Hello everyone, just a little warning for the squeamish that there are hints of abuse and killing in this chapter, but nothing that is in your face.
Enjoy!

I do not own the Walking Dead

Chapter 10: Family Flashback

The sun was not up yet when Sierra managed to open her eyes. The moment that they were, she wished she could close them again, go back into that blissful unconsciousness of sleep, but it wouldn't happen. Instead she was awake; the only thought she had was of everything that had happened over the last few months and it made her numb.

For a while she was not sure how she was going to live without her brothers, but here she was, waking up sad, alone and alive.

Trix wiggled next her, waking up as Sierra stirred in her sleeping bag, he was company enough for her. She reached out gently, rubbing her dirty hands along his ears. In the dim firelight she could see her broken nails, some she had chewed down until they bled but all that she could really see was the blood on her arm. It wasn't hers, but it stood out vividly on her pale skin, even though she was covered in dirt. There hadn't been many walkers to clear out of the way for the group, they had been lucky. It had been almost two weeks, at least she thinks it was two, no one had a watch or a calendar or the chance to remember how many nights since they had lost anyone and Sierra was grateful.

As she laid there, she could not hear any noise, other than her own quiet breath and the soft snores of the others lying around her. They all tried not to group together, it was too hot for that but also to make sure if they were attacked, at least some would be able to get away, but as Sierra stood up, she found everyone huddled together. She knew it was out of terror, she didn't like the idea of being lying down somewhere alone, no one to watch your back, no one for the walkers to bite at first.

Quietly she managed to step out of her sleeping bag, folding it up and out of the way as Trix swiftly stepped over the sleeping people. The crumbling stone walls of whatever building had been here was enough protection, more than what they had all had for a while. Sierra followed Trix, looking up at the clear sky as the sun chased the few remaining bright stars away. Stepping over people and careful not to get tangled in makeshift clotheslines, Sierra took a deep breath at a cool breeze that found its way through the trees. She had no clue where they were, she hadn't known where they were or where they were going for a long time now. When they first left their home town, they knew to go for Atlanta, knew of the CDC that was there and the army safe haven but the closer they got to it, the more they realised that it was unlikely. That and it became harder and harder to keep to one path. Now days it wasn't so much about getting to Atlanta, but more so about finding food and a safe place to rest for even one night.

This place must have been some sort of caravan park, there were a few cabins close together but useless, no food no nothing, just empty wooden boxes that no one liked to sleep in, even if it was the closest they would get to a coffin.

Making sure that Trix was beside her and that her belongings were with her, Sierra was ready to go for a walk, as well as see if there was anything worth catching for breakfast and make sure no skin eaters decided to get too close to her group. As she was counting through her arrows, Sierra flinched slightly as a few of the men moved around the camp. Guns were strapped to them and they carried large machetes; there was no way anything could be getting into this camp, but she wished they didn't have to look so mean and act so rude. She was about to slip away and between the trees when she heard her name. For a split second, despite her brain telling her it wasn't, her heart yearned for it to be her mothers. As she turned, the woman stepped out from where everyone was still sleeping. Greying hair sat frizzy around her aging face and Sierra smiled and took the few steps back to help Donna over the last person.

'Where are you running off to at this time? You should be resting.'
'And so should you, I'm just going to go see if there is anything to catch.'
Donna patted Sierras hand, her eyes looking out in the direction Sierra was heading and then back to her face. Donna had been the one there that kept Sierra sane, had reminded her that she was lucky to be here, that they were lucky to have her but even though Sierra appreciated her kind words she knew that it wasn't luck.
How could this be considered lucky?

'You be careful, make sure something doesn't catch you.'
'I promise, I am tougher than I look.'
With one final smile from her friend, Sierra quickly marched into the surrounding forest, not wanting anyone or anything else to hold her up. These were the small moments she enjoyed, out here it was almost as if the world was still normal, everything was still untouched. Nature had taken back over a lot of things, it only bugged Sierra that they couldn't eat trees, or that the walkers didn't eat it either. She remembered for a while she had hoped that they would simply stop; if they were dead, surely they would crumble away as they decayed and hopefully if they didn't eat anything, they would starve to death. But months passed and the walkers still came out in full force, they didn't need anything to survive, they were dead.
Sometimes she wished she was dead as well.

Keeping her bow tight in her hand and an arrow at the ready, Sierra scanned everything around her in the hopes of finding something that she could take back. If she did maybe people would stop looking at her like someone who had lost her mind, it felt like it, but she hadn't. She just wanted to be normal in the group, do her part for the group rather than mope around.

Carefully placing her footing, Sierra kept quiet as they stalked through the forest. The sun was in the sky by the time she thought of turning back, the sweet smell of morning dew gone and replaced with something a little fouler. She could remember when she would come home from school or work and open the front door only to be assaulted by the stench of alcohol.
Trix growled suddenly and Sierra instantly stopped, ears straining to hear what her canine companion could. Sure enough a walker stumbled forward, black eyes locking on Sierra as it stretched its arms out. The sound of joints cracking reassured her that this was not a walker that she needed to run from, no because as she stood there, it stumbled over a few fallen branches, collapsing into a heap before her. It groaned on frustration, long thin arms stretching out in the vain hope of catching her, its teeth clashing together as if it could already imagine sinking into her flesh and tasting her blood on its cold lips. Sierra just stood there, looking into the face of the dead man, wondering; who was he when he was alive?

Had he been a loving son? A father? A brother? Had he been a good man with an honest job or was he a criminal? Who knew anymore but as Sierra watched the corpse twist around, trying to find its feet, all she could see of the walker was something that reminded her of her father.

A drunk cruel man that stumbled around the house, arms open for affection that would only end with him beating them. She was glad he was gone, hoped that he was dead like this guy. Gripping her arrow, Sierra marched over to the snapping corpse, driving the arrow through its skull with some ease. She didn't care about the blood anymore, even as it splattered up her arm as she ripped the arrow back out. Her only wish was that she had had the courage to do this years ago to her father, to put an end to his torture of the body and the mind. For years Sierra had hid in her room when he was home, walking on glass and living on a knifes edge, just like her brothers and mother did also. They couldn't escape him, they couldn't live with him yet he was always there with a fist or whatever was more useful or fun at the time.

Sierra cringed at the memory of the leather belt down her back, punishment for simply being within his reach. She knew that her brothers had it worse, their mother had withdrawn into herself, leaving her children to fend off the monster of a father and care for the farm. It had been tough, but Sierra knew it could have been a whole lot worse.

She thanked whatever god there was that her brothers had finally got the courage to drive him away, she wasn't sure how they ever managed it but she just knew that it was the first time in a long time that she could wake up without dreading what the day had in store for her.

Rubbing the back of her neck, Sierra pushed all those memories aside, hoping to loose then forever. That was the past, it didn't matter anymore. Nothing did. Her mother was dead, her brothers were dead, everything she had ever known was rattled and pretty much dead also.
Looking up towards the sun, Sierra sighed as she realised she had stayed out too long, people would notice and get angry or concerned. She just didn't want to leave here, leave the quiet and the beauty but as she rubbed the blood between her fingers and looked back down at the walker, she felt her heart sink heavily in her chest.

Spinning around Sierra started the trek back, pushing her loose hair over her shoulder and giving Trix a grin. They had each other, and if Sierra was honest to herself, she was so grateful to be part of the group, even if she was not as useful as others; she could track and hunt and that had been proven multiple times on the road as they moved. The group needed her and she needed them. If she was on her own, she didn't think she could survive long.
It just would have been nicer to have her family with her.
Even with her blood stained fingers, Sierra lifted the locket from her chest, staring down at its shiny surface as she smiled, remembering the loving grins she would get from her brothers, the warm embrace that came with the gift; it made her weak, she wanted that back more than anything. They had been through so much already, why should this have been denied to them? The chance to fight for life is together. They could have done it, the three of them, Sierra had no doubt at all.
Beside her Trix tensed, his ears pricking up and circling, eyes focused dead ahead of them. Sierra crouched, not sure if that meant walkers close or food, either way she was ready, but not for what came.

A scream ripped through the trees, a shrill cry of the dying and Sierra felt her skin prickle with fear. It wasn't close, but neither was the camp, and that was all that was ahead of her. Breaking into a sprint, Sierra whistled for Trix to keep up with her as she ran towards the camp, her stomach twisting with the fear of not knowing who had died, not knowing if this was her fault.
She ran until her legs burnt, but even as she got closer to the camp, the screams only got louder. Get heart was pounding, lungs sucking in air desperately, she had to get there, she had to help! But ad she broke through the line of trees and to the clearing, she felt her stomach hurl and her heart stop.

The camp was gone, overrun by walkers. They streamed in like a burst tap, appearing from the trees as if they had been camouflaged. Instantly Sierra hung her bow over her shoulders, pulling out her knife instead as she hacked her way through the walkers. All around her were people that she knew, screaming as the flesh was ripped off in chunks, blood pooling on the ground as they tried desperately to escape the clutches of the dead.

She was about to hack them off those still breathing, to at least spare them an agonising death when a hand grabbed her hair, ripping her down to the ground painfully. Sierra landed with a thud but the hand still didn't let go of her hair and the man knelt down over her, a pistol under her chin.
'You don't want to die like that do you? I can spare you from this, give me your bow and guns first and I can set you free.' Sierra struggled to pull away from the man, someone she had not had the patience for months, but he lifted her closer to him, cocking his gun.
'Sorry girly, you don't stand a chance anyway.'

Sierra couldn't find anything to say, simply struggled with him to get the gun away from her, her short life flashing in her mind, all her regrets, all her fears, at least she would be with her family soon. Just as she was sure the man was going to pull the trigger, Trix leapt from a crowd of walkers, his sharp teeth sinking into the soft parts of the attackers arm. The shriek from his pain was enough to draw the attention of the walkers away from their current meal and to where they were struggling on the ground; the perfect target. While the man reeled back in pain, Sierra managed to kick his legs, making him stumble back and away from her, dropping his gun. Swiftly Sierra got to her feet, picking it up and aiming it at the man but she didn't need to kill him. A walker came up behind him, rotting teeth digging into his neck and another at his wrist.

For a split second Sierra wasn't sure what do to but eventually she shot the two and they fell away from him. The man looked at her, his eyes slowly losing focus and Sierra looked over at the others that were giving up on the fight, there were just too many of them. Sierra made to run but a hand weakly stopped her, gripping her jeans.

'Wait, please, don't leave me like this...'
It disgusted Sierra that someone who had just tried to kill her for her weapons would expect them to save them but as Sierra watched the dark liquid flow easily from him, Sierra realised they were all human, they were all scared and no one deserved to become a mindless flesh walker.
Unsteadily, Sierra lifted the gun, resting it against his forehead and he closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. Trix was growling behind her, reminding Sierra that she was running out of time, her new family would be waiting for her to leave. A sick feeling swam in her stomach but she tightened her grip on the trigger. There was no bang, just a dull click and her shoulders dropped. The man opened his eyes, disappointment written all over his face as it slowly became dread.
'Please! Kill me!'

Sierra looked at the useless gun in her hands and then to the walkers that were closing in.
'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' she said it, over and over to the man that began to weep, walkers dropping to their knees to finish whatever they could off him.
Sierra didn't even have time to use her arrows, there was nothing more she could do for him, she could only worry about herself now and she began to head to where the vehicles had been parked but her blood ran cold.

The cars were gone.

Not believing her eyes, Sierra spun in circles, bot sure where they had gone but one thing she did know, they had left her behind. A sob tried to escape her throat but she forced it down, kept it quiet as she began to run, Trix close beside her. They weaved around the walkers, killing those that only got too close but there were too many for her alone. She managed up out of the forest and her feet hit the hard tarmac, but still there were no signs of the cars, of her group. After a few panic filled moments, Sierra realised she didn't have much of a choice as the walkers followed her up, she picked a direction and ran, hoping, praying that she could catch up with her group, she didn't want to be alone, she was scared.