Making the Best of It

Chapter 1

"Run, Lilly, you have to go faster!" I screamed at my helpless sister Lilly attempting to escape from the walkers staggering closely behind her. She was twelve. So young, too young to die. Her blonde curls bounced around her face as she ran and tried to dodge the walkers lunging at her from all around.

"I can't go anymore!" She yelled to me.

"You can't give up Lilly, not now!"

"Don't die, Jocelyn, survive this! I know you can! You've kept me safe for so long, I know you can make it!"

"Don't say that! Come on, don't talk. You're just wasting your breath. You're going to be just fine."

"Jocelyn, I-" then she screamed.

I turned around to see Lilly on the ground fighting with a walker that was snapping it's jaws just above her head. She was bitten on the neck before I has time to act.

"Lilly, no!" I cried. Tears swelled in my eyes and then rolled down my face. I had to keep running or else I would be dead too. It killed me to leave her.

Lilly was my best friend. She always made me laugh when I had a break up or when I got fired from a job (which was often). We did everything together, hardly ever fought. When we did, we were laughing about it five minutes after. I really couldn't take that she was gone.

I sprinted into the woods to get away from the walkers. It was almost dark, so I found a tree I could climb to sleep in. I covered up with a ragged, dirty blanket I had found in a broken down car when I was looking for a car to take. I cried until I fell asleep.

I woke up in the morning due to a reoccurring nightmare. My parents being ripped apart by walkers, though it had never happened for real. My parents were in Atlanta the night of the outbreak. They were big gamblers that went to casinos and horse races almost every weekend. That's were I was going, Atlanta. There is a safe haven there with food and people and protection. I had a growing hope inside of me that my parents had made it there safely.

I started walking again on the highway towards Atlanta. I was close now, forty-five miles or so. I was humming Lilly's favorite song when I heard a man yell at me.

"Stop! Drop your weapons! There's an easy was and a hard way. Do as I say and you'll be just fine." He said.

I frantically looked about, trying to find out where this voice was coming from.

"Where are you?" I growled.

An older man of about fifty emerged from the woods. He carried a huge gun on his shoulder and another pistol he pointed at me. I pointed my gun at him, hoping to scare him off though it didn't have any more ammo.

"Leave me alone! I'm warning you! Come any closer and I'll pull the trigger!" I hissed at him.

"We aren't going to hurt you, darling, just come with us and you will be all right."

"I'm am not coming with you. Just go. I have somewhere I have to be!"

"Where's that, little girl?" He walked towards me.

"Get away from me!" I started crying.

The man turned toward the woods and made a hand signal. A whole group of men and strong looking women came out from the woods. They all had their guns pointed at me. This caused me to put my gun down. I was crying even harder now.

The first man pulled the trigger of his pistol. A bullet whizzed by my head. I heard a splatter and a body hit the asphalt. That's when I made a stupid decision. I ran.

"Get her," he said, and three men ran after me. They caught me in ten seconds. My weak legs were no match for their strong and muscly ones. They brought me to their leader.

"You chose the hard way," he said and slugged me in the head with his gun.

*

I woke up in the back of a truck. My hands and feet were tied together. My head ached the worst it ever had. The truck bounced along a long gravel road, causing my head to hit the truck bed with each bump. We stopped suddenly, and I was thrown over a shoulder. A Hispanic man set me down before a gate and untied my hands. I struggled to get away.

"You're going to act normal. Don't scare anyone. If you cause a scene, you will be killed in the spot." The leader growled.

I looked around and realized this was like a gated community with makeshift gate, or I should say wall. It was made of tires and woods and scrap metals.

We walked through the gate, and I was amazed at what I saw. People everywhere. Men, women, and even some children scattered the street, seeming fearless of the gruesome walkers just outside the wall.

"Hey, Governor! Who's this?" A nerdy man with glasses asked.

"Governor?" I whispered to myself. Apparently the "governor" heard me.

"It was a nickname. People started calling me the Governor when took charge to keep the people here safe." He boasted.

I frowned. Governor. That name sounded like it gave more authority than this guy should even have.

"Anyways," he started. "this is Jocelyn. We found her on a run to get some supplies, but we didn't find anything."

I stood there wide-eyed. How did he know my name? I didn't tell him. I don't know him from anywhere. I was getting scared. I thought about trying to run again, but I feared he would keep his promise of killing me before I could get far.

"How-" I began, but he cut me off.

He squeezed my shoulder hard, "We should be going. I have to show her around."

He lead me to a warehouse. "Ladies first," he said as he opened the door.

"Such a gentleman," I remarked.

"Watch your mouth."

"Sit down in that chair... Now."

"How did you know my name?"

"Don't worry about it right now."

I didn't dare argue with him. I was too scared.

"You see," he said, "we are in desperate need of strong, good people. We need an army. You have to be strong, having survives on your own all this time."

"I'm not strong! I'm weak! I've only survived this long because parents kept me safe! They died only yesterday. I'm lucky I made it this far." I lied. I had to lie to get out of here.

"I know about your sister, Jocelyn. Lilly was it? I watched her die. She was all you had left. You just left her there. I've been watching you, Jocelyn."

"You saw her die? You know I couldn't help her! But you could have! And you just let her get ripped open by those- those monsters! You son of bitch- you- you-" I broke down. I couldn't take it anymore. I cried for what seemed like hours, and he just watched me.

"Go on, go to your room, darling."

"Don't call me that, jerk."

"Just get some rest. Take her up to her room, boys." He kissed me on the cheek. I was too broken to care.

I let those men carry me up to my room. I let them flop me on my bed and lock me in. Once I stopped crying, I decided to take a shower. I hadn't taken one in three months.

I took a long and cold shower. I stood there in the freezing stream of water. My lips were blue when I finally got out. I realized someone had come into my room and left me some food. There was a tray of tomato soup and a note that read "If you try to run, we'll catch you. If you try to kill me, I'll kill you first."

Sorry for short chapters! I lengthen them as action rises xxx -Lauren