Angel With A Shotgun (Walking Dead Fanfic)

Chapter Six: Rory

Chapter Six

Atlanta

▬ First Person- Electra’s P.O.V ▬

     “Set up camp? Here?” I asked.

     Glenn and I were having a conversation with a sixty year old man who went by the name of Dale and seemed nice enough, a bit dotty but nice all the same. He was the owner of the RV which led about thirty six survivors to a spot up high on the outskirts of the city.

     “I don’t see why not,” he replied calmly. “The military have failed to provide a safe place for survivors to stay, therefore we must take it upon ourselves to do so,” he explained his theory.

     “Yes, but is it safe?” a blonde woman, Andrea I believe, asked with her hands on her hips. “We’ve got kids here, if we’re going to set up a refugee camp we have to do it right,” she stated causing my eyes to trail to Stacie who was playing checkers with another little girl and a dark haired boy.

     “Well, it’s secluded. High up, there’s the lake for fishing, the woods for hunting. It seems unaffected by the chaos,” I assessed.

     “Enough food in the city to keep the walkers occupied,” Glenn offered from behind me.

     “Walkers?”

     “Well they are the dead walking around, it’s a good enough name than any,” Glenn explained to us with a short and dismissive shrug.

     “See!” Dale exclaimed. “We’ve got a plan of action here,” he said enthusiastically. “The word will have to be spread among the people,”

     “On it,” Andrea cracked a smile as everyone went off in different directions. The direction I was headed in was the one which took me to Stacie.

     “Hey Electra,” Stacie beamed up at me as I crouched down.

     “Hey Stacie,” I returned. “I see you’ve made some friends,” I said with a smile.

     “Yes, this is Carl and Sophia,” she squeaked.

     “Hey Sophia, Carl….I’m Electra,” I said looking at both of them individually.

     “Hi,” they chorused.

     Sophia had light blonde hair which fell just above her shoulder blades and was wearing a very girly pink outfit. Carl had a pale freckled face and dark hair but something caught my eye about me. His eyes, they were blue like Sophia’s but his eyes were a striking icy blue that seemed so familiar. 

     “You’re an archer,” Carl gasped causing my to squint at him before realising that he was staring at my bow which was still slung over my shoulder.

     “Not exactly, but I know how to use it,” I chuckled.

     “Could you teach me?” he asked his mouth agape.

     “If your mom agrees I’ll be happy to teach you Carl,” I said.

     “Sophia had a checkers set in her car,” Stacie stole my attention away from Carl gesturing to the checkers board. “Wanna play?”

     “Naw, I’ll leave you kid’s to it,” I said getting up onto my feet and turning to see Thea all by herself sitting next to a tree, hugging her knees. I started off in her direction.

     “Electra right?” a voice called, turning my head I saw that it belonged to a pale brunette who was stood at a plastic table full of supplies and clothes with a dark skinned woman and a blonde eighteen year old.

     “Yeah,” I called back.

     “I’m Lori, my son is Carl,” she introduced herself as I walked over to the table.

     “I’m Jacqui,”

     “I’m Amy, Andrea’s sister,”

     “Nice to meet you,” I nodded at them all before turning to Lori. “You boy seems like a sweet kid,” I commented.

     “He sure is when he wants to be,” Lori laughed. “Your friend, urm….” Lori searched for a name looking at Jacqui and Amy for help.

     “Thea?” Jacqui offered.

     “Yeah. Your friend Thea said that this was yours,” Lori said lifting up my box from the camping store raid.

     “Yeah, thank you,” I said taking it out of her hands.

     “If you don’t mind me asking, is that all you have?” Lori asked curiously eyeing the box.

     “Er, yeah,” I admitted. “Let’s just say I didn’t have an opportunity to grab anything,” I said causing her to give me a pitying look. Speedily, she grabbed some clothing out of a black trolley bag and placing it onto the top of my box. “Oh wow…thank you,” I said overwhelmed by her actions.

     “I managed to grab everything so I’ve got plenty to spare,” she explained. “That your girl playing with my son?” Lori looked passed me at Stacie.

     “Naw. Glenn and T-Dog found her screamin’ in the streets, no sign of her parents,” I frowned.

     “Poor thing,” Lori tutted.

     “Who’s taking responsibility for her? You? Glenn? Or this T-Dog?” Jacqui interrogated me, it wasn’t in a nosy way it was in a ‘I’m concerned’ way.

     Who was taking responsibility for her?

     “I-I-” I stuttered. “I  guess I am,” I decided causing her to take a wad of kids’ stuff and place it on top of my own, the thing that stood out was the big teddy bear. “These were my daughters,” Jacqui stated before her eyes went cloudy for a second before she was pulled back to reality.

     “Thank you,” I frowned. “I’m sorry for your loss,”

     “Yeah…me too,”

     “You should go claim a tent before there all gone, after all you and Thea owned all of them after all,”  Lori smiled, I opened my mouth to question but then I remembered. Thea must have donated Aaron and Mark’s boxes to the survivor group.

     “I’ll see y’all later,” I said before stepping into the tent infested area. Once I had unzipped a green coloured tent I picked up my things and stepped into the tent before a pair of blue eyes rose to meet mine. The eyes belonged to a man with light brown hair who was lounging on a sleeping bad flicking through a magazine. “Oh sorry,” I apologized before turning on my heal and slipping back out.

     Well done Electra, been here under twenty four hours and you’ve already made a fool of yourself.

     Speedily, I headed to open ruby red tent which had been pitched behind the green one. Without a pause I dumped my stuff inside of it and zipped it up behind me. I pealed of my clothes with were caked in sweat, blood, mud and God knows what else before slipping on a tight purple V-neck top, dark blue fitted jeans and a pair of black vans that Lori had kindly provided me with. Whilst taming my unruly hair with a comb I had found I took it upon myself to examine my new found ‘belongings’:

- A couple of flash lights
- A sleeping bag which could be kept as a single or a double
- A lantern
- Camping food
- Flasks
- Bottles
- The holster Mark had given me, Thea must have put it back into my box
- A Reese bar Aaron must have slipped in
- Various items of clothing
- Toiletries

     Exhaling I rolled out the kid’s sleeping bag Jacqui had given me for Stacie along one side of the rather big tent before rolling out my own sleeping bag along the other side of the tent. I threw the items that could help the rest of the group back into my box and took it back to the table which Amy, Lori and Jacqui were manning.  

     “Well, those clothes sure fit you nicely,” Lori grinned.

     “Yup, can’t thank you enough,” I replied. “I urm, brought these. I thought they might be useful,” I explained passing her the box.

     “Thank you dear,” Lori replied rummaging through the box. “These will sure come in handy,” she said meeting my eyes again with a smile.

     “I’m glad,”

     “God this is going to be like high school all over again,” Amy tusked folding some clothes causing Electra to raise an eyebrow at her.

     “Ya think?” she asked.

     “Oh I know,” she said positively. “Meeting all these new people, cliques are going to form,” she replied. “I thought I finally escaped all that,” she sighed.

     “Survivors and the dead. There the only clique’s there are now,” I assured her. “Anyway I’ll leave y’all to it. I’d offer to help you but I’m more like most men in that area,” I admitted.

     “Don’t worry about it,” Jacqui laughed as I walked over to the kids.

      “How about that game?”
     

▬ Third Person- No ones P.O.V ▬


     “Dammit, how did you kids get so good at this game?” Electra ‘growled’ causing Carl, Stacie and Sophia to giggle at her response to loosing. Of course she knew that she could beat them with her eyes closed but there was no reason for them to know that. She joined in momentarily looking up to see Glenn in the distance walking towards them along with a man in a dark haired man in a deputy’s uniform. When they got close enough that Electra could see their faces she took a double take.      

     No way.

     Involuntarily, Electra shot up to her feet without a word to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. That was when the man beside Glenn stared at her with eyes just as wide as her own.      

     “Shane?!”

     “Ellie?!”

     He began to run towards the girl as Electra practically barged through the newly set up checkers board to meet him half way. She slammed her body into his, nearly knocking him over as she threw her arms around the man.

     “Ellie,” he choked out, holding her tightly as possible as if she were going to vanish into thin air- but she wasn’t.     


►►►


     Two camp fires had been set up, half were surrounded one and half the other. There was silence as the hungry survivors were eating the food that had been cooked by Carol the mother of Sophia. Electra’s head was resting on Shane’s shoulder who had wrapped a protective arm around her.

     “I hope this doesn’t sound creepy but….” Amy broke the silence from beside her older sister. “You two look adorable,” she smiled at Shane and Electra. Simultaneously Electra and Shane’s eyes found each other before they broke out into laughter. “What?” Amy frowned playing with her food.

     “She’s Electra Walsh….as in my sister,” Shane explained causing Amy to look mortified.

     “Sorry,” she said sheepishly, a blush rising to her pale cheeks.

     “Don’t worry about it,” Shane laughed.

     “What are the matching rings about then?” Andrea asked curiously causing Electra to look down at the ring which was hung from the chain around her neck, then the ring that hung around Shane’s neck on a leather string.

     “Friendship ring’s we got when we were young,” Shane explained. “There were three of them, we have these two,” Shane stated.

     “That’s sweet,” Amy commented. “Who has the other one?” she asked causing Electra to look at Shane who was looking down at the ground. Electra frowned at her brother’s facial expression; he hadn’t kept in touch with her so why would he have kept in touch with Shane? “Oh sorry,” Amy apologized causing another awkward silence.

     “Tomorrow’s going to busy day,” Shane stated. “We’re gonna have to ensure this is safe enough to become a solution for the time being. We have to make sure the woods is safe, see if the lake water’s alright, set up a perimeter,” he listed the jobs. “This food aint gonna last forever so we need to seek alternate solutions like hunting and fishing,”   

      “It would be a lot easier if you would let me go into the city to get supplies for cam-” Glenn started, he had already suggested the idea to Shane who had politely declined.

     “Are you freaking kidding me?” Electra asked him, sitting up straight. “He is kidding around, right?” she asked T-Dog who was sat in-between Glenn and Dale.

     “I’m not kidding,”

     “You are actually insane, the city is infested with ‘walkers’ as you call them. You were the one who saw it being bombed right before your own eyes!” Electra raised her voice.

     “I know that city like the back of my hand, I could quite easily get in and out of there with my eyes shut I know it that well!” Glenn stated. 

     “I’ve seen him in action,” T-Dog offered up in Glenn’s defence. “He’s tactful, fast on his feet, got me outta Macon alive and well,”

     “I know all the ins and outs of Atlanta, walkers wouldn’t be able to get me- they’re slow and too damn stupid to be able to,” Glenn reasoned.

     “Are you sure?” Lori piped up.

      “Definite,”

     “Oka-” Shane started off.

     “You can’t really be considering this,” Electra hissed at Shane. “He’s going to get himself killed!”

     “Supplies are like gold dust Electra, if we’ve got someone who can and is willing to go fetch them for us…then we should take it,” Shane said calmly.

     “Okay then, so who’s going to come with you?” Electra asked. “I’d be more than happy too, I’m quite tactful myself-” Electra offered.

     “No, you’d just slow me down,” Glenn said absentmindedly before realising how he had worded his thoughts. “I-I mean, I’d be better off on my own,” Glenn corrected himself.

      “Okay now that’s sorted, I can set up the perimeter with T-Dog if that’s alright with you?” Shane asked T-Dog who nodded.

     “Can I help?” Carl asked Shane, his eye’s sparkling.

     “No honey, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Lori shot him down causing Carl to sulk.

     “I can check out the woods,” Electra offered, still not happy about the whole Glenn situation.

     “Are you sure that’s wise?” Shane asked his sister refraining from saying a straight out no.

     “I can handle myself,” Electra stated. “And you’ve seen me with a bow and arrow,”

     “Fine,” Shane sighed in defeat, he knew his sister and he knew that she always got her way no matter what. “But I’d feel better if someone went with you,” Shane stated causing Electra to sigh.

     “If anyone wants to come, tell me in the morning,” Electra told them all before getting up with her empty bowl. “I’m just going to thank Carol,” she explained before taking off in the woman’s direction who was still by the food table.

     “Hey, Carol yeah?” Electra asked Carol who she had not been introduced to.

     “Yes,”

     “I’m Electra, I came to thank you for the food,” Electra smiled at her.

     “It’s no trouble,” Carol assured the younger woman. “Would you like some more? You look like you haven’t eaten in days,”

     “It feels like that and yeah, if there’s enough,” Electra smiled causing Carol to scrape the remaining food out of the saucepan and drop it into Electra’s bowl. “Thank you,” Electra said with a nod before turning on her heel, passing the man who’s tent she had stepped into by accident before he slammed his metal bowl down on the plastic table. Electra walked past the first camp fire smiling at the only person she had met there- Sophia who was beside who she assumed was her father.

     “What d’ya mean there’s no more?”

     Everyone surrounding the first camp fire and Electra looked in the direction of the plastic table where Carol was struggling to deal with the man Electra had passed.

     “It’s all gone,” Electra heard Carol say as she walked back in the direction in which she had come.

     “But I’m starving,” He growled at her, meeting Carol’s eyes for the first time.

     “I’m sorry about that, but I can’t make food appear out of thin air,” Carol said sincerely.

     “Are yo-” the man started before Electra forced her metal bowl into his hands.

     “Here, take mine,” Electra said unpleasantly giving him a dirty look before she returned back to her place beside her brother.

     “What’s a zoologist? Do you work with animals? Is that how you’ve ridden an elephant?” Stacie interrogated Electra the second her ass touched the log, causing her to receive a confused look from Electra. “Shane told us that you were a zoologist,” she said in explanation.

     “You’ve ridden an elephant?” Dale cocked an eyebrow.

     “Yeah,” Electra replied to Dale first before looking back at Stacie. “Well, a zoologist  study’s zoology which is a branch of biology that deals with animals and their lives. So I study the structure, physiology, development, behaviour and classification of animals,” Electra explained. “So yes, I work with animals and no, I rode the elephant when I was holiday in Sri Lanka,”

     “Cool,” Stacie said.

     “Why don’t you tell us about yourself? It’s only fair seeing as you know all about me,” Electra asked looking down at the little girl beside her.

     “I’m Stacie right, my mommy and daddy work in the south of France so I get taken care of by Lilly…” she trailed off. “Oh and my favourite colour is red,” she added on as if it were a very important fact.

     “Oh good, our tent is red,” Electra said in attempt to cheer Stacie up.

     Only God knows what happened to her parents, what she saw happen to Lilly and what she has witnessed before Glenn came and rescued her. She’s only eight. Nothing bad should happen to eight year olds.  

     “Really?” Stacie’s eyes lit up.

     “Yeah,”

     “I’m sleepy, can I go see now?” Stacie asked causing the adult’s to chuckle.

     “Sure thing kiddo,” Electra replied taking Stacie’s hand and pulled them both to their feet. “Night everyone,” Electra nodded to everyone before bending down and kissing Shane on the cheek.

     “Sleep tight,” Lori called after the pair.

     “Don’t let the walker’s bite,” a voice came from behind Electra causing her to jump and turn around to come face to face with Tent boy, letting go of Stacie’s hand in the process.

     “Walkers?” Stacie asked in confusion causing Electra’s eyes to tear away from his face to look down into Stacie’s big blue eyes.

     “Come on Stacie,” Electra urged, pushing her towards the direction of the tent and following behind.
    
     Stacie was the definition of adorable to Electra, she was now dressed in a pair of black pj’s with pink paw prints scattered all over them, her hair in tied up in pigtails and her arms wrapped around the big teddy bear.

     “What’s his name?” Stacie asked as Electra pulled on a loose t-shirt over her head.

      “I don’t know,” Electra replied with a smile sitting down cross legged on her sleeping bag, tying her hair up in a loose braid. “You decide, he’s yours after all,” Electra shrugged casually causing a grin to come across Stacie’s face.

     “Really?” Electra nodded slipping into her sleeping bag. “Rory,” Stacie said after pondering about a suitable name for the bear.

     “Rory’s a good name,” Electra stated. “A good name for a special bear- as long as you have Rory you’ll be safe and he’ll always be there to comfort you,” Electra told the eight year old switching off the lantern.
   
     Electra wasn’t one of those people who dropped off as soon as their heads hit the pillow, she was quite the opposite she had always hated the hours she would spend in her bed trying to get to sleep. It was the time where she could actually think, reflect on the day before- she hated it. It was alright in London, she could get distracted by the noise but here there was nothing but damn silence.

     James.

     Jem.

     Aaron.

     Mark.

     Them and the faces of those who she had killed flashed before her eyes every time she shut them. Sighing, she store up into the darkness.

     “Electra…”

     “Yes Stacie?”

     “You’ll be there won’t you?” Stacie asked, Electra turned on her side to face where Stacie was lying, unaware of whether she was facing her back.

     “I’ll be where?” Electra questioned.

     “With me…I feel safe when your around, you won’t just leave me now I have Rory…..will you?” Stacie asked. She liked Electra a lot, she wasn’t like Lilly who had always found her a nuisance and thought she was annoying. Her mommy and daddy left her, so did Lilly, she didn’t want Electra to leave her too.

     “I won’t leave you,” Electra assured her. “I promise,”

     “Good, I don’t want you too,” Stacie smiled to herself twisting in her sleeping bag trying to find a good position to go to sleep.

     “What’s up?” Electra asked, hearing her wiggle around.

     “I can’t get comfy,” Stacie explained a frown on her lips.

     “I know,” Electra said. “It’s not ideal, but it will have to do,”

     “Can I get in with you?” Stacie asked. “I feel scared and homesick,”

     “Yeah, sure,” Electra jumped out, unzipped it into a double then jumped back in, hearing Stacie do the same. Electra could hear Stacie breathing. “Good night Stacie,” she whispered.

     “Night Electra,”