A New Beginning

Chapter XIV

As soon as everyone was in the courtroom, Xavier put his empty gun through the door handles. "We need to get out of here", Xavier said. Sarah was clearly upset as she said, "We could've taken them". Xavier said, "We can argue later, let's get out of here". Nick stood up weakly as he grabbed Albee. Nick made his way to the ladder as Ronny and Xavier prepared for a last minute stand. "Go", Xavier said to Sarah, "Get out of here". Sarah was frustrated as she said, "We're all tired, Xavier. We can't just leave". A loud bang was heard as the door violently shook. "Sarah, I'm not gonna tell you again. Leave", Xavier said in a stern voice. "Xavier, we need to --". Ronny yelled, "Sarah, it's time". Sarah still respected Ronny as she bowed her head and made her way to the ladder. As she climbed, the door fell over as biters flooded the room. Ronny and Xavier began to shoot any they could see. Once Sarah was on the roof, Ronny said, "Go, Xavier". Xavier said, "No, you go. You have a child to take care of". Ronny said, "You have one on the way". Ronny then flashed his arm as he said, "Besides I'm gonna die regardless". Xavier couldn't argue with that as he slowly backed up to the ladder. As he climbed, he still shot in hopes that Ronny would make it out. 

Once on the roof, he saw Nick and Sarah waiting for him. "Where's Ronny", Sarah yelled. Xavier looked down the ladder to find Ronny. The gunshots were still consistent as Xavier hoped that Ronny would appear. Finally, Xavier saw Ronny quickly climbing the ladder as biters appeared beneath him. As Ronny climbed, the biters began to shake the ladder. Xavier reached for Ronny's hand as he pulled him up just as the ladder fell over. Ronny collapsed onto the roof as he tried to catch his breath. Xavier sighed, "Is everyone ok"? Sarah nodded her head as Ronny stood up. Nick held Albee as Ronny approached him. As Nick handed Albee over to Ronny he began to cough violently as he walked away from the group. Nick was bent over as he spit the liquids within his mouth. "How are you feeling", Xavier asked. Nick looked sick as he said, "It doesn't matter how I feel, we still have to leave regardless". As Nick stood up, Ronny looked around to see where it was safest to get off of the roof. As Ronny looked, he spotted a flashing red light off in the distance. Sarah saw it too as she said, "You think it's worth a shot"? Ronny said, "As long as there's shelter, I don't care". 

With the snow covering the ground, the fall wouldn't be as harsh. With Xavier being the healthiest male of the group, he jumped off first. Once on the ground, Sarah went next as Xavier helped her down. Once she was off of the roof, Ronny carefully handed Albee to Sarah as Nick was next. Once Nick climbed down, Ronny did as well. From the ground, through the forest and hills, the group could still see the flashing red light as they walked. Sarah and Xavier were in front as Ronny helped Nick walk behind them. Sarah whispered to Xavier, "What are we gonna do about Ronny"? "What do you mean"? "Well, I mean he's been bitten. We're just gonna let him stay around us until he turns? What if he turned while we're sleeping"? Xavier said, "Like I've told you before, you can tell him to leave. I'm not gonna be the one to separate him from his child". Sarah said, "I don't think you're seeing the issue here. He's not only endangering us but also Albee". Xavier grew frustrated as he said, "So what should we do then"? Sarah thought about it for a moment before she said, "Have him keep his distance. He can be with Albee as long as someone else is with him and if we can, have him sleep away from us". Xavier said, "If that's what you believe, you can tell him that". 

While the conversation was going on, Ronny heard all of it. He knew what was happening and what was going to happen. Ronny said, "Sarah, can you hold Albee for me. I'm kinda struggling helping Nick and holding Albee". Sarah gladly took Albee as they continued to walk. The flashing light grew bigger and brighter as they approached its source. However, they had to stop as Nick collapsed into the snow. He began to cough violently again. Everyone could hear the sick, gagging noises that left his mouth. Everyone knew he was sick but no one could help him. Finally, Nick threw up as it spilled into the snow. After a few moments, Ronny helped Nick stand back up. His stomach content had stained onto his shirt and pants. Everyone pitied him as they began to walk again.

A short walk later, the group found the source of the red flashing light. It was flashing on top of a radio tower at a small military outpost. The outpost, itself, was surrounded by a fence and warning labels. Xavier cut a hole into the fence as everyone crawled in. Once within the fences, Xavier said, "Ronny and I will check the place out, wait out here until we return". Sarah was reluctant, however, she stayed. As Ronny and Xavier walked away, Ronny said, "I heard you and Sarah talk about me". Xavier was startled as he said, "Listen Ronny. We all love you. However, we also know you don't have a lot of time left. And Sarah is just trying to think about our future and what could happen if you turn and we don't know". To Xavier's surprise, Ronny was calm as he said, "I get it. I know my time is short and that's why I just wanna get you guys to Juneau safely". The two made their way to one of the entrances as they prepared for anything. Xavier opened the door to reveal that the room was void of threats. Within the room were military equipment and radios. There was also a wall which contained a map of the northwestern half of North America. There was even a red dot which indicated where they were positioned. 

As Ronny and Xavier continued to search the outpost, Ronny felt a tingling feeling in his arm as he felt another wave of heat come over him. He saw himself in the snow with Thomas. He could feel the biter pop up from beneath the snow as it bit into his arm. As soon as he was bitten, everything passed by in slow motion. He saw the biter fall after Thomas shot it. He saw another biter attack Thomas. He felt the adrenaline pump through him as he muscled his way back to the courtroom. Suddenly, everything went black as Ronny collapsed to the floor. Xavier heard the thud as he turned around to see Ronny was on the ground. Xavier began to panic as he knew if Ronny had died, he would have to shoot him. Xavier hesistated as he aimed at Ronny, however, before he could pull the trigger, he ran out of the outpost back to Sarah and Nick.