Unfortunately, I don't own The Walking Dead the video game, TellTale does ;( R.I.P to life.
Also, this series is a variation/spinoff from after episode 2 of The New Frontier.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.
Also, much criticism and reviewing is welcome! Thanks and enjoy!
Chapter 1
The van reeked. Like, worse than the walkers. We had been driving for 8 hours, only another 6 to go! We definitely couldn't head back to Texas, so mom was right, Littleton was the safest option. We had family there, and it was a nice town. Unfortunately, the chance my cousins were still alive were very slim. Everyone knew that going too far north was a terrible idea; staying in a city was even worse. But Littleton CO, 45 miles east from Denver was a small town with sparse housing and a lot of nature, so why would walkers care about it? I had no idea where my cousins were, but if they were there, we had to at least try to find them. Mom and I had already lost too many people, and I didn't want the feeling to continue.
"Will the plan change if our family isn't there?" I asked mom, who was sitting in the driver's seat of our banged up '97 Ford E-150. I was a splitting image of her, except she looked alot better than I did at the moment. She had deep green eyes and lighter brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, with a tan complexion. I wasn't pale, but still white, and my ruffled brown hair and hazel eyes never helped.
"No. It won't. We would still camp in Littleton. We at least know something about the place, right?" She glanced at me, with worry in her eyes. "Noah, we can't think about them now. We just can't. Or I'll start to cry, and then we end up stranded in the middle of New Mexico running on tissues and tears." I turned towards the window to watch the rolling fields, thinking about my brother and sister.
We were only an hour away from Littleton, and my gut was wrenched. We hadn't passed nearly any walkers since Amarillo, and I had been in this car so damn long, I'm sure even one of the fat ones could outrun me. "What if Denver's overrun? Littleton is isolated enough to where we wouldn't be able to make large supply runs. I'm just saying we should have a plan B just in case." I said. Its smart to have a plan B, right? I mean you never know.
"I agree, but we can figure it out. We always have."
"If it doesn't, I say we head towards the center of the States. Like along the Missouri and the Mississippi. Lush environments, natural water, no cities, and we can grow crops or catch fish. It sounds better the more I hear myself say it! If we went north, we wouldn't have the proper supplies, south is basically a barren wasteland at this point, and the east is way too populated. I don't see anywhere else to go, unless we want to head west where the air is still cleansing from all that marijuana in the air."
"Noah, that's not funny. And besides, the more people in the east means there's the best chance of finding survivors. We could be live with a group rather than primitive caveman."
"Yeah, but there are probably 20 times more walkers than people."
"Sure, but what about infrastructure? If we live in the country with 'no cities' then where would our walls be? We would have no protection."
"Safer than with a group of people we don't know or trust. We saw what the apocalypse can do to people." Mom grew quiet, so I just stared back out the window. Mountains, escarpments, plateaus and hills rolled passed us as we sped down the abandoned highway.
After a solid half an hour of silence, Mom finally spoke. "You know, I've always wanted to give this to you." She reached into the backseat and fished around in a bag. She kept her eyes on the road, so it took her about a minute to snag the item. She finally handed it to me. It was a three foot long wooden staff, about three inches in diameter, and I couldn't break it easily. On one end it was blunt, but the other side showed a razor sharp point, with four fashioned ridges, like a Phillips Head screwdriver. On the blunt edge, the initials R.Q.S were engraved into the wood. There was a holster that came with it, that I slid eagerly around my back.
"It was Deed's. He used it back in the Korean war."
I was astonished. This very weapon was wielded by my grandfather. "How did you even know to grab it?"
"It is just as important to you as it is to me."
"Wow." My grin widened.
"Let's just get to Littleton. We need to get there, and then we'll be ok."
"Thanks mom. Really." I slid the new weapon into a holster on my back. Silent euphoria glistened in the air for some solid minutes. I remembered how Deed had shown me how to use it a few years before… all this. "Hey, mom? Do you ever miss Dallas?"
"Yeah. Yeah, sometimes I do. But looking back won't help us now. Littleton is our future We have to look there."
"Yeah. I get it."
2 MONTHS LATER
(Mid December)
"God damnit. Mom, I knew we should have just let her eat the food. Why'd we try to chase her?"
"Chill out Noah, we still have 2 days of food left. We can afford to lose this catch, it won't hurt us. We just have to make one tomorrow."
"Still, we shouldn't waste good deer like that. We shouldn't be relying on current supplies." We continued walking a couple more minutes until we reached the house. It was a large, two-story brick residence. Equipped with a basement and a fireplace, it held up really well. I walked up the wooden stairs into the dining room. The entire house had no inner walls, with tons of open space. We entered through the back, and in front of us was the dining table. To our right was a large couch which held up the living room. A fireplace sat in the corner.
Behind the dining table was a kitchen and many counters, where our supplies, food, and buckets of melted snow laid. The big blue duffel under a counter carried all of our guns and ammunition. So far (discounting our many pistols) we had 3 shotguns, a sniper, 6 assault rifles, and 3 rifles. Mom thought we were stacked enough for two people. I think we can never have enough guns. Especially in a time like this.
"You think the herd is following us north?" Mom asked.
"I really hope not. If they are then they would be in Austin."
"You think we should leave soon? I was thinking in about two weeks. The herd would just be getting to us, and we could travel east."
"Mom, we can't go east. It's overrun."
"But that's the best place to find survivors, to find a group. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I want to live with people. We need humanity. We'll drive ourselves insane!"
"You think that, in this world, people still have humanity. Look, we have the dead wandering around eating people!" I argued.
"We're doing this. Noah, you're not calling the shots on this one." She said with affirmance.
"So one half of the group here doesn't have a say?"
"I AM THE GROUP!" The large house was suddenly quieter than before. I looked up very sternly at my mother.
"Remember Galveston? Huh? Were you the group there? Are you saying you allowed what happened to happen?" My mom's face grew dark from my words. Her mouth twisted. I knew she was remembering the events of tragedy.
"You can't pin that on me. It wasn't anyone's fault." She said as tears formed in her eyes. And with that morbid sentence, she stormed off into the second living room. Damnit I thought to myself. Now I have to cook dinner! I put a slab of deer loin on a pan and dropped it in the oven.
2 WEEKS LATER
The new year was upon us, but there was no celebration. Me and mom simply packed our bags and threw our duffels and ziplocs of food into the van. We were only leaving because mom felt like it was a good idea to go find people. And what was I going to do? Either leave with her or stay here, alone. As we drove away from the house, I saw a couple of walkers looking towards us. One was missing an arm. Their mouths oozed red phlegm and blood. Another had its entrails and intestines hanging from its stomach. Blood was dripping from many ports on their bodies. I recognized them, after a couple of moments of staring. They were my cousins, Abby and Rachel.
"Mom, stop the van." She looked bewildered, but pulled us to a halt. I got out, and examined the corpses slowly advancing on me. I unsheathed my staff and talked to them. "I am sorry for what happened to you. You deserved better, at least to die for real. I am here now. You will all be safer in heaven." With two quick stabs they fell to the ground. I knew their souls would rest in peace. I hadn't known them as well as I had liked too, but that would have made their presence here more painful. They needed rest.
We sped away quickly after that. It was silent as we drove down the interstate, headed towards the eastern coast. Against all my will, we went. The drive would be long, but we had gas. I am not sure if I am thankful for that, or malicious for wanting us to turn around.