They reached Iowa by dawn and kept going until they reached Missouri. The sun had almost sunken below the trees and they needed to find a place to stay quickly. She spotted a blue house sitting up on the hills, surrounded by thick trees. A long dirt road led up to it.
"Up there," she said, pointing it out. They turned the horses up the road, excited to rest. The house was two floors. Since it sat on the top of the hill they had a good view of the road and the huge field beyond that. The sky was now dark and somewhere in the distance Georgette could hear thunder. She dismounted her horse and went up the front door. She banged on it and then opened it up. She heard the footsteps and four walkers appeared at the end of the hallway. One woman, one man and two little girls. It was a family. They were horribly decayed and weren't moving very fast. A few more weeks and they'd disintegrate completely to skeletons. Feeling sick she quickly killed all of them. She dragged them outside and signaled for Candice to come inside.
"What are we gonna do with the horses?" she said, walking up to the steps. The doorway was too small for the horses to get through.
"I don't know," said Georgette, looking around. She was hesitant to leave them outside where a walker could come and eat them. Georgette picked up her horse's reins and headed around the house. "Do you think they'll fit in there?" There was a shed out back. It was small and little run down but it looked stable enough.
"Should be able too." Georgette pulled open the door and looked inside. There was nothing but an old lawnmower sitting in the back. She led the horses in and was happy to see there was enough space. They took the tack off and put a large bowl of water down for the horses to drink. Georgette shut and locked the door by putting a piece of wood through the handles.
Once they got back inside the house they checked every room to be sure there were no more walkers. Despite the rotting of the walls and floors the house looked as it had the day the world went to shit. Family pictures still sat on the tables and plates were still in the dishwasher and sink. They set themselves up in the living room. Shaking the dust off of the couch pillows, they decided to sleep there.
Beth sat by the river, a basket of clothes to wash next to her. She was alone today, and enjoying the solitude of the forest around her. She could see the chain link fence several feet away in the trees. On the other side two walkers hungrily pushed against the fence, trying to get in. She ignored them and started to wash a shirt. When she blocked the sound of the walkers out the forest was pretty peaceful. The river's light rushing sound and the birds chirping calmed her. She reached to get another shirt when she felt someone grab her shoulder. She jumped a mile, turning around to see Vince standing over her.
"You scared the hell out of me!" she said, standing up and brushing the dirt off her legs.
"Sorry," he said with a smirk. "Whatcha up too?"
"Just washing clothes," she said, "Where's Beau?"
"I sent him on a run with the others." Beth nodded and said
"How's the roofs coming along?"
"They're almost finished."
"Good," she said, sitting back down. She expected him to leave but instead he came and stood next to her.
"You know I was thinking about the first day you came here with those people and how happy you were to get away from them. I saw you and I knew you needed help and I had to keep you safe." She hated when he'd come and try to talk to her like this, like there was something between them. She continued to clean her shirt in the river.
"And now I can take care of myself." He wasn't taking the hint in her short tone and continued to stand there.
"You were alone, scared and pregnant." She continued to ignore him. "I remember when you wrapped your arms around me and told me you never wanted me to leave." Beth remembered it. It was two months into living at the village and she had been close to having Beau. She hadn't known how much of a creep Vince really was. He'd done everything for her since day one. She'd even confided in him about Daryl and he told her about how his fiancée had died at the beginning of the outbreak. It had been her emotional weakness. She had never done more than give him a hug or a peck on the cheek. But he had obviously wanted more. For awhile she had considered it. Maybe moving on would help the grieving process. He had decided to try and take things slow and wait until Beau was born. Then she found out how much of a creep and bad influence he was on her son. By then it had been too late. Beau already looked up to Vince like a father. "I feel like you've been distant lately."
"Been busy," she said, "there's always something that need to be done."
"Well how about you move in with me and you can kick back and pend some more time relaxing. No one would have to know."
"Sorry but I like working, keeps me busy and my mind straight."
"A pretty girl like you deserves to be pampered." She laughed and said
"Pampered? That sort of thing doesn't exist anymore." She turned to look at him, "And I'm not the same frightened twenty-year-old girl I was when I first came here, I'm a capable thirty-nine year old woman." With that she picked up her clean basket of clothes and headed back to her house.
Georgette woke up out of a dead sleep. A loud continuous roar filled the room.
"What the fuck?" She stumbled off the coach and stood up. It was like a freight train. The house was creaking and she could hear what sounded like debris hitting the side of the house. What the hell was going on? Candice was still asleep on the couch across from her. Suddenly a flash of lightning lit up the room, quickly followed by a deafening crack of thunder. The whole house seemed to shake and she stumbled over to the window and pulled back the curtains. It was dark outside and she couldn't see anything. Another flash of lightning lit up the sky and she felt her stomach drop when she saw it. Across the road and beyond the field was a huge tornado. He knew what it was right away. Angela had told them about tornadoes. They were large funnels of wind that came down and ripped up everything in their path. Suddenly she was wide awake. She ran over to Candice and violently shoke her awake.
"What's going on?"
"Come on we have to get somewhere safe!" She pulled Candice up by her arm. Her first thought was to go to the basement but then she remembered the large glass windows that faced the back of the house. They'd be sliced open by flying debris if they went there. Then she remembered the underground shelters.
Georgette ran to the back door and looked outside. A grin spread across her face when she saw a swing set.
"Can I go outside pleassseeee." She turned to Angela who was feeding Candice a bottle.
"I'll come with you." Georgette pulled open the slider door and went outside. Angela stood back on the deck watching her. They had decided to stop at a house for the night. Angela had been driving for a long time and she needed to rest. Georgette ran over and jumped onto one of the swings. She pumped her legs as hard as she could, swinging up high. It was the first time since leaving her home that she'd felt some form of joy. The swings had always been her favorite at the park back home.
After a half an hour or so she got tired and decided to take a break. She hopped off and decided to look around the yard some more.
"Don't go where I can't see you," said Angela, "And stay away from the woods."
"I will." She had seen enough walker by now to know they could pop out of anywhere. She something by the side of the deck that caught her attention. It was a door in the ground. It was sticking out slightly on a concrete slab. She went over and looked at it. There wasn't any windows on the door. She called out to Angela.
"What's this?" Angela walked over to her and said
"It's an underground shelter room."
"Sounds cool, can we go in?" Angela handed Candice over to Georgette and then yanked on the handle. After a few good pulls the door popped open. Angela went in first, making sure it was clear.
"Come on down." Georgette held tightly onto Candice as she descended the stairs. She walked into a small concrete room. At the back of the room was a couch, and on the walls were several shelves. They were mostly empty except for a few old empty soup cans.
"Everything that was stored down here is obviously used or gone," said Angela, "But this place seems safer than the house."
"What'd they shelter down here from?"
"Well since we're in the Midwest now, people used to go in these when there were tornados since they had a whole lot of them around here."
"What's that?"
"It's a really bad thunderstorm," she said, "If it gets bad enough the clouds start to spin and come down to the ground as a big funnel. It's very windy; it can suck and tear everything up. That's why people get underground so they're safe." Georgette nodded, hoping she'd never see one, they sounded scary. "But there aren't so many where we're going."
Angela dragged a mattress and some blankets down into the shelter to fit all of them. For the first time in a long time, Georgette felt safe and slept through the night without one nightmare.
"Why are we going outside?!" Georgette quickly grabbed onto whatever bags she could and dragged her sister over to the front door.
"This house has to have an underground shelter!" She flung open the door and was almost knocked off of her feet. Candice tried to yell over the wind.
"We should go to the basement!" Georgette held tightly onto her sister's hand, scared to let go. The wind sent her hair flying all around her as he stepped outside.
"Come on!" They tried to run against the wind, moving as fast as they could. Another flash of lightning lit up the sky. The twister was moving closer.
"What the hell is that?!" he didn't have time to stop and explain so she kept pulling Candice along. They made their way around the other side of the house. With each flash of lightning Georgette looked around the yard for a door. Suddenly she felt Candice pull away from her. She saw her running towards the shed where the horses were. She felt pure terror at the thought of loosing Candice. She saw her quickly unlock the door and open the doors. The horses came running out and both took off into the woods. Candice ran back over.
"What'd you do that for!"
"They'd be trapped if I didn't let them out!" Georgette rolled her eyes, knowing the horses were the least of their worries.
The wind continued to get louder and harder. Georgette nearly got knocked off her feet several times and she was having a hard time seeing anything. Her hair blew into her face and she tripped over something. She managed to clear her hair away to see she had fallen over what she had been looking for, a door.
The tornado was almost upon them and she felt a strange weightless feeling like she was going to be lifted off the ground. Holding onto Candice's hand and grabbed onto the door handle with the other and pulled with all of her strength. The door opened and she screamed in delight. She ran inside, and fell down the concrete stairs. She heard Candice slam the door behind them. She continued to lay on the floor with her eyes closed, thinking of how close to death they just were. Taking a deep breath she said
"That was a close one." When Candice didn't answer she sat up and looked at her still standing on the stairs. Her expression looked shocked and she was staring at something behind her. Georgette slowly turned over and saw a woman sitting on a couch at the back of the room, looking at them in surprise.
"Oh hey," the girl said, continuing to munch on a piece of meat. Georgette was stunned. Had she been here since they arrived? Why wasn't she freaking out and threatening them like most people? She looked to be around her own age. She was thin with fair skin and long wavy blonde hair. Georgette slowly got up off the floor and said
"Hi." The girl continued to eat and act like their sudden intrusion was nothing. "Who are you?"
"I'm Odilia," said the girl, "Who are you?"
"I'm Georgette and this is Candice, is this your place?"
"I guess," she said, "Been here for a couple weeks now." The girl had an extremely thick southern accent. So much so that Georgette had to listen closely to what she was saying.
"We can go if you want," said Georgette, "We just ran in here cause a tornado was passing through."
"You don't haveta go," said the girl, "I haven't had company in awhile." Georgette looked back at her sister, confused. Candice shrugged. Georgette decided to trust the girl but kept her hand on her back pocket where her knife was tucked. He continued to stand by the door, unsure of what to do.
"Come sit," said the girl, patting the spot on the couch next to her. Georgette slowly made her way over but continued to stand. Candice took the spot on the couch. "So where are you from?"
"Wyoming," said Georgette, "But originally Georgia, that's where we're headed."
"Wow you guys have a long way to go; I came all the way up from Louisiana. Not sure where I'm headed." Georgette didn't know why the girl was treating them so nicely. She seemed to sense Georgette's discomfort and looked up at her with her light brown eyes.
"I've been on the road long enough to tell what kinda people I need to look out for and you two ain't those type of people."
"How do we know we can trust you?" The girl stood up off the couch and reached into her back jean pockets. She pulled out a large knife and tossed it to the floor in front of her.
"I'm not lookin' for trouble." Georgette picked up the knife and handed it back to her. She had made her point. "'Sides doesn't look like you have much anyway. What happened?"
"We were taking shelter in the house and woke up to see a tornado coming."
"Smart move comin' down here, I didn't even know what was goin' on. Haven't left this place since I got here." Georgette let her guard down and sat down on an armchair next to the couch.
"I'm sorry what'd you say your name was again?"
"Odilia." There was an awkward silence. She wasn't sure what to ask her. Even the simplest questions these days could lead to a sensitive subject. Luckily, Odilia broke the ice first.
"So how come you left Wyoming?"
"Our house got overrun by walkers and the woman who raised us got killed," she said, "Wanna head to Georgia and see if we can find our family. What about you?"
"Used to be part of a community down in southern Louisiana. It was pretty great, until I got attacked by one of the lead guys. Didn't know he was such a bad guy until he tried to torture and kill me." Georgette saw a flash of sadness in her eyes. "I escaped but my mother's still there, I wish I could go back and get her out, tell her the truth. Someday hopefully when I have the weapons and support to back me up." Georgette nodded and said
"Well we don't know who our parents were; hopefully we can find them in Georgia."
"You two are post-apocalypse babies right?" Georgette laughed at the term.
"Ya," she said, "I'm twenty, she's seventeen."
"I'm nineteen, which I guess in today's world is like a lifetime." Georgette didn't like to think about it and said
"You've been great to us so far." She was hesitant to ask but decided to spit it out, hoping she'd say yes. "I was wondering if you'd mind us spending the night here?"
"Of course," said Odilia, "I ain't gonna send you back out there." Georgette smiled at the girl's hospitality.
"Thank you so much."
Thank you DarylDixon'sLover, K. Lynn Perks, hearts-without-chains, Fanficreader427, fggt16, Eliza and all of the other guests for commenting :) So if you didn't pick up on it, Odilia is the daughter of Donna, the woman Beth is friends with that she had been hunting with. She was kidnapped and tortured by Beau but managed to escape. I posted her pictures on my profile along with the girls path down from Nebraska, Iowa and into Missouri.