I raced to her. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Your boyfriend will be fine. I missed." She rolled her eyes at me.

She was tall with long black hair and olive skin. She was beautiful, but cold. I could see that easily. She wore all black, including tall black boots, not unliked he ones I wore.

"Shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up. Why did you shoot him?"

"Thought he was a walker." She shrugged.

"Jacob!" Callie cried, getting out of the car.

Nicole and Callie ran towards the foot of the stairs.

I raised my gun at the mysterious woman. "Don't you dare shoot them."

"Wouldn't dream of it." She said, flatly. The flicker in her eyes betrayed just how hollow her words were. "Look, your friend up there looks like he might need some help."

She was right. He was going to need to get that wound cleaned ASAP.

Jacob's face was pale as he stumbled down the stairs, clearly woozy.

"I'm alright." He said, weakly. I didn't believe him. I knew how it felt to be shot, but both times I'd been merely grazed. His went through.

"Y'all aren't from round here, are you?" She asked.

"No. I take it you are?" I kept my gun pointed at her while Nicole tried to support Jacob.

"Yes, and my pals and I don't take kindly to strangers."

"No shit Sherlock."

"They're gonna wanna meet you." The way her hand twitched on her gun reminded me of the Baltia soldiers, as if she always got what she wanted, by force or otherwise.

And it just took that second to realize where I was again. It was like Baltia. She was hoping to take us.

She would delay my meeting with Jake. My blood boiled, racing as it coursed through my veins.

She had shot Jacob. She was a threat to my friends.

"Too bad." I aimed my gun at her thigh. I didn't hesitate.

Bang! The shot rang out.

That gave me enough time to run to meet the girls as they helped Jacob into the car. I fished the keys from his pocket and slid into the seat next to him.

"Nicole, you drive. Get us somewhere safe so I can patch him up."

She hit the gas as I began to fish around for a first aid kit.

"I'm okay, Locke." He tried to smile and it turned into a grimace.

"Bullshit." I shook my head. "The bullet didn't go all the way through. That must hurt like hell."

He nodded before wincing in pain.

"Hey, hey, you're gonna be alright. You're going to be alright." Suddenly I was trembling. My hands and my voice shook.

I took a deep breath. I would not be a good doctor if I couldn't handle the pressure and I had to be able to handle the pressure.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to take off your jacket. I need to be able to patch you up." I helped Jacob peel off his leather jacket, as he tried not to wince in pain.

I reached for the first aid kit, placing the alcohol wipes on top of the pile, for later. I pulled out some gauze, wrapping it in a pack. I pressed it to Jacob's shoulder.

"I have to take the bullet out." I spoke slowly, as if fearing my own words. "And I don't think it's safe to do that while the fourteen year old is driving, so please hold tight."

Jacob placed his hand over mine as I squeezed his shoulder. "I think you're more freaked out than I am."

I shook my head. "How are you coherent right now?"

"One of us is has to be."

"This isn't funny." I bit my lip. "She shot you."

"Tis but a scratch." He smiled weakly, but it was clear the color was quickly draining from his face.

"Nic, see anywhere?"

"Uhhhhh yeah. There's a house up ahead. Looks easy to enter, but out of the way enough it's probably people and zombie free."

"Hurry." I demanded. "Do you need a joke to lighten the mood?"

Jacob winced some more as he moved. "No but I think you might."

I bit my lip, deciding to make conversation to try and keep myself clear. "I really wish I could put you under anesthesia. I didn't ever expect to operate on a fully awake patient."

"Expect?"

"I've wanted to be a doctor since I was little. I considered surgeon, specifically, and now... Let's see how good I am at it."

Jacob's hand squeezed mine. "I know I'm in capable hands."

He was just saying that to calm my nerves, but I appreciated the thought. It wasn't fair that he was so calm about this and I just couldn't be! It wasn't fair.

Nicole took a sharp turn as we pulled into the driveway of a little house outside of town.

Time to fix up our driver. Time for some real life experience.

😅 Soooooo I'm super late I know. I had a lot of motivation for the first half and then kinda... Couldn't figure out how to end it. I'm sorry! That's my bad! I hope you enjoyed and I hope now you feel a bit better at seeing Jacob doing... Okay, considering the circumstances. Leave your thoughts in the comments, please! Thanks for reading!
~Oz