He said his name was AJ and he asked a hell of a lot of questions. And he was talkative as hell. That gave her pause. In this kind of environment blindly trusting strangers could get one killed...or worst.?
James cocked her head to the side studying him and then his words made her chuckle. ¡°Lost huh? I don¡¯t you¡¯re lost AJ for the North. But that¡¯s neither here nor there right now. Because we are on a roof of a building where below us is a swarm full of Crazies. So that really gives us three options. Murder/suicide. No thank you. Stay here, fight, die. Still don¡¯t like those odds. Or figure out a way to get to that roof over there,¡± she said pointing to the rooftop about five feet away, ¡°without maiming or killing ourselves. I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯m gonna try my luck with that roof before that door crumbles and we are swimming in crazies. Up to you,¡± she said moving towards the edge of the roof facing the other building.?
He flashed her another smile, ¡°Sorry, just nice to meet someone who isn¡¯t trying to make me into a meal¡±. She had a point, and every reason to be wary of him because even normal humans could be dangerous. AJ looked over the side at the roof that wasn¡¯t too far and just a bit lower than they were¡.. It was the best option, okay pretty much the only option.
And even if she tried to give him a little cold shoulder treatment, she said we and us, so AJ hoped it wasn¡¯t just a slip of the lip. Crazies usually didn¡¯t carry anything worth salvaging on them, so there was no point frisking the corpses for goodies. He supposed advising her to roll when she hit the roof would fall on deaf ears. But he tried to put some levity in the situation, because what else did they have?
¡°Age before beauty!¡± he exclaimed, taking a running leap over the edge and trying not to think about missing the other side. AJ rolled and slid across the other roof¡¯s gravel top, and came up on his feet looking for the hooded woman.?
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James smirked. ¡°So I guess chivalry really is de¡¡± Just as she was about to say something, the door exploded open sending wood and debris everywhere. She had to duck to keep from getting hit. And just as she thought, about fifty or so crazy poured onto the roof. One looked up and spotted her and then two and before she realized it they were running towards her.?
¡°Fuck me,¡± she said.?
Shooting upward was a disadvantage, because AJ couldn¡¯t sight any of the crazies until they got uncomfortably close.? He shot the one nearest to his still unnamed savior, so he guessed they were even. ¡°C¡¯mon jump!¡± he shouted, trying not to let the desperation edge into his voice.
He was a good half foot taller than her, and he sprinted closer to where he had landed just in case she came down harder than he had. ¡°For fuck sake don¡¯t go dying on me when we just met¡± AJ grunted under his breath and prayed to whatever god was still around to listen to such things.
James' sword was in her hand just as the two got to her. She knew she couldn¡¯t let them get closer to her so she tried her best to use the sword to take off heads as best she could, but they just kept coming and coming. The more she took out, the more came. And damn her if the more that came, the more tired she became.?
At this point she had downed about ten Crazies and had been fighting for about ten minutes. She needed a break. Some kind of break in the wave that would allow her the time she needed to run.?
Moving around and further from the edge, James gripped the edge and pulled herself up and? climbed atop the ledge that held the old hospital¡¯s satellite tower. Putting her back to the metal, she had to take a few deep breaths, she was tired and winded from fighting off the Crazies below her.?
As she rested, she realized just how far and how high above the other building she was. It was now about seven feet away. And she was only 5¡¯3¡±. The ledge was also tight, short and narrow. There was very little chance she was going to get a running start. How in the hell was she going to do this.?
James heard a growl. Lifting her head, there they were. Three standing there, sneering at her. ¡°Fuck me,¡± she screamed. Without another word, James was up and running, moving along the narrow ledge, when she reached the edge, she launched herself to the other building. Spreading her arms wide, she reached as far as she could.?
Her fingertips grazing the ledge.?
AJ had let off another shot killing the cannibal closest to the woman, and then suddenly she was airborne. A heavy feeling hit his gut as he rushed forward because her trajectory was all wrong to hit the roof in a safe place.
Throwing himself half over the side and grabbed a doubled fistful of her jacket. He grunted with effort, mostly because they were in a seriously awkward position. ¡°C¡¯mon, girl! I got¡¯cha¡¡± AJ heaved out as he hauled backwards hard and they both fell in a heap of tangled limbs. He realized he was still holding his breath, and blew it out loudly.
¡°You okay?¡± AJ asked patting himself down to make sure he hadn¡¯t lost anything on his vest, before trying to unravel himself from the woman. He looked at her a second time and asked a little softer, because it was hard to tell if she was just quiet or if she was trying to hide an injury. ¡°Hey¡.. you okay?¡±
James grabbed the hands that took hers and held on tightly. She only had one hand free because the other held her sword and it was either dropped to help pull herself or allow herself to be pulled. She chose the latter, no way she was dropping her sword. She did however help him by using her feet to walk the wall as he pulled her up.???
She landed in a huffy heap upon him taking several deep breaths before felt him moving to get from beneath her. James grunted as she rolled off him to lay upon her back to look up at the ceiling.?
¡°Yeah,¡± she said, still looking up at the sky as the rain still fell upon her face. ¡°I¡¯m alive.¡± She said with a smirk. Sitting up James said, ¡°Thanks. I guess that makes us even.¡± she said standing.?
He flashed her a smile, and got to his feet as well. ¡°I rather get a name¡ you know, so I don¡¯t have to call you girl all the time¡±. AJ arched a brow at her then looked up with surprise when the crazies on the other rooftop got the notion to try and make the jump as well.
¡°Oh gross¡± AJ grunted as one tumbled down between the buildings, followed by another. Like demented lemmings until he realized some of them were getting close to sticking a landing. He rifle butted one that landed on the ledge. ¡°There goes the neighborhood,¡± he said.
Biting his lower lip Callahan said, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here¡±.
¡°I agree,¡± She said and moved to take a step away from the ledge towards the door. As she walked, a horrible pain shot through her leg. Damn it. she had twisted her ankle as she hit the side of the wall and as she fought to keep herself from falling.?
Not being in one to give into weakness or to announce injury, James bit her bottom lip as a way to bear through the pain she said. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± as she lightly jogged to the door. ¡°Do you want to take point, or do you want me to?¡±?
Callahan could tell something was wrong, but he couldn¡¯t put his finger on it. She didn¡¯t trust him, which made sense, at least not beyond the fact that he didn¡¯t want to kill her. And clearly she didn¡¯t want to kill him either, but that was as far as it got.
¡°I¡¯ll take point¡± he suggested. When she moved at a jog he could see there was a hitch to her movement, so he was confident that he was definitely faster at the moment. But he was trusting her to cover his back. He went ahead of her to check the stairwell leading into the second building, waving to her that it was clear to the next level.
They went down a few flights before he thought it might be prudent before they ran into more crazies to figure out where they were going. At least the cannibals would be occupied eating the dead for a little bit. He peered over the stairwell to the level below them and whispered to his companion, ¡°It¡¯ll be getting dark out soon, I know a place we can hole up for the night¡±.
James had her sword still in her hand as she followed. The steady constant incessant rain beat down around them. Thankfully they had no further interruption as they moved out and away from the building
As they moved further and further away from the swarm of crazies, James turned to the guy. ¡°Before I answer, tell me how long have you been tracking me and why?¡±
Inhaling deeply Callahan shrugged his shoulder, ¡°Maybe a few hours¡.from a distance through the scope at first¡.¡± He patted his rifle, which is how he first spotted her purely by accident. ¡°I admit I followed you because I wanted to make sure you weren¡¯t an infected human¡.¡± He gave a crooked smile, and confessed ¡°...and because you¡¯re pretty¡¡±
¡°Hey, I've been out here wandering the waste for...almost two months¡ a boy needs a friendly face¡±. And then AJ considered, ¡°Or at least a less hostile one. I mean I was hoping you were a little more of a conversationalist¡¡± He flashed her a wide smile that was oddly charming considering the circumstances.
James' keen grey-green eyes just watched him, learning, understanding. ¡°Hmm,¡± she said ¡°You know all you just said makes you sound like a skeevy perv right?¡± she huffed ¡°With all the firepower you have, you should know there is no such thing as a friendly anything out here. It's all survival of the fittest. ¡° She went quiet just staring out at him. Then said. ¡°Lead on Boy scout.¡±??
AJ was a little disappointed by her attitude although it wasn¡¯t surprising. He had a sarcastic remark on the end of his tongue but decided that it wouldn¡¯t change anything. But when his mysterious cohort made no attempt to part company and even called him a snide little nickname with little venom, he couldn¡¯t help but smile at her as they headed off. There was a heart in there after all¡.. Way deep inside, like in the bottom of a well, deep.
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