Race for Safe Haven - Big Man in Charge

[Posted by Ted H]

Everything hurts...Why do I work? Why can't I play the lotto or rob a bank like normal people?

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[Race for Safe Haven - Big Man in Charge]

            "Next time I'm staying in the car," Steve said as Rhett looked around the roof. The area they were on was flat and it extended to the other side of the building. "Gotta be a way off this roof," he said as he began walking. "Besides the expedient way?" Steve asked. "We need that cable," Rhett said "There's no other way to climb down."
            Rhett returned to Steve and the two of them tried pulling the cable away from the zombies, but they wouldn't let go. Both pulled back with all they had only for the cable to snap, sending them flying back. "Fucking zombies," Rhett said as Steven pushed him away and stood up. "Now WE need rescuing," he said as he put his hands on his sides and sighed. "It's just a two story drop," Rhett suggested "Can't be that bad."
            "You're an idiot," Steve snapped. "Yeah, let's just sit up here and wait to die instead," Rhett yelled. He stormed off to the other end of the roof. Looking down, he noticed two things; there were no zombies on this side of the building, and there was also a window ledge just below. He sat down on the edge and hung his legs down.
            "What are you doing?" Steve asked as he ran over. "There's a window here. Might be no zombies on this end after the commotion we caused. Either way, it's less of a drop down if we jump from this ledge." Steve made a face, but nodded as Rhett dropped himself on the edge and held on with his hands. Even dangling as low as possible, it was still a bit of a drop to the ledge that Rhett could swore looked bigger before.
            He dropped himself onto the ledge and gripped the shutters on each side of the window when he landed. "Easy," he told himself as he then began to wonder how he planned on opening this window, or how to turn himself around if he had to jump to the ground. As he glanced down to the window, he realized someone was looking out at him from inside.
            "Uh...hi?" he said to the woman looking up at him. For the moment he wasn't sure if it was another zombie, but her eyes were normal looking. "Lil help?" The woman immediately began messing with the window until she was able to push it up. Rhett was able to crouch down and slide into the building.
            "Holy shit!" another woman said as Rhett stood up. "Hold it!" someone yelled. Rhett looked to see a man pointing a gun at him "Where the hell did he come from?"
            "The sky," Rhett said pointing up.
            "Were you the one making all that noise up on the roof?" the woman at the window said while pointing up. "Yeah," Rhett said as he put his hand up to calm the guy with the gun down "You guys must be the rest of Mike's group."
            "How the fuck," the man said while he walked closer, gun still raised "Do you know about us?"
            "Because I'm here to rescue you, dipshit," Rhett said.
            "Eric, put the gun down," the other woman said. "Shut up, Jenny," Eric shouted "I don't trust this prick."
            "Rhett!" Steve called from outside "What's going on down there?" Rhett put his hand up to Eric. "Hold that thought," he said as he went back to the window. "Drop the shotgun to me and come on down," he said while looking up "It's alright. They're here!" Steve dropped him the shotgun before preparing to drop down himself while Eric and Jenny continued to argue. The sight of Steve suddenly dropping into view ended the argument. Steve almost fell backwards after landing, but Rhett was able to reach out and grab his arm. He crouched and tumbled in through the window. "Graceful," Rhett commented, earning a middle finger from Steve.
            "Holy shit, Steve!" the woman said as she helped him up and hugged him. "Hey, Tara," he said as he looked around and smiled. "What is happening?" Eric asked as he finally put his gun away and walked up to Steve. "The shittiest day of my life to date," Steve said "Is everyone alright?" Eric shrugged "All things considered? Yeah."
            "Sarah's been bit," Jenny said, pointing to the blond in the corner with her head down, a trail of blood leading from her to a larger puddle. "Damn," Steve said, his smile quickly fading. He walked over to Sarah and forgot all about the rest of the room. Eric looked back to Rhett. "Rescue, huh?" he asked "So you two have something planned?"
            "Something like that," Rhett said as he looked out the window for the building Mike said he'd be waiting in. There he spied in a window Mike watching with his binoculars. Rhett flashed a thumbs up. "Now we wait for the right moment to escape," Rhett said. "Escape how?" Jenny asked "Jump out the window? We already tried heading for the fire escape."
            "Yeah, we know that isn't an option," Rhett said "We could always try the front door." Eric shook his head. "Absolutely not," he said "We were chased up here and had to barricade the doors." Rhett looked to the stairwell barricade. "More than there were heading for the fire escape?" he asked.
            "No," Eric said "But there's only so much we can do when all we had was my one gun." Rhett smirked "I got a shotgun," he said "You got a gun, Steve's got a gun. We got guns now." Eric stared at him a moment before sighing. "We don't have a choice here, do we?" he asked. "Nope," Rhett said "You want out of here, now is the time."
            Tara walked up. "Got any guns for the rest of us?" she asked. Before Rhett could answer, Eric stepped forward. "No," he said "I can handle things."
            "Are you serious?" she asked as Jenny grabbed her shoulder. "Don't worry," she said "I need your help carrying Sarah, anyway."
            "She's not coming," Eric said as everyone looked at him. "Why?" Jenny asked after a pause. "She's infected," Eric said with a serious look on his face "She's just holding us back at this point."
            "I'll carry her myself," Steve said as he offered his gun up. "No," Eric said "I need you up front, helping us push through or no one makes it."
            "I'm not leaving if Sarah's still alive," Steve said, locking stern looks with Eric. "She's as good as dead," Eric said "We only have one shot at getting out now, I'm not letting her jeopardize our chances." Steve shrugged his shoulders. "Tough shit," he said.
            "Fine," Eric relented "But I need you shooting." Steve nodded as he gave Sarah a reassuring smile.
            Rhett knew these people for only a few moments, but he already didn't like most of them. "I just had to stop for gas," he said to himself. Outside, the sizzle of a flare sounded, and Rhett looked to see the diversion tactic already starting. Mike with Laura were tossing flares on one end of the street while Matt was doing the same on the other.
            "Alright," Rhett said "Let's get this-"
            "Who the fuck put you in charge?" Eric snapped "You want to stick around and survive with us? Fall in line!" Everyone else in the room grew silent. "And what if I don't?" Rhett said as he stepped to within a couple feet of him. Eric smirked as he reached for his gun and went to point it at Rhett again. Before he could snap his arm into position, Rhett grabbed the gun and pulled it from his hand.
            An initial shock washed over Eric's face as Rhett brought his arm back around and smacked Eric in the side of the head with the handle of his own gun. Eric was about to recover himself and rush Rhett when he noticed the man had flipped the magnum around and was now pointing it at him. Everyone else kept their distance and Steve had his hand on his gun just in case.
            "Let's get one thing straight," Rhett said "You want to be the big man in charge? Fine. But you pull a gun on me again, I can promise you it'll be the last fucking thing you ever do." Rhett dropped the magnum back on the ground and walked away. Eric just stood there, fuming, as Steve went over and picked the magnum up. "We don't have a lot of time," he reminded him. Eric snatched his gun back as he stared. "Help me open up the stairway," he said sternly as he and Steve went to work.