Author's Note:

What up my Walking Dead fans?! How are you guys? This is my (herUSMCdream) first chapter of Dino-SOAR's new story Miles Apart. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Oh and don't forget to thank Dino-SOAR for her awesome editing skills. This chapter would've turned out slightly choppy and weird-ish if it wasn't for her. I'm done ranting now.

Hugs and epic face plants,

herUSMCdream

Victoria POV -

Shit. Shit. SHIT! What the fuck is going on?! This can't be happening. I can't just stand here waiting to die! But what else could I do? This is how I'm going to die. These are the last people I will see. I can't stop the thoughts of death from entering my mind. I could've never imagined this outcome even in my wildest nightmares. Maybe this was a nightmare.

I close my eyes for a moment and take a deep breath, trying to block out the cries of my best friend and the moans of the people trying to kill me, and after a few seconds I open them again, expecting to see my bedroom, messy as usual. No such luck. I look to my left at Hayley, fear in her wide brown eyes as she looks at me for guidance. What does she expect me to do? What could I do? Should I even attempt to survive? Or is it useless? Is there a way out of this? Probably not if I'm being completely honest with myself. SHIT! I think Hayley just said something. I have to get my thoughts under control or we are both going to lose it.

Turning towards her I see that she is waiting for me to respond.

"What?" I ask.

"How the hell are we supposed to get down?" her voice rising out of fear and her face contorting so that the panic attack that is surely about to start is evident. I know that if I don't come up with something soon, she's going to jump off this thing and feed herself to whatever the hell you call these… things. "Those – those things have us surrounded!"

"I know, I know. Hold on, let me just think for a second." My thoughts are coming at me a mile a minute. I look everywhere for something, a nearby branch that we can possibly hang onto or an object that is sharp enough to possibly cut through someone's scalp… just like it went through Lauren's. Shit, I can't start thinking about that right now.

"What are you doing? Debit cards and cash won't help us out this time." Hayley speaks up when I start rummaging through my over the shoulder, black purse hoping that there might be something worth use in there, since there seems to be nothing of use nearby. Her voice has a slight edge to it and I know without even looking at her that she is obviously confused and slightly annoyed.

"I know," I say back quickly for what feels like the hundredth time, "I'm… just… looking for…" My fingers make contact with something hard and I immediately straighten back up with a satisfactory grin, turning my body so that it's facing her completely. "This!" I hold up the silver and green object.

"A box cutter?"

"Do you have a better idea?" I retort.

I can see that as soon as the words leave me mouth she knows that the box cutter is our only salvation. With a sigh she looks down at it and then back up at me, her eyes no longer just showing fear but also some hope. "Okay, what's our plan?"

I give her a minor nod before searching out an escape route at the back of truck. The results aren't promising and the small smile that has formed while talking to Hayley, vanishes just as quickly as it came. The back of the truck is a definite no. There seems to be several rows of people all in which they are practically climbing over each other trying to reach us. There is no way we can make it out alive if we go back down the ladder. Glancing at Hayley, I see the panic in her start to rise all over again and her eyes welling up with tears as she comes to the same realization as me.

Shit, I got to get us out of here before she has a major break down.

Stepping towards the front of the truck, I notice that there are only about five or six of these things mashing their hands onto the hood of the car, their chipped nails digging into the white paint and scratching it as if they're claws. Bingo.

"Hayley, this way!"

She runs to me as my body starts to disappear towards the front of the cab. At this point, I'm close enough to notice who exactly is trying to attack us. I gasp, horrified that I actually know some of the "people," if I could even still call them that. Donna, the red headed, petite lady who always seems to be the one that checks me out, and Dave, the older man who I consider a part of my family looks to be doing everything in his power to pull himself up the hood of the truck and attack. These people were my friends and I now have to kill them? I freeze, not knowing what to do before the sound of Hayley's multi-colored tennis shoes rubbing up against the window draws my attention back on track. We have to get out of here and fast. Whoever these people are now, are definitely not the people I once knew.

I check to see if the knife is fully extended and then jam the box knife into the "persons" head, angling the knife down in one swift motion. "He" goes down in an instant. I repeat the same move as quickly as I can to the rest of them before grabbing Hayley's hand and dragging her body the rest of the way down the truck.

"Run!" I yell letting go of her and turning to make sure that there isn't another one too close behind us. My eyes quickly scan the faces of the people I once knew, silently thanking the Gods up above when I realize that my parents and brother are nowhere to be found in the cold, hard faces.

"Your car is too far away and there are far too many of those things all around. We are never going to make it!" She screams back before I turn again and see her start sprinting towards a black F-150. She hops into the passenger side door, slamming it behind her and starts rummaging around the bed of the truck with determination. When I finally manage to get in and lock the doors behind me she is already leaning over my seat and feeling her way underneath the steering wheel.

"What the hell are you doing?" I nearly scream. Looking behind me to see the things quickening their pace, my heart beats faster in my chest.

She glares hard at the blackness from where she is leaning, her hands trying to pry something open under the steering wheel. "There's no key in here! My brother taught me how that if we can just get the compartment under the steering wheel to open, I can basically hotwire it." No sooner has she finishes her speech, the small compartment pops open and she shoves her hand inside it, pulling out a tan box with a metal, circle switch on it. She pushes on it with her thumb forcefully, and I can see her thumb getting red from the pressure. Before I process that my best friend knows how to hotwire a car and never told me, the engine revs and I am peeling out of the parking lot and heading back to the comfort of my house.

"What the hell is going on?" Hayley screeches at me still looking through the passenger mirror to see how far away we are from the store and the chaos that's around it.

"I have absolutely no fucking clue."

"And why the hell were you stashing a box cutter in your purse?"

"Corey had left it in my car the other day when I had to pick him up from work and I put it in my purse to give it back to him but haven't gotten the chance yet," I explain.

She nods her head in understanding and lets everything that just happened to us sink in as she stares out the window. The rest of drive back is silent, both of us thinking about what we just witnessed and praying that the rest of our family members are safe.

When I pull into my driveway we both jump out of the truck on shaky legs. I sigh and make my way around the bed of the truck, already starting to form another plan in my head. We needed to get out of this state and fast but first we needed to figure out what was going on and where we were going. From the look on Hayley's face, I knew she had the same thing on her mind.

"Let's go see if there is anything on the news that can help us figure out what is going on then we can decide where to go from there," I say trying to be as calm as I can be.

Hayley sniffles and I don't realize that she is crying until she wipes her nose. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and try to be as comforting as possible, "It's alright Maltzy. We'll be okay." She shakes her head in agreement with me before pulling away. She moves forward and we both start a slow descend up the stairs and into my house.

Upon entering, we walk down the narrow hallway and sit on my couch while I fumble around in search of the black remote control to turn the television on. Once it's on, I flip through the stations until a pretty looking Asian woman in a gray suit jacket and black pencil skirt pops up onto the flat screen. The banging and thumping in the background is clearly heard over the set yet I notice that the news lady acts as if there is nothing there except for a few anxious glances she makes every once in a while to the left of the screen.

"We come to you live from our CNN studio" she begins. "Researchers have told us that there is a new virus going global. They are not too sure on what could be causing this outbreak but they have started a new process in which all civilians infected may go to the CDC in Atlanta and get tested to help find a possible cure. Doctors at the CDC have stated that any help would be greatly appreciated. Government officials advise civilians to go into the nearest city for Refugee Centers. For more information please call…"

I listen to her rattle off the number before I click the power button on the remote. Everything goes black and silent again. When the silence becomes too much, I jump up and start pacing the room. I catch a glimpse of Hayley watching me from her rigid position on the couch before walking past her and shoving my thumb nail in my mouth to bite on.

This fucking virus was global? There was no way we could stay here. Winter will be coming soon and with little to no heat or food we'll be dead in a months' time and that's if we even survive the winter, and with these cannibals running around who knew if that would happen. Yet who knew what the other towns and states are like. What if they are just as bad as us? Hell what if they are worse?! But then again, what if they're better? Global doesn't necessarily mean that every state was affected. Maybe down south is at least a bit better than here. I mean, there's no way in hell we can stay in Boston. Hell, there was no way we'd make it to Boston. The traffic is going to be horrible! We'd be stuck on the MassPike for weeks at this rate. We wouldn't even come close to making it into the city without having to ditch our car at some point and walking the rest of the way.

I am literally stumbled out of my inner rambling by Hayley shoving out her purple and blue sneakered foot and tripping me.

"What the hell was that for?" I ask, getting my feet back under me and glaring at her.

"You were giving me a headache watching you walk back and forth, back and forth" she replies while moving her finger in the motion of a pangolin style clock. "And get your hand out of your mouth! Do you know how many germs on underneath that nail?" She continues, slapping at my thigh.

"You know how I get when I'm nervous." I sigh as I sit back down next to her. "We have to figure out a plan. Decide whether or not it will be a good idea to move south or stay put."

"Move south?" Hayley asks horrified. "Why the fuck would we do that? They said to go into Boston."

"We can't get to Boston and you know it! Think of the traffic on a good day, let alone on a day where we find out the world is basically coming to an end! We wouldn't survive long enough to make it there. The CDC they were talking about is in Georgia and we live in Massachusetts Maltz. Pretty soon we won't have heat if things don't get back on track soon, and it doesn't look like they're going to. And I'm definitely not going back to that store to get eaten by some crazed zombie looking things, all so we can eat! Going south seems to be our only option right now."

"Things could get better! This is just a fluke! Like the swine flu, remember?" She looked into my eyes with desperation evident on her face.

"This isn't just the swine flu and you know it! This is a whole different can of worms."

It was her turn to now get up and pace. I watch her small figure walk to the fish tank located in the far corner of the room, all the way to the mahogany colored china cabinet near the entrance and back. She stops all of a sudden and turns to me. "This can't be happening. We can't move. We don't even know where TJ is or your mom and dad. Heck what about Corey, huh? We can't just leave them behind. It's not fair. It's not right! They're our family!"

I keep my voice calm and steady as I reply. "Look we know that neither my parents nor my brother are at the store which means they could've already started heading somewhere else. Your brother is in the heart of Boston and like I've said before, it will be absolutely impossible for us to get anywhere near the city right now. Besides, he's probably safer there if they have refugee centers. We're just going to have to keep leaving messages on their phones and even leave a note in case someone comes home. We'll explain everything. Where we are going, what's happening and that we will meet back up again at the CDC. You can even leave your brother's information for my parents." I get up and step towards her before finishing, "we can't stay here and you know it."

Hayley starts sobbing at this point. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later and I had no way of comforting her other than giving letting her cry it all out and hugging her. Finally she takes a deep breath, wipes the remaining tears away and draws back from my arms.

"Where are we going and how, how are we getting there?" She asks, attempting to be strong.

"The CDC is the best option. They'll probably have treatment options and even vaccines by the time we get there. We just need to be somewhere safe. We'll leave a note for my parents and brother to try and get a hold of TJ." I say as I make my way into the kitchen to start grabbing anything that looks sharp enough to hurt or kill a person.

Gosh, who knew I could be so violent.

"Y'know…" She starts saying, "The CDC is in Atlanta right? Well they said to go to major cities for refugee centers. I bet the CDC will have contact with most of the refugee centers, especially ones in major cities. So maybe they could tell me if TJ made it?" She explains with hope evident in her voice.

I nod, "Exactly! So we have to go. The last place we want to be is in a crowd right now anyway. It could get bad. We're also going to need to fill up on fuel and food. My dad has some buckets in the back that we can fill up so that we don't have to stop along the way," I continue. "Can you go and get one of the bags that is in my mother's closet for me?"

She walks into the bedroom across from the kitchen and fumbles around for a moment as I go back into the kitchen and grab a few knives. I touch the tip of the biggest one with my index finger, to see how sharp it is. I draw a small droplet of blood and smile. Good weapons are important.

"We should stop up at my school. It's completely dead out towards Westfield and there is a huge Wal-Mart about a mile and a half down the road. We can stalk up on everything there, plus that's where most of my shit is anyway." She says as she hands me my mother's favorite black leather backpack. She will be pissed when she comes home to find it missing. Oh well, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

I smile at her, straightening and closing the utensil drawer before dropping the knives into the bag. I knew her smarts is one of the reasons I kept her around. "Good idea. Let me just grab some clothes and you start writing the note. I'll be down in a second and then we can be on our way."

She nods at me and gets to work on the task I give her as I search my room for some of things I know I'll need. Looking at my bed one last time, I make a quick decision and snatch up the light yellow bunny that I've had since I was a child and stuff it onto the top of my bag before drawing the strings and closing the bag off completely. Slinging it over my shoulder I make my way back into the kitchen and see that Hayley is finished writing the note in her neat handwriting. My eyes linger on a picture that my mother has hung up on our refrigerator of a close up shot of my brother, mother, father and I from about ten birthdays ago. My fingers run over it lightly.

"All set?" Hayley asks getting up from her spot at the wooden kitchen table and makes her way to the door.

"After you, my lady" I say, drawing my attention away from the photo and following her. We're about half way down the stairs when I turn back around and make a jog for the kitchen again. I snatch the photo back up, and shove it in my pocket.

Hayley is sitting in the truck, tapping her hands against her jeans when I make it downstairs. "You okay?"

The only reply she gets is a slight head nod and a forced smile.