"Zane! Zane!"
"Is he going to be okay, Layla..?"
"I hope... He should be..."
Layla, Serenity, and Anastasia all stood over the unconscious body of Zane. Worry kidnapping their facial expressions. They weren't sure if Zane would ever be able to use his right arm again. It was in a dismal disposition. They had tried to bandage it with what little supplies they had, but it was still far from enough.
Nick and Deandre were also in a bleak mood. However, they had no choice but to keep watch. There was still a chance that other Chimera or Apocrypha would be attracted to the area, due to the abundance of noise they had made.
Zane laid stagnant on the ground. His eyes squinted in pain. He groaned as he had a dream that his arm had just been crushed by a fallen piece of concrete. The pain was much too severe for him to bear. The mid-section of his arm was completely crushed. The only thing that kept it attached was the skin surrounding it.
Zane's eyes slowly reopened. His breathing became more controlled and his body began to flinch from the pain.
"Zane!" called Layla happily. The others also jumping to her side to check on him.
"How are you feeling??" quickly inquired Anastasia.
Anastasia soon realized that she had asked a foolish question. Zane was wincing and moaning in pain. Of course, he wasn't feeling okay.
Zane tried to move, but his arm refused to listen to him. It was now as good as useless.
"Does anyone have any painkillers?" asked Layla hopefully.
Nick came running over to them with his hand stuffed in a pouch.
"I do!" he replied taking a bottle of pain relievers from the pouch. "The truck had a lot of different drugs inside, inclusive of these. They aren't the strong type, but should ease the pain at least a little."
Hastily, they placed two tablets into Zane's mouth. The tablets crunched under his teeth. Zane made his face up in distaste due to the awful aftertaste.
As expected, the pain didn't recede immediately. He would have to bear with it for a while longer. Carefully, he eased himself up. Layla and Serenity urging him to take his time.
Zane shook his head in disapproval, "No... It's okay. I-I deserve this..."
"No! Don't say that!" comforted Serenity.
"I lost my right arm because I sinned as a human being. Even though it wasn't for long, I acted like I was on top of the world... This just goes to show I'm still the same old idiot. Just a lamer version... I'm simply being punished for what I've done."
Layla understood better than anyone where Zane was coming from. The things he had said and the actions he gave birth to, could very well be punishing him. In some cases, he had no choice. But lately, he had been acting like a completely different person. Whether or not he forced himself to become that way, she didn't know. Either way, Zane losing his right arm was bad news.
"Zane..." called Layla.
Bearing his pain, Zane looked up at her.
"What are you going to do now..? What's your choice..?" she continued.
Zane pondered for a short moment. He could no longer force himself to act like a different person. However, he didn't plan to be as naive as he was before. He had to find some equilibrium within himself.
"I plan to do what must be done. I'll take care of this group and this group only. Anyone else will be insignificant to me, as long as there is even a one percent chance they can harm any of you. What matters is our survival. I may be forcing myself to act this way too, but at least it's a logical way."
No one argued. It was truly sad that there could never be pure kindness in a mad world. A world where humans were the prey and Apocrypha were the hunters. Life was now a survival game and only the fittest could survive.
Layla wrapped her arms around Zane. A warm hug embraced him. Zane felt as if he wanted to cry. But he knew better than to let his tear ducts give in at a time like this.
"Just be careful... Don't worry me... You're the only one that can make me emotional. So try not to abuse the privilege too much. Okay?"
Zane couldn't help but smile. For once, Layla was being truthful about how she felt. Even the pain in his arm seemed to recede while he embraced her presence.
"I hate to break all of this up, but what's the next plan?" inquired Deandre stepping forward. "Apocrypha are bound to be on us at any moment. And since Anastasia can't take the heat, we're stranded here."
Zane had a plan, but their current circumstances would be a difficult hurdle to overcome.
"I have a plan to get to Florida without being attacked by Apocrypha."
"Even if you have a plan, does it involve getting us out of this mess?" queried Deandre. His voice was a bit harsher this time. It seemed he was very emotional due to Tyrone's death.
Zane however had no clear answer. The sky was as clear as glass. Not a single cloud was present in the sky. There was one option, but he didn't want to consider it. Deandre on the other hand had no problem saying it;
"We should just leave Anastasia behind."
A shocked expression drifted across everyone's faces. Anastasia had problems of her own to deal with. There was a bounty on her head. However, if she died, it wouldn't affect humanity's survival.
"Deandre! That's absurd!" disagreed Serenity.
"How so? Our lives have much more importance than one stupid Apocrypha!" Deandre boomed.
"Hey! Cut that out! Even if you consider leaving her behind, there is no reason to disrespect her." scolded Layla.
Anastasia felt a bit tempestuous. She realized that Deandre was now harboring hatred within his heart for the Apocrypha. He had a right to, which she couldn't blame him for.
On the other hand, Layla was defending her. She remembered how Layla had despised her and refused to trust her. Now, that was no longer the case.
"It's okay... Deandre's right... In the end, my survival doesn't affect humanity's..." she agreed.
"Anastasia, no!" cried Serenity. Deandre also having a confused look on his face. He didn't expect Anastasia to just accept such a fate that easily.
"Is that really the best thing to do though? I think we should think about this a little more," added Nick.
Everyone turned their heads to Zane. They decided he should make the final call. Besides, it would be a good test to see if he was still conflicting with himself.
Zane was silent for a brief moment. He had to weigh both the pros and cons of leaving Anastasia behind.
"We're not leaving her behind."
"What? Why!? I thought you were thinking more logically!" shouted Deandre.
"I am—" Zane paused for a moment as the pain in his arm struck him. "Look..." he continued, "I don't want Anastasia to seem like a tool to us. She genuinely helped us this entire time and she can still be of use to us further down the line. Not to mention I made a promise to her. Logical or not, I'm not going back on my word. I also said that I plan to take care of this group. Anastasia is apart of this group. We're not leaving her behind."
There was a short silence among the group. Zane had a point. Anastasia was a very special addition to their group. They couldn't afford to drop her that easily.
Anastasia felt grateful to Zane. He had stood up for her yet again. His words touched her deeper than any wound. She smiled at him with tears in her eyes.
Zane looked at her not knowing how to feel. Seeing an Apocrypha cry, truly showed that they did have hearts. He realized that the philosophy he had tried drilling into his head was all a lie. People and Apocrypha alike, all had hearts. Some were just harder to find.
"Having an Apocrypha with us is bad news! It's not logical! We need to get out of here before the—"
Serenity suddenly silenced Deandre with a slap to his face. Her eyes filled with sorrow as she looked at him.
"Stop allowing your emotions to control you! You're the one who's being illogical! I understand that you're in pain... Tyrone and Hazel died... But I'm sure they wouldn't want you acting like this! And neither do I! So get a grip of yourself!"
Deandre held his face in pain. His heart feeling as if it was about to explode. Tyrone and Hazel had grown on him significantly. It was only for a short time, but he would treasure it for the rest of his life.
"I'm sorry..." he whimpered. "The truth is, I was an orphan... My parents died since I was just three-years-old. I had no other family or friends, so I was adopted by an orphanage. When the Apocrypha attacked— I met Tyrone and Hazel... They were the first real family I ever had. To me, they were the mother and father I had lost... I thought that even though the world was ending, I'd be able to spend the rest of my life with them. Making up for all the time I longed for someone to care for me... B-But now, they're both dead... It's like I'm not supposed to have a family! This world hates me!"
Everyone stared at Deandre sympathetically. They had no idea that he had gone through so much.
However, they couldn't allow themselves to dwell on it. They had to think of a plan to get themselves out of their current predicament.
"Deandre, I'm sorry to hear that you went through such a tough life. However, we need to think of a plan before the Apocrypha find us. We'll talk about it later, okay?" comforted Layla.
Deandre gave a slight nod. He understood why they were in a hurry and didn't want to be a hindrance.
"So, what are we going to do?" inquired Nick.
"I honestly don't think we have anything to worry about..." replied Anastasia.
"Why?" queried Layla with a raised eyebrow.
"I think there's a relatively low-chance that Apocrypha will come at us. The sun is scorching hot, which should be their biggest deterrent. Worst case scenario is they alter the weather to make it rain. They've been doing that a lot lately."
Layla placed her hand to her chin thinking. If they could rely on what Anastasia said, then they could remain the way they were until dusk. They also still had bullets for the rifle, which meant they weren't defenseless. It was a risk worth taking.
"Okay. I'm willing to bet on Anastasia's theory. We should probably go over Zane's other plan for now then."
Everyone agreed as they turned their heads to Zane. They remembered how reckless his first plan was. They hoped it wasn't something similar, but unfortunately, that was the case.
"We'll steal an Apocrypha's vehicle."
"Wow! Wow! Wow! Come on, man! That's completely ridiculous! We'll be marching to our deaths!" argued Nick.
"Zane, as much as it would be great to get our hands on an Apocrypha's vehicle, it's just too risky," said Layla, also disagreeing.
"I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. The Apocrypha expect us to run. They don't expect us to attack or steal from them. It's very obvious because they value pride more than anything else. For once, humans will fight back and outsmart them. My plan can certainly do the trick."
No one believed that they could truly outsmart the Apocrypha. However, Zane had a point when it came to their pride. With the correct technique, they could take advantage of their pride and use it against them.
"Anastasia, if you were to change into a singing demon, would other Apocrypha recognize you?"
"No— not by simply looking at me."
"Then what if we were to send you to an Apocrypha camp and have you take one of their b@tmobiles?"
"Well, firstly it's actually called Apocrabile. Secondly, to gain access to one of those, they would have to check my identity for security reasons. So that wouldn't work."
"Okay, that's fine. Plan-B then. Firstly, we'll need a normal human car. Does anyone know where we can find one?"
"I saw a small car parked along the road when we were running from the Chimera," muttered Deandre.
"Okay, that works. Next, we'll need Nick to take that car and attract the attention of other Apocrypha. Naturally, they'll be using their Apocrabiles to give chase. We just have to lower them here."
Nick gave a frightened look. He didn't like the idea of being bait. "Wait! That's absurd! How am I going to escape??"
"That's where Anastasia comes in. We'll have her hide in the car with you. When you're finally at the designated point, we'll have her transform into a singing demon and crash the car. This is when she'll take you as her prey. Since other Apocrypha won't be able to tell who she is, they'll naturally yield to her command. All she has to do is assert her dominance over them. She'll act like Nick is her catch to buy us some time."
"Okay, but where do we go from there? The Apocrypha are sure to have a numbers advantage. We can't just walk up and steal their vehicle." stated Layla.
Zane smirked, "We'll set a trap for them. We will withdraw what little fuel the truck has left and sprinkle it across the road. Once they're in range, we'll ignite the flames. The heat should turn them into puddles of liquid. That's when we take our chance and dash towards their Apocrabile. Of course, we'll consider Anastasia's safety."
A moment of silence spread throughout the group. The first phase of Zane's plan seemed dangerous, but it was overall a brilliant idea. Not to mention, it would be giving them the experience they needed to steal one of their boats.
They all agreed to Zane's plan. The only thing left to do was wait until sunset.