Chapter One:
How The Fuck Did This Happen?
When the Board of Culinary decide it'd be a fun idea to relocate a lucky employee to a new location, most would jump at the chance. Some might even say that you have a one in a million chance.
Why did I have to be the unlucky one?
Oh, and to top it off, they thought it'd be even more entertaining to relocate me out of Australia and into a whole new country. Yeah, that's just the ice-cream on the culinary sundae. The topping? Moving me to Atlanta, USA and the cherry on the top was it was for five years.
Fuck my life.
I've been in Atlanta for two weeks and already hate the place. My boss is a snooty bitch who secretly smokes in the cool room and my roommate is an obnoxious pervert who is constantly trying to grab a handful of my ass. Oh, not to mention the head chef is a racist bastard.
"Oi! Emu Rider!" he barked and I rolled my eyes, poking my head out of the cool room as I carried a box of red oak lettuce in my arms. "Hand me some nab sauce!"
I didn't say anything as I walked past him and gently placed the box down onto the ground below the sink before turning around and doing what he asked.
"Would it kill you to say please?" I asked sarcastically and he narrowed his brown eyes at me in warning.
"Why don't you fuck a sheep huh?" he sneered, snatching the bucket off of me and placing it on his bench.
"Wrong country."
I ignored him and carried on with my work. I was conscious of the glares I was getting at the back of my head. It was childish of him but for some godly reason he just couldn't see it. Maybe he was thrown at the wall when he was a baby. His Mum must've hated him for all I know.
As I was making my hamburger, I realised I needed some iceberg lettuce. Quickly, I ducked into the cool and went to grab some when the door slammed shut. I jumped in surprise, turning around only to have rough hands grab my face and slam me against the shelf behind me.
"You listen here you little slut," Greg hissed, the smell of eggs and Tabaco hit my nose like a wave, making me gag slightly. "This is my kitchen. You are just some under bred, emu-fucker who needs to learn her place. This ain't your back water country."
I glared and spat on his face just for the fun of it. Figuring if I made some trouble and got fired I'd either get relocated or sent back home. I was hoping for the latter.
He slowly wiped his face and his eyes became murderous. Wrapping two hands around my neck, the air in my lungs was suddenly cut off and I choked. Kicking at him furiously, rough gasps escaped my lips.
"Stop…" I choked out before kicking him into his crotch. The impact hit him really hard and caused him to groan, loosening the grip on my neck. With the strength I had, I shoved him against door and punched him in the jaw. He collapsed onto the ground, groaning in pain.
Standing back breathless, I stared at him, my heart pounding hard in my chest so much that I could hear it.
"You…fucking bitch…" he moaned, trying to reach out to me but I stood back and walked around him, throwing the door open.
"Not bad for an emu-fucker huh?" I asked, walking out and finding the kitchen completely empty. Frowning, I walked over to the door and still saw no one there. "Hello? Where did you guys go?"
I was answered with silence and an acid feeling in my stomach sent terror through my body. Something was wrong and it wasn't safe to stay here. That, and my hair was standing on end.
I quickly ran back in, grabbed my small white back pack, and left the restaurant and saw people getting into their cars and getting out of here. It was chaos from what I could see; nothing good to come of it.
So I ran, back to my apartment flat.
I dodged the busy crowds as I arrived at the small building. Running to the elevator, I pressed the button but it wasn't working.
You have got to be kidding me! I swore under my breath and took the three flights of stairs. As soon as I arrived at my floor I stopped short when I heard a hissing groan.
Right in front of me was a man, but missing his hand and chunks of his stomach.
I froze at once, staring wide eyed as he was too occupied eating a dead woman on the ground at the very end of the hall. My heart pounded harder now as fear hit me like a ton of bricks.
Get your gear and get out I told myself, quietly moving to my door and turning the knob slowly. When it clicked, I looked at the man who was still preoccupied with his feast. Breathing in quietly, I slowly opened the door and jumped right into my apartment, closing the door shut.
As soon as my back was against the door, I let out the breath I had been holding. "Oh my god, oh my fucking god…" I said to myself, my body slightly shaking. I could hear screams coming from the city outside and ran to the window to only witness more and more people either fleeing or getting eaten.
"I need to get out of here," I murmured to myself, leaving the window and grabbing my hunting gear. Back home, my Dad taught me how to hunt since he was in the army and thought a girl needed to know how to take care of herself. Considering Australia was home to most of the deadliest creatures on earth it was a good idea.
I opened my wardrobe and grabbed the giant blue box. Throwing off the lid, my fingers made contact with my hunting bow and twenty set of arrows. Without waiting a moment, I threw the arrows in the holder and clipped it onto my shoulder.
I found my knife belt and tucked in two hunting knives and grabbed my bow. Then I went to the kitchen and raided the cupboards of all the dry food and canned foods along with a can opener. Filling the back with all of the essentials, some clothes and blankets, I took the moment to glance outside.
There were barely any people left alive outside, just most of those…things. Eating people that were on the ground. I swallowed the vomit back and grabbed my car keys. When my hand was on the door knob, I slowly opened it up and saw the man was still happily eating.
Get to the garage and get the hell out, that's the plan. No stopping I told myself as I snuck past and ran downstairs and back down to the car park at the restaurant. No one was paying any attention to me and that was fine by me, better actually.
Just as I found my Ford Falcon, I heard a high pitch cry coming from a red FWD across the road. It sounded like a child's….so much for the plan. I threw my bags in the boot and backseat before running over. In the back seat was a three-year old girl with short brown hair and dark brown eyes.
She was sitting in the baby chair, strapped in while her parents were nowhere to be found. A note was attached to the back of the front seat and I ripped it off.
Dead are rising, no baggage to be brought along.
"Those bastards," I muttered under my breath, ripping the note up and opening the car. She stopped crying and looked at me in curiosity. Gun shots were coming from down the street and I made my decision. "Shh, don't be scared. I'm gonna take you somewhere safe."
I unclipped the straps and carried her on my hip, grabbing the child seat and jogging over to my car. I installed the seat first before tucking her back in. She seemed calm, evening looking outside. I smiled at her before looking down the street. More gun shots were heard and something told me to get out of the city.
"No longer safe here." I muttered and closed the door, getting into the car and driving down the opposite street. There was a bunch of different ways to get out of the city, so I took the route that went into the forest and far away.
As soon as it got dark, I was at least a thirty miles from the city and could still see it in the distance. I parked the car and got out, checking on the girl who had fallen asleep.
My ears picked up helicopters flying over from the east and looked over to see them bombing the city. "They're killing everyone in the streets," I shook my head and looked over at the girl. "Thank god we got out."
I continued to watch the horrific scene as I leaned against the car, wondering how my family was doing back home. Were they going through the same thing as I was? What's happening with the military? So many questioned that were getting unanswered.
I ran a hand through my long brown curls and sighed. "How the fuck did this happen, Minerva?" I asked myself, starring up at the night sky.
It's been two weeks since it all began. I renamed the toddler as Artemis, a name I've always treasured and wanted to name my own daughter that. Considering how the world's gone shit, she attached to herself to me like I was her mother. It was only fitting.
Being up on high ground was the best solution, so I made a human nest through three trees that had connected to each other. By the time the sunlight had hit my eyes, I was already dressed in my leather pants, black army boots, white singlet and black leather jacket.
As I was tying my hair back into a bun, something tugged at my pants and I looked down. Artemis was looking up at me, rubbing her tired eyes as she held onto the teddy bear I found in the car along with her. I went back and ransacked it, finding more blankets and some toys for her.
"I'll be back soon, stay in the tree like a good girl," I told her, bending down and tucking a strand of her short hair behind her ear. "Can you do that for me?"
She nodded. "Wes Minnie." She answered and I smiled, kissing her forehead. Artemis still had the vocabulary of a three-year old but I could understand bits and pieces.
"I'll be back, just play with your dolls." I told her, climbing down the tree and landing on the ground. That's when I took off into the woods.
I walked cautiously through the woods, trending carefully to quieten my footsteps. There was no telling what was out here anymore, not since the dead started walking. And let me tell you, that is some scary shit. Nothing in life prepares you for things like that. No 'How To Survive A Zombie Apocalypse' in any book store.
Bending down, I looked carefully at the small dropping on the ground, scanning further up and seeing tiny scratches in the earth. I followed them, keeping silent and guard up.
Soon I found more evidence and kept going, my heart beating at the idea of eating cooked squirrel tonight. Instead of relying on canned and packaged food, I took to hunting again.
A flash of brown caught my attention and instinct took over, hitting the squirrel as it scurried up the tree with a clean arrow shot. Beaming, I walked up and went to pull my arrow out when I heard a grunt of frustration, followed by a few curse words.
Flinching, I turned and found blue eyes staring back.
So recently I've been getting into the popular TV show called The Walking Dead. And I wanted to join in on the fun so I've decided to write a fanfic for the show. Now don't be pissed if you hate it 'cause I don't care. I like it so I wanna share what's been invading my mind for a while now.
