A/N: Hey guys, this is ZombieSlayer995 with the finale of episode one, "No Time Remaining." First off, here is the mass author's note.
Smeake: I'm glad that you enjoyed last chapter. As for the returning characters, the characters that do reappear will (spoiler) appear much later. Sorry, I hope you can wait that long.
Tactus501st: I'm really happy to hear that you enjoyed the last chapter. I know, cliffhangers can be a pain in the ass (try reading the "Into the Fray" series. I had followed/favorited all three seasons, and there are so many evil cliffhangers!), but they really add to the suspense and thrill of the story.
Thelastsoul232: I'm glad that you like Jason; after all, he is my first OC. Also, I'm happy to hear how well he fits into the story. That being said, there definitely will be a Clem/Lee reunion. After all, the plot of this story is really a combination of Season Two and improv, and there simply can't be a Season Two without Clementine.
Epic Hobo Chuck: Thanks for the kind review. And yes, I remember Ivan. These bandits will be bad, but they will be different from Ivan from "Into The Fray", especially considering that while Ivan was a violent sociopath, he still had (sort of) justifiable reasons for what he did (I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it.) As for the other seasons, Season Two was probably my favorite. Seasons One and Three are great too though. Even though most of Season Three has generally been buildup for the last two-three episodes, the first three were still excellent. If you haven't read Season Three yet, you should, as it is very good so far, particularly episodes one and four, along with their cliffhangers and insane plot twists.
Leafs Nation: No, the bandit is not Randy XD, but I can see why you thought that due to the red hair. And yeah, due to past events at Savannah and the motor inn, he does know how to keep the peace. I'm happy that you enjoyed last chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one as well.
Santiago Poncini 20: I'm happy to see that most people, you included, like Jason. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Ravens and Crows of Darquesse:I'm glad that you like Jason. As for grammar errors, I'll try to get around to fixing them. Thanks for pointing them out.
Now, before I start writing, I want to list some fun facts.
Fun Fact 1: The bandit was originally supposed to be blonde, but I decided that it would make him seem too much like Wyatt.
Fun Fact 2: Jason was not originally going to be in the story. Rather, he was a last minute addition so that some future events could be changed.
Fun Fact 3: I did not originally plan for Jason to act this way, but Epic Hobo Chuck made me realize that Jason would be very reckless and angry.
PS: Chapter is rated M.
Now…LET THE STORY COMMENCE!
Lee's POV
Lee gazed at the redheaded bandit in fear. 'Why was he always the one with the gun pointed at him', Lee thought. Lee slowly raised his one and a half arms until they were in the air.
The bandit smirked when he saw Lee do this. Then he turned to Jason, whom Lee was supporting due to his injured leg. He stated, "Hey, dead-leg! Hands up, or I'll blow your mother- fuckin' brains all over your pal!" His voice sounded fairly gravelly, and he reminded Lee of the Save-Lot bandits who destroyed the motor inn.
Jason didn't respond to this statement, but his eyes narrowed. Lee knew that look. Jason had they same look on his face when he brutally beat the walker at the checkout. "AHHHHH!", Jason screamed in defiance. He was able to break loose from Lee's grip and lunge at the bandit, switchblade in hand. However, just as the switchblade was about to collide with the man's chest, the bandit slammed the stock of the rifle into Jason's forehead, causing him to fall down in pain. "FUCKING FUCK!" Jason bellowed in pain, clutching his face, which was already bruising.
Lee was about to run to Jason's aid, but when the bandit aimed the gun at Lee's face, he stopped himself. After a few seconds, Jason was able to get up by himself, and he promptly limped over to Lee, who began to support him once more. "Why are you doing this man?", Lee asked, "Just leave us the fuck alone!"
"Why? Why? 'Cause you crossed into our goddamn turf! This ain't no 'free country' like it used to be! This is a world where we claim our land, and take shit from the people who enter it!" The bandit hollered in his gravelly southern accent, "But…what I do to y'all ain't up to me. C'mon, this way." He said, waving his gun in the general direction. Lee looked up at the gun pointed at his forehead, and followed the man's orders, stumble-walking with Jason out of the Abercrombie store. He instantly began to think of any possible way to escape this situation. He thought about calling for Sarita, but that would probably result in the deaths of all three of them. No, it was better that this bandit didn't know that they had a third person with them. It had been around thirty minutes now, so she'd probably realize that they ran into some trouble. The bandit then led them into the main atrium of the mall, and gestured to a staircase. "Go up. Now." He ordered. It was difficult, walking up stairs while completely supporting an injured man, but they were able to make it up the stairs. Once up, they noticed a Dillard's department store with wood and metal barricade topped with barbed wire. The redheaded bandit approached the door and knocked three times. "Hey, guys. Let me in." He said.
Suddenly, a deep, masculine voice replied through the large barricade. "Goddamnit, it's Corey.", the man stated, seemingly irritated. "Yo, Corey! Don't you fuckin' remember? Boss said you ain't allowed back until you come back with some good shit! Get that through your goddamn skull, shit-for-brains!" The man's voice resonated throughout the atrium, and Lee hoped that Sarita would hear this and come to their aid.
"I got some people, man. Two of 'em. They have big-ass backpacks, and they was foraging for shit in the Abercrombie store downstairs. So god-fucking-damn you Henry, let me the fuck in or I will blow your ass away! "The redheaded bandit named 'Corey' shouted furiously.
Suddenly, there was a loud creaking noise, and part of the barricade was pushed forwards. "C'mon!" Corey said impatiently, pointing his rifle at Lee and Jason. Seeing no other choice, the duo shuffled into the store, only to be pushed to the ground.
Lee looked up to see Corey and two other bandits standing over them. One of them was African-American, and had a buzz-cut. The other one was a Caucasian with several piercings. Grinning smugly, Corey took Lee's switchblade and embedded it in Lee's stump. Lee screamed in agony, but that only caused Corey to widen his grin. The African-American man stomped on Jason's wounded leg tearing his stitches and shedding blood. However, Lee also noticed another bandit in the corner, looking on in horror. He clearly did not like what was happening.
The beating only stopped when a deep, faraway voice bellowed, "STOP!" The owner of this voice must have been the bandit leader, because the bandits instantly stood up straight and saluted to him. The man was Caucasian, presumably in his mid-thirties. He had wavy brown hair that went down to his chin, along with a thick goatee. Like Corey and one of the other bandits, the man had a ski mask that ended at the nose. In his hand was a .44 Magnum with a knife attached to the under-barrel. He was also wearing a leather jacket with dark blue jeans. "Is that any way to treat our guests?" the man inquired. It was then that Lee looked into the man's eyes. They were dark brown, and they had a psychotic glint in them, like someone who should be in an insane asylum. "Tie them up." The bandit leader uttered.
Lee's hand was pulled away from his bleeding stump of an arm, and zip tied to a broken pipe that was extruding from the wall, and Jason's hands were tied around a coat rack. Lee's eyes wandered around the store, and he was amazed by what he saw. Near a rack of handbags in the back of the room was what looked to be a mountain of food, as well as several guns, weapons, and other supplies. "HEY!" A bandit shouted, punching Lee in the face. "Pay attention", the bandit warned.
The bandit leader looked directly at Lee. "Now, before what happens next, we should get to know each other a little better. I'm Lazarus, the leader of our little group. This is Henry." Lazarus said, gesturing to the African-American in the plaid shirt who had previously beaten Jason, "This is Paolo." Lazarus continued, nodding towards a Caucasian with a beanie and a denim jacket. Lee also remembered that Paolo had not taken part in beating him and Jason. "That's Jeffery." Lazarus stated, pointing at another Caucasian, who had ear piercings, a grey jacket, and a ripped ski mask. He was also the one who had previously punched Lee in the face, "And I believe you already know Corey here." Lazarus said. "Now, what are your names?"
Neither Lee nor Jason gave him the luxury of a response. It wasn't until Henry aimed a twelve-gauge shotgun at Jason's head that Lee replied, "I'm Lee, and this is Jason."
Lazarus smirked. "Lee and Jason. Lee and Jason.", he said, rolling the names off his tongue. "Now that we have formalities out of the way, we should talk business. Fellow marauders, what should we do with these two trespassers?" Lazarus asked. No one responded. Lazarus didn't seem to care though, and he continued. "Well then, I say we torture 'n kill them. It's what we've always done, and besides, it's fun. Anyone opposed?"
When nobody answered, Lazarus began to continue his rant. "Anyway, before we beat the fuck outta you, I feel we should explain ourselves. You see, there's one thing that has stayed the same since before this shitstorm hit: if you claim something, no one else is entitled to it. We claimed this here mall a long time ago, and you two are nothing but trespassers."
"Before the world ended, trespassers would've been charged with…what? Breaking and entering? That would've probably put that person in prison for a good while, teach them a lesson, then send them on their merry fucking way. But that's not how shit works anymore. Imprisoning you, forcing you out…these would just be half measures. They don't keep you from coming back, and they definitely don't provide a severe 'nough punishment." Lazarus patted Lee on the shoulder. "I hope y'all can understand that."
"FUCK YOU! YOU CRAZY FUCK! I AM GONNA BEAT YOUR ASS INTO THE GROUND! I WILL—" Jason didn't get the chance to finish, because Lazarus had kicked him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. Jason let out a gasp, curling into a fetal position as he grasped his wounded stomach. He began to desperately retch as Lazarus laid punches and kicks on his head, chest, and stomach.
"NOBODY FUCKIN' TALKS TO ME LIKE THAT! YOU HEAR?!" Lazarus hollered. Three of the other bandits smiled sadistically as Lazarus continued to beat on Jason, but Paolo looked on with a mixture of sadness and horror. It seemed that Paolo had at least a shred of morality in him. However, he was doing nothing, which, in Lee's eyes, made him as bad as the others.
"LAZARUS!" Lee yelled, "You don't have to do this. Please." Lee looked at the bruised and bloody Jason, who was fiddling behind his back. Lee had no idea what he was doing, but either way, Lee needed to stop Lazarus.
"Shut. The fuck. Up." Lazarus uttered, glaring at Lee. He pulled out his bayonet-revolver and lightly pressed it against Lee's shoulder. It wasn't enough pressure to do any serious damage, but it caused a thin trickle of blood to ooze out of his shoulder. "Listen, Lee. Unlike your pal here, you seem like a pretty straight-up guy. You have manners, at least. I'm going to kill you anyway, but please, don't make me do it prematurely." Lazarus removed his pistol from Lee's shoulder and gave Lee a quick grin. This man is psychotic. "Well, I gotta get back to it," Lazarus cheerfully proclaimed. The bandit turned back towards Jason and leveled his revolver with Jason's chest while simultaneously clicking the safety off. His finger was moving toward the trigger when someone pulled the barrel of the gun away from Jason.
Paolo let go of his leader's pistol. "Stop it." Paolo ordered, getting in between him and Jason. "He's had enough." Paolo's legs were shaking, but Lee found himself admiring the man. However, Lee also found himself terrified for him. If Lazarus had beaten an outsider for insulting him, then what would happen to a group member who defied him?
"Did you just give me an order?" Lazarus asked, his voice steely calm. When Paolo didn't reply, Lazarus explained, "Two years ago, ordering about your superior was never wise. You'd be remembered as the office douchebag, considered to be disrespectful, and maybe even get fired. However, here and now, in my house, disrespecting Lazarus Jesse Daniels is considered treason." Paolo weakly nodded, his eyes widening in terror. Lazarus narrowed his eyes, elevating his gun until it was level with Paolo's head.
Paolo himself stood quivering, and closed his eyes as tight as he could. "Just fucking do it man." Paolo pleaded.
The two of them stood like that for nearly half a minute in complete silence until a grin crossed Lazarus's face. He began to laugh uncontrollably, lowering the gun from Paolo's face as he doubled over in laughter. After several seconds, Paolo began to nervously laugh as well, slowly becoming genuine as he too bent over in laughter.
The laughter went on for over half a minute, and it seemed like it was never going to stop. Lazarus wiped his eyes, and with no warning, Lazarus's laughter died, and he jabbed the blade of his altered .44 Magnum into Paolo's chest.
Paolo gasped, desperately trying to breathe as his laughter was replaced with desperate gurgling noises. Lazarus shoved him to the ground, and he proceeded to stab him viciously, causing blood to fly everywhere. "NO! ONE! GIVES! ME! ORDERS!" Lazarus bellowed, continuing to stab Paolo in his chest and stomach long after he had died. Finally, after Paolo's chest was more holes than skin, Lazarus preemptively ended Paolo's life as a walker by stabbing him through the eye.
Everyone in the room was dumbstruck except for Corey and Jeffery, who were both eagerly watching the scene unfold. A terrifying silence filled the room until suddenly, Lazarus resumed his laughter, cackling like the madman over the corpse of his former henchman.
"Henry, go get a mop, clean up this goddamn mess." Lazarus ordered, still giddily laughing. Henry hurried off, seemingly terrified of his leader. "Jeffery, carry this shit-stain out to the atrium. Don't want him stinking up the place." Jeffery flashed his leader a grin and a nod, walked over to Paolo's corpse, threw it over his shoulder, and walked out of the store.
After about five minutes, Henry came back with a mop and a bucket of water.
"I got it sir." Henry said nervously, and he proceeded to mop up the mess. He swished the mop back and forth, causing the red floor to revert back to its normal white. He was just finishing up when a loud, *BOOM!* echoed through the hallway, and torrents of fresh blood once again began to coat the floors.
Thirty-Five Minutes Earlier
Sarita's POV
Sarita quietly made her way to the store, constantly looking over her shoulder. She was worried about Lee and Jason, even if they had weapons. However, she pushed her nerves aside as she followed the black arrows, strolling stealthily through the corridors.
It didn't take long for Sarita to find the sporting goods store. She wandered into the store, only to find that it was not a pretty sight. The place was clearly looted, with sporting equipment and receipts strewn all over the floor, along with a few walkers, each of which had bullets in their heads. 'Maybe there's something left' Sarita thought hopefully, walking towards the back of the store.
'Damn it.' Sarita thought sadly. The glass display cases were shattered and emptied, but judging from the positioning of the hooks and indentations, the display cases once housed numerous varieties of guns. Upon further examination, the boxes and racks of bullets were all empty as well. Sarita sighed deeply. She had assumed that the guns were long-gone, but part of her had hoped that her gut instinct was wrong.
Despite this, Sarita was the type of person who felt the need to contribute. She trudged to the front of the store, hoping to find any sort of food or drink. Going to the nearest checkout counter, she examined the shelves, only to find nothing. After checking everything in the area, the only unchecked area was the cash register. Upon opening the register, she was horrified to discover several maggot-ridden human fingers, which were organized into different slots. Despite all of the things she had seen in the past, this sight, along with the scent, caused her to empty her already empty stomach, spewing bile all over the counter. 'Doesn't exactly help the smell.' She thought jokingly, wiping her mouth.
At this point, Sarita had searched everywhere in the store, and she had nothing to show for it but an old, scarred baseball bat. Desperate to find something useful, she did one last sweep of the store, and was lucky enough to find a locked door. How she didn't notice this door earlier, she didn't know, but she was grateful to have found it at all. After several hard kicks, the door went flying open, and she was shocked when a large walker stumbled out, instantly knocking her onto her back. Her bat rolled out of her hand as she desperately tried to keep the walker's teeth from latching onto her throat. This situation reminded Sarita of when she had first saved Lee, and she found it ironic that the savior now needed saving. However, Sarita didn't care about irony, she just wanted to live.
Her eyes flitted about for anything useful, finally resting on a bright green bike. It had been torn apart by scavengers, leaving nothing but some spare pieces of metal, along with a detached set of handlebars. It was like a light bulb had gone off in her head, as Sarita used one hand to reach out and grab the handlebars, while simultaneously holding the walker back with her remaining hand. Managing to get a grip on the handlebars, she swung them as hard as she could into the walker's temple, instantly throwing the walker off of her. Taking advantage of this, Sarita ran for the baseball bat, grabbing it in one hand. She then approached the walker, and slammed the bat into its cranium, killing it instantly.
With the danger having passed, Sarita put her hands on her knees and took a breather. After a few minutes had passed, Sarita strolled into the closet, this time with her guard up, before suddenly tripping on something. Looking at it, it was revealed to be a baseball. Sarita stood up, brushed the dust off her jeans, and shined her flashlight into the dark closet. The floor was strewn with sports balls of all kinds, from football to soccer to golf. She shone her flashlight around the closet, hoping to find something other than sports balls, and was pleased to see a brown duffel bag in the corner of the room. Upon opening it, she found several unopened bottles of Gatorade, as well as some protein bars and a bag of chips.
Zipping up the duffle bag, Sarita exited the store with her baseball bat at the ready. Striding towards the bright beams of sunlight, she stepped outside into the sunset, squinting her eyes. She looked down at the bloody message. "He has forsaken us and left us in the hands of Satan." The note read. Sarita wondered who had written the message. Whoever had done it was obviously long gone, but it got her curious. Why would someone take the time to write that?
Sarita pondered this for the next fifteen minutes. "We regroup at the entrance in thirty minutes. "If not, then we know something's up." Sarita remembered. It had been over thirty minutes. No one was at the rendezvous point but her. Something was wrong. "Jason? Lee, are you there? Sarita inquired, her voice echoing throughout the seemingly empty store.
Sarita was beginning to get very worried. Following the arrows, she made her way to the Abercrombie and Fitch store, and yelled, "Lee? Jason?" She scoured the store, only to find nothing. She then proceeded to exit the store, and was shocked to see a brutally murdered corpse at the checkout counter, its face beaten in beyond the point of recognition. The blood seemed fairly fresh, which meant that someone, presumably Lee or Jason, had recently been here. Checking the store one more time, she came up without a trace.
Sarita sighed deeply. There was no trace of either of her friends. She proceeded to exit the store, and was shocked to see a man in the atrium. He was laying out a bled-out body, placing it gently on the atrium floor. The man looked like a bandit, mainly due to the fact that he was wearing a ski mask, but as her father had always told her, 'one should never judge someone by his or her appearance'. As a precaution, she pulled out her Baretta. She knew that she would not be able to kill this man, it just wasn't in her nature. However, he didn't know that, which she used to her advantage. "Hello." Sarita civilly greeted him, only to have a rifle aimed at her in response.
"Don't you fucking move!" The man yelled, glaring directly at Sarita. He was still unaware of the gun at Sarita's side. 'So,' Sarita thought, 'I was originally right. He is a bandit.'
"Please. You don't need to do this. You can just let me go." Sarita begged of the man. She was ready to put up her gun, but she wasn't ready to risk getting shot. Not yet.
"You're the third asshole to cross onto our turf. Today." You gotta pay up." He said sadistically. "First off, drop that there handgun. You think I don't notice it? Drop it! Kick it over too!" Sarita instantly heeded his warning. She dropped her gun and kicked it over to him. "Now, get on the ground." To Sarita's horror, the man began to unbuckle his belt, and had taken off his jacket. "NOW! You want to live? You know what I want!" He yelled.
The bandit shoved Sarta to the ground and straddled her stomach. Holding his rifle to her head, he grasped her cheeks with his other hand and forced her to look at him. "Yeah, I can work with this," He said gleefully. The bandit laid down his rifle as he took off his shirt, and Sarita used this to her advantage by punching him in the gut, instantly incapacitating him. All the air left his body as Sarita managed to push the bandit off of her and grab the M14 rifle. The bandit turned to attack her but was greeted with a rifle in his face.
The bandit hollered, "YOU STUPID CUNT! YOU ARE GONNA LIVE TO REGRET THIS! YOU—"
"Where are my friends?" She asked, pushing the barrel against his forehead. Sarita knew that she wouldn't be able to kill this man, no matter what he did. However, he didn't know that, which gave her an advantage.
"You mean the two cripples?" The bandit asked. "What were their names again, 'Lee and Jason?'" The bandit wondered. Judging from the expression on Sarita's face, he knew he had struck a nerve. He grinned. "Yeah, Lazarus is probably gutting them as we speak. I bet that he—"
Sarita had cut him off by slamming the stock of the rifle into his temple, knocking him onto his side. "Where are they!" She repeated, her eyes narrowing.
The bandit laughed crazily. "You know what? Fine, I'll tell you. You'll never be able to save them, or stop my friends. Besides, I'm sure Lazarus'll just kill your friends, then keep you around as a nice piece of ass to play with." The bandit grinned. In response to this, Sarita slammed the rifle into his temple. "They're in the Dillard's store upstairs. I look forward to the next time we meet, when you won't be able to keep me from—"
Sarita had knocked the bandit out cold with another good hit to the head. She aimed the rifle at the man's head, and tightened her finger on the trigger…but she couldn't. Sarita didn't have it in her to pull the trigger. She lowered the gun, and turned towards the tall metal staircase.
She slowly began to ascend the stairs, quickly noticing the store in question. It had a large entrance that was blocked by a wood and metal barricade topped with strings of barbed wire. Upon reaching the second floor, she realized that the barricade was too tall to see over. Thankfully, the barricade was ajar, presumably from when the bandit had exited the store.
Not wanting to be noticed, Sarita crouched at the opposite side of the staircase, peering into the store. She was easily able to find Lee and Jason, who had their hands bound to miscellaneous objects. She was also able to see at least three other bandits. Aiming her gun at the head of a tall African-American, Sarita lowered the gun. She didn't want to kill anybody. Aiming the gun a little lower, she fired, the gunshot echoing throughout the mall.
Lee's POV
The bullet did three major things. It went clean through Henry's shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground in agony, clutching his bleeding shoulder. It also caused everyone to break into a mad run for cover behind some shelves. Lastly, the bullet gave Jason the opportunity to break out of his bindings, which he had apparently been trying to do earlier while he was being beaten. Although he was still weak from the injuries, he was able to drag himself over to Lee and cut his zip ties off with a cleverly concealed switchblade.
Despite what was happening, Lee smiled. "It's Sarita. It has to be." Lee grinned, before yelling, "Sarita! Cover me!" as he made a mad dash for his overfilled backpack, which lay out in the open. Thankfully, Sarita heeded his orders, and covered him, shooting several rounds towards the bandits. Lee was able to make his way behind the barricade with Jason and his backpack. "Lazarus!" Lee bellowed, peeking out from behind the makeshift wall of metal, wood, and wire, "This doesn't have to get any worse. Just let us go, and we will go our separate ways.
"FUCK YOU!" Lazarus yelled, shooting at Lee with his revolver, causing Lee to retreat behind cover.
Lee checked the ammo count in his gun. He had five bullets for his Glock, and Jason had four for his Baretta. "Sarita?" Lee asked, looking around for his friend.
"Right here, Lee." Sarita replied, coming out from behind the staircase railing. Lee instantly hugged his friend. "Who are these people?" Sarita inquired.
"They held us at gunpoint when we were looking for supplies." Lee replied. "This guy, Lazarus…he's fucking crazy. He stabbed his own man to death for refusing to let him beat the shit out of Jason."
"You mean him?" Sarita wondered, pointing below the railing at the Paolo's cadaver.
Lee nodded. "Yeah. Anyways, you just saved our asses. Thanks." Sarita smiled in acknowledgement. "We gotta take these guys out, it's the only way we'll make it out of this. If we escape, they'll just follow us. Besides, these guys have enough supplies to last us the entire winter. If we can beat these guys, we can camp out here until spring." Lee proclaimed.
"Agreed." Jason said. "With my leg, I can't move. I'll take the rifle and provide cover while you two sneak up on them." Sarita nodded in agreement handing Jason her rifle, and receiving Jason's handgun. "GO. NOW!" Jason yelled, firing a few shots at the bandits' location.
Sarita and Lee sprinted through the metal barricade, taking cover behind the checkout counter before firing some rounds towards the bandits, hearing a fresh grunt of pain who he believed to be Corey. "You okay?" Lee asked.
"Fine, I'm fine." Sarita assured her companion. Sarita then peeked around the counter and shot at the bandits. However, she did not come out unscathed. As Sarita fired towards the bandits, a bullet grazed her arm, causing her to fall to the ground in pain. Something like that would only happen if Jason wasn't covering them. Did he abandon us?
"Why the fuck isn't Jason covering for us?" Lee yelled amid the gunfire. "What the hell is he doing?!"
"No idea!" Sarita replied, holding her bloody arm. She gritted her teeth in pain, blood seeping through her fingers.
Another shot rang out. Lee peeked out behind the counter to see an injured Henry firing at them from behind a shelf. In response, Lee fired a round at him, taking the top off of his skull. "Okay, I got one. Now there's just Corey and Lazarus left." Lee told Sarita. "Sarita, I need you to cover me while I run try to get closer."
"Got it." Sarita replied. Her arm still ached, but she held up her pistol. "GO!" Sarita shouted, firing her gun at the bandits' location. Lee took this opportunity to run into the clothing aisles and duck down. He stood up, trying to get a good angle on the bandits, but found that the clothing was keeping him from seeing anything. He tried to move a rack of clothing, only to have a barrage of bullets fired in his direction, which he miraculously dodged. Lee quickly dove to the ground, but he now knew their position.
Using his remaining arm, Lee slowly dragged himself through the aisles until he was behind some decent cover. Lee stood up, and he slowly sneaked towards the bandits' last known location before he realized something: the gunfire had stopped.
Suddenly, Lee felt a cold steel barrel of a gun against his neck. "You move, you die." Corey warned. He then shoved Lee forwards. "C'mon, you don't want to miss the grand event." He said, grinning sadistically. He was shoved towards the checkout counter when he saw Lazarus holding Sarita on the ground.
"Because of what y'all did to our little group, y'all are gonna pay." Lazarus grinned, slowly unbuckling his belt. Sarita struggled to get him off of her, but Lazarus punched her in the gut, effectively incapacitating her as he peeled off her sweatshirt.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!" Lee hollered. He was about to rush forward, but suddenly, Corey pinned him to the ground, forcing him to watch as Lazarus stripped himself and Sarita of their clothes.. Lee tried to shove Corey off, but without both arms, he was not physically able to knock him off.
By this point. Lazarus had stripped Sarita's upper body of any clothing, and he had taken off his pants and boxers. She continued to struggle but Lazarus was much stronger than she was, meaning she could not do anything to stop what was coming next.
Lee began to sob as he watched these events unfold before his very eyes
Jason's POV
Despite Jason's swollen face, he was an excellent shot with a rifle. He was easily able to keep the bandits cowering behind cover. He quickly noticed Corey aiming at Lee, but a well-placed bullet to shoulder forced him to retreat. Take that you ginger shit. However, amidst the gunfire, he was too distracted to notice the man sneaking up behind him.
"RAHHHH!" The injured Jeffery screamed, diving onto Jason's back. He then flipped him over, and proceeded to beat Jason's already beaten face. Jason felt one of his teeth loosen as he felt the onslaught of fists on his face. "Thankfully, that bitch you're with doesn't have the guts to kill anyone. Without you covering 'em, they'll die soon enough." Jeffery murmured psychotically.
Despite his injuries, Jason was a fighter. He always was. Taking advantage of his position, Jason slammed his knee into Jeffery's balls, causing him to emit a weak cry of pain. "YOU BASTARD!" Jason shouted, as he sat on Jeffery's chest and proceeded to punch him in the face repeatedly. What Jason didn't know is how flexible his adversary was. Without any notice, Jeffery had managed to lift his foot to the front of Jason's face, kicking him down the flight of stairs.
After tumbling down a flight of steps, right next to Paolo's body, Jason nearly blacked out from the pain. Gritting his teeth, he opened his eyes to see Jeffery aiming his M14 at his forehead. With no optimal cover, Jason ducked behind Paolo's corpse just as Jeffery pulled the trigger. Thankfully, the cadaver was able to absorb the impact. FUCK! What the fuck do I do now?! Jason was growing frantic. He was pinned down, nowhere to go as this psychotic fucking bandit pinned him down. Maybe I deserve this. For what happened on the road. With my friends. Jason shook his head and closed his eyes as tight as he could. No. It's not my fault. It could have been anybody; there was no proof that it was me, and the only thing convincing me that I did it was fucking survivor's guilt.
Jason opened his eyes, and suddenly realized that the answer to his problem was right before him. Jason adjusted Paolo's positioning before finding a small pistol tucked into his waistband. He gripped it so tightly that his knuckles whitened, and lied in wait.
Jason heard Jeffery slowly advancing down the steps, continuing to unload into Paolo's corpse as he did so. Jason felt fresh blood mist on his face as the bullets continued to be absorbed by the cadaver. Pulling himself directly below Paolo, Jason opted to wait as he fingered the trigger of his pistol.
The footsteps grew closer and closer, until he literally heard Jeffery's feet directly next to his ears. As Jason felt the weight of the corpse lifted off his body, he rapidly aimed the gun at Jeffery's exposed body and emptied his magazine into his chest.
Jeffery gasped, looking down at the many holes in his chest, all the while still clutching his M14. As he fell, Jeffery looked directly at Jason, and attempted to train his gun on him. However, he was dead before he hit the floor, with pools of blood already forming on the tile.
Groaning with pain from his new wounds, Jason crawled over to Jeffery's body and snatched the M14 from his freshly-dead fingers. Bending over, Jason stopped to catch his breath. He could not believe that he had just survived this encounter. Suddenly, Jason had a terrifying realization. Lee. Sarita.
Jason stumbled up to the barricade as fast as he could, and was able to drag himself into his previous position. As he peered into the department store, he witnessed a terrifying sight. A bloody Corey had pinned Lee on his back, who appeared to be crying as he struggled to reach Sarita, who was being held down and undressed by Lazarus. Sarita was also trying to break free, but Lazarus was too strong for her to handle.
"YOU SICK FUCKS!" Jason bellowed, before aiming his M14and shooting a bullet into Corey's neck. Writhing in pain, the redheaded bandit fell to the ground, clawing at his neck as he bled onto the tile, dead before anyone knew what was happening. He then fired a second round into Lazarus's shoulder, knocking the bandit off of Sarita, who was breathing heavily, obviously traumatized by what just happened.
Staggering into the store, he was greeted by an angry Lee, who shouted, "Thanks for saving us, but where the fuck were you, man?!"
Jason replied, "The guy that Sarita knocked out woke up, nearly killed me." This only caused Sarita to start crying. Jason understood what she was going through. Her morality nearly caused the deaths of her friends, something Jason knew all too well about. Not only that, but her humanity had also nearly led to her being raped, something that was probably extraordinarily traumatizing. Jason turned to a wounded Lazarus, who was lying on the floor, blood from his shoulder wound pouring out and onto the floor. "What do we do with this fucker?" Jason asked the others.
Lee looked at the man, then looked at the gun in his hand. "This man is a psychopath, a rapist, and a murderer. We need to kill him." Lee stated, checking the bullet count in his gun.
"I agree." Sarita said, glaring at the bleeding man. Before anyone could do anything, Sarita whipped out her gun and aimed it at Lazarus's head. "This man deserves to die. We all know what he did, and he needs to pay for his crimes."
Jason was shocked by this exclamation. To him, Sarita seemed like the moral compass, the one who condemned killing under any circumstance. Yet here she was, preparing to kill Lazarus. In Jason's eyes, Lazarus did deserve to be killed, but he didn't know if Sarita should be the one to do it.
"C'mon girlie, y'all don't want to do that," Lazarus exclaimed. "We was just gonna have a little fun together, nothin' more or less. Like I explained to these two pricks over here, that would be the price you'd pay for trespassin' on our turf. Why don't you put the gun—" The bandit's speech was interrupted when a bullet pierced his brow, killing him instantly. Lazarus's body fell limp as the life drained out of him. Good riddance. But who pulled the trigger…? Jason turned and was shocked to see not Lee, but Sarita, holding the smoking gun. Even though he had only been with them for a few hours, he could tell that Sarita would never have done that when they had first met. But when he first met her, Sarita hadn't undergone this trauma.
Lee tightly embraced Sarita, who began to cry. "I get it now." Sarita told him. "I understand what we must do to survive. You kill…or you die…" Lee nodded, before releasing her from his embrace.
"Sarita, are you sure you're okay? I mean, after what nearly happened, and you…" Lee trailed off, not wanting to upset his friend. "Do you still want to stay here? We can just take these supplies and go."
"Yes, we must stay. Despite what…what happened here, we need to stay here, at least for a few months. Come springtime, we leave this place, and we head to Wellington." Sarita paused. "Any objections?" Sarita asked, disturbingly echoing Lazarus's earlier words. "Good. Let's clean up."
Next time on "A Change Of Fate"
"I don't know if Sarita's okay, especially considering what she just went through."
On the mountain loomed a large building with a wooden exterior. "Maybe we stay there for a while."
"I…I thought you were dead."
"Who the hell are these people?! What the fuck do they want with us?"
Episode Two: A House Divided
A/N: Well, that was episode one! I hope you enjoyed this action-packed chapter, as well as the episode as a whole. The reason I did what I did with the bandits was to really develop Sarita as a character, as I want her to remain a kind, maternal character, but I want her to be…willing. Willing to do whatever it takes to survive, and it needed to take something like the Lazarus and the bandits to do that. Anyway, if you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, feel free tell me them in a review. BTW, the quote Sarita said, "You Kill or you die", is from the TV show.
"In this life now, you kill or you die. Or you die and you kill."
-The Governor. Walking Dead, episode 316, "Welcome to the Tombs."
Anyways, see you next time!
-ZombieSlayer995
