Z-Nation Imagines

Dilemma: Part 1

Gunshots rang out in the distance. They were less than a mile from the small shack I was being held in, if I had to estimate.

I huffed out a laugh, letting my head roll back to stare at the grimy ceiling spattered with old blood and mildew and something kind of purple. My arms flexed, weakly pulling at the ties that held them in place behind the chair.

"Trouble around the camp, asshole? Maybe they got tired of your bullshit". My words were raspy but clear enough to put a scowl on the face of the grizzled man hovering over me.

"Shut the fuck up", he spat, spraying warm saliva on my blood-crusted face and stepping closer to my weak form.

I rolled my head back around to shoot the man a sarcastic squint. "I thought you wanted me to talk, man. You remember, tell you where The Murphy is...", I mocked. "Is this your first time doing this?"

Wrong answer. His fist made contact with my already bruised and busted cheek and my teeth split the inside of my mouth open in a new place. Bursts of light sparked across my vision and I coughed to cover up a groan.

"This ain't a game! Tell us where The Murphy is, and stop wasting our time," he drew a revolver from the back of his muddy jeans and pointed it at my chest, "or I'll just shoot you and let you turn."

I worked up a mouthful of blood and spat it in his face, watching it work its way into his graying beard and mingle with his sweat. He grit his teeth with an audible squeak and cocked the gun. For the first time in the three days I'd been tied up in that place, real fear bloomed in my chest and I worked to push it back down.

He can't see my fear, or he'll know he has real ammunition against me.

As I worked to slow my heart rate, the door busted open behind the man and he swung around, gun pointed at the new potential threat. Before he could pull the trigger, his head exploded with shards of skull and blood and warm bits of brain matter that spattered me. I flinched away from the sensation, shuddering.

"Oh, gross," I groaned, turning my head back around to see my saviors.

Warren, 10k, and Addy stood in the doorway. 10k's rifle was still pointed into the room and he lowered it slowly after seeing the only threat had been mercied.

A relieved laugh bubbled its way up through my chest and my eyes slipped shut before squinting back open. I slumped in the chair. "Took you guys long enough."

Smiles fixed to their faces, they hurried over to untie me and help me out of the chair.

"You're a pain in the ass to find, girlfriend," Warren laughed.

"Sorry about that. I didn't tell them anything, in case you were wondering. They don't know where we hid Murphy."

"I'm glad," she muttered back, "It's good to see you're still alive too."

"They're all mercied, anyway. We think, at least," Addy added in.

I nodded and mumbled my thanks as 10k and Addy each slung one of my arms around their shoulders. Then, we slowly made our way back to our camp.