Hope - A Louisentine Story

Chapter 11

He slowly walked through the store once more, inspecting the shelves in search of anything he'd missed. He didn't get very far when a blood-chilling scream tore through the street and his eyes perked up. Pushing open the front door, he ran full speed in the direction of the scream. Once outside, he caught a glimpse of a couple of walkers lazily droning inside the Laundromat, and Lizzie's screams erupting from it.

He ran inside, catching the attention of one of the walkers. With a strong swing of his makeshift bat, he swatted its head clean off. In front of him, Lizzie struggled with a robust walker as another had a strong grip on her curly black hair. Her hunting knife lay on the ground next to her, out of reach.

He decided the big guy was a priority, and with running momentum, tackled it to the ground. Unsheathing his own knife, he plunged it deep into its skull. Quickly getting to his feet, he used 'Chairles' to shatter the other walker's arm, loosening its grip on Lizzie's hair. The rotting hand fell to the floor, releasing her from its deathly grasp, making her trip.

Louis disposed of the second walker with ease, breathing heavily and turning to Lizzie, who was still on the ground. "Need any help with that?" he joked, offering her a hand.

She took it and heaved herself to her feet. They both stood silent for a moment, their hearts in their mouths and breathing with difficulty. When they had composed themselves, she looked into his eyes, sighing with relief. He gave her a lopsided grin and was startled when she did the last thing he expected her to do.

She kissed him.

Too stunned to act, Louis's eyes opened wide, his hand releasing 'Chairles' onto the floor. Once he regained control of his body he swatted her hand, which was resting comfortably on his chest, away from him. He forcefully pushed her away, his mouth agape and his brow furrowed. At that moment, he looked like a deer in front of two massive headlights.

"What the fuck was that?" he exclaimed once he regained his voice.

"I'm sorry," she blurted, stepping forward. He raised an arm, stopping her advances.

"Stay back," he hissed, venom in his voice. "Do you remember why we're doing all this? Why we're going into this shithole to rescue these people for Maggie, huh?"

"I... I d–," she stuttered, searching for words that wouldn't come.

"We're here because I need to find my wife, Lizzie, and fast!" he growled, his voice dangerously low. "What even gave you the idea that I'd be okay with that?"

"I thought we... had something," she trailed off, looking down abashedly.

Louis pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. He leaned down and took his chair leg. "Look, I'm sure you're a great girl," he began, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "But I'm married, Lizzie. I love my wife very much, and nothing is gonna change that."

Lizzie scratched the back of her head, unable to meet his fiery gaze. "I'm sorry," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

He brushed past her, heaving the chair leg over his shoulder and stopping at the door. "Oh and, Lizzie?" he said, making her look up at him. "Don't ever kiss me again."

They walked silently down the avenue, looking around in search of the men they were supposed to rescue. Every now and then Lizzie would spare a fleeting glance for Louis, who kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead. His head was a jumble of thoughts, none of them pleasant.

How had he been so blind? He should have sensed something didn't add up about her. She'd been way too cheery about this whole mission. As they walked, he kicked some rubble on the street, looking down at the ground. Right now, he couldn't concentrate on Lizzie. He had to find these men and bring them back safely.