Maria gasped, tears collecting in her eyes. Speaking softly to gain the group's attention, but to not set off the gunman, "Dante..."
The group turned around to see Maria have a gun pointed to the back of her head, Dante and Crystal gasped as Tyreese's eyes widen. Crystal growled, and pointed her bow at the woman behind Maria; Cocking an arrow back, ready to fire. Dante places a hand on Crystal's arm, shaking his head no. With a glare, Crystal sighs and lowers her weapon."Alright let's stay calm here." Tyreese said putting his cop training to good use by trying to calm down the woman.
"What is it you want?" Dante asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked at the woman.
"Let her go!" Crystal yelled as she growled and glared at the woman.
"No… No…" The woman said as she had looked at them frantically.
"Ok… What is your name?" Tyreese asked as he put his gun away and slowly walked up to the woman with his hands in the air.
"M-My name is J-Jamie… Stop moving or I blow her brains out!" Jamie yelled at Tyreese as she ran her fingers through her short brown hair, she looks like she was in her early thirties, she had pale skin color and dark green eyes.
Tyreese froze and looked at Maria face, she was crying and was very scared as she stood their slightly shaking and looking at Dante and Crystal.
"Ok Jamie…. What do you want?" Dante asked as he looked at Maria and then looked at Jamie.
"Why are you do this?" Crystal added with a frown as she looked at the fear in Maria eyes and the tears running down her face.
"M-My father…. H-He is sick….. I'm not going out there with those freaks walking around!" Jamie said looking at Dante and then Crystal constantly.
"Ok…. So what do you want us to do?" Tyreese asked with a raised eyebrow as he moved backwards towards Dante and Crystal.
"You!" Jamie said as she pointed at Crystal. "You're going to the pharmacy..." She throws Crystal a list of supplies, "Get me these things!"
Crystal looked at the list and growled silently as she looked at Jamie, she then looked at Maria and sighed. "Fine… I'll do it."
"I'll go with you." Dante said as he looked at Crystal.
"No! She goes alone." Jamie said as she glared at Dante.
"But I can help her…. I'm a Marine… She would last longer with a extra person." Dante explained as he looked at her.
"A marine?" Jamie asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes." Dante said as he slowly took out his dog tags and showed them to Jamie.
Jamie looked at the dog tags and then looked at Dante. "Fine… Hurry up!"
Dante nods and fakes a smile. "Watch her while we're gone."He whispered to Tyreese as he watched Jamie put Maria sitting on a chair and she sat behind her still pointing her gun at her head.
Tyreese nods and tosses Dante the keys to his car, he then leaned against a wall and folded his arms watching Jamie like a hawk.
"We will be back soon baby… Don't be scared." Dante said with a smile as he looked Maria.
Maria slowly nods as the tears start to dry up, she didn't want to make any sudden movement or else Jamie would shoot her.
"Come on." Dante said as he looked at Crystal and patted her shoulder, he the walked outside.
Crystal glanced at Maria and frowned, she then took her new bow and followed Dante to the car. "Hey…. We don't have to take the car you know….. It's only a couple of blocks away… And we can save gas for later."
Dante thought about it for a couple of seconds and nods in agreement. "Fine… But let's make this silent… I don't want to attract more attention to us." He said as he smiled at Crystal. "Lead the way."
Crystal nods and starts leading him to a pharmacy a couple of blocks away. "So…. Got any skills with that Tomahawk?"
"Yes…. They teach you how to use it in the Marines." Dante said as he was reminded of his trainings, he then raised a eyebrow looking at Crystal's fancy bow. "You know how to use that?"
Crystal chuckled and nodded with a smile. "Remember how my parents used to take me to summer camp when I was young?"
Dante nods and smiles. "Yes."
"Well arts and craft wasn't the only thing I was good at." Crystal said as she looked down at the bow and touched the arrows in her quiver.
"Really? So you're a archery freak?" Dante asked with a raised eyebrow and a chuckle.
"Yep." Crystal said with a smile, she then saw a wandering walker nearby and stopped walking, she pointed her bow at it, took out a arrow from her quiver and cocked it back, she then let it go hitting the walker directly in the head.
Dante eyes widen and he clapped slowly. "Impressive." He said with a smile.
"Thank you." Crystal said as she looked at him and smiled, she then walked up to the walker and grabbed the arrow and took it out of his head. "Good to use again… Better then your gun."
Dante sighed and chuckled. "Good point…. You seem really good at it… And your first kill is a head shot."
"Yeah well I used to go to competitions when I was younger… I won some and I lost some." Crystal said as she stuck her tongue out at him and cleaned the arrow of the blood from the walker.
"Nice… I never knew that about you." Dante said as he continued walking and scanned the area for anymore walkers.
"There is a lot of things you don't know about me soldier boy." Crystal said with a sigh as she stopped cleaning the arrow and put it back in her quiver.
"True…. Who would have known a outbreak like this would make us close?" Dante said with a chuckle and a smile.
Crystal laughed lightly and stopped in front of the pharmacy. She smiles as the door opened slowly, "We're here." A couple crashes inside the building, and the sounds of people talking catch her attention, "There are survivors inside..."Crystal said quietly as she looked back at Dante.
"Sounds like looters… They might not be friendly." Dante warned as he took out his gun just in case and he put his tomahawk away.
"You don't know that… Maybe they are." Crystal said as she entered the shop to greet them.
"Shit." Dante said quietly, he then entered the pharmacy and pulled Crystal away while having his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, he then dragged her out of the pharmacy.
"What the hell?" Crystal quickly said as he took his hand off her mouth.
"Don't just go in there not knowing who they are or what they are carrying… They could kill you." Dante said as he looked into her eyes and put a hand on her shoulder.
Crystal wiped his hand off her shoulder. "This isn't Afghanistan soldier boy… Not everyone is hostile."
"You may be right but… It doesn't hurt to be cautious…. We can't trust anybody out here… Especially since the world has gone to shit…. It changes most people." Dante said with a sigh as he looked through the window of the door to the pharmacy.
"Fine you win…. You're the leader so what do you suggest we do?" Crystal asked as she huffed and folded her arms.
"Let me go in first…. I'll sneak around and see how much of a danger they are. If they seem friendly I'll come back out and let you know…. If not… Then me and you are going to have to take them out." Dante explained as he quietly opened the door to the pharmacy.
"Be careful." Crystal whispered as he closed the door behind him.
Dante started walking while crouching trying to gather information on these looters, he heard four different voices in the pharmacy they all sounded like they were in their late teens to late twenties, some were tall and others were at medium height. Dante hid behind a counter peeking his head out slightly to look at the four looters, one had a pistol, two had automatic weapons and the last one had a axe. It seemed to Dante that the one with the axe either couldn't be trusted or was new to the group, they had on black ski masks with white painted skulls on them, they definitely looked suspicious to Dante and it seemed like this group could not be trusted so Dante decided he had to kill them in order to get the things for Jamie so she can release Maria.
Dante slowly walked away while he still was crouching to the door, he then walked out of the pharmacy making sure not to make any noise to attract the attention of the looters.
Dante sighed as he walked out of the pharmacy and closed the door behind him, he then looked at Crystal and frowned. "I know your not going to like this but…. We have to kill them."
"What? Why?" Crystal asked with a serious face and a raised eyebrow.
"They're armed and dangerous… They where these face masks like they're part of some group or gang… They can't be trusted and they might shoot at us as soon as we make contact with them because they would think were trying to take their things from them." Dante explained as he took out his gun and inspected it with his tomahawk on the floor now.
Crystal frowned and looked down. "This isn't right."
Dante put a hand on her shoulder and another one lifted her chin up so she can look into his eyes. "We have too…. For Maria…. It's either us or them…. We need to survive."
Crystal slowly nods and exhaled sharply. "So what's the plan?" She asked Dante with a raised eyebrow.
"Alright… there is two of them with automatic weapons…. If we can take those out as soon as we get in there by surprise then we just got a guy with a axe and another with a pistol which we should be able to kill quickly." Dante said as he grabbed his tomahawk in one hand and had his pistol in the other.
"Alright." Crystal said with a nod as she took out a arrow ready to fire at anytime.
Dante inhales deeply and then exhaled, he then started crouching and walked into the pharmacy with Crystal behind him crouching as well. Dante and Crystal hid behind the counter and watched the looters go through everything in the pharmacy trying to look for something, Dante and Crystal watched their every move trying to determine the best time to strike.
Dante stopped peeking and sat down looking at Crystal. "Alright… The ones with the automatic weapons are in isle one and seven… Take isle seven and I'll get one… Try to do it as quiet as you can."
Crystal sits next to him ands nods. "Alright… Good luck." She said as she started crouching and walking to isle seven trying not to be seen.
Dante does the same and starts heading to isle one as he see the man with a machine gun, Dante grips his tomahawk tightly and walks behind the man like he was his shadow, he then swing his tomahawk on the top of the man head instantly killing him. Dante kneeled down beside the dead body and took the man machine gun as he put his gun and tomahawk away, he then started walking looking for the other two.
Crystal from far away spotted the other man with the automatic weapon, she started walking slowly towards the man to get into a range so their would be a better chance of her not missing. The man stops walking and turns looking at something on the shelves, Crystal eyes widen as she walks slightly to the right so he wouldn't spot her with the corner of his eye, she then stood up and cocked back her bow, she then shot off the arrow making it hit the man in the head but he then crashes into the things on the shelves and they start falling down and making a lot of noises alerting his other two friends, Crystal curses as one of the looters looked at her and called it out to his other friend.
Crystal ran as the man started shooting at her she then slid over the counter and took cover. Dante eyes widen as he heard the gunfire, he then ran over to the seventh isle but the man with the axe swung at Dante, Dante eyes widen again as he ducked and hit the man in the stomach with the machine gun, the man doubled over and Dante hit him again with the gun knocking the man to the floor. Crystal kept flinching every time the gunshot fired off, she then heard it get closer and closer, she now noticed the man was getting closer to her so she ready her bow and was prepared to shoot. The man was now in front of her ready to shoot, she shot the arrow which hit the man shoulder, he then growled and was about to shoot, Crystal closed her eyes ready to die but then Dante shot the man in the head making him drop to the floor.
Crystal opened her eyes and looked at the now dead body, she peeked her head over the counter to see Dante walking towards her with his machine gun ready. Crystal sighed in relief and stood up, she then went over to the dead body and took the arrow off him, she then walked over to Dante and hugged him tightly as she started crying and thanking him for saving her, Dante tried calming her down while hugging back. Crystal stopped crying and saw the man that Dante knocked out begin to get up slowly, she broke the hug and pushed Dante to the side as she ready her bow and arrow ready to shoot at the man, the man took of his mask and was on both knees begging not to be killed.
Crystal narrowed her eyes and looked closely at the man with a raised eyebrow. "James?"
James looked up at her and tilt his head thanking god. "Crystal? Oh thank god!"
"What the hell are you doing here with these guys?" Crystal asked as she walked up to him putting her hand out to help him up.
"You know this guy?" Dante asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked at the two.
"Yes…. We went to high school together." Crystal replied as she looked back at Dante while helping James up.
"I'm so sorry….. I'm just trying to survive…. I joined these guys because they offered shelter and food…. It was horrible when the army dropped the Napalm bomb here… I was just trying to survive… Please don't kill me." James said as got back down on his knees and put his hands together praying while sobbing.
Dante sighed and rolled his eyes. "Get up… And get out!" Dante said as he helped him up and pushed him away.
James started walking backwards and was graceful as he looked at the two. "Thank you… Thank you." He said with a smile, he then ran off.
Dante shook his head and sighed. "That was…. Pathetic."
Crystal nods and sighs. "Yeah it was… Now let's get these supplies." Crystal said as she took out the list and started looking for the stuff while Dante was on the lookout for any walkers or looters.
A couple of minutes later Crystal was done gathering the supplies they needed to give to Jamie and also got some supplies for the group. Crystal was unable to shoot her bow since she her hands were occupied by the supplies so Dante was on point looking out for the two as they started walking back to the pawnshop.
"You really think she is going to give Maria back?" Crystal asked with a raised eyebrow and a worried tone as she had a bit of a hard time carrying the heavy supply bags.
"She has too…. She has no reason to keep her or us once we get her these supplies." Dante explained as he walked and scanned the area.
"Yeah you're right… I'm just worried about her." Crystal said with a frown as she looked down while walking.
"Everything is going to be ok." Dante said as he looked back at her with a reassuring smile.
Crystal nods and smiles as they finally made it to the pawnshop, the sun was slowly going down and it became a bit dark in the city. Crystal went inside of the pawnshop first and dropped the bag of supplies Jamie needed for her father, Jamie while still pointing a gun to Maria walked up to it and kicked it towards Maria, she then sat down and with her open hand started searching the bag seeing if everything she needed was there. After a few minutes Jamie nods and thanks the group, she then went into the back room and started talking to someone, the group expected it to be her father so they didn't do nothing.
Maria ran up to Dante and Crystal and gave them both a hug and held them tightly. "Thank you." She said as she smiled and tears came to her eyes.
Dante and Crystal smiled and hugged her back, Tyreese smiled but then noticed that Jamie was talking but no one was responding to her, he then raised a eyebrow and looked at Dante. Dante looked back at Tyreese and they decided to check it out, they walked slowly to the back room still hearing Jamie talk, they leaned against the wall next to the door looking at each other and listening, Dante and Tyreese eyes widen as they hear a familiar sound.
Tyreese took a couple of steps back and charged at the door with his shoulder to break down the door. The door broke down and Dante entered with Tyreese while Maria and Crystal were behind the counter looking for any walkers.
"What the fuck?" Tyreese said as he looked at Jamie, he then saw she was next to a obese walker that was handcuffed by both hands to a radiator.
Dante eyes widen and he stepped back a little as he saw Jamie using the supplies He and Crystal risked their lives to get to treat her walker father. "You sick bitch!" Dante shouted as he put his hand on his waist readying his gun to draw and fire.
Jamie stopped what she was doing and tilted her head at Dante and Tyreese as she stood up and stand in front off her dead father protectively. "He is sick and needs these supplies to stay alive." She said as she now took her gun and pointed it at Dante.
Dante draw his gun and pointed it at Jamie. "He is not sick.. He is dead… He is not your father anymore."
"Shut up!" Jamie yelled as she shot Dante arm.
Tyreese shot Jamie with his shotgun right on her chest, he then looked at Dante.
Dante cursed as he held his arm with one hand and leaned against a wall pointing his gun at Jamie father, he then shot the walker in the head, he then slid down the wall still holding down pressure on his arm to stop the bleeding. Maria and Crystal eyes widen as they heard the gunshots, they then entered the room and gasped while putting their hands to cover their mouths.
Maria then looked down and saw Dante holding his arm, she gasped again and kneeled down. "What happened to him?"
"He got shot by Jamie." Tyreese explained as he walked over to Jamie dead body and grabbed her gun.
Crystal ran over to the other supply bag and grabbed it, she then ran back to Dante and placed it on the side of him. "Here use what you can."
Dante nods. "Thank you." He said as he winced and searched through the bag with his open hand for things to take out the bullet and patch it up which he learned in the Marines.
The group then heard a car pull up to the pawnshop. "Shit." Tyreese said as he walked over to Dante and Maria, he then saw men with weapons come out of the truck.
Tyreese looked at Crystal and gave her Jamie gun. "It's like shooting a bow… Aim and shoot."
Crystal nods and leaves her bow and quiver with Maria, she then took the gun and headed out to the front store hiding behind a counter.
"Patch yourself up and we will take care of this… Take cover." Tyreese said as he looked down at them, he then ran to the front store and took cover next to Crystal holding his shotgun.
Dante winced as he slowly got up. "Help me move this desk." He said as he slowly walked over to the desk with the bag of supplies, he then dropped it on the floor and waited for Maria to help him.
Maria nodded and ran over to him knocking over the desk and taking cover behind it with him as she assisted him with patching himself up.
Tyreese and Crystal looked at each other getting ready for a fire fight as they heard the pawnshop door open and heard many people enter the room.