The Rocking Dead III

Chapter 11: Encountering the Whisperers

Tom's POV: "Not again!" I heard Eric yell from behind.

As I struggled to break free, I realised they weren't trying to bite me. In fact, the one's face looked like it was slipping off, but not in the decaying sense. It was a mask. Then I remembered what Blackie said to me when Eric and Slash got to Alexandria: "They tend to disguise themselves as walkers." That's when it hit me. The Whisperers. It's them.

They took my gun and knife before getting me to my knees. Now that I was facing Eric, I watched as the one threw off his mask, taking Eric's weapons as well.

"Lookie here, we got the leader of Alexandria in our grips." He said.

"How the hell do you know that?" I asked.

"Let's just say some of your friends at the Sanctuary aren't too friendly." He replied, "Here's what I want. You're gonna take us to your community, we take over, and we might not kill your friend here."

"Over my dead body." I replied, still trying to break free from the two holding me down.

"That can be arranged." The first one said, pointing the gun he took from Eric at me. I didn't flinch. By this point I'm used to being threatened with a gun. "Hmm. Seems like that's not gonna work with you. But I know what will." He said, putting the gun away. Then he pulled out a knife, walked back over to Eric, and held it to his throat. "How about now?"

"You son of a bitch!" I yelled, trying to lunge at him.

"Ah, so now I have your attention." He said, chuckling. Eric was mortified.

"Tom help me." He choked. The man laughed at him.

"Let him go and we'll talk one on one! He has nothing to do with this!" I essentially begged.

"Oh no, he has plenty to do with this. After all, he is your boyfriend." He said. "Do we have a deal?"

"Fuck you." I replied, spitting at him.

"Oh, you shouldn't have said that." He said, squinting. Without warning, he pushed Eric onto the ground, holding his head down.

"Stop this!" I yelled.

"Tom! Help me!" Eric cried out. I continued struggling to free myself from these men's grips. Each cry from Eric broke my heart. I had no choice but to watch the tears stream down his face.

"Let him go now!" I screamed again. The Whisperer holding him down refused, laughing. One holding me kicked me in the back, causing me to scream and contort in pain.

As he unbuckled his pants, I knew deep down inside what was coming. Eric did as well. I don't want to see my love raped in front of me. As that thought circulated in my head, my dominant side re-emerged. Perhaps it was just adrenalin, but I was able to throw the two men off of me. I fought them off before fighting the other two. The one on top of Eric was having trouble getting Eric's pants off, so I took my opportunity.

Within seconds, I tackled him off of Eric. He was stronger than I anticipated though, because he fought back. It didn't take him long to have me on the ground, laying punch after punch into my face. I continued to fight back despite his strength, but I remained beneath him. Blood started dripping out of my nose from all the blows. A quick burst of energy came over me and I tossed him off of me. I got in the same position he was in and started punching him. Out the corner of my eye, I saw the other Whisperers getting back up and coming towards me. This is it. We're done for. At least I am. Dear God, let Eric get away. Give all the pain and possible death to me, just let him get out before it happens. While still beating the Whisperer beneath me to a pulp, I prepared myself for the inevitable.

Suddenly, gunfire erupted.

Each Whisperer surrounding us fell, then the one I was punching was shot as well. Once I looked up, I saw Blackie, Axl, and Jon. Even Sebastian was there in his wheelchair. Thank goodness for them.

I wiped the blood from my nose before making my way over to Eric. He was curled up on the ground, trying his hardest to hide as he cried.

"It's ok. They're dead. I'm here." I tried to assure him. He continued to cry. I got up to talk to Blackie, but Eric quickly grabbed my pants leg the moment I took the first step.

"No! Please don't leave me. Just stay here. Please." He said through tears, now looking up at me. I quickly got back down to his level and pulled him in closer to me. He was quick to hug me tight, burying his face in my chest.

"It's ok, I won't leave you. I'm here." I gently ran my fingers through his hair in an attempt to comfort him. Blackie was the first to come over and help comfort Eric. "Thanks man. I owe you."

"It's alright." Blackie replied, "Consider this repayment for getting Penelope back."...