It was hard to tell where the gunshots were coming from, but I knew they were extremely close. Even worse, the sound was beginning to get the walkers all excited. More of them began dragging their feet out in the street, in search of I'm sure what they believed to be their next meal. On top of being seriously concerned about the walkers and the gunshots, I was surprised to feel annoyance stirring somewhere inside me. I had been relying on finding this town. Looks like I would have to try my luck elsewhere.
There was an alleyway to my right and I crawled across the sidewalk until I was safely pressed against the brick wall, a black iron fence partially blocking my view of the street. I glanced over my shoulder to see the alley behind me was clear aside from a chain link fence. I could get away now. One quick hop over the fence and I would be home free before I had to deal with any bullshit. The last thing I needed was to get caught in some sort of survivor vs. survivor crossfire.
I turned to leave when the sound of gunfire grew louder. A pick-up truck screeched to a stop in front of me. I froze and pressed as close to the wall as I could. He had a gun in his hand and was screaming something, though it was hard to understand. I was surprised to hear an answering call from over my head. I looked up to see a shadowy figure of a man perched on the roof.
"Don't leave me!" He yelled. The driver of the pick-up revved the engine, ready to bolt. I looked back at the figure on the roof and let out a gasp as he jumped to the roof of the building next to me. I should have taken my chances then. My brain was hollering at me to get up and run. I didn't, though. I don't know what made me stay, but I didn't move. I just watched as the figure on the roof suddenly slipped and fell. A strangled cry escaped my lips before I could stop myself. I clamped a hand over my mouth, although I doubted anyone could hear me over the continuous gunfire and yelling from the truck.
A boy, not much older than Gabe, was barely a foot away from where I hid. He was screaming in pain. For a second, it looked like he had missed the fence and just hit the dumpster. I leaned forward onto my knees, though, and saw otherwise. One of the horribly sharp spikes on the fence had gone straight through his leg, leaving him utterly helpless. "Oh god, help me! Please!" He cried.
I heard the truck engine rev again and peered around the fence. "I'm sorry, Randall. I'm so sorry man!" The passenger of the truck cried through the window. A second later, the vehicle had shot down the street, zooming away from the town and out of outstretched hands of the walkers that had gathered in the street. I was now aware of the herd that was moving towards the alley, towards the boy's terrified screams. I felt stuck, torn between saving my own ass or helping out this stranger, who clearly needed to be saved.
"God damn it." I muttered to myself. It was almost ironic. Had I not been wishing for weeks for some sort of human contact? Looks like my wish was coming true, though not the least bit in the way I would have liked. I was wary of the walkers, but those could easily be taken care of. I was more worried about the other shooters. Though, I hadn't seen them, I knew the guys in the pick-up truck had to have been exchanging gunfire with someone other than walkers. I had already made up my mind, though.
I pushed myself to my feet, my bat in my hands. I swung at the closest walker. Its skull splattered under the weight of my swing before it dropped to the pavement.
"Holy shit! Please, you gotta get me out of here. They left me here! Oh god, they left me to die!" The boy, Randall, shouted at me.
I turned on him. "I'm going to help you, but I need you to shut up! I know you're in pain, but you're attracting every single walker in a five mile radius!" I hissed at him.
His eyes widened, caught off guard by my tone. The look lasted a second though before replaced once again by one of sheer terror. "Please, don't kill me! I'm not with those guys. I'm just a kid!"
For a second, I thought he was talking to me which didn't make much sense. Then, I noticed his gaze had drifted over my shoulder. I quickly turned to face three men, guns pointed right at my chest.
"Drop the weapon." One of the men grunted. He wore what looked like an old policeman's uniform. The tone in his voice implied this was a line he had used many times in the past.
I knew better than to argue with three loaded weapons and the bat fell from my hand and hit the pavement with a clank. "Don't, please. I don't know this guy. I-I was just passing through and stopped to help him."
"And why should we believe you aren't with those other assholes? Huh?" The cop demanded.
Before I could answer, one of the other men interrupted. He was younger than the other two, with dark hair. He looked Asian. "Hey, I don't mean to break this up, we have to hurry. Rick, these walkers are getting closer!" He sounded nervous.
I peered around the cop and the other older man, who was sporting a head of pure white hair, and saw at least a dozen walkers slowly making their way towards us.
"Maybe we should just put the poor kid out of his misery." The older man suggested.
My eyes widened in shock, but Randall opened his mouth to protest before I could say anything. "No! Please, don't do that. Take me with you! I promise I'll do what you say!" He begged.
"Rick, we can't take them. The others won't like it. We don't know him. What if their people come looking for them, guns blazing?" The Asian protested, shooting a look at Randall and I.
"Whoa, hold on! I'm not with this guy, I don't have any people! And I'm not going anywhere with anyone!" I argued.
The three men shared a look of disbelief before ignoring my comment and getting back to the matter at hand. "We could try to amputate it, right above the knee. Probably wouldn't be too difficult, although he'd be losing a lot of blood." The older gentleman suggested again.
Randall seemed to grow even paler. "What? You're going to take my leg off? What?" He demanded, his voice shaking.
The three ignored him, quickly discussing the best way to go about the amputation. I still was finding it hard to believe I had somehow landed myself in this situation. I look behind the men again to see the walkers closer than ever. We had maybe minutes before they were on us.
"Hey! Look, there's no time. We're all about to be walker lunch. Can't we just yank him off the spike?" I asked desperately.
I was surprised when it appeared my advice was being considered. "She's right. We don't have time. If we hurried through an amputation, we could end up killing him. Let's just try to get him off the spike. Then we can put him in the car and deal with this at the farm." The cop said. The Asian opened his mouth to argue but was given a look that clearly threatened that this was not a negotiation.
"Alight, let's grab hold of his leg. On the count of three, we lift. You, hold his arms still. This will go much better if he's not wriggling around." I realized the cop was speaking to me and I nodded quickly. I pulled myself up onto the dumpster next to the poor kid and pinned his arms down at his side.
"Don't struggle." I ordered him, seeing the panicked look on Randall's face. "Alright, let's do this."
"Wait, wait, wait-" Randall tried to argue, but someone had already said three and his leg was lifted clean off the spike, but not without mangling the skin and muscle of his calf. He let out a painful, horrible scream and I pressed my hand over his mouth.
"Shut up! You're gonna kill us all!" I spat. His eyes were watering with pain and terror, but I waited for him to give me a sign he'd keep his mouth shut. He nodded once and I removed my hand, hopping off the dumpster as the two older men carefully lifted Randall and began to carry him away from the scene.
"Wait, what about her? Do we leave her?" The Asian asked, looking back at me.
I raised my hands in protest. "I already told you, I'm not a part of this! I'll leave now and you'll never see me again!" I shared a pleading look with the cop, who just looked back at me with a hardened gaze.
"We can't take any chances she'll bring those people back to try and find us. We take her too." He ordered.
"What? Are you kidding me?" I argued. The Asian boy tried to grab my arm and I tugged it from his grasp. "Nu uh, I ain't goin nowhere with you people! Not without a damn fight!" He struggled to grab hold of my again, but I pushed him away. I turned to run but not before I saw him raise his hand. Something heavy hit the back of my head.
Then everything was black.