Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead comic or television series adaptation or either set of characters. My original characters and plot twists are my own.

Prologue

Abilene May Pickens sighed, fanning herself in the Georgia heat.

Summertime.

The worst time for the zombie apocalypse to be full blown and air conditioning to be out of commission permanently.

Also a bad time to be pregnant, but there was nothing to be done about it now. She smoothed a hand over her still flat stomach and stared out of the passengers side window as the landscape passed by.

It had taken almost two months to travel this far, avoiding bad or overrun roads, scavenging and taking shelter by nightfall.

Willy, her brother in heart and name, was doing everything possible to make the journey comfortable for her. He had apologized profusely about not being able to consistently provide air conditioning in the car, because conserving gas was also a high priority these days. She waved him off, the wind and the homemade fan he made her to make up for it were enough. The result of the first was the honor of being the last vehicle in their groups lineup as they searched for shelter, permanent or temporary.

The twenty two year old smiled wistfully at the though of having a home, somewhere safe to deliver her little one. Cooler air would also be greatly appreciated, but she wouldn't be greedy. One of the two gifts would be enough.

A sudden honk from somewhere up front broke the silence, halting the procession.

Willy sighed, letting off the gas and allowing the beaten up Chevy to crawl to a stop. He released his seat belt and reached down beside him for the rifle he kept on hand just in case we ran into another, less companionable group or any kind of walker trouble. He reached into the glove box for the six shooter pistol, flicking off the safety and handing it to her. "Stay in the truck, I'll be back as soon as I can."

She nodded, swallowing hard.

She watched him walk around the truck and pass the Toyota Camry directly in front, then further out of sight, his rifle held at the ready.

She waited anxiously, watching every angle of the truck for signs of movement. Two men and a woman climbed out of the Toyota, leaving their car doors open while they headed toward the head of the caravan. More people were getting out and following.

"Abi?" A small voice whispered in fear.

"We're okay, we're just stopping for a minute." She soothed the five year old girl reflexively, eyes peeled.

"Where's Tim? And miss Leah, she should be with him, cause they're married." Missy said, tugging on the bottom of her shirt.

"I'm sure they're both up front with Willy." Abilene reassured her, smoothing her hand over her head.

Willy came back, shaking his head and his weapon pointed downward. He was alone, his body language screamed tense.

Sensing something bothered him, she stepped out of the car, turning to the little girl. "Missy, why don't you go up to see Miranda? Ask her nicely if you can play with Susie?"

"Kay!" The child responded cheerfully, bouncing past the Camry and toward the baby blue Dakota.

"Willy?" Abilene probed cautiously.

"It isn't anythin' too serious." He started, his southern accent thick and warm. He sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. "There's a traffic snarl ahead, there's too many abandoned cars on both sides ta jus' turn around an' it will take a while ta push the ones we need ta make a clear path. We're lookin' at maybe spending the rest of the day here, if we take breaks an' the weather stays decent."

"What are we going to do about shelter? Sleeping? We can't stay out here in the open!" She fretted, fighting tears.

"Charles is headin' a scoutin' party while the first team starts workin' on movin' the cars, I'm goin' with him as an extra gun. We'll find somewhere ta spend the night, I promise." He assured her, kissing the side of her head affectionately.

She smiled at him trustingly, nodding.

"I'mma go find that troublemaker of ours an' make sure she minds." He said, an affectionate grin splitting his face as he turned to walk away.

"Tell her to be back here if Miranda or Hector aren't able to keep her company." She called to his retreating back. A wave was all the response she got.

God help her, she loved them both. The ornery, mischievous troublemakers.

time jump

Abilene gasped for breath, her heart pounding as fear and adrenaline pulsed through her body.

A small snap to her right had her whole body tensing, fight or flight instincts gearing up.

She ran, flying through the forest as fast as possible with the limited light of the moon.

"Abilene!" A hoarse voice called quietly in the darkness.

Relief burst in her chest, replacing the heavy waves of fear.

"Hector?" She whispered, leaning her head around the tree she'd been passing.

"Thank God, senorita, I had feared the worst. Have you seen what became of the others? Is anyone with you?" The stocky middle aged man asked quietly.

"No, you're the first I've seen. I ran with Linda, but I lost her a little while back. I got separated from Willy early on; Charlie, Lucy, Miranda and Stacy are dead. I saw Timmy and Joel run toward the highway, but they were followed, I think. I don't know about anyone else, it all happened so fast. Did you see what happened to Willy? Do you know if he's okay?" She choked out, worry replacing relief.

Hector had moved closer while she spoke, now he paused beside a tall oak. "I didn't see Willy go down, but he was in the worst of it when I lost track of him. Jenna and Kyle are dead as well, I saw them go down. We should try to make it to the rendezvous point, in case anyone else made it."

She nodded, grateful for a purpose, a direction.

They walked for what felt like the entire night, but in reality was more likely only three or four hours, resting only when no other option was available. At last, the highway came into sight.

Abilene scanned the abandoned cars; eyes straining in search of survivors, messages, or the undead.

Hope began to stutter, then fail. She didn't see anyone, or anything.

Please be alive. Please be here. She begged any and all gods that existed, any higher power that may or may not be listening. Please.

"Abilene!" A whispered shout from nearby stole all the breath from her body.

She turned, blinded by tears, and ran into a muscled chest with warm arms.

"I got ya, yer okay, I got ya." A warm accented voice soothed her, rubbing her back comfortingly. "We're okay."

A small face swam in her minds eye, sending fear racing through her veins a second time that night. "Willy, I don't know where she is!" She murmured urgently, clenching her hands in his shirt.

"She's fine, she got away with Joel and Linda." He answered, squeezing her in reassurance.

"What do we do now, Willy?" She whispered, burying her face further into his chest.

"We move on, head down ta Atlanta like we planned, see what's what. Go from there. If Joel and Linda find a car, they'll meet us there."

The remains of camp were packed, the dead buried, the undead burnt and the gas siphoned then stored in the two cars that were needed.

The newest journey began at first light

Atlanta

Abilene P. O. V

It was surreal.

The three lane highway into Atlanta was completely deserted, the three lane highway from Atlanta was crammed full of ruined and abandoned vehicles. The skeletal remains of Atlanta looming in the near distance.

I glanced at Willy as he drove the moving van we'd found five miles back.

"We go in, look an' grab what we can wherever we can, then get out. If it even seems like a place is overrun, we bail. No stunts, no questions." He spoke firmly to me, his eyes staying on the road even though there was no danger of traffic issues.

I sighed. One time, it was one time, and he wouldn't let it go.

"Yes, sir." I barked back.

His jaw tightened and his nostrils flared.

I smirked, turning my head so he couldn't see it.

We parked the van on the outskirts of the city, along the railroad tracks so we could find it quickly, but no one else would. Just because the city seemed to be deserted, didn't mean it was, and not all survivors were inclined to make sure the vehicle isn't claimed by another group before stealing it for themselves.

We, unfortunately, learned this lesson the hard way.

Once in the city, I kept close to Willy, scoping out possible threats and targets.

I looked into cars carefully as we passed, searching for useful items or any undead passengers able to sneak up on us. So far, the occupants seemed mostly dead or gone. Good and bad for us; good, because there was no immediate threat and bad, because the passengers could be part of a herd prowling literally any part of the city.

Aren't I just chalk full of happy thoughts?

"What do you think?" I whispered as we crept through the streets. There was a department store somewhere on the next block, clothing shop two buildings down and another building I was unsure of a bit further down.

I didn't see any bodies or evidence of the undead taking residence inside the clothing shop or the antique shop next to it, but that mean nothing. Nothing is certain when it comes to scavenging unknown buildings in the new world, other than you need to watch your ass and your partners back.

"We'll hit the clothing store, then maybe check out the antiques shop-see if there's anythin' useful in it. Work our way from there." He whispered back, head constantly on the swivel, eyes scanning the streets.

Gaining entry to the store was easy, there were four walkers within sight that were easy to dispatch due to the distance between each. The clothes racks were slimmer than I liked, some grimy and unrecognizable pieces of clothing were strewn on the floor. The counters, racks, walls and everything else in the store was covered in dust and grime that I don't care to analyze too closely. The air was thick with the smell of dust, decay, and a hint of musk.

I scurried down the aisles, always alert, scanning the racks for anything in my or Willy's size. I found a few things that wouldn't cause us to overheat, but not as much as I'd hoped.

I crept further into the store, pistol and knife at the ready.

It was quiet.

It put me on edge.

I kept moving forward, scanning my surroundings. A flash of color caught my eye and I turned cautiously to gain a better look.

I couldn't contain my grin. Luck was on our side, today.

I practically flew toward the maternity racks, eagerly sorting through anything that caught my eye and grabbing as much as I could carry of the sizes that were still readily available. This would really take a load off of Willy, I couldn't wait to tell him.

The thought made me freeze. I hadn't seen him for a few minutes at least and I hadn't kept track of where he was or where I was going like I was supposed to. Crap. He's going to have my head when he finds me.

I finished gathering my haul into my pack and began to carefully work my way to where I thought the front of the store is.

A sudden smack of metal made me jump, my pulse speeding up.

I jogged over to a nearby wall partition display and took cover, reaching for the pistol tucked in my back pocket as I steadily scanned the store.

A shuffling and groaning growing nearer confirmed my worst fear.

Where is it? Where the hell is it? I can't see it. I thought, beginning to panic. What if it got Willy when I wasn't paying attention? How long has it been here? Where the hell is it? Where is it?!

I glanced around at the nearby racks, but nothing seemed overly familiar. Shit! I must have gone deeper in than I thought. Think! Listen!

I closed my eyes for a moment, straining my ears to attempt to pinpoint where the sounds were originating from. There, to my left, I think. What's over that way? Think, think.

Sports? To the right is men's shirts, maybe men's sweats or coats. Is there a clear-ish path between here and there? What about beyond that point?

I listened again, the groaning was only marginally closer. I still had time, it hadn't noticed me.

I chanced a small peek to my right, to get a quick lay of the land, so to speak.

There was a decently stocked rack beside me, little on the floor to trip me up, it seemed like there was good running room for a fair distance. It looks like it's my best shot, if I don't want to waste ammunition and risk drawing more walkers to this position.

Okay. Deep breath in, breath out. Let's do this.

I made a break for it, grabbing the nearest rack and slamming it back into the walkers path, creating a temporary road block. I ran as fast as I was able, elbowing racks that were too close to me to prevent them from slowing me down, throwing them back toward the walker whenever I could. My heart was pounding, the walkers snarls and my labored breath filled my ears, fear and adrenaline pumping through my body pushing me to move faster. I felt every bounce of my pack against my back, very aware that it could be used against me if the walker ever got close enough, terrified of that possibility becoming a reality.

I could see the entrance to the store now, hope surging in my chest at the sight.

A sudden thud broke the pattern of sound I had become accustomed to, making me pause.

Breathing hard, I spun around, half poised to resume running in case the walker had just tripped on something.

Willy was standing over the walker, the hunting knife in his hand covered in dark, congealed blood. I started to sob, relief slamming into me with the forced of a freight train.

He welcomed me into his arms, squeezing me as hard as I squeezed him, reassuring himself I was alive.

"Damn it, Abilene. What the hell happened?" He demanded, pulling back and fixing me with a hard glare.

"I lost track of how far in I'd gone. I'm sorry, Willy." I choked, tears still streaming from my eyes.

His glare softened slightly. "We gotta go if we want ta get ta that antique store. Stay close this time, ya ain't leaving my side again. Ya do, I'll find a damn rope ta tie ya ta me."

I nodded, wiping my face.

The streets appeared just as deserted as when we'd arrived, which was good. I didn't want another run in so soon after the last one. I don't think Willy or I would handle it very well.

The antique store was untouched, at least two inches of dust layered everything in sight. The store was clear of walkers, which was a good sign. Faded white walls and sturdy wood tables were the bulk of the store contents. Anything you think of when you hear antique shop was here; gadgets, bobbles, memorabilia, books, figurines, furniture, and appliances to list a few.

I wasn't completely sure what we could find useful here, but sometimes you find the best stuff in places other people wouldn't think to scavenge.

I picked up a few books I recognized. The Lord of the Rings, first edition, with an autograph on the first page. Dracula, Frankenstein, the good classics.

Willy and I moved deeper into the store, looking for anything promising. I was quickly giving up hope that we would find something that we would actually need the longer I stood in this store. Sorry, Willy, but I think your gut was wrong on this one.

After a thorough search throughout the store, we packed away a few useful things. Mostly starter material for our fires. There were these beautiful hand crafted knives that I absolutely loved, sharp and a bit ornate, that I found. Willy found a compass, so that's something.

He knew it wasn't much, but I didn't say anything, his face held enough disappointment.

We decided to head back to the van, call it a day while our luck held.

Willy walked ahead of me, at least five feet between us, with his damn long legs.

Suddenly, his entire body tensed, and he moved a bit faster. There wasn't any tension when he moved forward, like before, just speed. I frowned, picking up my pace to match his.

He crouched beside a burnt pick up truck, at least four feet ahead of me.

What the hell was he doing?

I walked faster, eating the distance between us in half the time.

He turned to me, shaking his head. "Abilene, ya ain't gonna believe this."

I stared, shock rocking through my entire body. "Is he dead?"

The guy certainly looked like he could be dead. A bloody rag of some sort hand been wrapped around his hand. It's a miracle the walkers hadn't gotten to him, as far as I was concerned. He was either lucky or tougher than nails.

Willy and I exchanged a look, deliberating.

Time jump

Willy packed up the last of our supplies, while I waited inside the cab.

The little campsite hadn't been much, but it had been peaceful while it lasted.

Can't go back, only forward.

Atlanta had been a bust, but that doesn't mean there isn't hope. So, we're going to continue along the highway and see where it leads.