Beth started out early the next morning in search of some sort of transportation. She knew she needed a car if she was going to make it anywhere to find supplies and be able to return with them. She needed more medication; more gauze and a sling would be nice to place her arm in.
Knowing she was close to the city of Atlanta made Beth nervous. After seeing what she saw days before she knew it wasn't the same place anymore. It looked like it had been bombed and she hated the idea of anything that could survive there after an attack like that.
Getting her barrings Beth set off in the opposite direction of the city. There had to be stores out this way and hopefully they weren't over run by walkers. Armed with her knife and newfound confidence she was more than ready to fight for her life.
After about an hour walking through the forest Beth came to an opening in the trees and she spotted a rural road. She wasn't very familiar with this part of Georgia but she had left marks on the trees along her way so she could find her way back to her cabin. She had seen some other markings on the tree trunks along her way and figured that was a good idea for her to do as well. She thought about who might have left them. Maybe it was her group or maybe it was who ever tried to kill her. Putting that malicious thought out of her mind Beth was almost at the road. She spotted a car with its doors ajar. There was blood splattering along most of the seats in the car. The stench coming through the cracked doors was nauseating but Beth knew she had to explore and if she could get this car going she would be set.
Carefully opening the driver's door a decayed corpse fell onto the ground in front of her. This body was long dead and the bones fell with a clatter to her feet. Beth gasped but was relieved she wouldn't have to kill this one. Time had done that for her.
To Beth's surprise the car keys were in the ignition. She attempted to start the engine but without luck, she was heart broken. Must be out of gas she thought. There were a few more cars up ahead but she had no idea what those vehicles contained. She had a vague idea of how to siphon gas from a gas tank but again; she didn't know how or why she would know that. She wouldn't have to explore those cars if she could just get enough gas out of them to start the one she was struggling to start. Beth found the lever for the trunk and popped it. She found an empty gas can and set up the road to the other cars.
She approached the cars with caution and flipped the gas tank cover. Damn, she thought. She needed a tube to stick into the tank to siphon the gas. Now what was she to do?
Beth sighed and knew what she had to do, time to explore the cars, walkers or no walkers.
…
Beth cleared the cars with precision and grace, with her right side compensating for her left this was no effortless task. There was no walkers, only two bodies in each car. Beth thought they looked like couples trying to find a better life outside of the demolished city. Her heart sank, thinking about what these people had been through and what led them to their demise made her queasy. But there was no time to feel bad or mourn for these strangers. It was mid-morning and she needed to get on the road as soon as possible. Searching through each of the cars Beth found a few supplies and could have made her way back to the cabin for a few more days but she had already decided on todays plan of action. She struck gold in one of the trunks, a full can of gas. Not only that there was a bag of the couples' belongings. Beth felt bad for taking things that didn't belong to her but there was no choice at this point. She found a few t-shirts, a pair of pants that looked like they'd fit and a scarf that would double as a sling for her useless arm. She came across a few pairs of underwear that weren't really her style, she was more of a boyshort kinda gal but these lacy numbers would suit her just fine. Having a change of underwear really is something you take for granted. So wearing someone else's knickers? Who cares when the dead rise up to eat the living.
Beth hobbled back to the first car and sat in the passenger seat with her haul. It was time to get on the road but Beth thought about all the luck she had finding these items and enough gas for a few hours on the road. She didn't want to push her windfall for the day. If she left now on foot she could make it back to the cabin with still enough light to make herself dinner and rest for the night. This excursion had taken a lot out of her and she was shockingly tired. Of course she was, she was walking or rather, hobbling, around with two extra holes in her head.