Chapter 1 - 'What if's
A/N Clementine is there as well… I actually imagined this story with her as the protagonist but afterwards I realized she's just 11… damn it!
Well this is a fucked up world right now. Anything you do… anything anyone else does just ends up a waste and even more fucked up than you thought at first.
"Are you all right Adeline?"
"I'm just fine, Tom… don't worry." That's me… Adeline. It means Nobility or something like that in French… if that is worth anything these days. I am so tired I feel as if my limbs will fall apart from my body… "We've been walking for days… I just…"
"I would take a break by now as well but… "
"We are out of supplies. I know… I fucking know."
"Hey… all is going to be alright." I finally looked at the man hopeful that he is right… that last can of beans was like one last bless from some Bored to shit God up there in the sky. I don't even like beans but right now I would even eat dog shit just to stop this rumbling and painful contraction my stomach keeps on doing… and I know Tom is having it worse… he didn't have a last can of beans… now I feel bad. "Don't look at me like that A. We will get by… we always do." I absently nod at his remark… I wish I could be that optimistically, he's such a nice guy, so nice that he didn't let me behind when it was obvious to both of us that I was just keeping him back… I would have left me behind in his place… I am just a nuisance. "Hey… you are done with the long face! You WILL survive ok?" Again I nod. "NO! I want an answer."
"I guess so "
"Wrong answer. Come on Adeline I need to know if you'll keep on in case something happens to me." Well this just made me laugh… a creepy one as well.
"If you'll die first that would be surprising."
"Adeline."
"What?"
"Promise me you'll keep going after I am gone."
"Why are you so sure you'll be gone?"
"I just have this feeling in my guts that I don't have much time."
"None of us do."
"Adeline!"
"Fine… promise."
"Good." I can see a small smile forming on his lips. Now I can actually see what all of this walking around in these God forsaken woods done to Tom. His well build body now thin and frail and his face all sucked in, dark shadows under his wide eyes… he's been keeping watch all the time, he's been scavenging, he's been rationing the food, making the fire, looking for safe places… he's been doing everything… I am just useless… poor Tom.
"I don't know how I will survive all alone… without you Tom."
"Hey I am here girl… don' listen to my hunches… I just wanted to make sure. "
"Still… You know I am right."
"We'll go over some survival skills when we settle ok?"
I guess something good got out from that talk. Without Tom I wouldn't be here to tell you my story… what a fucking story this is.
"Light… There is a God after all." Adeline ran as fast as she could towards that little cabin in the woods… it didn't seem such a stupid idea when she firstly sprinted but as she got closer she realized just how idiotic it actually was. "So there might be no God for me after all." Slowly but surely she made her way towards it… just a little look wouldn't hurt. Sticking to a tree she started to hear footsteps… it was either one of the ghouls or some human being… which one of them was worse it was obvious… so she kept on whispering to God to give her one of those mindless creature and be done with this minor setback.
"Hello… someone there? I know you're not a lurker." And when Adeline heard that southern accent she knew she wasn't on God's side tonight. Taking a big breath in she tried to side step and run in to the woods only to find herself eye to eye with this nice looking barrel of a gun. "It usually takes more than a few seconds to make a girl ditch me like that but I guess I evolved."
"Now you just point a gun to their head and hope for the best."
"You already picked up on that didn't you? I am sorry… it's just for 'What if's… if you get me."
"'What if' I will pull my own gun or come back with my big and loving group?"
"Something like that… you got to understand… "
"Some people are just fucked up like that."
"Exactly."
"Then don't worry for me… I am all alone with my empty guns. You can just let me go."
"Hon you know I can't do that."
"The 'what if's again? Fine… here is one for you…" And before the man could actually react she was already under his gun grabbing at his arms and pushing him to the ground. "What if I just run and never come back?" And so she did with everything she got, her feet, even though already tired, went one in front of the other as if on auto pilot until an excruciating sound echoed through that forest. A bang that would vibrate for miles and miles alerting every dead, ringing their way towards their dinner, but that wasn't the worst thing about that sound; the worst part was her right thigh which under her eyes burst, splashing blood as she fell to her knees. As the world filtered through her eyes and the ringing stopped in her ears she could finally feel the pain shooting up to her brain, everything in front of her eyes turned white as her scream filled the ,once, silent woods.
"Fuck Nick!? Why you go and do that?"
"She ran… what if she is with Carver?"
"Even so we don't just shot people." The woman quickly tore a strap from her shirt and tightened it around her leg just above the wound, biting down on her lower lip she managed to get up and just continue limping her way out. The two men after her, much faster.
"Damn it… I already hate the 'what if's." She whispered as she kept on dragging herself through those dense trees, she could already feel a bruise forming on her cheek when one of the branches simply appeared out of nowhere… maybe a cut, much more likely one of those because something moist was now dripping from her chin and sure as hell she wasn't crying! And that is when a moan filled her ears almost instantly making her even more terrified… and when she bumped head to head with one of those things she could already see what is going to happen… but she promised him. Grabbing her trusted combat knife from the small of her back she stabbed the decomposing woman several times in one of the eyes letting free several maggots and some disgusting liquid, which splattered Adeline… if that was once blood now it was just a stinking rotten inside of some random creature all over her face… eww.
Her breathing quickened as she could still hear moans and growls from all around her… also her leg was starting to give away from the wound or from the impediment in her blood circulation… God knows… Crushing by one of the trees barks she wasn't ready to give up. One of the biters, this time a man thoroughly decomposed, his flesh barely sticking to his bones was rapidly gaining towards her. His face was more a nest of maggots and other insects, it's torso was swollen and dark which only made her even more terrified, the limbs still clinging by it looked like they would fall at any second even though they moved incredibly fast for their deplorable shape, looking closer between the small creatures infecting that corpse there was this sappy mucus coming out of everywhere even on the white bones poking out here and there where the flesh completely fell off.
Another shot from one of the shotguns the pair from before had, and that creature simply burst all over her. Everything happened almost in slow motion, the lurker's mandible, half clinging to his skull, moving to let a growl escape, it's boney hands inches from her and then she simply saw as bits of gore erupted from it… everything came crushing down on her when she felt the murky liquid coming from that long since dead man. Her entire body was covered in blood and some goopy and sticky chunks of flesh.
"Are you alright?"
"You just shot her Nick! I am sure she's just honkey dory!" Adeline tried to get up but all in vain as her right leg wouldn't listen to her anymore. "You're bleeding pretty badly… I don't know how much trust can you muster right now..."
"Take her quickly Luke… more are coming."
"… but…What if?"
The girl nodded frantically as the man took her bridal style and dashed back for the cabin from before.
"Carlos… we have a problem here!" And this was like the last part she was conscious to… she fainted in that strangers arm, all completely exposed at anyone's mercy.
Luke burst in to the house laying the girl on the green couch as everybody came to the entrance.
"Luke… who is she?"
"Some girl... Nick shot." He gave the man with the gun still strongly gripped between his fingers a blameful look.
"Hey man… don't put this on me… what if she's with Carver? Uncle Pete back me up here…" Pete simply shook his head in disagreement.
"Carlos… just take a look at her leg please… afterward we'll see what to do with her…" The man was already on it.
With a knife he cut one leg of the jeans she was wearing only to find the wound. "It looks much messier than it actually is… the only problem is that the bullet entered just enough to create a lot of hemorrhage. Not enough to incapacitate her… but I guess from the looks and color of her skin she's been better… she's anemic at best."
"So?"
"She'll be alright in some weeks… "
"Ok, Luke, you heard it… now we can talk."
"Talk about what Rebeca? I couldn't just leave her to the lurkers… not after we brought her in that position…"
"Still she could be with Carver."
"I said that already!" Nick yelled in complete and utter exasperation.
"Oh… so for some possibility I should had left her to be eaten!?"
"Luke, we can't just bring strangers just because we pity them… we have our problems."
"I couldn't just let her there when I could do something… and a starving, anemic person doesn't ring me Carver!"
"The boy is right, Rebecca."
"Still she is covered in that gore she could be bitten."
"Luke we haven't thought about that."
"Shut up Nick! You were there, that lurker was at least a meter away when we shot it! She's not bitten she's just fine."
"Let's just wait for her to wake up and make a decision with the girl as well."
"Thank you Pete!"
"Ok I am done with her wound… Luke from now on it is your responsibility."
"What?!"
"You heard me. Clean her, I am sure Rebecca can borrow you some clothes and when she wakes up you will talk to her."
"Shouldn't Rebecca or you do that? She's… she's a she..." When he heard Luke stutter Pete started laughing and with a hand around the man's shoulders he reassured him.
"Boy, don't tells me she's the first Lady you've taken care of?"
"No… of course not… I don't get it where you're going… Rebecca, just give me those clothes!" Quite frustrated and red to the tip of his ears he grabbed Adeline and left up the stairs.