Panic was starting to seep into Nick’s reasoning and it felt like hours while she waited for some kind of response, anything to tell her that she wasn’t going to be left to fend for herself. Then the walkie crackled and the woman’s voice was back. “Neither,” she responded, figuring it wasn’t a lie. She wasn’t locked in the closet and there weren’t forty shufflers outside – more like ten and the closet wasn’t locked. “I’m injured.” Nick added, avoiding the fact that she could still get herself out of this situation on her own, she was just to scared too.
The relief she felt when the woman told her she was on her way was intense, and she tried to ignore that little voice that was telling her a lot could still happen before the woman got to her. Hitting the talk button again, she gave a simple. “I don’t plan to.” As confirmation that she didn’t have any plans on getting out of the hardware store on her own.
The noise outside was still unnerving and Nick clutched the handgun she had in her good hand, staring at the door just waiting for a shuffler or something worse to realize she was hiding out. But as the minutes ticked by nothing found her, and her hope of getting out of this alive began to rise. Then the walkie went off again, and the woman was telling her not to shoot her. “Okay, I promise I won’t.” She stage whispered into the walkie.
Even though she knew the woman was coming into the shop, she still jumped when she heard her call out softly to her. Reaching out for the knob on the door, Nick eased it open slowly. “Over here,” she called softly, peeking her head out from around the door. “I’m near the storage closet.” She supplied, her eyes scanning the small shop and finally settling on the woman.
“Bea?” Nick was both relieved and slightly nervous as to whom her rescuer was. The older woman was kind of intimidating, but she was also here saving her ass, so really she was more relieved than nervous to see the other woman.