Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the characters in Twilight and Walking Dead. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer and Robert Kirkman. I do own the original characters created for the storyline. Please support the official release.
Writer's Notes: Hope everyone enjoys!
[Atlanta: Mall]
Bella and Jake were used to working with each other. They grew up together and they were best friends. They didn't need words to communicate. Daryl was silent the whole drive to Atlanta, but so was Bella and Jake.
Bella took the lead, she was used to leading and she made an excellent leader. Right now they were on the bottom floor of the mall by the Belks. They couldn't go the same route they did last time. That part of the mall was covered with the dead. Bella moved tactically. She was in the army before so it was second nature. Jake was in the rear, putting Daryl in between them. All three sported the rapid fire cross bows but Bella also had a rifle on her back and she had her hunting knife and other gear strapped to her hip including her pistol. The idea was to remain quiet. The dead followed sound and smell and if they didn't make a sound then the ones closest to them they could take out with ease.
Daryl watched Bella as she moved. It was clear she was military and the focus on her face as she cleared the area to the escalator was unbreakable. Once on the second floor, they found the service stairwell and took it towards the roof. Bella kicked open the door and they were met with the bright light of day. She swung her crossbow around seeing Jasper on the far side of the roof and relief flooded her.
"Jasper!" Bella spoke for the first time since leaving the Quarry. Jasper looked much the same, his blonde hair was longer than it was, shaggy brushing over his ears. The curl was there and Bella knew that his eyes were the same golden brown color. Jasper rushed towards Bella as she ran towards him. She swung her crossbow to the side as the two embraced.
"I have never been happier to see you." Jasper breathed out and then he leaned back and planted a kiss on her. It wasn't a deep kiss just a 'I'm so happy to see you' kiss.
Tears actually came to Bella's eyes. She didn't think she would ever see him again. This world was so fucked up. She pulled away and then she was hugging Paul. Paul held her right. His hair was still short, his arms were bare, his bronze skin showing his native heritage like Jake. Paul and Jake were like brothers. Paul moved from Bella to Jake and the two hugged each other tight.
Bella looked to Pete and Charlotte. Charlotte looked weak, the dark circles under her eyes were a giveaway that something seriously was wrong with her. Her lips were pale as well and she was thin. Pete looked the same. You could tell Jasper and Pete were brothers. They favored each other in the face. Pete's hair was darker than Jasper's and his eyes were darker as well.
Pete pulled Bella into a hug briefly and he kissed her cheek. "Thank you for coming to get us."
Bella smiled. "I always will." She said and patted his cheek.
Daryl spoke now. "Those clouds mean trouble. I hate to break up the reunion but we need to get moving if we want to beat the storm to the Quarry." His accent was purely that of Georgia and that was the most Bella has heard him speak.
Bella didn't like the idea of camping in tents at the Quarry. But they didn't have a lot of options at the moment. "Okay. Jake, can you carry Char. Give the guys a rest. Daryl, we'll clear with Pete and Jasper and make sure we have enough room to run if we need to."
Thunder crackled overhead and that made Bella frown again as she looked at the darkening sky.
Jasper jogged back to his spot and grabbed his bag with all the things he was carrying with them and jogged back. "Alright Captain take point. You got up here unscathed, show us the way out."
Bella nodded and Jake hefted Charlotte's thin frame and everyone for ready. Bella moved ahead of the pack, going back out the way she came.
Getting back to the Highlander wasn't hard, stealth was something Bella, Jasper and Paul knew well. They all served together in the Army. Once there the thunder cracked again and it lightning flashed wildly in the sky.
"Bella, that camp isn't going to withstand this." Jake said. "There's a circulation brewing."
Bella didn't like the way the sky looked either. "Jake the RV park we passed on the way here. It's better than tents."
"Yeah. Think we can get one of them running?" Jake asked.
"We can try." Jasper said and Bella nodded and started the Highlander and headed towards the RV park.
Jasper and Daryl walked inside the trailer that was used as an office for the Rvs. Most of the Rvs were new or barely used. It was dark inside and so far the dark clouds had yet to yield any rain. Bella made Pete and Charlotte stay in the Highlander while her and Jake and Paul moved around the park, looking at the Rvs.
Daryl found a cabinet in one of the offices and used the flashlight to look through it, he found several sets of keys with tags on them. "Found keys." He announced.
Jasper moved towards Daryl looking at the keys in the cabinet. "Bella, Paul and Jake are scoping RVs out. I'll take some and you take some and we'll move through these faster and get back to your camp before a tornado spins down."
Daryl nodded his agreement and grabbed keys and Jasper grabbed keys. They headed outside, finding Bella first, which made Jasper seek out Jake and Paul. "Alright let's try these out." He said and tossed her some keys.
Bella caught the keys and she looked at the tag and they went towards the RV that coordinated with the tag. She readied her crossbow and so did Daryl. She looked at Daryl and he nodded. Bella opened the door and she went inside first. It was completely empty. She went to the front, sitting down in the driver's seat and putting the key in the ignition and tried to start it. It started right up and she looked at the dash. "We got lucky. This one has like three miles on it and there's gas."
"Good. Do you want to try another?" Daryl asked and then the rain started pouring.
"Not enough time." Bella said. "Can you drive this? I'll get to the Highlander, find Jasper and Jake the we can drive back to the Quarry."
"Yeah I can drive it. You're going to get soaked."
"I'll be okay." Bella said and got up from the seat. She brushed against Daryl as he shifted past her to take her spot. She didn't hesitate to leave the RV the rain pelting her skin immediately when she left. She saw the lights of another smaller RV and realized that Jasper and Jake found an RV that worked. She ran through the rain towards the Highlander and opened the front door. "Let's get to the Qua-"she cut off when she realized that Charlotte had turned into a biter and Pete had been shredded in the backseat. "Fuck." She cursed and she took her hunting knife del. Her side and she drove it up into Charlotte's skull. She leaned across the seat pushing Charlotte's body away from her knife before she took the knife and our it through Pete's skull before he could come back. Her heart slammed hard in her chest as her brain caught up to what just happened. She pushed open the door and stumbled back out into the rain. She wiped the rain out of her face and she tried to reel her thoughts back in.
Daryl pulled the RV up beside the Highlander and Jasper pulled up behind Daryl. Daryl got out of the RV to see what was wrong with Bella. "Are you okay?"
"Char… and Pete." Bella shouted over the rain.
Daryl looked inside the Highlander. "Shit." He looked up at Jasper as he jogged up. "Dude I wouldn't look."
Jasper didn't listen and he looked inside the Highlander. No matter how many times he was deployed, seeing his brother and sister-in-law like this was startling but moved back to look at Bella. "Are you hurt?" he asked her his face grimacing still from the images of his brother and wife.
Bella still felt a little in shock if it all but she snapped out of it. "I'm fine. No bites or scratches." She said and lightning flashed angrily in the sky again, the thunder rumbling shortly after.
The flash of lightning illuminated the dead as they started closing in on the RV park. "We need to move." Daryl said. "Biters are closing in."
Jasper looked back at the Highlander. "I'll drive the Highlander. Bella get in the RV with Daryl." He ordered.
Bella just nodded and she went towards the RV with Daryl. They hopped in and Daryl took the driver's seat, leading the others towards the quarry. Bella was silent and she sat in the passenger seat while Daryl drove.
[The Quarry]
Bella looked out at the camp. Tents had been ripped apart but the old RV and the vehicles were still there and it appeared that people were taking shelter inside. Daryl pulled up leaving room for Jake to pull in and for Jasper to be able to park without issue. The wind and rain were blowing aggressively outside and they were certain now that a tornado had spun down nearby.
Daryl looked over at Bella. "I'm sorry about your friends."
Bella just nodded. "Not the first time I've lost someone since the world went to shit. "She said and looked out the window as the lightning flashed. "This storm is what I was worried about. We've been in a drought for two months. It was bound to storm eventually. The camp being next to water… the why the winds tunnel in over here, those tents never stood a chance." She decided to redirect her focus to something other than thinking about Charlotte and Pete.
Daryl nodded. "Yeah. I knew it was dangerous."
"Why stay?"
"The kids." Daryl said simply. He shook his head. "Shane is controlling. There's not a lot were allowed to do. That's why I hunt. It's my job. The Shane you met today…. Isn't the real Shane."
Bella could sense that in him. She looked out the window. "This storm isn't going to let up." She said and she worried about Jasper being stuck in the Highlander with the bodies of his brother and sister-in-law. "I should check on Jasper."
"I saw him run through the rain to Jake's RV." Daryl said. He saw it in his side mirror.
Bella was relieved and it showed on her face. "That's good." She blew out a breath.
Silence enveloped them again, the rumbling thunder and the whistling of the wind and the howling rain was deafening.
Daryl wondered what Bella was thinking about as she looked out the window. He could tell she was tense and it was likely she would remain that way for some time. "You should get rest. There are beds in the back. We can latch the door. Get solid rest."
Bella looked over at Daryl. She studied him a moment. He looked rugged. It was clear that he spent most of his time outside. "Yeah. We should rest." She said and then looked back out at the hard rain falling. "I hope everyone is sheltered." She thought about Rick and his family. She thought of the other children in the camp. "How hard is it going to be to convince Shane to move?"
"It has to be his idea. If he thinks someone else is calling the shots, he'll fight it." Daryl said matter of fact. "He's an asshole. My brother is an asshole but Shane… he's manipulative."
Bella was quiet a moment before she ran a hand over her face. "Okay. Let's rest and think about what to do in the morning when the storm breaks." She said and stood. She was still wet from being out in the rain and it caused her to shiver.
Daryl stood then. "These things look furnished. Maybe there are towels." He said and brushed past her towards the back of the RV. There was a bathroom and it was nice. A walk-in shower and a small sink area and a toilet. There were little soaps in a cabinet and there were a couple towels.
Bella looked around the RV and found that it was furnished. Complete with fake fruit. "We drove the model RV off the lot." She said and Daryl returned with a couple towels, handing her on. She took it and started drying off the best she could and looked over at Daryl and watched him dry his face. "There's one king bed in the back. The extension will be loud to extend right now and with the weather we shouldn't chance it."
Daryl just nodded and he walked towards the bed, sitting down on it. It was firm and he wasn't used to a mattress the last couple months.
Bella joined him sitting on the other side of the bed. She was quiet as she lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She felt the bed shift and Daryl was laying on his back now. They were both silent, just listening to the rain and wind outside the RV. After a few long moments Bella felt herself drift off to sleep. It was hard for her to sleep, but she did so now.