Alex cleared away the rest of the plates from lunch and headed into the sitting room to the others. She took her gun from her holster and secured it in her waistband behind her shirt.
"Come on we're going down to the gate." Billy said rushing them out the door "We're gonna see if your dad will teach us to shoot."
"Tobias went upstairs." Zoe said, noticing Alex looking around for him. "He said he wanted to get changed."
Alex just nodded in response and followed the others out the house; she needed to find a way to break off from them to get herself ready for the run. Nobody could find out they were planning on leaving. They had to do this alone. Left in the hand of the adults, everybody inside the gates would starve; and that wasn't the way Alex wanted to go.
When they reached the gate, Billy nudged Alex forward.
"Go on. Ask him."
Alex rolled her eyes at Billy's sudden sheepish ways but raised her voice and called to her dad.
"Dad?" Daniel turned from where he was standing and raised an eyebrow in response to his daughter "Can you teach us how to shoot?"
He never replied.
"C'mon dad they've been pestering me all morning."
"From what I've heard, you've been asleep all morning."
Alex scowled as her friends chuckled and her dad smirked. Daniel beckoned them up and one by one they scaled the ladder. Walkers had piled against the gate making it impossible for them to leave. They snarled and chewed at the wiring of the fence, cloudy eyes fixed on the people within. It was too risky to try and take them out with the guns and the temporary fence wasn't going to hold for much longer. None of them were the perfect shot so they didn't want to waste the ammo.
"Where's Tobias?" Daniel asked.
"He said he was getting changed." Billy answered, eyeing the walkers below him wearily. "But I think he might have got caught up with his sister."
"I don't think he's coming down." Alex buffered, trying to buy time for the run
"Okay we will start anyway. We have one silencer that fits this hand gun," explained Daniel attaching a metal tube onto the end of an all black glock handgun. "When we fire bullets we only use this okay? We can't afford for anymore of them to hear the shots."
The children nodded.
"We'll start off with you getting the feel of your own gun. Each gun is slightly different- the weight, the rebound even the stiffness of the trigger." he informed "I'll take the bullets out of yours while we practise."
The kids got their guns out the holders and passed them to Daniel to be unloaded. Alex took this as the perfect opportunity to get away while the others were distracted.
"Crap..." She groaned "I've left my gun in the kitchen."
Alex theatrically patted down her sides and made a show of the empty holder.
"Hurry up and go and get it." her dad sighed as she scurried back down the ladder and jogged in the direction they came from.
Luckily the house was empty as everyone was busy going about their chores. The last thing the pair needed was to get caught trying to sneak out. Tobias and Alex could get the job done quickly and no one had to know what was going on. The group needed food so the risk of the walkers outweighed the ever-growing threat of starvation that would consume them if they ignored the problem at hand. Nobody else would admit that they had problems other than the walkers growling at the gates.
With a quick glance at the clock Alex realised she'd be meeting Tobias next door in a few moments. She rounded the corner to leave the room and collided with another figure.
Zoe.
"So...What's going on?" Zoe asked, folding her arms and conveniently blocked Alex's way out. She tried to move past her without a reply but Zoe stepped to the side and blocked the door again.
Alex sighed with a mixture of frustration and exasperation while Zoe's stance never wavered. Zoe was far from the confrontational type so her sudden change in attitude came from a place of worry. At this point, Alex realised it pointless to lie to her and the only way to get around Zoe was to spill the truth.
"We're going on a run," she explained "Tobias and I. This place is running out of food and there's no way we're going to survive without it."
"Wait slow down... You're going where?" Zoe questioned baffled.
"Tonto's." Alex clarified. Tontos was a small convenience store on a row of shops about a 10 minute walk from the square. The shops weren't that big but Alex hoped they'd be able to find enough food to keep the group alive a little longer.
"You're insane. You saw what those things could do and you're just going to leave without telling anyone." Zoe lectured, waving her hands around furiously.
"We know. But if we don't, we're going to starve to death in here." Alex explained calmly. "We don't have enough food to get us through the next few days let alone the next few weeks."
"Can't we just ration it? We will just have to be more careful with the amount we use."
"You know that's not an option Zoe." Alex cut her off "No matter how careful we are with the food, it will run out eventually."
Zoe sighed and lowered her voice in a last attempt to stop her friend from leaving. Deep down she knew they needed the food and there was no way of talking Alex out of it.
"Can't you just ask one of the parents?" She offered "It's not safe out there and it would be easier if one of them were with you."
"You know that's not an option. They'd never let us leave."
Alex herself wished that one of the adults would accompany them and make sure everything ran smoothly. But the parents were delusional and would never leave the safety of the walls.
"You could die out there if you leave." Zoe whispered weakly.
"But if we don't, we will die in here." Alex responded "Look we know it's going to be dangerous so we're just going to try and get as much food as possible. If it's too risky I promise we will turn back."
"Let me come with you then. Three people will be better than two."
"No offence Zoe but you'll only slow us down. And if anything were to happen out there I'd never forgive myself for letting you come."
Zoe sighed in defeat but still tried to persuade Alex otherwise.
"Your dad is going to be livid when he finds out. 'Cause he will. He will find out you know."
"You're gonna have to make sure he doesn't." Alex half pleaded. If Daniel found out their plan he would surely go after them, endangering them all.
"What do you want me to say? He sent me here to hurry you up so I cant go back without you."
"Tell him I don't want to do it." Alex said making up a story on the spot. "Tell him I feel I've had enough practise for one day and besides, it's not like I was half bad at it."
"Okay but what if someone comes looking for you both. You won't be in the houses and they'll panic."
Alex stood thinking for a moment. They needed a coverup story that was believable and easy to go along with.
"If they ask, me and Tobias are going through the gardens." Alex began "Say we're looking for tools and stuff from the sheds."
Zoe nodded clearly impressed with how quickly her friend made up such a believable coverup.
"Is there anything I can do?" Zoe asked, scared for them.
"Just don't tell anyone what's happening and look in on Rae for Tobias." Said Alex walking past Zoe and down the stairs "We shouldn't be too long. We'll be in and out before you know it."
Zoe nodded again but called out to her friend as she opened the door to leave.
"Alex wait!" Zoe ran down the stairs and tackled Alex with a hug "Please...be careful."
"We will." Alex said pulling away "Like I said, if it's too risky we will just turn around and come back."
"What if ...What if you don't come back?"
Alex obviously had this thought going through her head. It was possible that if it all went wrong they wouldn't make it back. She could return alone or Tobias could return without her. Or both of them could disappear forever. She didn't know what would be worse. One returning without the other and having to explain everything to the others, or both of them being lost to the walkers and leaving both of their families questioning what happened to their children.
"If all goes to plan, we should be back within the hour." she responded, avoiding the question.
"Alex...What happens if you don't come back?"
After a long science Alex gulped.
"Don't come looking for us."
