Welcome everyone! This is 'You Found Me' version 2.0! I'm so very sorry this has taken so long but better late than never right? I also felt a little inspired after the new episode last night. I've got a lot of ideas for all the seasons, including some of my favorite character deaths. I hope I can make good on my ideas and please you guys.
As usual, if you find any mistakes or have anything you think would be kind of cool to incorporate then drop me a note! Thank you!
Lacey ducked into the SUV, searching for anything of use; cigarettes, blankets, ammo. She'd been lucky so far, finding more than enough- rednecks were always well supplied and kept guns on them at all times. Since fleeing West Virginia, she'd found more than a few colts, a Smith and Wesson, a Beretta, and even a Remington. She took a second to thank God for rednecks. She'd also made a good haul on liquor and medicine. She always needed stuff like that; especially alcohol.
Finding nothing in the fancy SUV she moved on to a beat up Ford and pulled the driver door open. The smell of rotting flesh assaulted her nose and a faint moan made her grab her machete out of instinct. Sitting in the passenger seat was one of those nasty fuckers seat belted in. Lacey laughed and drove her machete through its skull.
She strode around to the passenger side and pulled the walker out, throwing it to the asphalt before opening the glove box. She found a box of shells and some chap stick before freezing. She heard footfalls coming up behind her; steady, living strides. Lacey slowly reached for the gun in the waistband of her jeans, more weary of the living than the dead. She gently flicked the safety and spun around aiming her glock in the face of a scrawny looking Asian.
"Whoa, hey," He choked staring horrified at the gun aimed right between his eyes.
"What da ya want? And I'm giving you one warning; I have no problem leaving you for those fuckers."
"I'm just looking for supplies. I-I'm staying with a group near Atlanta- please don't kill me!"
Lacey laughed and lowered her gun, obviously the terrified kid wasn't a threat if he was nearly pissing himself. She lit a cigarette before saying, "Calm down kid, I'm not gonna kill you. Sit and I'll get you something to eat- you're so skinny it's kind of disgusting."
Glenn slowly nodded and sat, slightly intimidated by the redheaded mini Rambo. He felt he could trust her though, whether it was the fact that she was armed to the teeth or that she was smiling warmly at him now, he wasn't sure. He accepted the can of soup and watched her sit cross legged on the hood of and old Toyota, feeling grateful that she was kind even if she did point a gun at his head. He swallowed his mouthful of soup before saying, "Thanks. I'm Glenn by the way- besides my group you're the first living person I've seen since getting out of Atlanta."
"You're lucky it was just me you met then; I've ran into some pretty nasty groups. People have changed and not for the better," Lacey said and Glenn noticed the dark almost sad look that passed over her face.
Glenn shook his head and was quiet for a time before saying, "I don't suppose you'd come and join our group? We're good people but most of us are women and kids and we don't have a lot of survival stuff. We just go with what we got."
Lacey thought it over; it wasn't like she had anyone left in this world- everyone was dead. Sure she'd had some bad experiences but this kid nearly lost his shit when she pointed a gun at him. Glenn didn't have a weapon with him as far as she could tell which either meant he was fast or stupid. Weighing her options she finally nodded and stood up, Glenn scrambling to follow. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and motioned for Glenn to follow her.
"One condition- I can leave whenever I want to. If by some chance I feel threatened or unsafe with your people I get to pack my shit and leave. I've done just fine on my own so far and if you guys are a bunch of idiots then I'm out- agree," Lacey said, keeping her eyes ahead.
Glenn nodded and muttered out a 'yeah' and Lacey smirked before continuing, "Good. Now take the baseball bat out of my duffle bag. I'm not going anywhere with a defenseless guy."
Glenn did as she told and watched her walk ahead of him, momentarily stunned. Even covered in dirt and blood, she was attractive, armed to the teeth, and smirking in the middle of the apocalypse. She still had curves and Glenn felt his cheeks heat up when he saw her rather large chest. She was dressed modest enough, showing no excess skin, even in the Georgia heat, wearing a pair of tight cargo pants stuffed into brown boots and once-upon-a-time white wife beater. Her dark red hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head and the only thing that marred her features was a puckered scar covering part of her face. Glenn wondered where it came from; it certainly wasn't fresh.
"I-I didn't catch your name," Glenn said coming up beside her.
"Never told you," Lacey smirked, "But it's Lacey."
"Well it's nice to officially meet you. Where are you from?"
"Does it matter now?"
Glenn didn't reply, not sure whether he should push the question or let it go, but since he was still kind of afraid of her he felt best to keep himself intact and not push it, letting them lapse into silence. Lacey kept her eyes ahead, looking for walkers and potential shelter for the night. She'd never been a huge talker, preferring to work alone, and groaned when Glenn spoke again.
"Have you been by yourself this whole time?"
Lacey grunted and Glenn was sure that was all the answer he was going to get before she softly answered, "I was with my younger sister."
"H-how old was she," He asked automatically knowing she was long dead.
Lacey gritted her teeth really not wanting to discuss that but said, "Fifteen; just a fucking kid."
There was another silence before Glenn said, "So you must not be that old then. What are you, 22; 23?"
Lacey snorted before full out laughing making Glenn look at her in surprise. Her laugh was deep and full, clearly she was amused. "I'm thirty- one thank you very much."
Glenn opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by Lacey shushing him; up ahead was one lone walker, blood dripping from its face, obviously having made dinner from the remains of a body not far from it. Lacey grinned and winked at Glenn saying, "We got a live one," before pulling out her machete and striding forward. He had no choice but to watch her slink away, making no noise as she calmly walked up to the walker. It lunged at her and she struck, driving the blade down into its skull like it was nothing. He was awestruck and a little disturbed at her brute strength and uncaring attitude at killing.
Glenn snapped his mouth shut when Lacey motioned him forward and he watched her wipe her machete on the walkers clothing before bending over, searching the pockets for anything of use. She found a blood stained lighter and stuck it in her own pocket before moving on to the car nearby where she scavenged a pack of smokes and some Tylenol. Lacey muttered 'fuck yeah', did an arm pump, and spun around when she heard Glenn laughing. She rolled her eyes and said, "Come on then."
They walked in silence, both lost in their own thoughts, till the sun was lowering and a suburb came into view. There was trash littered everywhere and Lacey led Glenn in that direction, killing lone walkers with her machete as they appeared. When they got a little closer Lacey said, "We can stop here for tonight. I don't go out after dark. These fuckers don't sleep and I can't see worth a shit to go walking without tripping."
They picked a house in the middle of the row to keep from human eyes and hopefully away from the walkers roaming on the outskirts of the small neighborhood. It was one of the larger houses but it was the only one with the windows still intact and the front door was still locked. Lacey frowned and said,
"People who were here either locked the door when they left or they're still in there. Either way, cover me while I pick the lock."
Glenn nodded and Lacey sat her backpack down, reaching into it and pulling out a little case. Glenn couldn't help but watch as she set to work on the door, working with a quickness and ease that made him sure she'd done this many times. Finally they heard a little click and Lacey grinned, satisfied with her skills and stood, grabbed her backpack and hatchet, and motioned Glenn to follow her in.
Lacey motioned him to close the door and as soon as it was closed she loudly said, "All the nasty fuckers please come forward."
There was silence and just when Glenn started to relax, he heard shuffling feet and then a body came crashing down the stairs. He jumped but Lacey just stood there waiting, small smirk on her face. The corpse of a nicely dressed woman pulled itself up, pearls dangling from its neck.
"You've got a purty mouth," Lacey grinned before slicing through the air with the hatchet, cleaving the walkers head cleanly in two, splashing blood and brains all over the floor. She took a step back and said, "Oops; that's gonna leave a stain."
Glenn just stared open mouthed at her; how could she be taking so much joy in this? Lacey saw his face and rolled her eyes for what she felt was the hundredth time since she met him, before saying, "Chill. I'm not completely insane. Some people deal with this by crying; I deal by laughing and killing things. Now help me move our little rich bitch outside."
Glenn closed his mouth and, although touching walkers wasn't his favorite thing, helped Lacey heave the woman outside before clearing the house. Then they locked the door, shoving a bookcase in front of it, and closing all the blinds in the house.
Lacey left Glenn standing in the living room staring around him as the electric came on and Lacey bounded in the room, grinning like the Cheshire cat.
"They have hot water and food," She exclaimed and Glenn was rooted to the spot seeing how happy she was. "I'm making dinner!"
Later that night, both freshly bathed and in clean clothes, they sat in the living room, Lacey staring at Glenn with a bottle of vodka in her hands. Both had eaten a hot meal of canned soup and some pizza rolls Lacey found in the freezer. The owners had stocked up on food but hadn't lived long enough to eat it. Glenn scanned his eyes over Lacey, getting a good look now that she was finally clean and too busy drinking to scare him. She was still young looking and beautiful but the scar on her face looked like tough leather.
He took a deep breath, bracing himself for the rage he was most likely going to receive for his question, "Where'd your scar come from?"
Lacey tensed before raising the bottle back to her lips and taking a long draw.
"Someone ironed my face when I was a teenager."
Glenn's face twisted into a look of horror and Lacey shrugged, not offering up any more information. Instead she offered the bottle to him and he hesitantly took a drink. The alcohol burned down his throat and he coughed, sending Lacey into a fit of giggles. He laughed too and took another drink before passing it back.
"So where were you when shit hit the fan," She asked, her dark green eyes staring through him.
Glenn cleared his throat and said, "Pizza delivery guy in Atlanta. I did some other stuff too but none of it was particularly legal- you know dumb kid stuff."
Lacey laughed again, "You; illegal stuff? Holy shit, I'd of never guessed a little nerd like you would do anything but watch porn or something."
Glenn's cheeks heated up and to change the subject he asked, "Where were you at then?"
Her face turned serious and she said, "Home with my sister. I was a nurse. We were sitting at home and the phone rang. It was one of my co-workers. Told me shit had hit the fan and to not go outside. Then I heard a gunshot and the line went dead. I got my sister, packed a bag, and hauled ass outta there. We lived in big city and liked to never got out. Roads were jammed so finally we just got out and started walkin'.
Glenn nodded and Lacey glanced out the window at the moon high in the sky before looking Glenn over, noticing the bags under his eyes. "Go get some rest, Glenn," Lacey said, taking another sip of her vodka.
"What about you," Glenn asked, wanting to sleep but noticing the dark circles and weary frown. Lacey shrugged, "I don't sleep much anymore; nightmares."
Glenn sighed, unsure about leaving her alone but eventually he stood, stretching his hands above his head, and went upstairs. During the night Glenn laid, not able to sleep even though he was exhausted, thinking of Lacey. She was the strangest person he'd ever met- even before the end of the world. Just in one day he'd seen that she was a total bad ass but there were moments when she'd genuinely smile at him and tell him tidbits of her life before. She was also a survivor and he had a respect for her continuing on even after losing her sister.
He wasn't sure when he fell asleep but when he rose again the sun was still low on the horizon. He ran a hand over the small amount of stubble that had gathered on his face before pulling on his shoes and going down to the living room. Lacey was sitting in the same spot he'd left her in, cigarette dangling from her lips, a small whetstone in her hand, and knives scattered around her.
"Those are bad for you, ya know," He joked and she smiled up at him before stubbing it out. "I know. Old habits die hard though." Glenn laughed and wondered into the kitchen where he found all the cans sitting on the counter. Apparently Lacey had been busy last night. He grabbed two cans of fruit and opened them, taking some spoons into living room with him.
They traveled well into the day again, talking about life before mostly. Lacey didn't usually dwell on before; it was too painful for her. After things went down, she felt more at home in the world, hardly anyone stared at her scar and she didn't have to answer to anyone for what she was doing.
She didn't say much while they walked, too intent on watching around them, but she listened intently to what he was saying. Before all of this he had a mom and dad just like all the normal kids and an older brother who was everything he wasn't.
"I almost hated him, you know? He went to college, got a great job, had a huge house. And then there was me- college dropout, working at a pizza place, living in a rundown apartment, hot- wiring cars for extra cash."
Lacey snorted, "Yeah but look who's still alive. People didn't give us credit before but when it comes down to it, we're the ones who survive. The ones who aren't afraid to push it and who had to do things they never wanted to do because they were desperate."
Glenn nodded and knew that she was really talking about herself but didn't push her to say anything else. Instead they walked through the day and just when Lacey opened her mouth to offer stopping for the night Glenn said,
"I see the road to the quarry up there. It's only a couple of miles once we get to that road and it's safe. We should be OK to walk."
Lacey nodded and felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She was nervous. This was the first group she would've been with in quite some time and she was sure they would give her strange looks and ask questions that she didn't want to answer. Lacey didn't voice her concerns, just took a deep breathe and braced herself for the inevitable meeting.