Exit Alexandria: Shane's Escape. #wattys2017 #twd

Blackhole Son

What the hell? Henry thought.

Two explosive shots rang out. Shane and Phillip's ears perked, both men grabbing their handguns and darting outside as the whistle still echoed in the night.

"Henry!" the two men call out as they raced outside of the house.

The darkness of night was cut by the headlights of motorcycles, and in a moment, Shane and Phillip realized they were outnumbered and out gunned.

Shane pointed his gun aggressively at the line of Saviors, who held assault rifles. Phillip, however, dropped his machine pistol to the ground when he discovered Henry's slumped body.

"No, no, no, no..." Phillip whimpered under his breath.

"Why don't you join your pussy friend over there and drop the gun, douche bag?" one of the Saviors said to Shane.

"Please, Shane, it's over," Phillip said. "They killed Henry. Just give them what they want."

"We only needed to kill one of you. Let's not make this a massacre," the Savior replied. "You killed six of our guys back there. That man's life is no better than the six of ours you took."

"He was only fourteen!" Shane spat back angrily.

"I don't give a shit. He looks like he's forty-one," the Savior said, cocking the hammer of his handgun and stepping forward intimidatingly towards Shane. The wall of Saviors were way too much for even Shane to challenge. "Put down you gun before I put you down."

Shane craned back his wrist, removing the Savior from his crosshairs and dropping his gun. Phillip better have a fucking plan.

Phillip didn't. This was his surrender. He wasn't willing to fight anymore. He was ready to accept his death. He was ready for his fate.

"What do you want?" asked Phillip.

"Your shit, of course," the lead Savior said. "All of it, including that little ride you got there. The Humvee, we want it."

"It's very complicated, the vehicle. It's not a Barbie Jeep," Phillip replied, rather sarcastically. He may be about to be murdered, but he was still a catty bitch.

"Barbie Jeep, that's really funny."

The lead Savior wasn't amused. His dark flannel was muddied, and his jeans were ripped. He was one of Negan's foot soldiers. It was a hard life, and he would be damned if was going to take shit from this guy.

"I bet I just need one of you to drive this thing. So you tell me, how about I pop your little skinhead friend here?"

"NO!" Phillip desperately exclaimed. "Nobody else. I'll show you. I'll show you how to drive it. It just has passcodes, that's it. I'll tell you everything. Just let us go."

Shane had never heard such a level of desperation in Phillip's voice. Now Shane was scared, too. Is it going to end here?, he wondered.

"Good, boy," the lead Savior said to Phillip. "Show me." The Savior focused his attention on his other nine Saviors. "You six, come with me. Who knows what's inside of this thing. You three, stick with him. He even farts, you swiss cheese his ass!"

As the two men approached the black tarp-covered PYTHON Humvee, Phillip's thoughts were still with Henry. Phillip remembered when he, Shane and his late husband Austin met Henry and the Rockwells. Phillip was touched by the closeness of the family. Henry had been the last surviving member of his family.

Phillip was dulled by heartache. He cooperated with Saviors, casually explaining to them how to work the PYTHON. In the background, Phillip could hear Buster the dog barking angrily inside of the Victorian home, blocked by the door.

"That's a loud fucking pooch," the lead Savior said. "He keeps it up, he's going to draw the 'dead ones' to us. I would hate to have go all 'Old Yeller' on your little mutt."

They could kill Shane and Phillip, but he wouldn't allow them to kill the last member of his family, that spirit from Phillip's past. Before the Walkers, before all the death, there was Buster, Phillip, Cameron and Austin. These Saviors threatened to kill off Phillip's entire family in one night. They'd already taken one of his family members.

Out of the corner of his eye, Phillip could see the abandoned Smirnoff vodka bottle. It was Austin's. His drinking had increased prior to his death. Phillip was in autopilot. He couldn't control his limbs, hypnotized by his own surrender. But then God, or whoever, stepped in.

Two shots rang out outside of the PYTHON. The firing distracted the Savior who hovered over Phillip, and lead the Savior near the Humvee.

NOW! This was the opportunity that Phillip had been waiting for. Phillip quickly grabbed the vodka bottle and smashed it across the face the lead Savior. The alcohol blinded the leader with the sheer force of the blow. Using the same momentum, Phillip stabbed the second closest Savior in the throat with the jagged glass.

With a quick kick, Phillip opened the the passenger door and rolled out of the vehicle as the remaining Saviors began to fire into the vehicle. Bullets poured into the vehicle as Phillip ducked for cover. He noticed that due to all the firing, the bottom of the PYTHON began to smoke. The vehicle was going to blow. The only question was when.

Phillip only had one weapon left. A grenade had rolled out of the vehicle during the tussle. Phillip knew what he needed to do to survive. He had to give up a piece of his past and embrace this new future. Phillip quickly removed the pin and rolled the grenade under the vehicle. He then rolled quickly away from the vehicle, as the Saviors continued to fire bullets into the PYTHON.

A blast rang out, . Phillip continued to duck, trying to avoid the flying metal pieces of the destroyed Humvee. When he turned around, he could see the Humvee, somewhat intact, smoldering with flames. Any Saviors near the vehicle were dead or close to it.

Phillip quickly ran over to Shane and Henry. Shane cradled the boy's head. "I'm proud of you, Kid." Near Henry's hand lay Phillip's discarded machine handgun.

"I f-f-f-f-f-figured y-y-you needed help," Henry began to croak out, blood collecting at the corner of his mouth.

Phillip, a man of many words, was speechless. His heart melted into his bloodstream as he watched his friend deteriorate in front of him.

"S-s-s-sorry, Phil."

Phillip joined Shane and held Henry's hand. Phillip could sense Henry's life fading from his body. Two holes in the boy's chest still oozed with blood. Shane and Phillip could see the Walkers emerging from the darkness, lurching towards the area. Both Shane and Phillip looked at each other. Both knew what was going to happened next.

"I'm not scared. I'm not scared. I'm... I... I..." Henry's blue eyes began to fade into the death.

Both Shane and Phillip winced in pain at the sight of the boy's demise. The Walkers were approaching. They couldn't mourn too long for their friend.

"We gotta go, Phillip."

Shane quickly ran his hand against Henry's face, closing the teen's eyes. With his right hand, Shane dove his blade in the back of Henry's head, ensuring he would not reanimate.

"We gotta go, Phil," Shane said through shallow tears, rising to his feet. There were at least twenty Walkers, and they were only yards away.

"It's not fair, Shane," moaned Phillip, while Shane's hand still held Henry's face. "It's not fair." Phillip retrieved his handgun then placed a kiss on Henry's forehead. "You're my hero, kid. I'll never forget you."