luna mortimer-smith had long learned not to trust anyone, staying in the middle of the woods as to avoid any contact with the dead or any other humans.
one evening, she'd gone out to check her hunting traps like usual. little did she realize, thoug...
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"I can't believe I walked that far." Carl sighed, leaning over the map.
"And that injured, too." Luna nodded, tracing the route with her finger. "How long do you think it was?"
"A few days, I dunno." He shrugged. "Walking there now, should take me about a week or so."
"Walking? I'm not gonna let you walk." She scoffed, making him look up at her. "It's too dangerous, you can take my car."
"I'm not taking your car." He shook his head. "I don't wanna leave you without it, especially out this far from anything." She sighed, getting up. "Luna, you should come with me."
"Come with you?" She stopped walking, turning around to look at him. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, come with me." He repeated, standing up and abandoning the map on the table. "Come find my group, join us." She sighed lightly. "Luna, you can't stay out here alone forever. Also, I can't just leave you here."
"I've already told you, Carl, I'll be fine." She shook her head, a light smile on her face. "Now I'm gonna go sit outside, enjoy the sunset. It won't be hot out for much longer, and I plan to take full advantage." She picked up a towel by the door and headed out towards the late. Carl sighed, plopping down at the table and going back to the map. He wasn't sure when he'd be leaving, but he did want to try a little longer to convince Luna to come with him. He knew she could handle herself, but it still didn't sit right with him.
"Hey, pretty lady!" Carl shot up from his seat when he heard the voice. It was one of the men from earlier that day at the police station, but he hadn't thought they'd run into them again. Carl picked up one of the guns from the large pile they'd now accumulated, and crept over to the door. Three men were standing just outside the tree line about a hundred feet away, all staring at Luna. Luna was standing only a few feet from the house, and Carl noticed she was slowly backing up. "Didn't know we'd come across your little lake here. Mind if we stay a while? Make your acquaintance?" Luna's feet were now bumping back against the stairs. Carl shifted his gun, opening the door and quickly pulling Luna inside.
"Hey!" Another one of the men yelled.
"Help me bar the door!" Carl whispered quickly. Luna nodded, helping Carl push the table in front of the door. He shoved a pistol into her hands while he went to block the front door as well. She peaked through the curtains, seeing the three men now approaching the house with guns in their hands.
"Come on out, nice and easy!" The main man yelled, and the other two raised their guns. Carl was at Luna's side in a second, his gun tight in his hands. "And maybe we won't take all your shit!"
"Carl, what do we do?" Luna whispered.
"Give me a sec to think." Carl replied, watching the men carefully. He sighed lightly, looking over at her. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but I'm gonna have to, okay?" Luna swallowed, knowing what he meant.
"I want to help." She insisted.
"But I'm not going to force you to do something, especially not this." He shook his head. "Just stay here, okay?" She nodded, and he started to crawl over to the guns. The main man waved a hand, and the other two men split off in opposite directions around the house.
"They're going around." Luna whispered, looking over at Carl as he loaded a rifle. "What do we do?"
"Just get back into your room." Carl whispered, beginning to move towards the front door. "Don't come out until I tell you." Luna nodded, sneaking back into her bedroom as Carl moved the block from the front door. She closed her door over, watching out as Carl slowly opened the door. He poked his head out, firing off a few shots to the right. He then whipped around to the left, firing off a few more shots. He pulled himself back inside and blocked the door again as another gun started going off, causing bullets to begin hailing through the windows, back door and walls.
"Luna, stay down!" Carl yelled over the gunfire, staying low as he moved into cover. The gunfire stopped briefly, and a few seconds later the front door was locked in. Carl fired a few shots, but one of the men charged inside and kicked the gun out of Carl's grip. Carl quickly moved to grab it, just to get kicked in the face.
"Huh, you got a lot guns here kid." The man said, looking at the large pile of guns that was sitting in the living room. "Pretty girl, too. Think I make em all mine after I kill you, since you killed my guys."
"I'll kill yo-uh!" Carl started, just to get kicked in the stomach. He saw the man raising his leg so he prepared for impact, but only a single gunshot rang out. Carl looked back, seeing Luna sitting in the now open doorway, with her pistol raised.
