A/N: Alright. I wrote this back in like, 2013 or 14, and I never finished it. Got busy with life. I'm revising the chapters, and my goal is to finish this damn story. Its been at the back of mind for years, so this is happening XP
Chapter 1
Harsh light filtered through the canopy above, lessening the intensity, but not by much. It cast a golden glow upon the figure that lay at the base of the steep hill. Might as well call it a kind of cliff. The animals in the surrounding area had long since gotten used to the huntress being there and paid her no mind. However, other predators were coming close, and they themselves didn't care for her blood, but larger, more dangerous beings would.
The woman stirred, the light penetrating her lids. They fluttered open slowly, squinting at first, then opening fully, revealing bright, impossibly blue eyes. She was naturally platinum blonde, but could have passed for an almost redhead with the amount of blood in her hair. She sat up slowly, wincing at the pain in her side. The woman poked gently, finding a rather large shard of wood sticking out from her flesh. Further inspection found a bump and a nasty gash on her head, just above her temple.
She groaned low in her throat, she sat up and searched the ground for her belongings. During her fall, she had lost her grip on the compound bow and hit her head badly. Her body decided to acquire some pieces of the forest while tumbling down the steep incline. Once she sighted the black bow, she gently slid her leather quiver off her back. Most of the arrows were broken from the fall, but one or two remained intact. She tossed the broken pieces on the ground and put the other two arrows back, glancing around all the while.
The blonde took a second to regain her senses and thought back to how she had gotten there. Somehow, while aiming at a deer earlier, she managed to loss her footing and slide down. Now, she had to get back up with her injuries and find her sisters. Judging by the sun, she had been out long, and even though she left the wood in, she was losing blood. And to top it all off, there were zombies nearby.
She silently cursed to herself. She knew better than that. How could she have gotten herself in this mess?
The blonde grit her teeth and began the tedious task of climbing up the hill. She had people to get back to. To protect.
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"Annalyn, I swear, if you don't stop pacing, I WILL toss you to the zombies… I don't care what Ayce says."
The other blonde, Annalyn, stopped and turned, a look of hate crossing her features for a brief second. She walked away from the edge of the camp and sat on the opposite side of the fire pit, keeping Lilith in her sights.
"You could at least act like you're worried. She's your sister too, not just mine."
The brunet shook her head, finding it almost comical. "No, she's not. She's the daughter of the woman my father married. You both are. I stay with her because she's useful, and you both know that. But I don't need you. I haven't gotten rid of you yet BECAUSE of her, which is another thing you both know. I still don't see why you haven't dumped me off somewhere. Oh wait, yes, I do. You two are too nice and you promised your mother you'd keep me safe." The last sentence was sneered at the blonde, a look of utter disgust setting in place.
Annalyn shook her head and mumbled under her breath, things about whores and slut, and ungrateful teens.
Annalyn herself was 19 when the apocalypse happened, and was sure her birthday was in a few months, but 19 all the same. Lilith was the baby of the group, but before this, her title was town slut, and she had only turned 17 a few weeks before. Ayce was the oldest and by far the strongest of the trio. She was 24, and an exceptional huntress, which had made it easy to survive so far. This, however, was the first time she had been late coming back.
As these thoughts crossed Annalyn's thoughts, footsteps were heard in the thick forest. Lilith jerked to awareness, and Annalyn scrambled for the gun. They were told never to use it unless they had to because the noise attracted the undead. She passed it to Lilith and grabbed her knives, which were on the ground by the fire. The blonde turned to face the threat, only to find the missing sister.
She dropped the blades and ran forwards, not fast enough to catch her before she hit the ground. "Oh, God, Ayce what happened?!" She reached her side, only to find large amounts of blood all in her hair and all over her clothes. "Ohnoohno….What do we do?"
Lilith entered her line of vision and spoke whilst inspecting her nails. "I have an idea. Why don't we go find the caravan?" Annalyn glared at the idiotic brunet. "Moron. Ayce said to avoid them at all costs. We don't know them, and it could be dangerous."
Lilith sighed and walked back to her perch. "Fine, let her die. But we both know we don't have the supplies or knowledge to help her. This isn't her average scratch from hunting. It's worse."
Annalyn looked away from the younger girl, knowing deep down that she was right. Ayce was the one with the survival knowledge, not them. "Why do you care?" As Annalyn waited for the answer, she tucked a stray curl of Ayce's behind her ear and busied herself with putting pressure on the wound. The snarky reply should have been what she expected, but it still surprised her that she was so cold.
"She's essential to my survival."
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Annalyn trudged through the woods, careful not to trip over fallen logs or roots. Over her shoulder was Ayce's arm, while Lilith had the other. Surprisingly, the brunet had agreed to help drag their sister though the trees in the direction of the other people. They thanked their lucky stars that they didn't run across any zombies.
Annalyn was the first to speak in a while. "Hold up, let me check the bandage." They both placed the blonde on the ground so Annalyn could remove the makeshift bandage. "She's still losing blood. I hope we're close…."
They were quiet for a moment, allowing the sounds of the forest to reach them. But what they didn't expect were the voices. It sounded like people, two of them. Annalyn motioned for Lilith to grab Ayce, and together, they followed the sounds. They were greeted with quite a sight.
A man and a woman, both dark haired, and slightly tanned. The man was taller than the woman, and if Annalyn had to guess, they were extremely close.
Annalyn cleared her throat, causing the couple to jump apart and stare. "Sorry to break up the face sucking, but we need help. Do you have a doctor of sorts with you?"
The couple jumped apart and took on the stance of edginess. If Annalyn had to guess, it was because they were prepared to attack if need be. They stayed like that for a while before anyone made a move. The two sisters moved not a muscle for fear of setting off the other two. The dark-haired couple shared a look, and the man moved forward. "Um...Yea, we do. If you two don't mind, I'll take her. My friend here can lead you to the campsite." Annalyn nodded, letting the man take Ayce. He picked her up bridal and carried her. Annalyn called after him, "Mind her wounds!"
They faced the woman, who looked nice enough, but seemed kind of put out, most likely because they were planning on doing the deed and they were interrupted. She walked forward and extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Lori. That was Shane who took your friend. The site's this way, if you want to follow."
Annalyn shook her hand and nodded. "I'm Annalyn, this is my sister Lilith, and that was my other sister, Ayce." Lilith rolled her eyes at the mention of them being related. "We aren't sisters." And with that, she followed the path that Shane took.
Annalyn frowned after her before walking with Lori along the same path. "Sorry about her…" Lori shook her head and smiled. "It's alright. Everyone's got their own shit to deal with, right?"
Annalyn nodded and smiled back, the fear for her sister still ever present.
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The blonde now sat with Lori and the rest of the group, still trying to learn their names. Not that it mattered at the moment. They were busy making decisions. Annalyn wanted to go and get their things from the woods, the reason being that Ayce was still out. They had managed to patch her up, but the head injury was worse than Annalyn thought. So now the group was voting on if they thought it was a good idea.
Lilith and she waited by the RV, Lilith watching the group, and Annalyn watching Ayce. Her breathing was getting better, and she wasn't as pale, but she had yet to wake up. Annalyn hoped to the deities that she pulled through. Ayce was a fighter, and was their protector. She had to make it.
Lilith nudged her, both meeting the gaze of Shane. He stopped in front of them, his face blank and indifferent. "Well, they don't trust you, but they can't let you go out there on your own, especially with your sister the way she is. So, we'll let you stay here. As soon as our group comes back from the city, and our hunter gets back, we'll send a small team with you to get your things."
Annalyn nodded, voicing her thank you, while Lilith was friendlier with hers. She threw her arms around Shane's neck and hugged him, being ever so available. Annalyn almost laughed at the look on his face, but it was over powered by the feeling of disgust at the brunet. She shook her head and walked over to Ayce, who was in a spare tent, and mumbled a 'good luck with that' to Shane.
If was actually rather comical to her that even in the face of danger, an apocalypse, and their sister being almost dead that Lilith could still live up to her reputauon.
She wasn't there long before a noise was heard. People groaned and shook their heads, but before she could ask what the deal was, she saw it. It was bright, cherry red, and obnoxiously loud. It was a mad scramble to get the alarm on the car turned off and the silence was appreciated. The driver, an Asian boy, looked rather happy with himself. He was soon followed by a moving truck with other survivors, a blonde, two African Americans, an older looking lady with a buzz cut, a foreign man, and a cop.
Annalyn stayed in her tent with Ayce and watched the scene. The shock that came next was just that. The cop was Lori's long-lost hubby, and the kid was theirs. Which meant she had been cheating on him with Shane? Annalyn's opinion of them wasn't all that great anymore.
Ayce shifted in her sleep and mumbled something. Annalyn leaned close to the blonde, but she was quiet. Annalyn sighed and began to walk out of the tent, but was stopped. Ayce had grabbed her.
Annalyn sat back down and leaned close, brushing at the girl's hair with her fingers. "Oh, Ayce, how are you feeling?"
Ayce kept her eyes close, but smiled at her sister. "Like I fell down a hill, lost blood, climbed back up said hill, and passed out at camp. I would love to know how you patched me up; we're low on the medical stuff." All while talking, Ayce sounded weak and hoarse. Annalyn laughed nervously and grimaced. "Well, you see… What had happened was…"
Ayce forced her eyes open and sat up quickly, regretting it immediately as the pain shot up her side. "Annalyn…" She growled at the other blonde through gritted teeth. "Where the hell are we?" Before the nervous sister could utter a word, she was interrupted.
"Well, at the moment, you're in a tent, and this is our campsite." Annalyn wasn't sure when the old guy came up, but she was glad for it. Dale had a way with words.
Ayce narrowed her eyes at the newcomer, but kept silent, which gave Dale the impression to keep talking.
"Your sisters brought you here bloodied and passed out. You would have died if they hadn't made the right call. I did what I could for you, and let you heal. You should thank them. And until you can care for your family again, you are to rest, and stay with us."
Ayce stayed still for a moment before nodding. "But what about our things?" Annalyn covered the pale girl's hand with her own, smiling comfortingly. "We're going to get them with a team after their hunter gets back." Ayce nodded and ran a hand through her hair, grimacing at the dried blood. "Is there a place where you guys wash up?" Dale nodded in response and turned. "I'll see if Amy will lend some toiletries and show you the way."
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"Oh. My. God." Annalyn stared at the lake before them. It was huge and crystal blue and the most welcoming sight ever. Before she could speculate on it more, she felt fingers tap the underside of her chin. She glanced over at Ayce, who withdrew her hand. "Close your mouth, you'll swallow a fly." The comment was paired with a very amused look. Annalyn laughed and closed her mouth. She led the way to a secluded area, her sister following.
Ayce nearly died with happiness. It was a rather painful endeavor with her newly patched hole in her side, but she was determined. The water turned from blue to brown as the blood was washed away. Her hair turned back to its normal color, which pleased her very much. The dirt and grime were removed from her skin, revealing her naturally pale skin. She wished they could have stayed longer, but she didn't want to stay this vulnerable with all those strangers around. Annalyn and she dressed quickly, not wanting to get caught while indecent.
As they approached the camp, they could hear voices being raised. Upon closer inspection, it was someone they had yet to meet. Not that it meant a lot since Ayce had only just woken, but a new face none the less, and he didn't seem happy. He was going on about his brother being left on a roof and such. Ayce would have ignored him to go take a nap, but he opened his mouth again.
"And who the hell is this whore?" Ayce turned to find the redneck pointing an accusing finger at Lilith, who had made herself known to Ayce for the first time since she woke. Now, Ayce wasn't fond of the teen, but hell, that was her family.
And she saw red. She dropped the towel and shampoo she had been carrying and marched into the middle of the group. The man put his hand down, only to have the very pissed blonde in his face. She bared her teeth and fixed her gaze on him. "That whore is my sister. You would do well to mind your tongue when talking about her or any of us." She didn't shout. Ayce didn't have to. "So why don't you take your crossbow toting self to your tent."
Mr. Redneck didn't like that at all. He spat back at her, his gaze just as nasty. "I don't take orders from blonde bitches. So why don't you march yourself outta this camp. You don't belong here."
Neither spoke after that. Dale put a hand on the man's chest, pushing him back gently. Ayce felt hand grab her shoulders, not harshly, but strong enough to pull her back some. "Come on now. We can't fight among ourselves. Not when those things are after us. Daryl, this is Ayce. She's here with her sisters, Annalyn and Lilith. Ayce was hurt a bit ago, so they came and found us."
Shane, the one who held Ayce, pulled her further and turned her to face him. "We haven't properly met. My name is Shane. I carried you to our camp when your sisters couldn't. Now, Daryl is our hunter, Ayce. He's been with us for a while. If you two are going to be a problem, one is going to have to go. It won't be him, got it?"
Ayce glared for a second before nodding. She kept her gaze to the ground until Shane left. She felt Annalyn rub her shoulder gently. Ayce glanced up, meeting the gaze of the redneck, who was now known as Daryl. He glared, clenching his fists, as if trying hard not to be trigger happy. Ayce glared back before taking the golden blonde beside her by the wrist and walking off.
'God damn rednecks….'
