This is my first Walking Dead fic. As always I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the characters. Any other names and characters are my own.
This chapter will set up a bit of my character so please bear with me.
Bold = Journal entries
Prologue: A sign of things to come
Have you every had one of those days when everything just went to shit? Well that's basically how it's been for a long time now. Everything gone. Completely and utterly gone. No society, no government, no laws, no technology, no anything. If anyone should ever find this I hope it may shed some light on anything in this crazy, ass backwards world.
I can't count the number of days it's been since this outbreak started. All I know is the dead are walking and I don't know how I managed it but I'm still here. I came here looking for shelter and all I've found was death, chaos and hopelessness. It was all lies. Now I sit here writing down anything to keep me sane and keep me going.
I need to leave today. I've been in this shop for too long. It won't be long before the geeks manage to break through the makeshift blockade I created. They grew in number since I made it here. For the life of me I swear I'm the only living thing in this city. I'm running out of places to hide and running low on supplies too. I can't take much of this anymore. I have to leave. I just need to find a way to dodge the real life walking Thriller video outside. I'd say God help me but I think he checked out long ago when this whole shittin' mess started. - Faith -
Faith closed the book in her lap before tossing it and the pen back in the big duffel next to her. She hopped up onto her feet grabbed the bag and looked around the small corner cafe she had managed to take shelter in.
It was pretty much a ghost of its former self. Tables lay overturned, pictures on the wall askew and caked with dust. Lucky for Faith when she found this place she had managed to find some old painters tarps in the basement and covered the windows so no walkers could manage to see in. Well no more than the one she ganked when she found the place. She made quick work of getting rid of it before anymore showed up.
Now here she stood in the storeroom looking for anything she could take with her. Most of the food that was there had long ago rotted and the smell was horrible. She had to pull her shirt up to cover her nose from the stench. Fortunately there were a few different varieties of canned goods. She quickly pulled them off the shelf and tossed them into the bag with the other supplies and clothes she had with her. Once she had everything she needed she headed back upstairs to check the kitchen for anything else of use. She grabbed some matches and a can opener she found in one of the cabinets. She flung open another cabinet and jumped back as a rat jumped out past her and made a run for it.
"If I find you before I leave you lil plague spreadin' bastard, you're a dead rat!"
Faith returned upstairs not really sure of where she was going to try next. She had luckily printed out a map of Atlanta before all technology went to hell. Now here she sat with a map spread before her full of red X's. All marking the places she had stayed. Also streets blocked out with big long black streaks. All those were areas now overrun with walkers. She had a few options. A) She could head to the department store or B) a few blocks away was a music store. Being it was closer and she didn't have much time before the sun went down she opted for the music store. Rummaging through her bag she pulled out the Buck 119 Special hunting knife she grabbed from the sporting goods store a few days prior. If there were any geeks on the way to the store Faith wasn't going to take a chance. She didn't survive this long just to get eaten by these bastards.
Opening the back door of the shop she quickly stuck her head out and surveyed the area. It seemed clear. Quietly she shut the door before heading back to the front. Looking out between the tarps she didn't see any geeks out front at least none that were close enough to harm her if she pulled the tarps down. So that's exactly what she did. She tore them down and threw them into her bag before zipping it up and flinging it over her shoulder.
Faith made it out the back door and down about a block. The streets were relatively empty. Well at least of walkers. The street was full of all different vehicles. Some were overturned others had been in collisions and sat mangled in the street. It looked more like a war zone than a major city in the United States.
She was just a few feet from the music store now. Just as she turned the corner she saw a small band of geeks heading in her direction. Faith quickly ducked underneath a Military jeep that was in the street. Faith waited and watched from under the car. The group of walkers slowly shuffled by when one stopped right in front of her. Holding her breath in anticipation she watched it stand there. Suddenly it moved on. She remained under the Jeep until the group had moved on. She did a quick check ahead of her before sliding out from beneath the car and making a run for the store.
Once inside, she looks around the store checking for any walkers that may be around. To her luck the place was empty. Quickly the tarps were hung out on the windows, doors barricaded and a little makeshift camp was set up for the night. Before exploring the store Faith decided to make the rounds once more making sure to double check the barricades on the the doors and windows. While exploring the store anything useful she would gather and add to her pack.
The one thing Faith just couldn't pass up while she stayed in her shelter was a Gibson acoustic guitar hanging on the wall. Standing on tiptoe she carefully took it down from its spot on the wall. She plucked a few strings and enjoyed the sound for a moment. Looking around she eventually found some extra strings and a bag for the guitar. Also in passingone of the counters she saw several different picks. Different in color shape and ornateness. She grabbed a few of them and placed them in the bag with the guitar and the strings.
Hey me again. . . If there is one thing I can't live without its music. I can't function without it. In this world now there is no Justin Bieber, or Pit bull, no Nikki Minaj. Hell not that I'm complainin' 'bout that but that also means no Bon Jovi, no Rush, no Guns & Roses, no Zeppelin and as far as I'm concerned. . . well that just plain sucks! I need music. I can't explain it. I guess that's just my driving force. Everything just seems so boring and like a chore without music.
I found this boss guitar in the music store where I'm currently "living". I know when I leave here I should keep my pack light but I just can't pass this up. I'm taking it with me. . . only way anyone is getting this from me is gonna be prying it from my cold dead hands!
Still haven't come across any others. I'm starting to lose hope that there is anyone left in this state. I know for shit sure no one is left in this God forsaken city. I may have to move on again. The geeks are growing in number and a few tried to get in. Key word there tried. Only place that's left for me is the huge store from here. If that idea craps out I don't know what else to do. I guess leaving is the best option. It isn't safe here. This is a city of the dead.
Faith -
It was a day after Faith had wrote those very words that she had to leave. She walked along the streets ducking every now and then. The department store was about four blocks away. Four very long blocks away. She walked along turning a corner when she saw someone walking not too far ahead of her. She couldn't believe her eyes. Had she finally found another person?
"Hey." She shouted.
The person didn't turn. Sprinting a bit closer she shouted out again. No answer the person just kept walking on. She reached out a hand and touched the person on the shoulder. They stopped and turned. Faith froze in fear for a minute. What she thought was another person was one of those things. It stared at her a gaping hole in one side of its face where a cheek used to be. Now all that hung there was some sinew and rotting flesh as half of its teeth were exposed. It opened its mouth and a guttural sound came out. Shambling forward it reached out a hand and tried to grab for her. Faith backed up and grabbed for her hunting knife when suddenly another walker came ambling out of a doorway She plunged her knife into the head of the one that almost grabbed her. Extracting the knife she turned and made a run for it.
Big mistake on her part. She made the worst possible choice in retrospect. In football terms they would have said she zigged when she should have zagged. She ran a block and turning a corner she was met by ten more geeks once they saw her they all started walking and in a few cases dragging themselves in her direction. She took off she might not be able to out fight them but with the state of decay they were in she hoped like hell she could outrun them. She did outrun them but ran herself into a corner. She turned and looked back she could see them coming.
Walking backwards down the alley she tripped over a body. Taking a breath she thought it was safe for a minute before the body let out a groan and turned its head to face her. She let out a small yelp and began backing up on her hands and knees along the alley till her back hit up against a fence. Faith kicked the thing as it reached out for her trying to avoid teeth and nails. She picked up a brick and bashed at the things head she slowed it up enough to stab it. When she finally put it down she rested her head against the fence, closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Just then Faith felt a hand reach through the fence and grab her shoulder. She screamed and jumped up grabbing at whatever had her and held her knife up.
"Whoa, whoa, not dead. . . NOT DEAD!"
Faith stared for a minute. She saw a skinny Asian man on the opposite side of the fence. She couldn't believe it there was actually someone alive in this hell hole. Glenn sat there staring back at her before looking over her shoulder behind her.
"You got company." Faith turned and looked behind her.
"Shit. Hey how am I supposed to get out of here?" Glenn motioned up with his eyes. "Oh you got to be kidding me. Do I look like a friggin' spider monkey?" Faith sighed and shook her head. "Hey kid, you a good catch?"
"Uh... what?"
"Here catch. It may be heavy." She said taking the guitar case and duffel from off her shoulder and tossed the duffel over the fence. Glenn caught it with a huff.
"What do you have in here your entire house?"
"Something like that." She replied snarkely as she flung her guitar case across her back.
Taking a few steps back she made a dash for the fence and hopped up. Clinging on tightly she scaled the fence as fast as she could. Just as she was about climb over one of the geeks grabbed her foot. She kicked and fussed as hard as she could. She gave one more kick and almost fell over the other side of the fence. She managed to escape the geeks grip and landed safely on the other side of the fence besides Glenn. He flung her her duffel and the two began to head for safety.
"Hold on."
"What's wrong?" Glenn asked looking back at her.
"I lost my shoe." Faith replied looking down and holding out her foot to show him.
"No time Cinderella, we gotta move before they make us lunch."
Hobbling along she followed Glenn through the streets. "Are you the only one here?"
"What?" Glenn said looking behind him.
"Are you the only person here?"
"No, there's a small group of us not far from here."
"A small group? ! Oh I could kiss you!"
Glenn joked. "Is now really the time for that Johnny Cash?"
"You don't understand. I've been here a while and haven't seen another living soul. You are the first person I meet and you tell me there are more. I was on the verge of going bat shit crazy.
