OK, so I know I am taking FOREVER with the linking and there isn't a lot of fighting right now, but if you've read my stories before, you know I'm building up to something. I promise. Just have faith in me ;)
Georgie had been prepared for the weeks before they were allowed out to survey the towns to drag, to take an eternity. But to her surprise, now that she was immersing herself into the towns routine, she found very little time to sit around and mope. It was only in the few minutes before she passed out in her bed that she found herself thinking about the people she was hoping to find.
She couldn't get over how ORGANINSED they were. She and Michonne marvelled about it in private moments. Whereas before she had mistakenly thought that everyone played one pivotal role in the community, after a day or two actually being involved, she realised that whilst everyone had one area of particular expertise, everyone knew something about everything. The week after Herman had agreed to look for other towns, she had been assigned to Dayos group, much to her relief. Michonne and Sayid had been assigned to him too, and she had gotten to know the group the best, on account of them bringing her in. Dayo had wasted no time in making sure that as well as leading her archery classes, which she was now enjoying quite a lot, after getting over her initial pangs of nostalgia, that she attended all the other classes that were on offer. In the first three days, she'd been in Sayid's knife class, a sword class with Michonne, engaged in hand to hand combat, learnt to identify non-poisonous plants and tie snares to trap forest animals and some basic first aid.
Naturally, due to the amount of time she had spent in the forest hunting with Daryl and T-Dog, had made her look like somewhat of an expert with the snares and scavenging. Her experience with the Governor and his twisted games in the 'ring' meant she aced Donnie's hand to hand combat classes. But Jack and Jacci's basic first aid had thrown her somewhat.
"I don't remember amputation being a requirement to achieve my First Aiders badge in the Girl Guides." Georgie's stomach had turned somewhat as Jack had demonstrated on a recently butchered chicken how to tie ligatures to stop bleeding long enough for the injured person to be brought back to Jack and Jacci for antibiotics that would hopefully save their life.
"Really? It's a skill every well brought up woman should have you know." Jacci had tried to make light of the situation, but Georgie had still wanted to throw up as she tied the threads around the vein of the chicken.
"So basically, if we're to believe you, you can decapitate a zombie with no issues, but the chicken leg, that was a step too far?" Levan hadn't been able to stop teasing Georgie about it for the remainder of the day.
The following three weeks had gone by just as fast, and now they were on their last day of scavenger patrol. The next day, they would be sent out to pick up where the last group had left off, exploring the nearest town for any sign of life. The group, which Oscar lead, had come back encouraged. Although the town wasn't obviously lived in, they had seen others. They had taken a risky approach, and camped in one of the towns buildings, watching a street, and had seen people coming in vans and searching the shops, taking anything they could. Oscar had noted that whilst they looked well enough, not as thin as people barely getting by, they didn't seem as strong as people in their complex. He reasoned that they must be living either in the town, in a very secluded area, or they were coming to and from the other town.
"A risky strategy," Herman had said, shaking his head. "All it would take, is for one of those things to notice them, and they'd have a herd swarming on their camp.
But, before any of this, before Georgie could get out there and search for the base herself, she had had jobs to do. There had been a week spent farming and doing basic repairs on the many 'recovered' cars, bikes and Lorries that were accumulated in the base, as well and tending to the horses. The horses made Georgie think of Maggie, and how she had told her that before the world had gone to shit, she had ridden horses on her fathers farm. Then there were the weeks spent on lookout and scavenging. It was the first time that Georgie had been outside the complex.
"There are two walls?" She had barely been able to believe her eyes. Two walls encircles the complex. The inner wall was stone, crudely made, but strong. The outer wall looked less sturdy, made of wood, supported by a lower line of stone. Interestingly, there was also series of lines connecting the two walls, although some seemed to end abruptly. Jacci had nudged Zxander and grinned.
"Explain it then." Sayid stared at Zxander.
"This was your idea?" Zxander nodded looking shy, but proud.
"It's an extra line of defence. We thought we could start to create a maze of sorts. If the zombies get through the first wall, they'd still have to find their way through. I thought if we made the wall thick enough, we could run along the top and shot down at them. When people go out scavenging, they're suppose to look out for stone and things to help build it up."
The revelation that Zxander had dreamt up and co-ordinated this extra line of defence had impressed Georgie no end. Before, she had simply seen him as pure brawn. Now she could see that there was a sharp mind there too.
"Of course, you wouldn't have known." Bella had explained a week or so later when Georgie had thought to bring it up whilst they were out scavenging for vegetation and game. "Zxander played football for his high school, but he worked on a construction site. He knows a lot about building things. They wanted to send him to night school, to learn more about the technical side. I remember his dad was really proud of it, he wouldn't shut up bragging about it to my dad."
"Oh so you knew him before then?" Georgie wasn't surprised. She had suspected the two of being brother and sister for a while, but this relationship was just as valid.
"Yeah, I was the year below his younger brother and his brother and mine were best friends. When the zombies really hit our town bad, my parents got bitten and died almost straight away. My mum was a nurse you see, and dad was a doctor. That's how they met. So his parents took us in. It was ok at first, but then Zxanders dad was bitten, going out for supplies. That sent his mother over the edge, so she hung herself." Georgie was sure that she should be disturbed by the matter of fact way that Bella was retelling this story, but she was sure that Bella had seen much worse since.
"So the four of us decided to try to make our way to Atlanta, because it was a safe zone. Well, you know how that was. Luckily, we found a sign someone had put on a car. It was addressed to a guy called Morgan, but it saved our life." Georgie's insides had done a full 360 degree flip upon hearing that, but had bitten her tongue. "We ended up taking shelter inside a gas station, but that became over ran with the dead within two days. Blake-Zxanders brother-was bitten and died, and we got trapped inside." Here she stopped, biting her lip. She looked at Georgie, hesitant. Georgie sat still. There was obviously something troubling Bella, something she wanted to say, but she didn't want to force it out of her.
"If I tell you something…you won't tell anyone else will you?" Georgie shook her head. Bella reached out and absent mindedly polished her knife, glancing towards the clearing where they were hoping a deer or buck would wonder into the range of Georgies arrow. She swallowed and started to speak, her voice quieter.
"You…can't blame him. He didn't do it because he's a bad person. In fact, he did it because he is a good person.
They thought I was asleep. I could hear my brother talking. He was saying how they should make a run for it. They were both on the football team and he said they could just barge their way through. But Zxander didn't want to, he didn't want to leave me behind. And then my brother, he said…if I went out first, I could distract them. Because I would hold them back. My own brother." For the first time, a glimmer of emotion flickered across Bellas face.
"Then there was a struggle. I could hear them fighting. And then screaming. The next morning, it was just Zxander. He said…he said my brother had made a run for it. But I know what happened. Zxander threw him out, to stop him from killing me. He thinks I don't know. And I haven't told anyone but you that I know the truth."
Georgie nodded. She didn't need to know why Bella had told her. It was obvious she just needed to tell someone. Again, her opinion of Zxander rose. It was obvious that he hadn't killed Bellas brother to protect Bella. He'd done it because he knew that if he could turn on Bella, he could turn on anyone. He'd made the right decision, even though it wasn't the easy one. She had to respect him for that.
Now, in the abandoned town, Georgie sat on the roof top, watching the streets below, Bella on her left, and Dayo on her right. The streets were practically empty, only a few walkers roamed the streets. She watched as Sayid and Jacci picked off the walkers before they even realised they were there, with clean knife cuts to the head. Zxander and Michonne were hidden away in a shop on ground level. The three groups were connected only by the old fashioned walky talkies that they carried, and this made Georgie nervous. Unfamiliar territory, in her opinion, should be explored in one group, not split up and all over the place. But this was Dayos group, and Dayo was in charge.
"Michonne, you and Zxander good?" A pause, and then Michonnes voice crackled over the radio.
"Fine. Nothing happening down here. We're just setting up for the day."
"Ok. Keep us posted. Anything strange happens, any of the dead crowd you, you let us know and we'll be on it." Dayo peered over the roof at Jacci, who gave him a nod and a thumbs up. Satisfied, he turned to face the girls.
"Now we just wait." He loaded his rifle and looked down the barrel. "And hope that someone living comes along." The three of them settled down to watch the street.
The time passed slowly. From time to time Dayo made contact with the others on the ground, to make sure everyone was ok, but nothing was happening.
After what felt like an eternity, but was closer to two hours, the radio crackled to life.
"Dayo, Sayid, come in!" Zxanders voice was quiet, but urgent. Bella snatched the phone from Dayo and whispered into it.
"Zxander, it's Bella what is it?"
"We have a situation. There's a kid down here, being chased by a small herd. Maybe twenty to thirty. Do we engage?"
"Give us your location. Is it in open space?" Dayo took command as Georgie loaded up her arrow."
"Three blocks to the left of you and the girls." The radio crackled again, and Sayid spoke into the speaker.
"Move down two blocks from the walkers, you can run faster. Jacci and I can take some of them from the rear. We'll come around from the right."
"Agreed." Dayo stood up. "We'll come from the top, the roofs are close enough to jump. Both of you take down the dead from the front, and when the kid runs past, grab him and run. Find somewhere with a fire escape. Sayid, Jacci, when you hear me say, get up onto the roof. Try not to freak the kid out. He may know where Georgies friends are. And everyone. BE CAREFUL." He turned off the walky talky and pointed.
"That way. Stay close. And Georgie," he turned and smiled at her. "Show me what you can REALLY do with that bow."