Walk with the Dead

Today was a different day though, the sky was dull and the sun hid behind many clouds. A scene that was definitely unusual in San Diego but we ventured on nevertheless. Despite the gloomy skies, I somehow felt like today could be the day I finally found where I was in my life before all of this. I hate not knowing who I really am.

I looked to my left to see Vic smiling as he drove, something about his presence calmed me. It was as though he didn't really accept what was happening around us. It scared me actually. "Where did you live?" I asked him quietly.

He glanced over at me and thought for a minute. "About 3 blocks from your apartment." He said with a bland tone. Maybe I've seen him around and my brain is making me think it's more than that.

"Do you wanna check it out?" I questioned.

"No. Mike said it was overrun and not worth the trouble." Vic shrugged. "He took everything he could."

The way he said it confused me, it was as thought he made it up on the spot. Like he didn't want us to go there. "Don't you wanna see for yourself though?" I pressed the matter.

"NO!" He exclaimed, raising his voice louder than I've eve heard him speak. It startled me for a minute.

I looked back at Tony whom frowned at Vic's outburst. "Okay, jeez I was just asking." I groaned, rolling my eyes.

The car went deadly silent and it made me feel uncomfortable. Why the fuck did he just shout at me for asking a fucking question. "Look Alice, I'm really sorry that I just shouted. Things are kinda messed up right now. If you haven't noticed that the whole planet has gone into melt down. We have no idea what we are doing right now. So I'm sorry if I seem a little on edge but it's kinda getting to the point of no return and I'm exhausted." Vic ranted at me. I turned my head and looked at him.

"Please don't act like you're the only one this has affected because news flash for you, we all have been going through this shit." I retorted. Vic's knuckles went white with the force he was gripping the steering wheel with.

"I clearly didn't say or imply that I'm the only one in the shit here. Don't fucking twist shit on me Alice." He growled at me.

"Hey, fuck you Vic." I said calmly, folding my arms across my chest and turning away from him.

To say it was awkward would be completely correct. You could literally hear the beads of sweat rolling down everyone's faces. The heat seemed to amplify by about 3 million degrees due to the awkwardness of the whole conversation.

I didn't wanna back down or give in though. I didn't want Vic to think he could speak to me or anyone like that without a fucking valid reason. It was out of order and he knows it.

But we eventually hit the city, all of the cars on the freeway were pack onto the wrong side. It was kinda weird actually. Like everyone was trying to get out of the cities but it wasn't working. Surprisingly though, there weren't that many dead ones. That wasn't to say that there weren't many more lurking and waiting for us. Jaime told me that noise attracts them and that if you are quiet enough then you can get passed them without them detecting you. I mean I can see how that works but I'm too scared of what happens if I am stuck in a shitty situation. Fight or flight as they say.

"Have either of you been to the city since this all happened?" Tony sat forward and asked us.

I looked round to him and shook my head no. "Nope." Vic said bluntly. I rolled my eyes at his attitude.

"So it's kinda heavy out there. Cities are hugely populated and this one is no different. You guys need to be on guard, literally every second out there. So this little feud needs to end and we need to have each other's backs out there. Okay?" Tony explained to us.

"Fine, sorry." Vic mumbled towards me. I looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Apology accepted." I blinked.

Vic continued to drive towards the city but when we got to the end of the freeway there was a fucking barricade blocking us out. He pulled over and we all got out. "We can walk from here." Tony told us. I looked at Vic and he shrugged.

We walked towards the barricade, inspecting how to get around it. It was like a big metal fence in blocking off anyone from getting into the city or to stop them getting out. I walked up to the gate and looked through it. The sight before me made me want to throw up everywhere. There were hundreds of them, walking around with no purpose anymore. "Alice." Vic said sternly. I looked away from the fence and towards him. "We need to go now or we won't make it back before sundown."

I nodded and walked over to him. "There's a lot of them on the other side of this fence Vic." I said feeling scared. By the way he was looking at me I could tell he knew I was terrified.

"It's gonna be okay, I won't let them get you." He whispered. The way he said it though, it was kinda like intimate. Like someone who really cares about another person. It was weird but I nodded.

He grabbed my hand and we snuck through the hole in the fence that Tony had found while me and Vic were talking.

Once on the other side though, it was chaos. Cars were abandoned everywhere; paper, bones and body remains took up 70% of the streets now. It was like a blood bath out here. "Okay it's gonna sound weird but we need to through the alley ways, there won't be as many there. We can do this." Tony instructed us.

I nodded along and after the count of 3 we sprinted for the alley nearest us. Somehow I got there first and slammed against the wall, panting and losing the air in my lungs. I don't think I've ever ran that fast in my entire life. "Fuck." Vic breathed out as he stopped next to me.

"We're 3 blocks from your apartment Alice, all we gotta do is shift through the next 3 blocks of alleys without being detected. If one of them sees us then it's all game over." Tony nodded at both of us.

"Let's do this." I said standing up straight. The adrenaline rushed through me and I took the lead. We ran from the first alley to the next undetected. And then onto the next. But the last one was the hardest to beat. There were 4 walkers in the alley meaning, to get past them we needed to kill them. I haven't yet killed any but I couldn't wuss out now and we couldn't use our guns as it would just attract more of them. We had to use knives.

I looked at Vic and Tony but they just nodded towards the alley to tell me to go. So I did, shitting my pants in the process. I ran to the first walker and grabbed it by the shirt, feeling over confident. I got my knife outta my pocket, which in hindsight was dumb, I shoulda got it out before but hey I am new to this. I pushed it against the way and it tried to bite my arm. My harm rose up high and I sunk my knife into its head.

The walker dropped to the ground and I felt victorious. As sinister as it sounds, it's me or it and I don't wanna die. I turned around and the life nearly left my body. Another walker was about 3 foot away from me, arms extended out for me. I pushed against it but it was no use. It backed me into a corner between the wall and a dumpster. "Fuck." I mumbled as I tried to push it away from me.

Just as I felt my arms giving up the walker dropped to the ground. Behind it stood a guy with blonde hair and a jawline that could cut diamonds. I stared at him in complete shock. "There you go princess, all safe now." He said with an extremely thick British accent.

"Thanks." I whispered to him. He probably didn't hear it but I think he knew what I was saying. "Who are you and why are you in here?"

"Ben and this place has a lot of supplies to collect." He smirked at me. Vic and Tony came running over to us, out of breath and confused.

"What happened? Who's this?" Vic asked between breaths.

"He saved me." I said, not taking my eyes away from Ben. He just smiled, as if it was a huge accomplishment. Maybe it was for him.

Notes

I liked this chapter because now that the whole "I don't know you" kinda awkwardness is gone, they're beggining to act like normal human beings. What did you think?