ZRP-2 Chapter 8: Survivors One and All

"No, it's fine," James said. "We need thinking, but aimed at who could be trying to undermine our position here." Ella sat down and said "Well let's narrow down a list of who could have burned down the ammo dump for starters. Who had access?"

The mob took Eve to the center of the compound, to a large flagpole set up. Untying the rope, they tied Eve to the pole, looping and knotting the rope around her wrists before tugging on the rope and raising them over her head. "You stay nice and comfy," the leader said. "We've got a present for ya."

"Actually Sam...I dont think they really had access. Everyone who had access were the compound leaders and us." Hayley said. "No one said they entered before the explosion, no one saw anyone. Maybe it was a sneak in, pure and simple."

Hibiki then entered, and as she sat down...she held her face and began to cry.

Eve sighed. She actually...wasnt that scared yet. A pretty pathetic way at first, but with time...
She would need to rest her legs. This would be difficult.

"Then that's something," Estel said, ignoring Hibiki not out of indifference......she was just focused on proving Eve's innocence. "Whoever did this needed an accelerant to get the fire going. Maybe if I can get in there I can figure out what may have been used." A few people turned to look at her, surprised. She shrugged and said "I'm a bit of a pyromaniac at times. I know how to light things up."

James was silent, siting next to Hibiki and holding her, a hand on her shoulder and hugging her close.

Hayley stood. "I can help abit. I took an explosives course...that was before I got confused and nearly blew up my instructor. I found being a medic safer. Less chance of killing people." She sighed.

Hibiki cried against James.

Eve...blushed. "hey! Can I get a bucket to pee in?"

Instead of a bucket, someone lumbered over, undid the zipper and button of Eve's pants and turned her around to face the pole, then dropped her pants and underwear, exposing her. "Go ahead and take a piss," they said.

"Well then we go in a bit, see what we can find," Estel said to Hayley. "It'll be nice to have some help."

Eve looked down...then did something smart. She hopped back on step, and leaned forward. She pissed on the ground just in front of her clothes, avoiding mass wetting. "Thank you. Now will you please put my pants back up? Something could crawl in and you'll end up with a dying girl you can do anything with."

Hayley got up. "Lets go."

There was a grunt, and a pair of hands grabbed the pants and underwear, hiking them up Eve's legs (the skin of the hands touching a little intimately against Eve's skin) before getting them around her waist. "Huh, still smooth. Maybe we'll be able to change that," the voice said.

Standing up, Estel looked at everyone and said "We'll figure this out. Don't worry."

Eve didnt look back.
"My father already beat you to my pelvic region and back. You're a little late for cutting. And even your compound would hate you for rape."

Hayley grabbed Eve's gun, as it had been left on the table by Hibiki. "Lets go, before they get out of hand."

"Who said anything about rape?" the voice said, before there was a sound of boots on gravel, walking away.

Estel held the door open for Hayley, waiting for her.

"Then what are you gonna do to my smooth skin!?" Eve shot back.

Hayley hurried after Estel. "Can we try and find Eve too?" Hayley whispered.

"Two words!" the voice shot back. "Belt sander!"

"We can, but it wouldn't help; not like we could rescue her," Estel said as she led Hayley to the former ammo dump.

Eve paled.

"At least we can see about getting some people tonwatch her..."

"True," Estel said as they reached the burned down husk that was the ammo dump. "Okay, let's get in and make this fast."

Hayley slipped over and started to picking through the wreck. "Man. This isn't going to be good. Hopefully Eve isn't being hurt..." she said softly.

"She'll be fine," Estel said as she poked through the burned remains of boxes and shelves. "Hell, for all I know she's just playing mind games with them. But we need to focus." She saw something on the ground, and crouched low to see it. What looked like a stain on the floor stood out, slightly shiny or glossy. she ran a finger over the surface and sniffed it, recognizing the scent of alcohol. "Got alcohol here, must have been what the guy used to set the place on fire.....or speed it along."

Hayley looked around, and finally pushed some wreckage away.
"Hey. Got some bottle fragments. I think they used a molotov cocktail of sorts was used." she frowned, and gathered it up. "I think i got parts of a label." She muttered. "Estel. What do you think? Someone with access to alcohol and some gasoline." She sighed softly, and got up. "Let's hurry."

Eve felt a few cramps, and went for the pain. She let herself hang down, the ropes biting into her wrists.

"Someone with access to booze......maybe the bartender of this place? Think I spotted him in the mob earlier, but I'm not sure." She headed for the entrance of the wrecked building and made a come hither gesture to Hayeley. "Come on, we should go."

Hayley hurried after her, slipping the bottles into a pocket in her bag.
"Keep an eye out for Eve. For all we know they've done worse."

"Worse than being dragged off by a mob to possibly be lynched?" Estel asked in a tired tone.

Hayley looked away. "Yeah..." She followed Estel, now a bit depressed.

Estel decided to take a chance, and headed for the center of the town. It wasn't hard to find Eve; she was after all the only one tied to a freaking flag pole. She sucked in a breath when she saw her friend, and said "Shit."

Hayley put her hand to her mouth.
"Estel, we have to get her." She started forward. "That...that's so...it's inhumane. She'll freeze during the night. What if someone takes advantage of her?" She started fumbling for something. "Come on, where's my knife..."

Estel grabbed Hayley's wrist and shook her head. "No, we can't: if we do, they'll think we're also traitors and chain us up too. Her best chance, is for her innocence to be proven."

Hayley looked really pissed.
"I asked James if I could babysit her. She's so sweet." She gritted her teeth. "I can't...can't take this." She growled. "Fine...let's go."

"Save it for now Hayley," Estel said calmly as they kept walking. "Save it for when we find the bastard that set her up."

Hayley nodded.
"...okay."

Heading back for the house, Estel wondered which news would be more worse received: the fact that they had a lead on who was framing Eve, or that she was strung up in the center of town? Probably the latter. Reaching the house, she hesitated for a moment outside the door.

Hayley pushed it open.
"James. We need to talk to you. Alone."

James, who had for the most part been sitting on the couch holding a crying Hibiki, looked up. So did Sam and Ella. "Anything you have to say, can be said here Hayley," he said finally. Estel answered for Hayley, saying "We think it was someone from the bar, with access to the booze there. That was what they used as an accelerant for the fire. And.....the mob tied Eve up in the center of town, have her hanging by the wrists from a flagpole."

He didn't mean to, but James' fingers dug into Hibiki's shoulder as his grip tightened in rage.

Hibiki threw the hand off and made for the door, intercepted by Hayley.
"Hibiki! Freeing her will not save her! We must prove her innocence and pray she can survive! Please Hibiki. I don't know how you feel but I know angering the town further will not help you." Hayley kept Hibiki in a vicegrip. "Please. If we don't prove her innocent, then she has no fucking way to live her. We leave, we lose a home, and we're again fighting to find food, water, and shelter. Not to mention gasoline. So calm down everyone, or we're screwed."

James came up behind Hibiki, gently albeit firmly grabbing her right triceps. "She has a point Hibiki. If we want Eve freed, we need to get the guy responsible for putting her in this position."

Hibiki shoved Hayley back.
"Fine. But the moment we do, I'm fucking driving my tank over, then driving Eve home. End. Of. Discussion."

She stormed upstairs, leaving Hayley rubbing her ass. "Ow."

Eve finally stood again. She couldn't keep this up all night...
She whimpered softly. She didn't even get to tell Sam she loved her this morning...

Sam looked troubled as she stood, leaning against the wall. Ella helped Hayley to her feet while James walked after his wife. "Hibiki!" he said, trying to get her to stop.

Hibiki stopped.
"Go talk with them. I'm ready to start shooting people."
She continued upstairs as Hayley gave Ella a hug. "She doesn't deserve this." She whispered, holding Ella. "She's so sweet...she's so innocent...and she's being forced to hang from a flagpole all night..."

"Hey you think I don't want to start shooting these people too?" Jason demanded as he followed Hibiki, grabbing her again though still with the same amount of gentle care. "You may have been with her longer, but I still care about Eve, Hibiki. Waiting around is killing me, but it's the only option we have if we want to keep her alive, and everyone else too."

"I know, Hayley," Ella whispered. "But there's no sense crying about it. It won't help anyone."

Hibiki looked at James.
Silently she returned downstars.

Hayley didn't let go. "I know. But I have to do something pathetic, or else how will I do something awesome later?" She managed to lamely joke.

"Heh, no idea," Ella said.

Following her back downstairs, James stood next to Hibiki and said "Alright, we're going to have to take this to Marcus and Clara. If we're lucky, then they'll be able to use it to save Eve and nail the real culprit." Pausing, James actually chuckled and said "Great.....now we're in a Scooby-Doo episode."

Hibiki...cracked a small smile. "Except our Scooby Doo is tied up on a flagpole." Her smile faded, and she sighed softly. Her voice was cold.
"I'm gonna fucking kill whoever framed my baby."

Andrew nodded, "Yeah...I'll keep a close eye on anyone and everyone." He continued to look at as he heard the crowd, letting out a small curse. He then added, "And from the sounds of it, they're getting more and more aggressive."

Andrew then added one more thing, "And if they get to Eve and get nothing out of her...Sarah will be next. And knowing my sister..." he then lowered his voice, "She will not go quietly."

--A Few Minutes Ago--

"Fuck," Marcus said as he moved to the window and watched the events play out. "This is not good......Andrew, I know your sister doesn't need protection, but keep her here in this house. The less targets we give these people, the better. I need to talk to Clara and get a handle on this shit." That was all he said before he left the house to find Clara.

--Now--

"Get in line," Sam growled.

Hibiki didn't say anything to that.

Mira peeked downstairs.
"So...whats going on?"

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and James, Sam, Ella and Estel grabbed a weapon. Slowly, James walked to the door but relaxed when he heard Marcus' voice on the other side of the door. "James, open up it's me and Clara." Sighing, James opened the door and let the pair inside. "So....what's the word?" Clara was livid as she paced inside the living room. "Un-fucking believable. French revolution of all things...... Alright, they've got Eve tied up in the square, and there's talk of trying her. Though it sounded rigged. We need to find out who did this, and fast."

Hibiki picked up her sword.
"Or I just kill their leaders and show them why a fucking mamma bear with a motherfucking tank is your worst nightmare." She seethed.

Hayley stepped up. "I kinda have to agree, to an extent, with Hibiki. Letting them know that you don't fucking with kids is important...she's just a kid dammit."

Andrew turned to look at Mira, and couldn't come up with anything at the moment. He gave Marcus his word that he'd keep his sister safe, and Andrew had no intention of not keeping that promise. That...and he couldn't lie to either of them about the situation.

He then said, "Well...to put it lightly...the town is after our heads, and are pinning Sarah and Eve the perpetrators of burning the ammo dump." His tone was firm as he added, "Right now...Sarah needs to be kept out of sight of the lynch mob outside. We don't want any more trouble than we've got right now."

"Don't you fucking dare," Clara said immediately. "Their leader may be an asshole, hell even the rest of them. But whoever is behind the sabotage, framing Eve.....they're the ones pulling the strings here. Pitting us against each other. You go after the people, and you're just playing right into the saboteurs hands."

Hayley held up her hands.
"I said to an extent. Hence why, I vote, once we find Eve innocent, we kick the ringleaders out into a few days of exile. No killing them." She said calmly.

Hibiki said nothing, just sitting down, obviously pissed off to no fucking end.

"Oh no," Clara said with a grin. "We may not be killing their pawns but we are definitely killing these bastards. Whoever they are, they betrayed my home, and twisted our rules around to get a little girl tied up like an animal."

Marcus put a hand on Clara's shoulder, and said "If we're all done with what we're going to do when we find them......what have you found?" James blinked, and looked at Marcus, surprised. The other man grinned and said "What? You don't think I'd anticipate you taking initiative and looking for a culprit?"

Hayley put the glass shards on the table.
"Estel found some traces of alcohol still there, and I found these glass pieces. Whoever did this has enough alcohol to make a molotov cocktail and a trail of beer to create a chain reaction."

The locking of a clip drew her attention. Hibiki had Eve's new P90.
"Clara. Those ringleaders. Whoever you say is to die. I'm gonna be the executioner. Fuckers have my child, my little girl." Hibiki touched the hilt of her sword.

Hayley paused.
"Do you all mind if I watch over Eve? There was a store with a good rooft I could hide in. Eve showed me the sniper rifle, and I'm a somewhat okay shot. That way, Sam, you and Hibiki can focus on things more productive, like finding peoof Eve iz innocent." She set her face. "Please."

Estel sighed and said "Would you let us finish first before you start reminding us all of what we already know, Hibiki? Look, in addition to what we found, we guessed that whoever did this had access to alcohol, and I'm guessing that stuff is regulated here?" she asked, looking at Clara.

Clara grimaced and said "Not really, but the biggest source is the bar. But that doesn't help us out much......."

"Best place to start. Maybe the bartender can identify the bottle at least - reusing bottles has to be common, right?" Hayley asked. "So half start there, while a few need to go with Clara and try and find some measure of order here. If we can't soothe townsfolk and get the rest of the town behind us, the mob won't be able to say majority rules." She paused. "Besides...find every single mother in this place, and show them Eve tied up. Ask them if a little girl deserves that form of inhumanity."