This Broken City Sky

"Thanks for actually agreeing to come with me..." Dylan told Frank out of the tense silence that had settled over the room the next afternoon.
"Don't worry about it." He murmured in reply, and jerked the knot on his shoe tight. Then he sat up to look at Dylan. She was pulling her long auburn hair back into a tight bun in the mirror next to the window.
"What?" She turned around and looked at him as he shook his head, casting his eyes down to his lap.
"Nothing just um....." He bit his lip, shaking his head, "Nothing." He stood up, inhaled deeply, and walked past Dylan and the beds to the bathroom. She simply shook her head lightly, and tugged the bottom of her shirt tight shirt down. After yesterday's fray with Kat, the remaining six people had talked about procedures for the next day. They were to wear tight clothing, and Dylan had to tie back her hair so any walkers that may persue them wouldn't have anything to grab. Each of them would also carry a back pack to stock up supplies. Frank would be the look out while Johnny and Dylan snatched the needed items.

"Hey," Lily said quietly as she approached Dylan, who had been looking at her face in the mirror. She had lost weight since they hadn't had much to eat for the past few weeks, and all of her bones were starting to make themselves more prominent, "You okay?" Lily crossed her arms over her chest, and waited for her cousin to respond. Dylan hadn't spoken to Lily since the previous evening.

"Great!" Dylan smiled widely, showing her straight white teeth. Then her face fell flat, and she pushed past Lily, toward the bed where her backpack lay. Dylan busied herself with emptying the pack they had gathered from another room.

"Listen I know you're mad at me-" Lily started, as she approached her cousin from behind.

"What?" Dylan snapped, spinning around on her spot, "Why would I be mad at you Lil? Hm?" She widened her eyes a little, giving Lily an intense stare, that caused her to step back.

"For s-....saying you'd go..." She mumbled, and Dylan's head jerked back.

"Why would that make me mad?" She asked, her voice high and shrill. Just then, the door that joined the rooms swung open, to reveal Kat standing there looking austere and unhappy as ever.

"Dylan I need to talk to you," She snapped quickly, and nodded to her left, "Outside." Dylan just gave a curt nod, and glanced at Lily before she loped toward the bedroom door. Kat followed along as Dylan opened the front door in time for Frank to emerge from the bathroom.

"You almost ready?" He asked quietly, causing Dylan to nod.

"Have to talk with Kat," She said flatly, "Pep talk, you know." She shruged, and swung the door back. Frank stood in the doorway looking after her as Kat passed him, giving him a quick glance.

"Alright," She said as the door slammed shut, "I'm going to make this quick. Since you chose him for god knows WHAT reason, Johnny is your resposibility." Kat rested her hands on her hips authoritatively, while Dylan looked down the hall behind Kat.

"I think he can handle it himself. Hes on lookout, all he has to do is get there, and get back." Dylan said dully, more than sick of Kat.

"Thats not what I mean," She stepped toward Dylan menacingly, "You keep him safe, and get him back there. If you let one-"

"Listen. I'm not going to let anything happen to him. Honestly, I think we're relatively safe, he can take Franks crowbar and defend himself," She shrugged slightly, and alluded to the fact that they had broken into one of the fire safety boxes on the eleventh floor for it's ax, "The distractions give us more than enough time, to run, I promise." Dylan finished, and stepped toward the door. Kat cut her off instantly, grabbing the handle before Dylan could.

"I don't care what the fuck you think of me, just don't make Johnny pay for it." Kat's crystalline blue eyes were very nearly pleading with Dylan. The brunette shook her head almost undetectably, and Kat's hand slid away from the door knob. Dylan stepped past her, and walked back into the room. Lily and Frank were talking quietly, and stopped the instant Dylan entered the room again, Kat right behind her.

"Are you ready?" Dylan asked Frank, her brow furrowing deeply. Adrenaline was already beginning to pulse through her bones. She was more than ready to go.

"Yeah, we just have to get Johnny." He muttered, his hazel eyes flickering to Kat quickly, before stepping over to the door. His backpack was already slung over his shoulders, and buckled in front of his chest. Dylan glanced at Lily wickedly, grabbing her backpack and putting it on.

"Dylan please." Lily pleaded quietly, and Dylan held up a hand.

"It's fine." She snapped, and followed the others into Gerard and Mikey's room.

"We're good." Frank told Dylan in a firm tone, and she nodded, looking at Johnny who was shrugging on his pack.

"Alright..." She inhaled deeply, and looked around at the others, "So Lily's at the door...And you four on the balcony...Don't do anything stupid. If they get in here-" Her voice caught slightly, and she swallowed hard, "Just get out. Don't worry about us. I have to get my gun." She said the last part to herself, and slipped back into her room. In the pocket of her too-small jeans, she felt the two extra cartridges against her leg. She snatched up the shotgun from where it leaned in the corner by her bed, and went to join the others again.

They walked together silently to the stairwell at the end of the hall, and there, they paused there.

"Be careful." Gerard frowned at the three, and gave them a nod. Frank, Dylan, and Johnny nodded solemnly. Kat had already made her peace to Johnny earlier that morning, and now she simply stared at him with her intense blue eyes. With that, the two groups separated, and marched off to their destinations. Dylan was the first down the stairs out of here group, which seemed weird to the other three behind her because she appeared to be in a hurry. But four floors were over quickly, and when they reached the bottom, Frank sighed.

"Alright, I'll go first, John you're behind my and Dylan will be behind you. It's almost a straight shot over there, so lets just get there and back. If the walkers don't pay us any attention, just keep fucking running, don't waste your time trying to kill them." Frank said sternly, but fear was clear and apparent in his voice. It was disheartening to both Dylan and Johnny, who shrugged.

"At least we get to leave this fuckin hotel for a bit, right?" He pursed his lips, and gave Frank a casual look even though he was afraid as well. Dylan spared him a dry chuckle, and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Let's go," She said, nodding toward the door. Frank gave her one last meaningful look, before he turned toward the solid steel door, and rested his hands on the bar that would open it, "See you in a bit." Dylan gave Lily a nod, who nodded rapidly as well, her blue eyes wide and panicked. Dylan kept her eyes fixed on the door, and Frank as she moved her fingers against the hilt of the gun.

"Okay..." Frank sighed deeply, and shoved open the door as hard as he could. Snarling instantly met their ears, and Dylan pushed Johnny to the side roughly, holding up her gun. Frank was trying to pull the door closed as a "man" clawed at the open space, his jaws opening and closing wildy. Dylan aimed the barrels of the gun straight at the thing's head, and pulled the trigger. Once the space was cleared, she looked at Frank, then Johnny.

"Come on!" She yelled, and barreled out of the door, ready to be bet with the cold and boney hands of the undead. She even closed her eyes briefly. But as the cold air hit her...well, nothing else did. Just cold. And she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Dylan--! Fuck-what the fuck are you doing GO!" Frank hollered, his shoulder clipping hers as he took off running. She was so dazed she hadn't realized she had stopped. But as Johnny flew past her, she reminded herself to run after him. It was mostly quiet outside, save for the distant crackling of the fire, and the walkers around them that gave an alarmed groan. There were a lot less than of them than Dylan anticipated.

"The fire must have worked!" She hollered happily, tears beginning to sting her eyes from the cold and the speed at which she ran.

"Shut up!" Frank hollered, and Dylan watched as one of the walkers directly in front of Frank charged at him, almost at the same speed. She told herself not to worry; he had that axe now, he could take care of himself. As the thing nearly grabbed Frank by the shoulders, he swung the heavy cleaver into the side of it's head, crushing the bone audibly. Johnny ran past Frank, as he stumbled a little before pulling the axe out of his victim's skull. Dylan passed him as well, but slowed her pace slightly, just enough to look over her shoulder to make sure he was alright.

"Dylan come on!" Johnny wailed; he was already at the doors of the gas station. Frank finally regained his composure and caught up to Dylan. The two sprinted past the fill-up stations as Johnny tugged open the door, and appraised the empty store carefully, his ears trained on every sound in the store. Moments later Dylan and Frank tugged the doors open and flew inside, breathing hard. Instantly Frank unbuckled the backpack from his chest, and slipped it off.

"Come on, let's get this shit overwith." Dylan watched his hands shake as she followed his example, and took off her backback as well.