Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.
Claimer: I own the characters and subplots that you do not recognize from the main story line.
Virginia thought her life was just starting to plan out, what with a hunky and handsome Marine boyfriend and a stable job. But when the apocalypse hits and she doesn't know the first thing about survival, Virginia finds herself having to step up to the mark and prove herself worthy of being alive in this cruel, new world. Eventual DarylxOC, but not for a while.
Chapter 1
"Virginia, Eric!" Glen called once he got down to the creek, a blush making its way onto the Korean's features as he thought about what the engaged couple could be doing. They hadn't come up for dinner, which had been ready for over ten minutes now.
He stood at the bottom of the path leading up towards the campsite, not wanting to walk any further in case he caught the couple in a compromising position or something.
"One second Glenn!" A feminine voice called from behind a few of the rocks, followed shortly by a quiet giggle.
A dark haired male stepped out from behind one of the rocks, his hair sopping wet, his jeans on but undone at the top and he was shirtless. "Sorry!" Eric called, covering up his toned torso as he pulled on a black t-shirt.
A young woman then stepped out, fully clothed except for her shoes which she carried under her arm. Her long honey blonde hair was wet, and she wrung it out as she made her way towards Glenn, a light blush crossing her features as her fiancé whistled from behind her.
"Sorry Glenn," Her blush darkened as she stopped just in front of the Korean, "We, err…went swimming. We're not keeping you from eating, are we?"
Glenn shook his head, and as Eric caught up to them they began to walk back up the hill towards the camp, "I finished ages ago." He replied, "How was your, err…swim?"
"Best swim we've had since the world turned to shit." Eric chuckled, "I'm starving now."
They stepped back into the camp just as Lori started washing up a few of the plates. Andrea and Amy had just reached Carol, who dished them both a portion onto their plates before they settled by the campfire.
Shane was on watch with Dale on top of the RV, where Eric usually sat during dinner. After collecting his plate of food, and thanking the chef, he kissed Virginia on her cheek before making his way towards the RV and climbing one-handed onto the top with the two men.
Virginia took her plate over towards the other two blondes, and blushed as Andrea grinned at her knowingly. "Someone's happy." The oldest blonde commented before shoving a piece of cooked squirrel into her mouth. "I wonder why that could be."
Virginia elbowed Andrea, before gently kicking the younger blonde as she laughed heartily.
"Ginny?" The long haired blonde looked up at Lori, a piece of squirrel had just been placed in her mouth when the brunette spoke to her. "I was just wondering if you would be able to give Carl a haircut later?"
She rushed to swallow her bite, nodding as she did so, "Of course." She replied, smiling. "Just let me know whenever."
"Thank you." Lori smiled before moving off once more, and Virginia could hear Carl whine. Which meant that his mother had just told him of his impending haircut later that evening.
"He might be an ass," Andrea was saying. "But I'm thinking that older Dixon is the only way I'm going to get laid around here."
"Eww," Amy wrinkled her nose and Virginia grimaced. "Seriously Drea? That guy's like eighty! At least have some taste and go for his brother."
Virginia rolled her eyes, only for the older blonde to comment on it. "Roll your eyes all your want, Ginny. You've got some army hunk keeping your tent warm at night! In fact, I bet that swim you took was more of a Jacuzzi!"
Amy put her bottle down, wrinkling her nose again, "And now the water's contaminated too."
It was Andrea's turn to roll her eyes, "Oh, come on Amy. I know you shagged Damien in our pool the day before the family came over for a BBQ-"
"-But we don't drink that water!"
"We still swim in it!"
Virginia loved the two sisters. Ever since she had first met them, she hadn't expected there to be such a close friendship to form between them. Amy was very squeamish and selfish, and Andrea was quite adamant and uptight. But both girls were surprisingly accepting towards the third blonde, and very kind and cheerful.
She had been grocery shopping with Eric when the apocalypse had broken out. They had been queuing to pay, and the television above their heads was showing them a mad rush within the streets. People were eating people! Virginia thought it had just been a film, but when there was a sudden scream coming from the main entrance, she began to push that query aside.
Being a Marine, Eric had ran over to see who had cried out and if they needed help.
He stopped in his tracks however, when he came across something that sickened him to his very core. A nearby Officer had nearly vomited at the sight of cannibalism, and drew his gun. "Stop!" He demanded.
The cannibal had looked up, and the Officer couldn't help but hesitate. This thing was not a person! It came towards him, groaning and moaning, its hands reaching for his flesh. The shot to its stomach did nothing to stop it, and the second shot to its chest hardly slowed it down.
Eric grasped hold of a shopping divider from one of the checkouts and shoved it through the cannibal's eye. As the thing dropped to the ground with no signs of getting up, the unthinkable happened. The woman who had been attacked grabbed hold of a man's ankle, and sunk her teeth into his leg – causing him to cry out in pain.
Virginia heard groaning coming from behind her, turning just in time to see one of the things from the television sink its teeth into the neck of the customer standing behind her. The blonde screamed and backed away, running towards Eric as quickly as she could.
"Grab anything you can," The Officer ordered a few of the people nearby. "Cans, tins, anything that will last!"
Virginia was shaking as she held onto Eric's arm, her eyes darting around them watching as the supermarket turned into an uproar. People were eating people, people were running and screaming and attacking one another and pushing each other out of the way as they tried everything they could to stay alive and get out of the store.
"Gin!" Eric shook her by her shoulders to gain her attention. "We need to get out of here – take my hand!"
"Your gun is in the car." She reminded him, slipping her hand into his and squeezing it tightly.
"Get out of here!" The Officer yelled, ushering a few people out of the store. They had nonperishable items in baskets: tins of soup, canned fruit, baked beans, and anything else that would last them. "Get into your vehicles and make for the highway towards Atlanta!"
Eric and Virginia did just that. The blonde leaping into the passenger side of the car and slamming the door seconds before a blood covered groaner slammed its hands onto the window. The Marine took another thing down with the shopping divider as he grabbed his trusted rifle from the boot of the car, along with a small handgun.
He handed the pistol over to the blonde as soon as he got into the driver's side and closed the door, "Take it!" He ordered when she rejected the weapon with a shriek. "Take it!"
"I'm a fucking hairdresser Eric, I don't know what I'm doing with it!" Tears streamed down her face, her breathing turning erratic.
He sighed before slipping the pistol into the waistband of his jeans and laying the rifle horizontally across his lap as he started the engine and set off towards the highway. Once the car was moving, he wound down the window beside his fiance – knowing that she was claustrophobic.
"Hey," He gathered her attention, and took her shaking hand in his strong one. "I'm sorry I yelled at you." He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it.
"I know you're only trying to protect me." She replied, feeling much calmer now that there was a breeze on her face. She wiped away the last of her tears before lightly squeezing his hand which was still wrapped comfortingly around her own.
They were quickly caught in a major traffic jam as soon as they got onto the highway. It was a complete standstill, and Virginia had to step outside of the car to put herself at ease from her claustrophobia. She had taken a deep breath of air, almost choking on smoke.
There was a man standing beside a red car, next to the blonde, smoking a cigarette. He was watching her, smirking as she almost choked on his exhale. He suddenly turned on his heel as a woman began digging through a pack in the back of the car and he grabbed her roughly by her elbow, "No." He growled towards her.
Virginia looked away from the couple, and towards the woman who was also watching the interaction between the two. The brunette looked as shocked as Virginia, and placed a hand on the shoulder of a young boy who had been speaking with a girl who looked to be the same age as him. But they were obviously unrelated, so the second child must have belonged to the two having the domestic.
"The boy's hungry, Ed." The woman reassured her husband, her eyes unable to look up at him. "It's just a cereal bar."
Virginia eyed the basket of unpaid shopping by her feet, and quickly pulled out a Coco-Pops Cereal and Milk Bar before making her way over towards the woman with dark brown hair. "Here." She held the bar towards the mother, who smiled gratefully as she took it and handed it to her son.
"Now what do you say, Carl?" The woman scolded.
"Thank you." The boy stated, smiling up at the blonde.
"That's alright." She smiled in response as the woman with short hair stepped up to them, a little embarrassed.
"I'm sorry," She began. "We didn't have any after all."
"Not to worry." The dark haired mother reassured her, "Thank you anyway, it was very kind of you to offer."
"I'm Carol, by the way." The woman with short hair introduced herself, placing her hand on the shoulder of the young girl who had been talking to the boy. "This is my daughter, Sophia, and that's Ed, my husband."
"Lori." The brunette smiled, "This is my son, Carl."
"Virginia," Virginia replied, turning her head slightly towards the black Peugeot. "And that's Eric, my fiance."
"He's talking to Shane." Lori stated, gesturing towards the Police Officer by the Marine's side.
Before anyone could continue the conversation, they were a little confused when the other people who were stuck in the highway traffic began making their way into the trees. The three women and the two children looked to where everyone appeared to be pointing, and gasped upon spotting bombs being dropped into the city.
Fire engulfed the buildings, and thick smoke filled the sky. There was no way that Atlanta survived.
Virginia couldn't believe that had only been one week ago. A group of people, led by Shane, had made their way up towards a clearing and set up a camp. They had quickly delegated duties to one another; Carol and Lori would be the budding chefs of the group; Shane, Eric and Dale would take watch; the girls Virginia, Amy, Jacqui and Andrea would wash the dishes and do the laundry, whilst Ed went down to the creek with them to keep an eye on things. Everyone would take in in turns to go on runs – Glen, a kind Korean who had been a delivery boy – was quick on his feet and was one of the main people to go, sometimes the only person to go. There were two rednecks in the group as well. The Dixon brothers: Merle and Daryl. Their tents were set up a few feet away from everyone else, and the two men were the Hunters for the group.
The camp ran smoothly, except for the odd argument usually pointed towards Shane which came from Merle. The eldest Dixon brother was difficult to handle. The man was racist, sexist, sleazy and a drug addict. His brother on the other hand, was a loner with a bad temper and the only person who could keep his brother in order.
Eric tolerated the Dixon brothers much better than Shane, so the communicating between the Dixon's and the Officer usually passed by the Marine to save arguments, to which Eric didn't mind as long as the peace was kept within the group. Surprisingly, the Dixon's actually held some kind of respect for the Marine.
Virginia couldn't help but worry when her fiance would disappear from the RV to communicate with the rednecks. The rough exterior of the men had her on edge, which accompanied with the sleazy, lustful looks sent from the eldest Dixon brother towards herself, Andrea, and sometimes Lori, made the twenty-four year old wary, and slightly frightened.
She knew she wasn't alone with this. Lori was unnerved by his looks as well, usually seeking out protection from Shane, whereas Virginia stuck by Eric's side. Andrea on the other hand, brushed him off and ignored him, which made Merle quickly lose his interest in her.
Virginia knew that the man liked to get a reaction, hence why he was such a loud and boisterous character. That and the fact he was on drugs pretty much all the time. She remembered the third day everyone had been at the camp, the blonde had been making her way down to the ravine with Carol and Amy when she had her first run in with the Dixon brothers.
"If you ever get bored with your Marine, honey, you can always make your bed in my tent."
She should have just ignored him, but she didn't. "And why would I want to do that?"
"I may be older, sweet cheeks," He chuckled, "But that just means I've got a lot of experience to share."
She put her head down and continued to walk away, "I'd rather eat my own foot."
"There'll be a day when your Marine won't be here anymore, honey." He stepped in front of her, blocking her path down to the creek and she looked towards Carol for help. "You'll be wanting me then, to help you through those sleepless nights." He looked her up and down, smirking as he shook off his brother as he tried to pull him away from the blonde. "You might want to get familiar with old Merle first, get used to my-"
"Quit it, Merle!" Daryl snapped, yanking his brother by the elbow.
"-Preferences. You got the ass of one of my bitches, a better face than my best." He grinned as Daryl shoved him up the slope, "Can't wait till I get my hands on you."
She shivered at how grotesque the man was. Carol wrapped her arm around the blonde as they continued on down the hill, away from the prying eyes of the eldest Dixon as he turned his attention onto Lori as soon as he stepped into the camp.
Virginia shook that memory away, just the thought of that man's skin on her own left a bad taste in the blonde's mouth. She wanted to feel Eric's arms around her at that moment, as pathetic as that thought sounded.
As the three blonde's finished their meals, Lori came over to collect their plates to wash. "Do you think Jim's alright?" Andrea asked, nodding her head in the direction of the skinny man sitting just outside of his tent.
"He's contemplating something." Virginia nodded, turning around and scowling at the snicker that had come from behind her.
"That was a big word don't you think, Gin?" Eric teased, handing his plate over to Lori and thanking her as he took a seat beside his fiance.
Virginia scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "Shut up, Eric!" She glared at him, but that look quickly turned into a smile when she knew he was only joking with her. "Everything okay?" She then asked.
He nodded his head, "Everything's fine. Shane was just telling Dale and I that we're running out of food. Some of the cans we've had for the past few weeks have run out, and we need to do a run to stock up."
"Are you going to go?" She asked immediately.
He shook his head, "We haven't even decided when to go, let alone whose going. I suppose Glenn will be, and T-Dog offered to go the last time but didn't. We'll see when the time comes."
Virginia nodded in acceptance and smiled up at him reassuringly, "Perhaps you can teach me how to use that gun if you stay?"
He raised an eyebrow, "Last time you looked at my handgun you refused to even touch it. What changed your mind?"
She shrugged, "I can't exactly use scissors to protect myself, can I?"
"You have me to protect you."
"You promise?"
"Of course I promise." He kissed the back of her hand, causing the blonde to blush at the mocking smooching noises Amy was making from across the campfire. "You're just trying to get me to stay, aren't you?"
"If you want to go, you go." She stated, "But I'd have to go with you, because how else are you going to keep your promise to me if we're in different places?"
Eric looked over towards Andrea, "Are you hearing this?" He questioned, chuckling.
The older blonde nodded, "Every word." She replied, "Girl wants to learn to defend herself. And if you're going to be off gallivanting with everyone on a run, then you need to teach her."
He held up both hands in defense, "What is this? Blonde's Unite or something?"
Amy chuckled, "Something like that."
Eric turned to his fiance, "Alright, but you have to promise me you won't practice without me."
Virginia nodded, smiling "I promise."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter :) Please give me some ideas of a title for the fic, but obviously it will be easier to name after the first few chapters are posted, which I will hopefully be able to update soon. If any of you are readers of my other stories (namely Assassin's Creed) you will understand that posting regular updates will be very difficult for me at the moment.
Thank you,
xxz0eyxx