So finally got the chapter together. Just a warning its really long. Hadn't expected it to be this long and almost thought about splitting it up but thought "Fuck it". With it being long, it covers a lot but I'm pretty happy with how its all turned out. Just be aware future chapters I don't think will be this long. I wanted to get this arc done, so long chapters just helped me get there faster.
Thanks to everyone who voted, PM'd or reviewed. You guys rock. Sorry for those who got their hopes up and didn't see an actual chapter but this time its for real! Didn't make it any easier for me. With all votes from the poll and PM's it still came out 50/50 lol. Which made me laugh...fate huh... But I think my interpretation will satisfy. And I'm sure the ending will satisfy too!
Alright I've rambled enough and you have enough to read as it is.
So enjoy!
Chapter 35: Line of Blood
Moans and Gunshots. Growling and Screaming. Behold the glory that is the music of my generation now...
Facing a herd of walkers who were slowly making their way towards me, while I was chained to a fucking water pump was...not how I wanted to go out. Where's my blaze of glory? Or my knight in shining armour? Or why is it the good girl dying not the pricks inside who kidnapped her? So many questions ran through my head and then so many different ways I was going to get back at Sara for this fucking stunt she pulled.
I pulled again at the shackles, knowing exactly how useless it was. I scanned the ground for anything, anything I could pick the lock with. But with my luck firmly being in the shit right now, there wasn't a scrap of anything I could use to get myself free. I wish I was the sort of girl who pinned her hair back. Those would have come in really handy about now. Maybe I should do that in future. If I have a future that is.
Bodies littered the grounds in front of me, but walkers were still coming through the hole in the fence and gunshots still sounded in multiple directions. The walkers weren't directly going for me currently but I knew it wouldn't take long for them to notice this cornered and shackled meal waiting. So I was still stuck on on how I was escaping this mess. I just couldn't see it happening, not by myself anyway. And I wasn't about to shout out for help, didn't need to attract unwanted attention. How the fuck was I going to get out of this? It was the question I was going over again and again in my head. I never thought I would say this but where the fuck was Luke? Sure he'd been keeping his distance more lately but usually I could look round the room I was in or round the yard and be able to spot him. But the one fucking day I actually wanted to see his sorry ass and he's nowhere to be fucking found. Damnit where are you, you sadistic delusional prick?
Walkers were now getting close to the house, some had stopped to paw uselessly against the windows, some were making their way towards the main door. I had yet to be spotted. But that wouldn't last long. My chances for survival were getting slimmer by the second. I wasn't getting out of this, I resigned to myself. This was the end of the road. I'd never get to see Daryl again. Or my family. I dropped to my knees and looked out to the swarm of walkers in the yard. I hoped I died quick, that was all I ask for.
I was pulled from my crappy eulogy to myself, to hear the door from the kitchen open on the side of the house. I never thought I would be so happy to see Luke coming out the door, Chris behind him, both of them with rifles in hand.
"Thank fuck. Do you have the keys?" I say frantically.
Both men stopped in front of me, looking to each other. Fuck. Well I guessed neither of them had the keys. "Sara obviously failed to mention she had the keys" I said getting back up to my feet. "Well?" I huffed angrily to both of them, glancing back to the walkers, a few of which were making their way towards us. "Give me your gun and go grab an axe from the barn" I say to Chris, holding out my hand for the weapon. He instantly looks to Luke, who shakes his head. "Just fucking hand it over, I don't wanna die, so the longer you stand there the more likely its gonna happen. So hurry the fuck up!" I growled angrily.
Chris stepped forward holding the rifle out to me, I quickly took it, ignoring the looks Luke was giving to both Chris and I. I didn't have time for his bullshit now, he can reprimand me later, right now I was more concerned about saving my life. And taking some anger out on Sara. And by the looks Luke was giving me and the way his grip tightened on his rifle I knew exactly what he was thinking. I just shook my head, checked the magazine on the rifle, clicked it back in and took aim at the impending herd.
Fuck I missed this, I sighed inwardly. Looking down the barrel of the gun I found my first target. I squeezed the trigger and watched as the walker's head exploded. I felt great, it had been weeks it felt like since I'd been able to hold a weapon, much less fire one. It finally felt like I was back in control, like I was free. But that was me being delusional and I knew it. I knew as soon as the threat was eliminated I would have to go back to having no freedom. And definitely no weapons.
"Well shit, you can shoot" I heard Luke mutter beside me. I ignored him and kept my focus on the walkers now making their way towards us. Shot after shot was fired, taking down the walkers.
I heard Chris racing back towards us. "Got the axe" he breathed out, "Keep your foot still, ok?" Chris demanded from behind me.
"Yeah, yeah" I grunted, not looking away from the barrel of the gun.
I continued to shoot walkers, as did Luke. I could also hear gunshots from around the compound but I wasn't about to stop and check, as long as the bullets weren't being aimed for me I was fine with it. I could hear Chris slamming the axe down hard against the chain, making it vibrate slightly against my ankle with each crack from the axe.
The walkers were now drawn to our gunshots, the prospect of a meal and the axe hitting the chain adding extra incentive to come our way. I fucking hated every minute of it, as more walkers were attracted to all the noise. I just wanted to be free from the shackles and back inside so I could go strangle Sara. My anger was still seething for her. I'm sure she wouldn't so much as get a slap on the wrist for her actions, she'll plead she was fleeing for her life and there was no time to free me, so she ran. Well I knew different. And that fucking smirk. I couldn't get that out of my head either, that was the icing on the cake and fully cemented her being six feet under. Well maybe just a bullet to the brain, not wasting a single second digging a fucking grave for the bitch.
I noted now that the herd was thinning by earlier comparison thankfully. But we weren't out of the woods yet. There were still more than enough to cause damage and loss of life. At that very thought I heard the screams from one of the men across the yard, several walkers surrounded him, taking him to the ground as more crowded round to feast on his flesh. I swallowed back the bile threatening to rise and again took aim, taking out two in quick succession that were feasting on the now dead man.
"I got it. You're free! Let's get outta here!" Chris said in a panicked voice.
Shooting another walker in the head, I looked down at the chain, it was indeed separated.
"Run for the back door at the kitchen!" Luke ordered.
"Fuck that, there's only a handful of these bastards left and we need to block that hole in the fence or we'll be dealing with this shit all night" I exacerbated. Yer' bein' fuckin' reckless again! Daryl's voice sounded in my head. I couldn't help the smirk. I could just see him ordering me back to the house while he dealt with this problem, only I would roll my eyes and follow him out there anyway. Like he knew I would.
"I said get back in the fucking house woman!" Luke seethed.
"There's...what? Twenty walkers left?" I said looking round the yard. "If we get one of the vehicles, drive it outside the gates, line it up against the hole in the fence, we could repair it from the inside without risk of one of them bastards trying to eat us while we do it. And right now" I turned taking aim at the walker moving towards us, watching it drop to the ground as I shot it, turned back to Luke, "Right now we need to take care of them" I motioned towards the walkers, mostly surrounding the house, only a few were stumbling our way.
Luke looked at me stunned. "If I was going to shot you that would have been the first thing I did" I rolled my eyes. In truth I'd had to fight that feeling so much since Chris handed the weapon over. If I knew I could escape this place without repercussions following me I would have shot him, regardless of the impending walkers coming up on us. Some people just deserved to die. Plain and simple. So I pretended I wanted him alive, for now. He, stupidly, believed my answer, nodding at me.
With the help from the other men who were also taking care of the threat we managed to eliminate all the walkers in the yard. More had since surrounded the fences and would also need to be dealt with, as we didn't want a repeat of earlier. One walker break-in was more than enough. Next time I might not be so lucky. Chris drove one of the vehicles out of the gate and aligned it next to the fence, effectively blocking the hole for now. While someone could get to patching it up.
As Chris came back through the gate, breathing heavily and coming straight towards Luke and I. I had refused to go inside till I knew Chris was safe inside the gates. Luke protested and I had thought about pulling the gun on him, but I decided to caution myself against such matters for now. Instead I had handed the rifle back to Luke, which seemed to surprise him and he relented, letting me wait for Chris to return. My ankle was was still weighted with the shackle, which was more annoying than anything. As I waited for Chris to reach us, I took a glance around the yard, bodies were littered everywhere. More than I had expected. If we didn't have the adequate fire power to take them down, I suspect we would have ended up like the man did moments ago. Chris finally reached us, panting a little.
"The truck should give enough protection while we mend the fence, but I don't like the look of the rest of those bastards all sides" Chris mused while he looked around the property.
"Well first, she needs to get inside, then we can sort out the rest of this mess" Luke grumbled, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the house. Back to his bossy self I see. Guess I had over-stepped a little ordering them around. Chris might not have minded, but someone else certainly did.
We entered the house just as the conversation was starting to heat up and just like that my blood was starting to boil at the sight of Sara.
"Where the hell did they come from?" one of the men asked.
"Why didn't you alert us sooner?" Kane roared.
"The trees they blocked them from our sight until it was too late, there must have been a weak spot in the fence, then they were pouring in."
I could see Sara eyeing me now, she was standing behind Kane, I guessed she thought she needed a few barriers between her and I. Too fucking right she did.
I started stalking towards her, ignoring the rest of the argument that was happening between the men.
"You...You fucking bitch!" I screamed at Sara. She had the nerve to stand there smirking at me once more. I fucking wanted to wipe that smirk off her face for good. I started to lunge for her, only to have big arms wrap around me pulling me back. Chris was standing in front of me, a little frightened my the anger burning through me right now.
"Get her out of here!" Kane roared to the man grasping me tightly, who I was still fighting against.
"She fucking left me out there to die!" I angrily spat, glaring in her direction.
"Luke! Now!" Kane yelled again.
I was hauled off to my room, Luke grasping me tightly as I fought against him.
"Calm the fuck down woman" he growled at me.
"That bitch left me out there to die. She deserves to get her teeth kicked in for that shit!" I growled back. Luke only chuckled darkly at me.
"And what did you say to her for her to leave you out there?" he asked.
"Nothing. I told her to unlock me. That was it...Bet she's fucking told Kane some bullshit" I spat.
"I don't doubt she has" he agreed. His grip loosened as we walked down the hallway to my room, he let go once we were outside my door. "Just cool off for a while, alright?"
"Whatever" I grumbled, walking into my room, slamming the door shut behind me. I'd had enough of the shit here. Sara was the last straw today. And I was still fuming from that. I wasn't sure if the 'time-out' would get me over the anger I was feeling. I was starting to pace. I needed to clear my head, and killing some walkers had helped somewhat but seeing Sara just made it flare again. But with the walker break-in earlier it would give me the best chance to break out of this hell hole. It was the distraction I had been waiting for.
A knock on the door, made me momentarily stop my pacing, my anger was dissipating for the moment. I didn't answer whoever was on the other side of the door but I figured who ever it was wasn't going to wait for my answer. Kane entered, closing the door behind him. I felt myself shrink slightly under his gaze, I had stopped pacing and was staring at the ground, arms folded across my chest. He was someone I feared even more than Luke, I wasn't sure what it was but something always had me on edge with him.
I glanced back up at him, he gestured for me to take a seat on the bed. I complied, not sure where this was heading, but I felt like a caged animal. And currently the animal was clawing at me from the inside begging to get out of this room. I watched as Kane took a seat on the chair in the corner. I inwardly sighed in relief, happy he wasn't sitting next to me.
"She said she feared for her own life. And you had said some pretty hurtful things to her, so she was getting back at you."
I scoffed loudly. "Charlie gave her the fucking keys and when he left, she just smirked and skipped back into the house. She had fucking time! Never said anything to her either!" I spat.
"She was worried about the walkers"
"They weren't anywhere near us then, I mean shit, Chris and Luke had enough time to get out there and the walkers were still on the other side of the yard. Hadn't even noticed me yet." I said exacerbated, as I clenched my fists at my side.
"She would never lie to me" he narrowed his eyes.
"Well aren't you just fucking gullible" I spat out sarcastically. My mouth was starting to run away from me, I needed to reel this in before I ended up in the basement. Again. Or ended up like Victoria. I took a deep breathe. "Did you notice how I took control of that situation out there, didn't even point the gun towards either Chris or Luke. Had plenty of fucking chances too. But I did my duty, fucking protected all your asses, cleared the yard and had the plan to block the hole in the fence. So does this prove I'm with you? Does it get me out these fucking chains?" I gesture dramatically towards the shackle still cuffed to my ankle, the chain dragging behind it.
He waited for a minute before speaking. Clearly processing everything and wanting to work out carefully what he was going to say next.
"You're right, you proved yourself today. Even Luke is singing your praises but I would never take just his word on the matter, not when it comes to you. You cloud his vision. But Chris also is commending your plan out there. And if I hadn't seen it myself, I would have never guessed what a good shot you were...But whatever happened with Sara" he glared at me. He was taking Sara's side in the matter. Devious fucking bitch! "It's over. Just stay out of each others way. I don't have time for a cat fight. We have enough shit to deal with" he sighed heavily standing back up. He reached into his pocket, fishing out some keys, he knelt, unlocking the cuff around my ankle before standing and leaving the room, closing the door behind him.
Chris knocked on my door a while later. I had since calmed down. But I knew what I was going to do next. Get the fuck outta here. And burn as much in my path as I can, leave nothing, well no one that can retaliate.
"Cleaned up the yard, most of the bodies are gathered up, few biters on the fences but they're being taken care of, Mark and Jack are patching the fence..." Chris tiredly said as he took a seat in the chair.
"Chris..." I said trying to get his attention
"That shit was crazy today, and what the hell happened with Sara? Some of the shit she's saying..."
"Chris" I said a little more forcefully, finally getting his attention he looked up at me. "I'm getting out of here...tonight."
He was silent for a minute before he spoke. "It's suicide. You know that"
"Staying here will kill me just as fast. That shit Sara pulled today, will happen again. I don't want to end up like Victoria. I want out before the shit hits the fan. Tonight's the best bet. Won't get another chance like this. They're gonna be too focused on the outside to worry about the inside" I reasoned.
Chris sighed heavily burying his head in his hands.
"Do you want in?" I ask.
He sighed again, thinking over my proposal. "We do this. We can't fuck up. Or I'll be dead right beside you."
"I know that. I'm giving you the choice. But if you choose to stay, just let me go, don't blow the whistle, please" I pleaded.
"I'd never rat on you and I'm coming with, no way I'm staying here longer than I need to. You'll need my help to get out." he smiled. "So how do we do this?" the smile gone and replaced with a look of seriousness.
We'd talked about it the last couple of days. We had a plan. And this time it had to work, there was no coming back from this plan. Surely third time's a charm, right? Now we just had to put it into action.
Chris's part in the plan was to take out the guard's in the watchtowers. And I was to work it from the inside, since I wasn't able to get outside. Men had free reign over the place. Woman were always second class citizens. Me taking the inside was probably the most dangerous, as it was just going to be me until Chris got back. I was confident I could do this, maybe over-confident but that couldn't hurt, right?
"I'll take care of Charlie, he's watching your door tonight..." Chris said lowly "while you take care of Luke. Once we have the keys to the armoury, we'll get what we need and then we both have jobs to do. Once I'm done I'll meet you inside...Ok?" he breathed, I could see he was nervous about my plan. But I knew sneaking out wouldn't be easy, I'd already failed once. And if we just up and left, they would try hunt us down and I don't want to keep looking over my shoulder for one of these pricks to turn up. It's better to take care of it now, as cold as it sounds.
"Rain" Chris smiled looking to the ceiling, "This could help me a lot, the rain will help drown out some of the noise." I listened to the rain for a few minutes, thinking over the plan again. I wasn't doubting this plan, I was just nervous.
This part of the plan was something I was not looking forward to in any shape or form but for the good of the plan I had to make this work, make him believe its what I wanted. I shuddered at the thought.
I adjusted my top for the fourth time in fives minutes, looking in the mirror at myself, I felt a number of emotions.
"You look fine" Chris said from behind me.
"I feel like a hooker" I grumbled.
Chris chuckled. "You look nothing like a hooker. For one you're wearing jeans and a shirt. Hookers wear a lot less. I mean I can hardly see your tits" he mused.
"Its not the clothes..."
"I know. You know the plan. Once you're in there you're on your own. I'll be waiting when you're finished" he said stepping behind me. He lifted up my top at the back, tucking the small knife and sheath in the back, then dropping my top back down, he placed his hands on my hips and rested his chin on my shoulder, his eyes locked on mine in the mirror, giving me a big smile. "You're gonna be fine"
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. Was I really in over my my head? Could still turn back. No, I can't. Chris and I need to escape.
I stood at Luke's door nervous as ever. Definitely no turning back now. I took a deep breath and timidly knocked on the door.
"What?" Luke annoyed voice sounded on the other side.
I grimaced, if he was in a bad mood this could turn ugly in an instant. Let's just pray it turns ugly for him and not me.
"It's Camille" I replied, standing taller, trying to put a smirk on my face.
I heard his footsteps as they approached the door, the turning of the handle and then I was faced with Luke, a shit-eating grin on his face. He didn't seem surprised I was here. Arrogant fuck.
"And what can I help you with tonight sweetheart?" he smiled, his eyes looking me up and down.
I smiled as sweetly as I could. "Can I come in?" I ask. He leers at me a moment longer before stepping back from the door and gesturing me inside. So this is what its like to be in the belly of the beast? I stepped inside, hearing him close the door and the unmistakeable sound of the lock clicking into place. Shit. Stay fucking calm. This is no time to lose your fucking cool. I turned around slowly to face him. He stood by the door still, smirking as he looked at me.
"So how can I help?" he asks taking a step forward. I don't make a move, letting him advance on me.
"I was wrong" I said quietly.
"About what?" he says taking another step forward.
"Chris...Chris just isn't man enough. I should have known he wouldn't be able to handle me. I need a real man" he said firmly, letting my eyes wander. Granted he isn't a bad looking guy, if it weren't for his sadistic side and many of his other terrible qualities...
"Knew you'd come to your senses sooner or later. But why should I? You were so quick to jump towards Chris...Do you know how much you humiliated me because of that?" he grunted angrily, stopping a few feet away from me.
"I know now I made the wrong decision. What do I have to do to prove it?" I said confidently, not looking away from him.
His grin never faltered, as his eyes again looked me up and down. I had to repress the urge to shudder in disgust. "I can think of a few things..." he said, his eyes growing darker. I smirked as he advanced on me again, this time I backed up till I was against the wall. He placed his palms against the wall, pinning me between them. Definitely no escape now. He leaned in closer, his face only inches from mine, his eyes watching me. I knew I had to make the first move and catch him by surprise but also giving him the illusion that this is what I wanted. No time like the present. Fuck it, just pretend it Daryl..It's not Daryl though...Just fucking pretend! My inner monologue was causing the nerves to start up again. And this definitely wasn't the time to be nervous, I needed to focus.
I took a small breath to calm myself, closed my eyes and crashed my lips against his, surprising him as he stood still for a moment before he moved his lips against mine, pushing his body up against mine. I now was pinned to the wall, trying to will myself to pretend this was meant to be passionate and amazing and something I wanted...well it is something I want, but only as a means to an end. If I had other currency I would use it. It made me feel like I was a slut right now. And that's the thought that makes me freeze for a second.
He pulled back, panting, well both of us panting. I was grimacing on the inside at that thought.
"You sure you're wanting this?" he asked, one of his hands moving down my arm. The most gentle he's ever been with me, how fucking ironic.
I guess I needed to convince him more. Don't grimace, just get this fucking over with, I scolded myself. I knew my head was hindering me, I needed to block out the thoughts.
"I want this" I said more firmly, leaning up to kiss him again, this time putting more fire into the kiss. To be convincing. I felt him smirk against my lips, he felt me giving into him. His hand found its way to my hip, massaging it roughly through the top, the opposite side to where his marks were. Those were only his to touch, nobody else's. As his kisses became more demanding I mirrored him, feigning moans or whimpers of pleasure, which only seemed to spur him on more. He started kissing down my neck, one of his hands coming up to cup my breast, I let another whimper slip from my lips.
"God, you don't know how long I've waited to hear that sound come out of your mouth" he growled into my neck.
I smirked down at him. "Well quit your yapping and get to work then." Time for him to fucking submit.
He chuckled, leaning back up, taking my face between his hands and kissing me once again before pulling away. "Yes ma'am." He went back to kissing down my neck, over my clothed breasts. I bought one of my hands up to the top of his head, pushing him further south, making him chuckle, he continued kissing down my stomach, till he was on his knees. His hands started to lift my top, instead of taking it off like I thought he would do, he instead ducked his head underneath, kissing and licking my stomach and round the top of my jeans. This was my opening. It was now or never.
I kept my hand on his head, gently holding him in place. Both of his hands were gripping my thighs. With my free hand, I slipped it behind my back, pulling the small knife from the sheath Chris had placed there. Gripping it tightly, I slowly pulled the knife to my hip, still just out of Luke's eye-line. Now I was breathing heavily for a very different reason.
In one swift motion I gripped Luke's hair tight in my hand, pulling his head back, he was about to complain until he saw the look on my face. I swiped the blade quickly across his throat, slicing it open, blood gushing out, hitting my clothes and my hands.
He clutched his throat, the look of utter surprise in his eyes. Blood pouring through his hands. Guess the fucker didn't see that coming.
"You should have known, you had this coming" I smirked down at him as he dropped to the ground, the grip on his neck becoming looser with every pump of his heart. I watched as he bleed to death and I felt a small sense of relief. But I wasn't finished yet, there was still a lot to do.
I just stared down at his corpse, starting to feel the full weight of the situation. Now I was a murderer. I looked down at my hands, one still clutching the knife, the blade coated in blood, smears running over both my hands, and on my top and jeans.
I kicked his boot testing to see if he really was dead. A few more kicks and no movement from the body, not even a breath, I shakily moved forward, clutching the knife again. I knelt next to the body, plunging the knife through his skull and then had to use my boot to help pull it out. He was definitely dead now. I searched his pant pockets for the keys but came up empty and then in the pockets in his shirt. Nothing. I stood frustrated, looking around the room. Only to see they were hanging on a hook by the door. How could I be so unobservant? I scolded myself.
Keys in hand, I looked back to Luke's body. "Fucking deserved it ya prick" I muttered to myself.
I unlocked the door and peeked out the hallway, Chris was waiting for me, arms crossed across his chest. His head snapped up when I came through the door, breathing a sigh of relief. Then he looked over my appearance.
"You ok?" he whispered, "Did he hurt you?"
I shook my head. "I'm fine. Got the keys. Let's just get this done" I sighed closing Luke's door behind me.
Chris led the way to the armoury, which wasn't too far away and thankfully no one had bedrooms down this way, so we were able to go by undetected.
The armoury, was actually not quite as impressive as I thought it would be. Sure they had quite a few weapons, but in my mind I was thinking a lot bigger and all sorts of crazy weapons you see in video games. They variety they had were pretty standard, but beggars can't be choosers and I wasn't going to turn my nose up at anything they had. And there was more than enough to finish the plan and take what we needed after.
"You're probably going to need to change clothes" Chris said as he started grabbing at guns and ammo.
"Not much point. They'll just get bloody too. I'll grab a hoody or something" my voice sounding dead almost. I was shutting out the emotions, I knew this. But this was how I was going to be able to deal.
"Fair enough" he said loading clips into handguns. He handed me two, then some extra clips and a silencer. I shoved the clips into my pockets and screwed the silencer on. I tucked the extra gun into the back of my jeans, and check the other gun.
"What did you do with Charlie?" I ask.
"Dragged him into the vacant room next to yours" he said just as coldly.
"You ok to still go through with this?" I ask, a little worried about him.
He nodded. "We're getting out" he smiled. "Ok, the guys are in the main room playing poker. The girls are in the kitchen. And I think Kane is in his office. I'll take care of Jack, Finn and Dylan in the watchtowers. I doubt anyone else will be out there now that its raining, but if there are I'll take care of it. If you're done before me, wait for me in my room. If I don't come back you get the hell out of there, ok? I mean it, don't come looking. Just get out." he said looking into my eyes, holding my cheek. I nodded again. "Good, ok." he breathed letting me go.
I watched Chris go towards one of the back doors, looking back once to me, nodding at me before he disappeared round the corner. I took a deep breath, gripping the gun in one hand, clenching my fist with the other and took a step forward. It all started to become like I had tunnel vision from then on.
First I would go to the kitchen, the bitches needed to go first. They were the ones who were most likely to scream and blow the whole operation out of the water. I would have liked to leave Molly be, she hadn't done anything to me, not like Sara. But finding Mark dead, would be all she needed to go all banshee on me. So she had to go.
I listened at the door and could hear them both chatting inside. I burst through the door making Molly drop the bag of vegetables she was carrying. Both of them turning to face me, both shocked as they took in my appearance. I had forgotten to grab a hoody, whoops.
Bang!
I quickly pulled the trigger, watching Molly fall in a heap to the floor. Sara was backing up. She was looking for a way out. But that wasn't going to happen.
"You fucking traiter!" she growled at me.
Bang! Bang!
I shot twice, hitting her in the stomach, she clutched at the wound as her hands started to turn red with blood, dropping to her knees. As I walked over to her, she tried to crawl away from me, she wasn't going to get very far. I watched as she tried to crawl away, gurgling because of her wounds. As I approached she turned over, facing me, hands in the air surrendering.
"Please..." she pleaded.
I shook my head.
Bang!
Then put her out of her misery. I would have liked her to suffer more but I didn't have the time. And torture wasn't something I wanted to enjoy. She too just needed to be gone. And now she was. Two down...
Next door the men were playing poker, I could hear them from here. If I didn't have a silencer the plan would have gone to shit. But none of the men were coming. Luck was finally on my side.
It happened so fast, it felt like everything was on fast-forward. I stood there alone, surrounded by blood, feeling no emotion, hearing no gunshots as I replayed how it all happened in my head.
Walking into the room, I held the gun raised. Mark turned in his seat at my entry. He was the the first to die and I felt the smirk on my face as his head hit the table. One of the men, Kirk I think his name was, fired two shots in my direction. One just skimming the side of my forehead. I felt the sting, then put a bullet in his head, watching him drop to the floor. I started shooting, not all the shots direct hits, some hitting shoulders or stomachs. I had unloaded almost an entire clip, taking out the men playing poker. I could hear one of the men still alive, choking on his own blood. Walking over, I unloaded the empty clip, dropping it to the floor, and put another clip in. I stood over his body, he reached up towards me. I held no mercy at this moment and put a bullet between his eyes. I made sure to do the same to the rest of the men. Last thing I needed was for them to turn. Sure they deserved to turn into one of them but I had enough hazards in my way without adding more damn walkers to the mix. I stood there a little numb, looking down at the five dead men.
I was pulled from my haze when I heard the door opening, I instantly turned to face the door, gun pointed to whoever was entering. I breathed a sigh of relief and lowered the gun as I saw Chris enter. He was a little wet from the rain outside, any traces of blood had been washed away from him. Lucky for him. I'm sure I looked somewhere in the range of Carrie.
"Shit are you ok?" he asked as he wiped his thumb across my forehead, blood staining his fingers.
"Yeah its just a graze." I said batting his fingers away, wiping the blood on my forehead.
"Its all taken care of outside. Who's left?" Chris asked, checking his gun, reloading another clip.
"It's only Kane left. Everyone else is...dealt with. We need to find him and find him fast, he can't escape. I said it before I'm not looking over my shoulder forever" I said placing one of the guns into the back of my jeans. I looked down at my hands, now stained with blood and starting to shake. Can't lose my nerve now.
"We're doing what we need to survive" he said tilting my chin up to look at him. All I could manage was to blindly nod. "We should split up, you downstairs, I'll take upstairs. Yell if you need me, I'll come running"
"I don't think we should split up just now" I say shakily.
"Trust me, remember" he smiles at me. Its that damn smile I can't help but give in. I nod and sigh.
"Yell if you need me, ok?" he says before he starts to make his way out of the room towards the stairs. I hated this idea of splitting up. I don't want either of us to be caught of guard. But now I was alone.
First place I would look would be Kane's office. I thought it would be the best bet in finding him. Luke had let slip once that Kane liked to spend late nights in his office pouring over maps and sorts.
Of course as my luck seemed to be waning, he wasn't in the office. I started to double back towards the stairs, go after Chris. Hopefully he had found him.
I heard the loud crashing coming from upstairs, I knew it had to be Chris and he had found Kane. Shit. I took off towards the stairs, dodging round the dead body of Charlie laying on the floor. Can't say I felt any guilt about him being dead either. Sure he hadn't been as sadistic as Luke but if given the chance he would have liked to try. I think it was more to do with Ana dying, and I would be the perfect punching bag. It would have been therapeutic for him, instead of a turn on, like it was for Luke. Yeah, they both deserved it.
Running up the stairs I started to slow down I could hear the arguing going on from inside. I knew what to expect next now.
"Kane, please! I found everyone dead. Charlie was dead outside her door, Luke's throat slit in his own room. You have to believe me! We need to kill her and make her pay for this!" Chris pleaded.
"You're lying! You've been cozy with her all week" he growled.
"She lied to me! Tried to get information out of me, tried to seduce me into giving it up. She's a fucking snake!" Chris spat angrily. "Let me finish her boss, she's been nothing but a fucking cock tease. All false promises. She nearly fucking killed me trying to escape my clutches, Whacked me over the head with a chair. See..." Chris paused, I assumed he was showing Kane a hand covered in blood, "She deserves to die for that and everything else she has done" he sneered.
"She was too prude for even Luke efforts, and how he fucking tried. I always suspected her submission was false" Kane mused.
"And now she killed Luke, she needs to die slow for her betrayal! I had nothing to do with what's happened. I swear to you" Chris reasoned.
"Well we need to find her and deal with her" Kane grunted, I could hear him pacing from behind the door. He was angry. Fair enough, I just went all serial killer on his people. "You are going to kill her to prove your loyalty to me" he seethed.
"I wouldn't have it any other way" Chris smiled.
This was my cue to enter. Better put them out of their misery. I pushed open the door with one hand, the gun tightly clutched in the other, finger on the trigger. I couldn't help the smirk on my face. Kane took a second as he glanced over my appearance, blood covered my clothes. I had an inkling on what I looked like, hadn't had a chance to look in a mirror yet but I didn't need to see it just yet. My nerves would falter otherwise.
"Oh c'mon now Chris, don't be like that" I said in a sickly sweet voice, smirking over the barrel of the gun.
"You bitch, you think you can frame this on me? Well sweetheart, ain't gonna happen. Kane knows you were a deceiving bitch!" Chris spat.
"Oh you wound me Chris" I roll my eyes at him.
"Enough!" Kane yelled. "Chris grab her, so we can finish this" he smirked back at me.
Chris made a step forward, I turned the gun towards him. I tutted at him. "Stay right where you are Chris. This hasn't got anything to do with you. You know he doesn't give two shits about you, he'll kill you after he's done with me. Side with me and I'll even let live after I put a bullet between this prick's eyes. My quarrel is not with you. Only him." I said my eyes flicking slowly between both the men. Chris stopped in his tracks hesitating.
"What the fuck are you waiting for, get her!" Kane bellowed.
Chris advanced on me again, his smile turning salacious. I turned my gun to him, pulling the trigger. Nothing happened just a silent click.
Click! Click! Click!
"Shit" I cursed. How the fuck could it be empty? I heard Kane laugh from the other side of the room.
"Guess you're shit out of luck now bitch. Fucking finish it Chris!" Kane roared.
I went to reach for the gun tucked into the back of my jeans but Chris beat me to it, gripping my arm painfully, smacking me hard across the cheek for my attempt on his life. He quickly reached for the guns, knocking the one in my hand out, it dropping to the floor. He took the other gun out, flicking the safety off and pushing the barrel up against my neck. The grip on my arm tightening again, making me wince under the pressure.
"Fucking cunt, you're gonna pay for all this, but first we're gonna make you wish you were dead" Kane said reaching for his belt, starting to undo it. I knew the look in his eyes. But I knew it wouldn't last for long.
"So are you going to tell him or am I?" I arched an eyebrow back at Chris. He looked at me confused, pressing the gun against me again.
I sighed heavily. "Knew you were gonna pussy out on this. Chris may be obedient but the balls on this kid, non-existent" I laughed. "Would have tried Luke for this but he's far too fucking unstable as we both know."
"Fuck off, I never did anything for you!" Chris growled, the barrel digging hard into my neck.
"What was he supposed to do?" Kane inquired, narrowing his eyes, looking to Chris who was shrinking under Kane's eyes.
"He took out all the men on the watchtowers, bought me back the guns to prove it. So just so we're clear, he's been a big help."
"I didn't do any of that. Just made you think I did. And you thought I was gullible." he laughed at me. "You thought all you had to do was shake you're ass and I'd come running. Well I'm gonna make sure you're begging for something tonight" he sneered.
"Just make it last. I have some unfinished business with her" Kane ordered, lowering his gun and folding his arms across his chest, smirking in my direction.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I knew the next move. I remembered the conversation so clearly.
"Just remember, act like you had no idea this was happening, and you found everyone dead and you came running to him. He'll believe that. He's sympathetic to his men. Just call me names, say I betrayed you and then when he drops his guard, we kill him. But you only injure him, I need him to suffer. I know it sound cruel, like Luke, but this fucker needs to know and I want to rub a little salt in the wound before I put a bullet between his eyes." I said to Chris. He was hesitant but he understood. He knew why I wanted my revenge. He'd never had the treatment I'd had, he was a man and I was not.
"Time's up" Chris whispered in my ear. Kane looked on smirking at how uncomfortable I was. Then his face turned confused. I couldn't stop the smile appearing on my face. I felt the grip on my arm behind my back, loosening, a few taps to my back. It happened so fast then, Chris quickly removed the barrel from my neck and pointed it towards Kane pulling the trigger once, shooting him through the knee, his gun falling from his hand and sliding away from him, he dropped to the floor in agony. Chris released me and walked over to Kane, stepping on his hand which was reaching for the knife in his sheath. Chris tutted at him and then looked to me and nodded. He had the gun pointed at him, waiting for my next move. I walked over to where Chris had dropped my other gun and picked it up. I flicked the safety off.
"Finish this" Chris said quietly to me.
"Guess I forgot the safety before, whoops" I smiled at Kane.
He was positively seething right now. "You fucking traitors! I'll fucking kill both of you!" he yelled.
I shook my head. "You're forgetting your place Kane. You had this coming. And you don't have any cards left to play. You're gonna die so just fucking accept it" I sighed pointing the gun towards him.
"You fucking ruined everything. I knew you were trouble the day Luke dragged you back here, should have slit your throat then" he grunted through the pain, Chris stepping down harder on his hand.
"You're right you should have" I smirked, pulling the trigger.
Bang! Bang!
Kane froze momentarily, his eyes fixed on me in horror, a growing amount of red coming from his chest. I made sure not to kill him right away, hitting a lung. I needed him to suffer. Chris stayed where he was, his eyes fixed on Kane, the gun still pointed at him. I felt the tears start to well up, the heaviness of the situation starting to come into the light. I pushed them back, drinking in the anger once again. I needed to finish this.
Kane was holding his chest, his knife forgotten beside him, blood still flowing out the wounds. He coughed and spluttered, blood starting to drip out his mouth. I'd hit a lung, he was bleeding internally. Good. I walked slowly over to Kane, loading another clip into the gun. He tried to move away seeing me approach but was held firmly in place by Chris. I smirked. Blood was staining the water. I smelt the blood. I smelt the fear in the air. I quite liked being the shark. Cue the jaws music, I thought sadistically.
"Fucking...b-bitch" he coughed.
"Fair call" I said with a sadistic smile. "You know it was me who killed your pet. She begged and pleaded for her life..." I taunted.
"Fucking bitch! Should h-have fucking killed y-you, knew you'd be trouble" he coughed again, more blood splattering his cheeks.
"You should have. Lesson learned too late, huh?" I said pointing the gun to his head.
Bang!
And then pulling the trigger I watched as blood pooled from his new wound. This time fatal and for good. I stared at this lifeless body for a few seconds before all my emotions started to well up to the surface. Chris rushed over taking my face in his hands inspecting the split lip he had inflicted.
"Fuck, I'm sorry, didn't mean to hit ya that hard" he winced.
"I'm fine Chris. Had worse remember?" I shrug out of his hold.
"I'm allowed to worry about ya" he said pulling me against his chest and wrapping his arms around me. I felt myself fall apart at that minute. I'd killed people and that disturbed me more than anything. It was different killing walkers, they weren't human anymore. So I felt no remorse when I put a bolt, a knife or a bullet through their skulls. The only time I tensed up around walkers were if they used to be children. Its something you just shouldn't have to see or do. Flashes of the the family hanging in the barn crossed my mind.
Chris held me till my tears subsided.
"I was worried for a second when I came up the stairs you really were gonna go with Kane" I mumbled against his chest.
He pulled back and looked me straight in the eyes, "No fucking way. Weren't nothing there to consider. Plus you look much better than he ever did" he smirked.
"Don't flirt with me, I'm far too old for you" I rolled my eyes. This was what I liked about our friendship, he always knew how to make me smile. Even if he likes to see how far he can push it sometimes. He knew about Daryl, knew that's where I'd be heading after this and he was happily going to tag along for a bit before going to find his family.
"Hardly, you're only five years older than me!" he scoffed.
"First we need to double check all the bodies, make sure none of 'em give us any surprises, then we'll clean ourselves up because darlin' you look like you've been swimming in blood all night. Then we'll get our shit together, get supplies and get the fuck outta here. Sound like a plan?" Chris asked hopefully.
I smiled and nodded.
I'd also done the maths several times in my head, just to make sure there wasn't someone lurking in a closet about to attack but we made the rounds and had no hidden surprises. They were all dead. Every one of them. And now it was just Chris and I. We survived. And it was hard to wrap my head around. So much had happened. But now I could go back to family. Finally.
I had a plan, sort of. Food, fuel, weapons and ammo, water, clothes, medical supplies, a tent and anything else that would be useful. You know, just the basics.
While being here at Camp Nazi I had never stopped observing everything, even down to where they kept their towels. I figured if I got the chance to steal what I needed before I escaped it would be handy to know where everything was kept. And anything else I would just need to scavenge. We were only taking the essentials anyway, not like we had unlimited space with the vehicle we were taking. My first grand theft auto, would you believe?
They had several trucks to choose from, some were too big, some too small. Had to find the goldilocks. The one I ended up picking was a silver four door truck, no canopy on the back but its one advantage that was the decider was the back seat. It flipped up and had a hidden compartment. I instantly knew that's where we would be stashing all the weapons. Chris wasn't fussy and said I could have my pick of them. He said he would find another vehicle later on to find his family if needed.
Going back inside I went to my room, Chris following me. I think he was just making sure I was safe. I grabbed clean clothes and towels and went to the the bathroom.
"I'll start getting things together. When you're done come get me, I'll be in the armoury or my room. And lock the door too" Chris said, he was feeling the paranoia too. I nodded and shut the door behind him, locking it.
I undressed and started the shower, finally a warm shower. I hadn't realised how much blood was on me till I was looking down in the shower. It was like that shower scene from Psycho. Finally the water turned clear. I quickly washed after that, and getting dressed. I needed to be out of this house, this place, and back to where I belong.
Chris was in his room packing when I went to find him. He too had already had a shower. He was currently packing some clothes and putting them in a duffel bag.
"Hey" I said quietly not wanting to alarm him.
"You all good?" he asked. I nodded. "Come here, need to patch that cut up on your head" he ordered as I sat on his bed. He fished through a small first aid kit until he found some surgical tape. It was a big gash and it had since stopped bleeding. He placed three thin strips over it to keep it in place.
"All done." he smiled.
"I'll go pack" I said walking over to my room. There wasn't a whole lot in my room. I had acquired a bunch of new clothes, but other than that I didn't really have any personal items, maybe except the books Chris had bought me back. I was definitely taking those, the survival one actually had some useful tips in it. Even if it had been a joke present to begin with.
I was rational with my packing, only what was needed, but enough that I would have a few changes, the only thing I packed more of, was underwear. Its my luxury item as sad as it sounds.
I went to the bathroom next filling a backpack full of everything we would need, mostly first aid stuff, but I made sure to grab antibiotics and pain killers.
Chris and I raided the armoury next, filling two large plastic bins of assorted ammo and weapons. We stocked up more on ammo and limiting ourselves to only a handful of different weapons. I was sad they hadn't acquired a bow, as that would have been the first thing I took otherwise. Chris had insisted I take the only sniper rifle as he'd seen me shoot and knew I would get a kick out of it. I admit I was a little giddy about it.
Next was the kitchen, Molly and Sara's bodies still there. I just ignored them, walking straight past them not even bothering to look at them. Chris stopped for a minute looking over the carnage and said nothing to me. I wasn't sure if he was judging or just taking in the situation. I felt it was more of the latter. Chris started filling plastic containers full of water while I sorted out the food situation. I took anything that would be easy to cook on the go and had a good shelf life. I would have liked to fully raid the vegetable garden but they wouldn't survive the car trip, so we wouldn't bring any more than that. We took enough for two days. Dried, preserved and canned were our friends. I also grabbed a few other things that I could make work as well, like spices, salt, pepper and sugar.
As we started loading our gear into the truck I could see Chris had already placed some items in there. We now only needed to raid some of the tools and grab fuel, then we would be out of here.
The sun was starting to rise and I could see walkers lining the surrounding fences. They weren't bunched up and we weren't in danger on the fence caving in, but that wouldn't last for long. I was sure the walkers had heard some of the gunshots, Kane's death had been without a silencer. So the shot would have been heard.
We gathered as much fuel as we could, filling the tank of the truck and then filling a bunch of fuel cans. The truck was pretty full now. The cover fit snugly over the deck of the truck. The last thing Chris grabbed was a small toolbox, placing that on the floor of the back seat.
We were finally ready to leave and I couldn't help but smile. We were finally leaving this fucking place behind.
Chris and I pulled the gates open, running back to the truck, then I happily sped out of there, leaving a big dust trail behind us. Chris sighing in relief beside me.
I gripped the steering wheel tighter. I knew it was a long shot driving there, and that they would still be here but I had to try. Right? I figured it was just over three weeks since I was kidnapped by those pricks. Nearly a month? How could so much time have passed?
The advantage of having Chris with me was he knew exactly where we were. He also knew of roads that were impassable or dangerous. So we had laid out a map and planned a route the best we could, sure there were going to be some detours but we just had to stay focused and get my ass to the trailer park and back to my family.
I was shocked to find out exactly where we were. Hell, I wasn't even in Georgia any more. That was a blow, I was closer the the North Carolina border than I was to Georgia's. Looking over several maps Chris pointed to where we were, it was in a national park in South Carolina roughly 350 miles away. Yes my family were still one state away and one really long drive. And who knew how bad the roads were between here and the trailer park or how many walkers were between there. That was what worried me the most, we would have to detour past several big cities, not as big as Atlanta but definitely places I would want to stay away from. The cities were crawling with walkers, far too dangerous to go into, even if I had Chris beside me.
It confused now that I thought about it, that the marauders had ventured so far for the prospect of women. Surely there had to be some closer, or had they "picked" through those already, I shuddered at the thought.
It had taken two days to get here but we finally made it. We were parked outside the gate to the trailer park. I felt the nerves start to pile up. I was so close. Chris and I exited the vehicle, both armed as we pushed aside the gate enough for us to get through. I took the lead, going straight to where we had camped.
We finally made it to where we had been camped, having to cut down several walkers that were wandering around. The three familiar trailers. A burnt out patch where the fire had been and some empty cans laying about on the ground. It was hard to believe we had called this home for a bit. It felt like I was only here yesterday, not weeks ago. The vehicles were gone but deep down I hadn't expected them to be here. I doubted they would have stayed this long. I hoped maybe they had but I knew there was the possibility they weren't here. We started sweeping the trailers, one by one. Coming to the middle trailer last. The ladder still up against the outside leading to the roof.
Inside on the table of the middle trailer was a note:
"Camille, I hope you get this, that you're still alive. Its been two weeks. We waited for as long as we could. We're heading two towns west of here. It looked promising. There's some houses on the west side of town that are fenced. Find us. Rick"
I felt my knees buckle as I feel to the floor, tears streaming down my cheeks. I knew it was a long shot that they could still be here. But if they were gone, was I ever going to find them again? This note was closer to two weeks old. That amount of time in this shit world is closer to months of time passed. I wanted to be positive but its hard when I realised my family wasn't here. And it was going to like finding a needle in a haystack to find them again.
I'd backed the truck into the camp site, facing out just in case we needed to make a quick getaway. I picked up the empty cans and grabbed some rope from the back of the truck. I made a make-shift alarm for the night. I was taking more precautions, regardless of having Chris with me. It would do for tonight.
Stepping back into the trailer again. I looked around. Nothing was left to show my family had been there. Not that I expected them to have left any personal belongings here. It still hurt to think they were gone. I walked down to where I had been sharing a bed with Daryl. I stood at the doorway and swallowed nervously. Nothing much had exactly happened with Daryl on this bed but it still felt like an intimate place or a place that held memories. Sleeping next to him and him leaving in the morning before I woke up, even if I didn't know it was him that night. Having him tell me he'd rather have me with him when I had to go on watch. And then there's more painful memories outside. Having to decide to give myself up to Luke and the other men to save everyone else. Seeing Daryl fight so hard to get me to stay. Watching those assholes beat the crap out of him. Leaving and the last thing I saw was Daryl barely conscious on the ground.
Chris left me to my thoughts, knowing I needed this time to get my shit together and he probably didn't want to deal with a crying woman. Most men avoided those situations.
He offered to take watch for the night, even though I fought him on it, I was very exhausted. I had been up since some ungodly hour, relieving Chris of his watch last night and then I drove all day. He set an alarm for me for five, so he could get a few hours before we headed out. I gave him one more hug before retiring for the night.
I lay on the bed, staring up at the roof of the trailer, tired but unable to switch my mind off. I mostly thought of my last night at Camp Nazi. So much blood was on my hands now. And I wasn't sure how my family would take that news, yes it had been for a good reason. But what if my actions would cause my family to distrust me?
I'd been hesitant to sleep here for the night. In this bed, that I had previously shared with Daryl. I tried to steer my thoughts away from the gore and concentrate on the people I was trying to get back to. And the prospect of an actual bed, instead of the back seat was pretty promising. No matter how many memories it held.
My alarm woke me and I was surprised I had fallen asleep. I gathered what I needed and let Chris get a few hours of sleep in.
Watch was pretty boring. And I was thankful for that. Last thing I needed were a bunch of walkers coming up on us. We had the fire power but I just needed a quiet night. Just one.
Sitting on top of the trailer it reminded me of my conversations with Rick, I smiled at those memories. I missed those conversations.
When it was time to leave the next morning, Chris was already up, packing up the last of his things. He knew I would want to get moving as soon as we could. I admit I was getting more anxious as the sun started to rise but I knew Chris needed his sleep, so I let him sleep as I continued to watch for threats.
The town had been a bust, mostly filled with walkers and I couldn't be sure if Rick and the others had even been here, as the walkers mostly blocked our paths to where we needed to go. So reluctantly we turned around and decided to stop for the night, staying in the middle of an open field, a few miles out of town. I would have to go check again tomorrow and hope the walkers had dispersed.
As we set up camp for the night, both of us taking a seat, Chris broke the silence.
"Maybe you should come with me to Louisiana? My family would love you" Chris asked, knowing exactly what my answer was going to be. He was asking out of politeness, ever the gentleman.
I shook my head. I had seriously thought about all night last night but my heart was still somewhere in Georgia. I couldn't stop looking for them, not yet. I felt reluctant to leave the state again, at least until I knew for sure. How I would find that out could be near impossible and I was well aware of that. I'm sure my family realised this too. They would try leave a trail of breadcrumbs but all it would take would be a herd of walkers to disturb them and their trail would go cold. I knew this. But I wasn't ready to give up. No matter how screwed my chances were. Chris knew the odds too, it was the same deal for him going back to search for his family. He had to know, once and for all.
We didn't want to separate because it fucked up our chances for survival but we had to know.
"Ya know you're gonna miss me" Chris stated.
"Of course I will" I scoffed.
"Gonna miss you ordering me around" he mumbled.
I chuckled. "I'll miss that too. I like bossing you around."
"And if you didn't lust after Daryl, would have kissed you a long time ago" he smirked.
"I know" I laughed, rolling my eyes at him.
"What? You knew?" he spluttered.
"Course I knew. Ain't blind. Now that you've confessed your love for me, can we just enjoy the rest of the night... Am gonna miss you though."
"Me too. And its probably a good thing I don't rock up with you, Daryl would probably beat the shit out of me."
"Yeah and I would have had to step in and save your ass, so then he'd get mad at me for defending you. See what happens, you're getting me into trouble" I chuckle, shaking my head.
"I still remember the day that we took..." both him and I wincing at the words, "you. When I had to come check you for weapons I remember him staring daggers at me" he laughed, making me smile, "He's one scary mother-fucker. Made me back down pretty quick"
"Yeah he can be scary when he wants to be, the temper on that man..." I shake my head, thinking of some of his outbursts mainly at me. "He just wanted to protect his own." I smile.
Chris grabs my hand, lacing our fingers together and squeezing. "You know if I could take all that back, from that day I would, right?" he asks a little uncertain in his eyes.
"It wasn't your fault. I don't blame you in the slightest" I smiled.
For the rest of the night we shared happy stories, well mostly happy, we just avoided talking about Camp Nazi. It was a place we both wanted to forget.
The next day we found Chris a vehicle, a truck similar to mine. We divided the supplies. When I questioned why he was taking the tent, he smiled at me and pointed to the back of the truck, he'd packed two, knowing we would split up eventually. And it was now I realised how organised he was, he packed two of everything almost, just in case I didn't find my family straight away.
"You can always come find me, if..." I trailed off.
"I know" he nodded and pulled me into a tight hug. "Find him" he whispered in my ear before he kissed my forehead and walked back to his truck. He tooted his horn once before leaving. Normally I would have scolded him for such an action but today he was off the hook for it.
I watched until his truck disappeared down the road before I got back into my truck driving in the opposite direction, back towards the town. Back to search for my family.
Two months later...
I had stopped looking for Daryl, Rick and others a few weeks back. The trail had gone cold. I knew deep down they were still alive. But I couldn't keep searching under rocks. I had been weighing up in my mind whether or not to travel somewhere different, outside of Georgia, but my heart still wouldn't let me, not yet anyway. The note left for me by Rick was still in my glove-box, I was holding on to the memories of my family tight. There would come a point when I would have to call it quits for real and move on with my life. Not yet. There was a small part of me, deep, deep down that wanted to keep looking. But every time I came up with nothing, I either got really upset or really angry. It was usually the latter.
So for now I was content on living and surviving. I just hated being on my own again. I hated that I had no one to talk to, no one to watch my back, no one to keep watch while I slept, no one to argue with, no one to laugh with and no one cuddle. I missed Chris. I missed my family. But mostly I missed him.
I had come across one small group of people on my travels. I was out hunting in the woods when I came across their camp. I watched them for a while hidden in the trees, trying to suss them out, and on the off chance they were my family. They weren't. The group consisted mostly of men, they acted a lot differently than Kane's group had but I was wary of people. Can't trust anyone these days. Except for family. So after watching them for an hour or so, I slipped back quietly into the woods unnoticed and made my way back to my truck, no game in hand this time.
I was still driving the silver truck I had stolen from the marauders. It allowed to carry a lot more than I could on foot or if I had found another horse. And I had considered that option. That was a back up plan if the truck up and died. Right now I was happy to have the truck. It served as shelter most of the time. I did have a tent in the back just in case. But hadn't needed it so far. I hardly ever found shelter in a house. Feeling too vulnerable and alone in a house. Plus the vehicle held all my supplies so I was constantly paranoid about being robbed blind for my stuff.
I drove until I found myself driving a familiar road, up a driveway till the burnt out farmhouse and the still standing barn appeared. I hadn't even realised I was near the area until the barn came into view.
I turned the truck off, grabbed a flash-light and my gun, screwing on the silencer and shoving an extra clip into my pocket. I could see two walkers slowly ambling towards the truck. With no remorse I quickly took them both down. The gun had become the replacement for my bow. I really missed my bow. I had thought about making one but it would never feel the same as mine. I was holding out hope that I would get mine back one day. Stupid idea, I know.
The pile of walker bodies from the last time I was here were still in the same place we left them, opting not to burn them in order to conserve fuel. How long ago was that? Four months? Time has really passed by.
I knocked on the door to the barn, waiting to hear anything from inside. I knocked again when I heard nothing. I wanted to be sure. Nothing. Flicking the flash-light on and holding the gun in my other hand, I opened the door, waiting a few seconds before entering. I was instantly hit by the smell of hay. I was just glad it was the smell of death. I swept the barn promptly, coming back to the stall I had slept in with Daryl. Images from that night popped into my head. His teasing way of checking for scratches. God I could have jumped him right then and there, if we'd had the privacy...No, I can't stay here. I can't deal with these emotions and feelings. Not when it comes to him. I shook my head and headed back outside.
The air was cooler, the wind whipping around me. I looked to the sky to see the darkening clouds moving rapidly in my direction. Shit. I'm going to have to stay here tonight. Wait out the storm at the very least. "Shit!"I cursed to myself. Sleeping at the trailer park was hard enough but to then go to sleeping in the barn so soon, it was too much to handle. But having to wait out the storm instead was my only option.
After a night sleeping in the barn and waiting for the storm to pass I decided to move on from this place, it held memories and it felt like pouring salt on my wounds being here. I probably would have moved on right away, if the storm hadn't snuck up on me a few hours before dark. So I was forced to stay. I had backed the truck into the barn and slept in the truck. I tried to listen to the wind and the rain, to lull me to sleep but my only thoughts were of my family and him. I finally fell asleep from exhaustion.
I did a quick sweep outside, before I drove out of the barn. Laying the map on the hood, I sighed heavily, trying to decide where to head next. There was a town about an hours drive East from here. I needed to scavenge some more supplies. I had more than enough gas, even if I had to make a detour but I was running low on food. And I needed to find some warmer clothes, it was getting colder by the day. Winter was at my doorstep now. I hoped it wouldn't snow. I had no plan for that. And I wasn't sure how sleeping in the truck would work out, if it would be warm enough. Winter's here were different to winter's back home.
So taking one last look at the barn, I packed up the map and got into the truck. Heading in the direction of the town I had spotted on the map. Whether it held supplies or anything of value was another question. I would also be keeping an eye out for somewhere if I needed to bunk down for the night. Can never be too careful nowadays.
The town looked as barren as I thought it might be. I decided to avoid the main street and try my luck with some houses and maybe some of the smaller corner stores on the edge of town. Surely all the houses hadn't been totally ransacked. And if I was lucky one of those stores could hold a goldmine, well I'd settle for warmer clothes or food. Also there were less walkers lurking around the edges of the town. Main streets always seemed to attract walkers, they seemed to congregate where you really needed to go, they were fucking annoying like that. They seemed to have that anticipation switch flipped when they turned.
I cleared several houses, looking for anything useful. I'd only come across two walkers inside the three houses I had searched so far. Searching alone takes a lot longer than I would have liked, having to constantly look over my shoulder and then continue search which ever room I was in. I was always on alert. And it was draining. I couldn't wait for the day where I could relax, even it was just for a solid twenty-four hours. I could sleep for more than two or three hours, a hot shower would probably be asking to much, but even a dip in the river where I didn't have to look over my shoulder would be nice. I swear most of time I felt like I was in auto-pilot mode, just doing what I had to to survive. It was numbing almost. I sometimes felt as dead as the walkers. This was just my solidarity speaking. I had even thought about what it would have been like if I'd gone with Chris to Louisiana, he was always good company. But I was too stubborn to leave Georgia, just like he was reluctant to stay because he wanted to know what happened to his family.
I decided to head further into town, still a ways from the main street, to hit up one of the clothing stores. The town seemed to be quiet for now. A few walkers around but nothing that couldn't be taken care of easily. I parked next to the store in an alley, wanting to keep the truck hidden as much as I could. Parking it out front seemed to me like it would stick out like a sore thumb.
I was quick to search the store, finding what I needed fast, I found some warmer clothes and packed them into a bag and was ready to leave. The less time I spent in a place the better, this rule applied when coming into towns or housing developments. Walkers were always lurking in larger herds around these areas.
I had just rounded the corner when I saw a man leaning over my truck, rifling through my stuff in the back. His back was turned to me as he continued to pull back the cover. Asshole shouldn't touch what isn't his! Looking around the street I didn't see anyone else, he seemed to be alone. I saw no pack or supplies or vehicle, he had a knife strapped to one hip and on the far side there was a glint of a weapon. I had to be silent and take him by surprise, to avoid a stand off.
I pulled the hood up on my hoody and stealthily made my way down the alley, the man still engrossed in his rummaging. I pulled my gun from the holster on my thigh and stepped in behind him and pressed the barrel of the gun against his back. He immediately froze. I clicked the safety off. The man started to raise his hands. Then I felt something hard being pressed against my back, just between my shoulder blades. Mother-fucker! Should have checked the area more thoroughly before sneaking up on this man. Shit! Now you're gonna end up dead, all because...
"Drop yer' weapon" he drawled, interrupting my thoughts and starting a whole new set of questions in my head. No fucking way...I knew that voice...surely? It couldn't be?
"I said drop it" he said pressing his weapon harder into my back. That voice...If I hadn't been so frozen in shock and/or fear I would have pinched myself. He pressed the weapon harder in between my shoulder blades, my breath hitched. Daryl...
Well think that last word will make a bunch of you smile! Definitely makes me smile, can't wait to get back to writing our gang! Yay Daryl! Now next chapter we'll get into their reunion. How do you think it will go? Do you think anyone will hold a grudge against her?
Hopefully the Chris outcome made some of you happy. I know some of you were rooting for him to die, but I think this works too.
As always will take reviews as bribes!