Emma was pacing back and forth in the hall of this house they were hiding out in. August had been gone for far too long! He left earlier that morning while it was still dark out. But it was after sundown now.
"Come on. Where are you?" Emma paced harder.
She knew the rules, that if August hadn't returned in a day, stay put. If if became too days then he was most likely dead, and she needed to gather there things and stay out of sight.
Her head turned to the door quickly, as she heard the lock clicking. She braced herself with her hand on the hilt of her machete, but when she saw red hair she sighed in relief. It didn't last too long though once she saw the state he was in.
"What did you do?!"
Emma quickly rushed over to her brother when she saw him limping and bleeding through the door.
"My foot slipped and I fell from a pretty high shelf. There was wooden spikes on the ground...broke my fall. I passed out." August winced as Emma fussed over him.
Emma sat him down on the couch and assessed the damage that had been done. There was a giant stake sticking out of her brothers leg. She grimaced and started to clean the blood up with a wet rag.
"You're gonna have to pull it out Em."
"I-. August if we do that it will start to bleed out." Emma whined.
"Well it can't stay in." August groaned. And before Emma could stop him he wrapped his fingers around it and pulled as hard as he could. "AAAGGGH!"
"August!" Emma gasped, "You- absolute fucking idiot! Why would you do that?!"
"I'm high on adrenaline I didn't even feel it." He shrugged but she still looked at him like he was crazy. " Em. The longer it stayed in, the longer I would have a hole in my leg. No we can clean it out and stitch me up or cauterize it...Yeah I think cauterize is the best option. Fuck that's gonna hurt." August sighed.
They started to hear hissing and growling from outside, that was normal but it was too loud to be good. Emma quickly shot and raced to the window, looking out she saw there was at least forty lurkers outside the house.
"August...there's too many of them out there." Emma gaped.
"Shit! They followed me here!" August jumped up and as soon as he did the doors bursted open with snarling lurkers. "Fuck!"
August took out his gun from the hostler on his chest, shooting the first three in the head.
Fuck! Gotta get the door. Gotta get the door!
August pushed the swinging lurker back out the door, and pushed his weight against it. He tried to push it completely shut but there was so much weight pushing back against him.
"Emma! You have to go! That many of them is only going to draw more over to us."
"What?! I am NOT leaving you August!"
"Dammit! I will hold them off! Take Henry and go!"
Jamming her bowie machete into the skull of a lurker forcing its head into the door, Emma kept stabbing at each ugly rotting face she could get to. Emma also put her weight on the other door, pushing against the snarling demons.
The weight slacked up and August was finally able to shut the door all the way. He quickly shoved an umbrella through the handles on the door and was breathing hard as he and Emma backed away starring at it.
"Quickly! Let's move this desk in front of the door." August limped towards it and Emma followed.
As fast as they could, they moved the heavy black desk and turned it on its side and pushed it up against the door. They backed away again as the banging started to get louder.
"Go get Henry, I'll get our stuff!" August instructed and Emma ran off upstairs.
Zooming around the corner, Emma bursted into the only available room she able to put Henry in. The toddler was spread out like a starfish, his chest rising and falling steadily and his pacifier moving between his lips as he suckled in his sleep.
Quickly Emma grabbed his blanket and his bags and picked the baby boy up as gently as she could. Henry whined and buried his face into her neck, wrapping his little arm around the other side.
"I know baby I'm sorry." Emma held onto him tight and ran out of the room.
Stepping down the steps as fast as she could, Emma flinched as she heard the umbrella cracking from the force of the raging undead on the other side.
"August!" Emma called out for him.
August came limping around the corner from the laundry room. A tight white cloth was tied around his leg now, bleeding through already.
"Come on! We can go out the back door." August threw the three bags they had for food and hygiene products, ammo and clothes over his shoulders.
He reached out for Emma's hand, and pulled her towards the back. They heard as the umbrella finally gave way and the desk scrapped against the tile. August got the door open and limped down the steps, still pulling Emma and Henry along with him.
Luckily there was a fence with a door that surrounded this house. With quick steps, August and Emma made it through the gate and walked around the perimeter, avoiding the lurkers as they creeped by.
The town they were in was crawling with the undead more than it was before so they went through back alleys and behind buildings, and taking down a few of the dead as they went along, August started to get weaker. They stopped to rest for a bit, Henry had finally woken up and needed to eat his dinner.
While Emma fed him, August looked over the map, eating a protein bar and taking sips of water. Leaning up against a burned down car, a lurkers charred body was hanging out of the other side window.
"There're another town." August looked over the map. "Just about 15 miles out, we cut through these woods here and cross this creek and some more woods...We can get there we can get there in 12."
"August you can't go another 12 miles on that leg." Emma scuffed.
"I can. And I will. Come on now woman don't give up on me yet."
"Says the one who wanted me to leave him behind." Emma rolled her eyes.
"Emma you know how these things go."
"Yeah I know...I know." the younger sister sighed.
Henry finished his meal and snuggled back up into Emma's embrace, for a two year old he was such a quiet little guy but nowadays he had to be. They got up and moved over to a different car, August tried to get it going but lifted the hood and saw it was stripped for parts.
Huddling up in the back seat with Henry while August was in the front, they slept in the car that night, but not before Emma read and whispered a bedtime story. When they woke up the next morning August looked even more pale and he was shaking.
But still he made them carry on with the plan, they had set the previous night. Emma had Henry wrapped up in a stripped blanket, tied to her back. She carried the lightest bags and Henry's bag, as August gripped onto a long stick they'd found.
Walking through the woods all morning, there were only a few lurkers around that they took down easily. There was a little chill in the air but it was still hot, they would need to take a break soon.
"I think I hear water!" Emma grinned.
"Then the creek must be close!" August laughed. "We're half way there!"
Emma smiled and looked determined now, she had to get August some help. As they got closer to the creek the water was louder and moving at a nice speed over the rocks. Emma handed August the bags at his request, wrapped one arm back around to smush Henry into her more and together they inched their way across the wet stones.
August hissed and groaned, almost loosing his footing and falling. Emma called out to him but he reassured her he was good.
"Do you think this water is clean?" August asked and laughed.
"Probably not. Don't look back at me pay attention to where you're stepping Aug." Emma snapped.
"You do know I'm the big brother right?" August huffed.
Once they made it over August tossed their bags up the little steep climb into the trees. August went first and then hissed but helped Emma and Henry up next. Catching their breaths, the siblings looked at each and smiled, laughing at their small victory.
"We should take a break." Emma took a deep breath.
"No we still have some ground to cover, we can do it before it gets dark and then rest." August shook his head.
"Look at you! You can barely take a step without groaning August. We're taking a break." Emma stated like it wasn't up for discussion.
"The longer we take the higher chance of me dying out here and leaving you alone in the freezing woods, Emma! Do you understand that?!" August hissed.
Emma's shoulders dropped and tears started to well up in her eyes. She didn't want her brother to die, he was the only one she had left. August sighed and pulled her closer, putting her head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. Don't cry Em." August kissed her forehead and rubbed her shoulders.
Emma was physically and mentally exhausted, they had only been in that house for four days, there was never a definite place for them to stay, to be safe.
Peaking over her shoulder were two big hazel eyes and mop of brown hair. Henry felt that his mother's mood had changed his bottom lip poked out around his pacifier. He laid his head down on and brought his chubby little fingers up to rub her back.
When Emma was done they did continue on for a few more hours. Nothing was ever calm though because as they were walking, a lurker hand popped up and grabbed onto August's injury leg.
It wrapped its boney fingers around his ankle and tripped him.
"Fuck!" August managed to catch himself before he hit the ridged ground.
"August!" Emma turned and rushed over.
As she did another lurkers came out behind the trees, limping over to the sounds of struggling. August used his good leg to push the lurkers snarling face away from his leg. When he stomped on it he could hear the demons neck breaking but still it clawed at him. Emma took her bowie knife and stabbed the dead woman through the back of her skull and stepped back as the body went limp.
August kicked her off the rest of the way and laid back, catching his breath, relief instantly washing over him. But he didn't get to rest for very long because he heard his sister scream. Emma was standing up tugging her leg back and forth from a lurker on the ground and pushing at one dead guys chest as it snapped and swung at her.
Henry started whining from all the jerking, burying his face into her back.
"I'm coming Emma!"
August rolled over and got up and as soon as he was on his feet, a lurker reached out him trying to grab him. He quickly ducked and pushed it to the ground, turning he limped and sped over plunging his knife into the lurkers skull and Emma twisted, stomping on the lurkers arm breaking it in two. It only reached out with its other arm, but stopped moving as August's knife slammed into the top of it's skull.
"Are you ok?! Are you hurt?!" August rushed out.
"I'm fine, there are more coming. Aug we have to go!" Emma looked around as more lurkers made their way over to them.
August quickly grabbed the bags he dropped and then they ran. Well as much as he could, limping and hopping and dodging lurkers.
"Go! Go!" August shouted as he saw Emma looking back at him.
"Come on!" Emma urged, rushing back to help him.
The lurkers continued to follow them and in their hast August tripped over a the trunks sticking out of the ground.
"God dammit!" August hit the ground taking Emma down with him.
He fell to his side and Emma fell on her knees, Henry started to cry and the sound only attracted more lurkers that were ahead of them. The pain was unbearable now and August was bleeding through his makeshift badge.
"Get up! Please! August we have to keep going!" Emma cried.
"Emma go! Take Henry and go!" August was heaving.
The lurkers continued to get closer and closer, there was so many of them now.
"August! No! I'm not leaving you! Please get up." She begged and sobbed.
"Emma. You. Need. To. Go. I'm only slowing us down. Take the bags and run! God damnit! Don't die out here too! I need you to live!" August pleaded and took the bags off, shoving them at her.
Emma whined and looked at him, this couldn't be real, this wasn't supposed to go like this. No! No no! This can't be happening.
"August." Emma had tears running down her face.
August pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her and Henry, his cries getting louder.
"I love you and the little man so much alright. Please, Emma go." He had tears in his eyes, looking over her shoulder the lurkers were close.
"I love you too Aug-"
A gun shot rang out and the lurker August was looking at a second ago dropped to the ground. He clutched Emma and Henry closer to him, as shot after shot rang out. Henry screamed as he saw a lurker right over them and then a bullet lodged its way inside its skull. August put his hand over Henry's face to stop blood from getting into his eyes.
All around them the lurkers started to drop like flies, and through the trees seven guns and bodies were crouching as they moved in taking the demons down. Two of people walked backwards towards, Emma and August and Henry, and the woman turned her gun pressed against her shoulder as she shot down two more lurkers.
The gun fire ceased and August looked up and around frantically, pulling Emma more into him.
"You need to get it to stop crying." The woman, a Chinese woman looked down at him and spoke urgently, he just gapes at her. "Like. Now!"
August quickly worked to untie the blanket, and pulled Henry around to Emma's chest. Emma desperately rocked and shushed him, pushing his pacifier back between lips. To their surprise he immediately stopped and buried his face into her neck. Henry knew that in times like this he needed to not cry.
August pulled them to him again, looking at the people with the big guns cautiously.
"That gun fire was loud. We need to move, are they alright?" A brunette with curly hair dressed in all black camouflage rushed over. She was followed by the other three.
"Yeah they're good, Cap."
"Woah! He's bit!" One of them shouted and instantly four guns turned on him.
"Hey! Hey! Woah! I'm not bit!" August panicked.
"What the hell?! Don't point those things at us!" Emma backed away and pulled Henry into her chest.
"Your leg says otherwise dude."
"Enough! Put those down, she has a child! For Christ Sake." The apparent leader looked at the other four and their guns lowered instantly.
"Great we waisted our bullets on a premie." One of them scuffed.
"We saved them. They weren't waisted calm down." The Chinese woman said.
The leader sighed and ran her tongue over her bottom lip, as she sighed and squatted down. She looked between the young woman and the man and the toddler and huffed shaking her head.
"Listen...my name is Regina, I am apart of a group of survivors... this is my team the Regals. We were hunting in these woods when we heard your baby crying-"
"We lost our buck too." The man with scruffy beard huffed.
Regina looked back at him and gave him a stern look, he looked down and drug his foot against the grass.
"As I was saying," Regina turned back and looked into Emma's green eyes. "We heard him and made the decision to come and assist you."
"Thank you. Truly, I'm grateful that you did." Emma looked exhausted.
"Yeah...really thank you." August sat up, "I'm not bit. This happened almost two days ago, I fell from a shelf and landed on some wood. My leg finally gave out, so I was trying to get my sister to take my nephew and run...she was just about to as you came." he explained.
Regina nodded her head as he spoke and looked down at his blood stained pants.
"May I take a look at your leg?" Regina asked.
Emma looked to August and he quickly looked back to her before he shook his head and turned. Pulling the soaked cloth from his skin, August winced and revealed the gaping hole to Regina.
She and the ones close enough to see, all winced and visibly cringed. Regina put her knee to the ground, leaning the butt of her rifle on it and assessed the damage. She looked at it for a second before pulling away and sighing.
"This happened 48 hours ago you said?" Regina clarified and August nodded. "You're at a high risk for infection...We have a Doctor at our camp. He can look you over, patch you up...I just don't want it to be a waist of resources, we're low enough as is." Regina pondered on it.
"Take my sister with you." August pleaded. "Take them."
"Augustus!" Emma scolded him.
"You don't have to worry about me...I-I'm really hoping you're good people, seeing as you saved us. So take them with you please! I'll be alright out here." August insisted over Emma's protest.
"I'm not just leaving you out here! And I'm not going anywhere with them!" Emma argued.
"Emma you heard her!...My leg is most likely infected and I can't even walk right now. They can keep you safe." August reasoned.
"No August." Emma stubbornly shook her head held Henry closer.
"Cap! We've got some biters coming our way, we're running low on ammo we have to go." The one with a red streak in her hair spoke up.
"Emma go."
"I'm not going."
"You have to keep Henry safe stop being so damn hardheaded and go!"
"I am not-!"
Regina stopped their back and forth arguing, snapping her fingers.
"You can both come." Regina relented, "The three of you I mean... Our Doc can look you over and try to help, but I can't make any promises that you will recover from this."
She looked between the both of them, and sighed.
"Everyone in our group contributes in some way. This isn't just some free ride to safety. There are children and elderly all mixed together. We've managed to stay in our current location for the last few months. There are walls and wires and we have protection. You will be safe."
August shook his head and Emma released a breath slumping back against the tree.
"Have you ever been in a group before?" Regina asked.
"No, it was just us and our mother and father and little brother for a while, but...they all died." August looked down.
"How many biters have you killed?" She asked.
August and Emma looked to each other confused and shrugged.
"I don't know. Dozens I suppose, haven't really kept count." August shrugged.
"And you?" Regina looked to Emma.
"I don't know." Emma said lowly. She looked young.
"How many people have you killed?" She also asked.
August's eyes got big and he looked down. "3." He sighed.
Regina looked to Emma again. "1." She whispered.
"Why?"
She finished and behind her the other five were stabbing a few biters in the head to not waist bullets.
"They were going to kill my family...rob us and leave us to die." August looked down at Henry. "I couldn't let them get away with it."
Regina looked back to Emma who had this haunted look in her face.
"She didn't want to turn into one of them." Emma looked up at Regina and took a deep breath.
Regina nodded her head and looked at the bags they had with them.
"There's ammo in one of those bags." August saw where she was looking. "We didn't want to waist any bullets so we mostly use knifes. But there's enough in there." he reached back and grabbed it.
"Here." He handed it over to Regina and she opened it, rummaging through it.
She shook her head impressed, "You're resourceful then?"
"Yeah before my leg, I would go out and scout for things. Oh!" August reached back and grabbed the other bag. "I managed to snag these off of a farmer's truck a couple weeks back."
August dug around the food bag and pulled out packages of seeds.
"Winter Squash, strawberries, raspberries, pomegranates, apples, pretty much all winter foods. We had no where to plant them, so we were going to try and make it a mobile sort of thing if we could find a working car and some pots. Our father was a farmer so he taught us pretty everything he could about harvesting and taking care of animals." August smiled and looked to Emma. "My sister's better at it than I am though." he smiled.
Regina's eyes widened and she took them in her hand, listening to them rattle around in the pouch. It has been awhile since she had an apple.
"Well, this is great to know. You don't have to try and convince me anymore. I already said you could come with us." Regina smirked and gave the seeds back to him.
While hey were talking, Henry started to stir against Emma and removed his head from her shoulder. He turned rubbing his eyes and peered up at the new face. Regina turned her attention back to Emma, and saw little hazel eyes looking up at her. She smiled a small smile and finally stood up straight.
"Here let me give you a hand." She reached her hand out and picked up Henry's baby backpack and then to Emma and the blonde took it cautiously rising from the ground.
The man with the scruffy beard and another with a hat on, helped August to his feet. The other three each grabbed a bag and slung them over their shoulders. They all hand their hands on their rifles and started to make their way back to a dirt path.
"Our trucks are just up ahead." Regina said as three of them lead the way.
Regina, Emma, August, Henry, the Chinese woman who they found out is named Mulan and the man with the hat on, who introduced himself as Jefferson all got into one truck together.
While the other three that introduced themselves as Ruby, Graham, Philip and Kristoff all hopped into the second truck.
They drove for about 35 five minutes until they pulled up to this big barbed wire fences.
"Oh...what-. A prison!" August awed, "You guys are living in a prison?!"
