Chapter 26
Rick, Glenn and I were in a little town that Maggie gave me the directions for and right where she said was the bar. Rick stopped the car and parked it, getting out and examining the place for walkers. Surprisingly, nothing was there. Just abandoned cars and abandoned businesses lingered in the abandoned town. We walked into the bar to find Hershel sitting on the bar stool, a glass of whiskey in his hand.
"Maggie said you would be here." I said.
He nodded. "I needed to get out."
I walked behind the bar, leaning against it. "Hershel, your daughters need you. Beth is going of the deep end. I know it get's hard, but we can't abandon our kids just because things get hard."
He picked up his glass but I laid my hand on it, gently setting it down. He took a deep breath and buried his face in his hands, looking up at me, eyes filled with pain. "You're right." He handed me the glass and I set it down on the counter behind me.
"You ready to go home? Because we can stay here a little while longer and you can recoup."
He shook his head. "That won't be necessary. I'm ready."
I was about to reply when the door swung open to show two men, one muscular and average sized, the other short and fat.
"Well damn." The muscular one said. "There's others."
My hand instantly went to the pistol in my holster, my breaths slower, more steady. Good people didn't survive in this world. I sounded completely hypocritical but it was true. If you weren't a murderer, how did you kill all those walkers and not care about it? I had a tough time myself shooting the walkers in the beginning, thinking that they were people just like Hershel did. That was until I heard about them killing others on the radio to Atlanta and saw the real deal happening on the side of the road.
"Wow, there's four." The muscular man said, whistling shortly after. "Is that your car out there? It doesn't look like it's being lived in."
"That's because it's not." Glenn stated, leaning against the bar with me. "We have a camp."
My eyes went large. These men did not seem like 'friendly' people. Before I knew it he was going to give away everything.
"There's more?"
The fat man grinned at me. "More women?"
I wanted to puke. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to turn my face at an angle where I didn't have to see the perverts gaze. So with my boot, I stomped on Glenn's foot, trying not to make it visible. "No." I answered. "No more people," I said to the first guy. "and no more women in your case." I finished to the fat man.
The fat man grinned. "Well I can just have you then darlin'."
"Is that before or after a shoot your brains out?" I asked with my hands on my hips.
"Katherine." Rick said in a warning voice.
I rolled my eyes, trying to put on the act for them. I leaned against the bar again, my hand on my pistol again.
"I apologize Miss for my pig ass friend." Said the muscular man with the dark hair. "I'm Dave." He flashed me a charming grin and I got the impression this normally won over the ladies, but I was different. I saw right through his shit and had a man of my own back home. Dave pointed to the fat perv. "That's Tony. Just ignore him. He's a dumbass."
"I'm Rick." My brother introduced. I swear to god, the men in the group had lost their mind. Glenn giving away information and Rick identity. He pointed to the other two. "That's Hershel and Glenn." Then he glanced at me, warning me to play friendly with these bastards. "And that is my sister Katherine."
I gave them the fakest smile I could. "It's such a pleasure to meet you." I said sarcastically.
Dave grinned. "The pleasure is all mine Katherine. If this was the normal world, I would buy you a drink. But since it's not, I'll just pour you one."
I grabbed a glass and poured my self some whiskey and chugged it down in two seconds. "Thanks, I needed that."
He laughed. "You're a feisty one, aren't you?"
"Dave, not fair!" Tony whined, raising his eyebrows to me. "I called dibs on the hottie!"
I poured more whiskey, drowning that one too. "Somebody save me..."
Dave grinned at me again. "So darlin' where are you fine people set up at?"
"We are just all over the place..." Rick said, running his fingers through his hair. "But eventually we are heading to Fort Benning."
He shook his head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. It's been taken over completely by the geeks. In fact, most places are." He whipped his mouth, chuckling a bit. "Rumors have been going around about Nebraska. But we don't want our hopes to be let down again." Suddenly he got this look in his eye, realizing something. "You guys don't look like you are in bad shape and you have a camp someplace... Where is it? A house...old building...no, no this place is to country. A farm?" Dave grinned, having guessed the answer. "Old McDonald had a farm...it's a farm, isn't it?" He glanced at me. "How 'bout you take us to this farm? Show a little southern hospitality."
I smiled at him. "That ended when dead people started eating my friend's flesh."
Tony chuckled, pushing himself off of the chair and walking to the corner. After a few seconds I realized he was peeing.
I rolled my eyes, disgusted.
"Get used to it honey. We're living with you." The fat man snickered, his head still facing me.
I thought of Carl. I thought of these men going home to my boy and I couldn't stand the thought of it. Everyone in my group was in danger so with one look at Rick, I quickly pulled out my pistol, shooting Tony in the heart. I looked over to see Dave with the gun in his hand, ready to shoot Rick, but my brother was faster, shooting the man in the chest also. I put the gun back in my holster. "Let's get out of here."
Glenn and Hershel nodded, both shocked at the event that took place in front of their eyes.
I walked over to the door, peering out of the window to see two shadows cross in front of it. "Get down!" I hissed.
All the men dropped down, their backs against the wall.
"Tony? Dave?" Someone called from outside the bar. "Guys are you in there?"
Rick looked tempted to say something, making my eyes go wide in alarm.
"Dave? Tony? If you guys are playing a joke it's sick man!" The voice belonging to the other shadow called.
The suddenly stopped pacing as another leaned against the door. "Is someone else in there? Did you kill our friends?"
"They drew on us first!" Rick called back.
I knew two things. First, that was a lie. Maybe Dave was grabbing his gun but I shot Tony while he was still peeing. And the second, it was obvious who got the brains in the family. "What the hell?!" I hissed as quietly as possible.
I pulled my pistol out, scampering to the back door, Glenn following me while Rick and Hershel stayed, his gun pointed at the door. I slipped out the back as soon as one of the men entered. Rick shot him in the head and walked out of the side door, Hershel following. Bullets started to fly our way so Glenn ducked behind the dumpster as I dove for the opposite side, barely making it as a bullet just missed my arm. I pressed my back against the opposite dumpster and took a deep breath, my heart pounding incredibly fast. I leaned out and shot my pistol at one of the guys, it missing by not too much. He shot back at me and I swung back, my back hitting the dumpster. For some reason my pants felt wet to the upper left of my knee cap. I saw another bullet fly by, but this time at Glenn. I gasped as I saw my friend's arm slink lower.
"GLENN!?" I called out. "YOU ALIVE?"
"Yeah!" He called back, breathless.
Furious, I pressed my lips together tightly. Once again I swiveled out and aimed my pistol at the man, pulling the trigger. The bullet passed and hit the guy in the middle of his bicep, causing him to yelp in pain.
"Geeks!" The shot man called out as some walkers started to walk by. A female walker, heels broken and hair looking like a rat's nest, dug her teeth into the mans arm, right where I shot him.
"Oh shit!" One of the guys from earlier called out. "Randall, get down here!"
That was when I saw the man on the roof jump off, rolling off the roof onto a smaller one, rolling off that one and falling on a fence. Randal cried out in pain but the two men left standing didn't care. "Sorry!" One called out as they both ran to the car, speeding off.
A walker walked past Glenn and he grabbed the knife into the old janitor's head. "Gun shots attracted them. We have to go. Where is Rick and Hershel?"
Randal let out another cry and I glanced at him, finding my brother and Maggie's father next to the men. "Come on." I called to Glenn, jogging over to them, shooting a few walkers on my way. My leg was aching, but I ignored the annoying, itchy pain.
"We have to save him!" Rick demanded.
"Are you kidding me?!" I yelled at him. "First you give away our position, now you want to save the enemy!"
"He was shooting at Kate and I!" Glenn cried out. "Look at her leg!"
I didn't know what the hell he was talking about but with every second my leg started to hurt more and more. I looked down along with Glenn to see through my faded jeans, blood was growing, spreading along the denim. I took my knife out of my belt and sliced the material open to see that the son of a bitch shot my leg and I didn't even feel it! "Son of a bitch!" I pressed my pistol to the head of Randal, the teenager crying out.
"Katherine, what the hell do you think you are doing?" my brother demanded.
I rolled my eyes, trying to show the others that I wasn't feeling peckish and ready to faint. "Would you rather have the walkers eat him?"
"Yeah, don't waste the bullet." Glenn chimed in.
Rick looked pissed at the both of us. He grabbed Randall's leg and ripped him off of the fence post, Randall crying in pain.
I stabbed a walker that was coming behind us. "We have to leave!" I got into the back seat of the car while Rick threw the teenager in the trunk. Rick started up the car and I accidentally let a groan slip from my lips. I dug my teeth into my bottom lip, silent tears sliding down my face.
"Adrenaline." Hershel mumbled, getting into the back seat and checking out my leg. "Did you feel it earlier?"
"Just the blood." I managed to get out of my teeth.
Hershel grabbed the emergency kit out from under Rick's seat. "Alright Kate, you are going to have to breath."
I took a breath, it shaky and sounding similar to a sob.
"Rick, you better drive fast before your sister bleeds to death."
My eyes widened as my brain got heavy, it falling back and hitting the seat.
"Katherine, I'm going to need you to open your eyes!" Hershel yelled.
I couldn't. They felt glued down to my bottom lid. This was a shitty way to die if I did. I was living among the dead and yet I died by some asshole. That was just my luck.