We All Have Our Sad Stories

Chapter 2

Lilly sat back in the seat and sighed. The city could be a blessing or a curse. For all they knew, the city could be overrun with walkers, or it could be 100% deserted.

Ness parked the car at the outskirts of the city. They would walk in and find shelter for the night there. Ness handed Lilly her weapons as she grabbed her own, tucking a gun into the back of her pants.

"Okay, search for a place with barred windows and solid doors," Lilly whispered as they walked onto the streets of the city.

"Like that one," Ness said, advancing toward a rusted, abandoned looking building. Lilly nodded as she followed behind Ness.

"Come on and help me with this door. Something is blocking it from inside."

Lilly placed her hands on the door and pushed with all her might, Ness doing the same. After awhile, the door inched open, creaking loudly. Ness and Lilly winced at the noise as they slipped inside. They shut the door as quietly as possible.

A click of a gun was heard and Ness felt something pressed against against the back of her head. She didn't even have to guess what it was. They had trespassed, and the penalty these days may as well have been death. Slowly, she put her hands up and turned around. Lilly was more fortunate and was able to get her own gun out, pointing it at Ness' male captor.

"Put it down," said Lilly, "and I won't shoot. I'd really rather not have to." She held her arm steady, not backing down. She wouldn't lose another person to a gun.

"I don't think you really have a choice, sweetheart. See, I've got leverage." He was cocky. The man pushed the gun farther into Ness' head, and Ness flinched away.

While the man was focused on Lilly, taunting her, Ness knocked his gun away and pulled her own out of her pants. His smug smile turned into an expression of fear.

"You're not going to win here," Ness said. "We're too good for you."

He then smiled when they heard more clicks of guns. Three people emerged out of the back door, guns at the ready. Well, some of them. Ness noticed that a few of them didn't know how to operate a gun and were struggling. She decided to negotiate, putting her gun back. One of the guys at the back saw her move and immediately pulled the trigger, just barely missing Ness' thigh. The sound of the bullet hitting the metal wall resonated through the room, taking the place of the silence of the people in the room.

She eventually huffed in anger. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She sighed, putting her hand to her head. "You're a terrible shot, by the way."

"Maybe I wasn't aiming for you," the man who had shot at her said. He was blonde, fit, and had an accent that wasn't like any she'd heard around the area.

"No, you were trying to hit me. I saw it in your eyes." She knew that look; the one where you try to focus all of your energy on the shot, not letting yourself believe that you could miss. She had seen that look seconds before he shot. She waved him off, walking forward and not flinching when the guys aimed their guns again. "You can't hurt me," she taunted. "You don't know how to."

"And how do you know?" asked another one of the guys. This one's accent was different, but still not from around here. His hair was a dark brown and he had hazel eyes.

Lilly stood to the side, her gun still raised as she questioned Ness' motives.

"You are in such desperate need of our help," Ness continued, waving between herself and her partner, "that if even a small herd of zombies had smelled any of you and pressed up against that door you would've been dead meat. It wasn't strong enough." She chuckled emotionlessly at how completely clueless they were. Lilly joined in, lowering her gun and tucking it away.