"Jason!" I screamed. "Stop the truck!"

I had flung the door open before the truck was even fully stopped.

"Jessie, wait!"

I didn't. I flung myself out of the door and ran towards the jeep. The screams of the cranks in the distance. I couldn't leave them behind! I ran towards the smashed Jeep, towards the cranks; I ran towards danger, but towards my family. I hear movement inside the jeep and my racing heart slowed down.

"Everyone okay?"

I skidded to a stop, breathing hard, and crouched down. "Guys?"

"Jess?"

"No it's the grim reaper." I snapped and rolled my eyes. "Yes it's me. You guys okay?"

"My hand....my hand." I heard Newt whimper.

"Is it broken?"

"No, I don't think so...but it buggen' hurts!"

"Fry, cover your eyes. Jessie, back up!" Thomas demanded. I backed up and he kicked the glass out from the window. I went to the other side where Newt was and tried to open the door.

"You okay, man?" Thomas asked, crawling out of the window.

I heard Frypan groan, "Yeah. You all right?"

"Newt?" I asked, the window was smashed, but the door was so bent I couldn't get the door open. "I need your help."

"Jess...my hand!" I could hear the pain in his voice, he had wiggled his way out of the seat and to the door. Thomas had come around to the side and tried to help me open the door.

"Wait! Thomas! Thomas, the door!" I cried, trying to yank it open. The screaming cranks echoed through the tunnel. I heard Jason trying to either turn the jeep around or back up.

"Can you get out another way?"

Newt turned his head and winced.

"Newt, you all right?"

"Fry, go around."

Newt was stuck and I didn't know how bad he was injured. He seemed reluctant to put pressure on it.

"I'm trying to get out!"

"I know... Just a second."

Thomas and I grabbed the door and yanked it with a frustrated growl. Newt threw his shoulder into the door at the same time and the smashed door finally opened enough for Newt to come rolling out. He lay on his back for a second.

"Newt, you okay?" Thomas asked, clasping his good hand and hefting him to his feet.

"Yeah, I think so."

I looked over the smashed Jeep, "Fry, you good?"

"Oh, shuck."

The wild screams of the cranks were heard, much much closer now. I saw a few of them standing up on the abandoned cars. Screaming and shrieking down at us.

"Well fuck." I muttered. Fry dropped back down to the ground and crawled back inside the jeep.

"Frypan, I think we gotta move." Thomas cried.

"Now!" Newt agreed.

The cranks were jumping off the cars and other things, the crowd was forming. All wild past gone cranks.

"Wait a minute!" Frypan called back.

"We don't got a minute!" I screamed. I had pulled out a hand gun from my hip.

"Right now!" Thomas yelled, he was trying to grab Fry and pull him out. "Fry, now!"

"Come on, what are you doing?" I cried. I pulled the trigger and the first crank dropped. "We gotta move! Come on! "Get to Jason!"

"Come on!" Thomas cried.

"Hold on!" Fry protested.

"Frypan gotta go! Come on!" I screamed as another crank fell. Newt was backing away, cradling his arm.

"Wait!" Frypan called.

"Come on!"

"Move your fucken ass Frypan!"

He finally stood up a shot gun in his hand and pulled the trigger

"Nice shot." I grumbled

"Thanks." He grinned.

"NOW MOVE YOUR ASS!" I screamed, giving him a shove towards Jason. Winston threw the door open, waving every over.

"Okay. We gotta go." He cried.

"Go, go!" I screamed over my shoulder, pulling the trigger again.

"Fry, come on, let's go!" Thomas yelled.

I backed up enough to grab hold of Newt's jacket by his shoulder, with one hand, pushing him backwards towards Jason and the jeep, while still taking cranks out. Sonya had stood up out of the hatch up top, a huge shit gun in her hand, also picking off cranks.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Someone screamed.

At this point I was spinning back and forth, just shooting wildly, backing up. Thomas was pulling Frypan with him, who was putting the shot gun to good use.

"Watch out." Someone screamed. A crank jumped at us. I felt Newt ripp from my hands with a strangled cry.

"Newt!" I screamed.

I spun, Newt and the crank were struggling on the ground. Newt using his hands on the cranks chest to hold back his nashing dirty teeth. I snarled and whipped the back of my empty gun at the cranks head. He fell off Newt with a scream. I pulled a knife out at the same time. The crank, from laying on the ground lunged at me.

For the first time in my life, that I could remember, fear for my own safety flooded my system. It wasn't just me...I had Minho's baby to protect. With a sudden wild desire to live and fear flooding my system, I dropped to my knees, avoiding a hit directly to my stomach. As the crank dove over me I drop the knife up into the crank. It flipped over my head and landed on its back, my knife protruding from its chest.

I ripped my knife out, just as Newt got to his feet. Over the screams of the cranks, I heard gun shots, yelling and the sound of another jeep. I shoved Newt towards Winston. Just as two Jeeps smashed through the circle.

The trucks slammed in their brakes, doors flew open.

"Hey, get in!"

Winston had pulled newt into their truck. I shoved Frypan towards a truck, Teresa and Aris grabbed him and pulled him him. Buck grabbed Thomas and yanked him towards the other truck and I followed, diving into the back seat with them.

"Go, Jorge, go!" Bucky called.

"Go!" Brenda yelled from the front seat.

"Hang on!" Jorge yelled, he slammed on the gas, and peeled out, followed by Ryan and his truck and Jason and their truck. The trucks slammed into the cranks who had tried to form a circle around us. Jorge had taken one of the bigger, wider trucks, a fortified one that had extra armour around the front and sides, and metal bars over the sides and back windows. His truck smashed a way through, while the other two trucks followed.

Once the trucks had cleared the pack of Gone Cranks Jorge slowed down and everyone took a breath.

"I'm impressed!" Jorge said dryly. "You guys almost lasted a whole day." He glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

I growled and ground my teeth.

"Well to be fair, my truck made it through just fine. It was this idiot's truck who flipped. And Fry was an idiot who went back for the damn gun. We could have made it out with Jason driving."

"Uncalled for Jess!" Thomas pouted.

"No. Very called for." I huffed.

"You guys good though?" Brenda asked, turning around in the front seat to look at us.

"Yeah." Thomas said.

"Newt busted his arm. We'll have to take a look. He's with Jason, Sonya and Winston." I said.

"Your also bleeding." Bucky pointed out.

"I am?" I asked, I didn't notice, adrenaline was still pumping through me. Bucky rolled his eyes and pulled a first aid kit out from under the seat. He pulled the sleeve of my jacket up. I had a few good long scratches down my arm.

"Huh. Would ya look at that."

"Ma Hija..." Jorge started. I heard the tone in his voice and I looked up sharply. I meet his eyes in the rear view mirror. The way he was looking at me made me swallow hard, I ground my teeth and narrowed my eyes. He knew. Jorge knew I was pregnant. Nana Ann must have told him.

"I'm fine Papi."

He didn't say anything, just narrowed his eyes and growled slightly. I could feel Brenda and Thomas's eyes flicking back and forth. Jorge was glaring at me and I glared right back.

"I'm uh...I'm sorry." Thomas said, cutting into the tension.  Jorge's eyes flicked to Thomas. "I didn't wanna bring you guys into this."

"I think what he's trying to say is thanks." I spat.

"You're welcome." Jorge said tensly. I felt his eyes back on me. But I refused to look back, focusing instead on Bucky cleaning the blood.

"Hey, don't get your hopes up. That checkpoint back there, that was the city's last defense." Bucky said as he wrapped my arm.

"If that was overrun, chances are the city is, too." Jorge nodded.

"It's only been a few months since we were last in Denver, I can't believe how fast that tunnel was over taken!" Bucky shook his head in disbelief.

"Well that's great." I grumbled.

We left the tunnel and came into the open, the road wound through the mountain, and down towards the city. Jorge pulled over after a few minutes, making sure we were far enough away from the dark tunnel. The other two Jeeps pulled up. Doors flew open and people piled out.

Winston grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug.

"That was the stupidest thing you've ever done!" He scolded.

"Nah. Probably not." I said, trying to push him off.

"You're right. But stop doing klunk like that! You're going to literally be the death of me woman!"

"Would you stop!" I whined, trying to wiggle out of his grip.

He did finally let go and I finally got to look around, see who was here.

Jason, Sonya, Newt and Winston. From the one truck. Ryan, Aris, Teresa and Gally from the other truck. And Jorge, Bucky, Brenda, Thomas and me.

"Where's-"

"Harriet? Stayed back for communication support. We needed someone who knew what they were doing, she stayed to help Vince and Laurence in the control room. And Jeff stayed with Mary and Ann in the medical building." Bucky answered.

Teresa had already gone over to Newt who still had his arm cradled. She started to fix him up. I looked around at everyone here. They were milling about, Gally was passing out water. Sonya and Thomas was fussing over Newt. Others were getting the low down from Fry and Jason. My family, the people I had learned to trust and rely on. The people who ment the world to me. They were all here to help. I felt a lump forming in my throat and a sting of tears on my eyes.

I turned away, and walked away a bit. I needed to collect myself. Assassin's don't cry.

"Get your self together woman!" I whispered to myself. I wrapped my arms around my waist. I ripped my head back, closing my eyes against the warm sun. I deliberately slowed my breathing, trying to will the sudden emotion away, will the rasing adrenaline to slow down. But that only made the nausea come.

"Dammit."

Slipping behind a tree quickly I let my stomach empty itself. With a shaking hand I wiped my mouth and took a second. As I slipped back out I saw Brenda standing there her hands shoved in her pockets, her back to me, looking over the edge down towards the city. I froze.

"I won't say anything. I'd come look for him too if he was mine."

I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped. I didn't like her use of words and her implications.

She sighed and looked over her shoulder at me. "Means if I had a guy love me that much and he was taken, I'd risk it too and come get him back."

I narrowed my eyes at her. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Everyone knows you two belong together. Even That Janson guy. He knows it, that's why he did what he did to you. A bond like that...what you two have doesn't happen often. It's so... sickening... But people are inspired by it."

I snorted.

"There wouldn't be much he could use on you hey? Heart of cold stone."

Brenda snorted. "Jorge is the last of my family. Janson took everyone else. Killed my parents. Took my brother and cousin. The rest of my family turned into cranks. I got no one. Besides Jorge."

I hummed. We were quiet for a moment.

"So...full on rescue 'cause they found out you left. You knew they wouldn't leave you hanging, is that why you left on your own, after Vince said no? You break the rules, don't get in trouble 'cause your the fucken face if the rebellion?"

"Ya, full the jeep flipped and I was taken down by a crank."

"Oh please Bucky would have thrown his life away to save you. Your everyone's special favorite! Not the first time they planned a desperate last minute rescue for you!"

"Is that why you don't like me?" I asked, wrapping my arms around my waist again.

"Partly." She shrugged. "You're also a little hard to swallow. The whole tacky romance drama; the hard cold killer falls for the boy, they save each other...willing to die for each other...and the whole defender of the hopeless act. Even though it's not an act, which makes it even more unbearable. Feel free to take any of this personally."

"I'm so offended." I said dryly rolling my eyes.

She rolled her own eyes with a snort. I unfolded my arms and had to breath through my mouth. I felt sick again.

"I'm surprised Ann didn't find you a body to transplant that little parasite." Her sarcasm made me chuckle. She was so jadded, I hadn't actually talked to her, not really. But the jadded edgy grew on me.

"For real." I groand, pressing a hand to my stomach.

"Oh here have mine!" She mocked a bow.

"Pfft. Not if they turn out looking like you!"

"Oh she's got jokes now?!" Brenda scoffed. I let a small smirk play on my mouth.

"You have no idea." I let the small smile slid off my face.

"How far along?" She asked quietly.

"Ten weeks, according to the test Nana ran."

"Damn." I felt her looking at me from the corner of her eye, "and your going to go in there?" She nodded down towards the city.

I took a shaking breath and slowly nodded. "I have to. I can't do this without him."

She just hummed and nodded. "Alright."

"I also need to see Janson's eyes as I kill him." I added quietly, the venom dropped from my mouth as I spat his name out.

"Okay, now we're talking." A twisted grin on her face made me match her evil smile. "Well if that parasite is done making you throw up we should go back, they wanted to leave and get down the mountain and into the Right Arm complex before night fall."

I nodded, "Brenda?" She turned her head to look at me. "Please don't tell anyone."

She nodded and we walked back towards the group. Jorge eyed me suspiciously, but didn't say anything. I walked up and Thomas was in the middle of saying something, looking down at the huge city.

"...yeah, unless they figured out some other way to keep the Cranks out."

There was a huge fortified wall around the inner part of the city. The inner part looked new and fancy, all kinds of towers and buildings made of glass and shiny metal and flashing lights. The outer part of the city looked like any other crank city; dirty, old and falling apart.

"Funny...Spent three years trapped behind walls, trying to break out, and now we wanna break back in." Newt said, staring down at the city.

"Ya, hillarious." I growled.

"You're sure he's down there?" Winston asked.

"One way to find out." Teresa shrugged.

"Even if he's not." I said quiet. "I'm burning down every fucken WICKED building I can, and I'm going to kill Janson."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Jorge asked, spinning his keys. "Last stop, city of doom."