DPOV
We'd been running from walkers for hours. Beth and I had no choice, we couldn't get away. So we had spent the night curled up in the trunk of an abandoned car, staying still and quiet, hoping they wouldn't find us, and they'd just keep going.
It was light out now, no more groaning or moaning could be heard...
Carefully and cautiously, Beth lifted the hood of the trunk up, I had my crossbow at the ready just in case we were wrong and there were walkers out there.
Luckily, they were all gone. So we go to work.
We grabbed cords, glass, rims. Anything we might be able to use for our camp side and anything we could carry. What was here, could be what saves us later on so we had to make sure we grabbed everything we could.
...
I knew Beth could set up the camp by herself, so I went hunting instead. We needed food, so now was as good as any other time.
I aimed at the squirrel climbing down the tree. Pulling the trigger, the crossbow flew through the air... hitting the tree and letting the squirrel run away. I never missed...
Moving to the tree I pulled my bolt out, taking a look at it. It was frayed, which explained why I missed. I wasn't going to be able to do much with broken bolts, so I had to improvise. Grabbing a 'Y' ended stick, and my knife- not the one Vic still had- I started tracking a different animal to kill.
It didn't take long to find the snake.
Using the stick, I trapped its head, and then brought my knife down, decapitating it. This was all for survival and even though there wouldn't be much meat for the two of us to share, it was the best I could do and something little was better than nothing at all.
As I skinned the snake, I felt someone watching me. Turning around, I caught sight of Beth. Without saying a word I just went back to the snake, getting it ready to cook.
We hadn't really said much to each other. After we found the walkers and dead people by the tracks, she'd changed. She wasn't all hopeful and cheery anymore. She knew we were alone, and something told me she hated me because of it...
...
Sitting by the fire, I dug into my cooked snake meat. It wasn't the best tasting thing, but like I said, there wasn't anything else.
Beth sat on the other side of the small fire she'd made, picking and eating at her own snake jerky. "I need a drink."
Without looking up at her, I grabbed one of the bottle and tossed it at her before going back to eating as if nothing had happened.
"No, I mean a real drink. As in alcohol."
I ignored her. I didn't have the time or energy to listen to some whining girl go on about what she wanted when there were more important things that she should be thinking about. Like how we're going to survive for example.
"I've never had one. 'Cause of my dad. But he's not exactly around anymore, so..."
I just kept on ignoring her. The way she spoke about Hershel, as if she didn't care, I knew it was a front. She was hurting, she couldn't hide that from me. But I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of saying anything back.
"I thought we could go find some." she just kept going on. "Okay." finally she realised I wasn't going to pay her any attention, so she stood. "Well, enjoy your snake jerky." moving in my direction, she pulled my knife out of the log it was stabbed into- only by a little though- before walking off.
Still, I didn't watch, stop or follow her. I just sat exactly where I was and ate my snake. I wasn't going off on some adventure to find her some alcohol.
...
I had felt bad, letting her go off on her own. I knew she wouldn't last by herself... So I had left our camp and went off to find her. It didn't take me long. I tracked her pretty easily and found her... hiding behind a tree while she waited for some walkers to run off.
Once they were gone, I stepped forward, purposefully stepping on a twig. She spun around towards me, clutching the knife as she gasped.
Turning I started move again, with her now close behind following me.
"I think we made it away." she said after a moment of silence. "I'm pretty sure we got to go that way to find the booze."
I stepped over the cord she'd hung up with some rims as a fence around our camp.
She came to a halt, hitting the cord, making the rims clang together. "What the hell? You brought me back. I'm not staying in this suck-ass camp." she gave me the finger, before turning to leave.
"Hey!" I grabbed her arm, stopping her. "You had your fun."
"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you feel anythin'?" she paused, watching me expectantly. "Yeah. You think everything's screwed. I guess that's a feeling. So you want to spend the rest of our lives staring into a fire and eating mud snakes? Screw that! We might as well do somethin'. I can take care of myself and I'm gonna go get a damn drink."
This time when she turned and left, I followed, knowing perfectly well there was nothing I could do to stop her from going off on her own to get some stupid alcohol... well unless I tied her to a tree or something, but that would be wrong...
...
We came to open grounds, a golf course with uncut grass and over turned carts. A lodge down the hill.
Beth turned to me. "Golfers like to booze it up, right?"
I didn't answer, just looked around, only to see a herd of walkers heading our way...
"Come on." she nodded, running rushing towards the lodge with me close behind.
As we got closer, I made sure my crossbow was ready in case we got caught by some walkers. It may not be good for hunting, but killing walkers was easier than that.
"There might be people inside." she sounded like the hopeful Beth from the prison.
Thunder rumbled in the distance as we walked up the stairs of the lodge, moving to the door. A walker was lying on the ground, dead. I quickly checked it for things we could use, but came up with nothing but a golf stick- which I grabbed.
Beth tried the door, rattling it with it wouldn't sound of the herd getting closer had us rush down the other side of the stair, moving around the building to find another door.
Golf stick in hand, I opened door carefully. When there was no walkers, I turned to Beth. "Come on." we rushed inside, closing the door and sliding the golf stick in the handles to keep it closed.
Turning I came face to face with what looked to be a camp, only there were bodies, lying everywhere, no survivors, with walkers hanging from the roof. It reminded me of what that doctor from the CDC had said. They 'opted out'.
Holding my crossbow, we carefully moved through the room, making sure that the bodies on the ground were only bodies and not walkers. The ones that hung snarled, trying to reach for us. But we just ignored them.
I grabbed a torch grab using it to give us some light so we could see if there was anything we could use.
My eyes landed on a handbag full of money and jewellery. I knew there was no use in grabbing any of it, but something inside of me felt as if I needed it. So I got on the ground, shoving it all into the bag before picking it up.
"Why are you keeping all that stuff?"
I looked up at Beth but didn't answer. Just kept stuffing everything in the bag.
Pounding at door had as both turn as the sound of the walkers outside got a little louder. The herd gathering out the door.
"Come on." I stood up, both of us moving on.
We walked through some more doors that I slam med closed, putting us in darkness, but keeping us from the walkers if they got in. It would at least give us a little time...
...
Looking through the kitchen I could only find some cinnamon sticks. I kept searching, wasting some time while she kept looking for something to drink. I was trying to distract myself from the fact this little mission was probably going to get one of us killed- and by one of us I meant her.
We were in a dark, never ending building with no idea who or what could be inside with us... odds didn't look good.
Beth screamed before I heard the sound of glass smashing, and then a struggle.
I rushed in the direction it came from, finding her struggling with a walker, trying to stab it with my knife. Then, before I could about helping her or not, she got it in the head.
Once it was dead, she looked at me, out of breath. "Thanks for the help."
"You said you could take care of yourself. You did." I shrugged, turning and walking away.
...
The store was full of using less things really. The only stuff we probably could have used were the clothes. Beth was busy grabbing some now, while I checked the register.
I grabbed the money off the counter, stashing it in the bag of jewellery and things I'd grabbed before. Checking the till, I found nothing so I just sat down and waited for her to finish while I chewed on a cinnamon stick.
She came back, now dressed in a white cardigan, and yellow shirt. Her light hit the top half of a dead walker stacked up on a mannequin in front of me. It was a woman, or at least it had been. A sign staple to its chest that read, 'RICH BITCH'.
She moved to put down but when she couldn't she turned to look at me expectantly. "Help me take her down."
I shrugged "Don't matter. She's dead."
"It does matter."
With a sigh I stood, grabbing a blanket and covering the body. "Here." I moved on before she could say anything, and she followed- staying silent.
As we walked back into the hallway, the grandfather clock chimed.
We froze for a moment before going on, but the sound of walkers snarling had us stop once more, shining our lights down the hall to see walkers coming.
"Move." I told her as more walkers appeared.
With a moments pause I looked to the walkers before turning and running down the hall in the same direction she'd gone.
We came to the locker room, Beth at the other door. I was about to keep running, and follow her out, but instead I came to a stop. I turned, lifted my crossbow, and waited.
The first walker came in and without waiting I shot it with me crossbow. The second one came a little fast, pushing it I shoved it away before grabbing a golf club and swinging for the walker. Head shot.
I hit the third, but the club stuck in its head. I broke it, using the sharp end to stab the fourth before kicking the fifth. Pulling a knife out, I stabbed the sixth in the eye and then turned back to fifth. I grabbed a new club as it neared me.
I swung the bat, hitting the walker three times before it fell to the ground. As it lay there, I felt my control slip. Over and over again, I slammed the club against it, hitting the walker eleven time. The last was a head shot, its brains splattering out... and covering Beth's new white cardigan.
Panting I felt bit better. It had been a release I needed.
Turning I looked at Beth as she looked at me. We stayed silent as she spun around, her back to me. She pulled the cardigan off, before moving on. Grateful she hadn't said anything, I stayed close behind her, following as we moved through the halls once more.
The place stayed to become easier to see as we neared the side of the building where the room would have windows and let in the light.
Walking into a new hallway, we turned, seeing our destination at least. The bar.
"We made it." she turned to me with relief before becoming serious. "I know you think this is stupid, and it probably is, but I don't care. All I wanted to do today was lay down and cry, but we don't get to do that. So beat up in walkers if that makes you feel better. I need to do this."
We walked into the bar, Beth going to the bar itself while I looked around. I found a bowl full of stuff on one of the tables. I grabbed it all, stashing it in my bag. Going around the room, I found a piece of art on the wall. Smashing the glass frame, I pulled the art out and shoved it in my bag as well.
"Did you have to break the glass?"
"No." I answered plainly. "You have your drink yet?"
"No." she sat on one of the stools, placing a bottle on the counter. "But I found this. Peach Schnapps. Is it good?"
I walked past her, heading for the darts. "No."
"Well, it's the only thing left."
Standing by the pool table I set my cross bow down before grabbing one of the balls. I tossed it in my hand a little before dropping it back on the table and moving to the dart where I grabbed them and turned away from the board.
Instead I looked towards the board of club presidents and their photos, using that their faces as targets. I threw the darts, hitting each face.
Then, out of nowhere, I could hear her crying.
My dart hit the board with a thud as her crying continued. I threw another dart, waiting for her to stop. But she didn't.
Moving over I grabbed the bottle of Peach Schnapps, throwing it against the floor and letting it smash. When I looked back at her, I answered her questioning eyes. "Ain't gonna have your first drink be no damned Peach Schnapps." I grabbed my crossbow, moving to the door. "Come on."
BaMbY