traded my life [TWD]

『40』

"See that big, mobile medical trailer?" Otis asks.

I peer over the back of the car once more. It was a good 50 yards away.

"That's what we gotta get to?" Shane asks with a huff.

"There's three ambulances and two cop cars," I list off. "We can use the sirens to redirect them away from the trailer."

"The cop cars might have flares in the back. We can use them, too," Shane adds.

"I take ambulances and you take cop cars?" I question.

"Stick to what you know," he lightly jokes. "The second you slip the sirens on, get the hell out of there."

"Be careful."

"You, too," Shane says, patting my knee.

I crouch to the ground and hurry along behind the cars. I make it to the passenger side of the first ambulance when a walker gets close. I hit the ground and roll beneath the vehicle. I pop out on the other side and the first cop car's sirens go off a few rows over.

I carefully open the door and hop into the driver's seat. I peer through the back, only a dead body on a gurney. Most supplies were already ransacked and damaged. I bust the dash open and cut the wires, rubbing them together. The sirens blare and I chuckle at the nostalgic sound.

I hurry out of the ambulance and rush away from it as walkers begin to pile around it. The second ambulance wasn't even unlocked.

"Shit," I mutter.

I try to remember basic training. I remember the fact of the security risks.

I turn Rick's gun around in my hand and bash the butt of the colt in the window. At once, the alarms echo throughout the parking lot.

A bright light shoots into the air amidst the sirens and flashes. A flare- probably Otis' doing. The second cop car follows. 

One of the sirens stops, a signal of a dead car battery.

I finish the third ambulance and it's sirens before taking off around the outskirts of the parking lot. I stay low and hidden, avoiding the walkers that banged and clawed at the sirens we set off.

I jump over the rail of the trailer and inside where Shane and Otis already were.

I know the things needed for Carl's surgery, but I still grab whatever my bags can fit once I have them. A little extra never hurt.

Especially with the shitty luck this group has.

--

Shitty luck.

I try to even out my raggedy breath from all the running and climbing.

Because of the rush, we weren't able to block the doors for the walkers to get into the cars. They turned most of the sirens off by accident and three vehicles had their batteries die out within a minute.

"Those windows," Shane points the flashlight. "What's on the other side?"

"About a twenty-foot drop with nothing to catch you but maybe some bushes," Otis answers.

"So, it's the way out," I translate, but remember the supplies we're carrying. "Shit."

"We need time," Shane reminds us. "Need to get over there, get them open, and get out."

"Maybe for the two of you, not me, though," Otis denies.

"The tanks and respirator bags would pop and bust. They wouldn't be able to survive that drop- we might, but not the supplies. All this would be for nothing. Carl needs those in their right condition!" I argue.

"I'm going another route," Otis says. "I'll take those with me. Y'all get outta the windows."

I strip the backpack from myself and hand it to Otis. He hands me one in return that doesn't have breakable supplies.

Once the plan is set, we break from each other. Otis disappears into the locker room area. Shane and I jump off the bleachers and run to the windows. We climb up the stairs and Shane busts the window open with his gun.

"You first," he says, pulling me to the window. "I'm gonna ease you down. Tuck your legs and watch your head, all right?"

I have enough time to nod before I climb out the window. I ignore the height we were at and grab Shane's hand. Carefully, he lowers me down the wall. My sneakers fight for traction on the bricks and Shane continues to lower me as far down as possible until he's halfway leaning out the window.

"I'm good," I call.

Slowly and carefully, Shane lessens the grip on my hand. I hug the wall.

"Let go," I urge.

He hisses under his breath but nods.

Finally, he releases my hand and I drop to the ground.

"Are you all right?" Shane asks.

"I'm good," I say, rolling out of the bush. "Come on down!"

Shane climbs out the window, repeating the motion I had. The only difference was he was even higher because there was no one to hold him.

I move the supplies out of the way, clearing the landing for him. Nerves eat away at my stomach.

A growl makes my skin crawl. Shane shouts in alarm as the walker grabs his hair, pulling him back up to the window.

I pull my gun out and point it. It was dark. I could barely see what was Shane and what was the walker. I mentally cross my fingers and take the shot. The walker falls back into the room and Shane falls down the wall. He grunts in pain at the landing, or lack thereof, and I help him to his feet.

"Good?" I ask.

"I'm good. Let's go. We gotta find Otis," he urges, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

He limps and I help carry some of his weight. We hurry off into the darkness to find Otis.