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"Okay, right, right," Tohru murmured, "We can do that. Everyone else stick together back here. We'll walk back your way once we've found a clear path forward."
Lis ran to the back of the group, prepared to help hold up the rear.
"Works for me, as long as we're on the same page. Go ahead, you guys. We'll keep at a stroll back here."
Kas nodded a bit and headed out the door, keeping a tight grip on his bow as he walked. He was noticeably limping, but trying to hide it. Mori kept his face hidden, staying as quiet as he could as he trembled in Lilac's arms.
Lilac held Mori close as she followed the others. She wasn’t going to let Mori go. Not unless she absolutely had to. Her siblings, meanwhile, followed behind them as they kept an eye out. Luka was tired but he pushed through for the others. He didn’t want to be an inconvenience…he already snapped. He didn’t want to make anymore mistakes. Bean held onto Aspen’s hand, shaking a little as she looked around wildly. Don’t make the same mistake twice, Bean… her mind plagued her with memories of past issues.
Lis, standing six feet or so behind the siblings, kept scanning the forest edge, trying to make sure nothing was out there.
Tohru looked over his shoulder at Kas.
"You're doing okay?" He asked, keeping his voice low as his gaze fell to the other’s limping gait.
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Aspen looked forward quietly, keeping her head held high and one hand on her bat, the other intertwined with Bean's. Her eyes darted around for any signs of movement or danger "its okay" Aspen whispered so only Bean could hear, as she could feel the other girls hand shaking violently in her own.
"Yeah, I'm fine…" Kas replied, his voice a bit stiff and strained and his face looking rather pale. His leg was hurting a lot, honestly, but he wasn't about to slow down the group when they were potentially being chased by zombies. They couldn't afford a setback.
Tohru gave back and unconvinced "Mhm," but kept pace with Kas, not saying anything further.
He was definitely not in good shape to be running, but Kas was stubborn. He knew the type. Tohru would be better off watching his back than arguing with him.
Bean held onto Aspen’s hand tightly, whimpering quietly. Seemed this girl needed a lot of help. Luka glanced at Kas, worried about the other boy. “Kas, maybe you should let someone carry you…” he whispered, not wanting to worry anyone else.
Aspen leaned into Bean a little bit, planting a soft kiss on her cheek "everything will be fine, I promise." She said quietly, gripping her bat handle harder.
"I'm fine." Kas insisted, staggering a bit and inhaling sharply. "Oh god… I'm fine. I'm fine. Fine." He leaned against a tree next to him, digging his nails into the bark. "I'm… fine."
Bean nodded. “O-Okay…” she whispered softly as Luka got closer to Kas. “You don’t look fine…your leg is hurt and you’re probably really stressed. Not a good combination,” Luka sighed, putting his hand on Kas’s shoulder.
Kas closed his eyes, gripping the tree as his injured leg shook violently, wobbling a lot and generally not looking very stable. His leg didn't seem like it would hold out much longer with all the strain, but he was trying to take another step anyway.
Kas…" Tohru sighed sadly, "Luka, I promise I'm watching his back."
He strolled over towards the other kid, giving him enough space to breathe.
"There's no shame in needing help. But if you need a subtle helping hand again-"
A twig snapped in the woods again. Then another. There were definite footsteps.
Luka heard it too and something snapped within him. It was almost as if some part of him suddenly awakened. “We need to go! NOW!” he yelled, scooping up Kas in the process. He knew the other boy would get mad but he wasn’t willing to risk anyone getting hurt. He rushed over to the others, still carrying Kas.
Kas yelped when he was picked up and clung to Luka, angry at being carried but still not wanting to fall in the process. "Put me down! I can… I can run!" He insisted, although he didn't sound particularly convinced himself. Mori wailed in distress and held tighter to Lilac, trembling more violently with fear.
“Sorry, no can do Kas. You’re in no condition to run,” Luka said sternly as he rushed over to Lilac and Mori. The older Rose was holding Mori close as she tried to comfort him. Both pairs rushed over to the people in the front. “We need to go now!” Luka repeated. Whatever had snapped inside of him was causing him to not let anyone out of his sight.
"This way!" Levi called from the front. "There's a field!" He stopped moving and let everyone run past him, watching behind them for danger. "It's fenced off and completely clear, go go!"
Kas huffed indignantly and watched over Luka's shoulder to see if anything was following them. He could tell that he couldn't change Luka's mind, so there was no point in wasting his time and energy arguing. Mori buried his face further into Lilac's shoulder, his breathing quick and erratic.
Lis ran up at the tail end of the group, making sure that everyone got to the field before her. She occasionally turned around, startled by the sounds coming from the woods.
Tohru ran to catch up with Levi.
Once everyone was there, Tohru stopped to make sure Kas was okay. And that's when a small group of zombies ran out of the woods. And that was only the first few.
One tried to target Kas, presumably clocking him as a weak link. Without the time to whip out his gun, Tohru lunged forwards and tackled the zombie.
Kas raised his bow and loosed an arrow from where he was in Luka's arms, managing to hit a zombie in the head. "Run! We can't let them catch up with us!" He yelled. Mori looked up to see what was going on, his eyes wide with terror and his face ghostly white. "O-Oh god…"
Lilac hid Mori’s face back in her shoulder as she rushed past her brother and Kas. Luka continued running, still carrying Kas with a determined look on his face. Bean gasped when she saw Tohru tackle the zombie. “Tohru!” she cried.
Panting heavily, Tohru pulled a knife and wedged it into the zombie's neck, trying to push back into the spinal cord as wild claws scratched at him, tearing into his skin.
Once he had hacked through well enough, Tohru lifted his weapon up and got to his feet. Another zombie was coming right for him. Before he had time to save himself- and he wouldn't have had time anyway- a gunshot rang through the air. Lis had downed the monster just in time.
Tohru whipped his head her direction to shoot her a quick "thanks," but his attention went back to the remaining zombies.
"Hey, what the fuck is happening? These are some bold sons of bitches, aren't they?" Tohru scowled through gritted teeth.
Kas managed to shoot down another zombie with his bow from Luka's arms, gritting his teeth and growling a bit in frustration. "Just run! We can't take them all with so many of us injured!" Mori clung tighter to Lilac, hyperventilating and starting to panic.
Luka nodded, rushing ahead. It was as though his legs had a mind of their own. Lilac held Mori close as she was still ahead of her siblings. “Shhh…I’ve got you…I won’t let them hurt you,” she whispered to him, trying to reassure him and herself. Bean followed her brother as she looked around wildly.
"Lilac, I can take Mori at a full run," Lis insisted, "Take care of yourself and your siblings first."
She kept on high alert, but offered to take Mori before they moved on.
Tohru finally reached for his gun, clicked off the safety, and shot at one of the two zombies that remained for now.