Episode 16

"I love you, little bird," Dale breathed, and his hand slipped away from her face as his eyes closed.

"Dale?" Bella sniffed, but he was no longer breathing, and she heard his heart stop beating.

She sobbed uncontrollably, and Jordan winced, feeling her heart shatter into pieces. The pain was paralyzing, but he fought against it and turned his head, growling at Wess.

"Nah. Now you hurt my new family, man!" he snarled, and Wess shrugged.

"Maybe you should have picked a better family," he said.

Jordan embraced a surge of power and let the beast take over.

"Nah, dog. You deserve everything you gonna get," he growled, balling up his fist and punching the man again.

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

"Until we meet on the other side," Bella whispered, taking her moon necklace from around Dale's neck and kissing his forehead.

"I won't let you turn," she sniffed, grabbing her knife with a shaky hand.

She sobbed, pressing her forehead against his, and blew a shaky breath.

"I love you, Dale. Always and forever," she whispered, sliding her knife into the back of his head.

Abraham reached for his daughter, but Bella suddenly stopped sobbing, and he looked at her. She felt a different set of emotions take over and stopped crying. She rose to her feet, snarling, feeling the beast take over, and glared at Wess with glowing eyes, showing gold fangs.

"It's time for you to die!" Bella growled, charging at the man.

Jordan saw the murderous rage in her eyes and grabbed her by the waist.

"Let me go!" she screamed, thrashing, and he pulled her against his chest.

"Nah, baby girl. You don't want me to do that. You don't want to do this, not this way," Jordan said softly, but Bella thrashed harder, fighting against his grip.

"Let me go! He needs to die for what he did," she screamed, shaking her head and thrashing violently.

Jordan held her tightly, shushing her, and Bella started sobbing.

"He killed my mother! He killed Dale!" she cried, clawing his arms, and he grit his teeth through the pain.

"Jordan Baker, let me do it! Let me end this!"

Abraham held Charlie, sobbing and watching Bella lose control, and Mike, Sarah, Andy, and Bonnie embraced them. Wess scrambled to his feet, and the surviving Bandits jumped in their vehicles. They rammed through the horde and sped away.

"You let him get away!" Bella screamed, trying to jump from Jordan's grip, but he sank to the ground.

He held her against him and pressed his cheek to hers.

"I got you, baby girl. Let me take some of your pain away," he whispered, and Bella's struggles weakened.

"Just let me go, Jordan," she sobbed, holding his arms.

"Shsh."

"It's not fair. No one was supposed to die. Not my mom. Not Dale," she cried, and he held her tighter.

"Shsh, it's not your fault, baby," he purred.

Bella huffed, leaning her head against his chest, feeling a calm wash over her, and she stopped struggling. She held his strong arms, and Jordan relaxed.

"Charlie," she whispered, and her brother ran to them.

He crawled under Jordan's arms and settled into his rib cage beside his sister. Jordan adjusted his arms and held them, fighting threatening tears.

"Daddy?" Bella sobbed, and Abraham walked toward them.

Jordan pulled him into their embrace, and Abraham hugged him, Bella, and Charlie. Abraham touched his daughter's face and rubbed her cheek with his thumb.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and he looked at her with tears streaming down his face.

"Oh, little bird. You have nothing to be sorry for. This isn't your fault," he whispered.

"I couldn't save them," cried Bella.

Abraham pressed his forehead against his daughter's and searched her eyes.

"We still got each other," he said, and Sarah, Mike, Andy, and Bonnie joined their embrace.

The group grieved, and the mutants staggered away.

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

Abraham held Bella and Charlie as the group buried Megan, Dale, and Waylon, and Sarah stood beside them, hanging her head. Charlie held Sarah's hand, and she sniffed, nodding. Jordan, Andy, and Mike shoveled dirt on top of the bodies, and Bella sobbed, walking away.

"Bell," called Abraham, and Sarah touched his arm.

"Give her a little time," she said, and he only nodded.

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

Bella sat in the field, drinking a bottle of whiskey and listening to her MP player. She lit a joint, and one of the tigers lay beside her. She leaned against the creature and huffed a sob. The beast moaned sadly, and she petted its head. One of the jaguars approached and plopped down on the other side of her. She scratched behind its ears, and it laid its head on its paws.

Bella took a swig and raised the bottle to the sky.

"Mom. Dale. Here's to you," she whispered, letting her tears fall, and took another swig.

By the time she was finished with her joint, half the bottle was gone, and she felt the alcohol hit her. Bella shook her head and blinked a couple of times.

"So, one of you going to walk me home?" she asked the beasts, and the tiger rose to its feet.

She got up, and the tiger corralled her toward the farm. Bella saw Jordan and her father leaning against the truck, and she grinned, raising the bottle. The tiger groaned, and she looked at the beast.

"Thank you," she said, and the cat ran off.

She stumbled to the vehicle, and Jordan and Abraham looked at her.

"Bell, you okay?" asked her father, and she nodded.

"Yep, at the moment. I am," she said, lighting a joint and climbing on the bed.

"I think you should put the bottle away," he said, and Bella scoffed, taking a swig.

"Why? It's not like I am going to go off drunk driving or disappear with some strange man," she slurred, and Jordan snickered.

Bella smiled at him and raised her eyebrows at her father.

"I mean, that can be arranged," she said, and Abraham scoffed.

"Isabel Daniels!"

She giggled, taking another swig, and Jordan snatched the bottle from her hand. She looked at him, crawling across the truck, and batted her eyelashes.

"Are you planning on keeping that? Cuz, I got plenty more where that came from," she said, and Abraham shook his head.

Jordan gave her a thoughtful look, took a swig, and returned the bottle.

"Nah, baby girl. I'll join you, though," he said, and Bella grinned.

Abraham sighed and looked at his daughter and Jordan.

"Make sure she gets inside safely," he said, and Jordan nodded.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Daniels."

He nodded and headed toward the house. Bella looked at Jordan, and he climbed into the back of the truck. He sat beside her, and she handed him the joint.

"So, Jordan Baker. I have a question," she said, taking his hand and running her fingers across his palm.

"And what's that, baby girl?" he asked, and Bella put an earbud in his ear.

He recognized the song and sang along softly. She searched Jordan's eyes, and he sang louder. Bella giggled and leaned against his shoulder. She started singing with him, and they gestured towards each other. They laughed as the song ended, and Jordan looked at her thoughtfully, holding her hand.

"So, what's your question?"

Bella blushed, looked away, and sighed.

"Maybe it's too soon. I mean, it's only been a week since Dale died," she said, and he rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand.

"Well, when you're ready, I'm all ears, baby girl," he said softly, and she searched his eyes.

"You're willing to wait? I mean, I tend to take a long time to agree with my feelings."

Jordan laughed, took a swig, and nodded.

"Oh, it's one of them kinds of questions with feelings involved," he teased, and she nodded.

"As I said before. I am whatever you need me to be, and looks like we are going to be stuck together for a long time, so take your time, baby girl. I'm not going anywhere," he said, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Okay, let's just leave it like this," Bella sighed, and Jordan squeezed her hand gently.

"You got it," he said.