Giz. The two of them are alone.

Giz: So you thought the attack was some kind of inititation ritual? That’s why you didn’t report it?

Rob: I thought it was a prank by Jasper and Grenn, yes.

Giz: It wasn’t.

Rob: So you are telling me. Am I suspected of anything?

Giz: No. Two of our supply runners died with you, correct?

Rob: No. I was nowhere near Stan when he died. I saw Barry get shot, though, yes. You think I did it?

Giz: I never said that.

Rob: No, but you were thinking it. You can do that if you want. Think it, I mean. I don’t care. My conscience is clean. Is yours?

Giz hesitates then, and Rob gets up from his seat.

Rob: I think we are done here.

-

Judith is stood in the churchyard, looking down at Barry’s grave. She has her hand over her mouth, and there are tears in her eyes. Jose approaches from behind, a sombre and silent look on his face.

Judith: I know you’re there, Jose. You can pay your respects to him too. Don’t mind me.

Jose: I do mind you, Judy. You shouldn’t have lashed out at Rob like that.

Judith turns to him. There is anger on her face.

Jose: Woah…

Judith: You tell me the other day that you think he could have killed Barry and Stan, and now you think I should act all civil to him? Why?

Jose: I don’t think he did it…

Judith: What?

Jose: I don’t think it could have been Rob or Brandon. They don’t seem like killers. It’s just a hunch I got.

Judith: You want me to put on hold avenging Barry over a hunch?

Jose: Rob risked his life to save that injured guy. I don’t think he could be that selfless and kill Barry. I don’t think that adds up. It’s Kung you should be looking out for.

Judith: The one who left? Great. Thanks Jose.

Jose bows his head and Judith storms off. He kneels by Barry’s grave, and puts his hand on the cross.

Jose: I’m sorry, friend.

-

Leege is laid on the bed. His eyes are closed. He is asleep. Tenton is looking down at him. He gulps. There is sweat on his brow. Suddenly, Leege starts spasming and convulsing, like he 9is having some form of fit.

Tenton: Cooper! Cooper! We need you!