Hello all! Ugh, I cringed writing this because broken glass freaks me out but this is for GooooodPie and her wonderful idea of having broken glass be part of the prompt! Thanks sweetie! :D Hope you all like it!
Columbus gripped his gun a little more tightly, following closely behind Tallahassee. He still wasn't sure why they'd stopped here; Tallahassee had just said he needed something so here they were, inside of an abandoned Wal-Mart somewhere in the middle of Texas. The store was quiet, the lights flickering on and off from a breaker box that had probably seen better days. The ailes were littered with merchendise, boxes and containers spilling all over the tiled floor. There was a faint racid odor coming from the front of the store, probably in the area of the meat and produce department. So far, though, there weren't any zombies, something Columbus was silently grateful for. Tallahassee lived for zombie-slaying but being a building that wasn't overrun by the undead was nice too. Still, it never hurt to be cautious so he kept his gun gripped against his side, ready to shoot at anything that moved.
"So...what are we here for again?" Columbus ventured, keeping close to the older man. The girls were outside in the Hummer, neither all that interested in following along in one of Tallahassee's crazy schemes. Columbus knew the older man was more than capable of taking care of himself but he didn't want to go into the building alone so he'd tagged along.
"Guns." Tallahassee tossed a wicked smile over one shoulder and turned into one of the main ailes. "I'm lookin' for somethin' big and ugly, somethin' that can do a shit-ton of damage. You don't think they got bazukas here, do ya?"
Columbus smirked a bit. "No, but I'm sure you can find something comparable." Tallahassee was finicky when it came to weapons. Sure, a simple handgun was fine and all the various lawn equipment he'd collected worked great when he was feeling especially creative, but he liked to leave his mark. Browsing the gun department in Wal-Mart was like letting him loose in a candy store.
The cases were taller than both of them, locked from the outside, and full to the brim with every kind of shot gun and hand gun you could imagine. The ammo was in a seperate case beneath the cash register, un-opened boxes lining two shelves with everything from buckshot to hollow points. Tallahassee grinned broadly as he came up to the two cases, eyeing them carefully. "Oh yeah, I could do some damage with these babies." He clapped Columbus on the back and walked over to the tallest one, inspecting the variety of guns at his disposal.
Columbus smirked a bit, watching him browse the selection. If you had asked him eight months ago that he would be sleeping with a gun-toting zombie-slayer with a Twinkie addiction, he would have laughed in your face. Now it seemed almost normal; well, as normal as it could get in Zombieland.
There was a rustle of something in the fabric department across from him and he turned just in time to see one of the biggest zombies he'd seen since all of this started running toward him. The man looked like a professional wrestler, his biceps bulging and bleeding beneath his t-shirt, and he could probably bench press both he and Tallahassee at the same time.
"Fuck...!" Columbus gasped, firing and catching the zombie just on the side of the neck. Blood splattered all over the floor, staining the tiles black, but he kept running. "Fuck...fuck...fuck!" Columbus muttered, struggling to reload his gun.
Tallahassee was next to him, firing at the charging zombie. He managed to hit him in the chest, ripping away a large chunk of rotting flesh, but it didn't do any good. "Didn't know we'd be takin' on Hulk Hogan today." He muttered, digging into his pocket for a hollow point.
The zombie was on them before either could fire off another round. It made a grab for Columbus, catching a handful of the boy's shirt and lifting him off the ground and over his head. He struggled, watching in horror as Tallahassee finished loading his weapon and took aim. The shot was deafening and and the corpse shook beneath him as it's head was completely severed from it's body. The zombie staggered just slightly before falling forward, Columbus still clutched in his hands.
Out of the corner of his eye, Columbus could see Tallahassee making a desperate grab for him but it was a split second too late. He crashed back-first onto the amunition case, glass shattering on impact. It was loud, echoing in his ears, and for a second he couldn't breathe as all the air was knocked out of his body. A few seconds later, the pain started. Shards of glass were dug into his back and shoulders, slicing through the thin fabric of his shirt and embedding themselves in his skin. He could feel blood, hot and stinging, oozing down his back and dripping into the broken case.
Tallahassee was suddenly above him, calloused hands touching his face as gently as he could. "Jesus Christ..." He muttered, looking at the steadily growing puddles of blood that were forming beneath the younger man. "Fuck...I'm so sorry! I didn't want him to-...I tried to-..." He trailed off again, shaking his head in disgust with himself. "Jesus Columbus, I'm so fucking sorry..."
"Please get me out of here..." Columbus managed through clenched teeth. His eyes were closed tightly against the pain but it didn't make it any better; he felt like his back was on fire. Strong hands grabbed him by the uninjured parts of his arms and pulled up slowly, dragging him out of the broken glass. He could still feel it in his skin, slicing and penetrating into him, and he supressed a whimper. "Oh God..." He mumbled, feeling the blood covering his back.
Tallahassee was behind him, inspecting the damage as carefully as he could. It was bad; Columbus' back was was a mess of blood and glass, long tangling cuts criss-crossing across his back and shoulders. The shirt was shredded, clinging to his bloody skin like it was part of him. Large shards of glass were visible through the shirt, slick and red with his blood and Tallahassee felt his stomach do an uneasy flip. He'd never had a problem with blood until now but this was almost too much to take. He tested one of the larger shards first, trying to pull it loose, but a sharp gasp from Columbus caused him to stop immediately. "Sorry..." He whispered, his heart aching for the injured young man.
"Its bad isn't it...?" Columbus asked, his voice shaking and his face pale.
"'fraid so, kiddo." Tallahassee muttered, immediately wrapping an arm around Columbus' waist to keep him upright; the kid was swaying violently and the last thing he needed was for him to pitch forward and give himself a concussion. "Come on, let's get you back to the car." New guns forgotten, Tallahassee kept a tight grip on the younger man and very carefully led him to the front of the building. He knew Wichita was going to pitch a bitch fit when she saw the shape Columbus was in and he was fully prepared for that, all he was worried about was getting the younger man out of the store and somewhere safe so he could patch him up.
OOOOO
Twenty minutes later, and after a severe bitching from both Wichita and Little Rock, the party pulled into the driveway of an abandoned house. They had passed it on the way into town, marking it as theirs for the night, so the windows were already boarded up and most of the supplies had been moved inside. Tallahassee had never been so thankful for early preparation in his life. While he and Wichita went inside to make sure the house was still zombie-free, Little Rock helped Columbus sit up. He had been draped across the seat on his stomach, his head resting in the younger girl's lap. She had managed to carefully pick out a few of the smaller pieces of glass but it was hard to see through all the blood and every pained gasp from Columbus made her stop. She settled with gently running her fingers through his hair, trying to keep him calm. There was a lot of blood, more than should be healthy, and Columbus was trembling like a frightened animal the entire time. Now that he was sitting, it was even more noticable and he looked ready to pass out at any minute.
Tallahassee appeared at her door a few seconds later, nodding that it was safe for them to come inside, and opened the door. Little Rock climbed out and offered Columbus her hand, hiding the wince when his blood slicked fingers met hers. With Tallahassee's help, they managed to get the injured young man out of the car and walked him up to the door where Wichita was waiting. After they were all inside, she closed the door, deadbolting it and nailing a few planks of wood across the door frame.
Tallahassee half-dragged, half-carried Columbus into the closest bedroom and gently laid him out across the rumpled sheets. It was dark, the only light coming in through a hallway closet and casting long shadows across the room. He flipped on a lamp near the side of the bed and looked down at the younger man's back once more. It didn't look any better than it had before, in fact, it looked worse. "Jesus kid..." He muttered, brushing a gentle hand over the uninjured parts of his arm.
"Your bed-side manner could use some work..." Columbus mumbled, his voice a bit slurred from laying on the bed. Or maybe that was the blood loss. Tallahassee wasn't sure but he didn't like it.
Wichita appeared in the doorway a few seconds later, a bowl of water in one hand and their first aid kit in the other. She walked in and set it next to the bed, stepping into the bathroom to grab a washcloth. She returned with a washcloth and an empty bath product jar for him to put the broken glass in. Not waiting for an invitation, she sat down on the floor next to the bed and dipped the washcloth into the water. "We need to wipe the blood away, it'll be easier to see the glass." She explained, looking between Tallahassee and Columbus.
The older man nodded silently and pulled a hunting knife from his pocket. He sliced the back of Columbus' already shredded shirt down the middle and peeled it away, exposing the damaged skin beneath. He bit his tongue to keep from cursing again. None of the cuts looked deep enough to cause any serious damage but there were a lot of them and there was a lot of glass to pick out.
Wichita let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and sat up on her knees, gently wringing the wash cloth out over Columbus' back and letting the water rinse away some of the blood. The younger man cringed, shrinking in on himself a bit, but Tallahassee took his hand and gave it light squeeze. "Its okay...I gotcha..." He stayed silent as Wichita carefully washed away the blood, keeping his face expressionless as Columbus squeezed his hand hard enough to make the bones rub together. The younger man hid his face in the the sheets, trying his best not to whimper as the water mixed with his blood and dripped down onto the mattress.
Once most of the blood ahd been washed away, Wichita handed Tallahassee a pair of tweezers and took over where he left off, holding Columbus' hand while the glass was being carefully but painfully pulled out of his back and shoulders. Tallahassee worked quickly, being careful not to make it worse but trying to make it as painless as possible by pulling the glass out fast. It didn't seem to be helping much.
Columbus gasped and yelped with each shard that was pulled loose, his grip on Wichita's hand and the bedsheets so tight it was turning his knuckles white. Wichita shushed him softly, humming a song she couldn't remember the name of in an attempt to calm him down. Eventually, Columbus' body gave up the fight to stay conscious through the glass removal and he passed out; whether it was pain or blood loss, Tallahassee still wasn't sure but he still didn't like it either. Pausing what he was doing for a second, he reached down and pressed his fingers to the side of the younger man's neck, relieved to feel a somewhat fast yet steady pulse against his fingertips. He let out a sigh and went back to removing the glass from the younger man's back, dropping each bloody, broken piece into the jar.
It took nearly an hour before all of the glass was removed and there was nothing but bloody gashes to deal with. While Wichita cleaned away the rest of the blood, Tallahassee rummaged into the first aid kit and pulled out a suture kit for some of the deeper cuts. There were only a few that were deep enough to definitely need stitches and they weren't very long. The rest would probably be fine with just a light banadage but they would definitely scar, there was no getting around that. Taking a deep breath and with forcefully steady hands, Tallahassee began stitching the deeper wounds closed.
When he was satisfied with his work, he grabbed a few of the bandages from the kit and carefully cleaned and covered the wounds the remaining wounds. Nearly all of Columbus' back was covered by the time he was done, the injured skin hiding beneath a layer of gauze and tape. He was still unconscious, which was probably for the better, and Tallahassee let his hand linger on an uncovered part of his shoulder for a few seconds. "God...I'm such an idiot..." He muttered, looking down at the unconscious young man affectionately. When he first met him, Tallahassee had been absolultely convinced the kid wasn't worth his weight in shit, that it must be some sort of cruel cosmic joke that he would get stuck with the jumpy, irritating ex-college student. Now, he couldn't imagine a world without him and that thought alone terrified him more than he wanted to admit.
"Yeah, you are..." Wichita's voice broke him out of his reverie and he looked up. She shrugged slightly before continuing. "You're an idiot for letting him get hurt but Columbus would follow you to the ends of the Earth if you asked him. You mean a lot to him..." She faded off a bit and he thought there was almost a look of regret on her face. "I just hope the feeling is mutual..."
"Oh, its more than mutual..." Tallahassee muttered, his fingers dragging through the dark curls slowly. "I don't know what I would do without him..." The last part was almost a whisper but Wichita heard it loud and clear.
She smiled slightly and stood, grabbing the bowl filled with now bloody water and dropping the wash cloth into it. "Good, because if anything like this happens again I'm breaking your legs." She tossed a wink over one shoulder and walked to the door, meeting Little Rock in the hallway.
Tallahassee looked back down at the younger man, his fingers still carding through his hair. "Jeez...what the hell am I gonna do with you, kid?" He asked to no one in particular, settling in for the vigil he knew he would have no problem keeping.
Columbus stirred a bit, a soft noise catching in the back of his throat. Tallahassee reached out and pressed his hand to the boy's face, thumb brushing gently along his cheekbone. "Shh...I'm right here..." He soothed, smiling a bit as Columbus relaxed back into painless oblivion. The next few days were going to be Hell but he was going to do everything in his power to keep it from getting worse. "I'm right here...I gotcha..."
Poor Columbus (I say that a lot but it doesn't change anything for him lol) Hope you guys enjoyed it! :D