as the world caves in ◦ [rosita espinosa]

V. NO ONE IS WHOLLY INNOCENT

Janey has been following behind the small group of walkers for over a mile. They don't have the energy or the bullets to take on that many at one time, so they keep themself behind them, hoping to ditch them when they reach the road.

They've been sticking close to the treeline for a few days, staying where they can see cars on the side of the road. They're hoping to find supplies in them, new bandages to patch their leg wound up better, but they haven't had much luck so far and having to limp around the woods has slowed them down.

They're starting to think it might actually be easier for them to just attempt to take out the walkers when they suddenly start to hear voices nearby. From their position near the edge of the treeline, they can hear two people having a quiet argument. They can't hear what's being said, but know that if they can hear them, so can the walkers.

Sure enough, the walkers turn their heads slowly to the side and change directions, coming out of the treeline to approach the two people. Janey limps through the grass, keeping themself hidden behind one of the trees as they peek out to see the scene before them.

There's a man and a woman both fighting the walkers now, stabbing them with knives. Janey wants to leave, to let the two strangers deal with the walkers so they can continue on their way, but then they notice that the man keeps stumbling around, almost tripping over himself. One glance at the woman tells Janey that she's too busy with her own walkers to help the man. It only takes a split second to make the decision then.

Janey comes out from behind their tree, limping over to the walker that's approaching the man, who has fallen to the ground, unmoving. They come up behind the walker and slice their cleaver through its neck, separating the head from the torso. It falls to the ground, teeth still gnashing together. Janey brings the cleaver down again, this time right through the brain, silencing it.

They look back to the man then and notice that he continues to lay there unconscious. They go to step back into the forest, hoping to escape before the woman can speak to them, but after one more glance down to the man's face they freeze.

"Who are you?" the woman asks, stepping up to stand next to Janey. She has dark hair that's tied back into a short ponytail, a large flannel hanging off her frame.

Janey ignores her, falling to their knees in the grass beside the man's unconscious body and ignoring the throbbing pang in their leg as they do so. "Glenn?" they ask, their voice barely above a whisper. It takes an effort to force the word out of their dry throat. It's been a few days since they've had drinkable water.

The man laying before them has dark purple splotches under his eyes, face streaked with dirt and blood. They bring their hands up to Glenn's face and they're shaking as they push a few strands of dark hair off his forehead. He looks hurt, and tired, but Janey's heart soars all the same because, despite it all, he's alive. He's alive.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the woman asks, stepping even closer to them, sounding cautious. "Is he okay? Is he still breathing?"

She's distracted from questioning Janey further by the loud sound of a truck pulling up on the stretch of road next to them. They look up, too, bringing their gaze from the woman yelling "Hope you're enjoying the show, assholes!" to the truck it's directed at.

Three of the truck's four doors open, a person stepping out of each. They walk around to stand in front of it, staring at the scene before them.

The one on the end, farthest from Janey, is tall, dark hair styled into a mullet. He's wearing a black vest over a dirtied white shirt and is holding a walkie talkie. There's no emotion in his face as he takes in sight of the brunette woman standing beside Janey and Glenn who are both on the ground