Chapter 10
The group didn't stay in their temporary home for long, because that's just what everything in this life was; temporary. A herd of walkers hit about two weeks after they'd found the place, and sent them cramming into the vehicles just in time. No casualties where had that time, beyond every odd.
Another three weeks passed and the vans broke down, they'd made it half way to Washington but had lost two and gained just one. Maggie, Sasha and Daryl were all a mess of emotions and the group found themselves walking in silence. The heat bearing down like an unbreakable wave every day. The nights were long and restless with every rise of the moon. Kay found comfort in the curve of Tara's neck, the soft skin she sought with every tough under the glow of the moon, hidden by nothing but shadows.
Tara would walk by her side then, only straying as far as a few feet to talk with someone else. To discuss what was happening, to joke and make light of their situation. Kay found solace in her words, the tone of her voice drowning out the worst of the life they now lead.
The brunette kept Kay in her sights. Watching as the blonde was the first to dispose of a walker, watching as she was the first to offer to take watch for the night. She was there when the ex firefighter's hands found her hips, gripping as if Tara was the only thing solid to hold on to.
It all hit rock bottom as the water dwindled to nothing. Dust in the bottom of their worn plastic bottles was all that remained as they kept going. Pushing on, further and further. They'd get to DC, though nobody quite knew what they'd find when they did.
One evening brought an onslaught of events. A pack of water bottles left on the road with a note, they took them but drank nothing. Rick, their fearless leader more than paranoid about who left them and why. After Terminus it was understandable. No friendly face was much more than a mask in his eyes, but it kept the group alive.
Tara stayed at Kay's side the whole way, their elbows nudging and bumping every now and again as they roamed, parched and silent towards their destination. Her brows furrowed as Eugene offered himself up as nothing short of bait. Taking a short swig out of the bottle in his hand, only to be interrupted by a quick slap to the hands by Abraham.
Kay kept quiet, watching as the dynamics changed once again. Eugene had lied, but he was still there. Trekking the distance with them, unprotected but part of the team. He'd taken a while to come round after the redhead had all but taken his head off with a punch that would have knocked anyone for a loop. It was tense between the pair, but nobody commented.
The next came in a wave of water as the heavens opened above them. A powerful thunderstorm shaking the earth they walked on that afternoon, driving them deep into an old barn for shelter. The night was long, each and every one of them soaked to the bone, trying to dry themselves beside a small fire contained in something Kay couldn't quite make out.
In her previous life, everything she stood for went against this. She could feel her skin crawling at the sight of the open flames so close to dry, dead hay. The place would light up like the fourth of July if anything went wrong.
Tara eventually pulled her towards a pile of hay they'd claimed as their own. Their clothes still damp and uncomfortable but at least it was something. It was more of a bed than they'd had since their temporary home. It was soft, and a little bit scratchy. Tara was close to her, her ear pressed to the blondes chest. She'd found Kay's heartbeat calming, something just for her ears. It silenced the unsilenceable and kept her grounded. Her fingers slid under Kay's shirt and met clammy cold skin.
The doors were barred shut with a thick beam, offering up more protection than they'd had in a long time. The thought seemed to calm everyone, as only Rick and Daryl were left by the now dwindling fire. Nobody spoke, it would be lost in the sound of the thunder overhead.
Kay eventually drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep, her ears and mind still working on overdrive. Tara's soft snores were enough to focus on. They were enough to keep her grounded.
She didn't know how long she'd slept for when a blood chilling noise pulled her out of her slumber. Her eyes snapped open to find Daryl struggling against the doors that were threatening to come undone under the weight of the walkers on the other side. Bolting up she all but ran to slam herself up against the doors, feeling them force back ten fold against her weight as her booted feet slid on the hay strewn floor.
One by one the others joined in the fight. Pushing the rotters back, deterring them further and further. It was starting to seem less fruitless, more hopeful.
Hissing and groaning filled the silence between booms of thunder, and decayed faces could be seen on the other side of the door with every flash of lightning. Teeth gnashing and rotting paws clawing for flesh. The scene was horrifying, something you could never imagine unless faced with it.
Fear soon gave way to determination as Tara saddled up next to her, her features tense with worry. Forcing the door shut with all of her might just like every other person in the group.
They would stay alive together or die together that night. It was then, during the panting and fear stricken glances the dynamics changed once again. As they bound together like a mountain held by earth. Immovable under the weight of the dead.
The morning came after hours of fighting against the force of the undead. Eventually the storm had come to their rescue and had blown a tree into the walkers, dispatching the lot of them. Their luck had turned, and once again they'd survived against all odds.
As the sun rose, spirits went with it. They'd lasted, they were still starving and dehydrated but they'd done it. For the first time in weeks, there were tired smiles and glances towards each other.
Kay knew everyone felt the same as she did, shocked that they'd managed to stay alive once again. Tara's grip on her hand never loosened as she laughed and joked with Glenn, Maggie having disappeared with Sasha that morning. She felt grounded once again, almost as if this could be just a normal day in the real world, not this hell they'd come to know.
Her dark eyes found the brunette's profile, and watched quietly as she spoke and smiled unabashed. Laughing with renewed. It had been months now since they'd found each other and in no way was Kay prepared to ever let that go. This hell was slightly less hot, less scorching with Tara there to make ridiculous jokes at the wrong time, or to pull someone up with speeches that should have meant nothing but meant everything.
The girl must have felt her stare, as she turned to furrow her brows in Kay's direction. A pensive mask pulled along her features as she tried to figure out why she was being stared at. The blonde just returned the stare, a small smirk of her own tugging at her lips.
"What?" Tara asked, leaning back to watch the blonde with a rather confused look. She looked tired, her cheeks drawn and there were heavy circles under her eyes. They all looked as if they'd not slept for months.
"Nothing" the blonde grinned, reaching out to wrap her fingers around Tara's thigh to give it a gentle squeeze. They'd grown closer over the weeks that had passed, neither spending a night apart since their initial meeting. The deaths that had rocked the group pushed them closer together. Mourning the losses as a pair rather than individually. Their strength growing with their bond.
Tara eyed her suspiciously for a moment before leaning in to press a rather chaste kiss to the taller girls lips. Her fingers going up to straighten the hat Kay had come by weeks ago and worn since. The moment was broken by the barn door flinging open. Sasha and Maggie accompanied by a man they'd never seen before.
That man would turn out to be someone Kay would refer to as nothing less than their saving grace. Someone the rest of them would come to thank beyond thank. His friendly smile would turn out to be as real as this life gets, and it would bring liberation among many things.