Love is Dead

Chapter Two: The First Night

It was almost sunrise as Margot and Fallon trekked towards the now raided settlement. Margot held a tight grip on her pistol, one that she'd been holding since Fallon had given it back. She wasn't going to take any chances, and she still didn't have any reason to trust Fallon, other than the fact that either of them would die without the other.

Alright, maybe that was a pretty big reason, but Fallon could screw her over in many other ways.

Fallon walked ahead of Margot, her machete sticking out of the bag on her back. She hadn't spoken to Margot since they'd made their deal, besides to tell her that it was probably safe to head back to the settlement. But that was fine, the two of them didn't need to speak to each other whatsoever. It wasn't like they were going to travel across the country together, or anything.

"So, you're a vampire?" Margot asked, breaking the silence.

"That's what I said, yes."

"Does that mean you have any cool vampire powers?"

Fallon clicked her tongue. "Like what?"

"I dunno," Margot thought for a moment. "Can you turn into a bat? Do you have super speed? Are you immortal? Do you burn in the sunlight, or are you allergic to garlic?"

She snickered. "No, what I am is less supernatural and more of a sickness."

"Oh." Margot felt a bit embarrassed. "So, what can you do?"

"I can tell you to shut the fuck up."

And with that, Margot remained silent.

Eventually, the two of them reached the settlement. The wooden gate was left open just enough for someone to walk through. Margot knew that some of her neighbours were usually up around this time, and nobody would have left the gate like that if they saw it open. Panic started to rise in Margot's chest. Fallon did tell her that everyone would be dead, but she didn't want to believe that.

Fallon pushed the gate open wider, revealing some blood in the dirt, and walked inside. "Get what you need and meet me back here, alright?" She said, turning to look at Margot, who nodded back.

She walked in reluctantly, keeping her eyes trained on the ground in front of her. Seeing all of the gore would have made it so much worse. Margot walked in the direction of her cabin, careful not to look up, or look at any of the bodies she passed as she went. She stopped in front of the cabin door, which was slightly askew.

Margot didn't want to go inside. She knew what she'd see if she did, so she stayed outside, staring at the door, ingraining the pattern of the wood in her head. The surname "Walker" was carved into the top of the doorframe, to show others who the cabin belonged to.

Margot took a deep breath, before finally pushing the door. The door wouldn't move, so she pushed again, holding it open just enough so she could squeeze through. She turned her head down to stare at the floor again, but away from the body behind the door. She could see out of the corner of her eye that it was Buck.

It hurt to see someone who had been like an older brother to her laying dead on the floor, but she'd have time to mourn later. Right now, she just wanted to grab her things and leave that place behind.

Margot walked to her room as quickly as she could, grabbed her tattered old backpack in the corner of the room, and started filling it with the essentials. She packed a few pairs of clothes, including sweaters for colder weather. She threw in her sewing kit, because that would definitely come in handy at some point, as well as a few books to pass the time when they weren't travelling, just to keep her sane. She moved to the kitchen and threw in some cans of food that'd been looted from one of the nearby towns, a can opener, and a water bottle with a filter.