Punisher
Natalie called Lottie’s name desperately. Her voice echoing across the empty space that trailed off of the cliff in front of her. She had to help herself, but something inside of her was pulling her towards the edge to see if Lottie was alright.
The one that had been formerly attacking Lottie had fallen off the cliff not far after as it attempted to chase her down. The other one was still looming nearby, sliced ear leaking blood as she stared at it, eyes burning with hatred.
Before it ran at her, she lunged towards it, body-slamming the creature onto the ground aggressively, securing it to the ground with her knee before reaching for a heavy rock on her left.
With a deep, harsh breath, she lifted it up above her head and swiftly back down into the skull of the zombie. She grunted angrily with each hit, crushing its head in more and more with every hit.
Even after she was sure it was dead, she continued for a few extra “good measure” hits before rolling off of it, laying on her back, closing her eyes. Blood was splattered all the way up her arms and her shirt, making it more and more uncomfortable as it dried.
She eventually worked up the strength to stand up. Natalie didn’t want to check on Lottie. She couldn’t handle what she could find. She made slow steps towards the edge of the cliff, each step sounding like a hammer under her feet as she felt her chest tighten.
Natalie reached the edge, and with a slow, deep exhale, she looked down, peering through halfway squinted eyes to see the silhouette of the girl sprawled out on a ledge. Blood pooled around her head, and her left leg looked to be in an uncomfortable position.
“Lottie?” Natalie yelled, eyebrows lowering in worry. What if she’s dead? Was that my fault? She couldn’t be dead. Right? She’s just... Knocked out, or something. She has to be. Troublesome thoughts rang in Natalie’s head as she stared down, desperately calling out a few more times for the girl.
She couldn’t leave her. Whether she was dead or not, she had to get to her somehow. “I’ll be right back.” Natalie whispered, turning around and leaving the bag behind as she sprinted off in the direction they had originally been heading.
Her feet pounded against the grass, breath coming out in heavy, controlled puffs. She weaved through trees and bushes, making her way out of the thick forest and into the familiar clearing.
Natalie could see the cabin at this point, which made her run faster. When she got up to the door, she swung it open as quickly as possible. She frantically whipped her head around, trying to find someone, anyone.
Her eyes locked with Shauna, looking confused and worried. “Natalie? Where’s Lottie?” The girl hummed, tilting her head to the side.
“She—cliff...” More huffing followed, “She fell! She’s—she’s hurt!” Natalie shouted, coughing as her throat felt tight. “Help.”
“Okay, okay, where?” Shauna jumped to her feet, making her way to Natalie with a concerned expression flowing over her face.
“Wait.” Natalie signaled with her finger as she ran off around the corner, grabbing a rope off of the bag that was spilled out onto the kitchen table. She nodded to Shauna when she returned, “Okay, come on.”
Natalie bolted off without a second thought, not checking to see whether Shauna was following yet or not. She had gone slightly slower this time, energy starting to dwindle from the long day.
She arrived to the cliff’s edge, feeling Shauna get closer. The girl peeked over the side; Natalie heard a soft gasp as the girl spotted Lottie.
Lottie’s blood had dried, the pool wasn’t much bigger than last time she had seen it. A small wave of relief washed over Natalie as she realized that meant Lottie wouldn’t bleed out. If she was still alive.
“Here—give me the rope.” Shauna said, reaching a hand out. Natalie nodded, handing it over slowly as she watched Shauna tie it to a tree, pulling on it a couple times to secure it.
“Okay. Do you want to...?” Shauna asked, gesturing to the rope.
“Yes. Yeah. I got it.” Natalie hummed, nodding urgently as she took ahold of the rope. Her heart raced as she started lowering herself. It had to be about a twenty...twenty-five feet drop.
The rope didn’t reach all the way, so Natalie had to jump down slightly, landing with an unsteady wobble before centering herself with a sigh. Her neck craned, making eye-contact with Shauna as she gave her a thumbs-up.
She dropped down onto her knees beside Lottie, grabbing her shoulders and shaking the girl softly. “Lottie...?” She whispered, “Lot?”
Tears welled in her eyes as she kept calling for her, a lump forming in her throat. “Please, Lottie, get up.” She ordered harshly. Letting her arms drop down to her side.
She lifted the limp girl up onto her knees, almost cradling her as she rubbed blood off of the gash in her head. Small tears falling onto the girl’s shirt.
“Natalie?” Shauna shouted down to her. “It’s getting dark. We have to go.”
“We can’t leave her!” Natalie barked, swiveling her head around up to eye her.
“Natalie. You have to just accept that sh—”
“Shut the fuck up Shauna. She’s not dead.” Natalie snapped. “You can go. I’m staying.”
“But Natalie...” Shauna began, her voice filled with sympathy.
“I said go!” She snarled, turning her head back to face Lottie. She didn’t wait to see if Shauna left. But heard retreating footsteps in the distance. She dragged her hand across Lottie’s face, moving her hair off to the side.
After a few more moments, she felt a twitch. Her heart skipped a beat. For a moment, she thought maybe Lottie had been bit.
She didn’t see a bite.
But she didn’t look everywhere.
Was Lottie turning into one of them?
Was Natalie about to get bit by her?
She was frozen in place, staring at Lottie with fear mixed with hope.
The girl’s eyes flickered open, and she winced.
“Lottie?”
“Natalie...?” Lottie croaked, her throat clearly dry, coming out in a scratchy voice. Natalie exhaled in relief as she closed her eyes, nodding.
“Hey... Hey...” She smiled.
“Wh... What happened?” Lottie asked hoarsely.
“You fell when we were fighting the zombies. Took quite a hit, but I got you.” Natalie sighed, an unbelievable amount of happiness taking the place of the former terror she had felt. “Can you walk?” She asked, eyes flickering down to Lottie’s bent out of shape leg.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m okay.” She mumbled, sitting upright slowly with a sharp hiss of pain.
“Go slow.” Natalie ordered as she jumped to her feet, offering a hand. Lottie grabbed it, using all her force to lift herself off of the ground. Natalie noticed the light pressure that Lottie had applied to the leg.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes. Promise.” Lottie assured her, nodding. Natalie didn’t believe her, but if she was going to be stubborn, there wasn’t anything that she could do to change her mind.
Natalie tugged on the rope, making sure it was still holding before she stepped back. Before Lottie started to climb, a familiar face peered over the edge. “Need some help?” Shauna smirked.
God, didn’t I tell her to leave? Natalie thought bitterly before letting out a sigh, she knew she had to say yes. “Yeah, sure, whatever.” Natalie replied reluctantly as Shauna grabbed onto the rope.
“You go. If you slip, I’ll be there to break your fall.” Natalie grinned as she helped Lottie get a grip on the rope. She waited below her as she climbed, her arms and right leg doing all the work as her left leg dangled below her. She stayed in place until Shauna grabbed Lottie’s hand, pulling her over the cliff.
Natalie got up much faster, trying to get up as quickly as possible to make sure Lottie was alright. She pulled herself over on her own due to the absence of Shauna who was too busy checking over the dark-haired girl.
“Let’s go back. We should get that leg checked out.” Natalie said with a frown, staring at the clearly injured leg. Possibly a break, hopefully a sprain or something milder.
The two girls helped Lottie towards the cabin. It took them quite some time to get there, but they made it eventually.
“Misty!” Natalie yelled; arm draped over Lottie’s shoulders when Shauna left to go find the curly-haired blonde.
She returned urgently, looking intrigued. “She fell off a cliff?” Misty asked, looking confused.
“Yes. No questions. Help her.” Natalie ordered harshly, eyes flickering over to Lottie who looked exhausted.
They brought her over to the nearest couch, laying her down as Misty analyzed her knee. A small crowd started forming, but Natalie shooed them away with a wave of her hand.
“Okay... It’s dislocated.” Misty hummed. “I can fix it, but it might hurt.” She added, sighing as she positioned her hands against the girl’s knee.
“Okay, yeah, go ahead. Whatever you need to do.” Lottie groaned, laying her head back as she gripped the couch, bracing herself for the pain. Natalie couldn’t watch, she didn’t want to see Lottie in anymore pain.
A crack sounded from behind her, quickly followed by a loud yelp from Lottie as she breathed heavily. “Oh fuck.” She groaned painfully. Natalie spun back around making her way beside Misty.
“Now what?” She asked anxiously.
“Take her to the bed. She needs to sleep. Some ice would be great, but under the current circumstances...” Misty trailed off with a sigh. “Just prop up her leg.”
“Got it.” Natalie nodded as she slid over to Lottie’s side. “Can I?” She asked as she began to lift Lottie off the bed. She girl nodded silently, wincing with every movement. Natalie felt awful for her. She couldn’t stand to see the girl in pain.
Natalie assisted her to the room with a hand around her waist, using all her strength to make sure that Lottie barely had to put any pressure on the floor.
She laid her down gently, folding her own pillow in half and putting it under Lottie’s knee. “Is that okay?” She whispered.
“Yeah, yeah, that’s good, Nat. Thank you.” She smiled; appreciation mixed with exhaustion evident on her face.
“I’ll try and get you some ice, or a frozen bag of peas. Anything cold.” She promised, smiling down at Lottie.
Natalie thought for a moment, then ran out the door, rummaging through a bag until she found a roll of bandages. She made her way back to Lottie, lifting her head slightly as she wrapped it carefully around the wound, trying it off in a little bow with a grin. "We'll have to make sure you aren't concussed or anything, tomorrow." Natalie sighed, straightening back up as Lottie nodded.
In the moment, Natalie made a strange decision that she didn’t even think about before it happened. She leaned down and planted a careful, warm kiss on Lottie’s forehead before stepping back nervously.
Without saying another word, she left the room, closing the door behind her and dropping her head into her palms. Why. The fuck. Did I do that? Natalie groaned as she lifted her head, making her way towards the living room. Javi was sound asleep on the couch that Lottie had just been laying on.
That was fast.
She assumed Coach had been there the whole time, as he was snoring quietly on his recliner. Van stood alone in the kitchen, locking eyes with Natalie as she smirked.
“What?” Natalie whispered, furrowing her eyebrows.
Van let out a soft giggle, “Ohhh, nothing.” She hummed, wiggling her eyebrows as she winked at Natalie, walking off into her assigned room.
What the actual fuck was today? Natalie wondered as she looked around. Laura Lee had joined Lottie in their room, and Gen squished into the other room, sleeping on the floor. Natalie decided to sit down next to Travis on his pile of blankets.
“Got some room for one more?” She whispered. The boy rolled his eyes, nodding as he slid over slightly, offering Natalie half of the pile. They had to share a pillow, but she didn’t mind.
“You smell like lake water.” He groaned. Natalie giggled slightly, but didn’t answer, closing her eyes and letting sleep take her within moments.