One month after the outbreak (shortly after Rick wakes up from his Coma)
Jacob and Zach had been on the road for almost four weeks now. It was getting increasingly difficult and dangerous, to find supplies. As well as gas for their now-owned rental car. They had been holed up at an abandoned warehouse just outside Atlanta for a few days. When the outbreak hit, thousands of people tried getting out of the city. Jacob knew that the highways would be packed, so he and Zach made a go of it on the back roads. He had tried getting in touch with his Dad to let them know they were safe, or even his mom up in Maine, but cellular communication had been knocked out in the first week or so. Each day meant more and more scavenging, which meant less time he could keep an eye on his brother. They needed to find more people. And soon.
Jacob was fiddling with a walkie talkie he found on one of their scavenging runs.
"Dammit. I still can't get this thing to work." He cursed to himself. He didn't realize that Zach was next to him.
"Try these," he said handing Jacob a pair of batteries. Jacob smiled, and put the batteries in the walkie. Static came over the airwaves as Jacob and Zach both looked at each other with hope on their faces.
"Why are we using this anyway? I thought that they stopped sending out alerts weeks ago?" Zach asked.
"They did," Jacob said, adjusting the frequency, looking for any signs of life. "But, there may be other people out there. Other survivors. I can't protect you by myself forever buddy," he said. Zach nodded.
"Other people? Like dad?" He asked. Jacob paused for a minute, not looking at Zach.
"Y-yeah. Like dad. If he's out there. But he might also be in DC. Which is a long way from here," Jacob said, trying to reassure his brother, while also not giving him any false hope. Zach sighed, and pulled a comic book out of his bag and sat in the corner. Suddenly, Jacob heard a faint voice from the radio.
"Hello, hello, is the person who calls still on the air? This is officer Shane Walsh, broadcasting to a person unknown, please respond," the voice said. It caught Jacob a bit off guard.
"H-Hello? I don't think I'm the person you're looking for, but I can hear you!" Jacob said into the walkie.
"You're not the same person, but I hear you. What's your name son, and what is your situation?" The voice on the radio asked.
"My name is Jacob Bishopp, and my brother and I are in desperate need of a place to stay! We've been on the road for a month now and we are running dangerously low on supplies. Please, wherever you are, do think you could take us in? At least for a few days?" Jacob pleaded.
—
Survivor Camp
"I don't know Shane. Are you just gonna take this kid in? What if he's dangerous?" Dale asked.
"They're aren't a lota friendly people out here Dale. I say it's worth a shot. Give the kid a chance, and if he's dangerous, well, he won't be leaving here alive," Shane said.
"Alright kid, we're just outside the city up in the mountains. When you get here, we'll all come out and meet you," Shane said.
"Thank you! Thank you! You don't know how much this means! Thank You! We'll fuel up our car and head there as soon as possible," Jacob said now feeling more hopeful. The man on the other end hung up his radio. After Jacob hung up, Zach looked up from his comic.
"Are we leaving? Did you find dad?" Zach asked.
"No, it's uh, not dad. A group, up in the mountains. They're gonna let us stay with them for a bit. Hopefully," Jacob said.
"How do you know?" Zach asked, feeling defeated it wasn't their dad on the other end.
"I talked to a man on the radio and he said he'd be glad to have us. Come on. Let's get out of this dusty old crap shack," Jacob said smiling at his brother. Zach smiled back, as he and Jacob packed up what little supplies they had into the trunk of their car and got on the road towards the mountains.
After what seemed like hours of driving, Jacob saw smoke rising from what appeared to be a clearing and pulled in to a makeshift campsite where over a dozen or so people were doing chores, cooking, and standing watch. Jacob and Zach got out of the car and saw a rather muscular man coming towards them.
"Hey, nice to meet ya kid. Name's Shane, Shane Walsh," the man said reaching his hand out to Jacob.
"I'm Jacob and this is my brother Zachary," Jacob said, shaking Shane's hand. He still felt a bit uneasy meeting new people during the apocalypse.
"Nice to meet you both. We'll get you acquainted with everyone else and help you settle in," Shane said. Shane took the two brothers around the camp to meet everyone. There were families, people of all ages, everyone doing their part to keep everyone else safe. That put his mind pretty much at ease. Especially when he saw that Shane had a family of his own, at least from what he could see. His girlfriend, or wife, or something, was Lori. She was quite welcoming and introduced her son, Carl, to Zach.
"It's nice to meet you both," Lori said, smiling at Jacob.
"Likewise, Ma'am. It's nice to see other people," he said.
"Please," she said. "Call me Lori. This is my son, Carl," Carl gave a shy wave but looked a bit less shy when he saw Zach.
"This is my brother, Zachary. We've had a bit of a month," Jacob said.
"Well, you're safe here now. I promise," Lori said with a smile. Jacob smiled back at her and thanked her before Shane took Jacob and Zach to meet the other survivors. After they had finished their meet and greets, Zach tugged on his shirt.
"Jacob? Is it ok if I go play with Carl and the other kids?" Zach asked.
"Sure Zach, just stay in sight ok?" Jacob said. Zach nodded and went to go play with the others.
"A lot more kids here than I expected. It's refreshing in a way," Jacob said to Shane, looking towards his brother.
"You have no idea. Almost makes this shit feel normal. Well, I best be gettin' back to watch. Nice to meet you both. Just give me a shout if you need anything," Shane said.
"I will, thanks again Shane. And please, let me know if I can do anything to help around here. I don't wanna be dead weight," Jacob said. Shane gave him a smile and a nod and went back to his watch duties.
—
That Evening
It was getting dark and Jacob was setting up his tent that one of the survivors gave him for him and Zach. Zach got back from playing with Carl and his new friends and Jacob gave him some of the food from his bag. After eating and getting the tent set up, Zach fell right asleep in his cot, while Jacob slept on the floor. He couldn't stop thinking about all that happened since the outbreak. And since Lockwood Manor. He wondered, worried, rather, if the dinosaurs would ever make their way this far East. But he didn't want to think about that. At least, not yet. He finally found a place for him and Zach to be safe. They had food, water, and most importantly, people. Other people that could help keep him and his brother safe. That night, after Zach had gone to sleep, he finally felt safe. And for the first time in almost a month, Jacob slept soundly.
End of Chapter 1.
Hey everyone! You may notice that some of the dialogue is re-used from the first iteration, because it is. I've been changing the existing dialogue a bit, so as to make it more of a retcon than a re-write, while still changing certain lines that didn't really fit, or felt weird, as well as adding new dialogue that fits better with the new timeline. I am always open to suggestions though! Thanks for reading, as always!
~JPfan