Journey

* * * * * 1 Journey fan fiction read now

#1
That Guy

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Author's Note: You may recognize the characters in this new story of mine. I decided to give up on 'Dear Diary', but not its characters. So I incorporated them into this story instead. And just 'cause you might be aware of the fates of some characters doesn't mean you know what's going to happen to them in this particular story. So read it to find out what happens. And as an extra incentive: two chapters!

Journey, Part 1

Jett is walking home after working late at the office. He holds his iPhone in one hand, pondering whether he should plug his earphones in and listen to music on the way, as he always does, or not.

He decides not to. He’s enjoying the quiet night in the streets of Savannah. He takes pleasure in the soft breeze and the leaves rustling in it. He takes a deep breath, reminding him of the cold he’s having.

His heart skips a beat when he spots a man laying lifeless and face first on the ground near a tree. He rushes over to the man, secretly hoping that he can apply to him what he learned in the first aid classes he took with his girlfriend.

The first thing he notices when near the man is his unnaturally pale skin. They taught him during those classes that when in shock, a person’s skin would rain of all color but they’d never shown anything to this extent.

“Sir, can you hear me?” Jett asks as he gets on his knees besides the man.

There’s no response from him. Jett takes his shoulder and waist to turn him on his back so he can perform CPR if it’s necessary. He hopes not.

Jett’s heart skips another beat upon seeing the man’s face. His eyes are open, but they are grey and dim. It seems as if the man has no pupils.

“Oh man, oh man. This can’t be good.” Jett laments to himself. Not knowing what to do, he whips out his iPhone and dials 9-1-1. He can hear it ringing on the other end. “Come on, pick up!”

As he waits for an operator to answer, Jett notices the man’s hand twitch briefly. “Sir?”

The man seems to respond to Jett’s voice with short, guttural breaths, albeit forced. His eyes move to face Jett. He isn’t sure if the man can actually see him with those seemingly pupilless eyes. Out of nowhere, the man lunges at Jett. In In shock, Jett jumps up and drops his phone just as the emergency operator answers.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” He yells at the man. It does not phase the man who’s struggling to get on his feet.

“Is anybody there?” A female voice says over the phone. “I remind you, fake calls to 9-1-1 are a felony.”

This distracts the strange man. Jett doesn’t hesitate and sprints away. He hears the man pursuing him, his footsteps echoing through the empty streets. When he looks back he sees the man doesn’t run faster than a mild jog. Nevertheless, Jett keeps on running until he’s at his own front door.

He gets the keys from his pockets. He fumbles around with them, his hands shaking as if he’s having a seizure. He looks back frequently to see if the strange man isn’t behind him, but every time he peeks over his shoulder there’s no one around.

Jett finally unlocks the door. He storms inside and slams the door shut behind him. He locks it for good measure.

“What the fuuuck…” He pants. His heart is racing, pounding in his chest. Jett feels like he is about to throw up.

His home phone suddenly rings. Jett walks into the living room to take the call. The horn shakes in his trembling hands as he puts it to his ear. “J-Jett here”. He stutters.

“Hey, honey.” Hearing his girlfriend’s voice calms him. The first thing that comes to his mind are her brown eyes and long black hair. “You didn’t pick up your cell. Dead battery?”

Jett pinches the bridge of his nose. “No, baby. I-I- just lost it.”

“Oh, no!” She says, stretching the word ‘no’. “Such an expensive phone, too! You still got your warranty on that thing?”

“I dunno.” Jett answers. He’s considering whether or not to he should tell Gillian about the man in the street. After a short consideration he decides not to. He doesn’t want her to worry or be frightened. “M-Maybe I’ll find it tomorrow.” Jett sits down on his favorite and only couch, leaning back as far as he can. “Anyways, how was your day?”

Jett spends the rest of his evening talking to Gillian before he goes to bed early, hoping to forget what happened to him today. Tomorrow is Friday, which means he’s only one day away from spending an entire weekend with Gillian at his place.


Journey, Part 2

Jett’s alarm clock goes off. It startles him awake. He did not get much sleep last night as he kept getting flashbacks to the man he encountered the other night. Jett snaps his head in the direction of the alarm clock as he realizes he doesn’t know the time.

“Oh, thank God!” He puffs, relieved as he sees the time on his alarm is ’08:00’.

He slowly gets up out of bed. He opens his closet, looking for clean work clothes. Jett eventually settles on a slightly wrinkled white over shirt and a black tie.

As Jett walks downstairs, he can’t help but think about the strange man of last night. He wonders what was wrong with the man, if he’s all right and whether he has infected Jett with whatever it is he has or not.

Once downstairs Jett checks himself in the mirror at the bottom of the stairs. No colorless eyes or pale skin. Jett sighs, even though he is not entirely sure that the man didn’t infect him. Jett vows that the moment he sees anything that could arouse the suspicion that he’s sick, he’s rushing himself to the hospital.

After breakfast Jett leaves his house. He makes sure he locks the door behind him. He doesn’t want any other crazy people get into his home.

Jett has decided to drive the car to work today. He always walks, but the encounter with the seemingly dead man has startled him more than he first thought. All the while driving, he’s looking around for anything suspicious since he’s taking the same route to work as he took yesterday going back home.

There are no other people exhibiting the symptoms that the man Jett met had, but the streets are eerily quiet. Usually when Jett is going to work there are plenty of people walking and driving around, but not this time. There are still people around, just a lot less than usual. He finds it odd and equally disturbing.

Jett is now driving through the same street as last night. When he arrives at the spot where he found the man, there’s only a small pool of dried up blood on the sidewalk.

Jett looks to see if his iPhone is still there. “Of course someone stole it.” He sighs when he doesn’t find his expensive phone. Jett decides to keep driving and to remind himself at work to cancel his subscription.

After a fifteen minute ride Jett parks his car in the underground garage of the office building he works at. He’s soon greeted by Marc, who arrived seconds after him.

“What’s up, buddy!” Marc says before he slams the door to his old fiat shut.

“I had one crazy night.” Jett answers as he watches Marc lock the car door.

“Ha, no shit! You look like you barely slept. Did Gillian come over?” Marc teases Jett as the two men walk side by side through the parking garage.

“Funny man.” Jett laughs at his remark. “I swear, if you weren’t my best friend for, like, forever, I wouldn’t let you get away with shit like that!”

Marc scoffs playfully. “Even if I weren’t, I’m just too damn charming.”

Marc and Jett share a laugh as they wait for the elevator to come down.

“But on a more serious note, I lost my phone yesterday.”

“And that’s what got you in a snit?”

“No, that has to do with how I lost it.”

The elevator arrives on their floor. “What happened, man? You got robbed?” Marc asks concerned as they both step into the elevator. Jett presses the button for the fifth floor.

“Not exactly. There was this guy, and he looked really sick so I tried to help him. All of a sudden, he lashes out and tries to attack me! Made me drop my phone.”

“And then you ran, I assume? You’re such a pussy, Jett.”

“Hey, screw you!” Jett lightly punches Marc in the shoulder. “You shoulda seen the guy, skin all grey and eyes all lifeless and shit. Man looked like a walking corpse! Now that I mention it, he smelled like one too.”

The men arrive at their destination, the fifth floor. They proceed to banter as they make their way to the break room. “I did hear about some new epidemic hitting the States.” Mark says. “But fuck that! You are going to spend a romantic weekend with that hot girl of yours! I swear, she’s way outta your league, man. You one lucky sumbitch.”

Jett can’t help but laugh at Marc’s quasi-jealous insults. He’s heard this story plenty of times before. “Shit, man. Maybe you’re not as charming as you think.”

“Please.” Mark says in a mock tone. “You’re an average looking twenty-five-year-old, working a crappy nine to five job and you live in a house that doesn’t even have a separate kitchen and living room! She’s twenty years old and gorgeous! Way out, man. Way out.” Marc opens the door to the break room where the two plan to stash their lunches for later.

They both greet old man Roger who’s sitting at the lunch table, watching TV. Jett asks him what he’s watching. “You believe this?” Roger says as he points at the small TV mounted to the wall. “People going nuts, these days. Bet they on drugs.”

Roger’s rambling persuade Jett to glance over to the TV. The local news is on.

“This morning, a man was killed by the SPD as he was attacking and biting people in the street in clear daylight! The man was later identified as Leonard Johnson. ” The newscaster says as a picture of the man in question appears on a smaller screen behind him to his left. Jett recognizes him immediately.

“Ho-ly shit…”

“What is it?” Marc asks. “You know that guy?”

Jett turns to face his best friend. The panicked look on his face scares Marc. “That’s the guy! The guy I was telling you about just now!” Jett tells Marc to be silent and grabs the remote. He cranks up the volume.

The news is interviewing a police officer. “We got calls comin’ in about a crazed man running around, assaulting people by trying to bite them. When we finally got to the scene the perpetrator, Mr. Johnson, was seemingly eating a corpse that witnesses claim he killed.”

“What happened after that?” The interviewer asks.

The police officer scrapes his throat. He continues his story. “We told Mr. Johnson to step away from the body. Mr. Johnson complied for a moment. He looked very sickly. He may have been drugged, we do not know yet. Then he approached us despite our numerous warnings to stay put. An officer was forced to open fire but Mr. Johnson would not back down, even after sustaining multiple direct impacts. He managed to get to the officer firing upon him and bit down on his neck. Eventually, another officer shot Mr. Johnson in the head to save the assaulted officer’s life. The bitten officer is on his way to the hospital as we speak.”

“That’s some fucked up shit!” Mark exclaims, attentively watching the TV screen. “I feel like a broken record but man, you are one lucky sumbitch. Coulda been you, y’know.”

Jett turns away from the TV. He can’t believe what he just saw, and neither can he believe his luck. In a way, he feels responsible for not stopping the man when he had the chance. Abrupt screams sounding from the TV turn his attention back to it.

People are running about in a big panic. The cameraman and reporter are fleeing from whatever is causing this mass hysteria when the cameraman screams in agony. The camera falls on the ground and the cameraman’s screams stop. The sound resonating from behind the camera can only be described as chomping. The camera feed turns to black and the show cuts back to the newscaster, who looks nauseous.

The three men in the break room are all perplexed and shocked at what they just witnessed. None say a word as they all stare silently at one another.
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#2
the Walkin Dude

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TG, Nice, i Like.
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Roll outta my coffin Drink poison in my chalice Pride begins to fade And y'all feel my malice

#3
That Guy

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Author's Note: Before you start complaining about putting more work into this story instead of 'A Whole New World', no worries. I had these three chapters done already and I would never abandon my true brain child. I assure you I am really working ahead on that story so you can get a new chapter more frequently.

Journey, Part 3

Jett sits at his desk, browsing the internet for more information on the situation he saw on the news. He reads various articles about people getting sick, after which they seemingly die and come back to life to eat other people. According to the articles it’s happening all over the world, which makes Jett worry about his parents celebrating their thirty year anniversary in California.

There’s a poster next to the phone that says “for business purposes only”. Jett is nervous about using it. The last time he did that he got caught by his boss who almost fired him on the spot.

“Fuck it.” Jett mutters underneath his breath as he reaches for the phone. He dials his father’s mobile number. The phone is ringing. With each passing second, Jett gets more and more anxious. “Come on, dad. Pick up, please!”

The phone on the other end stops ringing as someone picks up. “This is Brent Anderson. Who is this?”

Jett sighs loudly in relief, ecstatic to hear his father’s voice. “Hi, dad! It’s me, Jett!”

Jett hears his father sigh just as loud as he did when hearing his voice. “Oh, son! I’m so glad to hear from you! Things have gone to hell here! They’re not letting anyone board a plane or leave the state at all!”

“What? Why?”

“They’re afraid of spreading this disease! The military are guarding all airports and they’re all over the borders!”

“How’s mom?”

“She’s fine, son. Don’t worry. We’ve locked ourselves in our hotel room to be safe from all the people going insane.”

Jett hears his mother calling out for him on the phone. Just as he asks to put his mother on the phone, someone snatches the horn out of his hand. “I told you before, no private calls!” His boss yells at him before he violently terminates the call.

Jett jumps up from his seat. He’s agitated enough at his boss to forget that this could cost him his job. “What the hell! Haven’t you seen what’s going on with this new disease?! I just wanted to check if my parents were all right!”

The office goes quiet. Marc gets out of his cubicle and heads towards Jett’s. All eyes are trained on the two arguing men. Their boss is well known for his aggressive temper.

“Ah, that’s just a fluke!” He dismisses Jett’s worries. “Just like the swine flu. It’ll pass in a matter of days!”

“No, Michael, it won’t! My dad just told me the military has closed the state borders! I saw people eating each other on the morning news, right here in Savannah!”

Michael is baffled by Jett’s revelation for a moment. He collects himself and dismisses Jett’s claims once more as pathetic excuses to justify breaking the rules. Marc speaks up for Jett, saying that he saw the same news broadcast. He also gets dismissed quickly as Michael knows that Jett and Marc are close friends. Old man Roger now interferes, admitting he saw the news broadcast too and that he’s going home to his wife right now.

Murmuring goes around the office as even the stubborn boss begins to doubt himself. People start packing up their belongings. Michael tries to get people to sit down, but no one listens. Eventually even Michael heads to his office and comes out with his jacket on.

Everyone rushes to the elevator, and when it’s full they run down the stairs almost pushing each other over.

Jett waits for everything to quiet down before he retrieves his car keys from the desk drawer and prepares to leave along with Marc.

The two men start discussing where they are both going. “I’m going to Gillian’s.” Jett says to Marc while walking downstairs. “I’m just hoping she’s all right. Where are you going?”

“I don’t really know.” Marc answers as they walk past the fourth floor. “You know I don’t have a large family and my parents live in Atlanta. Is it okay if I come with you?”

Jett nods as they pass another floor. “Sure thing, pal. Sure thing.”

While descending the last three floors the two best friends discuss about what could possibly be going on. Marc theorizes this can’t be drugs like some people say. “Drugs don’t cause mass hysteria.” He says. Jett thinks it’s a virus, since the military doesn’t want people traveling cross-country. He also tells Marc about the article that claims these people have risen from the dead. Marc doesn't believe this claim. According to him it's "a bunch of hogwash".

Jett and Marc reach the parking garage where they witness the last few cars leave. Both guys get in their perspective cars and head out.

The streets of the City of Savannah are no longer as empty as they were when Jett rode to work. Jett spots several people looking just like the man he met the night before. Now that he sees the sick people in direct sunlight he notices how most of them have gaping wounds on exposed flesh like limbs and neck. They are chasing after other people, though they don’t bother with others who look like them. Jett would love to help the people, but all he can think of right now is his lover.
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#4
the Walkin Dude

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Another good one TG.
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Roll outta my coffin Drink poison in my chalice Pride begins to fade And y'all feel my malice

#5
That Guy

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Hm, are y'all mad I posted this instead of a new chapter in my main story? I'd like some feedback since this is the first time I've ever written in a third person narrative.
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#6
FDrez

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The action in A Whole New World seems to be peaking, my suspense is through the roof for that story. The action is rather mild in Journey, as it should be to build up the outbreak, I'm sure it will pick up as most zed stories do. The choice of writing is yours, but if you asked which one I would rather read I would have to say AWNW. I'm not saying that I wont read Journey, because I am. Keep writing AWNW and I'm a satisfied fan, as long as those posts keep coming whatever side material you bring to the table will be enjoyed as well.
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#7
That Guy

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The action in A Whole New World seems to be peaking, my suspense is through the roof for that story. The action is rather mild in Journey, as it should be to build up the outbreak, I'm sure it will pick up as most zed stories do. The choice of writing is yours, but if you asked which one I would rather read I would have to say AWNW. I'm not saying that I wont read Journey, because I am. Keep writing AWNW and I'm a satisfied fan, as long as those posts keep coming whatever side material you bring to the table will be enjoyed as well.


No worries, my friend. A new 'AWNW' chapter will be uploaded today so you'll get your fix.
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#8
Operational Security

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I like both stories. You already know I'm a fan of A Whole New World and am always elated when you post a new chapter for that. This one definitely has potential and I like with this one that we get to read about the start of the outbreak. I look forward to learning more about these characters.
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#9
That Guy

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Journey, Part 4

Jett and Marc have arrived at Gillian’s stand-alone House after a ride through hell. A hell in which people eat people. In which humans act like animals and devour their kin. The two baffled friends have no idea what is going on and why this is happening. There’s one thing Jett knows for certain, and that is he’ll do anything in his might to protect those he loves the most.

Jett runs up the front door steps and knocks loudly on the door. It swings open. Jett looks directly into the barrel of a .38 revolver. Jett is frozen in fear.

“Whoah, whoah!” Marc yells as he raises his hands in surrender. “Mr. Lawson, it’s us!”

Mr. Lawson lowers the revolver. “I’m sorry, guys. Can’t be too careful with what’s going on right now!”

“Don’t worry about it, Rob.” Jett says as he collects himself. This is the first time anyone has pointed a gun at him. “We’ve seen firsthand what’s going on out here.”

“Jett!” Gillian excitedly screams from inside the house. She pushes her father aside and embraces Jett, who returns the hug. “I’m so glad you’re all right!”

Rob urges everyone to come back inside. He sees more “crazies” coming down the road. Jett doesn’t hesitate and runs into Rob’s house. Rob firmly locks the door behind them.

“Do you have any idea what the hell is going on?” Marc asks Gillian and Rob as he plows down into the chair he’s always loved.

Rob shakes his head. “No clue. But when I saw the news this morning I forbade my girl to go to class.”

“Not like I want to go anywhere, with what’s going on.” Gillian says as she still clings to Jett’s shoulders. Jett is caressing her back. Gillian loves the caring side Jett has. Whenever she’s having problems, he’s there for her.

Jett nods while stroking Gillian’s back. “We’ve seen it with our own eyes. People eating people, it’s crazy.” Jett swallows once before he decides to reveal what he read on the internet. “I read an article on the internet about how these people are literally walking corpses.”

Gillian looks up at him with surprised eyes. Her jaw drops open, now resting on Jett’s shoulder. The surprised look turns to fear as her eyes start to fill with tears. Jett can’t stand seeing her like this, but not amount of caressing her back can get Gillian to feel any better.

“I don’t believe that.” Marc says as he waves him off. “How would that even work? A crazy people virus, okay. But dead people walking? Nuh-uh. That’s not just implausible, that’s impossible.”

Rob agrees with him. “There’s all kinds of crazy to be found on the internet. Ever seen Dateline?” Marc and Jett have a slight chuckle at Rob’s joke. Gillian is too concerned to utter even a slight giggle.

“I just hope this will all be over soon.” She laments to the group.

“We all do, honey.” Rob says as he gestures to the couch. “Please, sit down, I’ll-“

A brick shatters the large front window. Marc jumps up from the chair. Gillian ducks behind Jett as two men in ski masks jump through the broken window. The shortest of the two pulls a gun on the group. He screams at them to hand any valuables. Rob doesn’t doubt himself for a moment. He’s prepared to do whatever it takes to protect his daughter. He pulls a gun of his own and fires a round into the chest of the man threatening them. The looter falls backwards against the broken window.

“Barry!” The other looter yells. He takes off his mask, revealing him to be a young black teenager. He removes his fellow’s mask. Rob’s heart sinks when he sees the robber’s young face. A kid. No older than fourteen, massively bleeding from his chest and mouth. “Please! I’m sorry! We’re sorry! Please, help him!”
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#10
the Walkin Dude

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IMHO, real bad time for the bad dudes to try this. Take the bad guys gun and kill them all or chase them out and let them become Z-Chow. Great read.
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Roll outta my coffin Drink poison in my chalice Pride begins to fade And y'all feel my malice

#11
That Guy

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Journey, Part 5

Rob feels an immense guilt overcome him. He comes to the wounded teenager's aid. He squats down right next to the kid. The older teenager drastically thanks him and apologizes for their attempted crime once more.

"Son, what's your name?" Rob asks the healthy would-be criminal.

"I-I'm Andrew." He stutters as he looks at his little partner's gaping chest wound. "He-He's my lil' bro, Barry. Please help him!"

"Baby, go get the first aid kit!" Gillian obliges to her father's wish and lets go of Jett. She runs off into the kitchen. She tries to remember what cupboard they keep their first aid kit. They have never needed it before. She has opened all cupboard but the kit is nowhere to be find. She opens the very first drawer and finds it. She sighs in massive relief before this feeling is taken away by an agonizing scream from the living room.

She gets a lump in her throat the moment she re-enters the room. There is no emotion in the world that could show how she feels about the grueling display going on in her house.

A group of the supposedly undead people got inside through their broken window. A portion of the party is feasting on Barry. The ones there was no room for are steadily coming for the others.

"Out the back! Out the back!" Rob yells as he is pulling Andrew away from his brother. There's nothing that can be done for him anymore, yet Andrew still struggles, desperate to try to save his little brother's life.

Jett grabs Gillian by the arm. He pulls her with him. Marc is already at the back door. He's pushing and pulling the handle to get it open. "It's locked! Where are the keys?!"

Rob pushes Andrew ahead of him into the workshop. He fumbles in his pocket and tosses the keys he retrieved from it over to Marc. He tells them he will hold them off.

Rob fires. The bullet hits one of the invaders in the neck. The attacker does not stop. Rob gets more anxious the closer it gets. Marc continuously asks which key he needs, making his heart pound even faster. Rob unloads another round which grazes its skull. It pushes Rob to the ground and pins him down, trying to bite him.

Jett remembers the broadcast about how Leonard Johnson was taken down only after a headshot. "Put a bullet through its head!" He yells to Rob. Rob presses the barrel against its head while holding it off of him by its chest. A .38 bullet punctures the skull and it falls dead on top of him.

"Yes!" Marc exclaims as he hears the lock click. He found the right key. "Come on, let's go!"

Andrew speeds past Marc. Marc goes after him, saying that he won't let him get away.

Rob's pushed the dead body off of him. He did not see the other one walking up to him. He prepares to shoot it, but it manages to push his arm aside, making him drop his gun fall back on the ground. The attacker opens its mouth and bites down on Rob's forearm. It rips a chunk of flesh and muscle out and proceeds to eat it. Rob is unable to even scream. His whole body cramps up. He's going into shock as blood squirts out of the wound.

"Dad!" Gillian desperately cries out. Jett acts quick. He grabs a wrench that's lying around. He raises it above his head and smashes it down onto the man eating Rob. The hit dents its skull. Jett is disgusted for a moment, but realizes he's not in the clear. He lifts Rob up by his collar and takes him with him outside as the workshop fills with undead.

Outside, Marc stands at the driver's side of Rob's station wagon. "They're all over the street!" He yells. Jett sees them. Two dozen of them wander around outside the house and their cars.

Jett lies Rob down on the back seat. Gillian joins him, looking after her father's wound. Jett sits down on the second row so he can keep an eye on his lover. Andrew is sitting in the passenger's seat. He knows he's not going to make it on his own.

"Are the car keys in this bundle?" He asks. He worries. He doesn't see any that resemble car keys.

Gillian shakes her head as she applies pressure on then wound with part of her sleeve. It's starting to soak in blood. "No... No. D-Dad keeps those on the kitchen counter."

"Let me drive!" Andrew says.

Marc glares at him, distrustful. "You think I'll let you after what you did?"

"Dude! You don't have a choice, they're coming for us!" He gestures down the driveway. A horde is approaching them. Marc realizes there's no time to argue. He switches seats with Andrew.

Andrew opens up the dashboard below the wheel. He rips apart a few wires and rearranges them. The car engine suddenly roars. Andrew puts the car in the right gear and takes off, running over two assailants in the process.

Jett sees them standing right back up. It makes the theory about this being undead humans seem not so far-fetched anymore. But he knows, for now, they have more pressing concerns: getting Rob to safety.
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#12
the Walkin Dude

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Excellent, great read. Felt like i was with them right there when Rob got bit.
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Roll outta my coffin Drink poison in my chalice Pride begins to fade And y'all feel my malice

#13
That Guy

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Author's Note: I think I'ma first try to finish this story as it will tie in to 'A Whole New World' in a way. PS: Cameo!

Journey, Part 6

“Take him to the hospital!” Gillian cries out to Andrew.

Andrew shakes his head. “No way! They ain’t safe!”

“What do you mean?! We have to go to the hospital! He’s bleeding out!”

Marc tries to grab the wheel from Andrew. “No! No! Let me explain!” Andrew pleads desperately as the car swerves on the road. Marc tells him to be fast. “We just got health insurance ‘cause our ma was real sick. When we got there, it was filled with those walking corpses!”

Jett looks away from Rob at the words ‘walking corpses’. “You mean it’s true? These people are actually dead?”

“For real, I saw it happen! This guy’s heartbeat monitor flat lined and he fuckin’ opened his eyes!”

Jett slumps back in the car seat. “How is that even possible?” Marc takes a look out the window, at two undead people wandering the streets. One of them is a male, dragging his leg behind him. He has a festering wound in his neck which looks like the one Rob has on his arm. The other is female, sagging on one leg causing a limp. She too has massive open wounds on her arm and shoulder.

“S-So you die, you come back as one of them?” Gillian asks quietly and somewhat relieved as her father’s bleeding seems to die down.

Andrew pulls the car over to the side of the road. He rests his head on the steering wheel. “Barry…” He snivels. Jett repeats his girlfriend’s question. He wants to know as much as possible about what’s going on. “Yes! People at the hospital died and then came back! Corpses in the morgue, people who died on the operating table, all of ‘em! And then they ate my mom.” Andrew finally breaks down, crying.

The car is in complete silence. Every one of them feels bad for the teenager who tried to rob and threaten them. Jett realizes the desperation of Andrew’s situation. He probably grew up poor in the slums.

“Eh, guys?” Marc says after he spots several undead slowly approaching their car. “I don’t mean to rush you, but we got visitors!” Jett notices Andrew isn’t fit to drive and tells him to switch seats. Andrew gets up from behind the wheel and exchanges seats with Jett. Jett shifts the car into the right gear and drives off just as one of the corpses grabs on to the trunk, making it trip.

Marc looks at Jett, worried. After knowing Marc for two decades, they learned to communicate with one another by just exchanging looks. Jett recognizes this look all too well. Marc looked at him the exact same way when his mother was diagnosed with cancer. He’s hopeless. “Marc, turn on the radio. There has to be some sort of emergency broadcast going on.” Jett says, trying to give Marc some hope. Marc presses a button on the radio. They hear nothing but static. He adjusts the AM/FM button until he hears a muffled voice urging people to go to Atlanta. The city is being turned into a safe zone by the military.

“You guys heard that?” He asks.

Gillian nods short and rapidly. “I heard. I heard. If the hospitals really aren’t safe, Atlanta is my dad’s best bet.”

“It’d be the best bet for all of us, honey. Not just me.” Rob says. He feels guilt over both being responsible for Barry’s death and being a burden to his daughter and her friends.

Marc smiles, knowing that this is an opportunity to go look for his parents. Jett feels slight relief at his best friend’s smile. His own parents might be in danger, but at least he can be sure that the people he cares a lot about don’t have to go through the same ordeal. Andrew knows he doesn’t have anywhere else to go and hopes the others let him stick around.

Jett drives for four hours straight to Atlanta. During the ride, Rob’s wound stopped bleeding but he contracted an intense fever. He passes in and out of consciousness. Outside of the city, there’s a miles long traffic jam.

In the dark of night, with help from the car headlight, Jett sees soldiers patrolling the cars, carrying assault rifles. They shine flashlights into the cars and ask questions of the people inside. He can’t make out what they’re saying.

One male and one female soldier approach their car. The male soldier taps on Jett’s window, signaling him with his hands to scroll it down. Jett obliges.

“Heading into Atlanta?” The soldier asks.

Jett nods as he answers. “Yes. We have family there and we need medical aid for the guy on the backseat.” He points over his shoulder to Rob.

“Oh, no.” The male soldier says as he sees in what condition Rob is. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to step out of the car.” He says as he gestures in Rob’s direction to his partner.

Jett gets out and supports Rob as he gets out of the car. His knees are trembling and he can barely stand on his own.

“Could you remove that cloth, please?” The soldier asks.

Gillian carefully removes the piece of clothing she used to bandage the bite. She tries not to hurt her dad. She worries when she sees that the skin around is starting to necrotize.

The soldier looks over to his female partner. “It’s a bite, lieutenant. We can’t let ‘im into the city.”

Gillian panics. “What?! Why? He needs help!”

“Ma’am, what he’s got ain’t curable. Bites turn you.”

“No! He just needs proper treatment! Proper bandaging, antibiotics!” Gillian tries to plead with the soldiers. The man is unshaken. He pushes Jett aside and grabs Rob by the collar, pulling him with him.

“No!” Gillian yells as she desperately starts punching the soldier’s chest. “I won’t let you hurt him!” The yelling attracts a crowd. Marc and Andrew have gotten out of the car as well. Marc demands to know what he’s doing.

The female soldier wraps her arm around Gillian’s chest and pulls her off of her colleague. She kicks and screams bloody murder. The soldier shushes her.

“Ain’t nothin’ you can do, girl.” She says as she gradually brings Gillian down to her knees. “He’s gonna die. Trust me, you don’ wanna be there when that happens.”

Gillian feels defeated. She collapses. Rob slips into consciousness again, witnessing his daughter lying on the ground, weeping. “Can we at least say goodbye?” He asks the soldier holding him. The soldier looks over to his commanding officer, who’s still kneeled beside Gillian along with Jett.

“Ma’am?”

She nods. “Ya go finish the sweep.” She tells him. “I’ma deal with this.”

With Andrew and Marc’s help, Rob sits down against the car. Gillian jumps up to hug him. Jett is devastated by the sight of his loved one being in so much anguish. “Is there really nothing we can do?”

The woman in military duds shakes her head. “Ya get bit, get a fever and die. Then ya come back.”

Jett covers his mouth with his hand as he squats down next to Rob. He rests his other hand on his shoulder. Marc leans against the hood of the car, arms crossed. He feels like an outsider to this as he was never so close with Gillian’s family. Andrew paces around with his hands in his pockets. “It’s all my fault.” He thinks to himself. “If I hadn’t tried to rob him, he’d be alive.”

“Y’all…” The female soldier tries to get their attention.

“Just five more minutes!” Gillian begs as she hugs her dying father tightly.

The soldier sighs. “I ain’t supposed ta do this, but fuck it. I’ma let y’all go, but ya have to leave here.”

Gillian looks up, surprised. She looks at the soldier with almost puppy-like eyes. “You would do that?”

“Yeah.” She nods. “There’s suburbs not far from ‘ere. I’m sure someone will take y’all in. But, ya dad is gonna die. Ya can’t help him. And if ya don’t destroy the brain after he dies, he will come back.”

Despite the bad news, Gillian excitedly jumps up and hugs the soldier briefly. She’s filled with new hope. “Thank you, thank you!” She says before helping her dad up. “Come on, guys.” She says to the men and they follow her.

“Guys, wait up just a minute.” Jett stops for a moment to ask the soldier a question. “What’s your name?”

The soldier smiles and looks down for a moment. She looks up again and answers Jett’s question. “First Lieutenant Garder. But y’all can call me Ashley.”

“Thanks, Ashley.” Jett says before they move on. Ashley waits until they’re out of sight before she goes to catch up with her partner.
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#14
the Walkin Dude

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Think i might be recognizing that name Ashley, good job TG.
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Roll outta my coffin Drink poison in my chalice Pride begins to fade And y'all feel my malice

#15
That Guy

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Seems like this isn't my most popular story. Too bad, though. I'm finishing this before I continue A Whole New World.
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#16
the Walkin Dude

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I like it..
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Roll outta my coffin Drink poison in my chalice Pride begins to fade And y'all feel my malice

#17
That Guy

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I like it..


I know you do. You're like a groupie.

But my point is, I am finishing this story first because like I said, it's going to tie ini even further with the main story. And I do have 400+ views, so maybe it'll catch on later. Or I'ma have it pinned.
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#18
xHan

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I like it
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#19
That Guy

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Journey, Part 7

Jett knocks on a door in the pitch black suburbs of Atlanta, lit only by a few street lights that still work. The ragtag group of desperate people can barely see where they are going.

“Anybody home?” Jett asks, peeking through front window. “We got wounded, we need shelter!”

“Maybe the door’s unlocked.” Marc says as he approaches the front door with the intent of opening it. He turns the knob but the door doesn’t budge. He swears under his breath, frustrated and beaten by the day’s events.

“Try a different house.” Gillian suggests while she holds on to her father as to not have him collapse. Rob’s fever is spiking and hasn’t shown any improvement. Gillian realizes that Lieutenant Garder was right. He’s not going to make it.

“I-I got this.” Andrew says. He gestures Marc with his hand to clear the door. Andrew takes a few steps back, inhales deeply a couple of times before he raises his leg and kicks the lock off. The door flies open. “I, uhm, did this before.”

Gillian and her father enter the house first. Marc flips the light on, which still works. Much to his relief. She lays him down on the couch. She’s not convinced he’s able to climb the stairs. “Baby, can you go see if there’s any first aid stuff here? Antibiotics, ibuprofen, anything to get the fever down a little.”

Jett, along with Marc, run upstairs while Andrew goes to search the kitchen. Jett suggests looking for the bathroom as that is the place most people keep their pills. Marc searches the rooms on the left side of the hall and Jett those on the right.

Jett, without thinking, opens the door closest to the stairs. Before he has fully opened the door, a dead man still wearing glasses exits and pins him against the wall. Jett looks right into its gaping mouth. He has to resist the urge to vomit. The smell coming off of this man is worse than that of the infected man he found on the street the day before.

“Help! Dead guy!” Jett manages to utter under the pressure of the dead man trying to eat his face.

Marc hears Jett’s call for help. The moment he sees the undead man he sprints for him. He grabs its waist, tackling it. They both tumble down the stairs, into the living room. Marc lands of top of him. He feels dizzy from the impacts he sustained on the stairs.

The reanimated man does not suffer from this. Immediately after the fall, he continues to try to eat Marc. It bites Marc’s overshirt and rips almost an entire sleeve off. Marc, despite his confused state, jumps off of his attacker.

It gets back up on its feet and proceeds to ignore Marc, instead it heads for Gillian tending to her father. She yells at the top of her lungs, frozen in fear and refusing to leave Rob’s side.

Andrew comes storming out of the kitchen as he hears the screams, carrying a kitchen knife in hand. He gets in between the undead assailant and Gillian and her dad. He tightly grips the knife and when the dead man gets in range, thrusts it forward. He manages to stab its eye, which splatters blood all over Andrew’s face. He twists it left and right. The man falls to his knees and then to the side with the knife still stuck in his eye.

Andrew breaths heavy. He looks in amazement and disbelief at his work. The rotten corpse lying at his feet with a kitchen knife sticking out of its eye socket. Only now does he notice he has blood on his face and tries to wipe it off. He does not take his eyes of the corpse, in case it’s not entire dead.

“Thank you!” Gillian exclaims, grateful.

“Good work, kid.” Marc says as he looks at the dead body, his hands in his hips. He is in disbelief Andrew actually stood up and protected them. “Maybe you’re not as bad as I thought.” He says.

Andrew appreciates the compliment. Even in this dire situation, it takes some stress off of him knowing someone appreciates him. “We better take this guy out. He starts to stink.”

Jett climbs back upstairs. His heart is still racing from the attack. He slowly opens the door it came from. He realizes it’s foolish to be this careful, since he knows he didn’t see anything else inside besides the white tiles of a bathroom. He flips a switch, lighting up the room. He sees a shower, toilet, sink with mirror above it and a medicine cabinet to the right. On the ground there’s a half empty bottle of pills. He picks it up and takes a look at the label. “Ambient pills”.

A thought comes to him. “This guy overdosed on sleeping pills. Andrew was right. You die and you come back as one of them.” He collects himself quickly and searches the cabinet for medicine. He finds a pack of ibuprofen. He opens it up and sees that there’s still one strip with three ibuprofen left.

He walks downstairs and hands it to Gillian, just as Marc and Andrew come back from dumping the body. “Thanks, hon.” She says. She tries to give it to Rob, but he swats her hand away.

“No, I don’t want this anymore. I’m slowly dying. I’d rather have it be quick.”

“Dad…”

“Jett, boy, are there any rounds left in that .38?”

Jett takes the small revolver from his pocket. He opens the barrel. “One round left.” He says quietly.

Rob chuckles a little. It caused him to cough up what seems like a combination of slime and blood. “Guess it’s my lucky day.”

Gillian’s lips start quivering. “B-But…”

“No, baby, please. Remember how mom died? She was in pain until the very end. I don’t want that. I want it to stop. Now.”

Snot drips from Gillian’s nose as she processes her father’s last wish. “I-I’ll do it, then.”

Rob smiles faintly at his little girl, proud at her strength. “Help me up, men. I’d rather die comfortably in bed.”

Jett and Marc lift him up by his shoulders and assist him up the stairs. Every step he takes hurts. It only enforces Rob’s desire to end his life right now. Once in a bed, everyone gathers around him.

“I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.” Andrew begins. “If I hadn’t-“

“You’re forgiven, boy.” Rob interrupts him. “You were desperate. And I was the one who killed your little brother. I just hope God can forgive me for that.”

Andrew doesn’t know how to respond to Rob’s kindness. Whether it’s the fever that’s making him delusional or he’s being sincere. Before he leaves the room, he comments to Gillian on how he lost his entire family too, today and knows what she’s going through.

“Jett, Marc.” Rob continues. “Marc, you’ve shown that your friendship with Jett is strong. You put yourself at risk the moment you saw he was in danger. Jett, I hope you will take care of my daughter just as well as Marc took care of you today.”

Both men just nod and exit the room. They close the door behind them. They hear some muffled voices and crying before a gunshot echoes throughout the house. Jett hears Gillian break down. He asks her if he needs to come in, but she tells him to go away.

The three men head downstairs. They decide to try to sleep and move on to Atlanta tomorrow. All three of them know this is far from over.
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#20
Operational Security

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:( she had to shoot her own father it's going to be interesting to see how she copes with that. Glad to see Andrew stepping up, he seems like a decent kid who's made a few bad choices. I think he makes a good addition to the group.

I know you do. You're like a groupie.

But my point is, I am finishing this story first because like I said, it's going to tie ini even further with the main story. And I do have 400+ views, so maybe it'll catch on later. Or I'ma have it pinned.


Ilike it as well so I guess that makes me groupie #2
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#21
Roamingfree

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Great story so far. Did she shoot her father in the head or will he come after them ? ..

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#22
That Guy

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Great story so far. Did she shoot her father in the head or will he come after them ? ..


Spoilers, dude.

But no, he's dead. It's been established before that you gotta destroy the brain. New characters next part so, stay tuned.
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#23
That Guy

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Journey, Part 8

Jett steps out of the house. The bright morning sun blinds him for a moment. He squints. He sees Andrew and Marc standing outside on the street. They’re too busy talking to notice him.

“Hey, guys.” Jett says as he walks closer to the two.

“Hey.” Marc responds. He looks worriedly down the road. “Look at the city man.” He says as he gestures up the road towards Atlanta. “It’s so… quiet. Not just the city. This neighborhood, too. Where is everyone?”

Jett looks around. There’s not a soul to be found. Cars are parked crisscross on the road and driveways. Quite a few of them have crashed against each other. They couldn’t see it last night as it was too dark.

The city of Atlanta is quiet. Last night lights shone from it. Military helicopters were flying above it. Now, there doesn’t seem to be anyone left.

Jett makes a guess. “Maybe they evacuated the city?”

“No way, man.” Andrew says as he shakes his head. “Not in one night. Something happened.”

Marc looks down. He realizes his parents might be dead already. “Dead people happened.”

Jett lays a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You don’t know that. Your folks, they might have made it out. Or maybe they’re still there.” He tries to reassure him.

Marc shakes his head. He can’t bear to look at his friend. He knows he means well, but he also knows that he doesn’t believe it himself. “It’d be useless. They either left the city, or…”

Jett decides to change the subject. “Guys, we can’t stay here. At the house. Gillian has been in that room since her father died. I knocked on the door just now, and she won’t respond. I’m afraid she might hurt herself, or already has.”

“You want me to kick the door open?” Andrew asks, referring back to when he kicked the locked door open the night before.

“Only if you have to.” He replies. Jett doesn’t want to startle Gillian. He asks Marc to come inside with them, lest the biters get him.

Inside, Marc sits down on the living room couch. “I need to be alone for a minute. You go on, get your girl.”

Andrew knocks on Gillian’s door. “You okay?”

“…Go away.” She faintly replies. There’s a slight whimper in her voice.

“Honey, you can’t stay in there. We need to move on.” Jett repeats what he told her earlier. She responds with silence.

“I lost my pops too, just yesterday.” Andrew says. He has to swallow once before he can continue. “My moms too. My lil’ bro. At the hospital, my dad, he died holding a door closed while those things ate him alive. It’s why me and Barry tried to rob y’all. We ain’t educated. We ain’t got no money. It was the only way we knew how to survive. If we hadn’t done that, your dad woulda been alive. Barry too. So for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

The door clicks and the doorknob is slowly being turned. It opens and Gillian steps out, her make-up running down her cheeks. She’s hunched over and takes slow steps, dragging the bottom of her feet over the ground. Her hands are shaking while they hold on to her father’s gun.

Jett embraces her. He takes the gun away from her. Too many bad memories. He guides her downstairs. She is weak, having stayed up all night grieving for her father. She needs to eat, and Jett tells her to do so. He also decides they need to search the environment for any kind of useful supplies like food and ammunition.

“You two stay here, collect yourselves. Andrew and I will go have a look around. You down for that?” He asks of Andrew.

Andrew nods. He still feels responsible for Rob’s death. In his mind, the least he can do is help as much as possible.

The two of them walk outside, down the porch and onto the sidewalk. Jett strikes up conversation with Andrew after a short, awkwardly quiet walk. “How old are you exactly?” He asks, having no idea what else to ask of the kid he’s only known for two days.

“I’m seventeen.” He answers while taking in the surroundings. “We should, uhm, pick a big lookin’ house. Bigger than the others. More likely to have valuable loot.”

“A kid your age shouldn’t have that kinda knowledge.” Jett says, sadly.

“It’s like I said, we ain’t never had much money. No money, no education. No education, no job. You feel me?”

“I think I do.” Jett answers, even though he realizes that he will never truly understand what it’s like to grow up poor. He lived a good life as a middle class citizen. “I’ll admit, at first I blamed you for everything and didn’t want you along.” Jett lets out a regretful sigh. “But you saved my girl’s life from that biter last night. And even before that, you saved all our lives by getting the car to work. I just want you to know, we’re cool. No hard feelings.” Jett extends his hand with the intent for Andrew to shake it. Andrew smiles and tightly grips Jett’s hand.

“Thanks, man. Doesn’t make feel any less guilty, but feels good to hear you say that anyways.” Andrew says as they shake hands. When they’re done, a large and mostly white house with a hummer parked out in front and shutters still down draws his attention. “That’s the kinda house we need. Bigger than the others and a fuckin’ hummer. Gotta be some rich white dude living there.”

“But the car’s still parked out front.” Jett observes. “We better knock first instead of kicking the door open.”

“Let’s knock, then.” Andrew says, walking up the porch steps. He knocks three times. “Anybody home? We just need some supplies and we’ll be on our way.”

There’s no response from the house. The two guys wait a full minute for it. Andrew turns the knob, but the door won’t budge. It’s locked. “Let’s kick it in, then.” Jett suggests after he nods at Andrew.

He takes a step back. He kicks straight forward, right next to the lock. The door flies open and slams against the wall.

The moment Jett steps inside, he gasps as he is greeted by a blade against his throat. On the other end of the katana there’s a threatening looking Japanese man with almost shoulder length hair. Behind him in the living room lit by candles there’s a young white girl with a frightened expression on her face, She’s no older than Andrew is. “Not a step further.” The man holding the sword says. He presses it closer against Jett’s throat, puncturing Jett’s upper layer of skin. It draws a small drop of blood. “Drop the gun.” The man says, gesturing to Rob’s .38 in Jett’s pocket.

“It’s empty.” Jett manages to say while he breaths heavily and uncontrollably. The Japanese man insists he drops it. “I won’t hesitate to slit your throat!” He threatens the two.

Jett slowly reaches into his pocket and grabs the revolver by the barrel. He drops it and it bounces off of the ground a few times. The Japanese man kicks it back with the heel of his foot to the young girl behind him.

The girl opens it. “It’s really empty.” She says.

“You packing?” The man asks of Andrew. He’s only able to answer by shaking his head in very short movements. He gets asked to spin around and he does. The man sees no gun and decides to believe the intruders don’t mean any harm.

He takes the sword away from Jett’s neck and holds it in a reverse grip behind his back. “I am Akira. The young lady is Anya.” He gestures to the teenage girl who’s now standing to his right. “Sorry for the scare, but you can’t trust anyone these days. Looting and pillaging, it’s like we turn into barbarians the moment the authorities are too busy handling a big threat.”

“Hi.” Anya says with an insecure smile. She’s happy to see some friendly faces and someone her own age.

Jett and Andrew introduce themselves. “You two aren’t related, I take it?” Jett asks.

“No, we’re not.” Akira answers, finally relaxing enough to sheath his katana back. “The owners of this house are friends of Anya and her parents, though. They took us in. They’re on a supply run, just like you two.”

“And after they’re going to help me look for my parents!” Anya says enthusiastically. “So we can all leave the city.”

“Yes. I don’t think they’d have any problem with you two tagging along. We’ll ask them, when they get back.”

This sounds like a good plan to both Andrew and Jett. It was their plan all along to get out of the city and they’re better off in a large group.
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#24
JudyOct98

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Guy,
This is a great prequel storyline to the onset of the outbreak to TWD. I only hope you continue it, because I want to read how it turns out.

I did read your last story and it was good as well, but from one writer to another, don't forget to check for grammer and spelling errors. I think you proofed this one alittle more closely. What writing program are you using? MS Word? If so, it has a very good spelling/grammer checker and don't forget to use it.

If you need a Beta, feel free to contact me and I'd be happy to proof it myself.


Judy
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#25
That Guy

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Guy,
This is a great prequel storyline to the onset of the outbreak to TWD. I only hope you continue it, because I want to read how it turns out.

I did read your last story and it was good as well, but from one writer to another, don't forget to check for grammer and spelling errors. I think you proofed this one alittle more closely. What writing program are you using? MS Word? If so, it has a very good spelling/grammer checker and don't forget to use it.

If you need a Beta, feel free to contact me and I'd be happy to proof it myself.


Judy


I'm finishing this, no worries, but my main story has priority. Next part will be uploaded this week, might even do so today.

I use Microsoft Word, but the spell checker isn't the greatest. I am my own spell checker.
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