The cold still reached my face and neck, but my torso and hands were covered by the shirt and its long sleeves. My jeans couldn't have been helped, but they weren't all that wet anyway. Aaron eyed me, and I shrugged. "I was cold, it's not like I would have drove off without you."
He scoffed before I could have even finished my sentence, and I zeroed in on his jaw when he did. The marks that Tanya had made before? It was like they were never even there. I could see a small tint of a line across his skin, but that was it. Which reminded me, I still needed to check on his other injuries.
He followed me into the bakery. The place was ransacked, with chairs and tables toppled over, and blood trail leading from the register to the front door, but no dead bodies. I stepped over any obstacles and headed for the counter, praying for anything of use.
Paper, wrapper, crumbs, a coupon, a nickel-oh, what do we have here? Lady luck may have just sneezed in my direction, because I spotted a small, but intact red container underneath the lowest shelf. A grin broke out on my face and as I bent down to grab it, I heard a crash coming from in the room.
Gasping in surprise, I jumped up and readied my gun for any trouble. Aaron was on the other side of the room, with his hands cupped on the floor, still as a statue. I raised a brow at this behavior, and went back down to pick up the kit.
Opening it showed me that it wasn't full. Aside from a few slightly dried out disinfectant wipes, the kit was empty. I sighed. It was still better than nothing, I guess.
Snatching them up, I walked over to Aaron, whom was still positioned with his claws cupped on the floor. I eyed him carefully. I wasn't sure if this was typical Leaper behavior or Aaron just being…Aaron.
"Aaron" I called his name, and he moved his head in my direction, but still not facing me fully. My attention moved from his hands to his injuries. For some reason he would always take more of a beating than I would. I wondered how the punctures on his abdomen were doing.
Taking a step closer, I crouched down to his height. "What do you have there?" I questioned, taking poking his closed claws. He made a small noise when I prodded him, so of course this only made me poke his fingers again.
This time, it was a hiss, and I refrained from anymore poking. It was quiet for a moment until I coughed awkwardly. "Let me see your face, Aaron" He wrinkled his nose at me, and I took on my mother's voice. "Aaron, I wasn't asking." At least this time I didn't sound like Batman.
The Leaper turned his head to face me fully, lips curled back. He must have taken care of his teeth before the infection, because I had to admit I was jealous myself. Too many sodas and cheap collage meals didn't do wonders for my own teeth, thought mine were still in pretty good shape.
The only problem with his was, however, was that they were stained a dark red.
I curled back at the sight. Earlier I thought I had smelled something raw on his breath and this just confirmed it. "Ew"
Suddenly, something moved from underneath his grasp. Aaron quickly moved to catch it but it was too late. Something furry and small wiggled out from underneath his hold and made its way in my direction. So obviously, I freaked out.
"What the double fuck!?" I lept back onto my own two feet again, and without thinking I sat atop one of the few remaining tables. The little creature shared my shock, and bolted for the other direction, but Aaron found it first.
The tiny mouse didn't have much time to react, since a sharp claw found its way through its body. It protruded all the way through, killing the mouse instantly. The Leaper raised his hand to stare at the mouse, and then flicked it away to some corner. When he turned to me, he showed his teeth again, but this time he was laughing.
"Oh" I recollected myself. "Just a mouse." I climbed down from the table, listening to his raspy laugh. My cheeks flared and I scolded myself for being embarrassed. "Shut up, will you?" I told him. "It just caught me off guard, ok?" He stopped laughing, but his smirk was still evident.
I rolled my eyes. "What are you doing hunting rats anyway? We got bigger things to hunt for" I pulled up two chairs from the floor, setting them beside each other. Sitting in one, I pat the other in front of him. "Sit down"
Well, it wasn't exactly sitting, but it was close enough. He crouched in the chair and I sighed. Some things will never change. I took the wipes and moved to touch his jaw when he flinched back, snarling. All evidence of laughter beforehand was gone.
"Relax, it's just in case." I say softly, and he closes his mouth, still growling. I put it on his face regardless, and he shrinks back a little. I forgot to warn him about how it would sting. But it's not like he would have understood anyway.
It only took a single wipe to clean his jaw, and I started moving upwards to his cheek when I felt fingers grasp around my wrist. I swallowed. His fingers pulsed around my wrist and we stayed like this, still for a minute before it dawned on me.
With my hand where it was, I could push back his hood if I had wanted to, and he knew this. Even though I never planned on that happening, he didn't know that. It still wasn't clear to me why he wanted to keep it up at all time, but to him, it was important.
Very carefully, I tugged my hand back, but he didn't let go. His grip wasn't strong, but it wasn't soft enough for me to slip through. I kept tugging, little by little until he decided to let me go. My hand brushed passed his palm and I placed both hands in my lap. "Sorry" He didn't respond.
For the next ten minutes, I used the almost all of the wipes to clean both of our hands. I wouldn't want to touch his hands after the brutal mouse slaughter episode. Once the wipes were used and dirty, I tossed them to the side. At least something came out of this.
When I felt the tension leave the air, I spoke again. "So," I started "I need to see…" I trailed off. He wasn't going to understand me, so why bother speaking? I had a better chance trying to show him what I meant.
I pointed at my stomach, than at his with both hands. "I need to see if you've healed ok or not." I spoke, dispite what I had already thought before. Aaron tilted his head at the motion, confused. I put a hand on my stomach, and lifted my shirt slightly before putting it back down. Smiling, I pointed for him to do the same.
And he did. He took the end of the fabric and pulled both his hoodie and his shirt upwards, but put it down again. I shook my head. "No, wait" I hesitated. "Keep it up for a moment" I put my hands over his, forcing him to pull it up halfway and having his hands bunch the fabrics up so they stay put. He wrinkled his nose, not liking this. Too bad.
The bandages were still covering the wound, and I figured that it must have healed to a degree. Otherwise, he still wouldn't have that bite about him and would probably be a lot worse than he is now. I reached into my pocket and dug out Theron's knife, and Aaron stiffened at the sight.
"I won't hurt you" I said to no one. "Just trust me" But he leaned back anyway, hissing. I bit my lip. He wouldn't actually do anything to me, or at least I don't think he would. I'm a food source for him, and if I'm eliminated, than he'll have to go back to hunting down survivors in the streets.
Bending towards him, I quickly brought the knife down to the bandage before he could react. I was able to cut off an end before he swatted the knife away. It clattered across the room, under a table. I struggled to keep his clothes in place. "You're making this really difficult, you know that?" I said, and he sneered.
In a moment of quick thinking, I grabbed the end of the bandage as he lept away from me. I'm not sure what I did that made him so hostile lately, but for whatever it was; he would just have to get over it.
The bandage unwrapped as he increased the distance between us. Before his shirt fell back into place, the last of the wrapping release and I caught a glimpse of skin before it was hidden. It was just like his jaw, like it was all a dream. I had expected five holes, but I didn't see anything.
New surprises every day, I pondered. Backing away from the agitated Leaper, I retrieved my knife. Turning around, I took a look outside. It was now ful
ly night and the cold was starting to become more than an annoyance now.
Aaron hopped atop the counter, still glowering at me. I always knew that he was the one to hold a grudge. I just didn't know what has made him so irritable lately.
I didn't get to keep my thoughts for long. A sound of a gurgle came from my right and I swirled around to see a straggler headed straight for me. How he was able to get in here undetected, I don't know. But one infected wasn't a big deal, now; if it was a horde then it was a different problem.
Aaron took care of him quickly, and skidded over; pushing his fingers inside the infected's neck. I sighed deeply. I give up. No matter what I do, his hands are going to end up filthy one way or another. Why do I even try?
The special infected flicked off the gore from him fingers, and caught up to me as I sauntered out the door. It had gotten a lot colder in the last half hour. The truck was still running with the heat on low, but when I opened the door, it didn't make much of a difference to me.
I shivered for a millisecond and cursed with my breath, but I could still hear the gurgles that were growing closer and closer. My eyes widened, and my chest began to race. It's been a while since I experienced a horde. In fact, there hasn't been a horde since the separation.
The sounds got louder, and from the distance I could see figures forming on the streets. For a moment, I couldn't move, just clutch my knife and hope I didn't panic. Then, another loud noise joined the others.
Aaron, while in my moment of distraction, had climbed to the top of the truck and let out a feral, horrific screech. It was also ear ringing. Well, at least it was for me, since I was less than three feet away when he gave the shriek.
I covered my ears with my hands, cursing loudly and even louder when I realized I couldn't hear my own voice. "Fuck, Aaron!" I climbed inside the truck, buckling with shaky fingers and backed in reverse.
Aaron jumped from the truck to the ground, than lept to patterns towards the other infected. I watched anxiously, debating on whether or not I should drive away.
"Need a ride, Bub?"
It sounded more like he was telling me more than asking, but I figured I could trust him. Something, and not just appearance, but something about his reminds me of Steve. Nodding hesitantly, I walked around the back to the passenger side. His smiled, and reached over to open the door for me.
"Sorry for tha mess, but it's hard to keep tha ol' girl clean when I gotta ram her into a horde, ya know?"
Ram her into a horde, I thought. Why not? I don't think Doug will mind if I added a few dents to the collection.
I floored it, and sped across the concrete facing them head on. It was getting close now, and I resisted shutting my eyes in reflex. I braced for impact.
There were a few thumps, a lot of screams, and the sound of glass breaking. The truck skidded over several bodies and added even more to the piles. Two of them climbed into the back of the truck, and I slammed on reverse, throwing them out and mashing into the ground. This was easy.
Until the truck stopped moving.
The engine was still on, but the tires weren't moving. Pushing hard on the petal, I realized it great fear that the truck was indeed stuck. Oh, and there were still a decent amount of infected looking to splatter me all over the pavement.
"Shit" I swore. Shoving the door outward, I hit a nearby woman with it, and I made sure to swing it again to finish her off. I gripped Theron's knife in one hand and one of the guns in the other, the other still in the front seat. The horde was thinned, but still coming.
A few yards away, Aaron was still fighting-excuse me-killing. The common infected didn't even have a chance to defend themselves. A lot like me, but I might as well try.
Aiming for their heads, I fired. I didn't stop until I had emptied out my clip completely. Fumbling to reload it, I stabbed a man in the neck when he came too close. He fell to the ground and still made a frail attempt to grab for my legs, but I crushed his hand and he remained still.
In a moment of distraction, I was wacked across the face. My nose throbbed with pain and I grunted in surprise, using my forearm to shield my face while my other arm still fired. Something wet dripped down my arm and I pulled back my sleeve to take a quick glance. My nose was bleeding, and quite heavily at that.
A growl echoed though the street, followed by a loud shriek. A shadow flew across the ground and landed on my attackers, ripping them in half and moving on to the next few. I didn't know whether to be relieved, or horrified. There were ribs and entrails everywhere.
But now was not the time to feel either of those options. I've already made the mistake of getting distracted once, another could end me.
Blood from my nose traveled down my throat and I spat it out onto the road. It's been a while since I've tasted my own blood, but not very long. Wiping my mouth, I grit my teeth. I was way too tired to keep dealing with this bullshit.
I fired until the clip was empty again, but I didn't bother reloading it. Instead, I held onto the knife even tighter. Raising it high, I drove it into a man's chest, pulling it back and bringing it in again. Then I swiveled around and embedded it inside another.
Overwhelmed, I was tackled to the ground. Hands grabbed at my hair and slammed my head against the ground. Hard. I cried out in pain. The back of my head wasn't bleeding yet, but it would soon. The knife slipped from my hands and the man on top of me put his hands around my neck. Chocking, the best I could do was try to pry his hands from around my neck.
The weight on me disappeared and I opened up eyes to see Aaron, flying over us and taking the man by surprise. The infected was tossed off me in a fit of flailing limbs. Looking up, my stomach churned. Aaron had already torn the man's throat open. But I guess that didn't satisfy him, because he took both sides of the man's head and twisted it sharply, tearing it clean off.
I gagged a little, but came to my senses and kicked away a common, making a grab for my knife and gutting the infected as if fell. I glanced back at Aaron, who had already busied himself with a small group a good distance away. I took a second to catch my breath, before following his lead.
This went on for couple more minutes, and with both mine and Aaron's efforts, the horde couldn't even be called a horde anymore. Corpses littered the ground and I struggled not to stumble over them. In no time, all of them were dead, and I was exhausted.
Panting, I glanced at Aaron. He was still preoccupied with his last victim, and I had no intention of stopping him. Let the guy have his fun, the truck was more important right now.
I circled the truck, revolving around it until I had found the problem. Bodies were stacked up in a pile so thick that one of the wheels had gotten caught behind one. With a heave, I pulled these bodies out of the way and placed them to the side. Aaron finished, crawling over to me while flicking tidbits of bone out of his fingernails.
I pulled myself into the driver's seat and made sure it could move, rolling forward a bit. The truck was damaged, yeah, but it was still in fairly good shape, considering that it had been used as a battering ram. I smiled grimly, cranking up the heat and backing up as quietly as possible.
It was nighttime, and I was about to pass out from lack of any rest. My limbs were sore and my stomach was feeling empty. And an hour or two of sleep would be a life savior right now.
Aaron followed me, leaping from wall to wall. When he would get ahead of me, he perched somewhere nearby and waited until I passed him. I grinned, such a good dog.
I drove around with the headlights on until I came into a vacant parking lot. I eased into the darkest corner I could find and leaned back, sighing. I was sore as hell and almost everything I had attached to me ached.
Reaching back behind the car seat, I searched inside cookie monster before pulling out a random can. I didn't even look at the label. I stabbed the top with my knife and wrenched it open. More peaches, oh joy.
Aaron landed on top of the truck again, and rolled my eyes in disapproval. There were
already more dents on this beauty then there should have been, and he was just adding to the number. I chugged down the peaches in five massive swallows. I probably should have taken it slow and enjoyed the taste, but my gut didn't feel like waiting.
I rolled down the window and tossed the empty can out. I don't think I'll get arrested for littering with the way things are now. The whole city looked like a dumpster anyway.
The sound of growling accompanied the sound of tin clattering against the ground. Aaron hopped down and faced me through the open window. I took note of how bloody his mouth was, and brought my hand up to feel my own. It was equally bloody.
I flipped down the mirror and gasped at my teeth. They were stained red, and I rubbed my fingers over them to try and remove the blood. As a desperate last resort, I leaned out the window and spit. My saliva hit the ground mixed with crimson. Aaron snarled at this. I gave shrug.
"At least my breath isn't as bad as yours"
Looking back in the mirror, it was better, though I could still make use of a toothbrush and some toothpaste, maybe even mouthwash. If I'm lucky enough I might find floss one day. It's not like they were rotting to the gums or anything, it's just that I hated not being able to brush my teeth.
My eyes lids were slipping closed, and naturally I unleashed a yawn. Turning the heat on low, I laid sideways across the seats and covered myself with my arms. Sure, leaving the truck on could be dangerous, but it gave me heat and I really had no idea how to turn it off. Besides, there were gas cans in the back.
I was about to slumber off when something sharp pricked my leg. In reflex, I sat up instantly and glared at my assaulter.
In a different situation, it would have been funny. Aaron was halfway through the open window I had forgotten to close, attempting to pull himself through the small space. I smiled, and that smile broke into a full fleshed laugh. I covered my mouth to muffle it, just in case.
OK, so it was funny, even though it scared the shit out of me at first. The Leaper wiggled and I had tried harder to stifle my giggles, but went silent when he moved forward a bit, actually easing himself into the front seat. I backed up onto the passenger's side, curling my knees up against me.
Walking Bodies Page 14