As I drove toward the city, my truck was silent. Shay wasn't saying a word, and neither was Cheyenne. I glanced at the rear view mirror to see Cheyenne sitting quietly in her booster seat. Her eyes were full of fear. I noted that I had forgotten to brush her hair. What a stupid thought to have at a time like this.
Cheyenne looked so much like me. The only difference was our age and our hair and eye color. She had bright blonde hair and blue eyes, and I had dark brown hair with light brown eyes. Everyone always asked if she was my kid. I always laughed at that, telling them no, that she was only my cousin. Now I wondered if she would be mine.
I had no idea where any of my family were at this time. Most roads were blocked off outside our main block, every street leading to the city. I didn't know if they were at their houses hiding out, or maybe they were on the road trying to find answers. Worried, I sighed. What was I supposed to tell Cheyenne when she began to ask about her mother?
My thoughts were interrupted when I saw the cars. My heart began to pound with joy as I saw people, real people, standing around the cars talking. There seemed to be a road block of some sort, there were cars parked along the main highway for as far as I could see. I pulled up and parked the truck.
"I'm gonna talk to someone and see what's goin on." I said quietly, looking at Shay. She nodded her head, but remained silent. I started to open my door, when I heard a small whine escape from the back seat.
"Wanna go with you." Cheyenne cried, pushing the button on her seat belt and jumping up from her booster seat.
"Okay," I opened my door, and opened hers. "Let's go." I picked Cheyenne up, set her on my hip, and walked toward the first three people I saw. An RV sat parked, and beside it an older man was talking to two blonde women. As I walked closer, the older man saw me coming and gave me a friendly smile. The two blondes speaking to him turned to see what the smile was for.
"Hey, do y'all have any idea what's goin on?" I asked, grimacing at the Georgia heat.
"Well, we weren't given much to go on," the older man admitted, "but it seems as if the dead are coming back to life. I'm Dale." He stuck his hand out.
"Spencer." I said, trying to smile and shaking his hand.
"Are you all right?" One of the blondes, the older looking one, asked. I must have had confusion on my face, because the younger one spoke up.
"You have blood on your arm." She said softly. I looked down, seeing blood smudged on my wrist.
"Oh, yea... My roommate," I nodded in the direction of my truck, "her boyfriend got attacked by one of those...things. The two of 'em went to get breakfast this mornin', the area was cleared out, and he got bitten. She came home, completely freakin' out, and we left the apartment. But not before bein' attacked. And.. that thing got her boyfriend." I explained.
"I'm very sorry." Dale offered a sincere look. I shrugged slightly, trying to brush off the horrible event.
"I'm Andrea," The older blonde smiled lightly, "and this is my little sister Amy." I caught a hold on myself, and gave them a polite smile.
"And who is this?" Amy smiled at Cheyenne.
"Her name is Cheyenne." I said, looking at the child in my arms.
"Hi Cheyenne, I'm Amy." The young blonde stuck out her hand. Cheyenne hesitated, looking at me.
"It's okay, Chy." I spoke softly to her. Cheyenne looked back at Amy and took her hand, giving it a gentle shake. I gave Amy a grateful smile, and then turned my head back to Dale.
"Is there a road block, or somethin'?" I asked, straining to see over the cars.
"Not sure, there are a lot of cars parked along the highway. I think someone closer to the front had mentioned that they had the roads blocked off." Dale explained, his eyes following mine. I sighed, and shifted my weight. I saw movement ahead, and saw a man coming our way. A young boy was walking beside him. When he reached us, I noticed he had bottles of water in his hands.
"Name's Shane Walsh, and this here is Carl. Thought you folks could use some water in this heat." The man offered the bottles.
"That's very nice, thanks." Amy smiled, and took the water that Shane handed her. I took the bottle he handed me and gave him a thankful smile.
"So do you know anything that's goin' on up there?" I nodded toward the line up of cars, as I unscrewed the top on my water bottle, and handed it to Cheyenne, who I had put on the road. She stood very close to me, and took the bottle, eagerly gulping down a few sips of water.
"Military, from the looks of it. Not lettin' anyone go into the city. Not really sure what's goin' on, but it ain't good." Shane said, shaking his head. "I just wanna get out of here and somewhere safe."
I grabbed Cheyenne's hand, and walked along the line of cars. I left Dale and Shane to talk, and walked on to see who else I could find. As I walked, I noticed two men in a truck with a motorcycle on the back. They both looked up at me as I walked by. One of them had cold hard eyes and he just looked creepy. The other one, who looked younger, just gave me a smirk before looking at his window and getting out of the truck.
"That's a pretty little one you have." A female's voice caught my attention away from the two men. I turned to see a dark haired woman smiling at me.
"Thanks, but she's not... She's my cousin." I explained looking down at Cheyenne. The woman saw the water bottle I was holding and looked back up at me.
"So you met Shane and my son Carl?" She asked.
"Oh, yea. They were great. Gave me some water. I know Cheyenne needed it." I said, and Cheyenne nodded her head.
"That's a pretty name." The woman knelt down in front of her. "My name is Lori, and if you or your cousin need anything, I can do my best to help." Lori offered a sweet smile, and I knew that she was doing her best in this whole mess of a situation.
"Thank you..very much. I'm Spencer." I said, and she stood back up to take my hand.
"I really don't know what is going on... I mean everything's been so hectic..." She shook her head, and there was a distant look in her eyes.
"I know what ya mean." I agreed. "But your husband and son seem to have everything under control." I grinned, looking back in the direction they had been.
"Shane's not my husband." Lori said softly. "He was a deputy before all this and my husband was the sheriff. They were partners." I looked at Lori and saw slight pain on her face. I decided not to ask any questions. It really was none of my business.
"At least he's tryin' to keep folks calm. I don't think I could do that much." I half laughed. Lori's smile reappeared.
"You seem to be doing a good job with the little one." Lori looked at Cheyenne with a slight sadness. "I remember when Carl was her age..." She trailed off.
"They grow fast." I admitted, turning my head. I suddenly thought about Shay. I turned back toward Lori. "Lori, it was great to meet you, but I gotta go check on my friend. I gotta 'nother girl with me, my age. And she ain't doin' so hot."
"Is she okay? Was she bitten?" Lori asked, her face growing serious.
"No, no. Nothin' like that. She lost her boyfriend this mornin'... And it's hittin' her pretty hard." I explained. "He got taken right from her... We had to watch him be torn apart."
"Oh, God, that's awful." Lori's hand was at her chest. "I am so sorry, Spencer."
"It's okay, Imma go check on her." I said, and began to walk away.
"If you need anything, just come talk to me or Shane!" Lori called.
"Thanks, Lori!" I called back. I started walking back toward the RV. Cheyenne was beside me, holding my hand tight. I walked by the truck again, and this time the two men were gone. But as I walked by, I quickly caught sight of them.
I could barely see the younger one, he was knelt down in the bed of the truck, looking at the motorcycle. The older one was sitting on the tailgate, and it looked as if he were...drinking. Well, who was I to judge what people do in the situation? Everyone handles things differently. I guess that I just didn't think drinking was appropriate at a time like this. But maybe we all needed a drink.
"You're one pretty piece." The older one snarled, snapping me out of my thoughts. I wasn't sure what to say, I was in shock. I just glared at him, and kept walking. I turned back quickly to see the younger one look up at me with a smirk, and then look back down and shake his head.
Whatever. I thought. For some reason, my thoughts were screaming at me that those two might be trouble. At least the older one. Maybe he was just rude, but harmless. Hell, I had handled much worse before. I could handle a pervert. I laughed at the thought.
"What's so funny, Spencer?" Dale asked, a smile spreading across his face.
"Nothin' really. Who are those two guys? The ones in the truck with the motorcycle in the back?" I asked, looking at Shane.
"Oh, them. Dixons. Not the most friendly people here, as we've learned, but they seem harmless so far. Merle is the older one, and Daryl is the younger one. They seem to just be doin' what everyone else is. Tryin' to find a safe place to settle in for the night." Shane explained.
"Yea..." I trailed off, looking back at the two. I caught Daryl standing up and jumping off the truck. I turned back toward the others and smiled. "What are we gonna do now? This road block ain't movin'."
"If anything drastic happens, I'll figure out somethin'." Shane nodded.
"Hey, Carl, I met your mom. She's really nice." I smiled at the young boy. He grinned back.
"She's okay." He smiled. Shane laughed, along with Dale, Amy, and Andrea.
"You know your mom is great." Shane smiled. Carl just kept grinning. Shane looked back up at us, still smiling. "If you folks need anything, feel free to come down there," he pointed toward a white jeep, "that's where we're at. Just a few cars down."
"Thanks." I gave a thankful smile, and the others all did the same.
"I wish this road block would clear out." Amy said, and her voice sounded worried.
"Me too." I agreed. I turned toward my truck and began walking toward it. I got to the passenger side, and opened the door. Shay's eyes were filled with terror still.
"Shay," I said with a gentle voice, "there are a lot of people here, who are in the same situation that we're in. Why don't you come on out?" I was trying to get her out of the truck.
"Okay." Shay managed to speak, and climbed out the truck. We walked back toward the RV in silence. I glanced over and noticed Shay walking with her arms wrapped securely around herself. I knew she was in bad shape, emotionally.
"Guys, this is my best friend, Shay." I introduced her to the first group of people I had met.
"I'm Dale." He offered a warm smile.
"Amy," Amy smiled.
"And I'm the older sister, Andrea." The older blonde gave a slight smile.
"Hi." Shay offered with a weak voice. She looked around, and saw all of the people. "I'm guessing nobody knows what's going on?"
"No, the road block has been at a standstill for hours now." Andrea sighed. I looked around, the harsh reality settling in. Right now, if anything bad happened, we were all in trouble. Because the thing about it all, was that we were stuck. Stuck with nowhere to go.
I stood, leaned against the hood of Shane's jeep, with Lori and Shay. Cheyenne was sitting in the back of a vehicle with Carl and Sophia, watching as the two older kids played checkers. I had met Carol and Sophia, and I liked the two of them. Carol's husband, Ed, was a whole different story right there. He was a major dick.
"Are we gonna go soon?" Sophia asked, her voice strained with worry.
"I don't know baby, I sure hope so." Carol said, looking overhead, her voice holding as much comfort as possible.
"I'm hungry." Carl blurted out.
"I know, Carl. We all are." Lori said, fiddling with her necklace.
"Know what, I'll get 'em something to eat." Carol spoke up. "Ed's into all that survival stuff, we got enough MREs to feed a small army." Carol turned to walk around the car.
"I sure appreciate it." Lori said, hopping off the hood.
"No trouble!" Carol called as she walked around the car. I saw Ed stop her, and could hear him going on about how it wasn't her place to give away his food. She finally gave in and walked around the car.
I watched as Lori walked over to Shane, who was sitting in a car, listening to the the radio. But all he was picking up was static. I could overhear them talking, and Shane was visibly upset when he got out of the car. The radio's signals were out. This was all so bad.
Shane walked by, and Lori followed. Carol walked up to Lori, telling her they had forgotten to pack the MREs. I wanted to roll my eyes, not at Carol, but at the way she let Ed treat her. Lori asked her to watch Carl for a minute, while she and Shane walked off. I looked at Shay.
"Well, we might be sleepin' in my truck tonight." I looked out at a small opening and could barely see the city. I imagined people there, safe and warm, tucked into their beds. I was ready for this road block to be over so we could get moving.
"Is it safe?" Shay asked, her eyes wide with fear.
"I really do-" I was cut off by the roar of engines overhead. We looked up, seeing planes flying over toward the city. "The hell..." I trailed off, and my jaw dropped when the first bomb went off. I ran toward the opening in the brush and looked at the scene before me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
The planes flew over, releasing bombs on the city. No, this can't be happenin'! My heart was pounding, and I could feel my adrenaline pumping. I watched as orange-ish red fiery explosions melted away into fire and black smoke. I began to panic, realizing that the city wasn't safe after all. It was being bombed.
"Everyone, come on! Follow me!" Shane and Lori were running. "I know a place we can go!" I ran over and grabbed up Cheyenne. Shay and I ran to my truck and jumped in. I turned the ignition and waited for Shane's lead. As soon as I saw his vehicle, I noticed that a few others were following him as well.
I whipped in behind Dale's RV, and noted that the Dixon brothers were behind me. I drove close to the RV's rear, as I looked into my rear view mirror. I could see Merle's face in the darkness, laughing. How could he be laughing at a time like this? There was nothing funny here.
I felt my anger at him subside, and I looked ahead. I really hoped that Shane knew what he was doing and where he was going. I wondered if it would be somewhere safe. What was safe? I had just witnessed the only place I had for a destination being blown to pieces. I felt fear, plain cold fear, creeping into my mind. I glanced into my rear view mirror, to see Cheyenne, tears streaking her small cheeks. My heart broke.
Hey guys, hope you enjoyed that chapter ! I know it was mostly filler, but it helps explain how the group gets started. I am so excited to be doing this story. Thanks for my amazing reviews ! I am so happy that the first chapter was successful so far, and I am hoping that this story will be even better than the last one I did. Thanks to all the readers as well, you guys are awesome ! More will be coming soon !
~Kaila