"Jesse, Jesse wake up and get Arlene." Johnny's voice rang out in the night. My eyes snapped open and my arms circled tighter around the little girl in my arms.
"What is it?" I whispered, already working to unknot the bungie cord that anchored me to the tree.
"Walkers, about a hundred yards, a lot of them."
I started wrapping the bungie cord around my arm as I woke the little girl sleeping in my lap. The sun was just beginning to rise and I could hear the moans of the dead. I held my hand over Arlene's mouth and murmured, "Hey, baby girl, we have to be quiet. The monsters are out here. We have to be quiet, baby."
She nodded sleepily and I heard Johnny drop to the ground almost soundlessly. I passed Arlene down to him and slid down myself. Johnny put her on my back and we used the cords to anchor her to me. He helped me strap my knife and machete to my thighs and tied a blanket around me and Arlene, hiding her from view. I slid the clip into my Beretta and slipped it into the front of my pants. Johnny handed me my bow and grabbed our bags off the ground. We began moving as stealthily as we could away from the walkers. We seemed in the clear and I was grateful, until I spotted the walkers ahead of us.
"Johnny, turn left."
We turned as one, only to spot the herd moving towards us. It was clear they had caught our scent. A partially decomposed woman in a tattered blue dress opened her mouth and let loose the screaming, groaning roar that only walkers could release. Johnny shoved me towards the right and we began to run, no longer caring about stealth. Arlene wrapped her arms tighter around my throat and whimpered but didn't scream. She knew how important it was to not draw attention to ourselves. She knew how important it was to be quiet. Johnny panted, "There was a prison about half a mile. Guard towers. This is a herd. Faster walkers up ahead."
I yanked the Beretta from my pants and turned off the safety. Sure enough, there were walkers ahead. They were faster, fresher, recently turned. I popped three and Johnny took one out with his hatchet. We ran and ran. We could see the towers rising above the trees. We were on the home stretch. Then a walker came out from behind a tree and Johnny spun to take it out. He'd done it a thousand times. That time, the ground slid out from under his foot and I heard the sickening crunch of his leg breaking. He went down and I shot the walker before I froze. He was just lying there on the ground, staring up at me with desperate green eyes and I knew what he was going to say before the words tumbled out of his mouth.
"Jesse, go," he ordered.
"I'm not leaving you."
"Is Johnny hurt real bad?" Arlene whispered.
"He's fine," I growled. I leaned down and helped him up.
"Jess, I can't run like this. You and Arlene need to go."
"We can make it! I'm not leaving you!" I threw his arm around my shoulder and began limping forward. I shot at the walkers and kept moving forward. It was so much. Arlene's weight on my back, Johnny and our gear on my left side, and the weight of the gun in my hand. My breath came out in harsh gasps. My throat burned but I kept moving. We broke through the trees and I could see the gates. Walkers were sparse but they were still there. Then, I saw it. I saw him. A person at the gate. A real person. A live person.
"Help!" I screamed, quickening our pace, dragging Johnny. He was becoming weaker and weaker, putting more of his weight on me. Two more people appeared beside the man at the gate. A little boy and a larger man with a crossbow.
"Please!" I cried. I put a bullet in the head of a walker in overalls. Tears poured down my face. They stared at me. "Please! I have a little girl!"
I reached behind me and pulled the blanket to reveal Arlene's face. I plead, "At least take her. Please take her!"
The man with a crossbow reacted first. In a thick country accent, he yelled, "She has a little girl, Rick! She has a little girl!"
"Daryl, you know…"
"Open this fuckin' gate or I'll shoot you, Rick. She has a little girl!"
"Just take Arlene," I begged. "Please!"
Johnny slumped against me, his energy expended. The screaming attracted more walkers. They weren't going to open the gates. I was going to die with Johnny in my arms and Arlene on my back. Arlene was going to be torn to pieces. My little Arlene was going to become a walker. A mother fucking walker and Johnny and I wouldn't be able to put her down like we promised each other we would because we would be fighting her to eat people. Maybe the people within the fence. That made me feel a little better. Maybe we would eat the bastards that denied us access. That killed my little girl. I fired and my gun clicked hollowly. Blackness danced at the edge of my vision. I heard the sliding of a gate and Johnny's weight left my side. I screamed and reached out for him. I couldn't lose him. I was pulled forward and a metallic clang echoed behind me. A pain of bare, sweaty arms wrapped around me. I sobbed, "Johnny, Arlene."
"Are fine," a hick voice promised. "Yer little girl and yer boyfriend are fine."
"Not boyfriend," I mumbled. "Brother. Twin brother."