What? Back to back publishes? Yeah I'm surprised too, but turns out when you can't sleep you can get a lot done. Anyways, enjoy this chapter! It might be one of my favorites.
"Mel, you have to say something!" He said, and the other just looked lost. Y/N didn't exactly know what to say to this, as Mel was trying to control her breathing. "I- I think," she began, visibly cringing in pain. "I'm going into labor!" Mel suddenly yelled, which stunned both of the other men. "What does that mean?" Y/N followed up, and Owen looked back at him with a dumb look. "A baby is coming out of me!" Mel yelled afterward, not intending to snap at him. Y/N let that sit for a moment, and then it settled. "Oh shit!" He said, scrambling to Mel's other side. He and Owen shared a look, their next actions would have to be quick to help Mel.
Chapter 12
"Hey, I'm right here Mel," Owen said softly, sitting next to her as she laid on the bed Y/N once did. She was gripping his hand with intense strength, but Owen didn't make a single noise about it. He turned his head and looked at the hallway, behind him, Alice gave a soft whine. Footsteps came echoing, and Y/N came sliding into the room. "I have hot water and towels!" He said, quickly making his way over and setting them down. "Mel, listen, we need your help here," Owen spoke quietly. "A... a doctor! Get Nora!" Mel exclaimed, she was clearly in pain. "Nora? I don't..." Owen began, his words trailing off. "I can do it, how much time do I have?" Y/N stated, standing at the end of the bed.
"Y/N, no you can't. You're still hurt, look we just have to make do," Owen claimed. He was trying to diffuse the situation, not wanting anyone else to get hurt over this matter. "That wasn't a request, Owen. Where am I going?" Y/N stated again, a defiant look in his eyes. He wasn't a kid, he wasn't going to be ordered around. Owen sighed, he seemed lost at what to do in this situation. "3 to 5 hours, that's how long," Mel said through gritted teeth. "Right, and where is Nora?" Y/N questioned. His eyes turned to Owen for the answer. "Damnit, come here," Owen motioned. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small map. "The hospital is circled on there."
Y/N took the paper, unfolding it and glancing at it. He found the hospital quickly, tracking the best path to try and get there. "I'll be back in two hours," Y/N promised, turning around. His backpack sat on a stool, which he grabbed and shouldered on. He pulled out his handgun, checking the ammo count before quickly putting it back. "Kid, stay safe," Owen said, and Y/N just gave a nod. Owen whistled to get the dog's attention. Her ears went up as her head raised. "Alice, with Y/N," Owen ordered. The dog got up, trotting over quickly to the side of Y/N. "Let's go," Y/N said to his new companion, and then broke into a jog.
His body still hurt, the wounds hadn't yet fully healed, but Mel was more important right now. Mel was bringing in a new life to this world. He could hear the sounds of Alice's paws hitting the ground behind him, and so Y/N began to try and pick up speed. He ran his way through the aquarium, ignoring the cries of resistance from his body as it tried to slow him down. He was out of the aquarium before he knew it, the path to the hospital engraved in his mind already. Alice ran right behind him, determined to see her orders all the way through. The aquarium was fleeting behind him, Y/N knew he could keep this sprint up all the way there.
But naturally, he came to a screeching stop. Alice's paws scrambled on the ground as she tried to stop, ending up right next to him. The dog tilted her head as if she was asking Y/N what was wrong. Y/N looked down at the dog, giving her a hand signal to move. Alice listened, heading right and behind a truck. "Damn, they're good at training dogs," Y/N complimented, reaching down and pulling out his knife. The man also grabbed a glass bottle. He reaching his arm back and tossed the bottle, watching it soar for a moment before it shattered on the ground.
Something screeching, and then came running out. A runner, an infected that was newly turned, was investigating the noise. Its head swiveled until its eyes locked onto Y/N. It charged, running right at him when Y/N whistled. Alice came bounding out of cover, tackling the infected to the ground. She quickly bit down, ripping out its throat and killing the infected. "Good girl," Y/N complimented as he walked up. He drew his handgun, aiming to a window towards the side of the road. It fired, and the glass shattered. The body of a clicker fell out, twitching on the ground with a new bullet in its head. Y/N shot it again, and then it stopped moving.
More infected began to cry, clickers emerging from alleyways, the screams of runners behind him. "Damnit, Y/N. The rookie move never goes into a one-way street. Alice, let's move!" He ordered, holstering his gun as he took off again. The dog broke away from its kill, sprinting after the man who was running like his life depended on it. Which, it did. Clickers came crashing out of buildings, runners trying desperately to keep up with the human. More and more infected joined the chase, Y/N didn't even bother to waste ammo on the crowd. He ran, his eyes scanning every side to try and find an exit. There, Y/N noticed a building that led up to a crane, which then led to a large tower.
Y/N motioned his hand to the left. He and the dog switched their direction quickly, breaking towards the side where a building laid. Y/N brought out his gun again, as he got closer he came to a stop and raised his leg. With one swift kick, the door came crashing down, light poured into the dark building. Y/N stepped in, taking a shot almost immediately. A runner fell to the ground. He turned when he heard the sound of clicking, but Alice jumped up and grabbed it, quickly wrestling it to the ground for an easy kill. Y/N called the dog off, quickly making his way towards the back of the store.
He made his way back, finding a door that led up some stairs. He forced the door open again, quickly springing up it. He could hear the sounds of infected behind him trying to clamber after him through the building. He and Alice sprinted up the stairs, which took them up to the roof. He slammed his shoulder into the side of the door once, and it didn't budge. Alice started growing behind him as the infected closed in. Y/N took a step back, then charged the door again, watching now as it fell open. He made it through, watching Alice join his side. Quickly he closed the door back, grabbing a nearby pipe to barricade it into place.
Y/N stepped back as infected threw themselves against the door, it was clear that it wouldn't hold very long. Y/N turned around towards the crane, following it up towards the tower. It was a steep climb, one a dog couldn't ever make. Y/N quickly got to the ground, pulling off his backpack. "I hope this works. Alice!" He called, whistling for the dog to come over. Using some rope and parts of the backpack, Y/N was able to fasten a makeshift harness onto the back of the bag, which he attached Alice too. He quickly lifted it, and the dog up. He bounced a couple of times, resting the sturdiness of the harness. "Alright girl, if we get through this, I will play with you for hours," Y/N said, to which Alice barked in response.
Y/N broke into a sprint, weighed down slightly by the added weight of Alice. The door broke down, infected piled over each other to try and get to Y/N first. Y/N got to the edge of the roof, leaping quickly when he found no more ground in front of him. His arms extended, reaching desperately for the crane. And his hands found the side of it, closing around a metal bar as the rest of his body slammed into the machine. The infected, who were following him, tumbled off of the roof to their hopeful death. Y/N hung on for a minute, watching the spectacle until he forced himself to keep moving. He started climbing up the side, trying to move quickly for fear of the harness snapping.
He quickly scaled the side until he found a way into the crane. His feet landed on the semi-solid ground, but he lowered slightly to keep his balance anyways. Y/N quickly grabbed onto a ladder, beginning to scale the crane. The world passed around him as he went higher, his shoulders began to ache. "I think I have a fear of heights now," He said to himself. Y/N was beginning to wish he had company, other than Alice that was. After being with a group, being alone again was not a fun experience. He made it to the top, after climbing several ladders, and rested with his accomplishment. He wasn't done yet, though. It looked like a sort of bridge had been built on the top, which led directly into the building.
He stepped onto the bridge carefully, trying hard to keep his balance. The ground beneath him was so far, any missed step and that was over. Owen and Mel would be alone in probably unsuccessful childbirth. He steeled his nerves, this wasn't any time to be scared. His feet moved, even if his mind was running blank, and he forced himself across the bridge. Up until they made it into the building, to safety. Y/N breathed a sigh of relief, checking back to make sure Alice was still there. The dog was panting lightly, but she was still attached to his back. "You did great," he said quietly, giving a small smile. The building looked used recently, which did not give Y/N a good feeling.
Sure enough, an arrow quickly rooted itself into his shoulder. "Fuck!" Y/N yelled in immediate response, quickly sliding into cover. He shrugged his bag off, taking the harness off of Alice. "Go get 'em," Y/N ordered, watching the dog disappeared around the corner. Luckily the dog was smart and didn't attack directly. Y/N reached up to his shoulder, snapping the arrow in half. He then reached behind his shoulder and grabbed the tip, pulling the arrow all the way through.
His shoulder was bleeding, but not bad enough to warrant any danger. Y/N waited, and when he heard the sounds of screams. He quickly left his cover, raising his gun to his opponents. One of them was going down due to Alice, and the others were distracted and aiming their bows at the dog. Y/N fired, bullets snapping their heads back and dropping their bodies. The enemies had their attention divided between the two, which was perfect. Alice quickly got a new target as Y/N ran across the building, firing at any hostiles that were obvious. He slid into the next room, where there were several dead bodies. Alice finished killing off one, and in front of him stood a massive man. He was easily twice Y/N's size, holding a massive fire ax as a weapon. "Sweet mother of god all mighty, is your mother ok?" Y/N asked, which agitated him. The burly man charged forward but was stopped in his tracks with one swift bullet to the head.
"Sorry big guy, I'm not gonna fist fight you," Y/N said, watching his body drop. "Holy hell he is big, I think he can snap my spine in half," Y/N said, to which Alice barked. He walked past the dead body, analyzing the other bodies around him. "Some kind of cult? Crazy bastards, you would still be alive if you just left me alone," Y/N critiqued, walking through the building. He made it to the end of the floor, where the glass was broken out into another long bridge. He crouched down, near the ground of the crane he could see the hospital. "Back on you go, Alice. We're almost there."
~~~~~
Ellie slid off of her horse, tying her up onto a post. She adjusted her bag and walked forward, past the place they are safely putting the horses. Joel let out a grunt as he closed the gate, making sure no infected could get in. He steadied his breathing and then walked over to meet Ellie. The day was starting to fall into a dark as clouds covered them. In front of them was a large hospital, which they were intending to break into. "Do you think we're going to find anyone in there?" Ellie asked, looking down at her hand. In it, she was holding a knife, Y/N's knife that he had gifted her. "I don't know, but Y/N could be in there. That's all that matters," Joel answered. Ellie just gave a small nod.
"Now, I reckon we take this one quietly. We can get past those guards pretty easy, there's a gap in the security," Joel pointed out. Ellie followed his like of sight, finding that he was right. But not only that, she found someone else. "Joel- look!" She pointed out. Ellie was motioning to a black woman, who seemed to be inspecting some crates. "She was there, at Jackson," Ellie said, and Joel narrowed his eyes. "If anyone knows where Y/N is, it's here. Come on, let's go," Joel said. They watched as Nora made her way back into the hospital. Ellie steeled her face, and then quickly moved down the hill. "Ellie, wait!" Joel tried to call, but she wasn't listening. The older man just swore and went after Ellie.
~~~~~
Y/N's feet hit the ground, and he took in a deep breath. He stepped away from the crane and took off his bag, letting Alice off the harness again. He shouldered the bag again, crouching in front of the dog. He scratched gently behind her ears and gave her a par with his other hand. "Good girl, hopefully, we won't do that again," he said, breathing another sigh of relief. That had been one of the most terrifying experiences of his life. He stood back up, looking at the hospital that wasn't too far away. Y/N's feet moved carefully, and he walked straight for the entrance. He gave a hand signal, and Alice disappeared.
Y/N walked straight for the front gate, getting the attention of the patrolling guards quickly. He raised his hands in a surrendering motion. "Freeze, stop moving!" One of the WLF soldiers yelled all of them drew guns onto Y/N. "Oh, sorry, am I trespassing?" He asked, looking confused. Y/N noticed the confusion on the soldiers, they didn't seem to recognize him. Y/N gave a sharp whistle, and suddenly Alice came sprinting. She took down the lead soldier who was trying to get Y/N to stop. The man drew his gun, firing quickly into the other soldiers that were there. A spotlight turned and aimed right at him, so Y/N aimed back and shot twice. One bullet broke the light, the other took out the guard.
Y/N holstered his gun and looked back at Alice, who was sitting down in front of him. Y/N patted his thigh and Alice stood back up, turning around and lining up at his side. The two walked forward, Y/N took covered quickly as he got into the lobby. He stayed low and quiet as soldiers rushed past him to get outside and see the commotion. Y/N snuck by when they were all gone, Alice trotting quietly behind him. "There's no one here," he noted to himself. The surprising lack of soldiers didn't feel like a great sign. He snuck through the halls, most of the building looked cleared out. It looked as though they were moving from this hospital.
Y/N started going down a hallway when he heard footsteps. He shoved in a door to his right, pressing himself out of sight. The WLF ran down a perpendicular hallway, instead of heading towards the front. "Let's go, Alice," he said quietly, breaking free from his cover. He trailed the soldiers, and as he did, he could hear commotion below him. Y/N came to a stop, looking over at a hole in the ground. Out of it were spores, and it led to what was below him. "Alice, shoo!" Y/N waved. The dog turned and ran off, hopefully, Y/N would find her later. He stepped up to the collapsed portion of the hospital.
"This must've been where patients were stored. I don't like that though," he stated and then leaped down. Y/N landed on his feet in a dark room, with the only light being a red alarm light. The door was broken open, and he quickly took cover. Flashlights swept the room as some WLF soldiers walked in. Y/N had his back pressed behind an overturned counter, quickly drawing out his gun. He didn't have much more ammo left. Quickly he reloaded, and then took a deep breath. His time was running low, he needed to attack now.
Y/N rolled out of cover, finding the first soldier and shooting him in the mask. A hole formed, causing the soldier to panic as he tried to avoid the spores. Flashlights turned towards him. Y/N drew his knife, stabbing the nearest soldier in the thigh. He wrapped his arm around the soldier's neck, using him as a body shield. Y/N didn't even hesitate to fire into the other soldiers, watching them die quickly. Then he shot his hostage, removing the knife from his thigh. He looked at the last guard, who was the first that he had fired at. Y/N raised his gun and fired again, putting the poor soldier out of his misery. Y/N took a deep breath, which resulted in some coughing. Although he could breathe the spores, it still was not clean air.
Y/N holstered his gun and stepped over the dead bodies, heading to the door that the soldiers were going to. He pushed it open, seeing another room. He walked through, hearing the sounds of conflict nearby. Y/N turned his head, looking towards a dark hallway. He stepped over and looked down it. The light of the alarm couldn't reach it, all Y/N could see was a flickering light and a flashlight. There were three bodies, two of them he couldn't differentiate, and the last was Nora. Y/N took a deep breath they weren't friendly, and he needed Nora alive.
Y/N broke into a sprint down the hallway, not bothering to hide his footsteps. The light kept flickering, and Nora's face contorted to surprise as she saw Y/N behind them. One of the bodies turned toward him when he got closer, but was met with an elbow to the jaw. Y/N almost knocked off his gas mask but was met with someone kicking him in the back of the knee. The light flashed again, Y/N turned his body and swept the legs of the other person. He could hear the man behind him moving, and so Y/N turned and charged, slamming him into the wall. He reached up and grabbed his arm, forcing his gun to be disarmed.
Y/N kicked out the man's legs, grabbing his falling gun as he turned towards the other survivor trying to attack him. He placed the gun on the top of her forehead and watched as their body stopped moving. He drew his knife next and took his other hand, holding the knife right in front of the other one's throat. The light flashed again, Y/N got a look at a faded jacket, with a rifle poking out from his back. He ignored the two survivors, looking forward at Nora. "What are you doing here?" Nora asked, her voice strange through her gas mask. "Well, I'm your guardian angel today," Y/N answered.
Someone responded to his voice, the one to his right moving and looking up. "Y/N?" Her voice asked. The light flashed again, and Y/N could see clearly who he was aiming a gun at. He drew it back immediately, letting the knife leave the other's neck too. "Ellie?" He asked softly, staring in disbelief. He turned his head, the lights flashed again. The other man was Joel, and he had nearly sentenced him to death by knocking of that mask. The four of them stood in the long hallway, filled with spores and confusion.