[Florida Walker]

Guy,

I could only imagine how much time writing one story is, much less two at the same time!!! I enjoy your writing and would like to see where this one goes. Maybe you could alternate...IDK...but keep up the good work on whatever story you stay with.

[BeauL83]

Read all chapters in the last hour or so, and I have to say its awesome.

[Jenners]

Just read all the chapters you posted. I really would like to read more :-)

[That Guy]

Author's note: because it is in high demand, here's part 9.

Journey, Part 9

The owners of the House, Henry and Jennifer Jones, arrived not long after Andrew and Jett were greeted by Akira’s katana. Henry feels suspicious of them, and asks for their names and how they met.

“I’m Jett, sir. The kid is Andrew. We met along the way.” Jett lies to avoid telling the couple how they truly met. He feels that they will not accept them to their group when they find out Andrew tried to rob them.

“How many of you are there?” Henry asks. The middle-aged man inspects the two newcomers with battle worn eyes.

Jett takes a deep breath as Henry’s question triggers the memory of Rob’s death. “There used to be five of us. There’s just four of us now.” Jett can no longer control his emotions. He sobs quietly, trying to keep his composure.

“Oh, you poor thing.” Jennifer says, looking upon Jett with genuine compassion. She strikes through her brown, curly hair before giving Jett a hug.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Anya says sadly while she pats Jett on the back. Jett feels both overwhelmed and flattered by the attention.

“Thanks.” He says as Jennifer lets go of him. “We, uhm, would love to help you find Anya’s parents in exchange for a place to stay.”

Henry looks them over one last time. His time in the marines taught him not to be too quick to trust outsiders. “We could sure use the help.” He says after he determined that the two are sincere in their plight. “I was in the marines, I’ve got some guns laying around. You got any experience?”

Andrew and Jett nod “no”.

“Might be better not to fire guns in the street anyways.” Henry says and looks outside his window. The street is clear at the moment, and he doesn’t want to change that. “Loud noise seems to attract these fuckers, anyways. There were none in the street me and Jenny were at until she honked the car horn. I swear, it’s like they came out of nowhere like bees attracted to honey.”

Henry walks off, to a room in the back. He returns with a large combat knife in each hand. He hands them over to Andrew and Jett. Both look at them in awe. The blades are half as long as Jett’s forearm and are smooth. The edges are sharp enough to cut through bone.

“Anya’s father is a good friend of mine, so let’s get this thing going.” Henry grabs a bag full of ammunition, in case they run out.

The group of six traverses the once busy suburbs of Atlanta. The neighborhood is quiet, neither dead nor living in sight. It’s a discomforting sensation for all.

Anya runs up to Andrew, who’s walking in front of her. She makes a little jump to get next to him. “Hey!” She exclaims as she looks up to him. She’s two heads shorter than Andrew is.

Andrew can’t help but smile because of Anya’s doughy eyes. “Hey, erm, you worried about your parents?”

“A little.” She says without looking away from him. “But my dad’s a marine, he’s tough!”

“I bet. I’m sure he’s quite a badass.”

“Hell yeah!” Anya screams, causing Henry to turn around and shush her. He warns her that they don’t need to be surrounded by walkers. “Sorry.” Anya immediately apologizes.

“Walkers?” Jett asks, his curiosity piqued.

“Short for ‘walking dead’.” Henry explains. “It’s easier to warn people that way if you’ve got a short nickname for your enemy.”

She suddenly gasps as she realizes what neighborhood they entered. “This is our street!”

“Come walk with me.” Henry tells Anya. She tells Andrew they’ll talk later and runs up to Henry.

“How do you know these people?” Jett asks Akira at the back of the group.

“I don’t.” Akira answers while keeping a sharp eye out for any kind of trouble. “I was visiting Atlanta for a martial arts conference when disaster struck. Was on my way home to Macon when I got intercepted by walkers. Henry raced by in his car in the nick of time and drove me to his home. Anya was already there.”

“In other words, you got lucky.”

“Boy, I’d say anyone still breathing is one lucky bastard.”

“Stop the chit-chat!” Henry orders the group as they arrive at a white, two-story tall house. Henry observes the house and the hope of finding his friend alive sinks as he notices that the front door is wide open, with two feet visible just around the corner. He reaches behind his back and takes the glock out from under his belt, flipping the safety off.

“Honey…?” Jennifer asks, hesitant. “What’s wrong?”

Henry decides to ignore his wife’s question, instead he tells her: “Stay here and keep an eye on Anya, okay?” He glares over at Andrew. “Andrew, is it? You stay here and protect the women. Jett, Akira, you two are on me. Weapons ready.”

Without any further explanation, Henry gestures the two with his left hand to get closer. Holding his glock out in front of him, he enters the house. The first thing the three men notice is the smell of rotten and decomposing flesh. Jett gags, but manages to keep his breakfast in. Akira covers mouth and nose with his shirt. Henry coughs but keeps it together. This is not the first time he’s faced corpses like this.

He checks the corner in which he saw the feet. A pale corpse lies face first on the ground with blood seeping out of a small hole in the front and back of its head. Henry kicks it for good measure after which he concludes it is really dead. He looks up, at the stairway at the right side of the hall, where another corpse lies on its back, also with a bullet hole to its forehead.

Blood is splattered all over the white walls leading upstairs as well as the stairs. “Take point.” He commands Akira. Akira forces himself to get over the stench floating through the house and tightly grasps onto his katana with both hands.

Slowly does he walk upstairs, disturbed by the blood splatters. At the top of the stairs, there’s another dead walker. This one shot in the temple. Akira soon looks away from the body as he hears growling at the end of the hallway. A live walker, scratching away at a door with a gaping wound at the back of its wrist. It doesn’t notice the three men.

“No, Ryan…” Henry whispers softly when the realization kicks in. “Damn it all.” He can’t bring himself to off his former brother in arms. Before he can order anyone else to do so, someone comes running loudly up the stairs, screaming “Mom?! Dad?!”

“No, Anya!” Henry attempts to be forceful without shouting, but he is too late. Anya doesn’t hear him, and in her state of joy fails to notice her father’s grey skin and oozing wounds. She gleefully exclaims “Daddy!” and rushes down the hall towards him.

The three men, almost in unison, run after her while desperately trying to tell her to stop.

Ryan heard the ruckus and turns to the direction of the sound, letting out an unnatural guttural growl. It snaps Anya right out of it. She screams at the top of her lungs as she sees what used to be her beloved father’s face, now rotting away.

Ryan tries to grab her but Henry tackles him to the wall. Not feeling any pain, Ryan now tries to bite him. “Help!” Henry screams as he holds his forearm against Ryan’s throat to keep his snapping jaws at bay.

Jett wraps an arm around Henry’s chest and tugs him away from his attacker. With Henry out of Ryan’s reach, Akira gets in between them. He raises his sword and slashes it diagonally at Ryan’s throat. He slices clean through it, and his head falls off while his body goes limp and collapses.
The head suddenly opens its eyes and continues to snap its jaws viciously at Akira. “Disgusting.” He remarks before stabbing it in the eye and twisting the katana left and right. It stopped wriggling.

“Holy fuckin’ shit…” Jett remarks as he thinks about how much of a struggle one walker put up. Anya walks over to her father’s severed head with trembling knees and squats down beside it. She cries, not knowing what to do with it. She doesn’t want to touch the head. She starts hyperventilating. Jennifer came upstairs, initially shocked at all the death, before she helps Anya get up and takes her outside.

Jett jumps up as something smashes loudly against the door behind him, the door at which Ryan was clawing.

It doesn’t take long for Henry to figure out what’s going on. He slouches his shoulders and opens the door. A female walker walks out and lunges at him. He presses the glock against her forehead and pulls the trigger. Blood squirts out of the back of her head and she drops to the floor.

In his frustration, Henry punches the wall. He leans against it with his arms and forehead. Jett and Akira stare at each other, not knowing what fully is going on. Henry grunts as he looks up to the ceiling. “I’m gonna have to inform Anya that she’s an orphan, now.” And walks away.

[the Walkin Dude]

TG, as always excellent read sir.

[Operational Security]

Your stories are always a fun read and this chapter is no different.Very emotional stuff. It's going to be interesting to see how these two groups come together. And If Henry finds out about Andrew's past how he would react to that. I am definitely looking forward to the next chapter.

[That Guy]

Author's Note: I'm going to try to switch between chapters, first a new AWNW chapter, then a new part of Journey, and so on. It's Christmas soon, so I have some more time on my hands.


Journey, Part 10

The bathroom is lit only by a beam of sunlight coming from a small window above the bath. The power went out one week ago. Looking at her own reflection in the mirror, Gillian reflects on what has happened the past two weeks.

Many concerns are on her mind. The death of a father left a big void in her life. He was her rock ever since her mother died. She was closer to him than she has ever been to anyone else. If it had come down to it, she’d have chosen her father over Jett any time. But now, she has betrayed him. The guilt of her betrayal and her grief for her father are overwhelming her.

“How could you?” She asks her reflection. She shakes her head, and the reflection is doing the same. “Fuck…” She starts to cry. She looks up at her weeping reflection. She jumps at a knock on the door.

“Can I come in?” Andrew asks softly.

Gillian wipes the tears from her face, spreading some of her makeup. “Just a second.” She says as she spots a roll of toilet paper. She tears off a small piece and cleans herself up. “I’m ready.”

The door creaks as Andrew slowly opens it. “Are you okay? I, erm, thought I heard someone crying.”

Gillian forces a fake smile. “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Andrew eyes her suspiciously. He does not believe her. Her body language screams ‘not fine’. “It’s okay to be sad, I’m not over my family’s death either.”

“I’d rather not talk about it, okay?” She answers angrily to attempt to hide her feelings. Gillian recognizes her mistake as she sees that Andrew’s jaw drop a little. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. Are the guys back from their supply run yet?”

“Nah, they should be here soon, though. It’s time we discuss what to do next.”

“You know how I feel about leaving.”

“We’re-“ The sound of the front door opening interrupts their conversation. Recognizing the voices, Andrew and Gillian head downstairs together.

Jett and Akira plant their duffle bags filled with as many canned foods as they could find down, lamenting about how heavy the bags are. Henry rummages through Marc’s backpack as he’s still wearing it. “We got food and ammo to last us weeks, if we ration it.” He says as he pulls a package of bullets out of Marc’s backpack. He removes the clip from his glock and reloads three bullets.

“Did you have to shoot some?” Jennifer asks, worried of the dangers her husband faced.

Henry nods as he slides the clip back into the gun. It clicks and he puts it back in between his belt and his jeans. “Too many to take out hand-to-hand. We had to search pretty far away, I guess that’s why you didn’t hear us.”

“How many?” She asks, worried now because of Henry’s vague answer.

“I didn’t exactly count-“

“A dozen, at least. More than that.” Akira interjects while he wipes his katana with a rag. “She’s going to get rusty from all this blood.” He remarks, mainly to himself.

Jennifer starts pacing around a little. “Henry, honey, I don’t feel safe here anymore. There’s more of them every day! Remember how easy these runs used to be?”

“I do, hon. And you’re right. It’s not safe here anymore. We have to leave.”

“Yep, I’m not really fond of having to fight through those rotting bastards. I say we go, too.” Marc says as he sits down and leans back in a comfortable chair.

“I don’t really like the idea of leaving here.” Gillian objects, her arms crossed above her chest. “You just said there’s so many of them.”

Out of nowhere, Anya hugs her. A head shorter than Gillian, she wraps her arms around her waist and rests her head on her right shoulder. “I’m scared, too. But there’s too many bad memories here.”

Gillian rubs the back of Anya’s head while she tries and fails to keep in her tears. “Bad memories for all of us.” She manages to utter before breaking down completely. Jett quickly stands by her side, letting her sob on his chest while he embraces her. Marc turns his eyes away from them.

“So, we’re all in agreement?” Henry asks to break the awkward silence mixed with Gillian’s crying. He looks around, everyone nodding and agreeing with him. “Good. We leave tomorrow morning, then. It’ll be best if we get a good night’s rest first.”

“So, where are we going?” Akira asks, having finished cleaning his blade. He sheathes it.

“Oh!” Jennifer has an idea. “Babe, how about your old base?”

Her suggestion slightly confuses Henry. “My old naval base in Savannah?”

“No, no. I mean where you got your basic training!”

Henry understands her now. “You’re right, how come I didn’t think of that? That’s maybe eighteen, twenty miles out. Shouldn’t even be half a day’s drive!” He gives her a short kiss on the lips. “Love you.” Jennifer says she loves him too.

The group decides to go to the military base. Henry deduces that there is no way they could have fallen. The American army is trained for these kind of situations.

The day passes uneventful for all but Gillian, whose guilt and grief get worse by the minute. Not being able to sleep, she sneaks out of her and Jett’s bedroom and goes downstairs. Marc is sleeping on the couch. It was his turn that night as there aren’t enough beds for everyone. She shakes him by the shoulder.

“Marc…” She whispers. He swats her hand away from his shoulder and mumbles incoherently. She now shakes his shoulder more violently. “Marc! We have to talk. Wake up!”

Marc’s eyes slowly open. “Wuh-What?” He’s not completely awake and has no idea who woke him up. He rubs his eyes out. “Gillian?”

“We have to talk. You know what about.”

“Shit.” It takes him a lot of effort to sit up straight.

“We shouldn’t have done that.” Gillian says as hangs her head and shakes it. “We were both just so… emotional. My dad, your parents… It’s eating me up from the inside. I have to tell him. I feel so guilty.”

That woke Marc. “Jett’s my best friend! I’d like to keep it that way!”

“Don’t you feel bad about it at all?”

“I feel like a huge asshole for doing it behind his back, yes. But we both know what happened wasn’t a bad thing.”

“No!” She rises to her feet and lashes out at him. “It meant nothing!”

Marc stands up and to look her in the eye. “Can you look me in the eye and honestly tell me that what he shared wasn’t special?”

Gillian looks Marc straight in the eye. “It was not special. Now, I won’t tell him anything. But not for you. For him. I know it would break his heart. I’ll carry this guilt for him, because I love him!” She then spins around and brashly walks back upstairs, not giving Marc the last word.

Marc stands in the same spot for a moment before falling backwards onto the couch. He sighs deeply. He looks up at the ceiling for thirty minutes, thinking about everything before his eyes gently close and he can no longer resist the exhaustion and falls asleep.

[BeauL83]

Poor Jett, stupid Gillian and Marc.

[Operational Security]

Oh snap! That is not going to end well.

[That Guy]

Author's Note: The ultimate tie-in with 'A Whole New World'. If you haven't read that yet, shame on you. Shoo, go read it. To everyone else, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Journey, Part 11

The clouds above Atlanta are a bright orange as the sun starts to rise. The two groups have no time to admire the sight as they load their cars up with supplies. All the food goes in to what used to be Rob’s car by Jett and Marc, while Henry and his wife load guns and ammunition his SUV. Akira and Andrew stand guard.

A pack of five walkers growls the moment the living exit the house. They jog with a massive limp to their intended next meal. Andrew panics, seeing the rotting corpses stagger their way to them. He reaches for his gun behind his back. He aims for the head of the walker up front and pulls the trigger. He misses his target, hitting it in the shoulder. It stumbles back a little because of the impact but continues its pursuit soon.

Henry’s head snaps up at the gunshot. “Don’t! We’re loaded up here, anyways. You’re only wasting ammo!”

“We’re done, too!” Jett yells as he and Marc toss the last box of canned food in the trunk of the station wagon. Marc loudly closes it.

“Let’s go, let’s go!” He says and drags Andrew along by his shoulder. Marc takes the passenger’s seat while Jett drives. Jett looks over his shoulder just in time to witness Andrew and Akira getting in. He honks the horn twice, signaling Henry that they are ready. Henry honks back once. Jett turns the key and the engine begins to roar. The SUV in front of them takes off and they follow their lead.

Jett looks at Marc sitting next to him. “You okay?”

Marc doesn’t understand the question. “Hm?” He hums, confused.

“About your parents.” Jett clarifies.

“Oh. I’m fine, I’m fine. I just gotta think positive. You know I always tend to think the worst.”

Jett chuckles a little as he thinks back about how many times Marc worsened a situation by overthinking it. “I know, man. I’ve known you long enough to know what goes on in that ugly head of yours.”

“Hey!” Marc punches Jett lightly on the shoulder. “If I’m that ugly, how come I always had more luck with the ladies than you?”

“Ha!” Jett exclaims, mockingly. “The only reason they liked you ‘cause I upped your cool factor. Best damn wingman you ever had.”

The two friends laugh. Akira and Andrew can’t help but laugh along with them and their banter.

Gillian turns around in her seat to see Jett and Marc laughing in the car behind hers. She smiles and waves at him. He waves back at her. Anya waves along with her, entertaining Jett who finds her behavior cute.

“Your boyfriend is cute.” Anya says after she stopped waving.

Gillian forces an awkward smile. “Yep. It’s why he’s my boyfriend. Do you have a boyfriend?” She asks to change the topic.

“No.” Anya replies with regret. “There’s this guy at my school that I liked but I don’t know if he liked me.”

“You’re a cute girl.” Gillian reassures her with a genuine smile this time. “You’ll find a guy once this is all over.”

Jennifer overhears their conversation “Gillian’s right, hon. No worries. You’ll find yourself a man to keep you warm at night in no-time!” She teases her.

Anya starts feeling uncomfortable and her head heats up. “Jenny!”

The ladies laugh. For a moment, Gillian forgets her worries and just laughs out loud.

“I don’t mean to be that guy, ladies, but I doubt things will go back to normal any time soon.” Henry intervenes. The laughter stops as the reality of their situation kicks back in.

“Henry…” Jennifer says, accusingly. She slightly mad at him for ruining her good mood.

“I’m sorry, baby. But we have to be realistic. Even if this mess gets sorted out, life will never be the same again. Not with all this death.”

“Oh, God…” Akira remarks as he looks around they exit the suburbs. The road is filled with cars of people who tried to leave the city, with walkers scurrying around between them. “There’s so many of them.”

Andrew rolls down his window and pokes his head and shoulders out to get a better look. “There’s no way we can get through that.”

Jett nervously taps on his fingers on the steering wheel as they drive closer and closer to the blockade. He’s waiting for Henry to turn around. He’s relieved when he sees Henry flash his blinker to the right. Henry turns and Jett follows him.

“Looks like we’re taking the long way ‘round.” Marc says, trying to look cool by leaning his arm on an open window. Deep down, he feels glad he found a way out.

“I feel bad for Gillian.” Jett says as they drive through the Georgian countryside. Not as many crashed cars block the way and they’ve only come across a few walkers in the fields. Wherever they go, no matter how little, there’s always something to remind them of the fact that something is going on.

“Poor girl had to shoot her own father. I doubt she’s over it already.” Marc replies as he looks out of the window. He enjoys the breeze.

“Shoot her own dad? Shit, now I know why she’s been so down all the time.” Akira remarks. The past two weeks he noticed that Gillian was more quiet and disturbed about something than the others. “Was he bit?”

“He was.” Andrew answers. Talking about the incident makes him feel guilty again. “He asked her to end his suffering.”

No one in the car knows what to say anymore. Rob’s death is a bad memory for all of them for different reasons. “Heh, I remember how much Rob hated me when I first started dating Gillian.” Jett breaks the silence. He turns left. “She was barely eighteen and I was twenty-three. He once chased me off of his property with a gun.”

The rest of the ride is spent by the four men sharing stories. About their lives, people they used to know and what kind of stunts they pulled. Akira once kicked his martial arts trainer unconscious. Andrew tells of all the time he spent in the library, actually teaching himself to read because his parents could not afford school.

After driving through rural Georgia the entire morning, Henry’s car comes to a full stop. He switches the engine off. He gets out. Jett and his group do the same. “What’s wrong?” Jett asks.

Henry does not respond. Instead, he blankly stares off in the distance. “Oh, no!” Jennifer gasps.

Jett looks off in the distance, following Henry’s blank stare. He sees a compound, surrounded by a collapsed fence. Military vehicles such as jeeps and helicopters. One looks like it has been tipped over. Around the base, vague figures roam around, shambling. He sees unmoving bodies, too, lying lifeless on the ground. It doesn’t take him long to figure out what happened.

Anya opens the trunk of the SUV. She rummages through the supplies before retrieving binoculars and running up to the rest. She puts the binoculars against her eyes. “There aren’t too many dead people. Not many walkers, at least.”

“You think we should go get supplies from there?” Andrew asks. Anya removes the binoculars from her eyes and excitedly nods “yes”.

Jennifer wraps her arm around Henry’s shoulder. “Honey, you think-“

“I can do this.” He interrupts her. “Jett and Akira, you’re with me. We’ll take the station wagon. It’s got more space.”
Without further ado, the three men drive over to the base. Cold chills shiver down Jett’s spine as he sees the corpses of military and civilians alike scattered all around the base. The walkers notice them soon and start to track the car.

Henry stops the car and tells them to get out. He’s going to check a tent while they cover him. Akira kicks a walker down near the back of the car. After it falls helplessly to the ground, he unsheathes his katana and thrusts it into its eye socket. It gurgles before it dies.

Jett grabs a military walker by its collar and throws it face first on the ground. He kneels down beside it and jabs the knife into the back of its skull. Jett grunts disgusted as some dark red blood squirts on his hands.

Henry quickly opens the tent flap. The tent is empty. There’s a HAM radio in the middle on a table. This tent was used for communications. He is about to turn and leave when the radio emits white noise. “… Point Loma. Anyone who… hear this…”

Henry rushes over to the radio. “Hello? Can anyone hear me?”

“Any… can hear… Point Loma… become a safe haven…”

“Hello?!” Henry desperately shouts, in vain for a response. The same message repeats. Henry realizes they can’t hear him. He’s heard all he needs to know. He knows where to go next.

[the Walkin Dude]

TG, nice tie in to A Whole New World, as always great job sir.

[BeauL83]

Looking forward to seeing when Jett finds out about "The Love Affair".

[That Guy]

Looking forward to seeing when Jett finds out about "The Love Affair".

It's gonna be extreme, that's all I'm saying. And the aftermath will be even worse. (:

[BeauL83]

Good.

[That Guy]

Author's Note: Been a while, hasn't it? Don't you worry, I hav e vacation now so I am going to work my ass off on this story. It needs to be concluded before chapter 100. And I ain't rushing this, I know you guys would have my head if I didn't deliver quality material.


Journey, Part 12

“California? Are you sure?” Jennifer asks after Henry reveals his findings at the base.

Henry nods. “I’m sure of it. The man on the radio mentioned that San Diego has become a safe zone.”

Marc can’t help but let out a little sarcastic chuckle. “A safe zone, just like Atlanta?”

Henry looks over in the distance, to the skyline of Atlanta. “San Diego is nothing like Atlanta. It’s located near the ocean and there’s a naval base. Odds are good they set up on the water instead of on land.”

Marc is skeptical. “Yeah, the odds are also good that they’re all dead by the time we get there.”

Henry grunts. He doesn’t like when his command is called into question. “And what do you suggest we do, then? Travel around aimlessly? Hole up somewhere, waiting for death?”

Marc looks down at his feet. Even without looking at him, he can feel Henry’s stern gaze. “I’ll be honest with you, I have no fucking clue what to do. Does anyone?” Marc asks and looks around the group.

No one is able to answer his question. Instead they all nervously look at one another to see if they have a solution for their predicament.

Henry folds his arms across his chest. “So, it’s settled, then? We’re going to California.”

“How are we going to get there, though?” Jett asks when he remembers that his parents are there. “My parents went there on vacation and it took them three days to travel cross country. But we don’t have the luxury of using the highway.”

Marc supports his friend. “He’s got a point.”

“We have a map.” Jennifer answers in support of her husband.

Henry nods, his arms still folded. “We can do this. I know it. It’ll be a long and hard journey, but we can do it.”

“It’s not like we have a better plan.” Andrew pitches in. Akira agrees with him.

Henry claps his hands once and rubs them together. “Let’s go then. If we’re lucky we might make it halfway across Alabama.”

With those words the group retreats back into their cars and drive off. Marc still feels skeptical about traveling all the way across the country, but he decides to keep it to himself. He doesn’t know what else to do.

Jett feels excited, in a way, to go to California. He knows the chances are slim, but he might find his parents there. They locked themselves in their hotel room, so far all Jett knows they might still be there and be alright.

They drive for hours straight until the sun is beginning to set. “Where are we now, honey?” Henry asks of his wife, who’s holding the map.

Jennifer tracks the road they took with her finger. “Almost halfway across Alabama, just like you said.” She says with a warm smile.

Henry sighs and laughs at the same time. “I told you we could do it. We’ll be in California in no-time.”

Anya happily wiggles around in her seat. The prospect of getting somewhere safe makes her forget about the loss of her parents a little. She looks at her new friend Gillian, but she does not return it.

Gillian is staring out of the car window. She doesn’t take in anything that’s going on around her. All she can think about is betraying Jett’s trust and her father’s death. Whenever she closes her eyes, she sees Rob’s face right before she pulled the trigger. The loud bang, the blood spraying on the wall behind him, it’s an image that won’t go away. It makes her unable to sleep at night.

“We could stay in this small village.” Jennifer says, pointing at a place called ‘Holly Pond’ on the map. “Just keep on driving straight ahead, baby.”

“In what kind of hick town are we?” Marc asks the moment they drive into Holly Pond.

“The sign we passed said ‘Holly Pond’.” Akira remarks as he takes in the sights. He notices that the buildings are all very far apart from each other, with a lot of green in between. Trees and grass seem to be overgrowing the town as it hasn’t been tended to for almost a month.

“Damn, the town even sounds inbred.” Marc jokes, making Jett laugh.

Jett sees Henry pulling over next to a large building. The entrance is decorated with four white pillars holding up a triangular frontage. It reminds him off the Roman architecture he read about in his history book back in high school.

Andrew opens the door and steps outside. “Oh man, don’t tell me we’re staying at a high school.” He laments when he sees the sign above the door that reads ‘Holly Pond High School’. “I just know we’re going to find some dark shit in there.”

[BeauL83]

Good to see it return.

[the Walkin Dude]

Wow that is going to be one long drive.

[That Guy]

Author's Note: How exciting, finally some zombies up in this B. Expect more in part 14.

Journey, Part 13

The high school hallway is lit only by the orange light of a setting sun beaming through the windows. The only sound is that of the front doors opening and slowly closing as the group of survivors enters.

The silence frightens Anya. She presses the side of her body against Jennifer’s. She picks up on Anya’s distress, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She rubs her hand up and down to calm Anya down.

“Let’s split up.” Henry says, taking charge. “Akira, you’re on me. We’re taking the corridor on the left. Marc, Andrew, you’re a team. You two take the hallway straight ahead of us. Jett, you and Gillian take the hallway on our right.” Henry unsheathes the combat knife he had between his belt. Knife in hand, he extends it to Gillian. She hesitates to take it. Henry turns it around so that the hilt faces her. Gillian carefully takes it. She doesn’t know how to use it, but accepts Henry’s offer because he insists. “Jenny, stay here with Anya and guard the entrance.” He says before kissing his wife on her forehead. “Be on your guard, we don’t know what to expect here.”

The group splits up. As soon as they turn a corner, Jett puts lays a hand on Gillian’s shoulder. “It’s been a while since we’ve had some alone time.” He says, looking at her with glimmering eyes.

Gillian takes a quick glance at him during which she smiles awkwardly at him. She desperately wants to tell him her secret, but when she opens her mouth, all she can utter is “yeah”.

Jett stops her by grabbing her hand. “Baby, do you want to talk about it?” He asks as he takes her other hand. He’s now holding on to both while they’re facing one another.

Gillian can’t bear to look back into his piercing eyes. “I-I don’t-“

“Honey, I can tell that you’re hurting.” Jett interrupts her. “You’re bottling all your grief up, and it’s not doing you any good. Please, talk to me.”

Gillian’s eyes get moist and tears begin to roll down her cheek. She tries to keep them in. “I miss him so much. He was the only family I had left!”

Jett embraces her. “I know, I know. He was a great man.” Jett feels his girlfriend’s warm tears wet his overshirt.

Jett doesn’t know that Gillian is not crying because of the loss of her father, but because she doesn’t deserve him. “I’m so sorry!”

He shushes her while he caresses her back softly. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. Remember the first time we held hands?”

Gillian sobs. The randomness of his question took her by surprise. She looks up at him. “I do. Why?”

“It was when your mother was sick. You could not stop crying. But when I grabbed my hand, you stopped and smiled. I remember it like it was yesterday. Think back to that moment, to that feeling whenever you feel bad. And remember that I’ll always be there for you.”

Jett’s good words calm Gillian down, but only serve to make her guilt worse. She gives Jett a faint smile. At least she stopped crying. Jett holds her hand and they continue their sweep of the school.

Sunlight reflects off of Akira’s katana, causing it to shine right into Henry’s eyes. “Damn it. I’ll take point.” He says as he tries to cover his eyes from the light with his free hand.

“You’re the boss.” Akira says before he positions himself a couple of feet behind Henry.

“Is that really how you see me? As the leader?” Henry asks without losing his focus on the task at hand.

“Well, so far you’ve made all the big decisions so far. And honestly, we need a central figure to do so, someone to make the tough calls and someone to look up to.” Akira says as he looks through a classroom window, only to find it empty. “You even saved my life, a complete stranger to you at the time. And back at Anya’s house you saved her life, too. For what it’s worth, I’ve got your back.”

“I appreciate that.” Henry says before he catches a glimpse of something moving in one of the classrooms. He tries to look through the small door window but doesn’t see anything. “Hello?”

He receives no answer but the wind blowing through the trees outside. He signs with his hand for Akira to position himself at the left side of the door, near the handle. Akira holds the grip of the katana with both hands as he raises it in front of him.

Henry uses his free hand to grab the door handle. He raises his glock up to his own eye height. He quickly pushes the handle down and swings the door open.

A skeleton falls through the crack of the door. “Oh shit!” Akira yells as he jumps back.

Henry kicks it. He realizes it’s fake and laughs amused. “You shrieked like a girl.” He mocks Akira.

“Shut up.” Akira says as he pokes his head into the classroom. The room is empty like all the others they’ve come across. Abandoned school bunks aimed at the blackboard, as if they’re still waiting for the children to fill them. Stuffed animals are stationed in and atop the cabinets. “Nothing in here, just a biology classroom.”

“Let’s keep going, then.”

Marc hears Andrew talking, but to him it all sounds like noise. He’s not paying any attention. He’s absent minded from everything around him. All he can think about is Gillian. Jett’s his best friend, but he doesn’t deserve her. Jett was nowhere to be seen when his so-called lover needed him the most. Marc was there for her while Jett was taking a stroll with a criminal. The one who hurt his girlfriend, of all people. And now he’s stuck with him.

“Marc, check it out!” Andrew says before running off ahead of them.

Marc snaps out of his train of thought. “What?” He asks, still a little dazed. All he sees are two large doors.

Andrew moves aside so Marc can see the handles. “Look, man. It’s chained up.”

Marc reaches the door and takes a short look at the chain. It’s being held together by a padlock. Marc grabs it. “What’s behind this door they want to keep locked up like this?” He wonders out loud.

“Man, I don’t think I want to know. I told you we were going to find some dark shit in here.”

Andrew’s fear annoys Marc. It seems like no matter what Andrew does, it gets him mad. He looks back to the chain. He grips it with both hands and shakes it, making it clang against the door.

Suddenly, the door begins to creak. It takes Marc off-guard. As soon as he looks up the door bursts partway open. A grey, rotten arm shoots out from the crack and tightly grips Marc by the collar.

Marc screams in terror. “Ah! Get it off! Get it the fuck off!” He shouts as he uses his hands to prevent the necrotic arm from dragging him to its beak, snapping at him from behind the doors.

Andrew takes his knife. He slashes the buttons off of Marc’s overshirt. Marc turns around and lets the walker pull his shirt off of his body. The arm disappears behind the door.

“Holy shit!” Marc pants as he leans over forward on his knees. The kid for whom he can’t find any love in his heart probably just saved his life. “Thanks.”

“Hey, no prob-“ The door flies open behind Andrew again. He jumps away from the multiple arms reaching for them. The handles start to come loose from the pressure of hundreds of walkers behind it. “That’s not going to hold! Fuckin’ run!” He yells. Marc doesn’t think twice and sprints back the way they came.

“Did you hear that?!” Henry quickens his pace when he hears a familiar voice scream to “get it the fuck off”.

Akira adjusts his speed to match Henry’s. “That sounded like Marc!” He says as their jog has turned into a sprint.

The two men turn the corner at the end of the hallway, weapons ready to go. A large door flies open, crashing with a loud bang against the wall behind it. A massive horde of walking corpses pours out from it. A male walker in a suit slowly turns his head to the right. He doesn’t see two men, just his next meal as he begins his approach. He’s followed by dozens of other walkers.
They flee back to the entrance, followed closely by a shambling army of corpses. They growl and wheeze loudly during their pursuit.

At the entrance, Marc and Andrew had just gotten back too. The first thing Andrew says when he sees their leader is “this place ain’t safe! We can’t stay here! There’s walkers-“

“I know! They’ve broken out!” Henry says as Akira opens the door. “We have to go, they’re right behind us!”

Akira takes Anya by her hand and runs outside with her in tow. Andrew and Jennifer follow closely.

Henry is about to come after them when he notices that Marc is not doing the same. “What are you waiting for? They’re coming!”

“Jett and Gillian are still somewhere in there! I can’t leave them!” Marc objects.

The walker herd turns the corner from where Henry came. It feels as if Marc’s heart stops beating when he sees their sheer numbers. They’re like a wall of death.

Henry takes Marc by the straps of his tank top and drags him with him outside. “They’re on their own!”

[BeauL83]

Oh I'm going to enjoy when she tells him what happened, I hope it happens soon.

[the Walkin Dude]

I had bad feelings about the school thing to begin with am not surprised at all the doors of hell were opened. Thought from the beginning i would have looked for a house on the outskirts of town. Lets get ready to RUUUUUMBLE.

[That Guy]

Author's Note: Another one! I got lots of ideas and free time on my hands, so expect them almost daily. Sorry Walkin, not a lot of rumbling, more running and tumbling. A little hint for part 15 and on: next stop: Texas.

Journey, Part 14

Jett and Gillian take their time, walking hand in hand through the almost completely dark corridor. The sun has mostly set.

“This is so creepy.” Gillian says, noticing one of the locker doors lying on the ground. It’s plastered in pink paper and glitter with pictures of a young girl and a young boy together. Gillian takes a knee to get a closer look at the picture. “They look so cute together. I wonder if they’re still alive.”

Jett takes a knee opposite of Gillian. “Why’s this thing broken off…?” He whispers quietly to himself. He sees that the metal door is a little dented on the front. He lifts it up to look underneath it. “Oh, man…” He sighs. The front of the locker got blood on it. Jett feels it with one finger. It’s completely dried up.

“What is it?” Gillian asks. She can’t see what Jett is seeing right now.

“The locker’s dented and it looks like there’s blood on it. I think it was used to hit someone over the head.” Jett looks back to see if there’s more signs of a struggle. He just now discovers the drops of blood a few inches away from his feet. “I don’t think they managed to kill it.”

Gillian begins to look around the hall. “Do you think the walker’s still around here?”

Jett stands back up. “Just stay on your guard, honey. No more hand holding for a while, okay?”

Something hisses loudly. An undead woman in scrubs staggers around the corner. Jett gasps before he reaches for Rob’s revolver. When he raises it, the walker is close enough for it to be pressed against its forehead. Jett’s trigger finger twitches, blowing the walkers brains out of the back of its head. It falls backwards.

The shot rings through the hallways. The recently released walkers collectively rear their heads. The sounds draws them away from their old prey, now chasing wherever the sound came from. Eventually they see a man standing over the corpse of one of their own. However, they do not think of it that way. They do not think it all. All they see standing there is their dinner.

“Gillian! Go back, now!” Jett shouts when he sees the hungry mob approach from his left.

Gillian takes the knife Henry gave her from her pocket and prepares to run. She almost stumbles when she sees the another part of the horde blocking her way. Their mouths hang open, ready to feast the moment they get close enough. “Jett!” She yells.

“Oh, shit!” He exclaims upon seeing them. He tries to run ahead but is cut off by the other half of the horde. He walks backwards, standing back to back with his girlfriend. “We’re surrounded!”

Gillian can feel herself begin to hyperventilate while sweat flows from every pore. She glances quickly to the windows. They’re large. They could easily fit them. In a moment of sheer adrenaline, she runs past her man. She bends over and snatches the locker door away from the feet of the rapidly approaching walkers. One of them tries to bend over and grab her, but falls flat on its face instead.

Gillian raises the locker door above her right shoulder and tosses it with all her might at a window. It shatters it, falling on the grass outside. “Go!”

Gillian climbs out of the window. Jett follows her. The walkers still inside push one another to get to their prey. There’s not enough room for them to exit through the window. The hundreds of undead manage to break the other windows so they can continue their hunt.

Jett runs back to where they parked their cars. He makes sure that Gillian is always right next to him. He knows she is not as fast as he is.

“Oh, no!” Jett exclaims when he sees that their cars are no longer there. “They left without us! Fuck!”

Gillian panics. She feels her knees getting weak. It’s taking her all to stay standing up straight. “What do we do? What do we do?!”

The walkers don’t allow them the luxury to think about their next course of action. They continue to pursue them. “Just fucking run!” Jett yells when he sees death incarnate approach. He pushes Gillian in front of him. She runs for the nearby forest.

The woods are dark and wet from a rainstorm not too long ago. Their feet sink away in the mud a little with each step.

Their pursuers don’t let little inconveniences like that stop them. They relentlessly follow the two shadows running ahead of them.

The two exit the woods to find a road. They are greeted by two more walkers who were roaming around on the road. One of them, missing almost half of its face, makes its way to Gillian. With trembling hand, she takes out the knife Henry gave her. It does not phase the walker.

An engine roars somewhere in the distance, followed by screeching tires. It distracts the walker, who rears its head to see what is making the noise. Maybe another meal.

Rob’s old station wagon hits it, breaking its leg and launching it up over the car. It ends up near the trunk of the car. The passenger side door opens. Andrew steps out. “Get in! Get in!” He yells while waving his arms for them to come over.

Jett and Gillian open the back doors and jump in the car. Marc shifts gears before driving backwards. He swirls the wheel, turning the car around and speeds off.

Marc is sweating even worse than Gillian and Jett, who just escaped a certain death. “I thought you were dead, man! But I came back. We-we came back.”
Jett leans forward in his seat, wrapping an arm around Marc’s upper chest. “Thank you, brother! Thank you!” He begins to cry.

Marc pats Jett’s arm once. “O-Okay, you’re fine now.”

Jett lets go, finally able to relax. He’s still shaking all over his body, but he feels a lot more calm now.

“Where are the others?” Gillian asks after she’s gathered her thoughts. She realizes the other car is nowhere to be seen. “Oh my God, are they dead?”

“No, no, they’re fine, I think.” Marc begins to explain. “I couldn’t leave you two for dead, so I turned the car around while we were fleeing. Henry made it very clear that he had no intention to come back for you so I went on my own.”

“We should try to regroup.” Andrew suggests.

Marc shoots him and angry glare. “No way I’m going to be looking for some sack of shit who leaves his own people to die!”

Andrew tries to reason with Marc. “But we have all the food, they might starve without us! Besides, they have all the weapons. We almost have none.”

“I’m sure Henry had a good reason to leave without us.” Jett says. He knows he won’t listen to Andrew, but Marc does value Jett’s opinion a whole lot.

“Just drive back the way to where you separated from them.” Gillian suggests.

“Fine, fine. I doubt we’ll find them in the dark, though.”

[That Guy]

Journey, Part 15

A silver SUV lights up in the dark in the headlights. It’s been parked out front of a large, white farmhouse.

“That’s Henry’s car, right there!” Andrew says, enthusiastic about the prospect of having found their comrades.

Marc parks the station wagon right next to the SUV. Andrew is the first to exit the car. As he walks up the porch, the door opens. Anya storms outside and jumps in Andrew’s arms. “You’re back!”

“Come on, girl. Did you expect anything else?” Andrew enjoys the hug. He’s grown to like Anya as more than friends. “And we’ve brought guests.”

Anya looks over his shoulder. In the taillight of the station wagon she sees a female figure with long black hair. “Gillian!” She lets go of Andrew and rushes into her friend’s arms. Jett rubs her on the top of her head.

Henry walks down the porch steps, shotgun in hand in case the people pulling up weren’t friendly. He’s relieved at first, to see everyone made it back alive in one piece. This feeling is soon replaced by a sensation of betrayal. They took off to go back for Gillian and Jett, along with the food in their car, when he told them not to. “What the hell were you thinking, running off like that? That was dangerous!”

Marc, who’s still sitting in the driver’s seat, now gets out of the car after hearing Henry berate them. “If you think I’m leaving my best friends to die, you’re dead wrong.”

“There were hundreds of walkers at that school! What if you’d gotten stuck? Then we’d have lost four people and all of our food!”

“Listen, you-“

Jett holds him back by his shoulder before he lets this get out of hand. “Marc, it’s okay.”

Marc swats his hand away. “No, it’s not okay, man! He wanted to leave you to die!”

Akira and Jennifer look on from the porch. Both are unsure how to feel about the reunion. Like Marc, Jennifer did not agree with her husband’s decision to leave without them. Akira feels that what Henry did was for the best, but decides to see how this plays out first.

Henry walks up to Marc until he is at arm’s reach. “There was nothing we could do at that moment. What do you think would’ve happened if we had gone looking for them after all those walkers broke free in the school? We would’ve lead them right to ‘em.”

“He’s right.” Jett says before Marc can retaliate. “The only reason we got away was because of your timely arrival. And I am eternally grateful for that, don’t get me wrong, but what Henry did was for the best. And I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision.”

Henry shakes his head. “No, it was not.”

“Fine, then. But what goes around, comes around, Henry. Don’t think I’m helping your ass next time you’re in trouble.”

“Marc, just drop it already.” Gillian says, sending him a glance that tells him she’s serious. Marc sends her one right back, one of hurt and insult.

“You guys go on inside.” Henry says after a short moment of awkward silence. “Akira, can you help me get some food inside? It’s about time we ate.”

Akira walks down the porch, patting Jett on the shoulder as they pass each other. He opens the trunk of the station wagon and picks up a box of food. “Just for the record, I meant what I said back at the school; I’ve got your back. You did the right thing.”

Henry nods. To him Akira is just confirming what he already knew. “I know I did. I just worry about those who disagree.”

“They’ll come around.”

“Not on their own.” Henry says as he picks a box of food up too. He closes the trunk. “I think I’m going to have a word with everyone about what happened. I hate the way my wife’s been looking at me.”

Akira holds the door open for Henry and they walk inside. The living room is lit up with candles they found lying around. They put the boxes down on the table in the middle of the room.

“Everyone, I’d like to talk about what happened today.” Henry begins. “I’m not making any excuses. What I did was the right thing and I stand by it. There was nothing we could have done to help. But what happened today does not give anyone here a reason to not help someone when they’re in trouble, especially after what you said, Marc.” Henry stares intently at Marc, making it clear to him that he strongly disagrees with his remark. “We will not abandon our own when we can help them. A situation like this was FUBAR. If we hadn’t left, there’d have been more casualties. But we will not bail out on someone who we can help. If someone dies in our group, and I find out that someone here could have helped but did not, so help me God I will shoot you where you stand. A life for a life. Do I make myself clear?”

[BeauL83]

Oh how I don't like Henry.

[the Walkin Dude]

Same here not real impressed with Henry right now.

[That Guy]

You're free to interpret him however you like. I hadn't expected that people would see him in such a negative light, though. But then again, a character doesn't have to be likable to be a good characterr. He'll get some more development soon. Will he have what it takes to lead the group safely to California? Only I know, and y'all just have to wait.