Don't Be Scared

S.1 E.4 ~ FMZ (Ch. 19)

"Piked it. Right here. My first kill." 10K must've pointed towards his brain or someone else's, "I always wish he, you know, somehow knew that I kept my promise."

Trying to find a way to comfort him, but not seem like I cared too much, I scrunched my body up tighter into a fetus position, pushing my body closer to his feet. Looks like he was leaning against the side of the truck.

It might be him, I don't know. My eyes were still closed.

"Aw-." Doc was cut off by my brother's words, "Humans! Twelve o'clock!"

"I see them." Warren reassured in a calmer manner.

"Is that more of your cannibal friends?" Murphy asked, close to me.

Murphy is probably at the door of the backseat.

"No. Something else."

After Cassandra confirmed that it wasn't any of her old family coming to get her, again, we all loaded back up. Charlie was becoming suspicious of the site. I felt the body of the truck move and a scent that belong to my brother start to smell from beside me.

Once again, I was sandwich between his body and 10K's. I had 10K's scarf and my brother's jacket, but this time I was wearing the jacket. The woman had given me a jacket back at the Cannibal Camp, but I still felt like I was exposed.

Until we can find a store or house, I'm gladly stuck in my brother's warming jacket. I felt protected in it; like nothing in this world would touch me with this on. I slid backwards as Warren pressed down onto the gas pedal.

A hand grasped my shoulder to keep me from moving as much, but it was shoved off. Shoved off..?

"Don't touch her." Mack's voice was more of a hiss than a growl.

"Mack, baby, calm down. He was just trying to keep her secure." Addy's reasoning stopped either one of the boy's from speaking.

I cracked my eyes open, looking up at both of the males as they just stared at one another. I didn't sense any tension, but it was just a simple 'back-off' kind of glare.

"Good morning, kiddo." Doc said from my scrunched up feet.

Both of the two men looked down to see my smiling form. I scooted up from laying down, wrapping the scarf around my neck this time.

"Good morning." I gave Addy my best smile and Mack my toothy grin, "What have I missed?"

"Just the bathroom break." Mack snickered at my misfortune, acting like he had never indirectly threatened 10K from touching me.

What was that all about? Instead of getting over it like Mack, 10K stood up from the corner of the truck and moved to stand up in between Mack and I, holding onto the roof for dear life at Warren's driving.

The wind clashed against his body, trying to get him to go down but it was failing.

"Up ahead!" Attention was drawn to the man above me.

I leaned over the side as Mack rose from the bedding to look ahead. There was a horde. A horde that wasn't moving but shuffling around in different directions. None of them were really moving away, though.

Warren slowed the truck down, letting us get a closer look at what we were dealing with. They all seemed to be chained up. Could this be a trap? The truck slowed down to a complete stop, close to the horde.

We were near a small house, but it looked like someone had already raided it. I looked up at 10K as he removed himself from the roof. Just as I was about to look away, we made eye contact for a straight minute.

Then, he jumped down and ran to the house Warren had parked by. Why would someone want to chain up zombies? How would they get so close? Unless they had help. Perhaps this was to send a message?

"Where's he going?" I asked Doc, who was staring at the disappearing 10K.

"Hey! Kid!" Doc shouted, trying to grab the attention of our disappearing shooter.

Why is the h--. To gain a better advantage point, of course. But we haven't even checked them out and there isn't any humans around. Has he been playing us and directed a trap? Or could he know something is up and not telling us?

He wouldn't hurt us, right?

"Come on, sweetheart." Addy snapped me out of my interrogating, overthinking head.

I need to trust him more. He's part of my family now. Nodding to myself, I stood up from the bedding of the truck. Addy helped me down while Mack kept his eyes on the horde, expecting them to break off of their chain at any time.

Of course, Warren and Charlie were in front of us all to check out the chained Zs. Murphy refused to remove himself from the truck's door so he remained on the stepping rail on the truck. The door was used as protection from anything that'd head his way.

Doc was in front of him, standing beside the grill of the truck. Cassandra walked over to Mack, Addy, and I, who were at the left side of our vehicle, to hand me the shotgun that Warren had given me a couple of hours ago.

I left it in the truck, because I didn't feel like holding it back there. She moved to get on the other side of the grill. With shotgun in my hands, I mentally prepared myself for anything.

"What do you think? Plow right through?" Warren suggested.

"No, I don't want to wreck the truck again." Charlie vetoed her drastic idea, "Lets pike them and be on our way."

That seemed a bit too easy.

"Oh what, are we having a little mercy party?" Murphy asked like a smart-ass.

"Hey, let's do this quietly." Charlie raised his hand in the air, lowering it back down.

He was referring it as the volume of our voices. I stepped up closer to the chains, studying them, carefully.

"Wait, wait. Something's wrong."

I stopped everyone's movements with my words. Charlie glanced back at me before studying the scene in front of us.

"She's right. Look at their feet." Warren agreed.

"Hold it right there!"

We all froze in our places, tension building up in our shoulders, tightening and forming knots. The 'zombie' pulled out a gun, flipping it in front of Warren.

"Alright, now drop your weapons or die right where you stand."

When no one made a move to drop the deadly toys, the New Jersey newcomer repeated, but in a more firm tone, "Put down the weapons or eat brains."

A man that was beside the enemy's, dropped to his knees with his head tilted backward. In a matter of seconds, he landed on his nose, probably breaking it. There was a deep red hole in the back of his bald head, crimson liquid seeping through the hole.

The bandana moved with his head as he turned to look at his accomplice.

"God, I love that kid." Doc snickered at their own misfortune

My hands started to feel a clammy as the tension began to effect my wary feet.

|| He watches her like she was the last tree in the world. ||