The Walking Dead: Return to Paradise Part Two

Chapter Fifteen: Winter War

"There's a group up ahead, armed. No sign of the prisoners though." Gina said quietly to Lilly.

She was perched high in one of the pine trees peering through a set of binoculars.
The group she mentioned wasn't in anyone else's line of sight, so they must have been far away.

"How many?" Lilly replied.

"Twenty, at a guess. All of them have guns."

Lilly gazed back at her group. Their numbers had fallen since Clementine and Violet escaped. Initially, they had twenty people in their caravan, but now there were fourteen of them.

"Alright everyone, listen up. That group up ahead might have seen the prisoners. Gina, Rodrigo and I will approach them head on and see what information we can get. The rest of you, flank them and stay out of sight. Then wait for my signal."

There was a collective murmur of 'yes ma'am's' from the group. They checked their weapons and headed off to carry out their orders, leaving Lilly, Gina and Rodrigo to walk straight towards the unknown group.
They went straight up the snowed over path. The tree line on either side was higher than the trench they were walking through. It might have been a river at a time, now dried up.
Lilly flicked off the safety on her M-16 and made sure her pistol had a round in the chamber.
The three of them didn't speak the entire time, not until Gina caught sight of their target.

"Here they come." She whispered.

"Don't do anything to threaten them. Not yet." Lilly said.

"You're the boss."

The group ahead of them stopped in their tracks when they saw the trio on the path.
Almost immediately, all twenty guns were pointed at them. They were close enough to clearly hear the sound of safeties being switched off and bolts being charged. 

"Stay where you are!" The woman at the front of the group shouted.

Lilly, Gina and Rodrigo stopped, keeping a hand on their weapons.
The woman leading the group was older, with streaks of grey through her hair. Her face was weathered and she had several scars.

"We're not looking to start anything." Lilly said.

"Good, then turn around and leave."

"I can't do that."

The woman snapped her fingers and five of her people followed her closer to Lilly. They were now barely a few meters apart.

"Under normal circumstances, you'd be dead already. I am giving you a chance to walk away, trespasser, because we have more important things to do right now." The woman growled.

Lilly quickly checked the ridge, but she couldn't see her people. It had been long enough that they would be in position however, so they were likely well hidden.

"We're just looking for our people. Maybe you've seen them?"

The woman's eyes narrowed and a sneer formed on her lips.

"Your people? Two girls, right?" The woman asked.

"That's right."

The woman paused for a moment before raising her rifle and pointing the muzzle directly at Lilly's chest.

"Change of plans. I am going to kill you, then I'm going to find those murdering little fuckers and kill them too."