Nothing in all of my video game playing could have prepared me for what I stumbled upon. Opening those lab doors, I thought I was going to find Max safe and sound in a holding cell or locked classroom. Grimes would be trying to get away, but Thor would stop him. We would all go back to The Homestead and Grace would be waiting for us with a cure.

But no.

I opened those doors to see Ashley standing in front of a figure in a hospital gown, a dead scientist on the desk next to it. The blonde hair and ponytail made me think of Max, but I didn't want it to be true.

She had blood on her mouth and on her arms. Her eyes were crazed and desperate. I saw the girl that I've known for years, but I also saw a hint of the monsters we've killed over the passed few weeks.

Holding my rifle up, all I could do was hover my finger over the trigger as she begged me to stop her. Ashley's voice echoed in my ears, pleading with me to stop. As Max fell to the ground, my finger went to the trigger. She looked up at me, her eyes slowly fading.

The intercom broke my attention, forcing me to cover my ears. The voice that followed, could only be Grimes.

His words bounced in my skull and turned my blood to ice. I huffed out of my nose, clenching my jaw as I scanned the lab. My eyes shifted up to the dark windows on the second level. The one in the middle left side suddenly burst to life with light.

Nathan was by the window, a rifle in his hands. A man next to him stood with opened arms towards us. He looked like a McJagger look-alike in a lab coat. Two other men in black combat gear were behind them.

"Hello!" McJagger Wannabe grinned at us, "Nice to finally meet you two! I've learned so much. So much."

That last point was jabbed towards Ashley. She raised her gun and shot four rounds into the window. Unfortunately, that only caused four chips in the glass.

That only caused Grimes to chuckle, putting up his hand in defense, "Wow! You really are a spitfire! Sorry, honey, we're smarter than that. These babies can hold almost every blast there is. Not nuclear, of cour-"

"Shut up!" Max roared, shaking the ground underneath us. Shakily, she rose to her feet and looked up at Grimes, "You're gonna lose."

Shaking his head, he merely smiled at her, "Oh Maxie. A fighter's spirit. That's why I chose you."

"No one fucking cares!" She yelled, "I'm going to rip your fucking throat out. Then we'll see just how much of a fighter I am."

Grimes whistled, "Okay. Okay. I would love that. Really. However, I have a lot more for you to do. First things first. Kill those two and we'll be on our way."

Clutching her head, Max fell to the ground once more. Her whole body shook, holding on to a desk for support. I lifted my rifle, setting my sights on her head. Screaming in pain, her back arched and she threw her head back.

"Steve!" Ashley screamed.

I looked up to her. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she shook her head. I opened my mouth, but there was a slam from the observation room. My eyes went up just as the doors behind Grimes and his men burst open. Thor, Hawkeye, and four others came in with their guns raised. Grimes and Nathan instantly put their hands up. As Thor and Hawkeye forced them against the glass, I could see Grimes smirking down at us.

Max hunched back over, a growl shaking the room. I looked back to her, raising my gun.

"Make it stop!" I yelled to Grimes, "Now!"

Thor put his pistol up to Grimes' head, "Do as the kid says, AC/DC."

"I'm more of a Rolling Stones man." Grimes chuckled, earning punch to the kidneys.

"Shut up!" I yelled.

The growling stopped suddenly. I looked back to see Max slowly get up. Lowering my rifle, I watched as she turned to me. My flashlight shadowed her face as she took a step forward.

"Max?" I asked softly.

Her head lifted and I saw milky white eyes staring back at me. The corners of her lips lifted into a snarl as she bared her blood covered teeth at me. She lunged towards me and I lifted my rifle to bar her from getting too close. I was pushed back until my thighs were against a desk. Using the momentum off the desk, I pushed Max off of me. She stumbled back, but easily got back on her feet.

"Do it!" Max growled at me.

"Max." I raised my rifle once again, "Stop. You hear me? Stop!"

"We're coming, Steve!" Thor yelled to me.

It would be too late. Max had her eyes locked on me as she growled and lunged once more. My finger went to the trigger, but a shot rang out. Max stopped in her tracks, her face contorting in pain.

I lowered my rifle as blood pooled on the right collar of her gown. Max slowly rose a hand to her neck as her eyes filled with color. Bringing her hand away to see her own blood, she looked at me before falling to her knees.

Behind her was Ashley, her gun raised. Her eyes were on Max as she dropped her pistol. She went to her knees next to Max and ripped a piece of clean gown off before pressing it to Max's wound.

Ashley presses it to her neck as her eyes went up to me, "Well?"

The lab doors opened and Thor came in with the other Homestead citizens. I bent down to help Ashley pick up Max. Together, we walked through the doors and followed our group back out into the night. Thor held the HumV door open and we set Max in the floor. Ashley crawled in after her and gently pulled in so she was laying flat on her back. I hopped in and Thor shut the door behind him to hop in the driver's seat.

"Let's rock n roll!" He yelled before reversing rapidly.

Ashley and I held on to Max to keep her steady as Thor drove us. Reaching in to her pack, Ashley brought out a medical kit. She rifled through it, her hands shaking. She produced gauze and alcohol wipes.

"Flashlight." She said to me, ripping the gown off of Max.

I grabbed my flashlight and shined it on Max's neck. At the curve of her neck and shoulder, here was a through and through hole. Blood pooled on the floor is the car, not enough to kill her just yet, thankfully.

Her eyes flickered underneath her eyelids as Ashley started to clean her wound. Max's body was warm, I could feel it radiating. Black veins snakes under pale skin and the scar from the knife wound was prominent.

Her shoulders never catch a break, do that?

Ashley's brows were furrowed in concern and guilt as she put pressure on the wound. Out of all the people in the group, I wouldn't think of Ashley to be the one to shoot her. She begged me not to shoot Max in the lab.

She caught me staring at her and shook her head, her eyes going back to Max, "What?"

"You..." I couldn't even say the words.

"I had to." Ashley said, keeping her hands on the wound, "I had to."

The second time she said it sounded like she was trying to convince herself. She was the one with the strongest hope of curing Max. Sure Grace wanted to make a cure, but even she knew of the consequences and risks.

I grabbed some rope from my pack and started tying Max's wrists together. Ashley looked at me in alarm, but I only shrugged. A breath came out of her nose, but she didn't stop me. She only held the gauze to Max's neck with one hand and stroked her hair with the other.

***

Thor somehow got us to The Homestead safe and sound while also making the trip under two hours. The car barrier was moved, so Thor pulled right up to the hospital doors. I opened the doors to the HumV to see Grace and other doctors waiting with a stretcher.

"What happened?" Grace asked me as I gout out of the car to help load Max onto the stretcher.

"Gun shot." Was all I said, glancing at Ashley. She continued to sit in the car, holding her bloody hands.

"GSW to the neck and a fractured scapula." Grace said to the other doctors, "Take her to the second floor, restrain her, get anesthesia and surgery ready to get the bone shards out and patch her up. Go!"

The doctors took off to the elevator. Grace hung back and approached Thor.

"Is that it?" Grace asked.

"Just her." Thor nodded, "Everyone else in the lab ran except for Grimes and a few of his men. They didn't put up much of a fight."

A dark expression shadowed Grace's face, "He's here?"

Slowly, Thor put up his hands to try to calm her down, "Yes. However, I suggest to not approach him yet. We still have a team gathering information at the lab. He needs to be alive and well in case we need to translate any of his notes. Okay?"

She didn't like it, but Grace nodded, "Fine. But when he's no longer needed, I am the first to talk to him. Understand?"

Thor nodded quickly. For as long as I've known him, Thor hasn't been scared of any situation unless it involved Angry Grace. I completely understood why.

Turning on her heel, Grace strided back into the hospital. Thor let out a breath and looked to us.

"You two get cleaned up." Thor smiles softly before making his way towards the gas station.

I turned to Ashley. She was still just frozen in her spot in the car. I leaned in, holding out a hand. Her eyes went to me and she slid out before walking with me into the hospital. Her breathing became rapid as her hands were out in front of her. Max's blood soaked her hands up to her wrists.

"Hey hey. It's okay." I said, grabbing the bowl of hand wipes from the front desk and sitting her down on a chair. I knelt in front of her and started wiping her hands, "She's gonna be okay, Ash. They're good doctors. And now we can help her even more people with Grimes' notes. Maybe we can help everyone."

"I did this to her." Ashley shook her head, "I shot her. I shot Max."

Tears pooled in her eyes and slid down her cheeks. I reached up and wiped her tears, putting a hand on her cheek, "You did what you had to do. You saved my life. You knocked her out of whatever state she was in."

Her eyes traced a line from her hands and up to my face. They locked with my eyes as she opened her mouth to say something. Her lips trembled and only a choke escaped. She swallowed before finally speaking.

"I aimed for the head."

My mouth opened slightly, but I couldn't say anything. Ashley closed her eyes as tears continued to sneak through. She sniffled and hiccuped before she started outright sobbing.

"I aimed for the head!" She cried, "I could've killed her. My hands were shaking and I-I..."

I moved to the seat next to her and pulled her head into my chest. She sobbed into my shoulder as she clutched my shirt. I kissed the top of her head and rubbed her shoulder.

"You did what you had to do." I whispered, "You did what you had to do."