****Author's Note***** I do not own the Walking Dead or any offiliated characters or plot. I own Katie Winters, Jake, Merissa Himley and this fanfiction itself. However much I would like to own the series, I do not and will not. This story is purely for entertainment, please do not leave nasty comments. Follow the golden rule and keep them to yourself. Enjoy ;)

"Shit."

The car rolled to a sputtering stop. Katie slammed her hands on the steering wheel. A few more choice words followed as she frantically tried to restart the engine. She'd been riding on E for the past two days. Her eyes scanned the area, fearful yet hopeful of other cars. She only needed just one car.

"Noooo." she allowed the wail to escape her lips. The deserted stretch of highway rendered no help at all. She sat back, thumping her head against the steering wheel. "Not now."

Katie's hazel eyes flicked open as she thought more. A deserted highway meant no freaks. Or crazies. Maybe it wasn't so bad. She sighed, clicking open the glove compartment and pulling out a strip of beef jerky.

"I hate jerky." she said aloud, chewing the dried meat forcefully. She was so tired, and cramped. Making sure the windows were up and the doors were locked, she crawled to the back seat of the red Probe, flipping it down to reveal a makeshift bed in the trunk. She crawled into the space, taking with her a bottle of water, some more of the jerky, and a Colt .45 long barrel. She turned the tarnished silver gun over in her hands. Katie remembered that stroke of luck; an opened safe in a house of three freaks. She twirled open the chamber. Only three bullets left. She sighed again, and pulled the seat back up behind her. She set the alarm on her watch for two hours from now; she couldn't afford to sleep longer than that. Not that she could if she tried. Katie curled up tight, the gun in her hand.

She woke to the soft beeping of the watch blearily. Katie moved slowly, listening hard for any sound. She waited ten minutes, then carefully pushed the back seat down and crawled back out of the trunk. Peeking her head above the door-line, she saw the highway was just as empty as it had been before. Stretching her long legs, Katie slid back into the driver's seat. She screwed her face up when the familiar splutter and croak of the engine greeted her ears.

"Goddammittohell." she muttered. Her lips twitched as she sat agitatedly thinking. "Where the hell am I going to get gas?"

She pulled the map out of the glove compartment, squinting at the tiny road names and numbers.

"Let's see, I was on I-65 South, but after Nashville..." Her voice trailed off as she recalled the flaming city. The screams. A sob caught in her throat, but she coughed instead. "After Nashville I changed to this road, which is...I-75...I think. God I miss my smartphone."

Tossing the map aside, Katie took a swig of water. She pondered the situation. She had enough food to last three more days. With the way she ate, she could probably make it last a day or so longer. Two days, then she would have to move. That would mean ditching the car. Her stomach turned at the thought. But until those days were up, she would stay put. And that meant entertainment.

Katie reached into the knapsack behind the seat and pulled out an old Gameboy Color, complete with games. She chose Tetris, smiling a little as she turned the game on and began to play. She got lost in it, several times coming close to losing, only to scrape away with another line. Her mind wandered, not settling on any one thought. And this way she was at peace, at least until the sun began to set, and the battery light began to flicker. Reluctantly she turned it off, and crawled once again into the trunk to sleep. Alarm set, gun ready, she drifted into a cramped and uneasy slumber.

When she awoke the next morning Katie new she could not wait around for three days in a car with no gas. Something was bound to go wrong. She lay in the darkness of the hot trunk, thinking. The next town was miles away, she probably wouldn't get to it before the sun set. Which was almost too dangerous to risk. But she needed gas. She thought of the amount of food and water she had left, as well as medical supplies; just a first aid kit half empty under the passenger seat.

Do it.