Chapter 8: ProVise

That Guy
               Things have been slowly spiraling out of control. Anna's woken up, honestly to my great joy. We need all the help that we can get, cause being down a member, even if it's Tim, is still a detriment to the team. Especially if one of your members just tried to gun down another. Justin's condition, is something to really be worried about. He just started firing off shots at Tim with no real warning. He also mentioned how he wanted to make sure that nobody died, right? So... something's definitely off with that power play.

         Charlie has deemed it a waiting game to get Tim back, but assures us that the situation is under his control now, not Justin's "perfect master plan". This causes all of us to finally loosen our guards a bit, but still take caution around the madman himself. Anna said that she'll take care of the situation, and for the rest of us to go to our normal jobs. Her and Charlie go to the back, weapons loaded and ready to fire if necessary. Esther gives all of us her blessings an luck, before heading off alone to the front, taking control as Co-Leader. I myself am left in the middle to do Tim's job for him. So with that, I start to check for anything missing.

         Piles of useful, and appearing to be useless items scatter around the two wagons, mine and Tim's. Ammunition, ingredients for cooking, food for the animals, clothes, and all the other miscellaneous things lie around, disorganized, but not out of place. I can't seem to find anything really missing, besides the guns themselves. I know, however, that Justin's the one with the whole stash to himself, so that eliminates any other possibilities of where it might be. So in return, I search for anything that could be useful to me, since everything is already going wrong. I find some kitchen utensils, and grab a few knives in case, along with a crowbar I found lying around. Justin's plan won't bar me from doing what I want. I'm a free man!

        Self-satisfied with my duties, I make my way to the front, seeing Esther talking to herself at the reigns. She's always been a bit awkward around me, with me trying to date her adopted daughter and all. How's it looking, Est?" I ask in a jovial manner. She turns around and tries to cheerfully greet me. A bit unnerved at the situation, she's the first to speak her mind. "Is... everything still well in supplies?" She nervously asks. I shrug my shoulders. "So far. Haven't seen anything too extraordinary yet." She slowly nods her head, shivering all throughout. "Do you know the path we're taking?" I ask back, trying to look past her and at the oxen. "N-not a clue." She says, trembling even more. "W-why don't you check on t-the others?" The one question seems to exhaust her, and I decide to take her up on her request, give her some space. She's not a leader by a long shot, but she's trying her best, so I gotta give her credit for not backing down.

        I make my way to the back, encountering a tied up Justin, an Anna carefully watching over him, and no Charlie in sight. "We meet again, love." I tease, getting no response from Anna. "Charlie went off to hunt." She says, as if quoting what Charlie had told her to say. "Nothing new to report." I say, trying to imitate the same tone. She frowns and sticks her tongue out at me. I just smile back, before looking at Justin. "What's his deal?" Anna pulls out a rifle from behind her, and puts it on the floor, kicking it at me. "Tried to kill Tim, completely going against his word from earlier." She debriefs. "It was in good intention!" He shouts back, struggling to escape his confinement. "He isn't mentally stable. I didn't trust him from the start, and now this is a fine example of why." "You have to trust me, Anna. This was for his own good!" Justin pleads. "Let the blood on your clothes tell otherwise." Anna scoffs. I roll my eyes at the predicament unfolding before me. "Did you at least get any information from him at all?"

Anna
"I'm going to search for Tim."
 "No way. You're not leaving without me, Charlie."
   "Anna, you need to stay here with Justin. I'm getting Tim."
    "Why not the other way around? You know how long I've lived in the woods, tracking and all."
     "If things already aren't going to Justin's plan, then I can't risk you going alone. And I can't trust That to hold down Justin."
      "Fine, but you better not die on us. We need you the most."
        "Relax. If it's the last thing I do, I'll come back. Alive."

     "That's the last of Charlie. He's only been gone for a few minutes now." That steps around, thinking. "So... what are we gonna do with Justin?" I motion towards the rope. "Keep him like that. Until we find a good way to keep him under control." "I can hear you two~" Justin sings, not amusing either of us. "Doesn't matter. You're not going anywhere, as long as I'm here." I retort, lightly kicking his side. That goes on to look out the back, looking a bit lonely. "How else could this journey go wrong?" I decide to humor him. "If someone died. Easy as that. Just like the old series." That looks back at me with a confused look. "A little extreme, don't you think?" I get up from my spot, but am shaken from my feet and fall to the ground after a loud quake. That falls off of the wagon, and Justin's ropes loosen a bit, causing him to try and wriggle more. I stop his attempt at fleeing. That climbs his way back on, his eyes bulging with surprise. "What was that?!" He whispers, trying to keep calm. "Earthquake?" I suggest. "It sounded more like an explosion." Justin comments, which adds suspicion. "How would you know that?" I interrogate. Justin smiles back. "An earthquake would've shook everyone, and Esther would also be screaming for her life. The animals would've panicked, and you wouldn't see the SMOKE." He tries to motion with his head, and my eyes follow his advice along. Black and gray smoke take over the background, with That taking up half of my view. "Can you get out of the way?" I impolitely ask, pushing him aside. "That could've been Charlie. That also could've been Tim." "Let's not forget about Emily. That could've been the truck exploding." We both continue sharing ideas, before Justin interrupts. "Whatever it was, I know it wasn't my doing." That walks back to Justin, staring over his tied up body. "And how would you know that?" Justin laughs manically at him, then stares him in the eyes, a wild smirk encompassing his face.

"Hahaha... It wasn't part of the plan..."

      That and I look at each other in disgust. Justin really has become unstable ever since his plan failed him one more time. Just then, another quake takes place, shaking the three of us again. I can hear a faint scream from afar. I immediately assume that it's Esther, but the sound is from the opposite direction. Right when I think that all is over, yet another quake. "Isn't that enough already?!" That screams to the heavens above, Justin wails in agony. "This was NOT part of the plan at all!" I stay silent, only wondering about the the cause of all this.

3 Minutes before the blasts.

Charlie
           Keeping us all alive is completely illogical of him. More death makes the series more interesting, more complex than need be. Makes the series popular. If he wants to let all of us survive, then why abandon Tim? Without my intervention, Tim would be dead, and so would the "plan". Justin's motives are NOT as they seem, that's what I can say. He may just be unlucky at times, but... what if he's made the plan revolve around sheer, blind luck? That's something he could've made, if not far from a longshot. But Justin? He takes those chances, and it usually works out. What... if the plan was literally nothing, and he wanted the rest of us to do the dirty work for him? That's a daring enough plan, filled with as much luck as you can fill your season's worth with, so... it could also be it...
       I sigh to myself. I've made no progress with my investigations of Justin, who has nothing going as he initially planned. Tim is gone, but probably not dead. Esther has to take responsibility now since Justin's mental state is not healthy enough for safety reasons. Yes, Justin may be stupid, unlucky, and bad at planning, but he's not insane. I know that from working with him for so long. But why did I choose to go looking for Tim and/or hunting for some game this evening? I need some time to myself. Set the bar straight for what's going on, and how I can resolve it. I spot a deer not far off from my position, and aim the gun that I took from Justin. Iron sights aren't always the best, but it'll do for now. First priority, is to be productive as possible. In any way, shape, or form.

I refocus my attention to my target at hand, and with my line of sight perfectly in line, I pull the trigger.
            Nothing happens but a click, and a clunk. I try again, and it's now followed by sound effects.
*beep...beep...beep...*

 This is not what you'd expect from a gun. I leave my fingers from the trigger, only holding it by the back now. I should take extra caution.                              

*beep, beep, beep*

  The deer gets startled and runs off. Shoot. both physically and metaphorically.
*Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep*

   The gun's jammed, a red light, and beeping... is this what I think it is?

                             Explosives, within a gun?

                                  Pure genius from an idiot.

        I need to get out of this area, quickly. I throw the gun to the side and start running. I can't directly tell how big the radius is, but from Justin's standards, I am nowhere near to safe.
*BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP*

"Knew it was too late. Couldn't do much else but bring the explosion away from the others. That, is enough for my part, at least.
Justin, you ingeniously stupid sonofafreakingbi-"

BOOM!

Esther
          Spending time alone is something I don't like, but usually have to deal with with. Trying my best to "steer" the animals to the right, I hear some groaning in the back. Goodie. The others are probably having a worse time than me. I attempt to park the convoy when it seems just about right, and start to unload important assets to get a fire going, seeing how dark this night is going to be. Striking a match was easy to do, and sure enough, the campfire is born. Loud snorts and wheels turning occupy my attention as I turn around to look. TG barges into the soothing night with a quick entrance. "Is everything alright?!" He asks in a panic. "I... guess?" I reply, guessing in comparison their night. "Did you feel any kind of earthquakes?" Asks Anna, who enters a little behind from That. I wave my right hand left and right. "Kinda. It disturbed the animals mostly, me a little bit, but I didn't feel that much." Both look to each other, leaving me clueless as to what's happening.

"Allow me to explain."

          Justin enters from the opposite side that the duo came from, surprising all three of us.
"You... you were still tied up, last time I saw!" Exclaims Anna, reaching for her bow and arrow in the back.
"Heh, I had it all planned out." He says, flipping his hair.
"Bulls**t!" That angrily shouts.

Remember! Five dollars a swear!
"Now is NOT the time, Announcer!" That retorts back.
"You still don't understand the gravity of your situation." Justin sighs.

          I look to Justin's direction, being very suspicious and confused about how he escaped. He turns to me as if reading my mind, and does a little countdown with his fingers. Anna sprints up to him, aiming an arrow right next to his head. "One move on her, and this arrow will tell the rest." Justin turns his head 90 degrees to the right, his nose right in front of the arrow. "I'm sorry, but is my name William?" Anna scoffs, as That surrounds him on the other side. "Give up Justin. You're getting back in the ropes." Justin waves his finger dismissively. "You'll just have to wait for that, too." Anna assertively pokes his cheek with the arrow now. "Wait for WHAT?" She demands.

         At that moment, a larger than life explosion happens in the background, revealing smoke, and sending a wave of wind and energy past us, blowing all but Justin to their butts. Anna is the first to recover, but Justin steps over her, keeping her down. I scramble to the ground to try and save her, but a powerful force hits my right side, sending me back to the ground, with extra weight laying on me now. I struggle to get up, only helped by That, who removes the object with great hesitation. I push myself off the ground and take a close look at the force.

        It was a man's burnt up body. His eyes were closed. His hair slightly darker than normal and a good bit of the back burned off. The clothes he was wearing were torn up, spotted with multiple burns and scrapes on his skin. The areas of most damage was his hands, and his entire back. Fresh embers filled in the holes made by the explosions, and black charcoal covered the majority of both of his hands. He lay motionless, as if he was in heaven, or a coma. No signs of resistance or time to make a will in those last final moments.

                                     And no signs of heartbeat, or a pulse.

Justin

          "I hereby pronounce Charlie Luna Stagiz, Dead."

       Esther's jaw hangs open in disbelief. That recoils back to the ground in horror. Anna continues to point her weapon at me, filling in the silence with harmless threats. I know that she won't pull the trigger, or the strings in this operation. "Now, I know what you're all thinking, but this had to be done." "You said that we'd all get through this! ALL of us!" Esther sobs. "Charlie was messing with the plan enough. He had to be eliminated to keep things on track." "Then what about Tim?!" Anna pouts, her voice getting coarser, her grip getting shakier. "He's a lost cause. We don't need a bullet sponge anyways." "...then us?" That moans, still lying on the ground next to the campfire. I take this time to grip my chest with one hand and laugh, pointing at That in his naivety . "Oh, That. You still don't even know what I have in store for you guys." I stare back to Anna, who's face is slightly cracked with fear. "This? This... is just the BEGINNING." I loudly proclaim, making sure that anything and everything that can hear me in the night WILL hear. "You're insane, Justin, and I WILL forcefully put you down!" Anna tempts. Her arms shaking like noodles, but her resolve untested. I take the challenge, and look her straight in the face. Her eyes meet mine, and she shows more emotion now, fear encompassing her whole face. "D-don't make me!" She yells once more. I smile back with the biggest grin I can muster, and mouth two simple words as a reply.

Do it.

       *Cha-chink*

       Before she can get a chance to act, I hear something akin to machinery click behind my back. Something close to a circular object gets poked at my spine, with the perpetrator unknown. Anna slowly backs off, her grip loosening, but her senses and eyes still alert. I can't muster a response as they utter a good catchphrase similar to mine as their entrance.

"Order up."