The Ruins

Chapter 51

Mal starts to yell for her life to anyone that could hear her even if no one was there, she didn't care. She then crawls backwards just for getting away from the Infected coming her way. Suddenly out of the trees runs Dean, sweaty and bleeding from his nose.

The older teen takes a shot at one Infected and dead pans Mal. "W... What happened? Where's Jeffrey? I heard a scream." Mal glares at him for his stupidity. Grabbing Dean by the pants, she pulls him down. Once the fool is down to her eye level Mal then grips the childish adult by the shirt collar, head-butting him.

Dean recoils in pain, holding his now possibly broken nose. "W...What the fuck was that for?" Mal said nothing when she sees a patch of blood on his neck. Was he bit? Oh God, that idiot.

"We need to- get that thing... o-out," Dean struggles to speak, his voice catches in his throat. "We...need to get o... Out of here!"

"Dean, shut the hell up and unwrap the wires before we're both dead!" She yells at him, hoping he would listen.

Dean nods, taking a cautious half step towards Mal. "Okay... Okay, I'm going to try and get this thing off of you but I need you to stay cal-"

He lets out a small yelp when three Infected emerge from the other side of the road. They had been feasting on another person that had gotten them self-stuck in another wire trap. All the noise the two of them had been making alerted them to their presence.

Mal doesn't have to look to know what's right behind her. Mal stares at Dean with begging and commanding eyes. "Don't go!"

Dean shakes his head, "I... I'll go get Negan! H... He's probably just up on the road."

"No. Dean. Don't you-" Dean takes another step back with each passing word before finally turning on his heels, taking off up the hill. Mal can only call out to him but it's hopeless, Dean disappears into the road.

"Damn it!" She swears at the top of her lungs. This only excites the monsters limping after her even more. Frantically she realizes that her knife could do the trick. With all the strength she can muster she pulls at either end of the wire, cutting through but it was a long process. Looking up Mal gages her situation, the Infected are just a few feet away from her, leaving her just enough time to do what she know has to be done. But the more the knife tries to cut the wire, the more anxious she is about the Infected.

An awful realization comes to mind. Mal glances back and forth between the Infected and her ankles, making the ultimate idea. She can cut one of her ankles and loosely free herself. But even after she's freed what would she do then? She couldn't run with only one foot, chances are the pain would be unbearable. But- she can't risk it. Gritting her teeth she cuts and cuts, and cuts and cuts when the wire breaks. She smiles, quickly unwrapping the wire.

However right when Mal rips the wire off of her a large hand grabs her wrist midair, holding onto her tightly. She screams, eyes dart upward.

To her surprise she locks eyes with Negan, a mix of shock and disbelief is plastered across the older man's face. He then pulls her up and drags her to a military truck loaded with the supplies in the back, and she hopped on the back trunk and they left immediately before the Infected reached them.

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"What the fuck is wrong with you Dean!? I gave you one job to do. Just one fucking job. Watch my ass, and what did you do? You stabbed it. You stabbed me right in the fucking ass Dean. You just bent me over, took your knife and just wedged it up in there right between the cheeks and twisted it!" Negan's voice rang out like an air horn when he spoke. Demanding the attention of everyone around him, and seemed like it could go on forever.