"Niommi." I say, when we make it back to the same car we had stopped at. I sit on the hood of the car and notice the ribbon of smoke we had seen was still mingling with the night sky.

"Yes?" She asks, cleaning her arrows. "Is there anything you need to get?" I ask, wanting to hint that Jim, whoever he was to her.. was left behind but her answer seems to surprise me. "No," she says, and continues working. "Jim?" I asked, swinging my feet back and forth.

"I can't go back. They'd kill him. He has to escape on his own now."

"Isn't he your brother?" I ask, surprised.

"He is... I don't want him to die. If I go back, they'll know I saved you. He's going to escape soon.. tonight." She tells me. "We should help him.. I mean.. you've been helping me out this whole time. I've endangered you." I say, staring at my hands in the dark.

There's a long silence and then I hear a slice and a thud. Niommi had killed a walker. The walker let out another groan as it died. She turns to me, dark eyes endless with what seemed like thoughts.

"We go. By morning."

••••••••

My leg was killing me by the next day. I had been walking for hours, slicing walkers, and drinking the water we had. I hadn't eaten, neither of us had. "How far?" I ask patiently.

"We're almost there," Niommi says, dunking a branch. I do the same, my foot tangling with the roots of a thick tree. I barely keep myself from falling. The trees begin to clear out, the cabin coming into view behind the thin withered trees. It was a small cabin, with two floors, and what looking like a small garage... besides it. A car... "could we get the car?" I ask, limping to a nearby rock and crouching beside it.

"We get Jim... Going for the keys would be too much. After all, Barla is still in there."

Barla... I grit my teeth and force myself to stand. That insane lady. I remembered the terrible night, being forced to sit at the dinner table.

"Let's go." I say, and began to stroll towards the house as if I'm gonna just simply knock on the door and say "Hey we need your car keys and Jim," But no, I didn't know what would I do, all I know is that Niommi grabs my arm and drags me to the garage.

I simply follow and notice how I couldn't see inside the windows. All I saw was wood, which indicated it was heavily boarded.

She opens the garage door, her hands quick, almost making no noise. I follow her in. The truck is a big rusty blue truck, but still. It was a truck. I hadn't been in a car in a long time and it was something everyone in the apocalypse could use.

There was a door leading into the cabin, I knew we were heading there next. Well, not we. Because Niommi opens the truck door and whispers "Hide."

"What if something happens?" I ask, and we both know this was way too simple for Niommi alone. I would probably slow her down.

"Why don't I get the keys?" I suggest. Her eyes brighten. I actually gave a good idea for once. I wanted to pat myself on the back.

".... in the basement," she says.

"Ok... let's go," I say, my legs felt wobbly. We silently and quietly open the cabin door, and it creaks. I hear 80's music playing and a low hum and the sound of something frying.

"Niommi?" I hear the southern voice like it's an alarm, my body tenses as I grip the drawer for balance. "Back already?" She calls.

"Yes," Niommi calls back and pretends to set something down by slamming her palm against the table against the wall.

"Jim is waiting for you to help him with the pre-meat.," Barla says and a delighted giggle leaves the insane woman's lungs. Niommi points to a room down the dark hall. A door. It looked different from any other doors. "The meat room," Niommi whispered. I nod and swallow down the strange feeling in my throat, and began to speak to the hall.

Before I do, Niommi grabs my shoulder. "Are you sure?" She asks.

I force a confident nod and turn my back, nearly running to get to the door. I open the door, to be greeted with long dark stairs. A cold musty air brushed against my arms, and I cover my mouth trying not to gag at the smell and peek at Niommi. She was already gone. I sigh relieved, but quickly pull the door closed when I hear footsteps and pin myself to the wall behind beside the door.

"Niommi?!" The voice calls into the door.

"Yes?" A voice calls, opposite from the side of the house. I hear a scowl and the door opens on me and I press myself against the wall.

"I knew something was fishy." I hear her say as she walks right past me and down the stairs, her ponytail swinging as she nearly bounced down the stairs. It's my chance. Could I lock her down here? No... the door was clearly broken, that's why it stood out the most in the hallway.

She was midway in the stairs, humming loudly. She would stop, and place her hand against the wall as if listening.

The first movement I made, caused her to turn her head and start to turn around. I threw myself towards her, my body colliding with her's and slamming her into the stairs, as we began to fall. I hear a shriek leave her mouth and we both topple down the stairs. I thought I had killed myself when I hit the concrete. The concrete.

My head spun, as I stare at the fluorescent lights thinking I had died because I was looking at lights. I lift my hands to my face to see my fingers were shaking with blood.

I quickly touch my head with my arm but there wasn't blood on my arm. Oh... it's Not my blood.

I sat up, my head throbbing with pain. Barla was laying beside me, her eyes shut, blood staining her forehead.

She was breathing, but unconscious. I quickly stood, and the smell seems to hit me. It was terrible. I cover my mouth and look around the room. It was disgusting, terrible. There were at least four tables in the room, each with piles of raw meat stacked on them, and some meat was hanging from the corner of the room.

What was I looking for? A key. There was a shelf on one side of the wall and a drawer. I searched the drawer, my eyes wide with frustration. I hear something scrub against the floor and I peer into the corner of my eyes.

Barla's body was gone.

I spun around and cold hands wrap around my throat. "You!" She hisses and slams something sharp into my hand. I scream, noticing she was holding a pair of scissors.

She yanks the scissors out of my bleeding hand and reels back to stab me again, but I kick her in her gut and she seems to sail backward. I race for the stairs, my legs moving up and down as I forced my bad leg to obey.

Suddenly the cold hand wraps around my ankle, and I topple forward, my chin slamming against the stair.

"How dare you!" Barla screams, and grabs my hair, pulling my head backward. "I'm gonna cut your tongue out.." she whispers and grins. She opens my mouth, pinning me against the stairs. Once again, I bit her finger.

She screams and falls backward purposely, knocking her back down the stairs, this time I don't fall with her, I grab the railing. I watch as she falls backward, and she hits the floor again, but she gets up quickly.

The keys. She had them. I throw myself towards her and she growls with anger, trying to stab me again. I barely dodged her that time, my heart was about to jump into my throat. I finally reach for the keys.

"So that's what you want..." Barla growls. She kicks me backward and I hit the ground, moaning when a sharp pain echoes through my stomach.

I peer back up at her, to see her hovering the car key over her mouth. She drops the key into her mouth and looks at me.

Swallow.

I grit my teeth and force myself up. She slams me against the wall, laughing. "How are you gonna run away now? Little blue bird!" She taunts, reaching for the knife that was laying on one of the tables.

She was smiling as she began to bring the knife on me. I used one of my hands to push back.

I used my other hand to reach for the pair of scissors lying on the concrete floor. She growls and forces her other hand on the knife, and the knife seems to inch closer and closer to my throat. I grasp the scissors as soon as the knife nips my throat. I cry out and stab her in the side and she screams dropping beside me.

I force myself up and stare down at her as her hands attacked her wounded side. She looked up at me. I forced myself to look away. She was laughing now, a weak forced laugh.

"Thank you." She whispered and begins to laugh again. "Win for the win." She laughs. "You killed me... I ate your precious little key." She grins.

I turn my back on her. "Aren't you gonna try the meat? You could survive weeks on it!" Barla cries.

I shake my head and began to march up the stairs.

"Pain hurts," she starts, "Fine then. Leave me down here... You murder." She laughs.

Me? A murder? She killed people and ate them... I bite my tongue and keep marching up the stairs, hearing her laughs. I walk out of the basement, and I shut the basement door, sighing. I lost.

The key was gone. Niommi comes from the other hall, Jim by her side, and the pregnant woman named Talor and the little brat. He was scowling at me.

"Did you get the key?" Niommi asks.

"No.," I say, looking at the floor.

"Jim can hotwire it." The woman says, her voice breaking into my thoughts. Why was she even here? Had she decided she was sick of being a cannibal? I was at the brim of anger with her.

But we still could use the car, I forced a weak nod "sounds good." I say, my voice cracking.

Jim forces a nod. "Please let's get out of here."