Chapter 1: Alone

Carley's body layed off to the side, blood leaking out of her paled face. Grasshoppers chirped over the gurgling sounds of decaying walkers attracted by the gunshot. Echoing into the night was the engine of Kenny's RV, driving away what could be the last sanctuary she ever has. With walkers approaching from behind, Lilly ran off into the woods to find safety.

Her boots crunched and snapped the leaves and twigs as she runs for her life. Her left shoulder brushes against a tree trunk, feet stumbling, the forest canopy blocking the moonlight she needs. Her body rocks back, her arms flailing backward to regain balance as she slips into a shallow ditch. A few dozen meters from the road, Lilly quickly hushes herself and stands still. The walkers could still be heard approaching where she stands, couldn't be more than 3 or 4 of them.

With tons of leaf litter surrounding her, the slightest movement could give her away. Lilly knows she should continue running, but after Lee took her gun, the firearm Carley used might be the only ranged weapon she can have access to. If she manages to rush back, she might just have time to recover it. But with no weapons on her, Lilly needs to use the darkness to her advantage.

Pockets of moonlight slipped through on either side of the large tree in front of her at the top of the ditch she was in. A head lurched on the left side, staggering around. It veered off past, with no sign it saw her. Then a second head popped over on the right side, moving faster than the other one. It was more vocal, unnerving the Air Force vet. It was difficult to tell with these mindless monsters if they were attacking or just meddling about. It too passed her. Lilly sighed relief under her breath, but more walkers could be heard coming. Crouching down to continue lowering her profile, 2 more walkers passed by on both sides. She slowly turned and saw the lingering bodies move off, with the one closest being a good ten meters away.

The night grew quiet once again. Now was the time to move fast and with purpose. She sprinted out from the ditch, grappling onto a branch to steady herself. It was thick, but not so much so that she couldn't muscle it off. Grabbing on with both hands, Lilly yanked a portion of it clear. Two walkers were seen knawing on Carley's legs, trying to bite through the jeans. Approaching cautiously but with determination, she aimed with the sharp point. A middle aged looking deceased man with it's throat torn out, the walker bellowed to her, still on it's hands and knees. Lilly spiked it through the eye, grunting with exasperation. The other, a young female with a ponytail, stood up. It looked weaker in physical stature than when she first glimpsed it. Instead of stabbing it, Lilly decided to smash its face in with a swing. It collapsed on it's back, hissing, but when it tried to get up, a swift puncture through the eye ended the resistance.

Breathily heavily, some walker blood was splattered on Lilly's black jacket.

"Ugh...fucking shit".

Mildly annoyed, she dropped the branch, blood soacked on the tip. Looking beyond the trees behind Carley, there was no movement like she had thought. Seemed like Kenny had driven out further away from the chaos than she thought. At least she wasn't abandoned with a herd as big as those present in Downtown Macon, or back at the Motor Inn. That place must be crawling with walkers. Too dangerous to go back to scavenge what was lost. Lilly was out of options. She crouched beside Carley's body, and patted her backside, feeling for her gun. She felt the bulge near the rear of her pants at the waist, and retrieved it. A Beretta 92FS with 5 bullets left. No, definitely not enough to deal with whatever threats amassed back there.

Wait, the bandits were still there. Maybe they had delt with the walkers, or all perished. Or...they wiped each other out. God fucking damnit, there's only one way to be sure. Tucking the gun into her pants, Lilly walked back up the road, hugging the treeline. She didn't look back at the woman she had murdered 15 minutes ago. Far as she knew, Carley was the reason for all of this. She always seemed to have secrets festering inside of her head, keeping to herself. Carley always talked back to Lilly, proving time and again that she didn't agree with her on anything. Why would a person act so defensive when she claims she had no involvement? Just then, a glimmer of regret flickered through Lilly's mind. She executed a person in front of Clementine, a little girl. That regret dimmed out almost instantly. Things will only get worse. If that kid wants to survive, she'll need to toughen up, fast. Hopefully Lee won't try to shelter her away from whatever horrors exist outside of Macon. Same goes for Kenny, though after murdering Larry, a sick part of her head hoped that Duck and/or Katjaa would meet an untimely fate as well.

Hours passed by. Lilly wanted nothing more than to lie down and close her eyes, but the anxiety of not knowing where a walker or survivor would turn up forced her awake. She started to feel angry, yet sad. The emotions began to hit like a train. Her dad's dead, the only people she ever had turned on her in more ways than one, and nobody would be around to make her life easier. Just the opposite. She's been able to make it these past few months because of her people, but at the same time, ruined by them. Jesus christ. Her dad was strict, and made her this way, but being hard helped both pre-apocalypse and post-apocalypse. Maybe she should have been nicer. Maybe they should have been more like her. How could this have been avoided? Was it her fault that one of her own betrayed the group? Was it wrong to stay at the Motel for as long as they did? Should she have agreed with Kenny sooner on leaving?

"FUCK!", Lilly shouted aloud. She didn't care if walkers or people nearby heard. There has been nothing for the past few hours but empty road.

Lilly smelled smoke in the air. She looked up, and saw a light grey plume mixing with the partly cloudy morning sky. The sun was still coming up, finally helping with the visibility. Surprisingly no walkers around after all this time, they were most likely drawn to the Motel. A fire must have started there. Could fire draw walkers?

"Why am I doing this?", Lilly said to herself. She'd probably just have to turn back once she arrives, but there was still supplies left behind, and most of the bandits either got killed by Lee or the walkers.

Lilly crossed the road to get a better look at the situation. She could hear flames cackling, and some moaning from a distance. Then the smell became noticable, and she saw what was going on.

"Oh my god", Lilly whispered, her eyes widening.

Almost 20 walkers were walking through an intense blaze, roasting themselves alive. One of the bandits was behind a dumpster, only his hand exposed while half a dozen walkers were consuming him. He wasn't shot in the head, so he had reanimated, but the corpse wasn't in good enough shape to get up anytime soon. Bodies laid everywhere while the second floor of the Motel, to the left side of Lilly's room, was completely in flames. After everyone left in the RV, the bandits must have tried to grab the supplies left behind, and then got trapped in by walkers.

Rotting flesh is one thing, but cooked rotting flesh is uncomprehendable. The wind blew the aroma straight at Lilly and it took her an insane resolve to not throw up right there. With a total of 50+ walkers now in view, it was clear this was pointless. She held her head low, resting her right hand over her face. Lilly began to weigh her options. North of Macon is the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge, but it's very far away. She didn't want to risk moving the group elsewhere out of fear they would be picked off, but with Lilly by herself, this didn't present a problem. She began to look outward into the woods toward the dairy farm, confident the bandits are mostly dealt with. Even if there are more of them, without her group or the St. Johns, they had no one to rely on for food or drugs, and thus have no reason to stay in the area. It's a plausible bet that the Farm is the next best place to go to.

"Now! Go, go, GO!", a raspy voice yelled from Lilly's former home. Across from the fire, a man flung the door open and ran across to the staircase. Gliding past where she had taken a stand against them yesterday, he evaded the distracted walkers. A hooded woman pulled out a crossbow and fired at a walker raising its head in curiosity, then vaulted the ledge, in order to stay right behind him. A third individual tried going down the stairs, but tripped and rolled down violently. Mere seconds afterwards, walkers descended on him.

"No, no, NOO-AAAAAGHH!" his screams reached a high pitch as his guts were ripped out. Lilly lept over to a bush and laid prone to avoid being seen by both parties. The two surviving bandits ran across the street, using a destroyed gate to block more walkers. They dissapeared into the foliage, as their compatriot drew in most of the horde. Lilly got up in a hurry, and pursued the couple, with 5 walkers following suit.