ONLY HUMAN [ROSITA ESPINOSA]

Chapter 44

“You’re smart. Figure it out. “ said Bud aa he crossed his arms. “Now do we have a deal or what?” he demanded to know. Sawyer sighed, ever so exhausted as he scanned the bikes. None of them were worth it, he would have to find parts in the marketplace and then he would have to find things to trade, even if it meant he was able to trade anything at all and Sawyer was already too picky of what he had to trade.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a bike. Standing all by its lonesome. He recognized that kind of bike. It was a 1992 Honda CB750 Nighthawk and looked to be untouched, polished, and well taken care of but never touched. Nethertheless, the bike seemed to draw Sawyer to it as if it was calling him.

“What about that Nighthawk?” Sawyer asked Bud, who was about to turn and leave, only to stop in his tracks.

“That's Dwight's. Ask him. I've never seen him ride it.” said Bud.

“I want it.” Sawyer pushed even more.

“Then go ask your buddy Dwight. It's not ours.” Bud claimed, sounding a bit annoyed. Sawyer nodded goodbye at Bud, making a mental note to ask Dwight about the bike first thing when they came back from the run.

He would have to find something to trade Dwight with. But what would Dwight want in exchange? Perhaps Sherry might have an idea.

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Sawyer was once more in the middle of a horde. The group would be shortly behind in the vehicle. A few miles back. Waiting for him to radio overhead when the close was clear.

His feet had been burning, in which he also made a mental note to ask Clementine to fix his soles or to make him new shoes. She was always good at patching clothing. He would have guessed she was a seamstress before the fall or someone in her family had taught her well.

As he continued to walk with the herd, he noticed a town up ahead and began to lead the horde that way. He had not been this far and therefore had never seen this town before. Perhaps he would find fuel here.

Sawyer was already halfway up the road when he noticed a gas station. He made a mental note to remember where it was so they could go back to it and continued onto the streets. It felt quiet , too quiet. But Sawyer continued to listen to the growling sounds of the walkers that surrounded him.

Eventually, Sawyer had to stop and take a break, so after taking shortcuts through the alleyways and at some time, he stumbled upon a pet store. While he made sure no walker was watching, he opened the door and made sure there were no cold ones inside before he walked in and closed the door behind him.

Before he did anything else, he walked around just to double check and to see if there was anything useful. But to no surprise, there wasn't.

He quietly sat down and took off his backpack, digging into it and pulling out some of his jerky. Biting into it before he took a gulp of his water. Luckily for him, he didn't need to get another walker. The blood was still fresh, and it wasn't too hot of a day to dry it up quickly.

Just as soon as he was about to radio Morales, he heard some voices from outside. At least he thought he was hearing them. But it didn't stop him from quietly getting up and checking a window that faced the alleyway. Only to see a group of six men coming towards him. Though they were too busy checking inside buildings to even notice.

Shit! He thought as he quietly and quickly picked up his stuff and ever so slowly walked out the door as if not to make a sound. Luckily for him, the horde was still up ahead so he would easily blend in with them.

Sawyer slowly made his way back into the horde and began to walk with it. However, he didn't get very far when it had dawned on him. The men he had seen were looking for supplies and probably knew where some were. But they were obviously oblivious to his horde.

They're walking into a trap! Sawyer thought to himself and couldn't help but almost laugh at how much of an idiot they were. An idea struck him: he could lead the horde to attack them! He couldn't let them take his supplies. Besides, they needed it more than them.

Without a second thought, Sawyer turned around and came face to face with the nearest walker. Looking it dead straight in the eyes and let out a low growl as if he was telling the walker to follow him. The man slowly turned around and walked towards the men in the alleyway. 

At first, he didn't think it would work. That he would probably end up getting himself killed. But when he glanced back to see the horde was following him, he couldn't help but feel a burst of excitement as he was leading it to the men.

Once they reached the corner to the alleyway, he could feel the adrenaline begin to run through his veins as the group of men began to panic and try to find a way out. But Sawyer led the horde straight towards them, staying in the middle of it himself. He would look up once in a while to see the men trying to outrun the horde.

“Come on, Will!” “ shouted one of them as they pressed forward, trying to escape. But one of them, a ginger, wasn't fast enough, and the horde eventually caught up to him, pulling him down and making Will their next meal.

Sawyer had allowed most of the horde to go free and chase after the rest of Will's friends, knowing the herd would most likely catch up and make them their meal. Though Sawyer couldn't help but stay with the horde, watching and listening to the dying sounds of Will being eaten alive.

He couldn't help but smile down as he watched blood spill onto the road. He stared Will down, who had slowly reached out to him as if he was trying to say;

“Help me!”

But Sawyer never did help Will, even if he wanted to. He couldn't… All Sawyer could do was smile wickedly as he watched Will get eaten alive before he turned to follow the rest of the horde.