Survivors

You turn just in time to see a blade swinging right at your face. You bring up your rifle and the blade clatters from the metal surface. It was a weak swing of a machete, **** and completely unskilled. You smash aside the blade and lash out into the darkness with the butt of your rifle. You hear a thump and then another as someone falls to the ground.

Ritter moves in behind you and shines his flashlight past you. In the cramped office you can see two people on the floor. One is motionless and the other is writhing in pain and grabbing its face. It takes you a moment to realize the one moving is a girl, maybe 18 or 19 years old.

She is thin and pale with a short black pageboy haircut. It's a slim goth girl in an old army vest and fingerless gloves, black jeans and oversized boots. She's writhing around grabbing her mouth as blood leaks down her chin.

"Don't make a fucking move," Ritter says and yanks her up by her wrist.

Tears well in her eyes and her cheeks are streaked with old mascara. The girl yelps as Ritter menaces her with the gun. You push the barrel aside and move her hand. Blood is pouring from a cut on her gum, but it's not serious.

"Stop crying, you'll be fine," you tell her. "What's your name?"

"Cassie," she replies.

"Who is that?" You gesture to the body on the floor.

"My brother," she sobs, "he's hurt real bad."

You brush past Ritter and the girl and swing your light down behind the pharmacist's desk. Cassie's brother is on his back on a blanket on the floor. He looks to be in his early 20s. He's **** and wrapped in another blanket. He looks very pale and sweat is beading all over his face. As you watch you notice his breathing is shallow and he appears to be shivering.

You crouch down and open the blanket. His stomach is bandaged crudely and there are bottles of antibiotics scattered around him. You peel back the bandage and you see he has been badly slashed in the stomach. The wound appears very deep and the blood around it has a yellowish tinge that suggests bad infection. He's dying.

"What's his name?" You ask.

"Charlie," Cassie replies.

You stand up and consider the situation. Charlie is in serious condition. You know enough to bandage him properly and maybe get him ready to be moved, but without medical attention from someone who has some idea of what they're doing he is going to die. You don't know if you can handle the burden of caring for a dying kid right now. It would be easiest to either leave Cassie and Charlie to their fate or let her brother die and just save Cassie.

You glance at Ritter and see that he is eying the skinny girl's body lecherously. You can already guess what his vote would be: let the brother die and let him have Cassie for some fun.

This is why you're the leader. Because nobody else wants to make these sorts of decisions.