First ever Aberfield 'fic evereverever. Apart from some drabbles on Tumblr. Okay basically I'm hoping this will extend into something more than a one-shot or whatever. We'll see. Maybe I'll update every fortnight or something. I've already got a fairly awesome plotline.

This isn't going to be perfectly accurate to the film/s, I may even diverge completely. Just bare that in mind. I'm changing things to make this work better, 'kay.

K-Mart had been quiet all morning. It was the day everything would change. The day she'd spent all these years waiting for. But to Claire, it was just another reason to worry. She couldn't afford any more worries. Sure, she laughed along with the jokes; she radio'd across for some smokes; the breakfast tin of pork and beans had gone down as well as it did every day. Yet there was always the worry. Since finding survivors and setting up the almost family they had established, she couldn't stop worrying about them. The day had started off like normal, if anything was normal nowadays. Breakfast had been a quiet affair, the uncertainty kept the always tired yet always alert. But the mornings were quiet, sleep having not quite left everyone's brains. The slowly rising sun let their foggy minds have a moment of solitude in a life of bracing themselves. It was peaceful. A little haven. But today, Claire's haven had been interrupted by K-Mart's unusual behavior.

The day passed like it always did; Radio calls that nobody answered, deserted plains, and finally a motel. For once there was a change. Zombies, usually driven from the barren lands to a place unknown, were residing in what should have been their haven. But they were easily dealt with. They always were, found alone and driven mad by the hunger. Claire felt it. She understood. Her mind writhed with the hunger. But of a different kind. The infection had driven out every need but the most basic. For everyone. Except Claire. She missed the touch of a person, she missed the way she could feel beautiful, she missed losing herself in euphoria. Claire climbed atop an empty truck, closed her eyes, and imagined.

And a hundred miles away, a lone rider revved her engine, her scarf whipping about her face. Ever hopeful, Alice followed the radio's sounds, signalling her to move on. Her last conquest may have been a trap, but that wasn't going to stop her. Alice Abernathy, the only one known to survive the T Virus, was not afraid of a few traps. She was most afraid of her loneliness. Maybe this camp would be the one to take it away. Whatever it held, she was going to find out in short while, the most thankful thing about no one being around was that no one cared how fast or slow she rode. She kicked up the sand, tied the scarf tighter about her throat, and set off with determination. This time felt different. This time felt like something good would finally happen.