[1x1] Fight the Dead, Fear the Living

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

The blonde thought over his deal for a moment. "If you sleep during the day, does that mean I would have to babysit your sister?' She watched his next attempt for a frog, seeing him miss it. "I wouldn't mind, I just would be surprised if you trusted me enough to do that," Lia replied with a chuckle. "But tell you what, we'll each take ten minutes. You'll get the first go. Whoever gets the most frogs wins. The loser could owe the winner one favor. Maybe that would be a fairer prize." Lia glanced up into the sky, suddenly glad she put a time limit on their little game. The sky appeared to be darkening. Either a dark cloud had passed over them or it was going to rain. Lia hoped it wasn't the latter.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan nodded, glancing up briefly. He nodded at her offer, straightening up again. "Alright, sounds good to me..." he paused, in thought for a few brief moments. "Do you have anywhere to put the frogs, by the way? Wouldn't want them hopping off right after we catch them. Unless we're just filling up the net..." he paused, still for a moment as he spotted another frog. Then, in a moment, he lunged after it, managing to get it in the net. "That's one." he said, straightening back up.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

When Aidan asked if she had a place to put the frogs, Lia nodded. "As a matter of fact, I do." She knelt down and took her backpack off her shoulders. Unzipping it, she reached inside and took out a pencil box. "I don't have more than one container, so we'll have to put all of ours in the same one. Just keep count of how many you've caught." After she saw Aidan had caught one, Lia made her way over to him and opened the box so that he could place his frog inside. "Good work, you have eight minutes to go." She pointed to a small watch she was wearing. Watches weren't exactly useful during these times, but at least it came in handy for this little game.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan nodded, putting the frog inside the pencil box. He was still for a few long moments, scanning the water. Then, he went for another frog, managing to scoop it up in the net. Eight minutes passed, and he had managed to catch five more frogs. When he was finished, he stood pack, smiling slightly. "Alright, six frogs. That's not too bad." he nodded, handing her the net. "Your turn. I suppose I should I should probably keep track of the time."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Lia watched Aidan for most of the eight remaining minutes, glancing over at Renegade every once in a while to make sure he hadn't wandered off too far. Once the male's time was up, she took the net from him and handed him the pencil box to watch over. "Yeah, pretty good for a beginner," she complimented, taking her watch off. She offered it to Aidan. "You can use my watch to keep track of my time if you would like. Just make sure it's exactly ten minutes." Lia paused to look up into the sky. "It's starting to get dark earlier than normal, so that means it could rain soon. A lot of frogs come out in the rain, but I don't think getting soaked is worth catching a few extra frogs."


The blonde went right to work catching frogs, missing her first one as she saw Renegade move out from the corner of her eye. Renegade, growing bored of hunting for frogs, left the water and walked over to Aidan. He quickly shook to get the water off himself, splattering him with a bit of water. Afterwards, realizing Lia was busy, he dropped something he found in the water at Aidan's feet. It was a piece of cloth, stained with blood.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan sat down in a dry spot, watching quietly as Lia caught frogs, glancing down at the watch every so often. When Renegade approached, he hardly paid any mind, lifting an arm up in an attempt to protect himself from the water, still keeping an eye on the watch. Then, when Renegade dropped the bloodstained cloth at his feet, he jumped a little, staring at it. His eyes widened, and he glanced over at Lia briefly, wondering if the cloth would be a big issue, or if the dog managed to bite a corpse while they weren't looking. After a moment, Aidan cleared his throat, hesitant picking up the cloth on the cleaner end. "I, uh... think your dog brought us a present. Did he-- I don't... hear any nearby dead..." he stood, glancing around.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Having collected two frogs by the time Aidan spoke to her again, Lia at first took his words as an attempt to distract her and waste some of her time. "Hey, don't try to distract me. That's cheating. I know I still have at least about five minutes left," she mumbled, making a swipe at another frog.


Still, curiosity got the best of her and Lia looked to the side seeing that Aidan had indeed picked something up. She walked away from the pond, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the piece of cloth in the young man's grasp. Lia shook her head in reply to his question. "No, if Renegade would've heard one of the dead he would've alerted us. This looks pretty new though. Maybe there's another person nearby? Honestly, I'm not sure. You want to scout out the area to make sure?" Lia wasn't sure if Aidan liked taking in new people or was more of the type to keep to himself with just his sister and a small group.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

"Hmm, alright..." he nodded, handing her the watch. "Keep track of how long I'm gone." he said, shoving the cloth in his pocket and standing, pulling his axe off of his back. He glanced around briefly, and then he was off, making his way towards the forest again, gripping onto the fire axe. While he didn't like the idea of going off into the forest alone, he felt rather prepared when he gripped his axe, his eyes searching. He would probably hurry off and check on Olivia, while he was at it.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

When the watch was handed back to her, Lia looked down and closed her fingers around it. "Wait, you don't expect me to stay here all by my--" When she looked back up, Aidan had already walked off into the brush and was gone. Lia looked to her side, watching as Renegade came and curled up beside her feet, growling. She smiled looking at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you by almost saying I would be staying here all by myself. I have you here with me. I just meant that without him I wouldn't have another person with me." She reached down and patted his head once before adding her collection of frogs to the pencil box. Lia surprised herself. It was the first time in a while she had thought about the importance of having another person with her. She shook it off, waiting for Aidan.


Back at the campsite, where Oliva was hiding, a woman with ripped clothing and tied hands dropped to her knees. The pattern on her shirt perfectly matched that of the little piece of cloth Aidan had found. She saw that the footprints around the tent were fresh, so someone must have been there. "Is someone here?" she called out, moving closer to the tent Oliva was hiding in. Wild brown strands of hair hung in her face and she was very dirty as if she had been captive somewhere for a while.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Olivia was staring out of a small hole she had left in the tent, her hands on her gun. She didn't move or speak, simply watching, wishing her brother hadn't have left.


Aidan came out of the brush, freezing at the sight of a woman. Still gripping his axe, he approached quietly, eying her warily. He was unsure if he would speak or not, but he decided she didn't look too threatening.


"What are you doing here?" he asked, his shoulders squared. "And... are you hurt?" he tilted his head as he approached her, making sure to keep his distance.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Just as she was about to take a good peek in the tent, Aidan arrived. The brown haired woman glanced up at Aidan, revealing her dark brown eyes as she looked in his. At a first glance it wasn't hard to tell she was in her mid-twenties, if not older. "What am I doing? I'm trying to hide! There's a man in these woods somewhere who caught me and tied me up, but I escaped." She widened her eyes, horrified. "He tried to..." she paused, thinking over her words. "He tried to feed me to the dead," she explained, taking in a deep breath.


Lia waited, glancing to her watch every once in a while. It had only been a few minutes since Aidan had left, but she was starting to get anxious. Not that she cared much for a person she had just met, but they seemed like a decent enough pair and it would've been a shame for something to happen to them. "Ugh, that's it, Renegade, my ankle is hurting too bad. I'm just going to have to sit--"


"Well I'll be, it's been so long since I've seen someone with a dog. What a surprise."


She was cut off in her words by a man who had suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere. He smiled, showing a gap between his teeth. He was unshaven, wore a plaid shirt, and held a hunting rifle in his right hand. He reminded Lia of the men who came out and hunted durring deer season, but now wasn't the time to think about something like that. How had he sneaked up on her? Not even Renegade had noticed him. Lia stood tense and quiet at first, uncertain if this man could be a threat or not.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

His eyes widened, and he looked over at the tent. After a few long moments of knotting his brow in thought, he nodded to the tent. "Olivia, keep an eye on her. You can stay in the tent, my little sister has a gun. You'd better not hurt her." he said, tightening his grip on the axe. "I'll be right back, okay?" he asked his sister, who was starting to unzip the tent.


"Come back soon." she frowned up at him. Aidan nodded, turning on his heel and marching back into the forest at a steady, brisk pace, figuring he'd have to find Lia again and take her back to the tent.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

The woman nodded to Aiden, making her way into the tent with Oliva. She crawled on her hands and knees until she was all the way in there and took in a couple deep breaths. "Would it be a lot of trouble to ask for some water?" she questioned Oliva, slouching down to the ground in exhaustion.


"You're a quiet one. You won't even say hello?" the man in the woods with Lia asked, walking closer to her.


"Stay back," Lia warned, suddenly becoming defensive when he approached. The man only laughed in reply.


"What's wrong? I won't hurt you. I was just out for a walk and to look for supplies when I saw you over here by this pond. Are you alone? I'm actually living with a group of survivors not far from here. If you'd like, you're welcome to come join us. We have clean water, food, and shelter." The man smiled and kept his gun low, trying to be friendly and not startle her.


Lia narrowed her eyes. Being the cautious person she was, she wasn't interested in walking off with a man she didn't know. In this case, the blonde knew she would turn down the man and probably scout the area to see if he was telling the truth about a group of friendly survivors. Men could be liars, and for all Lia knew, this man was one of them.


"No thanks," she hissed softly. "I actually do better on my own. Thanks for the offer, but I'm not really interested. Enjoy the rest of your walk." Lia turned to leave, but moved very slow and careful in case the man tried to pull something.


To her misfortune the man did try to pull something, but having an injured ankle didn't help her move swift enough. He lifted his gun and took a shot at her, missing when Renegade leapt up and grabbed the barrel of the man's gun. Lia gasped and fell to the ground in surprise, watching as Renegade tussled with the man, biting and growling while he tried to regain control of his gun.


"Ngh, get off me, you mutt!" he cried, pulling the trigger and shooting the gun once more. Because of the gun's position, he fired into the air and hit nothing. Shaky, Lia took out her own gun aiming it at the man and Renegade. She wanted to shoot him and stop this man from being a threat, but she was worried about hitting her dog. She nervously watch the fight, unsure if or when she should pull the trigger of her own gun.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Olivia nodded, handing her a bottle of water. "Yeah, go ahead. We've got plenty of rations..." she nodded, jumping at the faint sound of a gun.


Aidan flinched at the sound of a gunshot, and suddenly his feet were flying beneath him. He ran, jumping and, on occasion, nearly tripping over rocks and roots as he made his way back to the pond. As there was another gunshot, his stomach turned and his grip on the axe tightened, his knuckles turning white. When he broke into the clearing and spotted the man, his first reaction was to shoot, but he figured his aim wasn't good enough. Instead, he quickly and quietly approached, swinging the axe down on the man's back, in the middle.


"Now you've done it!" he said, between gritted teeth. "Now the corpses heard you!"

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

The woman took the bottle of water from Oliva and thanked her. As she went to drink it, she flinched from the sound of the gunshot and spilled some of the water on herself. "That sounded like the gun he had, the man who tried to feed me to the dead." She shuddered. "He has a barn full of them. They're his family, he says. He refuses to believe they're dead. He thinks they're sick and wants to feed them until they get better." She hoped the young man who had run into the woods wouldn't come across that madman.


"C'mon, Lia, shoot," the blonde thought to herself, hands shaking as she kept the gun pointed at both Renegade and the attacker. She couldn't bring herself to do it. She wasn't worried about the shot of a gun drawing more walking dead--after the man had shot his gun they were probably on their way already. Lia was terrified of shooting Renegade. He was her best friend and the only thing that connected her to her old life.


While she watched the battle between her dog and the man continue, Lia was surprised to see the man suddenly cry out in horrific pain. He fell to the ground, an axe in the middle of his back. She saw Aidan behind him and heard him shout at the man. The man squirmed on the ground, crying in pain a couple more times before reaching for his gun. "I hope they all hear me! If I die because of you my family will starve! If I die I'll take all of you down with me." He pulled the trigger of his gun once more, aiming for Renegade. The dog cried out when the bullet hit him, but luckily it only grazed his leg.


Terrified hearing Renegade cry out, Lia dashed for him, wrapping her arms around him. "Renegade, no!" she cried.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Olivia frowned, shifting a little. "I get it. The grief's too much for him." she shrugged, sitting up a bit. "He couldn't bear the thought of his family being dead, so he tries to convince himself that they'll get better." she nodded, sighing a little, poking her head out of the tent. Her hand was still on the gun, and she shivered a little, returning to her previous spot. "He won't hurt you anymore. Or I'll shoot him dead. By the way, um... you weren't bitten, right?"


Aidan narrowed his eyes, pulling out the axe and swinging down again. "Maniac, attacking people like this!" he scowled, pulling the axe out again and swinging one, two more times. After a few long moments, he stepped back, taking a deep breath. "Is your dog hurt?" he asked, looking over at Lia.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"You're right about that," the woman agreed. "He's terribly stricken with grief over his family being gone. I still don't think he should try to hurt others because of it." She sighed and decided to lie down in the tent, resting on her back so she could see the top of it. "But thank you for protecting me," she said, avoiding Olivia's question on whether she had been bitten or not.


Lia frantically searched Renegade's body for any injuries, finding the wound on his leg from the shot. "He was grazed by the bullet," she said solmnly, not happy at all about it. Sure, it wasn't a direct hit, but it could still cause him problems if it became infected later on. Lia put her gun away, focusing on her dog as he whimpered and licked his wound.


The man who had been axed in the back squirmed and screamed in pain. He only took a break from screaming for a moment so he could grab Aidan's leg and speak to him. "Please don't let my family starve," he said, a distraught look on his face before he returned to screaming.


Lia frowned, growing frustrated by his sounds. "We should probably end his life. He'll die from that wound to the back anyhow. If we let him stay like this he'll just keep screaming and attract more walking dead." Lia didn't really care if he was eaten alive for having shot her dog, but ending his life sooner was a better idea when it came to their survival.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Olivia frowned and nodded, sitting back a little and stifling a yawn. "Well, we can clean up any injuries you've gotten. We've got plenty of medical supplies, and food, too, if you'd like some." she smiled at her.


With a nod, Aidan took a few more deep breaths, his grip on the axe tightening, before swinging down at the man again, aiming for his neck. Then, he was still for a few long moments, before looking over at Lia. "We can clean up that wound, make sure he's alright. And we'll need to move out of this place quickly, too. I suppose we can't be feeding his family; they're already dead."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

The woman rested the back of one of her hands over her eyes to block out a little light. She was grateful for Olivia's hospitality, but there wasn't anything she wanted at the moment. She yawned, realizing she felt very tired. "I think what I want the most right now is just to rest if that's all right. I haven't been somewhere safe in a while so I haven't been able to sleep. This is the first time I've felt safe in so long, I think my body is trying to shut itself off," she replied with a smile.


Lia zoned out again, focusing entirely on Renegade. She knew her companion would be all right for now, but she still felt bad for him. She knew he wasn't exactly comfortable with a wound like that. The blonde rubbed the top of his head, softly speaking to him. "You'll be all right. At least now we match," she said, gesturing to her own injured ankle. Wrapped up in speaking to her dog, she didn't even look up when Aidan silenced the screams of the man on the ground with his axe.


"You're right, we should go," replied Lia, slowly going to her feet. "He did say something that interested me though. He said he had somewhere safe with clean water, food, and supplies nearby. Judging by how well-fed he seemed, I'm guessing that was the truth. Maybe we should do a little exploring later if you don't mind knowing that his "family" is probably somewhere near the area." The man hadn't been bitten, so he probably had them contained to a certain room or a shed.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

"Alright..." Olivia nodded, poking her head outside the tent briefly, before starting to climb out. "I'm going to keep an eye on everything, make sure he doesn't come over here." she smiled, zipping the tent closed by about three quarters. "Just ask me if you need anything, okay? My big brother should be back soon, if he's okay. Which he almost certainly is..." she shifted, frowning.


Aidan nodded, putting his axe back in its place and approaching Lia, still glancing around carefully. "I'll carry your dog, if we'll move faster. Is he, uh, alright with being picked up?" he raised an eyebrow, staring down at Renegade for a few long moments, before kneeling next to the dog, examining the wound.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"All right," replied the woman, her eyes fluttering shut. She was glad Oliva and her brother were friendly, and felt safe knowing she would be keeping watch outside the tent. She still worried about the man whom she had escaped from possibly finding her, in the back of her mind, but was too tired to let it keep her from resting. She quickly drifted off into a sound sleep.


Lia nodded. "Oh yeah, he loves being picked up, don't you Renegade?" She reached down to touch him, hearing her companion make a low growl sound in the back of his throat. Lia sighed. "Okay, normally he likes being picked up. He's just complaining about his injury. Go ahead and pick him up. If he growls just ignore it. He won't bite you." Lia knew the only way Renegade would ever bite another person was if that person was attacking her.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Olivia sighed, sitting back and picking up a bottle of water, taking a few sips of it and stifling a yawn. Her gun was at the ready in case anybody did show up, but otherwise she wasn't very on-edge. Not like her brother would probably be in that situation, she knew. Granted, trying to relax was probably the only way she could keep the realization very real possibility that her brother was injured in the forest.


Aidan nodded, hesitating briefly before petting Renegade for a few moments, then scooping him up. "Alright, you can lean on me for support, if you'd want. I want you staying off that foot, and we need to move as quickly as we possibly can." he said, shifting a bit at the faint but approaching sound of dead.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Lia softly stroked her dog on the top of the head to keep him calm as Aidan picked him up. She flinched hearing the dead in the distance, her body tensing. "I should be fine. I don't want to throw you off balance leaning on you when you already have to carry Renegade. I would feel bad if I caused you to drop him." Aidan seemed pretty strong and sturdy from how he swung that axe around, but Lia didn't want to take any chances. This was her very important companion he was holding. "Anyhow, let's just hurry." She started to walk, but paused realizing she had dropped her container of frogs when she fell. She quickly limped over to it and picked it up, disappointed as she realized the top had popped off a little and a couple of the frogs had gotten out.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

"That's enough for dinner, right? Let's go, I found a survivor of his outside the tent. I think she might have been hurt, but I'm not sure, and I don't like leaving Olivia with a stranger much at all..." he sighed, starting on his way into the forest, keeping a steady pace, though it was slow enough that Lia didn't fall behind.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"Well, it would have been enough for dinner. But assuming you want to share some of it with our new guest, we might have to each eat a little less. A few of our frogs escaped. It's getting darker so it's hard to count them, but it looks like we have about six left." Lia sighed in frustration. "If that man would've just left me alone, we'd still have plenty of frogs for dinner." She kicked a rock with her good foot, regretting it when she had to lean slightly on her bad ankle to perform the action. She winced at the pain she felt, looking forward to returning to their camp so she could prop her foot up for the night.