A Will for Survival
Chapter Two
Warning(s): Gore, horror, violence, adult content, adult language, nudity, sexual situations, non-con, angst. This one won't be as kind as my previous stories, Ladies and Germs. It's kind of dark. Not for the faint of hearted. But, if you don't like it, just don't read it. Please don't report it. Not sure if I want it to be a Daryl romance, or Rick. Love 'em both, so we'll see how it plays out, I suppose.
Disclaimer: Please, as if I own The Walking Dead. Norman Reedus would've been mine years ago if I did.
She was free. She was free. She felt giddy, in a strange way, as she ran her way through Terminus, being careful to hide behind the train cars when Walkers would lumber near. She spotted other members of Terminus shooting at the creatures, while the defenseless ran back and forth in fear. Her own heart was racing in terror, but she refused to let it overcome her. She would not cower in fear and hide. She would get the hell out of Terminus. Away from the cannibals, from Gareth's crazy mom, Mary, and from Gareth himself. She was not going to die in this place.
With that determination in mind, she quickly ducked down, tying her hair in a loose braid with quick and precise fingers. She spotted a steel pipe on the floor out of the corner of her eye, blood stained along the side and at the end. She grabbed it, keeping a firm grip as she peered around the corner. She wasn't afraid she wouldn't be able to defend herself. Before she was taken by Gareth, she had adapted to the post-apocalyptic world surprisingly well. With her past history of being in Judo, she could snap the necks of the Walkers when she would have no weapon. Her father had been a policeman, and had taught her how to defend herself perfectly, with and without a weapon. Unfortunately, it hadn't worked with Gareth. He had been manipulating, and clever, and she had fallen into his trap too easily.
She gritted her teeth in frustration with herself briefly, but forced it away and took deep breaths. She could do this. When she peered around the corner, she saw a few staggering Walkers making their way down the cement, not noticing the redhead peeking at them warily. She avoided the gore and blood that stained the floor at their feet, straightening up and planting her feet firmly. Grabbing the hood of her sweater, she pulled it over her head, shielding her noticeable crimson curls.
"Okay, Jamie. You can do this." She whispered to herself. Jamie Daniels nodded firmly, before easing her way out from behind the train car. She crept around the Walkers on her tip toes, keeping a good distance between them and glancing around her constantly. The one in front of her, once a female in a long, flowery dress, paused and turned. Spotting her, it snarled and bared its rotting teeth and started towards her. Taking a deep breath, Jamie swung the pipe with all her might, making direct contact with the temple of the Walker's head. It fell down heavily, the resounded Clang! Of the pipe echoing slightly. Jamie ran around the corner of another car as the other three Walkers turned at the sound, rasping growls escaping their blackened lips.
They stayed that way for a moment, as if looking for her, then turned back around and continued on her way. The one she hit was still mobile, its head caved in as it crawled after the others. Jamie grimaced at the sight, gripping the pipe tighter.
Guess I'm a little rusty. Maybe I need to go the other way. She thought to herself, moving around the other side to peer around. Only to gasp in surprise. She could see two men, crouched behind a car and staring at a group of Terminus citizens shooting at Walkers with looks of intense hatred. One of them had dark locks, wavy from sweat will a full beard and intense blue eyes. The other had medium, shaggy brown hair and arctic blue eyes that were equally intense, full of concentration and hate. He had a black eye, and both looked a little banged up, but appeared to be unbothered by their state. They were both equally handsome, but she could feel the waves of danger rolling off of them.
It wasn't sinister, like Gareth's, but still intimidating. Jamie shifted slightly, prepared to move back, when her eyes locked with the man with the longer hair and hard, arctic eyes. Her own buttery irises widened in shock, and she stepped backwards nervously as his narrowed at the sight of her. The other began to move, his gaze focused on the groups of shooters taking down the mass of Walkers footsteps were quiet, precise, and stealthy as he crept up behind them, and the other man removed his eyes from Jamie to watch his partner carefully, in case he had to come and help.
It seemed that he didn't need help, though. He took down the straggler in the back, snapping his neck with ease and taking his machine gun. Without hesitation, he shot down all of the remaining Terminus members, ignoring the Walkers approaching them. Jamie took that as her cue to escape, and backed away before the other man could notice her again. She took off at a jogging pace through Terminus, headed towards the back where she knew another exit to be.
As she ran, her thoughts blurred rapidly through her mind. Where they the ones that caused the explosion? The reason why Terminus was being over-taken? If so, why? Did they know someone that had been taken? Where they taken, and escaped? She didn't know, and she didn't care to meet them again, despite being attractive. Gareth was handsome, and he was more dangerous than a viper's bite. She hadn't known that in the beginning, and it caused her to be held captive for months. She wasn't about to make that mistake again.
There weren't as many Walkers in the back area, but the ones that came in her way; she took down with a hard swing of the pipe. Her arms were starting to ache from disuse, but she refused to stop. She finally spotted the wire fence that lead to the train tracks, then to the forest beyond that. She sped up, excitement in her blood as she quickened her pace. Her hood fell in her haste, revealing her bright crimson hair, but she paid it no mind. She glanced around quickly for anyone approaching, or any Walkers. Aside from a few in the distance, slowly making their way toward her; the coast was clear.
She felt hope bloom in her chest as she reached the fence, and she quickly scaled it, being careful around the barbed wire that lined it. She let out a huff as she dropped to the ground, landing on her feet and crouching slightly. She straightened up, getting ready to reach down, when she realize she had left her pipe on the other side.
"Damnit." Jamie hissed, gripping the wire of the fence as she stared at it, lying on the ground. She would need it for later, if she were to run into any Walkers on the way. She leaned back, staring up at the fence. If she was quick, she could scale it again, grab the pipe, climb it, and then run as fast as she could in to the woods. She nodded to herself, grabbing on to the wire and planting one foot inside a hole. As she went to heave herself up, she heard shouting in the distance on the other side. She stopped, looking around to see what the noise was about.
Her whole body went rigid in shock. Not too far away was a small group of Terminus citizens, headed towards where Jamie was currently. And in the middle, limping, but clearly alive, was Gareth. Though he cradled his side shoulder gingerly, he refused the others' assistance, and should see the fury on his face from where she stood. Frozen, she could feel fear creeping up her spine as his hazel eyes spotted her immobile form. They widened ever so slightly in surprise, before narrowing; the color dark and ominous.
A shiver went through her, and she felt her body shake from it. Oh, Gods, he was still alive. How was that possible? He should've died in that chaos!
No, she thought, watching as the others started noticing her and pointing her out, A monster like Gareth adapts to chaotic situations with no problem.
She then noticed that they all had guns in their hands as they began shouting at her, and she felt her heart stop. She would be taken again, if she didn't flee while she could. She would be subjected to all that torment, all that rape again, if she didn't get her ass moving. She could feel hot tears of anger burning her butterscotch eyes, and she clenched her fists tightly, before relaxing. Assessing the distance, she figured she would get a decent head start if she ran now, and headed up past Terminus.
So, without further ado, she locked her gaze with Gareth's, raised her fist high in the air, and flipped up her middle finger up at him. Then, she turned and took off in the woods, determined to get away.
I will not be your pet anymore, Gareth.