June 12th, 2020 15:27

Blood spattered acrossed Adam's face, some finding it's way into his mouth. He quickly pushed the now limp body off of him, a firm pressure building up in his stomach as he gagged and spit, attempting to remove the putrid taste from his mouth. The pressure continued to grow until the boy finally retched, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the asphalt. Tears stung his eyes as he moved to stand up, only to be scooped up by a pair of strong arms. He instinctively flailed, opening his mouth to screech, but was quickly silenced by a firm hand over his mouth. "For the love of all things good and kind that are left on this planet, Adam, calm down." Adam immediately relaxed at the familiar voice of his babysitter. "We gotta go." the woman, called Ruby, stated firmly, looking back at the black haired girl bearing the weight of an infant carrier on her back. The child nodded, running over to Ruby and Adam. Adam heard the tell-tale shuffle and groan that signified the arrival of more Walkers drawn by the sound of Ruby's single gunshot.

Ruby put the blonde boy down and quickly climbed up on top of a dumpster. She reached up and stretched, grabbing onto the bottom rung of the fire-escape ladder and yanking it. It slid down with a loud, resounding clang, and Ruby jumped down. The crimson haired 23-year -old lifted the black haired girl up, allowing her to grab the second rung of the ladder. "Climb, Kirsten." Ruby ordered, lifting Adam as the Walker hoarde grew closer. Adam felt his heart pounding against his 9 year old chest as his small fingers fumbled for the rung. He finally latched onto the cold metal and quickly scrambled up to join Kirsten and Danny, the baby, on the landing.

Ruby jumped up, grabbing hold of the bottom rung. The metal structure trembled violently., causing the two 9 year olds to squeak and grab onto the railing of the fire escape. Ruby swung as she climbed, her arms aching from the strain, when she suddenly yelped. A Walker had taken a liking to her ankle and was now attempting to take a bite out of it. Ruby growled, kicking it repeatedly in the face with her free foot until it released her. She quickly climbed the rest of the ladder, wrapping her arms around her three charges. "Alright, kids, keep climbing." Ruby ordered, ushering Kirsten and Adam up the stairs to the roof.

The two obeyed, running up the stairs as quickly as they could. They reached the roof and sat down to rest. Ruby removed her large green backpack and pulled out a bottle of water. She handed it to Adam, who gladly took it, thankful for something to wash the taste of vomit from his mouth. Suddenly, a blood-curdling screech resounded from Kirsten's back, causing the three to jump. Adam splashed water all over himself and yelped at the sudden cold. Ruby stood and quickly removed baby Danny from the infant carrier. She rocked the baby gently, softly singing to and comforting the distressed 1 and a half year old. He slowly stopped crying, his green eyes closing as he fell asleep. "I'll take him now, KK." Ruby told Kirsten, continuing to rock baby Danny. Kirsten nodded, removing the infant carrier from her back and handing it to Ruby. Ruby handed Danny to his big sister so she could put the carrier on her frontside before taking the sleeping baby and placing him in the carrier.

Adam shivered, the front of his green t-shirt and dark jeans soaked with water. Ruby rolled her eyes, a smile threatening to appear on her face. "Kirsten, could you-" "Yep." the girl interupted, knowing what Ruby was asking. Kirsten rummaged through the backpack before pulling out a large green sweater and tossing it to Adam. The boy quickly slipped it over his head. Ruby laughed softly; the sweater was three times his size. The bottom hung past his knees, the neckline drooping down off one shoulder. "C'mere, child." Ruby said, and Adam walked over, arms straight out so he wouldn't trip on the sleeves. Ruby rolled up the sleeves and bottom, pinning them up with the several safety pins she had pinned to her dark jean jacket. She placed a hand on Adam's head, which was covered by his blue Savannah Seabirds cap. Ruby smiled at him, earning a large, gap-toothed smile in return.

"Alright, squiddos, let's get movin'." Ruby declared, standing and slipping her backpack back on. "Where're we goin'?" Kirsten asked, looking up at her babysitter. Ruby shrugged. "No idea, KK. No idea."