AN: Be warned, there is mention of rape and minor torture in this chapter. So if that triggers you, then steer clear.
"Lizzie?" Red whispered, as he rounded a corner leading to the next aisle. He'd begun looking for her after hearing a strange noise, and then nothing else; he was worried. Seeing nothing down that aisle, he walked around to the next aisle and saw what looked like a little pool of fresh blood on the floor. There was no doubt about it now, something had happened to her.
He knelt next to the blood and studied the area around it. There were little spots of blood every few feet, so he stood up and slowly followed the drops; keeping his head low and his gun up.
The drops led to a swinging door that he assumed led to the backroom of the store. He put his ear against it and heard low voices. They were male, and there seemed to be at least two or three of them. He could only make out a few things they were saying, such as, "We need to hurry", and "We can all take a turn". He needed to get to her fast, before they did something that Liz might not be able to recover from.
He opened the door a crack and looked inside, but he couldn't see anything, so he pushed it a little farther and stuck his head in and looked around. The voices were coming from his right, and there was a wall that he could hide behind so they wouldn't see him coming. He slowly crept through the door and let it close behind him. The hinges made a small squeaking sound and he froze, waiting for them to come running; but they kept talking, not seeming to hear his slip-up. He walked over to the edge of the wall and put his back against it; the voices now loud and clear now. They were talking about raping her, and the anger rose up inside him like nothing he'd experienced in a long time. He looked around the corner carefully and saw that Liz was spread-eagle on top of a desk, with three men standing around her arguing who would get to go first. She was still fully dressed, much to his relief, but she wasn't moving and that worried him.
"Well let's get on with it then. Since I caught her, I get to go first." A tall, burly man with long hair and tattoos on his neck stepped forward and began to unbutton Liz's pants.
A shorter man dressed in cut-off jeans and a wife beater grabbed the tall one's bicep, "I say we flip for it. It's not fair that you get to go first."
The tall one ripped his arm away from the other and snarled, "Shut the hell up, Frank, or you don't get a turn at all. Now quit talking and help me take her pants off."
Red stepped out from behind the wall with his gun raised and said in a low, deadly voice, "I suggest you step away from her before I kill you where you stand."
All three men looked at him with surprise, as the tall one said, "Who the hell are you?"
Red smiled coldly, "Someone who you never should have messed with; and that extends to my girl you have lying there." He gestured with his gun at Liz.
The shorter one put his hands up and said, "Hey man, we don't want no trouble. We're just lookin' to have some fun with it being the end of the world and all."
Red pursed his lips and nodded, "Oh, well in that case.." He trailed off and shot two of the men in the head, killing them instantly; leaving Frank, the shorter one with his hands still up, alive.
Frank looked down at his friends lying on the ground and said in a scared voice, "Hey man, I wasn't gonna do nothin', I promise." He looked terrified, but Red didn't give a shit; he was literally seeing red.
Red approached him quickly and sucker punched him in the stomach. Frank doubled over and gasped for breath as Red brought his gun down on top of Frank's head. He dropped quickly, groaning in pain, then looked up at Red with pleading eyes, "Please, I'm sorry. I won't never do nothin' like this again."
Red moved over him and looked down, his eyes cold and calculating, "You see Frank, I don't believe you. I've been around the block a few times, and you're just like all the others." He stomped down on Frank's leg, breaking it instantly, as Frank screamed out in agony.
With tears running down his face, Frank started pleading with Red, "Come on, please, please, please, don't hurt me anymore. Please, I wasn't gonna do nothing, I swear, you have to believe me."
Red shook his head and sat down on the desk near Liz's head, "I don't have to do anything. I should just kill you now, but I want to give her a chance to take a little revenge out on you."
Frank sobbed harder and tried to sit up, but Red stood up quickly and kicked him in the shoulders; causing him to fall down to his back again. As Red watched Frank curl up in a ball, he heard a quiet moan from behind him. He put his gun in his waistband, then turned to Liz and put his hand on her forehead, "Sweetheart, wake up."
She groaned and kept her eyes shut tightly. Her temple was still oozing blood, so he dug a handkerchief out of his pocket and held it there; Liz winced and moaned even louder. She moved her mouth a few times, then croaked out a soft, "Red".
He reached his free hand down and took her hand, "I'm here, sweetheart, you need to open your eyes." He wasn't going to say her name in front of Frank. He glanced behind him and saw that the man was still curled up in a fetal position, quietly mumbling to himself.
Liz swallowed thickly and cracked her eyes open, then said, "What happened?"
"You were accosted by three men. I'm just relieved that I made it here in time before they raped you; which is what they had planned to do."
She squinted at him and held her free hand up, "Help me up, I need to see if I can stand."
He grabbed her hand and pulled her up, then helped her scoot to the front edge where she saw Frank for the first time, "Is he one of them?"
Red bit his lip and nodded, "Yes, I've disabled him and left him for you to do whatever you please."
She shook her head, swaying a bit and said, "You know I'm not going to do anything to him. I think you've done enough without me adding to it."
Frank turned over and said to Liz in a relieved voice, "Oh thank you for your generosity. I won't never do nothin' like this again, I learned my lesson."
Red stood up again, then walked over to him with a smirk as he said, "That's her choice, but you're not going to leave here today alive; you can count on that." Before Frank could say anything more, he pulled his gun out of his waistband and shot Frank in the forehead.
"Red, what the hell? You know I don't-"
He cut her off and put his hands on her shoulders, "Lizzie, he was a dangerous man who most likely would have done this again. All three of these men deserved what they got; I don't have any regrets. People are going to pay with their lives in this kind of world, I have to protect you."
She closed her eyes and put her head in her hands, "I don't need to be protected."
Red laughed humorlessly and stepped back, "You would have been gang-raped and most likely killed if I hadn't been here; give me a little credit."
She looked up with pain shining in her eyes, then grimaced, "Thank you for saving me."
He tilted his head and nodded, "I will always do what I have to do to keep you safe and alive."
Liz grabbed his hand, then tugged him forward into a hug. She moved her thighs apart so he could stand between them as she pulled him as close as possible, then sighed into his neck and closed her eyes; feeling safe for this one fleeting moment. He rubbed his hands up and down her back soothingly, and buried his face in her neck, leaving little feather-light kisses every so often; his facial hair tickling her skin.
She didn't know how long they stayed that way, but eventually he pulled back slightly and cupped her jaw with his left hand, "Do you think you can walk? We need to go back to the house."
She closed her eyes, then opened them with determination shining in them, "Yes, I'll be fine."
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead softly, then stepped back and helped her off of the desk. She stood on her feet, then swayed for a moment before he put an arm around her waist and began leading her towards the swinging door.
He led her out into the main room, then towards the sliding front doors. What they saw when they reached the front made her blood run cold; there were dozens of Walkers stumbling about aimlessly around the parking lot and by their car.
"Shit", she mumbled. She wasn't exactly in the best shape to be fighting off a Walker hoard, and they didn't have enough bullets to put a dent in that number anyway.
She slid her arm around his waist and squeezed his side lightly, "Do you have any ideas?"
He clenched and unclenched his jaw as he thought over her question, "Those men most likely arrived here in a vehicle, we didn't see one in the parking lot, so I'm assuming that they parked in the back."
Liz nodded, "I think you're right, but don't you think we should gather as many supplies as we can before we leave?"
He bit the inside of his cheek, "Do you feel up to it?"
She squeezed his side once more, then pulled away from him, "I don't have much choice, we need the supplies. I just have a pounding headache, I'll be fine."
Red heaved a sigh, then walked over to where they had thrown a couple of bags on the ground when they had first arrived. He picked them up, then threw one to her, "Gather as much as you can, mostly food if possible, and meet me at the backdoor in ten minutes."
She nodded and turned to walk away, but his words stopped her, "Please be careful, Lizzie, I need you by my side." Tears stung at the corner of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall as she nodded with her back to him, "I will, I think I've learned my lesson."
OOOOOO
Liz filled up her bag as full as she could, then walked slowly back to the swinging door. Her headache was worse than before, and she felt like she might pass out; luckily the bleeding had stopped. Red had been standing there waiting, but quickly walked over and took the bag from her, then put his hand on her elbow, "Are you able to make it, or do you want to sit and rest?"
She took a deep breath, "I'm ok, let's go." He didn't move his hand as they walked through the swinging door and towards a door leading to the outside. When they reached it, Red set both bags down and opened the door slowly. He stuck his head out, looked around for a moment, then turned back to Liz, "There's a van back here, but a few Walkers around. I'm going to go take care of them, then come back to get you."
She nodded and put a hand on his chest, then ran her fingers down his shirt, stopping at his belt, "Be careful, Red, I need you as much as you think you need me."
He reached out and squeezed her arm, then turned and walked out the door. She held her breath as she heard four gunshots go off, then the door opened and he came through quickly and picked up the bags. "Come on, we have to go now. The noise surely attracted more of them, and they'll be here any second." He walked out the door and began running towards the van with a bag in each hand. She followed after him, but didn't feel like she could run without falling down, so she speed walked towards the van.
Suddenly she heard him yell, "Lizzie, behind you!"
She glanced over her shoulder and let out a little scream as she saw a walker a lot closer than she was comfortable with reach out a hand towards her, groaning and growling. She turned and shoved the thing as hard as she could, then made herself jog the rest of the way to the van on unsteady legs. She reached it quickly, then hurriedly closed the door as walkers reached the van and began banging on the windows. Red started it, then drove around the side of the building and into the main parking lot as fast as possible. There were hundreds of walkers ambling towards them, but they were a lot quicker and made it to the road easily.
Liz let out a relieved sigh, then laid her head back on the head rest. She felt sick and light-headed, but knew that she would be taken care of . She felt a hand on her thigh, so she cracked one eye open and looked at Red as he said, "Are you ok? That Walker didn't bite or scratch you did it?"
She shook her head and laced her fingers in his, needing the comfort of another human being, "I shoved it back before it could touch me. Thanks for the warning."
He nodded, then looked back at the road and continued driving back towards the house. She kept her hand in his, then stared out at the devastation as they passed by; it was utterly depressing.
OOOOOO
They pulled into the garage within minutes, and Red pulled his hand away and slid out to grab the bags full of supplies. She got out, then followed behind him as he walked into the kitchen and set the bags down. He dug out two bottles of water, handed her one, then opened his and took a long drink. She hurriedly opened hers and took a drink of the cool water; never had anything tasted so good.
Red set his half-empty bottle down, the began digging through the bags again. After a moment, he pulled out a bottle of Ibuprofen and gave her a small smile, "I think you'll be needing these."
She smiled, feeling relieved, "Yes, it feels like a hammer is pounding into my skull."
He winced and opened the bottle, then took out three pills and handed them to her. She took them, then swallowed them down and groaned in pain; swallowing made her head hurt worse.
He grabbed her hand and led her to the living room then said, "You need to lie down. If you're comfortable enough to lay your head in my lap, I can massage your temples to help ease the pain."
At this point she would try anything. Liz nodded in agreement, then watched as he sat down on their makeshift bed and folded his legs Indian-style. She laid down, then put her head on his lap and tried to relax. He put his fingers on her temples, then began to massage them slowly and deliberately. After only a few minutes, he was already beginning to ease the pain in her skull.
She was almost asleep when they both heard the doorknob to the garage rattle; it was so quiet in the house that any sound carried. Red patted her shoulder for her to sit up, and when she did, he stood up quickly and pulled his gun out. He walked towards the living room doorway slowly, then looked around the corner and waited. The door opened and Red stepped out with his gun raised, "Stop right there."
Liz hurried and walked over to look around the corner as well, then watched as the person in the doorway stepped forward into a patch of sunlight.
It was Dembe.
AN: Is anyone still reading this? I know it's been a long time since I updated, and I apologize for that. I would really appreciate it if you guys reviewed. I need to know if it's worth it to continue writing this. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you guys have a great day.