One Promise

She knew if she hadn't needed to go hunt for more food she might very well have strangled him. When someone rescues you – gives you supplies and a group to travel with – you don't go and start spying on their little sister at all hours.

She felt the anger simmering in her veins. Heard the blood pumping through her ears like a drumbeat. But there were other sounds too, out and around her in the woods.

She heard the snap of the cord releasing. Then she felt the air by her right ear whizz by.

Throwing herself back, dead leaves crunching under her worn and stained work boots, "What the fuck do you think you're doin'?" Sebastian shrugged her off, walking off and pulling his arrow from the trunk of a tree.

"Was aiming for a squirrel." The ominous smirk tugging at the corners of his lips said otherwise.

"Bullshit!" She moved after him quickly, stilled fingers hovering at her hip – the handle of her machete within easy reach. She watched him with steady eyes as he put the arrow back with the others.

"You got a problem with me, Quinn?" He held his bow loosely at his side, his arrogance oozing from every bit of him to create the perfect bubble of sheer ego. The challenge sparking in his eyes, hidden behind the shaggy hair, begging for a fight.

"Hell yeah, when you shootin' at me." The dirt and grime on both their clothes proved neither were afraid of starting something. His bedraggled appearance only adding to the dangerous vibe he constantly gave off.

"Why waste a shot like that? I kill you now, your sister'll never let me get in her pants." The perverse smirk tugging at the edges of his lips made her stomach churn. "But then again, if you ain't around, ain't nobody gonna stop me from taking what I want." The look he tossed to her was one of resolve. A look that promised blood will flow.

"Bastard." She grabbed hold of the time worn handle of the blade at her hip. Lifting it between them, constantly aimed in his direction. "Should've left you to the monsters in the tunnel where we found you." Slowly, showing total confidence in himself, Sebastian eased his bow into a firmer grip. To most others it would look like he wasn't doing anything, a simple twitch of a muscle or a shift of the arm. But Quinn knew better. She saw the changes in his body – his stance. A position from which to attack.

"You made that call, and now your friend, Cam, is dead." He grinned at her in a way that would make the devil proud of such malevolence. "That one's on you." Thoughts of Ella back at the camp, unknowing of this all, flashed through Quinn's mind. She had to get back. She wouldn't be losing anyone else – not today.

"Leave, and things don't have to get ugly. You've got a portion of the rations in your bag. You'll be good for a couple days – a week if you can stretch it. Things don't have to go this way. Just walk away, Seb." Despite the whispers calling from the back of her mind that this was all pointless, Quinn knew – deep in the part of her that still held on to a bit of the person she used to be – that she had to try. Enough blood had been split since the outbreak, the world had seen enough death.

"You an' I both know there's only two ways this can go. One, I kill you and enjoy your little sister. Two, I hurt you just enough that I can make you watch while I take what's mine. Then I can ditch the both of you".

Every inch of her skin burned. Her eyes saw nothing but red. Quinn promised Ella long ago, when this mess all started, that she would always protect her – sisters stick together. She was going to keep that promise.

Lunging for him, blade raised to strike, Quinn kept moving in order to minimise her chances of being hit by one of his arrows. But instead of going to fire for her, he grabbed one of his arrows in hand instead.

Scuffling amongst the twigs and leaves, careful not to fall on any tree roots or loose rocks, the pair scrambled. Arrow in hand, Sebastian knew what she was like and watched her go to feign left, counting by a jab with the arrow for her right eye.

What little sunlight there was poking through the trees glinted of the deadly arrowhead – catching Quinn's sight. Throwing her head in the opposite direction, the arrow missed its mark, but Sebastian still managed to leave a deep gash with it in her shoulder. Despite the pain burning through her – scorching her shoulder -, she slashed at him with the machete, a line of fresh blood running down his forearm.

"You bitch!" Stumbling back, Quinn realised she had now rendered him unable to use his bow – not with his arm like that. "You're gonna pay for that."

In those few seconds where the two were separated enough to stop going for each other's throats, echoes of snapping twigs bounced of the trees from somewhere over his shoulder. Then more followed, with the rustle of dragging feet through the covering of the forest floor.

The one word neither wanted to hear right now fell from Quinn's lips.

"Revenants."

Between the many trees, bloodied and decaying corpses of the dead came towards them. Despite their lumbering, both knew that it was easy to fall victim if cornered by a hoard. Their strength was something to fear when they came in numbers.

Stumbling away from both Sebastian and the enclosing monsters, Quinn moved quickly up the path that would eventually lead back to their camp. Picking up speed, Quinn pushed pasted the fatigue to reach her sister and get away before it was too late. Dirt, dust and leaves flew up at her heels. The thumping of other footsteps behind her told Quinn, Sebastian was not far behind her. She knew couldn't slow down – couldn't look back.

Though she knew she should have when world tipped and her legs were taken out from under her. Pulled back with force, Quinn fell into the muck of the forest floor – the mass of revenants too close for comfort.

Clawing for anything that could help her, despite that she looked now looked death in the eye, she gripped something sturdy and felt leather underneath her finger tips. Using Sebastian's back foot that was now trapped in her grasp, Quinn made her split-second decision.

Blood and screams erupted from him when the machete sliced through the back of his calf. Collapsing to the ground, Sebastian looked down at his ruined limb and the woman quickly getting back to her feet again.

Not taking a second to reconsider her choice, Quinn bolted past Sebastian bleeding out on the ground.

"No. Quinn, please!" Blocking his pleas from her mind Quinn kept running as fast as her legs could carry her. Even once his begging turned to screams of pain as the revenants reached him and began devouring his body, she did not look back once. She knew she couldn't.

Chest heaving and breaths escaping in ragged puffs, Quinn ran along the path and twisted through trees till she saw the small stream of smoke ahead.

"Ella, grab the stuff now. Hurry." She didn't need to see her sister to know she would have immediately started stuffing what little they had into their backpacks. Slowing into their camp Quinn kicked at the dust quickly to smother out the little fire in the centre. Grabbing the handgun out of her own bag, Quinn double checked that it was still fully loaded before hoisting bag onto her back.

"Where's Seb?" The small ringlets of golden blonde bobbed about as the young girl looked back and for the between the forest trees.

"Didn't make it." Grabbing her sister by her arm Quinn began picking her up to run again. "We have to go now. They won't be kept at bay for long." Without another word the pair began running and didn't stop till as much ground as possible had been put between them and their old camp, long enough that the sun was almost setting.

"Up ahead. An old farmhouse." Nodding forwards, the line of trees finally ended and a small dilapidated house sitting in the middle of a field came into view. "We'll rest up here for the night."

Slowly hiking their way across the field and through its tall overgrown grass, the two scouted out the shelter. Broken windows and minimal supplies were left that hadn't been looted, but no revenants – or other people. A safe bit of shelter for the night – finally a roof over her sister's head.

"Not much, but it'll be warmer than outside. And there still might actually be beds upstairs – at least a blanket or two." Letting themselves in, Quinn locked the door behind them then went around and barricaded all entrances and exits, even covering the windows.

"You're bleeding." Walking closer to Quinn to check the wound at her shoulder, Ella pulled out of her bag the pathetic excuse of a first aid kit. It was nothing more than a couple of bandages and a few bits and pieces to manage some form of stitching.

Knowing better than to fight her on this, Quinn let her roll up her sleeve and see to the gash.

"Got yourself pretty good, huh?" Ella looked up at her big sister with a small smile, a glint of hope still sparking in her eyes.

Quinn just hummed in response, peeking through a tear in the worn curtains that let her see through the window to check outside.

"Cam's gone. Now Seb... How're we going to make it?"

Quinn snapped her eyes to the ocean blues focussing on the needle going through her skin, "Because I only ever made one promise." Grabbing hold of both of Ella's hands, Quinn held them tight in her own. "And I intend to keep it."