Apocalypse Now

This is my first time publishing. Little nervous. Hope you enjoy. helpful comments welcome. I proof read these myself, mostly wrote these for myself but have decided to see what other think.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

So this isn't exactly how I planned to spend my gap year. It was supposed to be all road-trips , site seeing and crappy temp jobs. Instead it was survival, brutal deaths and utter chaos. Granted it wasn't my fault it had all turned to shit.

Four months ago I left my home looking forward to this adventure I had been planning. Instead I'm running for my life from flesh eating corpses. Welcome to the fucking apocalypse!

I imagined my life back home. My friends, my family. I didn't know if this was worldwide, in the back of my mind I knew my worst fears were true, but admitting it was true was another story. I still had hope, as foolish as it was in this situation but I think it kept me going.

So here I am somewhere south of Atlanta, Georgia. Alone.

When this first started few months back I did end up meeting up with some people and we survived for a while. Made it as far as Atlanta before a herd separated us, killing a few in the process, so I was alone. I ran till I found somewhere to hide for a bit before making my way to the CDC. When I was with the group we had made a plan to go to the CDC, thinking it would be a safe-haven from the madness. Boy were we wrong. I remember standing there shocked to see it blown to pieces. It had only recently gone by the looks of it as there was still smoke coming from the rubble, dead bodies littered the grounds, the stench was horrific.

So once again I was back on the road, I had no idea where to go. I think I was hoping to either find people or some sort of safety. But both seemed very grim. For now I only had my back to watch.

I looked over the map, from what I could see I wasn't far from a small town. I need supplies. I tucked it back into the side pocket grabbing hold of the reins again. The only sound I could hear was the slow and steady beat of the horses hooves against the ground.

As always I cautiously approached the town, the roads were clear, no cars, no walkers. It was eerie quiet. I headed towards the main street. I came to a clearing with a few trees. I hopped of the horse and tied her loosely to a tree and gave her head a rub, she moved her head into my hand, gratefully accepting the affection. I left her to graze as I walked towards the small corner store. It looked pretty small, lots of windows and well lit. I tapped on the window several times and waited. I grabbed my gun from my thigh taking the safety off and making sure there was a round in the chamber before putting it back in my holster. I grabbed my machete out ready and scanned the streets. Nothing. Machete up I made my way into the store, silently cursing when a bell chimed above the door. I froze scanning the store for any signs of the undead. Items littered the floor. I picked up a basket and started "shopping". It wasn't a bad haul, I managed to find a few face cloths, two bars of soap, four cans of beans, a dozen packets of dried soup mix, a jar of honey, some crackers and my best find was behind the counter under the till; two hip-flasks of whiskey. I wasn't much of a drinker but a shot of whiskey sounded good.

There were still no walkers when I walked back to the horse. I packed the newly found supplies into one the saddlebags, then untied the horse from the tree. I grabbed my bow and slung it over my shoulder. I walked leading the horse out towards the road/ Noise in the distance froze me, it approached quickly, the sound of a vehicle. I grabbed the rifle strapped to the saddle and waited.

Sometimes people were more dangerous than the walkers. And now that I was alone and female, the danger level increases fast. Even before the world turned to shit, it was dangerous, now it was worse. Men just looked at you like a piece of meat. It definitely made it hard to trust anyone after all this.

The truck approached slowly now, they had spotted me. They parked about fifty feet away on the other side of the road. All the doors opened and four men got, all armed. Two had handguns on their hips, one had a bow and the other had an assault rifle. I raised my rifle, I wasn't taking any chances.

"Woah there darlin" one said with a thick southern accent.

"I don't want any trouble, just leave me be" I said firmly, my rifle still raised.

The man who spoke seemed to be their leader, slowly put his gun back in his holster and signalled for the others to do the same. They obeyed, although looking a little hesitant as mine was still raised towards them. The leader put his hands up in front of him, trying to suggest he was trying to act friendly.

"We don't want any trouble. We have a town not too far from here. We have food, shelter, medical supplies if you need it."

I said nothing. The other three were looking me up and down. I was cringing on the inside but keeping a straight hard face, rifle still raised.

"C'mon sweetheart we can keep ya safe" one of the men said, his accent was thick too. He licked his lips as he eyed me, it was disgusting.

The leader spoke up again "You're alone?" I nodded once.

"They call me The Governor. We have about fifty people, women, children. We want to help if you want it." he said

I already knew my answer. There was something off about him and the other three weren't any better.

The Governor spoke once more, putting on a sickly sweet smile "This is Martinez, Cooper and Shumpert" he said gesturing to each of the men.

I spoke finally "No offence, thanks for the offer but I'm fine on my own. I can take care of myself."

"Yes you can" Martinez muttered. The Governor shot him a look.

"Its hard being on your own. Let us help." he said trying to reason with me.

"I'm fine on my own" I said getting a little impatient with his need for me to go back with them.

"Ya don't sound like you're from around here?" he asked.

"I'm not" I replied curtly, clutching my rifle.

He sighed and then smiled "If you change your mind, our town is about fifteen miles from here, Woodbury. Just head south. Ask for any of us and I promise we will help, however we can." He looked to the other men and they turned to head back to their vehicle. The Governor smiled once more before briskly walking back to the vehicle and then they were gone.

I finally lowered my rifle and let out a loud sigh. I was cautious and the looks they were giving me made my skin crawl. They tried to come off as friendly but I knew if I went back with them it wouldn't end well for me. Maybe not at first but sooner or later one of them would have tried something.

I rode out of the town heading in the opposite direction, north-west by my account. It was going to be dark in a few hours and I needed to find a place to hold up for the night.

It had been two weeks since I came across those four men. I had kept off the main roads, opting to cut through the open fields, sleeping in trees and once a hayloft. The horse wouldn't wander far when I went to sleep for the night and when I whistled she would come. She was very loyal and such a help to me. It definitely helped with carrying my bags and staying off my feet for a bit. Having her sure beat scavenging for gas. Granted it was a little slower than a car but I think it was the smarter choice.