Surprise! [Braden]

[Kiley Harris]

It was miracle! For the first time in a what seemed like a lifetime, there was actually daylight.
The last couple of weeks had been rough. Many of the storeowners and civilians had left the area, claiming there was no way the war would spare them. They’d encouraged everyone who would listen to join them, to head for the Northern Army’s safe zone. They’d be happy there, safe from both the endless fighting and killing, and the merciless zombies that now wandered about the street.
The weather had been dark then, like some sort of bad omen loomed over those that had stayed behind with the intention of sitting this war out. The hopefuls, the survivors.

But today was different. Today, it was a day like any other before the war had started. It was warm and sunny, somewhere far in the distance a bird chirped happily as it flew around the wreckage of a once so beautiful town.
Today, Kiley felt confident enough to go out for a few hours, though she had promised the staff not to wander too far. Of course, Kiley was rarely one to listen. There was nothing to worry about anyways… she wasn’t the only one out today, there were several burly looking men who had stayed behind to ‘defend their castle’ who were now exchanging supplies with one another. If something did happen, they’d help her out… at least, she hoped they would, somewhat counted on it.
One man lighted up a cigarette and sighed happily. “Ah… sweet, sweet relief…”
“Man, you’s in a warzone, and you be smokin’? What’s da matter with you?” the man’s son asked as he awkwardly moved his fingers to mimic the rappers you used to see on the television. This promptly made the man hit the boy in the back of the head, “Shut it boy, get back inside.” He huffed before sucking on his cigarette again.

Kiley barely noticed the conversation, or anything that went on around her, really. She was far too caught up looking at the turned vehicles, the burned road signs, and other things that reminded her of happier times.
For some reason, the weather only made everything worse. If you didn’t know better, you’d almost guess this was just a regular neighborhood, with the average Joe just getting ready to start their day. Aside from some wreckage, the place looked fine. She’d once read a horror novel about a neighborhood like this, where people would get lured in by the seemingly friendly atmosphere and people, only to realize nothing was as it seemed, and they’d actually doomed themselves by entering this friendly looking town.
With the happy weather and the singing birds, this place almost seemed the same. Like there was no war, like there were no zombies… but then nighttime would come, and the danger would slowly spill out into the streets once more. It made her shudder.

The sun gave a false sense of security that affected even Kiley as she made her way through town. Slowly but surely, she wandered away from the few people that could potentially help her in an emergency situation and deeper into town.
After a few minutes of wandering, her cell phone suddenly rang, and Kiley jumped like a child who had just been caught by the cookie-jar. “Hello?” she answered in a shaky voice, all the tension disappeared when her friend and roommate greeted her on the other end, demanding to know where she was because she wanted to make sure her half-crippled roomie would get home safely.
“Uh…” she looked around for any street signs with names on them, “Hah! I don’t know!” she laughed stupidly as she continued her journey. Her friend didn’t seem as cheerful, and immediately scolded her and demanded she come home again. “I’m fine, don’t worry, I brought my crutches.”
“It’s not fine! Come back now! I’m not covering for you again.”
“Yeah yeah…” Kiley huffed as she stepped over a hole in the concrete, “If anyone asks, tell them I went Zombie hunting and will be back later to feast on their brains.”
“It’s not funny, Kiley…”
The conversation quickly shifted to more daily subjects, such as lunch and boys and things like that. “I just saw one, actually…”
“Really? Was he cute?”
“Well… no… not really… but anything’s better than nothing, yeah?” she laughed before leaning against a wall, resting her legs a bit, “But his dad was around… so no luck for me.”
“Was his dad cute?”
“Sa-“ her thoughts were drawn away from her friend for a second when she heard a can falling over and rolling quietly down the street. Her muscles tightened and her teeth nervously scraped over each other as she slowly took a few steps closer to the sound. Of course, it was better to just leave well enough alone, but she couldn’t help herself. Maybe it was a survivor, or one of her friends playing tricks on her. Heaven only knew it wouldn’t be the first time, and she wouldn’t brand herself a wuss again.

“Ki?”
“Did someone else go out after me?” she whispered into the phone as she moved closer and closer to the sound.
“No… why?”
She stopped in her tracks when her friend denied it, “If you’re messing with me again, it’s not funny, Sally.”
“Ki, get out of there,” There was a sense of urgency in the girl’s voice, “You’re the only one who went out today, get out of there now!”
A gasp escaped her when the can suddenly rolled by right before her feet. Her breathing quickened some as she turned and hurried away from the street, only to see another figure standing on that side. He or she stood too far away to be able to tell whether it was a zombie or a regular person however. Just to be sure, Kiley made a sharp turn and entered one of the houses to the right.

Aside from the open door, there was no light shining into the house. The windows had been barred, and there were no lights on… must be abandoned, she reasoned. Slowly, she closed the door behind her and took a few steps backwards, using her hands to feel where she was going. First she touched a small table, then a couch… and then…
Her eyes widened when she felt something fleshy, and gasped in a panic when that fleshy something moved.
“Ki, are you there? Say something.”
“Help…” she breathed when a noise came from right next to her foot.
But surprisingly, nothing happened. And after a good 30 seconds had passed, Kiley began to wonder if this was even a zombie. A zombie would’ve grabbed her by now.
As quietly as she could, she knelt down by the person and strained her eyes to see through the darkness, “Hello…? Are you…” when her eyes finally adjusted, it was too late. The figure lunged itself at her, and in a reflex, Kiley let out a glass breaking shriek as she stumbled backwards, attempting to climb away.
“Someone please help!” she cried as she tried her hardest to conjure enough strength to kick the zombie in the face. When it grabbed her foot and attempted to bite into her leg, all she could do was hit it a few times with her crutch. That seemed to do the trick, as the zombie let go of her just long enough to let her get up and stumble out of the house. And stumble she did, as she stepped out of the door, her left leg gave in, causing her to fall.
By now, the zombie had recovered and crawled after her. Again she tried to crawl backwards, but without the support of her leg, it was hard. The zombie – if it even was a zombie – down the street didn’t worry her too much. If she couldn’t shake this one off, she’d be doomed anyway.

[Braden Parker]

For the first time in months the sun was shining. Its bright light had broken through the clouds of smoke and ash, golden rays filtering down to the world below. Some would see this as a sign of hope, that maybe there was an end in sight for the war. Braden knew better though. He knew that the sky wouldn’t stay like this. Give it a day of two and another bomb would be dropped, and then the sky would be even darker than before. This weather, this beautiful sunlight, it was a miracle. It would be gone soon enough. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a week. It would not last though. And this filled the former soldier with sadness. As he stood there, a melancholy feeling washed over him. He stared up at the sky, eyes squinting against the sunlight, staring at the blue depths that showed through the thin layer of ash. How wonderful it would be if only the sky could be blue again, but he knew that ‘if’onlys’ were wasted in this world.

Suddenly filled with disgust, Braden thrashed out with his foot. It struck an old can, garbage someone had left laying carelessly on the ground, sending it tumbling down the street, rolling over the concrete. He missed that world, that beautiful world from long ago. If only people would get their heads screwed on straight, then maybe one day it would be possible to bring that world back. He thought about this for a few moments, but then sighed. Something like that was probably too much to hope for. He knew that, but what other reason did he have to survive? He had to believe that there was still some sort of hope for the world, that the people he saved would one day wake up to a better tomorrow. Overcome with frustration, he clenched a hand into a fist, slamming it against the brick wall of a house. Why couldn’t they see! Why couldn’t they see that it was the war that was ending them? If they just stopped fighting, things might get better. Fools. They were all fools, every last one of them! Braden was so caught up in his thoughts that he completely missed sight of the girl that darted by, taking a nearby street and dashing into one of the vacant houses.

It was only when her voice rang out down the deserted street that he realized what was going on. “Someone please help me!” At once, the former soldier was alert. He snapped out of his thoughts, jerking his head up. He looked around frantically. Someone was in trouble. With that one desperate plea, all the thoughts in his head were forgotten, pushed to the back of his mind. He grabbed his gun, whipping it out of its holster, and ran. He followed the noise, peering down street after street. It took him a good minute, but at last he found the source of the cry. A girl was lying on the ground, trying to crawl away from something, no doubt a zombie. He lifted the gun, aiming carefully. It was difficult though because the girl was in the way, and he did not want to risk shooting her. He had already taken enough innocent lives. If he didn’t do something fast though it would be too late, and he would have just stood there, watching the female be bitten and mauled. He aimed his gun again, pulling the trigger back, and released it. The bullet sailed through the air, striking the zombie in the shoulder. He shot again, this one hitting the monster square in the forehead. It let out a sickening shriek and then collapsed forward, falling onto the girl.

Immediately, Braden was running toward her. He grabbed her under her arms, quickly dragging her away from the fallen corpse, moving to a safer and more open area across the street. It would be best to get away from that house, assuming that’s where the zombie had come from, as their might be more zombies lurking inside. Plus, he had shot his gun, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before more rotting corpses showed up, drawn to the area by the loud sound. They might not be able to see very well, but their hearing exceeded that of any human.

When they were safe on the other side of the street, Braden released the girl, taking a step back. She was probably pretty shaken up from the ordeal, and he knew it would be better to give her some space. His hazel eyes quickly travelled over her body, inspecting her for any sign of injury, especially bite marks. “Did it bite you?” he demanded. His voice was urgent but at the same time calm. He bit his lip as he looked down at the girl. She looked okay, but he had been wrong before. He sure as hell hoped the zombie hadn’t managed to get a bite in. That would mean he hadn’t gotten there in time, that he had failed. This thought made his heart sink a little. Besides…if she had been bitten that would mean he would have to shoot her too, and he didn’t particularly want to do that. He hated having to kill innocent people who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[Kiley Harris]

“Oh God, oh God, oh… God…” Kiley gasped as the zombie crawled closer and closer, surprisingly fast considering it was using only its arms to move. By now, she’d sort of given up on her crutches and decided they were only slowing her down, and had let go of them in order to crawl faster.
The zombie still beat her in their little chase though, and before she knew it, it was lying half on top of her and seemingly deciding which part of her was most delicious, and whether or not he wanted to have it now, or safe it for later.

As it was about to lunge down and feast upon her poor, semi-underdeveloped body, Kiley screamed once more. When she heard a gunshot, she screamed louder, and when another sent the zombie collapsing on top of her, she barely had enough energy left to even gasp.
She whimpered incoherently as she pounded her small hands against the zombie’s chest in a meaningless effort to get it off her, letting out a few dramatic little sounds as she did so.
In her panic, she didn’t even think to look around for whoever had shot the zombie for her, nor did she even remember the shooting until she felt a pair of hands grab her and drag her away.
“No! Let go!” she flailed about in an effort to break free. How unfair was that? Survive one zombie attack only to be dragged away by another.

In a moment of clarity, she opened her eyes and noticed the person dragging her didn’t exactly look like a festering corpse and instantly stopped moving.
When he finally let go of her, Kiley just stared and followed him with her gaze – much like a baby who did not yet have the ability to speak – as her mind processed what had just happened in the last few minutes.
“Did it bite you?” he asked her as he looked her over. She continued to stare, not once blinking her eyes, as she slowly shook her head.
For some reason, she couldn’t think about flirting at this time, even if the guy looked pretty handsome and would definitely be the type she’d be all over in any other situation. Good, at least she wasn't completely out of her mind then.
The thought of that zombie being this close to having her for lunch – or breakfast, she really wasn’t sure how late it was – made her visibly shudder.

After staring for a good five minutes, her shock was replaced with euphoria over still being alive and she instantly sat up and smiled brighter than she’d ever smiled before.
“You saved me!” she threw her arms around his leg and hugged them tightly, “You totally saved me! Oh God… that was so awful!” her eyes widened when she remembered the zombie, “Wait, is it dead? Is it going to get back up? Maybe you should bash its head in, just to be sure. You know those horror movies where the villain always survives the first time? Oh no… Where’s my crutch? I’ll do it… No wait, you do it. You can probably hit harder than I can. No wait, don’t go! You know someone always dies when the heroes split up! And I’m too young to die!” She rambled as she continued to cling to the stranger’s legs like a lost puppy.

[Braden Parker]

The girl stared at him with wide eyes, not saying anything. Braden guessed that she was probably in shock from what had just happened. He watched her for a few moments, waiting for her to calm down, and then gave an impatient sigh. He was about to ask her again, demand she tell him immediately, as that would make all the difference if she lived or died, but then she shook her head. Braden let out an audible sigh of relief. Thank god. He had gotten to her in time. The calm feeling only lasted for a second though as something occurred to him. What if the girl was lying? She might not want to tell him, because the second you admitted you had been bitten people went ballistic and tried to kill you. There was also the possibility that she didn’t know she had been bitten, as she seemed to have gone into shock, and such a thing might not have registered in her mind yet.

“You saved me! You totally saved me!”

Suddenly, the girl was active again. The words flew from her mouth with great joy and she grabbed onto his legs, squeezing them. What the hell was she doing? Braden stared down at her, one eyebrow lifted. “You’re welcome?” he said, his words sounding almost like a question. He let the girl grab onto him though, trying to be patient. What was she rambling on about anyway? Her words were coming out so fast that Braden could barely understand. He got something about ‘bashing’ the zombie’s head in, making sure it was dead. “I assure you, miss,” the red-haired man said firmly, “It is dead. And rather than going to check, I suggest that we move to a safer location.” He tried to free himself from the girl’s tight grasp, but with no luck. She was safe now, did she really have to grab him that tightly?

Braden, ignoring most of what the girl was saying, leaned over slightly, at a rather awkard angle, trying to examine the girl for any injuries. She said it hadn’t bit her, but he had to make sure. Her arms looked okay, that was a good sign. Her legs were a little hard to inspect from here, but he couldn’t see any visible blood. “Miss,” he suddenly said, straightening up again, speaking up before she could say anything else. “I’m going to ask you to be quiet now, okay? There could be more zombies about and we don’t want to attract them to us, do we?” He gave her a look, both eyebrows raised, and then lifted a fingers to his lips, a polite way of telling her to ‘shut the hell up.’ Where there was one zombie there were often more, and Braden did not want the girl’s loud babbling to alert any of them. He wasn’t sure how many bullets he had left in his gun, and he would rather not have to deal with any more of the flesh-eating monsters. He knew that they were just husks, shells, of humans, but killing them still sent a shiver down his spine. Whenever he shot one of those cursed beings he always found himself wondering what kind of person they had been, because, after all, the zombies had been people just like him at one point.

Braden turned his attention back to the girl, attempting to pry her from his legs, a hand gently pushing against her shoulder. “Can you stand?” he asked her calmly, hazel eyes meeting hers. His gaze was intent, and though his voice was incredibly relaxed, his eyes were urgent, pleading her to cooperate with him.

[Kiley Harris]

“I assure you, miss,” the red-haired man said firmly, “It is dead. And rather than going to check, I suggest that we move to a safer location.”
“Yes yes, excellent plan!” she nodded in agreement as she peered past him at the zombie, “If it gets up again, we’d better be somewhere else, yeah?”
She looked up at him awkwardly as he twisted himself into all kinds of weird positions to get a better look at her. “Hi, how’s it going?” she asked mockingly, but didn’t release his legs yet. “If you want my number, you’re not going to find it there.”
Oh crap! Number? Where was her phone?!
“Crap-cakes!” she hissed quietly to herself as she moved her hands all over her clothes, hoping she’d put her cell phone into some well-hidden pocket she hadn’t known about or something.

“Miss, I’m going to ask you to be quiet now, okay? There could be more zombies about and we don’t want to attract them to us, do we?”
She nodded absently, not really hearing everything he said. This was a disaster! Her friend must’ve thought she had died or something, she deserved to hear Kiley’s voice telling her she was fine now and she wouldn’t have to send a rescue party.
Of course she should also tell her about this guy she just sort of bumped into, but now was not the best time for that.
She sighed deeply when she couldn’t find the blasted thing. Maybe if she called herself, she’d be able to track it down. “Do you happen to have a cell phone on you? I think I lost mine.”
A slight frown appeared where a smile had previously been. That phone had been expensive too. And she’d gotten so used to those small buttons by now that there was no way she could ever switch to another ever again. It would just feel weird in her hand.

By now her rescuer seemed to have had enough of her clinging and attempted to push her away from his legs.
Haha! Like that was going to work. Maybe she wasn’t the strongest tool in the box, but years of rehabilitation had given her a death grip that would frighten even some super science-fiction robot thing.
But she supposed he had just saved her butt, and so she slowly pulled her hands back in her lap, looking up sheepishly as she did so.
Then he asked her if she could stand or walk, and Kiley thought hard for a second. She truly wasn’t sure if she could, her leg had just more or less abandoned her and it might do so again if she strained it too much.
Honestly, hadn’t this guy hear her mention her crutches? That should be a clear giveaway that she wasn’t very stable on her feet.
“Um… maybe?” she mumbled slowly, “Depends on where you wanna go, I guess…” maybe if it was a short enough distance, she’d be able to do it without her crutch. Maybe.
But then again, why should she leave without it? It was right there… by the zombie.
Right… well, she wasn’t going to go near it again. Maybe she could get this guy to do it for her.
She looked up once more with the sweetest smile and putting some serious effort into looking cute and innocent before pointing over to the zombie. “My crutch is right over there…” she hinted sweetly, “Could you…? Pretty please?”

[Braden Parker]

“Do you happen to have a cell phone on you? I think I lost mine.”

A cell phone? Did those things really still work? “Um, no, I’m sorry, miss,” Braden said apologetically. “I’m afraid that I don’t.” He hadn’t had the luxury of holding such an item for many years now. Soldiers didn’t need cell phones. They had different ways of communication. There wasn’t really time to explain this now though, as standing in the open street for long periods of time wasn’t safe. “Do you need to call someone?” he asked the girl, a questioning look on his face. Perhaps she wanted to talk to her parents? That wasn’t important right now though. She could worry about such trivial things once her life was no longer at stake, which, every second they spent just standing here, it was.

Braden had finally gotten the girl to release his legs, and as she did so, he took a step back, putting a small amount of distance between them. He waited to see if this girl was fit to walk. They needed to take shelter somewhere, and that wasn’t going to happen with her just sitting on the ground like that.

“Um… maybe? Depends on where you wanna go, I guess… My crutch is right over there…Could you…? Pretty please?”

Oh. Braden felt slightly sheepish as he realized that the girl had mentioned the crutch before too. It’s just that she had been saying so much, talking so fast, and somehow it hadn’t registered in his mind. He chewed on his lower lip for a moment, trying to decide what the best course of action to take was. They should really just leave, come back for that crutch later. The only problem was, if they did that, there was a chance of someone, probably a scavenger, stealing the crutch. Braden sighed to himself. “Okay. I’ll get it for you. Stay here, all right?” He gave her a firm look, just daring her to try and follow him, and then set off, moving fast. He doubted she even could follow him, but…whatever.

The former soldier made a quick dash over to where the zombie had fallen, gun still in hand. He grabbed the girl’s crutch that was lying near the entrance of the building, and then quickly moved back to her. Luckily, no zombies jumped out of nowhere to attack him, however, he did hear something clatter inside the house. He stumbled back a step, quickly getting away from the door. His eyes flickered around as he ran, casting anxious glances over his surroundings, and then he skidded to a halt a few steps away from the girl. “We’ve gotta go,” he told her, voice serious. He slung the gun over his back, letting the strap squeeze around his shoulder, and then be bent down, grabbing the girl by her arm and pulling her to her feet. She had a crutch, so that probably meant she wasn’t very fast, or so he was guessing. Braden let out an impatient sigh. He didn’t have time for this right now.

The fiery-haired man set down the girl’s walking aid, letting it rest in the dirt for a moment, and then he grabbed her around her waist. Not really giving her any warning, he proceeded to toss her over his shoulder in the same way he had done with his gun. Then he leaned over, snatching up her crutch, and started walking at a rather brisk pace. “I apologize,” he told her, eyes darting around in search of a good shelter, guessing that she probably wasn’t very comfortable with the way he was carrying her. “But we need to move fast. There was something in that house back there.” He kind of regretted adding the last part, knowing that it would probably make the girl start freaking out again. Please, no. He was used to dealing with panicked citizens, but that didn’t mean that he enjoyed it.

[Kiley Harris]

“Oh bummer…” Kiley sighed as he told her he didn’t have a cell phone. Well, at least it wasn’t entirely her fault if some of the school’s security came looking for her after that panicked phone call from 5 minutes ago…
“Do you need to call someone?”
“No!” Oh crap, she hadn’t meant to sound this sarcastic with the one person who could get her out of this mess. It was as they said: Old habits die hard, and this habit was particularly pesky. “I mean, yes… but it can wait.” She answered finally in an overly sweet voice.
Thankfully the subject quickly went elsewhere when he asked her if she could stand.
“Okay. I’ll get it for you. Stay here, all right?” He gave her a firm look, just daring her to try and follow him.
Normally Kiley would’ve taken that look as a challenge and would’ve at least try to follow just to show people that she could, but this time she figured she’d just listen and wait quietly like a good girl for once. If they happened to run into more zombies later on, she couldn’t have her legs giving in again. Best to just let them rest for now. And so, she just slowly nodded her head before he took off.

And before she knew it, he was back again. Well darn, even if she’d tried, she wouldn’t have even gotten back to her feet before he returned. He was fast! Of course the crutch was only a few large steps away, but still.
“We’ve gotta go,” he told her with a serious voice as he slung his gun over his back, and then bent down to grab her by the arm and pulling her up.
“Um… okay?” did he see something in that house? That had to be the case, why else would he be so tense? Kiley bit her lip for a second and shivered for a moment when she thought about that almost-being-eaten-alive incident. Perhaps it was that thought that saved Kiley’s rescuer from all the stupid comments she could’ve made when he grabbed her and tossed her over his shoulder. Like, ”Normally guys take me out to dinner before sweeping me off my feet!”. This was hardly the right time for such talk.

“I apologize,”
“It’s okay…” she said compliantly as she stared at his back from her hanging position.
“But we need to move fast. There was something in that house back there.”
“Oka- wait what?” she’d kind of expected it, but to hear him actually say it made her panic a little, though she managed to do a pretty good job at keeping herself under control considering the circumstances.
“Did you see it? Because if you just heard something, it might actually be a cute and fluffy cat for all you know!” she laughed nervously as she patted his shoulder, waiting for him to start laughing and admitting that he did see something fluffy in there and realized he was worrying over nothing.
“Right?”

[Braden Parker]

“Oka- wait what? Did you see it? Because if you just heard something, it might actually be a cute and fluffy cat for all you know!”

A nervous laugh followed her words. “Yes, I suppose it could,” Braden told the girl calmly as he rounded a corner. “But that’s doubtful.” While he would have preferred for it to be a cute and fluffy cat, he knew that it was much more likely it was one of the walking corpses. They liked to hide out in there abandoned houses. It was dark in there, and they seemed to like the dark. Braden knew this because he always saw more of them at night than during the day. It was as if the sunlight made them sluggish.

There were more important things for Braden to think about right now though. For instance, where to take cover. None of these houses looked very promising. Most of them were all boarded up. People thought that was safer, to have all the windows blocked, but it really wasn’t. All that did was trap you inside, leaving you with only one escape. If the zombies managed to break in through the door, they would corner you and devour you. Stupid people. Was he the only one with his head screwed on straight? Braden sighed, reminding himself not to think like that, chasing the bitter thoughts from his mind. The citizens who’d put up the boards had been scared, acted out of fear. He knew that. However, he also knew that while fear could be what kept you alive, it could also be what killed you.

Braden heard a noise come from behind him somewhere, a loud thud. It echoed through the alleyways, down the street, making his muscles tense reflexively. There were many things that thud could be, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He broke into a run, which wasn’t as easy as it looked, seeing as, after all, he was carrying a gun, a girl, and a crutch. All those combined got pretty heavy. Luckily, all his training in the military had buffed him up a bit, strengthened him, and he was able to keep going without too much effort.

After a while of running, Braden slowed again, and then stopped, coming to a slow halt. He stood with his back against a house, breathing slightly heavy, catching his breath again. He set the girl he was carrying down now, trying to be gentle as he laid her in the ashen grass that surrounded the house. He tossed her crutch to the side, throwing it to the ground alongside her, and then stepped out into the street for a moment, looking around. He didn’t hear or see anything right now, so he figured they’d be safe. He had been debating on going inside a house, but decided against it for now, not wanting to take any chances.

When Braden was sure that they were alone, he turned back to the girl who had dumped in the dead grass. His eyes scanned her over again, making sure that she hadn’t been bitten. Just as before, he couldn’t see any marks. “What are you doing out here?” he asked her, lifting his eyebrow questioningly. “It’s hardly a safe place for little girls…” He walked back over to her. He rested his back against the side wall of the house they were hiding behind, resting for a moment.

[Kiley Harris]

“Yes, I suppose it could,” he told her calmly and Kiley let out a relieved sigh. See? The situation wasn’t half as dire- “But that’s doubtful.”
Almost as though she’d been punched in the face, her smile dropped and was replaced with a scowl. Couldn’t he have at least pretended everything was fine, just to make her feel better? That would’ve been the nice thing to do.
Maybe this guy just wasn’t nice.
“Right…” she huffed as she went completely limp and just decided to go with the flow. Being carried was a little bit humiliating, especially the way he was carrying her – like a sack of potatoes – but at least she didn’t have to walk. And she was convinced she didn’t need to worry any longer, seeing as this mysterious stranger had a gun. And not even zombies and their flesh-eating skills could win against a bullet.

Just as she was about to close her eyes and take a nap, she suddenly felt the man’s muscles tense under her stomach. She slowly lifted her head to ask what was up, but then he decided to run for reasons unknown, and she was slammed right back down.
“What the-!“ she muffled into his back as she tried her hardest to lift her head again, which proved to be more difficult than initially anticipated, as the gun was now happily swinging around as well, seeming to knock her in the head every now and then.
When he stopped, Kiley finally found the energy to look up again. “What is it? Was it a zombie?!” she asked in a shaky voice as he set her down into the grass before carelessly tossing her crutch onto the ground. She gave him a bewildered look as she grabbed onto it.
What the heck was that?! Did he not know how hard it was to find these types of walking aids in these times? Oh sure, it was just a stick to him, but some people actually needed these things. People like her.

Her lips pressed together as she played around with the item before glaring over at where her rescuer stood. As he turned away from her, she rose it for a moment as though she was about to savagely beat him with it, but quickly lowered it when he turned back, smiling innocently.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked her, lifting his eyebrow questioningly. “It’s hardly a safe place for little girls…” He walked back over to her and rested his back against the side wall of the house they were hiding behind.
“Zombie hunting.” She told him with a perfectly straight face, though her eyes occasionally glanced down at her crutch. She still pondered about whether to at least shove him with it over just tossing it to the ground a minute ago. “Yeah… I don’t need fancy guns though, I have a fantastic weapon right here.” She grinned as she held the crutch above her head like it was some sort of magical sword.
“…But obviously you don’t understand it’s value, tossing it to the ground like that.” she slowly lifted it once again and this time, she actually hit him in the shins. Not hard enough to really do much damage, but hard enough to show she meant business.
“Do you have any idea how important this is? I can’t walk without it, so show some respect... man,” She added awkwardly when she remembered they hadn’t actually been introduced, “But thanks for the help.” She smiled sheepishly as she pushed herself back to her feet and wiped off her clothes.

“So…” she leaned beside the man against the wall and grinned up at him, “How does your girlfriend feel about you sweeping other ladies off their feet? Hmm?” she waited until he’d look at her and then winked, forgetting about her anger from a minute ago and blatantly flirting with the man. He’d already checked to make sure there weren’t zombies around, so now was as good a time as any, she figured.

[Braden Parker]

“Zombie hunting.”

Braden lifted an eyebrow, a very dubious look on his face. “What?” he muttered, voice a little flat. Obviously this girl thought it was funny to mess with him. Honestly, it was not the time to be making jokes like that. They were safe for the moment, but there was still the chance that any moment now a zombie could appear. The rotting corpses had a habit of doing that. The second you started to think that you were safe, that they weren’t going to get you, one would appear out of the shadows and grab you, probably biting you in the neck, the most exposed and lethal part of the body. Braden swept his hazel eyes around the area as he thought this, though he still didn’t see anything. If they were quiet, they might be lucky, maybe no zombies would find them. He could do that, but the question was, could this girl?

“Are you joking with me?” he asked with a sigh, taking another step toward her. He now stood just a few steps in front of her, though he towered above her. She was now holding her crutch above her head, saying that she didn’t need a gun to fight off zombies, that she just used that crutch of hers. Yeah, he was sure that worked really well. “Then why doesn’t it have any blood stains on it? Surely if you have been slaying hordes of zombies it would be quite grotesque looking.” he asked in a challenging tone, letting his lips curve up in a very small grin. He wasn’t sure he liked this girl’s confidence or not. While it was good to be sure of oneself, it could also be quite dangerous, especially in a climate like this. One had to be careful, cautious, always alert of their surroundings.

"But obviously you don’t understand it’s value, tossing it to the ground like that. Do you have any idea how important this is? I can’t walk without it, so show some respect... man.”

It was then that Braden realized why the girl had the crutch. Something must be wrong with her leg, she must be a cripple. He instantly felt a little bad for just tossing it on the ground so roughly. He knew that medical supplies were hard to come across in this day and age. “I’m sorry about that,” he told her to get it off his conscience. “I was just in a hurry.” He gave a quiet sigh, reaching up and adjusting his grip on his gun, slinging it farther over his shoulder. “And there is no need to thank me,” he added as the girl thanked him. This was the truth, as there really wasn’t. Unlike most of the people who were running around the streets, Braden actually wanted to help the other citizens. Everyone seemed to have this stupid idea that it was every man for themselves, but honestly, if they only worked together more, things might be more peaceful. Their small brains would never understand that though. They were much too self-absorbed to comprehend something like assisting another.

“So… How does your girlfriend feel about you sweeping other ladies off their feet? Hmm?”

Braden just stared at the girl as she winked at him. Huh? What was she doing? Was she trying to flirt with him? He rolled his eyes, but chuckled a little. He really had no idea how to reply. He thought about being sarcastic, but then he decided against it, as he was unable to think of a good comeback. Maybe if he actually had a girlfriend it would help. He didn’t though. War was not the appropriate time to be starting relationships. His only relationship was with his gun. It had been with him for years now, longer than any human ever had, or ever would. “I’m sure she’ll be furious,” he told the girl next to him, remembering she was still standing there. It was a lie, but a pathetic one. Oh well, let her think what she would. He really didn’t care.

[Kiley Harris]

“Are you joking with me? Then why doesn’t it have any blood stains on it? Surely if you have been slaying hordes of zombies it would be quite grotesque looking.” he asked in a challenging tone, letting his lips curve up in a very small grin.
Kiley mimicked his expression and swung her crutch around playfully, almost hitting Braden in the face as she did so.
“Well, I clean it, obviously.” She rolled her eyes and poked him annoyingly in the shoulder, “Why? Don’t you ever clean your gun? For shame, mister. If you don’t clean it properly, it might jam on you later.” At least… that’s what she assumed would happen, she’d never had a gun before in her life, so she could really only guess.

“I’m sorry about that, was just in a hurry.” He gave a quiet sigh, reaching up and adjusting his grip on his gun, slinging it farther over his shoulder. “And there is no need to thank me,”
“Mhmm… That’s what I thought too.” she nodded her head thoughtfully before getting to her feet, “So you don’t need a reward then?” Good, because she was pretty broke, and it wasn’t like there were many stores still in use during these times. None, in fact. “I was going to give you something really special too…” something really special, something you couldn't buy off anyone, "My eternal gratitude~!" Because really, who could possibly need gifts when they had something as amazing and 'valuable' as that?

“I’m sure she’ll be furious,”
Kiley’s expression turned flat then. Dammit! That’s not the reaction she’d hoped for! She’d hoped he would get all flustered and embarrassed and blushing and all that. Why wasn’t he cooperating?
Unless he really did have a girlfriend, in which case, this would likely be an appropriate response. Hmm…
“Ah…” she replied, really not believing this guy to have a girlfriend. If he had a girlfriend, why was he out here instead of living with her in a safer place? Maybe his girlfriend was a real beast, and could take care of herself?
Kiley snorted at the thought of this big, angry and above all, hairy woman walking down the street and beating holes into zombie’s heads, but then looked a little worried when she thought about what the woman would do if she saw puny little Kiley flirting with her man.
She shuddered at the thought, and figured she’d take the safe route and drop the subject in case such a woman actually existed. She was far too young to die. Especially in such a gruesome fashion.
“R-Right…” she coughed, trying to shake the bad thoughts away. “So why are you here then? Are you a soldier?”

[Braden Parker]

Braden rolled his eyes as the girl told him that yes, obviously she cleaned the beaten up crutch of hers, proceeding to ask if he cleaned his gun. “Of course I do,” he replied with a sigh. He’d been hoping to get to admit to her little lie, or what he thought was a little lie, but she remained stubborn in her resolve, seeming to be sticking to her story. Fine, whatever, he didn’t care. Braden knew the truth. “I’ve never met a cripple that could hunt zombies before,” he added, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. He said the comment lightly, not meaning it in a rude way, but rather a teasing way. “Impressive.” Most handicapped people didn’t take comments like that well, himself included. This girl seemed tough though, so he figured that it wouldn’t bother her too much, and if it did she’d get over it soon enough.

“So you don’t need a reward then?”

“Nope.”

“I was going to give you something really special too…My eternal gratitude~!”

“Oh yay.”

Braden took little interest in the next part of dialogue that they exchanged, his last words obviously sarcastic. Yay indeed, just what he had always wanted: a girl’s eternal gratitude. It was hard to tell if she was even being serious. She better be. While Braden would help anyone, he did appreciate it when the people he saved were actually thankful for his help. He remembered just a few weeks ago he’d tried to assist a group of teenagers, only to have one of them end up shooting him and taking his supplies. He’d nearly died from the wounds those kids had inflicted on him, and if he hadn’t run into that one nurse on the streets, he probably would have. That had been lucky, no, more than lucky. That had been a miracle. Braden sighed at the memories of the prior weeks, doing his best to push them to the back of his mind. Ungrateful little bastards… Still though, he found himself aiding the other survivors. Not necessarily because he cared about their lives, but because it made him feel better about himself, because it made him feel like a hero rather than a villain.

The girl snorted at something, probably what Braden had said about his imaginary girlfriend. He didn’t really care if the girl believed him or not though. That didn’t matter. He wasn’t even sure why he had said that anyway, maybe just to play along with her so she didn’t get the crazy idea about asking him any more questions.

“So why are you here then? Are you a soldier?”

The fiery-haired man, who had seemed rather uninterested through most of their conversation, if it could even be called that, suddenly turned his head all the way to face the girl. “What? How did you…?” He stared at her for a moment, eyes widening ever so slightly, and then he looked away again. Ah, that’s right, he was wearing a military uniform, of course she would ask him something like that. Braden sometimes forgot that he still dressed like a soldier, that those were the only clothes he had. He chewed on his lower lip for a few long moments before answering, thinking over what to say. Finally, he decided that the truth would be best, as he saw no reason to lie about this question. “I used to be,” he told the girl with a distant look in his eyes, voice a little quiet now. “Not anymore though.” He hoped to god that she wouldn’t question him about this, because it wasn’t something he liked talking about. He’d tell her if he asked, because he was a truthful person, but that didn’t mean that he’d enjoy it.

Before she had any time to ask questions, hopefully, Braden spoke again, changing the subject. “Anyway, enough about me. It’s going to be dark soon, so we need to get out of the streets. Where are you staying, zombie slayer?”

[Kiley Harris]

“Of course I do,” the man replied with a sigh, as though he was a little irritated. Kiley wasn’t that easily intimidated or anything though, and so she just rolled her eyes right back at him.
“Well…” she started carefully, trying her best not to laugh at what she was about to say, “Why ask such a silly question then? Just because I’m not some tough, six feet tall soldier man doesn’t mean I don’t know about proper weapon care.” She did now at least, after a lucky guess.
But if she’d guessed it correctly right away, then that meant she already knew it even if she wasn’t completely sure of it. So the statement was kind of true… kind of. Kind of was more than enough for her though, it was like ‘kind of’ surviving a fall or something. Sure, you could’ve been better off, but at least you weren’t dead. And not being dead was a good thing! If you reasoned long enough, everything could be turned into something positive, most likely.

“I’ve never met a cripple that could hunt zombies before, Impressive.”
For a moment, Kiley gave him a somewhat surprised look. Wow… had he just outright called her cripple? That was a big difference from what she was used to. Most people liked to give it all sorts of pet names, like ‘Ohhh Kiley, you’re special!’ or pretending her situation wasn’t really that bad in an attempt to make her feel better about herself.
Bunch of idiots, really. Like her being barely able to get up a staircase without some serious extra effort was something fun, something to be proud of. And like the girl didn’t know in her heart that she was weaker than most, and most certainly different.
It wasn’t until he called her skill ‘impressive’ that she opened her mouth though, leaning back and smirking to herself, “Technically, I’m only half cripple.” She told him very matter of factly, “I can actually walk, just not very far without Betsy.” She gave her crutch a gentle pat.
Of course her crutch didn’t have a name, but all the army guys gave their guns names, she figured she’d join the club. Though… perhaps she needed to rethink the name, Betsy really didn’t sound like something that could kill you, if she were to ever even use the device for such a purpose. Then again, maybe that was a beautiful thing! Imagine getting killed by a cripple girl and a crutch named Betsy! If that zombie had any brain function left at all, he’d likely die of embarrassment.

Maybe that last revelation would get some sort of response out of him. So far, he’d made it perfectly clear that he was just being a good Samaritan by not letting a zombie swallow her whole, but otherwise wanted nothing to do with her. He hadn’t even looked at her yet, instead opting to just glance out of the corner of his eye.
“What? How did you…?”
When she switched subjects and asked him if he was a soldier, his head suddenly turned in her direction. She knew, because she’d taken to eye-corner glancing as well.
She turned to look at him with a surprised expression and blinked, slowly tilting her head an inch. What? It was a good question!
She continued to stare at him, and then pointed at a few obvious things with just her gaze. The uniform, for one. Second, most regular people didn’t have guns, or did they? The people she knew didn’t.
“I used to be,” he told Kiley with a distant look in his eyes, voice a little quiet now. “Not anymore though.”
“Ah…” she nodded understandingly, but quickly let curiosity get the better of her, “Why did you qui-“

“Anyway, enough about me. It’s going to be dark soon, so we need to get out of the streets. Where are you staying, zombie slayer?”
Well… that was a clever tactic! Kiley would be the first to admit that she could be persistent when wanting to know things, and she only got more annoying when people seemed to be hiding things.
When he mentioned the dark, and how they’d need to get out of the streets, which strongly suggested he suspected the zombies would come out then, any idea of further questioning him exploded.
Kiley’s eyes widened some as she looked up at the sky. It was true, the daylight wouldn’t last much longer. Oh hell… she didn’t want to be here when the zombies came out.
“Umm…” she coughed nervously, letting her eyes scan the area, before coming to the shocking conclusion that she really hadn’t the slightest clue of where they even were.
“Well, I… I go to school near here, but… I kind of, maybe… don’t know which way it is right now?”

She’d never really gotten all that familiar with this city, heck, you could ask her where some important monument was and she wouldn’t be able to tell you, even if it stood right next to her school. She’d kind of had other things to worry about than random locations.
She bit her lip hard enough to draw some blood when she thought about the zombies. Seeing as she couldn’t give this guy a proper description to her school, would he choose to run off and find shelter for himself, leaving her behind?
Her entire attitude and stance took a change for the worse. If he were to do that, he might as well kill her now, because there was no way she’d survive an attack. She couldn’t even fend off one of the things, let alone a group of them.

Surely he knew she was just kidding when she’d called her crutch a murder weapon? Even if she did have the arm strength to make a decent sweep, in order to really hit something hard, you needed to have a solid foundation so you wouldn’t tumble over. This was something Kiley completely lacked.
She knew it was selfish, but, well, humans were selfish beings in general. And this situation was kind of dire, too dire to act proud and pretend she’d be able to make it on her own.
“You… you aren’t going to leave me here, are you?” her voice dropped at a few points, “If you do, I’ll die! Please don’t let me die…” she whispered sadly, now grabbing onto one of his arms and giving him a pleading look, “Please…?”

[Braden Parker]

“Technically, I’m only halfcripple,” the girl informed him. “I can actually walk, just not very far without Betsy.”

Braden lifted his eyebrows, watching as she patted her crutch. “Betsy?” he snorted. “It has a name?” Really, who actually named their weapons? Well, he supposed there’d been a few guys back at the military base, but they had both been a little insane. He supposed war could do crazy things to people though.The corner of his mouth curved upward in the beginning of a grin. The girl might have been a little annoying, but at least she was amusing. Braden was going to guess that she’d just made that name up on the spot, or at least judging by the look on her face. Did she know how much her expressions gave away?

Braden hadn’t missed the question the girl had started to ask him, the one about why he’d quit the army. His next comment had come just in time though, swiftly moving the subject along, which, as far as he was concerned, was a good thing. He would tell people if they asked him, as he didn’t like lying, but that didn’t mean that he enjoyed telling them. His experiences in the army were ones he preferred to keep in the back of his mind. He would forget them if he could, but he found that was impossible, no matter how hard he tried.

“Umm…Well, I… I go to school near here, but… I kind of, maybe… don’t know which way it is right now?”

Wow, well that was helpful. She went to school near here. Braden waited, hoping that the girl might say more, but she didn’t. Well, that was just great. He knew there was a high school a little ways up the road, but he was pretty sure that building had been deserted for months now, so that couldn’t have been it. It wasn’t really safe to attend school in this part of the city. “That’s helpful,” he muttered, readjusting his grip on the gun that was slung over his shoulder. Of course, when he made the comment, he was being sarcastic. It had been a long day, and Braden wasn’t in the most cheerful of moods.

“You… you aren’t going to leave me here, are you? If you do, I’ll die! Please don’t let me die…Please…?”

The girl’s tone changed dramatically, and suddenly she was begging Braden not to leave her, grabbing desperately onto his arm as if that might keep him there. He rolled his eyes, a quiet sigh escaping his lips. Did she actually think that he was just going to leave her there? That would have made his previous efforts of rescuing her pointless, so of course he wouldn’t just ditch her. Unlike most of the cruel bastards that roamed the streets, he actually had a conscience, he actually had a heart. “Why do you need me?” he asked. “You’ve got Betsy to protect you.” He nodded at the crutch. Of course, as Braden had already figured, this girl couldn’t actually fight zombies, and the tough act had all been a charade. “I thought you had some mad zombie slaying skills. What happened to that?”

Braden let his words wink in, and as he did so, he slowly removed the girl’s fingers from his arm. He was making the impression that he was leaving, and he even went as far as to walk a few steps away from her. He stopped though, and then glanced over his shoulder at the girl behind him, turning to face her once again. “So, this school of yours,” he mused quietly, “What’s it look like?”

[Kiley Harris]

“Betsy?” he snorted. “It has a name?”
Kiley grinned proudly when she noticed the man almost grinning himself. Yes! Finally, she’d gotten a response out of him! For a moment there, she thought it wasn’t going to happen, that she’d finally found someone who wouldn’t be amused by her antics. Thankfully, she still had it. Phew…
“Why, of course it does! I go with the times!” she announced cheerfully before nodding at his gun, “Wait… let me guess your gun’s name…” she scratched her chin thoughtfully.
He’d sounded surprised that she’d named her crutch, so maybe he didn’t join in on the whole ‘This gun is the only friend you’ll have from now on’ crap they spouted in those boot camps?
“Is it… Melissa?” she guessed off the top of her head, “Or are you one of those tough guys who name their gun ‘Manslayer’ or something cliché like that?”

From that point on, the mood only went south. First, she couldn’t give proper directions towards her school, second, he complained about her not being able to do that, and then he rolled his eyes when she practically begged him not to abandon her here, since it would likely mean her death.
He sighed quietly before nodding at her crutch, “Why do you need me?” he asked. “You’ve got Betsy to protect you.”
Oh God… was he serious? He didn’t strike her as stupid, but maybe she’d been mistaken if he honestly thought she was a zombie hunter. “I thought you had some mad zombie slaying skills. What happened to that?”
“I… that’s…” Kiley frowned and gave him a sad look. Aw come on! He had to be kidding her! Now he was just messing with her.
Uh oh, maybe he was mad because she’d scolded him before over her crutch, or because she’d flirted with him, or because she laughed at his fake girlfriend! Crap crap crap! In hindsight, she hadn’t exactly acted like the perfect, silent victim that just did what her rescuer wanted. Maybe he was fed up with her.

Her suspicions were only confirmed when he reached out and attempted to pry her fingers off his arm. Hell no she was going to let go just like that though, as he tried to move her hand away, she persistently switched hands and grabbed onto his arm with her other hand. “No wait… you can’t do that…” she pleaded before he finally managed to break free for her grip of doom and began to walk away.
Honestly, Kiley felt flabbergasted. What kind of jerk ass leaves a poor, crippled high school student girl person all by herself? Fuck it if chivalry wasn’t dead!
“You’re mean! And cruel! If I die, I’ll haunt you forever, you meany!” she squealed after him, obviously more afraid than angry, “Even if God himself appears to me and promises me eternal happiness in heaven, I’ll still choose to stay here as a ghost to make your life miserable! I-I really will! Don’t try me!” she pointed a shaking finger and a glare after him, though it likely would’ve had more effect if he’d actually seen her do it.
To her surprise, he did stop after a moment though. Great! Now was her chance!
“I’m too young to die…” she whined, burying her face in her hands to sound extra dramatic. “Don’t leave meee…” somewhere between half crying and pleading for her life, all of this taking place in her own head, she thought she heard him say something.

“What’s it look like?” he asked, and Kiley gave him a funny look. What did what look like?
Maybe she should’ve paid attention to what he was saying rather than despairing. It was his fault for being a jerk though. Wait… was this another jerk remark? Was this a jab at her heaven remark? Was he pretending she was already dead?
“I don’t know what it looks like!” she hissed angrily, completely missing the point, “And I’m not going to find out any time soon either, because my sole purpose after death will be to torment the jerk who indirectly killed me!”

[[OOC: Sorry, I couldn't resist. Feel free to move the next post along by pretending she told him what the building looked like after that misunderstanding.]]