CHAPTER SEVEN

"First Blood"

Doug jumped up from his sleep. "What was that?!" he shouted in exasperation, wiping his eyes before donning his glasses. He turned around, glancing for someone to explain it to him. No answer came; partially because everyone was trying to wake up themselves, but partially because they had no answer.

Sage was the first one up, his metal bat gripped tightly in his hand. He held his empty right hand down towards Annalise. "Stay here, Annie." He glanced about until he locked eyes with Ali, nodding to her. He didn't need to say anything; his eyes did all the talking for him. Ali nodded back and slowly crawled towards Annie, and the little girl clutched the woman's shirt tightly.

Sage glanced back to the sound of the gunshots. Footsteps sounded in the woods; somewhat distant at first, but as time passed, he could hear they were growing closer. And whoever it was, they weren't walking—they were running.

Sage lowered his right hand to his belt, undoing the gun holster strapped to his side. He had never much been a fan of guns, and even in an apocalyptic world full of zombies, he always preferred a quieter method, but he knew it would be foolish to write them off completely—and especially with something full-on charging the camp, that might be the proper alternative. . .

The others in the group were all stirring and getting to their feet. Allie came next to Sage, cocking her pistol. "Allie," Sage said, in a cautious tone, but Allie shook her head before he could finish.

"Up on the bridge in the daytime is one thing, Sage," Allie said. "But here, in the night? I'm taking no chances."

"Just be care—" Sage started before the movement in the woods came right on the edge of the trees, and Allie lowered her gun, firing at the shape as it moved.

"Holy shit!" a voice yelled from the woods, and Allie's jaw dropped. It was Alex.

"Alex!" someone shouted; Sage wasn't quite sure who. He scrambled towards Alex, who was slumped against a tree, gripping his side.

"Have you been hit?" Sage asked as Alex grunted in pain, nodding. Sage pulled up the side of Alex's shirt and saw the wound streaking across the side of his abdomen. The bullet thankfully hadn't actually entered his body; it was just a graze. But nevertheless, it had to be treated, and the scent of human blood would be a calling card to all walkers within the area.

Not to mention the gunshot.

Sage got to his feet and whirled to Allie, in her face. "I told you to be careful."

Allie scoffed. "Are you trying to pin this on me? How did I know it was Alex?!"

"I don't care—what matters now is he's been shot. We need to find him some medical supplies, and we're low as it is with what we've got at the camp."

Sage sighed deeply, rubbing his temple. He turned back to Alex and got on one knee; Elsa was next to him. From the time he had spent getting to new Elsa, Sage was aware that she was very interested in the field of medicine. She had talked to him tons about his veterinary work, and he was fairly certain she could rival him in treating injured humans—at some point. While he did specialize in treating animals, he did know enough about helping humans that he had been appointed the group's "resident doctor," although Elsa's interest in the field made her a close second.

"Alex—what was that shooting back there?" Sage asked. He hoped that the shot hadn't affected Alex enough where he would lose consciousness or anything. Judging by the damage, it shouldn't be, but you never knew in circumstances like this.

Grunting, Alex started to speak. "A walker lunged out at Brennan. I had to shoot it so it wouldn't get him." Another grunt. "He's gone to warn his family. I came to . . . *cough* warn you." He glanced to Allie and he's eyes settled on her gun. He licked his lips, grunting again. Sage saw the realization settle in on Alex that it was Allie who had shot him.

Before anyone else could speak, Sage heard the telltale groans and moans of the undead from further in the woods. "Hell," he murmured, glancing around. "Do you know how many walkers there were out there?" Sage asked.

Alex shook his head. "Nothing more than that there's a lot of 'em."

Sage bit back another curse as he got to his feet and turned to the rest of the group. "We need to get to the vehicles and move. There's no telling how many walkers there are out here, and I'd rather us pack up camp and get out then be stuck here fighting God knows how many walkers in the woods."

The others all mumbled their agreements, and Sage turned to Sam, Iago, Elodie, Dayana, and Allie. "You all help me gather up the tents and whatever else we can grab from around here. Then we'll tote it all back the vehicles and get out." He glanced to Elsa. "Can you stay with Alex? Make sure he's all right?" Elsa nodded an affirmation to him, and Sage nodded back. He then turned to Ali and Nigel. "I need both of you to watch over the kids and make sure they're accounted for. Alright?" They both nodded as well, and Sage turned to the final member, Doug. "Doug, you need to be our lookout—if you see anything, give us a shout."

Doug nodded. "Will do, Sage." He turned, shifting the rifle slung over his shoulder into both hands as he kept his eyes focused on the woods.

Sage started to go to the tents to help the others break them down, but Annie gripped his leg. "Uncle Sage—I-I'm scared!" she whimpered. Sage smiled to her, bending down.

"There's no reason to be scared, honey," he said, kissing her forehead. "Just stay with Ali and Mr. McAdams and Sahale, okay?"

Annie brushed a tear from her eye and nodded. "O-okay."

Sage turned and rushed off to help the others break down the campsite. Annie sniffed before a soft hand gripped her shoulder. She turned around to see Sahale, who was beaming at her. "It's all right, Annie. You've got us with you." Annie smiled back at her friend.

Brennan came to a stop outside his family's camper, shouting, "Dad! Dad! Mom!"

The door flung open, and Brian staggered out, half-dazed, a pistol in his hand. "What in the—Brennan, what's going on, son?"

Brennan pointed off towards the woods he had just run from. "Walkers—walkers just attacked me and Alex. He's going to warn the rest of the group. He sent me here to warn you."

Brian muttered a curse as he turned around as Emily came to the camper door. "Honey, what's going on?" she asked, yawning.

"There are walkers in the camp," he said, quickly grabbing his cap from inside and planting it on his head as he withdrew his rifle from within the camper. He checked it, making sure it was loaded, before turning to Brennan. "Brennan, listen carefully, son: I need you to take this and stay right here." He held out the pistol, butt first, and Brennan looked at it incredulously. "Go on, take it. I'm going to go help the others. You need to stay here and protect your mother and sister. Do you understand me?"

Brennan slowly nodded. "Y-yes, sir."

"Honey," Emily said, climbing from the camper. "Are you sure? Why don't you just stay here until—"

"I can't, Em," Brian said, turning to his wife. "I need to make sure they all get here safely." He could see her lip quiver, and he grabbed her arms tenderly. "Trust me—I'll be safe." Emily knew better than to argue with her husband.

"Men. Always so stubborn," she said, attempting to lighten the mood, but the tears in her eyes told another story. Brian grinned to her before he leaned in, kissing her tightly. As he pulled away, he planted a firm hand on Brennan's shoulder.

"Remember, son; take care of your mother and sister." Brennan nodded, and Brian smiled to him. "I'll be back. Don't worry."

And with that, Brian turned and took off into the woods. Brennan glanced down to the pistol then turned to his mother, and they both got into the camper.

"We've got the tents up, Sage," Sam called, slinging his sack over his shoulder. The others all shifted their loads as Iago pulled Rooster closely behind him.

"Alright," Sage answered. "Now, we just need to get back—"

"AAAGH!" A shrill scream sounded in the air, followed by a series of gunshots. The group all whirled around, their weapons raised up. Suddenly, from the darkness, a figure staggered into view. It was Doug. He was grunting, crying, whimpering—the whole lot. But the worst of it all was his right arm. It was hanging limp, his rifle no longer in it. Instead, it was slung over his left shoulder.

And there was a bloody bite mark right below the elbow.

Doug continued to stagger forward, his eyes glossed over in a daze, his cheeks stained wet with his tears. Sage's eyes took in the mangled arm; the flesh was torn, hanging loose, blood pouring from the fresh wound. "They—they got me," Doug muttered, swallowing hard.

Sage turned, glancing to the others. Allie, Sam, Elodie, Dayana, Iago—they were all stunned, their faces frozen at the sight of the young man, ravaged by the walkers. He glanced to the others, Annie sobbing into Ali's chest as she held the little girl tightly. Nigel was watching in shock, but worst of all, perhaps, was that Sahale was as well. His face was welled with tears, the sight of the young man bitten by the walkers.

Sage fought back tears of his own. It felt like a sharp knife, wedged into his gut, to see one of his companions, of his family, wounded and infected. He knew that within moments, Doug would be gone, replaced with . . . something else. Something far worse.

"Doug! LOOK OUT!" It was Sam who was yelling, and at first no one else could see why—but then shadowy arms reached from the woods behind Doug. And then a walker lunged forward, slamming Doug into the ground, sinking its teeth into his throat. Doug screamed in pain and agony, writhing in the dirt, as Sam charged forward, bringing his knife up and slamming it down into the zombie's skull.

The creature sputtered and spat, its body shaking before it finally laid still. Sam wrenched his knife from the creature's head, sighing heavily, before glancing to Doug. He was still breathing, but he was barely alive. Sam glanced up to Sage, and Sage could see the pain in the young man's eyes. Sam held up his knife before motioning to Doug, as if he was asking Sage if he should put Doug down or let him turn.

Solemnly, Sage nodded. The thought of killing another human being had always been a foreign thought to Sage, but here, with the threat of infection turning you into a cannibalistic monster when you die, he did have other thoughts about killing humans to put them out of their misery. It felt like a much crueler evil to leave someone to turn as opposed to putting them down.

Sam nodded back, sniffing back his tears. Softly, he said, "I'm sorry, Doug."

Doug didn't even feel the knife plunge into the back of his skull.

The sight of Doug being devoured by the walkers, then seeing Sam plunge his knife into Doug's head, left Sahale . . . conflicted.

The boy was already a mess—seeing Doug with his arm injury alone had made the boy tear up, as he knew what a bite meant in this world. But then seeing Doug have his neck rent by the zombie's jaws, a knife slashing through his scalp . . . it was all a massive weight dropping on this small boy's shoulders, a weight he could not understand.

Sahale glanced up to Nigel. "Grandpa?" he said, his hand taking his grandfather's. Nigel glanced down to Sahale.

"Yes, Sahale?"

"W-why did Sam kill Doug? He . . . he stabbed him!"

"No, no, Sahale," Nigel said, rubbing his grandson's dark curls. "Sam did not . . . kill Doug. Not in a traditional sense, anyway. He put Doug out of his misery. In this state, where you are bound to turn after you have bitten, many would rather desire that they be put down before they turn, so that they do not have to experience such a change."

Sahale was silent for a moment. He slowly pulled his eyes away from Nigel, focusing on the group as they all discussed amongst themselves . . . something, whether it was Doug or the walkers or what, Sahale did not know. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Sahale asked softly, "Which would you choose, Grandpa?"

Nigel noticed Ali's eyes flick to Sahale, as if surprised at the boy's question. Nigel sighed, noticing Ali's eyes fixing on his eyes. Nigel blinked quickly, turning his attention from the young woman's gaze burning into his eyes. "I . . . I am not sure, Sahale. I do not think I would like to turn into one of them."

Sahale slowly nodded. Nigel felt his throat tighten at the silence that emanated from his grandson before Sage turned to them, moving towards them with the others in tow. "We need to get a move on," Sage said, nodding towards the direction of the parking area. "Before more walkers show up."

The group all started to move as Sage bent down, picking Annie up as she clung to him tightly, still sniffling from Doug's death. Sage noticed Ali's gaze fixed upon Nigel and Sahale. "Is something wrong, Ali?" Sage asked. Ali quickly shook her head, as if she had zoned out.

"Oh, erm . . . n-no, Sage. Everything's . . . fine." She started to walk towards the others as Sage moved towards Elsa and Alex. Elsa had Alex's shirt pulled up, examining his wound.

"Find anything?" Sage asked, and Elsa quickly shook her head, dropping the edge of Alex's shirt.

"Oh . . . no, nothing." She bit her lip, glancing to the ground. She turned her eyes back to Doug's corpse, lying in the clearing.

Sage noticed and gestured towards the group. "Here, take Annie and catch up with the others. I'll help Alex." Elsa nodded as Alex sat Annie down. "Stay with Elsa, Annie. I'll be right behind you." As the two made their way towards the group, Sage got down on one knee, wrapping Alex's arm around his neck and helping him to his feet. "Come on, Alex. We've just got a little way to go, and then we're out of here."

Brian skidded to a stop when he met the group on their trek to the vehicles. "Brennan told me what was going on. I was trying to see if I could come help." His face fell as he counted up all the survivors. "We're missing someone. Where's Doug?"

"I'm afraid Doug is . . . he's dead," Ali choked out. Sage pushed through the group with Alex.

"Oh my—what happened to Alex?!" Brian started.

"It was an accident," Sage responded, cutting a quick glance to Allie. At first her expression was one of anger, before her expression fell solemn. She glanced to the ground, kicking the dirt with her foot. She was guilty, Sage could tell. He nodded towards the vehicles. "Come on, we need to get out of here before more walkers come."

Brian nodded and the group all fell in together, moving back towards the vehicles. Once they arrived, they dispersed into their respective groups. Sage took Annie, Alex, and Allie with him, while Dayana and Elsa got on their bike. Sam likewise took his bike, while Iago climbed atop Rooster's back. Brian and his family rode in his truck, while Ali, Nigel, and Sahale got into Elodie's car with her. Without wasting a second, the vehicles were started, and the convoy had left the camp.

There was no turning back now.

The drive took the group a little over an hour to get to where the roadblock was. The cars were still piled up the same they had been whenever Sage and Allie had met Iago, as was expected. Once the vehicles came to a stop, the group exited their vehicles. Alex staggered to the forefront of the group, gripping his injured side tightly.

Before he could speak, he grunted in pain, wincing as he tried to force the pain aside. "Obviously, things did not go as we had planned," he said. "Since we had to pull up camp, we're going to have to make do with staying here for the night. Once morning comes, we'll venture into the city and begin our search. As far as sleeping arrangements go, we'll have to make do with either camping out on the edge of the highway or sleeping in our vehicles. I'll leave that decision up to you all."

Sage and Sam offered to stay up as the first watch; Brian stayed in the truck, allowing for Sahale and Annie to stay inside the camper with Emily, Caitlyn, and—much to his chagrin—Brennan. Nigel also stayed in the truck with Brian, so he could be close to Sahale. In Sage's car, the twins decided to stay there together. Elodie allowed Ali to sleep in her car, while three tents were pitched; one for Dayana and Elsa, another for Iago, and the third of Sam once his watch duty was over.

With the sleeping arrangements settled, the group dispersed and went their separate ways for the night. For many, it was rather easy to get to sleep.

For the Bloom twins, however, it was not so easy.

Allie was thinking over what she had wanted to say to Alex in her mind for about the hundredth time whenever Alex finally spoke. "If you'd rather me lead off this conversation, Allie, I can."

Allie inhaled sharply. "You always gotta be difficult, don't you, Alex?"

Alex let out as much of a chuckle as he could, under the circumstances. "Really? I'm the difficult one? When you're the one that shot me?"

"It's not like I did it on purpose!" Allie quickly cut in. "It—it was an accident, Alex, I swear to God it was."

"Relax, Allie," Alex replied. "I believe you. I know that you would never want me to get hurt."

Allie thought over her next words carefully. "I . . . I know that sometimes I'm impulsive, over-the-top, aggressive, you name it, but . . . I don't know how to explain it, but it just feels like it's what I've gotta do. You know?"

"I think I do." Alex sighed. "I know that you don't agree with every decision I make, Allie, but just know that every single one is made with you in mind. You are the person that I care about the most, Allie. It's always been that way. Ever since Dad died, that's what's driven every decision I have ever made." Alex's voice wavered. "Just the thought of anything ever happening to you, it . . . it really scares me, Allie. That's why I may be too strict or bossy at times, but believe me, I don't ever mean to hurt you." He paused briefly. "I love you, Allie."

Silence was his answer. He had always known that "I love you" were the hardest words to ever get Allie to say, especially to him and especially after their father had passed. Truthfully, he only remembered her saying it whenever she was in a really emotional mood or whenever their mother had forced her to. That's why he was so stunned whenever her soft answer came from the front seat: "I love you too, Alex."

A grin came to Alex's face as he grunted. "Now, whenever we get out into our search tomorrow, don't forget that you're the one who shot me, so I want you to be extra watchful for some painkillers and other medical supplies. Alright?"

Allie chuckled. "You're such an idiot."

"What can I say? It runs in the family."

He knew Allie would've punched him in the ribs if he was fully healthy. "Goodnight, Alex."

"G'night, Allie."

A/N: Hello everyone! Welcome to the chapter of a couple firsts, as quite a bit was accomplished this time around. First off, I guess you may have noticed that I now have a subtitle to each chapter, so that we have a bit more uniqueness to each chapter. Likewise, we also get our first casualty; was it someone you all had expected to bite it, or not really? We also get a nice, heartwarming moment with the Bloom twins, but who knows how long it'll be until there's another one?

As far as the composition of these chapters go, I'm wanting to try and even out the time each one devotes to smaller character moments and larger story moments, as I want the story to move at a good pace so it doesn't drag too much in one area, but I also want us to have good time devoted to each character and their relationships with the others. If you all have any ideas for scenarios or situations that you'd like to see occur between the OCs, be sure to let me know!

Also, I know this is about the third time I have delayed the "first meeting" of our group with canon characters, but that will FOR SURE be coming next chapter! We also will be introduced to our last few OCs here in the city, so be on the lookout for all of those in the coming chapters! Thank you all so much for reading, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback! Until next time.