"Maggie scoffed. "Denial will not save you when Cupid's arrow find its mark."
"If i see Cupid anywhere in the vicinity, I'm ripping his chubby little arms off." Vanda yanked the door open to Romatech."
~ Kerrelyn Sparks
~♡~
"
it's you..."
The archers' voice is husky and dull - causing my skin to crawl. Something about it feels too familiar. Even his face gives me a hint of consideration of something or someone.
"Excuse me?" I replied, flicking my gaze towards two men who also concentrated their guns onto me and Jodie. One being a chubby bald black man and the other a more muscular white man with curly brunette hair and a slightly jagged nose.
The archer lowers his crossbow with an attitude, his face grew a beat red. "You don't remember me, huh? Bet I remember yer ass, Ms. Lawyer. Not only did ya ass bring down those geeks on us, but you got Merle locked up for five years!"
"Really, man?" Spoke the brunette. "We ain't got time for this bullshit with Merle Dixon."
Jodie stood in silence with her bat slightly raised. Her head moves in between this redneck and me, lost with the whole situation. I for one lower my hands, recalling the case with Merle Dixon. A few years back, Merle was my client for drug trafficking and domestic abuse; despite my disgust with his charges and past felonies, I took on as his lawyer. In the end, we lost. Merle swore up and down he'd get back at me for not doing my "job" correctly.
Add on to the anger and threats, Will Dixon, Merle's father, wasn't too happy either. Not that it mattered, Will was the town drunk and was mostly pushed aside. No one took Will serious but I remember a second son. Another Dixon who had caused a scene within a bar one night. Getting himself kicked out and myself slightly shaken by the experience.
This was that Dixon. The youngest brother of Merle Dixon. The same Dixon who threw a drunken fit at me nearly five years ago.
"Your brother deserved to be locked away. He sold crank to many people and he was abusing his girlfriend at the time. Your brother was a danger, no matter what I did he wasn't going to walk free."
The youngest Dixon grimaces at me in silence, his crossbow now low yet his stance still on the defense. The black man moves beside Dixon, his eyes on the doors where freaks bang on them with hunger and anger.
"As much as I would like to hear more about Merle's ass being locked up, we need to find a way out. Fast." The man says with urgency.
"He is right," Jodie nods, keeping her glare on Dixon. "We can save the drama for later."
"How do we know you men are trustworthy?" I question. "We can't just go running off in the sunset with just anyone. Especially not with a Dixon."
"Watch your mouth, Lawyer." Dixon, replies.
The brunette moves in front of Dixon, keeping him at bay. " If we wanted you dead, you'd be dead by now."
That is right. If any of these three men really wanted us dead - perhaps to take our goods or for our weapons, they'd have done it by now. Worse if their moral stability had gone away weeks ago.
Jodie and I take glances at one another. Safety in numbers. That's what dad used to tell us. The less of us, the chances of dying in this shitty shop skyrockets.
"Alright. Get us out safely. Then we want out, we need to get to Atlanta." I say.
The three men stare at me with blank expressions. As if something horrible managed to crawl on top of my head without my knowledge.
I stare back but neither spoke what they wanted to say. They know something we don't and I can't say I like that too much.
"There's a way out in the back," spoke the brunette with confidence. "We work together, we should make it. But there ain't no promises on keeping you both alive. We got to get back to our group with these supplies. You slow us down, we leave you behind. Understood?"
Jodie and I nod in agreement.
I don't like the fact that we have to fight side-by-side with a Dixon, nevertheless, it is a way to survive. Our only chance to get out of this place alive. If Jodie had listened to me in the first place, we'd be on our way to Atlanta right now.
When does that girl ever listen to me?
**
Dixon is the first to poke his head out from the back exit. With his crossbow ready, Dixon slowly crept from behind the metal door, aiming towards a lone freak. I watch in silence as Dixon calculates the distance and position of the female freak before taking her out with one simple arrow.
He waves over his shoulders after retrieving his arrow to signal that everything is clear. We move in unison, weapons ready for any inconveniences. The soles of our shoes patter against the ground as we run down alleyways. No one speaks for the fear that our voices could potentially draw attention to our location.
As we turn a corner, a group of freaks stops us right in our tracks. I'm quick to attach the end of my arrow onto the bowstring and aim my compound bow as the three men take out freaks with guns. Too loud for my liking but anything quick and easy to get us out of here. Jodie carefully shuffles beside me, smashing a few freaks heads in with her bat.
Dixon is so busy killing freaks in front of him, one ugly freak goes unnoticed. Once again, I pull back my bowstring as Dixon notices he is inches away from being bit, I allow my arrow to fly from between my middle and index finger. Hitting the freak right in the temple.
The decaying corpse collapse to the ground with a thud and Dixon contemplate with bewildered eyes.
"You're welcome," I hiss before retrieving my arrow.
"Whatever."
I don't know for how long we fight. My lungs feel bruised and my arms are weak from pulling, pushing, and snatching. My head feels as if it could explode from the lack of sleep and food. My whole body is just running on fumes, yet I fight. To keep living. Not only for myself but for Jodie as well.
We have only each other in this cold new world. No one else we can turn to. At least, for now. If Atlanta is safe like my best friend proclaimed, many of our friends, coworkers, and the few family members we have left are there waiting for us.
We have to fight.
"Willow!"
Jodie's voice snatches me from out of my kill zone. I snatch my only knife from out of a freaks skull, stumbling back to look at Jodie. The others were already making it for a Jeep parked not too far from where I stood.
Jodie frantically waves me over and I spend no time following foot.
We all crawl into the Jeep, the brunette on the driverside, the baldie in the passenger. Dixon, Jodie, and myself in the back. The Jeeps engine roar to life and soon the town is behind us.
We all sit in silence as the wind echoes in the empty space between us. I look over to Jodie, who is covered in blood. She too stares at me, her mouth slightly ajar to give her lungs some more oxygen.
"We haven't introduced ourselves properly," spoke our driver after five minutes of dead silence. His large brown eyes flicker into the rearview mirror to get a look at me. "My name is Shane. This here is T-Dog and that's Daryl."
Daryl sat close to the door, his arm propped up on the armrest. He wipes the sweat from off of his upper lip, glaring at me with anger. It was as if sitting next to me - just being near me - made his skin crawl.
"My name is Willow and this is my little sister Jodie."
"Well, Willow and Jodie." T-Dog regard at us over his shoulder, "We might as well tell you about Atlanta. You ain't going to like it much."
***
{a/n}
I apologize for any errors. Have not written much for a few months now and I barely get much sleep with a newborn needing my attention 95% of the time.
But I'm trying and hopefully, those who are actually reading will understand.
Thank you for at least getting to the second chapter.
Please comment on your tho noughts or suggestions. I read all my comments and try to reply when I can. Maybe even vote if you actually wanna help support me and this fanfic. Anything would be appreciated.
Love you all, Luna.