Love is Dead

Chapter Six: First Time

Margot stared at Gunner, waiting for him to do something about the people at the door. It was probably just some survivors looking for a place to spend the night, but maybe Fallon's 'trust nobody' talk got to Margot.

Gunner quietly stood, grabbing his rifle from the floor. He walked towards the door, which was still covered by the cabinet. He peeked out from between the boards nailed to the window beside the door. It was dark enough inside that they probably wouldn't be able to see him.

"Two men, both unarmed." Gunner whispered.

"Do they look friendly? Are you going to let them in?" Margot asked.

In reality, they were probably harmless. If they were raiders, they probably would have attacked as a group, rather than knocking on the door. Several of the travellers that passed through Margot's old settlement were friendly, but some of them also tried to attack and rob them, so Margot was a bit wary. She knew that she could trust Gunner and Ayumi that night by the bridge because it seemed like they had good intentions, but she couldn't tell what the two men outside wanted.

Gunner held out his rifle to her. "I'm gonna open the door and see what they want, you're going to stay hidden inside, and you're going to shoot them if they try anything."

Margot took the rifle and stood beside the window while Gunner dragged the cabinet away. She peeked out of the window and watched the men as he opened the door. They seemed normal, not at all like some of the raiders that she'd seem, but the jury was still out on if they could be trusted.

"What do you want?" Gunner asked, his voice sounding gruffer, as if he was trying to scare the men off.

"We're looking for someone," the first vampire said. "A woman, blue eyes, blonde pixie cut, kinda feisty."

Margot tensed. Were they talking about Fallon? That'd mean that they must have been part of her clan. The assholes that killed innocent people. And if they were looking for her, that meant that they probably planned on killing her, or worse.

"No, I haven't seen a woman like that." Gunner replied, to Margot's relief.

"Well, do you mind if we come inside, then? It's awfully cold out here, and I think there's a hoard passing through."

Gunner shook his head. "No, now get off of my porch."

"C'mon, you wouldn't let two people freeze out here, would you? Besides, that house is a bit big for just one person, you won't even know we're here."

Margot gripped the rifle in her hands tightly. Should she say something? Gunner could probably sort it out, but he didn't know that they were vampires. Before Margot could do anything, however, the other vampire smiled, revealing his fangs, then turned towards the first vampire and whispered something unintelligible to him.

"Gunner, move," Margot said, and he did just that, stepping back just as the first vampire lunged.

Margot pointed the rifle at the vampire's head and took the shot. He died instantly, falling to the ground. The second vampire lunged at Margot, knocking the rifle out of her hands and causing the both of them to fall to the ground. He reached for her neck and bared his fangs as Margot tried to push him off to no avail.

Suddenly, there was a gunshot, and the vampire collapsed on top of Margot, covering her in his blood. Gunner stood in front of her, holding his rifle.

"Thanks," she said, pushing the body off of her.

"What was that?" he asked her. "Their teeth... how did you know?"

"I–"

"What's going on?" Ayumi asked as she came down the stairs, baseball bat in hand.