I cannot think of a way to justify writing this. Sorry.
Characters are mine (for now), TWD gang shall come in later.
Again: Sorry.
The wasteland of Lawrence Kansas stood silent as the grave. Main street was empty, one half expected to see a tumbleweed bouncing between the rusting bodies of cars. Jill's Chicken Shack was burned to the ground, the windows Lawrence Hardware Store smashed in, shards of glass still clinging to the frame like jagged teeth to a gaping mouth. It was midday but not a soul was present on the filthy street, not a sound could be heard. It wasn't peaceful it was eerie-
BANG!
The silence shattered and animalistic howls of pain echoed through the streets. The hurried scrape of feet on the pavement betrayed movement and a figure comes into view, hurrying down the middle of the road, bumping into dead cars in its haste to escape the pain. Barry Dorner, or that was its name once, limped, howling, black blood leaving a trail in its wake. He had once been a fat man but the end of the world was the universes best weight loss program. Bruised and bloodied skin stretched over gaunt bones, animated by pure instinct and a virus, quite literally from hell.
Barry limped on "Huuuurrrrrrr" He moaned, panting and wheezing. Frayed dress shoes dragging down the path, black blood was oozing from the midsection of a designer shirt.
There was a whistle from behind him and the creatures froze in its track. Its Instincts were telling it to run, Demonic Virus telling it to turn around and disembowel the juicy, living, steak on legs that dared fight back in the first place. Eventually blood lust one out and it turned slowly and awkwardly to face the figure down the street. He could smell the living blood even at the distance and it made him drool feebly "uurgh", blood shot eyes struggling to focus on the man so boldly standing just yards away. So close…
Barry lunged, grey hands forming claws. With supernatural strength it propelled its body with shattered bones. So close…
BANG!
There was a vague, trickle running down Barry's forehead. He squinted in confusion, the prey was holding something… grey…shiny…smoking… Something human registered in the creatures' brain and it stumbled to the side, legs no longer supporting its body it crumpled to the ground. Teeth still gnashing with hunger as the last neurons in Barry Dorners brain fired and he died.
"What a waste of two rounds…" Barry's executioner nudged him with a steel capped toe, lighting a cigarette to gaze absently at the corpse. He took a drag, holding it between his teeth as he double checked his gun, A Colt. Confident that everything was as it should be the man, moved on. He was wearing baggy Levi's and a leather motor jacket, a regular James Dean zombie killer. Enter Alec Jericho, 25, former employee of… nowhere.
Grey eyes scanned the buildings on either side of him like they were enemies. His hand never strayed far from his waistband, where the gun was held. He stopped outside of a car dealership. It had been cleared out, display room smashed to bits. He sighed, resigned to being stuck on foot until he found a suitable vehicle. So the man set off, strolling boldly through the middle of the street as if it where the safest place in the world. He paused yet again at the last building on the block. "Harvey's Restorations" There was a faded cartoon hot rod above the signs, bull bar grinning down at him. Alec raised an eyebrow, thinking. With a huff he swung his duffle off his shoulder, unzipping it and pulling out a shot gun, good heavy bullets that wouldn't leave survivors. Unlike Betty, he mused, thinking about the small slugs he wasted on the last zombie that crossed his path. Alec took another drag of his cigarette for courage and hesitantly pushed the door open to enter the shop…
It was dark inside, the door swung shut behind him with a horror movie creak. It smelt like petrol and decomposing flesh, Alec wrinkled his nose, extinguishing his smoke under his boot. He pressed on, struggling to see in the gloom. Something caught the light and he moved towards it, around the front counter to the back wall where a series of hooks where drilled into the wall. On them was a series of keys. Alec grinned "Bingo" he reached out to grab one, stepping forward as he did so.
"Argh!" There was a muffled cry as something squelched under his foot, the man slipped forward hitting the key wrack, they jangled with the impact and he hissed between his teeth. If there was something in the store, he might as well invite it over after all that noise. Alec stopped for a moment to listen, all was silence. With slight relief he looked down to investigate whatever it was on the floor, a hand. Great. The rest of the corpse was curled up under the desk. Alec did his best to ignore it as he turned back to the keys, collecting each one. He was about to move when there was a quiet click. Alec paled, suddenly aware of something cold pressed to his temple. His hands flew in the air, dropping his bag. The keys fell to the floor with a clatter.
"Are you trying to attract trouble?" There was a hiss in his ear, the gun pressed harder against his skull. "Woah woah, watch it! That gun firing isn't exactly gonna be subtle!". He felt his assailant hesitate and the pressure lessoned "you're right… A gunshot would be too loud" Alec had barely breathed a sigh of relief before he was hit over the head with it instead.
"Ow! What are you doing!"
"Trying to knock you out! It works in the movies!" The voice raised in pitch."quit it! holy crap who goes around pistol whipping people?" and as Alec whirled to face it his heart sunk. "I got outgunned by a chick?"
She growled "Oh please, cut the sexist crap. I'm having a bad day as it is"
"You're having a bad day? I just got friggin pistol whipped!"
"Hey I was trying to-"She was cut off as in one smooth move, Alec swiped the gun off her and swung the barrel to rest between her eyes "Shut up".
She froze like a deer in the headlights, Eyes darting for a weapon. "You here alone?" Alec grunted. Her lip curled in annoyance "My sister is out on a raid. That's it". He didn't know why but he believed her. "Fine…"
There was an awkward moment where the two struggled to catch their breath and work out what happened next. They settled for sizing each other up. All he could tell was that she was short and waifish straight blonde hair hanging just past her shoulders. She was young, at least a few years younger than him. Yet again he groaned internally with the ease she had managed to get the upper hand, this chick didn't look the least bit threatening, hell she wasn't even wearing shoes.
She glared right back at him. He was tall and lean. Yep, no beating that in a fight. Her shoulders dropped in surrender and she shuffled awkwardly "so…tea?"
"yeah… yes please" He lowered the gun and picked his bag back up, fighting wouldn't achieve anything anyway. She led him back through a door at the side of the room and up a flight of stairs, stopping in the hallway and looking up "You mind?" Alec stared blankly before noticing a chord attached to a trap door, he reached up to pull it, as the door opened a flight of stairs unfolded. The two ascended "so how do you normally get up here?"
"I stand on a bucket" She growled. Alec struggled to hide his smirk. "Jerk" She muttered under her breath, leading the way into the small loft above the shop. There were two piled mattresses against one wall and what looked like a camp-fireplace in the centre of the room. A table against the opposite room was home to what looked like about 4 small guns and a first aid kit. "Don't make yourself at home here" The girl said coldly, lighting a match and throwing it into the already stocked fireplace.
Alec settled cross legged on the floor and lit another cigarette "any of the cars downstairs in working order?''
"Unless you're a mechanic they are pretty much screwed" The girl said as she stooped to put a pot of water on to boil. "Dammit!" Alec hissed.
The two sat in silence for a while, sipping the tea. Before the girl broke the silence "I would kill for some milk"
"You're a chick, Make some" She pulled a disgusted face at him and he shrugged "sorry if my sense of humour has suffered a bit these past two years". They lapsed back into silence.
"What's you're name?"
"Dodge"
"Huh?" Alec snorted "that is not a name"
She stuck out her tongue "Ever seen Zombieland?"
"Yeah what about it?"
"Tallahassee is my idol, I like the name thing"
"Oh… Can I be… Santa, Idaho?" Alec chuckled, how could be compare this situation to a comedy movie? "That is not a place" She actually seemed kinda serious.
"Yeah it is, I've been!''
"Whatever you can be Lame Deer, Montana" They both laughed.
"Frankenstein is a place in Missouri"
A grin spread across the girls face "you want to be called Frankenstein?" Alec or Frankenstein nodded a mischievous glint in his eye. Dodge laughed "Well then, nice to meet you Frankenstein"
She held out a hand and he shook it.
"You too Dodge"