A/N: First off, thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story. You guys and gals are awesome. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.
Delaney Scott was tired. Bone weary, can't keep her eyes open, exhausted. She had driven all night and now she just wanted to find someplace to sleep. Somewhere off the beaten path, secluded and quiet.
Preferably walker free if such a place existed.
She wasn't holding her breath though.
The trip from Marietta had been excruciatingly slow. Before, the drive would have taken thirty minutes but now it had taken almost three days. It was the cars. They clogged the roadways, reaching from horizon to horizon. It took her hours to bypass all the roadblocks and obstacles, sometimes she even had to get out and push a car or two out of the way, but once she had cleared that hurtle, she had come upon another: a graveyard.
Bodies had been strewn everywhere.
In the streets, hanging from cars, everywhere. Before she had left the radio station she worked at, the last emergency broadcast transmission to go out over the airwaves had urged everyone to head to Atlanta. There was a refugee center there, the transmission had said. Had promised. Food and safety, free of infection.
Now it appeared Atlanta was only another dead-end. No pun intended.
Laney had wanted to cry. This, Atlanta, had been one of her last hopes and how she found it crushed and destroyed, full of rotting corpses. But crying wasn't going to help. It never did. So she buckled down and forged on, even if on the inside she was slowly falling apart.
As she drove past demolished buildings, the only thought that kept repeating in her head was that it all looked like a horror film. A really gruesome horror set. Something straight out of Hollywood. She didn't want to admit it, but the sight unnerved her, shook her to her very core. In an effort to calm herself,
Laney reached over to turn on the radio. Music had always soothed her soul. That's why she had become a radio DJ in the first place. It was her drug. And now her body needed a fix.
It was only after she heard the static, the byproduct of dead air, that she realized what she had done. Laney had held her head up after seeing her friends and family ripped apart, had soldiered on even after the carnage of Marietta, after discovering the complete destruction of Atlanta. But that white noise was the last straw. Because now, the fact registered that…she was really alone. Laney had finally broke down and cried.
After her breakdown, she kept driving. She didn't know where, she didn't even know how much gas she had left, but she kept driving. Luckily for her, and it was time something went right for her, after she left Atlanta behind, and only a few miles up the road, she saw a little dirt road just up the road. Surrounded by woods and deserted, it looked perfect, just what she had been looking for. Laney drove until she was completely out of sight from the road and turned off the ignition. Taking a deep but unsteady breath, she laid her head down on the steering wheel. For a few minutes she just sat there in silence, just breathing. She thought she had no more tears to cry but, listening to the static still pouring out of her radio she broke down again and let out all the pain in her battered soul. She cried, screamed, and pounded her fists against the dash. She begged God why and then cursed Him when he did not respond. And, when her energy was spent, she fell into a deep sleep, too exhausted to even think of getting into the back seat to hide.
For the first time since the world had gone to hell, Delaney slept in peace. She didn't dream, didn't stir. She just slept.
When she woke up, the world around her was pitch black and silent. Eerily silent. Having gone on thousands of camping trips as a child, she knew the woods were never this quiet. All the drowsiness left her; it was like being doused in cold water, all her senses went into high alert.
Scrambling, she reached into the backseat, grabbing a weapon at random. It was a Louisville Slugger signed by Chipper Jones. It was from her father's prized Atlanta Braves collection. Throat tight, she ran her hands over the autograph, and whispered an apology to both her father and Chipper.
She wished she had a power hitter like Chipper with her. He'd knock some walkers' heads off like it was Spring Training. A broken laugh trickled out of her the absurd thought.
Turning in her seat, but keeping half an eye on the forest, she turned in her seat, reaching around to the back. She needed food, something to calm her nerves. She grabbed a box of crackers, some peanut butter, and two bottles of water. Just as she started to turn back around, headlights suddenly glared through the rear window.
She jumped in surprise and her heart stopped for a moment before jump starting into over drive. Instinctively, she checked the doors making sure they were locked. Then she tightened her grip on her bat.
If this was it, she would go out swinging if she had to and by God she was taking someone down with her.
The car that had driven up behind her came to a stop and slowly, two figures stepped out of the vehicle. Judging from their outlines, they were both men. Well-built men.
Laney cursed and started a mantra under her breath. Just breathe, relax, just breathe, relax.
After what felt like an eternity, the two men finally reached the drivers side. Laney was sure her heart was going to stop.
She couldn't see their faces but suddenly, one of the men shined his flashlight into the car; the other held his gun ready to fire if necessary.
Judging the situation to be safe, the man with the weapon holstered his gun and took a small step back. Mr. Flashlight used the handle to knock on the window.
The sound made Laney just about jump out of her skin. Trying to breath, one hand still clenched tight around the handle of her bat, she cracked the window, not trusting these guys.
"W…what do you want,"
she demanded, voice tight. The manners instilled in her by her mama went out the proverbial window. They had no use in the apocalypse.
The man with the light tilted his head to the side and replied, "Just checking to see if you were alive our if you were a walker." Even though it was dark, Laney could see that he was a nice enough looking fella, dark hair, blue eyes, kind smile. She wasn't about to fall for it though.
"Well as you can see, I'm not a walker so you can be getting on your way now."
While she was happy to know others still existed, she wasn't gonna jump out of her car and throw her arms around them. Just cause the world had gone to shit didn't mean rapists didn't still exists. Life really freaking sucked.
"Look, we ain't looking to hurt you ma'am. We're cops. Well…least we used to be. No need to give us any lip alright?"
Laney decided she did not like the man with the gun. He had an obvious attitude problem. She was getting ready to rip him a new one but before she could open her mouth, his companion beat her to the punch.
"Damn it, Shane. You're not helping. She's only being cautious and bless her for it. How many times did we preach safety to all the women in King County? You never get out of your car after dark unless it's a well-lit area remember? Safety 101."
Shane looked down at the ground, his jaw working. He was furious that his companion had reprimanded him in front of this bitch.
"C'mon Rick. All I was trying to do was invite her back to camp with us. Ain't safe to travel alone these days. Safety 101 right? "
At the mention of their camp, Laney's head shot up. Camp? There was a camp? Gripping her bat as tight as she could, Laney made a decision and cautiously opened the door, stepping out onto the ground. She kept both men in her sights at all times. When she was safely on the ground, she looked at Rick and inquired about their camp. "It's bout two miles down this road," he said, motioning to the dirt path they were on. "We have a few people, not much, and some supplies. You're welcome to join us ma'am." Laney pursed her lips and she must have seemed hesitant because Rick smiled at her kindly.
"If you don't feel comfortable, you can leave tomorrow. But judging by the looks of it, I think you could use a decent night of sleep."
After a brief moment of consideration, she nodded. "Alright. Well…um lead the way." Rick smiled and told her there were no turn offs and the road was too narrow for them to pass her. He said just continue going straight and she'd run right into it. So, Laney got back into her car and led the way back into their camp.