A/N: Helloooo! First time writing in The Walking Dead category..I'm obsessed!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy, let me know if you want me to continue...And you know the
drill - I don't own The Walking Dead at all! Just borrowing! I hope you enjoy~
It was getting uncharacteristically cold outside for the south, but Glenn wasn't complaining. Maybe all the damned Walkers would freeze up and they wouldn't have to be so careful anymore. He hadn't grown up moving around a lot, and this constant "on the run" thing just wasn't his cup of tea. Every time he got used to one place, they'd have to move along. Maybe it was better that way, though...if they kept busy, none of them would have time to dwell on the things that always gnawed on the back of their minds. Where their families were...their friends. What the hell their future would be like, if they were even going to live long enough to know what actually happened to the world. He felt like he had barely gotten the chance to live a full life...when he thought back to his childhood, he remembered the future he wanted for himself. Alright, maybe he never really had a set career path, but he knew he wanted to be successful. He wanted to have a family. A beautiful wife, healthy, smart kids...now all of that was just a dream. For all he knew, he was with the only survivors in all the human race! And something told him Andrea just wouldn't be up to having a few babies while the apocalypse was going on...Blinking at that last thought, he found himself blushing a little bit. He had to stop thinking like that. Not like he could help it...he was a hot blooded young man. What did you expect?
"Ready there, Glenn?" The group's fearless leader asked, clasping a hand on his shoulder, which threw him off balance a little.
"As ready as I always am." He replied, half grinning at his friend. Though Rick was old enough to be his father, he just saw him as more of an older brother figure. A good friend. They had been through a lot together, and he thought back to their first meeting from time to time. Some of the members of their group didn't like Glenn's decision to help Rick out of that tank...Glenn was glad that the sheriff had proved them wrong. The young man hopped in the passenger seat of Daryl's dusty old pickup truck while Shane hopped in the back. Rick quickly followed, right after giving his wife one last kiss. The group of eleven had found an abandoned army base somewhere along the border of Georgia, close to the Alabama state line. There had been plenty of ammo and dehydrated food. The large stone fence kept the Walkers out, and surprisingly enough, they had found none actually in the base. Not an hour passed without Glenn wondering what had really happened in the base...there were so many unanswered questions in this new world. Maybe he'd find the answer to all of them one day.
"Git ready fellas." Daryl said gruffly as the troop neared the edge of the city. They had plenty of supplies in the base, but Rick had been itching to search the nearby town. For survivors, for clothes...and they could always use more medicine. The town itself wasn't too big, but it wasn't really a hick southern town, either. Somewhere in between.
"Let's get a move on. Stay quiet, stay together." Rick said as Daryl pulled the truck to a stop just outside a pharmacy. Glenn took a deep breath and accepted the pistol Rick offered him - just in case.
After an hour, they each had a decent haul and were beginning to discuss heading back to the base already. They talked quietly amongst themselves for a moment before agreeing to go just a bit further, hoping to find another pharmacy somewhere close. Glenn was starting to get paranoid...where were all the Walkers? They'd never been in a town of any size that just didn't have any of the undead crawling around, yet there they were - scavenging for an hour without incident. T
No sooner had he thought that, did they see a group of three Walkers stumble out of a nearby shop. The men quickly shuffled into a nearby ally while Daryl leaned around the corner, aiming his crossbow. Glenn suddenly turned his head to look down the ally they now occupied and squinted at the parallel street, which was blocked with a high chain link fence.
"You guys hear that?" His voice was barely above a whisper. Suddenly a young girl darted down the ally, the golden ponytail reminding Glenn vaguely of a lightening bolt. A heard of hungry Walkers were right on her tail. It was really amazing how quickly those bastards were when they were hungry, and by the looks of this town, they must've been absolutely starving. The girl lept on the fence, nearly halfway up the length, she scaled it like a pro and hit the ground, landing harder on one foot than she probably should have. A sharp yell confirmed what Glenn thought, but she sprung up, thanks to the adrenaline he assumed, and spotted the four men not ten feet away from where she stood. Her eyes grew wide and she fell against a nearby door, opening it quickly and hurrying inside. Without thinking, Glenn ran after her. In the back of his mind, he heard Rick call his name, but he didn't pay attention. Maybe there were other survivors here? But then...what if this poor girl was all alone? He had to know. This was one question he could have answered, and he was determined to find out.
"Wait!" He was hot on her trail, but she was still faster with her head start. Finally they got to a small office space, and that's when he really got a good look at her.
She was backed up in a small corner, looking as if she was trying to pull a Shadowcat and phase through the wall. (Even in the apocalypse he could still find his nerd references.) Her dark golden hair was falling out of her ponytail, and her stance reminded him vaguely of some kind of wounded jungle cat, defensive until the end. Wait, defensive? What was she thinking?
"Hey," He spoke softly, lowering the gun he forgot he had before just setting it down on a nearby table. "It's okay...we just want to help you." The three other men had followed him closely, he didn't have to turn around to know that. Her expression did not sway - he may as well have not even said anything at all.
"'Ey kid. Ya' mind hurryin' it up?" Daryl still had his crossbow at the ready, just in case. It was not surprising. They had just seen so many Walkers chasing the girl, maybe the city really was crawling with them - but they couldn't just leave her there. Rick stepped forward and Glenn could sense the urgency running through him before he even spoke.
"We know you're scared, but he's only speakin' the truth. You're alone here, right?" The young woman just stared at him, a mixture of fear, mistrust and anger. Briefly Glenn marveled at how brave she seemed. Of course she was probably scared - who wouldn't be? Then again, she was still standing her ground against four grown men. (Yes, he was throwing himself in that category just then. He's a grown man, no matter how much Daryl teases him when they find the odd bottle of alcohol.) Slowly her eyes moved from Rick to Glenn. That's when a oddly familiar feeling shot through his chest, one he hadn't felt in a while. Her eyes were a piercing, deep blue. It was as if she was trying to see straight through him, and at that moment, he was one hundred percent sure that she could. Glenn slowly reached his hand out, and she pushed even further back into the wall.
"We're not going to hurt you...you'll be safe with us." A short look of careful consideration flashed across her face before she shifted her weight and winced, leaning heavily on the wall. As quickly as she could, she regained her harsh look at the men, but they weren't fooled.
"Knew it." Daryl muttered, sighing. He had noticed her limp after she hopped the fence. She must've been pretty quick before, to outrun all those hungry Walkers, she probably could've evaded their small group with ease. Instead she allowed herself to be cornered. Tired of the tedious stand off, Daryl stepped forward, lowering his bow for a moment while Shane took his place at the window.
"Look here, sweetheart." He began, doing his absolute best to not sound as irritated as he was currently. "Yer hurt, ya' ain't got no weapon, and yer clearly alone. Now, we got some hungry folk anxiously waitin' our return, so ya' got two options." Glenn could barely breath. He knew what the options would be. He also knew that one of them was giving him a stomach ache already... "Ya' can put a'hold on tha' death glares an' march yer lil' wounded behind back to camp with us, or we can leave ya' here by yerself to be Walker chow. Yer choice." He tilted his head, looking at her ankle. It was covered by her pant leg, but his skilled eye had seen how badly she had winced earlier. "'Mazin' how fast them ugly sons a bitches can run when they ain't had much ta' eat in a while."
"Better make it quick." Shane finally spoke, pulling a large desk in front of the door, barricading them in. "We got company." Without looking at the girl, Shane looked around the room for their best escape route. Glenn glanced out the window as he heard moans and the sound of scuffled footsteps outside. Panicked, he looked at the girl and saw a flicker of fear flash through those eyes that he was quickly becoming accustomed to. Still, she looked stubborn, and Glenn had already had enough.
"Please." He took a step forward, his expression positively begging, "Don't make us leave you here." He extended his hand towards her once more, and she studied it - still unsure - for a moment. After what felt like an eternity (in reality, it was barely half a second), she gently took his hand. Again - blame him for being a hormonal young man, but he couldn't help realizing how soft her skin was.
"Wonnerful. Let's git a move on." The redneck said, rolling his eyes and hustling towards the hallway Shane was peering into. Rick nodded at Glenn.
"You got her?" Glenn nodded his head a little too quickly, causing the normally too-serious sheriff's mouth to twitch, showing an almost-grin in this stressful moment. The Walkers were at the door, and Glenn threw the mystery girl's arm over his shoulder, grabbed his pistol and hustled down the hallway.
Every time she took a step, he could tell it hurt her. He tried to murmur comforting things to her, just out of sympathy. (Or at least that's what he was going with) He told her to just put all of her weight on him - he could handle it. After a few more comforting phrases, he noticed that she did start to put a little more weight on him. In the midst of their escape, he felt his heart swell ever so slightly...maybe she was really just trying to survive, but Glenn couldn't help feeling like she may have put a little trust in him. Once they got to the back door of the office building, getting back to the truck was surprisingly easy. There had been a few Walkers waiting in the ally, but those were easily disposed of by Daryl's crossbow. The men threw their packs in the back while Glenn ushered his own little find into the cab of the truck. Rick and Shane hopped in the back, their guns drawn as Daryl hopped in the driver's seat of the (now slightly more crowded) old pickup. Not a word was uttered as the truck cranked up and sped off back towards the camp.
Well? Has it peaked your interest yet?
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Reviews are much appreciated, as always.