Locked Away [10k Z Nation]

11

We followed Cassandra down the stairs, well... I followed her, 10k quickly surpassed her and was down before both of us. The look of worry on his face made me wonder if they had experienced this kind of thing before.

Of course they had. They had been together since pretty much the start. I was the only one in this group with little to no experience with killing Zs.

As I turned the corner into the living room, I took in a sharp breath. Inside was the usual group, Warren, Addy, Mack, Murphy, and Doc. But now they were joined by three beefy guys clad in plain black clothing. Except that it was stained in blood. Two were bald and the other had enough hair for all three of them, he sported a man bun with stubble all over his lower face.

"As I've said. This is our house. You need to leave." Said baldy

"We're happy to do just that." Warren spoke, "Except you aren't seeming to let us leave." It was true. They were standing directly in front of the front door. Their posture was aggressive, though they were trying to come off as relaxed, and casual.

"We saw what your friend can do. We want him with us." Said baldy number two. His voice was much less masculine than his counterpart's.

"That's where we have a problem." Warren concluded, "He's the one thing we won't negotiate."

Man Bun was wondering around the room, taking in everything it seemed. His boots made the sound of clenching leather with each step he took. As he drew closer to me, the sound got louder. By the stone we was in front of me, it sounded louder than an avalanche. He stopped directly in front of me. He smelled like wet grass, and I could see he was scarred on his neck and hands. I noticed he was missing his left index finger.

"Why hello there miss thang," he purred, looking me in the eyes. I tilted my head up to meet his gaze steadily. He couldn't hurt me. Not with my friends around. 10k stepped in front of me, shielding me from the perv's stares. I could just how tense he was from his stance. His head was cocked up and he was on the balls of his feet, ready to fight.

"Someone is awful protective." laughed one of the baldies, I couldn't see which one. The other started to join in when their seemingly leader put his hand in the air to silence them, never breaking 10k's stare.

He looked mildly amused, but very interested. His brown eyes searched 10k's for a second, then back to me. He seemed to make up his mind about something.

"We want the zombie whisperer.," he spoke up, his voice commanding and decisive, "and the girl."

The room was in immediate uproar as soon as he got the last word out.

"No way!" Addy shouted.  She darted her way across the room to the two bald men. She looked like she could take both of them out with just her stares.

They advanced on her, and Mack pulled her back, but she only changed direction towards my main aggressor.

As she went to pull out her spiked bat, he grabbed her around the throat. She brought her hand up to swing the bat at his head, hoping to cause a fatal blow, but he grabbed it from her and held it to her face threateningly. Despite her life being in danger, her eyes were filled with such rage, such unwillingness to surrender.

"Hey!" Mack yelled, but the man held the bat closer to Addy's head. Mack stood frozen. He wanted to move, but it he advanced any more on the man, Addy would be killed or severely hurt. His fingers already looked too tight on her neck.

I noticed that the other two men, in the midst of all the "excitement" had pulled their guns on Murphy. They were more like rats than people.

"Stop!" I interjected, "Leave them alone!" Everyone stopped to look at me, but the man's hand was still around Addy's throat, and that's what mattered.

"Let them go and I'll stay." I declared, and saw the hand around Addy's neck loosen, and she was released. She fell to the ground like a rag doll, he had cut off her her breathing more than I thought. Mack was immediately at her side and holding her. He looked up at me with a look of gratitude and sadness.

The two men made their way across the room to me. 10k stepped in front of me, trying to serve as a barrier between us. He was ready to fight and I could tell. Trying to defuse the situation, I gently turned him around to face me.
It was strange how close we had gotten in the matter of a few days.

"I'll be okay." I assured him in a whisper, "They'll keep me safe."

He wasn't looking at me. I could tell didn't want to.

"You don't know that."

I really didn't.

He was still looking at the two men, I shook my hand in front of his face and brought his eyes back down to mine.

"I'll find you." This time he was the one assuring me. His eyes were steely and determined, and even more serious than the time he yelled at me for saving his life. I smiled weakly, and realized I was starting to cry.

Before I could even wipe away the tears, an arm yanked me backwards and before I was forcedly turned around, I caught the group's eyes. They all looked distressed. Doc's eyes were watering, Warren looked frazzled, Mack and Addy were still on the floor, and Cassandra was making her way to 10k.

Murphy was walking in front of me. He looked disgruntled and his feet were dragging behind him.

I didn't struggle, but it hurt like Hell with their arms around me. As we entered the hallway leading to the door, I heard Addy scramble up.

"Wait! Cody, no-" she screamed. Her voice was laced with so much pain that it made my tears spill over completely.

I was numb as I was forced into the backseat of a car that smelt of mold and plants. Murphy slid in right behind me about as gracefully as the mountain troll from Harry Potter.

"Don't worry kid, if anyone can get us out of this, it's that group."

I was silent.

"Especially 10k."

"Yeah?" I sniffled pathetically as the car started. I hated myself for being this vulnerable, but I honestly couldn't help it. That, and I didn't care.

"Yeah." He nodded, looking straight at me.

His eyes were uncharacteristically soft, so I didn't feel that weird when I laid my head on his shoulder.

I was just trying to forget the world.

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