Chapter 10: Get Out Alive
A few walkers littered the hallway, but even fewer noticed them at first. Most of them had started meandering away so their attention was diverted. Riley lurched toward the first one to take it out and Carl took on the next. She tried to be the one to exert her energy since he had an injury and she didn't want him collapsing in the middle of the hallway. Getting out was going to take time, patience, and care.
Once the walkers that saw them were down, she got low in a crouch, stopping in the middle of the hallway and scoping out their path. Not too many dead were in their way so they were in luck. They could quietly kill the ones in their way and sneak past any others.
Shifting her grip on her knife, she started forward, staying as quiet as possible as she killed the first one with its back to them. Instead of letting it drop to the floor, she carefully lowered it down so it didn't make any noise, which was a bit of a challenge since it was so heavy. Carl helped her with that which made it a lot easier and the two continued forward, killing off the walkers silently and then starting down the next hallway, which was mostly clear. Once they cleared the hallway, they stopped for a brief second to catch their breaths.
The next hallway had the route to the cafeteria so if something ended up happening, they could go through there and get to the exit quickly enough.
"We should check the next hallway and make sure we can get through or else we're screwed," she murmured, leaning her back against the cold lockers.
"Alright. Let's take a look...," Carl said, sliding against the lockers and then poking his head around the corner. His mouth formed a firm line and he looked back over at her. "There's a lot. Our best bet is to give a temporary diversion and then head through the cafeteria..."
Riley nodded, eyes scanning the hall for something they could use that would help. Nothing. What could they do to get them to come this way without getting devoured? The only thing that could possibly hide the both of them was a single open locker on the other side of the hallway.
"Do you think we could both fit in that locker?" she asked quietly, approaching it and starting to pull out all of the things that would make it harder for them to fit.
"Are you suggesting we hide in there?" he huffed, hovering over her shoulder to watch her.
"Got any better ideas? Look, you can go to that end of the hall, make some noise to get their attention. I'll stay on the other side, make sure no more come that way. We meet here in the middle and hide inside until they pass. And then we get to the cafeteria before they come back."
"It's just...risky..."
"I know. But we can't stay here forever and they're not smart enough to open up the lockers and look for us in there..."
He sighed, adjusting his hat and meeting her gaze. "Fine. Fine. But if it starts to go bad, we make a run for it."
"Of course," she agreed. "Let's do this. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to..."
Hesitantly, he slipped away from her and to the left side of the hallway. She went to the right and there were only a few more eaters that had wandered down the hall while they were here. Carl started to whistle and bang his fist against one of the lockers and she looked back in time to see him turning. She didn't wait and bolted to the locker, taking a deep breath and squeezing inside, pressing her back to the cool metal as far as she could so he had room too. This was the second time in this school that they were locking themselves up to let a herd pass by and it was getting old.
Carl climbed in as best as he could, pulling the door mostly shut behind him. It was a bit awkward because the two of them were quite literally pressed up against each other and it didn't help that it was dark and she couldn't help but think about those corny teenage movies...
Holding her breath, she tried to focus on the sounds of the walkers outside as they slowly started to pass. But she couldn't. Not with Carl's hot breath on her neck sending shivers down her spine and clouding her mind. Her blue gaze flitted over to him as he shifted his hands against the locker to try and put some more space between them, but it didn't do much good so he simply stayed put, pressing his head against the back of the locker next to her head and remaining silent.
For the first time in what felt like years, her mind was wandering back to her real teenage roots and she tried to blink the thoughts away and calm her racing heart, but it didn't help that she could feel his own heart pounding against her own. Oh, why did she have to suggest the damn locker? She attempted to get a rein on her thoughts as the walkers continued to shuffle around and look for them and it was only when the growls started to fade that she snapped out of it.
"We gotta move!" she whispered, pushing him a little so the locker opened up more.
He clambered out, seemingly in a bit of a daze, but he didn't hesitate to start down the hallway. She hurried after him, shaking her head a bit and focusing on the door of the cafeteria. Everything was going smoothly so far and the door wasn't locked at all, but things changed when the entered the cafeteria.
All of the tables were shoved against the walls to maximize the space in the room. And a majority of the room was full of empty sleeping bags, backpacks, and clothes strewn all over the place. And dead families.
It wasn't uncommon to find things like this. Enter a house and if you didn't find a dead body, you were lucky. But it still hit hard, especially when it was a family.
She slowly walked around the edge of the sleeping bag pile, stopping next to the decaying family. It was a mother, a father, and a kid that couldn't be older than eight. And even though the flesh had been mostly rotted off, she could still make out a bite wound branded into the child's arm. That was how everything happened. That or by the hand of other people frantic to survive. In the end, it always went back to the dead. They were the reason why everyone was so frantic to survive.
Drawing in a dry breath, she bent down and picked up a gleaming photo sticking out from underneath one of the rugged sleeping bags. She turned the photo over in her hands to see what it said on the back, but there were no names. Running her fingers along the edge, she flipped it again to look at the family. The parents were a beautiful Hispanic couple, young and full of life. And the child...the child was a young boy with adorable, round brown eyes and scruffy black hair. This...well frankly this sucked. Especially because the boy was so young...
She placed the photo back down where it had been and turned her head to try and spot Carl. He had somehow wandered across the room to a darker corner.
"We should get out of here," she said, taking a few steps toward him when he didn't respond. "Carl?"
A shiver crawled up her spine when he remained completely stiff. She carefully approached him as he stared straight ahead, his eyes slightly hardened. Following his gaze, she noticed a make-shift cradle...with blood splatters across the inside. She bit down on the inside of her cheek, her breath catching in her throat as the images of a once lively baby settled inside of her mind. But why he seemed to be so affected by it, she wasn't sure.
With hesitant movements, she placed her left hand on his shoulder, ignoring the slight spring in his muscles as she gently brushed her thumb across the tense muscles in his shoulder. His gaze finally met hers and she didn't think anyone had ever conveyed so many emotions to her just by staring. And he didn't hide it. No, he was being more open with her now. He was letting the pain swirl in his eyes like a tornado ripping trees from the ground. He was letting the hurt and anger and grief stab through her soul and she could feel it. Penetrating every limb in her body, spinning through her veins and piercing every fiber.
"I'm sorry," she said automatically, even though she didn't know the backstory. She didn't have to know. It was someone close to him that he'd lost. A sibling, maybe. But it didn't matter. All she had to know was that he was hurting.
He ducked his head, pursing his lips before he looked back at the cradle. "I had a baby sister... Her name was Judith."
She remained silent, looking at him as she saw his heart break over and over in his eyes. He'd lost his sister. That's why they cradle affected him so much.
"When our group was attacked," he continued, trying to control his wobbly voice, "my dad and I, we found her carrier empty. With blood covering it. Just like that." He gestured to the cradle.
It was then that Riley realized how hard this was really hitting him. Being without his dad. She was assuming his mother was gone and his sister was dead. His dad was the only person he had left. And she knew what it was like to lose everything.
Setting her jaw in determination, she pulled her hand off his shoulder and slid it down to his sleeve, taking firm hold of the fabric and tugging him gently in her direction. "We're going to find your dad. I promise."
He seemed momentarily stunned by her sudden turn in attitude, but a moment after he processed everything, his face shifted from confused to determined like hers and the glimmering wetness in his eyes faded away. As she turned, he moved forward, hovering by her shoulder and muttering in her ear, "and I promise you'll never be alone again. My group is your family."
It was her turn to be stunned as his words echoed in her eardrums and he moved away to find some things they could bring with them before they left. She thought she had been doing her best to hide her emotions and tell him only what she felt comfortable telling, but he had seen right through her like she was shattered, broken glass and hit right home. All she wanted to do was curl up and hide from the world because she felt exposed, but they didn't have that luxury. They had to get out of here before something happened.
Guess they would see if he'd keep his promise...
With stiff movements, she started to rummage through everything left behind. She recovered a decent backpack from the mess and looked around for anything else. All the food was spoiled and there wasn't any water, but there were a few stray bullets that she tucked away into her pocket. She also decided that it would be a good idea to pack a sleeping bag in case they ended up having to sleep somewhere on the ground. Carl also took the gun that the family had used and tucked it away into his own backpack he'd found. Once they were out of here, they could work on trying to find food and water.
"You ready?" he asked, adjusting the backpack on his shoulders.
"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied, shifting toward the door.
Very lightly, she pressed her palm against the door and pushed it open just wide enough to get a glimpse of the hallway. At the end, she could see the way out through an emergency exit door, but the hallway was completely filled to the brim with walkers. She glanced back at Carl.
"We're gonna have to make a run for it," she whispered, heart already speeding up at the prospect of running for her life yet again.
"Okay. But we stay close," he breathed.
Riley nodded in agreement and stood up a little straighter. Just as she flung the door open, a warm, bandaged hand slipped into hers and locked them together. It took a minute for the walkers to notice they started galloping down the hall, but once they noticed, they limped on their tails like a horde of bees. Since when did the dead get so fast?
But together, the two of them continued to sprint down the hall, dodging and ducking out of reach of gnarled hands. As they came upon the door, a brief flash of worry weaved itself into her mind. What if the door was locked? Then, they'd be trapped with two dozen walkers throwing themselves at them. It would be over after that. Subconsciously, she slowed down and Carl must have noticed because he gave her hand a light squeeze.
And that was all she needed to pull herself into reality. She didn't want to die. And she wasn't. Even if that door was locked, she wasn't going down without a fight. It wasn't in her nature.
Pushing her legs even harder, she braced her shoulder for the impact of the door as she hit it...and it opened. She didn't have time to cheer in triumph because her hand ripped right out of Carl's as she tumbled to the ground. Twisting onto her stomach, she got on all fours, looking up as he jumped toward the door to close it right as a walker got in the way.
The door smashed right into its rotten skull, closing all the way as brain matter and black bodily sludge catapulted everywhere. He winced a little bit, shaking some off his shoe as he kept his body pressed firmly into the door. She scrambled to her feet to help him keep the door shut. They'd probably have to make another run for it into the moon-lit woods, but...they were out.
A wide smile stretched across each of their faces simultaneously and she let out a low laugh. "We actually did it."
A/N: Yay another chapter! It's a bit short, I know, but the next chapter shall be longer and more interesting! Riley's starting to feel the sparks, that's for sure ;) So has anyone seen the most recent Walking Dead episode? Let's just say that I refuse to believe what happened actually happened, without giving away any spoilers haha. Anyway, thank you guys soooo much for the support! You guys are the best and your reviews always light up my day! Hope you enjoy!
