I Hold On

The redhead trudged along the dirt path looking straight ahead. Behind her Shane was keeping a close eye on her while he glanced around at the scenery every once and a while. He had the bucket of water in his left hand and his shotgun in his right. The heat in the air was slowly cooling down and he noticed in the distance the sun was getting lower and lower every second. The once deputy to the sheriff of King's County fixated his eyes back to the auburn haired woman and he sighed at how slow she was walking. He wanted to just hurry up and get a move on things. So he reached his gun out and prodded her in the small of her back gently, thinking nothing of it.
"Ya wanna hurry it up? For someone who's got a sister waitin' on her, you sure are movin' slow as hell."
"And for some guy who supposedly worked for the police, you sure are rude! Honestly, I don't think you were even in the police force and stole that hat off some officer you killed! Cause if you were an actual police officer, I sure as hell know you wouldn't be poking me in the ass with that gun of yours right now!"
Shane scowled a bit, pulling the end of his gun away from her, not liking her attitude. She had a point but still. When she turned to face him he locked eyes with her, his face still scowling and still serious.
"Oh please forgive me miss attitude! For the record I've served King's county police department for over seven years. So you best keep that in mind when you go runnin' your mouth. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get this lil' expedition wrapped up 'fore the stars come out."
"So I guess it's true then. All cops are impatient assholes."
"What'd you say?"
"Nothin'."
"That's what I thought. Now I said let's get a move on. Unless you're waitin' for somethin' else.
Like say an ambush? You tryin' to punk me girl? 'Cause let me tell you somethin'..."
"Ellie!"
A cry rang out yards away from where they were standing, making Shane look away from the redhead and out towards the direction of the barn where he swore the scream had came from. Before he could ask if that was her sister or not, the woman took off, not bothering to see if it was ok to leave him there. He scowled immediately and dropped the bucket of water, the cool liquid rushing out of it's container and into the dry soil underneath as he chased after her like a bat out of hell.
"Did I say you could leave? Git your ass back here!"
Shane yelled but it was no use. The woman just kept running and didn't even give him a look back. So he kept chasing her, following her to wherever she was headed. Up ahead he saw a big red barn, the paint fading from the constant sun beating on it and the lack of up keep. He could also see a few walkers stumbling around outside and then they went into the barn, obviously keen on whatever was inside there. That was when he noticed Ellie heading for the barn and he shouted again, not wanting her to get caught by the flesh eating freaks.
"Wait! Hey red wait!"
The woman actually turned around and gave him a look that he swore would kill him if looks could kill.
"My sister is in there! I have to save her!"
"I get that but there are walkers in there too. You go in there now and you're likely to see somethin' you don't wanna and you'll be next."
"Are you suggestin' she's..."
"You hear any more screamin'?"
The woman in front of him looked down at the ground, the sweat pouring down her face suddenly mixing with a few tears when she realized there were no other sounds coming from the barn other than the ones the walkers were making. She then looked up at him and turned around, stomping towards the barn once again.
"Wait!"
He called out, unsure if this was in fact a trap or if this whole situation with her 'sister' was real. It certainly seemed as though there had been somebody waiting for her in that barn by the look on her face but then again, people had become very good at acting, especially now a days. Despite the fact he told her to wait she still headed in towards the barn and he ran after her, grabbing her arm, pulling her back behind him. They were only feet away from the barn and could hear the snarls and groans of the beasts inside.
"Do you wanna get eaten? That your end game? 'Cause if you so, you ain't takin' me with you."
"My sister is in there."
Was all the auburn haired woman could say as she tried to pull away from him but he kept a firm grasp on her arm. Shane just shook his head, seeing the desperation and fear in her green eyes.
"You sure are stubborn as hell. Listen, you stay put and I'ma peek my head in real quick like and I'ma come back and tell you whatever I see. But soon as one of them ugly bastards come out, you better help me take 'em out, you hear me?"
The girl nodded, her eyes focused on the slightly opened doors of the barn. Shane felt his heart beating in his chest, his eyes darting to the knife she was carrying as he turned his back to her. He went ahead and grabbed his own knife he had in a pocket at his side. He slid it out and glanced back at Ellie, making sure she would stay put. She was still where he had told her to stay and knowing that he slowly approached the barn, the moans and grim sounds of teeth gnashing together making his stomach churn. When he could smell the scent of death and decay, making him want to puke, he figured he was as close he was going to get without being caught by one of the freaks inside. His heart was echoing so loud in his head he prayed he was the only one who could hear it. He inched closer to the wooden doors of the open barn before peeking in.
Six walkers all had there hands up in the air waving like they were at some concert and all of them were growling and snapping at the air with rotting black teeth. The concert however was actually a girl no older than twenty, whimpering up in the rafters of the barn, clinging to her ankle and holding a hand over her mouth as if to keep quiet so more of them wouldn't show up. Before he could silently turn back he noticed her brown eyes dart to him and she went wide eyed, a sob echoing around the barn as she opened her mouth.
"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh you have to help me! Please!"
Shane quickly put a finger to his lips for her to keep quiet but it was too late. Her sobbing and reaching out to him from a top the hay loft alerted the walkers to him and while two of them turned around and immediately headed towards him, the other four kept at trying to get the girl to come down and be there next meal. The man thought fast, shutting the doors of the barn, locking the girl and all the walkers in there with a piece of wood that had been laying just by the outside of the doors. He heard the brunette let out a scream from inside and he let out a string of curses as the undead collided with the door behind him, all of them trying to bust out. He knew the piece of wood he had put over the handles of the doors wouldn't be able to keep them at bay for very long and looking up he had to hold his hands up in defense as a knife came at him, stopping just at the tip of his nose.
"She's in there! She's still alive! Let me in so I can kill those flesh eatin' bastards and save her! Ariel do you hear me? I'm here! I'm gonna save you!"
"Dammit woman, shut your mouth! You're only gonna rile 'em up more."
He hissed just above a whisper, Ellie still threatening to bury her sharp black knife into his face as if he were one of them.
"Then what do you purpose we do? I ain't leavin' her in there. Is she even ok? How many of them are in there?"
All of her questions hit him at once and her voice was still raised. The banging and clawing at the doors as they creaked under the weight of a few of the dead made her eyes go wide and she suddenly changed her tone, bringing it to a dull whisper.
"That sounds like a hell of a lot."
"You ain't lyin' there. I counted 'bout six of 'em. But relax, your sister is fine. She looks like she hurt her ankle though. It could be a bite but I ain't sure. All I know is if we don't act fast, those things are gonna get the jump on us before we even know what hit us."
By now the sun had set and it had just become dark. The stars were beginning to peak out and the moon was already lighting up the sky where the sun had been. The temperature had cooled down significantly but the recent events and adrenaline made it so the man was still dying of sweat. Shane was debating on taking all six of them out by himself with his shotgun but knew that there was a possibility there could be more of them.
"So what do we do?"
Shane could even see in the dimmed light the woman's eyes were glassed over and brimming with tears. There was no doubt in his mind she was scared now. This was really happening. She hadn't been lying and he almost felt guilty for not trusting her in the first place, almost.
"You ever use that thing?"
He nodded towards the knife she gripped in her hand, it wasn't in his face anymore and now was at her side. Her hand shook as she clenched the knife tight and peered down at it and then back at Shane. She nodded and he looked at his own knife.
"That's it then. We'll have to take 'em out one at a time. You think you can handle that? I'll watch your back, you watch mine. Then we'll get to gettin' your sister outta that loft and get you two back to our camp."
"Let's do this then."
He noticed the sudden fire that built up in her emerald eyes at the mention of saving her kin. He couldn't help but smile at that kind of heat. He knew that must of what had kept her going all this time, her little sister. Hell, half the time he wasn't sure what kept him going but it was obvious that this woman had something to live for and he wasn't about to let her do this alone.
"On the count of three I'ma open that door and all hell is gonna break loose and they'll all be headin' right for you so back up a bit. I'll be in right afterwards to help you take 'em out and if you ain't never killed a walker before, knife 'em in the skull."
"Alright."
By now the walkers in the barn had settled down a bit, most likely going back to trying to get the brunette in the loft but the man could still hear a few scratching at the doors and still smell their stink. Shane slowly approached the doors only looking back to make sure Ellie was a good ways away from them. His brown eyes caught her own eyes and she nodded, gripping her knife tightly. He got on one side, both hands grabbing the wood that kept the doors closed. Quietly they both counted in their heads. One. Two. Three.

Notes

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