𝒍𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒂 ➶ [ s. walsh ]

xxi. | ❝ proud of you. ❞

LOLITA.
xxi. |  ❝ proud of you. ❞

✧

ELEVEN WALKERS STOOD more or less motionless, their unfocused, milky gaze trained on nothing in particular. It was a large number to handle, considering the fact that Cassandra and Shane amounted only to two, but really, it could have been far worse.

Shane turned on the heel of his boot and ushered Cassie further down the aisle, out of earshot of the congregation of undead that stood at the back of the store. "There's a lot of them," he whispered lowly, his sombre eyes flashing like onyx set in marble. "Too many to take on with knives... You think you're ready to try shootin'?"

"But the noise..." Cassandra argued, her tone hushed. "Won't it attract more?"

"One or two, at most," Shane reassured her. "We're in the middle of nowhere." A slight smile threatened to twitch at the corners of his lips, proud of her for being so aware of her surroundings and the predicament they faced. "It'll be at long range, alright? You'll be safe."

The brown-eyed beauty nodded uncertainly, tucking her knife in the waistband of her jeans, before pulling the small gun from the holster at her hip with trembling hands. Her saviour, keen-eyed as always, noticed her anxious state and reached out gingerly, stroking her pinkie with his large, calloused thumb. He didn't have to say a word, and yet the small gesture of comfort eased her racing mind almost immediately, and her heart skipped a beat, just as it always did whenever she was graced by his touch.

"You ready?" he murmured, pulling back and withdrawing his own small firearm; gripping it with both hands and pointing it towards the grubby tiles beneath them.

She nodded, inhaling sharply and flicking the safety off with her thumb, before dragging her big, dark eyes up her partner's brawny torso, and finally settling upon his chiselled physiognomy. She took in his strong chin, and the soft dip of his cupid's bow which sheltered the now humourless line of emotion beneath it. His nose, which had been broken more than he'd care to remember. Eyes that burned almost black, framed by a furrowed brow and forehead creased with worry.

It was at that very moment that she realised that this was no schoolgirl crush that she harboured.

Cassandra loved him.

She loved the rough, rugged imperfection in his beauty. She loved his bear-like embrace, which left her feeling so little and fragile against his broad, beating chest. She loved the ease with which they conversed; playful banter, talk of the past, and their dreams for the future... Dreams, which they were too afraid to involve one another in just yet. But he protected her. He kept her safe. He was her best friend, and he was her saviour.

It was with a heart throbbing with adoration and veins rippling with adrenaline that Cassandra got into position beside Shane, more or less within the geeks' line of sight, but standing just a few feet away from the front doors - an easy escape route, should things get out of hand.

Shane fired the first shot; highly trained, with years of experience, the bullet slid through the walker's skull like a knife through butter, and it dropped to the floor heavily. The others - an amalgamation of uniformed shop assistants, and customers varying in age and gender - slowly rotated to fixate their glassy gaze on the pair, snarling as they began to stagger down the aisle. 

Both of them began letting off round after round - Cassandra's first few shells hitting the tinned goods on the shelves, or skimming the shoulders of the undead. Once she caught one of the shuffling corpses clean between the eyes, however, it became like second nature to the auburn-haired nymphet. An excited squeal reverberated in her throat, her keen gaze darting sideways towards her accomplice, who had already felled five or six of their opposition with flawless precision. "Shane, I got one! Did you see?" she gasped, an electric jolt of pride ricocheting down the length of her spine.

"Yeah, baby, I saw," Shane laughed, watching as two more walkers slumped to the ground in quick succession, brought to their knees by his faultless aim.

Within minutes, the pair had successfully wiped out the small cluster of undead that had previously swarmed the shop. Two sets of eyes scanned the disarray of broken glass, blood, rotting flesh, and various spilled foodstuffs that seeped across the floor, and two hands - warm from the firearms they had previously cradled - intertwined.

"I'm proud of you, darlin'," Shane told her, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her petite body close to his own tall, muscular frame affectionately. He noted how perfectly she fit against him - like the puzzle piece he had always been missing.

"What can I say?" Cassandra replied, her tone playful and a laugh spilling from between her plump, rosy lips. "I was taught by the very best."

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