Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing related to The Walking Dead. No copyright intended here.
Warning: This is rated M for language, gore, and suggestive themes.
"I wondered about the explorers who'd sailed their ships to the end of the world. How terrified they must have been when they risked falling over the edge; how amazed to discover, instead, places they had seen only in their dreams."
—Jodi Picoult
Part One
Red Flags & Alarm Bells
The young man on the road just a few dozen yards from the city line had yet to be joined by others. He was still pacing around the hood of his Honda Accord looking helpless, constantly removing the baseball cap from his head and running his hands through his black hair in frustration, only to replace it atop his head and repeat the process a few moments later. By now, Jenna was sure he was alone, and dubbed him relatively harmless.
She looked down at Thao, who'd been playing with his newfound Hot Wheels on the floor of the abandoned gas station while she'd been watching the young man out the window. They'd camped out inside for the night, and the first thing he'd done upon waking up was grab two from the rack he liked and ripped the packages open. He'd spent the rest of the morning racing them across the linoleum.
"Come on, kid," she said quietly, gathering up her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. "Time to get a move on."
He stuffed the cars into his pockets and pushed his arms through the straps of his own smaller backpack. "Is he still there?" he inquired, speaking in a quiet tone out of habit while they moved toward the door.
"Yep, still there," she answered as she pulled the machete from her belt. "But he's alone, and we're gonna see if he needs any help. Stay close, now," she said, shoving the magazine shelf away from the glass door, and together, they stepped into the late morning Georgia sunshine.
Scanning around the area, she moved forward when she didn't see any of the dead - they rarely traveled this far into the fringes of the city, but it was better to be safe than torn apart and eaten alive.
The young man of Asian descent had yet to notice them even as they drew nearer to where he was stuck on the side of the road. He'd closed the hood again, though he hadn't made any repairs, and looked to be about to try his luck at starting up the car again anyway. Seeing that he was armed, she decided taking him by surprise wouldn't be the way to go, and she whistled to get his attention.
She paused when he spun around, reaching for the revolver tucked into the back of his waistband, and stepped in front of Thao immediately. She held up her hand, showing she meant no harm as long as the feeling was mutual. In her other hand, the machete remained firmly in her grip.
"Calm down, man, I don't want any trouble," she said in a level, neutral tone.
He backed down immediately, and Jenna almost smirked a little; there were still a few benefits to being small and female, even if there were many, many drawbacks to counter them.
"Right, sorry," he said a little sheepishly, and stowed the gun back into his belt.
"Car troubles?" she ventured, nodding toward the Honda that had been immobile for the better part of two hours.
The young man laughed dryly. "You could say that," he said, looking back at the thing. "Won't start."
Glad to recognize a trade could be made here, she gave him a quick once over, sizing him up. He was bigger than her, of course - at five foot four, it was hard not to encounter a person bigger than her - but he wasn't very big as far as men went. Plus, there was something about his demeanor that told her she could knock him on his ass if it came down to it, though she doubted it would.
"Would you mind if I take a look?" she offered, securing the machete to her belt again. At his quizzical expression, she did smirk a little. "Just humor me for a second. Pop the hood."
After a moment of hesitation, he seemed to decide he really had nothing to lose at that point, and did as he was asked. With Thao at her heals, Jenna moved to stand in front of the engine, giving it a quick scan. The battery looked new, and the wires were connected properly. The fluid levels looked okay.
"Try to start it again," she said, leaning back and gazing down at the machinery.
He did as she'd said, and the engine gave a few clicks rather than turning over a few times.
"Alright, stop," she said, and when he pulled the keys from the ignition, she leaned forward again. "It's not getting a charge I don't think," she told him as he came around to study the engine at her side.
She took automatic note of his proximity, to both herself and Thao, and calculated exactly how she'd retaliate if she had to.
"Nice gun," he noted, having spotted her pistol tucked behind her own belt.
"Thanks," she said a little distractedly as she reached down to examine the alternator. Compact engines always made it nearly impossible to see what you were doing, but little Hondas were at least something she was familiar with.
"What're you doing, exactly?" he wondered after minute or so of watching her try and wriggle her hand between the cruise control and the alternator and down far enough to reach what she was searching for.
"I think I found your problem," she said. "Alternator belt's worn down to the bone."
"Right," he said uncertainly. And she was a little impressed when he didn't act like he knew what she was talking about and openly asked, "What's that mean, exactly?"
"It means, the belt doesn't have any grip left to it, so your alternator can't get a charge," she said. "That's the way my dad explained it to me when I was in high school, anyway. I drove the same car," she added, pulling her hand free and wiping the grease onto her jeans.
She mentally cursed her luck. Not only could she not fix the car, and so couldn't make a trade for a ride, but now this poor bastard was stranded out here, too. And with the heat only climbing as they approached noon, it would be hell to start walking out of this godforsaken city.
The man rushed around and pulled a map out of the passenger window. "There's an auto supply shop just a few blocks that way," he said, nodding over toward his left. "It wasn't too bad last time I saw it."
She wondered what the hell he was doing hanging around the city, but then noticed the boxes of supplies in the back seat. He'd been making a run into town, and had almost made it back out. She wondered where he was living, and with how many other people. There were small packs of AA batteries, a few cans of food, a new pair of boots, a box of tampons, a few loose rolls of toilet paper...he had people.
Some red flags went up in her mind at the realization. Crowds of people gave her pause, and for good reason. She'd seen the aftermath of the resulting blowout that almost always happened among strangers trying to survive together in impossible circumstances. Mob mentality was a real threat, especially in this heat.
But she didn't need to meet his group. She just needed a ride out of the city, and she'd figure it out from there. She always did.
"I'm assuming you're good at hand-to-hand, when it comes to the dead?" she asked him after weighing her options.
He nodded. "Yeah, I've made a lot of runs into town for stuff. I've always been able to handle myself."
"Good to know," she said, and pulled Thao closer to her as he made to walk around to the other side of the car, probably to get a better look inside at all the stuff. "If I help you find a belt and get this car running, could you drive us out of the city? As far as you'll take us; we just need to put some miles between us and this," she said, jerking a thumb in Atlanta's direction.
"As long as you're able to handle yourself in there," he agreed. "But something tells me you are." His eyes lowered to Thao at her side. "But...we can't really bring him in there with us, can we?"
"He goes where I go," she said bluntly. "That's not up for debate. And we sure as hell couldn't leave him to wait with the car," she added dryly. At his doubtful gaze at the boy, she added, "Look, he's a smart kid. We've made it all the way through this city just fine so far, and Atlanta's not our first. He knows to stay quiet and follow my lead, because he knows that's what keeps him alive. So, we have a deal?"
He nodded, relenting. "Yeah, deal," he said, unable to think of another option. Then he stuck out his hand. "I'm Glenn, by the way."
After a moment, she accepted the handshake. "Jenna. This is Thao," she added, patting the boy on the back as he gave Glenn a little wave in greeting. "We haven't been in that area. What're we walking into?" she asked, getting back to business. Small talk had never been her forte, and she didn't see any reason to start working on it now.
"It should be pretty clear," he said, and moved over to the car and spread the map out on the hood. "They typically stay in the heart of the city, so unless something drew them out, we'll only have to deal with a few stragglers at most." He pointed to a road. "We'll go up this way; there's an alley that's kinda closed off by a dumpster, so the dead don't seem to end up back there. But it'll take us close to the shop."
She nodded, wordlessly indicating for Thao to grab hold of her pocket. "Sounds good," she said when he'd done as he was told. "Lead the way, Glenn."
Glenn did just that, and she was pleasantly surprised to note how adept he was at moving through the city without notice. As he'd guessed, they'd only passed two bodies lingering around an intersection, but they'd been able to duck behind a few cars and slip around a corner without giving themselves away.
He held up a hand and Jenna and Thao halted in unison as he edged around a deserted taqueria to chance a look down the street. When he swore under his breath and pressed his back to the wall, clenching his jaw in frustration, Jenna gathered it wasn't good news.
"I see four," he said in a low voice. "Two right in front of the shop, and two more out in the street."
She nodded, mostly to herself as she puzzled it out. If she were alone, just her and Thao, she'd draw them away with a little noise. Not enough to ring the dinner bell for all the bodies in the vicinity, but just enough to get the ones in the way to move along. It always came with its own risks, of course, but so did everything else these days. Only now, she wasn't working alone, and she had to factor that in. Trying to work with someone, trying to anticipate what another person would do, wasn't something she was used to.
"Split 'em up?" she suggested after a beat.
He nodded. "That's what I'm thinking," he agreed. "I'll go back down the block and circle around to the end of the street," he decided quickly. "We get their attention and start picking them off."
"If one of us is close to getting grabbed, we back out and run back to safety," she added. "I'm not putting him at risk, and I'm not about to die for a fucking alternator belt - and I doubt you want to, either."
He nodded in agreement. "Anything goes wrong, we meet back there," he said, pointing over at a sad-looking café down the street. "We'll regroup and figure out our next move."
With that, Glenn was gone, staying low and moving quickly down to the end of the block, retracing their path. She watched him go until he turned out of sight, and she pulled Thao around to face her.
"You stay four feet behind me at all times," she reminded him. "Go when I go, stop when I stop, and if I say run, what do you do?"
"Run and don't look back," he said at once.
She ruffled his hair, and then edged up along the wall the way Glenn had before to take a look down the street. Two bodies stood milling around the front of the auto parts store, bumping into each other every now and then. Two others were a little ways away, not as close to each other, but close enough to notice if they neared the storefront. When she saw a young man with a baseball cap speed out onto the other end of the street, she jumped into action.
Rushing out into the open street, she gave a quick whistle at the same time the bodies turned to see Glenn approaching. They turned their heads in her direction, and started to limp and shuffle toward her. She tightened her grip on her machete and moved in a quick half circle toward the pair. As they followed hers and Thao's movements, angling their bodies toward them as they trudged along, arms reaching out as she closed the distance, she changed direction sharply and darted to the right instead. She reached an arm out behind her to be sure her boy was still in step with her, while at the same time keeping her eyes on the rotting cadavers before them.
They stumbled and knocked into each other as they tried to swing around to go after them again, and Jenna darted in close, kicking out the knees of the one in front. It buckled with a guttural snarl, and the other tried to reach over it and grab her as she stepped back out of reach. The thing fell over the first and smacked its half-eaten face onto the pavement with a wet crunch.
Having made the exact scenario she'd been hoping for, she wound up and brought the blade of the machete careening down on the back of its skull as the other struggled beneath its weight. Blackened blood and gobs of brain matter squelched around the blade, and she yanked it free to deliver the same fate to the second. She gave them each a second crack in the head, busting the skulls open completely, before she was satisfied they wouldn't be getting up again.
She patted her pocket with her free hand and Thao rushed to her side and grabbed onto the denim obediently. With an arm around his tiny shoulders, she looked around to see that Glenn had taken care of the other two, quick and quiet, just as she'd thought he would. They made their way toward him as he peered through the glass door.
"Looks empty," he said on a slight pant. "Only one way to be sure."
He pulled the door open and whistled into the small shop. It took a few prolonged seconds, but eventually the sound of dragging feet came from the furthest aisle. Only one pair of feet could be heard, though, and once it had come near enough, dragging its broken, mangled foot along with it, Jenna shoved it back with a Timberland in its stomach and let it fall onto the scuffed up floor before it could outstretch its arms toward them all the way. Glenn put an end to its snapping jaws with a well-placed strike of a crowbar, and the shop was theirs.
She pulled Thao in behind her and shut the door quietly. Stepping over the body, she walked down the main aisle to take a look down the rest before heading to the back room. Satisfied they were truly alone, she let her shoulders relax.
"You said you had that same car?" Glenn asked, opening the index book on the counter. "What year is it?"
"Ninety-two Accord," she said, scanning her eyes around the shop.
It had definitely been looted. Half the merchandise wasn't even on the shelves anymore, but thrown about the place like a tornado had hit. She did manage to find some shop rags to clean up her machete, and stuffed an extra clean one into her back pocket. With Thao on her heals, she wandered around the aisles, looking for anything of use. She grabbed some motor oil, knowing how those cars had a way of burning through it. She also noticed a fresh pack of Marlboro Reds sticking out of the dead man's shirt pocket and dug it out; hadn't had a chance to open it before whatever had happened to him happened.
"Got it," said Glenn, a note of triumph in his voice as he came back up the aisle he'd been searching.
She opened up her backpack so he could drop the fresh belt safely inside. "Anything else you might need while we're here?" she inquired. "It's been fun, but I only need to do this once."
"Yeah, one second," he said, and dashed around the counter to the back room. He was back in a minute with a roll and a half of toilet paper. "There's never enough of this to go around, I swear," he said with a laugh, bringing it over and stowing them into her backpack as well.
She gave a light snort of amusement and slung it back over her shoulders. "Let's roll."
The trek back to the car seemed much quicker, and as soon as they reached the little Honda, Jenna dropped her backpack and set to work. In a little under a half hour, she had the new belt in place, though she'd scraped a layer off her knuckles and gotten some grease rubbed into the raw skin for her efforts. It stung a little, but it was a small price to pay for a ride out of Atlanta.
Glenn shifted some boxes around the back seat to make room for Thao, and she added the supplies they'd pulled to the stash before settling into the passenger seat. She watched her boy buckle in and rest his head against the cushioned seat, letting out a little sigh. It had been a rough couple of days for them, to be sure. She noticed him relishing every moment of peace and safety, because as young as he was, he knew damn well it wouldn't last long and they'd have to up and run for their lives soon enough.
"Where're you headed?" Glenn began as they pulled away from the side of the road.
She shrugged, wondering how honest she should be. How much information she should give him. "No where specific. I'm just...looking for someone," she admitted after a moment. "Seeing if they're..."
Still alive.
Swallowing a little hard, unable to finish the sentence, she looked out the window at the decrepit cityscape giving way to barren fields of overgrown grass. Glenn seemed to understand, because he didn't ask. In the corner of her eye she saw him nod as he drove.
"Well, you look beat," he began again after a few minutes. "My group's camped out up at a quarry not far from here. If you want, you can rest up there for a while. We've got food, water, shelter. It'd be the least I can do."
She glanced back at Thao's small face in the rearview, contemplating. "How many people, exactly?"
"Maybe...twenty or so," he replied. "I've never really counted. Not just guys," he assured her, correctly guessing one of her primary concerns, though she'd already figured as much. "Women and kids, too."
She considered that. Other kids... "Your people wouldn't mind taking in a couple of strangers for a while?" she wondered.
He shook his head. "No, not at all. Most of our people are really nice, just trying to survive, you know?"
"Most?" she inquired, eyebrow raised.
He laughed lightly. "Yeah, well...the Dixon brothers don't really like anybody - especially if you're not white - and to be honest, I'd stay away from a guy named Roy if I were you, I'll point him out," he informed. "But other than that, everyone's pretty nice. Plus, we have a cop who's sort of like our leader - he keeps people in line pretty well. We haven't had any problems so far."
So far.
Even so. she nodded, the red flags that had shot up slowly lowering back down. It seemed safe enough...and it would give her and Thao the opportunity to get their bearings before heading out again. They didn't have to stick around for the inevitable, of course.
"Alright," she said eventually. "You've got a deal."
They cruised up the road, the windows down to try and cool them off in the humid Georgia heat. Eventually the asphalt gave way to dirt and gravel when Glenn took a right up a winding road bordered by a rock wall on one side and a cliff-like drop on the other. This was a part of Georgia Jenna had certainly never seen before.
"We're in range now..." Glenn muttered, turning on the CB. "This is Glenn, comeback," he said, speaking into the radio.
There was a sputter of static, but then a voice came through. "This is Shane, I read ya, comeback," said the deeper, gruffer voice.
"I'm on my way up, with two visitors; a girl and a kid," said Glenn. "She helped me out of a tight spot, and I offered her a place with us. Copy?"
"Copy. Tell us the full story when ya get here."
"Over and out."
Glenn rested the speaker back into the dock, and Jenna's brows were raised a bit, impressed. These people were pretty organized.
It wasn't long before a few other parked vehicles could be seen, and when Glenn parked the Honda up beside a Dodge Wagon, Jenna could see most of the campground - and a whole lot of people. Little red flags were shooting up again, and alarm bells chimed in her head as she took note of how many people - exactly how many of those people were men, to be specific - had gathered around what appeared to be the camp's center. There were more living people here than Jenna had seen since the outbreak had exploded a month ago.
She exited the car, helping Thao out before gathering her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. She watched as a large man with black hair wearing a blue button-down shirt approached them, Mossberg shotgun resting over his shoulder.
"Good to see ya back, man," said the bigger man to Glenn. "Ya had us worried there for a bit."
"Car trouble," Glenn explained. "Just barely made it out of the city when it stopped and wouldn't start again." He jerked a thumb in her direction. "This is Jenna - she got it started for me."
The man turned his brown eyes to her, giving her a polite nod. "Jenna," he greeted, stepping forward and holding a hand out. "Shane," he introduced himself.
Forcing herself to swallow down her apprehension and not be intimidated by his much, much more threatening stature than that of Glenn, she stepped forward, meeting him halfway, and shook his much larger hand. His demeanor was decidedly non-threatening, despite his size and physique, and the Mossberg in his hand was no more threatening than her own machete or Beretta was intended to be at the moment.
"Hey, little man," greeted Shane, giving Thao a smile.
She ruffled his hair and put and arm around his shoulders. "This is Thao, my partner in crime these days," she said fondly.
"Partner in crime, huh?" Shane inquired, smirking. "Well, Thao, I'm officer Shane Walsh, and I'll be keepin' my eye on you, kiddo," he mock-warned, giving Thao a wink and earning a small laugh.
She noticed that, unlike Glenn, Shane had a pretty noticeable southern accent, so she assumed he was from the area. That could be of some use to her, she filed away for later. There were more immediate matters to attend to. She looked past Shane at the sound of multiple sets of approaching footsteps over dirt and gravel, to see a group of men drawing near, presumably to gather the supplies Glenn had brought back. If it weren't for the presence of the women and children within eyesight, Jenna would've grabbed her boy and taken off at a sprint into the trees.
Glenn had done her a solid, but these others were just an unknown and possible threat, and she didn't like her odds.
"Yo, man, what took you so long?" asked a broad-shouldered black man with a gray and black beret hat as he approached with the rest.
"Car trouble," Glenn answered.
"What's wrong with my car?" asked a slightly heavily-build Hispanic man, looking puzzled as he gave the Honda a once-over.
"Something with the alternator, or something...couldn't get a charge..." Glenn looked to her for assistance. "She can explain it."
Every eye turned to her then, and she scanned her eyes around them briefly before focusing on the Hispanic man - the one who was obviously the owner of the Honda, and not raking his eyes up and down her body like a starving animal. Her fingers twitched, ready to grab onto her machete as her hackles raised.
"Alternator belt," she said. "It was done for. We found a replacement."
"Oh yeah?" asked a man in a dirty navy blue jumpsuit, looking both amused and impressed. "Replaced the thing without tools? You didn't take any with ya," he said to Glenn.
Jenna held up her hands and waved her fingers. "It wasn't easy, but I guess that's the hidden advantage of having small hands," she said wryly.
A man with sandy brown hair and a Horton crossbow slung over his shoulder snorted at that as he made his way toward the Honda to help the others unload the supplies. Jenna didn't find anything immediately alarming about him, but the older man at his side, who - judging by the similar eye color - might've been his brother, seemed more interested in scoping out her body than her minimal experience with cars.
She didn't know what it was about the male psyche that made them look at any and all women that way when the shit hit the fan - like they were never going to see another living, breathing woman again - but she'd grown really tired of it, really fast. She noticed another man with scraggly black hair and a golden front tooth giving her a shameless leer, and she returned it with a bold-faced glare.
"Yeah, that's him," said Glenn, coming to stand beside her and Thao, eyeing the man with distaste.
"Figured," she muttered, holding the asshole's gaze.
"Hey, get the hell outta here," Shane said, his gruff voice booming across the space between them. "I ain't gonna tell ya again, Roy," he added, and the man skulked off out of sight as he was forced out by Shane's open threat and the looks of contempt from the other men around him.
"Sorry about that," said Shane as he watched him go. "We all keep an eye on him. Jus' let me know if he bothers ya," he added, turning back to her. "You can go on up to camp with Dale," he said, gesturing to a kindly old man wearing a fisherman's hat and a Hawaiian shirt...because of course he was. "He'll get y'all situated."
She nodded. "Thank you."
He nodded politely in return, and she motioned for Thao to follow after her as she approached the old man, who seemed friendly enough.
"Hello, miss," he greeted, holding out his hand. "I'm Dale."
She gave him a quick half smile in return, liking him already. There was something about him that reminded her of her best friend's grandfather, whom she'd been very fond of. Not in appearance, but more in demeanor.
"I'm Jenna," she replied, shaking his hand. "This is Thao. Thanks for letting us stay."
"Of course," he said jovially as they made their way into the camp's center. "It's the least we can do for gettin' Glenn outta trouble. I've gotta teach that kid so he knows his way around an engine, I swear," he muttered, and she smirked as she walked along with him up the slight hill. "Now, sleeping quarters are a little cramped, but not too bad, as long as you've got a tent. Do you have one?"
She shook her head. "No, our tent was lost in our last car in the city two days ago. Car was swarmed," she explained.
"Oh, sorry to hear that," he said regretfully. "I'm sure we can find somethin' for ya..."
"They can bunk with me," came a voice - a voice that sounded exactly as she would've imagined belonged to a true southern belle.
She turned her head to the left to follow the voice, and her eyes landed on a girl who looked to be about her own age. Her skin was a smooth mocha color, dark hair abundant and curly, and her eyes were a bright golden brown. The smile on her face radiated friendliness, and Jenna liked her immediately.
"Just me an' myself in that big ol' tent," she said as she approached, hands in her back pockets. "Got plenty of room."
"Sure you wouldn't mind?" Jenna asked for the sake of being polite.
The girl waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, not one bit," she promised, and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Dusty - well, Dustine, actually, but jus' call me Dusty, I hate Dustine."
She grinned, shaking the girl's hand. "Dusty," she repeated.
"I know, it's ridiculous, ain't it?" Dusty asked with a a laugh. "Swear on my life, I don't know what my mama was thinkin' when she gave me that name. At least it wasn't as bad as my sister's, Jolene. She never heard the end of that Dolly Parton song."
She shook her head, laughing a little. "No, I like it," she said truthfully. "I'm Jenna."
"Jenna, nice an' simple," repeated Dusty, and she grinned down at Thao. "An' who's the big guy, here?"
"This is Thao," Jenna introduced, ruffling the boy's hair again while he grinned back at Dusty. "My trusty wingman."
Dusty gave Thao a wink. "Well, c'mon, big guy," she said. "Let's get y'all set up." She nodded at Dale. "I got it from here, Dale."
Jenna nodded at him as they went different ways, thanking him again. She followed Dusty across the campsite, taking note of the other people who all gave her and Thao inquiring looks as they passed. Some nodded politely, some just stared. A pair of blonde women coming back up from the quarry with a load of wet laundry in their hands eyed her curiously. The younger of the two gave her a smile, but the older just looked her up and down in puzzlement. She wondered if it was because she was new, because she had stains of blackened blood and smears of car grease on her jeans, or the long blade of the machete hanging from her hip.
They approached an orange and gray tent that looked capable of fitting four people comfortably, and Dusty unzipped the door to let them inside. She picked up some of the clothing items that were lying around, but other than that, it was pretty sparse.
She dropped her backpack in a bare corner and helped Thao remove his before setting it down beside hers. Assuming that no one would be breaking into Dusty's tent, Jenna considered it safe enough to empty the contents of her pockets into her bag for the time being.
"Y'all don't have sleepin' bags?" Dusty presumed, taking note of their supplies.
She shook her head. "No, we lost those, too."
'Well, Jacki might be able to help you out," she said then. "Her an' T got a few extras, I think. C'mon."
With that, she and Thao followed her out of the tent again, and over to another just a few yards away. It was blue and gray, about the same size as Dusty's. A black woman with short hair and pretty cat eyes was sitting in front of it on a log-converted chair, folding clothes.
"Hey, Jacki," Dusty greeted. "This is Jenna an' her little man, Thao," she introduced.
The woman smiled up at them kindly. "You're the one who got Glenn outta trouble down in the city, huh?" she presumed, and Jenna nodded.
"You got any extra sleepin' bags?" Dusty inquired. "They lost their stuff a few days ago."
"Oh, I'm sure we have somethin'," said Jacki generously. "Let me see what I can find." She disappeared into her tent and returned with two small sleeping bags, one blue, one red. "They're pretty small, but they're all we've got."
"They're perfect, thanks," said Jenna gratefully, accepting the offering.
She looked down at her boy, smiling slightly. Their luck was finally starting to turn around, it would seem. She was supremely glad she'd chanced the trip up into the unknown, despite the risks large groups of strangers presented. Looking around the area, she had to admit...these people didn't seem so bad.
Note:
Hi! Thank you for taking the time to give my story a shot, it means a lot to me. One thing I'd just like to make clear for everyone is that while this is a Shane/OC pairing, this is by no means a romance story. It's a story of survival and struggling not to let the apocalyptic world destroy the person you are, and two people are eventually drawn together. There's not going to be much fluff, and the smut is a long, long ways off. I just thought I'd get that out there now.
Additionally, I will never hold this story "hostage" to get more reviews. If I haven't updated in a while, it's because I've been busy, or I've had writer's block. I'm not in this for the reviews. I'm in this for the story. Reviews are always appreciated, because they let me know what readers think, let me look at things from a different point of view, what readers would like to see next, or what I can improve on. I've read stories where authors react badly to a lack of reviews, and it automatically turns me away from anything they write. I'll never be that writer. Promise.
P.S.: I am not a fan of Andrea's, so if she's a favorite of yours, this may not be the fic for you. I'm not overly cruel to her, and I don't try to exaggerate the negative points in her character, but I'm not exactly kind to her either. The same goes for Lori.
Anyway, I hope you decide to stick around and see where Jenna goes from here. Happy reading!