The sound of flesh being chewed and picked apart is a sound nobody should ever have to hear.

Crunch.

Snap.

Crack.

I slid down the wall behind me, unsure of what to do. The idea of never leaving a fallen comrade behind had been drilled into my head from training. I couldn't just leave him.

Hell, I don't even know if it was him. Maybe it could be someone else. Maybe someone stumbled inside and brought in a walker! That had to be it! But then again, wouldn't I have heard it? Or maybe Luke? Luke wouldn't just go down there, he's smarter than that. Maybe he left to get food?

I turned my head to get a quick glance inside the master bedroom, everything we needed was there…

Okay, well maybe he went to scout outside and see if it was safe enough for us to leave.

But his gun was there…

Maybe he's- oh stop with the guessing games, Isabelle. He's not here, something is down there, something or someone is being eaten downstairs. You have to do something and do it now.

Should I peek over the balcony? What will I see? What if whatever down there sees me? Fuck. I sighed silently to myself and rested my face in my palms. What the hell was I going to do?

Different scenarios played through my head, I could:

a) Hide and wait for Luke to come back

b) Peek over the balcony to find out what was down there

c) Cry

I couldn't risk whatever was down there from seeing me, so that took out choice B. I knew choice C would get me nowhere, so why even bother. I learned two weeks ago that crying and begging won't get you shit.

And so choice A was left, waiting. Wouldn't be too hard, I mean I've been doing it for a couple weeks now, right?

I stood up to get back to the room and try to think over the matter some more. If I was going to make a decision, I have to make it now.

I know I have to take all possibilities into consideration, and as much as I don't want to think so, there could be a chance that it was Luke down there. I had to stop denying this and I had to stop letting my emotions get to me.

But no matter what, I couldn't swallow the fact that that could be true, that he could be down there.

And if he was? What would I do? Would he be alive?

My ear twitched at some footsteps outside the house, oh no. Oh god no, please don't tell me…

Thud. Thud. Thud.

I cupped my mouth to make sure I was dead silent and snuck over to the window in the master room; nothing in front of the house. Where were the thuds coming fr-

The sound of a window shattering almost made my heart jump out of my damn chest, someone was breaking in through the back. Fuck.

I heard the recognizable moans of the undead and instantly froze, with my hand still over my mouth. Could they smell me? Or were they here for something else?

I couldn't think anymore, I had to react.

I snuck to the dresser and searched and searched for any keys. Sock drawer. Underwear drawer. Shirts. More socks.

After some digging I found the car keys to Luke's car, and gripped them tightly so they wouldn't jingle and alert the undead downstairs. Man, I really wish I had ear buds, the shuffling of the walkers was only making my heart pound even more.

I reached for my bag and didn't bother to check its contents, instead I just grabbed as many cans of food I could fit in. You know how Luke gets when I don't leave a note, Jane's voice echoed in my mind. I hope he comes back.

I searched for a pen, pencil, anything I could write with. I was almost tearing up the dressers, and I found nothing. I did, however, see her makeup bag.

Lipstick.

I pulled out one of the lipsticks and leaned forward to write on their bedroom mirror,

Meet you at the CDC.

Isabelle

He's alive, I know it, he would get my note and he would meet me at the CDC. I just know it. I had to keep thinking positive, I had to stay optimistic as hard as it was.

I turned my head to listen for any more sounds, and from what I was hearing there had to be at least ten walkers down there. I had to leave now.

I walked over to the main window in the room and made a quick peek to get a count of any possible walkers out there.

There were a couple scattered along the streets, and that made things a lot easier. All the walkers must have been coming in through the backyard, and not the front. Two or three walkers wouldn't be able to stop me if I was going to be fast. Hopefully.

I pushed the blanket out of the way and slid the window open, trying to keep my hands steady as if I were handling a bomb to not drop the glass that I was sliding out. A gust of wind hit my face and it felt pretty satisfying against my sweaty, hot skin.

I slipped one leg out, making sure with every move I made the walkers wouldn't suddenly turn their attention to me. Once the coast was clear, I slid my other leg out so that I was sitting on the window pane.

I tried my best to slide down the slope of the roof, and once I'd gotten to the end, I froze, just to make sure.

It was probably going to be an eight foot drop or so, but anything better than waiting here and wasting away. I jumped down and tried my best to land quietly. God damn this bag felt heavy.

Once I was on the ground, I ducked to make sure that the walkers outside or the ones inside the house wouldn't see me. I slid my way around the car and pulled the keys out of my pocket to unlock the door.

I kept fumbling with the keys since my hands were so sweaty, only for them to slip out of them. On to the sidewalk. Great. I could start to hear the hisses of the walkers as they turned their attention to me. I quickly grabbed the keys and jammed them into the lock to unlock the door, I couldn't get distracted or it was over.

They were nearing me, probably a good ten or so feet away, so as soon as I got the door open, I threw my bag and gun in, not caring about anything at that moment, jumping in afterwards.

One managed to get close to the door, but I kept pressing down on the lock button. I tried my best to keep ignoring their hisses and moans as they all crowded the car and continued to bang on the windows.

I turned the car on, slammed the gas and crushed the ones in front of the car, hoping I wouldn't get stuck.

I drove out of the neighborhood with a heavy grip on the steering wheel, and never looked back.


I'd barely left the neighborhood, which was a real pain in the ass by the way, when I stopped by a car shop and saw her.

I wasn't sure what year and model it was, but it was one hot car. There weren't any walkers in the area either! This El Camino was just calling my name.

At first, I admired it from a distance, while observing the area first, of course. I smiled, since all the walkers in the area had already been run down by yours truly.

I pulled up to the car and could feel myself drooling, it was a glossy black paint with white racing stripes. Beautiful.

Only problem was, how the hell was I supposed to start her up? I don't think I remembered how to hotwire a car, I haven't done it in a long time. Shit. And what if it had an alarm? Then I'd definitely be going up shit creek without a paddle.

I sat in the car for a while and pondered the many things I could do…I know I shouldn't be out here like this. But a car like that was…too nice to give up. Since it was in a shop there was a good chance it'd run better than the car I was currently stuck with.

I parked the car and opened to get a better look at the El Camino and assess the situation. I stepped over to the passenger door, where there seemed to be…a hand.

Just a hand.

I plucked the hand away and saw that it was holding on to the keys, poor bastard. Poor, poor bastard. I really hope they'll forgive me for stealing their ride. Well, technically it wasn't stealing, I was just borrowing it.

Just as I was about to transfer my belongings to the car, I heard the door to the car shop swing open. The walker was missing a hand; it actually looked down at the hand on the ground next to me and turned back to me. I had a feeling it was the car owner.

Fuck this. I threw my bags into the front seat and got the hell out of there. Last thing I wanted was stumpy to bring any friends to the area.

Damn this car was nice.


Why did cars need gas? Seriously, why can't they run off of, I don't know, sunlight or something? Gas stations were especially hell to find around here, all the ones I'd stopped at were out of gas or surrounded by walkers.

What really confused me is how so fast this thing spread, how the hell did we let this happen? I frowned at the memories of what happened to Jane and I. I couldn't blame the people this happened to, shit happens.

I saw a gas station come up in the distance, and slowed down to get a better look. A couple abandoned cars here and there, but so far clear from walkers. It was getting dark, and this was my first time out since the outbreak, I wasn't sure what was going to happen.

However, I did know that I was happy for the first time in my life since there was an absence of "no gas" signs. I pulled up and opened the door slowly, I was going to have to go inside the little shop to get the gas working.

I leaned against the wall outside the door, with one hand on my handgun and the other on the handle. I pressed the handle slowly and stepped inside, making sure that my handgun would always follow my line of sight.

The room was dimly lit, but the two corners near the doors were clear, and so I stepped further inside.

There were some snacks scattered around the floor, but other than that the place was pretty intact for a small gas station. I guess it was just in the middle of nowhere in the outskirts of Atlanta. Who cares, there were snacks, maps, and hopefully enough gas left.

I stepped over to the cash register an-

Everything went black.