My Path

Meeting

You heard the first screams about three hours into your day.

It was a cold one, you couldn't feel your toes, almost frozen stiff under your heavy combat boots.  Your grip on your boxcutter was almost painfully tight and you wondered if you'd be able to unclasp your fingers from the stupid thing at all. It worked well enough, you supposed, though you'd prefer a longer blade so you could be less intimate with whatever ended up on the receiving end.

As you walked, weapon up and eyes searching between the trees, you realised that it had been about three weeks since you had seen another living person.

You had left you last group behind in a hurry and although you didn't miss a single one of them, you did miss the security that they had given you. You slept in trees for fear of Walkers getting the jump on you and your voice had gone croaky from lack of use. Sometimes you would whisper to yourself, just to ease the lonely feeling in your chest. There was nobody there to watch your back, so you just had to do it yourself. You could you feel your eyes closing as you walked and you had to pinch yourself hard to stay awake.

Today had started out like most of your other days had in the last couple of weeks. You woke up, tied to a branch with a stiff neck and a sore back. Then, when safely back on the ground you would start walking. You didn't really have any idea where you were going. It wasn't as if  there was anywhere safe left but you knew if you stopped moving, you'd be as good as gone.

Then you heard faint screaming. It was soft at first but you could make out that it was a group of people, maybe at least five. You were honestly pretty annoyed. Screaming meant Walkers and you had been managing to avoid running into huge clumps of the undead. Part of you just wanted to keep going. Surviving was your number one priority. You had gotten so far.  You couldn't justify throwing away your life for a bunch of strangers when so many you loved were dead.

You continued walking and then the shrieking got louder and more frantic. You thought you could make out a little girl crying. You could hear the panic in these people's voices and any resistance in you broke. 

"For fuck's sake," you gritted out between clenched teeth, sprinting towards the direction of the screams. 

You ran into a complete cluster. There was a group of around nine people in total, most of them attempting to fend off a group of walkers. There was a young girl with red glasses sobbing on the ground, seemingly unable to comprehend the situation. Her hands covered her ears and her eyes were glassy and unfocused. A man who you presumed to be her father kept close but he clearly wasn't experienced with fighting. He was too slow and too worried about the girl weeping next to him to do much damage.

A pregnant woman sat nearby, her hands resting protectively on her stomach. She was clearly in no position to fight, her swollen belly drastically restricting her movement. You could tell she wasn't happy about it as she wore an expression of guilt and worry. A tall man stood near her, killing any Walkers that came close. He seemed fairly strong but he was clearly too preoccupied protecting her to help anyone else who might need it.

An elderly man lay on the ground eyes closed, so pale you thought he was dead. However, a gentle looking woman stood over him defending him from the Walkers with a hatchet. She stood shoulder to shoulder with a tall young man with a cap and a rifle that he obviously wasn't used to using. Another elderly man stood next to them, using his own rifle with clear confidence and experience. You pegged him as the leader immediately with his strong stature and clear shots.

There was another man fighting too, his back facing you. He fended the Walkers off using a machete, clearly confident in his abilities and skilled with the weapon. You noticed how he kept shooting quick glances around the group, checking they were all okay. You couldn't get a clear look at his face.