TAG ! d. dixon

THE BEGINNING .

(  russian to english translations [ google translate ] at bottom of the chapter !  )

a beaten up bat that had sharp, rusted nails protruding from the end was clutched loosely in the girl's hand, deep, rapid breaths tumbled from her parted lips as she took out the seemingly last walking rotten corpse in the vicinity.

"take what you need," the man that was stationed to the left of her not too far away said, his voice carrying through the store with an authoritative ring to it.

diana nodded, patting the side of her thigh as a signal for the short haired doberman to start to make his way towards the girl. she swung her bat over her shoulder narrowly missing hitting herself in the top of her head from how heavy the weapon had  grown in her hand, it felt like her shoulder had either popped out of place for a second, or it had been fractured.

the brass knuckles she had fit snugly against her thin fingers, the gold contrasting nicely to her pale, almost translucent skin. she didn't spend too much time in the sun anymore

the shopping mall was dark compared to the outside, the backup generators having failed a while ago. diana squinted her eyes trying to see past the inky depths of the store. clothes racks lined the walls, mostly men's work cloth, but anything would be better than the thin tank top she had been wearing since the outbreak had been announced.

she wore nothing but a faux leather skirt and the tank top with red shoes that had holes spotting the entirety of the sides. it had started to get chilly in the georgian landscape, diana since getting used to the heat and when it dropped below anything but sixty, she was freezing her ass off.

jackson, the large doberman, growled loudly, his tail wagging about as he ran off after what seemed to be a rat, or maybe a very large cockroach. diana ignored him, her feet carrying her towards the left side of the store to where the jackets and men's construction clothing had been lined up.

she pushed her bangs out of her face, blowing the fallen pieces out of her eyes as she glanced from rack to rack, none of the jackets screaming to her.

"hurry up, we don't have all day," derek yelled from across the store, a gun held tightly in his hand and in the other a black biker helmet.

diana rolled her eyes sarcastically before stopping in front of a jacket with reflective tape on the arms, perfect.

she dropped her bat on the floor with a loud 'clunk' that echoed through the enclosed space, her brass knuckles following the lead of the bat, both ending on the cold ground, grabbing the jacket off the rack, she pulled down the zipper so it would slip onto her thin shoulders.

diana shrugged the coat on, the brown fabric almost impenetrable, something to give her time if she were attacked by a horde of zombies.

she discarded her old, worn out red shoes for boots, the toe made out of steel, the color matching her new coat she wore.

her nimble fingers reached for the discarded bat and brass knuckles on the floor, leaving her boots untied for the time being.

derek's loud footsteps could be heard approaching diana, his boots echoing across the floor with every step he took. he cracked his knuckles before he cracked his neck, each snap of his bone reverberating through the room.

he came to stand next to her, his arms crossed in a defensive pose as he waited for the girl to finish what she was doing. he peered around the dark room, taking in the essence of the old, decrepit building. his back was turned towards the girl as she bent over to lace up her boots, her necklaces clanking together making a rhythmic tune that echoed around the store.

a low growl, almost similar to the sound of a car engine starting, echoed through the store, jackson now standing next to diana's foot, his back hair raised on end, his ears pinned back dangerously.

just as the girl stood back up to her full height, her knees cracking in the process, what seemed to be a shoe scuffing against the hard linoleum floor. "don't move," a female voice demanded behind diana. the sound was almost pungent, it made her ears want to vomit.

diana turned her head towards the voice, raising her bat in an attacking position. the girl furrowed her brows and squinted her eyes, trying to see the group through the darkness.

the sound of a gun cocking could be heard from right next to the girls ear, the noise ringing in the shell of her ear.

"if you shoot, i shoot," derek didn't think. if he shot the gun first, diana would most definitely go deaf from a blown eardrum and the other group outnumbered them both, meaning they would both die the gruesome death of a bullet wound.

"who are you?" the same voice asked, this time diana was sure her ears were going to spew chunks, but she kept a stoic face on as she gripped her bat tighter.

"and do you have anyone else with you?" she demanded, taking a step into the light, the group following. the girl had blonde hair, a slightly wrinkled face probably due to the added stress of the zombie apocalypse. a tall, darker man with a bald head stood behind her, a gun raised and pointing right at derek. nearest to the front besides the blonde girl stood a man with curly dark hair, another gun pointing at derek. the last one of the group, another women with a slightly wrinkled face and a dark skin tone, but her gun was pointing right at diana's head, straight to the forehead.

derek stood down from his previous stance, his gun lowering as he finally came to his right mind. he stuck a hand out towards diana, telling her to stand down too. she looked at him confused, but slowly dropped her arms, her bat almost scathing the linoleum floor.

jackson continued to growl, "спуск," she muttered, the dog slowly backed off, sitting down on the ground in front of diana with his ears pinned back as he stared at the group.

derek put his gun in the holster that rested on his side, a leather strap holding it across his body. "it's just us in here," he started, cracking his knuckles once more to seem a little bit intimidating aside from his height, "we're just here to get some clothes and supplies and leave."

"names?" the woman asked, gun still pointing towards derek as he raised his arms in the air as surrender. diana watched him with a confused face, slowly following his lead, not sure where he was going with this.

"derek fisher, and this little lady is diana bell," he said, nodding his head to the short black haired girl before the group slowly started to lower their guns.

the blonde looked between the two, her eyes clouded with confusion, "why are you speaking for her, can she not speak?" she voiced her concern without a second thought.

derek shook his head while dropping his hands, diana copying him. "she doesn't speak much english, she's from russia, moved here last year after wrestling a bear and winning, the bear ran her out of the country," he said with all seriousness, his tone not even wavering.

"you're not holding her against her will, are you?" the woman asked, slowly lowering her gun down, but not fully.

derek almost laughed, a small smile tugging on his lips as he looked over at the confused black haired girl, her brows furrowed and her eyes glancing between the blonde and derek. "no, if anything she's holding me hostage," he said with a joking tone, but his smile faded quickly when the sound of people clambering through a door echoed around the enclosed space.

TRANSLATIONS :
¹ спуск | down or descent

a/n : SPOILER !
the dog doesn't die. i don't think i could do that to myself or you guys either, i could never hurt a dog in real life or in writing. jacksons kind of just. immortal. he's got thick plot armor and nobody can change that.

as you can tell. i have a vendetta against andrea 😑😐🙄😒