Killjoy (A Lesbian Story)

8: Steve

Once there were gunshots, I knew I had to find a way to defend myself and those around me. My feet took me towards the arsenal and Hulk was already there to hand me a rifle.

Checking to make sure it was loaded, Ashley appeared next to me and took a rifle as well. I looked over at her, "No, you need to get inside."

"Hell no." She furrowed her eyebrows, looking down at the gun. After observing me, she checked the gun for ammo and clicked it off the safety, "These could be the assholes that are trying to get Max. I'm coming."

"Will you two shut up and go?" A voice said from next to us. There was Andrew, looking between the two of us with a tired expression.

I remembered that he threatened Max in the shopping mall. Stepping forward, I stared him down, "You actually going to man up this time?"

"Stop wasting time!" Hulk yelled, handing Andrew a gun.

Still staring him down, I raised my rifle and jogged back to the border. Ashley was right next to me as we got to Thor. He knelt behind a car, looking over with his rifle in position. I knelt next to him, "What's the plan?"

"We need to stay here to see who it is." Thor answered, "If we exit the border, we'll have to worry about The Dead as well."

"What if they overrun us?" Ashley asked.

Thor shook his head, looking to us, "They won't."

The hell does that mean?

And so we knelt there, looking over the cars to see who would come down the road. The sentries from the road came in to beef up the border. Everyone took their position, watching the road. Within minutes, there was a gunshot that sounded right down the road. Men in black armor came around the cars, at least twenty of them. They walked casually, lazily keeping their guns down.

"That's far enough!" Thor yelled, making the men come to a slow stop about 50 yards in front of us, "What is your business?"

"My name is Nathan." One of the men yelled. He stood in the front, not wearing a helmet. From what I could see, he had long brunette hair up in a man-bun of sorts. A thick beard covered his chin. He was a slim guy, athletic. He took a step, holding his hands out, "I come bearing a proposition from my boss!"

"Which is?" Thor asked.

"Give us Maxine Lars!" He answered, "She is all that we need. Give her to us and we will leave."

"And if we don't?"

Nathan looked to his men, "It won't be pretty, will it boys?"

The group of men around him all grumbled and chuckled like a group of hyenas. These were bad men, definitely Grimes' men. They wanted Max and were going to take her away to whatever Grimes wanted with her.

"Thor, she's only one girl." Hawkeye said to Thor, "If they want her, then we give them to her."

Only a girl?

I felt Ashley tense next to me as she glared at Hawkeye. Putting a hand on her shoulder, I shook my head before looking back to them.

"I will not give Max to them." Thor scolded Hawkeye, "And I definitely do not negotiate with terrorists."

"You don't have to make a decision at the moment!" Nathan interrupted their conversation and put a hand out, "This is only your first warning. You will only get two, this ain't baseball. We will be back tomorrow at noon with a vehicle for transportation of the specimen. See you then!"

With that, Nathan turned his men around and they started back down the road they came. Some of them whistled, making the tunes echo off the darkening streets. As they disappeared behind cars, we all stood.

"Specimen." Ashley spat, "That's what they thing of her."

"She's a freak." Hawkeye said, "We should just hand her over. Better she finally kills someone and it be them, not us."

Ashley was in front of him, pushing me and Thor out of her way. She stood there, toe to toe, glaring up at him. The height difference would have been hilarious if it wasn't for the circumstance.

"Don't you fucking dare talk about her that way." She said, "I understand that you specifically have a distaste towards the zombies, but Max isn't one of them."

"She's an asset." Thor gently pushed the two back, "She can help us find a cure."

"She's a mad dog that should be put down." Hawkeye shook his head and crossed his arms.

In an instant, Ashley stepped forward again but this time rose her fist. Taking Hawkeye by surprise, she nailed him in the jaw with a left hook. He stumbled slightly, holding his jaw and glaring at her.

"What the hell!" He took a step forward, but Thor put an arm out to stop him. Thor just looked at him and shook his head, making Hawkeye stand down.

Ashley stared at him before giving me her rifle and storming off towards the hotel. I sat the rifles down by the car and looked to Hawkeye, "What the fuck was that, man?"

Stepping towards me, he stuck a finger out, "Keep your people in line."

"They're not my people!" I scoffed, "We're all here together in this, buddy."

Hawkeye opened his mouth, but Thor interrupted him, "Steve is right. We're all in this now and we all have to stick together. It's important that we do so. We can't attack each other or hand each other over to enemies. Got it?"

He looked between the two of us for our answers. Finally, Hawkeye nodded and walked off towards the West border. Thor looked to me, "I'm sorry that he's been acting like this."

"I'm sorry that Ashley punched him."

Thor snorted, "Hell, I would've punched him. He was being a dick. He's been a dick since the whole Walking Dead thing started up."

"These situations change people." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Andrew sulking over towards the corner of the border, near the alleyway we first came in. Where Blake got struck down by zombies like they were piranhas. All of those three guys have turned in to complete assholes after the incident at Walmart. Blake first, then Chase, then Andrew. A domino effect of crazy. But, hell, in a world like this I'm surprised more people haven't spiraled in to insanity.

I'm surprised I haven't.