Walk to the end
Chapter one: Reunions
I sat on one of the crates helping the dark haired woman, whose name I now knew was Lori, and the young blonde, Amy, clean up some of the mushrooms the group has collected from the woods. I didn't know much about mushrooms, but I did know some traits which could tell if they are poisonous or not.
"So Thalia, tell us something about yourself." Amy asked hoping to get to know me. After all she was the one who asked me to join them so we could get to know each other.
"Well there's not much to tell. Before all this I lived a pretty normal life. Had family, friends, went to college and studied psychology." I shortly listed off the facts, but as I mentioned college both women looked at me seeming impressed.
"What made you study that?" Lori asked me as she grabbed yet another mushroom.
"I suppose I just wanted to help people who needed it. It's what I've been doing my whole life you could say." And it was true, it might not have been the whole reason, but it was definitely a part of it. And whoever knew me, my friends and family, wherever I went I was categorized as the kind one. Always willing to help, listen and give advice.
"Where were you when all this started?" Lori asked after a moment of silence. And although I didn't really want to talk about that I still decided to answer.
"I was actually visiting my family back home, took a small break from school." I commented deciding to carefully pick my words, not wanting to reveal as much. However, I noticed Lori giving me a confused look. When this whole thing started it was the middle of the second semester with no brakes or anything even near and she seemed aware. She knew I was lying or at least not saying everything, but before she could call me out on it Amy spoke up with another question.
"Where's your family now?" She asked and her eyes widened as she realized she said the words out loud. I looked at the floor thinking back to the time when the two were turning. I had no way to help them, no way to save them. My eyes teared up, but I blinked the tears away before I answered.
"They got infected, died of the fever soon after." I shortly answered as the two women looked at me with sympathy in their eyes.
"I'm sorry…" Amy said obviously feeling guilty she made me talk about it. I gave her a small smile as I reassured her it was alright. "Do you have any other family?" She asked me hoping to make it better in some way.
"I do, my brother actually." I stated with a smile. "He's actually the reason I was headed to Atlanta, last I heard he was there." I added making her nod.
"I have an older sister, Andrea. She's actually out on a supply run with a couple of others from our group." Amy explained to me with a smile as she talked about her sister. After that another silence fell upon us as we sorted through the mushrooms. "You know I have a question." Amy spoke again making Lori and I look up from our hands doing the work. "How do we even tell if they're poison?" She asked making Lori beside me realize that she didn't know either.
"There's only one sure way I know of." Lori said as she looked at the mushrooms piled up.
"Ask Shane when he gets back?" Amy asked knowingly.
"Yeah, you got it." Lori answered before getting up and thanking us for the help as she walked off to the woods wanting to look for more food for the camp as she had said.
"You know I could take a look, sort them out…" I said catching Amy's attention again. "Though I wouldn't fully trust myself so it would be better if someone checked what I did, just for safety measures." I added making the girl laugh.
"You are full of surprises, you know that?" Amy asked me jokingly making me laugh as she did as well.
"I've been told once or twice before." I said with a small smirk playing at my lips.
A little while later Amy and I were sitting in some chairs near the RV and talking about ourselves and our lives before this all started. I found out she was into fishing along with her sister and also that she adores mythology and mermaids which made me laugh. She might be twenty four, but Amy was definitely a child at heart and that only made me like her more. Suddenly our conversation is cut short as static and noises started to come from the radio making Amy quickly stand up and walk over to it with me following behind her.
"Hello, base camp! Can anybody out there hear me? Base camp, this is T-Dog. Anybody hear me?" A voice came over the sound however we could barely hear anything as it is. Dale ended up being the one who grabbed the radio and stared to talk back.
"Hello? Hello? Reception's bad on this end. Repeat. Repeat." Dale said into the radio as everyone hoped the people on the other end would hear it.
"Shane is that you?" The same voice asked sounding slightly more hopeful. It only took me a couple of hours to realize that Shane was what you'd consider the leader here. Everyone listened to what he had to say and did what he told them.
"Is that them?" Lori asked as she and Shane walked over to us with surprise written on their faces.
"We're in some deep shit. We're trapped in the department store." The man on the other end explained making everyone look amongst each other looking more worried with every second.
"He said they're trapped?" Shane asked wanting to confirm what he had heard through the static as he worriedly ran a hand through his hair.
"There are geeks all over the place. Hundreds of 'em. We're surrounded." The voice kept repeating obviously hoping that someone would come and help them or at least do something to come up with an escape plan. I wanted to help, but I've never been to the department store they were in so I was of no use not knowing the layout.
"T-Dog, repeat that last. Repeat." Dale said into the radio however, before anything else could be said the sound went dead. No more static, no more voices… Nothing.
"He said the department store." Lori stated looking around the group with questioning eyes as shock and fear were written on her face.
"I heard it too." Dale reassured her. They both turned to Shane as Lori called out his name about to take a step towards him as the small group now gathered waited to hear what they'd do next.
"No way. We do not go after them. We do not risk the rest of the group. Y'all know that." Shane addressed the group knowing very well what all of them wanted to do. Go and save their friends and family.
"So we're just goanna leave her there?" Amy asked sounding shocked and angry at the same tame as she glared at Shane who stood beside her. And let me tell you, the girl was always happy from what I've noticed, trying to be cheerful and in a good mood. Seeing her angry wasn't a pretty sight.
"Look Amy, I know this isn't easy-" Shane tried to reason with her, but was interrupted before he could finish.
"She volunteered to go to help the rest of us." Amy spoke up as she glared up at Shane.
"I know, and she knew the risks, right? See, if she's trapped, she's gone. So we just have to deal with that. There's nothing we can do." Shane explained to her and while I knew it must be horrible to think of the people they knew dying in that department store I also knew Shane had a point. If they were trapped and had no way of getting out of the building, there also can't be a way into it. It would just risk lives.
"She's my sister you son of a bitch!" Amy yelled angrily before walking away from the scene. Lori gave Shane a look before deciding to go and follow Amy. I could hear the thunder in the distance making me look up at the sky hoping it wouldn't rain. Looking back down I noticed Carl's horrified expression making me feel bad for the boy. He shouldn't have heard that, but then again, he probably would've started asking questions when members of the group didn't come back.
"Come on bud, let's go do something." I told him and he looked up at me with a small smile. He eagerly nodded and started to walk away from the small group that was still at the RV making me follow him. I looked back one last time and caught Shane's eye as he looked at me. He mouthed a thank you as he looked over to Carl making me nod before I followed after the boy.
Around an hour later of Carl telling me about his favourite games and talking about how much fun he has playing with Sophia (who I found out was the girl who talked to me when I first met the group) Lori came over to us saying how Carl should get a haircut so he can actually see things around him making the boy groan loudly. This made me laugh slightly as I moved away from the two, but not before Lori stopped me.
"Thanks for distracting him." She said gratefully making me smile at her.
"Don't worry about it, he's a nice kid." I said which made her smile as well as she thanked me again before moving over to Carl. Looking around myself I noticed everyone was talking to their friends and families making me realize I had nothing to do at the moment. However a voice from above me made me slightly jump in surprise.
"Wanna come up here and join me? It's a nice view!" Dale said with a welcoming smile as I smiled back before climbing up the ladder. I stood on the roof of the RV and looked around. I had to admit it was kinda beautiful. You could see a bit further into the woods, even the outskirts of the city if you tried.
"You were right, it is a nice view." I commented making the elder man laugh at me.
"It's also nice to come up here when everyone's disagreeing down there." He commented with a chuckle making me laugh.
"I don't find that hard to believe." I told him with a smile as the two of us looked out into the distance. We stood there silently for a couple of minutes before a loud sound made us both look around as we tried to see something. It sounded like a car alarm but I wasn't sure. Dale grabbed a pair of binoculars and scanned the roads for any sign of life. It could've just been a sick one bumping into an abandoned car or something.
"Talk to me Dale, Thalia!" Shane yelled up to us wanting to know what was going on as he ran closer readying his gun if it was needed.
"I can't tell yet!" Dale yelled back as he scanned the area.
"Is it them? Are they back?" Amy asked as she moved over as well, hoping her sister was alright. I sympathised with her and for her sake I really did hope it was Andrea.
"I'll be damned." Dale mumbled to himself as he handed me the binoculars so I could see what he did. A red sports car was headed this way zigzagging through the road as it moved.
"What is it?" Amy asked from bellow as she heard Dale's comment.
"A stolen car is my guess." Dale answered her not removing his eyes from the road now being able to see the car without the binoculars.
"How the hell are we goanna turn that thing off?!" Lori asked sounding worried and pissed at the same time.
"Pop the hood and disconnect the battery, it'll kill the alarm!" I yelled down making sure that whoever was the first person to the car would know what to do.
"Holly crap, turn that damn thing off!" Dale yelled over to the person as I heard the door getting slammed shut, but couldn't see since I was moving back to the ladder getting ready to go down. As I did, along with trying to ignore my fear of heights and realizing it was a bad idea climbing up there, I could hear Shane asking the person to pop the hood and Amy asking about Andrea. Once I was down I walked over to Jim as he took care of the alarm while everyone was yelling at the driver at how dumb he must be.
"The sound would've echoed all over the place, there is no way a normal human could pinpoint its exact location, and let's not start on someone whose brain barely works." I commented over the yelling without removing my eyes from the car. I overheard some of the troubles Dale was having with his RV, some of these parts will surely be helpful.
"T?" The driver asked and as I finally had the chance to hear the voice clearly for the first time my world froze. I would recognize that voice anywhere, and nobody called me that anymore. I moved away from the car, ignoring the confused looks I was getting from the people around us as they moved aside letting me look at the person.
"Oh my God…" I mumbled to myself before running over and throwing my arms around him in a deathly squeeze which he quickly returned wrapping his arms around my waist. We stood in silence like that, nobody wanting to break the reunion. However, soon I pulled away and slapped Glenn across the back of his head with a glare.
"OW! What was that for?!" He asked sounding shocked but didn't bother hiding a small amused smile playing at his lips.
"Hoping to activate your brain so you'd start thinking clearly." I told him hearing a couple of laughs from behind us.
"Sorry, I really am, okay? At least I got a cool car!" He commented with a sheepish smile as he addressed everyone around us. I rolled my eyes at him, but before I could say anything else another van came down the road, parking close to the red beauty. A blonde woman jumped out of the back calling out Amy's name making me think that must be Andrea. The two sisters hugged each other tightly making a small smile appear on my face as I looked back at Glenn who kissed the side of my head as he had his arm around my shoulders. I finally had my brother back! And he was alive and well! The smile on my face was inerasable as I watched people reuniting with their friends and families. I haven't been this happy (or seen anyone this happy) ever since this whole thing started, and that was a long time.
"I thought we had lost you folks for sure." Dale commented as he embraced one of the men from the van.
"New guy…" Glenn exclaimed from beside me making me look up at him. "Got us out!" He stated making me give out a sigh of relief. I didn't even know he was in that store, and now that it dawned on me I couldn't feel more relieved that he managed to get out. And hey, another new person… At least I wouldn't be the only one!
"New guy?" Shane asked sounding confused. "Were you travelling with someone?" Shane turned to me making me shake my head understanding that he must've thought this could be someone I got separated from.
"Yeah, crazy Vato just got into town. Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello." The man who stood beside Dale yelled towards the van making everyone turn to look at him as he exited from the driver's side. "The guy's a cop, like you." He added as he turned back to Shane. I looked at the man as he walked towards the group wearing his police uniform as his eyes roamed over the new faces. Suddenly shock spread around his features as his eyes landed on Shane who seemed to stumble in surprise. Then the cop's eyes found Lori and Carl who stood further away from the group with sad faces. He mumbled something to himself before quickly walking towards the two. As they spotted him, Carl's face lit up as he ran towards the man calling out to his dad. The man kneeled down catching his son in his arms as everyone looked at them with smiled on their faces. He picked Carl up before moving towards Lori whose eyes were wide with shock before she hugged him and Carl. The family held each other as everyone smiled happily. Today was a great day, everyone ended up happy and reunited. And to be honest, recently I've lost all hope of having good and happy days in this world. That was obviously wrong… Soon everyone started moving back closer to camp and Glenn and I followed not letting go of each other. I still had a hard time grasping the situation. All I did know was that I finally had my brother, and that I am never letting him out of my sights again.
