April's eyes drifted past Don's cheek to peek at the group of people. She counted inside her head as they started to speak, 'One... Two... Three... Four... Five...' Other than the first three who came forth and spoke up, two more kept a little bit back and did not speak up. She took note that the two in the back were armed with pistols. Each person had one. They weren't taking cover behind anything, but they did seem to have a bulletproof vest.
The other three also had a weapon; the one to her left, with a wicked smile across his face, held a metallic baseball bat that he was lightly tapping against his shoulder. The person in the middle of them was the refined one, wearing a suit and a tie as if he were some professional or something. He didn't seem to have any visible weapons, but April assumed he was armed. As her eyes shifted to her right, her body started to shake in fear.
She saw the lustful look from the guy who had the insane voice. She wanted to tear her eyes away immediately but knew that Don needed the information. She saw that he was holding a switchblade which he seemed to lick the blade. When she was finished evaluating them, she whispered into Don's ear.
"There are five of them in total. All of them are men. Each of them is roughly 5'7 or 5'8. There are two little ways in the back holding pistols and wearing bulletproof vests. They do not have their guns pointed at us just yet. The three who spoke earlier are approaching. There is one to my right with a metallic baseball bat and in plain clothes. Right behind you is the professional man who isn't visibly armed, but he probably has something. To my left is..."
April paused for a moment with fear still in her body. "April... I will protect you." Don could feel the fear coming from her body. These people were most likely other Contenders and not in the right state of mind due to their environment; however, that meant nothing to Don. April nodded softly before continuing, "the insane guy. He is wearing plain clothes as well and is carrying a switchblade. I see no other people."
Don nodded softly. "On my signal, take out one of the guys. Whichever one is fine." Don said in a hushed tone. April was shocked by these words, but she understood that these men were only here to harm them, considering how they appeared and their weapons.
"So? What is gonna be?" The professional-looking man said as he stopped outside Don's personal space. "If you give us the girl, we are willing to let you go. You can even keep your bike. See... I am not so bad of a guy after all." The man proposed with a devious smirk across his lips. It was pretty clear that he was lying about letting him go.
"I see. And if I say no?" Don answered. He had wrapped his fingers around the end of an arrow in April's quiver. "Well, then I am afraid we will have to kill you. Do not worry, though, since we will be taking good care of the girl." The man in the suit replied. "April... NOW!" Don shouted as he pulled the arrow from the quiver while turning around to jam the tip into the man's eye.
He pushed the man back and ripped the arrow out before tossing it like a javelin at one of the guys in the back. The pitch of the throw was perfect, and the arrow shot straight into the man's jugular since the man wasn't prepared for what just happened. April wasn't as prepared as Don, so it took her a moment to find a target.
She had to steady her aim, and when she got it, she fired at the guy with a lustful look on his face. April fired a couple of shots, one into the leg and the other in the shoulder. She wasn't used to using guns, and it showed.
The man in the suit screamed in pain while another gurgled on his blood and fell to the ground, dead. The insane dude would growl in pain as well and kneel due to pain in his leg. He couldn't move his arm either due to the pain in his shoulder. The man with the bat charged Don with a battle cry and swung down upon him.
Don stepped back to evade the bat's swing, then reached out to take hold of the man's arm; he had drawn out his combat blade shortly after tossing the arrow, so he jammed the blade through the man's chin, which killed him instantly. He used the body as a meatshield against the guy in the back who fired shots at him.
When the guy emptied his gun, Don removed his blade and tossed the corpse aside while charging the guy. The guy started to freeze up when he saw Don closing in rapidly and just throwing his gun away while reaching for his blade, but he fumbled and dropped it out of fear. As the man went to pick it up, he saw a shadow tower over him before seeing a blade come around, which ultimately cut through his neck like butter. The man fell onto his back and gurgled on his blood for a few moments before passing on.
Don looked toward the man in the suit and the crazed guy from early who stared at him. "Worthless pigs...." Don muttered, his tone of voice darker in nature. Usually, his voice had this calm and relaxed vibe, but this one was more sinister and evil. "I'll kill you, bastard!" The crazed guy managed to push off the ground due to the adrenaline or something else; however, Don wouldn't have any of it.
Don sidestepped the thrust from the switchblade only to jam his combat knife into the man's arm and rip it down before kicking the crazed man in the gut, which caused the man to stumble back and fall on his rear with a scream of pain. Don made his way towards the man in the suit and placed the combat knife to the man's throat. The man was sitting on the ground, shaking with fear at how quickly the men around him were dispatched, so when the sharp blade touched his flesh, he started to sweat profusely.
"Are there more of you?" Don did not ask but demanded an answer. "W-Will you let me live if I tell you?" The man in the suit replied hastily. "I'll kill you anyway if you do not answer my question." Don narrowed his eyes while pressing the blade into the man's flesh, who released a shriek, "Yes, yes! At the shopping mall! We are based there!" With those words, Don slit the man's throat and ended his life before turning toward the final man, bleeding out to his death.
"Don..." April called out softly with slight fear in her voice. Don shifted his attention toward April. When he saw the expression of concern, worry, and fear on her face, his eyes softened, and he turned away from her while sheathing his combat knife into the vest sheath. "I am fine. More importantly, are you okay?" Don asked while taking a moment to compose himself.
'I really haven't changed...' Don mutter internally.
"You are Don, right? The same Don that I lived with, the same Don I grew up, the same Don that I love.... right?" April asked while slowly approaching Don. A deep breath escaped Don's lungs before he looked at the sky.
'I hope so.' He added.
"Yeah. I haven't gone anywhere, April. I am sorry that I scared you." Don replied. April was hesitant to reach out for him, but she embraced him from behind when she heard the pain in his voice. "As long as you are still Don. Besides, you did all that just to protect me, remember?" April said in turn. Don's eyes closed for a moment, "Yeah."
'Was that the only reason, though?' He questioned.
"Are you okay?" Don asked once more, to which April nodded against his back before stepping back. "Yes. Can you turn around for me?" April asked softly. Don was hesitant to turn around; he didn't want her to see his face, but he turned around to face her in the end. He was looking down at her as he did. April leaned upon her tippytoes and placed a kiss on his lips which caused his eyes to go wide. He did not repay the kiss in kind for various reasons, but the main one was that he was shocked by her action. April took a step back with a soft red on her cheeks and a giggle at his expression. "Yup, if you can make that expression, you really are Don."
After a moment, Don sighed heavily and shook his head. "Yeah, yeah. Don't do that again. You are only supposed to kiss the person you love." Don replied while making his way over to his bike. "Oh, but I do love you, Don Darling," April added, which caused Don to sigh lightly in disbelief and shake his head. Just as he was about to straddle his bike, he stopped and pulled an S&W from his vest while pointing it at the blockade.
"Come out!" Don's eyes narrowed with seriousness to match his tone of voice. He had noticed the faintest sound coming from that direction. April moved behind Don, but not because she was scared. Instead, she placed her arms on Don's shoulder to steady her aim while angling the 1911 Rugar in the same direction Don was aiming. After all, she still had the gun in her hand.
"Hold up! Hang on! Don't shoot! I am coming out with my hands up!" A young male's voice called from behind the blockade. It sounded like someone around April's age. The male slowly rose from behind the blockade. "I'd rather not become a corpse just like them, but if I were you, I would destroy their brains...." The male would point towards the five men, steadily starting to groan and reanimate. "It's the only way to kill a person in this world." The male state to which Don.
Don kissed his teeth and shifted his aim to one of the undead guys. He pulled the trigger with a bang, and a splash went blood over the pavement again; this time, the guy was down for good since the bullet went through the head. He readjusted his aim and fired again and again and again until all five were dead for sure. April still had her sights on the male, so the male did not make any funny movements.
The male whistled while Don readjusted his aim for the male. "I take it that you two are new here, considering you didn't know about the Zeds. If you did, you would have struck the brain instead of merely killing them." The male said, which caused Don's eyes to narrow even more. "Zeds?"
"Zombies?" April inquired with the word zombies. The male would nod. "Just like you two, I was brought to this world. Those men were as well. Though I am surprised they didn't activate their Seed.... or maybe it did not blossom yet..." The male muttered with the ending remarks. "Are you with those men?" Don asked; the tensions were still high even if the male before them seemed unarmed.
"Them? No. I was actually just making my through this area..." The male's eyes shifted a little past Don as if to look at something or someone. Don caught onto this and quickly turned around, just in time to see someone was taken hold of April with a barrel to her head. "That's enough, guy!" A rowdy woman spoke up as she glared at Don while Don glared back at her. The woman's eyes softened after a moment when she realized who it was before her.
She had been too busy sneaking around and behind them to realize at first, but now that they were in front of her, she saw them. "D-Don...?" She inquired while looking down at who was in her hold, "April?" She added. April would stop struggling and look up to see a familiar woman.
Tomboyish was a good call for her features, but she was still a woman, so she also had womanly attributes. "Becca?" April inquired. Don's eyes softened, and he would slowly lower his gun. "Rebecca..." Don said when he became fully aware of who this person was.
It seemed they knew each other. "Where have you been, Becca!?" April asked with excitement and confusion. Rebecca released her, and April turned around to hug Rebecca tightly. "Umm...wait... you are both Don and April, right?" Rebecca inquired. April answered happily, "Yup!"
Don nodded lightly, "We are. So you really are Rebecca... Mind telling me what you are doing here? I heard you closed up shop some weeks ago." Don continued. The male from earlier was already coming to meet up with them. "So... you all know each other?" The male inquired, seeing the events that transpired.
When everything settled down, the four of them began the introductions. "So, you have been here this entire time?" Don inquired. "Yeah, with this idiot. I told this idiot he could stay at my place since it was pouring outside the night this all happened, and I would rather him not get sick. Then the next morning, we woke up only to find ourselves in this place." Rebecca explained.
"I should have just went home... but no use talking about it. Also, don't forget that strange person in the mirror." The male commented. "You saw him as well?" April asked, and both Rebecca and the male nodded. "Hmm..." Don murmured in thought.
There was an awkward silence before April spoke up; "Well anyway, let's introduce ourselves. I am April, and this is my darling, Don!" April took hold of Don's arm tightly, and Don sighed lightly and shook his head. Rebecca chuckled lightly, "Glad to see your love for Don hasn't gone anywhere. Well, as you all know, I am Rebecca and this idiot..." Rebecca pointed toward the male with her thumb. "Noah! Also... could you stop calling me an idiot..." Noah stated with a defeated tone of voice. It seemed like Rebecca constantly called Noah an idiot for some reason.
A bit of laughter came from everyone, which caused Noah to shrug and shake his head. "Well... it seems we are all in the same boat. Although, I am curious about this Seed you mentioned earlier." Don commented, which caused Noah to perk up like some dog when they were given a treat. "Really!? Rebecca doesn't believe me, but--" Noah was cut off by Rebecca, who shook her head with a dismissing hand gesture. "It's all hogwash if you ask me. Noah believes we all have superpowers or whatever."
Don and April looked slightly surprised before turning their attention to Noah, "It is not hogwash! The guy said it himself, that we have been given the tools to survive and how it grows deepens on us. Remember that man in the suit? He was able to shoot lasers from his eyes!" Noah exclaimed. Don and April looked confused, and Rebecca just sighed heavily. "No, I do not remember. I was trying to find a safe way out of Downtown while you were too busy watching those goons." Rebecca replied with a hefty sigh.
"I see... Well, even if he was able to, it is a good thing we took him out first then." Don stated. Rebecca looked toward the corpses and then back to Don. "April aside... Don, where did you learn to move like that? Your footwork was perfect; your actions were graceful but lethal... If anything, it looked like you knew what you were doing as if you had done that sort of thing many times before." Rebecca asked.
This put Don in the spotlight. Don closed his eyes and remained silent. For a moment or two, there was silence until Rebecca unleashed a breath. "Well, I suppose the fact that you stayed with me for a couple of years might have something to do with it. I won't pry any further."
"Thanks..." Don commented.
'Rebecca, she was an older woman. In her thirties, but she looks a lot younger than her appearance lets on. She is a good woman but also not afraid to beat in a few faces. In fact, she has her battle scars. Her physique isn't anything to shy from. Unlike April's, hers has a more muscle definition, which is actually quite visible. Of course, she still retains her womanly charms. Speaking of womanly charms, I was surprised she never brought a guy home while I stayed with her. I thought she was into girls, but I found out it was simply because no guy piqued her interest.'
"So, where are you all headed?" Noah inquired to break the ice. April shifted her attention to him. "Towards Harris. We are looking for Don's friends to form a group." April explained. "A group?" Rebecca inquired while looking at Don. "Yeah. I had no luck with finding Jake. Hopefully, he isn't here. I plan on checking up on John, Josh, Jennifer, and my Boss. After which, finding a place to lay low in and survive." Don answered. It was pretty clear that he trusted Rebecca greatly since he was willing to give her the answer without hassle.
"Oh, how nice! Can we join you guys?" Noah asked gleefully. Rebecca nudged Noah with her elbow, which caused him to groan in pain, before turning her attention toward Don. "It sounds like you have a medium-sized group on your hands. So, we won't bother to tag--" Rebecca was stopped when Don brought up his hand to stop her. "You two can tag along. Even if we become a large group, my plans remain the same. Besides, there is no telling if the others are even here. In addition to that, you are someone I can trust, and April already knows you as well. If you can trust Noah, then I'll side with your judgment since you have never been a bad judge of character." Don said.
Rebecca was slightly surprised by this sudden statement, but April smiled softly and cuddled Don happily. Noah looked as if he was about to burst into tears and hug Don, but Rebecca stopped him by grasping the back end of his shirt. "Well, since you are offering, why not. Besides, I am sure we could provide you a bit more information about what is going on. However, that should wait. I expect you won't be able to bring your bike into the city. It'll be a hassle if we get caught with it." Rebecca spoke up.
"True... although, there is no place I can store it without worry..." Don shifted his attention toward his bike. "Not to worry," Rebecca spoke up again, drawing his attention. "I have a little shed down the road on an offbeat path. It's about a ten-minute ride there. Of course, the walk will be a bit longer; however, we will wait for you. No one should find your bike there, so feel free to store it, and we'll come back for it at a later date."
Don nodded with a smile across his face. "Thanks, Rebecca." Don moved to straddle his bike. "I am sure you won't need the key with your little talents, but you can try your luck under the rug. Not sure if it'll be there." Rebecca added, and Don nodded. April straddled the bike and held onto Don, who started the engine and made his way down the road towards the shed.