Tegan POV
It seems like just yesterday that I was trapped in a hospital with a bunch of zombies...mostly because it was yesterday. Luckily I didn't meet any zombies on the way to Lindsey's house, I just saw them from afar and avoided them. At least I don't scream when I'm near them anymore. If you ask me, I kinda see them as majestic creatures...like unicorns almost. I always knew unicorns didn't exist, but it was only about a year ago that I found out they never existed at all, and I always thought they were just extinct. I wonder what the situation is like outside of town...is the President still alive? Is the CDC doing anything? How did this get so out of hand so quickly? Are all my friends still alive? I never thought I would live to see the day when zombies would roam the Earth.
I haven't found anyone that I know. I can't find or contact Lindsey, Ted or Jeremy. When I came to Lindsey's house, everything was a mess. This wasn't her home anymore, all it was now was empty space. Everything was out of place, you could tell her escape for refuge was rushed. Shoes were everywhere, her car wasn't in the driveway, her camera gone, her fridge empty (which means I have to go shopping), clothes were everywhere, furniture had been moved, and the door had been scratched at. It took me about three hours to board this place up and try to make everything look dark. I can only hope for the best, and I plan to go out later into the city, right after I go shopping though. I plan on going to the local gas station, which is about half a mile away. Of course you don't go out and expect to not run into some encounters, which is why I'm taking my trusty axe with me...and some pepper spray that I found underneath Lindsey's bed, just in case I need to use it against a human.
I went walking, smashed a couple of heads thinking "Hey, I might as well get rid of a few walkers and keep some of the community safe." The sun is out in the middle of fall and on any other normal day, today would've be a perfect day to cannonball into a pile of leaves, or go out and fly a kite. I get there in less than ten minutes and walk through the broken glass door, already alerting me of danger lurking around. The only light coming in is from the windows, and that only illuminates half of the store. There are four aisles and some arcade games by the window. I see what looks to be the store owner, on the ground laying in a pool of blood behind the bulletproof register. I keep my axe at my side and stealthily move around the aisles, filling up my grey duffel bag with bread, chips, water, soda, and a bunch of other junk food. It may not be healthy, but it is food and I'm not complaining. All of a sudden I hear glass cracking. I stand still, my blood immediately freezing up. My heart rate is increasing at an alarming rate, and I'm sweating through all my clothes. Now I may not be a doctor, but I think it might pass out. I let out a shaky breath, and move in between the aisles. I finally see the door and move towards it when something crosses my path. I gasp and move back, dropping my axe. The figure lunges at me, making me land on my back. They get on top of me, straddling my waist while their hands grip tightly around my throat.
"Have you been bitten?" She asked, clearly a "she" from the pitchiness in her voice.
"What? Bitten? Like from a zombie? No." I said, trying to gasp for air.
"What's your name?"
"T-Tegan, Tegan Quin!" I strained.
"Why are you here?" She asked with a stern look, her grip on my throat somewhat loosening.
"Getting a lotto ticket, what do you think I'm doing?! I say, pointing to my duffel bag filled with practically half the store.
She eyes the bag with a look of wanting, lets go of my throat and snatches the bag, making a dash for the door. I groan, sitting up now. I feel around for the handle of my axe, palms patting down the cold floor, and quickly get up on my feet, running after her. We pass Lindsey's house, but after that she doesn't get very far. She stumbles on a jutted piece of cement and crashes down with a thud on the sidewalk. I stop and hesitate.
Should I help her? That looked like a pretty nasty fall. What if she scraped her knee real bad?
Again with the same situation. She lunged at you with an "I'm going to kill you right here, right now" look, then she took away a weeks worth of food away from you.
But at least she didn't kill me...And she's a survivor just like me.
Oh don't tell me you have a thing for her just because she straddled your waist!
No! It's not like that! Okay you know what I'm gonna help her whether you like it or not!
I looked towards her direction and without question ran into a sprint, while she was being dragged behind a tree.
Emy POV
"Help! Someone! Anyone!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
My attempts at escaping from his grip were futile, but I wasn't planning on giving up without a fight. I hated running errands on my own. I don't understand why Sara can't just grow a pair of balls and come out here and do something helpful for once. All she ever does is stay cooped up in that little tent writing in notebooks, surrounded by an army of volunteer survivors who joined our little group. Of course her husband is the leader/alpha male, which kind of makes her co-leader and me assistant to the co-leader. Everyone looks up to Bruce because he's strong, and used to wear a badge. The only reason people tagged along was because Bruce had connections to weapons and knew the town like the back of his hand. That was about as useful he was gonna get. He spent the rest of his time abusing Sara and all the other women, while occasionally drinking his ass off. Ever since the world went topsy-turvy she's been getting more distant from me. Then again, it could be because of the trip she made to Calgary to go visit her parents, she did say she had something very important to tell them. Either way, Sara's great, she's the only friend I've really opened up to, and I'm happy where we are in our friendship, it's literally the best one I've ever had.
"Ugh! When did zombies get so strong?!" I muttered to myself. I look up at him, his dirty white hands wrapped tightly around my ankles pulling me towards the backyard of some random house. I grab hold of a mailbox post and try to pull myself forward with both arms. That's when I hear running footsteps and start to panic.
"No, no, no, no, no, no! Please not anymore freaks!" I glue my eyes shut, preparing for my inevitable death, when I hear a "squish" coming from my below my ankles. I cautiously open my eyes, expecting to see zombies, but there stands a tiny woman with a purple bandanna across her forehead, black skinny jeans, a blue tanktop with a purple hoodie, and an axe in her left hand smeared with maroon-colored blood.
Tegan POV
"Well aren't you gonna thank me?" I ask with a smirk on my face.
"Don't get too cocky, anyways, I didn't need your help. I was perfectly handling the situation." She stands up, obviously annoyed by my presence, dusting the dirt off her jeans. She looks around, in search of a certain grey duffel bag perhaps? But I'm one step ahead.
"Uh oh, ya looking for this?" I say, proudly holding the duffel bag up to my head. The contents of it spill to the ground, she rushes in and grabs at anything she can get ahold of and stuffs the content deep into her pockets.
"Woah, woah,woah,woah! That stuff is mine!" I yell at her, and she not giving a damn. She looks up at me and scoffs.
"You know what? I have a group of 13 to feed, 3 of them barely 11 years old. So if you don't mind I'll just be taking the duffel bag and make my life a little easier!" She screams at me, and now it looks like she's on the brink of tears. She sits on the lawn and puts her head in her face. I can hear her silent sobs from a foot away. I put a reassuring hand on her back and make small circles. I sit inches away from her and pull her into a tight hug.
"Hey, hey, hey...shhh, it's okay. Here you can take my bag if you really need it." I tell her, reaching for the bag behind me and setting it down on her lap. She stops crying and wipes her tears away. She looks up at me in awe.
"Really? I-I...I can't possibly take it."
"You already tried to twice." She chuckles at my remark and pulls me in for a hug.
"Thanks, it'll mean alot to the group."
"No problem." I reply. I stand up and offer her my hand. She's up on her feet in a matter of seconds, but before she leaves, I have to ask her something.
"Say, what do you mean when you say group?"
"A group of survivors who are looking out for each other."
"You haven't by any chance seen a woman about this tall? Black hair? Maybe has a camera around her neck?"
"Hmmm...now that I think about it I think I have...but I'm not sure. I think I saw her by the Police Station in downtown while I was looking for weapons. If you're headed down there, be careful. I've heard rumors that the sheriff got some sort of weird group down there."
"Thanks, you've given me some useful information." I say with a smile on my face, hoping to find Lindsey, Ted, and Jeremy down there.
"Anytime. Thanks for the duffel bag. And if you ever need a place to stay, just look for us in the forest near the lake. It's about five miles from here thataway. We're right on the edge of the lake." She points north from where I'm standing.
"Oh and tell them Emy sent you!" I nod in understanding and we say our goodbyes. I see her walk towards a pharmacy parking lot and hop into a black suburban. She drives down the road, disappearing towards the forest.
It's getting pretty late, although it's probably only about five. It makes me nervous to be out here in the dark, since that's pretty much when all the walkers come out. I decide to head back to the gas station, to salvage whatever food or beverage I can find. I walk all the way back home after picking up some twinkies, a water bottle, loaf of bread, soda pack, and some ham packages. I climb up the steps to the house, but before I walk in, I make sure no zombie or person can see me. When the coast is clear, I open the door carefully and shove myself inside. Hopefully I can go to downtown as planned and start the search for my friends. I wonder what Emy meant by a sherriff and his weird group...
Lindsey POV
"Please give us some food, water, anything! We're starving!" My voice screeched after three days of being locked here in a cell. Ted is alright, but Jeremy on the other hand...no Jeremy is gonna make it out of here alive too. I fight against my tears, not willing to show my weak side. My hands grip tighter against the bars and I shake them as hard as I can. I lean my forehead against the cool metal and breakdown. I haven't seen Tegan since I left her that note on Friday, and I'm already beginning to accept the idea that she didn't make it. More tears make their way down my cheeks with that thought, no Tegan's strong and you know it, she's probably out there looking for you right now. I need Tegan to be here with me and hold me in her arms, to tell me everything is going to be alright. I breakdown even more. The thought of having lost Tegan breaks my heart to pieces. I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend, just skipping the whole dating thing and going right for it. I fell in love with her just three months into our friendship, but she was with Jennifer and I couldn't say anything because I saw how in love Tegan was with her. I stiffen as I hear footsteps coming down the hall. I grimace and look away as he tries to grab me by the hair.
"Look at me when I talk to you, you bitch!" He screams at me and I whimper. I already know what he's capable of.
"My boys come into my room into the middle of the night sayin' that you're askin' for some food. Now, I'm no complainer for a midnight snack, but you know what the price is, an eye for an eye." He flashes me his most evilest smile. I look back at Ted and Jeremy. They've both been doing hard labor to make sure I don't do what I'm about to do.
"I'm sorry, but I'm doing this for you." I whisper to them. I nod at him and he smiles from ear to ear. He unlocks my cell door and leads us to the bed in his office.