Now was not the place nor the time.
In that moment Dane noticed that Quinta reigned him in far better than he had known. Of course, he'd never been pushed this far before but that in itself shocked him. Going ahead of them, Dane kept the thought in his mind to lead them all to safety.
Moving with haste, Quinta waited until Dane, Tabitha, and Thomas had ducked under the door before she did so herself and left Mike behind. The scorching sun beat down on their heads and backs again. There wasn’t time to catch a breath and they would not stop until they were in the view of the bridge. Not until they were safely out of harm’s way to the sanctuary. Passing by the laundromat, the jeep dealership caught Mike's attention once again. The cogs in the back of his mind began to turn as he slowed to a stop.
Wetting his lips, he looked up at the others a few feet ahead and grinned, “Woah! Hey! Slow down!” He called out to them.
This caused Quinta to skid to a stop and her head to snap back at him. The fire in her eyes could burn right through him but he took no mind and waved them over. His body disappeared as though he expected them to follow and Quinta threw her head back. She then looked back to Dane for a long moment as though to ask him what they should do; Leave or follow. Catching a last glimpse of Mike disappearing, Dane sighed out before he noticed that all looks pointed to him. He wanted so bad to say, “Fuck him” and leave Mike behind. His heart and his core couldn’t reason with his thoughts to abandon him.
Dane shook his head as though he didn't want to, “Let's get him and go.” He muttered.
Heading towards the dealership, Dane planned to warn Mike one last time to clarify that they would leave without him if he didn't follow. Waving for the others to follow, Dane at least had the common sense to know that it was never a good idea to split up. Quinta groaned before she nodded and followed Dane and the others.
There Mike stood with his eyes glued on that lone glass door that kept him from one of the rides that lined along the chain link fence to his left.
Mike waited for a few seconds before he turned his head in their direction, “I think we should get in there and find a key that will unlock one of these. That way we can keep scavenging AND get back in a timely manner. We can use this for far off missions too. Haul more, pack more...it’s perfect.” He muttered to himself.
Mike's gaze practically glittered at the thought. Tabitha sighed as she looked to Dane, “We don't have time for this.” She stated.
Quinta wet her lips, “We can’t go around looking for keys and den take off in a car dat makes noise. We don't 'ave time. Maybe yuh can try when WE aren't with yuh but we've got to go.” She hissed.
Sucking his teeth, Mike shook his head as he pointed to the door, “Look, you guys want to run? That's fine by me but you can AT LEAST do this. We NEED this.” He argued.
Dane grit his teeth together, “No. We really don't need the car. You're not thinking this through Mike. You run your mouth loud enough so just think about what a car engine will do. We're not doing it nor are we committing suicide for you. It's over.”
Mike shook his head, “Oh here we go again.” He scoffed to himself.
Turning his back to Mike, Dane waved for the others to leave. Dane didn't look back at Mike because he was drained of concern or care for him. That was the last straw and they couldn't waste any more time for this man. Even if they had to leave him alone, they didn't have a choice now. Dane's decision was absolute. The choice of Mike's life was in his own hands now.
“Fine then. You all go ahead and I'll catch up when I get the car. You'll be lucky if I decide to pick you up!” He called after them.
Tabitha blew out while she followed Thomas and Dane, “The door is locked Mike. Let's just go.” She told him.
Quinta stared at this man for a long moment to see if he would follow. This was unfortunate that he turned out in such a manner during terror. When people should band together and fight to survive together, there was always that one who felt superior even now.
After a few seconds, Quinta shook her head and turned to walk away before she stopped dead in her tracks, “What yuh doin?!” She called out to Mike.
Hearing Quinta's shout, Dane knew that she would only raise her voice in a final, desperate attempt to warn Mike before he did anything detrimental.
Mike squared his body with the door with a large rock in his hand, “I'm getting my car.” He answered before he tossed the stone right through the glass with a shatter.
A security alarm ripped through the air which in turn caused the smug smirk to wipe off of Mike's face. Quinta's stomach dropped while her brown eyes glanced upwards slightly. The alarm was not the only sound she heard. In the distance, shrieks and howls from the others alerted every single dead nearby. The alarm signaled life to them and this is exactly what they wanted and Mike claimed he needed.
“What happened!” Tabitha exclaimed out of shock.
Dane felt as though cold water had been dropped over his head in the heated weather. Thomas's mouth fell open before a strong shudder rocked his spine. Panic spread from the core of Quinta's chest and radiated outward her entire body. Sounds of movement brought the walls around them to life and down the street they'd traveled. Behind almost every building there were many undead that shambled and ran the group's way the best way they could with their broken bodies. The ones different types of infected, from the ones that hobbled, to the ones that ran like rabid animals came for the call of the alarm.
They were grossly outnumbered. There was a sense of doom and loss in the situation. It was clear as day that these things had been lying in wait because there were far too many of them to be of normal proportions.
Taking one step behind the other, Quinta shook her head before she threw a worried glance to Dane, “We’ve got to go!” She called out.
“Quinta!” Dane waved to her in urgency.
Dane then pivoted on his foot while they all started to run. Not one gave a damn about Mike and truth be told he was the last thing on their minds. The time it'd take them to run towards the sanctuary was ten minutes and that was if they didn't have any troubles. They felt too far from those safe walls and they were rapidly being closed in on.
Quinta panted out as she backed up with her arms outstretched. Mike turned to his side to grab one of his pistols but at the mere sound and the sudden call of Dane's voice, he dropped one. Clattering and scatting a few feet away from him, he gasped out and stumbled forward to grab it but the far off darkened cloud of infected that rapidly approached told him he didn't have time.
Dane's call sent shock waves through her body, “Leave it!” She yelled at Mike before she turned on her foot and took off.
When the undead closed in and Dane was certain that Quinta followed, he could turn and run with his eyes forward. They had to get out of the vicinity of the noise this she could tell by the way the slower ones were swayed to run directly for the source. Having to push her already aching body to the brink, Quinta's lungs burned from overuse. Their feet stamped the pavement which, in this rush, brought attention to the sedentary ones they'd passed by before. Mike, still the loudest one, of all of them panted out and whined from his own nerves. Just two more roads and they should be home free.
Taking a sharp right down another section of road, Quinta gasped. Down by the intersection they needed that led back to the bridge was flooded with the awakened. They swayed out alike to a wall to block their path, with the runners behind them and this wall to slow them down, continuing straight was certain death. Seeing an alleyway that went straight through, she whistled to the ones ahead of her before she sharply veered to the left. Glad that Quinta was quick on her wits and smart enough to whistle out to them, Dane veered swiftly into the alley and charged ahead of the group.
Mike stumbled behind because he could not keep his eyes from the back to the front. This man, and all his cocky glory, had been washed in with fear of certain death. Though the moment he saw Quinta avoid a few weaklings to go around through an alle
yway caused him to slow down. Shrouded in the shadows of both buildings, Quinta waved her hand for them to keep going.
“Wait!” Mike called out as he slowed down.
If there was one thing that he learned in the survival classes on base was that one should never enter the shadows. What he didn't pay attention to was the fact that one should never enter the shadows when an exit wasn't visible.
“What are you doing?! You guys are going to get yourselves killed, you are fucking idiots!” He yelled as he pointed to the horde ahead of him.
The few that had locked onto him from the dealership approached from his left. What he didn't expect for was at the first sound of his voice, every single one that swayed to his right, stopped, and snapped their heads in his direction. High pitched shrieks shot through the sky which rang through the buildings and bring attention to the ones who waited within the rooms around them.
Tabitha inhaled a deep breath and stumbled to her knees with a hiss, “Oh shit...” she whispered out shakily.
Tears streamed down her cheeks while she grabbed her chest and released an open mouth gasp in fear. Thomas skid to a stop before he turned on his heels, grabbed her by the arm, and lifted Tabitha to her feet again. Quinta pulled up behind Tabitha and helped lift her to her feet with her hands gripped into her jacket with a pull. Mike groaned out, once again he proved to be a disaster rather than an asset. Running after them down the long, narrow path, Quinta caught sound of footsteps running along metal above them.
Quinta blinked back tears as she shook her head, “KEEP GOIN!” She screamed out towards them.
Kicking debris out of the way, Dane swung his bat against the bodies of walkers that lingered and sent them to collide into the solid, cement walls. He crushed heads with his splintered bat from the force he used. With one last smack, his bat snapped in half and he threw it to the ground and put his all into escaping.
Several of the advanced infected climbed over the roofs and hit the ground just a few feet behind Michael which urged them to keep going. Coming into the light and a side road that would have had little to no threat, had Mike not set the others off, Quinta followed the other three. Able now to see the bridge well within reach, they were on their way when the sound of Mike's call, a crash of metal, followed by shots caused Quinta to stop.
Her chest heaved up and down while she turned to see that Mike had yet to emerge but the bullets kept being fired, “Go!” She yelled at the others.
Quinta ran back towards the alley to see Mike on the ground pushing himself back and away. From the way a dumpster was askew, she could figure out that Mike hadn't paid attention and crashed into it; hurting himself. A few bodies had fallen in front of him but she could tell by the fact that he hadn't gotten up, and from the ones that still came, he wouldn't be able to overpower them much longer.
Mike's fingers dug into the trash and dirt to pull himself to safety as quickly as he could manage. Pain seared through his knee and rib cage which knocked the wind out of him on impact. He glanced over his shoulder and caught sight of Quinta who stood there and stared.
With the others rapidly approaching, he glared at her, “HELP ME UP YOU DUMB BITCH!” He spat at her angrily.
The lost, helpless look in his eyes showed to her that he knew he was a man with limited time and decided to use his last moments as the same asshole. With her eyebrows tucked together Quinta disappeared down the alley towards him.
“No!” Tabitha shrieked out while Thomas pulled her along.
Dane took a moment to catch on that Quinta had stopped and he didn't like it. Grabbing the gun, he'd given to Tabitha from Thomas, he took a few steps towards the alleyway and followed Quinta. Holding his breath, he was doubtful that Quinta would risk her life to save Mike's. Deep down he had a feeling he knew what she was about to do if the situation called for it.
Adrenaline pumped throughout Quinta's whole system as she approached Mike who held his arm up for her to take. Instead of that, she bent over and grabbed his bag all before she took his gun and stared down at him. He was lost and by the way he stared at her, she knew he just wanted her to die with him.
She pointed the gun to his face, “I'm sorry.” she whispered.
The last thing she saw was his eyes widen before she pulled the trigger and shot a hole right through his eye. His body fell over to the side awkwardly and the first smell of fresh blood from his warm body bought her enough time to escape with the others.
Aiming high, Dane’s hardened gaze pinpointed on that slit of darkness before he shot two advanced from above. That's when he heard a gunshot that was not of his own. Emerging from the alley once again, Quinta's hardened face met with Dane and the others. Dane finally drew in a breath of air and his features lost that fierce, stern quality.
Though they weren't out of the woods yet. There was only so much of Mike to feed that many mouths. Luckily, she had bought them enough time to reach the bridge. Sweeping the bag up from Quinta's load, Quinta blinked slightly before she handed him the gun as well. Tabitha and Thomas stayed behind them as they climbed the slight incline up the bridge and hurried down to where the ones outside of the wall could protect them. Quinta shook her head and stared off over the water as Dane pulled her swiftly along.
Bringing her fist to her mouth, Quinta kissed across her knuckles before her arm dropped limply to her side. Noticing this from a side glance, Dane wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pushed her to move forward faster. He could feel how distant she was from them in that moment but his mind was focused to be within the safety of the sanctuary. Once they reached halfway across the bridge he felt somewhat protected despite the guns that hovered over them. Those weapons were what gave him peace of mind.
Soon they were within range of the snipers and by the time they had arrived at the Eastern gate, the doors opened and there stood Decker and a staff to disinfect them. The setting and aura being almost the same as when they first arrived only the difference between the moods was that they weren't complete strangers nor treated as such.
Commander Decker's chilled gaze looked to them before he glanced to his watch, “Would either of you like to tell me what the hell is going on here? It's only ten o'clock in the morning. You guys have six hours left! And where is Michael Scott?” He demanded.
Quinta swallowed harshly while she stared at Decker while in Dane's arms. At the sound of Mike's name, Tabitha placed her hands over her mouth and choked back a cry. A nurse rolled over a trolley for them to place their bags within so they could start the job of sorting, disinfecting, and repacking the items that would be released to them.
Not pleased with their silence, Decker bit down on his bottom lip and grated it against his teeth, “Well?” He questioned while his eyes bore into them.
Dane set the bags he carried down on the trolley and thought of how to best word a proper response.
Clearing his throat, Dane looked Decker in the eyes, “Michael had the idea to take a car from the Jeep Dealership not far from here. We told him not to do anything rash but he was determined. What he didn't expect was that the power was still intact in the facility and his actions set off an alarm. We were swarmed, he didn't get away, and we barely made it.” Dane recanted.
Purposefully, he left out many embarrassing bits that would shame Mike who in the end was sacrificed to save them. Tabitha had her hands over her arms as Thomas stared at Decker and listened to Dane explain. He was about to open his mouth and correct Dane on just how grossly negligent Michael was the entire day but when Dane looked down and away, he could tell that now wasn't the time.
Mike handed his life, his name didn't need to be smeared.
That would help no one. Dane reluctantly broke the secured gaze with Decker and glanced down. He knew they had failed their first time out regardless of the reason but he'd do it all over again if it meant saving them.
Dane then lifted his eyes again, “But these people worked hard for what we did bring. They were fast and safe before the incident and I'd
gladly have them on a team again. I think for today we need to rest, we've been through a lot.” He added.
Quinta numbly stared at Decker who in turn looked over each other them before he sighed, “So how many are we speaking of? The other group that went out with you, will they be able to make it back safely on the same passage?” Decker asked.
Thomas spoke in a firm tone, “No sir. They're right on the main road where Michael...is. I'm sure those things will linger before they fall to rest again.”
Decker shut his eyes while he rubbed his thumb and finger across his eyebrows. The safety of the civilians always came first.
“Stevens.” Decker called. He waved of the armed soldiers over, “Go and ready yourself and three other men for a search and retrieval for the others out there. Find out from Delacroix where they were to be stationed. Afterwards clean up the mess to make that area safe.” Decker ordered.
Once the rules were given, the men moved out with haste to prepare and depart before their scavengers were put into any more danger.
Decker then paused as he glanced over to Dane once again, “Were there any items that needed more than what you could do? Where's your map?” He questioned.
Quinta pulled away from Dane and quietly grabbed the map from within her bag before she handed it over, “Just one.” She muttered.
Decker took a hold of the laminated paper and looked it over, “Right. Go and get yourselves cleaned up.” He expressed as he walked away.
The nurses that waited on the sidelines walked up to the group with insincere smiles on their faces, “Right this way. By the time you all wash up and have your vitals checked, your items should be ready to go. Thank you for your service.” One stated as she was trained to.
Undressing, Dane stood under the faucets that shot out hot water and washed his body with the grime of the day lost down the drain. He flicked his glance to Tabitha and Thomas as he dried himself off before he caught a glimpse of Quinta through the steam. He could see that she was far away in another world, on autopilot and simply went with the motions.
The World We Once Knew Page 15