"Chambler! Come on cadet, we got to move NOW!" Tara stops shooting and runs. The academy had become a haven for people trying to get away from the outbreak and the freaks it brought with it. Corpses were coming back to life and eating people, and they couldn't contain it. Officer Smith was one of the people in charge, and when she told Tara to run, leave, and find her family, the young Alpha couldn't find it in her to fight it.
It had been a month of pure hell since the outbreak, and the more people panicked, the faster they died, the faster the army of the undead grew. Tara had seen many people just give up, fall into a fetal position, and scream as the Walkers tear them apart. At least she could respect the ones that shot themselves in the head; they at least made it easy by NOT coming back. Smith had told her to get in one of the cruisers and turn on the sirens, to try to draw them away from the building. The older Beta had done the same, and they had gone in separate directions, pulling the herd away as much as they could.
When Tara had circled back to find the building overrun and no one she knew insight, she left. Surely her family would be home; it wasn't like her father was fit for travel. She would check their other family's homes. Maybe they went to one of their cousin's houses. They weren't there, though, and it took everything in her not to break down. It took her months to find another person alive. She had found an old feeder truck, an Amazon semi, and made a home out of it. Collecting food and clothing, she tries to make it bearable for the coming winter. The trees had already started to change colors, so it had to be October at the earliest.
"Damn. Already four months." She whispers to herself. She had just found an expensive watch on a Walker and was now resetting it. The sun was above her, so it had to be noon by now. She waits a few more minutes to double-check then sets it, strapping in on her wrist. The date said Mon 11. The eleventh of October, Monday, 12:05 pm. It was good to have a sense of time again.
She was on a run when she found him. He was sitting in an old sewer drain with some pipes and some sticks in the dirt. It was amazing that it was keeping the Walker out. She kills the Walker and removes one of the sticks, sitting down across from the man. He's asleep. How the hell-? Ah. There was a bottle of alcohol next to him, which explains it.
Tara gets some of her food out and eats, watching the sun begin to set. She needed to get back to her truck, where she prepared for the cold. But she would need to get this guy out of here too. She takes her sleeping bag and throws it at him. He lets out a humph when it lands in his lap, and he jerks awake, his bottle of Jack Daniel's rolling towards Tara.
"What-? How did you get in here?"
"Well with a front door like that, it took some effort, but it's not exactly Fort Knox." Tara points to the Walker she had killed. "You got a death wish or something I need to know about Mr. Daniel's?" She picks up the empty bottle and waves it before tossing it outside.
"It helps me when it gets quiet." the man says.
"So does a good knot massage, yet your hand ain't in your pants. You need it to not be quiet then get a battery powered MP3 and rub out a good one. Now come on, we're leaving."
"Who said I was going with you?"
"Do you want to be alone anymore, only with yourself to talk to, when you feel like talking? Cause I don't." Tara hums quietly.
The man follows her out, carrying his backpack. They get back to the truck and settle in. Tara turns on a portable heater she had hooked up to a car battery to warm the place up, then she pulls out an iPod and hands an earphone to the man. He smiles and puts it in, listening to smooth Jazz. The next song is the Beatles and the next Katy Perry. When Kiss followed Hannah Montana, and then Garth Brooks, Tara, and the man looked at each other and laughed just because they could.
"Robert Stookey; you can call me Bob."
"Tara Chambler; you can call me your Queen."
They both laugh and trade stories until they fall asleep; the first night in a long time, Bob has not drunk until he passed out. He felt good.
….….
"Come on Bob." Tara knifes a Walker, and they run for the car. It had been a month since the two Alphas met, and the truck they were staying in gets overrun. Tara had seen a herd days before, so the car is packed and ready to go. They just had to get to it. They only had the gun Tara had brought with her from the academy and no ammo, so that was useless, not that they wanted to fire a bullet now. They get to the car and drive away, running over Walkers and trying not to get stuck in the middle of them. They make it to the highway, and Tara guns the engine, T-boning another car to push it out of the way and get on the clear side of the road.
"SHIT!" Tara looked at Bob, who was holding his head and glaring at her.
"That's what a seatbelt is for Bobby." The female Alpha laughs. She swerves around a small group of Walkers and floors it.
Bob hits the window before putting on the seatbelt, "I'm never letting you drive again. I mean it this time."
"You meant it last time too and look who's behind the wheel." Tara grins. She slams on her breaks when two- things come flying out of the road, swerving, so they don't hit them. Coming to a stop, she sees two people, alive people, limping from the forest, followed by some Walkers. "Alright Bobby, take the wheel."
"TARA!" The female Alpha was already bolting from the car and driving a blade through one of the Walkers skulls before it could bite the other woman, an Omega.
"Who-?!"
"Hi, I'm Tara, I almost hit you with my car and now I'm saving your life. This way." Tara helps the Omega with the male, a Beta, and gets both of them in the back. Killing another Walker, she slides over the hood, stabs another, then gets in the passenger seat, and Bob steps on it.
"This is Bob." The female Alpha points at the man driving, "Who are you?"
"Sasha Williams." The Omega says, "This is my brother Tyreese."
"Cool. Well we're going to be here awhile, what did you do; ya know, Before?"
"Firefighter." Sasha says, "Ty played football for the Gators."
"You're a bit a ways from Florida." Bob says.
"What?" Tyreese asks.
"Bob says you guys traveled a long way from Florida on foot."
"Who said we were on foot?"
"The smell for one." Tara says, "Then we noticed each of you are carrying three bags. Then there's the fact that you guys were traveling on foot through the woods. Do you guys have a car?"
"No." Sasha smiles.
"I rest my case." Tara smiles, "Let's go find a place to settle down for the night."
They picked a house that was far enough away from the highway and herds. Bob fixes up Tyreese's knee, which had been the cause of the limping. They stay quiet and take turns on watch. In the morning, they try to figure out what they will do next.
"Me and my brother do not have a Pack." Sasha says, "Our mom died when we were young, and we didn't know our dad. We stayed in foster care for a while, but we never fully bonded with anyone there. We're alone."
"Stay with us then." Bob says, "We could be a Pack. We have the numbers for it; we don't have any ties to anything else. Why not?"
"That sounds like the first step to a good plan." Tyreese says. He wipes the sweat from his glands and holds out his hand; Sasha does the same. Tara and Bob take both of their hands and smile at their new Pack.
…
They meet Andrea and Michonne on the run in a meat locker. They were in a store, gathering supplies when Michonne had come in ready to behead Tara, thinking she was a Walker.
"WHOA!" Tara drops to the ground as the blade swings over her head, her Pack coming up behind her with guns ready. They had found a couple in houses and small businesses while house jumping the last week, and Tara had to be grateful they all knew how to use them. The Alpha with the sword was less pleased.
"I need those." She pointed to the aspirin in Tara's hand.
"For what?" Sasha demands.
"My Mate is sick." The Alpha growls, "I need them."
"We'll all go." Michonne growls when Tara suggests it, and the younger Alpha is quick to backtrack, "We have a doctor. Bob, he's a doctor and if you take us to your Mate we can help them. Food, medicine. We can help."
Michonne allows them to follow her to the deer meat locker where she and Andrea had taken shelter. When they don't find her in their den, Michonne grabs her sword. She goes into the next room with a whine, ready to put her Mate down if need be. Tara's Pack follows and stays in the doorway until Michonne kneels beside her Mate.
"Andrea." The Alpha pulls the Beta woman's head into her lap. "What are you doing out here?"
"I needed some light." Andrea smiles.
"There's a doctor. He can help."
Bob goes over with that and starts checking the Beta's temperature and breathing. "You have a Pack, but you're not traveling together. Did you two split when she came down sick? Was anyone else sick too?"
"Just me." Andrea breathes, ignoring Michonne's growls at the other Alpha, "We couldn't have the pups getting sick."
"Pups?" Sasha asks.
"Two." Michonne answers while Bob gives Andrea the aspirin and some Nyquil. "One's just under a month old. We couldn't risk it. I left with her to take care of her and our Prime stayed behind to take care of the pups. When she's better we'll go back. I will see if our Prime will allow you to join us if you want."
"Really?" Tyreese asks, "Just like that?"
"As far as he needs to know, you saved Andrea's life." Michonne huffs, "We need the numbers though. And you seem like good enough people."
"Why do you need the numbers?" Tara asks.
"There's another group, a town really, run by a man they call the Governor." Michonne rumbles. "He runs a Delta Pack as his security and they kill other groups to take their supplies. One of ours, a Beta named Merle, went in as a spy and he tells us that they're getting closer to the place we've claimed as ours. We need more people if we are to live."
"You'll need to leave." Bob says. Both Mates growl at him, and he huffs, "Not your place. This one. The meat locker isn't the healthiest place for Andrea. If you stay, you'll die here."
"Then let's pack up." Tara and Sasha start grabbing things while Michonne helps Bob take Andrea outside. Tyreese finds a van they can use to move everything and everyone and pile their stuff inside it. Michonne takes her two Walkers and leads them away from the small town. They walk for most of the day when they see the helicopter go down, black smoke curling around the engine before taking to the air. It crashes into trees and goes down in a clearing. The groups see the smoke and make their way to it, leaving the car on the road. Andrea starts throwing up once they get close enough to smell the burning skin. Michonne tries the Walkers to a tree and gets a gun ready. She and Tara move to check for survivors when a jeep pulls up. The group takes shelter in the bushes.
"Spread out. Save your ammo until you need it." An Alpha rumbles. Michonne and Andrea growl. The others look at them in confusion.
"The Governor." Michonne lets out a rumble of her own. Andrea breathes through her mouth so she doesn't throw up and alert the new group of their position.
"Got a breather!" The Governor yells, "Help me out Tim!"
Tyreese takes out a Walker with his knife as it gets too close to their group, but it gets the two Walker pets worked up. They were making a lot of noise, and soon it would cost them their location. Michonne stands up and cuts their heads off, just as the men start to notice the sound the chains around their necks make. Sasha was drawing her knife when they heard another sound behind them.
"Ah ah ah. None of that now." The freezes. "That's it, turn around. You still owe me a Big Cat Michonne."
"The hell I do." The Alpha breathes out a laugh. They turn around and see a Beta with thinning hair and a knife prosthetic, laying a gun at their feet with a wide grin on his face. Michonne crawls over to him and throws her arms around his neck in a hug. "Merle."
Tara's Pack relaxes; this was their Packmate, the spy from Woodbury. Merle looks them over, "There's some new faces your hanging around these days."
"They save Andrea's life. She got sick and we had to leave Morgan and the pups so it wouldn't spread." Michonne whispers.
"Are my pups alright?" Merle asks urgently, his eyes on the Governor's men, "Duane and Reedus? Is my Mate ok? Morgan wasn't happy I left to do this."
"The Prime is ok, but still unhappy. Neither of the pups were sick when we left." Andrea says. Tara understood now why this guy was such a big deal. This man was their Prime's Mate. Their Luna.
"Andrea still sick?" Merle asks. He gets closer, and they part to let him near the Beta. His hands start to shake as he looks her over, and he has to swallow a few times before he can speak. "Shit. Pneumonia. I can get you more help but none of you will like it."
"Can we escape later?" Michonne asks. Merle nods. "Do it."
"HEY ALPHA!" Merle bellows, calling to the Governor, "Got some fresh meat!"
Andrea passed out in her Packmate's hands.
…
The Beta comes through a bit while driving and notices that she can see some of her surroundings. Merle was in the seat next to her, his hand resting on her leg and shaking badly. She reaches out and squeezes it. He wasn't going to lose her too.
She comes too again in a room with a doctor and her Pack surrounding her. Michonne was by her side, and Merle was in front of her. Tara and her group station themselves around the room, looked over by the same woman. She comes to Andrea and hooks her up to an IV, taking her temperature too. They needed to play this out the right way.
Michonne took the chance to question the doctor, "Why are we being held here? Why can't we leave?"
"It's dark, and your Pack isn't well enough to travel yet. Stay the night." The doctor replies.
"Where are we?" Michonne growls.
"Not my place to say." The doctor nods at the door, "He'll talk to you."
"Who?" Bob rumbles.
"Go check on your other patients doc." Merle says, "I can take it until he gets here. And the two of you are late for patrol. Get." The Beta throws over his shoulder to the two Betas guarding the room.
The three leave, and Merle waits another moment before getting up and pulling the two women into a hug. "I miss you guys; I miss my Pack."
"Come home then." Andrea whispers.
"Can't." Merle's voice breaks, and Tara almost whines at the pain there, "I have to protect you all."
He sits down in a chair in front of them. "Tell me what's been going on this last month."
They tell him everything regarding their Pack, even Tara's like the two Packs were one.
"You have the authority to Merge our Packs." Michonne says, "As the Prime's Mate, in their absence you can do it."
"I can't scent you all." Merle turns to Tara's group, "But consider it done. You saved them; tell Morgan they have my blessing."
"Of course." Andrea says.
"He's coming." Merle turns his ear to the door, "Get nasty."
Michonne jumps right in, "WHY THE HELL NOT?"
"Cause I ain't the Prime here and you need his permission to leave these walls! Keep talking Alpha and I'm gonna-"
"Merle behave." The Governor walks right in with a pretty brunette by his side, "They're our guest. Treat them as such."
"Tara?!" The woman goes straight to the Alpha and throws her arms around her, sobbing.
"Lizzy?!" Tara breathes in her sister's scent. "Where have you been? Where's dad and Megan?"
Merle hums and exchanges a glance with Michonne and Andrea out of the corner of his eye. This could change or complicated things. If Tara chose her sister over their Pack, Merle was in danger.
"Dad's oxygen machine ran out and he turned. He got Megan and I ran. Philip found me and took me in." Lizzy turned to Merle, "Thank you for saving my sister."
"No problem Luna. It wasn't my intent, but it worked out gracefully." Merle rumbles. Tara had to force herself not to tense while hugging Lizzy. Merle had just told them Lizzy was Mated to the Governor, putting his fate in Tara's hand. The female Alpha understood this for what it was; a test. Andrea and Michonne would refuse their acceptance into their Pack if she blew his cover. It might even kill them. It was her Pack or her sister.
"Dad killed Megan?" Tara asks, "How'd you get away from their Walkers?"
Lizzy's silence was enough. "You didn't. You left while dad was eating Megan. You didn't try to save her, you just ran."
"There wasn't anything I could have done." Lizzy steps away, "I couldn't die too."
Tara turns to Bob and hides in his chest, using a finger to trace W U on his arm. He hugs her, and she passes the message to Sasha, who whispers it to Michonne. W U; with you.
"Is there a problem?" The Governor rumbles.
"No." Bob answers, thinking fast on his feet, "Tara just found out her sister is alive and her dad and niece are dead. None of us have slept well in months; she's overwhelmed. In the morning everything will be alright."
"Of course." The Governor relaxed a bit. "Sleep. We shall see you when the sun rises. Lizzy." The Beta woman goes to her Mate's side, and Merle follows. Philp closes the door. "Welcome to Woodbury."