'Ash and Dust'

A month later

Jaiden had never been a morning person, most people her age weren't either. She crept down the stairs silently, wanting no one, especially him to see her in the state she was in. Her neck length, ashy blonde hair was in complete disarray, her square framed glasses where angled oddly atop of her nose and her deep blue eyes were bloodshot, from either the lack of sleep or the recurring nightmares she had been having lately. As she entered the living room, there was a lone figure sitting on the coach. It was Nate. Jaiden cursed herself; the only way to get into the kitchen was through the living room. She certainly didn't want to disturb him. Whenever she was alone with him or nearly touching him, fear overcame her. She had learnt her lesson from him a few days back; don't get on the wrong side of Nate Richardson.

"Jay-Jay! Had a good day at school?" Nate wondered as the teen came through the door. She completely ignored him; she didn't have time for his shit today.

It was as if she was becoming the school joke, again. Being the new girl meant everyone made fun of her. Either because of what she looked like or were she came from, she didn't know. Quite frankly she didn't give a damn. Her science teacher humiliated her in front of the whole class; she didn't even what to think about it. But everyone laughed. With heavy footsteps, Jaiden made way to the garage, where she spent most of her time nowadays. Nate had been 'kind' enough to let her use it for all her inventions. Really, all he wanted to do was watch her like a creep.

There was a small window that connected the kitchen and the garage together. She couldn't sleep anymore, knowing that he was near. Sometimes, before sleep consumed her, the bedroom door would open and a large shadow engulfed any light from the hallway. She would squeeze her eyes tightly and prayed for him to leave her alone. She prayed that her big brother was here to protect her but he was across the other side of the world. She prayed that her best friend was here with her but he was miles away. Scarlett was utterly oblivious about the fact her husband had an affixation with her little sister. The problem was she head over heels in love with the bastard and she couldn't see past her emotions.

"C'mon Jay! There's no fuckin' need to be like that. I'm your guy!" Jaiden gave him the deadliest of glares she could.

"I don't have time for you fucking shit, Nate." She spat out, stopping in her tracks. His eyes narrowed slightly, "That's not fuckin' nice, Jay-Jay. I was only askin' how you day went. Don't give me that fuckin' tone," He ordered, which caused Jaiden's jaw to clench.

"Like you fucking care and don't tell me what to do you son of a bitch. You're not my dad; you're fucking no one to me. All you are is a fucking creepy prick who likes to ogle sixteen year old girls." Jaiden snapped, finally letting out all the rage that had been building inside of her.

Then she realised that it was a massive mistake.

Nate lunged for her. Acting quickly, Jaiden dived out of the way and onto the floor. A whole new level of fear overwhelmed her. Hastily, she attempted to scramble to her feet, only to be pulled back down by the ankle. Her head connected with the end table. Immediately, she felt the cut form and it bled down her face. Her glasses slipped from her nose; causing her vision to become a blur. Nate's nails were digging painfully into her ankle, so with her free foot she kicked him. She must have hit the right stop because he howled in agony.

"You fuckin' bitch!"

Seeking the opportunity, Jaiden crawled away she fast as she could. She patted the ground in search for her glasses. The blood from her cut flowed down the side of her face, some of it entering her mouth, to which she spat it back out. Her fingers made contact with her glasses. Shakily, she placed them on her nose. When her vision cleared, Nate was nowhere to be found. Breathing a sigh of relief, Jaiden stood straight again and slowly ambled over to the stairs. As soon as she placed a foot on the first step, someone grabbed her shoulders, causing her to open her mouth to scream. Only it was covered by a hand that smelt strongly of smoke.

"Boo," He whispered in her ear, his breath floated over to her nostrils, to which she stopped breathing altogether. Roughly, he slammed her body onto the wall next to them. He placed a hand on the left side of her face, whilst the other held tightly onto her exposed elbow. His eyes were wide, in an almost psychopathic way; his yellow teeth were bared as if he were an animal. Jaiden felt herself shaking in fear and her eyes were as wide as plates. What was he going to do?

"I-I am s-so," She began only for Nate to shove her into the wall.

"Shut the fuck up, you bitch," He commanded. She gulped and tears started to prick in her eyes.

"I ain't done nothin' but be fuckin' nice to you! I've fuckin' let you stay under my roof, but like the whiny bitch you fuckin' are, you come in her fuckin' disrespecting me. I suggest you fuckin' stop otherwise I will do much, much worse. I'll make you scream and no one will hear you. I'll hurt you so fuckin' bad, you wish you were dead. You watch your fuckin' back Jaiden Matthews because I'll be comin' for you, I'll be watching and you can't escape," He paused, his eyes travelled the length of her small body, a dirty smirk crossed his lips. Tears were flowing freely out of her eyes like no tomorrow.

"Do you understand me?" Her head bowed down, not wanting to see his face anymore. He clasped her chin in his hand and directed her to face him.

"Do. You. Under-fucking-stand. Me. Jay?" He emphasised each and every word. She nodded numbly, "Y-yes," She stumbled with her words. "Good," He let go of her chin as well as her elbow. Her eyes followed him as he made way for the kitchen. Once he had disappeared, her form slumped to the floor, sobbing.

When Scarlett questioned them, Nate had explained that she had gotten into a fight at school. Her sister was sceptical about that; she had gone along with it anyway. Jaiden knew that Scarlett would believe Nate over her any day. As fast as she could, she sprinted over to the kitchen, hoping that Nate wouldn't catch her. "Jay-Jay!" He called, sounding much too happy. She sighed; was she that naïve to believe she wouldn't be caught? At the moment, it was a yes, she was that stupid. As she turned on her heel, she plastered a fake grin.

"Hey, Nate,"

"You weren't tryin' to avoid me were ya?" He wondered, a grin on his own face.

"N-no," She lied, which he saw right through. Any jokey attitude had disappeared and was replaced with a stern expression.

"Don't lie to me kid," She downcast her eyes to her bare feet. An uncomfortable silence came. She fidgeted under his gaze, not liking it all but she was too afraid to stand up for herself. All the confidence she had, was gone the single moment he lunged for her the other day.

"This fuckin' avoidin' business isn't because of last week is it?" When she didn't reply, he immediately knew the answer was yes. She heard him sigh, the get to his feet. Awkwardly, she clasped her arms behind her back and started to shuffle from the wooden floor to the tiled one in the kitchen. A hand gently laid itself on her bare shoulder. She flinched away from him, hoping that he wasn't planning to do a repeat of his actions last week.

"Look, I'm not gonna apologise for somethin' that you started last week. If it weren't for your fuckin' mouth, maybe I wouldn't 've blown a fuse," Her eyes flickered up to his features, she didn't even acknowledge that it was indeed her own fault, all that mattered was he attempted to hurt her.

"Let's not have repeat, 'kay kid? Just next time, watch what you say," She gave a single nod. He patted her shoulder twice before making his way back to the couch. Not wanting to be near him anymore, Jaiden drifted into the kitchen, in search for some breakfast. Whilst doing that task, she thought about her new town.

Macon wasn't as dreadful as she thought it was going to be. Everyone was lovely, especially the drug store owners. Mr Everett was an amusing old man. He ambled around everywhere on his cane; he kept order in the store. Mrs Everett was much the same, though she was more of the stereotypical sweet grandma. Sometimes, when Jaiden didn't have anyone to talk to, she would go down to the drug store and converse with them. Even if it sounded like she was loner, the Everetts were good people and they didn't mind that much. Their son, Bill, was sweet and she could tell he would do whatever he could for his family.

Apparently, they had a son named Lee who worked up in Atlanta as a history teacher at UGA but they didn't talk about him much. She never pressed on; their private lives were their lives not hers. It was none of her business; it would be rude to intrude. All she knew that Lee was a good man and she took their word for it. Jaiden had been so engrossed in her thoughts, she completely forgot about the bread in the toaster, until the smell of burning reached her nostrils.

"Oh shit!" She all but shrieked. Hurriedly, she switched the plug off to stop the process altogether. From behind her, she heard several footsteps. "Jesus-fucking-Christ Jaiden! What's the noise about!" Scarlett complained. A gasp followed closely behind, "Mommy! That was a swear!" Jaiden rolled her eyes, hoping no one would notice. Luckily no one did.

"Yeah, mommy! No swear words with kids here!" Nate teased. She chose to zone them out, as her sister and brother in law tended to get flirty first thing in the morning. Carefully, she grabbed the toast out of the toaster. Studying the burnt piece of food, she decided that it was inedible and tossed it into the trash.

"Jay! You shouldn't skip breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day," Jaiden twisted her body one-hundred and eighty degrees to stare at her sister. Her skinny little arms were positioned on her hips in a disapproving manner and her expression was one of irritation. The teen shrugged, not bothered at all. "Oh well, I'm not hungry anyways." She didn't let anyone have the opportunity to comment for she rushed towards the stairs and into her bedroom to start the day with a clean shower as well as set of new clothes.

She slipped her arm through the sleeve before then buttoning up her plaid green shirt. For a second, she observed herself in the mirror. She had never been pretty, that is what she's always figured. Her ears weren't aligned, one of them stuck out more than the others. She was naturally pale, which sucked to no end because in the sun she would turn into a tomato, even if she had sun cream on. Her complexion had a few scars from where she had picked at the acne. She never wore make up either, what was the point? It didn't make her look pretty. Most girls had so much on; they might as well have been clowns. Another thing that bugged her was the fact she wasn't skinny, skinny as in cheerleader skinny. In all honesty she was soft around the edges.

Shaking her head, she removed herself from the mirror and over to the window, where she kept most of her jewellery. Gingerly, she grabbed her father's wedding ring and slid it onto her thumb. It was a stupid place to wear a ring but her thumb was the only place the ring would fit. Alan had given the ring to her on her thirteenth birthday, feeling that she deserved it more than anyone else did. At the time, she had no idea what that meant and to this she still didn't know.

She gazed out her window, which faced the street. Upon closer observation, she saw several lone figures shuffling slowly down the street, they all looked like crap. Their clothes were tattered or ripped to shreds but she was unable to make out the faces. It seemed she wasn't the only one who was curious. The family of five opposite her were too gazing out of the window, though they seemed to be much more terrified. She shrugged; maybe the figures were drunk or something. Jaiden moved away from the window to collect her phone, which was on the bedside table. As soon as it was in the palm of her hand, the phone vibrated, signalling that she had a text. Unknowingly, a soft smile formed on her face, it was Ben.

Leaving for playoffs, wish me luck.

You'll be fine Benny, just imagine everyone is in their underwear.

When he replied, she rolled her eyes. That never works Jay

It does for me. Have fun, talking to me is the opposite

Jaiden lay on the floor in order to search for her head phones. Normally, they were under her bed, hell, she didn't know where she placed her possessions most of the time. Her phone buzzed but she chose to ignore it for the time being. Seeing that her headphones were not under her bed, Jaiden removed herself off the floor.

No, you're a cool gal.

She raised an eyebrow at 'gal' but she refrained herself from commenting on it. She knew he became embarrassed easily. She could imagine if she teased him over the phone, all the boys on the bus would wonder why he was blushing and they would just make fun of him. She didn't want that.

See ya Benny xxx

She began to open various drawers, still searching for her headphones. "Where the fuck, are you?" She wondered, her tone one of irritation. One of these days, she'd have to remember where she left her belongings or she wouldn't get far in life. In the last box, she found them. Enthusiastically, she placed the ear bud in each ear before connecting it to her phone. At random, she selected a song.

Asia blasted through her ears, making her wince as to how loud the volume was. Not bothering to turn it down, she sang her heart out; despite the fact her singing was shit. She played the guitar with imaginary strings, she was alone, and no one would see how ridiculous she appeared to be. "I never meant to be so bad to you, one thing I said that I would never do. A look from you and I would fall from grace. And that would wipe the smile right from my face,"

She belted the first verse at the top of her lungs. Closing her eyes, she danced around the room like an idiot. Her arms flayed in all sort of directions. The moment the chorus came, she halted any further dance moves. "It was the heat of the moment, telling me what my heart meant

The heat of the moment showed in your eyes. Wooo!" She wailed. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her arm. This alarmed Jaiden for she jumped out of her skin, causing her phone to fly out of her hand and the ear phones following shortly afterwards. Her mouth opened to scream, only for it to be covered. "Shut up, Jay-Jay," Nate hissed. She froze, afraid he would repeat his actions from the other day. Studying his features, she noticed he wasn't pissed; rather his face was etched in distress and slight melancholy. As the briefest moments of silence came, Jaiden could hear many screams in the distance as well as various gunshots.

"Now, keep fucking quiet. Got it?" She bobbed her head up and down rapidly. "What the fuck is going on?" She whispered, seeing Nate's expression didn't reassure her at all, he never seemed so frightened before.

"I don't even know. I was outside with Jim when these… things… came outta no fucking where. They came towards us but I got us outta there quick," he paused, taking a deep breath, "We gotta get outta here. Have this," He handed her a baseball bat before tugging on her arm. Being stubborn, Jaiden stayed firmly on her feet.

"Where are they?" Sighing, Nate turned back to face her, "Scar and Jim are down stairs, now let's fuckin' go!" He ordered. Jaiden narrowed her eyes slightly, she knew he meant well but he didn't need to be like that.

"What about our stuff?" She halted any further progress again, Nate growled, undoubtedly sick of her questions. "Who gives a fuck? We need—" He paused mid-sentence when a blood curdling scream rippled throughout the house.

It was Scarlett.

Hurriedly, the duo sprinted down the stairs to get to them, only to arrive to a horrific scene. Several of these things had broken the door down and were swarming the house. Jimmy had cowered in the corner; one of the things had taken notice of him and was approaching him. Jaiden watched on, her whole body racked with terror, these things appeared to be… zombies.

Their flesh had a greyish tint to it and it was peeling off. Their eyes were a cloudy white in colour and their clothes were tattered and torn. Overall, it was disgusting. She didn't know what to do, she couldn't do anything, and how on earth was she meant to kill freaking zombies?! Scarlett was screaming at the top of her lungs, which caused more of them too shuffle over to her. Blood poured freely out of the wounds that scattered her body. There was quite a large one on her abdomen. Jaiden felt bile rise in her throat, this was all so, so wrong. Her sister was carrying a child!

"Jay! Get Jim and get outta here,"

"Wha-what?"

"Just fuckin' go!"

He screamed before attacking the zombies. Clutching the baseball bat, Jaiden sprang into action. She approached Jimmy with quick feet; the zombie was reaching out for him with greedy hands. Raising the baseball bat above her head, she brought it back down, where it made contact with the zombies' head. It gave a grunt, her eyes widened; realising that her actions could lead to her doom. Rather than dwelling on her fate, she dodged out of the way. She scooped up the frightened six year old, holding him with one arm, the other holding the bat. She rushed out of the door, not glancing back, in fear of what she would witness. Her nephew clung to her, his body shaking and tears falling from his eyes. Jaiden willed herself not to sob; right now she had to keep Jimmy safe.

As she entered the street, she found that there were hundreds of these monsters. Many people were being eaten alive, woman, men, elders and children. Not wanting to watch anymore, Jaiden ran as fast as she could. It proved to be difficult with Jimmy's extra weight. She wasn't the strongest person, physically and emotionally but she wasn't important at this moment in time. Her top priority was Jimmy. Her converse covered feet pounded on the smooth grey smooth concrete.

The concrete was covered in thick, crimson blood as well as people's insides. The coppery smell of blood filled her nostrils, to which she tried to ignore. Several of the monsters pounced on her but she dodged them with ease. Despite the fact of being shit at any form of sport, adrenaline was pumping through her veins and that was keeping her fast. People around her were giving ear-piercing cries for help. She desperately wanted to save them but she just couldn't take that risk. Call her selfish, her mind was just telling her to keep going.

Becoming more aware of her surroundings, Jaiden had no clue as to where she was and this street seemed less manic than the others. There were no monsters in sight, so she turned her speed into walking pace. Jimmy's tears soaked her plaid shirt. Gently, she stoked his ginger curls and muttered comforting words. All she wanted to do was keep her nephew safe.

Something grabbed her ankle.

This was it. This was the end. She knew it was. Jimmy flew out of her arms, landing with a rough thud in front of her. The baseball bat rolled next to her, only a foot away.

"JAY!" He screeched. One of the monsters growled at her like an animal. Her mind briefly flashed back to Nate's attempted assault last week. So she kicked. She kicked with all the strength she had but the monster was too strong. In the corner of her eye, she noticed that other monsters were shuffling over to the scene. Whilst kicking, she stretched out for the baseball bat. Jimmy's screams filled her ears, which caused her to panic.

"NO!" With a battle cry she grasped the bat and went to swat the monster, only for someone to stomp on its head, killing it instantly. The saviours hand came into her vision, without hesitation, she clasped it in her own to give her a boost up. "Let's go,"

"But my nephew…" She glanced back to Jimmy, only to find his corpse on the ground. His eyes were lifeless, staring unseeingly at the bright, blue sky. The monsters (who had appeared out of nowhere) were too busy devouring him to notice her and the saviour. His leg was bent at an odd angle; his intestines were splayed across the concrete, coating the grey in even more crimson, as if a painting on a canvas. Once again bile rose in her throat and tears pricked in her eyes. Her hands slapped over her mouth, trying to contain her whimpers. She had failed to keep him safe. All she did was fail, she never succeeded, ever. Failure seemed to follow Jaiden around like a lost puppy. The saviour tugged her arm, signalling that they should go.

"More are coming. I don't know about you but I think we should get out of here." He explained. She opened her mouth to protest but he stopped her,

"I'm sorry about you nephew, I really am but if you wanna live…" He trailed off, giving her a meaningful look. "Okay," The man grasped his hand in hers and together they sprinted towards his car. They practically dived in as more monsters were catching up to them.

"I'm Glenn Rhee by the way," He introduced, his eyes fixed on the road ahead of them, "I'm Jaiden. Jaiden Matthews but you can call me Jay," She whispered, but loud enough for him to hear.

Her whole body was shaking, shaking in terror over what had just happened in the span of five minutes. This was all really messed up. Taking deep breaths, she lifted her legs and pressed them to her chest as well as wrapping her frail arms around them. "Are you okay?" Glenn wondered, his tone one of sympathy. Jaiden had never been one for sympathy in any type of situation but this time she greeted it appreciatively.

"I'm fine," Of course that wasn't true, she beyond fine. The adrenaline was slowly wearing away and turning into fatigue. It all happened so quickly, she was frightened, so, so afraid. This only happened in the movies and video games. Movies like Shaun of the Dead, 28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead. This was more intense, more gory and grim. This was Hell on Earth. "You sure?"

Jaiden rotated her head to gaze at Glenn, whom was staring at her as well. "I'm sure," She offered him a faux smile. Something flickered in his eyes, doubt, but she took no notice. He eyed her for a few more seconds before returning to the road. The road they travelled on had only a few monsters. Most of them too notice to the rumble of the car but others were too interested in consuming those less fortunate than her and Glenn. "This is all fucked up," Glenn commented for he too had been observing the street.

"I know. By the way, thanks for saving me," Nervously, she fiddle with the frame of her glasses, she had never been too good when conversing with strangers. "No problem, Jay. I couldn't let another person be eaten by those things, especially a girl like you," His statement caused her to scoff. Any melancholy quickly transformed into fury. The fury had numerous of reasons but Glenn's comment triggered it.

"What do you mean a girl like me?" She snapped. Jaiden lowered her legs onto the car floor, her fists clenching together dangerously. Glenn visibly

gulped, realising that he had touched a nerve, to which he regretted. "Sorry. Sorry. I-I mean, I'd seen lots of other girls get ripped to pieces, Jesus, I've seen kids and you were in trouble and I-I just wanted to save someone. I didn't mean to say something that annoyed you. Sorry," Jaiden relaxed, knowing she was just overacting over nothing. "No, I'm sorry. It's just… y'know," She shrugged and her arms gestured to the destruction outside.

"Yeah I do know," The two of them lapsed into silence. Glenn kept his eyes planted on the road whilst Jaiden collected her blood stained baseball bat from the floor and onto her lap just in case she would need it. This could last a long time or only a few days but until then she needed to be strong now, she would have to grow up. Jaiden had already failed those she loved; she sure as hell wasn't going to let other die. She swore by it. A new wave of fear rippled her… Ben.

Was he alright? Was he hurt? Dead? A monster? She prayed to God that he was alright, if he wasn't, who knows what will happen to her knowing that Ben was gone too. What about Amy? Renee? Robert? Alan? Jaiden squeezed her eyes shut.

Please be okay…