Episode 15

Jordan crept quietly through the forest between a tiger and a jaguar and saw the Bandits surrounding Bella and the group. He noticed Megan lying lifelessly on the ground in a pool of blood and hung his head. He felt Bella's heartbreak, and tears came to his eyes.

"Damn it," he whispered, and the tiger moaned sadly.

"I know, buddy. They killed her mother. Bastards! She can't lose focus. Concentrate and lend her your strength."

The tigers groaned to each other and focused on Bella. Jordan bit his knuckle, hoping no one else would get hurt, and saw Bella's signal. She flipped her wrist, and he looked at the jaguar.

"Aight. You guys are up. Remember, just the Bandits, not our pack," he whispered.

The undead animal bowed and hissed at the mutants. Thousands of mutants staggered toward the intersection, and Jordan growled with glowing eyes, ready to pounce.

****************************

"So, did you come out here with theater makeup to try and scare us? I see you didn't bring your pets with you. Oh, that's right, we blew them up. Ugh, how could you be around those disgusting things? You want to know how we killed them?" asked Wess, and Bella glared at him.

"A damn rocket launcher we found at an abandoned military base. Makes the apocalypse so damn interesting, doesn't it, folks?"

The Bandits cheered, raising their hands, and grunted. Wess gave Bella a clever look and rested his sword against his shoulder.

"Bells, you could have stopped all of this. Your mother is dead because of you, and now I think I'll let your family watch as I put you six feet under where you belong."

Bella looked at her father, Dale, and Charlie and hung her head.

"No," cried Dale, and Charlie leaned against him, sobbing.

Sarah, Mike, Andy, and Bonnie hung their heads, and Abraham looked at his daughter, shaking his head. He got his gag off and looked at her with tears.

"No, Bell," he sobbed.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and Dale let his tears fall.

Suddenly, she felt her body tingle with powerful energy and knew Jordan and the tigers were strengthening their Alfa. She exhaled, feeling a surge of power, and laughed. Wess, Abraham, Dale, Charlie, Sarah, Mike, Andy, and Bonnie looked at her oddly, and Bella gave Wess a clever look with glowing eyes.

"I think my family would rather watch me put you six feet under, shit stick," she growled, and her family silently cheered.

Suddenly, everyone heard twigs snapping, and Bella sneered, showing her golden canines.

"About my pets, they're out there, and they brought a few friends," she added.

The Bandits and the group gasped as two large, solid, muscle creatures jumped on the trucks and snarled. The strange creatures resembled a feline-like body structure and moved like lizards on their sharp-clawed feet. Their long tails ended in a sharp spike, with no visible eyes.

The muscle beasts started attacking the Bandits, and the horde surrounded them, preventing anyone from leaving. The men and women screamed for their lives, shooting at the monsters, but there were too many of them. Jordan and Waylon ran up behind the Bandits on the backside of their group and snapped two of the men's necks. The others shot at them, and Jordan wasn't quick enough to protect Waylon.

Sarah turned her head and watched in horror as the Bandits shot her brother. She screamed his name through her gag, but there was nothing she could do, and she watched his lifeless body fall to the ground. She leaned against Mike, sobbing, and Andy hung his head.

The bullets hit Jordan in the ribs and shoulder, and he snarled, making his stripes appear and his eyes glow. The men looked at each other and ran away. Dale looked at Jordan in question, and he raised his hand. He mouthed the words later, and Dale nodded.

"How did he get like Bella?" whispered Charlie, and Dale shook his head.

"I don't know."

*******************************************

Bella smirked at Wess, and he sneered at her.

"Oh, little bird. What have you done?" he asked, and she gave him a questioning look.

"What? Outsmarted you?" she snickered, and Dale chuckled.

Wess sighed and gave Bella a knowing look.

"I told you if you tried anything, they would all die. Starting with your brother," he said, pulling out his gun and pointing it at Charlie.

Bella growled, lunging at the man, and Wess pulled the trigger. Charlie squeezed his eyes shut, and Dale threw himself before the boy. The bullet hit his chest, and he groaned as his body hit the ground. Bella gasped, scrambling to her feet, and Wess hit her in the back of the head with the butt of his gun. She fell to the ground, not moving, and Wess sighed, getting to his feet.

Jordan freed Abraham, Charlie, Mike, Sarah, Andy, Bonnie, and Dale, and Charlie leaned over Dale, sobbing.

"Dale!" he cried, and Dale looked at him, breathing heavily.

Jordan watched, remembering the day Wess killed his wife and little girls and stalked toward the man.

"You don't kill kids, huh? Never killed a kid in your life, you lying sack of shit. What about mines? Man, you slaughtered my daughters who were four, dog," he snarled and punched Wess in the face.

**************************************

Bella opened her eyes and scrambled to Dale. She held his face, sobbing, and he put his palm on her cheek, rubbing her tears away with his thumb.

"Don't cry, little bird," he whispered, and she huffed a sob.

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this. I came here to save you," she cried, sniffing.

"Well, it did, and Charlie's safe. It was worth it."

Dale coughed, and Bella looked at him thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't have made you wait. I would have said yes," she whispered.

He searched her eyes, smiling, and she kissed him.

"I love you so much," she sobbed.

Charlie sobbed, and Abraham pulled him close. Bonnie sobbed in her brother's arms, and Mike and Sarah cried, holding each other. The Bandits watched the horde of mutants take a step back but still surrounded the intersection.