Something hit the back door with enough force to crack the window. Lori startled at the unexpected sound and whipped around to find Reggie yanking on the handle, her hair pasted to the side of her face with blood and sweat. Her features were twisted, her brow scrunched above eyes that had darkened with rage. Lori felt frozen with fear as her hand tightened around the scalpel that Rick had given her.
Her eyes darted around the room and settled on a set of stairs. She wavered, unsure if she should go back to the door through which she had come – maybe Rick would still be there in the kitchen. Glancing in Reggie's direction again, Lori watched in horror as the woman pushed her hand through a hole in the glass, scraping her skin over fractured edges until it shredded. The woman didn't seem to notice the blood pouring down her arm or the deep slices in her skin as she kept her eyes fixed on Lori, her fingers reaching for the lever handle. She almost had it when a loud clang sounded from somewhere in the pharmacy. Reggie's head turned abruptly and she slid her arm back out, abandoning the pursuit and walking away from the door.
Lori felt relieved for the briefest of moments but her dread returned quickly and her mind filled with questions. Did the noise come from Rick? Was he leading Reggie right to him? She made the decision to go investigate, hoping that if she was quiet enough she could sneak up on Reggie and end this nightmare somehow, even if she had to kill the other woman to do so.
Walking as quietly as she could, Lori returned to the door and slowly turned the lock back, willing the door not to creak as she edged it open. She succeeded and stepped back out into the exam room, noticing the mess that Rick had left from his search. Finding nothing else in the room, she continued on through the door that led to the reception area. Lori gripped the scalpel in her hand as she passed through the doorway, wishing she had a better weapon to use in case of an attack.
Almost immediately after that thought she felt a whoosh behind her then something hard and cold pressing against her temple. She mentally cursed herself for forgetting to check behind the door.
"Drop the scalpel," Reggie demanded, her voice sounding as unsteady as her hand felt. Lori could feel the gun trembling against her skull but she just couldn't take the chance of trying to fight the other woman off. Despite the unsteady hand, Lori would have to be precise with her moves or she'd be the loser of the fight. She opened her hand and let the scalpel fall to the floor, hoping that asking for forgiveness and pardon would prove to be a smart choice.
"Okay, okay there you go. I'm sorry we ran, Reggie, but you have to understand we are very confused and just-"
"Of course you're confused," Reggie spat, roughly grabbing Lori's left arm with the hand that wasn't holding a gun to her head. "You're infected. I'm trying to help you. You're only making it more difficult on yourself."
Lori frowned. Did this woman think she was going to turn?
"No, Reggie, I'm-," she began but stopped short when she spotted her husband walking through the opposite door coming from the pharmacy, his hands raised in a placating gesture as he had done with Reggie earlier in the basement. As their eyes met, Lori shook her head in disappointment, wishing he had just made a run for it if he had gotten that far.
Reggie's grip on Lori tightened when she saw Rick. She winced as she felt nails digging into the flesh on her arm, no doubt drawing blood.
"Stop!" the other woman cried when Rick reached the first row of chairs. He complied with her order and raised his hands higher.
"Reggie, I'm not going to try anything. I don't have a weapon, see? We can still try to talk this out, maybe make a compromise?" Lori could feel Reggie moving behind her, probably shaking her head, but thankfully loosening her grip on Lori's arm.
"No, no, no, you're ruining everything. I have to fix it," she said more quietly, her voice filled with confusion and agitation. If it hadn't been clear to them before, it was definitely clear now that this woman seemed to have gone mad. Rick met Lori's eyes once more before continuing.
"I'll help you. Whatever you need. How about you just let my wife go-"
Lori almost protested aloud before Reggie beat her to it. "No, no that won't do. I need her."
"So, can he go?" Lori spoke up, receiving a look from Rick. She raised her chin defiantlyin response - he couldn't be the martyr all the time.
"No!" she raised her voice once more, again gripping Lori's arm hard. "Stop talking. You have to get back in the basement. I want to help you but if you don't stop talking I'll be forced to kill you instead."
"Okay, alright we'll go back," Rick complied. "But maybe you can help us a little now: can we have some water? Food?"
Reggie seemed to think it over for a moment. "Okay. But you have to get back in the basement first. I'll leave it at the top of the stairs and I'll be ready if you try anything else."
"Okay, that's fair," Rick nodded, his deputy mode still in full effect. "Thank you, Reggie."
XXXX
Back to the basement, Lori thought miserably as she dutifully took her place against the wall, moving slowly so Reggie didn't lose it again. She and Rick stood there while Reggie gathered some food items for them and brought them back to the top of the stairs as she said she would. The door slammed with a resounding bang.
Rick turned to Lori and looked her over, his hand running over her face and shoulder. "You okay?"
She nodded. "Aside from being stuck down here again instead of back with our son, sure. You?" She surveyed him with her eyes, he was still limping heavily, but other than that seemed alright.
"Yeah."
Moments later they heard shuffling and what sounded like furniture being moved. The sound stopped outside of the basement door.
"Barricading us in," Rick muttered. "She may be crazy, but she's sort of smart."
Lori sighed. "I'll get the food."
She trudged up the stairs to retrieve the tray and carefully walked back down, feeling even more lightheaded now that something resembling a meal was in her grasp. Sitting down next to her husband she surveyed their provisions: two glasses of water, a handful of crackers, a container of applesauce and two peanut butter cups. Lori did a double take at that last item; then promptly got nauseated when the smell hit her.
"Oh god," she groaned behind the hand that was covering her nose and mouth. "Those smell disgusting."
Rick gave her a perplexed look and picked one up to sniff it. "Smells like chocolate…and fake peanut butter."
"Exactly!" She pulled up the neck of her shirt to aid in her attempt to block out the smell, thankful for the first time for the high-neck that had been annoying her all day.
Rick grabbed the other piece of chocolate and hurled both across the basement. Lori could hear them thwack against the wall on the other side of the room.
"Better?" he asked, unable to hide the smirk on his face.
"I guess," she muttered in response, uncovering her face.
"Sensitive to smells; I remember that from before," Rick chuckled. "You refused to buy mayonnaise or mustard your entire first trimester with Carl. Had to eat all my sandwiches dry."
Lori couldn't help but laugh a little bit at the memory, even if she still felt nauseated. "I still can't really stand the smell of mayonnaise. Bet I'll never want a peanut butter cup again either after this."
Getting her bearings again, she reached for one of the water cups, raising it to her lips and taking a gulp. She winced when swallowing the water made her throat clench in pain.
"Think it's actually safe to eat?" Lori asked, grabbing one of the crackers to examine.
Rick shrugged. "Couldn't say for sure, but I don't think she's going to poison us."
Despite her persistent nausea and aching throat, Lori nibbled on a cracker and continued to sip her water. At least crackers were good for an upset stomach. She noticed Rick wasn't touching any of his portion.
"Baby, you need to eat too," she encouraged, attempting to hand him a cracker.
"No, I'm good, you take my share." He gently pushed her hand back toward her.
"Please, you've lost blood. At least drink the water," she persisted. "Besides, I don't think I can stand to eat all of this. My throat is killin' me."
Rick looked at her sympathetically but nodded, grabbing his own water and a cracker. They continued to eat slowly in silence
"Did you find anything?" Lori asked, abandoning the crackers that were sticking to her swollen throat. She inspected the apple sauce container before shrugging and raising it to her lips; Reggie hadn't provided a utensil.
Rick shook his head, she could see the frustration on his face. "No, the exam room was a bust and I heard Reggie slamming around before I could check anywhere else. But I did get a look outside, the car isn't there. Keys wouldn't do us any good now unless we can find it."
Lori nodded, her hope wavering, how were they supposed to get out of here now?
"Did you lose the pipe?" she checked, assuming it was gone since he was empty handed when they met up again.
He leaned forward and reached behind his back, presenting the pipe to her after a moment, along with another scalpel wrapped in a small cloth, which he handed to her. "Nope, like I said, she's only sort of smart. Didn't have the presence of mind to search us."
"Well, at least that's something." Lori pocketed the scalpel, careful to keep it wrapped up so that it wouldn't cut her. Sighing, she pushed away the tray of scraps that neither of them had touched for a few minutes. She could still feel the congestion in her chest when she breathed deeply, but thankfully the coughing fits seemed to have subsided for the moment. "So what do we do now?"
"We bide our time until she makes another mistake," Rick replied confidently. "She won't kill us, she said she needs you for something. She's unstable, she'll make another mistake and we just have to be ready for it."
Lori nodded, watching him for a moment before she decided to ask the question that had been on her mind. "Why didn't you escape when you had the chance? You said you checked the front for the car…you could have gotten away."
He shook his head. "Wasn't gonna leave you-"
"But that's what you told me to do," she reminded him. "If the situation were reversed."
"Got a bum leg, remember? What good would it do me to try to run on foot?"
"Still, it would have been a chance. To get back to Carl…" she tried to suppress the tears that formed in her eyes thinking about her boy. At this point he surely knew something was wrong. She wondered who he would sleep with.
"I want to give you a chance," Rick insisted. "I'm gonna get you and the baby out of here." He swiped at her tears with his thumb. "You're exhausted; we should try to get some rest."
She decided not to push the conversation further, suddenly realizing how right he was. Her body ached for rest. Nodding, she scooted over so he could have room to switch positions and maneuver his leg. He unbuttoned his over-shirt and balled it up on the floor, using it as a pillow for his own head and then gently tugged on her arm to encourage her to lay down with him. She recoiled slightly from laying full on the cold cement floor, but was thankful the two of them could at least share body heat.
Lori settled her head on Rick's chest, draping her arm over his stomach. It had been over a month since she and her husband had actually slept next to each other, let alone cuddled up. She felt absolutely awful, her husband had a serious leg injury, a crazy woman was upstairs insisting she wanted to help them even as she threatened their lives while keeping them hostage, and a chained-up walker that they had put down was still in the other room just feet away from them. Most of all, she missed her son terribly. Despite all of those things, and even if it had to be on a hard basement floor, Lori basked in the comfort of having her husband by her side again. She fell asleep with a small smile on her face.
Please remember to send us a comment to let us know you're still reading. Cheers.