[✔️] Acopolypse ~ Corbyn Besson

Chapter 7: Lies

Dylan's POV

We woke up the next morning to golden brown smog outside. Ugh, this is awful. I made breakfast for the boys and we sat at the table talking.

"So Dylan, you said you were at work when the explosion happened?" Jack asked me. I gulped, but nodded.

"Yeah," I said in an uneasy tone. That's not where I was.

"Oh?" Zach asked. "Where do you work? Or, where did you work?"

I laughed. "I worked at a coffee shop in Anaheim. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf."

"I know that café!" Jonah said. "Daniel and I went there before our show on Wednesday!"

I looked over at Daniel. He nodded. I continued watching him and he must have realized something and then looked up at me with a confused frown. I ignored it. After breakfast, Daniel helped me clear the dishes while the others went to change.

"So, Dylan," he began. "You were at the café during the explosion?"

"Yeah," I said quietly.

"Well, no you weren't." He looked at me directly in the eyes, staring into my soul, finding the lies.

"What?" I croaked out.

"The explosion happened on Friday, the weekend before Veteran's Day. I was talking to one of the cashiers that Wednesday and he said that because of the holiday, you guys close at noon on Friday." He frowned at me. I looked down at my shoes.

"And the explosion happened after 1:30," he continued. "Which means you couldn't have been at work."

"Listen, Daniel, I-"

"I don't know if you had a part in the explosion, but because you're hiding it, i'm guessing you did," he scowled. "I'd like an explanation please."

I sighed.

Flashback

Peyton and I stood outside the warehouse in Anaheim, waiting for our father to exit. We leaned against my truck, a gun in each of our hands. My sister and I glanced at each other quickly as he approached us.

"What do you want, sluts?" he said rhetorically, pushing us out of his way. Peyton stumbled, but I grabbed her arm and caught her before she fell.

"We want you to not come back to MY house tonight," I said with determination in my eyes. "I'm 19, and I now have full claim to the house since MY mother isn't here."

"That's ridiculous," my father said, slapping me across my face. "The house is mine since I paid for it. My wife's death leaves me and only me with the deed."

"No," my sister intervened. "We reported your abusiveness and alcoholism so we have the right to take it." Without another word, he punched Peyton in the face. She groaned, but kept her balance.

"You can't make me move out," he snarled. "It's my Goddamn house. I'm the one who should be kicking you bastards out."

That was my last straw. "Not unless I shoot you," I said, pulled the gun from my back pocket, holding it in one hand, my index finger on the trigger. Peyton held hers in hand, and smirked, as if to say 'I've got a gun too.'

He held up his hands and scoffed. "You wouldn't actually shoot me." I laughed. No matter what he said, he was scared. I could tell by the way he was walking backwards until he hit the wire fence separating the parking lot from the oil drills.

"Okay, don't shoot," he said, grinning a scared smile. I smirked at his fear.

"Oh she will if you say one more thing," Peyton said for me. I smiled at my little sister; she knows me so well.

"You kids were a burden to your mother. That's why she died. She couldn't deal with you. She never loved you. And neither did I."

That was his last word I heard from him. I pulled the trigger without a second thought. I didn't want to actually kill him cause that's illegal, but the bullet grazed his shoulder and went through the fence, landing in the brush on the other side. My father screamed in pain and fell to his knees. The bullet caused a fire to light up in the dead grass.

My eyes widened. "PEYTON GET IN THE TRUCK NOW!" I yelled. I quickly hopped in and started the engine. My sister climbed into the passenger seat, smiling as she buckled her seatbelt.

"You did it, Dyl!" she exclaimed. She handed me her gun, unused, and I placed it with mine back in the holsters on my thighs.

"Yeah, but now we gotta get the hell out of here before the fire spreads to the oil drills and explodes." I turned my truck around and sped onto the narrow road, leaving the oil drills and the warehouse next to it. Peyton looked behind us to see if the fire was spreading.

"Okay, it's not spreading yet, and it still has a solid 60 feet before it hits the oil drills," she told me. I nodded. We soon hit the freeway which was crowded. LA traffic is the literal worst. I pulled over and jumped out of the truck, grabbing my backpack and my skateboard; my sister followed me.

"We gotta run, Peyton," I said, starting to book it down the street. Peyton nodded and followed. For being two years younger than me, she's keeping up with me pretty well.

Since we were running slightly up a hill, I looked down to where the fire was in the field. I gasped as I saw it hit the oil drills.

Everything was in slow motion. The explosion shot a huge gust of smoke and wind in all directions, blowing cars and trees off the ground. I felt my feet leave the ground so I tried to grab Peyton's hand. I couldn't reach her. We both flew through the air, landing in different spots.

I was slammed onto the ground next to a huge tree that managed to survive the shock of the explosion. I groaned from the pain in my side, where I had landed. But only one thing was on my mind.

"PEYTON! PEYTON WHERE ARE Y-"

I was cut off by another explosion, but managed to hide behind the tree and hold on to it for dear life. Once the earth stopped shaking, I continued screaming for my sister. No replies. I sat and cried underneath the tree for a solid half hour. I waited. No one came.

I decided to seek shelter. That's what I needed the most. I walked for a few hours until I spotted lights in a large building. Anaheim Concert Hall: WHY DON'T WE SOLD OUT. I pounded on the door.

End of Flashback.

I looked up at Daniel after telling my story.

"I knew it," he said.

"Knew what?"

"That you had something to do with this," he glared at me. "This is all your fault. If there hadn't been the fires and the explosions, the chemicals and shit wouldn't have turned people into zombies and my brother would still be alive!"

"No, Daniel, the fires in Thousand Oaks were already started before my sister and I inadvertently blew up the oil drills. That still would've happened."

He looked down, clearly sad. I engulfed him in a hug.

"Look, Daniel," I said. "I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost my sister too. I don't know where she is."

"I hope your sister is still alive, Dylan," he mumbled, tears running down his face. I let go of him.

"Thanks," I smiled at the blue-eyed boy. "You have to promise me not to tell the other boys about what happened. They'd kill me. Or kick me out."

"Hm," he thought. "Corbyn wouldn't kick you out. But sure, I won't tell. Unless I have to."

I sighed and walked into the hallway. Corbyn was standing there. I jumped.

"Daniel won't tell what?" He asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," I quickly spat out. "Nothing to bother yourself with."

Ooooo tea ☕️ 🍵 I'll describe it more in detail in later chapters but you get the point. New chapter and I finally know what im gonna do with this story hehe.
Read my other books:
-"Side by Side"
-"In My League"

Love ya 💖