The Walking Maze

five

~

Newt

I couldn't just leave her there. I mean, I could've. . . and I wouldn't have gotten separated from the guys if I did, but I didn't want to- not when I knew I could save her. I just didn't want anymore blood on my hands. Not after what happened to Alby.

I saw her go down, and for some reason I didn't think twice about going back for her. I didn't know her- frankly I wasn't sure if I wanted to know her, given how hostile she was before- but I still went after her.

I scooped her up into my arms as fast as I could, but by the time I turned around everyone was gone. I panicked, and the bloody snarling Cranks behind me weren't helping my case. There wasn't a trail to follow, and I couldn't see anyone- at least, any living people. Rotting bodies littered the woods, some reanimated and some cleaned off by other Cranks.

I finally decided to just run for it in a random direction. It took a lot of endurance to get through all of the obstacles in the woods while carrying someone, but I managed to get through. Fortunately, she wasn't too heavy.

After a while, I'd lost the Cranks as well as myself and the unconscious girl in my arms. I had no idea where I brought us, and I was exhausted. I came across a huge clearing with a ragged old farm house, but I had a feeling that there would be too many Cranks to clear out, so I kept looking until I found a small shack not far from there.

Now, I'm forcing the door open with my foot and setting Shay down gently on the wooden floor, which is far from clean. Dried leaves and blood splatters litter the floor, but thankfully, the blood is dry.

I shut the door to the shack and sit with my back to the wall across from the one where she's closest to. She seems like a person that values boundaries, so I think it'd be best to keep my distance.

She does look a lot less hostile in her sleep, though. Her expression is peaceful, unlike the scowl she had on her face when we were back at the house. I have a feeling that there was a lot more to this girl than she let on. She's clever and I like how smart she is, but she's also really stubborn, which is something I don't like to deal with in a person. I know this experience will be. . . interesting to say the least.

It doesn't take long for her to wake up. She moves around a little and moans, bringing her hand up to her bruised head. Her disoriented spell lasts a total of ten seconds before her eyes widen with alarm and she sits up. She looks absolutely livid.

"Where the hell am I?" she asks, looking at me with a mixture of anger and something I can't quite recognize yet in her eyes. "Where are the others? Where did you take me?" She grabs her knife and is on me in a second. One of her hands is pinning my shoulder to the wall and the other is holding knife to my neck. Her green eyes stare angrily into mine, but I can still detect the slightest hint of fear in them.

"Calm down," I say and grab her wrist, gently pushing the sharp blade away from me. "We got separated from the others and you blacked out. Now can you please get off of my lap?"

"Where are we?" she says as she shifts off of me and settles down next to me.

"Very far away from where we were before," I sigh and twiddle my thumbs. I really don't feel like getting into an argument with her. I'm mature enough to know it isn't worth it. So much for her not being hostile, I think.

"How far?" she pries, and I roll my eyes.

"You think I bloody know?" I snap, glaring at the dark-haired girl. "Why can't you just be grateful that we're both not dead?"

"Because I have no idea where the fuck I am!" she says through gritted teeth. Her language startles me, but I get over it.

"Well, the alternative for you would be turning into a load of Cra- Walker food," I mutters. Although I can understand why she was scared, I'm not in the mood to deal with her attitude.