Okay, Chapter 2 now completed! Please remember to R&R, it means a lot. I'll get back to Katrina now…

-2-

Slanting golden rays cracked through the thin trees as the boiling sun started to set in the woods, meaning that I had been travelling through nowhere for the rest of the day since those roamers had sent me packing back at the playground. I walked at my usual pace, keeping an eye out around me just in case there were any unwanted visitors. Liesel padded through the trees, right at home here since we'd been doing this so long. I took a breath of the humid air before hooking my thumbs under the straps of my backpack and sauntering on. I could feel tiny beads of sweat littering my brow and the back of my neck as a result of the sticky heat, making it feel like I was taking a hike through an oven. My eyes had started to become itchy not just due to tiredness by also because of my crying earlier.

I would need to find a place to turn in before dark.

Just as the thought of finding somewhere to sleep out here crossed my mind, I glanced up to do a double take to my right. I blinked several times to make sure I wasn't just seeing an illusion and my eyebrows raised a little at what could be considered one hell of a coincidence. I was staring at an overgrown cabin that had been half burned down, but a few of the rooms were still intact.

Enough so I could sleep there.

Hey, I wasn't one to pass up on good fortune. I made my way soundlessly over to the cabin, hand reaching for the handle of my katana as I peered through the window to check if there were any unwanted guests staying there. Seeing no movement from inside, I circled the building to make sure I wouldn't get a nasty surprise sometime during the night, and comforted myself with the fact that Liesel was not growling and her hackles weren't up. I bit my lip as I weighed the options: stay here for the night despite the fact that it wasn't exactly the safest place to hunker down, or move on and try my luck with another spot. After chewing my lip a moment I decided to pick the first option and I slowly made my way to what had once been the front door. After all, there was every chance I wouldn't find as good a place as this before sunset.

The wooden stairs leading to the porch groaned, underweight as I was, as I cautiously made my way up them and pushed the door open with one hand, the feeling of the peeling paint prickly on my palm. I let go of the katana and grabbed my FNX-45 Tactical, complete with a red dot sight. My katana wouldn't be good in tight spots like this; I couldn't swing it properly if a roamer came at me when I was in a doorway or narrow corridor. I went inside to find that the main room was probably where the fire had been started since it was only a husk of what it had once been, nearly two of the walls had completely burned away and plants were starting to grow up from under the floorboards and reclaim the cabin. I heard the soft tapping of Liesel's claws on the floorboards as she sniffed the area and I looked around. A sofa with dirty moth-eaten upholstery leant jauntily on only three legs, and the rest of the furniture in here wasn't really in better condition. I saw another door to my right and gingerly opened it to see that this had once been a bedroom, the doors of the wardrobe hanging on their hinges and the quilt that lay crumpled on the bed ratty and thin. There were two windows in here and both still had all the panes of glass, on either side of the room that gave me a view of two sides in case I got unexpected guests. I bit my lip. These were better odds. There was yet another door at the far end of this room too, and I soundlessly crossed the bare floorboards by the end of the bed to it, swinging it open and casting an eye around a tiny bathroom with grimy tile walls and even grubbier plumbing. Hmm. Well, it couldn't be helped.

A filthy mirror hung above a sink bowl and I managed to catch a glimpse of my reflection for a moment in the dusty golden light. It was an understatement to say I was shocked. I couldn't remember the last time I had seen myself in a mirror. Whenever it was, the shell of the girl who stared at me in exhaustion was not the same girl who I had seen last. My cheeks were starting to sink from the hunger of the apocalypse and my eyes had dark marks beneath them, my jewel-toned blue eyes watery and rimmed with red due to my crying. Despite the sun I saw everyday my skin was as pale as ever, but was hidden under my sunblock of all the dirt and dust that had accumulated on my skin due to lack of bathing regularly. My long ginger hair had not seen a hairbrush for the longest time, long enough for it to have grown into a wild and tangled mess.

I looked like I should be in an insane asylum.

I tore my eyes away from myself and went back into the bedroom, gazing around a moment before slipping my pack off my shoulders and was about to dump it unceremoniously on the bed when I caught myself and lowered it gently. Wouldn't do to throw this bag about. I did another quick check out of both windows and was content to see nothing stirring that would take a bite out of me.

Another bite, at least.

I sighed as I pulled my katana off and laid it on the dirty bed. I returned to the bathroom and wiped off as much crap off it as I could with a hand, and watched myself as I removed my army jacket and my plain grey t shirt. When I was wearing nothing but my grey bra and high-waisted red shorts I bit my lip in apprehension and slowly turned around, catching my messy mane and moving it out of the way so that I could get a better look.

A big hole of a roamer bite in my back stared back at me. It lay on the lower left of my back, just under my bust line. I winced as I thought back to the day I got it. I had been surviving, just like any other day when I stumbled across a herd. Not wanting to stick around, Liesel and I had high-tailed it out of there as fast as we could go and after running for what seemed like hours, we had come to a stop someplace in the woods. Over my heavy panting and looking back to make sure we had lost the herd I didn't realise that Liesel was snarling. Stupidly, I didn't hear the roamer growl coming from behind me. I didn't realise what I mistake I had made until I heard the sound of ripping flesh and felt the searing pain cover my back as the roamer sank his teeth into me. It had taken me all of a second to grab my katana and unsheathe it as I span around, slicing the monster's head clean off its shoulders and spraying black blood across the ground.

But it was already too late. I'd been bitten.

Just because I was going to die didn't mean I had to stop surviving. In fact, it became something of a game to see how long my body could hold out against the infection, hold off the disease that had destroyed the world. I expected my body to last 3 days max. But as the days went on, it became clear that I wasn't showing any of the signs that others had when they were bitten. I never ran a fever. I never became delirious or faint. The only time I thought I was gonna throw up was when I had to clean up the wound and the pain of it made me want to hurl my stomach across the ground. Eventually, as my body shows no signs of weakening or deteriorating, I began to wonder. I counted the sunrises to keep track of the days, and I had held out longer than anyone else I had known.

Today's sun marked the 11th day since I was bitten.

When I had first been bitten I felt sure that there was no cure, no hope once you had been bitten. You would just die after spending several days in agony and that would be the end of it. Now a large part of me is beginning to wonder if this situation was as desolate as I believed it to be. As probably everyone left in the world believed it to be.

My focus returned to the present as I stared at the bite wound on my back and I debated what to do with it. Should I stitch it up? Should I leave it? I pulled the skin around to try and get a better look at it. If I had done that a week ago, the wound would've started bleeding again and I probably would've passed out from the pain. Now I could probably be punched on the wound and not feel more pain than I normally would. Even though the flesh in the wound still looked that fresh red of just-bitten, I gently pressed a finger onto some of the exposed flesh to find that it was growing harder, the contact not causing my any discomfort at all. I cocked my head to the side and tilted my body around a bit. I could see a few small scabs inside the wound – which is probably why it had been itching like a bitch for the last two days – but I was more focused on the fact that the wound didn't seem as…well…DEEP as it had before. I hadn't turned after this long. Was the flesh taken from the bite starting to grow back too?

I hoped so. That damn roamer had sunk those rotting teeth a good inch deep into my back, maybe even more. I didn't really want a gaping hole in my back for the rest of my days. I bit back a yawn as the light faded and as I didn't have any needle and thread, let alone enough light, I decided to just let it air as I slept tonight. Besides, it looked like it was doing fine healing on its own without any help from me.

I traipsed back into the bedroom, carrying my top and jacket in one hand and dragging my boots. I gazed at the bed critically before shoving off the quilt onto the ground after eyeing it with distrust. The bed creaked as I plopped down onto it, not even bothering to remove my boots. I closed my eyes for the first time all day and was barely conscious when I felt a plonk on the other side of the bed. I cracked an eye to see that Liesel had joined me and collapsed like I did, resting her head on my thigh. I was too tired to smile.

I should've probably eaten something, but I was just so goddamn tired. I was exhausted enough that I could feel my muscles tremor when I gently lowered myself onto my side and I was out before I could even think about barricading myself in here.

I woke too soon to the sound of Liesel whining and snarling at something. I sleepily leant up to see that it was pitch black out, the moon barely illuminating what she was so worked up about. I squinted out the window to my left and what I saw made my eyes widen in horror.

A herd was passing through. The moans sounded like an undead orchestra and the group shuffled along. From what I could see, fifty – hell maybe even SIXTY – dragged themselves along the dark woodland floor…

…straight in the direction of the cabin.

I felt the panic rise up in me as I rushed to put on my top and jacket, swinging the katana and pack around my shoulders. I had thankfully left the gun and my butterfly knife in the waistband of my shorts, and I blessed my lucky stars that I had left my boots on. It wouldn't really do to spend ages fastening up boots while a roamer herd was beating down the doors.

Doors I hadn't bothered to barricade.

I flicked my oily locks out from under my jacket and went to the window that was on the opposite side, knowing that making it out of the bedroom door was a little futile now. Despite how dark it was out and their not-so-good eyesight, there was no doubt they would see me if I went that way. Liesel, sensing the urgency of the circumstances that we were in, hopped off the bed and stayed behind me as I struggled to open the stuck window. I periodically glanced back at the other window directly across from me and did my best to swallow down the panic when I saw that they weren't changing direction or slowing down. My terror gave me strength and the damned-to-hell window was inching open as I frantically shoved it upwards but, to my unbelievable anger, it kept sticking in the frame.

I was NOT going to die here, after all this time.

When it had stop-started all the way to halfway open, I stepped back and saw that I could JUST squeeze through the gap. Maybe. I turned to see the first roamers breaking out into the small clearing where the cabin was. They were just a little too close for me, so I was tipping the hell out of here NOW.

I picked up Liesel – not a hard task since she was lighter than I was – and all but shot her through the window. I quickly removed my pack and flung it through, praying to God nothing in it activated and exploded when I picked it up again, and gripped the frame as I slid through legs first. I landed with a muffled thud on the dry leaves and hard earth and didn't even pause to take a breath before launching myself forward, grabbing my bag and full-on sprinting into the trees, not daring to look behind me to see the herd encroaching on the cabin.

Skin of my teeth.

The darkness was deepening as I continued on, having slowed from a sprint to a fatigued walk a while back after I was sure that no roamers had caught sight of me and were following. I really didn't need a herd on my tail in the middle of the night, especially since I once again had nowhere to go now that my camp for the night had been overrun. I could hear Liesel's dainty feet pattering along in front of me as I walked like a blind man, hands out in front of me to avoid smacking into any trees and landing on my butt. My fingertips trailed the textured bark of the trees that I swiftly avoided in my vain search for somewhere else I could rest for the night. I shook my head slightly and chastised my hopes. Why was I continuing on if there was no point, if I wouldn't find another place to stay the night? I guess the reason I did was…because I had nothing else to do. I couldn't really just give up and sleep on the forest floor, tempting as it sounded, since that would be probably one of the stupidest ideas I had had for a long time in my LONG history of stupid ideas. Even if I had Liesel with me, I could wake up again late that night to find that a herd was surrounding me, and I didn't really want to get ripped apart. That was not what I pictured when I imagined me finally kicking the bucket.

I figured I would just continue to walk until dawn, where I would look for any sort of shelter that this hellhole of a world could provide and live tomorrow like I had lived the last few years. Well, not lived…survived.

I had no sense of direction or time when I stumbled through the woods into what appeared to be a clearing of some sort. And since I couldn't exactly see where I was going, I bashed my foot on something and almost tripped over what I would guess to be a large rock. I gasped in a bit of pain and hissed out a long string of cuss words at my incredible bad luck. I managed to catch sight of Liesel, stood to my right and watching me with what I fancied were eyebrows raised.

'What?'

She let out a low whine and trotted off into the dark, leaving me looking at her incredulous and tripping to catch up with her. I whisper-shouted at her, wondering if the Collie hadn't lost her mind.

'Liesel! Liesel!'

I was barely able to keep an eye on the white patches of her fur as she moved through the undergrowth and headed off through the trees. I huffed a little and kept my eyes trained on the ground, just in case there were more of those infernal rocks waiting to trip me up. If I was going fast and I smacked into one I could end up face planting and, knowing me, would in all likelihood break my nose.

'Liesel! What has gotten into you?!'

I was so engrossed on where I was going I didn't realise that she had stopped until I almost fell over her. Arms flailing I righted myself quickly and glared at her, seriously questioning her sanity. She gave me another low whine and I frowned down at her. There was something up. I peered into the blackness around us, trying to figure out what had gotten her so edgy when I stopped and stared in a bit of shock.

A little to the left were two shining lights. Red, purple, green, blue and yellow flickered in the shape of two archway windows, side by side, hovering there in the darkness. Each of the colours were in the shape of rectangles, vaguely registering in my mind as the panes of stained glass.

It must have been a church.

I gulped after a moment when it hit me. This place was a church. Churches have graveyards. My brain froze a little to think it might not have JUST been a rock that I had fallen over back there.

Like a moth drawn to a flame, I inevitably made my way over to the light like it was hypnotising but hesitated before I left the trees and went up to the wooden walls. If there was light inside, it meant that there were people there too. Good people. Bad people. People who would either shoot you and take your stuff or offer you food and shelter. How to tell which ones were in there?

You couldn't.

The best you could do nowadays was try your luck and see. If it went great then well done, you hadn't screwed up. If not, well, you were dead or wished you were. Would I take the risk?

I continued to watch for a while more, pondering over this new dilemma and watching for any movement from behind the windows when I got the distinct feeling I wasn't alone out here. I might have just brushed it off as paranoia from being in the dark but it seemed the Collie felt it too, since she swivelled and dropped low, growling at the darkness. I followed her gaze as much as I could – which admittedly wasn't all that much – to see a black shadow moving further into the woods. Caught off-guard by this, my hand rested on the gun tucked into my shorts and I took a cautious step backwards.

What was THAT?

I could definitely tell it wasn't a roamer. Its movements were way too precise and fast for that. So it was a person? What would a person be doing out here in the middle of the night, watching a church? I winced as that question hit my mind. Okay, so that was what I was basically doing but I had a good excuse. It would be one hell of a coincidence if there was another person just like me out here, who had stumbled across the exact same church I had in the same exact same part of the woods on the exact same day and time of night. It was just a little too farfetched for me to put stock in it.

Eventually, when I was sure that whatever/whoever it was didn't know I was here and wasn't going to jump out the trees and attack me, I turned my attention back to the church to see the lights were still on and steady as ever. I bit my lip as I considered the choice. Leave and take my chances with the now non-vacant woods in the dead of night or go into the church and pray that they wouldn't just kill me. Which did I choose? I chose neither. In the end, I decided to creep up to one of the windows and peer in, see what I was dealing with here. Glancing down at Liesel a moment I patted my thigh lightly to make sure she would follow me, before I crouched down and crept across the clearing to right underneath the window, checking both left and right to make sure no one had seen me or anything. I pressed my bite-side into the panelling of the wall and took a breath before I rose up fully, having to go onto my tiptoes just to get my eye line over the bottom of the window frame.

The inside was predictable. I was peering through a window in the back of the church, so before me was an altar which was being used as a buffet table, littered with lit candles, but I could see it also held a few books too. The aisle of red carpet led straight up to the double wooden doors of the church's entrance at the far end and there were sturdy wooden pews on either side of the aisle. After taking in what it looked like, I froze when I realised there were people sitting in the pews. On the left there was a pretty brunette woman who had messy hair that just fell to her shoulders sitting a few pews back and there was an African American man dressed in black doing something which I couldn't see on the first pew. On the other side was…

I narrowed my eyes and blinked a few times. There was a KID sat there. Not like a proper child, but a boy about my age with messy brown hair and wearing a dirty flannel shirt. Beside him on the pew sat what looked to be a laundry basket which confused me for a bit until I saw a hand emerge from the basket, causing the boy to look over and reach into it. I couldn't believe it.

They had a BABY here?!

Just as I realised this I heard Liesel growling from beside me but like when I was bitten, I was too late to duck and cover. Just as I glanced at her I felt the cold metal of a gun barrel gently touching the back of my head. I froze in fear, swearing at myself for messing this up in such a colossal scale. I heard a deep southern voice rasp out from behind me.

'Hold it there. Raise your hands.'

Usually I didn't make mistakes of this magnitude, but I had royally screwed this up.

Shit.

So, we see out first glimpse of the church and the group }:). And we can all guess who the one who found her is. Chapter 3 coming shortly, so don't panic…