Born to Die

15

Carl
I walked beside Alli as we went toward the athletic section, sometimes in big stores like this they have hunting gear. I looked through the aisles then back at Alli, she was fixated on something, so I followed her gaze. She stared at a bow that hung on the wall, I didn't see any crossbows. She walked closer and picked it up, pulling back the drawstring, aiming as she normally would, except without an arrow.

I saw a smirk appear on her face as she tried it out, then she looked around "you see any arrows around here?" She asked and I scanned through the area, seeing a box. I walked closer, the box had dividers, each holding different sized arrows "found some" I said, motioning for her to come over.

She picked up a few arrows, looking for the right measurement, which she found fairly quickly. "Watch out for a second" she told me and aimed the bow again, this time using one of the arrows that she had. "Keep an eye on the '5' on that sign" she said, referring to the "aisle 5" sign, then released the arrow, hitting the sign exactly where she had planned.

"I'm keeping this" she grinned, picking up a few more arrows, I knew that she had a carrier for them in the car, because of her crossbow. "Alright, let's look for guns and stuff now" she began walking to the next aisle. I walked next to her, looking up and down the aisle "jackpot" I smirked, walking to the end of the aisle.

I didn't see any guns around, but there was a bunch of ammo, probably enough different types to use on any of our guns. We filled our bags until there was nothing left on the shelf "I bet there's a little counter or something and the guns are probably behind there" I suggested and she nodded "that's probably it" she pointed to something from the outside of the shelves, so I walked closer to see.

There was a glass counter that was completely enclosed, it could easily be jumped over. "Yeah, I think you're right" I followed her as she went closer. I drew my knife as we approached the counter, Alli looked over it "two walkers, legs gone" she told me then jumped onto the counter, leaning inside of it with her knife. I heard her stab them then she jumped inside "we found the gold mine" she grinned and I jumped inside with her.

There were at least 20 pistols that were on the inside shelf, a few semi-automatics, and a bunch more ammo. "I can't believe places like this haven't been raided yet" I said, starting to fill my bag and she laughs "I know right, it's not even that much of a risk" she filled her bag as well. "Play it safe, you stay alive that way" a voice said from outside of the booth, then I heard the click of a gun, I looked at Alli, she seemed frozen.

"Get up" the voice commanded and we both rose slowly. Three men stood in front of the counter, they all pointed their guns at us. I moved my hand to my holster and the front man pressed his gun against my forehead "don't even think about it kid" he growled and I put my hand back down. "Now, hand over the bags and your other weapons, nobody needs to get hurt" the man spoke again.

I glanced at Alli and she gave a slight nod, then handed over her bag and gun, she left her bow on the floor. I handed over my stuff, but kept my knife "good, now come over the counter" he ordered and Alli closed her eyes, she wouldn't be able to shoot at them fast enough with the bow, so she jumped on the counter and went over, I reluctantly did the same thing.

They lowered their guns and the man nodded "see, nobody needed to get hurt" he said. I glanced around the room, curious if Daryl was nearby, I spotted him behind a display, he had his crossbow aimed and ready to fire. "Hand over your knives, then we'll let you get out of here" he said and I glanced at Alli again as she started to say something "no".

The man cocked his gun again and pointed it at her "it's just a knife kid, you really wanna die for it?" He asked harshly and she narrowed her eyes "this was my best friend's, it's all I have left of her. So yeah, kill me for a knife if you want, but it's just another knife to you, I'm pretty sure there's more over there" she argued and the man grinned "standing your ground" he frowned now "I hate that" he said and I heard a gunshot.

"Shit!" Alli shouted and fell to the ground, before I could even try to help her, an arrow went through the man's head. I quickly grabbed his gun and shot the other two men, killing them. I turned to Alli now, getting on my knees since she was on the floor. "Where'd they shoot you?" I asked, trying to see where the blood was coming from.

"Right calf" she winced, cutting her jeans with her knife, tearing off any fabric below her knee. Blood was all over the floor, coming from her leg, it was bad. "Shit" I muttered and pulled off my flannel, wrapping it around her leg to try to stop the bleeding. "Look for a first aid kit or something!" I shouted to Daryl, I knew he was already looking though.

I moved the flannel away to look for an exit wound, there wasn't one "damnit" I muttered and I saw her wince "no exit wound" she said, knowing what I saw, I nodded "found somethin'!" Daryl ran over with a kit and some rubbing alcohol "look for some pliers too" I told him and started to open up the first aid kid, pulling out the stuff I would need.

Daryl came back with pliers and looked at her leg "I'll do it kid" he told me so I moved out of his way. "This is gonna hurt like hell, sorry" he told her and turned to me quickly "keep watch, yelling will draw walkers" he ordered and I nodded.