LeapOf Faith

She came to to the sound of a dismayed scream, her head dizzy and layingatop a pile of broken glass. How had they gotten here? Oh. had figured taking a jump from one roof to the next would be agood idea, but they both misjudged the distance and instead crashedright through the glass ceiling and straight into the pharmacy. Maggie. She was the screaming. She remembered slowly her mindstaggered. With a ginger push up, she staggered over, looking for theother girl.

Shecouldn't see her, but she definitely heard her. So took off at a limplooking for her. Just around the corner, there she was, sitting onthe black and white tiled floor, her face scrunched in pain.

She skid to a halt infront of the brown haired woman, covering hermouth with her hand. "Shh. You're screaming loud enough to wake the dead." She hissed. "You're going to get us killed."Ellie whispered, crouching down farther and examining her . Straight through. With a grimace, she looked around onto herown shoulder. She grabbed at one of the numerous holes and ripped theflannel sleeve off. So long favorite shirt, you were loved, she mentally grumbled bitterly.

"Okay."Ellie began, putting her hand on the glass. The other woman screamedinto her hand. "I'm going to rip this out. And I want you to hold that scream in, Maggie. If you do you'll call more Walkers overhere. And then," She glanced up uneasily at the shop windows,they were so crowded with the dead that she couldn't even see pastthem, "and then we'll both have a lot more to scream about."

Maggie nodded through clenched teeth, grabbing onto the blondes shirt and squeezing tightly. "Just do it fast. Like a band-aid. But distract me. Say something funny."

Ellie frowned, knowing this wasn't going to feel anything like ripping a band-aid off, and gripped the end of the glass in her hand, flinching slightly as it cut deep into her hand. Maggie squirmed slightly, herface in absolute agony.

"I can't think of anything funny, butonce my mother gave me some nice advice."

"Yeah?"Maggie whimpered.

"Drink some wine, kiss a stranger, swim naked." She tightened her handmore, hissing at the pain of the glass slicing through her palm.

Maggiecast a quick glance with her brown eyes at Ellie. "What kind of advi-"

She didn't get to finish her question, because with a with a hard tug Ellie yanked the glass came out, covered in blood and causing more blood to seep from the wound. Maggie held in a scream, clenching her teeth hard.

"Your dad is NOT going to be happy with the condition I'm returning you look like shit." Minus the horrible wound on her leg, Maggiehad a range of cuts and scraps from the other, smaller pieces ofglass. Ellie tied the sleeve around the cut tightly, helping the brunette stand up.

"You don't look so great your self, Ellie." Maggie feebly said, herarm over Ellie's shoulder, giving her some of the weight. "How can you even see through all that blood?"

With a confused look, Ellie reached up, touching her own forehead to feel a wetsubstance, she pulled her hand down, see that it was dark cherry colored blood. "Shit. Must have smacked it on the way down."She realized the adrenaline was what was keeping her from feeling it. Later, when she was calmed down, she definitely would. "Come get outta here."

Thenthe glass broke. "SHIT." Ellie hissed, half dragging Maggie to the back of the store. The groaning came again, louder as they toppled in through the broken windows, their skin snagging on the glass and revealing their decaying insides. The smell was unbelievable, and the women held gags back.

"Guess we might not be able to swim naked, huh?"

Ellie ignored the other woman, limping over to the next door. She flung it open, sliding both of them in quickly before slamming it behind releasing Maggie, Ellie flipped the lock on the door and then turned around. It was a storage room, with high shelves piled withtipped over boxes and dust.

"That'snot going to hold." Maggie whispered, leaning against theshelves, her chest heaving, sweat dripping down her face. Her cute pink top was ruined, covered in blood and torn from the glass, her leg was soiled in blood.

As soon as the words left Maggie's mouth, they slammed into the door,shaking it on the hinges. With a gasp, Elias tugged at the shelves,and they gave a loud groan as she tugged, sliding barely an inch.

" ." She groaned, giving another hard tug, her blonde hair falling infront of her face, covered in grime and sticking to her ownsweat. With a grimace, Maggie pushed herself away from her own shelf,limping over quickly. What little strength Maggie was able to use wasenough to budge the large metal shelf only a few more inches infrontof the door.

Butboth girls knew it wouldn't last. And as they leaned against the shelf, they prepared their-selves.

But then, there was a buzz.

"How are things goin'?" Drawled a bored, southern accent. The same accent that had been checking up on them not every half hour likeexpected, but once an hour, the same voice that had insulted Ellie ontop of the RV earlier that morning.

Ellie cried out, unclipping the walkie from her waistband and lifting it up to her mouth, clicking the button with shaky fingers. "We need back up! Now!" She had completely forgotten about it.

"What?"His confusion was easily hear-able through the tiny speaker, but she heard a faint noise of him calling over someone. Rick, probably.

"We were in the Pharmacy, and we were swarmed, and long story short, we jumped from a roof and and fell through another and Maggie's hurt and now we're stuck in a storage room with a shelf against the door andwe're going to die and-"

There was silence on the other end, not even a buzz. Ellie wandered if he even understood anything she was saying. The dead slammed against thedoor harder now, ravenous for just a taste of the beating pulse under their skin. Elias didn't want to be somethings supper. "A response would be nice about now." Maggie growled, her hadclutching onto Ellie's pressing the button down.

Theirwas a buzz again. "We're on our way." The rednecksaid.

"Hurry, we can't hold on much longer."

"Itsa 20 minute drive, but we'll make it in 10." He grumbled backthrough the walkie. There was a pause on his end. "And unless yapuke, faint, or die ya best keep holding that door shut Standford."He added, and then the line went dead.

Her shoulders sagged, and she leaned her head back, the cold metalpressing against the top of her head. Her cornflower blue eyes dartedto Maggie's russet brown, and in that moment, they exchanged a longlook.

They would make it. No matter what.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Gerty sat atop the RV, her tiny legs crossed Indian style and her headresting against her open palm. She was bored. But atleast atop this RV with the man who said nothing was better than wandering on the ground, the other adults questioning her with either piercing looksor annoying questions.

So,from the moment Ellie had left, Gerty had taken her place, her dark blue eyes darting from the field to the green border line of theforest. And every so often they would twitch back to the man at herside, his foot tapping slowly, his hand drawn up to his mouth,chewing absentmindedly on his thumb nail, and his own eyes slowly gazing acrossed the forest.

So when she wasn't with Carl or her elder sister, she stuck to him likeglue. She just knew that there was just something in him that didn't care even an ounce about her or Ellie's sudden arrival.

And he thankfully wasn't the older woman who was gaping at her as if shewas Christ risen from the grave.

Carl, the injured boy, had whispered to her as they lay on their stomachs in the tall grass thatmorning that she looked alot like the girl that was missing. His brown eyes slightly glimmering and wet, and his mouth quivering. Itwas the bleach blonde hair and the big, dark blue eyes.

Hesaid that from a distance, she looked like the girl getting out ofthe car, running after Rick and Shane as they hauled her frail sister into the big white house.

It explained why everyone in the small camp made of ragged tents had stopped, as if time had frozen.

"Do you think they'll find that girl?" The question slipped form Gerty's mouth before she could even stop it.

The man in the chair hesitated, his hooded grey eyes turning to the tinychild. This was the first time she had really spoken to him. Sure,she followed him around the campsite, but she wasn't really one that desired talking. While Ellie had hated talking, she still found pleasure in being human interaction.

The two sisters were as different as the sun and the moon. Not in looks really, because Ellie had her giant stock of dirty blonde hair, and lighter blue eyes, while Gerty had her brighter hair and darker eyes,it was all in the personalities. But Gerty, still only 12, knew that Ellie's chipper demeanor was just a mask covering something.

With a deep breath he leaned forward, his hand falling onto his knee. "I'm supposed to be out there lookin' for 'er, but they wanted me to stay,incase anything happen' in town." He grumbled in his deep stiffened. "Uh, not like anything is bound to happen."He added quickly.

Gerty bit her lip and nodded slowly, her eyes falling down to her handsinfront of her. She heard him shift silently in his lawn chair, the uncomfortableness rolling off his shoulders in massive waves. He mumbled something about checking up on the girls, and she heard aclick and a faint buzz off the walkie.

"How are things goin'?" He drawled, his voice sounding as if he hadbetter things to do. And in his eyes, he did. But Gerty was gratefulbhe was checking up on Ellie.

xXxXxXx

It felt like an eternity before Ellie heard the buzz of the walkie cometo life over the loud ,pained, noises of the monsters 's head shot up weakly, her eyes dazed as she stared at thewalkie in her battered hands, as if shocked that it was even making anoise. The blood seeping from her leg was still coming out slowly,sluggishly and even when Ellie changed the bandage with her othersleeve, it was useless to stop the bleeding. She felt like that Darylguy, sleeves ripped off her flannel like they were.

"Which building are you in?" Rick voice drifted from the their grimaced, pressing down on the blood covered buttons.

"Uh,the one next to the...uh pharmacy." Maggie replied weakly, andbefore she let go, Ellie leaned forward adding: 'the one with all thedead things in it.' "It looks like a clothing store."Maggie added last second.

Therewas silence on their end again, and after a few minutes, they buzzed back in. "Are you in a storage room?"

Maggie nodded, then seemed to remember that they couldn't see her, beforepressing the button back down. "Yeah. With a shelf against the door."

"Well,move the shelf aside, and we'll shoot a path through the horde for you two to get through. There are alot though, so you'll have to be fast. Around 20, maybe 25. Tell me when your ready."

Witha grimace, Maggie shoved herself up, and gestured for Ellie to help move the shelf. But she didn't have much strength left, so, with aburst of strength and a gruff groan, Ellie shoved the shelf back intoplace against the wall herself. Her heart pounding, she grabbed bothbags from the spot they had taken on the dirty floor, and tugged themover her shoulders, nodding at Maggie to walkie them in.

"Okay,"Rick said "on three run out."

"Okay."Both girls replied, Maggie wincing as she stood behind Ellie, tryingnot to put her weight on her injured leg. Her gun was ready in herright hand, and she tossed the tiny pocket knife in her pocket toEllie.

They hadn't trusted sending Ellie out there alone with Maggie armed.

Look where it got them.

"One."The walkie buzzed.

Ellie flipped the pocket knife open.

"Two."She unlocked the bolt with shaky fingers, grabbing the door knob intoher clammy free hand slowly.

"Three!"And to the sound of loud gunshots, she flung the door open running into the shop to see the horde facing the three men with guns and acrossbow firing wildly at their skulls. Maggie limped out after her,her chest heaving as she struggled to make her way towards them.

Butshe didn't notice the walker making its way towards her back.

"Maggie!"Ellie cried out, running and shoving the decayed man seconds beforehis rotting hand grabbed onto Maggie's gun hand.

Butshe had shoved it into a shelf, causing it to fall and collapse onboth her and the monster.

Leaving her pinned, with the walkers craning their heads to see what hadhappened. Leaving them noticing her, the fresh victim that would be unable to escape.

Maggiewas at her side in a second, her eyes darting as she tried her bestto lift the heavy metal shelf from the girl, but her failing strength wasn't allowing her to. "FUCK." The brunette hissed. "I can't."

Ellie,head dizzy, looked up at the girl, then over at the horde, theirattention now fully diverted to them. "Run."

"What?"

"Run.I have a better chance of living if you run...and then...circle back for me." Ellie lied.

Maggie gulped, nodding her head slowly. Elias could tell that she didn'tbelieve it, that she knew this girl would be brunch for what eversmart walker stayed behind. "I'm sorry." Maggie whispered,standing back up with great difficulty.

"'s'kay." She mumbled back weakly, the pain in her leg blocking her from any real thoughts.

Then the brunette stood up, taking off in a limping run around the counter, yelling as she did so, out the front door with what looked like the zombies and men following her.

Andthe only thought Ellie could muster was how she wished she had madeher promise to look after Gerty. But then she heard it. The her blonde head to the right, she saw it. The walker she hadknocked to the ground. It's own legs were stuck, but it wasstruggling as it reached out for her, its hand brushing on her shoulder. It was so close.

Witha gasp, Ellie shifted as best she could, but it must have freed some space for the walker to move, because it dragged itself closer, itsface only held back a few inches from biting her bare shoulders. Thenthe thought hit her suddenly like a strain of thunder. The pocketknife!

She had dropped it when the shelf fell for her, and hereyes skimmed the room quickly. Among the shattered glass, way out ofher reach, was the pocket knife.

' my luck.' She thought to herself.

Andjust when she gave up hope, an arrow whizzed straight into its head.

Withlarge blue eyes she looked up to see that jerk of a redneck yank thearrow back out before quickly crouching down to grip the heavy shelf.

"You came back." She whispered softly.

"Shutup and push." He grumbled back, agitated as his eyes darted fromher back to the door. The walkers had followed him back in, stumbling slowly.

Witha weak nod, she pushed her hands against the metal shelf, crying out as the weight left lower body. It was a great relief.

With strong hands he reached down, grabbing her arm and tugging her up,even as she winced. Her right ankle hurt like a bitch more than ithad before. He tugged her arm over his shoulder, resting his handquickly on her waist before his eyes darted to the back door."C'mon." He growled, half dragging her outside.

"You came back." The blonde repeated again.

"She made me promise." He grumbled, his hand gripping her hiptighter, and the other holding the cross bow at the ready. "The girl. She made me promise." They were outside now, entering theforest as fast as her limp would let them. Her body, tiny andexhausted, was pressed against his side, staggering and limping onher aching ankle.

If they hadn't been close to death, he would have enjoyed the feeling ofher pressed against him like that.

She gave him a weary smile, her face exhausted and covered in blood fromthe tiny scrapes and cuts, her blonde hair was stuck to her face and neck from the sweat and said blood. "Gertrude?"

"Who else woulda', ya dumb shit?" He snapped back. "Anyway, they left, Rick took Maggie, and Shane is leading them away. Shitty job he fuckin' did." The red-neck growled as he helped her over a fallen trunk, his head looking over his shoulder to see the mass ofwalkers following them out. There was only about 6 or 7, but that was still to much for him to take on his own, while helping the girlwhose head was bleeding at a faster rate, and who seemed as if she couldn't even control her own feet.

All Ellie did was give a slow, small smile, looking up at him softly."Thank you." She mumbled. For some reason, that one looksent Ol' Dixons heart a'poundin in that chest of his, and his eyesdarting away, not noticing her cornflower blue eyes fluttering shut.