Wither With Me

CHAPTER 10 - BAIT

William ran as fast as his legs allowed him, jumping over obstacles and turning corners as he quickly approached the street that separated them from the apartment building, with Nora following closely behind. She was yelling something, but he wasn't listening, his mind was somewhere else. He knew he had been forgetting something since the day before, and it was so obvious now that he actually felt like an idiot for not realizing sooner.

The men who had ambushed them the day before, he knew them. More precisely, he knew what group they belonged to. And he had a strong feeling that whatever was happening at the shelter was directly related to that encounter.

He came to a stop behind a corner, with the street right ahead. He chose not to go out in the open. Even if time was of the essence, rushing in would probably be a bad idea. Besides, if his suspicions were on point, Claire and Lilian should still be alive.

Nora came barrelling down in his direction, he had to grab her to stop her form giving away their presence.

"Stop...!" he said, holding her back with both hands.

"What are you doing!? Let me go...!! They might be in danger!! Let go!!!" she was yelling and fiercely trying to break free from him.

"Stop losing your shit and calm down!! We need to act very carefully, or we'll end up putting them in even more danger!"

She let out a loud huff. William understood her worry, but there was no time to waste talking. He signaled her to stop and wait where she was, and then he peeked past the corner and into the street.

A large horde of shamblers piled up against the apartment building's side. They had probably been attracted by the scream from before. The overhangs he and his old companions had built all around the structure prevented the shamblers from creeping up and reaching the windows of the upper floors. They covered most of the street in their effort to get to the source of the sound.

All the shamblers were bunched up on that particular spot, which could only mean the girls were somewhere on that side of the building. The first, second and third floors had been completely sealed shut with brick walls and welded scrap metal, those apartments were no longer accessible. So, it was very likely they were either in the fourth floor, or in the top floor.

'Where are they...?' he squinted his eyes as he looked at the boarded windows, in hopes of spotting some sign of movement through the gaps. However, it was too far away, and the inside was too dark.

'Damn it...'

"How is it...!? Do you see something!?" asked Nora, impatient.

"Listen... I have a vague idea of where they might be, and I think I know what we're up against... But there's no way to know their numbers. And they are armed, I'm sure of it."

"Are you sure it's people...!?"

"Yeah, I am. Had those things found their way inside, they wouldn't be dragging their feet down there..."

"Oh god, oh god..."

"I have a plan. But it's in no way safe, we're going to have to take a lot of risks. We might all die."

"Just tell me already...! I can't leave them in there to their fate...! I'm willing to take the risks...!"

Her face was contorted with fear and worry, yet there was something burning in her eyes, something that felt both like anger and pure, raw willpower. William figured she really wasn't going to hesitate this time, no matter how scared she was. Which was a good thing. They couldn't afford to hesitate if they were to take back their shelter.