With the motel hallway cleared, Dr. Greene slumped down against the balcony railing for a moment’s respite. She pulled the shotgun back around and held it tightly for a moment. She didn’t realize that she still had on her dark sunglasses. She chuckled at what she must have looked like and tucked them in her shirt pocket. She patted herself down, looking for any injuries. Aside from some minor scrapes and bruises, she was just fine.

​

She took a deep breath and walked back over to the center guest room. A large handprint of Decedent gore stained the door in blood. Hopefully, that meant that any other Decedents in the area would pass over. Kayla was thirsty and exhausted. She pushed open the door only to find a pistol pointing directly at her face. She was shocked and too tired to react right away. She just put her hands in the air and stared down at the young boy blocking her path.

​

“Y’all got a funny way of saying thank you,” Kayla pointed out with a sarcastic grin. 

“Put down the shotgun,” the boy commanded. “Drop the hammer and empty your pockets.”

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

“Do it,” the boy urged, leveling the gun on Kayla.

“Easy now, cowboy,” Kayla soothed, looking over to the old man and the young teenaged girl for support.

 

The old man had passed out. A dribble of warm saliva began to wet the pillow next to his head. The girl was no help either; the look on her face was just as icy as Danny’s. As soon as the hammer and shotgun hit the floor, the teenaged girl quickly moved to gather up the items. Dr. Greene spun slowly around to show that she was emptying her pockets and dropping her billfold. The young girl grabbed her belongings and began riffling through Kayla’s stuff immediately.

​

“Take it easy, guys. My name is Kayla Greene.”

“Don’t move,” the boy insisted.

“It says here that you’re a doctor,” the girl stated. She didn’t look up from the ID badge but could barely hide the heightened intensity in her voice. Kayla heard it and knew there was hope for changing the situation in her favor.

“That’s correct,” she stated matter-of-factly.

“What kind of doctor?” the girl pressed.

“I’m the kind of doctor that can help your old friend over there,” Kayla motioned with a jerk of her head. “He needs to be stitched up right away. He’ll bleed and die. Now, I’ve got some supplies in my pack and some cans of soup if you’re hungry. What do you say we go back to being on the same team for a while?”

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