Chapter 16:

Even though she'd lost her son and the world turned to shit she was glad she wasn't alone. She knew Randy and the others would leave her behind so she didn't bother going back to camp after she regained consciousness and realised she wasn't dead. For the longest time she was certain there was nothing left in the world. No matter where they went the buildings were dilapidated and not one was fit to restore for adequate shelter. In the first few days after the attack on camp it didn't matter much. A harsh snow storm sent them sheltering in a barn for three days. Classi didn't mind sharing her food even though she didn't have much left. It was nice to see someone else from South Park who hadn't been zombified.

"We'll go north once the storm clears." Classi interrupted her chain of thought. There wasn't a real plan just survival. She wondered if there was something of the old world left. Maybe other groups had made decent shelter and took in others. She doubted it, but Classi kept telling her there had to be a reason for her to keep going.

"You don't want to be another dead fuck." She would say.

She was surprised by how well they blended in with the undead horde. She didn't think it would work but Classi assured her they'd kept her safe and alive since the plague started. She kept two pet zombies on chains. They weren't just useful for protection. Classi used them as pack mules allowing them to carry more stuff with them on their journey through a barren land.

Classi had removed the jaws of her zombie pets so they couldn't bite them and she'd cut off their arms so they couldn't grab them. They'd lost interest in wanting to eat. It was both creepy and fascinating to her. She couldn't focus on what Classi was saying. Existing was exhausting and she knew she was coming down with the flu. Winter was setting in and they both knew they had to find proper shelter soon. There had to be somewhere that would be suitable for a long term stay over winter. That was just one snow storm they sat through and more and worse storms were coming.

"Come on bitch." Classi deemed it safe enough to leave for a supply run. "This hoe's gotta eat."

XXXX

She shut herself in her master bedroom away from the others. She jumped when she heard knocking at the door.

"Who is that?" She asked nervously. She fumbled with a small box and hesitated to open it. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to know. Guilt gnawed at her and she couldn't shake it.

"It's just me?" George and Katherine had recovered from the flu and were allowed to interact with other survivors again. As soon as he was well enough he was sharing her bed again.

"It's open." She was shaking. She couldn't even bring herself to open the box despite asking George to get it for her on his last supply run.

"What's wrong?" He asked with concern as he noticed she was nervous.

"I don't know what to do." She'd started sobbing uncontrollably and dropped the box.

"It's going to be okay sweetie." He assured her. He kissed her gently and retrieved the small box she'd dropped in her panic.

She sighed heavily and took the box from him when she regained composure. "I guess I have to do this."

XXXX

"Can I come?" She knew they were going hunting. She'd seen a horse that had obviously escaped from a farm and wanted to catch the animal.

"I don't think mom would be okay with that." Her older brother looked nervous as he was packing up his motorcycle and equipment. He had a crossbow draped over his shoulder.

"Dad?" She was determined to find the horse and bring it to the cabin. She had a reason and horses were useful for more than just food. "I want to catch a horse."

She had wrangled her friends into joining her, but she knew her adoptive mother would never let them go outside the perimeter unsupervised.

"Mnnm. Horse meat's good eaten.'" Ned Gerblanski spoke with a voice box after his vocal chords were removed because of throat cancer caused by smoking.

She was horrified. "I don't want to eat the horse."

"What else would you do with it?" Stan's Uncle Jimbo asked. "There are no rodeos now so there's no point in riding it."

"What about when the cars run out of gas and we can't find any anymore?" She smirked triumphantly. They knew she had a point.

"Touché." Her older brother exclaimed clearly impressed.

"It wouldn't hurt." Blake added. "We'll have to look for alternatives for cars eventually."

"Ask your mother first kid. I don't want to get into trouble." Her dad obviously wanted to let her go out and catch the wild horse, but he didn't want to get into trouble from her mother if she didn't ask first.

"Okay." She ran into the house looking for her mother. The main reason for catching the wild horse was so it wasn't eaten. She didn't want him to become zombie meat.

XXXX

He refused to talk to anyone as soon as he found a car they could use. They broke down further up the road and had to search for another car. The RV couldn't get through a car crash pile up and he reluctantly abandoned it.

"Where the hell are we going Randy?" Sharon asked with frustration as they'd stopped to rest yet again.

"Finding shelter." He was vague for a reason and all he could think about was revenge. He wanted to get rid of the fat bumbling idiot and didn't understand what Mary even saw in Officer Barbrady.

"It's the middle of nowhere Randy!" Stephen Stotch whined. "There's nothing here."

Unknown to them Mary McDaniels had a cabin deep in the mountains. He knew exactly where it was and he knew that's exactly where she would run to. "It's not that far."

"What's not that far?" Sharon looked sceptical and so did the others. "We've been walking for miles."

"More like a death march if you ask me." Roger Donovan was getting on his last nerve.

Clyde started to cry. "Waah! I wanna go home!"

"Don't you start?" He snapped without caring that he was yelling at a kid. "It's because of the little fat kid we don't have a camp anymore."

"Randy?!" He didn't care if his ex-wife was disgusted with him. He even wished he'd left them behind on the highway.

"I told you there's shelter." He ignored Sharon and anyone else who tried to interrupt or complain. "It isn't far and if you don't want to freeze to death you'll shut up and come with me!"

XXXX

"Come on! Come on!" She anxiously paced back and forth while her husband sat on the couch by the bed twiddling his thumbs. She knew he was nervous for the result as much as she was.

"It's going to be okay Mary." He kept trying to reassure her but nothing could calm her down. She still wasn't even sure she wanted to know the result.

"I can't stand this!" She panicked. Sweat dripped down her brow as she waited for the timer.

A bell dinged. The test was sitting on the breakfast table by the window. She kept one in her room in case she didn't want to leave it to eat.

"W-what is it?" George asked nervously. She could see him shaking as he fidgeted with his police cap.

She took a deep breath. It did nothing to calm her down. She couldn't even bring herself to look at the test. "Oh God!"

"Mary?" He came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her. "What is it?"

"I-I…" She stammered. Her hands shook as she held the test up for him to see. "I'm pregnant. I'm going to have a baby."

She felt like she would faint. She didn't know the paternity of her unborn child because of her tryst with Randy Marsh back at camp. She hated herself for it. She couldn't tell for sure, but she desperately hoped the child was Barbrady's.

He turned her around so she could face him. He was very understanding because he knew she never wanted to be with Randy. He was well aware of her hatred towards her former friend. He held her belly in his hands. "No matter what this kid is mine."

She wrapped her arms around him. Despite everything she hadn't lost him.