The Walking Dead: Whatever it Takes

Part 1

The Outbreak

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking dead. I only own the OCs in this story.

Chapter 1

The rain fell, splattering the ground wet. It didn't rain often here, but he still didn't like it. He was average height, with a lean but not large build, with medium length brown hair sticking to his face at odd angles. He wore a mid thigh length, black trench coat, and some designer jeans.

As he walked, the rain prompted a rush of memories from his childhood. How the adults would snicker at his failed attempts to avoid its icy cold clutches. How his sister Karen, loved the rain, how she would lean her head back and stick her tongue out, trying in vain to catch it all in her mouth. When they were older, he asked her what it was she liked about it. She would say that there was no feeling like rain sliding across your face, or slipping through ones fingers. He figured she just liked jumping in puddles with her red rubber boots.

He always was the more rational one, knowing when to speak and when to be silent. When to play and when to sit. But nothing ever stopped Karen.

Sitting now on a bench at the intersection on main street, he continued to ponder, on old times and the now, waiting for his ride to show up so he could get out of this darn rain.

After some time of sitting, a familiar police car pulled to the curb. 'Late as always.' He thought to himself. Though he wasn't one to hold a grudge.

"Have you been here long Reid?" Chris asked as the door opened.

"No, not long. But your fashionably late as always." Reid replied, setting his coat, lunch bag and study books on the back seat.

"Good. Wouldn't want you to catch a cold." Chris said with a slightly sarcastic tone. "The news said it was going to stop raining soon anyway."

Christopher was a police officer, just a beat cop, but a law enforcer nonetheless. He was a black skinned tall man, with a strong built body, his hair buzzed short, and a small beard on his chin. Reid and him became friends way back in the ninth grade, and became inseparable in high school. More so, Karen, and Chris' brother Kyle began dating a couple years back, and since then they have been like brothers. 'Thick as thieves' people would say, which is funny seeing there careers now.

"Man I cant wait till my shifts over. I am starving." Chris said, rubbing his belly.

"Would you like an apple?" Reid offered, remembering one in his lunch bag.

"Naw, I'm good. Thanks though." Chris said quickly.

"I thought you loved apples?" Reid asked suspiciously.

"O-oh, yeah, did I say that? I guess I'm just not in the mood for one right now." Chris said, stuttering at first.

"Yeah, you did say that. You used to go on about 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away' all the time." Reid said.

"... Oh, yeah, I did say that didn't I. Well truth is, I lied. So what? its just an apple." Chris retorted.

"That explains that. But now the question is, why did you lie in the first place?" Reid said with a mischievous tone in his voice.

They sat in silence for a moment. Reid waiting on an answer, and Chris hoping he would give up. He wouldn't.

"I don't like the peel getting stuck in my teeth! Okay?" Chris said finally.

As the realization dawned on Reid, he smiled. Back in there younger days, Chris and Kyle's mom would make Kyle eat an apple everyday. And everyday, Kyle would complain about the peel getting stuck between his teeth. So Chris would make fun of him because he complained over something so little. He and Chris would then take it and play a little 'keep the apple away from Kyle'. But Kyle was a good sport and never really got mad.

After the wave of nostalgia subsided, they looked to each other and had a good laugh over it. All this time, and only now does he find out that Chris never liked apples either.

Once over there moment of laughter, they went back and forth over old times. Chris making fun of him because he hated the rain. Him reminding Chris about that one time high school. Life went on, the rain had stopped and the sun came out. It was your typical late spring day in Beautiful British Columbia.

As they neared the subdivision to his house, the radio started to buzz.

"We have a situation in progress at 3083 Glover road. Reports of cannibalism. The victim is okay, repeat, the victim okay, we've got backup and an ambulance en route." said a muffled voice on the radio.

"You wanna go on a ride along?" Chris asked. "This sounds urgent and were the closest ones there."

"Yeah, lets do it. I always wanted to see you in action so this is as good a time as any." He replied.

"10-04 sergeant, I'm on my way." Chris said to the radio as they sped off to Glover road.

Thinking now on what the sergeant had said, Reid shuttered. 'Cannibalism'. The word kept bouncing around in his head.

"Cannibalism?" He asked Chris.

"That's what I heard. I've heard there's been some crazy calls like that going on in the states." Chris said somewhat grimly.

"How crazy, specifically?" Reid asked.

"Well, specifically, a dad waited for his family to get home, and, well... Ate them." Chris said.

Reid at a loss for words, looked back to the road ahead in attempts to forget what he had just heard.

v^V^v^V^v^V^v^V^v^V^v^V^v^V^v^V^v^V^v

The property was secluded at the very end of the road, with trees surrounding it and a large fence, but it looked nice. It had a raised deck on the right side with a swing hanging underneath it, a fire pit around the left side with some logs to sit on, and little tiki torches lining the driveway giving it a sort of tropical feel.

The rain had stopped so Reid left his coat and things in the car, while Chris checked his gun and cuffs and began walking to the house.

"Hello?" Chris called out. "This is the police."

"Up here officer." The voice coming from the deck. "Hurry on up here! That girl took a bite out of my sons arm!"

Walking up the creaky stairs, Reid saw two faces. One was a man, probably in his late thirties with a worried expression on his face. The other was a small boy, no older then nine he thought, with a bandage wrapped around his arm. He looked like he had been crying recently and the bandage was tinted red.

"Hey there sir, I'm officer Christopher, and this is Reid O,Shea." Chris said extending a hand.

A look of relief flooded the mans features as he shook Chris' hand. "The names Robert, and this is my son, Jonathan. I really appreciate you getting here."

"Can I look at it?" Chris asked the boy. Jonathan nodded his head. "Oh, it don't look that bad." He said inspecting the wound. It was oozing blood and had a perfect outline of where the teeth had sunk in. "Wow, you must be pretty tough. Look at those arms!" Chris finished emphatically in an attempt to make Jonathan feel better. Earning him a small smile from Jonathan.

"Who did this?" Reid asked, wondering how someone could do something like that.

"Oh, yeah, she's locked in the master bedroom at the end of the hall." Robert said pointing in the house. "I didn't want to hurt her, but she just wouldn't stop, so I threw her in there for you guys to get her safely."

"Okay than. Reid, why don't you show Jonathan my squad car and tell the backups what's going on. I'm going to go in and keep an eye on her until they get here." Chris said.

"Okay Chris, be careful." Reid said, motioning for the father and son to follow him.

"Oh yeah, one more thing is, I don't think talking is going to work. I think she's on something strong you know." Robert said to Chris making a gesture of a syringe to his wrist.

"Alrighty. Thank you sir." Chris said walking through the door.

At the squad car, Reid let Jonathan in the front seat and his dad told him not to press any buttons.

"How did this happen?" He asked Robert.

"Don't rightly know." Robert began. "Tabitha was just baby sitting him while I was grocery shopping. She's been doing it with all the local kids recently. Baby sitting that is. Just to get some cash. She seemed like such a good kid. And when I got back, she was on top of him, just, chewing on his arm. So I grabbed her and threw her in that room and locked it." Robert said anxiously without pause.

He could tell Robert was reliving it all in his head, so he just let him think in silence.

After a few minutes he could see lights coming up the driveway. A squad car and one ambulance. He called Jonathan out and led him to the EMT's to look at him.

"Okay Jon, these guys are going to take care of you and your dad while I go talk with the other officers. Okay?" Reid said to the boy.

"Okay, thank you mister O,Shea." Jon said as his dad talked to the EMT's.

Walking over to the cops, Reid recognized one of them as Dan. He was an older man, probably in his late fifties, with greying hair and a white beard. The other one he didn't know, but he figured he was a rookie of some sort.

"Hey Dan, Its good to see you." He said extending a hand.

"Reid? Oh I haven't seen you in a coons age." Dan replied, taking his hand in a firm grasp. "So, what's all the hubbub goin' on here? Rodney, why don't you go help Chris in there." he finished motioning to his partner, who just nodded his agreement and walked off.

"Well, the father over there, Robert, was out grocery shopping and left a girl named Tabitha stay and watch his son, Jonathan. When he got back, he found him holding her off him with her teeth sunk in his arm." Reid explained.

"Hmm, that's odd. Been hearin' a lot of stuff like this going on. Strange if you ask me." Dan said.

"Yeah, its not your regular day on the job that's for sure." Reid said.

After waiting awhile, Chris and Rodney came back. Rodney had blood on him and was holding his side. Reid and Dan exchanged a glance and jogged over.

"What happened?" Reid asked.

"That crazy babysitter took a bite out of Rodney here." Chris said while Rodney walked to the ambulance. "She doesn't seem to want to come with us any time soon."

"Is there anything I can do?" Reid offered.

"Naw, I'm good. I'll go get her in cuffs and take Rodney to the hospital." Chris said. "Hey Dan, would you mind taking Reid home while I go get her?"

"Sure thing Chris." Dan replied. "Come on Reid, he'll be fine."

Reid seeing he wouldn't be able to do any more, consented and got in the car. He wanted to get home soon any way.

"Where'd you say your house was Reid?" Dan asked after they got to the highway.

"Oh, its in that new fancy community next to the highway. Its about half hour drive north." He replied.

"Oh, that's a nice place you got there." Dan said. "Me, I'm still living in one of those, cheep apartments in town. So what do you do to earn enough to live up there?"

"I'm a conservation officer." he said. "Conservation officer 'in training', that is." He said with air gestures. He was actually finished the course, but couldn't be official until the others in the class were finished as well.

"Oh that's great." Dan said." When you grading the program?"

"A couple more months, then I get the badge, guns and other cool gadgets for the job" He replied.

"Well that's good news." Dan said, ending the topic.

Now deep in thought, he wondered what his sister would do when he finally became official. She would be absolutely ripe with envy, but happy for him nonetheless. She'd probably ask to get a referral on the program and use him as a cheat sheet for all the answers. When they were young, there dad would take them out camping all the time. He was a very old school dad you enjoyed the simple things and bonding with his kids in the woods. When he passed away, Karen wanted to keep the spirit alive and went to work at a camping store, where Kyle worked, to help people survive the woods. Where as Reid decided to become the one to help nature survive man.

Thinking on the times camping with his dad, he realized something and looked in the back of the car hopefully, but looked back disappointed.

"What's the matter Reid?" Dan asked noticing the expression on his face.

"Its nothing. I just forgot my dads old coat in the back of Chris' car. He gave it to me before he passed away." Reid sad with a sad note.

"Oh, well that's a darn shame. I will make sure to get it back to you. No one takes the loss of there dad easily, and no one should lose them completely." Dan said, putting a hand on Reid's shoulder

Reid was taken aback, as it reminded him of what his dad had said to Chris when his father had died. Chris' father gave him a fishing pole, which he lost while on a camping trip with Reid and his dad. Dan had nearly quoted him word for word, tone for tone, and gesture for gesture.

Its been two years and it still hurt to think of him. His laugh, his smile, his stupid jokes. He could still remember his face, but every day it seemed to get foggier. And the worst thing was he couldn't decide if he wanted to forget him, or remember him forever. He thought his dad was one of a kind, but Dan seemed to be showing him otherwise. 'Maybe it just happens when you get older.' He thought to himself.

"You ever had kids Dan?" Reid asked, braking the silence.

"Yeah, yeah I did. Good ones at that. But I was, uh... A-a little to got up in the whole 'Your a cop now, you gotta protect the people' thing for my own good." Dan said with a sad tone.

Reid, not wanting to see Dan sad looked for something to pull him from his thoughts.

"You got satellite radio in here?" He asked.

"Sure do." Dan said. "What would you like to listen to?"

"Some soft rock would be just perfect." Reid said, glad to distract him.

"Ah, good choice." Dan exclaimed while looking down at the radio.

Reid, as snippets of songs from other stations whirred in his ears as Dan scrolled through, looked back up to the road.

"LOOK OUT!"

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His head was pounding, his body was breaking out in a sweat, his limbs were shaking and his ears rang. He couldn't remember where he was, what he was doing or why his head hurt. He was looking around and all he could see was light. It hurt to open his eyes, so he left them closed until that light was gone.

"Hey wait. Stop! I think this guy's okay!" He heard distantly. "Hey! Hey! Can you hear me?" The voice said, the owner of the voice now trying to shake him awake. He felt a couple sharp pains across his cheek.

"Get up man!" the voice continued to pester him.

"Why wont they let me sleep this headache off?' He thought to himself, swinging his arms in attempt to shoo them away.

A new voice jumped in saying "We've got to go D-"

"Okay! I'm coming." the first snapped back before it could finish. "Just let me-" Reid didn't hear the rest because he blacked out again.

"HEY!" Reid was awake again, his vision cutting in and out, but, feeling much more comfortable laying down. And that pesky light was gone too.

"When you wake up, you come and find us okay? We'll be at th-"

\Authors Notes/

Hey guys, here's the first chapter to my first story on FFnet!

I'm not totally satisfied with the way it turned out, but I can promise you this, the next chapter is already WAY better. Its nearly finished and will be uploaded soon, so please, bear with me.

With this being my first story, I'm looking for constructive criticism along with any tips anyone can give to make this story better. I look forward to writing this for you.

Until next time, this is TheWarInside, signing out.

Edit: Okay, so I just wasn't happy with the way the first chapter turned out, so I redid it and here it is! I also changed the name of part one to The Outbreak.