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“Jess? Is that you?” a muffled male voice answered the female Avatar's calling, tone hopeful but of course wary. Which neither Jess or Sky would blame him for being so. In this world, one never can be too careful of random people showing up as they learned the hard way.
Jess perked up in recognition of the voice, a smile of relief spreading across her face as she looked back at her comrade. “Sky, I think I found Nick!” she cried happily, excited and relieved to be with her friends once more; not that she didn't think of Sky or Barney being her friends, it was just that she knew her group longer.
“Oh, thank god.” Sky sighed, throwing Jess a grin; seeing her smile and understanding perfectly what she thought. Hell he felt the same way before, lighting up with joy and relief when he was finally reunited with his best friend after two weeks of being on the run from a horde. He was glad to see a friendly face with Jess showing up to help save him but he had been happier in seeing the purple dino Avatar again. So he knew how she felt and had no ill feelings about it.
Both Avatars could hear the happy tone behind Nick's voice as he moved closer to the heavy metal door, “You guys hang on, I'll get the door open!”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~Meanwhile on the other side of the White House
Barney moved carefully in the room he and Ross were currently in, narrowing his working eye against the thick shadows that choked the space. It didn't help that it was in the middle of the night as well, whatever lights that even bothered to work didn't do much in pushing the darkness back. He mentally cursed the lack of lighting as he kept his crossbow in hand. One never knew what dangers lurked in shadows, so it paid to pay extra attention to their surroundings. Though from the looks of things, it didn't look like they would need to be in the dimly lit room any longer.
The other half of it was barricaded.
The purple Avatar frowned a little at the blockage, partly wondering if they should remove enough of it to squeeze through. He glanced around the barricade, noting the bright green vines clinging to the walls and saw that they tried to hide the cracks forming on the structure. So going through was a no go, not if they wanted to risk a partial collapse and be trapped on the other side.
“I don't thinking we can get through this way.” Barney called over his shoulder to Ross, who was watching his back, a sense of dread forming in the pit of his stomach.
“End of the line it would seem.” the doctor said, his tone dead and dry as it ever was. He didn't sound concerned, remaining in the shadows as he gazed dully at the other Avatar as he turned to look his way. Then again, he never sounded concerned for anything to begin with.
Still…
Barney managed to hide a shiver at the tone, never really having gotten used to it. How could he? The way the Avatar sounded emotionless was just creepy. Now that it came from behind him, it just felt off as the dino's sense of unease grew. Mentally, he shook himself off, telling himself that it was just nerves. It had to be. It was the middle of the night, Walkers were everywhere and he was away from his best friend. That had to be the reason he was feeling a little paranoid.
Yet, the foreboding feeling remained and sat like a rock in his gut.
The dinosaur's mouth went dry and fought to keep from revealing his unease. “Then maybes we should go back,” Barney advised, suddenly concerned from being away from Sky for this long. “And join the others. I have bad feelings here.”
The dreadful feeling grew heavier and making it clear to him that something was very wrong but he wasn't sure what his senses were pointing out. Was it the feeling of possible attacks by Walkers? Bandits? Or something else? Whatever it was, the room reeked with ill intentions and Barney saw no point in remaining any longer than necessary.
But Ross remained where he was...
... and a dark gleam formed in his gaze…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The heavy vault door heaved itself upward with a mechanical groan, trying to allow Sky and Jess to join the other Avatars inside the makeshift bunker. The larger group eyed the growing opening as the door continued to rise to give access and as it opened, it slowly revealed the shape and form of the only female in the group, Jess. The group of men smiled happily as they watched her eyes brighten at seeing them all alive and well; and they, in turn, were more than happy to see her cheerful expression once more.
Nick was quick to welcome her back. “Jess, it really is you!” he laughed, then tilted his head a little in confusion. “How did you find us?”
“A doctor told us he saw you guys...” she replied though her smile faltered a little as she glanced at Ghetto, “and that Ghetto got bit-”
“Wait.” Nick interrupted, holding up his hand a little to stop her explanation then gestured to the Avatar next to her. There was caution in his voice as he glanced warily at Sky, finally registering his presence. “Who's this? And where's Barney?”
“O-oh!” the brunette Avatar jumping slightly in embarrassment for neglecting to do introductions. A bit of a bad move on her part as Sky was a stranger to them. She waved her hands a little and gestured to her new friend, “This is Goat...”
The four males turned in unison to stare at Sky, who remained quiet and still; wary about the situation himself but trusted Jess to handle it. “Barney failed to mention that he was an actual person and not a goat.” she added, seeing her group raise their brows in suspicion of Avatar next to her.
The larger group continued their stare, judging her words and silently judging Sky, whether or not certain about letting him in. Jess did seem comfortable around him and vouched for him so...
Ghetto sighed, “Come on. Get in here, you're letting a draft through. Then we'll talk about who this Goat is.”
“Oh hey, everybody... come on in! There's plenty of room...” Doctor Jin replied sarcastically as he watched Jess and Sky enter the bunker. Great, more people for him to deal with and look after. He really didn't need this now, but they seemed friendly enough. He shot Nick an annoyed look for a moment but let it drop. No use of arguing about it now that they were in. He just hoped they didn't touch anything as he settled himself to watch the group chatter among themselves. Perhaps he'll learn a bit more of who he's with.
Shark was the first to speak, glancing at the newcomer. “So if this is Goat...” he began only to be interrupted as Sky glanced at him, expression hidden behind his shades.
“Hey man, my name is Sky.” he corrected, wanting to clear the issue quickly. 'Goat' was a nickname, not his actual name. He put up with it for Barney but not for anyone else.
“Okay,” Shark lifted a brow but shrugged it off, “If this is Sky... where's Barney?” he asked, looking around to see if the dino was wandering about aimlessly outside the bunker door.
“We didn't know where the bunker was so we split up to cover more ground.” Jess answered with a touch of worry.
AK snapped his attention to her, tearing his gaze away from the bunker entrance to stare at the two. “So... you guys left Barney alone?” he asked, concerned for the dinosaur's well being. “Who's watching his back then?”
Sky shook his head, waving a hand to calm the group down, “No, he's with the doctor. That's how we knew to head over here.”
Ghetto perked up, “The doctor is here? Great!” He grinned a little as relief washed over him, “He can make me some more of that Formula X.”
Jin, who had remained silent for the most part of the conversation, drew his brows together in suspicion of who they were talking about. He turned to Sky, staring at him dead in the eye. “Doctor? Hold on...” he questioned warily, “This doctor... what did he look like?”
Sky cocked his head to the side, a little confused about the question. He didn't see the point of it but answered it honestly anyway. “Uh... Eyes facing different directions...? Gray...?” he listed off the two known features of the creepy doctor that followed them, still confused about the subject.
“He's a genius.” Nick replied, putting his two cents into the matter and a little confused himself. “He made a formula that saved Ghetto.”
“Although... he is kinda weird.” Jess put in as the younger doctor turned his vision on her. Obviously, she felt uncomfortable talking about someone behind their back but she just kept having this chill around him. “He's always sounding tired and really disheartened about everything.”
Jin paled, the list of features and quirks triggering a spark of recognition of just who it might be. He shivered inwardly, partly amazed that these people hadn't once questioned the man they had been with. It couldn't be him could it? He desperately hoped it wasn't who he thought it was but the descriptions the trio of Avatars gave, told him otherwise but he had to know for sure.
“How long have you been traveling with him?” Jin asked almost fearfully, dreading the answer he was about to hear.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ross watched impassively at Barney's back, the dino having turned away from him a short while ago to stare at the blockade once more in thought. Or to try to hide his unease from the doctor's unblinking stare, which was an unsuccessful attempt as the Avatar clearly saw it. The skittish movement of prey under the presence of a predator. He almost smirked at the analogy.
How... fitting.
A slow, cold smile crawled across Ross's face as he moved closer to Barney, making no attempt to be silent about it. The dino Avatar angled his head slightly in acknowledgment of the doctor's presence but for the most part kept his back to him. The smile grew sharper.
'Good little dinosaur…'
“Bad feelings are usually branded with weakness...” Ross pointed out, dead tone never changing for anything as he smoothly pulled out a syringe, hidden in the sleeve of his lab coat, “and fear...” He moved lightning fast for someone of his stature; jabbing the needle into the side of the dino's neck. A quick press of the thumb and the liquid in the syringe shot into his subject's flesh before pulling the needle and himself back; ending the attack as fast as it started.
Barney cried out in surprise at the sudden pain that bit into his neck; slapping his free hand on the spot to protect if further from harm as he whipped around and glared the doctor that caused it. “Doc! What that was?!” he demanded, teeth bared in anger over the sneak attack. He rubbed at the spot gingerly then looked at his hand, scowling at the smidgen of blood on two of his fingers before returning his glare at the Avatar before him. If he didn't get answer soon, he was going to punch the doctor in the face for it. He was pretty sure Sky and Jess would understand why the doc would return with a black eye or two.
Ross only stood back, his grin dying down to a smirk on his face as he toyed the empty syringe in his hand. “A dose of... medicine.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Ugh,” Sky tilted his head back a little, grimacing as he searched his memory for the answer. “Its been hard keeping track of the days... Uh... about a week?” he guessed, not sure where Jin was leading to with all the questions. “Why?”
The younger doctor made a slight strangled sound of fear, wringing his hands with new nervous energy at the answer. He knew it, he wanted to deny it and hope for the best but Lady Luck wasn't being kind to him that day... nor kind to anyone in the room as a matter of fact. A week was usually the amount of time given before the twisted doctor did anything. Mostly out of studying his subjects; analyzing them to keep a detailed report before conducting an experiment.
“This is bad,” Jin hissed, feeling the urge to throw his hands up in frustration but resisting it. “Your friend is not safe.”
The group went still around the doctor, but he sensed the feeling in the room went from curious to confused with the thickening of suspicion. They were tense but clearly waited for young doctor to explain himself.
“What's going on?” Jess asked, voice wavering in fear as she stared at Jin with concerned eyes.
The medical Avatar winced at the sight of her being close to tears already but there wasn't a way to sugarcoat it. “I know this person... This doctor... Ross, right?” he asked the group, turning to look at a few of the faces as he directed the question at them. They said nothing and that was more than enough that he guessed correctly and took it as his cue to continue his explanation.
“He was my mentor... I studied under him.” He cast a quick glance around him again, seeing the expressions of shock on them. “But he grew obsessed with changing, modifying his patients. Became steeped in experimenting on innocent people.”
Disgust was the next feeling then that rippled through the room at the news and Jin couldn't blame them for that. He was still disgusted by it even to this day. Memories of those days that he watched in horror as his mentor lured innocents for his goals churned his stomach and the urge to vomit was strong; but he pushed feeling and the memories aside to focus on the now.
Sky stared at him, silent for a moment, “Are you sure we're talking about the same person?” he asked, disbelief evident in his voice.
The researcher, again, didn't blame him for that disbelief. Ross was good in acting innocent and helpful regardless of him creeping most people out with his lack of emotion. No doubt that he tricked them rather easily by approaching them unarmed and non-threatening then offering help in patching up one of their members, easily gaining trust.
“If he's as you're describing,” Jin replied, pulling the Formula X bottle he received earlier from Nick from his coat pocket and showed it to them. “Then he has to be Ross because no other person could have made something this advanced.”
Nick furrowed his brows in confusion. If he was so dangerous as Jin was saying then why hadn't he done anything when they all spent the night in his summer home? And he had traveled with Sky's group for a whole week, surely he would've done something to them by then... and yet he left them completely alone. It didn't make sense. “Why would he help us then?”
The researcher turned to him, his mouth a thin line. “It was probably just another one of his experiments.”
His gaze slid to Ghetto, who no doubt he guessed was the one Ross chose because of his bite. He felt sorry for him as the color drained from the dark Avatar's face, his hand going to his throat at the thought of being used so needlessly. Perhaps death would've been a kinder solution to his problem than the one he was drinking now. Who knew what it could do to him in the future if he continued to take it?
'Though,' Jin gazed at the little bottle in his hand, 'if this led to a cure, then perhaps Lady Luck would be kind to Ghetto…'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Barney grunted as pain pulsed through him, squeezing tightly on him like a vice. He panted and groaned as the pain continued to pulse at odd intervals, gnawing at him slowly like it was trying to savor its time. He pressed his free arm across his belly, doubling over as pain rippled through him again, as if hoping in doing so would lessen the agony and stave off anymore from cropping up but did little in stopping it. He glared at Ross, who watched him impassively from a few steps away. Why was this happening to him? He grunted again as pain practically kicked him in the gut.
“What you're did to me..?” he hissed angrily... weakly, as he continued to writhe under the building intensity. Though while under constant waves of pain, he couldn't help but feel this odd sensation that felt familiar; but stayed out of reach when his mind went blank for a split second as pain dug its ugly claws through his insides. The odd warm sensation was slowly building but he still couldn't place what that was, “I'm feeling weird...”
Ross sighed, a little annoyed at the broken English but mostly out of boredom from watching his subject suffer under whatever liquid he had injected into him earlier. “Yeah... that usually happens.” he answered dryly, as if the scene before him didn't really hold that much of his interest, but managed to stay for a while longer to see if anything new happened.
The dino growled deeply as the pain changed tempo, coming faster and seized control from him, making his body go stiff and yet the muscles spasmed. “Argh... I can't... moving...” He growled again as the feeling of sharp claws raked across the inside of his body; the sensation getting warmer, making it harder to breathe.
“Well, that's a bummer.” Ross hummed in disappointment at the news. So that was a failure. That was too bad, he had hoped the dino would've shown him something different but apparently he was wrong. The doctor shrugged to himself before turning on his heel and began walking away without a second glance. He barely acknowledged Barney's pained cry and the clatter of his precious crossbow, no doubt dropping it in favor of trying to suppress the pain tearing through him.
‘As if that would help him any…’
Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk. But still he did gather quite a bit of useful data to improve his work, so it wasn't a total loss. Besides, there's plenty of new subjects to test on later but for now... it would be best if he vanished for a while. Work to catch up on and whatnot.
He whistled softly to himself, the tune cheery if there had been any kind of emotion behind it but lacked it greatly. Instead, it sounded empty and cold as it echoed in the room as he disappeared into the shadows again.
Behind him, Barney collapsed against the floor and screamed as the pain escalated sharply.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jess sighed in disgust over the truth of Ross. She shivered at the idea of having let him come near her with anything to heal her leg. But if she hadn't... she would've eventually bled out and died. The realization that even if she had known the truth beforehand, Ross's help had saved her life and in a way indebted to him for it. A life for a life. It left a bitter taste in her mouth. “Even a zombie apocalypse doesn't stop him, huh?”
Jin shook his head, a sick look on his face. “No... you don't understand.” He replied, raking a hand through his hair, “His experiments were to keep a dead body animated. He created the first zombies and started the zombie apocalypse!”
Color drained from Sky's face as he let the words sink in. “You're kidding me...”
Everyone around him went very quiet, digesting the reality that they all had befriended and been near a madman the entire time. The very one that ripped their lives apart, stole friends and family when the Walkers attacked, seeing new friends killed, bitten... even drove other Avatars to insanity of either eating other Avatars or compete for survival. If Ross hadn't have done this... their lives would've stayed normal.
He had a lot to answer for.
The researcher turned to look at him with grim expression, that spoke volumes that mere words couldn't express correctly about the Avatar in question. “No,” he said hollowly, “and he's still dangerous...”
Sky's heart hammered hard in his chest before skipping a beat in dawning horror.
Barney.
He left his best friend in the hands of a madman!
“We need to find Barney now! ” Sky barked at the rest, jolting them a little from their shocked state at the sudden sharpness of his tone. He didn't bother to wait for them as he turned on his heel and raced out of the bunker, desperate to reach his best friend.
The group jumped then raced after him, calling for him to slow down, that they had to stick together as he disappeared up the stairs. The brunet ground his teeth in frustration as he slowed down enough to let the others catch up before bolting on ahead at a dead run, the survival group keeping pace with him easily.
'Please Barney... please be okay...' Sky begged silently as they rushed down a hall, past the library he had been at only a few short minutes ago. Everyone around him called out for the dinosaur's name in hopes of getting an answer in return. Granted they knew full well that it was best to keep silent, but at the moment they couldn't care less if any Walkers heard them too. They had a friend to rescue.
Nick glanced at Sky from the corner of his eye as he ran along side the other Avatar. Even with the sunglasses strapped to his face and trying to hide his raging emotion; Nick was no fool. He saw it clear as day that Sky not only worried for his best friend but was berating himself for letting Barney go alone with Ross.
He looked forward again in time to avoid tripping over a pile of junk. He kept pace as he went deep into his thoughts, going a little into auto pilot as he called out Barney's name along with the rest of the group. As far as he saw, Sky was walking on a dangerous edge with the way he just blazed down the hall.
Nick guessed that if there had been a Walker in front of him, Sky would just plow right over them, uncaring if he got bit or not. That was a black mood... one that would not only endanger himself but everyone around him. He’d seen it before in Ghetto not that long ago and it terrified him. Nick worried for Sky's sanity but hoped the Avatar was strong, both mentally and emotionally for whatever happened.
….
The group continued on at a brisk pace, moving through turns and corners in various halls. ‘Seriously how many freaking corners did this house need?!’ They all thought in annoyance as they dodged various junk. They were all on edge, hoping to get to their friend quickly without incident and if possible... beat the crap out of Ross for causing all of this to begin with.
Sky would enjoy doing that for a bit, a sharp grin appearing on his mouth for a split second before hearing a telltale growl of a Walker. He refocused in darkness of where the lights in hallway had been broken and barely caught the jerky movement within them.
“Walker!” He called out in warning, skidding a little to a stop.
If it was just one then it would be no problem but he wasn't going to take the risk of there being more hiding behind the first. It wasn't the first time it happened either, many Walkers with throats ripped out or missing their lower jaws made little sound. He hated the quiet ones, while they posed no danger to biting the living hell out of you, they still had the strength to rip you open with their hands alone.
The rest of the group, including Jin who had come along in case of needing medical assistance stopped where they were, crowded together in one part of the hall. Nick, Sky, Jess and AK took up the front, facing the Walker's position and slightly going into a defensive stance.
“N͡yr҉a͟aa͝ggh̡hh.͘.̛.͝”
That was a Walker alright.
The group waited for it move toward them, it was suicide to try to kill it in the dark and a waste of ammo if they just fired blindly in hopes that one of the bullets killed it. It didn't take that long as it seemed, heavy footsteps lurched in their direction, but surprisingly it was the only one they heard. How big was it to make heavy steps like that?
In fact, they noticed that the footsteps seemed to move in a familiar stride, if only off just a little. The group glanced at each other briefly; its walk sounded determined, not lost, as if it knew exactly where it wanted to go... where it needed to go and it wasn’t just through hunger…
“͘G̸oÒo̶At..́.͝” the Walker growled from the shadows, staggering closer. “N̨ra͜a҉hh.̢.͘.̢”
Surprise shot through the group at the word it uttered as they again, looked at one another. A Walker that could speak!? This was unheard of! They never once heard a Walker speak other than mindless snarling and growling. Was it even a Walker? It sounded and growled like one but…. The thought dropped completely as it took a second or two for the real realization to hit them like a ton of bricks.
That... that accent…
A deep silence hung over the group as the Walker snarled and growled in an accent they knew very well. It couldn't be... could it? No, it had to be someone else right? It had to be, they were in Washington D.C for hell’s sake! There’s plenty of people that had visited with that kind of accent, right? It was just their imagination going wild; their worst fear now just playing tricks on their minds.
Yeah, that was it.
But the accent and familiar stride did not change no matter how much they wished for it and made even worse when the Walker finally stepped into the low light, revealing its appearance…
“G̴o̕A̴t!”̸
Sky stared at his best friend with wide eyes, horrified as Barney lumbered closer, growling at them. His over all appearance showed no signs of being attacked. There weren’t any wounds or bites that they could see on his arms or neck, didn’t have a limp that indicated his legs were injured. He just moved as if drunk. Blood and drool dribbled down the sides of his mouth as he gnashed his teeth together in short snaps. He looked more like a wild animal gone mad than one of the undead.
But it was his lone eye that showed that he was, sadly, in fact a Walker. The milky white film had layered over his eye, turning the normal shiny black color to the pale bluish gray that marked the dead. And if one could squint they could see that his stare was fixed on them entirely as he lifted an arm to paw at the air in front of him for a few seconds before letting it drop to his side.
“No...” Sky whispered in a tiny, wavering voice, staring at the slouching figure that was his best friend. He actually flinched when Barney growled out his nickname again and again, as if calling specifically for him. Some part of him became aware that Barney was leering directly at him and no one else. “Barney?”
“̛G҉o͘At..!̷”̕ The purple dinosaur repeated in a hissing growl as he continued to lurch forward, “.̴.̕.͡Go҉At..̶.!”͜
With a bitter taste in his mouth AK lifted his weapon, aiming carefully to put their friend out his misery as quickly as possible; even though he wasn't so sure himself if that was wise. He had hoped that the dino would turn to look at him at the sound of gun being prepped, but Barney ignored him; gazed fixed on the Avatar in his direct line of sight.
Nick snapped his attention at AK, startled at his action. They couldn't kill him, for all they knew Barney could be sick. Right? “What are you doing?!” he yelled at AK, “That's Barney!” But he knew the truth, didn’t he? AK glanced back at him from the corners of the mask he wore, a silent reprimand for stopping him. ‘You know why.’ Of course he did but there had to be hope, right?
Sky let out a whimper as Barney continued his march toward them. “Barney don't do this!” he begged, hoping to get through to him as his voice cracked a little, “Barney! Listen to me!”
Everyone else kept silent as Barney snarled at them, staring at him with sorrow and despair. Even Jin remained quiet, unable to tear his gaze away from someone that had fallen victim to his twisted former mentor. 'What have you done Ross..?' Jin thought sadly, 'How could you..?'
“N-no!” Jess wailed, covering her face with her hands, trying to wipe away the tears that ran down her cheeks. “This.. this isn't happening now!”
It couldn't be, he was just alive no more than a few hours ago! She spent most of the day in his presence! He was alive then and still was damnit! Barney snarled and she let out a keening wail in answer as memories of the dinosaur filled her mind. She hadn't said anything about them and never had gotten the chance to thank him. She remembered... hazy at best but she remembered that Barney had been the one carrying her when she had passed out.
At brief, random times, she would awaken mostly confused but comforted. She would see Sky up ahead, scouting with his bowie knife in hand, often looking back to see if they were alright. Barney carried her on his back, moving swiftly but careful to not jar her injured leg nor wake her up.
And when she had recovered enough to walk on her own, the dinosaur had insisted she walk ahead of him and guard her from behind. Neither Avatar complained about her slow progress, it made her blush a little at being looked after but never pushed too far to keep up. They adjusted their speed to her and often took short breaks for her health and benefit, even giving her their water supply.
But now...
Now... the very same Avatar that had looked after her the most, snarled at them hungrily, eyes empty of any recognition for them. The reality of it broke her heart... She couldn't imagine the pain Sky was going through now. Far worse, she knew, than any of them were feeling because of his deeper connection to the lumbering Avatar.
But Barney still had to be alive, right?
“͏R͘rra̶a̶aa~́..́. ͠G͡oAt...”̷
“Barney, please...” Sky pleaded, already on the verge of tears as he reached out to him a little. He felt conflicted, wanting to run up to dinosaur and shake him awake and yet his body refused to go anywhere near him, bristling at the threat. A sheen of tears had formed and he felt a few of them escape, sliding down his face, “Don't do this...”
Barney's face twitched as if in recognition and for a moment Sky's hope rose; but that was quickly dashed as the dinosaur's mouth turned into a twisted smile of dangerous teeth. “͢G҉òO͝oĄt́...͡” He crooned at his best friend, calling to him in a giggling, mocking manner. “̡Go̡Ǫo҉At...”̵
“Snap out of it!” Sky screamed, feeling his skin prickle at the sheer cold of hearing his nickname being said in that manner. Through his tears, he glared at him, urging... willing him to remember, to stop; to do anything but come at them as a threat.
Survival reflexes kicked in as Sky's body reacted, hands lifting with a gun in their grasp and aimed with deadly intent at his own best friend. He shook violently, fear and horror colliding together inside of him as Barney snarled louder, spittle flying from his jaws as he halved the distance between them, lifting both arms as if to pounce on them.
He so close now.
“Barney! PLEASE! I can't do this!” Sky shrieked, the gun in his hands quivering and moved unsteadily. He fought against his own body that tried to take aim at the threat to his survival, refusing to let his instincts take away the closest thing he had as family. ‘He’s not a threat... He’s NOT A THREAT! Don’t shoot him!’
Reality told him that Barney was long gone, there was no use in thinking otherwise as words failed to stop the dinosaur's advances of aggression. But Sky remained stubborn, fighting against the truth that his friend was no more. Barney was in there, he knew it, he just had to reach him! Though his hope began to wane quickly as Reality continued to shove the cold hard truth in his face, rubbing salt into his wounds that there was nothing he could do to change what he saw.
AK had long since lowered his weapon out of respect for Sky. It seemed more fitting if he did the killing, almost like an honorable thing... even if it was extremely traumatizing to the one doing it. But the group weren't soulless, having their weapons out and ready to save Sky if he failed to do the deed himself. And if it came to that, they would not think ill of him. How could they? After all, they knew that not everyone had the inner strength to do such a thing to someone they deeply cared for.
At least not without dire risk to their soul or sanity.
But they couldn’t just drag this out any longer. The longer this continued, the more suffering it would bring to everyone, especially to both Sky and Barney. AK already knew that and had prepared to shoot the dinosaur himself to avoid this problem but Nick had stopped him from doing so. And now he couldn’t interfere completely, at least not without getting a barrage of hatred from the younger Avatars. ‘If only I had just pulled the trigger, Sky nor Barney would be suffering now...’
“You have to shoot.” AK said, keeping his voice clear but felt sick for saying it. “He's not gonna stop.”
At the command, Sky made a strangled sound in his throat, like he tried to swallow back a heartbroken sob. But AK saw the truth... as everyone else did, with the obvious exception of Sky and Jess, that Barney had long since passed on. Words didn't register in his mind anymore, therefore did nothing to stop his advance to devour them all.
Barney... no longer existed.
“You can't shoot Barney!” Jess shrieked brokenly, hiccuping and sobbing over the situation as she continued to deny what she saw. “He's our friend!”
Shark glared at her but his gaze held no anger or annoyance, just pain and sadness. “That's not Barney anymore.” he pointed out softly to her before glancing at Sky, “You have to shoot.”
Sky shook his head as he lowered his pistol, trying to back away, to turn a blind eye to it. But his body refused to move, forcing him to stare at the worst scenario given to him. ‘But he’s not a threat… he’s not...’ “No...”
No one knew what triggered it, nor will anyone ever know. Whether it was the urging, Sky's broken whisper or the fact Barney was close enough to them; or something else altogether. Whatever it was caused Barney to go from steady pace to full out run; roaring in a hungry rage as he charged directly at Sky.
“Shoot!” AK yelled in shock, surprised at the sudden burst of speed Barney showed, eating up the distance quickly with his long strides. He feared that the dinosaur would reach his target before the Avatar could even react.
Reality won, smashing what little hope Sky had and blew away his delusion; letting him see in bitter clarity that Barney had degraded to nothing more than beast with no mind of his own. He saw it now, the empty, mindless gaze that somehow showed a mad gleam as it locked onto him. The savage snarl on his best friend's face, blood and drool hanging off in threads, flying as he roared. And saw the deadly intent of taking his life, to rip him to pieces and devour what was left. No amount of screaming, crying and pleas would ever bring back his caring friend. He finally saw him as he was now…
A Walker.
With grim and sorrowful understanding, Sky lifted his pistol and screamed; a loud agonizing howl of despair and emotional torment that rang and echoed in hall. He didn't dare take his eyes off Barney, who continued his blind charge toward him; burning his image into his mind as his finger tightened and squeezed the trigger…
BANG!