Timeline: BtVS: S07ish & The Walking Dead: S02.
Disclaimer: Anything copyrighted belongs to its legal owners.
Author's Note: Written for Day 30 of the 2023 August Fic-A-Day.

Timeline: BtVS: S07ish & The Walking Dead: S02.
Disclaimer: Anything copyrighted belongs to its legal owners.
Author's Note: Written for Day 30 of the 2023 August Fic-A-Day.
A/N 2: This was written on my phone while on a short, impromptu vacation, which is why it's so short. I have also never gotten into the whole typing well on my phone. I need a real keyboard...

Fort Benning turned out to be a bust; too many people had had the same idea and there were walkers everywhere. Rather than stop and take a closer look, they chose to just keep driving. There were too few of them and even fewer who could be seen as fighters.

A month later they had lost both Ed Peletier and Merle Dixon. It was harsh, but aside from Daryl being upset about his brother's death, people either didn't care or they were relieved those two were gone. Neither was a great loss to the group or the world.

They had also regained the Grimes family and T-Dog about two weeks after splitting from them when the others had chosen to enter the CDC. They had lost Jim and Shane while trying to get out of the research institute.

Except, now there were 16 of them, food was getting increasingly scarce, fuel was low enough that they had to cram into fewer cars, and tensions were running high. They also had yet to find somewhere with enough room for everyone that was both defendable and had good sources for food and water.

Buffy, Dawn, Giles, Faith, and Cordelia kept their car to themselves as it was already full. Dale's old RV had finally given up the ghost for good, something that upset everyone given the amenities it had. It had also made the infighting even worse.

"I say we ditch the loser crowd and find somewhere without them. All they do is make everything worse." Cordelia was driving with Giles in the passenger seat.

"I second that," Faith injected quickly from behind the driver's seat. "Most of them won't even try to learn how to defend themselves no matter who wants to teach them. It's just screaming as loudly as possible to attract even more biters. If we stay with them we're going to get ourselves killed."

Buffy sighed over on the far right side of the car, "You're right, but I have this gut feeling we're supposed to stick with them, at least for a while longer. Besides, at this point, I'd feel incredibly guilty leaving them behind to die. Particularly if they decide to go back and clear out the prison."

"That's a bloody stupid idea, but perhaps we could suggest splitting the group again, but strongly warn against doing that. Traveling with this many people is bound to get someone killed."

They kept debating until they stopped for the night when they brought it up to everyone else. Most of them were against it, and unsurprisingly it was mainly the ones who needed protection.

"Listen up," Buffy raised her voice slightly, but not so much as to be heard outside of their camp. "In the morning we'll split up and then meet up again somewhere in let's say 30 days? There are 16 of us, so try to make it even with the cars. Try to find somewhere we can settle that fits all the criteria we've talked about."

Faith continued, "The five of us will continue as is, anyone joining us must be willing to learn to fight. If you cause trouble, like, say, scream, you will be left behind. You either pull your own weight or you're on your own. Got it?"

She continued in more detail, most likely to scare off anyone from coming with them. But in the end, they were joined by Daryl, Carol, and Sophia.

For the most part, they were just happy to not have to deal with the adult Grimes', and to a lesser degree, Andrea. Even though the latter had improved slightly over time.

This would work or it wouldn't. None of the Scooby gang was familiar with the area, and despite several of the others being from or around Atlanta they couldn't name anywhere either. By splitting up they should be able to cover more ground, and hopefully, it would get them somewhere to call home.

Buffy gave them all a critical look, and the motley crew did not inspire hope for a good and bountiful future. But it was what she had to work with, even if she much would've preferred someone with a lot better survival instincts. Only time would tell if she should've just taken the shattered remains of the Scooby Gang and run instead of trying to save a group of hapless people who just didn't comprehend what the world had turned into.

They solved the space issue by moving Faith over to Carol's car so they had more room to move, and then they were off.