Chapter 10:

I threw my body to the ground as people started shooting. I heard others get up and begin shooting back at the newcomers. I crawled away and readied my pistol.
I shot a round, killing two of the newcomers. They collapsed, tripping up a couple of the others.
Everyone began huddling or getting out. I screamed for everyone to get out. I stood up and smacked someone upside the head with my gun. They collapsed, unconscious. I pushed the group out the door, making sure everyone got out.
I suddenly felt a fist lash out at me. It caught me off guard and I collapsed a little. They kicked me and I quickly tried to get back up. I swung my gun at them and they collapsed.
My cheek was already starting to swell. But, I ran out of the building after everyone got out. I saw them in different places around the street. Most of them had their guns at ready pointing at the doors.
I sighed out in relief. Nobody died. I gathered the group together and quickly led them away from the building.
We got about a half mile away when I heard commotion erupt behind me. I heard some of the people call for names but I didn't listen until after they called the third name.
"Gavin? Where's Gavin?" I heard Meg shout.
I swiftly turned around and looked back at the group.
I figured out Millie, Gavin and Rebecca, Jack's daughter, was missing. I felt my heart begin to drop. Gavin wasn't here. He couldn't have gotten far with his ankle. Hopefully, the girls were with him.
"Geoff, Jack and I will look for them. The rest of you try to find shelter," I ordered. I led Geoff and Jack back down the street.

I awoke to a giant headache. I sat up and felt my head, feeling a bump. Oh right. Someone punched me.
I checked the rest of my body, feeling it was intact. I stood up slowly, being tentative of my ankle. I looked around the dark room that held my group not to long ago.
I heard crying. Tiny, high pitched crying. I looked over at the boxes and limped over to them, hearing the crying get louder.
"Hello?" I asked slowly. The crying stopped and I saw two little heads poke out.
I recognized them as Millie and Rebecca. They ran over to me and hugged me tightly, causing me to fall over.
"The group. They left. And we thought you were dead," They bawled. I pet back their hair and shushed them.
"It's okay. It's alright now, I'm here. We'll find the group, don't worry," I told them gently. They stopped crying and looked up at me, as if waiting for an order.
"Come on. We've gotta go and try to find the group," I told them.
I led them out of the building. They looked up at me, confused, and I realized they both held their mothers hands when walking with the group. I gripped their tiny hands in mine and led them to the forest. Michael told me that's where he was gonna led the group the next day. So, if they went anywhere, it was there.
I heard the girls begin crying and calling out for their mother and fathers. I felt my heart break a little. Poor girls. They just wanted their parents. And I wanted Michael.
I led them into the forest and looked around. They gripped my hands tighter when we heard noises erupt from the forest.
"Girls, if you see a walker what do you do?" I asked them. They looked at me curiously.
"Run?" Rebecca squeaked. I smiled and nodded.
"Correct. What if you hear a walker?" I asked them.
"Locate it," Millie said. I nodded again and began walking again.

It was going on nightfall and the girls were tired. I found a tall tree and I figured it was probably better to sleep up there than the ground.
I pulled myself up the tree, latching myself onto the branches. Thank god I was skinny, otherwise I probably wouldn't have been able to do this.
I reached a hand out to Millie and hauled her up, Rebecca following closely behind. I began climbing the tree higher, hoping to find a good place to sleep.
I placed my foot on a branch and I felt a sharp pain shoot through my hurt ankle. I slipped and nearly fell, almost knocking the girls off with me. I held onto the branch above my head, keeping me from falling. I hauled myself back up and got a foothold. The girls watched me with fear as I made a face to hide the growing pain in my ankle.
"I'm fine. Just my ankle," I muttered through clenched teeth.
I continued up the tree until I found a grove. I pulled myself up and sat in it, the girls following closely behind me. Millie sat in my lap while Rebecca curled up next to me. I wrapped my arms around them, holding them close to me.
"Gavin, are you gonna protect us now?" Millie asked me.
"Yes. I will always protect you," I told them. Millie smiled and I watched as tears streamed down her face.
"I miss my mommy," She cried. I shushed her and cradled her in my arms.
"I know you do. We'll find them soon, I promise," I told her. She nodded and closed her eyes, falling asleep almost instantly. Rebecca fell asleep next to me and I figured I would stay up, just to make sure we'd be okay.
I wondered if Michael and the group was actually looking for us. Maybe they just assumed we'd died during the attack and continued on without us. I wouldn't blame them if they did. That attack was pretty serious and I would be surprised if nobody died.
But the thing about that attack, was that the people wore the same advanced equipment that the group that attacked the building wore. If they were linked, then we could be getting tracked by them. If that were the case, we were screwed and would have to surrender or something. The group wasn't prepared for a war.
I pulled out my gun and turned it over in my hands. I really didn't know why I continued to carry this around. I didn't use it. I didn't like guns. Hell, if I had to use one I'd probably miss.
I looked at Millie, curled up in my lap. She'd have good use for it. Maybe I'd give it to her as long as she didn't abuse it.
I sighed and waited out the long night, until I finally drifted off to sleep.

I trudged through the forest with Millie and Rebecca following closely behind me. They were hungry and tired, I knew that. I had been trying to find something for them to eat all morning and I had no luck at all.
I looked around the clearing we were in. I heard a rustle in the bushes and pointed my knife at it. The girls hid behind me and latched themselves to my legs. I pet Millie's hair while the rustling continued.
Suddenly, I heard a high pitched scream. I spun around and forgot about the rustling. I looked down at the girls and saw them look at me with fearful expressions.
All that went through my head was, I had to help them. I grabbed the girls and turned them back to back. They looked at me with confused and scared expressions and I kneeled before Millie and handed her my pistol.
"What's going on?"
"What are you doing?"
They asked me those questions repeatedly. I just looked both of them in the eyes and gripped their shoulders.
"If you see a walker what do you do?" I asked them quickly.
"Run," They both told me.
"If you hear one?"
"Locate it," They whispered.
"Alright. Now you two are watching each other's backs. I'll be right back," I told them. I heard them begin to whimper and beg me not to go.
"I'll he right back, I promise. If something happens, you scream. I'll hear you," I told them before dashing off toward the scream.
My ankle was slowing me down but I could honestly care less. I dragged it along with me and I readied my knife.
I broke into an open area, realizing it was a railroad. I saw a woman and young boy fighting off a horde of walkers. I ran over to them and jammed my knife into one of the walkers skulls. It died instantly and I pulled my knife out and pushed the walker down. The woman shoved another walker down while the little boy kicked at some of the dead ones.
I threw my knife at the last walkers head. I retrieved my knife and looked over the woman and boy.
They looked alike so I figured she was the mother to the boy. The woman clutched onto the boy and I walked toward her.
"Thank you. Thank you so much. How can we ever repay you?" She asked me in a thick southern accent.
I instantly thought of how hungry Millie and Rebecca were. I looked at the young boy and noticed he was holding a backpack. They had to have food.
"Do you have food?" I asked them. The woman quickly nodded and the boy fished into his backpack and grabbed an apple and orange. I smiled and gratefully took them.
"Thank you. Now, you watch out. Walkers are everywhere here," I told them. I slid my knife back in it's holster and started back into the forest.
"Wait!" The woman yelped. I turned around and saw her slowly approach me again.
"We... We need a group. Please, let us come with you. You seem to know what you're doing but we don't. Please," The woman begged me.
I eyed her for a moment. She seemed to be telling the truth. But I still didn't trust her. I looked down at the food and wondered whether or not I should let her come.
"Are you carrying any weapons?" I asked. They both shook their heads.
I wasn't sure if they were lying or not so I pat them down. They weren't. I decided to let them come along.
"If you're coming along, then I'd like to hear your story," I told them. The woman nodded and walked next to me.
"My names Gertrude, but you can call me Gerdy, and this is Oscar. We were originally in our house until it got raided so we moved onto the street. We were briefly with someone else but we eventually had to leave. So we've been on the road since then," Gertrude explained. I listened carefully, taking in every bit of information.
"What about you?" Oscar asked me.
"Well, my names Gavin. And I'm actually out here with two girls that were apart from our group. We got separated from them when we were attacked and we've been trying to find where they went," I explained. Gertrude nodded and gripped Oscar's hand.
I slowly walked into the clearing that I left the girls in. Millie pointed the pistol at me but calmed when she saw it was me. I smiled and kneeled down when they ran up to me and hugged me.
"You're okay!" Rebecca squealed happily. I nodded and stood back up. Becky and Millie were staring at the newcomers curiously before looking up at me.
"This is Gerdy and Oscar. They were the ones that screamed. They'll be joining our little group until we find the others," I explained to them. They smiled and nodded and we began walking again.

"So, Gavin, do you know the leader of the group you were apart of?" Gerdy asked me.
"Yeah. Actually pretty well. He rescued me when my best mate and I were surrounded by walkers. My mate wasn't as lucky as I was, but he led me to safety. We became pretty close friends after that," I explained. Gerdy nodded and walked a little closer to me.
"He isn't evil, right? Because the last group I was in... The leader was a little... Sick, if you know what I mean," Gerdy whispered to me. I shook my head quickly.
"No, Michael, that's the leader, he's very kind. He gets a little angry sometimes but it's just his nature. He wouldn't do anything to anyone," I told her. Gerdy smiled and nodded.
We continued in silence. Millie, Rebecca, and Oscar were talking quietly together, getting to know each other. I listened to Oscar talk a little, making sure his mom wasn't lying about anything.
"Gavin!"
I shot my head up. Was it one of the people in the group saying my name? I looked back and saw them continuing to talk. It wasn't them.
"Millie!"
"Becky!"
I instantly recognized the voices. I looked back at the girls and they looked at me. They heard them too.
"Daddy!" Millie called back.
Rebecca and Mille ran ahead of me. I followed closed behind them, being slower because of my ankle. Gerdy and Oscar followed at a distance behind me, which was probably better.
I burst into a meadow, still following the girls. I spotted the three men that were calling for us. Millie and Becky screamed for their parents excitedly and ran to them. I saw Michael smile at the girls and dart his gaze up to mine when he noticed I was there.
Everything was in slo mo for me from then, which was ironic considering I used to do that for a living. Michael sprinted towards me and I carefully jogged towards him. He quickly wrapped me up in his arms and I snaked my arms around him as well, holding him as tightly as I could.
I heard the rustle of grass as Gerdy and Oscar came forward. I heard Michael's breath hitch and his pistol being pointed at them. He still held me in an iron tight grip, but this time I felt as though it was more of a protecting grip.
"Michael," I breathed gently, trying to calm him down.
I managed to wiggle out of his grip and stand next to him. I pushed the gun down gently and pulled his head towards mine.
"They are safe. I already searched them for weapons, and they have none. They're in need of a group. Perhaps they could stay with us?" I questioned.
Michael gazed into my eyes for a moment too long. Geoff and Jack nudged him, trying to get him to answer me. He blinked his eyes a few times and turned back to Gerdy and Oscar.
"Is there anymore of you?" Michael asked tightly.
"No. It's just us," Gerdy told him. She clutched onto Oscar as Michael swept his gaze over both of them.
After a few moments, Michael turned back to me.
"Do you think they should stay with us?" He asked me. I smiled slightly and nodded.
With that, Michael nodded too and turned around to round up Geoff and Jack and their daughters.
I stumbled along after Michael. My ankle was throbbing and it hurt like hell. Michael noticed my discomfort and turned to me. He pulled my arm up so it rested around his shoulders. I looked at him in confusion until he bent down and picked up my legs. I blushed slightly as he began walking with me in his arms.
Geoff and Jack nodded and continued to follow Michael. I was surprised they didn't question why Michael was doing this but I was grateful for their lack of question.
We continued walking until we made it back to the edge of the city. Michael led the group up to a vacant building and I was instantly greeted by the group. Griffon and Caiti instantly embraced their children and started crying. Many different people greeted me happily and Michael set me down. Michael beckoned to Barbara and they led me to a secluded corner.
Barbara and Michael started examining my ankle. It hurt a bit and Michael announced that they'd have to set it somehow, otherwise it wouldn't heal.
They ended up using two chair legs and some shoe laces. They tied them tight around my ankle and I yelped. The pressure was intense but I fought the urge to loosen the knots.
Michael once again propped up my ankle and massaged it, making me momentarily forget about the pain continuing to throb through my ankle.
I looked over at Gerdy and Oscar, seeing them get accepted into the group quite quickly. It was nice to see them smiling and greeting everyone from the group.
I looked back down at Michael and saw him looking at me lovingly. I returned his gaze and brushed my fingers through his curls.
"I love you," Michael whispered.
"I love you too," I purred back.
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This chapter was almost 3,000 words long! What is life?
Anyway, thanks for reading! I really hope you guys are enjoying this! To be honest, I think this is my favorite story out of the ones of posted. I've got some more stories that I haven't posted that I really like but you know. I'll post them soon when I get some more chapters done for some of my other stories. Thanks for reading though! I really appreciate it! Please leave some feedback as well! It makes me so happy to see comments and stuff. I can't tell you how happy I get when I see my little notification thing pop up and it says I have a new comment on one of my stories. So please keep leaving feedback.
This is a long ass authors note, am I right?
Anyway, thanks for reading (again) and I hope you enjoyed (again). Please leave some feedback be it'll be greatly appreciated!
P.S. Now this story is over 3,000 words. That's the only reason I was repeating the same shit over and over again.