Matthew sighed and nodded. "I know... I know we're all tired, but she looks more tired than the rest of us...Not just tired...weary, you know? I don't like it...But what else could we have done up till now?" It was a rhetorical question, since both men knew that they couldn't have done anything different, no matter how much they wanted to.
He glanced at Lars, who already had his cross bow out, and gave him a curt nod. "Keep watch here, Alfred, we'll go see what we can find. We'll be back soon." He clapped Alfred on the shoulder, then walked off with Lars into the woods. It was quiet, but then that was a good thing these days. Even the animals had learned to be very, very quiet, as the walkers ate anything that moved or sounded like meat.
The two hadn't gone very far before they ran into train tracks. They didn't look new, but they didn't look old, either. They followed along them quietly, Lars' cross bow ever at the ready, as well as Matthew's rifle. The trees thinned and they stepped back out into the sun, a large open area to their right catching their eye.
It was a large prison, with what looked like a pond just outside the fences. "Well, that's a shame." Lars muttered. "Poor bastards." There were a lot of walkers in the prison yard, and it was a shame that a place as secure as a prison had been overrun, too.
But the more the two of them stood there looking down into the prison, the more they both got an idea. "Lars..." Matt started. "This...this could be it...Come on, let's get back to the others." Lars didn't hesitate and they made their way back to the group as quickly as possible.
Twenty minutes later the entire group was at the prison, and Matt was cutting into the fence while the others stood watch around him.
"Keep an eye on the backside," Lars commanded, looking around the area, not just outside the fence, but inside the fence, as well. There were two fences, and the area in between them was perfectly walker free.
Once a big enough hole had been cut in the metal fence, Matt held it open and ushered every one through. Andy, his mother, Kiku, Maddie, Alex, Ren, Alfred, everyone, until only he was left on the outside, then he ducked in, too, closing and quickly tying up the gap he'd made to prevent any walkers from following them in.
They ran around the perimeter until they finally got to the large gate that they could get through, all stopping to take a breath. "It's perfect." Matt pointed across the yard. "If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight.
"But how do we shut the gate?" Francine asked.
"I'll do it. You guys cover me." Ren piped up. "I'm the fastest."
"No, you, Alex and Mom draw as many of them as you can over there." He pointed to down to a corner of the yard. "Get 'em through the fence. Lars? You take that tower we passed over there." He turned to Kiku. "You take that tower, you've become a pretty good shot, take your time, we don't have a lot of ammo to waste."
He spun around to his uncle. "Andy, you and Alfred take this tower." He turned back to face the yard, taking a deep breath. "I'll run for the gate."
Alex took to the fence with her boyfriend and her aunt. She knew the drill by now; they all did. They were the diversion team this time. She pulled out her knife, and then, as loudly as she could manage, shouted, "Hey, over here!" as she banged on the fence. Ren and Fran did the same, and soon, they had a sizable crowd of walkers within reach. As soon as one got close enough to the fence, Alex jabbed her knife through the holes, stabbing each one in the head. This created a bit of a pileup, but the walkers kept coming anyway, tripping over the dead bodies to get to the fresh meat. Alex smirked and rolled her eyes. Really, they made it too easy sometimes.
Once their crowd had thinned out considerably, Alex looked around to see how the rest of the group was doing. In the tower closest to them were Alfred and her dad, who both seemed to have no problem doing their jobs. Her dad was surprisingly good, and she had to wonder where he'd learned to shoot, since it was obvious that he'd had some experience before all this. And then there was Alfred, making headshot after headshot on the walkers down below him. He maintained a sharp focus, the kind he seemed to be able to turn on at a moment's notice during an attack. Similarly, Lars was in the other tower, shooting with an air of calm about him. Not a single arrow went to waste; he brought down every single one of his targets. Kiku, who was next to him, wasn't doing such a bad job himself. Compared to where he was six months ago, his accuracy was amazing. If everyone kept this up, they would clear the field by the afternoon.
And then, Maddie could finally rest. One glance at her sister, who was leaning against the fence, but still shooting, and she remembered again why they were doing this. Though everyone needed a break, Maddie definitely needed it the most. And the way things were going, it looked like things might be starting to go their way for a change. Alex gave Maddie an encouraging smile, and then turned her attention back to Matthew, who was almost to the open gate.
As the others assumed their positions, Matthew grabbed just what he would need to keep the other gate shut once he got there. He and Madeleine nodded to each other, then she opened the gate and closed it behind him. He slunk around the bus that was in the way, then took off in a sprint up the dirt road through the yard, shooting walkers as he went. Only once did he stop short when a bullet hit the ground in front of him. He didn't look up, just heard Kiku shout "Gomen!", so he kept running.
Once he made it the gate, he jumped on it, using the inertia he already had going from running to swing his leg up and kick a walker in the chest, knocking him away from the opening before he slid it closed and slipped the chain through the links. Job done and he turned, confronted by walkers coming at him. He already had a plan, though, and he side stepped to the tower near the gate, opening the door and running inside, shutting it securely behind him before making his way to the top.
Kiku looked at Lars, an slightly hopeful expression on his face. "He did it, Lars."
Lars nodded. "He did." He shot a brief smile at Kiku, then cupped his hand around his mouth, shouting. "Light it up!"
Now it was a free for all. No aiming just for those in Matt's path. Now it was all of them, and all of them were going down. For several minutes it was continuous gunfire, Matthew joining in from his new perch. Matthew allowed himself to smile. This...This was good. This could be the best thing that could ever happen to them in this post apocalyptic world. He didn't want to allow himself to hope, but he also couldn't help it. This would be good for all of them.
Soon, it was quiet, and no more walkers moved in the field. Everyone came back towards the gate where the bus was overturned, and even from where he was, Matt could see a few smiles gracing their faces.
Lars and Kiku met up with Andy and Alfred, Lars commenting on how good Kiku's aim had gotten. "You okay?" Kiku asked as they approached Maddie and walked through the now open gate into the field.
Madeleine graced them all with a smile, something that hadn't happened in months, and said, "I haven't felt this good in awhile." Seemed the adrenalin and hope of a new home had hit her, too, and did wonders.
"We haven't had this much space since we left the farm!" Kiku exclaimed, running through the grass, and who he assumed was Alfred almost right behind him.
Ren followed, too, of course, but noticed a walker starting to get up, which he quickly dispatched with a pole to the head. There was certainly a new sense of life to the group; hope, a glimmer of happiness, and definitely satisfaction.
By nightfall, everyone had settled comfortably into their new living space. They had a campfire going, and fresh rabbit and squirrel meat, thanks to the hunting they had done earlier in the day. Now the group was having their first relaxing meal in months, as they talked amongst themselves about their future plans for the field. But before Alfred could join in and eat, he had to wait for Matthew to finish checking the perimeter. Until then, he was on standby, silently watching from on top of an overturned bus. Just in case there was a break in the fence and Matthew needed him. Though the longer he kept watch, the less he believed that might happen. This was his brother's third time around the fence; if there was anywhere for the walkers to get in, he was pretty sure he would have found it by now. Now it seemed it was just paranoia that kept his brother going. After so many months of constantly having his guard up, it was probably going to take him awhile for him to relax, no matter how safe they were. Not that he could really blame him; he understood, but a low rumbling in his stomach told him that he couldn't wait for Matt to circle the fence a fourth time. He looked over to his brother one last time, and then put away his gun. Yes, Matthew would be just fine checking the perimeter on his own. It wasn't as if a hole was going to magically appear in the fence the fourth time he looked... Alfred was just about to climb down when he heard the sound of light footsteps approaching the bus.
Kiku had eaten enough, but he knew Alfred hadn't. While he was still hungry, the rabbit and squirrel had tasted fantastic, and he was full enough for now. He gathered a bit of food in a tin, and headed over to where Alfred was keeping watch.
Kiku was short, he knew that, and he knew he'd have to climb up onto the bus, so he stood up on his tiptoes and carefully pushed the tin onto the top at Alfred's feet. Carefully, he used the undercarriage of the bus to climb up his boyfriend, accepting a hand when it was offered to him.
"I know it isn't much." Kiku said, getting to his feet. "But I thought I should bring you something to eat. Everyone else has eaten, you should, too."
Alfred smiled and accepted the food, immediately digging into one of the rabbit legs "Thanks. You know, you read my mind; I was about to come to you- I'm starving! Would have come sooner, but someone's taking his sweet time with the fence check." He shook his head and sighed. "Anyway, looks like everyone's settling in pretty nice- What are you guys... You ok?" He asked. He noticed his fiancee stiffly rolling his shoulder blade, like it hurt to move it.
Kiku brought a hand up to his shoulder, rubbing absently at it. "That rifle? The kick back? I'm just not used to it yet." He sighed and folded his arms across his chest, looking back out over the field, at their group around the fire.
"Ohh... I can fix that." Without another word, he set his food down and started gently massaging Kiku's shoulders. He slid down Kiku's shirt sleeves, exposing bare skin. He smiled- even in the middle of the apocalypse, Kiku's skin had stayed smooth, pure, and soft to the touch. He leaned in and left a trail of little kisses down the back of Kiku's neck. Then, he gave a final squeeze to his fiancee's shoulders and fixed his shirt. "We... should probably head back to the campfire."
Kiku's eyes had slipped closed at the touch of Alfred's calloused hands. How long had it been since he could appreciate his boyfriend's touch? Weeks? Months? Either way, it was relaxing, with an edge of erotic, and it made Kiku's skin shiver.
"It is pretty romantic right here, Aru-kun..." He smiled teasingly up at him. "Would you want to fool around?" He waggled his eyebrows, knowing full well they couldn't just now, they both still had a sense of propriety, and there was no cover. Making out behind the bus would have been obvious to the others.
But it felt good to joke like this, to smile, to tease, to feel...normal.
"You mean now? Right here?" Alfred grinned and shook his head. "Yeah, ok, I'll go down first," he said playfully as he jumped down to the ground. "And maybe," he whispered, "I'll take you down with me..." He extended a hand to Kiku and helped him off of the bus. They laughed. They actually laughed- how long had it been since they had done something as simple as that together? Too long was his guess. Way too long. But hopefully, if this prison became their home, they could have many more moments like this... Then Alfred added, "But I will definitely take a raincheck... That guard tower looks very inviting, don't you think?" He took Kiku's hand, gave it a light squeeze, and the two of them headed towards the fire to join the others.
When they came back to the fire pit, the conversation seemed to have tapered off. Which was to be expected- it had been a long day, and everyone was exhausted. Soon, it would be time to sleep; it looked like some people were ready to sleep now, but Andy had another idea.
"It's a little too quiet out tonight," he said wistfully, staring up at the stars. "Alfred, do you still have that guitar that you guys found out on the highway?"
"Yeah... it's in the back of Matt's truck."
"Why don't you go get it? Been a long time since we had any music..."
"Umm, ok... Be right back!"
Once Alfred left, Alex offered a friendly smile to her sister. "Maddie, when he gets back, you should sing something with me."
Madeleine returned the smile with a soft one of her own but shook her head. "I don't know if anyone would want to hear, Alex..."
Lars looked up from holding one of his arrows in the fire, making sure it was sterilized. "Why not?" He asked quietly.
Maddie took a deep breath, then nodded. "Okay..." Another soft smile, and she thought a moment, of what songs she still knew by heart. As Alfred got closer to the group again, she started to sing.
"Regrets collect like old friends, here to relive the darkest moments. I can see no way, I can see now way. And all of the ghouls come out to play..."
He glanced at Lars, who already had his cross bow out, and gave him a curt nod. "Keep watch here, Alfred, we'll go see what we can find. We'll be back soon." He clapped Alfred on the shoulder, then walked off with Lars into the woods. It was quiet, but then that was a good thing these days. Even the animals had learned to be very, very quiet, as the walkers ate anything that moved or sounded like meat.
The two hadn't gone very far before they ran into train tracks. They didn't look new, but they didn't look old, either. They followed along them quietly, Lars' cross bow ever at the ready, as well as Matthew's rifle. The trees thinned and they stepped back out into the sun, a large open area to their right catching their eye.
It was a large prison, with what looked like a pond just outside the fences. "Well, that's a shame." Lars muttered. "Poor bastards." There were a lot of walkers in the prison yard, and it was a shame that a place as secure as a prison had been overrun, too.
But the more the two of them stood there looking down into the prison, the more they both got an idea. "Lars..." Matt started. "This...this could be it...Come on, let's get back to the others." Lars didn't hesitate and they made their way back to the group as quickly as possible.
Twenty minutes later the entire group was at the prison, and Matt was cutting into the fence while the others stood watch around him.
"Keep an eye on the backside," Lars commanded, looking around the area, not just outside the fence, but inside the fence, as well. There were two fences, and the area in between them was perfectly walker free.
Once a big enough hole had been cut in the metal fence, Matt held it open and ushered every one through. Andy, his mother, Kiku, Maddie, Alex, Ren, Alfred, everyone, until only he was left on the outside, then he ducked in, too, closing and quickly tying up the gap he'd made to prevent any walkers from following them in.
They ran around the perimeter until they finally got to the large gate that they could get through, all stopping to take a breath. "It's perfect." Matt pointed across the yard. "If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight.
"But how do we shut the gate?" Francine asked.
"I'll do it. You guys cover me." Ren piped up. "I'm the fastest."
"No, you, Alex and Mom draw as many of them as you can over there." He pointed to down to a corner of the yard. "Get 'em through the fence. Lars? You take that tower we passed over there." He turned to Kiku. "You take that tower, you've become a pretty good shot, take your time, we don't have a lot of ammo to waste."
He spun around to his uncle. "Andy, you and Alfred take this tower." He turned back to face the yard, taking a deep breath. "I'll run for the gate."
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Once their crowd had thinned out considerably, Alex looked around to see how the rest of the group was doing. In the tower closest to them were Alfred and her dad, who both seemed to have no problem doing their jobs. Her dad was surprisingly good, and she had to wonder where he'd learned to shoot, since it was obvious that he'd had some experience before all this. And then there was Alfred, making headshot after headshot on the walkers down below him. He maintained a sharp focus, the kind he seemed to be able to turn on at a moment's notice during an attack. Similarly, Lars was in the other tower, shooting with an air of calm about him. Not a single arrow went to waste; he brought down every single one of his targets. Kiku, who was next to him, wasn't doing such a bad job himself. Compared to where he was six months ago, his accuracy was amazing. If everyone kept this up, they would clear the field by the afternoon.
And then, Maddie could finally rest. One glance at her sister, who was leaning against the fence, but still shooting, and she remembered again why they were doing this. Though everyone needed a break, Maddie definitely needed it the most. And the way things were going, it looked like things might be starting to go their way for a change. Alex gave Maddie an encouraging smile, and then turned her attention back to Matthew, who was almost to the open gate.
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Once he made it the gate, he jumped on it, using the inertia he already had going from running to swing his leg up and kick a walker in the chest, knocking him away from the opening before he slid it closed and slipped the chain through the links. Job done and he turned, confronted by walkers coming at him. He already had a plan, though, and he side stepped to the tower near the gate, opening the door and running inside, shutting it securely behind him before making his way to the top.
Kiku looked at Lars, an slightly hopeful expression on his face. "He did it, Lars."
Lars nodded. "He did." He shot a brief smile at Kiku, then cupped his hand around his mouth, shouting. "Light it up!"
Now it was a free for all. No aiming just for those in Matt's path. Now it was all of them, and all of them were going down. For several minutes it was continuous gunfire, Matthew joining in from his new perch. Matthew allowed himself to smile. This...This was good. This could be the best thing that could ever happen to them in this post apocalyptic world. He didn't want to allow himself to hope, but he also couldn't help it. This would be good for all of them.
Soon, it was quiet, and no more walkers moved in the field. Everyone came back towards the gate where the bus was overturned, and even from where he was, Matt could see a few smiles gracing their faces.
Lars and Kiku met up with Andy and Alfred, Lars commenting on how good Kiku's aim had gotten. "You okay?" Kiku asked as they approached Maddie and walked through the now open gate into the field.
Madeleine graced them all with a smile, something that hadn't happened in months, and said, "I haven't felt this good in awhile." Seemed the adrenalin and hope of a new home had hit her, too, and did wonders.
"We haven't had this much space since we left the farm!" Kiku exclaimed, running through the grass, and who he assumed was Alfred almost right behind him.
Ren followed, too, of course, but noticed a walker starting to get up, which he quickly dispatched with a pole to the head. There was certainly a new sense of life to the group; hope, a glimmer of happiness, and definitely satisfaction.
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Kiku was short, he knew that, and he knew he'd have to climb up onto the bus, so he stood up on his tiptoes and carefully pushed the tin onto the top at Alfred's feet. Carefully, he used the undercarriage of the bus to climb up his boyfriend, accepting a hand when it was offered to him.
"I know it isn't much." Kiku said, getting to his feet. "But I thought I should bring you something to eat. Everyone else has eaten, you should, too."
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"It is pretty romantic right here, Aru-kun..." He smiled teasingly up at him. "Would you want to fool around?" He waggled his eyebrows, knowing full well they couldn't just now, they both still had a sense of propriety, and there was no cover. Making out behind the bus would have been obvious to the others.
But it felt good to joke like this, to smile, to tease, to feel...normal.
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When they came back to the fire pit, the conversation seemed to have tapered off. Which was to be expected- it had been a long day, and everyone was exhausted. Soon, it would be time to sleep; it looked like some people were ready to sleep now, but Andy had another idea.
"It's a little too quiet out tonight," he said wistfully, staring up at the stars. "Alfred, do you still have that guitar that you guys found out on the highway?"
"Yeah... it's in the back of Matt's truck."
"Why don't you go get it? Been a long time since we had any music..."
"Umm, ok... Be right back!"
Once Alfred left, Alex offered a friendly smile to her sister. "Maddie, when he gets back, you should sing something with me."
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Lars looked up from holding one of his arrows in the fire, making sure it was sterilized. "Why not?" He asked quietly.
Maddie took a deep breath, then nodded. "Okay..." Another soft smile, and she thought a moment, of what songs she still knew by heart. As Alfred got closer to the group again, she started to sing.
"Regrets collect like old friends, here to relive the darkest moments. I can see no way, I can see now way. And all of the ghouls come out to play..."
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