"We have a problem, the claimers are back. They have the archer." - Alex Martin

THROUGH THE SCOPE
CHAPTER TWO
CLAIMERS

"Help! Help!"

The screams surrounded her, people were dying, people were suffering and there wasn't a damn thing Teddy could do about it.
She was stuck on the highway, her weapons locked away in her truck, but she hadn't dared take them out in fear of scaring people even more.

"Mommy!" A child's scream alarmed her as she looked around in search of where it came from.

She saw a lone boy, no older than three or four running with a man chasing close behind. The man was covered in blood, his eyes empty, he was one of them - the dead.

Teddy didn't think twice as she unlocked the metal box in the back of her truck and took out a pistol. She hoped it would be less alarming as she ran through the crowds. She took aim just before the biter lunged at the boy and shot him it in the head.

Everyone around her stopped dead in their tracks, everyone was looking at her.

The young boy ran into his mother's arms crying.

"Thank you, thank you so much," the mother cried.

The women approached Teddy, carrying the boy in her arms. Along with her was a man, that man was Alex Martin.

Alex Martin and his group kept their distance as they watched the archer run down the darkened road in desperate need to chase down the car that had taken one of his own.

The group had wanted to help, but they needed to see the strength the prison group had, unfortunately, that had meant allowing the blonde girl -who they believed was called Beth- to be taken away.

"Let's follow on," Alex radioed through. "Don't make a move unless I say so," was his final order on the matter.

The stealthy group followed the archer, keeping their distance in the gloomy woods.

Back at the main base, Teddy was looking over yet another map.

"So the airbase is around here?" Teddy asked as she pointed at the top of the map where an area had been circled in red.

"We believe so, the maps we found were limited and that area is a danger zone, so we've been unable to enter and scout the area," Louisa Marshal explained.

Louisa was young, just nineteen, but one of the strongest women at the base. They had found her alone, battling off biters while protecting her seven-year-old brother Carter. Unfortunately, Carter had died three months later, it was no one's fault, he was a sick child before the world turned to shit and unfortunately they didn't have the resources to save him, but Louisa had allowed him to pass in peace. She just wanted him happy and safe, back with their parents.

Teddy nodded. "This is a good find. We have three people, myself included who can fly a helicopter. Jonah was a pilot too. This could very well be the end of all our traveling problems if we were to find a base they could be held in."

She tucked her blonde hair behind her ear as she thought up the best plan of action.

The crackle of the radio caused everyone to turn there heads.

"Ma'am, ma'am, we have a problem, the claimers are back. They have the archer," Alex Martin spoke uneasily over the radio.

Teddy shot to the radio, instantly calling though to Alex. "Is he harmed?" She asked.

"No, he lost the girl, she was taken in a car, I've got Freddy following them. The archer seems to have gone willingly, but he isn't liking their ways already, he isn't one of them, he's keeping his values to the main group."

"Keep an eye on them, they try anything, take the bastards out," Teddy said bitterly, unintentionally recalling her encounter with them in her mind.

"If the archer sees?" Alex asked.

"Bring him to me," she replied.

"Yes ma'am, radio contact will be limited, we're running low on batteries," Alex explained.

"Alright, contact me in exactly three hours with an update." She said finally.

"Shit," Teddy muttered as she turned to Louisa.

"Get on the radio to Freddy, find out his location and mark it, then I need the other individuals marked on the map. We can't have The Claimers and the prison group crossing anymore than they already are."

Teddy shooed everyone out of her office before seating herself down at her desk.

She ran her hands over her sweaty face, her hands shaking as the memories continued to come through.

She had been alone, desperate to track down the group who had taken down three of her own group that had been out looking for supplies.
She had found them, of course, she had, but being alone meant she hadn't been able to watch each and every one of them. She had misjudged how many there were and in a matter of minutes after confronting them she had been claimed.

Three nights she spent on her back, forced to lay there tied up as they used and abused her body.

She was recused by another group, consisting of Abraham Ford, Rosita Espinosa, and Eugene Porter. She would forever be grateful for what they did. She had invited them to join The Hidden group. A strong couple and a scientist, what was better than that, but they denied. They were on their own mission and Teddy wasn't about forcing people to join her group.

She allowed them to go, but not before informing them that they would be welcomed into her group whenever they needed.

It was just a shame that The Claimers had never been properly taken out. They had been roaming around, no doubt abusing other women and maybe even children and men.

She just hoped the archer was strong enough to contend with them.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, again I'm sorry if you wanted some of the original group's interaction, it just wouldn't work with how I'm playing this story out. Hopefully, this is still enjoyable, though. Rick and the group are coming soon, though.

What do you think of Teddy?