The Walking Dead

Chapter 1

Run.

That's what you have to do. Day in, day out. You find shelter at night, then get going at dawn. It's what I've been doing all year long.

A twig broke with a snap beneath my foot, my breaths coming in shallow gasps as I hiked my backpack up higher, feeling the lightness of the weight.

I braced my hands on my knees, "I must find a town, a neighborhood, even a store." I panted. "I need food and water." 

Snap! 

I drew my knife silently,  and ran behind a tree. Leafs rustled and twigs snapped, showing signs of footsteps. I saw the walker come past me, and gripped my knife tighter. I ran out quietly, coming up behind it. My grip tightened on my knife, and drove I it through it's skull, warm blood spraying out from the wound, droplets landing on my face. It crumpled to the ground, dead. I turned around, seeking a tree so I could climb up and see where the next town is. 

My fingers felt the rough bark of the tree as I climbed up. The view took my breath away. I could see for miles. There were treetops upon treetops to my right, left, and back. To my front, I could see tops of buildings and houses. A small town. A couple miles from where I stood. Just what I needed to restock until I could find a big town or a city. I climbed back down, checking for walkers before jumping, my feet landing with a muffled thump, dead leafs providing cushioning for my landing.

I took a deep breath, grabbing my backpack and taking my last canteen of water, opening it. I parted my cracked lips, bringing the cool metal of my canteen to my lips. I tilted it fully back, expecting the cold, moist water to flood my mouth, quenching the endless thirst. 

A mouthful came from my last canteen. 

"No." I groaned. I packed up my canteen and set off for the town I'd spotted earlier. My feet were silent and quick, trying to get to the town before night fall. By my calculations, I should get to the town two hours before night fall, giving me two hours to find a good tree to camp in. On the walk to the town, I saw three walkers total. 

Finally, finally, after hours of walking, I reached the first store. Walking silently, I loaded my crossbow and pulled out my knife. I crept around walkers, and found a grocery store. It looked like people had already ransacked the place. But there are always things to be valued in this world, even if they were taken for granted in the past.

The door slid open with a quiet whoosh on their automatic systems. I slid quietly in, listening for the groans of walkers. All I heard was silence. "No walkers in here, thank God." I whispered. I walked down the isles, looking for something worth taking. I found a box of granola bars and Cheez-its hidden under a fallen shelf. I lifted it as quietly as I could and grabbed the boxes of treasure. 

I stood up, walking past trashed shelves and wrecked signs hanging crookedly on their chains, looking for water, then I could get out of here and find a place to sleep. Coming to the back wall, I scanned it up and down, my eyes finally zooming onto three bottles of water resting haphazardly on the very top shelf. I smiled, slung my crossbow around my shoulders, and started to climb up the shelfs. My mind and body were craving the taste of the liquid heaven so much, I didn't hear the quiet whoosh of the doors sliding open, nor did I hear the multiple footsteps. Only once I heard a voice order me did I realize I wasn't alone anymore. I guess, in the back of my mind, I realized as soon as they stepped into the building I wasn't alone, but my mind pushed it back, sensing no threat.

"Get down from the shelf now, and put your hands up." A kind-sounding voice ordered me. But voices can be deceiving.

"And make a move for your bow, I'll blow your pretty little brains out, sweetheart." A gruff-sounding voice added. Moving slowly, I climbed down the shelf, casting a longing glance at the bottles of water. I licked my lips unconsciously, feeling the dryness of them. I turned around slowly, my hands coming up beside my face, showing I meant no harm. I looked down the barrel of the Remington 870 Wingmaster shotgun currently being held to my face. 

"I mean no harm." My voice sounded cracked, to my own ears, and I sent another longing glance at the water. The man who looked kind, nodded his head at me, his curly brown hair bouncing slightly due to not having a hair cut in a while. "Andrea, check her for weapons. Make sure none are left behind." He ordered. I watched as a pretty woman came out, setting her gun on the shelf close to her, bright blue eyes sparkling with distrust as she watched my movements carefully. Her body disappeared from my view, but I heard her quiet footsteps come up behind me.

The weight of my crossbow lifted, giving me room to stretch my shoulders. But still I didn't move, weight disappearing all together from my back. I felt her hands jostle me around, and a couple minuets later, she had gathered two knifes from my belt, another from my shoulder pocket, a Walther P99 from my waist band. 

Andrea checked once more, wanting to be thorough. She stepped back, nodding at their leader before grabbing her gun, a glock, and heading back to stand in their battle line, resuming her position. I smiled kindly at the leader.

"She did good, but found only what I wanted her to. Whats your name by the way?" I asked as I removed the rest of my knifes I kept hidden in case of emergency's. I dropped them onto the  pile that made up my firearms and knifes.

"Rick." His voice was feathered with surprise. "Are those all your weapons?" 

"Yes." I answered. 

"You can grab the bottles of water." Rick jerked his head in the direction of the bottles. I nodded at him thankfully and climbed up the shelves as easy as it was to breathe. I managed to grasp the bottles and jump down, landing on my feet gracefully. I set the other two bottles on the floor before opening the one I had and taking preservative sips. 

"You asked for my name, now I am asking for yours." Rick said. 

"My name is Faith." I said.

Someone snorted. "That just yells weak." 

My gaze hardened. "Don't judge me until you know who I am or what I have been through."

"And what are you going to do about it sweetheart?" A man stepped forward, his head balding. My eyes checked his body. He had muscle, and a gun in his hands. He was probably a minor threat. 

"Nothing. It isn't my place to make you a good man." I answered then looked back at Rick. 

"We have a camp set up about half an hours drive from here. We have food and water and we have weapons." Rick said. "I need to ask you three questions when we get back. If you answer them to my standards, you can join us if you would like." 

"Come on Rick! What are we gonna do with this twig of a person?" The same man from earlier asked.

"Back off Merle." Rick ordered. 

I nodded at Rick and gathered my weapons, putting them where they were before. Then, I secured my bow over my backpack.

"I'll come back to your camp, but I might not stay. People have asked me to join their group, and I say no ninety-five percent of the time." I warned. 

"All I can ask is for you to come to our camp." Rick acknowledged. I nodded at him, respect for a man I had never met before filling my veins. Rick's group filled out the door, with me trailing behind them. Merle brought up the rear. I watched as the group split in two, climbing into two cars. "You can ride with us." Rick said, rolling down the window. I nodded and climbed into the second row of seats, Andrea followed me in, the door shutting with a slam.

The engine roared to life, the car jerking into action and spraying gravel behind us as we sped to  the camp.