The Snipers of the Apocalypse

Misadventures Part 7 (Part 3) ...And the Ugly

(A/N
This is an insanely long chapter. It runs at 4,600+ words, where my chapters normally sit at half that. This chapter ran much longer than I had expected, but I refused to make it into 2 parts when it's already a part 3. I hope you guys enjoy it anyway!)

Cassandra and Doc were the next to make their way into town. Tommy and I waited quietly, leaning against trees and watching as their figures disappeared into the distance, watching their backs in case of any surprises.

Just like when we hit those barriers, there were no sounds to be heard. Only the footsteps of our friends on the other side of the creek, growing quieter and quieter with each careful impact to the ground.

I was still fuming. Sure, I was calm enough not to charge after that sorry excuse for a "human", or to snap on Tommy, but I was still upset enough to kick a nearby rock across the stream and continuously tap the side of my left fist against the tree I was leaning on.

Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to let off some pent-up steam.

"Wanna talk about it?" Tommy walked over to me, grabbing my hand to stop my habit before I actually did any damage, and holding it gently so I wouldn't start again.

"I don't like him." I stated simply, continuing to look off into the direction our team had walked, counting down the seconds in my head before it was our turn to enter the potential danger zone.

"I know Alrrami, I don't like him either, but we can't kill him. Knock him around some, maybe hurt him a little, but that's it."

"It's the way he carries himself, Tommy." Now I turned my head to look up at him, feeling him tense very slightly at the mention of his real name, but other than that he was unmoving. "He acts like he's a godsend, like the whole world revolves around him. He has no respect for any of us despite all the shit he's personally put us through, and the shit we get into because of him. It's like in his mind no matter what-" I was cut off.

"No matter what happens it'll never be because of him." Tommy finished my sentence.

"Exactly." I huffed as I pushed myself off the tree, careful not to bump into the man in front of me. "It's just irritating."

"I know it is, but just like you said on day one," he paused to grab his small bag and drape it over his shoulder, "what better do we have to do?" A small smile spread across my lips as I was brought back to the conversation I had with Mack when this whole mission started.

"You know California is on the other side of the country, right?"

"Do we have anything better to do?"

"You heard that?" I questioned as we started walking. "You weren't even there yet." A small chuckle slipped past his lips.

"No, I wasn't, but I wasn't very far away either. You said it loud enough that it carried."

"Oh, so you're telling me I have a loud mouth?" I pretended to be upset.

"Wh-what? No, that's not what I was saying, I just-" Tommy struggled to find the words to fix an issue he thought he had started, but me? I started laughing lightly.

"I'm kidding, 10k." Since we were making our way into town, I thought it was best not to use his real name since we could be close to our friends. A look of relief crossed his features as he mumbled one simple word.

"Oh."

I nudged his side playfully as we made our way around a small sinkhole where tree roots had collapsed.

"Dork."

"Is that a good thing?"

"It can be."