A/N: Hey guys! Wow, 5 reviews for one chapter! Thanks so much! This one is extra long because I'm not sure if i'll be able to update before I go on holidays, so here it is. Anyways here it is leave a review cause I know you guys are out there, I have over 600 views yet only 16 of you are reviewing. But thanks for even giving this story a glance. Also I want to give a shout out to my friend (He will know who he is) for supporting me through out. REVIEW AND ENJOY!
Chapter Five
'Escape The Worst'
The chilly July night wind raked through her short ashen blonde tresses, entangling it even more. She enjoyed the peace as much as she could by closing her eyes, the softest of smiles painted on her face. In her head she imagined herself in a beautiful golden field, chasing after Jimmy and Amy whilst Scarlett, Alan and the Pauls watched on, a look of amusement on their faces. All things must come to an end as Glenn repeated her name more than once.
"Yeah?" She opened her eyes and moved her head to the right in order to face him.
"Can you shut the window, it's kinda cold," Glenn jiggled his shoulders to signify how cold he was. Jaiden did as commanded by lifting the button to roll the window up. The car was no longer filled with the howling that was the wind; instead it was filled with silence. A silence that was slightly awkward. She rested her elbow on the frame of the car window and just started at the never ending darkness rushing past them. Next to her, Glenn cleared his throat, obviously not loving the silence.
"So…" He started anxiously. Out of the blue, Jaiden began to chuckle, "What's funny?" Glenn wondered, flicking his eyes towards the teen, confused. "Nothing, it's just that my best friend does that to start off conversations. He's so awkward but it's funny," Her close-lipped smile remains on her lips as she lowers her eye towards her lap, where her grubby hands lay.
"Your best friends with a boy?" her eyebrows furrow together, slightly offended as well as baffled by his question. "What do you mean by that?" Defensively, Jaiden overlapped her arms. Glenn noticed the attitude in her tone as she asked the question and sighed. "I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was, is it…never mind. I'll properly offend you even more," He halted any form of a conversation, so they just lapsed into muteness once again. In the meantime, Jaiden just let the voices over take her mind, for they were eager to converse with one another.
Sometimes, she had a metal box that was locked tight whenever she was able to trap them in there. They only ever escaped if she let them (which was rare) or they joined forces to conquer their hell, that was the metal box. So, she had to mould another one, which took her a long time. During the construction of the metal box, the voices pranced around everywhere, distracting her for everyday tasks. A little while ago, before she had moved in with Nate and Scarlett, she was cooking dinner and the voices just kept whining and whining about how miserable their lives were, stuck inside a puny little girls head. She didn't know how long they'd been talking but she had nearly burnt the house down. Other times they just made her livid, so livid that she had thrown her table desk and stormed out of class.
Do you think she'll ever stop whining?
No what do you expect, she's a teenage girl, that's what their there for.
You two do realise that she's listening in… right?
Oh fuck
Let's just annoy the fuck out of her
That's only going to make the situation worse, plus, she's let us be free, don't you think we should be kind.
Kind my ass, she's never kind, are ya sweetheart?
Sometimes I think she's only kind because she forces herself to be.
I'm gonna leave before this get outta hand
You just a little pussy
Do you just put it on for Benjamin?
Do you hear how she talks to her siblings sometimes?
Yeah she treats them like shit
They've done so much for her and she doesn't even fucking appreciate it.
But you just let Scarlett die because you're a scared little baby
Boohoo
Wah
By now Glenn was shaking her away from the voices as well as repeating her name in a hushed fashion. "Jay…" Her eyes snapped open and they became wide, making her look like a psycho. Her stubby nails had penetrated the rough skin of her palm and drew blood. Sweat covered her forehead and her mouth was agape for releasing short puffs of air.
"What's the problem?" Glenn's tone was littered in worry but Jaiden shook her head. Glancing outside, she realised that they had arrived at the motel. It was called the 'Travlier Motel' and had a forest opposite. Two cars and a RV were the only automobiles in the car park, meaning that others had escaped. The power was still on, signalling the government had everything under control (she hoped so). Overall, it seemed to be a decent place to hide out.
Rather than answering Glenn's question, Jaiden climbed out of the car as well as grabbing her baseball bat, despite the pain in her palm, from the back seats. Behind her, she heard Glenn sighed in an exasperated manner. She couldn't tell him about the voices, sure he was a good man who seemed very trustworthy but she hardly ever let people in. "I'll start tapping the cars," Glenn stated heading over to the RV first. "Okay, I'll go look around, see if it's safe," Twirling the bat in a circle motion, Jaiden ambled her way over to room five, which was opposite the RV.
Holding her breath, she pressed her right ear on the door to hear if there were any monsters in there or not. After a few seconds, she heard no moaning either human or inhuman, so she deemed it safe. Briefly, she glanced back at Glenn before entering the room. The only source of light was coming from outside and it illuminated the bed. Squinting, she noted something was placed in the centre of the bed; however her shitty eyesight refrained her from making out what the object was. With one hand, she patted alongside the wall in order to find the switch. When she did so, she found that the switch was smeared with a sticky substance. Biting her lip, she flicked the switch up, only to be met with a gruesome discovery which caused her stomach to churn.
In the middle of the bed was a severed head. Clearly, it had been ripped off by a monster, blood still poured freely out the base and it soaked through the sheets into the mattress. The head belonged to woman, she guessed as her face had been chewed or scratched. An eyeball had been ripped out of the socket and it lay tangled in the woman's ginger hair. The only remaining eye somewhat glared at her, as if hating Jaiden for still living and breathing, it was grim. Worse, several flies were swarming the head, sucking up the blood like a vampire. She clamped a hand over her mouth to contain her gagging, this was fucked up. The thought of the woman's body popped into her mind but all Jaiden wanted to do was run out screaming. She knew she couldn't do the latter option, instead she chose the former.
Turning away from the head, she strolled around the enclosed room. Any colour from earlier had drowned from her face and was replaced with a pale white. A path of coppery blood travelled to the bathroom. Jaiden knew she was going to regret what she discovered in the bathroom, yet she never ceased her investigation. She was a stupid child, she'd always been curious and they did say that curiosity killed the cat.
In this moment, she was the cat. Cautiously, she rested the palm of her hand on the door knob, and then curled her fingers around the brass. She rotated her wrist which caused the door knob to follow her movements. Taking a deep breath she pushed the door for it to open, only to find that something was blocking her from entering. In her gut she knew that the remains of the woman's body lay behind the door. The thought of it made bile rise to her throat again and this time she didn't stop it. Instead, she promptly threw up. She must have created a lot of noise as Glenn came rushing into the room.
"Jay! What is it? Are you hurt? Are you…" He trailed off and Jaiden knew it was because of the head. "Oh my God," Using the sleeve of her green plaid shirt, she wiped off any remaining puke. Luckily, none of it tangled in her hair.
"Yeah, it's fucking gross," She relocated herself to Glenn's side, whose expression was mixed, repulsion and concern. Pursing her lips, she shrugged sluggishly, shaking her head as well. "I don't know, Glenn. It just goes to show that these monsters aren't the type to fuck with," He nodded numbly over her statement though he still stared, eyes wide at the head. Gently, she hooked her free hand on his brown jacket and tugged him towards the doorway.
"I've only got the truck to do, and then we can get out of here," Glenn explained, clearly wanting to forget what he had seen only moments ago.
Jaiden nodded in agreement, though for her the image of the woman's head glaring at her remained plastered in her mind. Some of the voices (that she had yet to lock away) were complaining about the head, though she willed herself to stay in control and not let them take over. She followed Glenn's form as he ambled to the truck in the furthest side of the motel. She changed the direction of her eye line to gaze at the rooms on the upper floor. Seeing as that looked harmless, Jaiden made her way over to the staircase, her bat clutched in her hand. She couldn't remain focused, the image of the head stayed permanently cemented in her mind. It was like a sticky price tag label that wouldn't rip off on the first try; instead you would have to keep peeling off endless stickers until you gave up and left it alone.
How on Earth was the head even placed perfectly on the middle of the bed? A monster wouldn't particular decided to locate it there. Nonetheless, Jaiden washed the gruesome thoughts away from she had reached the top floor. From this height she could see the night sky in more detail. Not as many stars were twinkling tonight for either the clouds had concealed them or they didn't feel strong enough to shine. Though the waxing crescent shone in cheerfulness, even if it happened to a small source a cheer, anything cheerful made Jaiden beam. As she paced the length of the balcony, she heard a soft noise coming inside one of the rooms. The noise certainly didn't belong to a monster. If her ears deceived her, it sounded like… crying. Just to be sure, Jaiden found herself drawing closer to room nine. Before she had the chance to listen in, Glenn's voice called again.
"Jay, what are you doing up here? I've loaded the car and we should be able to go," He informed her.
"Come over here," She commanded in a hushed tone. When Glenn just narrowed his eyes at her rather than listening to her, she sighed but ushered him over with the wave of her hand. Her face was serious as well as worried, so Glenn complied. Glenn must have heard the crying as his facial expression morphed into one of disbelief, his mouth slightly agape.
"Holy shit! Do you think…" Jaiden nodded her head, answering his question and she held the bat close to her chest. Gradually, Glenn edged towards the door of room nine and pressed his hands on the frame.
"Hello? Is anyone in there, my name is Glenn Rhee and I'm here with my friend Jay. We're not here to hurt you, we—" he was cut short when a feminine voice started to overrule him.
"GO AWAY!" She shrieked, causing the two of them to wince. "Listen ma'am, we're just trying to help," Jaiden piped up.
"Well I don't need your help, SO JUST LEAVE!" She yelled again. Glenn halted the conversation to glance at Jaiden, "I think I left the walkie-talkie in the car. Can you get that whilst I talk to her, please?" Glenn whispered so the woman couldn't her them. "Sure. Have my bat, just in case," She released the bat from her embrace and passed it to Glenn, who gave a close lipped smile as she gave it to him.
All of a sudden she felt naked without it. Right now that wasn't important. Shrugging, she briskly paced towards the staircase, the woman still screaming from behind the stairs. She hopped down the stairs, thinking why the woman didn't want their help? Maybe the woman thought that hiding away was safer than travelling out to Hell. Jaiden couldn't blame her, all she wanted to do was bury herself away and just forget about the world in favour of her imagination but she had things to do, the time for that would have to wait. In fact, it may not come at all because she can't afford to be self-centred.
"WHAT PART OF GO AWAY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!" The woman bellowed, Jaiden knew that the situation was becoming worse so she quickened her pace. Finally she reached the car on the other side of the parking lot and latched her hand in order to open the door, only to find it locked. She sighed in frustration, why on Earth would he lock the car? However, her ears picked up another noise from afar. The worst part was it sounded like a…
Monster.
"Shit!" She cursed. Both of her hands came to squish her face in thought. What are they going to do? It's not like they can leave the girl here! "Glenn!" She called his name loud enough for him to hear and not the monsters. He must her heard panic in her voice for he too looked panicked as he leaned over the railing.
"Monsters are coming and your fucking car is locked. So do you mind getting your ass down here?" Without answering Glenn sprinted away from room nine whilst Jaiden narrowed her eyes as she noticed seven figures in the darkness of the forest. How in hell were they meant to fight seven monsters off? "What's the problem?" His tone was laced in alarm. "For one, monsters are coming out of the forest and two can you open the damn car!" She explained, irritably. She didn't mean to sound like a bitch but when she was stressed she was pissed. Hurriedly, Glenn unlocked the car and she swung the door open to collect the walkie-talkie. "We can't leave the girl here, Jay!" Glenn exclaimed, freaking out, which only succeeded in Jaiden freaking out as well. The moans from the monsters intensified. "Shit!" Glenn cussed. Hastily, Jaiden grabbed the walkie-talkie before closing the door.
"Hide!" Jaiden suggested as she peered over at the forest. The first monsters had emerged from the forest and it looked hungry, its arms outstretched in order to collect its meal greedily. "The ice box!" Glenn sprinted towards it, Jaiden following closely behind, her heart racing at a million miles per hour. When they reached the ice box, Glenn opened it up only to find it wasn't big enough for two. A plan formulate in her head quickly, seeing as Glenn had the baseball bat in his hand, she snatched it off him before pushing him inside the ice box.
"What the hell, Jay! They're coming! You're meant to be in here, not me!" Glenn's expression was pissed. "Sorry," Rather than letting him retort; she closed the doors and wedged the bat between the handles, so that the monsters couldn't open the box.
She would prefer Glenn to be safe for she felt that she owed him her life for saving her at the beginning of Hell. Spinning on her heel, all the monsters had emerged from the forest and were dragging themselves towards her. Clutching the walkie-talkie close to her chest, she dashed to the closet motel room, which was room 3 as well as locking the door behind her. She decided not to slam the door shut, as it would give away her location.
They weren't the smartest monsters in the world. Then again no monsters on television were smart, they always ended up dead. Not wanting to switch the light on, Jaiden made her away from by patting the wall with one hand as well as leaving the one holding the walkie-talkie in front of her, just in case she bumped into the dresser or the bed. Eventually, she found the bed and promptly threw herself on it; bouncing up and down for a few seconds. Adjusting her glasses, she fell into her back and closed her eyes, just listening to the groans of the monsters. Clinging to the walkie-talkie, Jaiden slowed her panicked breathing down. How where they going to get out of this situation now? She and Glenn couldn't go out there and fight them all.
Others would most likely follow the noise. She decided that it would be best to ask for help. First of all she'd have to figure out how to work the fucking thing. Jaiden opened her eyes, even though it wouldn't help at all. The room was completely pitch-black but the light peeked out from under the door. She fiddled with various buttons in order to get it working. The radio crackled static, causing her to jump in surprise. "Um… Clementine? It's Jay, are you there?" She clicked the radio off and waited for a response.
"Yeah, I'm here." Jaiden let out a breath that she didn't realise she was holding. "Could you put Lee on the, er, walkie-talkie? Please?" She requested, closing her eyes again. "It's Lee. What's the problem, kid?" Internally she growled when he called her that but chose not to say anything. "Well, er, me and Glenn kinda got ambushed by some monsters at the motel. I guess we got too noisy," she gave an awkward chuckle before continuing. "So I was wondering if you help us. There are too many of them and… I don't have my bat…" She cleared her throat uncomfortably; she never was too good when talking to strangers one on one.
"We'll come and get you as soon as we can. Just sit tight," Lee attempted to calm her down and it worked. "Okay. Thank you Lee. Oh, one more thing!" She whispered swiftly. "Yeah Jay?" His tone was not impatient at all, rather… sympathetic in a way. "Glenn's in the ice box outside with the bat over the handles so the monsters couldn't get him and I'm in room three. But make sure you get him out first please," She informed him for future reference.
"Alright, we won't be too long. Just stay in the room until we come and get you. You'll be fine," The static tuned off leaving Jaiden in dead silence, apart from the monsters moans and her steady breathing.
Instead of moving she curled her body into a ball on surprisingly comfortable bed, the walkie-talkie laying discarded next to her. She burrowed her nose in between her knees. Her hair fell from behind her ear and covered her face; acting as a shield. The position was extremely comfortable, making her want to sleep. Jaiden didn't realise how tired she really was, who knows how long she'd been awake for now. A little over twenty-four hours, she supposed. The adrenaline that had pumped through her veins to keep her going was slowly wearing away. Her stomach growled; Jaiden regretted throwing away the burnt toast. Licking her lips, she imagined a big home cooked meal. Normally she wasn't the type to eat large healthy quantities of food for she would stuff her face with crap. Her stomach only growled louder, causing her to shake the thoughts of food away. How did she make it this far? She couldn't protect herself in the slightest. Glenn had saved her for a monster as had Lee.
What was she going to do when they weren't there? In fact, she'd have to learn how to fight and kill a monster but knowing that they used to be human makes her unbelievably depressed. Jaiden felt tears burn hotly under her eye lids. Tears for those who had been torn apart by the monsters. Tears for the children who couldn't do anything. Tears for those shuffling around as monsters. Tears for those who died protecting the ones they loved. Tears for those she had lost.
Scarlett
Jimmy
Ben
Alan
Nate.
Jaiden hated his guts more than Felicity, Chris, Faye, Kyle and Lucy combined but she forgave him for what he had done. Mulling over her encounters (excluding the creepy watching) he was only even kind to her. She just didn't want to realise it. The first teardrop leaked out of the corner of her closed eye, followed shortly by another. She stretched out her legs, feeling cramps in them. Lifting her glasses up with her left hand, she brought her right hand close to her eyes to halt any more tears from falling. Jaiden was sick and tired of crying, it only give her headache. Speaking of headaches…
For fucks sake girl, stop crying!
Jesus motherfucking Christ you big baby, how hold are you now?
Your sixteen, it's time to get over yourself
I don't ever think we'll crack this one
Yet we know everything she has even done or thought about, there is no logic in that you little shit
Here comes the argument…
I was doing that to piss her off dick head
Do you really wanna go there motherfucker?
We're meant to say mean thing about her, not have a go with each other. I don't know why I try… To think Jay-Jay, I'm the only one that treats you right
Treat you right my ass
You're the most annoying fucker I know
Jaiden rolled her eyes over the squabbling going on between the voices, thought she supposed it was a good thing that they were fighting with each other rather than screaming at her.
Oh don't worry sweetheart, we have plans for you later…
She smacked the side of her head to shut the voice up for a while. With slow movements, Jaiden removed herself from the bed to see what the situation was like outside. Her thoughts had consumed her to the point that she had forgotten the world, even if it was one that was hard to remember. Inaudibly, she pressed her fingers on the motel door and leaned in, shutting one eye in the process. As far as she could see, there was one monster scoffing at a carcass. Her eyebrows furrowed closer together, she didn't remember seeing that there.
Shrugging, she thought none of it. However, three figures in the distance caught her eye. They were hiding behind the white pickup truck beneath the balcony. Hope and joy flowed through her body; it was Lee, Carley and Glenn. Should she wait for them or risk sneaking past the monster too busy stuffing its moulted face? She removed herself from the door and slid to the floor. Her hands drew out in front of her, the palms facing upwards. The only way to make decisions fair was eeny-meeny-miny-moe.
"Here goes nothing…" She mumbled. Left hand was to stay indoors. Right hand was to go outside.
Eeny- left hand down. Meeny- Right hand down, left hand up.
Miny, moe,
Catch a tiger by the toe.
If he hollers, let him go,
Eeny, meeny…
Miny- left hand down.
Moe- right hand down.
"Shit!" She cursed. She couldn't take it back now, what's fair is fair. Temporarily, she closed her eyes. This was her most stupid decision yet. Adjusting her glasses, she hefted herself up from the floor and took a deep breath whilst clasping her hand on the door knob. But, she quickly rushed over to the bed to collect the walkie-talkie. "Okay Jay, now you're ready," Without a second thought, she silently swung the door open. The monster made no motion that it had heard her leaving the room. Not bothering to close the door, she crept over to the small wall at the front of motel, holding the walkie-talkie close to her chest.
Only to be tackled to the ground; knocking her glasses off in the process and the walkie-talkie lay discarded next to her.
She squeezed her eyes shut, fearing that one of the monsters had jumped her and was about to rip her flesh off. She chose not to scream for that wouldn't help the others at all. "Jay?" A familiar deep voice came. The same voice she conversed with on the walkie-talkie, Lee. To make sure that it was him and not her imagination, she opened one eye. Her vision was met with the blurry form of Lee hovering over her, a screwdriver (as far as she could make out) near her face. Fuzzy version of Carley and Glenn were behind him.
"What in the Hell are you doing?" Lee moved away from her and slumped on the wall. Jaiden changed her lying position into a resting on your elbows position, her hair dangling past her neck.
"I saw you three behind the truck over there," She motioned towards the truck, even though she knew her head was facing a completely different direction. "And I figured I should do more than sit on my ass and here we are," She explained, starching the back of her head in embarrassment, feeling stupid.
"What part of stay in your room don't you understand?" Lee scolded. Her expression transformed into an apologetic one, her eyebrows uplifting and her lips pulling down, stressing her neck muscles and bearing her teeth. "Sorry, Lee," Turning on her right side, she patted the ground is search of the glasses.
"Er… Jay… What are you doing?" Glenn wondered, concerned about the teens behaviour. "I'm blind without my glasses," She stated, clearly thinking that would explain everything. She resumed her pursuit for the spectacles whilst socialising with the other three. "So what did I miss?" Her fingernails chipped as dragged them along the grimy concrete.
"Prince Glenn here wants to save his princess in the tower," Carley started soundlessly, obviously not liking Glenn's idea, which caused Jaiden's forehead to crease, detailing several stress lines. Why didn't Carley want to save the woman in room nine? Finally, her fingertips felt the smooth black plastic that always sat atop of her nose. Lifting them up, she situated them on her freckled nose.
"Anyway, we've taken out two of them and me and Lee were about to take out the other two by the RV until you showed up," Switching her lying position to a sitting position she smiled self-consciously. "Sorry, I just wanted to do something useful for a change rather than sit on my ass like a damsel in distress," Lee sighed, he could tell that she meant well, "Alright kid, I've seen you with your bat, you've got a mean swing. That's plenty useful. Follow my lead to the RV to take those two out. Got it?" he explained to which she bobbed her head up and down in understanding.
"Here," Glenn murmured to gather her attention, in his hands he held her bloodied wooden baseball bat.
Her face lit up as he passed it over to her and she grabbed it without hesitation. As long as she had her baseball bat, she would always feel secure. "Thanks and I'm, uh, sorry for pushing you in the ice box like that," She apologized. Glenn shook his head, "Don't worry about it," Her lip quirked up, she felt privileged to know Glenn Rhee, he was amazing.
"Okay, you ready Jay?" Lee questioned over his shoulder, his hands were latched onto the petite brick wall, keeping a close eye on the monster munching ahead of them. "As I'll ever be," With that the two drew away from their hiding spot and crept silently yet speedily to the front of the RV, passing the oblivious monster along the way. "That wasn't so bad," She mumbled loud enough for Lee to hear. "Saying that might jinx it,"
Way to go dumbass
People who say that in movies end up dead next
You wanna shut up?
The voices ceased any further conversation and she let out a pleased sigh. Finally, they listened to her for once.
"Get ready, I've got the one gawking, you've got the one chomping," Lee ordered. She increased the tightness of her grip on her bat, her knuckles losing any blood in them. A high pitch whistle broadcasted around them.
Jaiden kept an eye on her monster as it lifted its head away from the corpse and over to the source of the whistle. It struggled to heft itself to a standing position, (not that she could give a damn) though when it did, it shuffled towards her, having seen Jaiden perfectly clear. With every difficult step it took, she raised her bat higher and higher, starting to prepare for smashing its head in. Her nostrils flared, not from aggression rather from her heavy breathing. Her jaw clench together tightly, feeling as if that would make her feel more powerful. When it was close enough, she brought the bat straight down to the target, causing monster much to splatter all over her clothes and her face.
The monster crashed to the ground and did not stand up again for her swing had left a dent in its stupid head. However, it still moaned, meaning that it was still alive. Jaiden noticed that the head seemed mushy and easy to step on. She lifted her foot and rested it on the monster's head; gently at first. Bolting her eyes shut, she applied pressure and squished its head, producing a squelching sound. The sound making her stomach churn again.
"Let's go," Lee proposed. Wiping the muck off her face, Jaiden followed Lee's lead towards the monster pinned to the wall as the car had trapped it there. Next to it was an axe, which could be very useful for killing monsters. Jaiden smeared the muck on her hand over her jeans, not wanting to feel its sliminess any longer. From observing the monster, she noticed that it was missing a hand and its arms were outstretched in a starving manner, waiting for its next meal to grab. But before it could, Lee plunged the screwdriver into its forehead, killing it instantly. Her nose crinkled in disgust as its head slammed onto the hood of the car and the end of the screwdriver popped out of the back of its head. Anyway of killing a monster was gruesome and revolting.
"Dude, where'd your weapon go?" Glenn wondered as he came to stand next to Lee. "Into that ice-pick sized hole," Lee's comment caused Glenn to laugh, "Holy shit!" Jaiden sighed but her lip quirked upwards nevertheless, men will be men. Beside her Carley started to become irritated over the two. "It's cool, now we've got this," Glenn pointed at the red axe behind Lee.
"Are you two done?" Carley's tone was one of exasperation. "Men will be men, Carley," Jaiden remarked. "Don't I know it," Lee seized the axe and glanced up at the two monsters above. "Two more," Lee stated the obvious, "Now we have the axe, it'll be much easier," she commented, to which Lee gripped the axe a little tighter. The four of them snuck over to the base of the stairs, prepared to do anything. "Why don't you guys lag behind; just in case this goes to hell," Lee recommended, Jaiden bobbed her head in agreement, Lee was perfectly capable of defeating the monsters; now that he had the axe, he could do pretty much anything. "Okay, we'll be right behind you," Jaiden kept an eye on Lee's form as he crawled up the stairs and onto the balcony.
Once he had ambled far enough, Glenn led the way over to Lee, the three of the still crouching. As she reached the top of the stairs, she extended her legs to stand straight again. She shook them out as the crouching position was incredibly uncomfortable and her thighs slightly burned. Any form of physical exercise was her greatest weakness.
Whenever she had Gym at school she would take forever to change into her sports gear or the majority of the tome hide in the toilets until her teacher, Mrs Garrison, found her and dragged her back into class. All of the girls tended to beat her relentlessly, the other howling with laughter in the background. They told her she could go kill herself and that no one wanted her here. They told her how she wasn't special and she was just a blind saddo with mental problems. To be honest, she already knew that about herself, she didn't need to be told twice. Mrs Garrison didn't even care why would she? She's not paid to sort out bitches. At the end of the day, she strolled home with Ben. After a while, he had stopped asking where she received the bruises for he already knew. Sometimes he would gently touch the bruises or cut with his eyebrows upturned sympathetically. Other times he would just hold her close and that was all she would ever need. Ben Paul was her hero. Shaking her head, she brought herself back to reality. None of that matter now, she had more important things to worry about rather than herself and the bitches. Bitches who are most likely rotting and munching at anything they can find.
Lee placed the axe onto the ground gently before leaning in and banging his fist against the mucky door. His actions caused Jaiden to grimace; she knew that this would only frighten the woman more as the two monsters were slamming against the door earlier. "Hello in there? We're trying to help," Lee informed calmly. "Please, just go away!" The woman's voice trembled, melancholy filled Jaiden as she heard the frightened tone the woman had in her voice. She didn't know what kind of situation the woman was in, but she had a feeling that it wasn't fantastic.
"Let's go guys,"
"But we can't just leave her like this. We've gotta try," Jaiden waved her free arm towards the door pathetically. Lee nodded, clearing agreeing with Jaiden. "If you open up, you can take you somewhere safer. We've got a group in town-" Lee was about to added more when her cries resounded again. "No, no, no! Please…" Though her voice was overlapped by Jaiden's and Glenn's both speaking at once.
"She's in trouble!"
"There must be something wrong…" Jaiden dropped her bat on the floor, her palm beginning to sting from the nail scars from earlier.
"Miss! We're coming in!" Jaiden watched on as Lee grabbed the axe and brought it above his head. With a battle cry, he swung it back down, chopping the wooden plank (that was previously halting anyone from entering or exiting the room) in two. Quickly, Jaiden glanced at the forest just in case any noise they were creating happened to attract monsters. Scanning the forest, she didn't note any sign that the monsters were coming, so she returned to the situation. Lee began to kick open the door but the woman ceased any further movement. "Stop, just stop," She pleaded.
"I'm coming out," she sounded somewhat defeated, which caused Jaiden to feel even more sympathy for the woman.
Who knows what she's been through? Lee shuffled backwards, coming to stand next to Glenn in order to give the woman some space. Slowly, the door creaked open revealing a deathly pale woman in her early twenties clutching her side in agony, her eyes puffy and sore from her sobbing. Jaiden immediately blanched, a portion of the woman's side had been ripped away leaving blood splattered across her clothes, she closed her eyes, it seemed hope wouldn't get you very far in the Apocalypse.
"You're hurt," Lee alleged, tears welled in Jaiden's eyes. This is all fucked up. "I-I said stay away," The woman hiccupped. "We need to get you help," Glenn proposed. The woman bowed her head whilst shaking it, removing her limp arm to her side. "There must be something we can do! A-Anything!" Jaiden begged desperately, she wanted to save people for fucks sakes, not let them die! "It's too late," She sobbed,
"Guys, she's been bitten," Whilst Jaiden wasn't so shocked, Glenn and Lee were. "What?"
"I told you! I said go away, I'm bit!" But you two wouldn't just leave," she exclaimed in a panicked tone whilst her life drained eyes flickered between Glenn and Jaiden, almost in an infuriated manner too. "Let's calm down, you could be fine," Lee soothed but the affect it had on the woman was making her freak out even more. Jaiden just observed the conversation, not wanting to interfere until absolutely nessercary; this would be a difficult situation to handle.
"I won't be fine. My boyfriend was bitten. You get sick and you die and you come back and you kill anything you can find!" The woman explained with wide eyes. Not in a psychotic way, rather in a fearful manner. Who could blame her? Jaiden thought that it must be horrible knowing that you had been infected and you could turn into an eating machine within seconds. "You have a boyfriend?" Glenn blurted out, sounding disappointed.
She rolled her eyes at Glenn, typical male. Males think that when rescuing a girl, she immediately falls into their arms and showering them in kisses, professing her love for him to the world through song. This world was no fairy-tale, it was Hell. He also reminded her of Travis, always sauntering around flirting with all the girls. If it wasn't for Evie keeping his head in the game, Travis would be God knows where. For good measure, she elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to cringe and starch the back of his head awkwardly.
"I don't want that. It's not Christian! Please, just leave me, please just go," She implored frantically, her eyes still wide. "Ma'am, er, miss?" Jaiden piped up, gathering the woman's attention. "What's your name?" It was a question that had been on mind since she had found her earlier. The other three glanced at her oddly, not knowing what she was doing. The woman relaxed ever so slightly, "I-Irene," A small reassuring grin grew on her face, all she wanted to do was be as clean as possible.
"Irene, why don't we clean your wound up, maybe it's not as bad and you'll be okay," Jaiden suggested only for the woman to shake her head. "I understand what you're doing but it's not going to work. I'm dying and no one can stop that," The grin on her face faded away and her shoulders slumped. She tried, believing that maybe she could do something but all she ever seemed to do was make it worse.
"You gave a gun," Irene commented, a glint of… hope flashed in her dying eyes briefly, a glint of hope that Jaiden didn't find all too pleasing.
"So?" Carley glanced at her gun, trying to find the significance to it.
"Can I… borrow it?" Then it dawned on Jaiden, her eyes widened and she gulped… no. "What do you mean by borrow?" Carley wondered instead of answering Irene's question. "Give it to me… I can just, y'know, end this and then-then there's no problem." She wanted them to let her kill herself, just the thought of suicide made Jaiden upset. It was so horrible and sensitive. "This is your life we are talking about!" Jaiden worried, tears pricking in her eyes again, there must be another way!
"What life?! I'm dying! PLEASE. I don't want to be one of them. They're… they're satanic," Absentmindedly, Jaiden fiddled with her father's ring, Please let Irene be alright, Daddy, she silently prayed. Jaiden wasn't the most religious person but she hoped that her father was in a better place and was watching over her, keeping her safe when no one else could.
"We can't let you do that to yourself," Lee decided for them all, they all knew that it was a difficult choice to make and it seemed Lee took the call. "Then do it for me!" Irene was clearly getting twitchy now, so Jaiden kept a close eye on her. "We need to get going," Carley's tone was impatient, causing Jaiden to narrow her eyes. Nonetheless, Jaiden lent down to pick her bat, wanting to feel protected. "Give to me PLEASE!" She yelled her eyes bulging as wide as they could go.
"This is crazy!" Glenn spoke what was on everyone's mind. "Please just step back, Irene," Carley warned. Without realising what she was doing, Jaiden's petite body moved to shield Carley, the grip on her bat tightening. She didn't want her new friend to get hurt and thinking she could keep her safe from harm. Irene advanced, her arms outstretching with every step, her eye narrowing when she noted Jaiden's actions. "It's just two seconds, just one bullet, and I can be with my family, and it'll all be fine," the two shuffled backwards, wanting to stay away from Irene as she came almost inches away.
"Irene, think about this," Jaiden cautioned, starting to freak out a little as well. The situation was becoming overwhelming. Irene's eyes turned to slits and without warning she lunged at the two with a cry of "PLEASE!" For a weak dying woman, she certainly had some muscles. Irene grabbed Jaiden by the shoulders and threw her back, Carley dodging the attack and the baseball falling from her hands Jaiden's back slammed painfully into the wooden fences to which she grasped.
The support beams groaned from the pressure as the five of them struggled over the gun. They were grunts and cries as they all tried to stop Irene. However, the balcony wasn't strong enough to support them and the support beams snapped. Jaiden gasped in fright and screwed her eye shut. She landed on the concrete with a sickening thud, her hands covering her face, desperately wanting to keep her glasses attached to her nose, rather than have them fall off again. Her ankle twisted painfully as it became stuck under the wood. The large scar from Nate's attack a few days ago split open again, causing blood to be mixed with filth in her hair.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" She cursed as she touched the wound gently. Ignoring her foot for a second, she glanced around trying to register what was going on. "Whoa! Take it easy, we just wanna help!" Jaiden's eyes widened as Irene brought the gun to her right temple. "You can't,"
"Irene! Take it easy, think about this. It doesn't have to be this way! We can help you, just please don't this to yourself!" Jaiden beseeched, though was having an internal meltdown. Then everything switched into slow motion. Irene pressed the nozzle as close to her forehead as she could, her finger began to squeeze the trigger. Jaiden reached out for her, the wood making it hard to move. Lee sprinted to Irene with cries of no's. Glenn and Carley observed on with expression of terror. She pulled the trigger the bullet flying through her head, blood exploding everywhere. Jaiden flinched as well as closing her teary eyes, not wanting to see Irene's limp body fall to the cold hard ground. Rather feeling the utmost sorrow, she felt the utmost fury.
Her fingers curled in creating a fist and she slammed it down on the concrete, though she regretted it instantly as pain flared up her hand. She attempted to reach the wood pinning her to the ground, only to find it too far away. Instead, she grabbed the baseball bat by her side, "Let me help," Lee offered softly, crouching down to lift the wood away.
Groans erupted from within the forest, signalling that the monsters had followed the source of the commotion. "Here they come!" Glenn yelled. Quickly, Lee removed the wood, rather than helping her stand; he wrapped on arm around her back and tucked the other under her knee. Gasping, she swept up from the floor. Knowing that he was helping her, she didn't complain and draped an arm on the back of his neck. With amazing strength (she wasn't the lightest person) and rapid speed, Lee followed Glenn and Carley to the car. Carley left the back door open for her and Lee, Jaiden internally made note to thank her later.
Lee gently placed her in the back of the car before flying in himself. Without bothering to check on the two, he pressed down on her accelerator like no tomorrow. There was complete and utter silence between the four people who were just processing what happened. Jaiden screwed her eyes shut, forgetting about the pain in her ankle for just the moment. Slipping her glasses off of her nose, she bent down to her knees, her head bowed, in shame and melancholy.
She'd done it again. She'd failed to save another person's life. Fail was her middle name, hell she had numerous of names and the funny thing was; they were all true. Jaiden waited for the voices to appear to mock her for the fail she was but they never came. Only a faint whisper came from the back of her mind,
We're leaving you alone for a while sweetheart, we can't put you through anymore
She bit her lip to keep herself from sobbing, though she didn't want to feel pathetic in front of the adults. "Fuck this all," She mumbled into her mucky jeans. No one made a comment. She didn't expect them too.
The four of them entered the alley door that lead to the office, all with sorrowful expression. Lee held the door open for Jaiden as she limped inside to which she muttered a quick thanks. She observed everyone, Doug was still on watch, Larry was still in pain; his daughter offering him kind words, the boy she had saved earlier and his mother were both residing by the ice cream parlour. Kenny ambled over to Lee and Clementine was twiddling with her thumbs.
Jaiden hobbled over to the little girl, "Hey Clementine," She greeted. Said girl glanced up at her, a warm innocent smile plastered on her face. "Hey Jay! Are you okay?" Jaiden's lip quirked up over the little girl's concern, "Yeah I'm fine, what about you? How are you doing?" She decided to rest on the floor for her ankle was begging to throb now. "I cut my finger when I moved the desk in the office with Lee but he fixed it for me," Clementine presented her index finger which had a small flesh coloured plaster bound around it.
"Well Lee's like a hero isn't he?" She remarked, already knowing that it was true. They were lucky Lee was around. He had done nothing but help people who had been completely nasty to him and his friends.
"He's the best one around!" Clementine giggled, making Jaiden's lips to stretch into an even bigger grin. No matter what, children always made her day. "Damn right. Listen I have something for you," Any grief Jaiden had felt was slowly washing away when she noted the expression on Clementine's face, pure glee. She unhooked the walkie-talkie from her belt loop, "Ta-da!" She sang.
"My walkie-talkie!" Clementine cried, gently, she plucked it out of Jaiden hands and held it close. "Thank you, Jay!"
"No problem, Clemmy-Clue," Jaiden's nickname for her caused Clementine to frown. "Clemmy-Clue?" She wondered, Jaiden shrugged, "I dunno, just kinda came out, y'know?" Clem shook her head, not understanding. "No, not really," Jaiden rolled her eyes playfully.
A figure blocked the light that was illuminating them, causing a shadow to cast. The figure made Clementine beam, so she assumed that it was Lee. Jaiden rotated her head to the side as well as angling it to see him better. The blood had stopped flowing out of her cut, leaving a trail of crustiness knotted in her hair. "Hey you two," Lee bent down to their level for them to see him better. Seizing the opportunity to talk to him, she spoke up, "Um, Lee?" Jaiden fiddled with her father's ring again as she felt awkward.
"Yeah?" Lee changed his eye line from Clementine to her. "Can I , er, to you about something?" She gave him a meaningful gaze, he nodded his head, knowing what she meant whilst Clementine glanced at the two, confused as to what they were talking about. "Sure, let's go into the office. We won't be too long Clem," Lee informed the baffled girl. "Okay," Lee switched his kneeling position to standing. Jaiden placed the palm of her hands on the floor in order to give her boost as she didn't want to put pressure on her ankle. Though technique failed and she fell flat on her ass with a firm thump. "Ouch," she muttered. A hand emerged in her line of vision. She
latched her hand into Lee's, his fingers curling around hers to keep hold of it. He proceeded to boost her back onto her two feet, quickly as he did so. "Thanks, Lee," Jaiden slipped her hand out of his grip. "No problem," She trailed Lee into office, a few heads turned, wondering what the two were doing but thought none of it. She closed the door, softly behind her. "If this is about the motor inn, I know it must have-" Lee began only to be cut off by Jaiden's starchy voice. Her throat was starting to burn from the lack of dehydration.
"No, it's not at all. I have something for you," Lee crossed his arms, his expression morphing into one of puzzlement. Patiently, he waited for her to show him what she had for him. Taking a deep breath, Jaiden's hand slipped itself into her jean pocket.
She had to give him the picture, it wasn't hers to keep. Everyone should be able to have something that reminded them of their family, now that they were all most likely dead, it was more important than ever. Jaiden had her father's ring to remind her of those she loved dearly. The only thing that was missing was something linked with Ben but her memories would have to be as much as she had. She held the folded picture in between her thumb and index finger. Lee's eyebrows furrowed closer together, still not understanding. She extended her arm for him to take it from her, which he did. However he did so slowly. She leant against the wall as she observed his reaction. His eyes widened when unfolding the picture, a tiny yet gloomy smile graced his lips before it turned into sorrow.
"I'm sorry, Lee. I really am. They were amazing people," Lee's head snapped up, as if forgetting that she was there. "You knew them?" Lee guessed, fiddling with the picture distractedly. "Yeah, made me feel right at home when I first moved to Macon last month," In the corner of her eye, she noticed a first aid kit, that would help with her ankle.
"Were they happy?" Lee questioned, causing Jaiden to furrow her eyebrows together, her stress lines on her forehead creasing. "They made out like they were. Bill would tell cheesy jokes all the time. Jerry and Denna would be laughing their socks off but I knew what they were doing. They were covering up some sort of sadness. Trust me; I do it all the time. I know the ropes," Jaiden explained whilst opening the first aid box in search of bandage wraps. Behind her Lee muttered something under his breath, it sounded as if he was saying, "I hope she doesn't know…" Know what?
Thinking none of it, (though she kept what he had said in mind for later) she continued with the conversation. "They talked about you often," Finally her fingers felt the texture of the bandage wrappings. Grabbing it, she sat on the chair next to the mattress. Carefully, she began to untie her shoelaces, hissing as she did so. "Here let me help," he moved the mattress away, a trail of blood tracking the path of it. Jaiden's eyebrows upturned, when she saw the pained expression on his face.
It must be horrible for him knowing that the ones you loved were lying in that bed, praying to be saved only to be dragged out of the bed moments later by the monsters ready to devour you. Lee knelt down, gently pulling the shoe off. She sucked in a sharp breath, hating the pain a lot. At least the pain wasn't like the pain she had endured when Felicity and Lucy broke her wrist with their bare hands last year.
"What did my family say about me?" Lee questioned as he examined her ankle. She could tell he was trying to keep her mind off the ankle and it worked.
"They told me you had done something that they hated but they did say they loved you and you were a great man. So I took their word for it, I never pressured them into telling me what you had done. It was part of their private lives, not mine. But I sure whatever you did, they would forgive you in the end," She explained, staring at him all the time. Lee glanced up at her, his lip quirked up a little. "You're a good kid," he remarked to which she shrugged. "I try," After that the two fell into a comfortable silence.
Normally Jaiden would have thought that nothing could go wrong within the span of ten minutes. Now that the world was being overrun by the undead, she clearly had rethink anything that was impossible Lee had bandaged her ankle up before they left the office together. Whilst Lee went over to Doug, she went back to Clementine. The little girl had wondered what the matter was. Now Jaiden was never the one to lie to children, (apart from telling Jimmy that Santa Clause, the Easter bunny, the Tooth fairy and Jack Frost were real, he had become obsessed with Rise of the Guardians after watching it at the cinema), so she told Clementine their whole conversation.
To be honest, she didn't see the point in lying; Clementine probably knew about Lee and his parents. Lee had come back into the drugstore, keys to the pharmacy in hand, though Doug's expression was fearful and frightened. Maybe they had, had a run in with some monsters. She knew that Doug wasn't the greatest around the monsters, at first when they had to pull the Everetts onto the streets, he almost threw up. Doug was a great guy, don't get her wrong. Lilly and Lee then went into the pharmacy which set the alarm off. At this moment in time, she wished that fear wouldn't overcome her when they came to sticky situations. Voices were screaming back and forth over the all the commotion.
"I'm gonna get the truck pulled on back!" Kenny informed them all. Jaiden ambled around, the pain in her ankle had eased up a little as Lee had given her some painkillers. Currently, she was trying to find her bat, she was sure she had left it around her somewhere. "Do it fast! I've gotta get my dad out of here!" Lilly hollered before escaping the store through the office.
"I don't on dilly-dally! Honey, take Duck into the office and barricade the living hell out the door behind me. Glenn when you hear me honking in the alley, start getting people out of here!" Kenny yelled in a commanding tone. Jaiden fell onto all four, having seen the edge of the bat peeking out underneath on of the shelves.
"Jay! Bring your bat and come with me to help me get to my truck!" Hearing her order, she snatched the bat "Yes, sir!" She bellowed. Hopping back onto her feet, she made way to the office were Kenny was waiting. "Glenn, throw me you keys!" Without hesitation or asking why, Glenn threw his keys at her, she caught them but with slight difficulty (she wasn't the best at catching objects).
"C'mon girl!" Kenny's tone was one of impatient. Rather than arguing, she kept her head in the game and continued with her task. Her ankle was beginning to throb again, but she bite her lip, thinking that it would stop the pain. The two of them passed Katjaa and Duck in the office (she had finally learnt their names through Clementine), the little boy was helping his mother pull the desk and table near the door for a decent barricade. Entering the alleyway, Glenn's car was up ahead. Larry and Lilly using the car as a form of hiding for several monsters were passing a few feet away. "Kenny," She needed his attention, "What?" He answered gruffly, "We need the gas for you truck before you can get anywhere in it," She informed him, her voice was slightly panicked. The situation was becoming too overwhelming for her.
"Don't you think I know that kid?" He snapped. She held back a snarky comeback; right now wasn't the time to argue. She fiddled with the car keys to find the button to pop the truck open. When she did, she pressed her thumb on it. Kenny lifted it, grasping the gas almost immediately. "Lilly, can you start the car up please," Jaiden passed the woman the keys, the latter nodded. Kenny paused in his tracks, causing Jaiden to slam into the back of him, falling on her ass again as she did so.
"Listen kid," Kenny began, turning on his heel to face her, though he became perplexed when there was no one there. "Down here," She waved her arm in the arm. Kenny latched his hand on her arm to heft her up, back onto her two feet again.
"Listen Jay, we're gonna run to this truck like headless chicken. For now you're gonna have to deal with your twisted ankle, we have to get there. Got it?" Kenny explained. Jaiden bobbed her head up and down, determination written across her features. Instead of 'dilly-dallying' as Kenny put it, the two sprinted out of the alley. The pain in her ankle screamed in agony, pleading for her to stop.
Though it only fuelled her determination. At first there were no monster attacks, maybe the stray one here or coming closer. However, as Kenny and Jaiden turned the corner they were met with a horror. A horror that was a hoard of monsters all fighting to enter the drugstore. "Holy shit," Kenny stated, halting in his path to stare at them. In the corner of her eye, she noticed a monster about to pounce on him. Acting fast she shoved Kenny out of the way of its greedy hands. The monster's grasp latched onto her arm, its mouth opening wide to take a bite…
Only for an axe to cut its head in half.
"Thanks," She muttered as they resumed their task again. "Don't mention it," he replied as he sliced another monsters head off. Jaiden continuously smashed several monsters head in with her bat as she fought her way to the truck. She dodged any monsters that became too close for comfort. Not many were interested in them, for the alarm was gathering most of the attention. Kenny was far more ahead, already starting to fill the truck up with gas, the axe proving to be a better weapon.
If she thought the pain in her ankle beforehand killed, it was like Hell's fires were set on full blast and mainly aimed at her ankle. With as much strength as she could muster, she brought the bat back down one final time and surprisingly, it killed the monster instantly. Quickly, she glanced around, wanting to make sure that no more were about to lunge for them.
Behind her, the rumble of the truck seized her attention. Not wasting any time, she hopped into the front seat. "You alright kid?" Kenny wondered as he sped back to the back of the drugstore, some of the monsters following the roar of the engine. Jaiden rolled her eyes at kid. All the adrenaline pumping through her veins had made her emotions spiral out of control slightly. Her breathing was heavy as well, she'd have to get used to running around from now one.
"Will you stop calling me kid, redneck?" She barked in a tone that made Kenny raise one eyebrow. He ignored her. To be honest, she didn't really care as much. Kenny seemed like a decent guy but he almost got on her nerves a bit. He cut the engine and hopped out of the car, "Stay in here!" He instructed. She didn't protest and simply stayed in the car.
Then realisation hit her like a ton of bricks.
There was no stopping this apocalypse. No one was going to save them. Not even the military. If the world was fucked over in three days, who knew what it would be like in a week. A month. A year. Once Hell came, there was no escaping its fiery clutches.
TA-DA! Sorry if the ending seemed abrupt but want to get it over and done with. Please leave a review it means alot!