Special thanks to gurl3677 for helping me revise my story.
Panic. That was the only emotion that Jessie could explain, the first thought that came to her mind. She watched as walkers fed on her co-workers, and as others were being executed. Jessie wanted nothing more than to flee the hospital, go home and hold her son close. Her heart began to beat faster at the thought.
Jake, what if he wasn't alright? What if these things had gotten to him and the rest of her family? No, that couldn't happen. Her blue eyes rose to the ceiling as she felt tears start to well up. If there was a God, how could he stand by and watch this happen? What kind of loving "father" was that? Now Jessie was raised in a religious household. But she herself didn't exactly know what she believed in. Sure, she believed in there being a higher power. But to say that higher power was God she wasn't entirely sure.
"Jessie!" The cry for help pierced her ears. Slowly her eyes scanned to the left only to land on the petite form of one of the young nurses.
"Sarah!" Jessie cried out.
Dropping what she held in her hands, Jessie ran from behind the nurses' station and towards the other girl. She stopped half way when a walker grabbed the girl. There was nothing she could do she realized the moment the fowl smelling thing tore into the girl's skin. Fuck, there had to be a way out but how? People around her were screaming and rushing around in hopes of getting out. But there seemed to be no escape. They were trapped and there was nothing that any of them could do about it.
A hand tugged on her shoulder, yanking her back and tossing her into the row of her co-workers and friends who were standing along a wall. She stared horrified as the men with guns got ready to kill them. She couldn't let this happen. She had to get out of there and go home to her son. She had to stay alive. Just as the guns were fired, Jessie turned her body so the bullet would hit in a different location. She winced from the pain but took off running as adrenaline started pumping through her veins.
Jessie ignored the shouts from the men behind her as she hit the door to the outside. She slammed the door shut and locked it quickly before she took off to her car. She jammed the key into the ignition and started the car before driving off as fast as she could. Jessie knew one thing was for sure. She had to get her family and get the hell out of the city and hope for the best.
Pulling into the driveway, Jessie left the car running as she jumped out and raced inside. "Mom, Dad! Mike, Jake! We need to go!" She ran through the house looking through every room on the lower level before heading upstairs. That was when she realized that her life was now turned upside down. Her family was dead and being eaten by walkers. Jessie hurried back downstairs without thinking.
She grabbed a bag and jammed it full of clothes from one of the bedrooms before rushing outside and jumping back into her car. Slamming the door close, she backed out of the driveway and floored it. She had no destination in mind. All she knew was that the life she knew was over. Wiping the tears from her eyes Jessie sucked in a deep breath, willing herself not to cry. Her eyes stung from the tears but she refused to let them spill from her eyes. She would let herself cry later, right now she has to find some place to go.
Speeding down back roads, Jessie kept her eyes on the road and her surroundings. She needed to be alert. There was no telling where Walkers would be. They could be anywhere, waiting for the chance to attack. A chance that Jessie wasn't about to give them. She had no plans on becoming a Walker meal. Surviving, that's what she was doing. That's all that she had left to cling to. There was no hope, she had lost all hope when she saw her family dead in their home. Her life had been yanked out from under her, leaving her vulnerable and confused, most of all scared.
Yes, Jessie admitted it to herself. She was scared, own right terrified. She had nothing left in this world. She stepped on the gas as she headed for Atlanta. In the back of her mind a voice kept nagging her to stay clear of the city. But she wasn't sure why.
Jessie slowly came to stop. She had to remove the bullet and stitch up her wound the best she could. It was going to hurt like hell at first but she didn't have a choice. She couldn't take the chance of infection setting in plus, the pain she was in would lessen up once the bullet was removed.
She gulped half of the bottle of water she held in her hand and shook her head as she took a deep breath. She had been shot on the her right side, so she pulled up her shirt and stared at the wound. After a few more deep breaths she reached inside the hole and felt around for the bullet. Her right hand shot up and grabbed her sterling wheel as she cried out. She found the bullet and started working it out. She dropped the bullet to the floor and leaned her head back. She allowed herself a few seconds of deep breaths before she looked back down and started stitching herself up.
Once she finished, Jessie wrapped a gauze wrap around her midsection to cover the stitches, then pulled her shirt back down and started her car back up. She was running low on gas which wasn't good. There wasn't a gas station for miles, and of course those that she passed were all abandoned and gas was probably empty. She sat for a few seconds before shaking her head and driving off. She had to keep going till she found a safe place. If that meant she had to walk at some point then she would.
An hour later the car ran out of gas, leaving Jessie stranded in the middle of nowhere. Sighing, she grabbed her bag and started walking. Jessie walked slowly, not able to move fast because of the wound. She was worried about an infection, especially as she began feeling light headed and like she was getting a fever. Neither of which she was looking forward to. But nonetheless, she pushed herself forward. Jessie hadn't been paying much attention to her surroundings until she heard movement. Her head shot up and by the time she realized what was taking place it was too late. She was surrounded by walkers and had nothing to defend herself with.
Backing away as quickly as she could, Jessie lost her footing and fell to the hard ground with a small groan of pain. Opening her eyes, she shook her head as she tried to move away from the walkers who were getting closer. Jessie did the only thing she could think of to do. Scream, as loud as she possibly could. She shut her eyes tight, as she let the tears spill from her eyes. She was sure this was the end.
Then, the sound of a body falling to the ground that caught her attention. Opening her eyes, Jessie looked to see one of the walkers on the ground, an arrow protruding from its head. She watched as they others soon fell to the ground, each with an arrow protruding from their heads.
Jessie swallowed roughly as she slowly sat up and looked around. She wasn't sure what had just happened, but was glad it did. Jessie turned to grab her bag and when she turned back around she came face to face with a crossbow. Freezing, she just simply stared as she swallowed roughly. Her eyes slowly traveled up the crossbow and came to rest on the face of the man holding it. "Please don't kill me."