The World We Live In | 𝚃. 𝙾𝚃𝚃𝙾 ♤

Chapter 13

"I should get prizes with how often I get my ass beat on ru- ow!" Cristine hissed cut off her comment when Hailey helped to stitch her split lip. After Troy left, anger rolling from his body in waves, he sent Hailey here to tend to her sister. Cristine sighed and looked at her sister focusing intently on her wounds. It was quiet for a bit, well aside from the droning of the dead nearby, the sisters relaxed in the silence. "How'd you get out?" The question leaving Cristine's mouth was one of puzzled curiosity.

Hailey cut the thread, and her blue eyes finally flickered up to her face. She raised her shoulders to her neck before rubbing the side of her arms. "He had his guard down, and I took my chance. They underestimated me from the start, and I think that helped too, so I played my part and waited until I had an opening. Aaron left a box of office supplies, and when he said we needed to move, I grabbed some scissors. Andrew he- he hesitated for some reason. I-I didn't think, stabbed him in the leg and came for you." There was still tension in her voice as she told her surprised sister the story. Cristine then grabbed Hailey's hand and squeezed it when she felt the quiver. Staring at her sister's downcast face, her grip turned firm and gently brushed some locks from Hailey's flushed face. Rubbing her cheek with her thumb, her sister sighed before looking up again. Her irises glowed with an array of different emotions that were bundled together and kept her body tense. "I know I'm not like you or Nick, but that was the best I could think of at that moment."

"I would probably be worse of if you haven't done what you did. I guess having most of the attention on me was good for something after all. I- I didn't know what to do, honestly. I just hoped the others would come in time, and they did." Cristine shook her head. Maybe if it were just her, she'd take more considerable risks. But she kept thinking about Hailey. "I couldn't risk you getting hurt because of something I did. You saved me."

"We saved each other." Cristine briefly smiled, a painful one at that, and Hailey squeezed her hand back in response.

-

"What's the situation?" Troy looked at Nick first, and he began his debrief.

"I led the dead to the other side of the buildings that were sealed. The front doors are barricaded again. But our plan managed to stir a big part of the horde its attention at our current location."

Troy nodded, but he didn't look bothered or nervous by the news. "Well, we know now that we're able to use the dead to our advantage, even control their movement if we're walking with them. Blake?" Looking at Blake next, Troy crossed his arms over his chest and listened to the man's summary.

"Cuffed and gagged all three of them. The one waiting in the basement put together explosives near the sewage... I dismantled it. So Cooper and the rest can head our way without any problems."

"Good, I already called Cooper and told them where we are..." Troy shifted on his legs and, after debating it for a while, shared Aaron and his vendetta with Cristine.

"Son of a bitch." Blake's face turned severe. "If they are still operating the way they are..."

"Wait, you guys came across these people before?" Nick interjected, confused.

"Killed three of theirs in the end. Took in, like-minded men and unwilling women. We managed to fix one of their busted walkie-talkies and used that to track their whereabouts. Then, one day, we lost the signal. Back then, they were a bigger group... maybe they're still active, but we'll know for sure after we question all three of them. This Aaron was- is the one calling the shots."

"So what's his beef with Cristine?" Blake asked.

"She killed his brother. Andrew shared pretty much all details he heard."