Their moans filled my ears, muffling the sounds of the Wolves shuffling around me. All I could focus on was the sound of their teeth gnashing together, how it would feel once they bit into my flesh... Suddenly, someone started pulling on my arm, shaking me.
"Angel! Angel!" a voice said and I snapped out of my daydream.
Owen came into view, his dark eyes searching my face.
"You need to focus if we're going to get out of here," he said, gentle but firm.
I nodded silently to him and he cupped my face in his hands.
"It's going to be okay...I promise..." he said quietly and I nodded once more before he let his hands drop.
"There should be an exit towards the back of the store," he said loudly as the Wolves gathered around their leader.
They nodded to him and we all started to sprint to the exit at the back. Owen grabbed my hand as we ran, holding onto me tightly. My heart pounded in my chest and I clasped the gun in my other hand, my fingers sliding over the cool metal. I hoped we made it out of this alive. We turned a corner, our shoes squeaking on the tile when finally we reached large black doors with a sign above them that read 'Exit'. I let out a sigh of relief and Owen's Wolves leaned against it, forcing it open.
The rusty metal doors opened with a noisy squeal. Sunlight poured into the darkened store, illuminating our figures. Owen went out first to check for walkers. A few minutes passed before he poked his head around the door and beckoned us to follow him. We walked down the alley, guns at the ready in our hands. Our footsteps crunched loudly on the gravel as we trudged to the road that ran behind Wal-Mart.
"What about the trucks?" one of the Wolves asked Owen.
He bit his lip in thought and I grinned at how cute he looked when he did that. Then he shook his head.
"One of you needs to distract them while another two go get the trucks." he ordered them.
The wind blew around us and I shivered. Winter wasn't far off now. They nodded in response and two of them took off around the front. We waited a few minutes before following after them. Owen leaned up against the side of the building closest to the entrance and signaled to two of the Wolves with his gun. The women nodded and looked both ways before racing across the parking lot towards the Del Arno Foods trucks.
Walkers swarmed the glass entrance doors and over Owen's shoulder, I could just make out the figure of one of the Wolves luring them away from the trucks. It was working too. He was so close now. Only two walkers remained close to the vehicles, their limping forms dragging their feet slowly across the pavement to where he stood. Just then, the women started up the vehicles. I smiled.
This was going to work. We'd make it out of here alive. Suddenly, one of the walkers reached out and grabbed onto the Wolf. He tried to pull his arm free but another latched onto his shoulder. Its rotted teeth bit into his flesh and he screamed in pain as the other walkers followed suit. Blood poured down his clothes and soon enough, the walkers had swarmed him.
I gasped and Owen turned to me. His cocoa-brown eyes held a hint of regret. The trucks sped across the parking lot then and the rest of the Wolves jumped in just as they skidded to a stop.
"Come on, Angel. There's nothing we can do for him now." Owen said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the truck.
He wrenched open the passenger side and I climbed up into the vehicle. Then he got in himself and slammed the door behind him. The trucks shot across the pavement, away from the walkers who were still eating our fallen comrade. Tears formed in my eyes but I wouldn't let them fall. I hadn't known the man but it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that we had to live in a world like this...die like this.
Owen must have noticed how quiet I was being because he wrapped an arm around me and brought me into his chest. I leaned back gratefully and he held onto me tightly, his fingers rubbing circles on my back. My cheek rested against his faded black t-shirt and I breathed in the scent of pine trees and vanilla - a scent that could only be described as Owen.