The Yandere

Chapter 16: Infirmary

I decided to put as much distance between the me and the warehouse as possible. It was still uncertain whether or not the people I killed had reinforcements and it definitely wouldn't be a very good place to be if they found me.

I looked down at my side where Baxter was walking next to me. He was limping slightly on his back leg. I guessed he must have done it when Frank threw him to the ground after he bit his arm. If I didn't get it seen to quickly, Baxter's injury could get worse. The worst I had was a bit of bruising here and there, nothing but the usual.

I walked across a field that was probably used by farmers before the infection broke out since I recognised it from old books and webpages I'd seen when I was younger. I lived in the city for most of my life so I wasn't really used to the countryside until now.

Over the past year, I'd grown accustomed to my surroundings and could find my way around the area. The warehouse was the farthest I'd ventured since coming here a few months ago. For almost six months we'd been wondering around in search of a home until we found this place.

That's how I knew that just around the bend was a small and secure settlement of people. I didn't particularly like staying close to other people but I made sure to occasionally pay them a visit, exchanging items with some of the people. The people there couldn't really be called a group as there was no staying together as everyone worked alone to get the best deals from travellers.

I didn't like it there. Most of the men were quite hostile with no respect so I made sure to stay away and keep Baxter close to me.

I'd become quite a known person around here. Only a few of them knew my name so the rest just called me 'Pistol' since that's what I carried around most of the time apart from my knife.

A few people watched as I strolled through the gate, keeping an emotionless expression on my face just to let everyone know not to mess with me at all. Luckily, a couple of the people there actually cared about other people's well being apart from their own and that's who I usually stayed nearby while I was there.

Those people were the medics. They ran a small area that tended to people who needed medical attention for free. Only three people out of the forty who resided here helped others for free. Their names were Ai, Kimi and Gina.

Kimi and Ai were sisters, both sharing the same brown hair and warm brown eyes. Kimi's hair was tied up in a messy ponytail whilst Ai's was let down and fell to around her shoulders.

Then there was Gina, who was an older woman that had dark hair that was greying slightly at the roots, showing off her age. She was the leader of the trio and always knew what was best.

"Haruka's back!" Ai announced excitedly as I approached them.

"Keep it down, those guys might hear my name and I'd rather stay anonymous for now."

"Sorry!" She said apologetically, leading me to the other two.

All three looked very happy to see me as I stood in front of them, waiting to hear what they had to say.

"It's good to see you Haruka." Nodded Gina.

"We always worry about you even though we know you can handle yourself." Added in Kimi who was stitching up an unconscious person's arm carefully.

"So, are you alright?" Asked Gina, waving her hands at me.

"Just a few bruises and scratches, just as always. Baxter hurt his leg though, could you maybe take a look?" I answered honestly and showed them his leg, trying to be as gentle as possible.

"It doesn't look too bad, we'll have it fixed up for you soon. So what happened out there?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." I stated, not elaborating. Ai just turned back to Baxter to save the awkwardness.

"I'll be back soon, just gotta go sort out some things quickly." I told Ai before walking away to where the small snacks were that were offering deals and exchanges.

I'll admit, I felt a little bit anxious as I felt eyes on me from all sorts of places so I couldn't keep my eye on them all. Finally, I saw the stall I was hoping to find.

"I'm looking for a knife. A good one." I told the man simply, pulling out my own knife and laying it on the table.

He looked up at me quickly but then picked up my knife, eyeing it curiously. He then placed it down again.

"I'll let you take a look," he smiled and pulled out some that were hidden under his table.

I inspected them all individually but only one caught my interest. It was quite light, perfect for me since I relied on speed, and it had a black hilt that fit in my hand perfectly.

"This one," I breathed, "I like this one."

"You made a good choice, little one. I was thinking of having it for myself but it's all yours now." The man seemed like a nice guy despite being in these parts.

"I'm not little." I said coldly and walked away with my new knife. It was sad to let go of my old one but I knew this one was better.

Someone then disrupted my trip back to the infirmary as I was dragged into a small alleyway and thrown against the hard brick wall.

"I saw what you got back there. Give it to me now and you don't get hurt." Slurred a man's voice from in front of me.

I tried to shout but he hit me in the stomach, causing me to groan in pain. He then kicked me in the legs and I collapsed to the ground, holding my stomach.

"Just let me go!" I yelled.

He shook his head, taking a sip from a bottle of some sort of alcohol which I presumed to be whiskey. He then pulled me up and put his hand in my pocket, taking out my new knife.

"Very nice," he gave me a wolffish grin before pocketing it.

"That's mine."

I gave him a powerful kick to the back of his legs, letting him fall over. He cursed and tried to find something to assist him in standing up but there wasn't really anything to use. My knife fell out of his pocket and landed at my feet with a metallic clink.

I smiled and picked it up, walking away from him and back to the infirmary, wincing at my new bruises. I'd better get those checked out.