This was a barn.There had to be something that he could use!
He saw some rakes and shovels. There were some shears and a long knife of some sort.
Adam stopped. He had to make a decision.
He looked back at the barn door. The three creatures continued to bang against it.
Then he walked over to the far wall and picked up a rake. He wasn't going to get into the gun cabinet. And he could no longer wait in the barn. He had to get out there to find Shelly before it was too dark.
The rake was better than nothing. He had to try.
He made his way back to the barn door, holding the rake tightly in his hands. Once he opened the door, he would just have to start poking them with it. It seemed like a pathetic plan, but it was the best he could come up with.
He approached the door, slowly, and reached out his hand to place it on the latch. Once he pulled it open he wouldn't have much time. They'd be on him quickly.
He took a deep breath and crouched down. He could feel the cold metal underneath his fingertips. One pull and the fighting would begin.
He steadied himself, took another deep breath. Then he closed his eyes and stared to count. One. Two. Three. He opened his eyes and squeezed the latch tightly. He was ready to open it.
Yet, before he did, his focus shifted back to the work bench. He hadn't noticed it before, but hanging underneath it were a set of keys. He couldn't believe it,they had been here the whole time!He took his hand off of the lock and rushed over to them. There were only two on the ring. He brought them over to the gun cabinet and placed one of them into the lock to try.
It clicked open.
Adam let out a small cheer and raised his fist into the air in excitement.He'd get the guns. And he'd get Shelly.He pulled open the latch.
As he looked them over, a sense of disappointment washed over him.They had been here all of this time. If he had only found them earlier, he could have protected her…
He shook those feelings away and grabbed hold of the shotgun. He had never used one before, but it didn't look too difficult. He'd just need to find ammunition.
He looked down. There was another locked box. He used the other key to open it. Inside was ammunition of several different sizes.
Adam grabbed at the ones that looked like they'd fit. They were thick, red. He loaded several into the chamber. Then he walked back to the barn door.
He should test it first,he realized.
He raised the gun and aimed it at the door. He steadied the barrel and pulled the trigger. There was a loud blast and Adam was rocked backward.
The gun blew a large hole in the door. Adam was surprised at the size of it.
The creatures were looking through from the other side now. They were screaming and trying to claw their way into the barn. Adam watched them with some type of fascination too.
He walked up closer. He could see scratches along their faces. The veins in their foreheads were bulging. Their eyes were bloodshot.
He raised the gun and pressed it against one of the creatures heads. It tried to grab at the barrel, but didn't get much of a hold before Adam pulled the trigger. The creature's head exploded in a burst of blood and flesh. Adam watched it disappear from view.
He turned to the second one and did the same.
The third one continued to try to get at him. It hadn't noticed that its companions had died, that their heads had been blown off. It didn't know that it was next.
Adam took a deep breath and levelled the shotgun. He pulled the trigger.
The creature's head disintegrated before his eyes. It's body fell heavily to the ground.
Adam stood there. Everything quiet, except for the ringing in his ears. He could smell the gunpowder.
Without much more thought, he turned back to the gun cabinet and prepared to take them all.
Chapter 4
Adam had the guns laid out neatly on the work bench. There were four of them: the shotgun he had used to kill the three creatures, two hunting rifles, and another that looked like a combination of the two.
He looked at them lying there. Black steel tubes. Firepower. Protection. He was sure that he could do some damage with these things. He definitely felt better about his situation, certain that he would soon get Shelly back.
He grabbed the guns and placed them under his arm. Then he leaned over and picked up the ammunition box. It was heavier than he had expected, but he would need to take them. A gun wouldn't do much damage without bullets.
He walked to the front of the barn and looked down at the dead bodies. Each and every one of their faces had been mutilated. The one that Shelly had shot, his face was nearly gone too.
Adam continued to stare down at them. He thought that he should feel some sort of regret at having killed them, but he didn't. He didn't look at them as human. They were animals…if that.
He bent down to get a closer look at one of them. He hadn't noticed before, but it had been a woman. She had long black hair. Her plump breasts bulged underneath her blood-soaked t-shirt. She was wearing skin-tight jeans and sandals. He couldn't make out much of her face, but he gathered that she had been pretty.
Adam stood up.
No, he didn't feel anything at all.
He turned to look at the house. He could see the two bikes leaning against the front. The pink one shone brightly underneath the early evening sun.
Another bout of guilt washed over him.He should have protected her!
He looked back at the body of the man Shelly had shot and kicked him once more, heavily in the ribs. Blood spurted out of the hole in the side of the dead man's face.
Adam turned back to the house and walked toward it.
When he got there, he headed straight for the master bedroom. His backpack was there, lying on the ground. So was Shelly's. Though he wanted to bring it to her, he thought better of it. It would only slow him down, make his task that much more difficult. He could come back for it after, if he wanted. He was sure that it would be safe here until he returned.
He grabbed his backpack and placed it on the bed. He dropped the guns and ammunition beside it.
Adam opened his backpack and stuck one of the guns into it. The fit was tight. So much so that he knew that the others weren't going to get it there.
He started pulling his clothes out. One after the other, they fell around him. He needed the guns more than he needed anything to wear.
With his pack was empty, Adam began shoving the guns into place. He opened the ammunition box and poured the bullets in too.
Everything fit,barely. The guns stuck out the top of the pack. The sides bulged.
Adam grabbed the tie-string and pulled it tightly. It closed around the barrels of the guns and held them in place. It wasn't the most secure fit, but it would have to do.
He stood up and swung the backpack over his shoulders. It felt awkward and heavy. He loosened the straps so that it would fit better. It helped a little.
Then he walked to the front door.
As he opened it, another cool breeze blew upon his face. He took in a deep breath and prepared to leave.
He went to his bike and pulled it from the wall. He walked it out to the main road. Its wheels crackled along the gravel driveway.
It was when he got there that he began to worry.
He looked left and right, not knowing which way to go. Both ways seemed just as likely.
He closed his eyes and bit his lip.What if he chose the wrong way? He'd never be able to find her.
He shook his head and told himself not to think that way.
Adam opened his eyes and looked around again. To his surprise, he noticed something to his left. It sat unmoving along the side of the road. He thought he knew what it was and ran over to check.
Shelly's shoe! She must have kicked it off to show him which direction to go.
He picked it up and pressed it against his chest. After a moment, he placed it into his backpack. There wasn't much room for it, but he wasn't going
to leave it lying at the side of the road. It just wouldn't feel right.
He slung the backpack back over his shoulders and straddled his bike.
He looked down the length of the road. Shelly had gone inthat direction. She had left him a sign. He was sure that she would leave others too. He'd simply need to keep an eye out for them.
Adam grinned. His mission no longer felt as impossible as it had. He was going to find his young friend.
He kicked up the pedal and placed his foot on top of it. He rocked the bike back once and then pushed forward. He felt the wheels roll underneath him. They picked up speed as he pressed his foot down.
Adam balanced the bike. It was difficult with the bag of guns on his back, but he managed to get it under control.
He was off, going to find Shelly.
Chapter 5
They rounded a house, a large campfire blazing at the back of it. Two men were sitting there. Talking. Laughing. Cooking food. In each of their hands was a bottle of some sort. Their conversation stopped as Rick led Shelly in front of them.
"What do we have here?" shouted one of the men. Rick saw that it was Carl,theso-called man-in-charge.
"We found her out over there." Rick pointed in the direction they had just come.
"She's a pretty thing, ain't she?"
The comment irked Rick. He thought of her ashis property and didn't want anyone else getting any other ideas.
He wasn't going to argue with the man about it, though. He had seen what Carl could do. Just the other day he had seen him get into a fight with a man they had come across. He had taken a rock and smashed the poor guy's face in with it. Left him on the ground. Dead. Just because he had disagreed with him.
No, Carl wasn't a man to fuck with.
Carl didn't seem to notice Rick's hesitation. He was already on to the next question. "Where's Jim?" he asked.
Rick looked at Joe. Both he and Joe had known Jim before the change. They had all been good friends for years. He turned back to their 'leader'. "He's dead." The words came out of his mouth feeling heavy.
"Dead? How?"
"Her." Rick pushed Shelly forward.
Carl looked at the young girl and began to stroke his chin. She could feel him analyzing her, sizing her up. She could tell that the other man in the camp was looking at her too, though she didn't allow herself to look at him. She kept her eyes trained on the man in front of her.
He walked over to her and tapped her cheek. "This little girl killed Jim? I don't know, Rick. Jim was a pretty tough guy."
"She shot him."
Carl looked even more surprised by that. "You shot one of my men." It was more of a statement than a question. He grabbed Shelly's face and pulled it closer to his own. "You shot one of my men?" This time, itwas a question.
Shelly could feel her tears building in her eyes. But, instead of letting them fall, she gathered her strength and shouted: "Yes! And I'll kill all of you too!"
Carl paused before breaking into a fit of laughter. "I like this one!"
"But she's mine," Rick claimed. He hadn't meant to.
Carl shot him a look. "What was that?"
"I…I said…that she's mine."
"Did she kill one ofyour men?"
"Well, no, but I found her."
Carl turned to Joe and pointed at him. "Doesn'the have as much right to the girl as you do? He was with you when she shot good ol' Jim, wasn't he?"
Rick looked at his friend and nodded his head.
"So," Carl continued, "she's not yours, is she?"
Rick lowered his head. He knew that Joe didn't want anything to do with the girl. He would never challenge him for her. But he wasn't going to bring that up at the moment. Things were getting too heated to argue any further.
"All right," Carl said, his voice becoming calmer. He put his hand on Rick's shoulder. "There's no need to worry about this now. You've had a long trip. You need to get some rest. And we've got to get ready for tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"We're running out of things. And I see you haven't found anything other than this pretty girl." Carl smiled at Shelly. "So we've got to go on the hunt."
"Hunt?"
"For food. And maybe people." Carl laughed. He pointed to the far side of the house. "Put her in the cage for now." A large dog kennel sat out of view.
Rick grabbed Shelly's arm and turned her toward it. "Come with me."
Shelly didn't struggle. She knew that there wasn't much of a chance to escape with these men around. More than anything, though, she was exhausted.
Chapter 6
As Rick led the young girl to the cage, Shelly could see that there was someone else in there. She couldn't tell who it was, or if the person was even alive or dead. Rick kept his hand tightly on her elbow.
When they got to the cage, Rick kicked a man sitting beside it.
"Gregor," he said. "Open it up."
Gregor wiped his eyes. He had been napping. "Shit, man, you didn't have to kick me!"
"I need you to open up the cage."
"For what?"
"Forher." Rick motioned to Shelly, knowing full well that Gregor knew who he was talking about.
"Shit, man, that's a pretty one you've got there. Boss is gonna like her."
"Fuck you! She's mine. Not his. Now open up."
"Okay, man. No need to get all pissy."
Gregor grabbed into his pocket and pulled out a key. He placed it into the lock and turned it. The cage door opened.
"In you go." Rick pushed Shelly toward the cage.
She felt a surge of panic run through her. And adrenaline. She struck out and hit Gregor in the midsection. Then she ran.
Rick was as startled as Gregor, but that didn't stop him from quickly following after her. "Get back here!"
Shelly kept running. She had no idea where she was going. She didn't care, either. All she knew was that she had to keep moving.
Her bare feet hurt as she made her way across the field. They were already tender from walking. But she tried her best not to let them slow her down.
She ran. Her breathing shallow. Her heart beat rapid
Then, before she got much farther, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It tightened its grip and pulled her to the ground.
Rick fell on top of her, his weight pinning her to the ground. She could barely breathe at all now.
He leaned his face down close to hers. "Don't ever try that again," he shouted. "You hear?"
Shelly didn't answer. She knew that she didn't have to. Whatever she said wouldn't make a difference. She was captured. Her escape had failed.
Rick pulled her to her feet and marched her back to the cage. Gregor was laughing.
"She's a fuckin' handful," the guard said.
Rick ignored him. He marched Shelly to the cage and pushed her in. She fell to the floor.
He thought about kicking her as well.She had made him so mad. In the end, he didn't bother.
He turned and closed the gate. "Lock it up."
Gregor reached over and clasped the door shut.
Rick looked back at Shelly. He thought that she was crying, but he couldn't be sure. Her face was turned away from him. "We'll discuss this later…when I get back." He turned to Gregor. "Don't let anyone touch her."
"No problem," Gregor assured him. "I'll protect her like she was my own."
Gregor let out another big laugh. Rick chose to ignore it. He turned and walked away.
*
Shelly lay on the cage floor. She wasn't crying. But she was sad. She knew that there wasn't much she could do to escape. And it didn't look like Adam was coming to save her.
She took a deep breath. Tired. And winded.
When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she sat up and pulled away from it. She saw a woman looking back at her.
"It's okay," the woman said. "I'm not going to hurt you. Are you okay?"
Shelly didn't know how to respond. Shewasn't okay. Her and Adam had been attacked. She had shot a man. She h
ad been taken. Now she was trapped in a cage.
"I'm fine," she decided to say. She brushed off her clothes.
"Your feet look pretty bad."
Shelly's feet were scraped and bleeding. She grabbed hold of them. They pained to touch. "I didn't have any shoes," she explained.
"You didn't? Why not?"
Shelly didn't answer. She didn't know this woman and couldn't trust her with her plan. "I just didn't."
"Oh…well, I'm glad that you're not hurt. What's your name?"
At first, Shelly didn't want to answer. She wanted to keep all of this information to herself. But after looking at the woman for a little longer, her resolve began to fade. She could see that this woman had been thrown in to a similar situation, had been captured too.
"My name is Shelly," the young girl replied.
The woman smiled. "Hi, Shelly. My name is Claire."
Chapter 7
Adam cycled down a road. The sun had started to set, but he wasn't ready to give up. He was starting to get more and more concerned, though. He had thought that he had been going to find her earlier than this.
He had the shoe, so he was sure that he was headed in the right direction. He also didn't think that either of the men who took the young girl were smart enough to take off her shoe and throw it in the road simply to put him on the wrong trail. Shelly must have been the one who had come up with kicking it off.
Yet, he hadn't seen any sign of them since he had started looking…and he hadn't seen any sign of the other shoe.
Adam slowed his bike. He wanted to keep going, but knew that he needed to think more about things. The bike came to a stop and he pulled his leg over the crossbar. He placed the bag of guns onto the ground, then raised his hand and put it over his brow to look around.
There wasn't much to see other than fields. It was all he had seen for most of his ride. He had come across a few houses, but from what he could tell they had been abandoned.
He continued to scan the landscape. The sun was nearly gone.
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