A Thief with a Machete

Chapter 31

"What are we going to do?!" I yelled to my mom as the helicopter noises above became louder.

It was a dreary night when everyone evacuated the city. We were just visiting an aunt when it happened. She had gotten bit and we left her.

"Just hold on baby, we'll get through this," she said turning around in her seat to look at me.

Her cheeks were puffy and eyes red, streaks of tears still lingering on her face.

A loud explosion echoed through the streets outside the city. I whimpered and held my pillow close.

"Mommy, I don't wanna die!" I cried.

"You're not gonna die, just-" Williams said. "Just stick together and don't talk to strangers, 'kay?"

I nodded and we got out of the car to watch what was happening. I grabbed onto my teddy bear and held my mother's hand, my teddy bear in the other.

Giant flames and clouds burst over the city. I wrapped my arms around my mother and cried silently into her jeans.

Williams rubbed my back. I flinched and he patted my head. That was the first and last time he showed affection for me during what would be the worst 5 years of my life.

~

I woke up in my bed with Carl laying next to me and facing the window. 

I thought back to the first few days of the outbreak, when I was only about 10 years old.

I turned my attention to my bag that sat on the floor next to my bed. I unzipped it as quietly as I could and rummaged through it. I felt something furry and pulled it out. It was the teddy bear from when I was young.

It was the last present I received before it all went down. I sighed and felt the tangley fur.

Carl rolled over and looked at me with groggy eyes. 

"What're you doing?" he asked taking my hand.

"Nothing," I whispered putting the bear down.

"My dad says we have to go back out into the woods for practice. He says we're getting too comfortable here," Carl whispered sitting up.

"We are," I said kicking my feet off the bed.

I went to the bathroom and brushed my hair. It was very long and had knots in it from not being brushed or washed in a long time. I walked back into the bedroom and threw the brush in my bag.

"Every place we go...that we feel safe in...is just another disaster waiting to happen. Daryl told me about the place in Atlanta, the CDC, the highway. You guys lasted on the farm for a while, but it just crumbled like they always do," I said. Carl looked at me with sleepy but understanding eyes and put his hat on. "What we have to do is build our own place so it never falls."

~

"Over there," Daryl whispered to me as we slowly sneaked along the ground of the woods. A walker about my height with a bloody dress and freshly turned face stumbled about 10 feet in front of us.

"I got it," I replied unsheathing my machete from its case that hung on my belt. I stood up straight and ran towards it. It turned around and hissed, throwing its hands out towards me like a trap. I kicked it in the stomach to try and push it down, but my foot went right into it and I fell backwards.

"Ohhh shit," I said. I brought my weapon towards its head to kill it, only for the hands in an attempt to grab me knock it away. "DARYL!" I yelled.

He came right at it and tackled it to the ground. I cried out in pain as my foot twisted inside the walker. Daryl quickly stabbed the walker in the head and scurried over to me.

The leaves behind us crunched as Rick and Carl ran to help.

"Get it off!" I yelled in pain. My foot was still inside the walker's stomach and I could feel both my blood and its' seeping through my jeans.

Rick and Daryl hurried to pull the body away while Carl tried to help me up.

"What the hell happened?" Rick asked taking my shoe off.

"I kicked it but...my foot went right through! There must've beena hole in the stomach," I said gripping onto Carl's shoulder for support.

"It's really red-" Rick said.

"No shit! It's covered in walker blood!" I cut him off.

"Get her back to the house," Rick said rolling his eyes at my remark.

"Just clean it off! I'm fine!" I growled at them. Daryl gave me a look and I pulled my foot away from them.

"If you're fine then walk on it," Daryl said.

I set my foot on the ground and put my weight on it. I bit my lip as the pain surged upward.

"See? Let's keep going," I grumbled letting go of Carl.

Daryl huffed and handed me my boot. Rick was staring at the walker's body with a look of discomfort on his face. Carl and Daryl began to walk away and I shuffled over to Rick.

"Rick?" I said. He kept staring at the body and I leaned over his shoulder to get a better look. My breath hitched in my throat and I swear my heart stopped beating for a moment.

Scars, cuts, and bruises covered the face of the walker. There was a red rope burn marked around the throat and nail gashes around it, like she was struggling to get it off. But the most terrifying thing was carved into the forehead.

You're next!

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Update!!!!!!! YEAHH!!! So sorry for such a long break, I've been having really bad writers block, I just got back from OM yesterday and before that I was sick for a long time.

It's a bit boring, I know, but it fits the 950-1,000 word thing I'm trying to do.