Learning to Live Again - Book One

Chapter 1

           

Tamara and Lacy had been walking for days, just trying to find somewhere safe. Now the little three year old had started sobbing and Tamara knew she couldn't walk any more. "Shh, baby." The petite brunette whispered to the little redheaded girl who was clinging to her in exhaustion and fear. The woman's vibrant green eyes flicked around the trees near them praying no walking dead would hear the child's whimpering.

"Momma," the little girl sniffled.

Swallowing hard, Tamara lifted her off her feet hating that she was so light now from malnutrition, "Everything's gonna be alright, baby. I promise." Biting back her own pain, Tamara continued on through the trees. Finally she broke through the tree-cover and scrub to step out onto a small bank overlooking a road. Tears of relief flooded her eyes and Tamara carefully climbed down the embankment and onto the road. She knew it was a dangerous move stepping out of the relative safety of the trees but this was her best bet to try and hail down a car, if there were any left she thought gravely.

An hour later they had to stop. Lacy had fallen into an exhausted sleep in Tamara's arms a half an hour before and the small woman was about to do the same. She stopped, swaying a little where she stood. That's when she heard the sound that sent a chill of fear through her whole body, the shuffling steps and gurgling growl of the walking dead.

Spinning on her heel she pulled the knife from its sheath at her hip. The sight of five walkers moving toward her and Lacy made her want to scream. She knew she didn't have much time. Jostling Lacy a little to wake her up she moved toward the embankment again, "Sweetie, look at me." The little girl sensed the urgency in her voice and hearing the sounds of the dead, the little girl tried to look behind Tamara.

Shaking her head, Tamara kept a hand on the little girl's head to keep her face tucked into her neck, "It's okay, baby. You have to climb this tree, okay?" she asked stopping under a tall tree just at the top of the embankment and turned the little girl to get her as high up into the branches as she could lift her. She spared a few moments to make sure the little redhead climbed up to a safe level before she turned and slid back down the bank, knife in hand to face the oncoming dead. They shuffled forward and Tamara tried to keep her eyes on them and not think about Lacy probably seeing her ripped to pieces by five walkers.

Shaking, Tamara lifted her chin and struck out at the nearest walker before he could lunge at her. Her knife sliced across his rotting face and he fell at her feet never to get up again. Shaking she backed up to the embankment and stood ready. Two of the dead that were the closest lunged at her together. She backed up to try and put some distance between them but her foot caught on a loose rock and she went down hard, her already wounded ribs nearly cracking as both walkers fell on top of her. Her knife found the eye socket of one walker and she managed to get her feet under the torso of the other, kicking it away with as much force as she could manage. It worked in throwing the monster back with enough force to smash its head into the cement road. It didn't move again.

Forcing herself to her feet she realised she wasn't holding her knife just as a bloody hand tangled in her hair and she had to fight off the walker barehanded.

"No!" she screamed trying to push it away when she saw one of the walkers was clawing at the tree where Lacy was hiding. The sound of tyres squealing drowned out the walker that was trying to get at her but Tamara didn't have time to think about it. For the second time that day the heel of her boot caught on a loose rock and she went down hard; the walker on top of her.

But before it could even snap at her face with its rotten teeth its body was jerked from on top of her and the end of a large buck knife emerged from its forehead. The body fell and Tamara looked up to see a face she thought she would only ever see again in death.