Italics: Flashback
CAPITAL LETTERS: Shouting
Authors note : Hey guys, so I just wanted to write a quick thank-you for the ongoing support I have had whiole writing this fic. A special thanks goes to Poca and Penny who have given me ongoing support. This one is for you guys!
I don't own the walking dead, but I would have Norman Reedus in my cupboard if I did.
~Nia
CHAPTER 1
I looked down at my boots. This couldn't be good. There was no way I was getting out of this one. No way I was talking my way out of it at least. I looked over to the lake that was over a high verge to my left. I took a deep breath, peering over slightly. That's when a stupid redneck hick came up behind me and mockingly shoved me.
"What in the fuck is yer problem?"
My Mississippi accent thick in my harsh, daring words. "Do tha' again an' I'm gonna beat your ass" I threatened, meaning every word.
The older man laughed at me, his wrinkles around his eyes showing visibly. His crooked, slightly yellowing teeth flashed into my gaze. He repulsed me. Damn him.
"ooh look..lil' gurl has a tongue..now th' ain' very nice now is it lil' gurl? I was jus' playin' aroun'!"
I sneered in response, pushing him hard from his chest, causing him to take a step back to prevent falling over. His smile disappeared. In a split second, he lunged for me.
"DAMNIT MERLE!" The other redneck's voice spoke loudly and threateningly as he jumped between us, stopping a rather nasty back hander to my face.
I smirked in response at this man called Merle. Most people would have been afraid of this hick. Me? I grew up with guys like him. I could handle him. There was a small difference between the guys I had grown used to and this one.
He was Merle fucking Dixon and he had been on my ass since the moment I met him.
I opened the zip to my tent, peering out curiously into the morning sun. A few strands of my golden blonde hair fell over my eyes, glinting in the sun. I squinted my eyes at the brightness and inhaled the woody smell. I checked the surrounding area swiftly with my blue eyes, and after being satisfied there was no dead monsters approaching, I went back into the small tent I had been living in, reaching into my green rucksack and pulling out a relatively clean black tank to put on. I threw it over my black bra and then put an emerald green shirt over the top of the tank. I took a sip of water out of my canister, noticing that I needed to get more; and soon. I bent down, pulling on some black combats and my black lace up boots. I did the laces up carefully, making sure to tuck the laces in.
"Last thing you need is to be tripping over them when yer running gal!" I told myself this religiously.
I grabbed my rifle that was always close at hand, picking it up and looking through the scope. I attached my hunting knife to my belt, and nodded, satisfied that I had taken everything I needed from the blue nylon tent. I stepped outside, my eyes darting around once more to check the area was safe. I bend down and packed the tent up, rolling it and strapping it to the top of my bag. I threw the backpack onto my shoulders. I had begun feeling the weight take its toll on my muscles over the past few months, but I ignored the comforting ache. I unattached the stringed cans from the trees in the square perimeter I had created around my tent. This was my a makeshift burglar alarm. It wasn't the living burglars I was worried about. It was the dead ones trying to eat my limbs. I stuffed my 'burglar alarm' into the top of my rucksack as quietly as I could.
"Down to the lake fur some water, then try get some food fur yerself. You need to keep keep yer strength up, Neila" I told myself, planning the day out. I never strayed too far from the river, but recently I had been staying nearer the lake. It was a mile or two from the river and the forest was thicker with more woodland animals. It was easier to find myself food. That's what mattered now. Surviving.
It was a few months ago now. I first remembered hearing it on the news. People were coming back from the dead and eating the living. It was controlled for a week or so. Then it got real bad. Worse and worse. Tanks started driving through the streets of Atlanta. People were advised to stay indoors. Not me. Maybe that's why I'm alive and the rest of the world are just dumb dead bastards who want to eat me.
I walked east, in the direction of the lake. My rifle was slung over my shoulder. The warm Georgia sun was beating down on me through the mass of trees, glinting dangerously close to my eyes. It alerted my eyes and blurred my vision every now and then, causing my hand to shoot up to my forehead and keep the sun away. I felt the forest floor crunch under my feet, and stopped every now and then to ration the last of my water into my dry mouth. I also checked for nearby shuffles of those dangerous creatures, or hopefully wished for the scurrying of small animals that I might be able to shoot for food. Alone in this forest, I only had my thoughts to comfort and keep me company.
"Ya aint meant to be living gurl, yer surviving." This was another of my 'little voices' favourite phrases that popped into my head daily. I put the water back into the side holster of my backpack, and stood up making my way, once again towards the lake.
Finally, I looked over the beautiful water, the sun dancing across the surface, making the water look like glass. I smiled looking down, taking my rucksack off and throwing it down at a nearby tree, hearing the cans rattle against each other. I took the three canisters out of my bag, placing them on the forest floor. I took off my boots and combats, folding them carefully beside my rucksack, then pulled my shirt and tank over my head, throwing them on top of my combats. Pulling my rifle over my shoulder, moving it closer to the edge of the water (just in case y'know).
I waded into the water.
I let the water reach my torso and let my head fall back into the water. I smiled as I finally felt clean again. The sun warmed the water nicely. I washed my body over, ran my hands through my hair and started wading back to where my clothes were.
The water clung to my curved, once muscular body. The lack of eating what one would consider "proper meals" was taking its toll. As I reached my rifle, I heard something in the distance.
I tilted my head, eyes darting around every tree I could see, trying to see or hear where these noises came from. I panicked reaching for my rifle, blue eyes alert and ears listening to every movement.
Suddenly, I heard a voice rumble through the trees:
"WOOHOOO LIL' BROTHER!"
The noise darted off trees. Teasing and taunting me to try pin point the direction it came from.
"Fuck this" I muttered to myself. I ran towards my pile of clothing and bag. More importantly, I thought of my knife. The thought of its deadly silence comforting me.
I dressed as quickly as I could, placing my rifle at my side.
Snap.
It was a twig. I was very familiar with the sound my new adopted home made.
I raised my rifle, just to find a crossbow aimed at me from beside a nearby tree.
"Who in th' hells ar' you?" I shouted, challenging this lean, rugged looking man who dared point his weapon at me. I knew he wasn't dead. The dead don't carry weapons.
"Coul' ask ye th' same thing" He replied just as harshly, not lowering his weapon.
"Don' matter who I am..wha' does matter is tha' you have a freakin' weapon aimed at my head" I challenged him again. I was not becoming dead meat for this hick.
"C'mon now lil' brother..tha' aint how ye greet a lady" Another man appeared from beside the first, who I now noticed was crouched over a squirrel.
The second man appeared unarmed. That was a bonus at least. He moved towards me, holding his hands up in mock surrender.
I quickly studied him, trying to judge his strength. He was tall and quite muscular. Graying,, but he had predominant stubble forming around his chin, his face hollowed slightly; almost like his face had been chiseled away by drugs. Quite frankly he looked like hell. Combats all worn down and dirt ridden, a tank shirt and dirt across his arms. His tan was predominant, like he had spent most of his days outside in the sun. Was touching late 40's I would have imagined.
'Don' underestimate him 'fore he even gets near ya, Neila" Damn. The voice was back.
"I ain' gonna hurt ya lil' burd" He cooed, smirking as he got closer.
Fantastic. A southerner. His accent was thick. He was gonna have my ass as soon as I opened my mouth.
"Don' move or I will shoot" Threateningly, I moved my rifle's scope onto the advancing man, who was a little closer then expected. He was less than a feet away.
'Fuck' I thought. 'Shoulda acted faster.
"Ya don' wanna do tha'..my brother here will have an arrow in yer head faster than ya can pull th' trigger" I smirked in response to his misjudgment, shooting the ground in front of his feet.
My shoulder was aching from the familiar power of the weapon.
What happened next happened so fast I didn't know what was going on until I had his knife at my throat. The second man jumped at me, throwing my rifle aside and crouching beside me.
"Was only try'nta be nice lil' burd..'" He inhaled deeply. "mmmh" he burried his face into my hair, knife still daring to pierce the skin at my throat. I dared not to move a muscle as I saw the first man stand and make his way towards us, scowling.
He was leaner and a little taller than what I assumed was his older brother. He was still muscular and tanned. His arms were a lot more muscular. His hair not yet graying, and he looked a little less dirty. His hair was darker and much longer than his brother's. Or maybe he just had more smarts** and wore darker clothes. (** clever) He had a brown tank, green pants that were ripped at the knee's. He had a leather waistcoat on, which hid most of his frame. He was more attractive than his brother, an looked at least 10 years younger. This hick was mid 30's by my judgment. He only looked a few years older than me.
"C'mon Merle.." He looked annoyed.
"Ain' doin' no harm lil' brother..she's a pretty one.." I spat at the ground as the man with the knife to my throat ran his hands through my hair. The 'Lil brother' shot the second man, Merle a look. Merle threw me forward to the ground so fast and hard that my face fell into the leaves that had fallen off the tree's. He laughed loudly at me.
My blood boiled. I was gonna kick this hick's ass.
"y'know we are meant to take people back to camp" the 'Lil brother' raised an eyebrow at Merle, daring him to continue with his advances.
"Ain' nobody care abou' rules tha' deputy do-good makes" He chuckled again. The noise angered me more as I scrunched my fists into balls of anger.
I pulled myself up out of the ground, standing and brushing the leaves off myself.
I shot Merle a daring look, but thought best not to act upon it.
'Do ya fancy being killed, Neila?' I asked myself internally.
"We'r takin' her back ta camp Merle" The squirrel hunter called across, almost challenging his brother, as he stared at me.
"th' fuck ye lookin' at?" I challenged the squirrel hunter.
"Don' be beatin on ma ass after I just saved yers. Now get a fuckin' move on gurl or I won' be stoppin' my brother fur ya next time"
His eyes changed, looking more menacing; as if confirming that I was still not out of danger yet.
Merle walked over and picked my rifle up. It had been flung a few feet away.
I was less than amused by this situation.
"C'mon lil' burd..don' need ya shootin' our asses as soon as they're turned now do we?" Merle started walking in the direction of the trees, but squirrel hunter stayed behind, staring off into the trees in the direction his brother went.
I scowled, picking my bags up. Looks like I didn't have much choice in this matter huh. I was going to have to follow them back to their camp. I wondered how many they were. And who in the hell this 'deputy do-good' was.
'Don' matter, ya probably won' even get there..these hicks will probably try bury ya in this bloody forest' I said to myself, desperately hoping the voice; this time and for the first time; was wrong.
I was feeling my rucksack sting my muscles again.
Merle was infuriating me. It wasn't for the first time since we had left the lake.
My hair had started to dry nicely in the sun, the golden blonde showing instead of the wet light brown.
"So th' fuck's yer name lil burd?" He called back to me as I walked behind them.
I wanted all eyes and ears on them.
This annoyed the 'squirrel hunter.' A lot.
He would fall behind his brother every now and then and walk to my right, telling me to:
"Hurry th' fuck up" and "Ain' got time to be wastin' ya don' wanna be out here alone at dark. Cause I sure as hell ain' stayin' around ta save ya"
I smirked as I noticed he thought my ass needed saving. Ya right!
I wanted the water on my left. That was I knew where I was.
I then stopped for a moment, looking up at the trees. The sun was still beating down, but its was starting to ease up a little. It must have hit 3 in the afternoon and I had been walking most of the day.
I looked across at the lake over the verge. Merle came up behind me, mockingly shoving me.
'STUPID MOTHERLESS HICK!' I shouted at him internally before balancing myself and turning to him
"What in the fuck is yer problem? Do tha' again an I'm gonna beat yer ass"
I meant every words as I said it, but it wasn't until then I hadn't realized how thick my accent really was. I was from a small town called Nashville in Mississippi, well, originally anyway. My accent had stuck with me from childhood.
Merle just laughed at me, his wrinkles around his eyes showing his stubble off. His crooked, slightly yellowing teeth flashed into my gaze. He repulsed me. Damn him. How dare he touch me..again
"ooh look..lil' gurl has a tongue..now th' ain' very nice now is it lil' gurl? I was jus' playin' aroun'!"
I sneered in response, pushing him hard from his chest, causing him to take a step back to prevent falling over.
His smile disappeared. In a split second, he lunged for me.
"This is the second time today that.. yer.." I lunged for him at the same time; shouting and ready to tackle him.
"DAMNIT MERLE!"
The other redneck's voice spoke loudly and threateningly as he jumped between us, preventing a rather nasty back hander to my face. He also prevented me tackling Merle Dixon.
Yep. Tackling. Merle. Dixon.
"BOTH OF YA JUS' CALM TH' FUCK DOWN!" Squirrel hunter shouted at us both, pronouncing every word angrily. "Y'all can be beatin' each others asses up when we get back ta camp, fur now, settle th' hell down an' stop actin' like fuckin' kids"
He stalked away a few moments later, after giving us both warning glances.
I noticed that the sun was finally easing off, but was still trying to break through. Much to my disappointment, it wasn't giving its battle up to the evening quite yet.
I was cursing my stubbornness. I didn't have time to fill my water up at the lake and I had gone all day in this heat with barely any.
And there was no way in hell I was asking those two for some.
I felt the blood pulsing through my forehead, a dull headache throbbing.
'We better get there an' soon' I thought, my dark eyebrows forming a frown.
We set off towards this mysterious camp once again.
"Back off Merle" The 'squirrel hunter' threatened every now and then.
We had only ran into a few monsters over the past few hours, but squirrel hunter had taken them down with his crossbow swiftly and quietly.
It didn't take long until squirrel hunter announced that we were coming close to our destination.
'Thank goodness' I thought to myself. I looked around, noticing that we had climbed quite a hike, making it to the opposite side of the lake.
We were a lot higher above the lake now.
I was used to being a few hundred feet below where we were now. By this time of day, I would be setting up tent, dimming my fires and starting to keep a watch out for monsters. I would have usually set up my 'burglar alarm' and eaten by now. Water. Oh what I would have done for some water.
I had no idea a place this safe was as close to where I camped.
According to squirrel hunter they needed more food for camp and detoured around the nearby forest. I stared at my boots, frowning.
I just wanted to sit down.
My head was throbbing and I was close to giving into temptation and asking these damn hicks for some bloody water.
I had almost given in after a few more trips around in circles in the forest when squirrel hunter announced:
"Welcome to paradise" he said this with a predominant smirk, intriguing me.
It appeared we had been walking in circles for so long that I had become disorientated without even realizing it.
I needed water.
'Don' give in now Neila' The voice told me. I listened.
I felt my dry mouth ache at the thought of water.
DAMN!
I walked up a dirt track behind the southerners, struggling and battling against my thirst that had now turned into exhaustion.
The damn sun that was finally starting to dim, giving into the evening light that was much softer and less harsh in its ways.
The early evening sky had turned a lovely orange color; announcing its presence to the sweet Georgia sky.
We reached the end of the dirt path, and I smiled as I saw faces. Lots of faces.
I couldn't believe it.
People!
Live breathing people!
My heart raced as I saw them going about their daily businesses. I had finally managed to catch up to squirrel hunter and I smiled.
Merle swiftly disappeared into a nearby tent and I scanned the faces. It appeared that nobody had been alerted to our presence. The women chatted in the corner of camp, beside a large RV. A white haired man was on top and appeared to be the first one to notice us. He waved, offering us a friendly smile.
A few people looked around, one in particular caught my eye. A very well built man who strode over to us immediately.
I had no time to take in his facial features or judge his strength and character, because before I knew it, I was swaying.
Side to side, like on a boat.
It wasn't seasickness that was the problem.
It was exhaustion.
Malnutrition.
And the exhaustion that came with the thought of finally being the safest I have been in weeks.
I could finally rest.
It was then I noticed I was looking at the evening sky from what felt like the ground, squirrel hunter blocking my view.
My eyes shut and I blacked out.
A few last thoughts raced through my head.
Damn him.
Authors Note:
Hope you guys liked the first chapter! There is much more of Neila to come, dont worry!
Please R&R and let me know your thoughts!
~Nia
I didn't ask him to save my ass.
