Silence filled the air as she stumbled her way through the streets, adorned with splashes of red splattered across her face and an expression that scared off any passerby attempting to offer her help. Not a single word had been uttered from her since the night before.
The streets had long been abandoned, becoming nothing but the ghosts of what once was, as everything seemed to have been frozen in place. Cars had been long forgotten, left to rot across the road, their contents long scavenged by other survivors as the overgrown grass emanating from the wooded areas, slowly creeped onto the road, consuming everything in its path.
Even then so, the streets still held a familiar gregarious feeling to them, welcoming the company of all who passed. If it hadn't been for the overgrown grass, no one would have ever thought the place had seen the worst part of the outbreak yet. This was a street where real life had been, the turning of skipping ropes and shrieks of children, the skid marks of wheels...
Nightfall was quickly approaching as she walked down the old road, watching the old street- lamps flicker as they struggled to turn back on and shine through the night. Power had been something long forgotten throughout the outbreak as the Night quickly became more dangerous than the day.
With no electricity, nighttime meant it would be harder to see the infected.
And yet the pesky street lights still tried their best to function, stubbornly trying to share their amber glow throughout the night. Something Hannah could no longer relate to. She could no longer find that same stubbornness to continue, not after everything she'd been through.
Not after everything she'd lost...
Many had passed by the girl offering aid, yet she was stoic being alone, stoic when they gave up and continued their way, leaving her behind to fend for herself. Truth was, Hannah was better off alone.
She couldn't lose anyone else if it was just her...
The days had quickly become like strangers in passing to her, as she began to lose her grip on reality. There were no longer good and bad days, they were simply just... days. It didn't seem like anything would happen, as if another day would come and pass with the sun rising and falling.
But this was something she had to do; she needed to find safety. It not for herself then for the others who gotten her this far. She wouldn't let their sacrifice be for nothing.
With a sigh, she continued her way, following the path of painted signs leading to some sort of safe zone for survivors...
-
The tall grass swayed from side to side against the wind while Hannah stared out the window, lost in thought as they made their way to Atlanta in search for a supposed safe zone, which Hannah had yet to hear about for herself. Her faith in this place working out had greatly dimimished as she thought about the one they had previously stayed in. If something that horrific could happen within the blink of an eye, then who's to say this safe zone in the city was any better?
How would they be any better prepared than the school was?
The countryside was slowly fading as shapes of buildings were becoming more and more noticeable, the closer they got.
Yet Hannah couldn't help but take in all she could of the place she once called home before they left it behind completely. It was a day of sunshine as they drove down the dirt road. The sunshine was brilliant peeking through the cracks of trees and foliage while the fields were no longer swathes of rutted mud, each one was softly verdant, the tall grass ruffled by the light breeze. The hills rolled like a casually laid quilt, rising, and falling in soft waves, becoming nothing but shapes as they drove further away.
Hannah had never actually been to the city and didn't know what to expect when they got there; only having ever known the country her whole life. You almost couldn't tell an outbreak had even happened in that area, as everything seemed peacefully untouched. It was a peaceful drive...
At least until an annoying voice spoke up for what felt like the millionth time that day, interrupting the enjoyable silence.
"Broadcasting on the emergency channel" Rick spoke up as Hannah turned away from the window to watch him. He'd been speaking into radio for hours since they drove away from the gas station, yet no one had answered him.
It had become clear that no one was on the other side of his calls, something that concerned Hannah about where they were going. Westley didn't seem to mind this however, finding an excuse for every reason they could possibly not be answering. That safe zone was the last link he had to his brother, and he wasn't willing to give that up.
But Hearing Rick repeat the same exact words over and over again was becoming annoying as Hannah grumbled at the sound of his voice once more.
"We'll be approaching Atlanta, on highway 85 anybody read please respond" Rick finished his words, placing the radio back down with a sigh. Feeling eyes on his he glanced over at the annoyed girl sat in the passenger seat.
"Don't even start" he huffed, turning his attention back to the road, but Hannah continued to complain regardless, something she'd been doing since they left the gast station.
"How many times are you going to speak into that thing before you realize that there is no one on the other side?" Hannah asked as she glared over at the cop.
"Until we hear from someone" Rick huffed, hesitating to answer as he knew it would just lead into another argument between the two.
Of all the things he'd been through and witnessed, since waking from his coma, dealing with a twelve-year-old who was nothing but a nuisance to him was not on his list. Yet something about the constant questions and pestering about his every move reminded him of Lori, and he sure did miss hearing his wife bicker with him.
"No one is going to answer, if they were they would have done so by now" Hannah huffed, slumping into her seat as she crossed her arms in annoyance.
"We don't know that, for all we know they could be conserving battery. We should keep transmitting in case they do pick up or someone needs our help" Rick explained as he shook his head.
"Or they could all be dead" Hannah pointed out, her voice grim yet calm, as if the thought of everyone else being dead no longer affected her.
Rick glanced back at her at her comment. It was slowly dawning on him just how long these two kids had been surviving in the outbreak. They'd been subjected to the worst of it since the beginning while he'd barely been in it for a couple of days.
"Don't say that you don't know that" Westley called out from the back seat, his voice quivering as a worried expression flashed across his face. It was the last thing he wanted to hear, because then it meant his brother couldn't still be alive.
"He's right, we don't know that for sure" Rick added, feeling for the kid. Something about his optimistic, yet childlike nature reminded him of his own son Carl.
Rick wondered where Carl and his mother could be, and if they were even still alive. He hoped to find them in Atlanta at that shelter as well.
Because if he didn't, there's no telling what he'd do then.
"Right Sorry" Hannah mumbled from her seat, glancing back at Westley apologetically, yet glaring back at a Rick as soon as she turned back to face him.
Rick shook his head in response, fighting the urge to grab the radio once again just to further make her angry, but deciding not to as it would only urge her to continue berating him.
"So, you said, you woke up from a coma, walked out of the hospital unharmed and not a single walker came for you the entire time?" Westley asked from the backseat, changing the mood in the car as he looked over at Rick curiously.
It just didn't sound plausible to the older boy. How had this man managed to sleep through the entire outbreak, without getting infected, succumbing to his own condition, or getting executed by someone else. With the way the world had changed, there was no way Rick had managed to survive any of those circumstances.
"All I know is I woke up and there was no one there; the place had to have been evacuated and they just forgot about me" Rick explained, though even he found it to be confusing as well.
"No offense man, but your story sounds impossible, and it doesn't even explain how you managed to get to your house without a single walker following you" Westley further pointed out as he tried his best to piece the limited information together to make sense of it.
"Sounds like you're either the luckiest man alive or that's all bullshit-" Hannah added, bringing her own opinion into the conversation.
"Oh, ok I'm sorry, do I not seem capable of going through that to you? Am I that much of a moron?" Rick asked sarcastically, growing tired of her attitude towards him. All he was trying to do was help, yet she seemed convinced he was the most incompetent person there was.
"No, you don't, I mean do I even have to mention what happened earlier at the gas station?" Hannah fired back accusingly, once again reminding him of the walker he'd mistakenly tried to save.
"If you think I'm so incapable then how did a kid like you manage to get this far huh?" Rick asked firing back as he waited for the spew of curse words and angry comments, she was about to throw his way.
But Hannah grew quiet instead, sinking into her seat as she looked out the window. The wound of her past was still fresh, and her trauma was not something she felt like sharing, much less to an incompetent moron cop like him.
Rick didn't say anything either, taking in her expression as a line crossed from his part. There was no telling what she'd been through but from her expression, it didn't seem good.
"When the outbreak first started spreading, my sister and I were at school. We had no idea what was going on or why there were so many parents waiting at the gates, until my brother Micah and his weird best friend came to pick us up, talking about getting weapons and stuff" Westley spoke, breaking the silent tension once more.
Much like Hannah, a grim expression adorned his face, though his eyes were wide as he recalled that day, a memory burned into the back of his brain and the beginning of his never-ending trauma.
"We managed to stick it out at our house, the four of us, and our neighbor Lilith" Westley added, though he didn't go into further details, the memory causing nothing but more pain as he was reminded of the fact they were no longer by his side.
Rick watched him from the rearview mirror, trying to find the right words to comfort the boy, yet before he could, the sound of rattling and clanking echoed throughout the car, before making a complete stop, signaling that the gas had finally run out.
"Seriously" Hannah huffed at the realization, leaning over to check the gas meter for herself.
"I told you I needed gas" Rick pointed out as Hannah rolled her eyes, mimicking his words in a mocking way as she made her way out of the car.
Rick grabbed the gas tank from his trunk along with a large duffel bag, before turning back to the kids. Westley was busy starring at the outline of the city ahead of them while Hannah was kicking rocks along the dirt road.
They were the last people Rick had ever expected to be traveling with throughout this mess, but there was no way he was letting anything happen to them.
They were just kids after all...
Kids forced to survive in this hellhole of a world.
"Looks like we're walking" Rick nodded, walking ahead as he urged both kids to follow him.
In the distance, up on a hill, was a white house. It was one of the only houses they'd come across during their car ride and Rick hoped someone would be able to help them out with some gas, since the place seemed as if the outbreak hadn't touched them at all.
Though both kids were skeptical.
"Hello? Police officer out here" Rick called out as the three walked up the hill that led to the house. The wind chimes in the front porch clanked against each other as the wind blew, yet no one answered Rick's calls. Surely with his loud voice, someone would have heard him calling.
Something that should have been a red flag to them from the start; either they wanted nothing to do with Rick or they were already long gone.
"This isn't a good idea Rick" Hannah pointed out, sharing the sentiment with Westley who looked uneasy from behind her. The last thing they needed was uneccesary obstacles in their way.
"Just stay here, let me just check and see if anyone might need our help, I'll be right back so don't move" Rick instructed, his tone authoritative as he looked back at the two kids. They simply nodded at the cop, as he walked closer towards the house without another word.
"I say we go our own way if things go bad, we're not that far from the city" Westley spoke, turning towards her as soon as Rick had walked up to the house. It had become clear to them that whoever was in that house was long gone, but Rick needed to see for himself the truth before he could agree.
For once Hannah agreed with the boy. Leaving someone behind, especially during these times was not the right thing to do, but Rick didn't seem to know what he was doing, he was out of his mind. He wasn't used to this new environment they'd been thrown in and his recklessness was going to get one of them hurt in the long run.
And Hannah couldn't have that.
"We need gas. I have two kids with me, please help us...Hello?" Rick yelled out as he walked through the front porch attempting to open the door and looking through the windows for any sign of life.
His voice continued to echo through the silence, desperately begging in vain for help as Westley began walking up the hill as well, his eyes focused on the backyard. He'd grown impatient with the cop's methods and wanted to see if he could figure something out for himself.
"Where are you going?" Hannah called out, grabbing on to the boy's arm in confusion.
"Backyard, I want to see something, I'll be right back" Westley shrugged, pulling away as he continued up the hill before she could protest.
None of them knew what could be lurking around, waiting to kill them. And that worried her the most about this house, yet both men didn't even consider that possibility, rushing into an unknown place as if they were Jehovah's witnesses asking for a moment of your time.
Cursing under her breath at both idiots, Hannah walked up the hill as well; there was no way she was going to wait there on her own, without knowing what's going on.
"Hey Rick, there's no one here, so can we just go? I'd like to get to the city before nightfall" Hannah called out watching as Rick stared into a window, with a horrified expression written on his face. Hannah wondered what had spooked the man so much as she walked over to see for herself.
Rick turned around, trying in vain to block her path, yet it had been in vain as Hannah stared into the window as well, her expression similar to when she'd looked into the house near the gas station with Westley.
Inside, we're what remained of the family who once lived on that property, their bodies nothing more than various stages of decay as flies engulfed the house, drawn to the smell they emanated. Red adorned their lifeless bodies, leaking down from their heads as they layed, scattered around the living room. The floor had been permanently tainted red, creating a pool of their own self all over the floors. There furniture remained untouched, frozen in time as dust collected over them, forever encasing their last moments alive.
It was clear they had been gone for quite some time, but what made the scene even more grim was the dried-up writing on the wall.
"God forgive us" it read as flies swarmed around the letters, making it clear what had been used to write the message.
"You shouldn't see this, come one" Rick called out defeated as he stood behind the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder, to urge her away from the window.
Hannah took a second before looking away from the scene. He was right, she shouldn't have to be seeing these grave sites, yet they were becoming more and more common the further into the outbreak they got. It was just something she had to get used to.
People were going to die and it wasn't always going to be a pretty sight to see.
Turning towards the cop once more, Hannah shrugged his hand off her, her expression cold and hard to read as she spoke. "I told you there was nothing left here, so let's get going before nightfall, because that's when shit really goes down"
Rick was surprised by her lack of empathy over what she had just witnessed as he watched her make her way towards the back of the house. Rick on the other hand, could barely keep from vomiting at the site, his heart going out for the family who'd resorted to taking their own lives to escape the outbreak.
He took a moment to catch his breath, trying to push that image to the back of his mind, but it was too late, it had been burned in his head forever, becoming a memory he'd never be able to erase.
Hannah made her way to the backyard, looking for Westley. leaving the cop alone to gather his own thoughts.
The backyard was peaceful, a sharp contrast to the horror that lied inside those white walls. The various hues of green extended for miles before any branches could be seen, the air rolling around the overgrown grass in patterns as the field was quiet, something that wasn't out of the normal for country homes like this one, yet felt odd, as Hannah expected something to just jump out at them at any given second. The outbreak had ruined peaceful moments like these for her as now she found herself on a constant high alert, waiting for anything to pop out at her.
But it wasn't until then that she had spotted them, tucked between the tall grass and clear sky. Two horses galloped around the field, playing around with each other without a single fear in their eyes. They seemed untoched by the outbreak, in their own happy worlds.
"Ironic, isn't it? They don't even know what's going on further down the road" Westley spoke from where he was. Hannah turned over to him only to find him waist deep inside the engine of an old car, which had clearly seen better days. The car was a complete dump, yet Westley thought he could get it running, or at the very least, get something useful out of it.
"What are you even doing? Do you even know how to work on a car?" She asked watching the boy toss around random pieces from the engine unsurely.
"Not really... But I remember seeing Micah work on our car back home" Westley explained as he remained focus on the engine parts, though he had no clue what he was doing, other than making an even bigger mess than what was already there.
"So, what you're saying is you have no clue what you're doing other than destroying an already broken-down car. The car was never going to work either way." Hannah pointed out as Westley rolled his eyes at her lack of faith in him.
"Just you wait until I get this bad boy running, then I don't want to hear you saying 'Westley can I catch a ride with you in your awesome car'" Westley joked, mimicking her voice as Hannah shook her head at his poor attempt to imitate her, supressing her urge to laugh at his joke.
"Why don't we just ride the horses to Atlanta? It's not that far" Rick interrupted, walking back to meet the two kids, his eyes focused on both horses. Both kids turned towards him at the suggestion. For once it wasn't the worst idea the cop had come up with, and even Hannah had to admit it.
Rick took their silence as approval and walked into the field where the horses were being kept. He was slow as he got closer, trying not to spook the poor horses and ruin their chances of transportation.
"Easy now, we aren't going to hurt you guys, nothing like that" Rick spoke softly, inching his way otwards the horse as he caressed its side carefully. Slowly the horse grew comfortable with the cop as Rick continued to talk to them about making a "deal".
Any other day Hannah would have called the man crazy for talking to the horses as if they were people, but whatever he was doing seemed to be working.
"I need one of you to help me, I can't get both of them on my own" He ordered turning back to the kids and gesturing for one of them to follow his lead quickly.
Westley turned his attention back to the car, avoiding eye contact as Hannah grumbled at the fact, making her way over as Rick began instructing her on what to do.
"Walk slowly and hold your hand out, you don't want to spook them" He instructed as Hannah did as told, trying her best to follow the man's instructions.
"Yeah, yeah I get it-" Hannah called out as Rick shushed her. If she messed this up, they'd have no other option than to walk the entire way.
"Just listen to me, okay? Easy there" Rick further instructed as Hannah approached the horse, slowly petting it to calm him down. The horse leaned into her touch, its tail flopping around in excitement.
"There you go, now you've got it" Rick smiled as Hannah looked over at him surprised before turning back to the horse with a smile. This was a moment she'd never thought about experiencing, yet here she was actually petting a horse.
Before she could utter a word of approval, she felt herself being lifted and placed on the horse's back as Rick shrugged, laughing at her wide eyed' expression.
"I'll ride with you and we'll leave this one for Westley" Rick nodded, calling Westley over to mount the other horse.
"Go easy, okay? I haven't don't this for years" Rick explained as the horse's began to head into the city in excitement. The thought of finally being free of captivity motivating them to trudge ahead with speed, much to ricks dismay.
It wasn't until they had gotten to the bridge, entering the city that the horse's excitement had finally subsided, slowing their pace almost as if they knew what lied ahead for them.
Hannah couldn't help but stare in amazement at the skyscrapers and how big they looked up close. They're look contrasting the green and vibrant colors of the country side, with gray and dull colored buildings.
"I've never been to the city" She spoke up suddenly, looking around at the various hues of gray that adorned each building.
It was nothing like the countryside of the state; it lacked in color as every building looked just as dull as the last, yet much like the roads from the town, nature seemed to be consuming the city as well, as green seeped into the tiniest of crevices, slowly consuming everything it could. It was much messier than the countryside as well as shattered glass scattered across the streets from windows and large holes adorned most of the buildings around, showing the grave effect the outbreak had taken on the city. They'd been hit with much more force than the country had.
However, the silence was the most unnerving part of the experience. Hannah had heard stories about how noisy the city was, from traffic to people's shoes hitting against the pavement, yet she could hear nothing. The place was a complete ghost town as not a single person could be seen and even the storefronts were devoid of displays with nothing but broken glass and the occasional wooden board adorning their entrances. The traffic lights above them swung in the breeze as the color red flickered sporadically from them.
Neither of the three spoke, each taking in the deserted streets they passed through. Rick was still trying to process everything that was happening, while Westley remained focused on finding his brother and their group. Hannah simply didn't know what to say; She'd never been to the city, yet even she could tell that everything felt off.
Even the horses were uneasy as every now and then they'd turn a different path, getting spooked by something none of them could see.
Slowly the infected began to make themselves known the deeper into the city they got. Their presences being the first sign of survivors the infected had seen in a while. As they turned yet another corner, walkers began to merge from an abandoned bus, having been alerted to their presence by the galloping of the horses.
"it's just a few of them, we're okay" Westley called out from his horse as he rode behind them, carrying Rick's duffel bag with him. though his voice told a different story. It was clear the sight of walkers made him uneasy and Hannah knew this, recalling that moment back at the school.
Rick nodded as the horse stopped suddenly in its path. Hannah looked around confused watching as crows flew past them. But before Hannah could ask what was going on, Rick turned the horse around, chasing after something he'd spotted in the sky as Hannah protested, trying to stop the horse with no luck.
"Rick what are you doing?" Westley called out as he followed after them, as well, confused by Rick. They had not planned on diverging from the path as far as Westley was aware.
Suddenly they turned a corner and found themselves trapped between a hoard of walkers, coming from the bus they had passed earlier and the other four corners around them.
"Shit" Hannah cursed as Rick tried to navigate through the hoard of walkers, only managing to get them further entrapped among the swarm.
Westley was the first to fall off his horse, shrieking as the horse tried to escape the danger. Hannah screamed for the boy in shock, trying to reach out for him before falling into the hoard as well as their horse was tackled to the ground by the hungry walkers, getting torn apart within seconds.
It had all become a blur once more as Hannah crawled her way under the army tank and pulling herself through the door at the bottom and inside the army tank. Just as she was about to shut the door, Rick's face appeared, he squeezed his eyes shut, ready to end his life in that moment, when Hannah shouted for him.
"Hey moron don't even think about it" She yelled from inside, snapping the man out of his thought as he quickly made his way inside, shutting the door immediately.
Rick stumbled around the tank, slumping into the front seat as he gasped for air, trying to calm down from what had just happened. But Hannah refused to take a break, searching the tank for anything useful as rick watched her.
"What are you doing?" He asked confused, his breathing having calmed down drastically from what it was mere seconds ago.
"We need to get Westley, we can't just leave him out there" Hannah explained, her eyes never meeting his as she grew more and more concerned over the boy who'd been left outside.
"Hannah, you saw the horse... I don't think he- "Rick explained, cutting himself off before he could say what he knew she did not want to hear. He'd forgotten about the kid throughout the whole ordeal of trying to save her and himself, something he immediately regretted upon his name being mentioned.
"No, he's not, he's out there. You left him out there and now I have to go get him" Hannah argued, snapping at the older man in anger. Westley was her last friend; sure, he was annoying, and she couldn't stand him most of the time, but he was still her friend, and she couldn't lose him.
Not him too.
'you're not allowed to die...'
Westley voice echoed through the girls head as Hannah thought back to that moment, regretting ever maming that promise to each other.
"I'm just saying we need to face the facts" Rick spoke, standing by his belief that the kid had been long gone. There was no way he could've survived that many walkers and if he didn't, he certainly did not want Hannah seeing the aftermath if she chose to go out there.
"No, the fact is you left him there to die, you were the one that said you wanted to keep us safe and your dumbass, naive, moronic self, led us straight into trap..." Hannah yelled, tossing anything she could find at the cop, before sinking into the floor beside the dead soldier as reality tried its best to sink in, but Hannah cotinued to push that thought to the back of her mind.
He wasnt gone... because he was not allowed to die on her...
"And if he's... if he's gone, then that's your fault too, that's on you and you will have to live with that on your mind..." She mumbled, swallowing up any emotion that came at the thought of her last friend being gone... Her only friend.
"I know" Rick nodded, grabbing the stuff she'd thrown at him and placing it on the chair beside him, thinking back to the poor boy as well. He too had grown to care for him in the short time they'd known each other. After all he was much more pleasant to be around than she was.
"And if we find Micah, you're going to tell him what you did" She spoke, looking at Rick with anger in her eyes, but Rick refused to look her way. He already felt guilty as it was and didn't need her adding more weight to it.
"Yes, I know, and I will" Rick nodded repeating his words once more.
"I hate you" She continued to speak, berating the man for leading them into that trap. Not only where the Whereabouts of Westley unknown but now there were trapped inside that tank with nothing on them while a hoard of walkers lingered outside waiting for them to come out.
"Yes, I know I gathered that much" he spoke once more, with irritation in his voice. He was growing tired of the verbal berating she was throwing his way and just wanted some silence to think. They needed a plan to get out, but she wasn't letting him think.
"And now we're going to die trapped in this stupid tank where no one will find us, Micah will never know what happened to his brother, your family will never know you lived-" Hannah continued, but Rick had had enough of her.
"Not if you can shut up for at least two seconds!" He yelled out in desperation, standing up as he looked over at her in annoyance, his anger getting the best of him.
"And I'll die alone, and no one will know I existed, no one alive anyways" Hannah shrugged, finishing her sentence as she turned away from the cop, unfazed by his sudden outburst.
Ricks sat back down, his expression softening at her words as the reality of their situation slowly sunk in. She was right, they were trapped, and he had no idea how to get them out.
He'd led those kids and himself to their deaths; He didn't help them at all.
"Well alone with a moron of a c- "Hannah added, grabbing the gun strapped around the dead soldier's waist, yet as soon as she pulled on it, the soldier sprung back to life, lunging forwards, and falling on top of her as she let out a scream.
The gun fell out of her hand, sliding across the tank's floor as Hannah struggled to keep its teeth away from her face. Its teeth clattered together as the soldier attempted to bite down on the girl. Hannah thrashed wildly from under the heavy soldier, slowly losing against its strength.
The smell of his rotting body grew more intense the closer his face got to hers as Hannah struggled to push him off, yelling for Rick in the process. It hadn't been the first time she'd had to fight of a walker, but this one surely was the strongest she'd ever dealt with.
within a few seconds the soldier fell backwards as a shot ran through the small tank, deafening Hannah as the ringing grew in intensity, affecting everything from her balance to her eyesight as everything had become blurry.
Picking herself up, Hannah stumbled around as she looked for a way out of the tank, The ringing making her head pound in excruciating pain.
Quickly she pushed open the top door in desperation, finding relief in the fresh air, yet it had barely lasted a few seconds as she discovered their horse still being torn to pieces and walkers climbing their way up the tank to where she was.
Rick didn't hesitate to pull the girl back inside, slamming the top door shut once more. He hadnt been sure about her until the moment he saw that walker about to kill her, being remind of his own son Carl.
That's when he knew he'd protect this girl for as long as he had left, even if she hated his guts.
suddenly the radio began to play, static rang through the tank, filling the silence between them and then a voice...
"Hey, you, dumbass with the kid, you in the tank, cozy in there?"