The Phoenix Colony

“Oooh. She wants to sing for you.” Cooed Yuri, mocking him.

Pasha looked at Bardon, biting his lip, then back at Viva. He gave her a nod. Even though he didn’t know who Madonna was, he supposed she couldn’t be that bad. A Music hater or not.

“Please do.” He said. He quickly walked over to Bardon, giving him his hand.

“Come sit by the fire, you all right man?”

 

"You know...for a murderer, you aren't such a bad guy." Joseph said in between short breaths. He got to his feet. His body felt drained. Slowly, he made his way over to the fire where the Pahsa seemed to be forming his own little group.

 

Viva clapped and waved her hands towards the stranger.
"Oh, oh, please come! We're having a lot of fun here, right Mr. Huggles?"
With that she cleared her throat and started singing in her merry, Avril Lavigne's voice. Well, maybe not that good.

"Red blossoms mock me
The bloodied sorrow
Amongst the shallow glee
Give me the stability
I seek hi and lo
Maybe one day you'll see
I have nowhere to go

Someday
I'll say
That I still dream for death to die
That I still plead for your life..."

She stopped, and chuckled.
"Okay, it's a depressing song. But I didn't write it, Michael Howard - he's like the leading songwriter for the Greece geeks - wrote it. So totally DUMB!"
He then clapped her hands as the sky cleared even more.

 

Pasha eyed Bardon angrily as the word ‘murderer’ left his lips. He ignored the urge to attack him.

“Don’t want miss little priss to find out, eh?”

“Shut up!” he growled. He looked around as they looked at him. He realized he had yelled at the wrong time.

“Not you Furstin…” he said, patting her on the back awkwardly, “It was beautiful…”

“I’ll get you for that Yuri.” Thought Pasha angrily.

 

"We need to get you warm and both of us into shelter. Can you stand?"

The person's fingers felt like the warmth of the sun and left a warm spot on his neck after pulling away. He craned his neck and tried to look at her, but all he could make out was a dim shadow.

"I...don't know."

Allen tried to stand........but he couldn't make it. He looked up at Lawrence. "Come on. I need help. I want to reach that helicopter sometime next year. Hope they have air conditioning, it's damn hot out here."..........

 

A noise from outside causes Raylene to stir from her slumber. "Probably just a limb breaking." She says out loud to no one in particular. Glancing around, she sees Fox asleep. The medication seems to have worked.

Raylene heads to the room where she found the supplies and picks up a few towels off the floor and heads back to Fox. She gently wipes some bloody vomit from her clothing and out of her hair.

She decides that she needs a little fresh air and heads towards the door. Britney is standing watch. "Would you like to go rest? I'll take a turn. Where's Reva?"

 

Viva grinned, and then shook the stranger's hands belligerently:
"So you are? Oh right, silly me. I'm Viva. Vee, Aee, Vee, Ai. So easy. And you, please, tell me. Otherwise...I'll call you Mr. Pancakes."
There was a tint of evil her tone, at which she chuckled and then let go.
"Just kidding. I'll only call Mr. Huggles this way. But you, I can call sir. Good manners, right?"

 

Joseph shook the girl's hand with more than a little unease. "Um...you can call me...Brandon."

He shivered inwardly at the though of being called Mister Pancakes...he didn't even like pancakes.

 

Britney looked over at Raylene. "Reva went out to get some firewood. You can stand guard if you want. Here take my stungun, just incase you need it." says Britney as she hands Raylene the stungun. Britney goes back inside. She sat down near Fox. As she watches Fox sleep, she says "Why? Why would you kill so many people? The goverment helps us and keeps order. Why would anyone want to destroy it?"

 

Harold was walking trying to forget about his first meal on the planet. Every sermon he ever heard about hell was suddenly bubbling up to the surface of his mind. He looked up at the sky. "Am I damned?"

Only the cawing of those thin beaked birds answered.

As he kept walking there was a second answer. A gurgling scream. He looked toward the river and saw a girl, not much older than his Diana bobbing up and down, waving wildly. Without thinking he took off for the water and jumped in. Immediately, he began to sink.

The damn rocks, he thought as the water rose above his nose. Frantically, he funbled for the rock filled sock. His fingertips wrapped around the knot holding it to his belt and tugged.

His lungs burned for air. His vision began to blur. The girl was just out of reach as he fell deeper and deeper.

I'm dying, he thought. The devil's gonna drag me down deeper and deeper until I'm in Hell. HArold's eyes focused one last time as he saw his daughter begining to sink.

No!, he said to Satan. You can't have my DIana. With one last tug, the knot came undone and HArold shot upward. As he broke the surface and coughed, one meaty arm wrapped around Chrys. While blinnking away the spots dancing in his eyes, HArold swam and swam He ignored the tingling in his left arm and the burning in the center of his chest.

"Ya can't have ... my ... Diana!"

FInally, he reached the shore and dropped Chrys on solid ground. He smiled, his fuzzy mind seeing his daughter and not the convict he just saves. "I'm sorr....." Then HArold was swallowed up by darkness.

 

"I...don't know."

"C'mon, then." Reva tugged on his unhurt arm to help him.

Allen tried to stand........but he couldn't make it. He looked up at Lawrence.

"Come on. I need help. I want to reach that helicopter sometime next year. Hope they have air conditioning, it's damn hot out here."..........

Reva looked around uneasily then wondered why she had bothered since all she could see were dim off-black shapes of the surrounding terrain. She heard nothing but the burble of water, no growling.

She would have to pile rocks around them and cover them with branches if he couldn't move. When she edged around Allen's body toward the edge of the creek to find rocks she stepped in water far quicker than she expected to. The water was rising.

Great. She would have to move him.

It took several tries for Reva to get Allen into a fireman's carry and she felt terrible that his broken arm had to dangle free, it shouldn't be moved until it was set. But there was no other choice, she settled into carrying him, struggling uphill.

She made it partway up the side of the ravine and collapsed, her legs shaking, allowing him to roll onto the bank, his head uphill his feet downhill so that he wouldn't roll.

Dropping down beside him, she rested, panting. Now, at least, they should be out of reach of the water till daylight. He kept muttering and calling her Lawrence and she let him. Fine, she was Lawrence.

When she had caught her breath, Reva went the rest of the way up the side of the ravine herself. It wasn't as far as she had expected to the top.

Either there was more light or she had improved at moving about in the darkness. Reva found some coniferous branches by their strong resiny smell and their prickly feel. She dragged them back to Allen, lay down close as she could to warm them both, and covered them both completely with the branches.

 

Smith finally awoke in the pitch black to the sound of a mans pained shout. He looked around for Chrys, and not seeing her figured it was better than finding her still knocked out. Smith smiled and then realized that he could hear rushing water but couldn't see anything. He creapt to the edge of the ship feeling his way and then hung his feet off into the fast moving water. OH! He thought and crawled back into the ship to retrieve his rifle. "At least the weapons rack should still be ok." He said remembering having seen it bounced around but staying shut. And on that note he dropped into the river.

The river took him off his feet and he dunked under the water for a moment and then quickly recovered and started fighting his way in the directoin he knew land to be. He soon made it to the land where he saw the small out line of Chrys and another of some (prisumably) guy. He pulled himself onto the steep sloop and knelt down beside the two. He thought he recognized the man from the fire the night before but it was hard to tell in the dark. He was sure the other shape was Chrys and gave her a little shake, "Chrys, hey wake up." He said in a soft voice.

 

"What'd you call me?" She whispered, "Diane whuzit?" She asked, her head swimming from the water.

She tried to stop the spinning, but realized it wasn't her head.

"Dude!" She whined, "My head man..." She continued to whine as the spinning stopped. Opening her eyes, she realized it was Chad. "OhmyGOOOD!" SHe shreaked as she hugged him. Then put him at an arm's length, "Unless you're some kind of guardian angel, you're not the one who saved me."

 

Smith was hugged and then discarded he smirked as he pretended to himself to feel used, thought about what she said for a moment, and looked over at the man laying in the mud. "Um, i think that might have been him." He said and went over to check the man out. "Hey isn't this the guy you kept giving evil looks?" He asked as he looked closer at the man. He was sure it was the same guy, or at least on of the men from that insident. "Anyways we need to get away from this water it's riseing." He added and shook the man hopeing he'd wake up. He had somehow managed to get plently of "sleep" through out the day, survive both a land slide, and killer wind, plus killers. Then add up that the weapons rake was still safe and locked he just had to get to it first and then find Ben and he'd be back on top. Man today had been a pretty good day after all. Compared to the others atleast.

 

Chrys stalked over to the unconcious figure, again feeling the urge to hiss, maybe even scratch him, THat's it, no more cats, if I ever get home, she thought to herself.

Standing over him, Chrys looked into the face of the mobster. He was just like Ben, a lot less imposing when not awake. She kicked him lightly with her toe, "Wake up."

Nothing, she tried again, leaning closer to his face, "WAKE UP!"

Again, nothing.

"Oklie-kokes, we have to drag him," she commented, grabbing both of his hands and walking backwards, "What did he eat? A three-hunerd pound man?!" She said, making slow progress.

 

Smith smirked and grabbed ahold of the mans legs and preseded to help her drag him up the steep sloop. "You know we should probably check his pulse when we get him their, better safe than sorry but if he's dead then he doesn't need our help." He said thinking about the Rake he needed to hunt down. Even if someone found it it'd take them a bit to open it up, he thought and then remembered how good his luck was. "It'll be fine." He said softly to himself as he dragged the heavy man.

 

Chad and Chrys had successfully dragged the mobster up the hill. THey were sitting down, recuperating when Chrys looked over at Chad and asked, "Do you remeber his name, I was too busy trying not to hiss to listen?"

 

"Hiss?" Was all that could come to mind when the question was finished. "Like a snake?" He asked amused now. He smiled, and could picture Chrys sticking her tounge out and making a snake like hiss. "Oh right." He said getting back on subject. "Harold, or Jarold. Something with Rold in it i know that for sure."

 

No one responded to Ben's call, he had just sat there listening, observing, feeling. He heard rushing water move closer, he felt pain in the environment, confusion, fear, it was all there. He could make out voices in the night, a loud girl mostly, until he finally heard a more familiar voice, Chad.

As soon as he heard the muffled noise he could tell to be his ally, one of his few allies in this crazy world, Ben jumped to his feet and began to sprint towards it, his eyes looking for shapes in the darkness. He ran for only ten minutes, dodging craters and nearly tripping over sticks, jumping over logs and stomping through fire, when he finally came upon the owner of the voice he knew, two others in his midst, one the girl, Chrys, the other one was one of the men he had offered food to, and he seemed worse for the weather. Ben stood over the three as they slowly became aware of his presence, and he said, "Good to see you two made it."

 

The mobster's eyes fluttered open. His left arm still felt weak. "H .... H ... Harold. My name is Harold. Is Diana ok? I couldn't let her go to hell. I couldn't." Harold's head dropped back to the ground. He was snoring.

 

Chrys glared at Chad for a second, "Don't make fun of me an, I can't handle that, and I feel like a cat somedays, so leave it be, kay?" She blurted, storming over to "Harold?"

She knelt down next to him, extending her hand to feel his pulse, "So, Mobby, are you alive, or dead?" She questioned, then listened-feeling for the pulse. "I don't like people dieing on me." She muttered, "And it doesn't appear that you have. But why won't you wake up? And what did you call me? I hope it wasn't 'Diane,' I haven't been called that since my Dad's..."

She stalked back to Chad, still a bit miffed, "Mobby's alive. Go ahead, Annie, get yer guns." She smirked.

CHrys jumped up, hunching her back a bit, "You scared the frick outta me man! Light a flare next time! Sheesh!" She screamed at Ben.

 

Cull had dug himself a mighty fine hole in between the rocks. Only to be forced out by screaming and wailing people. He’d started to walk about it was hard to see in the dark at least the burning trees gave a little light. He clutched at the medical kit and knelt down besides a shivering man who was weighted down by a fallen tree, his pelvis a bloody pulp beneath it’s heavy trunk. Cull first sedated the man before sitting to think about the predicament. He could euthanize the poor guy, but what about all the other victims laying around? Was it even right to play god and say he should die? He frowned it wasn’t like he could just go ahead and fix this a crushed pelvis wasn’t something that could be easily mended. He risked infection also. By the looks of the excrement oozing with the blood making a vile brown colour his intestines had burst with the impact. He couldn’t just sit around and wait. How many other people could he fix in that time waiting for the guy to wake up just to say do you want me to bump you off? He cursed under his breath before pulling out a small vial he’d found on the ship it was a sleeping medicine it didn’t take a lot in this form to put someone to sleep permanently. Just as well he had the knowledge to know just how much.

His hands were shaking he’d never killed anyone before, he didn’t want to either. It would be far more disgraceful to leave him like that. Finding a vein in the man was hard the could and the shock had drawn them into the flesh a little, not to mention the dark made it so he had no choice but to feel for the vein. He found it and used one of his socks as a tourniquet to tighten his upper arm. Then slide the syringe in and let the liquid invade the mans blood stream. He didn’t bother to wait he knew he’d used enough even in the dark. He’d used needles enough in life to know then inside and out. Guilty played at him as he trudged towards more screams. He could of at least let the man know someone was with him whilst he died.

 

Even Smith had to give a little laugh and turned to Ben. "Looks like the gangs all back togeather!" He anounced and walked over giving Ben a slap on the shoulder. "So now buddy old pal mind helping me retreive the weapons locker i watched it get thrown around but it stayed shut." He said and started to head out to look for it hopeing Ben would follow, paused a moment and looked back at Chrys. "Watch Harold for a little bit Kat, i'll be right back." He smirked and hurried off before she could throw something at him.

 

"Okay, Annie!" Chrys screamed at Chad as he and Ben went off after the locker thingy. She sat next to Mobby again, feeling odd. She went from hissing at this man to trying to figure him out in about a day, at least it felt that way.

"Diane," she thought aloud to herself, "THere's more than one person with that name in this world. Yeah, he didn't mean me, couldn't have. Nobody knows I'm Diane, I'm Chrystine Waters darn it. Chrys, you're hissing at people, hunching your back, you're going crazy, this guy doesn't know you. It's this planet..."

Chrys looked over at Mobby again, "Wonder what he's thinking."

 

Ben nodded and laughed a little himself, it felt good to laugh, felt good to feel a little joy. "Alright, lets drag the damn thing back over this way, assuming it has drifted off into the river."