AN: Welcome to "A Shot In The Dark"!
Disclaimer- I do not own anything from The Walking Dead. All rights are reserved to the producers.
The only thing I do own are the original characters and original events that take place in this story.
This first chapter is for introducing the character so sorry if its boring and short!
It was too damn hot in Georgia. All she could see were mirages down the highway. It had felt like an eternity since Rhea had started following the empty road. Thankfully she hadn't run into any flesh-eating biters. She was too exhausted to fight, let alone run. A heavy panting sounded beside her. Melissa looked at her companion, a larger-than-normal German Shepard.
His legs were dragging with every step.
"Poor boy, I need to find us some shade and water before we die of heat strokes" she thought.
The only problem was that there was no telling how many biters would be in the forest. Was it worth the risk going in there in their exhausted state?
Rhea saw no hope in continuing down the road. They had been walking since the sun came up and still hadn't came across a town or a rest stop or a house or even a living person. She clicked her tongue and veered into the forest, the dog closely following her. His ears perked up, alert to any sound that could possibly be danger. The trees offered some escape from the sweltering sun and Rhea relished it. She was actually relieved by the sound of leaves crunching under her boots and the occasional bird call.
Most of their trek had been dead silent.
"All right Monty. Search for the sound of water. Search. We need to find a creek or river if we want to survive. Got that?"
The dog looked at her and nodded his head. Or at least she thought he did. She couldn't be sure, she was going crazy from the monotony of the days. But it would be plausible if Monty did nod, they had been together for almost 5 years now and Monty knew Rhea better than anyone. Hell, Rhea felt she knew Monty better than most of her friends. Her friends. She suddenly wondered about them and if they were safe. It had been so long since she even thought of them. Losing herself in nostalgia Rhea was startled by Monty's sudden bark. Raising her bow in reaction, Rhea immediately focused on the moving shape a few yards away from them.
Monty lowered his head and stiffened his stance, a growl growing from deep in his chest. It was a biter.
"Shh. Down boy, I got this one," she commanded.
She aimed her bow and swiftly hit her target. Right in the head. There was a thud and the biter was on the floor. Rhea walked up to it and retrieved her arrow. The smell of rotting flesh overwhelmed her and she tried to cover her nose. Carefully lifting its clothing, Rhea began to dig through its pockets looking for anything useful. Sometimes she felt that doing this was almost crossing some sacred, spiritual line but what the hell these fuckers were dead - not even human anymore. Unfortunately this one had empty pockets. Getting up, they continued on their way deeper into the forest.
After what seemed like hours and 5 more biters Rhea was about to give up. They were down to a quarter of a gallon of water left and even less hope. She looked down at her dog admiring the determination in his eyes. If she ever commanded him to do a task he would do it. He was good like that. She was certain it was because he had been trained to be a K9 unit dog for the police. She was grateful he still knew a lot of the commands and how to act them out. The attack and defense ones definitely came in handy.
Suddenly Monty froze in the point stance.
"Locate!" Rhea told him and Monty took off running.
Quickly weaving in and out of trees they came to a clearing in the middle of the forest. The trees grew in tell-tale patterns that there was a river near by. Finally the weary pair found what they had been looking for. The river was small and lined with jagged rocks.
This was the perfect place to set up a camp.
Rhea wanted to scream with joy. But she caught that excitement in her throat. Loud noises attracted the biters like nothing else. Carefully jumping down the rocks she filled up both her gallon jugs and drank her fill of water.
Unaware of her surroundings, a biter quietly hobbled toward the girl. Its arms stretched out in primal instinct to grab onto some flesh. Before it could get close Monty leapt at its throat and began to tear at it. Rhea spun around instantly, grabbed her hunting knife and plunged it deep into the biter's eye. Black blood spilled out of it. She let out her breath, the adrenaline still coursing through her veins.
"Monty you're a life saver," she panted, petting the dog between his ears.
"Let's clean that mouth of yours though. I bet that bastard's blood is all kinds of bad."
Rhea never felt good after Monty attacked biters. What if biting them would somehow infect him and turn him into a dog zombie?
The sun was going down and a cold night was setting in. A tree had grown over a large rock, which lifted up its roots creating a tiny cave. Rhea decided to use it as makeshift shelter and cleared it out. She started a small fire in front of the opening and began to look through her bag for some food. Only a pack of crackers left. Her heart sunk, realizing just how long they had been on the road and how long they hadn't found a town. She gave a fourth of the crackers to Monty and a fourth for herself. They'd need to ration until the morning. Melissa pushed her bow into the crevice and crawled in. Getting settled in she pulled her sleeping bag out of her pack and Monty laid across her lap. She kept her knife in her hand as a precaution. Pulling her hood over her ears she adjusted Monty to between her legs and put his head on her chest. The opening of the crevice was protected by over hanging roots making it hard for anything to get in. Rhea watched the fire slowly die and thought about all the people she cared for, letting the memories take over her mind and the darkness lulled her to sleep.
Early morning light shone through the roots that covered the crevice opening. Rhea blinked her eyes a few times before pushing out her bow and pack.
Monty followed her as she crawled out into the cool forest air. There were no signs that anyone or anything had come through during the night.
Feeling safe for the most part, Rhea sat down cross legged and brought out a map. For a while now, they had been traveling on back roads and small highways. This way the masses of biters and larger, possibly hostile, groups could be avoided. Rhea found the area they were in and traced
the highway they had been following. It didn't lead to any towns except for the big city of Atlanta. She bit her lip in frustration.
Big cities were the one place she was trying to steer clear of. Traveling down from New York had taught her a lot on how to survive the new world.
Big cities meant huge populations of biters and the worst kinds of humans. Rapist, vandals, and thieves.
She sighed as there was no avoiding going to Atlanta. They were running dangerously low on supplies.
Hunting wasn't an option. The river wasn't large enough for fish and there had been no tracks to signal that there were deer.
Rhea tore open the rest of the crackers from the night before. She tossed Monty his portion and quickly ate her own.
A silent prayer that it would be able to last them the long walk to Atlanta. Rhea broke down the tiny camp and continued on through the forest.
It would be a few miles before they would come to an opening that led to another highway. She kept her bow in her hands at the ready.
Monty trotted a couple steps ahead of her. His nose in the air, on the look out for any sign of a threat. Lucky for them their walk was undisturbed.
The sun had made its way from the horizon to its highest point in the sky. Rhea could easily make out the tall buildings in the city from the
hill they had stopped to rest on. About 5 miles and they would be at the walls of Atlanta. She could already imagine the streets filled with the undead.
All of their soulless eyes clouded with hunger and blood lust. Maneuvering the streets at night would be suicide so the sooner they got in and out, the better. The two of them jogged down the hill and kept up a quick pace. By time they made it to the surrounding barrier sunset was upon them.
Looks like they would have to get in the city and find some sort of shelter. Rhea found an opening in a wire fence and held it open for Monty to squeeze through. She pushed herself in and pulled her bow off her shoulder. Docking an arrow, she began to lead the way.
Emerging from a dark alley way, Rhea scanned the street in front of her. So far no biters in sight. And to her surprise a small diner was just to the left.
Rhea ran quickly but quietly to it and examined the exterior. The windows were still intact and blacked out. The door was chained shut.
At least the looters hadn't gotten to this part of the city yet. Maybe there would be some canned food. Even stale bread would be good enough.
Looking around Rhea found part of a broken pipe.
"Good ol' city trash." she smiled to herself.
She smashed the pipe against the chain and lock several times. At last the two broke apart and clattered to the floor.
Rhea froze listening to the streets. Silent. She guessed no one or nothing had heard and a breath of relief escaped her lips.
Raising her bow to her shoulder, she cautiously stepped in to the dark room. Just enough light flooded in through the door way to dimly illuminate it.
There was a shuffle at the end of the counter and Rhea moved towards it. The sounds of ripping flesh grew louder as she approached.
On the floor was a large man dressed in chef's attire. He was tearing into a mutilated body. Blood and human organs lay around him.
Rhea sent an arrow through his head and the biter crumpled next to its victim. The diner was surprisingly empty other than for those two.
She tucked away her bow but kept a hand on the handle of her hunting knife. She swung open the door to the kitchen and flicked on a flashlight.
The sound of Monty's claws tapped against the cold tile floor. The shelves held rows of canned items.
Rhea smiled to herself at the good fortune and piled whatever she could grab into her pack. It didn't matter to her what she was getting.
All she could think about was having a full belly for the first time in weeks.
When her pack got to the point of bursting, Rhea slung it back over she shoulders and wandered over to the shipping door.
A ladder that led to the roof of the diner was outside. Monty paced as he watched his master climb up it and disappear.
Seconds later she came down for him. Rhea crouched to get on the same level as the large dog. Then he jumped onto her back and she held on to his paws. With one hand, she carried him up the ladder and dropped him down on the flat top of the building.
She sat down and pulled out a can of soup for herself and a can of hash for Monty. As they feasted on the day's find, Rhea watched the sun disappear
behind the skyscrapers. The sky turned from a firey orange to a dark purple. This wouldn't be the first time Rhea had slept out in the open.
She found that it was better to head for the roofs of buildings. Most people didn't bother to check there and biters couldn't climb.
Sometimes it got cold but it was better than being attacked in her sleep.
Rhea pulled on her jacket and put her hood over her ears. Monty walked over to her and curled up into a tight ball.
She lay her head on her pack and settled in for the night.
Maybe two more days of scavenging and then they would be out of the city and back on the road.
Rhea had no idea where to go. All she was aiming for was to survive as long as she could.
And if that meant wandering the country with no destination so be it.