Exploration
by Starsinger
I'm changing Jim's probable fate. I believe I can, they left him before he actually died. And, while I'm not changing everyone's fate Sophia will also survive. Don't own them.
After weeks of gun training and learning how to read a map, I drove into my first town. I parked outside a drug store. The mission was simple, pick up simple first aid supplies and aspirin. Then head for the local herb store and see what they had in stock. Often small herb stores had simple recipes included in their stocks to help certain issues, infections, discomforts, and other issues that could be corrected with help from Mother Nature. With drug manufacturing companies out of business, they had to use something a little more reliable.
I walked into the store expecting to hear an echo of the moans I heard outside. Instead, the smell hit me first. I don't know why I was surprised. Then I noticed the bodies on the floor. Someone had gotten there before I had. Four bodies lay on the floor, decapitated. Ricky was supposed to come with me and Stephanie, but they had found a boat load of children on our way in, and Ricky had gone back to the compound to get some help. One little girl was hanging onto another immune named Jim. The bite on his abdomen clearly needed treating. I spotted an open package of aspirin on the floor. Someone had been VERY thorough.
I rummaged through the pharmacy shelves, pulling out hydrogen peroxide, antibiotic creams, and distilled water. I exited the drug store and heaved the now much heavier bag into the jeep. I found the herbal shop that had been plainly marked on my map. The place was completely clear of Walkers. There weren't even signs that any had even been here. I found remedies and recipes inside. There were even pictures of what the original plants looked like and where to find them. I filled another three bags with documents and herbs, hoping that these would help in the days and years to come. I even grabbed a Buddha statue for good measure. His serene countenance helped calm me down as a Walker ran past me. I heard gun shots in the distance.
I followed the Walkers past a low wall and into a neighborhood where two people, a man and a woman, struggled toward another car. The Walkers went around me as I watched them fumble for the keys to the ignition, and then the woman saw me. We locked gazes. She drew the man's attention to me who stared at me for a moment before I turned away. I decided to use my I-pod at that point before I jogged back to the low wall behind me. I climbed on top of the wall and watched as they plowed through the Walkers and drove away. I hopped off the wall and headed back to my jeep. The radio crackled to life as I heard Stephanie's voice, "Alicia, are you there? We're heading in."
"I hear you, Steph, put a hold on coming back, I managed to get what we were sent for, and I have some news."
When she returned the kids had been installed in a section of the infirmary specifically designed for injured or bitten survivors who required more care than could be given in the regular quarantine. She gave over the backpacks to the Doc and then reported to Helene. Silence greeted her report. "They're probably at Hershel's farm. He's pretty harmless, but hostile towards outsiders. He believes Walkers can be cured."
"How do you cure dead?" Stephanie blurted out.
Helene shrugged and told us that Ricky and I would head out to the farm, she had some materials for trade. Hershel met us at the gate, eyeing the guns we carried so casually, "You were spotted."
I nodded as Ricky started unloading the crates of stuff that Helene sent. One of his hands started handing over crates of food and other stuff we apparently needed, "I know. Hershel, you should really come to the compound." He shook his head. Stubborn old man that he was. "We found some kids on the road today, if anybody in this group is missing kids, let them know," I finished as we completed our transaction. He nodded, it was almost as if there was a complete disconnect between his world and the one in which we now lived. We left and passed a hooded figure with two armless Walkers on chains beside it.
