User blog:Joeaikman/Wiki: Apocalypse - Chapter 16 - Broken Bonds

Justin is walking in and out of the kneeled people. He passes Sierra, then Clyde, then Neil and Tenton. He stops when standing over Jasper.

Justin: Two of you lot have gotta die today. You ain’t half caused me a lot of headaches. I sent Nial here to keep you in line. Why you gotta cause me problems like this? All of you.

He turns, and looks at Jack and John, who are sat besides Davis and Tommy.

Justin: These are the traitor’s kids, right? Neil’s? Which one of you motherfuckers is Neil? Put your hand in the air. I don’t want any of you to speak just yet.

Neil raises his hand. His nose looks broken.

Justin: Woah. You are one ugly fucker.

Justin crouches down in front of Neil.

Justin: You love your kids?

Neil nods. Justin nods too.

Justin: I dig that, dude. I really do. You broke the rules, though. How can we trust each other after that? What do you think I should do?

Neil: Kill me if it spares them. Kill me.

Justin puts his gun to Neil’s head, and then pulls the trigger. It fires a blank. Justin laughs.

Justin: I don’t want to kill you, dude. I just want your unending loyalty. Cam, take his sons to the cells. We will release them when Neil here demonstrates his loyalty to me. Got that, Neil?

Neil watches in pain as Cam grabs Jack and John and drags them away. Eventually he nods, however.

Justin: Good.

Justin gets up and turns. He smiles as he sees Leanne on her knees.

Justin: Woah. You’re a pretty little lady. Maybe you should lend some of your good looks to Neil here.

That gets a laugh from Felco, and then a forced laugh from Hacks and Sarah. Jake is watching on, with a stony face.

Justin: I’d hate to spoil that beauty, darling. There ain’t anything that I prefer more than a pretty girl on her knees in front of me.

He puts his gun to her mouth and rubs it along her lips.

Justin: Though it ain’t usually this weapon that I’d put in her mouth.

Jose: Don’t you dare touch her.

Justin turns, and sees Jose knelt next to her, gritting his teeth. He is staring at the ground.

Justin: Oh yeah? And what you gonna do about it, big man?

Jose: Simple. Kill her and I kill you. With your own gun if necessary.

There is a tense silence for a few seconds. Dirk looks at Jose, and Justin just stares at him. Then he turns to Felco and Nial.

Justin: Does anyone else love this guy? You’ve got balls, boy. I like it. Just for that, I ain’t killing you or your woman.

Justin walks away, and Leanne turns to Jose. She leans over and whispers to him.

Leanne: Thank you.

-

Morty and Duke are trudging through the trees with their guns drawn. Jordan and Judith come behind them. They have guns, too, but aren’t directing them. Joel takes up the rear, still on his horse.

Jordan: I hate how you can hear them. It’s so disturbing.

Duke: We could hear them in the Drawer. There were just distractions. Nial was good at that. Keeping us distracted.

Judith: He might be dead. How would we know otherwise. Maybe Jasper got him. Or Clyde.

Morty: No. I’d know if he was dead. He’s still alive. I want to kill him myself. I told Jasper and Clyde that…

Judith: Neil then…

Duke: Neil doesn’t want to kill Nial. He wants to take him prisoner.

Morty: He says that I am too radical. Bullshit.

Joel: We just have to trust that they all made it out. They are strong. Clyde, Neil, Jasper, Grenn…

Jordan: How can you not freak out about it? He’s your boyfriend…

Joel: I trust him. He will survive. He has to.

-

The next scene continues from the first. The camera focuses on Sierra then Davis, then Jasper, then Giz, and then Gabriel, whose face is wet with tears. He is staring at the ground. Then Justin’s legs can be seen, and then he crouches in front of him.

Justin: I know who you are. You’re the rebel leader’s brother, right? Did he not want you on his side?

Gabriel: He- He did. I’m loyal. I’m loyal. I helped-

Justin: I know what you did. You helped my friends. You should be rewarded

Justin gets up and moves to walk away, but then he turns, pointing his gun at Gabriel.

Gabriel:You- You said-

Justin: I know what I said, bro. How do I know I can trust you?

Gabriel: I’m- I’m a coward. I won’t fight. I just want to be able to talk with my lord. That is all. Morty is gone. I- I can be your friend.

Justin nods and then smiles.

Justin: That’s good. You’re more use to me alive, anyway.

He then moves on, and stopsin front of Jasper.

Jasper: Piss off. Prick.

Justin: I didn’t expect any less from you, Jasper. Nial told me all about you. Ex-military, I believe. So is my friend Felco. Why did you decide to work in a kitchen?

Jasper: Why is that any of your business?

Justin: Because I’m your new leader, and I’m doing an evaluation.

Jasper: Evaluate how my dick feels down your throat.

Justin looks down at the ground and nods a few times.

Justin: You’re exactly like Nial told me. Why so grumpy, Jasper? Did you lose someone? Was it Grenn? Did my men finally take out that piece of trash?

Jasper than jumps forward and tries to grab hold of justin and pull him to the ground. Justin is too quick, and beats him in the head with the butt of his gun until Jasper collapses to the ground, his skull broken and a pool of blood forming around his head.

Justin: Such a shame. He couldn’t keep his cool.

He shook his head, then turned to the group and smiled.

Justin: Still, that’s one down. Now only one more of you has to die.

-

Morty is stood alone with Judith and Jordan. They are both holding their guns up whilst he watches them.

Morty: No, Mom, your stance is all wrong. Hold it like this.

He steps forward and repositions her. He is teaching them both how to shoot. That much is clear.

Morty: There. That is much better.

Judith: What about me?

Morty frowns, and then awkwardly places his hands on Judith’s waist and turns her. He is clearly uncomfortable.

Judith: Better?

Morty: Yeah….

???: Hands in the air.

The three of them turn, and find a man, covered in dirt, with long curly black hair and rags for clothes, pointing a gun at them.

???: If any of you move then I will blow your brains out.

-

The camera focuses on the brutalised body of Jasper. Felco steps forward to clear it up, but Justin motions for him to stop. Dirk, Jose, Neil and Clyde aren’t looking at it, but Gabriel, Sierra, Davis and Tommy can’t take their eyes away.

Justin: He ain’t getting cleaned up until another of you fuckers dies. Any volunteers?

He waits for a few seconds, and visibly rolls his eyes when nobody answers. He points his gun at Sierra, Tommy, and then Dirk.

Justin: What about you, old man? Surely you ain’t got anything left to live for. What’s your name?

Nial: That’s Dirk.

Justin has a moment of realisation. He lets out a cheer.

Justin: The old farmer?! Nial told me about you. Me and a friend had a bet on when you would eventually come here. He’s dead now. Guess that means that I win.

He laughs, more to himself than anything.

Justin: I ain’t killing you, dude. You have a daughter to protect. I can dig that. Had one of my own once.

He turns away, and locks eyes with Clyde, who is sat the closest to Jasper. There is defiance in Clyde’s eyes.

Justin: What’s your name, pretty boy?

Clyde: What’s it matter to you?

Justin: This place is mine now. I want to know the people here. That’s what a good leader does right? Know people.

Clyde: You act like you don’t already know who I am.

Justin sighs.

Justin: True. You ruin all the fun though. Everyone else obliged. Your name is Clyde Refly. You were an office worker. Never married. Never even had a kiss before the apocalypse. You started a relationship with Joel Lar. That’s what my file from Nial said, anyway.

Clyde: That’s all true.

Justin: Your boyfriend is regarded as a threat to me. Where is he?

Clyde: He left with Brandon and Kung.

Justin: Do you love him?

Tears appear in Clyde’s eyes.

Clyde: Yes.

Justin: Does he love you?

-

Joel and Duke are crouched over a fire. Joel is whittling a stick into a spike. Duke is slowly turning a squirrel on a spit over the fire.

Joel: You’re pretty good at that. Where did you learn?

Duke: I was a scout leader before- Well, you know. I had thirty kids all look to me for advice and help. We used to do this sort of stuff on camps.

Joel: Good times.

Duke: It was during a meeting when this all went down. I had noticed that six or seven regulars hadn’t turned up, but- But I never thought…

Joel: Something like this had happened. I get it. Who could have predicted it?

Duke: George A Romero… Simon Pegg… Robert Kirkman… Maybe they were all warning us. We should have been more prepared. They came for us. I watched twenty of those kids taken down and consumed right there. I couldn’t save them. Some of them- Their own parents…

There are clearly tears in Duke’s eyes as he relives the events of that day.

Joel: Shit man. That’s rough. I’m sorry.

Duke: I got some of them out. Ten, maybe. They didn’t last long. Surviving in the wild- It isn’t as easy as the books say it is. Some of them were eaten. Some of them turned. Others- Well, there are bad people in this new world, and kids are vulnerable.

The camera focuses on Joel, who watches Duke with sadness, and a tear runs down his face.

-

Judith and Jordan have dropped their guns and have their hands raised. Morty steps forward, and the stranger points his gun at him, a mad look in his eyes.

Morty: Woah, woah there. Is this necessary? Who are you?

???: How do I know if its safe to tell you? I don’t know who you are!

Morty: My name is Morty. This is my mum, Jordan, and my friend, Judith. We aren’t going to hurt you unless you hurt us first. Do you understand that?

???: Yes. Fine. My name is Bobby. I’ve been alone for so long- I- I’m sorry.

Morty: That’s fine. Have you killed anyone?

Bobby: Two people. They- They destroyed my group. Killed my friends. There were so many them, though.

Jordan: are you the only one of your group still alive?

Bobby: yes. They killed the rest. His name. His name was Gor-

Jordan quickly goes for her gun and shoots Bobby through the head. She looks shocked, and then Morty turns on her.

Morty: What did you do that for?! I calmed him down!

Jordan: He was unstable. We couldn’t trust him.

Morty: We needed him! We don’t have enough people to survive out here for long.

Jordan: He managed.

Morty: Until you killed him!

Judith: I agree with Jordan. He wasn’t safe. When Tommy is with us we couldn’t have had him with us. Who knows what he might have done.

Morty glares at the both of them.

Morty: Go back to camp. Send Duke to me here.

Jordan: What are you going to do?

Morty: He deserves to be buried at least. Since we murdered him, after all.

Judith and Jordan leave. Jordan stays and looks back at Morty, who is staring at the stunned face of the dead Bobby.

Morty: Gor… Who is he?

-

Cam is walking down a long corridor. He has Jack and John with him. Both of them have their hands tied behind their backs.

Cam: I can’t believe you fucking scratched me. Dumb kids.

Jack: Get off me! Stranger danger! I want my dad!

Cam: I’m sure your dad wants you, too. He ain’t getting you, though. You’re Justin’s now.

John: No. Want Daddy.

Cam pulls open a heavy metal door, and throws the two boys in.

Cam: Maybe he will come and save you. Doubt it, though.

He laughs as he slams the door, and then he walks to the door on the left. He opens a slider and looks through. Rob is slumped in a corner.

Rob: Oh great. Its you.

Cam: Back in my jail cell, eh? Don’t this just remind you of good times passed?

Rob: Why don’t you just kill me? You want to, right?

Cam: Oh I do, but Justin blames you for the fall of our community. He’s going to make sure you suffer before you die. Don’t doubt that.

Cam laugh again, and slams the slider shut, leaving Rob alone in the darkness.

Rob: Cunt.

-

Kung and Brandon hobble back into sight of the gate. Kung is struggling to walk, and Brandon is supporting him.

Brandon: Almost there.

Kung: I can- See that.

Brandon: Sorry…

Kung grunts, and then they stop before the gates. Most of the zombies have been drawn away from here.

Kung: You should have gone with him, you know. I don’t need you. You don’t need me.

Brandon: I know that.

Kung: So why are you still here? That’s stupid.

Brandon: I wanna be here. You’re my brother and you’re hurt. I wanna protect you, like you have protected me.

Kung: What good did my protection do? Ma and Pa…

Brandon: That wasn’t your fault.

Kung grunts again, and then the gates start to open. A figure waits for them on the other side.

Brandon: Ahhh! Mendes?

Mendes: Yes. Mendes. Come in. Lot changed. Be careful.

Brandon: We will be. Together.

-

The question hung in the air. Does he love you? Clyde is visibly shaking with tears now. Justin looks sad, too. Though he is difficult to read.

Clyde: I- I think so.

Justin: That’s what they always say. Boyfriends. Girlfriends. Wives. They promise love,but they lie. They take all that you have and then break your heart.

Clyde: No. You’re wrong. He loves me. He would never hurt me. Not Joel.

Justin: Then maybe you will hurt him.

Clyde: I wouldn’t. I could never.

Justin: Then maybe I will break your heart for him.

He fires his gun at Clyde, hitting him through the heart. He stays knelt for a few seconds, and stares as blood starts to drip through his shirt.

Clyde: No… Joel… I… Love…

Then he falls forward and JUstin turns away from him, hiding his face.

-

Alexa Ratava steps into the light of a burning torch, made of kindling and placed in a large, ornate stone cup. Three other individuals step into the light. One is a short, bespectacled man with a pale face and long hair. Another is a fierce looking man, bulky and strong, with a perpetual snarl on his face. The other is a slender asian male, with large, dark eyes.

Alexa: Brother Tim. Brother Regit. Brother Dexter. Shall we begin?