Blood Soaked Arrows (On Hold)

(16) The Dying Fire

There were too many. Everywhere I looked I saw decaying flesh, tattered clothing, and blood stained teeth. The horde was swarming around me with their broken limbs extended out to grab me and their mouths hanging open hungrily spewing out blood as they growled. Any other person would have been too terrified to think about surviving something like this, they would have been praying for a miracle or maybe even just stuck the gun to their heads and opted out, but I was trained to be better than that.

There was no deep cleansing breath needed for me to calm down any nerves because I was calm. My mind wasn’t cluttered with death or fear, it was thinking rationally to and scope out the best route to take. The Walkers were so crowded that I couldn’t see any space between them but I knew that it wasn’t true. There was always a way out.

Two Walkers on my three o’clock caught my attention. The spacing between them was thin but there were no other Walkers closing in behind them so that made it my best option out of this circle of death. I made no attempt at being quiet when I swung my rifle around and popped off two shot, each one hitting between the eyes. With the small space open I ran through it.

I felt the light scraps of nails skimming across my skin as I pushed through the crowd. Being confident in my skills and athleticism gave me that extra push to hall ass to the barn. The front door was already shut with a pile of Walkers banging their bodies against it so I knew that the front door was off limits. Rick and Shane were smart to seal the door shut but it was only a matter of time before more Walkers came over and broke it down.

As I ran towards the building my eyes were scanning for another entrance. There were a few windows and a hayloft door but those were all too high up for me to reach. I ran around to one of the other sides and noticed the barrels conveniently staked up next to a stable. I smiled briefly at the beautiful sight and ran towards it, popping off a few rounds as I went.

I sung my rifle back around to my back as I leapt up onto of the stacked barrels. With ease I jumped, latched onto the side of the stable roof and pulled myself up. The gaze that I hadn’t yet tended to on my upper thigh scrapped against the wooden roof. I bit my lower lip at the sting and pushed myself forward. Once onto of the roof I quickly moved over to the nearby window and smashed my elbow against the glass. Pieces of glass shattered to the floor but none had managed to nick me.

Using the butt of my gun, I cleared off the rest of the glass before going in. As soon as I was inside on the upper level of the barn my gaze instantly met with Rick’s. His blue eyes were wide with surprise as he stared up at me from the ground.

“How did you get here?” He asked as he swung a gallon of gas around in his hands.

“I ran.” I scoffed walking away from the broken window. “What are ya’ planning on doing with that gas?”

“We gotta’ burn down the barn. Attract the others over here and while they’re burning we’ll escape through that window that you just came in from.” He explained quickly as he spread the gas on the ground.

“Alright.” I smiled at the plan and looking over at the other person who was coping Rick. My eyes grew wide when I noticed the Sheriff’s hat and recognized the small body as being Carl. I wanted to ask about how the hell he had snuck on by me and gotten caught up in this mess but now wasn’t the time. “Where’s Shane?”

Rick tossed the gas tank to the ground. “Gone.” I frowned down at Rick when I heard that but again there was no time for details. Rick ushered Carl over to the stairs and handed him a lighter. “Drop the lighter when I say.”

Carl grabbed a hold on the lighter that his dad handed to him but still looked a little shaky. Rick took the smallest of moment’s to re-explain what his plan was to his son and how much he loved him. That got Carl to nod his head to his dad before turning and heading up the stairs.