LEIGH PERKINS' POV
I WALKED PAST THE TRUCK THAT WAS PARKED OUTSIDE THE 'POLICE STATION', which was basically where the troopers held up until they got their assignment. I noticed Carol and Daryl talking, until Vickers, one of the colonels, spoke behind me.
"Perkins. You coming today?" She questioned, but it also felt like a demand. I've already gotten my armor on, so it wasn't like I had a choice. I gave her a nod, "Good." She replied, walking in front of me and asking the same to Daryl before going inside the building.
I was putting my gloves on when Carol and Daryl saw me, "Hey, Leigh?" Carol called me, and I lifted my head up and wandered over. "We're having dinner at noon at the Diner, you and Lilia wanna come?"
The offer was unexpected, but Lilia and I could spend some time out of the apartment away from our jobs. "Yeah of course. When I see her later I'll let her know, yeah?"
Carol gave me a warm smile, lightly shaking her head, "Don't worry about it, I'll go see her and let her know." She told me and I nodded in thanks. "See you both later." Carol said to both of us, before leaving.
I watched her leave for a few seconds until I followed Daryl into the building. He picked up two donuts from a tray biting into one and giving the other to me whilst we walked over to the desk that Rosita was perched up on.
Rosita let out a chuckle when she saw us eating the donuts, making Daryl perk up, "What?" He asked, and she set her papers down so she could stand.
"Just you two are really living up to that stereotype." She smiled with an innocent shrug. But I continued to eat it with no problem, "I mean, I liked 'em before." Daryl shot back, splitting his in half and chucking her the other piece.
"Who the heck doesn't like these?" I also added before the door swung open and Vickers came walking in.
She was slightly miserable at times and was very serious when it came to her job. "Good morning. Today's duty assignments are as follows... Douglas and Ross, Sector A. Lim and Baker, you're B. McHugh and Howell, take C. And Espinosa, Perkins and Dixon, I want you on Sector D." She announced, closing the file and looking up. "Any questions?" There was silence. "Alright, let's get to it."
Everyone started to get into their groups and get ready. It didn't take long for Daryl and Rosita to get ready, thankfully, but once they did we went straight outside. I was putting my helmet on as another trooper caught up to us, "Hey, a swarm has been spotted near the north perimeter. We've been assigned to check it out."
Rosita gave Daryl and I an odd look before looking back at the other trooper, "Vicker says we only work on patrol."
"Yeah, and now she wants to see what you can do outside the walls." The man replied, getting a little bit annoyed as we just stayed silent. "Your sector's covered, so let's go. Plus, there's three of you, so it's fine. Come on!"
We eventually followed the other troopers, who led us through a field. After Rosita questioned how much longer we realised we were nearly there. It wasn't that far away from the Commonwealth, but it was still tiresome. Once we saw the swarm my eyes widened since it covered a lot of land.
"Where's everybody else?" I asked, wondering how only five of us would get rid of this swarm.
One trooper laughed, "There is no one else."
Rosita scoffed, rolling her eyes, "You want the five of us to take all that out?"
Suddenly an annoying voice spoke up, belonging to Sebastian, "You aren't gonna take them out. You're gonna go through them."
"What are you talkin' about?" Daryl asked him, narrowing his eyes, I knew they had a mutual dislike towards one another.
"I'm talking about my buddy Cooper. We grew up together." Sebastian spoke, pointing to the walker covered house in the distance, "He lived in a big house... Right... right down there. His dad was actually the president of SDS Bank." There was an awkward silence, as none of us seemed to care about money at this point. "Anyway, his dad was also a prepper, so he turned his office into a panic room. It's where he kept all his good shit, like whiskey, weed, E, coke. He also kept cash in there. Lots of it. And that is what I need you to get for me."
"This is a joke, right?" Rosita asked, looking around.
Sebastian chuckled, eyeing her up, "No, sweetie, it isn't." She rolled her eyes as he continued, "Alright, look, my bitch mother has cut off my line of credit, so I need to come up with creative ways to support my lifestyle.
"So have these dickheads do it."
"They don't want to because they can't shoot down there. You see, fired rounds are tracked, so it'd raise questions. And if these guys can't shoot guns, well, they would probably get dog-piled and suffocate. But you three? I know that you can do it. I... I believe in you. Now, this is the code to the office's electric lock. Now, there's a solar generator in the garage that you can go thro-"
Daryl cut him off, finally. "Nah. No, we ain't doing it."
"No way we're doing this just for a lump of money." I replied, noticing how Sebastian was starting to get frustrated. "Your line of credit problem ain't our problem."
His brows furrowed, "Yes, you are." He gritted his teeth firmly, looking to the side where a trooper was holding a walker. The trooper killed the walker and dropped it on the ground so he could slice it open.
"Now," Sebastian began, "you're gonna slime yourself up with guts, and then you are gonna walk through that swarm, and you are gonna get me my cash."
Daryl stepped forward, "Or what?" He began to walk off and Rosita and I followed him.
Sebastian went quiet, scratching the back of his head until he continued to speak aggravatingly, "Hey, how are your kids doing?" It made us stop dead in our tracks, "Your little one, he just jumped two grades, right? And... And Coco, is she walking yet?" I balled up my fist, disgusted by the fact he was trying to use the kids against us, "And your son CJ, well, he's not really your son isn't he? Kinda funn-"
I had had enough. I grabbed my rifle and lifted it up, Rosita did the same, though the other troopers did too. Daryl ran at Sebastian with his knife, pressing it against his throat.
"Hey, hey-"
"You think your "advanced military training's" gonna help you right now?" Daryl gruffly asked, clutching Sebastian's collar.
One of the troopers aimed his gun at me, "Drop it, or you're both dead!"
"Not before I take this asshоlе's head off." Rosita bit back, looking through her scope without caring.
"Let's get something a little straight." Daryl's voice lowered, "You threaten our kids one more time, and I will gut you..."
"Hey! Hey, who said anything about hurting kids?" Sebastian panted out, saying anything he could for Daryl to get off him, "I'm just saying that I can make their life easier."
"Or you can make them all orphans." The other trooper stated with a sick smile on his face. "It's your call." I wanted to shoot them so badly, but I couldn't. Not here at least.
Rosita's gun nearly shook in her hand with anger, "We do this, and that's it?"
"Yeah- totally." Sebastian answered, making Daryl let go of him. He then gave Daryl the card with a combination lock on, sickly smiling as the man snatched it from him.
I walked over to the walker on the ground, letting Rosita cover herself first as Daryl came over. "Don't let what he said get inside your head, alright?" Daryl told me, and I sighed lightly in response, "CJ loves ya', that's all that matters, man." He patted my back before I bent down to cover myself in walker guts.
•
We safely made it into the house, taking our helmets off before shutting the boarded up door. The house was clearly abandoned inside, everything would've been dark if it wasn't for our torches. Dust clung to the air as we walked through it, looking around for any signs of life or stupid money.
"Hey," Rosita spoke, nodding her head over to another room. She bent down in front of a pool of crimson liquid, "Blood... it's fresh."
I shone my torch on it, noticing how large the pool was. "Walker blood?" I wondered, but Rosita shrugged unknowingly. Daryl lifted his torch up noticing a shut door with a keypad next to it, "This way." He grunted and we followed him.
Rosita pressed one of the buttons before realising it wasn't working, "You need power for the lock." She sighed, resting her arms at her side.
"Didn't that asshole say there was a generator nearby?" I asked before Daryl lifted his torch up behind me, highlighting two upcoming walkers. Rosita took care of them with ease.
"Can't be more than a few days since they've turned." She pointed out, noticing that they weren't as rotted like the ones we previously walked through in order to get here in the first place.
"Hello?" A female voice asked, rather quietly. We turned to the door, which was where the voice came from. "Hey! Are you with another group?"
"We're with The CommonWealth Army." Rosita calmly spoke, but the woman seemed so glad to be hearing new people.
"Oh, God. I'm so sorry." The woman spoke shakily, "The money is in here, but I'm... I'm the only one who's left."
I shifted in my spot unnervingly as Daryl spoke out what we were all assuming. "He's done this before."
"What a prick." I seethed quietly.
"Please, please! Please don't leave me!" The woman continued to beg as she banged on the door, assumedly frightened to death that she'd be left here to die.
"We're not going t-" I began, but her pleas continued.
"-Don't leave me! I've been in here so long! Please!"
"No, no, no. We won't." Rosita calmly spoke, hopefully getting the woman to understand that we just want to help. "We're not with the people who sent you in. Did they force you in here?"
"I was in debt, and then, uh, one day, a man showed up at my door, and he said he could get me get out of it." She started, her voice cracking as she thought back, "I have two kids. I have two kids."
"It's okay, it's okay." Rosita reassured her, "How many of you were sent in?"
"12 of us." She stated. Must be why there's so many walkers out there... "But only three of us made it inside. We got the generators on, and then... and then, the two guys that I was with, they turned on each other." I looked back at the two walkers on the floor, "So I locked them out, and that's... That's when the power went off, and I-I haven't been to get this door open!"
Daryl took a step back, "You both stay with her. I'll go find the generator." He told us, holding his torch up and exploring the house.
"It's alright. Just hang on, okay?" I said to the woman, my hand pressed against the door. "We're gonna find a way to get the power on."
"What's your name?" Rosita questioned, hoping to put a name to the mysterious woman.
"My name's April."
"I'm Rosita. This is Leigh."
I could feel my stomach churning. How long has this woman been in here for, and how does no one else know about this at the Commonwealth. Her family must be so worried - no doubt Sebastian and his group of pricks covered everything up.
We spoke through the door to April, constantly reassuring her she was going to be okay and we'll get her out. The light on the keypad eventually turned on, the red illuminating brightly.
Rosita got the code written on a piece of paper in her hand, pressing the buttons quickly, "April? Are you still with me?"
"Yes!"
"We're coming in." I told her as Rosita pressed the correct buttons, opening the door just as Daryl came back to us. We rushed into the room and April seemed so relieved to see us. She brought Rosita into a hug, saying how thankful she was over and over again until she let go, only to hug me tightly too. "You're alright, now. You're alright." I reassured her until she let go.
"Can you get into it?" April asked Daryl, who pushed a crowbar into the ends of the safe.
"I don't know, but we'll try." He replied, pushing the crowbar firmly, but only for a rapid beeping sound to go off.
"The fuck?" I questioned, looking back at the pad in the room to see it flashing colours.
"No!" April yelped, pressing her hands over her ears. "They're drawn inside the house! No, no, no!"
"Okay, alright!" Daryl yelled over the beeping, "Shut it off!" Rosita ran over to the board, getting her knife out and shoving it in the crack between the pad and the wall. "I just have to cut the power to the circuit board." She stated as the front came off and revealed wires.
"Hurry!" April yelled. Rosita tried to cut some wires, but they were too thick. I gripped my helmet in my hand and slammed it on the loose board, making it slightly clatter. She caught onto what I was doing, grabbing her helmet and doing the same. It eventually snapped and the beeping stopped just as Daryl got into the safe full of cash.
"C'mere! Give me a hand!" He nodded us over and I grabbed the black bag on the floor so he could fill it with cash. April continued to hurry us up, repeatedly, to the point where Rosita snapped back. I zipped the bag closed whilst Rosita and Daryl shoved a cabinet up to the door to stop the walkers from flooding in.
I placed the bag on the table and the two came over. "We go out the same way we came in." Daryl began laying out our mini plan to escape. "No sudden moves. We walk right out that door."
"Alright." I nodded and looked at April, "You ready?" She hesitated at first, but nodded.
"Wait." Rosita halted, taking off one of her armour pads that was covered in blood. "She doesn't have enough blood on her." But April shook her head, "W-What about you?" Rosita smiled at the woman's worry, strapping the piece on her arms, "I'll be fine."
I got my knife out, standing near the door until one of them gave a signal for me to move the cabinet. The walkers' growls got louder as a sudden gunshot rang. It confused us at first, wondering who did it. Then the growling stopped, followed by a pound on the door.
I briefly looked at Daryl and he came over to help me budge the large cabinet whilst Rosita carefully opened the door. Suddenly Mercer walked in, followed by two others.
"You gonna let us in or what?" Mercer asked, stepping inside and looking at everyone in the room.
I saw Carol come inside, followed by Lilia with her gun, who came over to me, looking relieved. "How'd you know where to find us?" I asked her before she pulled me into a hug, sighing thankfully.
"Carol and I noticed that neither of you showed up for lunch, so we got Mercer." Lilia replied, bringing her hand up to my face so she could wipe some blood off my cheek.
"Alves and Castle said you came here to steal some money." Mercer informed us, no emotion in his tone, making me wonder if he was mad about the situation.
"Did they now?" I scoffed.
"That did not happen." Daryl grunted, pulling a walker body inside the room.
"What, y'all looting houses now?" Mercer then questioned, looking at Daryl and then me. "Is that it?"
"Sebastian made us come here." Rosita's brows angrily knitted together, "He threatened our kids."
"That fuckin' asshole." I heard Lilia mumble.
Mercer looked at April, "And who are you?"
"Some soldiers brought a group of us here, and they told us that if we... We got in, we could have a cut of the money." April nervously explained.
"How many were in your group?"
"12. Now it's just me."
Mercer pondered for a moment, then looked at Lilia and Carol, "How many more rounds we got?"
Lilia looked at her gun, "Maybe 10."
"Lot more walkers out there than that."
Daryl held his knife up, plunging it into the walker's stomach, "We gut up, and we go."
•
We slowly walked past the growling walkers around us. Lilia was in front of me, her gun by her side. April was behind me, calm at first, but suddenly I heard her panic. I turned around briefly, noticing how her armour plate had got stuck on a walker. She tried to budge out, but it was no use. I began to go over and try to help her, but it was too late. She killed the walker, attracting more walkers to her and everyone else once they realised we were human.
One walker bit her hand, making her scream, and more walkers surrounded her. Gunshots then went off, Lilia shot a walker at my side before killing another. I grabbed my knife and stabbed one in the side of the head, sliding it out before killing another. Thankfully it was over fast, but unfortunately April wasn't so lucky.
Rosita walked over to the dead woman, bending down and putting her knife in her head so she wouldn't come back. My heart slightly panged for the woman, who just wanted to get back to her family in the end. But, of course, Sebastian's selfish attitude had to get her killed.
There was nothing else we could do. We followed Mercer back out of the house and up the hill where Alves and Castle were waiting. Seems like Sebastian was too lazy and full of himself to wait.
Mercer chucked the bags on the ground in front of the two troopers, "Could've used your help back there."
Alves chuckled, picking up on of the bags, "Yeah, looks like it. But we don't answer to you."
Carol tilted her head, glaring at Alves, "How many others did you send in before them?"
He shrugged, looking at Castle with a smug grin, "I don't know. What, 30? Maybe 40? Hey, at least we're coming home with-"
Mercer raised his pistol and shot both of the troopers in the head.
Thank God.
The man sighed, shaking his head at the bodies before looking up at us, "You have to pay him. Sebastian."
"What!?" I exclaimed in disbelief.
Rosita shook her head in annoyance, "No-"
"If you don't, he'll come after you, and that's a fight you ain't gonna win." Mercer firmly replied to get his point across.
"So after all that, that little shit gets away with it?" Lilia scoffed, squeezing her gun angrily.
Mercer looked away, knowing he didn't have the power to beat Sebastian, "I'll carry the bags through the gate. They won't search me."
"The fuckin' nerve."