I Could Just Eat You Up {A "The Crafting Dead" Fanfiction}

Chapter Five; The Look

     Red handed me over to the guards before we made it out into the courtyard of the grounds. He looked around at all his men posted on the walls.

"Find them!!" He screamed through a megaphone.

     All the guards turned towards him before looking back out beyond the perimeter. They were all panicked, fearing what Red would do if they failed to find the prisoners who escaped.

     As we stood there, I noticed rustling in the trees, but didn't make a big deal out of it. I didn't know who was there, but I knew it was someone. A few seconds later, they pushed back to reveal their faces.

Nick! Beth! I thought in an excited manner.

     I looked away when Red turned around, not wanting him to be aware of their presence.

"Take her inside," Red instructed the guards.

     They got a hard grip on my arms, dragging me back to the cell block. They threw me into my cell and slammed the bars shut.

"Corl," I said in a harsh whisper, but I got no response.

     I crawled over and looked into his cell, seeing it was empty. His bed was made perfectly, but there was nothing else remaining. My heart instantly sank. I looked to the other side, seeing Ghetto and Sub were gone as well.

"They left me," I whimpered to myself.

     I didn't even consider the thought that maybe Red had taken and cooked them while I was gone. They were too skinny. They must've been the ones to escape. It made sense.

     I don't know why I did, but I checked through my toilet to see if there was a tunnel. Sure enough, there was. That only hurt me even more. Sure, they didn't know where I went, but I wouldn't have made a move like that if any role was switched.

     There was a way to escape, but I wouldn't make it 10 feet from the jailhouse without being attacked by guards.

     All of a sudden, I heard rapid gunfire erupting outside. My heart raced as I listened, not knowing who was being shot at. Was it Nick and Beth? Was it my former cell mates? Walkers? Trespassers? I couldn't do anything but curl up on my cot and hope for the best.

     I ended up falling asleep, my sad emotions helping me relax. I woke up, what seemed like a few hours later, when I heard a loud bang come from the sewer. I shot up and made sure no guards were on their way. I peeked down into the hole, but didn't see anything for a moment. Dirt was punched through, making a hole to the outside.

"Hayden!" A familiar voice rang.

"Nick?! What're you doing here?" I asked in a whisper.

"Saving you. Come on, we don't have much time," He said.

     I didn't hesitate to climb down, shutting the door so the guards didn't get an idea as to where I was headed. I reached Nick and he helped me climb out of the hole.

"Just across the way, we cut the fence over there," He said, pointing towards the wooded area beyond the fences.

     We slowly snuck over, ducking behind crates and bushes. We weren't as stealthy as we thought. A few guards spotted us and charged towards us.

"Keep going, Beth is waiting," He shouted to me, shoving me forward.

     Nick turned around, shooting the guards with tranquilizers. Once I got to the fence, I looked back at Nick before I crawled through. A guard stood at the top of the building, looking down at us all.

"Cory," I whispered to myself.

     I locked eyes with him as he stood up there. His face fell, knowing I was escaping. I froze in place, all of a sudden rethinking my escape. There was something about Cory that made me want to stay. Something about the look he gave me that tugged me back.

"Hayden! Go!" Nick yelled, causing me to snap from my trance.

     I let out a sigh as I crossed through the fence. Nick rushed towards me and we all ran deep into the woods. We must've ran at least 5 miles before we stopped, deciding we were far enough from Red's base.

     I collapsed at the base of a tree trunk, catching my breath. Beth tossed me a water canteen which I chugged within seconds.

     We stayed put for a while to relax. I was lost in thought, thinking about all that had just happened.

"You didn't have to see anyone else escape while you guys were in that tree, did you?" I asked Nick.

"Actually..." He started.

"We sent them back to base," Beth said.

"You did? All three of them?" I asked. "There were three of them. Three guys," I said, making sure she had the right people.

"All three of them," She said.

     I leaned back against the tree with a wide smile, knowing we were all safe. We all got up and headed back. I kept ahead, eager to see that my friends were safe.

     Once we reached the base, we were greeted by Glenn, the one who was our main lookout. He let us in through the barbed gates and locked up once we came through.

"Glad to see you're alive," He said to me, wrapping me in a hug.

"All thanks to these two," I said, pointing towards Nick and Beth.

     We all headed inside and into our makeshift bedrooms. We turned a whole floor of an apartment building into our turf, baracading all entrances except the front which was secure as it could be. I settled into my room, just to catch my breath once more. I hadn't done much but sitting inside a cell. Today worked all my energy out pretty quickly.

"Hayden!" I heard Nick yelling. "Come down, quick!" He yelled.

"Nick? What's wrong?" I called back, rushing down to the lobby where he was.

     I got down there and everyone was staring at me. I slowly walked towards the door and looked out the glass.

"He asked for you by name,"