Red River Blue

Chapter 73

"Go out the front," Aiden announced with a laugh, his voice dripping with sarcasm. No one else laughed at his answer to Glenn's question about what the plan was if the back door to the warehouse got swarmed after they went inside. He also noticed that his brother's crazy ass girlfriend was giving him the stink eye, her face looking even angrier than usual. He fought the urge to back away when she took a step in his direction.

"This ain't a damn game," Harley told him. Aiden didn't like her tone or the way she was talking to him. He didn't like what she did to Nicolas earlier either. Big tits or not, she was a major bitch.

"Just 'cause you fucked my brother, doesn't mean you're in charge," Aiden informed her. He heard Beth's sharp inhale of air. Harley narrowed her eyes at him and took another step in his direction. She got right up into his personal space, poking her finger into his chest.

"I'm not in charge," she hissed. Then she pointed behind her with her other hand. "Glenn's in charge. So you better start listenin' to him unless you want yer fuckin' ass kicked." Harley poked Aiden in the chest one more time to make sure he knew she meant business. Then she turned and gestured for Glenn to continue with what he was saying before he had been rudely interrupted.

"Let's do a perimeter check first and meet back here in about ten minutes," Glenn said. He glanced around, making sure everyone was agreeable to his suggestion. This time he got nods instead of rude commentary. Spencer went one way, walking next to Harley with Eugene tagging along behind them. Everyone else went the other way. Once they were out of earshot, Harely informed Spencer that his brother was going to end up hogtied in the back of the van if he didn't knock off his macho bullshit. Spencer leaned down and whispered in her ear. You can tie me up later. Harley jerked away from him like he was crazy but he saw the corners of her mouth turn up into a flirty little smile.

Two walkers came at them from around the corner of a large semi truck. Spencer immediately reached for the gun on his hip but Harley put her hand over his and shook her head. Too much noise. Guns are a last resort. Get your knife out instead. She didn't charge in. Harley always let the walkers come to her. When the first one got close enough she rammed her large hunting knife up under its chin, dropping it instantly. Spencer was holding his knife properly and looked ready for the other walker. But his body language was overly tense. Harley could tell he was scared. She edged closer to him just in case he needed help. Despite his fear, Spencer plunged his knife down into the top of the walker's head, killing it. The problem was that his knife got stuck and slipped from his grip when the walker's heavy body slumped to the ground. If there was another one behind it he would have been screwed. Harley braced her foot against the walker's skull and yanked Spencer's knife back out for him. She wiped it off on the tattered remains of the walker's shirt before she handed it back.

"If you come up under the chin, go through the ear, or in through the back of the neck," Harley explained, pointing to the correct spots on her face and neck, "...it takes less force to kill them and your knife won't get stuck like that." She wasn't sure how Spencer would react to taking instruction from her. And she was relieved when he nodded his head like he appreciated her advice. "Here comes another," Harley said, "I've got yer back if ya want to try again."

Spencer adjusted his hold on his knife and turned. He was much taller than the walker coming at him. So coming up under the chin might put his hand at an awkward angle. He decided to go for the ear instead. Stabbing in, he felt no resistance. And when the walker fell, his knife slipped right back out of the wound.

"That was actually so much easier," Spencer said, favoring Harley with a handsome smile. "Thanks babe." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, pressing a kiss down onto the top of her head. Then they continued on their way around the building.

"So much for going out the front," Spencer whispered. He was grateful for the long line of chain link fencing between himself and the huge mass of undead cannibals that were gathered on the other side. Harley nodded her agreement, already backing away from the fenceline. As they walked back to meet the rest of the group, she explained that they usually scouted a location a few days before an actual run. That way they could use a radio or something to draw all the walkers away from the building first.

"That's smart," Spencer said. Harley nodded. But she had a funny look in her eye when she spoke again.

"No matter how careful ya are," she added quietly, "Sometimes people still die."

After a few moments of waiting, the small group entered the building. Harley had her bow up, an arrow notched and ready. They made some noise near the doorway. To try and draw out any dead that were inside. None came. But she could tell from the smell and from the quiet shuffling noises that there were walkers somewhere inside. Probably quite a few of them. They were probably hung up on some sort of barrier. But it was better to be safe than sorry. Beth kept close to her side. And while Glenn and Eugene searched the shelves for items they needed, the girls searched the building for the dead.

"There," Beth whispered. Harley looked in the direction the girl indicated. Sure enough there was a large mass of the dead. They were pressing up a length of chain link fencing, hissing and moaning now that they could smell fresh meat nearby.

"Looks secure enough to hold them," Harley whispered as she glanced over the fence that was holding the dead back. Beth nodded. Spencer and his brother were a few paces behind the girls. There were a few walkers on their side of the fence. All of them were in army fatigues. Aiden was quick to reach for the large automatic weapon on his back but Spencer pushed the gun back down, shaking his head. Too much noise. Aiden didn't look happy. But he did as he was told and pulled his knife out instead. Harley was glad he listened. Once they dropped the walkers, Harley knelt down to take a closer look at the gear they had on. It was some sort of body armor. And they were wearing thick helmets with visors. The bullets wouldn't have done any good.

"We should take this body armor," she suggested, stripping the first dead walker out of his bullet proof vest and helmet. Beth took the weapons that were on its belt. Then the girls went through its pockets.

"Hey," Aiden announced, "Check this out, I found a grenade!"

"I think that might be a smoke grenade," Harley said. "Or maybe a flash bang. It's still pretty sweet though." Aiden turned the item around in his hands before placing it carefully into his bag.

"Let's check this other asshole," he said, sounding much more excited to search a dead body than he was before he found something cool on the first one. They didn't find another grenade, but Aiden did find a large baggie of pot. He was quick to shove it into his pocket instead of displaying the find for everyone like he did with the grenade.

By the end of their little excursion, Aiden had a newfound respect for his companions. Especially Beth and Harley, who he was only thinking of as possible conquests before. Now he considered them desirable partners. People he would trust to watch his back. Even though Harley was a bossy bitch, she knew her shit. He had a cool grenade and a bag of pot in his pocket thanks to her. And the body armor they took from the bodies was high end military grade stuff. That would probably come in handy eventually. Aiden thought back on the last run he went on with Nicolas. The run where people died because everyone panicked. And he thought about how smooth and calm things went today. He didn't admit it, but maybe these people knew what they were doing after all.

"You think we have time for one more stop," Harley asked Glenn as they all piled back into the van. "There's a guitar center on the way back." Glenn looked up, checking the angle of the sun and gauging how long the ride back to Alexandria was. Then he nodded.

"We've got time."