Red River Blue
Chapter 90
The small group checked the traps around the edge of town first. All of them were sprung, but empty. It wasn't unusual to find a sprung trap empty. Sometimes the animals managed to spring them and get away. Sometimes the dead or another predator came, snatched the game from their traps and made off with it. But Harley found it unsettling that all of her traps were sprung. It not only was an omen that their hunting wasn't going to be successful, it was also a fairly large coincidence. She was pondering on the possibility that the dead were starting to somehow remember where her traps were set and if she ought to consider moving them.
Wren and Mika were somewhere behind her and Spencer. Wren spotted a beehive and wanted to mark the tree so she could come out later with Carl and knock it down. Both the idiots had been stung before. Back at the prison, they did the same stupid honey chasing nonsense. It was a miracle that neither of them had suffered any more than just a few uncomfortable stings. Hershel pulled the stingers out with tweezers and lectured them. The next day they were out climbing another tree.
"How's yer mom," Harley asked. Spencer sighed.
"Not good," he admitted. He wasn't sure what to do for her either. Spencer had never seen her like this before. His parents were married for over thirty years. He wasn't sure if his mother would be able to function without his father. Harley lowered her bow and tucked her arm around his waist.
"How're you?," she asked. He smiled down at her. For someone that claimed to be lacking in not only emotion but empathy for others, he was surprised how much of a comfort Harley was to him. She didn't hover or mother him. But she made it clear she was there for him if he needed her. He was starting to think maybe he wanted her around for more than just a sleepover when she felt like it. And he was slowly starting to think about the best way to convince Harley to move in with him.
"I've been better, but I think I'm gonna be alright," Spencer said. He pressed a kiss into her hair, hugging her against his side. Harley hugged him back. But suddenly he felt her body go stiff. She jerked away, lifting her bow and stringing an arrow. Spencer didn't see anything that would indicate they were in danger. But he trusted her instincts. He raised his shotgun, which was full of buckshot since they were talking about trying for a few wild turkeys.
Harley heard a twig snap nearby. It didn't alarm her at first. She thought it was just Mika and Wren catching up with them. But the girls didn't appear. And then Harley smelled it. Not the rotten stink of a walker. But human body odor. She caught a strong whiff of it on the breeze, coming from the opposite direction the noise came from. This meant there was more than one person after them. And that they were at least partially surrounded. Harley moved, shifting her body so that her back was to Spencer's.
"We heard ya," she hollered. "Show yerself or we're gonna start shooting!"
Harley heard the sharp intake of air behind her. Spencer gasped. Harley glanced quickly behind her. She couldn't see all the way around him. But she caught sight of at least two men that had emerged from the woods. To her left were three more. And on the right, another two. They all had symbols carved into their foreheads. Then an oddly familiar man stepped out from behind a tree with a gun pressed to Wren's temple. It took Harley a moment to place him. He was the man that she shot in the knee and left for the dead in the town she met Morgan in. This wasn't good. Wren's eyes were wide with fear. Her lip was split and there was a large bruise welling up across her cheekbone. She must have fought the man when he grabbed her.
"Wren," Harley said, making sure she had her sister's attention. They had never been in this situation before. But they had practiced for it many times. Back when it was just the two of them and their mother, alone and living in the little camper trailer they stole from a used car lot.
"Now!" Harley screamed as she let her arrow fly. Wren dropped like a rock, slipping from the man's grasp. He managed to jerk far enough to the side that the arrow only grazed the side of his greasy head. Harley missed. But he lost his grip on Wren. And that was enough.
"RUN! WREN! FUCKIN' RUN!," Harley screamed. Wren was already scrambling to her feet. The man made another grab for her. But this time Harley caught him in the shoulder with an arrow, knocking him back. And Wren ran. Two of the men gave her a good chase. But once she got moving, they didn't have a chance. Her arms pumped in time with her legs. Her hair flew out behind her. And the moment she saw the gate looming in front of her, Wren started screaming bloody murder.
Harley got off one more shot with her bow, hitting another man in the center chest since the one she was aiming for ducked behind a tree. She knew by now that the asshole was bluffing when he held the gun to her sister's head. If he had any bullets, he would have shot her by now. Spencer fired off two rounds. But there were only two of them against an entire group. Harley slashed another one of them dead with her knife. But after that they had her. The men tossed her on the ground. Two of them held her down while a third taped her wrists together behind her back. Her ankles were bound next. The men grabbed her under her arms, dragging her to her knees. Then the man she recognized appeared. He leaned down, holding the arm of the shoulder she caught him in.
"You little bitch," he cursed. The man cocked his fist back and slammed it into her face. She fell backwards, tasting the tang of her own blood in her mouth. She could hear Spencer screaming at the man, telling him he better not touch her again.
"I'm gonna do a lot more than touch her," the man said, limping over to laugh into Spencer's face. "But first I think I'll make her watch while I kill you."
The man turned, watching Harley's reaction to his words. There was blood running down from the bridge of her nose and out her nostrils. Her eyes went wide at his words. And then she started screaming and thrashing around on the ground.
Harley was on her side on the ground. She could see Spencer, but her eyes weren't focusing together and everything was coming at her in weird flashes. She could hear herself screaming, telling the man that if he laid one hand on Spencer that she was going to tear him apart. But it sounded like her voice was coming from underwater. She saw the man smile at her before he pulled the knife from his belt. He didn't just stab Spencer. He brought the knife down several times into his gut, ensuring that he would die slow and with a lot of pain. Harley heard the wet smack and then the tearing sound. She saw Spencer's intestines spill out onto the ground. And then she heard the groan of the walker. The man she shot in the chest with her arrow had reanimated. He staggered into the clearing, attracted by the noise and the smell of fresh blood. The walker flopped to the ground, her arrow still sticking out of its chest. Spencer was still conscious and screaming when the monster started tearing his insides apart.
The next thing Harley saw was one of the carved forehead men fall to the ground next to Spencer. His body was blocking her view of the man. There was a crossbow bolt sticking out of his eye. And then the sound of gunfire broke the silence. Carol and Wren were shooting at the man with handguns. Morgan was behind the girls with his stick, ready to defend them if anyone got too close. Daryl had his bow and a large hunting rifle. There were more of the men. But they didn't have guns. Before long, all of them were down and Wren was behind Harley, cutting the tape that was holding her wrists and ankles together. She scrambled onto her hands and knees and vomited. Her body convulsed with the force of her retching. When there was nothing left inside her, she turned. Spencer was still breathing. The walker that was feasting on his guts was dead. Harley forced herself to her feet and stepped over the dead man with the bolt through his eye. Daryl grabbed her, trying to hold her back. But she turned on him, scratching at him like a feral cat until he released his grip on her.
"He's still alive," Harley insisted, falling to her knees next to Spencer and placing her hand on his chest. "We can take him back to town and patch him up." The puddle of blood around the man was spreading rapidly. Harley's pants were already soaked with it.
"He's gone," Wren said, placing a gentle hand on her sister's shoulder. Wren was standing next to Harley, ready to move back quickly if her sister went after her like she just went after their uncle. But Harley didn't attack her. She just grabbed Wren around the waist and buried her face into her sister's stomach. Then she screamed, the noise partially muffled by Wren's shirt. Harley screamed and she kept screaming until everything around her went black.