Cold as the Dead (the walking dead fanfic)

Chapter 1

"Linden. Honey get your brother up, please. We need to get moving." My mom tells me as she puts the packed-up tent back into the car. I pick Matt up from the light sleep he was in.

"What's the point of sleeping in the tent when we have a car that's much more secure and safe than a flimsy tent that one of those things could just go all willy nilly and-"

"Linden." She gives me a 'please stop with the rambling and do as I say' look. I pull my lips into a thin line and do what she implied. I open the back car door and place the drowsy boy into his car seat.

"Hey Dan." I say in monotone when I see Dan- my moms husband and Matt's dad- in the front seat, not doing anything to help us.

"Lindy, Why don't ya go help your momma get the car packed up." He grumbles as he cuddles back into the passenger seat even more than he was before.

"Why don't you get off your lazy ass and help her like the husband you're supposed to be." I mumble as I buckle Matt in.

"What'd you just say?" He raises his voice as he whips around in his seat to look at me. I just stand there and look at him, startled at his sudden outburst.

"Linden get in the car. Let's go." My mom says, motioning back towards the woods, where one of those dead things were making their way towards us. I nod, closing Matt's door and running around to the other side. I hop in and slam the door, and my mom takes off. I wouldn't say she's a bad driver, but she's definitely reckless.

"Hey Dan," I lean up from the seat I'm in, and look at him.

"Yeah?" He asks, like he didn't just snap at me a minute ago.

"Don't call me Lindy. Only my dad called me Lindy." I say sternly and don't wait for a reply. Instead I lean back into my chair and put my earbuds in, staring out the window.

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About 5 minutes of driving, and one song later, Matt starts crying. Of course, because I'm in the backseat, I have to take care of him. He's about 6 months old, so he really needs care like 24/7. After I get the bottle shaken up and have it in his mouth, I ask my mom where the hell we're even going.

"Language." Is what she starts off with, scolding my words. "I don't know where we're going. Somewhere safe." She answers and merges to another lane, and slamming the car to a halt. The traffic is backed up on the highway for at least a mile.

"Shit Mary!" Dan yells, causing Matt to jump, spit out the bottle and cry.

"Mom we barely have any formula left. Or gas? And this highway is packed! We're not going anywhere anytime soon." I argue with her while trying to get Matt to stop crying.

"Linden just stop okay?!" She bursts and all I do is sigh. Mom places her elbows at the top of the steering wheel and places her head in her hands. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dan move his hand over to rub her back.

"Mar, I'm sorry hon. It's okay. It's gonna be alright, we'll figure this out." He comforts her. Okay so maybe Dan isn't the monster that I make him out to be, but it's almost like he's trying to take the place as my dad and that's not okay with me. He might be my brothers dad but he's not mine. He is a great husband to my mom, and maybe this is a "typical stepdaughter" feeling, but I don't think he likes me too much. I mean he'll try to be nice but then I'll give him attitude and he'll just snap sometimes- which I guess is partially my fault for giving him attitude as well.

"Dan what are we gonna do? We're running low on formula, gas... Linden has a point, we don't even know what we're doing." She sobs quietly. I look out my window and see people getting out of their cars and talking.