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“Keep up, four eyes!” Gary yelled as he ran, looking back at Richard, who was limping on his right foot as he tried to catch up. He looked forward again.
It was a shame the guy had sprained his ankle the night the walkers revolted. Gary was close to ditching him. He didn’t want deadweight to drag him down when they finally got a second chance. Except Richard was the only one who bolted in the same direction as him to the woods. It’s either deadweight or complete and utter loneliness.
Richard sucked in a breath, speeding up a bit. Unfortunately, that immediately backfired when he tripped on the root of a tree that stuck out. “Fuck!” he cried out when he fell, hands hitting the ground first, catching himself. “I can’t! I can’t!“ His voice guttural and strained.
Gary whipped his head back, slowing his movement down to a full stop. Irritation surged through him, and he became hesitant to move for a moment.
“You’re gonna get yourself fucking killed,” Gary starts, jogging towards the other. “Get the fuck up!” He hissed, grabbing Richard’s arm and forcibly pulled him up.
Richard let out a whine from the pain, stumbling slightly to wrap an arm over Gary’s shoulder. Gary was startled by the action and thereupon realized he was going to have to drag the guy. Muttering an insult under his breath, he took hold of Richard’s waist and they set off, slowly at first but eventually getting to a quicker pace.
After a little while, the sound of leaves and twigs crunching and snapping was the only noise coming from the two. It’s just them here. Gary could give the guy a break if he wanted to, especially after the scene that took place not even twenty minutes ago.
It was planned beforehand; Walkers whispered to each other with the bright idea of a revolt. The idea originally stemmed from someone a part of that ‘Musketeers’ group, which was the group that the walker ‘Garraty’ was from. It was obvious that not everyone was going to make it out, but the majority of the walkers took over in the end, and the major got a bullet to his skull.
Gary never got the chance to get a full look but whoever killed the major, he gives his praises. It was a mess. Some of the walkers didn’t even fight back once it started, a few just scattered while some tried taking out the guards. Most were successful.
Before scurrying into the dark woods, Gary took a good last look. Maybe in hopes of finding Garraty. He seemed smart, or at least had a good head on his shoulders. He’d follow that guy. Scattering the streets were the bodies of guards and the walkers who didn’t make it, guts and glory painted the concrete.
I hope the camera is still rolling, Gary thought arrogantly.
The point was, they might not have had to worry about anyone running after them for the time being. They still had to get somewhere soon before it does become a problem, however.
“—ovitch... Barkovitch.”
“What?” Gary asks harshly, Richard’s voice snapping him back into reality.
“We have to stop. Please.” Richard pleaded. “I can’t—“
“I know!” Gary interrupted. He puts them at a complete stop. “You fucking can’t, I know!”
He almost drops Richard but resists. Instead he helps him sit down, laying him back against a tree. you can’t stop him from keeping his mouth shut though. Gary starts pacing back and forth, letting out a string of swears and slander with his hands in his hair, distressed.
“We’re gonna fucking get caught ‘cause of you. How’d you fucking twist your ankle? Shit!”
Richard just sat there silently, breathing heavily and looking down, almost shamefully.
They couldn’t stop now. This sprained ankle was gonna be a huge-ass burden. They had to fix it, and fast.
Gary turned to face Richard, but he just stood there, slowly removing his hands from his hair, mouth agape, and trying to form a thought. “Alright, shit for brains,” he started. “We.. fuck, okay, we need to find the closest town.”
Richard looked up at him, eyes watering but no tears daring to fall. “Right. Okay,” he sighed shakily.
“Don’t start fucking cryin’.” Gary frowned, but as a fugitive now, he couldn’t exactly lose this guy. He started sputtering. “Look man, once we find a town i’ll get you fuckin’... ice and shit. For your ankle. Don’t be a pussy!”
The next hour consisted of Gary lugging Richard through the woods, taking breaks sometimes even if he thought they shouldn’t. A small part of Gary loved that someone needed him, but he’d never admit that out loud.
The two of them reached a clearing, a town with only the street lights illuminated, and not a soul walking around.
Gary lets out a breathy laugh, looking to Richard, who was smiling a bit as he looked over the town they stumbled upon.
“Hey, you got a clock on you?” he asked, referring to the backpack Richard carried on his back.
Richard's eyes widened a bit before he slid the bag off and went through it. His glasses slip a bit as he searched for a watch. “I... I don’t think so.” He frowned.
“Ugh, whatever man,” Gary replied.
Both of them wear their bandanas over their mouths, covering half their face. In the case of the town having security cameras they may pass.
They make their way through the streets to what looked like a town center with stores dotting the area. Everything was dark and gloomy with only the two of them together lurking in the night. Richard continued to hold Gary by the shoulder for support. Even if it was necessary, it made the blonde’s gut twist in an unfamiliar way.
Richard found a gas station about 100 yards away from them, so he pointed to it. “Hey, they’ll definitely have ice,” he said lowly.
And so they start walking towards the gas station, Gary still holding onto his friend. Or were they just acquaintances by proxy of the situation?
The gas station was lit up from the inside with the name ‘7-Eleven’ They pass the gas pumps under the awning, the lights above flickering every few seconds, and reached the doors.
They both pulled their bandanas a little higher over their faces out of uneasiness. Gary muttered under his breath, “Fuck, shit, fuck…” He turned to look at Richard. “This isn’t stupid, right? We won’t get caught right..?”
Richard caught his eyes and seemed anxious, “What? No.” He looked to the doors, then back to Gary. “We’re covered up enough; how could they recognize us?”
The two stared at each other, completely unconvinced by their false confidence. But hey, what else were they gonna do? “If we’re recognized, I’m ditching your ass,” Gary grumbled, not actually meaning it.
Richard took his glasses off and stuffed them into his jacket pocket, just for good measure.
Bracing themselves, they walked into the gas station. The bell for the door rang. The fluorescent lighting was less bright than under the awning, more dim. A mop and bucket sat near the left of the doors so the stench of bleach was strong.
Gary tightened his hold on Richard, leading them to the hum of the refrigerators to the right of the store to avoid the eyes of the probably bored employee that wasn’t paying attention.
“Do you have cash on you?” Richard asked. Gary would’ve dropped him if it weren’t for the way Richard looked at him with those stupidly big brown eyes..
“Are you fucking stupid?” Gary hissed.
“I don’t know!” he whisper yelled. “We already look like robbers,—we can’t just take whatever and leave.”
He was right, it wasn’t like they could exactly book it out of the store when one of them could barely even walk.
It was silent between them before Gary looked down at Richard’s backpack and spoke again. “…I have an idea.”
—
“…You’re not robbing me, right?” the cashier asked sarcastically, as if he wouldn’t care if someone did, if the bags under his eyes were anything to go by. He looked to be in his mid 20s.
Richard shook his head with a small ‘no’ while Gary said no in an incredulous tone.
The cashier, or Matt as his nametag said, pointed a finger to the both of them, “So… what’s with the masks,” he asked, referring to the ones covering half their faces.
The two looked at each other before simultaneously saying ‘sick’ at the same time, looking back at the unimpressed employee.
It seemed to work though, because Matt just scans the 7 Ib bag of ice and the self-grip bandages then gives them their total.
“A dollar eighty,” Is all he says.
Richard slid two dollars on the counter just as Gary immediately snatched the ice and bandages with one hand, and the other hand grasping Richard’s waist, rushing them out the store.
“Keep the change!” Richard called out before they’re out the doors, the small bell ringing.
Matt lifted a brow at the sudden departure but his face immediately dropped when he looked down at the counter. In front of him were two ripped pages made rectangular with poor drawing skills to replicate one dollar bills.
He leaned over the table with his hands over his face, groaning.
—
By the time they reached the edge of the forest, Gary was still snickering.
Even Richard cracked a grin. “It’s a miracle he didn’t know who we were.”
Gary helped Richard settle back against a tree and joined him as they both took their bags and bandanas off.
They start sorting through the other stolen shit Gary was able to stuff in his messenger bag, as well as Richard’s backpack.
Five water bottles, a can of coke, a bag of Fritos, Funyuns, and Doritos, pizza spins, two boxes of doo dads, and an oatmeal crème pie cookie that Gary doesn’t remember grabbing.
He picked up the cookie, setting it down next to Richard, who had his right shoe off and was currently pouring some ice into his bandana, tying it into a makeshift ice pack.
Gary suddenly remembered beyond all of the things they’d scored why they’d gone to the store in the first place. “Here, use my bag for uh…. elevation.” He got up from his sitting position, picking up the bag and carefully putting it under the twisted ankle, being mindful of how Richard reacted. He even took it a step further and put the ice pack on, too.
“How’s that?” He looked over to Richard, as if waiting for approval or praise. Richard held a timid smile, seeming relieved.
“Yeah, thanks.”
Gary gave a crooked smile until realizing he was doing so, immediately dropping it afterward. He shyly moved back to his position by the tree, sitting to the left of the other. “Don’t mention it, man,” He tried smoothly.
His face felt extremely warm for some reason. Is he actually making a friend this time? Did people usually have an elevated heart rate or sweaty palms when making a friend? What the fuck was wrong with him? It wasn’t that deep.
Sure, Gary thought the guy was pretty smart for writing his experience down for the walk, even if they thought they were all originally not gonna make it in the end. You could have said he was doing the same thing with his camera.
“You okay?”
Gary returned to reality, becoming aware that he was staring at Richard. He didn’t even want to think about how long he’d been there with his eyes focused like that.. Richard was currently holding his pencil in place with his notebook open but stopped writing midway, looking right back at him.
Stupid brown eyes. Maybe he was starting to hate the guy.
Gary forced himself to turn away, going for the camera around his neck to fidget with. “Yes, I’m fine,” he replied in a grim tone.
He was about to check the photos he captured until he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump.“Hey, can i see some of those?” Richard asked, wonder in his eyes.
Gary was about to shake him off out of habit but this felt too soft. The firm but gentle grip on his shoulder was also making him feel some kind of way, so he was admittedly a little biased. He’d been walking with no sleep for days, and needed to relax.
So they both looked through the photos together, some scenic, some gross and grim, and started comparing each other's documentation. Richard showing some notes he jotted during the walk and Gary sharing a photo he had taken around the same time Richard had written that entry.
The two of them began getting drowsy, Richard falling asleep on the other's shoulder at some point while Gary continued rambling, something about the cat they passed during the walk, before he dozed off too.