The Bet

Part 10

Sighing, you knew both Glenn and Abraham were right. "Fine," you said finally looking at Glenn. "But, I swear if there are any more detours, I will jump out and start walking."

"Fair enough," Abraham said, even managing a smile. "Besides, maybe once your little group is all hangin' round the campfire singing kumbaya again, I can convince you to take a ride up north with us."

"Man, now's not the time," Glenn said holding up a hand. "Maybe later. Can we just get moving, please?"

"You heard the man," Abraham called, "Let's roll!"

Once you were within a mile of the road that led to the cabin, you once again asked Abraham to stop the truck.

"What now?" he roared over the engine.

"We're here!" you shouted back, relieved when he finally killed the ignition.

"We are?" Glenn asked more than a little confused.

"Well, close enough," you said climbing down from the truck. "From here we go on foot."

"Why's that?" Abraham asked not without a hint of sarcasm.

"Because... that's the smart play," you said, raising your brows in question to Glenn.

"She's right. Our group, we just tend to err on the side of caution. We should go through the woods, make sure everything's safe before just walking up to the door."

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways then," Abraham said, pushing his shoulders back, puffing out his chest.

"No, not quite," the other man finally spoke.

"Eugene... don't," Abraham sounded as though he was chastising a small child.

"No. I will not accept that. No way I'm going to let you let a pregnant lady walk alone at night in the woods. We will go with her and make sure she arrives in one piece."

You threw a grateful glance at Eugene and looked back to Abraham. The frustration boiling beneath his skin made him nearly glow red in the moonlight.

"I will stand my ground, though I am fully aware that you could knock me on my ass with one swift punch. I am willing to take it if it means this lady and her baby get there," he said pointing towards the road.

"Fine." Abraham relented through gritted teeth.

"And," Eugene continued even though Abraham looked as though he was going to take him up on the offer of landing that punch, "you follow the lady's lead."

The girl who was standing on the fringe snorted a laugh, and you couldn't help but smile.

"Something funny Rosita?" Abraham asked without looking.

"Yeah, actually. This whole scene is pretty funny right now," she rolled her eyes at him again, but when he did turn to look at her, she flashed him a sultry smile before he brought his attention back around to you and Glenn.

"Alright, well apparently even though I am the one who is combat tested, I will be following your lead. So, let's get this little moonlight hike underway, shall we?"

Cutting through the woods, it didn't take much time to come within view of the car abandoned midway down the lane.

"Is that ours?" Glenn asked in a whisper. You nodded and tried to get a closer look at the car.

Off in the far distance, voices carried on the breeze. Just as you noticed the car had several bullet holes in the windshield, you all heard the sound of one gunshot.

Panic ran across both yours and Glenn's faces as you turned to each other at the sound of the blast. Moving quicker through the woods, you, Glenn, Abraham, and Rosita raised your weapons and carefully closed in on the mysterious voices.

The light of the rising moon offered only a little bit of illumination, but you could make out several silhouetted figures standing on the porch of your hideaway, all of which were armed and alert.

Your heart jumped at the sight of Daryl and Beth tied up on the ground with about five armed individuals surrounding them. You wanted to burst through the trees, guns blazing, but a slight touch on your arm turned your attention towards Glenn, who was silently shaking his head at you. Moving a bit further back into the woods, you huddled together. The strangers who had brought you here were all you had to help, and even with them and Glenn, you were still outnumbered.

"I have an idea..." you said nervously. "It's stupid, and probably will get someone killed but it's all I got."

You laid it out for them and waited for someone to object.

Glenn sat back on his feet after you explained and sighed. "There's gotta be a better way."

"If you got an idea, let's hear it," Abraham chimed in, "Lady's got a plan... a dangerous one, but still it's a plan. Eugene here demanded I follow her lead, so, I'm gonna follow her lead."

Shaking his head, Glenn stepped closer to you and placed a hand on your shoulder. "Looks good on you, you know," he said with a smile.

"What's that?" you asked half amused, half curious.

"Being a mama bear. Daryl and that baby... they're pretty damn lucky to have you." Glenn offered you a tired smile but it helped fan the flames of the fire burning in you. That was something you were definitely going to need going forward.

After that, no more was said and you went to work on getting into position to rescue Daryl and Beth.