Where The Lost Have Gone

I know it's been a while and I apologize for the delayed update. Went through a big moving process from California to Oregon. Packaging everything took forever. My family only just got set up in our new place.

So far there's been a positive consensus from my readers, which is fantastic. Though, a few commented that the chapters were a bit too short which I myself agree. It's just difficult getting enough time to write lengthier chapters within a reasonable time table. I'll see about working on that. This chapter, I believe is the longest one yet, so you readers can have a taste of that.

By all means, share with me what you guys/gals believe is a good length for a chapter (realistically).

Disclaimer: I don't' own anything. All rights from The Walking Dead and Halo franchises belong to their respective owners.

XxX

Chapter 4: False Hope

Moira panted as she jogged down the street, her child on her back, clinging like an infant monkey to its mother's back and shoulders. Comatose Walkers sprung to life as Moira ran by, aroused by the sudden presence of living flesh and bone. Moira was careful to avoid the spurring sleepers, making sure to stay well out of arm's length should one of them attempt to lunge for her or Ashly. But the threat of the Walkers were the least on her mind. The topic of interest that currently harassed her mind was who exactly had set that explosion off?

There was a damn good chance that whoever had set it off was still alive; at least that's what she hoped. The only thing she cared about was whether or not they had a working vehicle; something to get her out of this hell hole and on the road to Atlanta. As long as there was salvation, some glimmer of hope to cling onto, then the dangers were worth overlooking.

The trail of smog grew ever closer as Moira neared, her heart hammering in anticipation and desperation, though this was perhaps because of all the running she'd done. As Moira rounded that last corner, time seemed to slow to a crawl as her mind tried to fathom what exactly she was witnessing. Parked off to the side of the roads curb was the burning remains of a vehicle; its model now unrecognizable due to the severe scorching of flames that still burned brightly.

Specks of incandescence lights emanating from the fire's flames flickered skyward, disappearing into seemingly thin air. But this was not what had garnered Moira's attention. Only now did she hear the near deafening symphony of moans and growls that had plagued her nightmares ever since the plague spread. Simultaneously, thousands of pairs of hungry and lifeless eyes bore onto her stunned form. Never had Moira been witness to such quantities of Walkers in these numbers. There must've been hundreds, perhaps thousands!

Everywhere, as far as her line of vision could make out, Walkers crowded the scene. All of them were in varying states of decay, ranging from early stages of pale skin that only appeared to have been dead for a few hours, to near the end of the cycle of decomposition. For a moment they stared at her, as though equally confused by her sudden presence; almost docile in an impossible way. But the moment of vertigo quickly transitioned as one by one the mob of Walkers descended upon Moira's position, arms raised forward in a crazed and fiendish manner.

Those who still had functioning legs rushed with vigor like men possessed, while others were forced to crawl and drag their dead weight across the pavement. Some even toppled over each other in their eagerness to catch the live prey. Under other circumstances, Moira may have considered the sight of the clumsy and stumbling actions of the Biters to be humorous in a morbid sort of way, but her mind was occupied by far more important matters; chiefly among those being how to get out this predicament alive.

Moira made sure that she had a secure hold on Ash before she spun on her heels and ran with renewed vigor. Backtracking towards the corner, Moira abruptly halted, skittering to a full stop. A large contingent of Walkers had filled in the street she had come through earlier, shutting off her exit vector. A knot of anxiety clenched her innards as she heard and saw more and more reanimated corpses shuffling into the street, edging perilously closer to her. Moira bit into her lower lip harshly, the pressure enough to draw blood. The sharp pain was enough to jolt her back to reality. Her eyes panned the street, desperate for something, anything to get her out of this situation.

A second later her eyes rested on the glass window of a nearby electronics store. Clenching her jaw, Moira rushed to the window, bat already in motion as she shattered the glass into thousands of fragments that scattered across the tiled floor inside. Without hesitation, Moira jumped through the broken window, uncaring of the glass shards that crunched beneath her shoes. Just when Moira was beginning to think that her situation couldn't get any worse, a shrilling alarm blared through her eardrum, making her flinch in pain from its volume. Evidently, the electronics store's security alarms were still active and functioning; just her luck.

XxX

Bill grunted as he continued to shove his haul of gasoline into the bed of his truck. The fire had caused enough chaos to let him slip past the large bulk of Walkers safely and without notice. Just as he was finishing filling up his truck's tank, he heard the distinct wail of an alarm sounding off back the direction of where he came, making him pause.

Setting the canister down, Bill pulled out his binoculars. The magnified scope lenses gave him a good view of the Town Square. After setting that car on fire, all hell had broken loose. Swarms of Walkers clustered the streets, all of which were now very much active.

Bill's eye's narrowed wearily as he noticed how many of the Biters were rushing to a single location. Their movements were distinctly familiar. They only moved in such an aggressive manner when they were hunting for live food. He'd observed the Walkers enough times to tell when they were harmless or hostile. Though, if that was the case then who the hell was down there? More so, who the hell was stupid enough to make their way into the thick of the Walker horde? Oh yeah, that's right, he did. But that was beside the point.

Bill continued to observe the scene until something of interest caught his wrinkled eyes. A slightly hunched figure abruptly exited through the back door of an electronic store. It was obvious by the figure's movement that it wasn't a Walker as it didn't have that clumsy swaying of footwork that all Walker's possessed. That meant that the figure was human, and still alive; at least for the moment. At Bill's distance, it was impossible to make out the figures face, much less its gender. Though, Bill could just make out the form of a small child clinging onto the person's back, which explained for the slightly hunched position.

The wizened veteran stared down at the people as they struggled to find some way out of the mess of Walkers. The figure tried to maneuver around the streets but far too many Walkers had filed into the street for a clear getaway.

Bill shook his head. He didn't have time for this. Whoever it was down there, they were on their own now. They had gotten themselves into that mess, now they had to get themselves out. Twisting his truck's gas cap until he heard the reassuring clicking noise, Bill circled around the vehicle and entered into the driver's seat.

Securing the seat belt over his chest, Bill jumpstarted the engine, which, much to his gratification kicked on smoothly. The sudden bark of a firearm echoed across the land, followed by several more.

Bill's slightly wrinkled hand paused, wavering over the clutch. His mind drifted back to thoughts of the people trapped back in Town Square. Bill's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he clenched his teeth.

He had no way of knowing whether or not these were good people. For all he knew they could be looters or plunderers. But somewhere in the back of conscious told him that regardless, leaving them anyone to die like that was inhumane. His hand tiredly lifted his hat while the other ran its fingers through his scalp. Looking into his reflection from the side rear view mirror. Bill once again saw his grizzled features, only now he looked even more aged from the last hour since the death of Curtis. Bill tore his gaze away from the reflection. He verbally swore as he roughly stuffed his hat back onto his head and pulled the truck in a sharp U-turn back towards the town of Augusta, all the while cursing his godforsaken conscience.

XxX

Moira felt the thumping recoil of her Winchester as she fired another round into the open mouth of a Walker that had gotten far too close to the woman's liking. The round easily tore through the Walker's forehead and through the back of the skull. Ash buried her face into the crook of her mother's backline, flinching every time the gun went off. Moira unceremoniously stepped over the carcass of the Walker, well aware of the pursuing mob of Walkers not too far behind her.

Moira thought that she had lost the pack of Walkers at the electronic store but had only the misfortune of running into another crowd of the infected. The entire area was flooded with Biters, all of which were far more active due to her presence no doubt. The shots she fired earlier, as well as the alarm that had went off back at the electronic store had undoubtedly attracted even more to the Town Square and riled them up.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Moira mentally berated herself. Without even thinking she had rushed towards the center of all that chaos, not bothering to consider the possibility that the Walkers would swarm to the source of the explosion. And now she had only added fuel to the fire by sounding off that store's alarm. She may as well have rung the dinner bell for every Walker in the immediate area.

Every corner that she managed to skirt past that wasn't congested with Walkers only led to yet another mob of the bastards. She was slowly running out of places to run to. At this rate she'd be boxed in and overwhelmed by the sheer numbers she was facing.

With Ash clinging onto her shoulders, Moira was forced to rely on her old Winchester for support. She couldn't generate enough swing and force to properly fight off the Walkers with her bat; not with the burden of her daughter weighing her down.

Pushing her daughter's rear upwards for more comfort, Moira rounded another corner into a back alley. The alley was long and narrow, being constricted between two separate apartment complexes. Huffing out of exhaustion, Moira felt her heart clench at the sight of a rather tall metal gate that blocked her way. Out of building frustration, Moira lashed out at the metal barricade before her, feeling anguish and despair begin to creep in once more. The harrowing symphony of inhuman moans and growls only reinforced her negative emotions.

Crouching to her knees, Moira let Ash slide down her back onto the floor. Shakily, Moira clutched her daughter's shell-shocked face in her hands, making certain to retain eye contact. Ash's large pure blue eyes reflected into her mother's hazel themed ones, too frightened to even blink. "Listen to me carefully Ash. I'm going to make a path for you through these Walkers. As soon as you see an opening, I want you to take it and run, run straight into the nearby apartments. Wait there until the Walker horde dies down and scavenge for any supplies you need. Food, water, everything. Just like I taught you. You understand me baby? I need you to do this for me okay?"

Ashly shook her head furiously. "W-what about you mom?" The mortifying voices grew steadily closer, pressuring Moira to end her maybe last moments with her daughter.

Moira's voice was hoarse, as though she tasted something bad or had a terrible cold. "I'm afraid can't go with you this time punkin. It'll be hard out there on your own, but I know you can handle whatever the world will throw at you. I believe in you. Just remember everything I taught you… I-I'll miss you Ash. I love you sweetie." Moira gave her daughter a near bone crushing hug, which Ash returned feverishly.

When Moira tried to let go, Ashy stubbornly clung to her mother, refusing to release their embrace. Moira was forced to push her daughter off of her; an act that nearly broke the woman's heart. Giving a quick check on the ammunition she had left, Moira frowned deeply. Rotating the cylinder flutes back in place, Moira steadied her aim at the row of Walkers filling the narrow passage, willing her nerves down.

Because of the rather tight space, only so many Walkers could flood in at once, making it all the more easier to pick them off. The barrel of Moira's Winchester cracked off a few shots that flew straight through the eye sockets and craniums of a few unlucky Walkers. Each kill shot brought a sick sense of satisfaction within the troubled woman. The squelching sounds of the infected skull's caving from .22 caliber rounds of her Winchester was music to her ears. Each kill meant that there was one more monster that she had vanquished; for that was the only word to describe what Moira believed these vulgar and disgusting creatures to be, monsters.

Moira's elated rush came to an abrupt halt when a sharply defined clicking noise emanated from her Winchester. She'd unfortunately expunged the last of her ammunition. With unbridled rage, Moira took the handgun by its barrel and swiped it like a club, bashing the temple of a turned old woman dressed in a dirtied nightgown. The old woman's curled hair flew askew from the blow, causing her to stagger back. Seemingly unfazed by the blow, the Walker lazily sauntered back for more, undaunted and uncaring of any further harm to its own body.

Knowing full well that her Winchester would do her no go without ammunition, Moira brought out her metal to bear, both hands gripping the handle so hard her knuckles whitened. With a loud and drawn intake of air, Moira swung the bat with the force of a softball player in her prime. The bat flung true, striking the lower chin of the old woman turned Biter. Moira could audibly hear the wincing snap of the Walker's jaw being broken out of place. Another viscous swing to the other cheek clawed out the elderly woman's rotten fake dentures, which ejected out in a gush of black viscous fluid.

Moira managed to keep up this momentum for some time without being overwhelmed by the steady wave of zombies approaching. It helped that only so many of the rotting and monstrous mutants could shamble into the alley. But just as well, all good things eventually must come to an end. Moira could already began to feel her strength tire. Her breathe was heavily labored and her heart was on overdrive, screaming at her for a moment of reprieve.

With a shaky and shallow breathe, Moira managed to lash out a swing at another Walker; a middle aged man with balding hair, dressed in large blue overalls sullied by the stench of death and stale blood. Stenciled on the breast pocket of the once living man were the words Tim's Autoshop. A worker from the auto repair shop that had led her to this situation.

Moira collapsed down to her knees in exhaustion; the last swipe with the bat taking the rest of her strength with it. A deathly familiar girlish shriek garnered Moira's immediate attention. Off to the other end of the alley near the gate was Ashly, cowering in fear from a pair of Walkers that had managed to breach through her withering defenses.

"ASH!" Moira screamed with a mother's anguish. What her daughter doing? She had specifically told her to make her escape through the opening she make by distracting the Walkers. No time to further question her daughter's intention. All she needed to know was that her Ash needed her. With a deep groan, Moira began to push herself off the gravel with the support of her metal bat.

Unfortunately, in her insensible and instinctual decision to save her child, Moira made a fatal mistake. Moira barely managed to react in time as she turned, only to quite literally come face to face with the Walker she had struck with her bat just moments prior ago. The decaying man was close, far too close. Lunging with lifeless arms, the Walker collided with Moira, pushing them both down.

Moira somehow managed to prevent the Walker from sinking its sickly yellow teeth into her jugular by wedging her bat defensively in front of her chest. The ghostly pale and withered face of the aged Walker snapped its open maw at Moira with a piranha's intensity. Moira's noise scrunched in revulsion from the nauseating stench of the Walker's breathe which she could feel breathing down her neck. Gritting her teeth, Moira struggled to stave off the Walker from devouring her face. With a sinking despair, Moira couldn't find the strength to push back the Walker. Both her body and mind seemed to give up on her.

"Is this how I die? By a reminder of my folly no less. What poetic irony." Moira thought bitterly to herself. Truly a bittersweet end where the devil laughs at her misfortune. Feeling the hopelessness of it all, Moira was steadily resigning herself to her ill fate.

Faster than her mind was capable of processing, the Walker pinning her down abruptly ceased all movement. A few deafening seconds ticked by before the gears in Moira's head began to churn again. All at once her eyes began to take in the scene before her. She quickly processed that the Walker's face had caved in, leaving a horrid indention where the thing's upper lip, nose and eyes should have been. The blunt force behind whatever mortally mauled the Walker must've been enormous.

Moira had the sense to shove the carcass off of her chest only to notice that a large shadow surrounded her. Craning her neck up, Moira felt her eyes bug out of their sockets in shock, and with good reason. Towering above her petrified form was a colossal humanoid giant encased in a bulky olive green suit of armor. The armor itself looked highly advanced, vastly exceeding anything she'd ever heard of or seen in the past. But what really captured Moira's attention was the reflection of her own startled face, reflecting off of the bulbous shaped golden visor. The visor was polarized, preventing Moira from seeing the users face, but she had no doubt that it was staring directly at her; a notion that for some reason unnerved her even more than the threat of the Walkers.

Moira hadn't realized it yet but her confrontation with the giant encased in full body armor before her would forever change the fate of not only herself, but that of the plagued and despairing world.

End…

XxX

Looks like a majority of the readers guessed correctly as to whom Bill was based off of. Congratulations, here's your imaginary cookie. Hot right out of the oven to.

Finally, Li's character makes a reappearance, if only at the end. I assure you readers that next chapter Li will have a major focus.

And a few comments to a few of my readers from myself:

Naosj: You flatter me. I'm glad to know that you believe my stories to have such quality even without aspects pulled from Halo.

Superemopowerz: I'll be sure to take into account of what Li has. Though, not all Spartan II's eye color changed from their augmentation. Reactions varied from each individual.