"You have to let me in."
"We can't do that, sir. You need to leave before we take you out of here in handcuffs."
What was the last name Hanna had called him that morning? Roosevelt. Right? He couldn't remember exactly, not in the heat of what was going on.
"My friend was shot - he can't be taken to the hospital."
The officer did a double-take. "Really? You want to prevent your friend from getting medical attention?"
"...What?" Roosevelt's eyes widened and he shook his head, "No, he has a certain doctor, you can't let any other doctor see him! You have to believe me, officer!"
The portly officer turned to completely face the zombie again. It was too dark for him to be able to see the green hue of his skin, and Roosevelt had taken the precaution to talk to the officer farthest from the streetlight. He'd put the thickest pair of glasses over his eyes to dim the glowing, and he wasn't sure how they were working, but the officer didn't seem to notice.
"You bring that docter here before he gets too critical, and you can have him. If he dies in the ambulance, it'll be on your shoulders..."
Roosevelt didn't need telling twice. He left the officer standing there, and after muttering a word of thanks, he pushed off from the side of Target and was off to the back alleys to find Luce Worth. Maybe he wasn't exactly fond with the scrungy doctor, but Hanna trusted him, and that was all the reassurance the zombie needed to trust him with his friend. Whenever he began to slow down, he thought about the phone call, and how cold Hanna must be, how he couldn't be there for him, and that the kid might die. Sometimes, Roosevelt was sure he was going faster than most cars, his jacket fluttering behind him, keeping one hand on his fedora so it didn't fly off. People on the sidewalks stared at him at he darted past, turning into a dark alley, remembering the twists and turns.
With some kind of luck, Roosevelt found himself in front of the door with a piece of paper next to it that read 'Luce Worth' in faded letters. There was a car he didn't recognize nearby, but he assumed it belonged to Lamont. Roosevelt tried the handle, and found it locked, so he threw himself at the door twice and it flung open, and he stumbled forward inside. His fedora had been knocked slightly askew, but it didn't completely block his view. Worth had no shirt on, showing just how frail the doctor actually was. His arms had been wrapped around some woman, but she was hardly worth paying attention to. Worth had probably found he on the corner, anyways. The doctor hardly noticed him, but when the woman refused to continue with an audience, Worth heaved an angry sigh and backed away from his desk. He grabbed a cigarette and threw his coat over the woman and glared at Roosevelt.
"Well? Can'tcha see I'm busy, zombie? Where's yer Hanna? Did 'e get 'imself a booboo?"
"Worth," He couldn't bring himself to say it, "Have you seen the news lately?"
Worth only stared at Roosevelt as he lit his cigarette. When neither of them said anything, Worth sighed again and turned to a little TV he had on the floor. He kicked at it, presumably to turn it on, and the screen eventually flickered to life. He only glared at Roosevelt until the weather turned over to the nightly news. There was a storm coming.
"We come to you live at the scene...We haven't been allowed in, but there appears to have been a shootout at the local Target. From what we can gather, there are two people dead, four wounded, but we did get a witness out here to talk with us. Miss Arnett, a single mother with three children was hidden by a worker at Target. What were you doing when the first gunshots went off?"
"I was with a g-guy, he was from t-technology and he s-said he'd help me...Then we h-heard the gunshots and he...He hid me from them..." There were tears in her eyes.
"Do you know what happened after that?"
"H-he said he'd g-go get help, and - and then he got shot!" The woman raised her palm, which was covered in blood, and stepped away from the camera, hiding her face. She burst into tears before she was off the television.
"A heart-breaking tale, to be sure. The man that helped Miss Arnett appears to be getting worse, with no ambulance in sight. Roger?"
"Thank you, Elli..."
Worth didn't look at Roosevelt. The cigarette fell out of his mouth.
"Hanna works at Target, don't 'e?"
Roosevelt nodded, and the two bolted out the door, Worth with a gray shirt only buttoned up halfway, Roosevelt with his tie loose and his hat still askew. It took them ten minutes to reach the Target, which Worth lived only blocks from. The doctor was out of breath at the scene, but he shoved his way past policeman shouting that he was Hanna's doctors and dragged Roosevelt behind him. The policeman the zombie'd spoken to earlier gave Worth the thumbs-up, and the rest let the Australian through. Worth stormed into the Target, his face stormy, his hands shaking, his shirt uneven, and his hair messed up.
"Where is 'e!"
His shout caught the attention of a nearby officer, who saw Worth and waved him to where Hanna lay behind an aisle. He left after Worth crouched down beside Hanna, and the doctor turned his neck.
"We're gunna need some transpertation, officer!" He shouted and the policeman turned to nod, and Worth looked back down at Hanna, "What th' hell were you thinkin' Hanna?"
Roosevelt was shaking, not as bad as Hanna, who was apparently unconscious. Worth's face was broken, a mixture of pity, contempt, and worry. But without his answer, he went to work examining Hanna, grimacing at the rune scribbled on the redhead's palm. This wasn't good.
Thank you for the reviews! They mean a lot, and I'll do my best to keep up the good work!
To Devilkitten1: I've never worked in retail, but my sister does, and she'll tell anyone how awful it is. Thank you!
To Maranni123: Thank you for the compliment! And here you go~
I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll probably be back to edit after I let it sit for a while.