Red River Blue
Chapter 55
Harley shifted her body slightly. She didn't want to move too much. They were trying hard to stay hidden. But she also didn't want her legs to cramp up from being in the same position for too long. She adjusted her grip on her bow and felt again for the handgun on her hip.
It didn't take long before she spotted them. A small group of five people, just like Bob said. They crept quietly out of the woods and headed for the church. Harley felt her body surge with adrenaline. It was the same feeling she got playing field hockey. The one that was always quickly followed by a member of the other team getting their asses mercilessly handed to them. But this wasn't a game she was playing now. There would be no handshaking afterwards.
Watching those cannibals walk right into the church and not doing anything about it made Harley grip the arrow between her fingers just a little tighter. Her mother and sister were inside. But this momentary discomfort was tempered by the fact that Harley knew all those disgusting people were about to die really really soon. She was hoping she would get a kill shot in on at least one of them. But judging by the body posture of the people around her, it looked like she might have to get in line for that.
"Just another minute," Rick cautioned, his hand resting gently on her shoulder. Harley listened to the man and stayed in place, shifting her weight back and forth from one foot to the other. But when he rose into a standing position, she was right behind him.
The group crept quietly towards the church, weapons ready. They moved with as much sleath as possible. But once Harley stepped back inside the building, she realized that they could have moved much faster and been much louder without fear of being detected. The leader of the other group was running his loud mouth like a moron. And they didn't even have anyone positioned to watch their backs.
Two of the men were preparing to open fire at the door to the room the rest of the group was hiding in. Harley walked in behind Rick, down the center aisle of the church. She stayed behind him, but slightly to the left so she still had a clear shot on the men inside. Her arrow was strung back. And when she saw the loudmouth leader put his hand up, she didn't hesitate. Her arrow caught the man directly through the middle of his palm. He crumpled to the floor, crying and grabbing at his hand.
The man tried begging for his life. Rick went back and forth with him for a minute, like a cat playing with a mouse. Harley knew from the moment they stepped back into the building that they couldn't let any of these people leave alive. This was different from the battle with Woodbury. This wasn't just another group they were having a turf dispute with. These were sick disgusting people that just captured a member of her group and ate his own foot in front of him. They had to die.
Harley didn't step forward until Rick pulled out his machete. She held her hand up to stop him before he could swing it down on the man at his feet. Then she held her hand out for the weapon in his hands. Rick hesitated. Harley could tell he really wanted to kill this man himself. But not as badly as she did. This was the pervert who's mother tied her up to a bed as a present for him. She could only imagine what he would have done to her if she hadn't escaped.
"They tied me to a bed and dressed me up like a damn barbie," Harley said. Rick sighed and shook his head at her. The wet smacking sounds of the man's companions being violently murdered filled the room. Rick turned the machete around in his hands, gripping it carefully by the blade so Harley could grab it by the handle. She set her bow down on the pew next to her. Her movements were deliberate and unrushed. She took the machete from Rick, raising it over her head. Then she brought it down, slashing through the man's face and chest. Rick was quick to jump back, but not fast enough to escape the spray of blood from the end of her weapon when she brought it down over and over again, slashing into the man's head and torso.
"That's about a fuckin' nuff of that," Merle announced, snatching Harley by the elbow and pulling her back and away from the dead man on the floor. He actually enjoyed watching Harley give that sick fuck exactly what he had coming to him. But Merle noticed River and Wren standing nearby. And they didn't appear to be as impressed with the show as he was.
Everyone stood in silence, unsure of what to say. Their expressions were varied. Some looked horrified by the violent display. Some looked satisfied. Carl looked the same way he always looked when something terrible happened. Nonchalant, like it was just another day in the park for him. But it was Gabriel, the preacher, that finally spoke up.
"This is the lord's house," he said, looking down at the bloody mess in horror. Harley shook her head. Did he want to have his feet eaten in front of him like these people did to Bob? They got what they deserved. She was relieved when Maggie spoke up. Because the other woman was much more polite than she would have been.
"No. It's just four walls and a roof."