The Last Kids on Earth - A FanFiction

Chapter 14

Jack POV:

No. no, no, no, no, no! This cannot be happening. This shouldn't be happening. First June, now Quint and Dirk. I saved June at the last second. Can I save Dirk and Quint too?

Rage took over me. Targeting the ones I care about -my family- is overstepping the line. Attack me, kill me torture me, but no one hurts my family. "Evie, let them go!", I commanded. Of course, she didn't comply.

"And why would I want to that, Sullivan?", asked Evie in her best innocent voice.

"Do it, or you will never see the light of day again.", said June beside me.

"What could a limping little girl do to me? And to be honest, I'm quite fond of the dark."

"I think your family name fits you very well.", I said. She smiled. But not an ordinary smile, no. This was the smile of someone who has thought long and hard about their plan. It was the smile of victory. "Let's keep this simple. You hand over Wakefield and your friends live. You don't, these monster vines crush their necks. What's it gonna be?"

I glanced at June with fear. We were severely outnumbered. The other monsters were fighting their own battles. Bardle had disappeared. They had nothing left. I looked around. The battlefield was scattered with dead monsters from both sides. The sky was deep, evil purple. There was no choice but to yield. Was this what Wakefield was going to become? If they surrendered, will this be their life? Knowing Evie, probably.

"Jack, you have never had a family, have you? You're a pitiful little orphan who lives in the streets. You're worthless.", said Evie. My face fell. This was the only topic I was insecure about and she was using it against me. Not good. "Your friends here aren't your family either. You know deep inside you that they will leave you. Surrender, and I will never make you feel excluded ever again. We will build a new family! In which monsters will happily accept you. Not here, in this useless pit. Here, you have no value."

I tried hard to keep myself from falling apart. Will they really leave me? My friends? The very people I fought beside and cared deeply for? June?

The vines around Quint's and Dirk's necks held, waiting for Evie's command. "Make your move quickly.", she said. Contemplating what our next move was going to be, I saw a shadow behind Evie. It was hidden in the bushes. I waited, and an off-yellow person stood up without one crunch of the leaves. Bardle! He was there! He shook his head, pointing to Quint. I slowly looked over and saw... a small bomb in Quint's small fists. It was at that moment I understood. However, if I reacted, Evie would know something was up. "We surrender.", I said, dropping my sword and raising my hands. Evie's grin widened. "Now let them go."

"What are you doing?! Why did you give up-", hissed June.

"Quint.", I muttered under my breath, praying that she heard me and Evie didn't. As June's eyes made her way to Quint, she too, realised but did not react.

"Excellent. You made the right choice."

"Our friends?", questioned June.

"Oh yes, what could you do now, anyway?", said Evie as she approached Quint and Dirk to cut off the vines. Just as she was about to slay the plant, Rezzoch's voice from inside of her shrieked, "NO!", but it was too late. Quint and Dirk were free and the Quint released the bomb even before his feet touched the ground.

The bomb exploded with a loud bang. Acid flew everywhere as we shield ourselves from the sizzling explosive. Evie however, was not faring well. The acid hissed and crackled on her skin, only growing. She roared out in pain.

"What is this?! What is happening to me?!", she screeched, Rezzoch's voice muddled in too.

Bardle finally showed up behind her, raising his hands. His lilac magic surrounded Evie, holding her down. She grunted and squirmed, trying to escape, but thankfully did not succeed. Bardle closed his eyes in concentration. Slowly, an electric blue... thing lurked its way out of Evie's body. Rezzoch, I thought. Bardle was separating them. June, Quint, Dirk and I all gaped. "No! This is not possible! Stop at once!", she yelled. But Bardle did not stop. One strong pull later, Rezzoch and Evie were unified no more. Evie lay on the ground, unconscious.

A few moments after sinking the situation in, we cheered. "Bardle, how did you do that?", I asked. He was wiping off the beads of sweat, clearly exhausted. "I practised this for months, before Evie. After Thrull, I knew I had to learn how to separate the bond between monster and mortal. All those months accounted to something."

A voice behind us grunted. "What have you done?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!", Rezzoch bellowed. Bardle raised his hands again. Rezzoch's form grew smaller and smaller until she was no bigger than a toy truck. Bardle flexed his fingers once more, and she disintegrated into blue dust and got blown away by the wind.

We looked at Bardle once more, jaws hanging open. "What was that?!", we asked at once. "When a monster such as Rezzoch is ripped out of a mortal by force, they lose their power. It's not actually supposed to happen, but I haven't figured out how to keep their power yet...", he trailed off.

"Good enough for me!", I said.

The other monsters joined us. A few were absent, probably lost in the fight. But most of us were still standing. We turned to the senseless Evie on the ground. Now that all of that was over, she seemed... pathetic. All her stamina and drive wasted.

But we won. We were safe. That was all that mattered.

June POV:

Finally, the battle was over. We won. That's when it hit me. We WON! That meant Jac- Wakefield would be okay! I thought of Jack. He saved me multiple times but still didn't get the payback. He went through so much, but never got his revenge.

I stood up, the pain in my leg increasing as I did. Quint had bandaged it up for me while we put Evie in a tent. Sure, she was horrible and deserved to perish as monsters chewed her up and spat her out but she was still human, like us. We would hold her in chains, threatening her with another Acid Bomb if she dared to retaliate, Get her back to Wakefield and then figure out what to do with her.

I grabbed my staff, which I used as a crutch, and made my way to Evie's tent. I entered. She was facing her back to me, her hands and legs held together. Rover was beside her to monitor her and to signal if she made a move. "I see you're awake.", I said. She got startled and turned around. As soon as she saw me, she put her head down in shame. I continued.

"How does it feel? To be put so low?", I asked.

"Horrible...", she muttered.

"Well then, you know how it feels. This is what Jack feels every time he's reminded of Family. He doesn't have one. We are his family.

"I assume you know a mother's touch? A father's pride when you learnt to walk and talk?"

She remained silent. Taking that as a yes, I carried on.

"I think you know the warm feeling you get when your mother puts you to bed with a story? How a father holds you while you nap in his arms? The joy your parents radiate when you get a good score? Yeah, well Jack never had any of that. He was an orphan. He was rejected from every family. He's never felt the love of a parent. Never felt the comfort they give you on a bad day. And yet, he's strong. Stronger than you or your little monster pal will ever be. He's had to look for that love in someone else. In us. We are his comfort. And we're not going anywhere. So say your little comment again, and I'll knock you unconscious and leave you to the monsters of the forest to devour you alive."

Without another word, I turned on my heel and left the tent only to see her petrified expression in the corner of my eye.

(A/N)

Gonna be honest, I had way too much fun writing that. I reread it and it is oh-so-satisfying.

Think that's the end? There are quite a few chapters left! You have no idea what's coming... 😈

Again, thanks to Tiny_Cookie514 for ideas! We're collaborating on the last few chapters and it's been amazing working with you! <3

Also, WHEN DID THIS STORY GET TO 2.75K READS? Seriously, One day it's 1k and the other its 2.75. Thank you guys so much for your support on this! You have no idea how my face lights up every time I get a notification saying that someone voted on my chapters.

Stay safe, stay voting

~Phoenix