I was sitting at the park with my best friend. We were babysitting my younger cousin, and had decided to grab a bite to eat. We sat at a small picnic table, eating our burgers, watching Cheyenne play on the slide. I smiled as she slid down the slide quickly, giggling with a big grin on her face.
"So, Spence. What are we doing with the little munchkin tonight?" Shay asked me, looking toward Cheyenne.
"Uhhhh..." I looked down. "Well, I, uh promised my aunt I'd watch her tonight."
"What? We're gonna be stuck with Cheyenne all night?" Shay whined.
"Oh, come on!" I shot back. "It's Friday. Tomorrow's a new day, we'll take her back to my aunt's house and go party or some shit." I was trying to bribe.
"Fine." Shay's green eyes shot daggers at me. "But Kevin's coming to see me this evening."
"Okay, well, hope he likes five year olds." I teased with a playful smile.
"Spencer, sometimes I want to kill you. Maybe it's your southern charm that always changes my mind!" Shay exclaimed, and I laughed loudly.
"Southern charm, huh?" I grinned. Shay rolled her eyes.
"Now I'm giving you an ego boost." She mumbled, which made me laugh even harder.
"Spencer!" Cheyenne came running up, grabbing her drink. Taking in big gulps, I couldn't help but giggle.
"Thirsty?" I asked, staring at the little girl.
"Uhhhh huh!" Cheyenne shook her head, drinking more from her cup. I smiled down at her, thinking how crazy it was that she looked just like me. Her blonde hair was almost white, and her big blue eyes seemed to shine on her pretty little tan face.
"Let's get on home, y'all. This Georgia heat is killin' me!" I complained, and luckily for Shay and I, Cheyenne agreed. The three of us trudged up the hill and climbed into my truck. I cranked up the truck, and turned the air on full blast.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Shay exclaimed, leaning in toward the air vent. I laughed and turned to make sure Cheyenne was buckled into her booster seat.
"You buckled?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, see?" She tugged on her lap belt to show it was secured.
"Good job." I encouraged with a smile. Cheyenne grinned and looked out of the window. I loved that child. I had been keeping her since she was a baby. She was practically my kid, I took care of her so much.
"Ugh, screw the radio." Shay mumbled, hitting the CD button. Her face lit up as a song began to play that all three of us loved.
"I like where we are, when we drive in your car." I sang along with the song as I left the parking lot. "I like where we are...here."
"Cause our lips, can touch. And our cheeks, can brush," Shay chimed in, "our lips can touch, here." We all sang along the whole way back to our apartment. Once home, we walked upstairs to our apartment, and I unlocked the door. I walked by the t.v., and turned it on. To my surprise, the news was on. I didn't remember leaving it on the news channel.
I began listening, tuning out Shay and Cheyenne talking in the background. The man talking looked worried, I scooted closer to the t.v., listening carefully. The man disappeared, and they went to live coverage of some place near Atlanta. Chaos was ensuing, people gathering in crowds in the street, watching something ahead.
"As you can see," the reporter was saying, "the man seems to be trying to attack people on the streets. It's believed he is on some type of drug, causing him to be delusional. This is the thirtieth case reported this week. Not to mention the additional forty-seven cases where the alleged drug users attacked others and died.." The camera caught a clear view of the maniac man staggering through the street. "He isn't responding to police, and he-oh, God! He just bit that woman! Now the police are-" I turned away for a split second to get Shay.
"Shay! Come look at this shit!" I said, turning back to the t.v. Shay walked over and began watching with me.
"The cops fired six rounds, and the man kept comin'..." I murmured more to myself than Shay.
"Good Lord. What the hell? He must have been on some crazy drugs." Shay said, shaking her head. "Shit like that will fuck ya up." She whispered.
"I ain't ever in my life!" I laughed nervously. "Bat shit crazy." I mumbled to myself, turning off the t.v.
"Let's order pizza!" Shay wiggled her eyebrows with a grin.
"Fine. But when we gain fifty pounds, and we have to work our butts off at the gym, I'm takin' it out on you!" I teased, grabbing my cell phone. I dialed the pizza place's number, and ordered two pizzas. Before I hung up, there was a knock on the door. Shay ran over and opened the door, letting Kevin in. I smiled and half waved at him, before finishing up the order and hanging up the phone.
"She ordered pizza." Shay said. "I am starving!"
"Me too. You guys are awesome." Kevin grinned and I laughed.
"Hi." Cheyenne said quietly to Kevin. He looked down at her and smiled.
"Hi. I'm Kevin." He stuck out his hand.
"Cheyenne." She said quietly, taking his hand and shaking it. I couldn't help but laugh. Shay grinned at me.
"See, he does like kids!" Shay laughed. We all sat down and began talking. Cheyenne was coloring a page in her coloring book. Everything was great.
About thirty minutes later, there was a knock at the door. I jumped up quickly, digging in my pocket for cash. I pulled out a twenty and a ten, hoping that would cover it. Walking over to the door, I unfolded the money, and opened the door.
"Hey, it'll be twenty-three, ninety-six." The guy smiled lightly. I handed him the money, and got a glimpse of his name tag. It read 'Glenn'. He handed me the pizzas.
"Keep the change!" I grinned.
"Thanks! Hey, have you seen all the stuff going on? On the news?" He asked.
"Yea, it's crazy! Be careful out there!" I replied.
"You too, have a nice night." He said, and then he walked away. I stepped back into the apartment and shut the door. I started to turn toward the kitchen, but I turned back and locked the apartment door.
I awoke the next morning to sunlight flooding through my window, blinding me. Squinting, I threw back the covers stretched with a yawn. I sat up, swung my legs over the bed, and stood up. I walked into my bathroom, and looked in the mirror.
Shit. I had forgotten to take off my makeup last night. My eyeliner and mascara were still thick on my eyes, the eyeliner barely smudging under my eyes. Luckily, I didn't wear foundation. Just eye makeup. I sighed, and walked back out of the bathroom.
"Shay?" I called out. Nothing. Which meant she and Kevin probably went to get breakfast. Sounded good to me. I walked into the extra bedroom where Cheyenne was sleeping. I sat on the edge of her bed, and pulled the covers off. "Wake up sleepy head!"
"Spennnncer!" She whined, smiling slightly.
"Get up, girl!" I laughed. "I think Shay and Kevin done gone off to get us some breakfast! What'd ya think of Kevin?"
"Hmmm." Cheyenne looked up at me, deep in thought. "Well, he's nice. But he needs a hair cut. And he looks kinda funny."
"Chy!" I gasped playfully. "You rude 'lil thang!"
"Am not!" She shot back. "You asked for my 'pinion, so I tolded you!" I burst into laughter at her words. Suddenly I heard the front door slam open, followed by screaming.
"SPENCER! SPENCER!" Shay was screaming my name. Her voice was shrill with panic.
"Cheyenne, stay!" I said. Instinctively, I darted out of Cheyenne's room and down the small hallway. What I saw nearly made me sick. Shay had her arm around Kevin, supporting him. There was blood all over his arm, and shirt. A gaping wound was covering most of his forearm. I could see tissue, and what looked like bone. Blood was pouring from his arm all over the floor.
"What the-" I started.
"Quick!" Shay yelled. "Shut the door! Shut the door and lock it!" I ran over to the door and shut it quickly, locking the dead bolt and chain. I then turned back to Shay and Kevin.
"What...what the hell happened?" I asked, kneeling beside them.
"We, we went to get breakfast, and we went in-inside. The place was empty, so we decided to leave. We were coming back out to the car, and this, this guy came out of nowhere and bit him on the arm!" Shay explained in a panic.
"Bit him?" I asked, the whole situation not registering.
"Yes, Spencer! Bit him!" Shay was panicking. She jumped up and ran to the bathroom, grabbing a towel. She wrapped it around his arm, trying to stop the bleeding. Kevin did not look good at all. He was pale, and sweating. He looked as if he were going into shock.
Then I remembered what we had seen on the news yesterday. I quickly jumped up and turned the t.v. on, hoping to see something that would be helpful. Strangely, a lot of the channels were nothing but static. I was getting agitated, when I came across some of the local news channels while flipping through. I listened carefully, turning up the volume.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing. People were coming back from the...dead? No way. That made no sense at all. The news broadcast kept instructing for everyone to stay inside and keep their doors locked. Anyone bitten needed to be seen to immediately? Should we stay inside or got to a hospital? No, we couldn't stay here.
"Cheyenne, get dressed. Now!" I called to her, running down the hall. I grabbed a small duffel bag, throwing some clothes inside. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt, quickly tearing my pajamas off. I got dressed, then leaned over my bed and pulled out my nightstand drawer. I grabbed the .22 handgun I kept there, and opened the chamber. Loaded. I made sure the safety was on, then put it snuggly in the small of my back, tucked into my jeans.
I ran over to my closet, and grabbed the top shoe box. I only had six boxes of bullets. Oh well, that should be more than enough. I dumped them in the duffel bag, and zipped it shut. I threw on my cowboy boots over my jeans, and grabbed my cell phone. I cried out in frustration when I saw that it had no service. Something wasn't right.
I grabbed the duffel bag and left my bedroom. I went straight into Cheyenne's room and flung open her small suitcase, grabbing all the clothes that she had packed inside. I unzipped my duffel bag, and shoved her clothes inside. I knelt down in front of Cheyenne, who was wide eyed with fear.
"Chy, listen baby. Kevin is hurt, okay? He's gonna be fine though, we're gonna take him to the doctor. It might be scary outside, but you just stay right beside me. Everything's gonna be fine." I said to her. She nodded and sat on her bed. I sat my duffel bag beside her, and zipped it back up, before leaving the room back to Shay.
"Shay! Go into ya room, get a small bag. Pack some clothes. We're fuckin' outta here. Gotta get him to a doctor." I said, looking at Kevin, who still hadn't said a word. Shay jumped up and ran to her room.
Within five minutes we were all at the front door. I slung my duffel bag over my shoulder, and picked Cheyenne up. She didn't weigh very much, I was thankful that she was only five and skinny as a rail. I looked at Shay, who was trying to get Kevin up, but he wouldn't budge.
"Something's not...right. I'm not right." He shook his head. "You three go. Send help here."
"I'm not leaving you alone!" Shay argued, and finally got him up. "Let's go, Spencer." She said. I nodded my head, and quietly opened the door. We walked out cautiously, looking around. I could see my truck in the parking lot, just down the stairs. We just had to get to it.
Everything was off. There was no one in sight, and everything was so quiet. Like eerie quiet. No cars going by, no people outside. Then I noticed it. The parking lot was nearly empty. Maybe I should have never turned off the t.v. yesterday. It seemed like everyone had left over night.
We made a run for my truck. Down the stairs, across the sidewalk. Almost there. Then I heard Shay yell. I turned around to see an awful sight. Kevin was being pulled away from Shay by something, I wasn't quite sure what. It looked like a person, but it was all fucked up. It was eating Kevin.
"Ahhhhhhh!" He was screaming in pain, then he stopped when the thing tore into his throat.
I shoved Cheyenne in the truck and ran over to Shay, grabbing her arm. The thing that had Kevin looked like the crazy guy we had seen on the news. It's mouth was bloody, and it looked like it had been... Bitten. Or chewed on? God, I didn't know. I didn't know what it was, but it certainly wasn't right.
"Hey, you fuck!" I yelled, kicking the thing in the head, hard. It snarled and snapped, so I backed away quickly, nearly stumbling.
"Kevin!" Shay cried, as I pulled her away. He looked bad. Really bad. There was blood everywhere, and I knew he wouldn't make it much longer. The thing was just ignoring us, eating on him. There was a gash in his throat, and blood was squirting. I felt sick.
"Shay come on, we gotta go! NOW!" I yelled. Kevin was still, and he didn't appear to be breathing, but I wasn't sure. Crying, we ran to the truck and got in. I couldn't believe what I had just seen.
I know I should have shot that..that thing, but I froze. I couldn't even reach for my gun. My brain had been too occupied trying to register what was happening. I didn't have time to reach from my gun. I didn't have time to do anything, except grab Shay and try to get as far away from here as possible.
"Spencer, what are we going to do?" Shay asked, her voice shrill, turning around in her seat, looking at the scene they had just ran from.
"I dunno, we gotta get somewhere safe. Maybe the CDC? I dunno, find some other people, shit, get the hell away from here!" I rambled, cranking up the truck, and throwing it in reverse. I backed up, and threw it in drive, heading for the main road that led to outskirts of city. Maybe we would find help in the city.
Hey guys, this is my new story, hope you all enjoyed this first chapter. Yes, Spencer is going to be with the group from the very beginning, so her and Daryl are going to have a very interesting relationship. Of course, this story is going to be a painfully SLOW integration of their relationship. I am going to do this story strictly by the show, but I am adding in my own characters. I am so excited to see where it leads, and I am hoping to see some of my wonderful reviewers from "Tame My Heart" ! You guys are so amazing, and I really hope you all enjoy this story. The next chapter will be up ASAP.
~Kaila