Dead in the Water

The sounds of bullets hitting, and then ricocheting off of, the car ring out crystal clear in the woods. Owen and Big John duck out of pure instinct, though it’s luck that saves them more than anything. Richard tries his very best to put another into the man’s back before he can make good his escape, but there’s just too much movement… too much on the line if the man doesn’t shoot straight.

There’s a dull thud then, as Big John is climbing into his car and pulling the door closed behind himself. He touches his wound and then inspects the blood coating his hands. A moment later, and the car is sputtering to a start. Owen sees the gun, just inside the back wheel of the car.

Does he dare stick his hand in the path of the wheel to grab it?…

…futututututututu…
Big John does all he can to get the car up and running. For a moment, you think he might come back down the road; barreling towards the rest of you in a last gasp for revenge.

Perhaps the man is thinking about it himself. Finally, you see the car start to peel off, heading further down the road and away from the group.

Meanwhile, the man Owen sliced open finally ceases his attempts to hold himself together. His eyes go glassy, and his hands flop to the wet tarmac. Some of his guts bubble up and push out of him every so slightly, now that he’s not forcing them back inside.

Dead…

"We stole the bikes on the way out." Eva, the older one, murmurs in answer to Billie-Faye’s question. "We knew they’d come after us. Knew they’d send… someone." she goes on, and her eyes drop a little to look at the now-still man on the floor.

"Thats what they’re like…" Lu says, putting a bracing arm to Eva’s, who she spots looking at the dead man. "Take what they can get out of you, and then leave you in the dirt!"

The younger girl’s hand goes to her stomach then. A moment later, and she’s shaking whatever thought she had loose, and clears her throat.

"You can get there on foot, but it’s a hike!" she says. "Why?" she asks, with a sudden edge in her voice.

"Not bit. Not scratched!" Eva says, without a hint of defensiveness. That was just how things were these days. If you wanted to survive, you learned to ask. Better than that, you learned to check. The two women had probably already look each of you over as you approached.

"Call themselves ‘The New Haven’." the woman says, making a face that suggests they’re anything but.

"Say they’re building up a community to take back the world." Eva goes on, with a hard voice. "Sounds good, right?"

Eva senses the frustration, and steps in front of Selena almost naturally.

"If John gets back to them… Yeah, they’ll probably gear up properly and come looking for us. Not that we plan on waiting around to find out…" she grumbles, that last bit to herself more than anyone.

Selena peeks out again, meeting Billie-Faye’s annoyed look:

"Look… Thanks!" she says, sheepish. Then there’s an awkward silence.

But no one fucking asked you to get involved…

Was that what she was thinking?…
"No offense, but we’ve never heard of your group… Or really any group out this way. That’s kind of why we came running this way." she says.

"So… maybe your group will be alright? Are you guys close? Where are you going to?" she asks. Dangerous questions and dangerous answers these days.

The head slides away, rolling down the ever-so-slight slope into the ditch at the side of the road. Perhaps, in time, someone passing through would have their ankle bitten by the thing. With any luck, one of the men surely set to be here in the next few hours would be the decapitated walkers first victim.

"We’ve made it this far." Lu says, with a shrug. That meant something, you supposed. Though, you can’t help but think of the helpless ones, back at camp. They’d made it this far too, hadn’t they?

"Its a little less terrible, now that that piece of shit isn’t in it anymore!" Eva says to Owen. "Don’t lose any sleep over him. He’d have done far worse to you, if he’d had the chance!"

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