Skin Deep

After testing a few of the bottled waters we realised that they were still in great condition. There were plenty of them, so after loading our bikes and bags with as much as we could carry, we used more to wash ourselves outside. After having touched so many Biters inside and having rotten flesh and blood flicked onto me, I couldn’t get enough of my make-do shower. It was one of the greatest feelings in the world, and the sun quickly evaporated the water and cooled me down. I was immensely grateful for the presence of the brothers. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to clear the store of the Biters and I could have dehydrated. I mentally acknowledged that my urge to leave them had lessened.

While the men collected other items like cigarettes and canned goods, I washed my worn clothes from the days before and set them on the dusty asphalt to dry. Once I was done, I wandered across the street for some privacy, using a toilet in an abandoned house for the first time in weeks. The luxury of a woman having a toilet to sit on…

While there I heard the rumbling of a motor, but when I came back outside I saw that the brothers were still inside the shop and that their bikes hadn’t been started. I turned my head to the left and saw a vehicle on the horizon.

“Shit…” I breathed as I sprinted across the road, not caring for the sharp pain in my ankle. I skidded to a stop in the doorway of the store, catching Merle’s attention. “We’ve got company!”

“What kind?” he asked, hastily walking over to me as he noticed my panic.

“Alive company,” I told him as he pushed past me and exited the store. Merle pulled out his gun as Daryl appeared at my side. They both looked grim after having spotted the car.

“What do we do?” Daryl questioned.

“Too late to try and hide,” Merle remarked with a glance at our motorbikes and heavy bags, not to mention my damp clothes strewn about.

“Maybe they’re not hostile,” I suggested without much hope.

“You distract them. We’ll shoot from the cover of the store,” Merle suddenly ordered. He headed back inside and Daryl turned to follow. I grabbed his arm and caught his attention.

“Are you serious?” I asked nervously.

“It’ll be fine. It’s just one car, we’ve done it before,” Daryl shrugged before hurrying away and hiding behind a shelf. I headed over to the motorbikes and tugged a hand through my knotty wet hair, trying to calm myself with slower breathing. I still had my loaded pistol and, for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, I had backup. The car had already slowed, but it halted on the main road near the parking spaces for the grocery store. The doors opened and four men came out, using their doors as shields.

“Howdy, ma’am!” a man with a thick Texan accent called out. I assumed that he was the one wearing the white cowboy hat, making him appear like a stereotype.

“You alone? You wanna come join us?” the driver shouted.

“I don’t want any trouble,” I said loudly and surprisingly calmly. “Just leave now and you leave with your lives.” I wasn’t keen on Merle’s plan to kill them, since it could backfire. At least this way they had a chance to keep everyone alive.

“Yeah? You and what army?” the Texan hollered with a rumbling laugh.

“Come on, sweetheart. I’ll let you sit in my lap,” another yelled, clearly overly excited to see a woman. My stomach sank at the thought of those four strangers having their way with me, and I resisted the urge to glance behind me. Why hadn’t Daryl or Merle shot yet? I had run out of things to say! Anxiously I watched on, seeing that two of them were talking quietly amongst themselves. The Texan leaned into the car and grabbed something. On his way up, I saw a flash of metal through the door’s window, proving he was armed and dangerous. Perhaps that’s why. With the cover of the door and potentially more weapons inside, it wasn’t exactly logical to shoot yet.

“Well if you want some of this, come over and get it,” I called, hoping that would lure at least one of them out into the open. Laughing, the Texan and the driver moved forwards. The Texan was sauntering towards me with a cocky smirk, but the driver was cautiously looking around. They still didn’t see it coming, though. The cowboy hat was flung off and sprayed with blood as bullets crashed into his chest. An arrow lodged itself into the driver’s neck, proving to be a fatal and lucky shot. They collapsed on the ground and I saw the other two strangers raising their own guns. I ducked behind our motorbikes as loud shots were fired. Fortunately, none seemed to be aimed at me, but I couldn’t help worrying about the brothers. I heard a man cry out and I forced myself to take a peek behind the tyre. One of the other men had gone down. There was a pause in the gunfire and I stole another look at the car.

“All right! All right! I surrender! Please don’t kill me!” the man yelled with pure panic. I froze, unsure of what my companions would want to do now.

“Show us your hands! Throw away your gun!” Daryl shouted. I kept an eye on the thin man hiding behind the damaged car and he kicked his pistol off to the side. Next he set down what looked like an AK-47 and came around the car with his hands raised high. I pulled out my own gun and stood, walking over to him with the brothers. Daryl and I checked inside the car, seeing more automatic weapons and trash. I popped the boot open and Daryl grinned.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Gas cans and ammo.”

“Damn!” Merle exclaimed with joy, his gun still trained on the other man.

“So what do we do with him?” I wondered. I didn’t really want the decision to be up to me, mainly since I had no idea what was best. The man was clearly dangerous, but what gave me the right to decide his fate? I glanced at Daryl, and he quickly diverted his hesitant eyes across to his brother. Merle shrugged and fired, giving the stranger a quick death and preventing his reanimation.

“What the hell?” Daryl shouted with shock.

“What? He was a threat!” Merle retorted as he secured his pistol back at his waist.

“You really thought that scrawny kid was a threat to you?” Daryl spat. I hadn’t noticed how young the man was until now that I stared at his clean face and small frame. “First Jo, now him… You’re getting weak, man.” Daryl shook his head with disappointment before he went back to the boot of the car. I was still gawking at Merle in surprise, but I soon stopped once he turned his head towards me. We emptied the car of any supplies we wanted, which was mainly ammo and fuel cans. The food and ammo were stuffed into bags and the cans were strapped to our motorbikes with rope in exchange for some water, none of us speaking a word the whole time. I didn’t get a chance to thank them for saving my life, despite Merle’s harsh actions. Nonetheless, I was grateful. With our heavy bikes, we got back on the road, swerving around the Texan Biter and continuing north.