The cowboy put his hat back on and roamed the town. There were crowds cheering near the walls, people glaring at him as he walked, buildings built from scrap metal and wood, and tents were set up between the buildings. Lasso noticed some looked only reinforced with scrap metal so he wondered if there had been buildings already standing beforehand. There were some tables set out too in spots shaded by trees and others were set near the crowds.
"You do realize there's a massive gate right?!" A woman shouted at him, laughing drunkenly. Lasso froze and turned to a muscular woman hunched over at one of the tables shaded by a tree. She wore dark army pants and a black tank top with a dark camouflage patterned jacket. He stared at her a moment longer, scanning her for any identifying features but he was too dare to see clear enough.
"Come over here bud!" She lazily motioned him over while taking another sip of her flask that was on the table in front of her.
Lasso stared at her for a moment longer before slowly making his way to her. He took note of the rifle that lay next to her and the large bowie knives on each hip, sheathed away. As he approached he took in more detail of the woman that called to him. The bridge of her nose was crooked, scars covered her arms and collarbone, her eyes were shaded over by her hood but he also noticed part of her hair that he could see was choppy.
"Come sit bud; whatcha doin' hoppin' fences?" She chuckled, her words slurring. He just stood there, staring at her blankly. "Shit my bad, name's Randy." She smiled at him.
"¿Qué es este lugar?" Lasso asked. Randy simply stared at him confused.
"I don't know what the hell your saying, sorry," Randy shrugged. Lasso sighed and nodded understandingly, used to not being understood. "Do you understand me?" She asked and got another nod. "Perfect, got a name?" Randy continued while trying to motion for him to sit up again. He stared at her once more, refusing to sit.
"Lazo." He told her. Randy took another long drink of her flask.
"Lasso? That's your name? Or is that just a nickname?" She asked but Lasso refused to respond.
Randy slowly got up, swaying a little but kept her balance, and motioned for the cowboy to follow her.
"I'll show you around, how about that bud?" She asked, her words slurring. Lasso simply shrugged and Randy took that as a yes while grabbing her flask. "Come on boy."
Randy rambled drunkenly while showing him around, there were many trading posts, carts of supplies that Randy had explained people will come here to trade as well, and there were many places to tie up their horses.
As they walked, Lasso finally pointed towards the cheering crowds.
"You wanna see what's over there? Alrighty," she stumbled over with him. Lasso's pace quickened as they got closer. He pulled ahead from Randy and tried to squeezed between people but he only got pushed back out.
Randy stumbled over and nudged a few out of her away. Most quickly moved while others tried to ignore her but if they didn't move she just pushed them out of her way.
Lasso stayed close to her. His ears were already hurting from everyone cheering, he kept getting bumped around so finally he gripped the back of Randy's jacket. He got a headache from the heavy smell of alcohol, a weird earthy smell that he recognized but couldn't pin, and the smell of people he doubted had showered in months.
They got to the front of the group and Lasso looked over the edge, into the pit. There was a small woman who looked thin and exhausted. She wielded nothing as two zombies were shambling towards her, broken, rotting fingers reached out to her.
"People just fight zoms from supplies and shit," Randy explained but Lasso couldn't hear over the crowd. He watched in horror as the lady seemed to be giving up. She must've been down there for awhile since there were motionless corpses scattered about, all with heads ripped from their bodies. The woman just leaned against the dirt wall and watched her death shamble closer.
Lasso shot off to the side, shoving people out of his way. People started yelling at him instead, just angry that they got shoved. He ignored them all and got to the side that the woman was. Randy was close behind, curious on what he was doing.
Screams erupted from the crowd when two gunshots went off and the zombies in the pit flung back. They crashed to the ground and laid still, never to rise again. The woman's gaze shot up at him. He quickly put his gun back in it's holster, wincing at the burning from the hot barrel of his gun hitting his leg but he forced himself to ignore it. He snatched the lasso off of his hip and tossed an end down for her.
The few that didn't run from the initial gun shots ran to stop him but they were met by drunk Randy.
"Ladies, men, how ya doin?" She grinned at the ten that had rushed over. They all came to a skidding stop the moment she spoke. "Now I believe, y'all should just turn and walk away," she snickered and watched them all look at one another, deciding. After a moment of debate, they turned and walked off.
Lasso got the woman out of the pit and they both took off. Randy just watched as they sprinted to the gate, the woman struggling to stay up so the cowboy was partially carrying her. Others saw them trying to escape and began shooting. The two boys in the watch tower ducked for cover in their posts while the cowboy tried to make it to the gate. He felt bullets rip through his clothes but none ever hit him. He felt a warm liquid spray against his face and looked to the woman next to him and immediately dropped her.
Bullets ripped through her chest and head. She fell limply to the ground but he didn't have time to stop and stare, he had to run.
While he tried to keep himself from getting shot, a louder gunshot went off. The booming crack of a rifle pierced the air and a shooter went down.
Crack! Two.
Crack! Three.
After each shot fired, another went down. The shooting quickly stopped and people were screaming and running. Randy giggled and tossed her rifle on the ground as she leaned against a tree. She had lost sight of the cowboy but she assumed he had found a spot to hide. Bodies scattered the road but none got up. Headshots are deadly enough to keep them down.
"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED OUT HERE?!!" A deep voice bellowed down the now emptied street. The man who ran this town, Tony Matthias, had stepped out into the street to see the bloody mess. His daughter, Cypher, walked beside him, looking around curiously but unbothered. Randy left her rifle on the ground and shambled out to the street, giggling drunkenly.