June 13th, 2020 18:27

Ruby wiped the sweat from her brow, her shoulders aching from the combined weight of backpack and baby. Kirsten sat with Adam in what seemed to be the living room, playing another round of Go Fish as their guardian checked the perimeter. The small house was in rough shape, but it was the best option; all the other houses were ransacked, and the drugstore next door had had the entire front window busted in, Walkers littering the floor. The crimson haired woman finished her rounds, along with a bottle of water, and sat beside her two charges. She pulled Danny from his carrier and rocked him, grimacing at how thin he was. The baby whimpered, but didn't cry; he was probably too weak to. She placed him back in his carrier and set to work on his formula. Ruby's heart ached for the child; she was surprised he'd lasted this long.

She'd been lucky enough to find a battery operated hot-plate in the house, already ready to go. She checked the temperature of the bottle before placing the nipple in Danny's mouth. The baby eagerly began to drink the formula, suckling greedily in an effort to sate his hunger. It was almost dark, and Ruby told Adam and Kirsten to finish up their game and get to bed. The nine year olds nodded, an after Adam clearly won the game, the two packed up the cards and assumed their positions on the green sweater. They were asleep within minutes; poor things were exhausted. Ruby clicked off her flashlight. She was thankful it was warm; Adam's weak immune system was being bombarded by enough as it was.

Adam had been a very sick baby. Having been born prematurely, he hadn't quite developed everything yet. For the first two years of his life, the poor child was in and out of the hospital so often, nearly all of the staff knew him by name, Bronchitis, fever, pneumonia. You name it, Adam probably had had it at least once by age three; that's when his immune system finally caught up enough for him to live an at least semi-normal life. He had to go to the hospital once a month for a check up, but since the whole 'apocalypse' had started, Adam had missed at least four of his appointments. Not that there would be anyone at the doctor's office anyway. Despite his condition, Adam dreamed of being a major league baseball player. He always watched the local little league team, the Savannah Seabirds, practice; he wasn't old enough to join yet.

Ruby smiled sadly at the blonde. Now it seemed he would never be able to join. Times had changed. And not for the better. The kids were brave, though. They never complained about their surely empty stomachs. They tried thier best to never show fear. Ruby had to say, she was proud of them. They'd gone through a lot in the last few months, and as hard as it was on Ruby, she knew it must've been three times as hard for the kids.

Danny finished his bottle, letting it drop from his mouth before beginning to whimper. Ruby quickly lifted the child over her shoulder and pat his back, finally drawing a burp from the baby before rocking him to sleep. It didn't take long before Danny was out, snoring softly in Ruby's arms. She gently placed the baby in his carrier before setting off on her rounds, music stand in hand. After finding the area to be secure, Ruby returned to the house to find the children still asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours had passed since the kids had gone to bed. Ruby took a small bite of her beef jerky before rewrapping it and slipping it into her back pocket, next to the deck of cards. It wasn't enough to stop the ache in her stomach, but it did manage to take the edge off. A quick glance at Adam and Kirsten, and Ruby was off again. She had resolved to check the area one round immediately after another; there was no way she'd fall asleep again tonight. She couldn't risk it; especially with all the Walkers they'd encountered on the way here.

It had been quiet tonight; at least, for the most part. The crimson haired woman had had to put a couple of Walkers out of commission, but, other than that, she was satisfied with the safety of her party. She crept soundlessly around the perimeter of the house, making sure that there would be no surprise attack. Every step was placed carefully, silently, as Ruby scanned the area. A low sound reached her ears. Shrugging it off as the wind, she continued to walk, peeking around every corner before taking it. The sound seemed to get louder as she moved towards the front of the house. Ruby's heart rate slowly began to quicken, each footstep carrying her closer to the growing noise. No no no nonononono.... Ruby's heart was racing by the time she reached the front of the house, but it stopped for a moment when she saw them.

The hoarde of Walkers slowly made their way down the street, their groans carrying to the little house by the drugstore. The shuffling of their feet was a familiarly terrifying sound to Ruby by now; she'd heard it enough these last few months. Slowly, Rruby backed away, making sure to avoid and noise making. That is, until the heel of her combat boot caught a bit of discarded cord, and she fell flat on her bottom. Having somehow gone unnoticed on Ruby's earlier rounds, the cord was strewn acrossed the side yard, one end tangled in the fence, the other attached to a microwave in the nearby garbage can. As the cord was pulled taut, the weight of the microwave was yanked into the side of the can, sending it toppling over with a resounding, blood-chilling *clang!* Several of the Walkers jerked their useless heads in her direction before starting towards her, leading the rest towards Ruby's haven.

At that moment, Ruby's worst nightmare became her reality. Her kids were sound asleep, Ruby was out of bullets, and the hoarde was closing in. Ruby scrambled to her feet, not bothering to be quiet. The garbage can clanged loudly as she yanked on the cord in her frantic actions. She took off around the back of the house again, knowing that the back door was their only chance of escape now. She quickly scrambled in, closing the door behind her. "S***s***s***s***s***s***!" She dashed over to the two sleeping children, shaking them both vigourously. "Wake up, please, wake UP!" Adam woke with a start, looking around frantically and opening his mouth. Ruby quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. Adam winced; it was a little harder than Ruby had meant it to be. "Sorry!" Ruby whispered, removing her hand. "We have to go." she ordered, continuing to shake a half-asleep Kirsten, who grumbled something incoherent and rolled over. Ruby growled. "Wake her up!" she demanded, darting off to gather their supplies and Danny.

"Kirsten! Kirsten wake up please!" Adam begged in a whisper, shaking his best friend as hard as he could. The groans grew louder, causing Adam's whispers to become louder as well. "Kirsten!" Suddenly, Kirsten bolted upright, almost knocking her head into Adam's. "Walkers." was all she said before she flew to her feet, snatching up the sweater as she did so and tying it around her neck. Ruby dashed over with baby Danny hanging securely on her frontside. Seeing Kirsten awake at last, she sighed in relief. "Great. Now let's go." she murmured before ushering the children hastily to the back door. She could hear the zombies pounding against the door and windows up front. They had no time to spare.

Ruby cautiously opened the back door and stuck her head out, checking for danger. A movement from the far side of the backyard caught her attention, and she instinctively pushed the kids back a little. She watched the movements carefully, her eyes widening as she realized it was a Walker. "S***.." she muttered, glancing around the rest of the yard. It seemed to be the only one... "Stay here." Ruby ordered the two nine year olds behind her. "When I signal, you come to me as fast and as quiet as you can." Kirsten and Adam nodded. Ruby slipped out the door and stealthily crept acrossed the yard towards the Walker. She glanced back at the house. Kirsten was holding the door open just enough to see Ruby. The crimson haired woman snuck up behind the Walker, music-stand at the ready. In one swift motion, Ruby swung the music stand into the Walkers head, knocking it down and ramming the stand into it's skull. After glancing around to make sure there were no more, Ruby lifted a hand and gave Kirsten the double-finger point. The nine year old quickly obeyed, pulling Adam out the door behind her.

Ruby took Kirsten's free hand, leading them to the corner of the house. Peeking around, Ruby cursed to herself as she saw that the entire front of the house was covered with the disgusting, fromerly human creatures. She looked around for another escape, one that would lead them away from the house without drawing any attention to themselves. Then she remembered. Silently, she pulled Kirsten and Adam over to the fence. Running her hand along it, Ruby walked down the side yard, away from the hoarde. A wave of relief washed over her as she found the gap in the back piece of fencing, right near the corner. Thank God... "OK. Kirsten, go through here." Kirsten didn't question her babysitter, instead squeezing right through the gap with slight difficulty. "Alright Adam." The blonde tensed. "It's ok, Adam." Ruby assured him, placing a hand on top of his head. " I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." Adam still looked scared, but he didn't say a word as he slipped through the gap with ease. "Kirsten." Ruby whispered, removing Danny from his carrier. The baby squirmed as Ruby handed him through the gap, struggling to keep him from scratching himself on the rough, splintered wood. Unfortunately, Danny did not want to stay still, waving his arms and whimpering in protest of the rough handeling he was receiving. Kirsten quickly took him, rocking him gently and kissing the scratch he'd gotten on his arm.

"But, Ruby..." Adam whispered. "What about you?" Ruby smiled through the gap at the blonde. "Don't worry, buddy." she told him. "I'll find a way over. Just stay put 'til I get there, alright?" Adam didn't look convinced, but he nodded anyway. Ruby reached her arm through the gap and rubbed Adam's head through his baseball cap. "Be there in a few." She pulled her arm back through, resisting the urge to wince as the wood scraped her forearm. She stood up, looking up towards the front of the house. The Walkers had progressed about three feet down the side yard, banging on the windows and pulling at the already peeling siding. And they were moving to quickly for Ruby's comfort. Ruby looked up at the top of the fence. She could reach it easily, but the top was spiked, and ovegrown with moss and overhanging tree limbs from the few trees in the back alley. There was no way she'd be able to get a good grip. She quietly crept along the fence, feeling for another gap that she could fit through. No dice. She sighed softly, hearing the moans of the Walkers growing closer. If she was to have any chance of escape, she had to move fast.

C'mon, think Ruby, THINK! Ruby racked her brains for an idea, any idea at all. She spotted the dog house. It wasn't a very large one, and it looked too flimsy to stand on. There'd been no sign of a dog inside the house or out. He'd probably dug a hole somehwere and...... That's it! Ruby quickly darted over to the doghouse and crouched next to the fence. She reached behind the structure, searching with her fingers for a hole. Her heart sank when she found nothing, but she soon mentally facepalmed. Dig your own, you idiot. Well, she was naturally blond.

She shoved her fingers into the soil at the base of the fence, bending them into the shape of a claw before yanking out a handful of hard earth. With renewed hope, Ruby dug frantically, hearing the sounds of the Walkers getting closer and closer with each passing moment. Finally, she found the other side of the fence. She flung dirt beside her, fear beginning to set in as she realized how close the Walkers were. She'd never make it in time!

Suddenly, she heard a loud yell from the street. It resembled the cry of Tarzan in many ways; not including the gender. The sound was clearly from a young female; Ruby's heart stopped.

I told them to stay put!

Abandoning her hole, Ruby stood straight up, snatching up her music stand. The cry came again, and Ruby heard the Walkers start shuffling away from her. Normally, Ruby would be happy about this. But now, Kirsten was putting herself in grave danger by calling them. And Ruby would not let anything happen to her child. She quickly snuck up behind the hoarde, holding her already bloodstained music stand at the ready.

With a primitive war cry, the crimson haired woman threw herself into the midst of the hoarde, swinging her music stand wildly. She managed to wipe out a good ten to fifteen of the Walkers before they turned on her. There were much less then she had originally thought; only about twenty five or so. She punched several in the face, narrowly avoiding the teeth of several more. She fought her way throught the hoarde, the only thing on her mind being Kirsten's ever present Tarzan call and the fact that her children needed her. Somehow, Ruby managed to break through the final ranks of the hoarde, spotting Kirsten standing dead in the middle of the road, hands cupped around her mouth as she let out the cry one more time. "KIRSTEN LEE WILLIAMS I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR A**!" Ruby yelled angrily, dashing up to the child and quickly scooping her up. "Why? I just saved yours!" Ruby growled, running with the black-haired girl over her shoulder. "I'll deal with you later!" Kirsten didn't reply as Ruby carried her away from the Walkers.

The woman soon found the alleyway where Kirsten and Adam SHOULD have been. She slipped in and set Kirsten down. "Don't you ever, EVER do something so stupid again!" Ruby scolded, just barely loud enough for Kirsten to hear. "Do you understand?" Kirsten scowled. "What do you mean, 'stupid'?" the girl demanded, crossing her arms. "I got you out of there, didn't I?" "You directly disobeyed me! You not only put your own life in danger, but the lives of Adam and Danny as well! " Ruby retorted. "What if you had been bitten, or worse? Where would that leave Adam and Danny? Ever think of that?" "Well I could ask you the same thing!" Kirsten shot back. "We need you, Ruby! We can't take care of ourselves! We're just kids!" Ruby sighed. "Kirsten, I told you I'd find a way out." "Well, you wouldn't have if I hadn't showed up, now would you have." Kirsten grumped. "Yes, I would have Kirsten." Ruby sighed. Kirsten didn't reply. "Listen, kiddo." Ruby started. "There's a reason I sent you through the fence first." Kirsten's eyes widened. "Really?" Ruby nodded. "You know why?" Kirsten thought for a moment. "Cuz I'm the only girl, and ladies first?" The woman couldn't help but laugh softly. "No. Because I knew you could take care of yourself if there was anything over there. And Adam and Danny." Kirsten frowned. "Really?" she asked suspiciously. "Yes, really, Kirsten." Ruby insisted. "You're a tough cookie. And that's why I count on you to take care of the boys when I can't." Kirsten looked down at the ground.Ruby smiled at her. "Now you understand why I was so mad at you?" Kirsten nodded. "Because you count on me to take care of Adam and Danny. I'm sorry, Ruby." Ruby pulled Kirsten close to her. "I forgive you, Kirsten." The woman held the girl at an arm's length. "Just don't do something like that again, ok?" Kirsten nodded, and Ruby ruffled her hair through her hat. "That's my girl."

Ruby stood. "Alright, now let's go get the boys." Kirsten nodded and followed Ruby to where Adam and Danny were hiding behind some garbage cans. "You alright?" Ruby asked, taking Adam's hand and pulling him to his feet. The boy nodded, holding Danny close to him. Ruby smiled approvingly at him, making some of his fear fade. The crimson haired woman took Danny, slipping him back into the infant carrier. Then she took Kirsten's hand that wasn't holding Adam's and started off down the back alley. The groaning and moaning of the remaining Walkers faded as the crew moved away from the house. Ruby glanced at the sky; it was about four am, she guessed.

Looked like they needed to find a new refuge.