Chapter Two:
The church tower seemed to sway in the trios vision. It stood out from the other brick red buildings plastered in the horizon. It loomed in front of them, beckoning them towards the unknown. Even after moving across cluttered alleyways and boarded up houses, they found the same structure standing tall in front of them. The trip was crammed full of the fear of what they would find on the other side of town. Kenny tipped his fishing cap down, blocking out the rays of sunlight that had broke through the clouds. The weather had been in the groups favor. A sprinkling of rain pattered on rooftops and busted cars, sheltering an unimaginable amount of noise. Kenny had watched multiple walkers pass the group, even in the event of conversation.
"Kenny." Christa called, coming into view from behind a flipped taxi accident.
Katjaas mother was a taxi driver….
"Kenny!" Christa hissed, re-catching the fisherman's attention. He responded with a grunt and signaled for the teen to his right to stop. Christa pointed behind the two males and the hairs on Kenny's neck stood up. He turned just in time to see a hooded figure duck behind a nearby shop window.
"Shit! Ben, get your ass over here." Kenny grabbed Ben by the collar and threw them both behind the cab. A small sound of glass cracking was heard from inside and Christa and Kenny exchanged looks.
"Is it a walker?" Ben asked, peeking through the car windows.
"Walkers don't hide from people."
"Could that have been one of those guys?" Asked Christa. She looked behind them and eyed the street they came from. They must have walked miles because the buildings were irrecognizable.
Kenny peeked a quick look but the shop window was once again empty. Ben tried to stick his head out to but Christa pulled him back down.
"What is it? I didn't see it?" Ben whispered.
"It was a person. They were watching us."
Another sound rang out. It was a door swinging shut.
"Look! On the roof!" Ben pointed. Sure enough, the hooded figure stood on the edge of the building and turned to run. In two quick jumps, the figure had already jumped the first building and spun into the nearby roof access.
"Shit! He's gettin' away!" Kenny said jumping out from behind the taxi and bolting towards the adjacent building.
"Kenny wait!" Christa called out. However, her pleas were useless and after realizing this she handed her gun to Ben and followed.
The light that shone through the open door was soon wiped out, and with it went the noise. Christa soon bounded in behind Kenny and he threw his right hand behind himself and into the exhausted woman.
"Hold that door open, we can't see without it."
Christa pushed the door open and held it with her back while signaling Ben to join them. When she had turned around, Kenny had made it down the hallway and into the only room downstairs. A small creak caught the woman's attention and she looked in time to see the figure dash across the upstairs hallway.
"Kenny! Up there!"
The figure was out of view before the southerner could even reach the stairs, but he cleared the steps in no more than three swift bounds. Turning to the right, Kenny was swallowed up in the darkness and he stuttered in his steps. The upstairs was silent except for the rains near-silent falling. He squinted in a hopeless attempt to see through the thick haze of darkness but found nothing.
"Where are you, you little pissant?" Kenny spatted into the empty hallway. Another creak sounded and Kenny pulled his gun out from his back pocket. The minute his fingers grasped hold of the grip, a sharp pain crippled his skull and him to the ground with a sickening thud.
"Kenny?" Christa called out, hearing the noise. When she got no response, she too retrieved her gun and commanded Ben to hold open the door. Taking the first step up she saw the outline of what looked to be Kenny. The sight of the older male lying unconscious frightened her and she bounded up the stairs to his side.
"Kenny!" She yelled putting her head to his chest. He's just unconscious.
Christa felt movement behind her and turned in time to see a figure towering over her with a blade raised and ready to strike.
"Wait!" She screamed, squinting to make out the figures face in the dim light. The figure held the blade still but allowed Christa to stand. The figure took a step back and Christa caught a glance of Ben worriedly manning the front door. A plan arose in her mind and she jumped backwards, yelling down the stairs.
"Ben close the door!"
The figure ran at both Christa and the unconscious Kenny but was swallowed up in complete darkness. Christa took this chance and through herself in the direction of the attacker. Thier bodies collided and a sharp pain skidded down her arm as the blade made contact. They both fell to the ground.
"Uuuunngh…"
Christa stopped wrestling the assailant and looked behind her. She could barely make out the outline of Kenny when a blow to the chin sent her downwards. Spiraling towards the ground, Christas chin knocked against her unconscious partners foot and she attempted to belly crawl away from the attacker, who was now moving towards her. She heard the blade whistle as it cut through the air and steady itself to be brought back down.
Suddenly, Kenny's foot shot upwards. Christa could not see it, but she felt it whiz past her body and slam into the unknown man's stomach. They let out a cry as the food made contact, and a small heaving breath rang out in silence, before the figure dropped to the ground.
"Ben, open that door back up."
Light poured up the staircase and the hooded figures face lay uncovered on the wooden floor. It was a woman, her blonde hair matted down and clinging to the back of her hoodie. The blade was a surprisingly spotless climbing axe. Its thick metal blade was held by a blue and yellow handle that curved into a broken "c" shape.
Christa looked up and saw Kenny looking back.
"You okay?" He asked sternly, putting out his hand. She nodded silently and attempted to lift her hand. She hissed and grasped her arm. Dark red blood dripped from a sizably large cut down her arm. Kenny swore under his breath and headed down the stairs.
"Wait." Christa said, nudging her head towards the young woman they had just beat up.
"Oh she's not gettin' up anytime soon."
As he disappeared behind the railing, Christa looked down upon her cut and tried to shake the pain out. Small drops of blood scattered the floor.
Kenny returned and brought with him a long strip of cloth. Kneeling down, he held out the cloth and beckoned for Christa's arm. He placed the cloth tenderly around her cut and began to wrap until the cut only peeked out in miniscule areas.
"How are you feeling?" Christa asked genuinely. Kenny exhaled and gave a quickle glance upwards.
"Don't worry about me, im fine. Besides, i'm not the one with the bandages."
Christa shook off his stubbornness on account that Kenny was always like that. A sudden uncomfortable feeling arose in the air and they both turned to see Ben standing with the assailants blade in hand. There wasn't anything threatening about his stance, but the sight of that blade anywhere but the ground gave Christa a chill.
"Ben? Who's holding the door open?" Kenny asked standing up. Christa tied up the ends of the bandage and rose as well.
"I-I put a brick in front of it, so it wouldn't close. I just got worried and I didn't hear anything for a while so I thought I would come up and-"
"Ben," Christa comforted, passing Kenny and holding the boys shoulder. "Calm down. You aren't in trouble."
A low groan filled the air and the trio looked down to see the nameless woman stirring about. Christa warded Ben back with a wave of her hand and clutched her pistol tight.
"Morning asshole." Kenny said behind her, holding his gun at head height as well. "Get a good sleep."
The woman glared back at him and propped herself up slowly on her arms. Her eyes locked with Christa and the two exchanged uncomfortable looks. Kenny snatched the woman's pick from Ben's hands and kicked it down the hall.
"Who are you? Why the fuck were you watchin' us?"
The woman sneered and pulled back her hoodie. Blonde hair jutted out in random spots and a blue hair clip lay buried deep in her locks. Still, she remained silent and eyed Kenny with a gaze that could melt steel beams. After a long pause the woman spoke.
"The name's Jolie." She said lifelessly. Kenny squatted down in front of her and held the gun loosely in his hands.
"Well Jolie." He said with a tone that made Christa uncomfortable. "Were you the ones that took our guy?"
Jolie shot him a confused look and tried to stand. Kenny jumped up and pressed the barrel of the gun to her head, but allowed her to stand.
"I don't know who you're looking for and it's not me." She said dusting off her jeans.
"Then why were you watching us?" Christa asked crossing her arms.
"I wasn't. I was trying to hide from you three, in case yall were following me."
Christa signaled for Kenny to lower the gun, and after breathing an angry breath down Jolies neck, he lowered the gun and took a step back.
"Why did you attack us?" Christa asked putting her gun away.
"Gramps over here came at me with a gun. What did you expect me to do?" She said sarcastically, pointing at a sniveling Kenny. A comeback popped into the man's mind and he began to speak when the door sitting at the end of the hallway swung open revealing two scraggly men and -
"Lee!" Christa gasped. Kenny pulled his gun back out and pressed against Jolie's head.
"Woah, woah, woah! Put the gun down bro." The tallest male said, lowering his gun as well. Lee was on his knees with no visible bruises other than a bruise on his forehead. The taller of the two me, a thin character with dark skin and thick black hair to match, held a gun against Lee's neck. Lee met eyes with Christa and gave a sympathetic smile. He struggled to get up but the tall man held him down with impressive strength.
"You fucking liar!" Kenny spat at Jolie. He turned to the other two and pressed the gun harder against her head. Christa heard sound of clicking and slowly reached for her own gun hidden behind her back.
"Your friend Jolie hear told us y'all didn't have our friend. She needs to work on her lying skills."
"Fooled you." Jolie snickered. The gun pressed harder against her head and she quickly silenced.
"Jolie?" The shorter man asked. "Who's Jolie?"
"Oh, did you lie about your name too?" Kenny said, spit flying from his mouth. He momentarily locked eyes with Lee and the two exchanged confused glances.
"I'm not telling you my name."
"Give us our man." Christa piped up, taking the attention away from Kenny. "We can both go our separate ways."
"Fuck that. We need him." Jolie said, getting on one knee when the gun pressed against her head again.
"Why?"
"That's none of your business, buddy." The shorter man said. He scanned the room and found Ben staring wide-eyed at him. Squinting, he sneered at Ben and for a moment, almost saw a blush appear on the boys face.
"Man, lets fucking kill these fools." The taller man said, aiming at Kenny. Kenny returned that by pointing his gun at the man's head, but a great force slammed into his side and sent him down. A bullet sprang from his gun and hit the roof, sending shrapnel spiraling into the air.
"Kenny!" Lee yelled, his voice drowned out by the gunshot. The blow knocked Kenny out, and Christa fired into the dust scattered air. A sharp scream pierced the air as a bullet made its mark into the taller man's arm.
"Rus!" The other yelled, shooting into the air and burying a bullet in Christas arm. She let out a cry and dove to the left. It was a step too close to the stairs and she tumbled down, hitting every inch of her body on the stairs. The dust cleared from the air and the occupants stood puzzled at the seemingly vanishing woman.
"Where is she?" The one called Rus called out, clenching his wound and groaning. The other lifted Lee up onto his feet and inched towards Ben and the stairs, gun pushed against Lee's neck.
"Molly!" He called out to the woman standing over an unconscious Kenny. "Did you see her?"
Molly shook her head and turned to Ben. He caught her eyeing the ice pick and threw it to the ground.
"I-I don't want any trouble." He mumbled throwing up his hands in defense. The man holding Lee turned to the stairs and spotted Christas gun lying on the floor. He looked around but the woman was nowhere to be found.
"She gone!" He yelled looking back at Molly who had rounded the others up. "She probably ran out the front door!"
"Well we aren't sticking around to find her. We got what we need." Rus said standing and picking his gun up off of the floor.
The three rounded up Lee and Ben, and drug Kenny down the hall and into the stairwell. As the door closed, the six could hear the sound of a nearby group of walkers approaching the once noise filled building. The stairwell shut off from the main building and the halls were filled with nothing but distant groans and the occasional breath of fresh wind from the outside. As the undead grew closer, a shadow slipped from behind the stairs. She retrieved her gun and walked out the front door, moving the brick and sucking the sunlight out of the darkened halls.
