Chasing Twisters

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Charlie.

Chapter 1: Hellish Existences

I was born with lightning in my heels

Sewed a spur onto my ankle

Bit a horse under the steel.

And I lost hope when I was still so young

Had an angel on my shoulder

But the devil always won

- Chasing Twisters by Delta Rae

She wasn't tall, nor short and she was not pretty, or ugly either. Charlie was as average as you could be in the middle of an extinction event. Average meant little to the common man in these times though. Women were suddenly short to come by when the world ended- looks were ruled out and as long as you had a pussy between your legs and knew when it was and wasn't okay to speak; you could find a nice strong man to protect you.

In this world- the men provided the food, the shelter, and the means of survival and the women kept their legs open or their hands busy cleaning clothes or cooking meals. This is what the world had become in a few short months after the dead started to rise again. Disgustingly primitive and profoundly dangerous; those who weren't particularly intelligent- died. Those who were not strong- died. Those who had no means of defending themselves- died.

Natural selection went berserk and decided that being dead wasn't so dead anymore. You died, you rose, and you feasted on the weak and the idiots. There wasn't any stopping this disease, virus- whatever you would like to call it. It lies dormant in the shadows of our very beings and it waited until it could come out to play. Once you died- everything that was you was gone and the only thing you would ever know again is hunger and bloodlust.

Those who survived were harsher, stronger, faster- superior in every way to their beastie counterparts. They were the ones who were astute enough and tenacious enough to stomach what the world had turned into. And if you survived the initial outbreak- all you could was wait for your turn. Sooner or later you would be one of them no matter how intelligent or athletic you were.

Even surviving wasn't so much surviving anymore. The end of the world found its way to suck out everything good there ever had been. There wasn't such a thing as kindness or selflessness. It was either you or them, and nine times out of ten everyone chooses themselves. There is no explanation why someone would choose to extend their lives in this hellish existence, to live another day and have another piece of your soul dissolve into dust as others fell around you.

It was something primal that was awakened in each of our hearts and minds. A force so powerful that drove you to another day, to fight tooth and nail until your very last breath. If this was some plan of God's to quickly eradicate human existence- he gravely underestimated our resolve.

We're selfish and greedy. It is our lives. We will choose when it is time to leave this world- whether by giving up or by the very natural laws of the earth. So, God can continue his vengeful wrath of an undead army of puppets and we'll continue living each day with whatever means we can conjure.

Everyone who has survived to this point has done so by whatever means they could. If that meant women must lay with dirty, rough men for their own protection- then they did it. If that meant men had to go out each day and fight for their lives to procure food and shelter- then they did it. If that meant you had to sacrifice everything you lived for morally- then they did it.

Charlie did it. She killed her own mother and father to escape their undead clutches. She fought tooth and nail everyday to find her brother in this infernal reality. She killed people who threatened her. Charlie ignored people as they begged for her help. She kept to herself to survive and did nothing else for those less fortunate. She sacrificed everything she had been to evolve into the survivor she was.

When the outbreak first occurred she thought she could hang onto herself as she killed and fought the wave of undead. It turned out the undead wasn't the real threat in this new world- it was mankind. She had helped those trapped, rescued those from the hands of the beasties- and in return she was robbed, beaten, and fucking stabbed for all her efforts.

Charlie still clung to those naïve notions, though. She had stitched herself up and continued on her trek through Texas towards Atlanta, Georgia for her brother. When she had finally reached the city and found it overrun she quickly backpedaled and began searching the area for survivors. Her final breaking point occurred in this time frame when three men were able to pin her down.

Two held her arms while the third unbuckled his belt with the most disgusting and lascivious smile twisted on his raw, chapped lips. She found at that moment that the enemy of her enemy was her friend. So, she screamed and bellowed in an attempt to attract walkers to her position. They punched her and slapped her around, but she did not quiet down and accept it like the good girl they had been hoping for.

Charlie fought and kicked her legs. Her throat felt like she had used a cheese grater on it, but she continued to scream with every bit of breath she could hold through their punches. She was a goddamn survivor and she wasn't about to give in to these monsters of this new world.

The undead swarmed her position like the grace of God. The man at her legs, dragging his vile tongue over her smooth skin was caught by surprise. Charlie was able to land a good kick to the side of his face. Blood bloomed and the walkers frenzied at the smell. His friends left her on the ground as they attempted to save their buddy from a most gruesome death.

Charlie had stumbled to her feet and pulled her pants back up her legs. She grabbed her compound bow and her knives and sprinted away from the carnage and screams of her attackers. A stray walker would attempt to follow and be quickly put down by her quickly aimed arrows. She escaped that situation with her life and her skin intact.

However, from that moment forward Charlie had been irrevocably changed. Mankind was just as bad as the undead, if not worse. They hungered and feasted on the weak- but unfortunately for them, Charlie was not weak. She was a survivor hell-bent on finding her brother. Her contact with those men had taught her many valuable lessons: Never trust. Never be off guard. Mankind was the enemy.

She continued her trek with little incident from then on. Her lessons had been well learned. She fed herself meagerly off the land from what fruits she could find and squirrels she killed. Within a few weeks Charlie found herself at the quarry where she was reunited with her brother. It was a bittersweet event- she was not the same person she had once been and he had barely recognized her under all the dirt and blood.

She was happy, though. Charlie had finally completed her mission and found Shane- she was disheartened to find out about Rick's demise. He had been shot before the outbreak and even then things had been bleak for him, so she wasn't all that surprised to know he had died when the power went out. Charlie had known Lori and Carl from before the outbreak. She was happy to see them alive and well; it broke her heart to look at Carl's face too long.

Shane merrily escorted her around the camp after she had washed up. He had said some things along the lines that she would scare everyone off- to which she hadn't disagreed. It was her aim to be as unapproachable as possible during her travels. She met Dale and Jim near the Winnebago. Dale was a kind, old man with a funny floppy hat and wide set eyes. He was easy to speak to and she had come to enjoy his presence because his naivety reminded her of herself before she had left Texas.

Jim was quiet and solemn. He didn't say much beyond 'hello' and 'nice to meet you', 'see you later'. Charlie found it difficult to look him in the eyes because they reflected the pain she felt upon her soul. Although it may be construed as rude, she went out of her way to avoid him and his pitiful gaze. She just couldn't handle reliving her struggles with every connection of their eyes.

Then there was Andrea and Amy. They were obviously sisters and obviously untouched by this world. Both were bright and smiling and were hard for Charlie to look at. Amy was a sweet girl, she was young and talkative; her exuberance shook the walls Charlie had carefully constructed around herself. It took every ounce of her self-control to not allow Amy to wriggle herself into Charlie's heart.

Andrea was older, but still held a youthful naivety in her eyes. Charlie could see the fighter burrowed deep inside the lawyer's mind. She had no doubts that when push came to shove, Andrea would be able to take a defensive standpoint and hold what was hers.

T-Dog and Glenn were another two she met soon after. Charlie had taken an instant liking to Glenn. He was resourceful and intelligent, and she respected that more than anything. He was kind and awkward with sweaty palms when he shook her hand. Although he had a better understanding of walkers than most in the camp, she could see that he still had growing to do in this world. She was unsurprised to find he was dragging back strays all the time. He had not witnessed the full extent of the harshness their existence had become- and she prayed he never did.

T-Dog was a fighter with a moral streak a mile long. He was jovial and talkative and Charlie found she hadn't needed to say much to keep a conversation going with him. She appreciated that more than she could express and she found she enjoyed his company.

Shane had not introduced her to Carol, Ed, or Sophia. Upon a look to where they sat, she nearly flinched in realization of the situation. Ed was a monster of a man. Tall, wide set shoulders, enormous hands and feet, and a bovine torso to top it all off. His beady dark eyes were lacquered in hate and aggression. He towered over frail little Carol and her daughter, and Charlie found she didn't want to know them in that instant. Ed reminded her far too much of the three men in the woods and she didn't need any more reminders of them. She resolved to steer clear of the trio for her better peace of mind.

Jacqui and the Morales family were in line next. Jacqui was a sweet woman who spoke little, but boasted wisdom beyond her years in her gentle gaze. The Morales family reminded Charlie of what life had been before- and she found it incredible they were all still alive and together and was happy for them. It was rare to find any in tact families anymore and they should be proud and ever vigilant of that fact. Death lurked in the shadows for all of them and if they weren't careful, their happy carefree little family would be ripped apart with one misplaced bite or scratch.

And then there were the Dixon's. Merle Dixon was a tall, burly man with a raspy voice and lewd speech. His first words being 'Well, lookie what we got here, a fine piece of ass, lil brother'. Charlie had scowled at the greeting, but upon inspection of his gaze she found she had nothing to fear from him. He didn't have that look the other men she had met did. Merle Dixon appeared to be all bark and no bite towards woman, even though he came off just the opposite. He was short-tempered, racist and aggressive towards her own brother. Shane cracked his neck in annoyance, but let the 'deputy assholes' roll off him like the professional he was.

Daryl was quiet and smaller in stature in comparison to his hulking brother. His face was twisted in a permanent glower. He wore sleeveless shirts like they were a hot commodity and was wickedly good with that crossbow of his. He didn't say much and when he did it was always mumbled with his gaze turned elsewhere. Charlie felt insane to admit to herself she found his shyness endearing and comforting in a way that she now preferred silence to continuous conversation. He was perpetually covered in dirt, much like the scowl on his face- but she found it attractive in it's own right.

He was a survivor like her, and in his eyes she found that he had survived much more than just an extinction event. Burrowed in the shadows was a man who had suffered for a long time and had come out victorious- if not a little damaged like the rest of the world. He- much like his brother, was short-tempered and responded to any situation he felt discomfort with rage. Charlie found he had issues with authority when Shane asked how the hunting was coming along when he told him to fuck off.

Charlie was enraptured by this quiet man- who provided for a group of people that didn't respect him or his brother and didn't ask for anything in return; he had suffered as she had, and yet he carried on- unyielding to the punishment of this world. She was drawn to him in the way that curiosity had killed the cat. Charlie wanted to know how he held on to himself, how he could continue to help others who couldn't help themselves when he could easily have made it on his own.

Shane warned her to stay away from the two of them. They weren't good people, blah, blah, blah. He immediately assuming his position of her protector instantly riled her; when she had so obviously outgrown the need for protection in her harsh endurance of the previous weeks. This camp was desperately clawing to their civilization, trying to hang on to it with a grip of death. Charlie didn't know how to act anymore, she felt out of place in this little tent 'town'.

Her mind screamed at her to escape before she began to care for people again, and she felt she didn't have enough room in her hole-riddled heart for any more pain and all these smiling people around her were weighing heavily on her walls. The Dixon's, however applied no pressure of their own and she felt content in their presence. She was drawn to their simplicity and the reminder of why she shouldn't get attached. All it would take was one horde and this whole place would burn to ground and the only people left standing would be the Dixon's and herself.

Nowhere was safe anymore and the false security these people had constructed was infuriating. Her moral streak raised its ugly head and she would either have to protect these people or run away again. At least in the presence of the Dixon's, she felt normal and accepted. They didn't care about her and she most certainly didn't have to care for them.