Time to Survive

Don't Have to Tell Me Twice

"That's a terrible plan, Kelsey."

"Well I don't see you coming up with a better one, braniac."

"You're gonna get both of us killed!"

"And our friends are gonna get killed if we don't do something! Now stop arguing with me!"

Dammit!

He was such a prima Donna.

My plan was good.

Sort of.

I just need to run out into the road screaming when those guys in the jeep drive through like there's deaders after me or something. Then, when they stop and are looking around frantically for the danger, Ryan busts up behind them like a ninja and kills them.

Except one.

We needed one alive.

"I'm not gonna kill three men at once with my bare hands, Kelsey."

"I never said you had to kill them all at once," I scoffed, shaking my head. "One at a time obviously."

"Kelsey!"

I sighed, sitting down on a fallen tree Glumly.

"Look, it's all I got, okay? I don't know what else to do. What are we gonna do, Ryan?" my voice was small. "How are we gonna get them back?"

Ryan hesitated as he stared at me, then cautiously reached over, slipping his arm around my shoulder. After a moment, I deflated, and I leaned my forehead against his chest.

what were we supposed to do? How was I supposed to save him from this?

He'd always saved me.

He'd always been there when I needed him.

I had to do the same for him.

I had to, I ---.

"It's gonna be okay," Ryan whispered, patting my shoulder. "Well figure something out, Kelsey. We will."

I hoped so.

I really, really hoped so.




"Kels."

"I'm doing it. They're almost here!"

"Kelsey, no ---."

"Just remember the plan!" I hissed, and then darted forward, forcing myself to scream as I jumped out of the woods and into the road just as the military jeep came around the curve. I flailed, staggering forward in a panic like something was after me.

I saw all the soldiers actually look towards the woods, the jeep rolling to a stop as the one standing in the open back turned his gun towards the trees.

And then one was gasping as he was ripped off the back of the jeep and tossed to the ground, and I heard a horrible cracking noise.

I didn't hesitate.

I jerked the gun from beneath my pack, turning it on the soldier who was just turning around to fire at Ryan.

I got him right in the chest.

I was getting better at this.

I couldn't think of the soldiers as actual people.

I couldn't think about them maybe having families, or being good guys, or anything like that.

They were just the enemy.

The people who'd taken the only people I had left and were possibly hurting them.

And they had to be taken out.

"Don't move," I growled, rising slowly to my feet, my pistol pointed steadily at the driver of the jeep. He looked young, probably my age, with blonde hair and big blue eyes; he'd be adorable if he wasn't one of the bad guys.

He even had his hands in the air.

Good.

"Get out of the jeep." I commanded, my eyes not leaving his face.

No mistakes.

"Id do as she says." Ryan stood behind him in the back of the jeep, holding the gun to the soldiers head. "She's a real princess when she doesn't get her way."

"Shut up, Ryan," I huffed.

He actually chuckled.

Slowly, the soldier slipped out of the drivers seat, and I motioned him several feet away from it; he had a weapon on his belt, but otherwise looked like he was weapon less. Ryan plopped himself into the drivers seat, glancing back.

"That one dude is still alive," he said after a moment, his gaze riveted no doubt on the blood spilling from the dying soldiers chest.

Eh.

"Then... Finish him off."

I didn't want him to suffer.

"What about the other guy?" I asked as Ryan climbed into the back, leaning down. I wanted to make sure he finished his guy off too.

"He's done, I snapped his neck. Don't worry about him."

So we didn't have a lot of time to fuck around.

I narrowed my gaze at the soldier in front of me.

"Where are they taking our friends?" I asked, only half hearing Ryan put the other one out of his misery.

the soldier just looked at me, his eyes calculating.

"Look, asshole, I'm not fucking around," I snapped edgily when he just stood there. "Where the fuck are they taking him!?"

"You're that guys girlfriend, aren't you? The tall one." he said after a moment, his hands slightly lowering, as if he didn't think of me as much of a threat. "We have orders to bring you back unharmed."

Like hell.

"Like I believe that shit," I scowled, tightening my hold on the gun, my palms starting to get sweaty. "Now where are they being taken?"

"Back to base." he sounded so matter of fact about it.

"How far is the base from here?"

"About an hour driving. It's a straight shot from here."

Okay...

Why was he telling me this so easily?

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Why are they taking them there? Why did you attack us!?"
The soldier actually sighed, and glanced over at where Ryan was supposed to be.

And wasn't?

Where the fuck was he!?

I shifted my weight nervously.

He hadn't freaked out on me had he?

"No one is supposed to know about the base, it endangers the safety of everyone inside. The fact you were on this road is a threat. Your friends were taken to our base to be interrogated, to see if it's worth keeping you there and making you part of the population."

What?

I frowned at him.

"What if we don't wanna be part of your 'population'?"

The soldier just looked at me as if it should be obvious.

"No one can know the base survived." was all he said finally.

"So you fucking kill whoever you don't like?"

"It's not my decision, alright? It's the commanders. I just do what I'm told. I don't have to agree."

Ahuh.

That was always the excuse.

"Everyone has a choice," I muttered, shaking my head. "Even pawns like you. I'm not going to let my friends get killed when we didn't even do anything!"

"Look, that's not my fault!" the soldier squawked, eyeing the gun in my hand. I could tell he was wondering if I was going to shoot him or not.

I'd shot the other guy, why wouldn't I shoot him?

Killing someone should probably affect me more then it did.

But I really didn't give a shit.

"How do I get my friends out of there?" I asked after a moment, shifting my weight.

Where the hell was Ryan?

"You can't; it's a military base. Even if you tried to get in, it's like a fortress and you'll never be able to get out with so many people. If you come with me, I can take you and your friend there, and you can be with your boyfriend. It's not a bad place, just a bunch of people working together to survive this shit. I'll even say the zombies got Brad and Nix and call it even with you; those guys were assholes anyway."

Riiiiight.

This dude wasn't giving me good vibes.

And considering I was holding him at gun point, he should be groveling.

Which was bad.

He obviously knew something we didn't.

"What about our car? Did you take it too?"

The soldier hesitated.

"What about our fucking car?" I hissed, daring to take a step closer.

"That's --- we --- we were on our way to drive it now." he muttered, glancing at the jeep and probably thinking about his fallen comrades. "Bring it back to base and spread out the supplies."

Our fucking supplies.

I glared at him.

"You're assholes, you know that?"

"We're just doing what we need to to survive," he responded, as annoyingly calm as ever. "You'd do the same."

"No," I shook my head. "We wouldn't. And we haven't. We've never attacked others to survive. Only cowards and lowlifes do that. Now, Ryan ---- hey, don't! RYAN!"

son of a bitch.

I sighed as the soldier crumpled to the ground, Ryan standing behind him.

"Why the hell did you hit him!?"

"What the hell else were we gonna do with him?" Ryan huffed, shrugging his shoulders and lowering his gun. "He couldn't tell us anymore. Let's get rid of him and get back to our car before someone else does."

Well.

I grimaced, tucking my gun back in my jeans.

"Um, Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you... Need to feed?"

Ryan frowned at me, almost looking wounded.

"I'm not going to hurt you again, Kelsey, I swear."

"It's not that," I shook my head. "It's just there's two fresh bodies and you might as well not let them go to waste, yknow? No sense in both of us starving."

Ryan stared at me.

"Are you... I mean, do you mind?"

"Seriously? No. Go ahead. Just hurry up, alright?"

"Don't have to tell me twice."