#the smile in question is like. you know knife cat? that but with less hubris and more plausible deniability

[an-eldritch-peredhel]

I think in the grand tradition of Jirt, people who write Luthien and have partners should stick bits of their partners into her. My Luthien has a fondness for excessive cheek kisses and a specific smarmy "who, meeeeee :)" smile when she's deliberately being annoying. And can bridal-carry Beren without blinking but that's already a given.

[ericsonclan]

Guess I'll Die

Summary: Javi and Gabe go out with their group from New Richmond to look for more supplies and find a fascinating survivor along the way.

Word Count: 6082

Read on AO3:

Javi felt determination rise inside of him as he headed out the gates of New Richmond with his crew. Today would be a successful day. He’d make sure of that. New Richmond was in desperate need of supplies after the events of six months ago had left so many dead or injured and the city in dire need of repair. Six months – had it really been that long? Six months since Mariana had died, since they’d found David only to lose him again to his own hubris and a walker’s maw, six months since Kate had disappeared without a trace. Oftentimes it felt more like a matter of days than months.

“Javi?”

He looked over to see Gabe walking beside him. “What’s up?”

“Just wondering what you’re thinking for today. We already tried going past the warehouse after we cleared it out. Are we gonna try a new direction?”

“That’s what I had in mind,” Javi pulled out a map from his back pocket. It was the same one David had given him the day he threw him out of New Richmond. Seeing his brother’s handwriting always left a strange twinge in Javi’s gut. “It looks like there’s an old township a couple miles west of here. No community so it likely wasn’t raided by Joan’s men,” Tucking the map back in his pocket, Javi smiled down at his nephew. “You hoping to find anything in particular?”

Gabe shrugged. “Maybe some new shoes. Mine are starting to pinch at the toes,”

“You’re a growing boy. Soon you’ll be taller than me,” Javi hoped the comment would get a reaction from his nephew but nothing much came of it. A frown pulled at Javi’s lips. He couldn’t blame the kid. In the span of a few days Gabe had lost his only sibling and both his parents. The only friend he’d made in years had left with a promise to return but given the length of her absence that seemed less likely with each passing day.

“You guys ready?” Liam’s voice came from ahead of them. He and Charlotte sat in one of Richmond’s cars while Mia and Noah waited in the other.

“Yep, just looking over plans,” Javi stopped between the two cars, speaking to both drivers. “We’ll head up the 89 together then take a right a few miles out on Appleby. That’ll take us to Rogersville and we’ll spend the rest of the day searching. Sound good?”

Both teams nodded.

“Let’s head out then,” Javi climbed into the passenger seat of the larger van while Gabe got into the back beside Mia. After a moment they were on the road, dodging walkers as they pulled farther away from New Richmond’s gates. Javi looked up from his map and round the car. He didn’t know Mia and Noah that well, but over the past couple months they’d proved themselves trustworthy. With New Richmond losing its three founders within the span of one day and learning of the corruption within Joan’s task force, entirely new leadership had needed to be built from the ground up. Noah, Mia, Charlotte and Liam were amongst the first to stand up and get things moving back toward order. It was comforting for Javi knowing that he wasn’t alone in trying to rebuild the nearly fallen city.

“Think we’ll find a lot of crawlers in Rogersville?” Noah asked, glancing in the rearview mirror to see Mia and Gabe’s reactions.

“Not more than we can handle if we’re smart about it,” Mia replied, patting the gun by her side. “Gabe here’s becoming a real crack shot too. I bet he could cover all of our asses if we needed it,” She ruffled the boy’s hair playfully, causing a shy smile to grow on his face.

“Just be careful with ammo,” Javi replied. “We don’t want Marta getting on our cases about inventory when we get back,”

They conversation continued as they drove on, commenting on memorable walker kills and the supplies they hoped to find in the town. Javi happily noted Gabe’s contributions to the conversation. He was glad to see his nephew coming out of his shell a bit more. Mia and Noah were closer to Javi’s age than Gabe’s, but they treated Gabe as an equal member of their team. Their kindness and mentorship toward him were appreciated by Javi more than he could hope to express. After about a twenty-minute drive, both cars stopped and they all got out.

“We move as a team,” Javi instructed. “None of us are familiar with the area, so we’re going to be cautious. If we split into different rooms when clearing a house, everyone stick with your partner. Let’s make this a smooth, safe trip,”

Everyone nodded. They knew the drill. Walking down the street, they made their way toward the first building that looked promising. The door was unlocked when Javi tried it. Pausing for a moment, he counted to three, giving the others his signal before they all stepped inside. It took only a few minutes to clear the rooms before they started scavenging. From the look of things the place had been looted before but that was nothing new. Anything worth finding these days was kept hidden so finding nothing in the open was to be expected. With that in mind they set to work.

They didn’t turn up much in the house. Some batteries, a few flashlights and some cans of dog food Charlotte insisted that take along “in case of emergency”. Javi shuddered at the thought of being desperate enough to crack open a nearly 5 year can of dog food out of desperation. With one building searched, they moved onto the next. This one did have a few walkers inside, but nothing overwhelming. They took them out with knives, not wanting to waste ammo or draw more muertos in with the sound of gunfire.

Gabe took out the last muerto with a kick to the knee before embedding his knife deeply in its brain. Javi smiled over knowingly. “Still using Clem’s trick?”

Gabe shrugged. “It works,” He didn’t say anything more, but Javi could swear Gabe looked a bit embarrassed at the mention of his crush. He knew that part of Gabe was hoping as he always did to find others his own age on the scavenging mission. It didn’t look like they’d find anyone in Rogersville though. It was a complete ghost town.

Moving further into town, the group had to take out a few muertos as they drew close to them. It looked like they were near the center of town which usually meant more muertos. Javi kept a close count of them, weighing in his mind the value of potential supplies over the increased danger with each step forward. Liam and Noah were heading toward what looked to be an old grocery store when Gabe called out softly and signaled them to stop.

“What is it, Gabe?” Mia asked, standing beside him.

“There,” Gabe pointed toward what appeared to be a library. “Do you see that sign in the window?”

The group looked up to see what he was pointing at. There across the inside of several windows the word HELP was plastered in yellow sticky notes. It was common to see such signs when they scavenged a new location. The odd thing though was that this message was dated. After the HELP, the numbers 8 and 07 were written in stickies as well. Fall of this year. The message was recent then. Perhaps whoever left it was still alive in there. All eyes turned to Javi for guidance.

There wasn’t really much of a choice. At least not in his mind. If there was a chance of survivors, they had to try to help. They’d at least give it their best shot. “Let’s go. All together now, stick close,” With that Javi took the lead and headed toward the library.

They quickly found themselves entering some sort of courtyard. From the looks of things, there had been a struggle here recently. At least a dozen muertos milled aimlessly in search of food, some looking less decayed than others. Recently turned. Guts were scattered all round the ground and some trailed from muertos’ stomachs. Looking at his crew, Javi silently signaled for them to draw back. Once they were out of earshot he spoke. “Our best chance is to spread them out, get them one at a time. Liam and Charlotte will draw them out while Noah, Mia, Gabe and I will stagger ourselves and take each one as it comes. Any questions?”

There were none. It was a simple premise though risky in execution. They’d employed it in the past while clearing out congested rooms. After a few minutes everyone was in place and Javi gave the signal to begin. Drawing his bat, he stood ready for the first muertos. It took a while for them to round the corner, slow as always. Charlotte and Liam split and circled back, leaving space for Javi and Noah to go in for the kill. A single sharp swing had the muerto’s head exploding like a piñata. A wet, stinky one. That was one old muerto. The thrust of Noah’s knife and a dull thud let Javi know the other had been taken care of. Grabbing the bodies, Javi and Noah dragged them aside to clear the way to take others out.

Gabe and Mia stepped forward to deal with the next two Charlotte and Liam drew out. The muerto nearest Mia grabbed her wrist, but she threw it against the wall with a determined grunt before stepping forward to stab it in the brain. Dodging his muerto’s arms, Gabe kicked out its knee and brained it as well. Javi smiled proudly, giving Gabe a thumbs up when he glanced his way. He’d really come far these last few months. The group continued on in this way, switching between pairs until only a few muertos remained.

That’s when Charlotte noticed them. “We’ve got company,”

The group followed the direction of her pointed finger, their eyes widening in fright as they saw a sizable herd headed their way. There were at least a few dozen, all treading down the street as one. Javi’s eyes turned to the courtyard. There were only a few muertos left. “Enough cat and mouse. We face the last few head on and find shelter inside the library till the herd passes,”

Everyone quickly followed orders. Striding forward, they disposed of the last few walkers before trying to the door at the end of the courtyard. It barely budged. From the movement it had though, it seemed to be jammed, not locked. “Search the courtyard for more entrances,” Javi directed. “Gabe and I will keep trying this one,”

The others spread out as Gabe and Javi struggled to pry the door open. It seemed to be barricaded pretty heavily on the inside. They could hear furniture groaning as they pushed against it repeatedly. Uncle and nephew continued their struggle, rhythmically pulling back and forth, hoping to get something to topple within. In the street behind them they could hear the herd drawing closer. The pair shared a glance. “We can do this,” Gabe declared, his eyes hardening in determination.

“You’re right. Let’s keep at it,” They slammed their bodies against the door again and again, pulling back with all their might. At last something was heard to topple inside and the door jerked open another inch. Progress. If only it was coming faster. “Keep at it,” Javi encouraged, slamming his body against the door again before yanking back again. The others returned from their searches, clearly fruitless. They watched as the pair tugged on the handle, offering to take turns but silencing and standing watch instead when they saw the determination of the duo. Something clattered behind the door and it opened another inch. They were getting close. But the moans were getting louder. With all the noise they were making searching for shelter they were drawing the herd toward them. Their struggle became desperate. Sweat ran down their back as Javi and Gabe both tried their best to open the door.

At last Gabe let go, reaching to shrug his backpack off his shoulders. “I can squeeze in by now. I know it.” Pressing himself into the crevice, he got an arm and a leg through but couldn’t fit his chest. Grunting with effort, Gabe knocked down more items inside, widening the gap. “There’s something big blocking most of the door. A desk or something. If I can just get in to move it-”

“Hurry!” Liam called. He and Noah were at the entrance of the courtyard. Noah struggled to hold back a muerto as Liam stabbed it in the head. The herd was upon them. They were out of time. Digging in his heels, Javi pulled back on the door with all his might. He couldn’t slam it open and shut with Gabe wedged inside. He had to trust that they’d get the hole wide enough for Gabe to squeeze through. Mia joined in the struggle, grasping the handle and pulling back as well. Gabe redoubled his efforts to get inside, groaning with effort as he forced his chest deeper through the opening.

Behind them they could hear Noah, Liam and Charlotte all struggling to keep the herd at bay as it poured into the courtyard. Gabe’s eyes widened in fear. Letting out a cry, he pressed himself even harder against the door until suddenly his chest was through. Moments of frantic scrambled ensued before Gabe collapsed onto the floor inside. His voice was muffled from within. “The door’s tied shut! I’ll have to cut the ropes and move the desk!”

“Speed would be appreciated!” Javi called back, turning from the door and drawing his gun. There were more muertos in the courtyard now than the ones they’d first cleared out. His heart broke a bit as he headshot a child muerto crawling their way. This whole town seemed to have been wiped out. He didn’t want to know how many more were approaching behind what they’d spotted of the herd.

Everything was chaos. Shots being fired, knifes thrust into skulls and pulled out dripping with blood. Noah had a close call and he and Liam were forced to draw back, lessening their ground. Javi looked amongst the members of his crew with concern. He’d made the wrong call. He shouldn’t have risked their lives on the chance there was someone living still inside. If he lost any of them for the sake of some stranger-

A loud screeching came from behind the door. “It’s open!” Gabe shouted.

They didn’t need to be told twice. All of them sprinted for the door, leaping through the space Gabe had forced open. Mia, Charlotte, Liam, Noah. Javi was last, barely dodging a walker’s grasp as he fell backwards through the entrance. As soon as he was through and clear, Gabe and Noah thrust the desk back into place. Everyone scrambled to pick up everything that had been knocked down to break the barricade, not desperate to rebuild it. Javi switched places with Gabe, keeping the door closed while the hands of the dead pawed at them through the opening. Charlotte took her hand axe and began hacking limbs off, hoping to give them the edge to close the gap.

At last with a last mighty push the door was forced shut. All the furniture in the room lay stacked in front of it, holding the muertos at bay. The crew took a moment to breathe, shaken after a close call. After a few moments spent confirming there were no bites they were all able to truly rest. The dullness of the pounding outside confirmed that the barrier would hold. Letting out a sigh, Javi raised his eyes to look at his crew. “Alright. Let’s search for survivors,”

There was no one on the first floor nor the second. There wasn’t much in the way of supplies either within a library, just a few office supplies and knick-knacks that they swiped along the way. As they walked through the abandoned halls, Javi began to wonder if there was anyone here at all. The sign had been placed at a great height though, the third and highest floor of the building. If there was anyone to be found, it would be in there.

The third floor seemed dead upon their arrival. The library was surprisingly pristine, an anomaly within the world today. Walking amongst the bookshelves, Javi squinted in disbelief. Had no dust settled upon them in all these years? This place was immaculate, especially this floor. Could that mean that there was actually someone after all who had taken the time to-

Javi’s thoughts were cut short as his foot caught upon something that sent him sprawling to the ground. He landed with a hard thud, hitting his jaw against the ground.

“Javi!” Gabe cried, immediately running forward. He paused just short of his uncle though, causing Javi to look over at what exactly he was staring at.

A dark-haired man with glasses blinked blearily at the two of them, looking rather lost as to what was going on. Slowly he looked down at his feet then over at Javi still collapsed on the floor. “Oh. Hello,”

“Um, hi,” Javi shuffled into a seated position, eyeing the man warily. “Are you the one who put up that message on the windows?”

“Message? Riiiight,” The man whacked his head lightly then seemed rather overwhelmed by his own gesture. “Yes, that was me. Sorry, my mind is a little garbled right now. Guess that’s what happens when you don’t eat for ten days,”

“You’ve been trapped here for over a week?” Gabe asked in shock, standing behind Javi. “With no food or water? Nothing?”

The man squinted at Gabe as if trying to make out his words. He eventually nodded then suddenly shook his head, groaning and holding a hand to his temple. “Nope, can’t move that fast. You’re right on the food matter. As for water, the toilets have proved quite plentiful. But I’ve found myself too tired to crawl over to them since…” the man looked over at a clock upon the library wall then chuckled. “Silly Santi, clocks aren’t real anymore,”

“Here,” Javi scavenged in his pack and drew out his own water. “Drink this,”

The man’s eyes grew wide. He grasped the bottle in an almost feral matter, downing its contents in a matter of seconds. Even after it was gone he shook it over his mouth, searching for more drops. By this time the others had noticed the stranger and come over to investigate. Noah and Javi shared a look.

“No other survivors?” Javi asked, lifting a brow.

Noah shook his head.

“Oh, there’s no one else here,” the man dropped the bottle to the side, looking back and forth at the group. “Just me, Santiago Gutiérrez,”

“So, Santiago,” Javi questioned, stowing his bottle back in his pack, “What happened to the rest of your group? I’m guessing you haven’t been alone all this time,”

“I wasn’t, though I might as well have been considering the way things turned out,” Santiago’s eyes were somber. “The group I had came to Rogersville looking for supplies. Instead we quickly discovered from the tattered banners across the main square and the plenitude of abandoned musical instruments that Rogersville was hit back in the day while in the midst of some sort of annual parade. The crowds might as well have put themselves upon a conveyer belt for the roamers when they attacked.” Santiago paused, cleaning his glasses before placing them back on. The size of the herd here is… immense. We were hopelessly outnumbered almost immediately. Edie, one of the older members of our group, fell and twisted her ankle. We couldn’t carry her and run. We lost her during a detour then Jackson, Claire…” Santiago’s voice grew softer, thoughtful. “The group became separated, forced to choose alternate paths. We could hear them being eaten across the street, past the buildings beyond our reach.

Somehow it ended up being just Taylor, Hanson and I. At that point they were beyond panic. They ripped my pack off my back, made me give up my gun, my knife, everything. Told me to run, serve as a distraction for their escape or they’d shoot me right then. So I ran. I heard them get cornered only seconds later, heard the gunshots, then heard the bastards get torn to shreds. Fat lot of good my ‘distraction’ served them,” Santiago looked up at the group. “I don’t suppose there’s any more water to be spared?”

Gabe silently handed over his bottle. Santiago downed it in its entirety before speaking again. “My thanks. I ran into the library figuring it would be a safe bet for minimal dead inside. And I was correct. Even before the apocalypse libraries were grossly underappreciated. Anyways, I blockaded the door, cleared out the dead that had straggled in, and then I was trapped. I tried a few times to escape, sneaking out through the courtyard or the other exits, but no luck. The roamers always found me. And with nothing to defend myself I never got far without beating a hasty retreat.

So I decided to see how long I could last in here. The toilet water was… adequate. The space is immense. All that’s missing is, well, food. The few raids I conducted in the area were unsuccessful in tracking down any food and soon I became too weak to safely try again. Who knew the “no food in the library” rule would be the death of me?” Santiago ruefully chuckled. “But all in all, it’s not a bad place to see the end. In fact, it’s my favorite place of all. So I scoured the shelves for anything that piqued my interest and decided to read until my mind gave out. It’s been quite pleasant revisiting old classics,” Santiago’s thumb traced the spine of a copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. “Just wish it was under happier circumstances,”

Javi and the others shared a look. He turned back to Santiago who was absentmindedly reading another page within the book. “Well, now that we’re here that doesn’t need to be the case anymore. You can come with us back to our community. There’s food there, water, walls. It’s safe,”

A faint light sparkled in Santiago’s eyes. “Why, that’s right! If you made it in here all together, you must still have some weaponry on you, yes?” His eyes caught Liam’s pistol, holstered at his side. “That’s a gun!” Santiago exclaimed excitedly, leaning forward and pointing.

Javi chuckled at the enthusiasm. Prolonged starvation and dehydration had clearly left Santiago’s brain a bit fried. “That’s right. We’ll still got ammunition too. We’ll find a safe way out of the library then we’ll all drive back together. Sound good?”

“Sound good? Why, it’s fucking fantastic! Let’s go!” With that Santiago rose abruptly to his feet only for his eyes to roll back into his head as his legs crumpled beneath him. Luckily Gabe was mostly able to break his fall, catching the man with a grunt.

“Is he dead?” the teen asked in fright.

Charlotte immediately stepped forward. Pressing two fingers to Santiago’s throat, she quickly found his pulse. “No, just fainted. The sudden change in blood pressure from getting up so quickly did it,”

Gently Javi and Gabe dragged Santiago over to a nearby chair before reconvening with the group to plan their escape. “The information from Santiago confirmed our fears,” Javi said, arms crossed. “The herd out there is way larger than the one we barely escaped getting in here. But back there we were cornered. If patterns hold to what they were when we entered, the east section of town should still be fairly clear like we saw on our way in. If possible, let’s prioritize an escape route heading in that direction. We stay quiet as long as possible. When that no longer works, we sprint for the cars. Any questions?”

“What about Sleeping Beauty over there?” Liam asked, gesturing toward Santiago.

“Hopefully by the time we find an exit he’ll have woken up. For now, let’s get to work,”

A quick sweep of the first floor exits made it clear the place was swarmed. The once clear courtyard was now a death trap and all other available exits led directly onto major roads now flooded with the dead drawn in from all around town by the sounds of the scuffle. A higher floor it was then. The fire exits had locked automatically thanks to the library’s security system years ago when the power gave out. They were able to pry open a door though and confirm that the stairwell to the east was still standing. With daylight burning away there was no time to waste. Santiago was still unconscious, but they had to go now.

With a grunt, Javi lifted the thin man and threw him over his shoulders. It made the most sense to leave Noah and Liam’s hands free to draw and shoot if necessary. They were better shots than Javi and with their current situation if they stopped at any moment for melee fighting they’d be dead. Lining up one after the other, the group made their way out of the door and onto the fire escape, Javi in the lead. Moving with cautious, carefully considered steps, they descended the stairs one at a time.

Moving down metal stairs with no sound was impossible. Many times a foot would clang louder than expected and all of them would freeze, holding their breath as they waited for the muertos below to lose interest. It was painstakingly slow progress, but it was progress nonetheless. Javi tried to steady his breathing as they continued on. He could hear Gabe’s own barely perceptibly breathing behind him. Once they got to the lowest steps it would likely be impossible to avoid the muertos’ notice any longer. They would need to jump the last flight as quickly as possible and start their sprint. They could do this. They had to.

Santiago let out a faint groan upon Javi’s shoulder, stirring. Everyone froze. If he awoke and panicked at the sight of the herd below, they were all dead. The force of all those muertos pushing upon the supports would bring the entire structure crashing down all at once. But after a tense couple seconds, it was clear Santiago was too drained to fully wake any time soon. They continued their incremental descent.

As they approached the final set of stairs, Javi had the fleeting wish that they’d been able to find an isolated muerto whose guts they could have used for camouflage during their escape. He never thought he’d want to go through that ordeal again, but now the idea of that smelly layer of extra cover felt downright comforting. He could see the faces of the muertos below him clearly now. Their vacant eyes stared dumbly ahead as they milled amongst themselves. There were over a dozen within a few feet of the stairwell but none directly blocking it. Javi sent up a prayer that it would stay that way for just a few minutes longer. If they could get past this section of town maybe then they’d be in the clear and have a straight shot to their cars. They just needed-

Mia’s foot slipped. The sound of her foot clanging against the metal an extra step down and her shocked gasp seemed to reverberate through the space round them. Several muertos’ heads turned in their direction. Did they see them? Could they wait for the moment to pass and the muertos’ to forget? Javi held his breath, his heart pounding within him. Two of the muertos began to walk forward. There was no time. They’d block their exit. They had to run.

With a great leap Javi sprang down the remaining ten steps, landing hard upon the ground, his shins stinging. Shifting Santiago to one side, he drew his gun, pistol whipping the nearest walker and crushing its head beneath his feet. Behind him the others were leaping down the stairs as well. They remained silent, but the sounds of their steps were enough. The muertos moved towards them. And there would be plenty more behind them. Kicking a walker out of his way, Javi began to run in the direction of the cars.

They were at least a half mile away. The cars weren’t visible from here, but they were close. If they could stay ahead of the heard for only a few minutes, they’d make it out alive. But there were so many. Glancing behind to check on his crew, Javi’s eyes took in the herd that clogged the main street and his heart fell. There were hundreds now. They’d come out of the woodwork, gathering en masse and heading toward them with unyielding focus. More came in from the side streets ahead, drawn in by the noise of their own kind. Bracing himself, Javi shot forward at a dead sprint.

The group fanned out, Noah and Liam on either side of Javi, Mia, Charlotte and Gabe taking up the rear. They ran in a straight line down the center of the road, avoiding every walker they could, sparing only a moment to strike down those in their path. If Liam or Noah’s blows didn’t deter a walker, someone in the rear guard finished them off. Javi felt his heart lift a bit at the sight of their progress. They were doing it. They could make it!

Then the other wave emerged. Walkers came pouring out from the streets ahead of them, drifting towards their path before they could pass them. They couldn’t pass straight through. Javi’s eyes shot to the right side of the street. There was an opening, but it was slim. If they could circle round this herd before it joined the main one, they could continue on. Willing his legs to go even faster, Javi signaled with his free hand and adjusted his direction. He could hear the others breathing heavily behind them as they followed suit.

They were close, only a few dozen yards now. But the gap was closing, They wouldn’t make it through in time, not like this. Swearing under his breath, Javi cocked his gun. There was no purpose in silence any longer. He fired into the herd, trying to take down the front line and keep the gap open. Gunshots rang out all around him as everyone did the same. Muertos fell left and right, but the sound seemed to awaken the rest more, their speed increasing towards them. Firing faster, Javi found himself pressed against the wall as he made his way through. The muertos were within arm’s reach now. Striking out wildly, Javi did his best to hold them at bay. “Keep pushing on!” he cried to the others, smashing his gun into one muerto’s head and crushing it against the wall. “Don’t give up!”

A muerto reached out toward one of Santiago’s arms. Javi kicked out its leg before executing it only for another muerto to grab his wrist, pulling the gun toward itself. Javi gave it its wish and shot it in the face.

“Javi, look out!” A gunshot rang just inches from his ear as Gabe took out another muerto lurching toward his uncle. The corpse fell toward Javi. Pushing it back with a mighty cry, Javi tossed it aside, knocking over a pair of approaching muertos in the process. That was it. Their opening.

“Follow me!” Javi bellowed, sprinting forward and finally breaking free of the gridlock they’d been stuck in. Turning round for a moment, he headshot the muertos nearest his companions. Seconds later they were clear of it as well. They were ahead of the herd again. And their cars were just around that final corner. Summoning his last dregs of adrenaline, Javi sprinted once more toward their salvation.

It was only a few seconds. Less than a minute, but it seemed so much longer. Every instant mattered as the group’s feet pounded the pavement, hoping they’d be fast enough. Shots echoed throughout the streets, the only sound loud enough to be heard over the groans and footsteps of the immense herd. Javi’s body was numb, all focus on survival. Survival and protection. As he aimed for another muerto heading their way, Javi’s stomach sank as he heard the click of an empty chamber. He was out of ammo. He couldn’t fight any more, only run. But they were right at the corner. That had to be enough.

The tension in the air was palpable as they came within sight of the cars. Eyes roved over the muertos around the vehicles. 6, 7, 8… under a dozen. They could avoid that many. They could strike down that many if need be. Holstering his gun, Javi drew out his bat, wielding it one handed as he ran toward the cars. He swung with all his might, back and forth, clearing the way. They were within feet of the cars. Another muerto fell beneath his bat. Liam had opened one car. Noah had opened the other. The cars had started, circling away from the approaching walkers. Noah opened the passenger door, shouting something unintelligible.

He didn’t need to hear the words to know their meaning. Lowering Santiago into both his arms, Javi rushed forward, keeping pace with the moving car. He had to time this right. 1, 2… now! Leaping in, Javi dropped his bat beside his feet and pulled the car door closed, mercilessly crushing off a muertos’ fingers in the process. The car sped up and suddenly they were clear of the herd. It was over. Javi let himself take a long, shaky, breath.

“Need some room here! He’s crushing me!” It took a moment for Noah’s words to make sense in Javi’s mind. Quickly though, he realized how crowded the front was with three grown men there. Adjusting Santiago’s unconscious form, Javi laid him as best he could between the two seats.

“Javi! Is that your blood?” Gabe’s voice was tight as he pointed toward Javi’s hand. Looking at it in confusion, Javi rubbed it away. “Not mine,” He looked back toward Santiago and internally winced as he saw blood seeping from a wound upon his head. It must have gotten clipped against the car as Javi leapt in.

Mia spotted the wound too. “I’ve got some medical gauze. Just a second,” Wriggling her pack off, she quickly located the gauze and pressed it against the wound.

Now that all emergencies were out of the way the car fell silent for a moment as all four members looked back and forth at each other. Liam and Charlotte’s car was ahead of them on the road, leading the way. They’d all made it out. No bites. No losses. They hadn’t found much, but they were all alive. There were moments back there when Javi wasn’t sure that was even possible.

Then again, they had found something in that library after all. A lone survivor. Javi looked upon Santiago thoughtfully. Gently he adjusted his glasses that had been skewed crookedly across his face. They hadn’t fallen off, nor had they broken. As bad as this man’s luck seemed to be, in other ways it was stronger than was usually seen. He’d made it out of an infested town with no weapons, food or supplies to his name. The again, he’d been unconscious for the entire escape. Javi would make sure to tease him about that later. From the conversation he’d had with Santiago so far her seemed to be the sort of guy who could take a joke.

Javi’s eyes found Gabe’s which had been locked on Santiago’s still form as well. Javi smiled proudly at his nephew. “You did great back there. Carried your weight like a true champ,”

A smile crossed Gabe’s face at those words. “Thanks. You too,”

Holding his gaze a moment longer, Javi smiled too. Then his eyes returned to the front and the road ahead. Dusk was starting to fall. They’d likely not make it back till after dark. But they would make it back. Home. Safe. That was enough for today.