Save each other // Joel Miller

Alone

Sophie slows the horse to a trot and reaches down for the reins to pull them up, but as she does, it tangles on one of the mares legs and it starts to trip. "Shit!" She shouts as she unhooks one of her feet from the stirrup, and launches herself into a near by snowbank. The horse tumbled down, rolling onto its side with a thud. Her body aches from the bumpy ride and now she can feel a sharp pain in her right rib cage. Probably not broken but definitely bruised.

The snow is biting her exposed skin, and she is definitely not dressed for winter. Shes wearing a tattered hoodie and ripped jeans. Her boots keep out most of the cold but it was really the only thing rated for this weather. She cursed herself for giving her coat, hat and gloves to the first person who threatened her, as she picked herself up out of the snow. Wincing, she brushed off her legs and arms before heading towards the mare that's already trying to get itself back up. Thankfully the poor animal seems fine, just spooked and still tangled around the ankle.

"Whoa girl, easy now." She calmly coaxes the horse to steady as she unwraps the reins and backs away. The mare clumsily stands back up and walks in a circle with a snort. Sophie chuckles a little before hearing a terrifying sound that freezes her in her spot, galloping. She looks around to find any coverage and finds nothing but a chain wired fence surrounding the cabin. She hastily makes her way towards it, holding her painfully jabbing side, inspecting for any holes. Luckily, she finds one she can fit through and slips in with ease. She gives the mare a good long stare goodbye before sprinting towards the building.

It doesn't take her long to find a way in and she is immediately cautious. The room was warm and lit, meaning that she was probably not alone. She is the intruder here but it was hide and wait, or face what possibly could be a very angry set of strangers looking for vengeance.

She takes a look around and finds herself near a kitchen full of cabinets. She is small enough to fit in one, snug but doable. She very quietly, but quickly, search each one until she finds an empty space and squeezes in, closing herself into the dark. Sophie was always petite, about a head shorter than other her age, and it proved to be an amazing feat for apocalypse living.

She hugs her knees to her chest and bites hard onto the inside of her cheek to distract from the ever growing pain in her ribs. Her head starts to pound and she hopes that this whole thing won't take very long. She tastes metal as she hears voices approaching.

"Where the hell is she?! I'm going to go out and find her!" Shouts a male voice. He storms into the room and it sounds as if he's pacing. She can't tell for sure, but it could be more than a few people following behind him. "Oh come on! Calm down! She's always off, going on suicide missions. This whole thing was so fucking stupid!" Shouts another male voice. 'Two angry dudes, fuck my luck' she thinks to herself.

"Calm down, please. I know you are afraid for Abby, we all are! But going out there in this storm is dangerous. She's tough. She will be back." A small female voice rings out. The pacing stops. "Wait, do you see that?" The first male voice exclaims. "Yeah, looks like Abby and a couple of strangers! You guys, go open the gates! Quick!" Sophie listens as the frantic footsteps shuffle out and she is left with her own heart beat. 'A couple of strangers? Then the man I pulled off his horse must have survived.' She couldn't help but feel a little relieved by this thought. Yes, it was dangerous because that's more people to become enemies, more people who could hurt her, but she was not a natural born killer. She didn't relish the thought of him being devoured by infected or breaking his neck in the fall.

She doesn't let herself enjoy this thought for long though. Now, she is possibly in the worst situation she could be in. Both an intruder and in the same home as angry, vengeful strangers. She squeezes her legs tighter and lets a single, hot tear roll down her face. Her fucking side hurt and she has never felt so god damn alone.

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"GET THE FUCK ON TOMMY!" Joel shouts to his brother, currently lying in the snow. He reaches up to Joel's extended hand and swings his leg over the front of the saddle, making the horse huff in agitation. It didn't have much time to react before Joel was digging his boots into the animal as hard as he can. He had to get it moving as fast as he could before the infected caught up with them. Abby, the new found kid, was hugging his waist and Joel was holding the reins around Tommy, keeping him upright as he bounced around the spot he had been placed. Both being knocked to the ground and put on, practically, the neck of a running horse made him a little unbalanced.

"What the hell was that?!" Tommy coughed out, grabbing onto the saddle behind him.

"I sure as hell don't know, but we ain't got time to fucking discuss." Joel replied, turning slightly towards Abby, "where did you say this cabin of yours was again?" Abby looked as though she was disassociating and didn't respond right way. "Abby!" He shouted, trying to get her attention. She looked up, startled a bit, and shook it off.

"Just up the way!" She yelled back and pointed in the direction of the stolen horse tracks.

"Great, maybe we can find your horse thief to. You get a good look at 'em?" Joel asks. Tommy shook his head.

"Not really. Girl for sure, tiny thing, came out of nowhere!" He almost lost his balance again as he shouted, getting angry just thinking about the whole situation.

"It's alright. Let's just get some distance between us, and them, and get somewhere safer to talk." Joel said, gesturing towards the infected, still pretty hot on their trail, but loosing traction.

They still had a good amount of infected raging behind them as they ran in the direction Abby pointed them to. A large gate opened with a few people standing by, ready to take out the threat and let them in. The horse trotted to a stop and they all slid off, Tommy stumbling a bit but catching one of the strangers hands.

"Thanks" Tommy smiled politely at the man who helped him and the man nodded in response.

They closed the gate, shooting at the infected before one of the guys through a Molotov cocktail and burned them all down. They all stood and watched the crackling fire before turning on their heels and slowly walked into the open garage door.