Age of zombies

[30] The toll

Daisy's eyes gleamed with a dangerous spark as she smirked, her voice dripping with a mix of seduction and cunning. "Alright, boys," she said, crossing her arms casually, "how about a deal? I'll give you what you want, pleasure you both, one at a time. But here's the catch—only one of you comes in at a time. The other stands guard. Can't have your little bridge unattended, can we?"

The older brother, his eyes narrowing in suspicion, exchanged a glance with his younger twin. For a moment, it seemed like they were going to laugh it off, but then, the older one's grin widened, his ego clearly getting the better of him. "You serious?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Daisy nodded, her expression cool and confident. "Dead serious. I'm not gonna fight you on this. But I've got standards, and I don't do two-for-ones."

The younger brother snickered, clearly liking the idea. "Fine by me. You go first, bro. I'll keep an eye on these losers."

The older brother stepped forward, licking his lips as he slung his rifle over his shoulder. "You better not be playin' us, lady."

Daisy shrugged, her smirk never faltering. "You'll find out soon enough."

With that, she motioned for him to follow her into a small shack off to the side of the bridge. The shack looked like it had been used as a storage space, rusted and barely holding together, but it provided enough cover for whatever twisted plans they had in mind.

The younger brother kept his gun trained on us as they disappeared inside, his eyes flicking between me, Ethan, and Yabe. "Don't try nothin' stupid," he sneered. "Wouldn't want to put a bullet in one of you by accident."

I clenched my fists, the anger burning inside me, but I kept still. I didn't like this plan, but I trusted Daisy knew what she was doing. The seconds stretched into minutes, the air heavy with tension as we waited outside. The younger brother kept shifting on his feet, clearly impatient.

After what felt like forever, we heard Daisy's voice call out from the shack. "Alright, next up. Come on in, sweetheart."

The younger brother grinned, lowering his gun as he headed toward the door. "Finally," he muttered, wiping his sweaty hands on his pants. "Been waitin' for this."

But the moment he opened the door, there was a loud, sharp BANG. The sound echoed off the rusted metal of the shack, and the younger brother staggered back, a hole in his forehead, his face twisted in shock. His body hit the ground with a sickening thud, blood pooling around him as his gun clattered from his hand.

Before any of us could react, another shot rang out from inside the shack. A second later, the door creaked open, and Daisy stepped out, her clothing a bit ruffled but otherwise untouched. She walked over the younger brother's lifeless body without so much as a second glance, her expression cold and unbothered.

"Told you they wouldn't make it," she said, sliding her gun back into its holster.

Ethan blinked, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. "Holy shit... you... you just..."

Daisy smirked, shrugging casually. "What? You think I was gonna let those assholes lay a finger on me? Please. They never stood a chance."

I stood there, stunned for a moment before finally nodding. "Remind me never to doubt you again."

We stood in silence for a few seconds, staring at the lifeless bodies of the Toll Brothers. The wind picked up, rustling through the trees as if mocking the silence that followed their quick, brutal end. Daisy wiped her hands on her jeans, her expression hard as steel.

"Alright," she said, her voice cutting through the tension. "Let's get this shit out of the way and cross before anyone else shows up."

Ethan still looked a bit shell-shocked, his eyes flicking between Daisy and the bodies on the ground. "You just... blew their heads off."

Daisy gave him a cold look. "Yeah, and I'd do it again. You think they were gonna let us go after what they said?" She motioned to the barricade. "Get your ass moving unless you want to be here when their buddies come lookin'."

That snapped Ethan out of it. "Right. Right, yeah. Let's move this shit."

We got to work quickly, pulling down the iron spikes and the wooden planks that made up the barricade. The spikes were heavy, rusted from years of exposure to the elements, but we managed to drag them off to the side of the road. The barricade itself was a mess of tires, metal scraps, and old car parts, and it took the three of us to shove it out of the way. The whole time, Yabe stayed close, her hands trembling slightly but her face set with determination.

"Senpai..." she whispered softly, standing beside me as I pushed one of the larger planks out of the way. "What if there are more of them?"

I paused, glancing at her. I could see the fear in her eyes, but also that quiet bravery she always seemed to muster when things got tough. "We'll deal with it if we have to," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "But for now, let's just get across the bridge. One step at a time."

Yabe nodded, her fingers gripping the straps of her backpack tightly. "Okay..."

After what felt like forever, we finally managed to clear the path. The bridge stretched out before us, rusted and creaky, but still solid enough to cross. The river below churned slowly, a dark, murky current moving under the weight of the old structure.

"Alright, get in the truck," Daisy said, wiping the sweat from her brow. "We're not sticking around any longer than we have to."

We climbed back into the truck, the tension still thick in the air as Daisy fired up the engine. The truck rumbled to life, and we pulled onto the bridge, the tires bouncing slightly over the cracked pavement. I kept my eyes on the road ahead, watching the opposite side of the river as we crossed.

The moment we hit the other side and entered Washington, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "Well, that was a fucking mess."

Ethan snorted from the back seat. "No kidding. I thought we were dead back there."

Daisy smirked, glancing over at me. "Good thing I don't play fair."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Yeah, no shit."

As we drove further into Washington, the tension began to ease, but the weight of what had just happened lingered. We had crossed another dangerous line, and there was no telling what the road ahead had in store for us.

Q: Did you see that coming?