A/N: Here it is! I hope it doesn't disappoint.
Thank you for the follows and the favorites. And a big thanks to lizzydahia1, specialsmiley1315, and wumbo133 for their reviews.
Chapter Fifteen
Marianne jerked her arm away from the walker and out came its teeth. The walker's dentures lost its grip on her and fell to the ground leaving behind walker slime on the sleeve of her light jacket. Marianne almost laughed but she had to keep it together. There was no time to assess her physical well being.
"Run! Push through!" She yelled as she scrambled to squeeze underneath the car and when she was under she quickly pulled a dead walker closer to her, preventing the others from reaching her, but there was nothing to stop them from coming at her head and feet. Just as the thought passed through Marianne's mind a walker appeared, trying to crawl under the car at her feet.
The cramped space made her reaction time slower but she shot it in the head the first time. The second walker that made it under the car came from behind her head, trying to grab onto her ponytail. It got close enough for her to awkwardly stab it with the knife she'd taken from her belt. It happened three more times and soon the front and back of the car were also blocked by dead walkers. To her right was the fence and thankfully there were none trying to break through it.
The smartest thing she could do for now was to wait it out and hope the walkers forgot about her and moved on. The barn was still on fire and still a distraction. A few of them would've broken off to follow Jimmy but she wasn't happy about that.
She wondered if Jimmy had made it to the house and if so, how many walkers had followed him. Marianne hadn't heard anymore gunshots but she also hadn't heard agonized screaming so it was a safe bet he was still alive. At least for now.
Concluding it was safe enough to momentarily put down her gun, she maneuvered her arm out of her jacket. She held it close to her face. Whatever moonlight there was barely reached her under the car. This time Marianne did laugh. There was a bruise forming where the teeth had clamped onto her but the skin wasn't broken. Maggie's jacket may have just saved her life.
Marianne couldn't afford to close her eyes no matter how much she needed to sleep. Gradually, the clawing stopped and the groaning faded as the walkers wandered off, either forgetting her or searching for easier prey.
It must be noon, she thought. Despite the cooling weather it was still hot enough to make her sweaty and uncomfortable, even after she'd taken the jacket completely off. It wouldn't be safe to move until the cover of night. The grass kept making her arms itch and she wiped away the sweat running down the side of her face, not looking forward to the rest of the day.
Stay in the house Jimmy. I'm coming for you.
With nothing else to occupy her, she thought about the rest of the group and all the horrible things that could've happened to them. She could hear their screams and picture their bodies torn apart by walkers, but Marianne still had hope that some of them made it out alive. They were in cars and they had guns. She also reminded herself that she hadn't seen any of the cars when she was trapped in theirs with Jimmy. Marianne had no doubt in her mind that the survivors had found each other. They would meet on the highway where they had lost Sophia. That's exactly what she would've done.
Then it hit her. If they were together again they'd know she and Jimmy were missing. Daryl would come back for her as soon as he found out, but no one had showed up. She would've heard the cars or the motorcycle. Did that mean they didn't reunite on the highway or did it mean that Daryl was dead? He'd come for her no matter what. He would. She refused to accept that her brother was dead, so it could only mean the group was split up. That was the only answer.
The heat was getting to her. The stench from the bodies surrounding her was almost unbearable. Marianne was thirstier by the hour and her mouth was getting dry. Mercifully the sun began to set and soon it was time to make her way to the house.
She turned her attention to the walker she had pulled towards her the night before. Her heart jumped a tiny bit when she noticed the walker was a teenage girl who couldn't have been older than Beth. Taking a slow, steadying breath she began the task of rolling the girl away from her far enough to make a space big enough to escape.
She took her time, not wanting to spend another night and day trapped under the car. Marianne looked around to see if any walkers were nearby and decided that they were a safe enough distance away to expose herself. Besides, she had to get it over with sometime. She scooted her way out, trying not to think about the bodies she was on top of. When she was completely out, while still lying down, she surreptitiously looked around again. None of the walkers had noticed her.
When she stood up she stayed as low to the ground as possible and moved fast. The distance to the house seemed longer than it actually was and Marianne kept looking around at the walkers trying not to trip in the process. She reached the porch when she noticed two walkers were turning her way but hadn't yet realized she was alive.
She opened the screen door with great care and only as wide as she needed to slip through. Marianne let the door rest against her back and as she kept glancing to the field of walkers she took hold of the door handle and slowly turned it. There was no resistance and she thanked Jimmy for not locking it. As carefully as was humanly possible, she opened the door. It was dark inside but there was a figure pointing a shotgun at her head.
"It's me," she whispered as she silently closed both doors. Jimmy dropped his arms and as her eyes adjusted the details of the teenager's face became clear.
He looked relieved and some of the tension in shoulders disappeared.
"I knew you weren't dead," he said, a grin appeared but she couldn't return it.
"I figured you made it too. Glad you didn't do somethin' stupid like leavin' the house."
"I wouldn't leave you behind." Marianne started to smile but in a second her mind turned towards someplace darker.
"Well, you seem to be the only one."
Jimmy looked down. "Yeah, I noticed." He scuffed his feet on the wood floor. "You think anyone made it out alive?"
"Without a doubt."
"You think Beth is out there somewhere?" Jimmy looked back up at her hopefully.
"I can't guarantee it but she probably is."
"Good." The boy nodded.
"Enough small talk. We need a plan. Let's head upstairs."
Marianne went straight to the upstairs bathroom and turned the water on. She lowered her head into the sink and drank directly from the stream of water. When she had her fill, she straightened up and noticed that Jimmy was watching her with some amusement.
"You try spendin' twenty four hours stuck under a car and see how you feel."
He held up his hands. "I didn't say a word."
"And it best stay that way. You'll survive longer."
"Yes ma'am."
"For Christ's sake don't call me that." He smiled and shrugged. At least his sense of humor was intact. She didn't need a depressed and hopeless teenager dragging both of them down.
They settled into the bedroom he'd been staying in and where he'd already hung a blanket over the window. Marianne looked at it with approval.
"I say we leave right before the sun starts risin'. That'll give us time to rest and pack up and we'll still have the cover of night when we drive out of here."
"With what?"
"The truck I stole. The supplies I took are still in it but we'll still pack up everything we can in here."
"You should rest. I can start packin' and I'll get you in two hours."
Marianne pursed her lips as she thought about it. Making her way to the house had given her a second wind but she knew that wouldn't last long.
"Can I trust you?"
Jimmy nodded eagerly. "I'll start with the food."
"If you get done with that go through Hershel's medical supplies and don't forget to pack some warm clothes. And stay away from the windows. And eat. Only perishables. And fill up those water containers. And look for ammo."
"You got it." He stood up to leave.
"Two hours only. I'm serious. No matter how comfortable I look, you wake me up or I will skin you alive."
"I promise."
Jimmy left the room and Marianne closed her eyes before she completely lay down. Her head hit the pillow and she was out.
"We got everything?" Marianne asked for the third time. Jimmy had fulfilled his promise and woke her up after two hours. She sorted through everything he'd piled up and already packed. Then, Marianne did two sweeps of the house looking for anything useful before taking a short break to eat, to clean off most of the grime on her and to change into clean clothes before she packed for herself, stealing some of Maggie's clean clothes while she was at it.
After all that, it was time and both of them were carrying everything they possibly could.
"Remember, just throw the stuff in the back real quick and start up the truck. Turn the lights off. Don't worry about me. I'll make it fine this time."
Marianne peaked out the window one last time and signaled Jimmy to open the door. They shot out of the house, one after the other, and sprinted to the truck which thankfully had been parked relatively close to the house.
Despite their precautions they hadn't escaped notice. The closest of the walkers seemed to synchronously turn towards them but Jimmy did as he was told and they were driving off of the farm before the walkers could get even close. This time, Jimmy managed not to run into any of them.
She breathed a sigh of relief when they arrived at the highway. Jimmy slowed down to snake through the maze of cars to reach where the group had left the sign for Sophia. They had yet to come across any walkers on the road. As they neared their destination Marianne could tell that no one was waiting for them. She hadn't expected to find anyone there but it still made her heart clench.
"No one's here," Jimmy said.
"Nope," she said, not betraying her feelings. "Let's look around real quick and then we'll be on our way."
"To where?"
Marianne didn't answer as she grabbed her bow and left the truck. She walked over to the car and saw most of Sophia's message was smeared. The sight didn't help her spirits and she lowered her gaze, spotting something else.
A message was written in the layer of dirt on the car. 'EAST' was in big letters and under that was a smaller 'DD' and under that, as if it was an afterthought, was '10 left.'
Ten what? Ten people, she answered to herself. So ten of them had been here together. That left four more, excluding her and Jimmy, that hadn't made it there.
"Daryl." Her heart soared but then plummeted. He had left her behind but he'd had enough hope that she was alive that he'd left her a message. Marianne's vision blurred. He could've gone back.
Jimmy appeared at her side and she pointed at the message. "They were here."
"How long do you think they waited?"
"Not long enough."
"That just means we have to find them. We'll head east like it says. I know the perfect road."
Marianne had Jimmy show it to her on the map and he was right. The road was a straight shot east but there was nothing along it for miles and it looked like it'd be a day's drive to get to the next town. She hoped they had enough in the tank to make it there. They didn't have anything to siphon gas with.
Feeling a little better about their situation, Marianne folded the map and handed it to Jimmy. "I'm drivin' this time. You're in charge of the radio."
A/N: This chapter is the shortest one yet but I liked leaving it on a joke.
I hope you're not upset with me and I hope you don't feel like I copped out on the bite. I did mention her jacket in the last chapter so it didn't appear out of nowhere and I think the whole dentures thing could be plausible. I couldn't believe it when the idea popped into my head and I couldn't resist using it.
Reviews are always amazing to get. Plus, I'm very curious to know what everyone thinks about the dentures. Was it a hit or a miss?
Also, I will be posting the next chapter in 2-3 days.