For a moment, just a moment, Nicole thought about Dylan. She didn't know why she thought about the man that ruined her life. Maybe it was the fact that Rick just killed two men, who could have easily put their lives in jeopardy.
Nicole thought about placing the barrel of a gun to Dylan's head and pulling the trigger. She thought about brutally slashing his throat and watching him bleed out in front of her. It scared her to think of that. She never wanted to kill anyone. But she knew. That in this world, one day, she'd have to.
Everyone stepped closer to Tony's dead body and watched as his blood spread across the floorboards. Glenn was in shock. So were Hershel and Nicole. "Nicole, you all right?" Rick's voice questioned after he checked on the other two.
Nicole's green eyes met Rick's blue ones. She nodded, pulling her bat to her chest. "Let's go home," she spoke. Rick nodded, before bending down to Tony and searching him. Nicole slowly made her way around the bar, making sure to not step on Dave's body.
She noticed the bullet hole through his forehead and mentally thanked Rick for being a good shot. Nicole bent down not putting a lot of weight onto her ankle, which started to throb a little. Nicole grabbed Dave's gun and checked for any extra bullets. She didn't find any.
Nicole felt Glenn's hand on her back and he helped her up. "Thank you," she whispered. Glenn gave a tender smile before the two began walking toward the door. That's when headlights swung through the windows. Everyone ducked and huddled by the entrance.
The vehicle drove past, parking in front of Hatlin's. "Shit," Nicole whispered to herself as doors opened and shut. She tensed when she heard the engine sputter off. Nicole's grip on her baseball bat tightened when voices started.
"Dave? Tony? They said over here?"
"Yeah,"
"I'm telling you, man, I heard shots."
Nicole slammed her eyes shut in frustration, leaning her head back against the wood. When she opened then, she peered over to Rick, who had a worried look on his face.
"I saw roamers two streets over. Might be more around here."
"It's hot. We gotta get outta here."
"Dave! Tony!"
"Shut up, you idiot! You wanna attract 'em? Just stick close. We're gonna find 'em."
Floorboards creaked from the porch as Nicole pulled out Dave's gun with her right hand. In a few seconds, she checked the amount of ammo and put the clip back in. She watched as one of the men's shadows cast through the dusty, glass door.
"Dude, he said to stay close."
"Tony."
The four of them sat in silence, waiting for a sign that it was clear. Everyone shared nervous looks, as if they may not get out of this. Nicole warily looked through the fabric that covered the windows. The others followed suit.
When Nicole pulled herself away, she met Rick's eyes. He held a sense of determination and anger, as well as fear, in them. Rick broke eye contact and stood up to get a better view. He then bent down and crouched over to the other two men. Nicole would have done that, but she feared that her ankle couldn't handle the pressure.
The men stood up and Rick motioned for Nicole to follow. She began to get up, but then, shots fired and everyone dropped back down. "Shit," Nicole whispered, hearing the click in her ankle from the sudden jolt down.
"What happened?"
"Roamers. I nailed them."
"They disappeared but their car's still there."
"I cleared those buildings. You guys get this one?"
Nicole's heart began to race. She assumed that they were talking about the bar. Nicole laid her bat across her lap and gripped tightly onto the pistol in her hand.
"No."
"Me neither."
"We're looking for Dave and Tony and no one checks the damn bar?"
Nicole tensed and aimed her gun as she heard footsteps travel up the wooden foundation. She was ready to shoot when one of the men began to push open the bar door. Before it opened too far, Glenn jumped in front of it and pushed it shut. Nicole didn't know whether to thank him or scold him.
"What?"
"Someone pushed it shut. There's someone in there." Nicole saw the worried look on Rick's face as one of the men yelled, "Yo, is someone in there?" Rick glanced around to his friends. It was pretty evident that he wasn't sure what to do. "Yo, if someone's in there, we don't want no trouble. We're just looking for our friends."
Nicole couldn't help but get a little antsy. She shifted herself onto her knees with her bat on one side. She got ready to run if need be.
"What do we do?"
"Bum rush the door?"
"No, we don't know how many are there. Just relax."
The man who had been yelling started again. "We don't want any trouble. We're just looking for our friends." Nicole glimpsed to each of the bodies in the bar. "If something happened, tell us. This place is crawling with corpses. If you can help us not get killed, I'd appreciate it."
Nicole saw the look on Rick's face. She knew what he was thinking. "Rick, no," Nicole whispered to her friend. He gave her a look as if to apologize.
"They drew on us!" Rick called out. Nicole sighed and tossed her head back. Why did she think he'd listen? That's a good question that she wished she knew the answer to.
Hershel gave him a look of loathing. Nicole didn't blame him. They should've slipped out the back ran for the car while they weren't expecting it. Nicole cringed as she heard footsteps come back to the door.
"Dave and Tony in there? They alive?"
Nicole tried to take a deep breath. She could only hope that this wouldn't end in tears. "No!" Rick called out.
"They killed Dave and Tony."
"C' mon, man, let's go."
"No, I'm not leaving, I'm not telling Jane. I'm not gonna go back and tell them that Dave and Tony got shot by some assholes in a bar."
"Your friends drew on us! They gave us no choice!" Rick shouted. Nicole wanted to smack him upside the head. She knew that she'd follow him to the end of the earth, but right now, she really really wanted him to shut up. "I'm sure we've all lost enough people, done things we wish we didn't have to, but it's like that now. You know that!"
Nicole clutched her gun and bat tightly. "So let's just chalk this up to what it was -- wrong place, wrong--" Rick got cut off by guns being shot and windows breaking. Rick stood up and shot out of the window. "Get out of here! Go!"
Nicole scrambled up, using her bat as a sense of support. She limped toward the bar, ducking behind it as a bullet flew through her left shoulder. "Shit!" She cried, clutching her arm.
Hershel slid Glenn his shotgun, before retreating back to his spot. The men stopped firing. Nicole could feel blood seep through the brand new shirt she got just hours before.
"Nicole," Hershel whispered. "You all right?"
"Yeah, other than the bullet hole in my shoulder and a fracture in my ankle," she chuckled out before taking a deep breath and leaning her head against the bar.
"Did it go through?" Hershel asked, holding his gun up.
"What?" Nicole perked her head up, glancing over to the older man.
"Did the bullet go through?" he repeated himself, peering over the corner.
Nicole tugged her shirt and bra strap down her arm, examining the gauging hole. "Yeah, I think so."
"Good, I can patch it up when we get home," Hershel responded as the sounds of bullets from Rick's gun clanged on the ground.
"Hey!" Rick called. Nicole cringed as she held her new wound. Nicole wondered how this kept happening to her -- how she kept getting injured. "We all know this is not gonna end well!" Rick continued as he reloaded his weapon. "There's nothing in it for any of us! You guys just -- just back off, no one else gets hurt!"
Nicole peeped over the edge of the bar, noticing Glenn huddled beside a piano. She got worried that they may not be getting out of here. There was a loud clang from outside. Nicole instantly aimed toward the back door. She watched as Glenn ran to the back and go through the door. Nicole called for him in a whisper, but she got ignored.
It was a tense silence until Glenn's shotgun went off. "Glenn!" Nicole called as Rick darted over to where Hershel was hiding. Nicole held her bat and used it in an attempt to stand up.
"I-- I'm all right. I'm all right," Glenn hollered back to his groups. Nicole sighed in relief that her friend was still safe. Rick motioned for her to stay still.
"Nicole and I will hold them here. You cover Glenn," Rick whispered to Hershel. Nicole nodded as she lowered herself back to the ground. "See if you can make it to your car. Tell him-- tell him to pull up back," Rick said as he looked over to his injured blonde friend. "Nicole can't run very far. We need to get the hell out of here."
"You want me to cover Glenn?" Hershel asked, confirming Rick's request. Nicole glanced over the edge toward the door.
"You missed all that gun training. It could've come in handy now," Rick stated as he turned to Hershel.
"Nah," Hershel began reloading the shotgun in his possession. "I can shoot. I just don't like to." Hershel made his way to where Glenn was.
Nicole and Rick made eye contact.
"How're you holding up?" Rick asked, gripping his weapon tighter.
"Holding on. You?" Nicole leaned her head back on the counter.
"Holding on." Rick shot a small smile to his friend before gunshots went off out back. He scrambled over to Nicole and helped her up. The two made their way toward the back; Rick ran while Nicole limped as fast as she could. Nicole made her way down the steps, which creaked at every step.
"He must've hit Glenn," Hershel's voice announced. Nicole instantly picked up her pace.
"Where is he?" she demanded as she wormed her way between the two men.
"He's behind the dumpster," Hershel told her.
Nicole stepped forward, disregarding what Hershel was saying. Nicole limped forward to the dumpster, "Glenn, you okay?" When Nicole didn't get an answer, she kept going. "Glenn, are you hit?"
She approached the corner of the dumpster, seeing a shocked Glenn sitting there. He shook his head. "He's okay," Nicole told the others before going to her friend. "You scared the hell outta me, Peach." She took him into a hug as she crouched beside him.
"Scared me too," he panted. Sweat dripped down his terrified face.
"You'll be okay, Peach. The car's right there," Nicole whispered to him as she pulled away. "We're almost home." Glenn nodded frantically. "You good?"
"I'm good," he whispered as they started to get up.
"C' mon," she whispered as they rounded the dumpster. Gunshots flew and Nicole pushed her friend back to cover. "Shit--" she sighed.
Nicole could hear tires squealing and peaked around the corner. She watched as a white truck pulled up to where a boy was sitting with a sniper rifle.
"Let's get outta here! Roamers all over the place! Hurry up!"
"What about Sean?"
"They shot him. We gotta go. Roamers are everywhere."
"We're leaving?"
"Jump!"
Nicole saw the boy move closer to the edge.
"Hurry up! Jump already!"
The boy jumped and misplaced his footing. Screams soon erupted from his throat, making Nicole cringe. She had to help him. The boy's friend hollered something but then sped off despite his pleas.
"Get Rick and Hershel," Nicole commanded Glenn before limp-running toward the crying boy. Nicole reached where the boy was -- his leg speared by the sharp point of a fence. "Hey, dude. I'm Nicole, I'm gonna try to help you. Okay?"
"Thank you, thank you," the boy cried. Nicole grabbed the boy's pant leg and ripped it open. She shifted her weight from the right side and thought for a moment. Nicole got startled when Hershel appeared beside her.
"Nicole, we have to go," he told her. The boy began pleading.
"No no, please don't leave me, please," he cried.
"I'm sorry, son, we have to go," Hershel said. "Nicole, we have to go, now."
"Hershel, we can't just leave him," Nicole told him. "He's just a kid! A scared kid."
"She's right, we can't leave him," Rick stated as he maneuvered beside Nicole.
"He was just shooting at us!" Glenn shouted.
"He's younger than you, Glenn! He's a freaking kid!" Nicole shot back. The boy was crying behind her. She felt her heart clench for him. Nicole didn't know why she was so adamant about saving him. Maybe because she could relate, or maybe because he was barely older than the kids she used to teach.
"Nikki, this place is crawling with walkers!" Glenn screamed toward the two.
Nicole turned around as Rick yelled to Glenn. She examined his kneecap and pulled out her knife. "The fence went clean through, Nicole. There's no way we can get the leg off in one piece," Hershel told the persistent blonde.
Glenn grabbed onto the fence and started shaking it. "Glenn, stop!" Nicole cried, grabbing her knife tightly.
"Shut up or I will shoot you!" Rick told the boy. Nicole heard Hershel and what he was saying about giving him mercy.
"No! We are not doing that." Nicole turned to the boy. "Please, be quiet. I'm trying to help you."
The boy kept crying, softer, but he kept crying. Glenn grabbed a hold of the boy's leg. "Shut up," he told him. Hershel kept on trying to be humane.
"Can we take the leg off?" Nicole suddenly asked. "I have a knife." Everyone paused and stared at Nicole. Even the boy went quiet.
"That hatchet still in the car?" Rick asked. Glenn shook his head.
The boy began pleading for them to not take his leg off.
"It's either that or be walker food, buddy. I'd choose the first one," Nicole quipped out.
"I'll have to sever the ligaments below the kneecap," Hershel said as he began taking off his shirt. "Cut above the tibia. He's going to lose his lower leg." Nicole moved beside the boy, taking his hand into her own bloody ones. She almost forgot about the hole in her shoulder.
"When we get out of here, we need to find something to cauterize it," Nicole announced as she anxiously shifted her weight from her throbbing ankle.
"All right, no choice. Hurry up," Rick said as he walked close to Nicole. "Help Hershel."
Nicole nodded and moved close to Hershel, steadying the boy's leg. "Glenn, grab that stick." The Korean grabbed it and moved placed it onto the dumpster. Hershel grabbed it and use it to straighten his leg.
"Guys! Walkers!" Glenn yelled, before shooting.
"Hurry up!" Rick shouted as Nicole handed Hershel her knife. She looked up when she saw Rick do it. Walkers were everywhere. Rick walked forward, shooting two of them. "Hershel, how are we doing over there?"
"Nicole, hold him down!" Hershel called and Nicole moved to hold down his leg.
The boy kept pleading for them to spare his leg. Then Glenn started to yell, "Come on, we gotta go! I'm almost out of ammo!"
Nicole got tense. Maybe they would have to leave him. "We don't have much time! Come on, we've gotta go!" Glenn pleaded from behind them.
"Hershel, do it now!" Rick screamed as he came back. "Come on, Hershel!"
"There's no time!" Hershel yelled at Rick. The kid began crying and Hershel got off, leaving Nicole there.
With a split second to think, Nicole grabbed the boys leg. "I'm sorry," she said before yanking the boys leg up and off the arrow-headed fence top. The kid let out a scream. Everyone stared at Nicole. "Help me!"
Rick and Glenn run over and grab the now unconscious boy. "Let's go!" Nicole called out, grabbing her bat from the brick wall beside her. Everyone ran to the red van that Hershel and Nicole drove in. Rick and Glenn shoved the boy into the middle of the back seat. Nicole and Glenn jumped in beside him and Hershel got in the passenger.
Rick rounded front and jumped in the driver's seat, wasting no time starting it up and blazing from the now walker-infested town. Nicole watched as everything passed by. She watched the faces of the monsters as they zoomed past.
Nicole felt a stinging in her shoulder and clutched it. The crusted blood on her hands got covered with new. She realized that she caused it to start bleeding again. Hershel looked back to them, noticing Nicole's shoulder.
"Rick, take the next right," he told the driver.
Rick glanced over to the older man, "Why?"
"Nicole needs to be patched up and we all need a place to stay for the night," Hershel told him. Rick nodded his head before turning. Hershel navigated until they pulled up to a Dollar General.
"What are we going to get from a Dollar General?" Glenn asked as Rick parked the car. The older man looked back to him and said nothing. They each got out of the car.
"Nicole, stay with him while we clear the building," Rick told the injured woman. Nicole nodded and watched as the men made their way inside the store.
The boy began to groan beside her. He was waking up. "Hey," Nicole whispered, causing the teen to jump. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
The boy looked around the vehicle and outside. "Where are we?"
"We're holding up here for the night," Nicole told him. The boy nodded, trying to ignore the throb in his kneecap. "What's your name, son?"
The boy examined Nicole when she wasn't paying attention. She watched for her friends to exit the building. "I'm Randall," the boy, Randall, told her.
"I'm Nicole," she said with a gentle smile. It wasn't a second later that Glenn ran up to her door.
"Clear, c' mon." He opened the door and helped her out. Nicole began limping inside the building, using her bat as a crutch still. Glenn grabbed Randall and led him inside.
Rick watched as Nicole reached the door. He helped her walk in and helped her sit up on the counter where the cash register was. "Hershel is going to patch you up as best as he can," he told her.
Hershel walked over with a first-aid kit and dental floss. "I couldn't find a thread, so this will have to hold up until morning," Hershel stated as he threaded his needle with the floss. Nicole reached to the bottom of her shirt and tried to pull it up. When she couldn't, she sighed in frustration.
Nicole glanced to Rick, who chuckled and walked closer to her. He placed his hands at the bottom of her shirt and lifted it from her. "Thank you," Nicole whispered as Hershel stepped back up. Rick made his way over to Glenn and Randall.
After a few minutes of pricking, Nicole's wound had a makeshift stitch. "I will restitch it in the morning when we get home," Hershel told her as he ripped open a large bandage. He placed it over her wound.
Glenn walked over after Hershel left to go see Randall and patch him up. "I found this and I figured you'd need it," Glenn said, pulling a baggy, indigo t-shirt.
"My favorite color, how generous," Nicole laughed, as she slowly slid it on. "Thank you, Glenn."
"Oh, I found something else too," Glenn stated with a smile on his face. Nicole quirked a brow. "I remembered how much you said you missed these when you were in the Atlanta camp," he said as he pulled a Reese's and a Diet Dr. Pepper from his back pockets.
Nicole's face lit up. "Glenn, thank you." She smiled, embracing her friend in a hug. Glenn pulled away and handed it to the girl. "Do you wanna share it?"
"No no, it's all yours," Glenn nervously shot her down. "Consider it my apology for all the stuff I said with Sophia."
Nicole sighed, glancing down to her hands. She picked at her nails for a moment before looking back up to her friend. "It's okay, Glenn. It's forgotten about," Nicole replied as she took the treats he was offering. "But, we are splitting these. We always share stuff."
Glenn chuckled and agreed. Nicole cracked open the soda and it echoed throughout the store. She saw Hershel and Rick flinch at the sound. "Sorry!" she sharply whispered before giggling. Nicole took a drink, relishing the taste. It had been too long.
Nicole offered it to Glenn, who then drank afterward. Nicole opened the two-pack of Reese's and handed one to Glenn, taking the other for herself. The two clinked them together as if it were a toast, and then peeled off the casing. Nicole took a bite from it. She loved the mixture of chocolate and peanut butter.
The two finished eating and drinking the soda, before moving over toward Rick and Hershel who sat in one of the empty aisles. "I'll take watch," Rick announced to the two. "The rest of you get some sleep."
Nicole nodded as she slid down onto the floor. She pulled her bat to her chest and laid on her right side. It didn't take long for everyone to fall asleep for the night.
hey y'all! how was your day? mine was okay; i was excited that the weather was cool enough for me to wear a hoodie today lol. that's all for today. i love you guys, kiss your parents' goodnight, stay safe. night babiess. peaceeeeeee -erin