*Any separate paragraph written in italics is written in the notebook.
This story may hit a fork in the road later on at the point of meeting the WD crew, for purposes of perhaps creating an original Zombie Apocalypse story. Only the fanfic version will be posed on here, though.
Eventually DarylOC. There may be more pairings involving OCs, but that is the only one thus far.
I do not own anything from the Walking Dead. However, I do claim that at least 90% of the first 9 chapters is completely original.
Enjoy!
Survival Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
By Sammy G.
Chapter one: The Beginning of the End.
The key to surviving any zombie apocalypse is your team. Ideally, you want a leader, a medic, a fighter and a thief; those four types of people would provide the most useful skill sets in your future endeavors. But you have to be careful who you pick. Sometimes I wonder if people aren't worse than the zombies. Sometimes, I know they can be...
The girl with short, chestnut-brown hair worried her thumb nail as she glanced up through the windshield of her car. Only a few cars away came the murmurs and whispers from a group that had formed nearby. Amidst all the panic, the highways were congested with cars and many people had vacated their vehicles for the comfort that company seemed to provide. Samantha Greyson was no exception. She would never admit it aloud, but she got some comfort in the fact that someone might have her back if things went south.
More importantly, though, the girl now had an opportunity. She needed to find herself a team. So she closed the little notebook quietly and secured the latch that held it shut before stuffing the item into the pocket of her blue jeans and standing. She made sure that the knife stashed in her belt loop was secure and hidden beneath her jacket. No need to cause further panic over something as small as a kitchen knife, but there was no way she was going unarmed. Not after the things she had seen.
Satisfied that she was presentable enough, she shut her car door as quietly as she could. The click could still be heard vividly in the cool air of the evening. She swallowed down her nerves and made her way over to the group.
"Evening," she greeted quietly, earning at least a short glance from every person there. "Does anyone know exactly what's going on here?"
Silence followed her question. Glances passed between the group, as though they were all asking the same question. It was several long seconds before someone answered. A burly man with dark auburn hair receding along the top of his head and seeming to transfer down his face.
"Looks like the end of the fuckin' world to me," he said gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"James, don't say that," the middle aged woman sitting beside him protested.
"Well, what would you call it, Linda?" the man barked back to, presumably, his wife. "I've seen people die and come back to life, then proceed to rip other people to shreds! The fuck is that, if not the end of the world?"
Linda just stared at him in disbelief, but she knew she didn't have an argument. It was the end if the world. The end of their world, at least. Everything would change so fast it would make their heads spin. Even if the government managed to set up settlements safe from the outbreak, nothing would be the same.
"Sorry I asked," Sammy muttered, trying to make light of the situation as she stuffed her hands in her pockets. She ran her fingers along the small notebook, the matte covering on it doing little to sooth her nerves. "Well, if anyone needs anything, I'm just in that car right over there." She pointed out her little, silver Chrysler as she took a step away from the group.
"The fuck are you going to do if we need something?" James asked, glaring the girl down.
Sammy stopped, not even flinching as she returned the man's gaze. "Help." Her voice was sharp and unwavering. She sounded so confident that the man kept whatever remark he had to himself. Without another word, she turned on her heel and made her way back to her car. Though she may have seemed confident to the group that watched her depart, there was a storm brewing inside the young woman.
Ideally, you want to stick with friends. People that you know will risk their life to save yours and vice versa. But, things don't always work out the way you want them to. So, stick with people who will help you survive. Avoid people who will get you killed. That feeling in your gut when you meet someone, the feeling that tells you that a person is bad news, it's called instincts. Never ignore that feeling. It can save your life just as easily as a knife or a gun.