p data-p-id="eedd8824e0d2e635d0e0ec1c30c6c4af"Kill, scavenge, sleep, repeat./p
p data-p-id="1190547b429f4ad56af5a3c4087ce7d1"I was like a well oiled machine, doing the same routine over and over again, every day, ever since this entire thing started. I didn't understand why I bothered, I had lost everything that mattered to me and was used to going through the motions. But after staring down from the top of a building and contemplating the jump, I realized I couldn't. I couldn't die just yet- they wouldn't have wanted me to opt out, or maybe it was the fact that I was so used to the routine and didn't know how to give up. They say it's extremely difficult to break out of a bad habit- all I know is that I was a survivor, and I refused to be served up as a raw steak for the walking dead./p
p data-p-id="cfe201de5943405c840233fec4378a45" /p
p data-p-id="d1b618abaec80e2e506400b05bccc580"The old Toyota that I currently occupied cruised down the road, sometimes swerving to miss a hazardous object that lay carelessly across the tarmac. I drove through a town that I didn't know the name of, searching for a place to ransack but instead of finding what I needed, I saw something that I found strangely difficult to comprehend./p
p data-p-id="80a4525d871bc8f5a056ace675dfcfdd"A man, wearing a white hospital gown, was riding down the road on a bicycle. He had short curly brown hair and was hunched over, clutching his stomach. I stared at him anxiously and would have continued driving if he had not turned around at the sound of the cars engine. He moved so quickly that the bike toppled over, causing him to splay across the pavement but as soon as he hit the ground he stood up again, obviously in pain. I stared at the bandage that was wrapped around his waist and contemplated stopping. He waved one of his hands in the air in a desperate attempt to stop me. I carried on driving, watching his hopeful expression plummet in my rear view mirror. I sighed at the guilt that I was already feeling. In a last minute decision I threw on the breaks and slid out of the car seat. Grabbing the gun that was on my passenger seat, I held it in the air and aimed it at his chest./p
p data-p-id="b7d02b64f9e47354bf0b62bf4c2cd954" /p
p data-p-id="eefa136fe461279042cc9425b9070137""Are you bit?" I yelled, standing about five meters away from him. At the blank expression he gave me I screamed it again, frustration seeping into the sentence "Are you bitten?!"/p
p data-p-id="714e797025a55e6b0e4a0fb86b5af67a" /p
p data-p-id="784c86f90ec8ac71c18044a74868f946""What? No... No I'm not bit," was his reply confusion evidently in his voice. He had no idea what was going on and I couldn't just leave him, especially since he was so obviously injured. I was so going to regret this./p
p data-p-id="f38f085c1b938f2edbdd66de2f73e709" /p
p data-p-id="f7c4f9cbb4a45352ac768455bfc1d68b""Well then get in the car," I said nodding my head towards the passenger seat. His eyes widened and I could feel the relief roll off of him in waves. He jogged to the passenger seat and sat down, a few of the risen walking towards us. I climbed into the car after him and quickly accelerated away from the creatures that were following us./p
p data-p-id="1f7cdf788f714778039f9e6c4f71a6a1" /p
p data-p-id="de66e9d4343ab810bcaa710c736a52cf""What's the bandage for?" I asked him, after a couple seconds of silence./p
p data-p-id="fd28fa46e51d32fdcf8be80b3f7acb6b" /p
p data-p-id="d23950439c72875e55a0da38072cfbe0""I got shot," was his simple reply. I turned my head to glance at him but he was frantically looking out the windows./p
p data-p-id="931399f0a3b6c2440ae21d18f2fea804" /p
p data-p-id="52c6455a2f96958f1829312340afa65b""That it? Just shot? Nothing else?" I asked him./p
p data-p-id="c7be9ab146d04d6b9a695847db6fd4e8" /p
p data-p-id="c6f9d2136bb2f03faac0908e6bfc858b""All that I know of," he said, raising an eyebrow in question but I didn't respond./p
p data-p-id="391ebf420f14a30510c1762756cc906d" /p
p data-p-id="97e2af68aad38b172e96a8132d48b28d""What are those things anyways?" He asked me staring at one of the reanimated corpses./p
p data-p-id="0b33bce0ff90b5f124c17db49cea55f4" /p
p data-p-id="7c20f873006713dec3f1a8ddbd72df84""I call them The Risen. They'll try to eat you if you let 'em," I said tapping my fingers against the steering wheel. "You gotta make sure you get a bullet in their head, that's what stops them. Not the heart- the head. It's best you remember that," I advised. Not even a full minute passed before the man started talking again./p
p data-p-id="9b9d857e00066da25df6f924992546cf" /p
p data-p-id="87e4ac64e333e0e78e6f1891966aa9d1""pull over," stated the man, who's name I still did not know./p
p data-p-id="aba90e3a4c7ecd6343b4803b4bf6c2a7" /p
p data-p-id="80d86a904d6835ad5c63f859af30314e""Why?" I asked, glancing at him quickly before turning back to the road./p
p data-p-id="5a9e00b096dd7df77004010806f934ae" /p
p data-p-id="734ed403907dba33ccf42af80f770a97""That's my house, my wife and boy could be inside," he said jumping out of the car before I even had the chance to stop it completely./p
p data-p-id="c9546dea3f1643d9779401a2f45047f4" /p
p data-p-id="dfbbca03036563863c36b5f149cc3d21""Hey! Listen- you might not want to go in there!" I called, but he ignored me. I shook my head and muttered under my breath, following him slowly. I watched as he stumbled up the porch steps and pushed open the front door, calling into the empty hallway./p
p data-p-id="06e3cab7f66a2f1907a24f27aeaded80""Lori! Lori? Lori!," he yelled./p
p data-p-id="e4a6df1cd1e16821ae7c037b9f6797b2" /p
p data-p-id="c06b972fd0865870052ab4528e103df9"I ran towards him, re-loading my gun as I did so, preparing to shoot whatever I needed to. Inside there were clothes scattered everywhere, draws were open but very little was broken. I jogged through each room but found nothing. Once I reached the living room I saw the man crouched on the floor sobbing./p
p data-p-id="ed95fcac35226d55b9132a1d4b5b60e7" /p
p data-p-id="e2c9d47e674edd0b888df7b2f6862225""Lori! Carl! Carl!," He cried, the pain so strong I had to hold back my own tears. I knew what it was like to lose family. To lose everything./p
p data-p-id="b922278241ec8e9614518809fa9531bd" /p
p data-p-id="e3d7a94212b439fb69a0717a6e17e725""This isn't real... Am I here? Wake- wake up," he muttered to himself, tears starting to form and sobs causing his entire body to shake. He touched the floor and the rug, trying to figure out if he was dreaming. When he realized he wasn't, he looked up at me, despair in his blue eyes./p
p data-p-id="8531a036145c49b9d245c88a4288be6b" /p
p data-p-id="0f7172dd7cd7c0839edba12bd8e082db"I reached towards him and rested my hand on his shoulder, trying to give him what little comfort I could provide. He stared up at me and was about to say something, before he noticed something behind me. I turned around quickly but saw nothing unusual. He stood up and walked towards it, his steps slow and shaky. He pulled open a draw and looked inside to find it empty./p
p data-p-id="7cdf3811d5ea4f53a93a3a5ece5829e8" /p
p data-p-id="8c08f0dfd1907b6b71fda8e43e4c0ab5""Hey, maybe we should go, we need to find somewhere safe to stay the night- they prefer to roam around then," I said to him gently./p
p data-p-id="1a01fde562a45e76d46d6a58fb48b8b4" /p
p data-p-id="a38ae9a135071cd66682b0585d251f82""They're alive," muttered the man, "My wife, my son, they're alive." He said, as if he was trying to persuade me. I frowned at him, wondering if he had been in the hospital for a mental illness, not the wound./p
p data-p-id="56ce2480e0d7b54fa2eeb474765bf5a0" /p
p data-p-id="9b73df5f008a1dd507d4bad8944035e8""I found empty draws in the bedroom, they packed some clothes, not a lot. But enough to travel." He said, smiling to himself slightly./p
p data-p-id="d1dc6039f6396cb0e2e34982b36f7633" /p
p data-p-id="e843c0278e17787b1c4e008e3c9e524c""anybody could have come and stolen clothes, you know that right?" I said to him./p
p data-p-id="6397f069a311c55b725cffc0682ac0a5" /p
p data-p-id="f62e916df3590cfcf64b12fdc4e4a91f""You see the framed photos on the walls? Neither do I. Some random thief took those too, you think? My photo albums, family pictures, all gone."/p
p data-p-id="84c9da702e04010908fc6b4c48bdbb30" /p
p data-p-id="34f486328dee8aa52f713a8277057fab"I laughed lightly, "I tried to take as many photos as I could when this all started," I said, may be he wasn't crazy after all. I turned my head towards the window and noticed that the sun was setting./p
p data-p-id="0bf5acbb6e41d35e284772167f5c2849" /p
p data-p-id="03bf8477cf6b5f4919944893c46b3dfc""Do you think we could rest here tonight? We don't have enough time to find anywhere else," I said quickly, already heading to my car to grab my stuff. He nodded his head and started moving the sofa's around, pushing them against the windows and doors./p
p data-p-id="6df0c51d7425b3c9cb02922aeb9b41a2" /p
p data-p-id="e1dc791b281510066136a852c0c08c60"I rushed to my car and grabbed my stuff before heading back inside. I dropped them on the floor before helping the man close all the curtains and duck tape the sides to the walls, so no light could shine through./p
p data-p-id="452a38fb1acbb20ca18e7c1b4fa5a454" /p
p data-p-id="a0fd3bf60aa12c8864a1f8aee5f48dc9"Once we had finished we sat down, leaning against one of the sofas and sharing a can of cold baked beans./p
p data-p-id="6324ea01846fe5be6d8cf9577ca42e70" /p
p data-p-id="ea4d155e4ea7ab7a046771e5cd3c23ff""What's your name miss?" he asked me./p
p data-p-id="571f7366383fe54e2175462f5c65ab35" /p
p data-p-id="9bafae1dc3dd9c579700a51d39d2a5a3""Dekota," I replied, smiling slightly, "What's yours?" I questioned./p
p data-p-id="189c3886af5712716ac7d674fb2f02b3" /p
p data-p-id="7bb5d459cadabc32596a9b2d56d3e661""Rick Grimes," He said, smiling sadly at me. I nodded my head before the room fell back into silence. The only sound being the moans of the roaming dead./p
p data-p-id="1190547b429f4ad56af5a3c4087ce7d1"I was like a well oiled machine, doing the same routine over and over again, every day, ever since this entire thing started. I didn't understand why I bothered, I had lost everything that mattered to me and was used to going through the motions. But after staring down from the top of a building and contemplating the jump, I realized I couldn't. I couldn't die just yet- they wouldn't have wanted me to opt out, or maybe it was the fact that I was so used to the routine and didn't know how to give up. They say it's extremely difficult to break out of a bad habit- all I know is that I was a survivor, and I refused to be served up as a raw steak for the walking dead./p
p data-p-id="cfe201de5943405c840233fec4378a45" /p
p data-p-id="d1b618abaec80e2e506400b05bccc580"The old Toyota that I currently occupied cruised down the road, sometimes swerving to miss a hazardous object that lay carelessly across the tarmac. I drove through a town that I didn't know the name of, searching for a place to ransack but instead of finding what I needed, I saw something that I found strangely difficult to comprehend./p
p data-p-id="80a4525d871bc8f5a056ace675dfcfdd"A man, wearing a white hospital gown, was riding down the road on a bicycle. He had short curly brown hair and was hunched over, clutching his stomach. I stared at him anxiously and would have continued driving if he had not turned around at the sound of the cars engine. He moved so quickly that the bike toppled over, causing him to splay across the pavement but as soon as he hit the ground he stood up again, obviously in pain. I stared at the bandage that was wrapped around his waist and contemplated stopping. He waved one of his hands in the air in a desperate attempt to stop me. I carried on driving, watching his hopeful expression plummet in my rear view mirror. I sighed at the guilt that I was already feeling. In a last minute decision I threw on the breaks and slid out of the car seat. Grabbing the gun that was on my passenger seat, I held it in the air and aimed it at his chest./p
p data-p-id="b7d02b64f9e47354bf0b62bf4c2cd954" /p
p data-p-id="eefa136fe461279042cc9425b9070137""Are you bit?" I yelled, standing about five meters away from him. At the blank expression he gave me I screamed it again, frustration seeping into the sentence "Are you bitten?!"/p
p data-p-id="714e797025a55e6b0e4a0fb86b5af67a" /p
p data-p-id="784c86f90ec8ac71c18044a74868f946""What? No... No I'm not bit," was his reply confusion evidently in his voice. He had no idea what was going on and I couldn't just leave him, especially since he was so obviously injured. I was so going to regret this./p
p data-p-id="f38f085c1b938f2edbdd66de2f73e709" /p
p data-p-id="f7c4f9cbb4a45352ac768455bfc1d68b""Well then get in the car," I said nodding my head towards the passenger seat. His eyes widened and I could feel the relief roll off of him in waves. He jogged to the passenger seat and sat down, a few of the risen walking towards us. I climbed into the car after him and quickly accelerated away from the creatures that were following us./p
p data-p-id="1f7cdf788f714778039f9e6c4f71a6a1" /p
p data-p-id="de66e9d4343ab810bcaa710c736a52cf""What's the bandage for?" I asked him, after a couple seconds of silence./p
p data-p-id="fd28fa46e51d32fdcf8be80b3f7acb6b" /p
p data-p-id="d23950439c72875e55a0da38072cfbe0""I got shot," was his simple reply. I turned my head to glance at him but he was frantically looking out the windows./p
p data-p-id="931399f0a3b6c2440ae21d18f2fea804" /p
p data-p-id="52c6455a2f96958f1829312340afa65b""That it? Just shot? Nothing else?" I asked him./p
p data-p-id="c7be9ab146d04d6b9a695847db6fd4e8" /p
p data-p-id="c6f9d2136bb2f03faac0908e6bfc858b""All that I know of," he said, raising an eyebrow in question but I didn't respond./p
p data-p-id="391ebf420f14a30510c1762756cc906d" /p
p data-p-id="97e2af68aad38b172e96a8132d48b28d""What are those things anyways?" He asked me staring at one of the reanimated corpses./p
p data-p-id="0b33bce0ff90b5f124c17db49cea55f4" /p
p data-p-id="7c20f873006713dec3f1a8ddbd72df84""I call them The Risen. They'll try to eat you if you let 'em," I said tapping my fingers against the steering wheel. "You gotta make sure you get a bullet in their head, that's what stops them. Not the heart- the head. It's best you remember that," I advised. Not even a full minute passed before the man started talking again./p
p data-p-id="9b9d857e00066da25df6f924992546cf" /p
p data-p-id="87e4ac64e333e0e78e6f1891966aa9d1""pull over," stated the man, who's name I still did not know./p
p data-p-id="aba90e3a4c7ecd6343b4803b4bf6c2a7" /p
p data-p-id="80d86a904d6835ad5c63f859af30314e""Why?" I asked, glancing at him quickly before turning back to the road./p
p data-p-id="5a9e00b096dd7df77004010806f934ae" /p
p data-p-id="734ed403907dba33ccf42af80f770a97""That's my house, my wife and boy could be inside," he said jumping out of the car before I even had the chance to stop it completely./p
p data-p-id="c9546dea3f1643d9779401a2f45047f4" /p
p data-p-id="dfbbca03036563863c36b5f149cc3d21""Hey! Listen- you might not want to go in there!" I called, but he ignored me. I shook my head and muttered under my breath, following him slowly. I watched as he stumbled up the porch steps and pushed open the front door, calling into the empty hallway./p
p data-p-id="06e3cab7f66a2f1907a24f27aeaded80""Lori! Lori? Lori!," he yelled./p
p data-p-id="e4a6df1cd1e16821ae7c037b9f6797b2" /p
p data-p-id="c06b972fd0865870052ab4528e103df9"I ran towards him, re-loading my gun as I did so, preparing to shoot whatever I needed to. Inside there were clothes scattered everywhere, draws were open but very little was broken. I jogged through each room but found nothing. Once I reached the living room I saw the man crouched on the floor sobbing./p
p data-p-id="ed95fcac35226d55b9132a1d4b5b60e7" /p
p data-p-id="e2c9d47e674edd0b888df7b2f6862225""Lori! Carl! Carl!," He cried, the pain so strong I had to hold back my own tears. I knew what it was like to lose family. To lose everything./p
p data-p-id="b922278241ec8e9614518809fa9531bd" /p
p data-p-id="e3d7a94212b439fb69a0717a6e17e725""This isn't real... Am I here? Wake- wake up," he muttered to himself, tears starting to form and sobs causing his entire body to shake. He touched the floor and the rug, trying to figure out if he was dreaming. When he realized he wasn't, he looked up at me, despair in his blue eyes./p
p data-p-id="8531a036145c49b9d245c88a4288be6b" /p
p data-p-id="0f7172dd7cd7c0839edba12bd8e082db"I reached towards him and rested my hand on his shoulder, trying to give him what little comfort I could provide. He stared up at me and was about to say something, before he noticed something behind me. I turned around quickly but saw nothing unusual. He stood up and walked towards it, his steps slow and shaky. He pulled open a draw and looked inside to find it empty./p
p data-p-id="7cdf3811d5ea4f53a93a3a5ece5829e8" /p
p data-p-id="8c08f0dfd1907b6b71fda8e43e4c0ab5""Hey, maybe we should go, we need to find somewhere safe to stay the night- they prefer to roam around then," I said to him gently./p
p data-p-id="1a01fde562a45e76d46d6a58fb48b8b4" /p
p data-p-id="a38ae9a135071cd66682b0585d251f82""They're alive," muttered the man, "My wife, my son, they're alive." He said, as if he was trying to persuade me. I frowned at him, wondering if he had been in the hospital for a mental illness, not the wound./p
p data-p-id="56ce2480e0d7b54fa2eeb474765bf5a0" /p
p data-p-id="9b73df5f008a1dd507d4bad8944035e8""I found empty draws in the bedroom, they packed some clothes, not a lot. But enough to travel." He said, smiling to himself slightly./p
p data-p-id="d1dc6039f6396cb0e2e34982b36f7633" /p
p data-p-id="e843c0278e17787b1c4e008e3c9e524c""anybody could have come and stolen clothes, you know that right?" I said to him./p
p data-p-id="6397f069a311c55b725cffc0682ac0a5" /p
p data-p-id="f62e916df3590cfcf64b12fdc4e4a91f""You see the framed photos on the walls? Neither do I. Some random thief took those too, you think? My photo albums, family pictures, all gone."/p
p data-p-id="84c9da702e04010908fc6b4c48bdbb30" /p
p data-p-id="34f486328dee8aa52f713a8277057fab"I laughed lightly, "I tried to take as many photos as I could when this all started," I said, may be he wasn't crazy after all. I turned my head towards the window and noticed that the sun was setting./p
p data-p-id="0bf5acbb6e41d35e284772167f5c2849" /p
p data-p-id="03bf8477cf6b5f4919944893c46b3dfc""Do you think we could rest here tonight? We don't have enough time to find anywhere else," I said quickly, already heading to my car to grab my stuff. He nodded his head and started moving the sofa's around, pushing them against the windows and doors./p
p data-p-id="6df0c51d7425b3c9cb02922aeb9b41a2" /p
p data-p-id="e1dc791b281510066136a852c0c08c60"I rushed to my car and grabbed my stuff before heading back inside. I dropped them on the floor before helping the man close all the curtains and duck tape the sides to the walls, so no light could shine through./p
p data-p-id="452a38fb1acbb20ca18e7c1b4fa5a454" /p
p data-p-id="a0fd3bf60aa12c8864a1f8aee5f48dc9"Once we had finished we sat down, leaning against one of the sofas and sharing a can of cold baked beans./p
p data-p-id="6324ea01846fe5be6d8cf9577ca42e70" /p
p data-p-id="ea4d155e4ea7ab7a046771e5cd3c23ff""What's your name miss?" he asked me./p
p data-p-id="571f7366383fe54e2175462f5c65ab35" /p
p data-p-id="9bafae1dc3dd9c579700a51d39d2a5a3""Dekota," I replied, smiling slightly, "What's yours?" I questioned./p
p data-p-id="189c3886af5712716ac7d674fb2f02b3" /p
p data-p-id="7bb5d459cadabc32596a9b2d56d3e661""Rick Grimes," He said, smiling sadly at me. I nodded my head before the room fell back into silence. The only sound being the moans of the roaming dead./p