Long Lost Lovers - Crafting Dead Fanfiction {Wattys2016}

Chapter 2 - Kidnapped

Word Count: 1341

_ _ _

Faith's POV (A YEAR LATER...)

_ _ _

It has been about a year since Elsburg went down in flames, and I was left behind. My leg never healed properly, leaving me with a really bad limp. Everyday it's a huge struggle to walk. I stayed with Esther, who now treated me like I was her mother, while I treated her like she was a daughter I never had. Esther has helped me keep my spirits high. I just hope that someday I'll meet up with Major Gray again.

At the moment, I was sitting against the wall with Esther sitting beside me. After a moment, Esther spoke up. "What was your life like, leading up to the point where you met me?"

The question really got me thinking. Esther had never even mentioned my past at all, probably thinking it might bring back some sort of moment in time I don't want to remember. Bit over all, knowing that Esther was just curious, I began explaining everything to her.

"Well, I joined the military when I was 19 years old. I fought in many wars and got many injuries. Gradually, I made my way up the ladder and in 4 years, I got a high rank." I paused, and smiled at the memory before continuing, "I worked beside Major Gray. Him and I grew to be best friends. We laughed and goofed off with each other when others weren't around, and made silly jokes. Then came the day when the zombie apocalypse started. We were all assigned a different city in groups. I was put in a group with Major Gray and a couple other cadets. That was when the bombs fell out of the sky, shaking the earth. We ran for cover, but beforehand I had injured my leg, and it made me fall. A building of some sort had fallen down on top of me. When I got out, I discovered Major Gray and everyone had left. That was when I found you." I chuckled.

Esther was silent, before she spoke up and said something that shocked me. "You like this Major Gray guy, don't you?"

My face immediately heated up as I blushed furiously. "W-What?! N-no!"

Esther giggled in return. "You do like him!"

"O-okay... Maybe a little." I admitted.

Esther smirked. "We need to find him!"

"But how? He could be anywhere at the moment! I don't even know if he's even still alive!" I sighed.

"He's a major! If you survived a building coming down on you, I bet he would survive anything!" Esther giggled, and stood up. She grabbed my hand, and helped me stand up.

"Where do you think he would have headed?" Esther asked me.

"Well, he might have gone back to the CDC with the survivors. If I'm right, he should still be there, granted he hasn't gone anywhere." I announced.

"Well, we should go there!" Esther announced.

"Alright, fine. We'll go. It might be a couple days journey since my leg, but I'm sure we'll get there eventually. Let's go and put our stuff in our bags." I chuckled, and Esther ran off to the bedroom her and I shared.

I got my stuff, which wasn't very much, and threw it all into my backpack. I limped over to the front door, and waited for Esther. When she got to me, I pushed open the old wooden door, and walked around outside. There was a small chilly breeze on the wind, as winter was coming. I just hope it doesn't decide to snow in the middle of our journey there.

"Perhaps we should wait out the winter here..." I trailed off.

"Faith, remember last winter? We barely had enough food to survive. The house was freezing. We'd be better off leaving and risking it." Esther sighed.

Even though Esther was only six years old at the moment, she sure has matured so fast. Well, who hasn't? The zombie apocalypse changes everyone.

I looked around. The old, dust-coated building ruins on the ground were still there. We only stayed here because all of the walkers in this area were killed. Esther walked beside me as we walked. I had trouble walking a bit since all of the ground was uneven. I had to walk across slanted pieces of concrete. Trust me, it's not fun.

After about an hour of walking, we finally reached the edge of town. I saw the famillar dirt road that went along for miles towards the CDC base. Sighing, Esther and I began our long trek.

***

It has been about 4 hours since we started walking. The sun was setting, so Esther and I decided to try and find a safe place to sleep. Nearby, I heard quiet voices. I looked up and saw at least 6 dozen men marching down the road.

I grabbed Esther's hand and pulled her off to the side of the road. We took cover behind a rock. The men marched past, but one man stopped. "Come out, I know your there."

Shakily, Esther and I stood up. I limped out, with Esther holding my hand so I didn't accidentally fall or something. I stood in front of the man. I examined him. He wore what appeared to be jeans with a red dinosaur hoodie that had a lightning bolt in a circle on the front. He had a bandaid across his nose, a braclet that had teeth on it, and he also had bandages wrapped around his lower right arm.

He examined us for a moment, before speaking up in a deep voice, "Aren't you from the military?"

"Well, sort of. I was in the military long before the zombie apocalypse started. Bombs dropped in the city of Elsburg while my team and I were there. I was injured and trapped while they escaped. But that's how I found my friend here." I said, not daring to mention names yet.

"Oh. Where are you going?" The man asked curiously.

"We're heading back to the CDC base. I'm hoping to find one of my old military friends there." I said.

For a second, I swear I saw something spark in the man's eye before he spoke again. "What is his name?"

"Gray, or you might know him as Major Gray." I replied.

"Actually, I know where he is!" The man exclaimed.

"Really? Where?!" I asked excitedly.

"He had joined my army awhile back. He's currently at my base, if you want to come with me." The man offered.

I began to doubt him. Major Gray joining another army? No, that's not like him. He would never join another army. Besides, I don't even reconize this man's army.

I pushed Esther behind me cautiously. "Care to tell me what your armies name is, and why I don't reconize you?"

The man's gaze hardened, making me certain that Major Gray was not with them. "This is an army I created. It's no official. Now come with me if you want to see your friend." He hissed.

"No. We're going to continue walking to the CDC. I'm fairly certain that Major Gray is not with you." I snapped.

Red got angry, and grabbed my wrist. I yelped, trying to pull away. "Let me go!"

"You and your little friend there are coming with us whether you like it or not." He growled.

"No!" I snapped. I used my free arm to grab one of the knives on my waist, and try to lunge at him. He dodged, and suddenly I heard a loud gunshot go off, followed by a sharp pain in my already-injured leg. I slumped to the ground.

"Faith!" I heard Esther scream. I lifted my head to see the guy grabbing Esther and pulling her away.

"Let her go!" I screamed, attempting to get up.

"Ugh, just knock her out." The one guy said, and within a few seconds, I felt something hard some into contact with the side of my head, and blackness swarmed my vision.