Nate's Cabin: The trucker eyes Lee and the others inspecting his old cabin. As he moves in for the kill, the group finds a row of freshly-dug graves.
He had the girl lined up in his sights. It would have taken a single squeeze of his trigger to end her life- end all their lives, but he couldn't.
Since 'Asshole' cut and ran, I need a new squeeze before I hit the road. Even though it'd be easier to just tear a hole in one of those bitches' neck, I think it's time I got some pussy that was a little more cooperative.
Nate crept ever so slowly towards the backyard. Coming up to the very edge of the bushes, he ducked back to safety just as Omid emerged from the house. The mousy man had his head in his hands as he turned to face the front door. Nate looked the man over, his brow beading with anxious sweat.
"This is so fucked." Omid muttered, raising his head to the sky before rounding the side of the house. As he came upon Lee and Carley, he too stopped in shock at the sight before him.
"What the fuck are these?" Omid asked, petrified. Neither Lee nor Carley could answer, only adding to the apparent shock.
"They're…graves." Carley choked, clutching the side of her arm with a shaky palm. "Like some kind of sick graveyard."
"You don't think the girl is-"Lee started, turning around in time to see a mortified Shel from across the yard. The look upon her face was a hopeless frown that he had seen only once before. She hung from Stephanie's arm, staring at the limp hand jutting out from the dirt mound. Though Stephanie tried turning around to shield Shel from the sight, she had already seen it.
"It's her isn't it?" Shel croaked with a hoarse tone. Her voice was barely audible, quivering through the pain of a dry throat. Stephanie couldn't speak, only looking out into the trees as her eyes flooded.
Unable to take her eyes off of the child's lifeless arm, Carley reached out and gripped Lee's hand. The older man squeezed back, doing his best to ease their pain at the horrible sight.
"What the hell is going on, Lee? The roamers are one thing, but this?"
Lee was silent. The horror was unimaginable for the former professor, even after he had become accustomed to senseless death. Who would do this to a child? Then, Lee imagined Clementine, lying in the same fresh ditch. Her body would've been bruised and bloodied, riddled with spots of tattered flesh. The thought was unbearable, filling his heart with rage.
"This man is sick." He said, nearly jumping at the sound of his own voice. "We need to find him and make sure he never does this again."
"No, Lee. We need to leave, now."
The two fell silent as Shel passed into their vision. Blurry eyed and defeated, the young woman clambered to the edge of the grave and knelt down. Reaching out for the hand, Shel recoiled at its icy cold skin. She looked away and began to cry into the sleeve of her shirt.
Somewhere in the distance, Nate chuckled softly into his hand. Moving along the bushes, the trucker stealthily positioned himself beside the grieving survivors. With a sluggish motion, he lifted his finger up and wagged it in the air between the three women.
Eenie… he thought, eyeing the curve of Stephanie's' bust.
Meenie… his mouth watering at the way Shel's ass looked bent over in those jeans.
Miney… eyeing Carley's muted peach lips as they pouted.
"She's gone, Shel. She can't feel anymore pain." Carley said slowly, knowing her words were pointless. Ignoring the reporter, Shel reached out again and brushed Becca's' hand, immediately wailing upon contact.
Turning around, Lee locked eyes with Stephanie. The woman distanced herself from the four, leaning against the house with her eyes covered by her long, black hair. The two were too shaken to nod, but he did his best to offer his condolences with a pained wince. She nodded back, and turned away to stare out into the empty forest. Though her hair matted down around her worn-out face, Lee saw a steady stream of tears washing away the day's dirt from her cheeks.
Pop! A loud bang cried out, whizzing through the air as a bullet made contact with Stephanie's head. The impact instantly crippled the woman, sending her jittering body to the floor in a single shot.
"No!" Lee yelled, causing the group to flinch. The noise cut through the silence, scattering the disarmed crew. Omid instinctively dived to the ground, crawling behind the dirt pile next to Becca's. Pulling himself away from the shock of seeing Stephanie crumple to the floor, Lee grabbed Carley by the arm and spun her behind him. Facing the source of the bullet, Lee stared dead-eyed at Nate.
"Hey there, pal." Nate grinned as he fully emerged from the bushes. He kept his gun trained on the taller man as his gaze darted around at the others. Shel had shown little to no response, choosing only to cower against the soil as her hand caressed her ill-fated sister. Nate laughed.
"You know you people are trespassing, and I'm not too fond of criminals."
Nate turned to Shel and quickly fired off another round, cutting through her cries. She keeled over and began twitching as she struggled to cry out. Lee flinched, but took the opportunity to rush Nate. Although he was quick, Nate was quicker and moved his gun back into position in time to stop the charging man.
"Hold it there, killer. Let's not get violent, now." Nate cocked his head to the side. "I've seen you from somewhere."
Lee took a hesitant step back, reaching back to feel Carley once again. After a moment of tense silence, Nate's eyes widened as he beamed at Lee.
"Oh yeah, you killed that fucking pricked up in Atlanta, didn't you? Holy shit, for a darkie you're pretty fucking calculated."
Lee was stunned, adding an element of confusion to the equation. He felt Carley squeeze his hand again, knowing he hated to hear the details of his past crimes called out so casually.
"I gotta ask you man, did you fuck your wife after you sacked him?"
"You're fucking crazy, man!" Omid shouted from behind the shallow cover. Poking his head out from the side, he locked eyes with Shel as she sputtered a series of mangled breaths. It was a quick connection, one that left a hole in Omid's heart.
"Calm down, kid. We're just a group of adults having a little dispute, that's all. Right?" Nate smirked to Lee, who grit his teeth.
"I don't have anything to say to you." Lee snapped, trying his best to remain calm. Staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, his adrenaline spiked.
"Aw come on, man. I saw her on the news. She was bitchin' for a black woman. Nice tits, long legs - the whole package really. Hell, if I was you I would've banged the shit out of her afterwards."
There was a clear silence throughout the forest.
"Lee…" Carley whispered, trailing off as she felt his pulse intensify in her hand. She had never seen Lee so angry, and truthfully it frightened her.
"What's that sweetheart?" Nate asked mockingly, sticking his neck out to eye Carley as she stepped out from behind Lee. Despite her partners physical objections, Carley crossed in front of Lee bravely and glared into the gunman's eyes.
"You're clearly a very forceful man, and we wanted nothing more than to look for this woman's sister. What is it going to take for you to let us leave?"
Nate paused, taken off-guard by the brunettes open proposition. After mulling it about in his head, Nate opened his mouth wide with a sloppy grin and leaned back.
"Well, maybe we could start by going back to my place for a little private time, then we'll get down to all the dirty details." He licked his lips, sending chills down Carley's spine that broke her tough façade. "But I can't just leave these two hombres here to slit my throat when I'm sleeping. So I'll tell you what sugartits, you come with me for a while and be my pal on the road and I'll let your buddies walk on back to their friends. Kapeesh?"
Carley didn't answer, but was visibly debating in her head. It was a twisted offer for everyone to bear.
"Besides, if you don't then I'll have to put the three of you down with your other friends. I know you all got people you want to get back to," Nate said, looking back to Lee with a devilish glean in his coarse, brown eyes, "like that cute little girl you got with you. What was her name again, Clementine?"
"I'll fucking kill you." Lee muttered, clenching his fists until they stung. Carley felt the heat of his anger against her back, and she tensed.
"Lee, he's not going to bother us anymore." She said, hiding a quiver in her voice. "Right?"
"If you give me some tail then I promise to do my best, but you know how it is out here in the apocalypse. Man's gotta fuck."
"Those women did nothing to you! We're all just trying to survive, and you're terrorizing these people." Lee spat, allowing his trademark reasoning to penetrate his rage. Nate seemed unwaivered by the man's words. Taking a step forward, Nate waved the gun and signaled for Carley to step back. She obeyed, moving to Lee's side and raising her hands up once again. Surviving was never this hard when I still had my gun, Carley lamented.
"There are no rules, buddy." Nate started, dropping his happy-go-lucky attitude. "No more laws, no more cops, and no more fucking etiquette. We steal and we kill to survive, so what's wrong with getting a little fucking in on the side?"
From behind cover, Omid cringed at Nate's words, sinking deeper behind his cover. Reaching into his pocket, Omid brandished Christas hunting knife and let the moonlight bounce off the edge of the blade. There's no way I'm getting close enough to him, and I can't throw it. Just then, he caught the slightest glimpse of movement on the cabin roof. It caught his eye almost immediately, and he cocked his head slowly to look up.
"Those bitches would've killed me in a second if it means getting some extra ammo, or food. Hell, they'd kill the whole lot of us for my truck. We all have become savages, isn't that right big guy?"
Lee stood still; he was too busy glaring to give a response.
"So I'm gonna do what should have been done the first time I met those fuckers, and I'm gonna shoot the shit out of all of you and take the little lady with me." Nate puckered his lips to blow a kiss, much to Carley's discomfort. The feeling was not mutual, and she took what little pride she could in expressing it.
"You're not taking anyone." Lee stated, causing Nate to laugh aloud.
"What, are you gonna strangle me to death? Bet you could pop my head off like a fucking cap if you wanted to big fella, but I got the gun." He turned to Carley and reached his hand out.
"Come over here sweetheart, and don't make me ask again. I'll put a bullet through your fucking throat, and I don't want to do that."
Giving Lee a look of nervousness, Carley took a deep breath and clinched her fist. As she stepped forward, she felt Lee tug at her arm, but her determination overpowered his subtle plea.
Go with him, she repeated, drawing upon all of her courage to hand herself over. You've dealt with pricks like him before at the office. They always slip up sooner or later.
"Thank you, sweetheart. Trust me, I'll have you thanking me in no time." Nate sighed, taking a step back while keeping his gun trained on the angered Lee. "Thank God I didn't have to shoot you. I mean don't get me wrong, zombie pussy feels great in the heat of the day, but I don't think you'd-"
Without warning, a great deal of force landed down on Nate's shoulders and knocked him to the ground. Reacting, Nate fired the gun and swore as he was sent into the ground. The bullet whizzed way off course, disappearing into the forest. Crumpling to the ground along with Nate, a redheaded woman recoiled from her jump off the roof and lay dazed on the ground.
"Bonnie!" Lee gasped in disbelief, looking up to the roof. Sure enough, a broken trail of loose shingles hung where the woman had slid down the decline.
"G-get him!" She stuttered, grasping her head in pain as the two cried out in pain. Both Lee and Carley charged the duo on instinct. The brunette rushed to the woman's side, helping her up by the arms of her muddy coat.
"Thank you." Bonnie sighed, watching vengefully as Lee scooped Nate up by the collar of his coat. Kicking his gun across the grass, Lee grit his teeth and drove his fist into Nate's stomach. The impact was muffled by the thick lining of Nate's coat, but the truck let out a breathless gasp as he tried to clutch his chest.
"Fuck you." He muttered, groaning as another two punches were laid into his stomach. With each blow, Nate felt his insides rearrange, until his vision blurred as a result.
"Hold him down, Lee." Bonnie piped up from behind the two men. Carley looked at her with a sense of sympathy, wincing as the southern gal wiped a layer of dried blood and dirt from her palms and lined up. Standing next to Lee, she noticed his faint smile upon seeing her.
"I'm glad you're okay." He said, still holding the barely conscious Nate by his collar. "Eddie is with the others. Wyatt is-"
"Not now, Lee." Bonnie interrupted, her eyes still shooting daggers at the groaning trucker. "I saw what he did to my friend, just like I saw what he did to those two little girls he has buried out there. He's got another kid buried back there from even longer. We're gonna make this fucker pay."
"Carley, help me." Omid called out from behind the four. The reporter turned around quickly, moving over to help Omid. The spritely man sat kneeled over Shel's still corpse, brushing the hair from her face. Carley knelt down beside him, gently closing her eyes to absolve her discomfort.
"We uhm," she stopped, thinking about the weight of her next words. "we could bury her with her sister. I think she would want that."
"And Stephanie?" Omid asked, his voice cracking in disbelief. "This is all so fucked. It happened so quickly."
Carley nodded but chose to stay in silence. She had yet to even process the evenings events, let alone their next steps. It all seemed so up in the air. Looking away for a moment, she found Lee staring back at her intensely. The two shared a moment of understanding- their own personal world within the madness around them. Pulling away, she looked down at Nate and sneered.
What a beast of a man.
Lee looked down at his feet, remembering the words Nate used to describe him: killer.
Lee didn't see himself as a killer, but he knew what had to be done. It was time to make the real killer pay for what he did.