Run with Me: [Deleted 2014 Version]

Chapter 19 - Revenge

Chapter 19

Carl

A dark hallway stretched in front of Kat and I. The pictures that were once on the wall were knocked down, the glass on the floor. The pictures were ripped apart, smashed and singed at the edges. I held Kat tight against me, not daring to let her go. I pulled her with me, twisting the knob of the nearest door. The room was a small square, with the twin bed in the corner. There was a closet, its door shut. The walls were painted a faint blue. There were once posters, but they were torn off. There was a bedside table with a smashed yellow lamp and a small window that cast eerie light through the torn drapes. There was a man in there. Kat didn't know who he was, however she nodded her head, telling me she had seen him before.

He was sleeping, his bandana over his eyes with his feet kicked up on the bedside table. I kissed Kat's hand and let her lean on the wall as I crept to his belt, which held a knife. I took ahold of the handle and slowly slid it out of its holster. Kat suddenly was behind me, looking as beautiful and scary as ever, all at the same time. She took the knife from my hands and drove it up the man's chin. She yanked it out and placed it back into my fingers. She turned and began limping towards the doorway. I held the knife in my hands, looking down at the blood dripping onto the floor.

She's hurt, Carl, something told me. If she wants to kill them all, let her. She deserves to be loved, not beaten. Go on. Take her away and let her have her revenge.

I walked back to Kat. She draped her arm around my neck and I placed her against me again, helping her walk beside me. She made a lot of noise as she dragged her feet. I hoisted her onto my back, handing her the knife. She didn't say anything, just stared straight ahead with a hate in her eyes I've never seen before. I carried her to the next door, where she twisted the knob and opened the door. I set her down carefully and she made her way inside the closet.

The bags that belonged to our group were dumped in the closet and I saw my gun on the floor. I picked it up, buckling the holster around my thigh. Kat had her hand tightly in a fist around the knife. Her knuckles were an unhealthy shade of white. I grabbed her hand, and she loosened her grip on the knife.

"Kat? Are you alright?" I whispered. She nodded her head slowly, her dirty hair falling down behind her. I brought her into me, her head against me. "You don't have to do this. I can do this myself. you don't have to do this."

"I have to, Carl. I have to."

She pulled away from me and brushed the knife off on her jeans. She looked at me, and I didn't notice the bruises and the cuts against her lovely skin. I noticed her eyes. They burned into mine, and I felt like she was so angry she might bring that knife right through me. Instead, she turned and pulled me to her, jumping onto my back. I rubbed my thumb in the crook of her knee, trying to calm her down. But she was tense against me, and I just kept walking quietly to the next door.

Where was our group? My dad, Carol, Beth, Maggie, Glenn, Daryl?

Where was Judith?

My breath caught in my throat.

Judith, I thought wearily.

Kat slid my gun out of its holster, nodding towards the door knob. I carefully slid her off of me and took the gun from her. I held it up and nodded at her. She swung the door open and I quickly entered, moving the barrel around. There, sitting, were Carol, Beth, and Daryl. They were on the rug, their mouths taped over with duct tape. Their hands were tied behind their backs. They looked at us in relief. I handed the gun to Kat and bent down, using the knife to cut the ropes on their hands and feet. I slowly pulled the tape off their mouths. I put a finger to my lips, telling them to be quiet.