Ultimus Chapter Thirty-Four: Woes of the Living

Andrew and Erica finally made it to Delta Tower. It was a large building that was partially underground, overlooking the Sulphur Fields. He had been here a couple of times before with Reuben, but he had never done too much exploring since most of his time had been spent looking through Sanctuary and the Military Base. He knew it was pretty docile for the most part, as he had never really seemed to have come across any of the corrupted creatures up here. But the treks to it were extremely dangerous with the larger and more dangerous dinosaurs and corrupted creatures around the facility, making it not worth the risk for exploring and gathering gear.

It took a few minutes to find the others and where they had gone. But they did eventually find them at the top platform beneath the tower itself. Jonathan was setting up a small camp, while Paul was tending to Freya once again. Erica and Andrew saw that they had left Grace and Angrboda on the far side of the tower overlooking the Sulphur Fields and the dome in the far distance. So Andrew brought Knight Sky and Erica’s Saber to the same spot.

“Paul!! How is she doing?” Erica shouted as she ran over. Andrew followed wanting to hear what he had to say. He turned and looked relieved to see them, muttering something under his breath.

“Aren’t ya two a sight for sore eyes!! Yer half mad ta go out there and deal with them alone like that!” Paul said almost ignoring the question Erica asked as they both ran over.

“Paul, how is she doing?” Erica asked again as they reached him. Andrew looked at Freya who was lying on a leather sleeping bag with a pelt interior. She still had her armor on, though her fur coat was deeply damaged, to the point of being irreparable. Her flak leggings were deeply corroded. She had some sort of salve all over her face and hands. She lay on the bag with her eyes open, looking out of the corner of her eye as she held her hand on her stomach. She then lifted herself up, seething from the mouth as she did so, and looked at Erica.

“Jeg har det bra, Erica. Trenger bare litt hvile. Men jeg kommer meg på beina igjen for å hjelpe meg tilbake til basen.” Freya stated. Her eyes were still red from the acid burning her, but they were less so than earlier. Paul turned to face her and scowled.

“Freya, ya can’t be moving for a bit. Ya gotta lay back down and stay still. I don’t want ya smearing off the salve or causing those burns to get infected or bleed. Now please, lay back down.” Paul said firmly. She gave an irritated look. But Paul wasn’t backing down.

“Don’t make me force ya back down lass. I will use sedatives on ya. Now lie down and stay still.” He rebutted. She still gave him a look, but she obliged and lay back down on the bag. He looked back at Erica and Andrew. His face was less excited to them than it was moments before.

“She’s mostly covered in second-degree burns from what I can see, but guessing from how much cover she wore, and how soon she got outta there, she’s probably covered in minimal second-degree, or first-degree burns under the armor. But, she has deep burns on her hands and arms. She might have some trouble using them for a time as they heal. But they should fully heal with the treatment I have.” He said. He sighed deeply as he closed his eyes, and turned back to look at Freya for a moment. Before returning his attention to Andrew and Erica. “Parts of her face do have deep third-degree burns, and there is some scarring in her eyes. I’m… my data is inconclusive on whether they’ll ever properly heal from those burns without scarring occurring. But I’m most afraid of her organs inside. Even though ya got her out very swiftly Andrew. The time she spent in there breathing the toxic air could be fatal, even now. So I want to keep her under close watch until I know she’s not in that danger. I do think if Erica hadn’t given her her own medical brew. She probably wouldn’t be here at all.” Paul finished. Erica seemed deeply shocked and worried. Andrew was almost deaf to what was said next. He was beyond devastated by what he heard. He didn’t know what to say or how to respond. All he could do was walk away and think. And all he could think was that this was all his fault.

Andrew looked around at everything, taking in the damage that he caused. Both Jonathan’s and Sylas’s horses were missing. Phil and Sylas were-… Freya was burned almost to death, her Rex seemed to be mildly burnt too. Paul’s Ceratosaurus was pressed to exhaustion and Knight Sky and Erica’s Sabertooth were on edge. And that wasn’t mentioning how Erica, Jonathan, and Paul must have been doing; or what of their supplies they had squandered on killing all of those animals. Everything had gone horribly wrong on this adventure, and it was all of his fault. He just wanted to curl up in a ball, beg for forgiveness for what he had caused.

As he reached the tames, Andrew felt something grab his shoulder and yank him around. He got shoved into the wall of the building and gasped to see Jonathan tower over him as he held a buck knife in his one hand. His eyes were filled with anger and disgust.

“C'est quoi ce bordel, toi?! Espèce de fils de chèvre sans mère!!” Jonathan spat as he held the blade against Andrew’s throat. “Je vais t'éventrer comme le porc que tu es!! Tes dernières paroles?”

~

Paul was with Erica as they continued talking about Freya’s condition and how long it could take for her to heal. Andrew had left them alone a few minutes before. He hadn’t said it, but Paul and Erica had both agreed that a thanks was needed. If it weren’t for Andrew, Freya wouldn’t be alive, and they wouldn’t have made it without him either.

As for all of the medical questions. Paul’s thoughts were all over the place. He was shell-shocked at what all had happened. Much of what occurred was lost in what had happened back there. All he knew, was that they were safe for now. But they needed to figure out what to do next.

“So, what’s our next plan?” Paul asked. Erica looked over at him in shock.

“What?”

“What’s yer plan? This attempt at getting Element ta regather ourselves and build a more suitable army hasn’t worked. What’s yer thoughts on our next move? Are we bringing down the Ark?” Paul asked. Erica remained silent. She lost all expression on her face.

“We can’t…” Paul didn’t understand what she meant.

“What do ya mean we can’t? Of course w—” “Sylas is dead, he was our best and only shot at bringing the Ark down. It’s gonna be locked behind a system, and I needed his expertise to breach that system. No Sylas, no Ark, and no Ark. Means no saving Earth.” Erica explained. Paul's shoulders slumped at this. He was in complete shock at hearing this. He wished he had a chair to sit in and rest, or a cigar to ease his nerves and his stress. He didn’t think about that, that without Sylas, they had no chance at this.

“I told you this was a bad idea, Paul. I told you, and now, we lose. Humanity loses… because we had to play it ‘safe’, you had to listen to the devil of botany and his stupid plan of ‘getting stronger’ instead of just going to Mount Brecken and bringing it down, I hope you're happy. Cause now we’re stuck here, and we have no way to bring our allies and friends down.” Erica said softly, though her emotions were not as soft, she was furious, but most of all upset. Their whole mission was wrecked. He looked at Erica who still seemed shell-shocked about what she had realized. Then he looked at Freya on the sleeping bag, she was too out of it, and too far away from the conversation to hear what Erica had said. This news would be horrific for her, and the others to hear. And he didn’t want that type of guilt thrown onto Andrew one bit.

“Don’t tell the others, not yet.” Paul said. Erica looked at him as though he was crazy.

“Are you kidding? You thought I would tell them? And cause that type of despair or any violence? Yeah right…” Erica said. Paul closed his eyes in relief. This still wasn’t an easy thing to take in, but it would be easier if it was only two of them, and not everyone. There was a moment of silence as they both sat there.

“I’m sorry lass. This is all my fault.” Paul said with a frail, genuine voice. “I was a fool for not prioritizing yer plan, and instead doing Jonathan’s, not only that. I talked Andrew ta taking us to his home ta give us his Element for our own gain, less so than his. If we’d gone and done with yer plan, we’d have the Ark down and have many more hands ta help us. Forgive me lass, I’m at fault for lettin’ everyone down and destroying our chances, but most of all. I’m the one at fault for losin’ our friend… and not Andrew for Sylas’s death.” Paul said. He looked at her, and she immediately picked up on what he was saying.

“Oh come on Paul, I’m not that quick to—” she said before pausing and thinking of what she was saying. “—He has no reason to have Sylas’s death blamed on him.” Erica stated.

“He doesn’t?” Paul said back. Taken aback by what she just said. Erica shook his head.

“No. None of us knew that would happen, Andrew especially wouldn’t know. He doesn’t have an implant, he can walk that path just fine, how was he supposed to know… It would all crash and burn in a split second.” Erica said. Paul looked at her.

“This ain’t sounding like yer normal self. Usually you blame exactly who’s fault it is.” Paul said. Erica looked back. Her eyes

“Watching something that gives you safety and comfort crumble in front of you is bad enough, Paul. Having needless blame thrown on top of that can push you over the edge, in more ways than one.” Erica answered back. “It wasn’t his fault, h@**! It wasn’t even your fault, you just wanted to keep us safe when we brought down the Ark.” Erica said with a large sigh. “I’m not doing okay with any of this, Paul, I’m beyond upset with Sylas being dead, and I’m devastated that Freya is in intensive care. But I shouldn’t shame or blame you for something you are already blaming/shaming yourself for.” Paul was genuinely surprised at what she was saying. She wasn’t one to apologize like this, ever.

“The only one I would put remote blame on is Jona-… where’s Jonathan?” Erica said standing up and looking around at the unbuilt camp. Paul’s eyes started searching for him too. He couldn’t see him in the camp area. He had given him orders to set up a few tents so they could rest before heading back to the main base camp the next day or so.

“He shouldn’t have gone off too far, why’re lookin’ for him, Erica?” Paul said.

“Because I got a bad feeling about what he’s doing! Where’s And- ah s%^&!!” She said as she started running toward where the tames were left. He looked and saw what Erica saw. Jonathan was beating the crap out of Andrew.

~

Andrew stared at Jonathan, feeling the cold metal blade touch his throat. He didn’t dare resist in case he was willing to commit to what he was threatening. Though he didn’t know why he cared, survival he guessed.

“Do you have anything to say you retarded imbecile!!” Jonathan hissed.

“I didn’t, didn’t mean to kill—” Andrew felt the butt of the knife handle hit him in the head.

“Shut up, I don’t care for your pity plea. You murdered Sylas, you killed his pet, you had nearly all of us killed, me in that equation!! For what? Fun, Pleasure, a Sadistic Fetish?” Jonathan spat as he dropped his knife. As Andrew started getting up, he got hit again, again, and again.

“You’re a monster!! A sick, cruel thing. You don’t deserve anything!! You don’t deserve the trust or respect of anyone here!!” Jonathan growled as he threw another punch.

“And what about that grave? You killed them too?” Jonathan whimpered. As he beat Andrew. He just knelt there. Andrew just let it happen, getting pummeled over and over. He understood the pain. And, feeling he deserved it.

“Did you lure them into a trap? Did they say something that got you angry? Did the idea just tickle your sick mind?” Jonathan said as he stopped hitting him. Andrew didn’t say anything, which Jonathan kicked him in the gut for. Andrew quickly felt Jonathan grab his scalp and stare into his eyes.

“Answer me you piece of s—” “I couldn’t save him!! I was a coward, I watched him save me, and die right in front of me. Is that what you want me to hear? That I was a coward. There you got it. I’m a coward. I couldn’t save my best friend because I was a coward. And I couldn’t save Sylas because I didn’t try hard enough. I wish I tried harder.” Andrew said in broken defeat. He could feel blood dripping down his chin. Jonathan gave a huff.

“Do you think I’ll believe that? The only part I believe is that you’re a coward. A pathetic coward, who doesn’t deserve the privileges you have.” Jonathan said.

“JONATHAN!!” A voice cried out. Andrew looked past Jonathan to see Erica shouting as she ran over. Jonathan gave a smug look as she was running over.

“Ah, look who else came over to give you a run for your—” Jonathan was saying before getting a right haymaker to the jaw from Erica. Making him fall to the ground.

“What are you doing?!?!” Erica shouted. Jonathan cussed as he held his jaw.

“What am I doing? What are you doing?! Why on green earth would you hit me!!” Jonathan howled. Erica looked at him with a stone-cold glare.

“I’m making sure you aren’t killing someone who helped save us.” Erica growled. Jonathan cackled

“SAVE US?!? HE KILLED SYLAS!!! AND NEARLY KILLED US ALL!!! AND YOU'RE GOING TO SIDE WITH HIM!!” He howled.

“He didn’t kill Sylas. The was… Sylas’s death was an accident.” Erica said.

“Is that what you're telling yourself? That it was an accident? That he had nothing to do with his death, or that grave in the ground wasn’t his actions?” Jonathan hissed. Andrew clenched his fists, he was right though. Which is what made it worse, that he was right to call him a murderer. And it just left him in a state of paralysis. He lived through both of them over and over again. Thinking of what he could have done to change the outcomes. As he sat there, he saw Erica getting angrier. She clenched her fist for a moment before opening it up again and walked closer to Jonathan.

~

“You know what, you’re right. I don’t think it was an accident. I blame YOU, Jonathan. You are the one who insisted that we should wait to bring the Ark down, you were the one who caused this mission to be necessary. You were the one who I blame for Sylas’s death. Not Paul, not Andrew. You, because I told you that this could end with somebody’s blood spilt. But you had to let your ambitions drive you. You just need to be ‘The One’ who describes these animals?! Well, I hope it was worth it. You not only killed Sylas, but you caused us to waste supplies, kill tames, and— pushed our timetable further behind than we should be.” Erica said as she shoved Jonathan. He gave a big sneer as she shoved him.

“Oh, please shut up!!” He shouted. “You and I both know he was the one who killed Sylas and was the one to blame for everything that happened.” Jonathan spat as he walked back up to Erica. She glared up at him as she clenched her fist.

“You still gonna side with the murderer? You stupid moron.” He said before spitting in her face. She sat there for a moment with the spit rolling down her face. She wiped it off with her hand while putting her tongue in her cheek.

“You know, I may not have as many degrees as you, but I do know a few more things than you, like this—” Erica said as she jabbed a closed fist into Jonathan’s nose. He grabbed his nose. Letting out a cry of anguish as his glasses fell from his face.

“You. You broke my nose!!” Jonathan wailed. He bent forward as he held his nose, Erica smirked at her achievement.

“You deserved it for months you insufferable French prick!”

In a split second everything went into pandemonium as Jonathan whipped his head back up hitting Erica in the lower jaw. She grabbed her jaw as she wailed but was interrupted when Jonathan tackled her to the ground.

“That’s the pot calling the kettle black.” Jonathan growled as he started wailing on Erica. The dust flew bitterly as Erica was dazed on the ground. Jonathan continued to throw punches nonetheless. But everything felt slow as she felt each punch hit her. She looked over at Andrew, his battered and bruised face looking at the ground. He didn’t look at anything occurring, his expression dulled and his eyes glazed over as he sat there. His face expressed something she knew quite well. She refocused on the hits she had taken and let Jonathan’s victory live short. Erica quickly shoved her fingers into his broken nose. Jonathan started to yell as Erica shoved him off of her.

“Fighting dirty doesn’t suit you.” She said as she started getting off the ground and dusting herself off. Jonathan was kneeling on the ground as she steadied her stance and kneed him in the head.

“Well, I never picked you for an artist, what with how brutish you are. But here we are.” Jonathan groaned as he got back up and got back into a fighting stance. Erica scowled as she got into her stance.

Jonathan went for a one/two punch, but Erica quickly blocked both and countered it with a shove back. As Jonathan stumbled back, Erica led the assault further. She started doing several jabs as she continued to push Jonathan back in dodges. She did this until she seemingly slipped, lowering her guard as she continued to push him. He took this as an opportunity and threw a punch as he charged. However, Erica quickly raised her guard and blocked. She had set the trap, and he fell for it. She switched her stance and threw a left roundhouse kick to his ribs. As he groaned and backed up from her, she took two swings into his upper chest. And almost as soon as Jonathan got out of her grasp, he crumpled to the ground and started gasping for air.

“You should know your anatomy, Jonathan… so now you know what a good kick to the liver can do. I’m surprised you even stayed up for how long you did.” Erica retorted. Jonathan gasped with a hint of hostility. He raised his head for a moment looking for something. And soon started dragging himself in the direction of Andrew. Erica was confused about what Jonathan was up to. She watched for a moment before she realized what he was doing. Jonathan had been searching for a knife lying on the yellowish rusted Earth. He grasped it in his hand and got back to his feet. Erica didn’t seem bothered.

“Do you think that’s gonna give you an edge in another fight?” Erica heckled as she went back into her fighting stance.

“Why stand for this man?! A killer, a liar, and a traitor?! He doesn’t deserve it. All he deserves is death.” Jonathan spat.

“He didn’t kill Sylas, and I doubt he killed whoever is in that grave.”

“But how-” “Because I saw someone who was broken from the loss of someone they cared about up there at the towers, not a murderer— I now know I saw someone who felt guilt for something outside of their control when we left the grave. I saw someone filled with guilt and pain, not lust— or blood thirst.” Erica stated.

“Pah— How would you know-” “BECAUSE I KNOW HOW IT FEELS LOSING THOSE YOU LOVED AND NOT BEING ABLE TO STOP IT FROM HAPPENING!! NOT BEING ABLE TO SAVE THEM AND JUST HAVE TO WATCH!!!” Erica shouted. Jonathan paused at this for a moment, his face relaxing for a moment before going into a scowling smile.

“That’s where you're getting your base assumption that he’s a man who is the salt of the Earth? On your own, faulty, broken, emotional trauma? Please, you're a scientist, you should not let your own experiences stand between you and the facts. The fact is, he was left alone with Sylas, and Sylas is dead, OUR ALLY. The fact is, he didn’t tell us what happened to the person in that grave, they’re dead, and he confessed it was his doing. From what I see, he is nothing but a murderer, and a traitor. Not trustworthy enough to be alive.” Jonathan said as he held his knife to Andrew.

“I won’t let you touch him.”

“Then I’ll make sure you can’t stop me.”

~

For this whole time, Andrew had been in his own thoughts, lost in his guilt and failures. Not even noticing what was happening in front of him. But Andrew had snapped out of it when Erica shouted. And when he heard the last part of the conversation, Andrew wasn’t going to stand for what Jonathan had threatened Erica with.

He got up, bolting into a sprint and quickly flung himself into Jonathan, leading him to drop the knife as they hit the dirt. Jonathan seemed surprised, but that soon turned into him swinging his fist into Andrew’s gut and howling in pain. He gritted his teeth and elbowed Andrew in the head repeatedly. Andrew tried to hold on for a while, but he couldn’t take the repeated blows to the head and had to let go. Jonathan scrambled to his feet as Andrew was dazed and grabbed the knife he had dropped earlier while Andrew got to his feet.

“Don’t move…” Jonathan hissed as he held the blade towards Andrew as he walked up to him.

“Enjoy what you did, it will be your last—” Jonathan was about to finish before gunfire went off. Three shots went off in a row. Jonathan’s eyes widened as he checked his chest to see nothing.

“ENOUGH!!” Paul shouted. “WE JUST FACED THE GATES OF HELL, THIS IS NO TIME TA GO AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS LIKE RABID DOGS!!!” He continued.

“But he—” “Did nothin’ wrong, in fact, he saved us, several times out there. He’s a hero if anything.” Paul answered.

“No one is fully responsible for anyone’s death. We all carry that burden, we all made actions that led Sylas ta his death. We all made choices for self-gain, and now we’ve ta live with the consequences of those choices. And we cannot blame one man for all of those choices.” Paul continued. Jonathan scoffed at these words.

“So you're gonna let this man walk away? With zero consequences to what he-”

“Jonathan, stop.”

“No! You did this with Sylas when he would fall short of completing what he needed to do. Now you're going to do it to this murderer and just get away with being a murderer?”

“Jonathan—” “HE CONFESSED!!! This insignificant rat confessed to killing that man, Reuben. He murdered him, he murdered Sylas. What more do you need?! He should be hanged, or I can just slit his throat now.” Jonathan suggested. Andrew stayed silent and kept his eyes down to the ground as Jonathan spewed his lies. It didn’t matter to him. Because he believed them to be true.

“PAUL SAID ENOUGH!!!” Erica snapped.

“That poor man probably meant nothing to him…” Jonathan said with a sneer. Andrew looked up at Jonathan’s eyes with a burning fury… and snapped.

“he wasn’t a man…” he said with a trembling, uneasily soft voice. His hands shook as he clenched his fists. His wrist moved uncontrollably, and slowly his whole arm twitched as he held his anger and emotions in. Everything built up into this. Jonathan looked over at him with an arrogant and confused smug look.

“What was that?” He asked flamboyantly, before his face dropped into a cold stare at Andrew. Andrew knew he wasn’t hiding his anger. He knew he wasn’t hiding any of the emotions he was feeling anymore. And he couldn’t hold any of it back anymore.

“I said… he wasn’t human… I never said what he was, but if you must dehumanize me for his sake. You should know that Reuben was a dog, a four-legged, tail-wagging dog. He walked by my side for TWELVE YEARS. AND I LOVED HIM MORE THAN ANYTHING ON THIS DEAD PLANET!!!” Andrew said, screaming the last part in Jonathan’s face as tears ran down his eyes.

“And you're right, I did murder him, I brought him to this hellhole daily, to that military barracks. And in one moment we got stuck in there by those creatures. I got trapped trying to kill them, and he saved me when I was hiding and thinking I was going to die. And I watched him die right after that in front of my eyes to a Raptor.— so I had to bury my best friend LESS THAN A WEEK AGO... he was all I had left to those I cared about before, and now he’s gone.” Andrew said simmering. Jonathan just stood there frozen. Paul looked distraught at Andrew.

“Andrew… yo—” “I’m not done, and I’ll say when I am done. Because you, Jonathan, say I’m the bad guy who murdered your ally. When YOU CAN’T CALL SYLAS A FRIEND!!! I knew him for only a couple of days and HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO FELT LIKE A TRUE FRIEND AND I COULD OPEN UP WILLINGLY TO ABOUT RUEBEN!!! HE TOLD ME HIS OWN SECRETS!! All because he wanted to show he wanted to be a friend and I could trust me, yet all you say he was to you was an ‘ally’. Shows how much you care for anyone here. Now I’m done with you, and I’m done here.” Andrew said sneering. But for a moment, Jonathan stopped him, holding his knife blade out in front of Andrew.

“Hold it—” “No, I don’t think so.” Andrew spat as he grabbed the blade of the knife and yanked it out of Jonathan’s grasp.

“For the record. Think about how you want to threaten a person wearing Tek Armor. Cause a knife does jack to the armor.” Andrew said as he threw the knife into the ground and stormed away.

~

Andrew needed to cool off, and he needed to rest. His head ached, he was still very shaky and he felt like he was going to pass out from the heat and his emotions being frayed. He wished he had packed a tent with him to help cool down and have some privacy. But, he’d just have to find cover. He remembered from his last time out here that the entrance was in an underpass going through the ridge. He walked a distance away from where the others had set up and found the entrance. The old road going through the pass was mostly covered by the dust and earth. On the other side, he could see a strange device that he had recognized, having seen dozens of them in the city. But he had no idea what they did or were.

As Andrew got under the cover. He felt the small difference in heat as the blaring sun no longer cooked his head. But it was still way too hot. He wondered why for a brief moment before realizing that the Sulphur Fields were all around them still, and the temperature was always boiling here and he would never be able to cool down. Even with the armor trying to regulate his temp to a natural temperature. He was too angry about Jonathan and upset with everything that he had caused to calm down and keep his body temp cool.

He walked over to the wall opposite the entrance and immediately started switching off the armor and taking it off, exposing the ratty clothes he was wearing underneath in a dire attempt to cool down. Plus he needed to breathe, and his armor wasn’t helping any with that. He started taking off the deactivated gloves and boot rings and piling them up next to him, doing the same with the belt for his leggings, but as he took off his vest for his chest piece, he dragged his hand across his torso. Hitting a small spot that hurt, making him wince in pain. He paused taking it off the vest as he lifted his shirt to see what was going on. But all he saw was a small, black spot that looked like a scab. He thought a small rock got into his suit when he fell down the hillside back there, it would explain it, his whole face was scuffed and scabbed up by now. He touched it for a moment and it didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary. Then, he tried to pick it off, this was a force of habit he accidentally made a while ago, but it started hurting again making him groan and wince. It wasn’t ready.

For a small moment, the scab helped him forget his anger against Jonathan and everything else eating him alive. But only for a moment. He took off the vest and stacked it with the others as he sat against the wall looking at the entrance to Delta Tower. He just needed to be alone, alone to let his mind settle and let his emotions release, which didn’t take long. Tears started to run down his face and he started to cry quietly for the loss of another friend, and for the pain he had caused these people. He was nothing more than a living curse to all those around him.