Author's Note

So I'm not sure how this turned out. I think that I might've been trying too hard lol. But, regardless, I've made you guys wait long enough, so I wanted to post this today. I hope you guys like it as an introduction chapter! If not, I severely apologize. I should get better with the next chapter and so on.


"Remind me again why Alison couldn't come hunting with me."

Caterina watched the shoulders of the man walking in front of her sag as he heaved a heavy sigh for what was probably the hundredth time that day. They had been trekking through the woods for four hours now, and she had asked the same question several times at this point. She knew that he was getting more than a little irritated with her, but she didn't particularly care. It wasn't every day that she managed to annoy him like that, and she was secretly enjoying it, like any little sister would.

"She does not have the stomach for it," Gabriele reminded her. "She would not be able to bring herself to shoot anything."

Caterina scoffed. "That's a lie and you know it. Alison is the one who helps me gut whatever game we bring back."

Gabriele didn't say anything. Instead, he just continued on the familiar route back to their camp. He and Caterina were oftentimes sent out to gather supplies for their camp when they started to run low. In reality, they still had plenty of food. But they were in the mindset that they shouldn't let any food go to waste. So when they found animals during their scavenging missions, they always made sure to bring it back. The only things that they seemed to run out of were basic stuff, like toilet paper and batteries, razors and feminine products—stuff that people took advantage of back in the good ol' days.

"You're worried that she'll have a seizure and I won't be able to keep her safe," Caterina continued. "Which is bullshit, by the way."

"Could we stop with this?" he pleaded, exasperated.

"Maybe when you give me a legitimate reason why she can't come with me."

He finally stopped and turned to face her. Gabriele looked a lot like his sister. He had the same black hair (which he kept in a messy yet professional style), the same tan skin, the same brown eyes… The only real difference between them was their sex. And the calm patience that was always reflected in Gabriele's eyes. In regards to their appearance, they were the same. When it came to their personalities, however, they couldn't be more different. While Caterina was aggressive and outgoing, Gabriele was more calm and reserved. He acted more with his head while Caterina acted on instinct and heart.

Caterina stopped as well, standing only a few feet away from him. She crossed her arms and stared, waiting for him to explain why he was so adamant about Alison staying behind at camp when she and Gabriele went out.

"I do not feel comfortable with it," he said in that ever so placid tone of his.

"Because you don't think I could keep her safe," she challenged.

"No, I am confident that you could. You are strong, piccina, in more ways than one," Gabriele tried to appease her, very aware of how defensive Caterina was when it came to her abilities as a warrior. "But if Alison had a seizure while you two were out here in the open, you would not be able to move her safely, which would leave you vulnerable as well. I am not ready to risk that."

Caterina looked off to the side, realizing the logic behind his words. It was true; if Alison went out hunting with her and she had a seizure for whatever reason, Caterina wouldn't be able to move her until it was over. And if there were walkers nearby, they would be drawn to the sound of her fits and they would both be dead, because there was no way that Caterina would leave her behind. Chances were, she would end up giving herself up to the walkers while trying save Alison. Gabriele knew that. She had told him about how she gave up the possibility for her own safety eight months ago just so that another woman from her group would be saved, someone who she had known for a short amount of time. God knows what Caterina would do to save someone who she had known almost her entire life.

"We should hurry," she muttered before continuing past her brother.

Gabriele turned and watched her walk past him, allowing himself a small smile at her stubbornness. She knew that he was right, and still she refused to outwardly admit it. That was how she had always been, ever since she was a child.

He readjusted the line of squirrels and rabbits that he had thrown over his shoulder and followed Caterina.


It took them another hour to reach camp. They had been stationed in the same place for the past month or so, and the surrounding areas were quickly becoming barren so they were forced to move out further and further each time that they made supply runs. Caterina figured that they had about a week left before they would be forced to move on.

As they neared camp, Caterina was able to pick up the telltale growling of their pet.

"Gabriele? Cat?" a feminine voice called out warily.

They passed through a line of trees into a small clearing, where two people were waiting for them along with a six-year-old Belgian malinois named Edgar (after Edgar Alan Poe). He was lying in the dirt at their feet, no longer growling now that he knew that who the two figures that he had heard approaching camp were. Alison was standing with an anxious expression, which changed into a look of relief when she saw that Caterina and Gabriele were back unharmed. Next to her was an older man who looked a lot like the Miller siblings. He had a full head of salt and pepper hair and the same brown eyes as his daughter, mischievousness and full of life. He was exactly what you would expect from a retired military man, right down to the arms full of tattoos and the surprisingly toned muscles.

"Oh thank god," Alison breathed as she hurried forward to hug the two siblings.

"What did I tell you about calling out like that?" Caterina chastised her.

"I'm sorry. You were gone for so long. We were starting to worry."

Their father raised his hand, drawing everyone's attention to him. "She was worried. I had the utmost faith in you," he clarified, which earned an eye roll from Alison. He just smiled and sat back down on the log that he and Alison had been sitting on when his children arrived.

"Mi dispiace," Gabriele apologized, seeing that Caterina wasn't about to explain for them. "We were forced to travel further to find everything that we needed."

"We're not going to be able to stay here for much longer," Caterina pointed out as she removed her backpack and dropped it next to one of the two medium-sized tents that made up their camp so that she could sit down next to her father. Edgar raised his head and gave a low whine. Caterina reached out and rubbed his ears.

"How much longer do we have?" Alison asked.

"Maybe a week."

Alison dragged Gabriele over to the log that lay on the opposite side of the campfire and sat them both down. "Where will we go this time?" she wondered, looking directly at Caterina.

Caterina gave a resigned sigh. "We'll have to move east. This area is getting too crowded with walkers. It isn't safe."

The others exchanged knowing looks. Ever since she had joined them a few months ago, she had been reluctant to leave the general area. Any time that their father, Michele, tried to suggest them moving to another city, she argued that it was safer to stay where they knew was safe. She never said so outright, but they knew that the only reason that she wanted to stay was because of the group that she had been separated from a little over eight months ago. It took them a month to get the story out of her, and since then she never spoke of them, apart from the offhanded comment every now and again. They had managed to piece together enough from her slip ups that she had been very close to this group. She said that she had given up looking for them after the first three months, but they didn't believe her. Otherwise, she would've allowed them to leave sooner. Even if she wouldn't admit it, they knew that she was still hoping that she would stumble upon them during one of their runs. That was why she always volunteered to go gather supplies.

"Bene. We will stay here three more days, and then we will pack up and head east," Michele decided.

Alison and Gabriele nodded while Caterina just ran her fingers through her hair. She was trying to hide it, but it was obvious that she was unsettled by the idea of leaving. But she knew that it was necessary for them to continue to survive.


Vocabulary

Mi dispiace—I'm sorry

Piccina—little one

Bene—fine/okay