"I honestly hate walking," Lauren groaned, exhaustidly placing one foot infront of the other. Carl fell into the same rhythm as her, both of them in sync.
"You're not the only one," He chuckled, scanning the forest where they walked. "Where are we even going?"
"I don't know," Lauren blew a strand of hair from her face. "How did you find me?"
"I kind of just went with the flow," Carl laughed while his feet crunched on twigs and leaves, "Y'know, hoped for the best."
The canopy of leaves blocked out most of the sun that beat down on their backs. Lauren attempted to navigate from the map she had, but failed. She sighed and continued to walk into the nothingness.
"You're lucky that worked," Lauren replied, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth.
"I know."
The had walked for hours and the afternoon sun began to fade away, the rain had dampened everything, and the moist air was calming. Silence had followed them everywhere they walked and Lauren felt on-edge because of this, she chose to ignore it as much as she could, but she had a feeling that something was wrong.
"Where are all the Walkers?" She finally voiced her silent worries, "Why is it so quiet?"
Lauren spun around, desperatly trying to find something alive. Carl raised an eyebrow and shook his head.
"I'm sure it's fine," He said, "Isn't it good that we don't have to fight anything? Just enjoy it while it lasts."
"I can't explain it," She shook her head, "I just have a weird feeling about this."
Lauren bit her tongue and they continued to walk, slowly becoming more comfortable with the silence. She relaxed after another hour while the sky slowly transitioned to purple. They talked about the past, and the future. Their little wishes and dreams, their hobbies before, and their memories from when it all started.
Lauren suddenly stopped talking and Carl snapped his head towards her. She had her gaze trained on something hidden behind the trees, her hand already placed on the hilt of her machete.
"Carl, run," She said slowly, and so quietly that Carl knew the urgency to start moving. Lauren turned on her heel and made it two steps before she stopped again, this time, Carl saw why.
Before them stood three people, dressed in black cloaks, hockey masks covering their faces. To their left and right, two more and behind them three, meaning that eight people circled them. Lauren defensively held her machete, her back pressed up against Carl who had his gun, unsure what to do.
Each of the people had some form of melee weapon, but Carl could see the outline of a gun on their hip, covered by the cloak.
Lauren lunged at the first, who had come closer than most of them. His weapon was a large strong wooden pole with two sharp daggers strapped to each end. He smirked when Lauren lunged, his mouth being the only visible part of him. He swung out his spear, almost catching her directly in the abdomen, but a well-timed twist from Lauren evaded it.
Before he could pull his weapon back she lunged and sliced his bicep, not enough to injure him fatally. All of the others watched as they fought eachother. He pulled his spear back, and Lauren jumped just before it managed to sweep her feet. Carl wondered why he wasn't fighting with the sharp ends of his spear, but rather the middle part.
His next shot, Lauren was unable to counter. Just as her feet found the ground, he already had his spear in the air. He brought it down in a curve, landing it on her back, which brought her to the ground instantaneously and harshly. The sharp end of the weapon was then pointed over her head.
"I haven't had a fight that good in a long time," His voice filled the void of silence that had fell over the day.
Carl had his gun pointed at his head, point-blank range and Carl wouldn't miss. His eyes found Carl's and he frowned but quickly covered it with a smirk.
"Call off your watchdog," He said to Lauren who watched the stranger with a questioning glare.
"Carl," Lauren said and Carl reluctantly dropped his gun. The black-cladded man gestured for him to kick it over, which he obeyed with a deathly glare. Carl raised his arms in surrender and two cloaked people grabbed him, restraining him from even moving an inch.
The man then pulled down his cloak to reveal a boy not any older than nineteen. He had messy black hair and dark brown eyes, his face, defined and sun-kissed, held a smirk while he looked down at Lauren who was defenceless against him.
He bent down and grabbed Lauren's machete, backpack and gun, throwing them to one of the other hooded people. He then removed the spear from her face and held out his hand for her to get up. Lauren glared and ignored his gesture. He chuckled and grabbed her arm, pulling her through the forest. Carl was pushed on by the two holding him and he followed Lauren, guilty that he couldn't do anything to save them both.
They walked, Lauren occasionally looking back at Carl to see if he was still there. She was tugged onto a back road where two white vans sat idle on the side of the road. The words The Survivors were scrawled across the side of both vans in red paint, or blood.
The boy holding Lauren, likely the leader, pushed her into the back of the first van, before he followed. Carl was walked over to the same van, which he got into without a fuss. He sat down across from Lauren who looked at him, silently trying to communicate a way to escape. Two more of the hooded figures sat into back of the van.
"We aren't going to kill you," The dark-haired boy said, eyeing Carl. "We want something much different from you both."
"And what is that?" Lauren said, not bothering to look at him, her eyes never left Carl.
"You'll see," He said cryptically, making Lauren roll her eyes.
The van began to drive, the sudden movement jolting Lauren sidewards. She then realised the severity of this situation. Who were these people? And what horrors would await them both when the black tyres screeched to a halt? She held Carl's gaze with an expression he was unable to decipher.
Carl just hoped that she wouldn't do anything stupid, he wouldn't be able to pick up the broken pieces another time.
"We haven't split you up," He continued, "We aren't out for blood. Trust me on that."
Silence fell over the five that sat in the back of the moving van, the only sound being the crunching as the tyres moved against the rough gravelly ground.
"You can have your things back," The dark-haired boy said, gesturing for one of the others to hand them their things. Lauren's denim bag was sat on her back and Carl's on his, along with his hat which had fell off during the struggle. "Just not your weapons, yet. We can't have you going and killing everyone, now can we?"
The dark-haired boy glanced at the silent couple and cleared his throat.
"So, your names?" He asked, studying Carl like he was a bug that needed to he squashed. "You're Carl, right? I heard her say it."
The friendly smile that the boy held on his face contradicted everything else about him. Carl wouldn't let him be minipulated by yet another false friend.
"What about you?" He looked over to who narrowed her eyes, thinking of a suitable way to respond.
"Lauren," She said, her voice low and threatening. Her eyes stayed focused on Carl, that was her way of holding onto her sanity, she blocked out everything else but him.
"Pretty," He let out a low chuckle, the sound vibrating through the otherwise silent van. "Just like it's owner."
The comment snapped Lauren back into focus and she stood up, her left hand catching Carl's forearm and her right hand planted in the centre of his chest. He relaxed into her touch, but his eyes didn't leave the boy behind her that held a devilish grin.
"Not now," She whispered into his ear, her breath fanning against his neck as the sudden pump of adrenaline died down, "Hold it in."
"Woah, easy there," He chuckled, dramatically holding up his hands in surrender, "I'm just pointing it out. Don't get your panties in a twist."
"Shut the fuck up," Lauren snapped, glaring hatefully at the dark-haired boy. "If you want us to go along with this crap, I suggest you keep it in your pants."
Dark-hair smirked and Carl found it hard to control the anger that ignited within him. The drive slowed and voices echoed from outside of the vans.
"Looks like we're here," Dark-hair grinned and the van came to a stop. The double doors were opened and both of them were ushered outside.
Lauren stepped out first, taking in her surroundings. She looked out at the rolling green fields that once occupied a golf course. Large stone walls surrounded the land, completely intact aside from the dirt and worn look about them. She took a one-eighty turn and her eyes widened at the sheer size of the area.
Greenview hung up on the large building in loopy writing, fashioned out of metal and glass. There were people, high up on different parts of the walls, roofs and make-shift guard towers.
"A hotel?" Lauren said aloud and Dark-hair chuckled.
"It was one of them fancy places weddings would be held in," He explained. "Easy to fortify, lots of space and best of all, rural security."
She couldn't help wonder what would happen within those walls, would she be put to her death? Would they lose eachother just as they finally found themselves.
Groups of people gathered around the vans, each of them studying both Lauren and Carl for their worth. Dark-haired boy stepped back as if to address both them and the people of Greenview.
"Where are my manners?" He asked, a grin playing on his lips. He dramatically threw out his arms with a lob-sided smile, "My name is Ethan, and we are The Survivors."
~•~
The first book has reached 9k and this has reached 1k which is so awesome! I can't believe it!
THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING ME AND MY CRAPPY WRITING!
So yes, back to the story.
What do you think of Ethan and The Survivors? Will this one end in crap like the last?
Vote?