Chapter 1

Red light bathed her trembling form as the RV pulled away. Lilly positioned herself boldly in the middle of the road, hoping to at least instill as much guilt in the group as she could before they disappeared from view. Maybe it would make them stop. Maybe they'd feel bad and come back for her.

As much as the thought revolted her, she wasn't above begging for her life.

She noticed Lee watching her out the back window. His gaze was apathetic – cold, uncaring. They weren't going to come back for her. It was obvious by that look.

The snarl of a walker startled her into action. Shit, the gunshot. The undead monsters began to pour out of the surrounding forest, all eager for a taste of her. She ran, away from the walkers, away from the RV. Away from Carley's lifeless body, sprawled helplessly on the road's dirt shoulder.

Wait a minute. As the RV disappeared, leaving a deathly silence pierced only by grunts and growls, she had an idea.

Carley was the perfect distraction.

It wasn't something she wanted to do by any means. But it would keep her alive, or at least give her a chance to flee. Lilly backpedaled, hurrying over to the spot where she had been abandoned. All around, the walkers slowly closed in on her. I'm sorry, Carley. She knelt by the woman, her former friend, reaching reluctantly for her. You deserved better than this. They didn't always get along, but Lilly had gone too far and she knew that. As she scooped up the bloody corpse, she realized she could still feel the warmth of Carley's body heat. She's still warm and I'm throwing her to walkers... Guilt ate at the broken woman, but she knew she had only two choices – slow the hungering beasts by offering them an easy meal, or become a meal herself.

She flipped Carley over, noticing the hideous, bullet-induced damage done to her jaw. Other than that garish wound, she still looked the same. So vibrant, so full of life. Almost as if she wasn't even dead...

A garbled groan rattled the throat of the woman Lilly carried. Lilly panicked, assuming she was turning. Around her, the undead crept closer, reaching out with their filthy claws.

Weak fingers gripped Lilly's arm as Carley coughed and drooled blood down the front of her shirt. Lilly watched with wide eyes as she struggled for breath. Walkers don't breathe. She quickly lifted one of Carley's demure wrists, checking for a pulse. A weak, unsteady thumping told her something she was terrified to discover.

Carley was still alive.

A walker latched onto Lilly's jacket. Lilly kicked it back, sending it flying. Damn it, Carley! She tore off a strip of her undershirt, tying it around the woman's wound. In a single, hurried gesture, she draped her unconscious comrade over her shoulders, carrying her piggyback-style. You're gonna get us both killed.

Moving as fast as she could manage with the new weight on her back, Lilly crouched low and scurried past the swarm of walkers. Keeping her back as flat and level as she could to keep Carley from slipping off, she nimbly dodged the undead arms grabbing for her. I'm an idiot for doing this.

Carley's arms hung limply around Lilly's neck, the puffy purple sleeves of her coat stained with mud and grass. Lilly kept her hands behind her back, propping Carley up as she increased her pace. Even weighed down, she was managing to outrun the walkers – but she couldn't keep that pace up forever.

Let her go. Let her go and you'll be able to get to safety. The voice that had tormented her since her father's death began to whisper in her ear again. Lilly squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head to drown it out. "I'm not like that."

You already shot her. Why not finish the job?

Lilly broke out into a full run, with no clue where she was headed.

Everyone already thinks she's dead. Just leave her here, no one will ever know.

"Shut up!" Lilly gritted her teeth, willing the intrusive thoughts to stop. "Leave me alone!"

Carley coughed weakly again, wheezing as she attempted to draw air into her lungs. "I'm sorry, Carley." Lilly whispered in-between pants. "I'm so sorry."

No one had even stopped to make sure Carley was dead. They had all been so busy hating on Lilly that they didn't even check her victim. Lilly knew she wasn't of sound mind and that she was probably incapable of taking care of a badly-wounded, dependent being. She was hearing voices and couldn't shake the feeling that everyone in the group had been conspiring against her. She knew it was crazy, but that awareness didn't assuage the delusions and paranoia. She was slipping fast, and she wasn't sure she could stop it.

How could she be expected to help another person, when she was in need of help herself?

Carley's labored breaths puffed warm air on Lilly's neck. She deserves someone better than me to take care of her.

She couldn't stay mad at Carley. Not as she was now. She may have been a traitor, but that didn't matter anymore. She was now the only thing Lilly had left - and Lilly was all Carley had, either. They were alone, injured, mentally unstable, and running for their lives from a bunch of horrific monsters. Holding any sort of grudge would have been senseless.

In the darkness, Lilly spotted a sign on the side of the road. It read ST. JOHN'S DAIRY, NEXT RIGHT. The words stopped her dead in her tracks. Oh god, please no. Anywhere but there. She looked around at the horde of undead still pursuing her. Nothing behind her but a dozen hungry monsters. Nothing ahead of her but miles of empty highway.

Fuck everything. She pulled Carley tighter to her, wrapping the woman's legs around her waist to keep her secured. Lilly didn't want to go back there. She would do almost anything to avoid it. But the Motor Inn was too far away, and her legs and lungs were already burning with exhaustion.

Following the sign, she hurried down the small country road that lead to the fallen farm.