Early chapter, to make up for that LOOOONG time I didn't update. Enjoy!
"Anybody there?" I droned.
I sat by the fire pit with my legs crossed lazily, watching the sun rise over the trees. I had been awake for an hour or so already, but I had only changed my clothes and sat trying the radio again.
The familiar sound of static hit my ears and with a sigh, I switched the radio off and threw it to the side.
I ran a hand through my loose hair and watched as the insects began to fly and the murmurs from the house rose. The heat had already started for the day, and it was warmer than any of the days that had past. Being British really doesn't prepare you for this type of weather. It was already sweltering.
I rolled up the sleeves of my top and the legs of my shorts, and I pulled a couple hairbands of my wrist to tie my hair up in a messy bun. I sighed as I rubbed my face harshly, my thoughts on the radio.
Maybe Alex was right, and we are out of range. But any shred of hope we had of talking to the group and seeing if they're okay was attached to getting through the radio to them. Maybe they made it into the CDC, and no frequencies would be picked up?
Frustrated, I pushed myself up off the ground and walked towards the treeline. I idly began to gather wood for the fire, piling branches and twigs into my hands.
I rolled my wrist as the pile began to build up, the pain that was once there now non-existent.
The human body is really amazing. I mean, only a few days ago when I tripped in Atlanta, my wrist was so painful. Now I can hardly feel any pain in it. Even Alex's wound had slowly started to repair itself. I ran a finger along the cut on my face, and it felt like it hadn't changed much, which was a little worrying. Maybe it was infected? I'd have to ask Patricia to look for me.
I shook my head and started walking back, the day still painfully getting warmer.
The only damage that doesn't really repair is psychological and emotional. Seeing all these once living and probably good people yearning to eat you, loved ones dying and the constant fear of becoming one of them or never knowing if you'll be safe again. Having to kill to live, having to trust your instincts, making the toughest decisions that no one should have to make and not letting your emotions get in the way of rationality. That kind of damage will never repair.
I shook my head at the random train of thought and headed back to the tent, my eyes once again scoping out the surrounding treeline.
When I approached, I saw Helena sitting down near the fire pit, toy bear in her lap. Instead of talking to it like she normally did though, she as playing with a few strands of her hair, innocently humming to herself. I felt a smile tug at my lips. Alex stumbled out of the tent, his hair standing up in all positions.
"Sam, have you seen the state of my shoes?" Alex asked as he shoved a pair of tatty skate shoes in my face, and I reeled back.
"Beautiful." I snorted, dumping the wood next to the pit.
"What am I going to do though? The soles are shot with holes and the material is coming off." He snapped, ignoring my sarcastic comment.
"Well I'll have to go and get you another pair from somewhere, won't I?"
"I've got those boots I found in that farmhouse, but they're pretty worn too. You don't have to go and get any. I'll wear these out." He said quickly, and I raised an eyebrow at him.
"What?" He asked innocently. I kept my eyebrow raised and he sighed.
"I don't want you going away from here Sam. It's safe, and you're totally clueless about this area." He said and I exhaled deeply.
"Well we don't have to do that just yet, do we? It's okay Alex." I smiled, walking towards him and laying a hand on his arm.
"Besides," I said, "you know I can handle myself."
"Look, we're not having this conversation again. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it and all that." He grunted, waving his hand.
I looked at him and smiled, waiting for him to meet my eyes. When he did, he blushed. I giggled and patted his back before walking to the truck. I grabbed a bottle of water and settled down next to Helena.
She hugged the bear close to her stomach and smiled at me. I offered her the bottle of water which she drank clumsily, a few drops of water dribbling down her chin. She took a deep breath of air when she'd finished drinking, handing back the half empty bottle. I grinned down at her before taking a swig.
"Sam?" Helena asked, her voice high pitched as she wiped her chin with the back of her hand.
"Yeah?"
"Can you show me some of your fighting?" She asked, rocking forward onto her knees, placing a steadying hand on my arm.
I looked up at Alex who merely shrugged.
"I'd like to see it too." He smiled.
"I dunno." I sighed. I really didn't want to do that - I get all self-conscious about showing others what I can do. It's just a necessity.
"Don't start getting shy now Sambo! Show Helena how it's done." Alex smirked, and I sighed.
"Fine. But just one kata." I retorted, pushing myself off of the floor and walked out to a clearer area behind the tent.
"What's a kata?" Helena asked, and Alex laughed a little.
"It's a group of moves all put together in a routine." He said as they fell into step behind me.
They both followed me and stood side by side, waiting. I took a shaky breath.
"Ready?" I asked, a smirk forming on my lips. They nodded excitedly and my smirk widened.
The first thing I made to do them was bow, and was fairly amused when they both bowed back, although Alex had an extremely mocking look on his face. I brought my feet shoulder length apart and had my hands flat against my side. Standing in the familiar position, I felt my nervousness disappear.
I brought my right hand up and held it across my chest, facing down in front of me. I then put my left leg behind me and bent my right leg.
I brought my left leg up and kicked to the side. I then swiveled right, bringing my fists together across my chest, knuckles facing out.
I then brought my right leg forward to kick flat in front, bringing my fists to my hips. My foot landed out in front of my left, and I brought my fists up to punch rapidly three times.
I could feel my heart rate starting to pick up a little as adrenaline was slowly starting to course through me. I would have smiled if I hadn't been concentrating on my moves.
My fists fell back to my hips a I brought my right leg up and turned on my left leg to face right. I saw Helena and Alex sidle around so I was facing them again.
I brought my foot to the floor and bright my arms up to make a cross in front of me. I pushed them down and out hard, bringing them back down to my side.
I brought my left arm across my chest and swung it down and left it extended in a lower block position. I spun on my left leg and leant back to do a roundhouse kick, sending my foot kicking higher than where my head would've been. I landed my foot and quickly brought my right arm up across my face in a defensive move.
Both fists returned to my hips and I turned to face right again, so Helena and Alex could still see all the moves I was making.
I took a step forward with my right foot and brought up my right hand to block my face again. I then swapped hands do my left hand was across my face and my right at my hip.
I let my left hand fall back to my hip and punched out three times again. I then brought my legs together and again made a cross with my arms in a defensive block, before slowly bringing them back to my sides.
I unballed my fists and let my hands lay flat against my sides. I brought my feet together and stood directly face on to Alex and Helena before I bowed low.
I breathed a little heavier than normal, but I smiled to myself. I'd forgotten just how much I loved karate - even if that wasn't the full kata.
I raised my eyes towards Alex and Helena, looking over their expression as I relaxed my body and stood normally, arms crossed tightly just across my chest.
They both stood looking at me before clapping madly, and I felt my face blush.
I did a mock curtsy and walked past them back to the fire pit, sitting down cross-legged feeling slightly embarrassed. No one ever saw that except for my trainers and my sensei.
They both walked up to me, Helena sitting in my lap and Alex sitting next to me.
"See? That wasn't so hard. In fact, it was pretty awesome!" He grinned, putting an arm around my shoulder.
"Whatever." I mumbled, trying to hide my blush in Helena's hair. Jeez, I need to man up a bit!
We sat there for a few minutes listening to Helena babbling away about some of the moves and actions I did.
I laughed lazily, rubbing my eyes. I hadn't been sleeping well recently - my days of sleeping like a log were over. I sleep so lightly nowadays it's irritating. I've basically adapted. Buy after that karate, I also felt a bit of an adrenaline rush coursing through me. I blew my cheeks out, focusing on what Helena was saying again.
"Sam, that man is walking this way." Helena said, pointing in the direction of the house.
I snapped my gaze up and saw Otis heading towards us, waving. We all waved back, and gently as I could, I threw Helena into Alex's lap and stood up.
I went to the tent and grabbed my bag, machete and rifle and stepped out. Alex looked at me with a resigned look, but he nodded and turned to Helena in his lap.
"I won't be long." I sighed, ruffling his hair slightly as I walked past.
I jogged to Otis who stood waiting in the space between our tent and the farmhouse.
"Ready to go again?" he asked and I grinned.
He smiled and started walking towards the woods, and I followed, buzzing. We walked in a different part of the woods than we did before, following a faint winding track through the trees. I pulled my machete out of my bag and rested it in my left hand.
"You alright?" He asked after a while. I was a few steps behind him, twirling my machete absently as I stared deeply into the surrounding areas.
"Yeah. I did some karate earlier for Alex and Helena, and I guess it just got my adrenaline going." I shrugged, shifting from foot to foot.
"Oh... Well try not to move about so much - I've found some fresh-looking deer tracks." He stated and I nodded, forcing my feet to stop moving so enthusiastically.
We continued walking for an hour or two, and I had managed to catch a squirrel which greatly surprised Otis as he thought I would scare everything away. I had hummed occasionally too, which received a few quieting glances from Otis.
Eventually after a few hours, Otis span to face me, his face slightly red.
"Sam, I... Do you think you'd be able to go back? It's just, we haven't had any decent meat come though here in a long time, and you're kinda scaring everything away." He said nervously and after a brief hesitation, I sighed.
"Sure. Do you want any of my water bottles or anything?" I asked, not really hurt by his words. Normally I would, but I know his intentions are good. And I was probably being pretty irritating. He shook his head and I nodded.
I turned back and headed among the way we came, the adrenaline still biting at my heels. I chewed my lip in contemplation after a few minutes before hoisting my rucksack higher and began to run.
It was the only way that I could think of that could help relieve the adrenaline going through me, and in all honesty, I needed the practice. Running was now a part of life.
I ran for about an hour or two on and off, and despite the cover of the trees, I was baking from this heat. Sweat had welled in the small of my back under my rucksack, and my hair stuck to my forehead.
Everywhere I looked when I ran through was incredible dense and seemingly endless. That seemed quite daunting, so I tried keeping my gaze straight ahead on where I was running to, although occasionally I'd take a quick peek behind me.
I wiped a finger under my eyes and tried to focus on my breathing, but I knew I was reaching my body's limit. My calves had started the unfamiliar burning and my lungs were making me draw short and raspy breaths, but I tried ignoring it and carried on running.
I didn't have to run much further before eventually reaching the fences that surrounded Hershel's land which made me sigh with relief. I jumped them quickly and jogged towards the tent.
Alex stood back from the fire that was now burning, giving out extra heat in the afternoon sun. He looked over in my direction as I got closer, confusion etched on his face.
" Sam! Is everything okay?" He asked, his eyes running over my sweaty and worn out appearance.
"Yeah. I was too loud so Otis sent me back. I ran it." I stated, beaming with pride at my last sentence. I'd actually ran out of choice and for a long period of time. Alex raised an eyebrow but then laughed, throwing his head back slightly and his good arm settling over his sling.
"Nice one. You should go ask if you can borrow their shower though. You look drenched." He suggested and I winched. Drenched? With what, sweat? How attractive.
"Yeah, I might just do that. Oh, here." I said, reaching round on myself to get at the back of my bag. I unclipped the squirrel and handed it to Alex.
"Sorry it's so little. I was still pumped from going karate that I was being too loud and apparently scaring everything off." I shrugged, and Alex laughed.
"That's cool. It's something, anyway. We've got a couple tins and stuff left too." He smiled and I nodded.
I walked round in front of the tent and dropped my bag before crawling inside and searching for some relatively clean clothes.
I crawled back out and smiled at Alex before walking up to the house. I hesitated near the car and grabbed the back of toiletries we took from that last house before I continued on to the Greene's. I knocked on the door gently and let myself in, and was immediately greeted by Maggie.
"Hello." I said awkwardly and she smiled.
"Alright Sam?" She asked.
"Yeah. I know this is probably so rude, but do you think I could use your shower?" I asked shyly and averted my eyes.
"Sure. Just don't take too long." She said and I looked up to meet her smile.
"Thanks Maggie!" I yelped.
"Upstairs and left, right at the end of the hallway. If you use a towel, bring it down so I can wash it." She said and I smiled.
"Thank you." I smiled before walking out of the doorway.
As soon as I was out of sight, I rushed and ran as quickly as I could. I locked the door when I was inside and peeled everything off my body before turning on the shower. I yanked the bands out of my hair and on to my wrist and jumped in. I pulled the shower curtain shut, backed under the falling water and gasped.
It was warm. Clean and warm. I smiled wildly to myself as I ran my hands through my hair, my eyes fluttering shut as the water dribbles everywhere. I opened my eyes and looked around, and I spotted the toiletry bag and rummaged through it, finding a a shampoo. Without hesitation, I dumped a small amount into my hands.
I put it on my hair and rubbed it in, lathering it all over my hair. I threw the bottle back into the bag and sighed. I stood back under the shower and tilted my head back, washing out the shampoo. It felt so good! Showers had never felt so amazing before.
Next to the shampoo was a small bar of soap. I shrugged to myself and reached for it and began lathering it all over myself. I put it back and stood back under the shower head, letting it all wash away.
After another few minutes of washing my body and my hair and generally enjoying an actual shower, I forced myself to turn it off. The water stopped falling, and the last bits of steam rose. I squeezed all the water from my hair and sighed deeply.
I saw a towel rack and remembering what Maggie said, I grabbed a decent-sized towel. I wrapped it round me and sighed again.
In the toiletry bag, I spotted that there was a razor. I picked it up and blushed, remembering how long it had been since I'd properly shaved my legs.
I set to shaving everything that needed it as my body dried, feeling more content than I have been in an extremely long time. Once I had finished, I put on my cleanish clothes and gathered everything I used. I put the bathroom to how it was when I entered, and sauntered downstairs, smile plastered on my face.
I handed the towel to Maggie with an extremely grateful 'thank you' and walked out of the house, toiletries and changed clothes in hand.
I got to the truck and threw my stuff inside and sauntered to Alex by the fire pit, pushing my wet hair out of my face.
"Well, someone looks pleased with themself." Alex commented as I sat next to him, eyebrow raised. I merely continued to grin.
He laughed to himself and began stoking the fire. I blew out my cheeks as the heat from the fire mingled with the warm afternoon.
Helena was idly playing with her hair, but was knotting it big time. She eventually grew frustrated and walked up to me, dropping in front of me with her arms crossed.
"Sam, can you braid my hair please?" she asked with a deep frown on her face.
"Of course I can!" I chirped.
Helena swiveled to sit on her backside and had her back to me, and I gently began to run my fingers through her hair. I had eventually managed to get the knots out and started slowly to braid her hair.
The whole process was really therapeutic. Once her blond hair had settled neatly in its braid, I pulled one of the bands of my wrist and tied it round the bottom of her hair.
"Done." I said, and Helena whipped round and quickly hugged me.
"Thanks Sam!" She quirked, getting up and heading towards the truck. She hopped in the driver's side and pulled down the visor, revealing the mirror. She regarded her reflection and smiled. I think she liked it.
She hopped back out and shut the door, walking back and settled on the floor in between me and Alex.
"My mom never used to braid my hair." Helena said after a while, completely stunning me. I looked over at Alex quickly, and he seemed to share the same sentiment as his mouth was hanging slightly open.
"Do you miss her, sweetie?" Alex asked tentatively, pulling Helena into his lap.
"Kinda. I never really saw her. I was on my own a lot." She confessed, absently twirling the end of her braid.
Her words made my heart break. Who would leave a kid on their own, especially one as brilliant as Helena?
"Did anyone else look after you?" I asked.
"Gran looked after me a lot, but she died a long time ago." Helena shrugged. I heard Alex sigh harshly, and I ran a hand through my hair.
"Well, we're not going to leave you alone Helena." Alex said, his good arm wrapping rightly around her as she snuggled into his chest.
"I know." Was her quiet reply, causing my eyes to well up slightly, but I blinked furiously to push them back.
We slipped into a comfortable silence then, the crackling of the fire and the buzzing of insects the soundtrack to our evening. The heat was beginning to fade, although I did feel considerably sticky, despite the shower.
Eventually Helena got up and so did Alex, saying they were going to get some food ready. I sat there in silence as they worked around me, taking in what's happening.
Helena had to grow up fast, I suppose, what with being on her own a lot. But she acts so young sometimes! Especially when that teddy bear was involved - although I haven't really seen her with it in the last day or so. Maybe when she's older she'll think of her old life more, and maybe something will change in her, but I don't know. Maybe the current world will alter things when she fully understands.
"Sam, grab the plate, it's hot!" Alex gasped, snapping me out of my reverie and I reached up for the plate.
We ate with plenty of chatter, mainly Helena telling us stories about her favourite day trips and wanting us to say the same. She giggled her way through the story of when I fell in a pond and dragged Alex with me, her face flushing brightly from laughter.
After we had eaten we cleaned up by the fire, chatting until it had got dark. By that time, Helena's blinks lasted longer and she yawned frequently.
"I'm going to sleep." She stated as she stood wearily.
"Night Helena." Alex cooed as she hugged us both. She then stumbled into the tent and within no time, her breathing grew deep as she fell asleep.
I dragged my eyes away from the tent to look at Alex. He met my gaze and smiled. The corner of my lips tugged up sheepishly.
"Well, that was insightful." Alex offered, and I blew out my cheeks and laughed once.
"And random." I sighed.
We continued sitting by the fading fire, neither of us stepping up to keep it burning. Eventually, Alex stood and ran a hand through his shaggy hair.
"I'm going to sleep. Don't be too long, okay?" He said, and I nodded.
"Yes dad." I smirked. He shook his head but laughed as he trudged towards the tent.
I watched the embers burn away as my mind drifted over the events of the day.
I dragged my gaze off the flames and on the surrounding area. Nothing caught my eye, so they dropped back to the fire.
I thought about the group, and how well they were faring. And Jim. As much as I hate to admit it, he probably past away. If there was a cure, the world wouldn't still be in turmoil. But it's Jim. I have to hope they found a way to save him.
But the group. They're all together. They should be okay. But no matter how many times I tell that to myself, it doesn't make the crushing pain and anxiety I feel any better.
"Uh!" I grunted to myself. I was frustrated and worried. I pulled my legs tightly to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.
Yeah. The group can handle the walkers for themselves. I mean, they've taken care of themselves up until this point, although they weren't without their casualties. Amy, other campers.
My eyes started welling slightly, and I rubber them roughly. I'm not going to cry again.
All I do is cry recently. I've never broken down this much, of lost control of my emotions so irrationally. But on the flip side, I can switch off and shut myself away from the reality of things a lot more easily - especially when coming face-to-face with a walker. Yeah, I get a bit scared, but then it all changes and I buckle down to the task at hand. Maybe I'm just really adapting.
Talking of walkers, I haven't seen any in a long time. I know I should be relieved, but in all honesty, it sets me on edge. How long will it be until we stumble across one or more - or even worse - some stumble onto us?
As if on cue, a strange sound came from the woods, making me jump to my feet. Totally startled, I began kicking dirt onto the fire put, putting the rest of the embers out, completely showering me in darkness.
The cries came out again, and I realised it was just an animal, and nothing else. Forcing myself to breath, I shut my eyes and tried to steady my racing pulse and heartbeat.
I looked at the fire put and saw that there was no remains of a fire. Sighing, I walked towards the tent and zipped it up. I kicked my shoes off and crawled into my sleeping bag. I didn't realise how exhausted I was as I fell asleep straight away, my machete clutched tightly in my hand.
Soo, thoughts?
And sorry if it was hard to keep up with the katate bit - I haven't done that kata in a while, so I had to run through it a thousand times until I knew what to write. :)
Also, the last few days I've been breezing through the Walking Dead comics that I borrowed or found online or whatever. Do they get totally depressing, or is it just me? Haha, definitely not knocking it though, but I wouldn't recommend reading it until four in the morning - it does stuff to your head. :P And it's a shame the Dixons aren't in it (yet? ;]).
Thanks for reading, favouriting, commenting and alerting!
-Loré. X