Heigh-Ho Silver

Taglist: @malarkgirlypop , @mellow-human , @next-autopsy if anyone else wants to be added, please let us know!!

Chapter Twelve: The More the Merrier

Sam’s POV: 

Somehow the lone party of one was now eight. Sam was fine travelling all by herself but the trouble seemed to have started once the friendly, all loving, all inclusive Mars arrived. 

The group Mars first introduced her to seemed to be fine, she was more than capable of handling them. The men were mild mannered country boys who were respectful of Sam’s space and lack of communication skills. 

She would’ve gone as far to say she had befriended the younger man, Shifty. Sam never felt uncomfortable around him and his knowledge of hunting and wildlife fascinated her. 

However the newest group of Perco, Luz and Martin were a completely different story. 

Luz and Mars were scarily alike. They had the same sense of humour, the same loud demeanour and the same endless energy. 

And when Perco, Mars, and Luz were together, it was nightmare fuel, they were loud, rambunctious, idiots together. Seemingly forgetting the world they now resided in. 

Martin seemed to be more reserved but when Perco and Luz wound him up enough he would also join in on the fun. 

It wasn’t all bad though, seeing them get along so well while the world was falling apart seemed to lift the group's spirits. And having eight people in the group was actually pretty beneficial, although Sam would never admit that. 

Eight pairs of eyes and eight pairs of hands went a long way when scouting, looting and looking for danger. 

“Luz!” The younger girl squealed when George ran up behind her and poked her in her sides. The man laughed loudly at the blonde girl’s reaction. 

“They seemed to be enjoying themselves.” Shifty commented from beside Sam, who rolled her eyes. They had been going on like this ever since they had met two days ago. 

“Guys!” The older woman scolded the pair as they gave sheepish ‘sorry’s’ before elbowing each other in blame. 

“Ah, go easy on them. They’re just having fun.” Bull clapped his large hand over Sam’s shoulder. But still she wasn’t impressed. 

“Yeah, so much fun. And then someone falls over and we’re all doomed.” Bull chuckled at the blonde woman’s stubborn tone. Denver liked the girl, she was strong and dependable, she also looked after the younger girl with great care, even though she pretended she didn’t. 

That seemed to be her MO, harsh and cold on the outside but with enough of a push she was kind and generous. 

“How did we end up with two Marleen’s?” Sam massaged the lines from her forehead. 

“You mean two George’s?” Martin joined the small group that hung back from the mischievous trio. 

“Either way, they’re an accident waiting to happen.” Lip confirmed with a sharp nod of his head. The older group laughed amongst themselves.  

—----------------------------------------

The group of eight had been walking for a day or two. They had enough supplies to last them a few more days in the forest and then they would need to venture out to another town to restock. But it was becoming harder to do with more mouths to feed, and hungry ones at that. 

“Lights fading, I think we got an hour left of sun before it sets.” Shifty glanced up to the sky as he measured the time with his hand. “We should make camp.”  

The rest of the group came to a halt dropping their heavy bags to the ground in relief. 

“My shoulders.” Perco whined as he massaged his sore limbs with his palm. 

“Get my back, I’ll get yours.” Luz jumped in front of the man. They both held each other’s shoulders whilst maintaining odd eye contact. They grunted, it was hard to tell if it was in pleasure or pain. But the sight made Sam uncomfortable. 

Turning away she set up the tent as Mars hunted for wood. The shorter blonde cutely tagged along behind Bull, chatting excitedly as she went, seemingly forgetting her task and then every now and then she would remember and bend down to pick up a random stick. 

Soon the fire was roaring and everyone sat around it with mildly full bellies, food was getting more scarce by the day. 

Everyone was sharing stories over the campfire. It had become an odd ritual they all fell into. 

Each member would share an account from their past, or a ghost tale, something to pass the time. Sam had always shared made up or scary stories, she had heard from others but never divulged into her own past. The rest of the group loved sharing history about their families and their lives beforehand. It was an odd way to get to know each other. 

“Rumour has it the disease came from water.” Perco reported from across the fire. 

Mars at that exact moment was halfway through her sip. Her eyes widened in panic, the young girl trapped the water in her mouth, stopping it from going any further down her throat. 

She was just about to chuck her full water bottle across the space and project the water she had stored in her mouth out, when Sam’s hand landed on her knee before she could do anything. 

Mouth ballooned with water Marleen turned to look at Sam who shook her head. 

“Bambi, we’ve been drinking this water for days. I’m sure if it was tainted we would be mindless rabids by now.” The tall girl reassured her petite counterpart.

The young girl swallowed the liquid that she still had in her mouth, wiping the sides of her lips from any of the water that had escaped during that time. 

“Right.” Mars agreed with Sam as she nodded her head. 

“Yeah, no it’s not from bottled water. Word has it they did an experiment on a small rural town and put whatever chemicals they were using into the town's water source. And then they shut down their mains pretty quickly after it… got out of hand.” Perco shivered at the thought. 

“It would only be their water supply that would have been contaminated.” Sam reassured the still tense looking Mars. 

“Do you know where the town was?” Sam enquired further, but Perco shook his head. 

“Nah, it’s only rumours I’ve heard in passing, so I have no idea if it’s true or not.” The group collectively sighed. They were completely isolated from the current events, but it appeared everyone was. With no means of communication there was no way for anyone to truly know what was happening in the world. They could only go from word of mouth. 

“Wish my phone still worked.” The young blonde sighed. She was desperate to know how her family was fearing in this hard time. Mars wanted to let them know she was safe for the moment and to hold on for her return. 

“You know my Dad called me every day.” The young blonde flashed her bright smile. Before it fell from her face and a heavy sigh left her lips, Sam quickly wrapped her arm around the young girl pulling her closer. The older girl gave a reassuring squeeze before someone else picked up the conversation that Mars had started. 

“You alright, Bam?” Sam whispered down as the rest of the men talked amongst themselves. The younger girl already had tears forming in her eyes but that didn't stop her from nodding and giving Sam a tight lipped smile. 

“What did he do?” The older woman prompted, seeing a hint of confusion on Marleen’s face, she explained, “Your dad, what did he do?” 

“Oh!” The tears were forgotten and Mars’ eyes lit up with a sparkle of purpose, “He owned a hardware store- two actually. He was trying to turn it into a franchise. He looked after the first one in Adair- that’s where we grew up.  And Rowan went to business school so he could run the other one, it was one town over in Bushnell but still close enough to come over every Sunday for dinner.” 

Samantha let a small smile creep onto her face as she watched the girl's demeanour change. Mars went on about her weekly family gatherings and how she would get to spend time with her niece and nephew. 

She explained how her mother moved to America from Spain when she fell in love with Desmond; her father. And how her Mum used to be a school teacher but retired and helped her dad with the garden section of their shop. 

“He’s alive. They all are, I just know it!” 

“Bam…” Sam’s smile had dropped, she didn’t want her friend to be filled with false hope. The likelihood that all of her family were alive was low. 

“Yeah?” Marleen’s big wide eyes looked up at Sam. She faltered, pausing slightly, she looked to her side and made eye contact with the nearest male member of the group; Lipton. 

The men had gone quiet while Marleen spoke of her kin and he had obviously been listening in, so when he heard Mars’ declaration and Sam’s hesitance, he looked up. 

The look on Sam’s face must have been a questioning one as Lipton answered with a small shake of his head. 

The older blonde was torn between being honest and probably hurting Marleen’s feelings or letting her have a moment of good. 

“I’m-“ She started, but the childlike look in the shorter girls eyes had softened her, “I’m sure you’re right.” 

———————

Leaving the forest had many pros and cons. 

The biggest pro: Going into towns or houses and finding supplies. The biggest con: Being out in the open where there is more chance of running into humans or rabids. 

But it was necessary, venturing into the nearby town of West Hickory was the group of eight’s big plan for the next few days. What could go wrong in only a day or two?

Sam was walking near the front next to Shifty, the pair navigating the group out of the forest and towards the township. Lip, Bull and Martin followed the leading duo side by side by side. 

As usual, the troublesome trio were lagging behind and goofing off. Luz was teaching the other two some aimless game and once they got the hang of it, there was no stopping them. Giggles and laughs echoed through the otherwise silent team. 

A scream rippled from the back of the group, causing everyone to pause their movements in shock. All heads whipped around to find the reason for the unexpected disruption. 

It wasn’t a noise you wanted to hear in the middle of the apocalypse. The group rushed back to find the owner of the scream. 

George and Mars stood, seemingly crowding around the other person who was on the floor. Perco lay on the ground groaning in pain. 

“What happened?” Sam pushed her way in between Luz and Marleen. The young girl stood with her hands clasped over her mouth and a worried look on her face, Luz wore the same expression. 

“We were just goofing around and Frank slipped.” Mars finally released her mouth from her grasp so that she could talk. 

“Oh shit, I hope it isn’t bad.” George cringed looking down at his friend writhing in pain on the floor. 

“Where are you hurt?” Lip asked as he knelt down by the man. 

“My-” Perco started and then stopped again. The group that surrounded the man collectively lent in so that they could hear him. 

“Your what?” Martin prompted the man.

“Uh-my…” But Frank refused to finish the sentence. 

“My god man, spit it out!” Sam urged, she needed to know now whether or not she needed to put him out of his misery.

“MY ASS!” Perco yelped.

Everyone fell silent processing what the man had just said. There was a beat before the whole group was in hysterics. The short man seemed less than impressed. 

“Oh yeah, laugh it up guys, real funny, ha ha. I fell over and hurt my ass, ok! It’s an actual problem!” Frank replied grumpily, but the group couldn’t hear him over their shared laughter.   

“Oh damn, man that’s terrible.” Luz tried to comfort the man but he couldn’t get his shit together enough to string a coherent sentence. 

“You’re all fucking children, you know!” Perco reprimanded his friends who laughed right in his face. 

“That was your greatest asset.” Luz elbowed Martin who about doubled over at his stupid pun. 

“To ease the pain in your butt I’ll grab you some ass-prin.” The man couldn’t help himself. 

“I mean I’d make a joke about your rear, butt it’s too cheeky.” George doubled over in hysterics but the rest of the group's own laughter had died down, they all watched the man laugh far too hard at his own joke. 

“Get it, rear!” But no one seemed to be in on his hilarious banter. “Oh come on, that was the best one!” Luz pouted, but his peers focussed their attention back onto the man who still lay on the ground. 

“You’re gonna have to show us the damage.” Bull told Frank, who clutched his ass with both of his hands. 

“No.” Perco shook his head. “That’s not necessary, see.” The man struggled to get to his feet only making it halfway up before cursing in pain and crumpling back to the floor. 

“Fine.” Perco admitted defeat. “But the girl’s can’t see.” 

All eyes fell on the two women who watched the man in concern. An aww fell from the younger’s lips, while the older shrugged. 

“I didn’t particularly want to see your ass, Frank.” Sam grabbed the shorter girl by her shoulders and manoeuvred her away from the men. 

The pair sat far enough away that they couldn't see what was happening but they could still hear it. Frank cursed wildly as the rest of the guys discussed their game plan. 

It took an hour for the group to sort out his wound, they had little in the way of medical supplies. Bandages and a few steri-strips, they had nothing but water to clean the wound. From the sound of things it was a big injury. 

“God, now there’s blood all over my pants. Thanks Lip!” Frank called in disgust. 

“Well it’s your ass that won’t stop gushing, Perco!” The men continued to bicker between themselves. 

Finally they had the wound semi-covered and had stopped the bleeding for the time being. Frank clutched onto the neck of Bull as he piggy backed him. 

“Ladies, we're gonna need to find somewhere with medical supplies. I’m worried that it will get infected if we don’t stitch it up.” Martin informed the girls who were sitting on a nearby log waiting for everyone to be done. 

“Next town is only a few miles away. We can get there by nightfall and stake it out from there.” Sam stood from her position with Mars jumping up by her side not long after. “Shifty and I can go ahead and make sure the path is clear, so we don’t have to worry about any more accidents.” Martin gave a curt nod before he called over his shoulder for the men to get ready to move out. 

The group moved slowly, Bull carrying Frank on his back and the rest of the men carrying his belongings since he couldn’t do it himself. 

“Shifty!” Sam called, turning around as she walked, he had dipped out of sight just before she turned to look for him. The girl went against her own rules and continued searching for the man as she travelled not facing the way she was going. 

The woman met a solid wall. This is why she always followed her own rules. Sam turned examining the hard object she had collided with. 

Her eyes widened as her gaze trailed up the structure. Though it wasn’t a structure, it was a man. Sam whipped her gun from her hip and pointed it directly between the eyes of the person who cockily glanced down at her. 

“Who the fuck are you?” The words growled from her throat. She was good at menacing. 

“I like a woman who can use her words.” Somehow the man’s smile grew even more smug. His hand came up to Sam’s face, his fingers so close to her cheek. She resisted the urge to shoot him right at the moment. 

“Don’t touch me.” The blonde woman warned the stranger. 

“You walked into me, Dollface.” Something about the way the pet name rolled off his tongue made her shiver. She didn’t like the unknown feeling that washed over her skin.  

“Don’t call me Dollface, you creep. I will use this.” She gestured to the weapon she clutched tightly. Yet he didn’t flinch, his smile grew wider as his eyebrows raised. 

“Feisty.” The tall man leaned forward ever so slightly, as if he was testing whether or not she was bluffing. 

“Lieb.” A stern voice came from behind the man. At the same time the rest of the group finally found their way to Sam. They stopped short behind her assessing the show down she had found herself in. 

Shifty fell into stance beside her, his own weapon raised.   

A man came into view, tall with jet black hair and stubble across his chin. 

“Ah, the boss is calling. Nice talk, sweetheart.” The man reached forward to tap his fingers under Sam’s chin, but stopped when Shifty’s gun turned to him. 

The stranger threw his arms up in mock surrender before he sent a wink to Sam, then turned and walked away. 

“Sorry about him, he doesn’t listen to simple commands.” The end of the statement seemed to be aimed towards the man as he walked back to the older looking gentlemen. 

“You can lower your weapons, we aren’t here to fight you.” But Sam didn’t budge. “You’re right. I‘ve given you no reason to trust me.” The man spoke to the tall blonde, a smile grew on hip lips. 

“Speirs.” The man gestured at himself. “You met Liebgott, I have two other men with me.”

And just like that two guys appeared from the bushes. It made Sam’s stomach turn, if something was to go wrong with the first interaction those men were lying in wait. She narrowed her eyes at the group of four.   

“Tipper and Grant.” Speirs introduced his men. 

“You can be on your way then.” Sam spoke harshly. They had picked up enough strays, she also wasn’t going to look behind her for the group vote, this was her decision. 

“I think we found you just in time.” Lieb said arrogantly, “Looks like you have a casualty.” He gestured his head back at Perco who still clung onto Bull’s back. 

“Why would you offer us help, we haven’t given you anything.” Shifty now spoke from her side. Sam was glad she wasn’t the only one who found this situation fishy. 

“You can offer us something.” Speirs replied. Sam’s eyes narrowed even further. 

“Sam.” Martin called from behind her. “Perco isn’t looking too good. We need their help.” 

The tall blonde ground her teeth together. There was no way she was asking for help from these men. 

“Samantha.” Bull’s voice was stern, the girl still hadn’t lowered her gun.  

“Fine.” The older girl huffed and finally relented, flicking the safety back on and statshing her weapon on her hip. 

“How can we help?”

HEHEHEHEHE ok so let me know all your thoughts, do we like the introduction? More BOB men you're welcome! Poor Perco and his pesky ass wound, classic BOB men if I do say so myself! AHHHHHH I'm so excited for the next chapter! Love you guys!

Taglist: @malarkgirlypop , @mellow-human , @next-autopsy if anyone else wants to be added, please let us know!!

Chapter Eleven: Sleepless Nights of Sam

Sam’s POV:

“Abby, no-don’t.” Sam called out as she made her way towards the girl who turned around to smile at her. 

It played in slow motion, her boot finally coming in contact with the ground before a blast of light and heat knocked Sam back. 

The blonde lay on the ground gasping for air that wasn’t making its way into her lungs. The ringing was all she could hear, she couldn’t force her limbs to move as she stared up at the sky that now was slowly filling with smoke.   

Finally she was able to fill her lungs and make enough sense of the situation to sit up. That’s when her hearing started to fade in again. It was filled with screams of agony. 

Sam got to her feet and stumbled towards the scene that played in front of her. She made her way closer to the hazy mass that laid on the floor. As she walked she tripped on a solid object causing her to fall to her knees. Sam glanced down and let out a gasp of horror, it wasn’t an object that had tripped her, but someone’s unattached leg. She leapt away from it, then she rushed forward. It was the mass on the ground that screamed with such pain it caused Sam’s heart to squeeze in agony. 

“Help me!” It was Abby, her voice was unmistakable. “Please, help me!” She continued to beg as Sam arrived at her side. 

“Oh, fuck.” The blonde mumbled taking in her comrades' appearance. Abby had been halved literally. 

The place where the rest of her legs should’ve resided now was empty. Pools of blood gathered beneath her, she choked and spluttered on the crimson that filled her throat. 

Sam gathered the girl into her arms. “Base, base, this is Foxtrot Alpha, we’ve been hit. I repeat we’ve been hit. One casualty. Position outer edge, I repeat our position is outer edge. We need medical immediately. Over.” The girl hastily reported the information into the radio fastened to her shoulder.   

“Rodger, Foxtrot Alpha. ETA 10 minutes. Over.” The radio crackled back. 

“Base, base, we need more urgent care, send in a bird. Over.” Sam debated.  

“No can do, FA, we can’t reveal our position. Over.” The man replied. 

“We just got fucking blown up, our position has already been revealed!” Sam yelled down the receiver. The radio didn’t answer back. 

The blonde quickly got to work tourniqueting both of Abby’s legs to slow the blood loss. 

“Sam. I’m cold.” The girl didn’t move but her hand reached out trying to find the older blonde. Sam made her way back to her side, there was nothing else medically she could do for her. She again bundled the girl into her lap and stroked her hair. 

“Everything is fine, Abby. They’ll be here soon.” She tried to reassure the young girl. 

“I’m tired.” The brunette whispered, her eyes fluttering closed. 

“No, no. Abby, you have to stay awake. Look at me, open your eyes and look at me.” Sam begged her hand gently tapping the girl’s cheek to keep her attention. 

“Sam?” Abby asked gently. 

“Yeah, what is it?” The older girl leant down to hear her better. 

Abby reached up and with shaky fingers pulled her dog tags from inside her top. “Can you give this to my Mum? Tell her I love her, ok?” Tears rolled down her cheeks and into her hair. 

“Abby, you give it to her yourself when you get home.” Sam shook her head and pushed away the necklace she offered her.  

“You and I both know that isn’t going to happen.” Abby smiled weakly. A whimper escaped Sam’s lips. 

“It’s ok Sam.” The dying girl reassured the older woman. “How could we have known?” 

Somehow the girl had read Samantha’s mind, it was her patrol that she was supposed to do, but Abby had offered instead, and she let her. Sam let her go, knowing it was her responsibility. It was her fault that the girl now lay in the middle of an abandoned town halfway across the world from her home dying.

“I’m glad it was me.” Abby’s bloodied hand reached up to rub away the tears that had escaped Sam’s eyes without her knowing. “Tell my mum, ok, you tell her she was my last thought.” 

“Sam!!” The blonde was shaken awake. A gasp left her lips as she sat bolt upright. 

“Are you ok?” A concerned looking Mars knelt beside her, “You were screaming in your sleep.” 

The older girl must’ve fallen asleep completely, she hadn’t had that dream in years. Sam clutched at her racing heart. 

“Bad dream. Sorry I didn’t mean to wake you.” She apologised noting it was still dark out, the fire was in its last stages of life, so it must’ve been early morning. 

“You’ve never had a bad dream before.” Mars whispered, she had woken up in a panic hearing the cries of the older girl. 

“Cause I don’t sleep.” Sam confessed. The younger girl’s brows furrowed in concern. 

“Like ever? How are you alive?” Mars asked scooting closer so the two could whisper. 

The taller girl let out a sigh before replying, “My mum left when I was five, I stopped being able to fall completely asleep. Any noise would wake me, it could have been the quietest noise but I would still hear it.” 

Mars laid her hand on her friend's knee and nodded, signalling for her to continue. 

“I would wake when my father would get home. It was like clock work, my body would jolt me awake at the sound of his keys in the door. From then on I never fell deeply asleep. That’s why we never did watches, cause I knew if I heard something I would wake up.” Sam dragged her hand down her face.

“When I was little, if I ever fell into a deep sleep it would be plagued with gruesome nightmares, things that haunted me, my biggest fears.” The older girl admitted. She had never told anyone about her sleeping habits or the terrible nightmares she suffered from. 

“My brain protects me and never lets me sleep fully.” Sam had been through enough trauma in her life to make the nightmares she had the worst, worse than any horror movie she had ever watched. Her experiences were far more terrifying.  

“Who’s Abby?” Mars asked in a soft tone, craning her neck down trying to see the older girl’s face in the dim light of the morning.

“I’ll tell you another time.” 

Mars didn’t push, this was the most the older girl had ever shared about her past, and though it was awful to hear, Mars was glad she felt safe enough to let her in. 

“Get some sleep before we have to be up again.” Sam nudged Marleen back to her own bed and tucked her in when she lay down. 

“Will you sleep?” The younger girl asked, peering her head out from her blanket. 

“See you in the morning, Bam.” And with that the older girl rolled over and laid down. She waited for Marleen to fall back to sleep before she slipped out of the tent. 

Samantha prodded the dying fire with a stick, there was no chance of her lying back down and trying to rest, she had had enough excitement for one night. 

“Can’t sleep?” A voice pulled her from her thoughts. She whipped around readying herself for a fight. 

“Woah! It’s just me.” Shifty held out his hand showing he meant no harm. 

“Sorry, force of habit.” The girl excused her jumpy nature. The young man sat himself beside Sam, not close enough that they were touching, but not far enough away she didn’t feel his warmth. 

“Why are you up?” Sam asked him. 

“Someone wouldn’t quit snoring.” He gestured his head backwards towards the tent that him and Lip shared. Loud growling noises came from inside the shelter. “I mean, is he starting a car?” 

Sam couldn’t help but laugh, it did sound exactly like an old car failing to rev to life. 

“Plus I heard some commotion coming from over your way.” Shifty looked back over to the tent where Sam had left the flap open a tad to see in and make sure Mars was ok. 

“Sorry, that would’ve been me.” Sam went back to prodding the fire with her stick, her knees curled up into her chest as she rested her chin on them. 

“It’s ok, no one really sleeps well now.” Shifty grabbed his own stick as she shuffled around the hot coals mimicking the girl he sat beside. “I’m used to it though. Reminds me of hunting trips with my Dad. You never really slept the best, always had an ear out for the creatures.”

There was a beat of silence between the pair. Before Sam worked up the courage to ask. 

“Where is your Dad?” She didn’t want it to be bad news but the way the young man spoke about him with such love she wanted to know more. 

She watched as Shifty’s smile faded and she cursed silently under her breath. Nice one Sam.

“I didn’t get home in time. I was driving to get him. I had everything packed and ready, the car was fueled, all I needed was him. Then when I got home I looked everywhere. Last place I looked I found him. Maybe if I had looked there first I could’ve got to him in time. But he was much older than the other parents. I was an accident, a happy one, but still not planned.”

“All that hunting had got to his hearing, why he was always so strict with us kids about wearing our protection. I guess he didn’t hear it coming. The beast had slaughtered him from behind, ripped his neck clean open, killed him in the process. He didn’t even come back as one of them. I didn’t really have time to mourn cause the beast tried to come for me next, I fought him off but then.” Shifty swallowed. 

“Then Mama got home from school, she was a teacher, she came out back and called for us. Distracted the thing and it charged for her. And I missed, the one shot I should’ve never failed, and I missed. It got her, and then-” He quickly wiped away the tears that streaked down his cheeks. 

“I didn’t have the heart. That was my Mama. I couldn’t bring myself to hurt her, even if it wasn’t her anymore. So I left. The car didn’t last long, everyone else was driving like crazy, caused me to be run off the road. Grabbed what I could carry and now here I am.” 

“I’m so sorry, Shifty.” The man seemed so lovely and sweet, Sam felt awful making him relive that day. 

“I’m sure everyone has had a pretty awful time.” The young man sniffed. “I’m just glad I found those guys.” 

“Yeah, they seem nice.” Sam nodded. 

They fell back into comfortable silence until the sun rose fully, and the birds in the trees chirped loudly. 

The rest of the group slowly made their way from their tents. Everyone packed down quickly and ate before they were off moving again. 

Moving through the Susquehannock state forest wasn’t easy, thankfully Shifty seemed to know the woods well. The terrain was difficult and treacherous at times, there were pros and cons to this. It meant no one else was up there with them, but it was hard work and dangerous. The days were long, climbing up and down steep hills and fighting through thick bush that had never been trekked before. 

It took them longer than it would’ve to go around the state forest, but this offered them safety in a way. 

The weather was unpredictable as well, the mountains were high and when a storm moved in it was fast and vicious. Often the group was caught unawares, scrambling for cover from the weather. 

But Shifty was able to lead them through the state forest, stopping them from getting lost multiple times in the dense brush that had them turned around. 

“Girls!” Lip called to the two ladies who walked ahead of the group. Mars paused her conversation to turn and look over her shoulder, Lip was signalling for them to stop. 

Mars and Sam made their way back towards the group which had paused. 

“Everyone alright?” Marleen asked as her eyes scanned over the men, looking for any signs of distress. 

“We’re pretty low on supplies, we'll need to make a stop in the next city if we can.” Shifty said. 

It took less than a day to trek to Emporium, so they had an hour or two to search the town for supplies. Food and water were always the first priority- anything else was a bonus. 

The five of them managed to clear several abandoned buildings, but only found a few odd cans of food and a single bottle of water. 

The light was fading and the decision was made to set up camp in an empty house. 

“You guys get some sleep first, Sam and I will take the first watch.” Marleen offered up, she took note of the annoyed look Sam shot her but chose to ignore it. 

The girls took their post in the living room while the three men chose to sleep in one of the bedrooms, leaving the other empty. 

“So…” Marleen prompted her friend. Sam kept silent, giving her a blank look.

“What do you think of them?” Mars continued after realising Sam wasn’t planning on starting up a conversation. Before the older woman could answer, Marleen spoke up again, “They’re pretty cool, right?” 

Samantha shrugged which caused her younger companion to roll her eyes in jest. 

“I know you don’t like people-“ Mars scooted across the couch so she sat directly next to Sam, “But I think we should stay with them.” Her voice was soft like she was testing the boundaries. 

Mars noticed Sam’s facial expression twist and quickly added, “I know Denver, he’s a good guy! Plus Lip and Shifty are both really smart. We probably wouldn't have made it through that forest without them.” Her words tumbled out in one breath. 

“Okay.”

“Wait, I really think- uh wha… did you just say okay?” Her mouth hung open. Mars was expecting more of a fight from her tall friend. She wanted so badly to follow up with a whole bunch of questions but didn’t want Sam to change her mind or take it back so she did her very best to stay quiet. 

“These guys are…decent.” Sam managed to say, straining as if the words hurt to say. 

“Woah, was that a compliment?” Marleen teased, grinning at Samantha.

The older girl turned her head away to hide the smallest of smiles from her easily excitable friend. 

Was this a new leaf the older girl had turned?

——————————

Morning broke over the small town, the girls both rose with the sun. It had become their new norm. 

The boys had already packed since they were on the later watch together. 

“You girls ready?” Shifty poked his head into the room the pair occupied.  

“We sure are, Shifty!” Mars replied every so cheerily. 

“Well isn’t someone chipper for a 6 o’clock start.” The young man noted, sending a bright smile back to the petite girl who grinned up at him. Her smile was infectious. 

“Yeah, too happy.” Sam observed, looking over the suspiciously joyful blonde, “What’s got you so excited?” 

“Nothing!” Mars’ high pitched sing-songy voice told the older girl otherwise. But the younger of the two kept her mouth shut about what had made her so excited. 

“Just excited for a brand new day.” The girl bounced to her feet. As the older one groaned. 

“Don’t go all disney princess on me Bam, I think that may actually kill me!” Sam mocked being stabbed in the heart, letting her eyes roll back in her head and she stuck her tongue out to the side. 

Mars swatted the older girl. “Sam! Don’t” The young girl pretended to do CPR on the tall lady. 

“You guys are on a new level of strange.” Shifty laughed at the pair's antics.  

“We need more supplies, we hardly got any from this town.” The trio had walked into Lip complaining as he rummaged through his gear. 

“I agree.” Bull nodded, his head lifted as the group entered the once nicely furnished lounge that now was a wreck. 

“Girls, how did you sleep?” Denver asked. 

“Very well, Denver!” Mars skipped over to him as she slung her arm around his shoulders, he knelt on the ground so the short girl was able to reach them. If he was standing she would’ve had to jump. 

“We think we should stop at the next town over. We barely got enough to last us more than a few days.” Lipton shared his thoughts with the group. 

“I think so too.” Sam nodded, they had only been able to obtain one bottle of water that was not going to last very long. They needed to restock. 

The next town over was Johnsonburg, 30 miles away, they would be able to make it to the edge of town by nightfall.

After an 11 hour walk they had made it to the outskirts of Johnsonburg. Mars perched on a flat log that laid on the ground. 

“Will we set up camp and go in tomorrow?” She asked as she took a sip from her bottle. The group had moved relatively fast and she was tired. 

“I think that’s best.” Lip stood beside her looking out into the distance. “We don’t want to be tired going into the town. Best we get some shut eye and food into us. Then tomorrow we take Johnsonburg.” Lipton propped his foot on top of the log that Mars sat on, he looked like an explorer, with his hands on his hips and a tall stance. 

“Ok Christopher Columbus, cool it.” Sam had arrived behind the pair. Lipton laughed at Sam’s comparison. 

“Let’s get a small fire started.” Bull announced sending everyone to work. 

—----------------------------------------------

“Shifty, is it clear your way?” Sam asked as she glanced around her corner trying to find any signs of life or death. 

“Yeah all clear.” He whispered from next to her. “Call ‘em through.” Sam signalled from over her shoulder calling the rest of the group forward to where they stood. 

The three other’s slowly appeared from the brush they had been hiding in. They crouched behind Sam and Shifty who were currently leading the scope through the small town. 

“Let’s go.” The duo moved together in unison, they each took a side as they swept their surroundings. 

The group moved slowly through the small city, they had found a few abandoned stores with more goods than they found in the last one. 

“Is everyone happy with their haul?” Shifty looked around the group as people stashed items into their bags. 

“Right, we should move out. Then we can do a stock take and see what we want to do from there.” Bull informed the rest of his peers who agreed. 

And just like that the group set off; Mars, still in her spectacular mood, skipped ahead of the others. She sang to herself, mumbling the words as if she didn’t quite know them. 

The distance Marleen was putting between herself and the rest of the crowd was starting to concern Samantha. 

“Stop skipping, Bambi.” The older girl told her younger peer. 

“I won’t trip this time!” The excitable blonde called over her shoulder, not slowing her pace or watching we’re she was going- a dangerous combination. 

Especially when rounding a corner. 

“Wait! Mars!” Sam had seen the shorter girls path and just knew something was coming. She began jogging to catch up with her companion but it was too late.

Marleen had smacked straight into something and fallen flat on her ass. 

“Mars!” Sam’s jog turned into a run, her only thought was getting to the girl and protecting her from whatever evil she may have encountered. 

The footsteps of the men in their group followed her and Sam drew her gun, preparing for the worst. 

“Mars, are you-“ The tall blonde wasn’t able to finish her sentence, she cut herself off when she noticed the presence of other humans. 

Instinctively, her arms raised up and aimed her weapon their way. 

“Who the fuck are you?” She growled out, eyes squinting into a menacing glare. 

There were three of them- three men. 

One sat in the same position as Marleen, rubbing a spot on his head. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he and Mars had- quite literally- run into each other. 

Sam rushed to the young blonde and used one hand to grab ahold of her arm and heaved her upwards until she was on her feet. 

Her other hand still pointed the loaded gun at these strangers. 

“I told you to stop skipping.” Sam's voice was low, almost threatening as she told off the recovering woman. 

Mars looked down, slightly embarrassed but didn’t open her mouth to speak, instead pouting like a child. It made Sam feel like she was a mother telling off her excitable child who refused to listen. 

One of the other men mirrored Sam’s actions, shuffling closer to his fallen friend and picking him up. He also sent the younger man a scolding look- something told Sam he had been doing something similar to Mars when they crashed into each other. 

“Sorry about that. Purely accidental, it won’t happen again, right Luz?” The oldest stranger spoke, his last words were aimed at his companion, who scratched the back of his neck and nodded.

“We’re not looking for any trouble, okay?” The oldest told Sam, raising his hands to her as he eyed up her gun, “We’ll just be on our way. No harm done.” 

“Wait, Martin! Maybe they could help us?” The third man finally spoke up. 

“Yeah, maybe they know about Idaho?” ‘Luz’ added. The two shorter men flanked the leader of their little trio- Martin. 

“No, I don’t think-“ But Martin never finished. 

“What do you need help with?” Marleen's sweet voice sounded. Sam wanted to slap a hand over the girl's mouth; how could she be so trusting of literal strangers? 

Sam still had her gun out, pointing towards the newcomers but she had noticed they weren’t copying her actions. She wasn’t sure if that should settle her nerves or not and decided to keep her weapon drawn, just in case. 

“We got robbed a couple days ago.” The brown haired Luz offered up. He got a dirty look from Martin but completely ignored it. 

“Yeah, they took all our food and water.” The third guy added on. 

“We’ve been going from building to building trying to find something but it looks like this whole town has been looted.” Luz continued. 

“Oh my gosh! That’s so rude, they didn’t leave you anything? I mean, how hard is it to look for supplies for yourself? No, they had to steal it from you guys? Unbelievable.” The young blonde said, her emotions were plastered on her face, easy to read. 

Sam could tell where this was heading and tried to shut it down before Mars started to work herself up. 

“Marleen. No.” Sam’s voice was stern and her look was even sterner but Marleen wasn’t even fazed. She pouted at her friend and pushed her eyebrows together, silently pleading with the older woman. Sam shook her head but Mars only stuck her bottom lip out more before mouthing ‘please’. 

That had Sam rolling her eyes in defeat. She glanced over at the men they had been travelling with and saw no qualms. 

“Fine. But only because we just stocked up, we can’t afford to do this every time we meet strays.” Sam had to put her foot down, but let the matter slide for just this one time. 

“Hi!” Mars jumped ahead and was already shaking hands with the men, she hadn’t even waited for confirmation from the older lady before introducing herself.

“I’m Marleen, call me Mars, pleased to meet you guys!” She shook the hand of the man who had bumped into her, so hard his whole arm moved. He mirrored her action, shaking her back with vigour.

“George Luz, but everyone calls me handsome.” He threw a charming smile over Mars’ shoulder to Sam who visibly cringed at the terrible line. 

“Luz.” Martin, the older man, growled. 

“What? I was just introducing myself.” George grinned as he sauntered over to the taller woman. 

“What might your name be?” The shorter man purred as he picked up Sam’s hand from her side. 

“Uninterested.” Sam snatched her hand away as she saw Luz craning his neck down to kiss the back of it. 

“That’s Sam. She isn’t that friendly to newcomers.” Mars introduced the girl, knowing she wouldn’t do it herself and the male members of the group nodded in agreement. 

“Enchanté.” George didn’t seem all that fazed at the displeasure that the tall woman wore on her face.  

Sam stepped back from the interested man, all he did was smile up at her undeterred by her indifference. 

“Johnny Martin, you can call me Martin.” The older man stepped forward and politely shook Marleen's hand, “And this here is Perco.” He gestured behind him. 

“Frank Perconte.” The short man waved to the group who nodded back in greeting. 

“Ok, enough with the introductions. We’re exposed here and it’s getting dark. We need to move.” Sam’s eyes scoured their surroundings, the coast appeared clear but it could be easily changed in a heartbeat. 

“Bossy. I like it.” Luz smirked at the stern woman. Marleen couldn’t help but giggle at the look on Sam’s face. 

“Let’s go.” Sam said to the group, ignoring the chocolate haired man. The taller girl made sure to secure Marleen’s hand before she stalked off, hand in hand with her grinning companion. 

Oof another gut punching chapter, poor Sam has seen some shit. But then we got more boys whoop whoop. Luz and Mars are gonna be besties I can tell!! And Sam is gonna be pissed that there is now two Mars' lmaooooo!! We also got the lovely Martin who is so Fatherly, which we love, these girls need some guidance. And we have the cutie patootie which is Perco, someone get this man a toothbrush and toothpaste stat!!!!!

Taglist: @malarkgirlypop , @mellow-human , @next-autopsy

Chapter Ten: Stranger Danger 

It had been an awkward walk. Marleen was clearly still pissed at Sam and Sam, well she didn’t know how to relieve the tension. So they walked in silence, which was odd for the chatter-box that was Marleen. But every time she went to open her mouth to speak to Sam, she quickly snapped it shut, remembering the harsh words and new promise Sam had made to her the previous night. 

The older girl’s words flashed through her head, ‘Mars, I think it’s best if we do find someone else to take you.’ 

‘There are better people to help you on your journey.’

‘I am sorry, Mars.’ 

Each time Sam’s voice echoed in her head the more she became angry all over again. 

Mars grunted in frustration as she kicked a rock with force. It flung ahead and pelted into the tree in front of her. Her eyes followed the trajectory of the stone and saw movement. 

Sam had noticed the same, signalling for the pair to stop. Even though she was angry, Mars still abided by the rules. Crouching down next to her taller so-called ‘friend’, they strained their eyes and ears to listen. 

Marleen's eyes widened with shock. She sprung from her hiding spot and sprinted forward towards the familiar voice. 

“Marleen!” Sam called out quietly. Mars had been too quick from her position; she didn’t even have time to lunge for her. 

“For fucks sake.” Sam went against every fibre of her being and ran after the petite blonde woman. 

The younger of the two couldn’t help the smile that plastered itself onto her face. She dove for her target, pelting him full force in the chest. The man who she now had in a bear hug, ‘oofed’ out at her sudden attack. 

“Denver!” She squealed in so much delight. The man’s face went from shocked - to puzzled - to pure joy. 

“Hands off!” Sam emerged from the bushes with her gun raised, she aimed it right between the big man’s eyes. 

“You’ll have to tell her that.” The man’s southern tone quipped. He was right, it was Marleen who clung to him like a limpet. 

“Mars, what the hell are you doing?” Sam questioned the younger girl, had she lost her damn mind all together or was she that pissed at Sam she was endangering her own life to get back at her. 

“What happened? How did you get here? Did you get hurt? I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Do you know how happy I am to see you!” Marleen couldn’t shut up, her word vomit was like a broken dam; forever spilling from her lips. 

“Woah, now hold up there, little lady. Take a breath before you faint.” Denver smiled down at his young neighbour, Mars had no idea how relieved he was to see her alive and well. 

The built man pressed the young girl into his chest to hold her tightly. “My girl, I’ve missed you so much.” He pulled back with teary eyes. 

“I missed you so so so so so so so-”

Denver cut her off with a soft kiss to her forehead, “So much.” He finished her sentence for her. 

Marleen practically shook with delight, she couldn’t contain her excitement, “I could scream. I won’t, but I could.” 

“Wait, I am.” She pressed her face into the man’s big chest like he was a pillow and screeched with all her might. 

“My goodness. Good to see that the end of the world hasn’t dimmed your sparkle, young lady.” The pair couldn’t tear their eyes away from each other, forgetting their surroundings completely. 

Until a clearing of someone’s throat pulled them back down to earth. 

“Well, that was quite a reunion.” The taller man that had been walking with Denver interrupted. Mars finally stepped back from her beloved neighbour. 

She took in her surroundings. Sam still stood with a rigid posture, hands tightly gripped around her weapon. Mars was going to tell her to relax but the two men who stood with Denver captured her attention before she could do so. 

“You going to introduce us, Bull?” The shortest man spoke. Mars couldn’t help but smile at him, his face was built with soft features and kind brown eyes. He looked familiar and inviting. 

“I’m Marleen Finch. But you can call me Mars.” She didn’t wait for Denver to introduce her, she stuck out her hand for the man to shake. A smile broke onto his lips and she eagerly smiled back as he gently shook her hand. 

“Darrell Powers, but everyone calls me Shifty.” He introduced himself to the young blonde. 

After shaking his hand she turned to the taller leaner man, “Pleased to meet you.” She greeted everyone in her friendly manner. 

“Carwood Lipton, call me Lip, ma’am.” The tall man politely spoke. 

“You can lower your weapon miss, we mean no harm.” Denver's soft voice pulled Mars’ attention back to Sam. 

“Bam, how do you know him?” Sam asked questioningly, still not shifting from her defensive stance. Mars forgot that Sam wasn’t as eagerly pleased to see other human life like she was.

“Oh, um. Sam, this is Denver. He is my neighbour. We were together at the start of the outbreak and then I lost him, we got split up by a hoard. I was by myself for a bit before you found me. But he saved my life. This was the nice neighbour I told you about.” 

Mars had avoided talking about Denver, feeling too sad and guilty about losing him. She conveniently ‘forgot’ to tell Sam how she ended up in her predicament and Sam being Sam, she never asked.    

“Denver, Lip and Shifty. This is my good friend Samantha-uh, Sam.” Mars paused, trying to recall her surname but came up blank. Sam hadn’t told her what her last name was. “She saved my life a couple of weeks ago.” 

The men smiled at her cheerily, but unlike with Mars they kept their distance from Sam. 

“Hi.” Sam’s retort was short, she wasn’t planning to stay long or get to know these men. 

“Well, Mars. This looks like the group for you.” Sam tucked her gun back into the holster on her hip. 

“You aren’t planning to stay?” Lipton asked. 

“Mars and I thought it would be for the best if we split up. We were just looking for a safe group for her to join.” But during her explanation Mars huffed in displeasure. 

“We? No, I never said we should split up. But old Sam here doesn’t think I am safe with her.” Mars’ turned to Bull to complain. 

“Would you like to spend a few days with us? If you truly don’t want to stay, we won’t force you.” Denver offered a solution. 

“Yes.” 

“No.” 

The girls both replied in tandem. 

“Don’t listen to Sam. Yes, she will take that offer. Thank you Denver.” 

“Marleen!” Sam tried to argue, but the younger girl held up her hand, in turn silencing Sam. 

“Stay and make sure I’m safe. You promised.” Mars’ tone was firm, she didn’t fuck around with pinky promises. 

“Fine.” The older girl sighed, rolling her eyes at the smug looking Mars. 

After the awkward introduction and decision to stay as a group, everyone continued on in their journey. 

“Where are you guys heading?” Mars asked as she walked alongside Denver, “And what’s with Bull?” She had caught the nickname that Lip had called the larger man. 

“We are heading to a safe zone in Idaho.” Denver informed his smaller counterpart. 

“And Bull got his name from when we first met.” Lip interrupted their conversation, he fell into step next to Denver. 

“Do tell.” Mars pried, curious to know the reason for the odd nickname. 

“Well, Shifty and I watched this behemoth of a man tip a whole car onto an oncoming hoard. He was like a bull on steroids. Hence the name.” Lip clapped his friend on the shoulder as he grinned widely. 

“The car was already half tipped.” Denver ever so modestly clarified. But Lip only laughed and squeezed the man’s shoulder. 

“So, what’s up with your friend?” Bull leant in to whisper to Mars, his eyes cast forward on the lone walking woman ahead of them. 

“Well, when I lost you I thought I could try and find you in Albany. So I did my very best and made my way there. Unfortunately, I didn’t find you, but a group of unfriendly men did. Sam had arrived just as things were getting hairy and saved my ass. I have been superglued to her side ever since.” Mars explained the nature of their meeting. 

“She’s not much of a talker.” The young blonde started and stopped when Bull started to laugh. 

“What?” She asked, tilting her head in confusion. 

“Marleen, you aren’t one to be quiet. Poor girl, you must’ve chatted her ear off.” Denver teased the young woman. 

Mars chuckled and nodded her head in confirmation. 

“So, where’s she from?” Bull naturally enquired about Marleen’s friend. 

“Uh-“ she started, searching her brain for the information, “I’m not sure.” The young blonde shrugged, but Denver’s brows furrowed together. 

“What did she do?” He asked another basic question, one that Mars would surely know. 

“I- I don’t know.” Mars shyly replied. 

“Where is she going?” Bull continued in his line of questioning. She surely had to know something about the girl. 

“I-uh. Um.” The young girl stalled before she sighed, “She didn’t tell me. But in hindsight I can’t remember asking.” 

“Marleen, how long have you known Sam?” Denver questioned his young friend. 

“Like two weeks.” Mars replied meekly, ducking her head out of view. “I told you she isn’t chatty!” 

Bull laughed and swung his arm around the young girl's shoulders and squeezed her in tightly. He had so dearly missed Mars, and was thanking his lucky stars that she had found someone, however mysterious, to keep her safe and well. 

—--------------------------------

Sam walked ahead of the group, she could hear them chatting behind her. Mars seemed thrilled to be reunited with her neighbour, but Sam felt on edge. 

This was now more people she didn’t know and quite frankly didn’t really want to try and get to know. She had gone against everything in her being to befriend the young blonde but now there were three new people. 

“SR-25.” The young man fell into step with Sam. 

“Yeah, government issued.” The tall woman glanced over her shoulder to her army rifle that was slung over her back. 

“Army?” Shifty asked.

“Three years.” Sam confirmed with a nod. “I am, was, a specialist.” 

“You served?” She queried, the man seemed to know his rifles.

“No. But I do enjoy hunting. My father loved to hunt and shoot, taught me everything he knew.” The young man seemed to beam with pride speaking of his father. He appeared to take him in high regard. 

“You must be a good shot.” Sam hummed in agreement. 

“No, no. I’m not a good shot. Now Dad, he was an excellent shot- excellent, I declare. He could shoot the wings off a fly.” 

“Don’t listen to Shifty, Sam.” Lip caught up with the pair as Bull and Mars were hot on his heels, “That boy is the best sharp shooter I’ve ever met. He can toss a coin in the air and hit it with his rifle. Hits it dead centre every time.” The taller man boasted about his shorter friend who blushed.  

“Ah, I’m not that good.” Shifty smiled widely up at the taller man. 

“Shifty, you’re too modest.” Bull chimed in, patting the man on his shoulder. 

Mars smiled along the line that fell into step with Sam and Shifty. Even though she had only known the two men for a couple of hours she could tell they had the same nature as her neighbour. 

The group had made camp in a clearing in the woods. The men had their own tents, and equipment, so Sam and Mars kept their sleeping arrangement. 

Mars quickly set up the tent a couple of metres away from the firepit as Sam searched for wood to burn. She laid flat their sleeping bags and slotted their bags into the opening of the shelter before she zipped it up. 

The young girl perched on the log next to Sam as she started the fire. She watched the girl lean over and spark the flint. Mars sighed in content resting her head on the older girl’s back as she worked. 

“You allgood, Bam?” Sam checked in, cursing slightly when the wind blew out her small fire. 

“Just happy we are altogether.” The blonde let her heavy eyes close as she listened to her friend's steady breathing. 

Mars seemed to be more exhausted than normal. After Sam had successfully started her fire and sat up straight the younger girl let out a groan of complaint. Samantha didn’t think much of what she was doing as she pulled the petite blonde’s torso into her lap. Mars’ head laid on her legs as she snuggled in getting comfortable. 

“Sleepy?” Sam questioned the quiet girl. She nodded, her eyes still closed. “Must’ve been all that excitement. Huh, Bam?” Sam ran her fingers through the girl's hair. 

It was oddly second nature and unlike before it didn’t feel uncomfortable. Sam felt as if she had a small kitten nestled into her lap. 

Mars mumbled incoherently. Sam craned her head down to hear her better. 

“What?” She whispered not wanting to disturb the settled girl. 

“Stay.” Mars said sleepily, her breathing quickly turned even as she fell asleep.  

“She’s tuckered out.” Bull said as he took a seat next to Sam. 

The tall blonde nodded her head looking down at the now peaceful girl on her lap. 

“I wanted to say thank you.” Bull started, making Sam look up. 

“For what?” Her brows furrowed, she had done nothing to this man for him to give thanks. 

“Looking after Marleen. You don’t really seem like the type of person to take kindly to strangers.” Bull had made a quick assumption about the girl, but he wasn’t wrong. 

“And I’ll be the first to say she can be quite a handful.” The bulky man jested, attempting to lighten the mood and extend an olive branch. Sam smirked, she knew exactly what he meant. 

“So, where are you from Sam?” Shifty asked as he sat across from the pair on the log they had placed on the other side of the fire.  

“Massachusetts.” Sam replied politely, it seemed like Mars had rubbed off on her. “Where are you all from?” 

“I lived above Mars in New York but I’m originally from Arkansas.” Sam could tell that Bull was a country boy from the thick twang of his accent. 

“I’m from Virginia and Lip is from West Virginia.” Shifty answered for his friend who settled beside him with a smile. 

“We met up when we were both trying to flee the state.” Lip added. “We both appeared to be heading in the same direction, so we stuck together. And then we found Bull wandering on his lonesome, so we had to pick him up.” 

“Yeah, the boys found me just in time.” Bull replied with his head down. The two other men shared a sad smile. 

“Did something happen?” Sam finally caved and asked the group. 

“A group had found me prior to these two, took everything I had and roughed me up a bit. Bastards left me for dead.” The larger man frowned in displeasure at the memory. 

“When we found him he hadn’t eaten or drunk in days and had some serious blood loss.” Shifty noted. “Didn’t seem fair ten against one.” 

Sam’s brows raised in shock. It was sick how people thought they could get away with anything during this time. But then her own actions flooded through her head, the way she had killed that man was nothing but brutal. However, Sam would never leave someone half dead and struggling. She always finished her jobs. 

“It’s been crazy out there.” Sam stated as the rest of the group nodded. 

“Yeah, people have kinda lost their minds.” Lip agreed. 

They spent the rest of the night sharing stories around the campfire, it was mostly the men who talked amongst themselves while Sam listened. Mars by the end of the evening was still sleeping soundly in the older girl’s lap. 

“Would you like some help?” Bull asked as Sam looked down at Mars trying to figure out how to get the both of them back into bed without waking her. 

“Oh, yes please.” The tall girl lent back as Denver scooped the small girl from her lap and into his arms. He seemed to lift her with ease, the girl snuggled into his warmth as she buried her face into his chest. 

Bull and Sam walked to their tent, Sam opened the sleeping bag for the large man to carefully place Mars. Once she had been sufficiently tucked in, Bull ran his hand over the sleeping girl’s hair. 

“Night, you two.” He whispered waving Sam goodbye as he made his way back over to where the other men had set up their tents. 

The taller girl got into her own sleeping bag and laid her head on her makeshift pillow, which was just t-shirts she hadn’t used yet scrunched into a ball. 

Mars lay facing towards her, her features were at rest. At that moment Sam didn’t think she had anyone look so at peace. The older girl reached over to her sleeping friend and brushed the stray hair away from her face. 

“I’ll stay.” Sam whispered before she turned over and fell asleep herself. 

Taglist: @malarkgirlypop , @mellow-human , @next-autopsy

Chapter Nine: It’s All Fun and Games

Sam’s POV 

Sam quickly found that for anything to really stick into Mars’ brain she had to make it interesting. 

The young girl tended to zone out when Sam was trying to explain complicated and boring drills. Marleen loved to talk about her family, typically her brothers. During her childhood growing up on her big property she often played games with her two older siblings. 

Sam knew of children's games but in her upbringing she didn’t seem to play them, mostly because she never had any friends to play them with and even in her youth seemed to isolate herself from everyone else. 

Mars’ voice pulled the older from her thoughts, “I actually think I was the best at ‘Sneak up Granny’, I have a knack for being stealthy.” The blonde boasted. A huff of amusement passed through Sam’s nose, unbelieving that this girl could be quiet for two seconds, let alone long enough to sneak up on someone. 

“Yeah, sure you were, Bam.” The nickname had become even shorter but Sam for some reason couldn’t help herself, “So, how do you play ‘sneaky grannies’?” 

Mars laughed at Sam whose brows furrowed, unsure of what was so funny, “You're hilarious!” The girl managed to say through her hysterics. Once she had sobered herself, wiping the tears from her eyes, she sighed. 

“It’s ‘Sneak up Granny’, first of all. Secondly, you really don’t know how to play? What about in school?” Marleen asked, but the tall girl replied with yet another shake of her head. 

“Do you want to play? Is that why you’re asking?” The young blonde’s eyes grew wide with excitement. 

“No.” Sam shut down the idea before Mars had a stroke, “It would just help me imagine it better.” The older girl lied, knowing she was using Marleen’s schoolyard games to ease the lessons into the shorter girl’s memories. 

Mars’ eyes squinted with suspicion. But Sam gave her the smallest smile back and it seemed to work the trick when a huge grin broke out on the younger girl's face. 

“Well, someone is ‘Granny’ and they stand ahead of the group and you try to sneak up and tag her, when she turns around you have to freeze. If you get caught moving you get sent back to the start.” The blonde explained as Sam nodded along, “When she turns around she holds up her fist as she searches for someone near her to tag, if you get tagged, you also get sent back to the start.” 

“Like this?” Sam held up her fist and Mars confirmed with a nod. 

“Well, how about when I raise my hand like this,” she demonstrated, holding out her closed fist, “It means stop. Just like in the game.” 

“Oh, I like that!” Mars agreed happily, “We should practise!” 

Marleen quickly picked up the new skill. Sam would walk ahead and hold up her fist until she wanted the young blonde to follow. When Sam relaxed her hand into an open palm with her fingers pointing to the sky, Mars would walk forward to join the girl. 

The more time the girls spent together, the more Sam implemented drills and survival techniques into games for Mars. She was picking up what Sam taught her quickly. They spent the day coming up with ideas to help Mars remember all of the things Sam wanted her to learn. 

“Do you think we should make camp?” Mars asked, not because her feet felt like they were going to fall off or anything. She just thought it would be best to look for firewood in the last remaining hours of sunlight. 

Sam looked around, they were still deep in the forest and other than the random group they came across a day ago, they hadn’t really seen much else. 

“Sure, I’ll set up the tent. You want to grab wood?” The taller blonde asked, but when she heard no reply her head shot up. A tightness overwhelmed her senses as if someone had struck a blow to her gut. The feeling was relieved when she saw Mars skipping away from camp, stopping only to pick up fallen twigs and sticks from the ground. 

The older girl couldn’t shake the feeling that Mars had given her when she thought something had happened to the young woman. Never in her life had she felt that inherent fear. Sam chewed her lip as she gathered logs of her own and set them in front of the fireplace so that the girls had somewhere to sit. 

“Everything ok Sam?” Mars asked when she arrived back to camp. She threw down the armful of sticks she was holding, before dusting her hands off and sitting down on the logs Sam had placed. 

Samantha sat next to the girl, sorting through the kindling and bigger wood they would burn later. 

“Fine.” She replied but she was still so busy in her own thoughts to give Mars a proper answer. The older woman gathered the tinder into a small bundle, piling twigs on top. She struck the flint and allowed the flames to grow, eat away at the set campfire and provide warmth. 

“I love campfires.” Mars hummed in delight as the fire roared hot, she held her hands out soaking in the warmth it provided. “My family and I would do summer camping trips to Lake Shelbyville.” She reminisced fondly. 

“I think they were my favourite thing about summer break. Everyone would squeeze into the car and then we would have a road trip. I would always have to sit in the middle because Brendan and Rowan would fight each other. We would do ‘I spy’. And then my favourite part was choosing a campsite. Dad and I would scout ahead to find the most perfect spot.” While Mars chatted Sam put more wood on the fire so it could continue to burn. 

“Sounds nice.” The taller girl said as she continued in her task. 

“What about you? Did you go on family holidays?” Mars asked, turning her body to face Sam. 

The older woman chuckled coldly, her father took holidays but that was to get away from her. Sometimes she would live in her house for months without knowing the whereabouts of Robert. The nanny would be there when she was too young to be by herself. As soon as she came of age to be legally alone her father stopped hiring the lady who cared for Sam since she was a baby. 

Sam would remember coming home during her summer holidays to enough money on the bench to last her months, no note, no communication from her so called father. Then she usually spent her time off studying or fighting. 

The tall blonde looked over to the cheery young woman, a wide grin on her lips. She waited with anticipation for Sam to answer her, and the older girl didn’t have it in her heart to tell her the sad reality of her life. 

“My family was never the camping type.” Samantha put it gently and watched as the younger girl's smile faded into a sad expression. 

“Oh.” The melancholy noise fell from Mars’ mouth. Her expression turned quickly, a smile grew on her face as she spoke, “Hey, but we get to camp now!” 

Sam chuckled, the girl was forever an optimist,“I guess we are.” 

“Sucks we don’t have anything to make s’mores with, I was crowned best s’more maker in the family.” Mars bragged and the older girl couldn’t help but smile, “Oh, you liked that did you?” The young blonde jabbed Sam in the side, only to be startled when an odd yelp/scream sounded from the taller woman's throat.

Sam covered her mouth in shock as Mars gaped up at her friend. “What was that?” 

“N-nothing.” The older girl stuttered out, she had never made that noise in her life. 

“You’re ticklish!” Marleen was thrilled with her finding, the older girl was ticklish. Sam who had killed multiple rabids and appeared stoic at all times, was ticklish. 

“I’m not.” But the girl's movements said otherwise as she guarded her sides, “Don’t even think-“ Before she could finish her warning, Mars had lunged at her, hands outstretched and fingers wiggling. 

Laughter erupted from the typically straight faced woman, which only seemed to egg Mars on, giggling as she did so. Tickle fights had been a sibling specialty in her childhood- something in the way Sam spoke about her family and indicated she was an only child. 

Mars finally ceased her attack on the poor blonde who had tears streaming from her eyes due to her laughing so hard. 

“You’re a menace, Bambi!” 

“What can I say, with two older brothers you kinda have to be.” Marleen laughed, thinking about the countless times she had sneak attacked the boys. “Haven’t you had a tickle fight before?” The young girl enquired, she was intrigued to know more about the elusive Sam. 

“No siblings.” The older woman replied, her eyes trained on the fire that still burned brightly. 

“Your parents didn’t want anymore?” Mars knew she was pushing but she couldn’t help but investigate further. 

“My parents didn’t want kids, it just took them having me for them to find out.” The malice in her voice was hard to conceal. Sam forgot herself and the company she held. 

There was a beat of silence before a soft sniffle, the taller girl glanced over her shoulder to find a grief stricken face. Mars looked as if someone had shot her beloved pet and made her watch, her mouth hung open and water filled her eyes. 

“Oh! Marleen, I didn’t mean- uh.” Sam stumbled over her words unsure of how she was going to comfort the young woman. 

“Don’t cry, it’s ok. See, I’m fine.” Her reassurance didn’t seem to be working as the tears spilled over and ran down Marleen’s face.

With no idea of what exactly to do Sam went against all her instincts and laid her hand on Mars’ back. It felt awkward as she rubbed circles trying to comfort her. 

“There, there?” Sam cringed at herself, who the fuck says ‘there, there?’ 

With one deep breath the older girl lent in and wrapped her arm around Marleen’s shoulders. The young girl didn’t hesitate, burying her face into the crook of Sam’s neck. 

“At least they figured it out before they had more, right?” She gave a breathy chuckle, trying to lighten the mood but all it did was make the small blonde hiccup. 

“Oh, god. I am so bad at this.” Sam mumbled under her breath. 

“Don’t say that!” Marleen sobbed as she softly hit Sam in the chest with the back of her hand. Suddenly the younger girl pulled away, staring up at Samantha with red eyes, a blotchy face and a snotty nose. The taller girl bit her lip trying not to laugh at the sight of her. 

“What?” Mars asked as she swiped away the tears streaks from her cheeks with her hands. 

“You’re a goose.” The older girl shook her head and wiped away the remainder of the tears the Bambi had missed. Mars sniffled, before she chuckled.

“I’m not a goose!” Her words were defensive but the smile she had on her face told Sam that it was all in good fun, no real resentment or anger. 

“You shouldn’t cry for me though, Mars. Really. I’ve wallowed in enough self pity to last me lifetimes.” The older girl gently bumped their shoulders together. 

Marleen’s brows drew together as she huffed, “How could they not see how amazing you are?” 

Sam was truly defying her nature as she smoothed down the misplaced hair on the younger girl's head, “It doesn’t matter anymore.” 

The older girl had put her family far behind her, they were not her priority anymore. She had spent so much time just trying to be seen by them, she had lost herself completely. Sam had set herself a new goal, one that she had wanted to accomplish the day all of this had started. 

Sam wanted to be free. 

“I’m sorry for crying, I know you don’t like that-“ The shorter girl began, “It’s just so sad. Having to come to terms with the knowledge that your own parents didn’t want you, regretting having you. That’s-“ Marleen caught herself, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to rub it in.” 

She let out a sigh, unsure of what to say next. 

“You apologise too much.” Samantha noted. 

Mars’ POV: 

The routine the two women had fallen into was a fast paced one. Up with the sun, walk till sunset then set up a little camp and sleep. It was very physically demanding but that’s how they spent the past few days. 

Marleen trailed behind, huffing and puffing while she attempted to catch up with her companion. 

“We’ll need to stop for supplies, there's a small town up ahead.” Sam’s voice sounded and Mars nearly groaned out in relief. Stopping in a town usually meant slowing while they searched, which gave Marleen time to stretch out her sore limbs. 

“You know the drill?” The taller girl asked, they had done this so many times before, but this time was different. They had been practising new hand signals and in theory Mars had been picking them up well, but it was now time to put it to the test. 

Sam raised her fist and Mars knew what she needed her to do. The young blonde crouched down behind a fallen structure as she watched her friend creep forward. Samantha led with her gun, scoping around each corner making sure the coast was clear before signalling to the petite woman who patiently waited behind her to move forward. They continued this strategy as they made their way into the heart of the city. 

The town was eerily quiet, by now they would’ve come across at least a group of rabids, or even a small group of people. But nothing. The city was silent. Sam’s brows furrowed, something in her gut told her this wasn’t right. She flexed her closed fist open to signal for Mars to come forward. She waited for the sound of quiet footsteps behind her and then the heat of Marleen crouching down. 

But it never came. 

Her heart dropped, whipping her head over her shoulder. Marleen was nowhere to be seen. “Mars?” Sam whispered loudly. She turned back to where she last saw the younger blonde. 

“Marleen!” There was more urgency to her voice, “Fuck.” Sam cursed, standing from her position to get a better look of the area. 

“Looking for this?” A cold voice echoed from behind Sam. The girl’s heart dropped as she swung around again, weapon raised. A tall man with a long scar down his face held Marleen flush against him, his arm wrapped around her neck and gun pressed to her temple. 

“Mars.” Sam’s mouth dropped in shock, and for the first time in her life her hands shook with fear, but not for herself, for her smaller friend who was held captive. 

“Give me everything you have and you will get her back in one piece.” The man growled, tightening his hold on Marleen’s neck, she whimpered in pain. Her hands clasped around the man’s forearm trying to loosen his grip, she had to stand on her tippy toes so that she wasn’t fully engulfed into the man's large arms. 

“Who said I want her back.” Sam asked nonchalantly, lowering her gun. She watched as the poor girl’s eyes widened with shock and tears welled. 

“You’re together.” The man’s eyes scoured her with suspicion. 

“Hmm, not really.” Sam said in a bored tone, taking on more of a relaxed stance. “I was kinda forced into looking after her. But I’m not too fussed about her outcome. So, bye.” The taller girl turned on her heel and took two steps forward. She heard the man relax as well, he sighed in frustration, like he was about to let Mars go. 

In a quick movement, Samantha swung back around and sprinted full force towards the unassuming pair. 

In surprise, the man stepped back letting Mars go altogether. Sam pushed the young girl out of the way as she dived towards the man. Even though she was smaller than him, she hit him in a way that made it impossible for him to stay on his feet. Sam straddled the man’s upper body, her knees pinned down his arms by the crook of his elbows as she forced all of her weight forward. 

The scarred man cried out in pain as her fists started to fly, pummeling into the man’s face and head. Sam screamed as she crunched his nose back into itself, her fingers delved into his eye sockets and ripped his eyeballs from his skull. 

The man hollered in pain but still Sam never ceased her onslaught, she retrieved her knife from her boot slicing the man’s tongue from his throat. Only then when the man was gurgling on his own blood did she sit back on her haunches. Sam watched him slowly choke to death and then still. 

A sobbing noise pulled her from her trance. She glanced over to find a horrified Mars, her hands covering her mouth as she dry retched. Sam looked down to find herself covered in the man’s blood, her own knuckles were open and bleeding themselves. 

“Mars.” Sam started, but the girl only shook her head holding her hands out for the taller girl to stay away from her. 

“He was going to hurt you. I wasn’t going to let that happen. I’m sorry you had to see that, but I’m not one for leaving survivors. He would’ve done it to someone else, I couldn’t let him do that. He was clearly alone, so no one else was hurt. Mars, you have to believe me. I saved others, I swear.” Sam never had talked so much in her life, but she found herself trying to explain her ways to the still shaking girl. 

“I-I, I under-st-stand.” The petite girl mumbled out, “Maybe next time a heads up would be nice.” Mars tried to joke but her skin was still so pale. 

“We should move, someone, or something probably heard that.” Sam finally got off of the corpse she sat on. Mars nodded looking away from the scene. The taller girl bent down and looted the dead man, as Mars glanced around the area, trying her best not to think about how her friend was currently raiding a body.  

Sam didn’t find much on the man, a few more knives, matches and other smaller things he had in his pockets. 

“You know, I do care about you, Marleen.” Sam told the girl as they continued their scavenging. Mars looked over to the older girl, shock etched into her features. “I was lying, a little reverse psychology never hurt. Well, I mean apart from him, but-uh.” Sam tried her hand at a joke only for Mars to look horrified all over again, she was clearly thinking about the horrific attack. 

“You need a better weapon than just your knife.” Sam slung her backpack from her shoulder and rummaged around in her bag until she found what she was looking for. 

“But I like my knife.” Mars clutched the small weapon to her chest. 

“Were you able to get it out in time to fight off the man?” Sam looked up from her kneeling position on the floor. 

“Uh-no.” Mars went to say but then conceded and agreed with Sam, “He came up so quickly I didn’t really have time to do anything, not even scream.” 

“Then you will have this gun, more of a deterrent than the knife. Wave it around, make it seen. No one will really want to mess with you.” Sam took the bullets out of the weapon and put it back into her bag.  

“Why are you taking the bullets?” Mars asked, watching the taller woman fiddle with the weapon. 

“Are you gonna shoot people?” Sam countered. 

“Uh-no.” Mars said again just like she had started before, making Sam laugh. 

“A deterrent.” She confirmed as she handed the now empty gun to the young blonde, who tentatively took it into her own grasp. 

“Deterrent.” She whispered as she trailed her fingers along the sleek black metal.   

The girls had found a jackpot of supplies, they eagerly took their fill and then safely ventured out of the city and back into the safety of the woods. 

Sam had found a small creek to bathe in and wash the remainder of the blood that covered her skin. She returned back to camp to find Mars had started the fire and set up their tent. 

“Thanks, Bam.” Sam ruffled the hair of the girl who sat in front of the fire cooking. “What’s on for dinner?” She asked as she sidled up next to Mars. 

Over the time they had spent together the girls had gotten surprisingly close. It was odd for Sam, she had never had friends before but now understood why everyone wanted them so bad. Someone was always there for you to confide in, not that Sam ever shared anything that personal with Mars, but the smaller blonde seemed to be able to divulge her stories and thoughts with Sam. Which she appreciated, shockingly.  

Sam had never really had anyone in her life which she could trust, but she found herself leaning toward the young girl she had saved. But she was still worried, because in turn of never having anyone in her life, she didn’t know what it was like to lose someone. The fear of letting anyone close enough to hurt her walled her off to truly letting the young girl close. Her wall she had made since she was young held fast, and she wasn’t ready to let someone in. Sam didn’t think she would ever be. 

“Beans!” Mars groaned. The one thing the world seemed to have in supply was beans. No matter where they searched, or for how long the majority of the food they found was beans. 

“Great, that means your farts will keep me up all night.” Sam huffed, but the smile that tilted her lips broke her annoyed tone. 

“I do not fart!” Marleen swatted at the tall girl who chuckled. 

“You chuff like a chimney!” A laugh sounded from the older girl's throat as a look of pure horror appeared on Mars’ features. 

“Samantha! Do not tell lies!” But Mars was laughing along with the older woman. She watched in awe as Sam threw her head back in hysterics clutching her stomach as she shook with laughter. 

The girls ate in silence until it was broken by Mars who wore a serious expression, as if deep in thought, “That wasn’t you today.” Sam didn’t need context; the girl’s face said it all. 

“On the contrary, that was my true form. I have killed a lot of people Mars, more than you think. I’ve done terrible things. I’m not a good person.” The taller girl sighed, she hated herself for what she had done, but it didn’t mean she would change what she did. 

“But were they innocent? The people you killed.” Mars asked. Though she was only met with silence from the older woman. But Mars could see in her eyes that what she had said was true.  

“Exactly.” The smaller girl confirmed. 

“Mars, I think it’s best if we do find someone else to take you. I’m not good for you. What I did today put you in danger.” Sam's words hung heavy in the air. Mars could feel the tears already welling in her eyes. 

“You were only trying to protect me.” She tried to reason, but Sam shook her head, she had made her decision. 

“Yeah, but did I? Sure, the man’s dead, but I made you witness something unspeakable. Next group we see, if they look good, we should part ways.” It was settled, Mars couldn’t fight Sam when she had already made up her mind. If the older girl was anything, it was stubborn.  

“Why are you pushing me away?” The smaller blonde scrambled for some form of semblance.  

“Bam, it’s for the best. Trust me.” But Mars was just the same as Sam, stubborn.  

“Says who? You? You don’t know what’s best for me.” This was the first time Marleen had raised her voice at her friend, but she couldn’t help it. At this point she was grasping at straws. 

“I actually do. I know myself and there are better people to help you on your journey.” Though

Mars wanted to stay, Sam knew they weren’t meant to stay together in the long run. Samantha wasn’t meant to be with anyone, it just took her longer than normal to realise it.   

The young blonde had blindsided the normally sharp girl. With her kindness and sweet nature, Sam almost forgot herself and her own temperament. 

“Bullshit.” Marleen spat out, “That’s bullshit and you know it.” 

Sam gave a small smile, one that held so much regret. She had allowed Mars to get close cause it felt nice. But she let the younger get too attached, and she was the only one to blame. 

“I am sorry, Mars.” Sam patted the girl’s knee before she stood. Making her way into the tent, she settled down for the night. Marleen didn’t come back into the tent until it was dark out, after she had cooled off. The sniffling girl made her own nest before crying softly to sleep. Sam waited for her breathing to finally turn even before she rolled over and let one single tear drip from her eye before she collected herself again. 

Sam couldn’t be weak, not for herself but for Mars. She deserved better than this.

Woah Sam went rage mode, and she's kinda scary, poor Mars had to watch that as well. I couldn't imagine seeing someone get their whole eyeballs ripped out, but I mean I guess it works 😬.

The rest of the time Sam had spent with Marleen, the girl had talked about her family, upbringing and everything in between. She now knew why the young woman had gotten herself into so much trouble. Mars was far too trusting, loyal and kind. Traits in the normal world would be seen as civilised and friendly, but now in this new age were concerning and reckless. 

Mars could talk endlessly about anything and everything. Sam didn’t even need to converse back. Mars had the whole conversation covered. 

The overly friendly blonde seemed to be able to push every single one of Sam’s buttons. From the incessant talking, to getting very distracted, not being aware of her surroundings at any stage and prying into the taller blondes life. Sam seemed to be at her wits end, and it was only day three. She still had to make it to the next town and find someone who was stupid enough to agree to taking Mars. 

“I never had a sister. But I can imagine this is what it’s like.” The blonde skipped ahead with a daydreaming smile, “Don’t you think?” She asked as she twirled back to look at Sam. 

“Bambi.” Sam sighed, the name had stuck from their first meeting. Mars was the small wide eyed deer from the children’s movie. Her legs often got away from her, often causing Mars to stumble, trip or fall. Her big doe eyes found Sam with wide eyed innocence, so sweet it made Sam’s teeth hurt. And whenever there was danger afoot, the blonde seemed to get caught in the headlights, just like a deer. 

“What did I say about the skipping?” Sam ignored the initial comment Mars had made. The taller woman had found out the hard way that Marleen’s feelings were easily hurt. 

A few days ago Sam had made the girl cry after Mars had driven her to the point of madness. Samantha exploded at the young lady telling her to, ‘Shut the fuck up!’

The girl immediately burst into tears and sobbed the whole night. The next morning in a hoarse voice from crying Mars gave Sam a whispered apology. She then was in a funk the whole day until Sam had finally accepted her apology and forgiven her. Sending Mars instantly back into the happy go lucky girl she had gotten to know. 

“You said no skipping.” Mars stopped in her tracks huffing. The last time she was skipping she almost broke her ankle in a rabbit burrow. It would have been disastrous and most likely the end of the young woman’s life, as Sam was not that willing to stay with her the whole time her ankle healed. Luckily she got away with minor bruising and whining. 

“The rules are stupid.” Mars grumbled kicking the stones at her feet. 

“You’re more than welcome to leave.” Sam offered for what felt like the millionth time. 

“And leave you all alone. That wouldn’t be nice.” Mars teased as she fell into step next to Sam. 

“That would be the nicest thing you’ve ever done.” Sam mocked gratitude. 

“No, you’d miss me. Cause you love me!” The young blonde sidled up next to her tall companion, giving her a cheeky smile. Sam fought the urge to smile. She didn’t need to give the young girl any more motive to tease her. 

“Uh- what was that?!” The girl squealed in delight. Clearly Sam hadn’t been subtle enough about the smile that fought to tug at her lips. 

“Did you just smile?” Mars leapt in front of the taller woman’s path to look up at her. 

Sam shook her head trying to side step the excited Mars. “No I didn’t.” 

“You did! You did! I saw it! With my own eyes!!” Marleen pitch raised with each word. 

“Volume, Mars.” Sam corrected before the whole forest knew their exact location. 

“I saw you.” Marleen whispered as she finally stepped out of the way of her companion. Mars chuckled to herself, proud of her accomplishment, before tagging along behind her fast moving friend. 

Mars POV:

Marleen didn’t know much about her new companion, she knew her name was Sam, assumingly short for Samantha although not confirmed, she was 23 years old and she was alone. Sam kept telling Mars she preferred to be alone, although the younger woman didn’t believe it. 

She noticed little things about Sam; like how Sam would check up on Marleen when she thought the shorter girl wasn’t paying attention, she’d make sure Mars was still walking in the right direction and without touching, herd her until she was on the correct path. Or how she turned her head ever so slightly when Mars was ranting to show that she was listening- granted, she may not have done it consciously but it still warmed Marleen’s heart. 

The day that Mars was mostly quiet really proved it to her though. After Sam snapped at her, which in turn caused her to spend the night crying, Marleen tried her hardest not to piss the older girl off anymore. 

The simplest way to do that was to apologise and shush. 

And that’s how they spent the entire second day together, in a weird silence. Sam had given Marleen all sorts of looks, starting with glares and eye rolls but slowly they got more concerned. Mars never said anything about these looks but she knew she saw them, microexpressions that spoke louder than Sam ever had. 

Mars had long enough to study Sam(antha?) and wasn’t surprised when she had accepted the apology in her own way- “Would you stop sulking?” Sam had asked her that evening as they settled down for the night. 

“I’m not sulking.” Marleen had tried to be convincing but even she could hear the childlike pout in her mumbled retort. She didn’t mean to act so immature, but being yelled at was not something she was used to and she quickly found out it wasn’t something she liked very much. 

Mars had expected a sarcastic response from Sam, maybe a snarky 'Sure you aren’t' but it never came. Instead the girls sat in a patch of quiet, a nice kind of quiet, the calm kind. 

“Why are you in New York?” The unexpected question had the shorter girl reeling and she froze in disbelief- 'was Sam instigating a conversation with her?' Marleen’s hesitation had turned the calm moment they were sharing into an uncomfortable one. 

“I just-“ Sam sighed, “You talk a lot about going home to Illinois, so why were you in New York when all this happened?” 

“Oh- right! I uh, sorry.” Mars has to find the words, this was the first time Sam had voiced interest in her; she could feel the walls breaking down and it excited her to no end. This was the moment Mars realised they could truly be friends, that Sam cared, even if she acted like she didn’t. It would be hard but Mars would befriend the moody angry woman if it was the last thing she did. 

“I moved to New York last year.” She finally picked the right words, doing everything to keep Sam’s attention. “I was studying at NYU, got a scholarship and everything. I didn’t really want to move away from home, from my family, my two older brothers both work for the family business. I had the biggest FOMO- you do know what that means right?” She asked Sam as she crinkled her brows unsure of what Mars had just blurted out. 

“It’s fear of missing out, F.O.M.O.” Mars didn’t wait to confirm that Sam had understood before she carried on, “Everything seemed to be happening at home, my brother and his wife had their little family, dad was training my second brother to take over the shop. Everyone seemed to have their place. But not me. I mean- I had my place in my family, but uh- ugh, it's hard to explain.” The younger blonde was finding it difficult to articulate what exactly she felt about her family. She loved them of course, she shouldn’t be complaining her family was amazing, the love they all shared was picture perfect. 

So Mars felt like a whiny ungrateful child when she complained about her picturesque family, but there was something that was missing, it made her feel empty and useless- she pushed extra hard trying to make up for this missing piece although nothing seemed to work. 

“It’s ok Mars, you don’t have to explain it to me. I think I understand.” Sam said lightly, Marleen’s head shot up from its position. Firstly the girl had used her actual name and secondly she was being kind. It swirled butterflies in the young blonde’s gut. 

So she continued, “My parents felt as if I wasn’t living up to my potential. And then the scholarship came up and everyone was so proud of me. I knew my parents wanted me to go, but I didn’t even have time to think of what I wanted. I thought maybe this was the thing that would make things right, to be away from home, live my own life. I know that sounds incredibly selfish but I wanted to get away and just- Be!” Mars barely took a breath between sentences, constantly rambling, “I have always been known as a Finch, never Marleen. I’m always Rowan and Brendan’s little sister. Or Desmond and Erin’s daughter.” Mars huffed out, finally pausing long enough for the other woman to speak.

“So, why are you going back then?” Sam enquired as Mars caught her breath. 

“Because, I love them. Yes, I was having some trouble finding myself amongst everyone else but it’s my family. I fit, I have a place.” It seemed like she was trying to convince herself at this point, hammering home the idea of her fitting. 

“I’m their golden child.” Mars wiggled her eyebrows trying to make light of the situation, but the heaviness of her statement weighed on her chest all the same.  

Sam’s lips puckered as she watched the girl intently. 

“What? You don’t think it’s a good thing?” She asked the older of the pair. 

Samantha tilted her head in thought, “I think that’s a lot of pressure.” That was all that she said but the seriousness of her comment slammed into Mars like a tonne of bricks. 

The older girl was right, it was so much pressure. But look at diamonds, they’re formed under pressure. The most beautiful and expensive gem on earth. How is a little pressure bad? At the same time Mars felt as if she was suffocating, like she was forced into the depths of the ocean.

“So that’s why I went to NYU. To ‘find myself’ I guess.” Mars wasn’t so sure now why she took the scholarship. 

“I want to be a reporter. I think.” Mars seemed to be flustered, everything she had convinced herself she wanted so badly seemed to be crumbling at her feet. 

“And you liked it there?” Sam asked gently. 

“Yeah, I have my own little apartment. In a dodgy area, but my neighbours-” Mars choked on her sentence. Here she was venting all of her feelings to Sam, when Denver, the one who had saved her life in the first place was missing, and she was unsure of the predicament he was in. 

Mars swallowed her emotions. “My neighbours are really nice. Well one of them, but um-” She wanted to steer the conversation away from her lost friend. 

“I’m not sure I liked journalism. My mom wanted me to be on tv- a news presenter or something.” Marleen fidgeted with her nails, her stare was locked onto the floor- guilt flooded off her, “But now we won’t know. Cause you know, the end of the world and everything. I just want to get home and make sure they’re all alright.” Mars didn’t want to think of the possibility that things weren’t ok at home. Mars knew her family, they were strong, they would survive this and she would make sure of it by getting home safely.  

“Wow, you must really love your family.” Mars gave Sam a puzzled look. “Well, just- to go across so many states to get back to them.” The older girl clarified. 

“I think I would go to the ends of the earth for my family. I mean, wouldn’t everyone?” Mars looked over to Sam. Her big brown eyes filled with so much love and compassion it made Sam’s heart squeeze. The young girl had only known love and kindness from her kin, she lived a sheltered enough life to believe even if they did you wrong, they still loved you with all their being. 

A sad smile plagued the taller blondes lips, “Yeah, something like that.” She brushed away the mental images of her own parents, “We should get some shut eye.” Sam straightened, “It’s going to be a long walk tomorrow.” 

“Do you want to talk about it?” The younger of the two spoke softly. Sam had stood from her position so now she stared down at the blonde. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Bambi.” Sam tried to lighten the mood, not something she would normally do, so the smile that slid onto her lips felt forced like a grimace. But Mars didn’t seem to care whether or not it looked unnatural on Sam, her own sweet smile, one that could blind, spread onto her face when she realised that Sam had smiled at her on purpose for the first time since they had been together. 

“Sure thing, Sammy!” Mars sprung to her feet, remembering to not grab onto Sam like she would usually do. 

“Don’t call me that.” The older scolded but her tone was far from harsh, Mars would even reach to say it was endearing. 

Sam’s POV

The girl’s had been together for a week, and had fallen into a rhythm. Sam led and Mars followed, without a care in the world. Her near constant chatter had resumed, she told Sam about her siblings and how much she cared for them. Her two overprotective brothers liked to be the only people that were allowed to mess with her. 

Sam listened to her go on and on about how her brothers didn’t play fair in childhood games. Specifically, Brendan- he would always trick her and it wound her up in a way that only siblings can.  

“Ugh, playing ‘Tag’ with him was the woooorst!” Marleen cried out, “He would pretend that our older brother Rowan was ‘it’ when really; it was him! But I would trust him and when he was close enough, he’d tag me and run off! Like- how rude!” 

A lightbulb flickered to life above Sam’s head- she’d have to teach Bambi how to survive or she’d surely be taken advantage of. When another group took Mars in, she’d have to know how to protect herself, who she could trust- how to survive. Sam wouldn't be there to look after the short girl but she could pass on some wisdom before they split up. 

“I probably would’ve been able to tell that he was tricking you - I mean, if I were there, I could’ve warned you.” Sam spoke up for the first time in the conversation. 

“How would you have known? He’s a pretty good liar when he wants to be.” 

“Rules.” 

“Huh?” Marleen’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion only for a second before something Sam had told her earlier reappeared in her head, the rule that Sam was referencing clicked, in tandem both blondes called out, “Sam knows best.”  Maybe Sam’s training was actually rubbing off on Mars.

The pair grew closer as time went on, at least Marleen thought so- being together 24/7 for almost an entire week tended to turn strangers into friends. 

The route Sam had picked out kept them in mostly unpopulated areas, they only ventured into townships when they needed supplies- which was also something Sam was in charge of. Mars just blindly trusted her but she was happy to do so. Sam had kept Marleen alive so far, making sure she was fed, watered and not sleep deprived. 

The pair had only encountered a few undead, steering clear of them was the way to go unless it was unavoidable- then Sam dealt with them while Mars hung back. Sam had a mental note to spend some time teaching the younger girl how to wield her weapon, giving her the confidence to fight if and when she needed to. 

Timing was an issue. There was hardly a right time to stop and teach a combat class when rabids were on the loose. 

Voices broke the comfortable silence the girls had found themselves in. Sam had requested one unbroken hour of quiet time per day so she could keep her sanity intact. 

Sam’s closed fist raised, signalling to her companion to halt all movements- a sign used commonly in the army. However, Mars didn’t have the memo. She kept walking, eyes focused on the ground in front of her, so when she smacked her body directly into the back of Sam’s, it was all the more unexpected. 

“Oof.” The younger blonde let out when she tumbled to the floor, landing in a sitting position. Sam only sighed, she’d have to work on that.  

The voices that had prompted a brief pause in their walking, grew louder and now Mars had picked up on the situation. She quietly got up and crouched next to Sam, mirroring the older girl's stance. 

A group of living people came into view- there were around seven or eight people, men, women and even a child. Mars' heart dropped, she had hoped that Sam had forgotten the pinky promise they had made to each other at the beginning of their journey. Sam had said if she found another group to take Mars she wouldn’t hesitate to send her away. The young blonde chewed nervously on her lip as she watched Sam observe the group. 

The people wandered aimlessly through the forest, they looked gaunt and tired. Her chest became tight, they didn’t look like they were doing well at all. The young child trailed slowly behind them, his feet dragging along the ground. 

“Come on, Jimmy, pick up the pace we need to find shelter before nightfall.” The woman who Mars assumed was his mother, called out. 

“My feet hurt!” Came the whiny reply. Mars chuckled knowing the feeling but was silenced by a single look from Sam. “This sucks!” The child continued complaining in his high pitched tone. 

“Yeah, well too bad! Do you want to die?” The oldest man in the group spoke, quickly swivelling around from his position in front. Jimmy froze, tears welling in his eyes before he started to sob. 

“Graham!” The mother scolded before walking over to the young boy who clutched himself into a hug. She scooped the child into her arms and squeezed him tight, “Shhhh, don’t listen to him. He’s just grumpy cause he's tired.” 

The group walked on, completely unaware that they were being watched and soon they were out of the blonde duo's sight. 

Mars wanted to speak up and ask Sam why she had just let them go past without talking to them, she truly thought this would’ve split them up and Sam would be on her way. 

Yet, the shorter woman hesitated; maybe Sam had forgotten? It’s very possible it slipped her mind and Mars didn't want to remind her. 

They waited until the fading voices of the group were nonexistent, gone entirely, then Sam stood to her full height and kept walking like nothing happened. 

Not wanting to be left behind, Mars copied her companion, jogging to catch up with the fast paced woman. 

“You missed your opportunity.” Marleen whispered, they had been quiet for so long it was odd to speak again. 

Sam’s eyes never left where she was walking. “They seemed like they had enough problems without you.” 

That was all she said before they fell back into silence. 

An hour passed, maybe two; Mars had kept quiet - very unlike herself, the only thing that could be heard was the footsteps of the two women. 

“You going to ask or are you just going to keep quiet and wonder?” Sam spoke up, she stopped moving and turned to the younger. 

“Uh-“ For probably the first time ever, Mars was speechless. Of course she wanted to know but some irrational part of her thought that if she said the wrong thing, Sam might leave her here. In the woods. By herself. 

“You want to know the reason I didn’t leave you with that group, don’t you?” The words were taken out of Marleen’s mouth and all she could do was nod blankly at the older woman. 

“That group isn’t going to last long. They were most likely low on food and water, if I left you with them you’d all be dead within a week.” Sam didn’t leave room for arguments, “I promised to find you a group or person who could take you- they couldn’t.” 

The grin that crept onto Marleen’s face was astronomical. 

“I knew you liked me.” Mars told her friend, ignoring Sam’s eye roll at her comment and stepping ahead to resume their path. 

“Yeah, whatever Bambi.” 

A/N: Personally I love these girls and their black cat/golden retriever dynamic!!

Taglist: @mellow-human , @malarkgirlypop , @next-autopsy

Chapter Seven: And then there were Two

Sam’s POV: 

Walking was the easy part of Sam’s journey, the hard part was avoiding everyone else. Especially the humans, she didn’t need to meet anymore people like the family she had only buried days ago. 

There could be no guilt clouding her thoughts during these times, she needed to be focussed not sentimental. The last thing she needed was a friend. 

Her army comrades often called Sam the lone wolf of the pack, often adjacent from the other troops who were bonding and making lasting friendships. Sam enjoyed her solitude and didn’t have the patience for stupid people, she had other activities that filled her boredom. 

Fighting mainly, as it was a good way to release her stress. She often found that after having a rough day, letting out her pent up emotions on the punching bag felt good. Sam never felt the need to vent to her “friends”, her fists did all the talking she needed.  

If she didn’t feel like fighting, books had the same effect as talking to people. Except she didn’t have to say anything back to them. She didn’t enjoy fictional novels about romance and friendship and adventure. The blonde preferred the cold hard facts of history, she would learn from everyone else's mistakes and not make them herself. 

Unfortunately sometimes Sam would have to deal with people during her job. On her tours in Afghanistan she was paired with the most annoying girl in the squad. 

A lucky dip that was not so lucky. 

Her partner drove her mad almost every single day, trying to befriend the tall woman. Sam was not having it, she didn’t need nor want a friend. The soldier was a petite brunette that was only a couple of years younger, but for some reason she was always so happy. Always a pep to her step and a song in her heart, the girl was joyful on crack. 

Even in her demise she still somehow had a smile on her face and was optimistic about her doomed fate. 

The girl, Abby, had died only days before they were set to depart back home. She had offered to do the final sweep of the night for Sam, which she had been scheduled to complete. On her route back she had misstepped, accidentally setting off an IED that in turn took her life not hours later. 

Lying on the street with her limbs scattered about, she bled out slowly and painfully. But still the young girl managed to smile and laugh, making a joke. Abby had laid in Sam’s lap as she lost her blood and quickly turned cold. The last thing she had said was, “I’m glad it was me and not you.” 

Abby had died later that night in hospital from her wounds. Her death still haunted the angry blonde. 

Her depressing thoughts were interrupted by boisterous noise. Sam looked up with disgust etched into her face. These were the stupid fuckers she was talking about. 

Even from a distance she could see their unkempt oily hair and dirty clothes. They smiled at each other while they joked, some misogynistic comment falling from the shorter ones mouth as the other two chortled together. 

“Ugh, gross.” She muttered out loud. Sam didn’t enjoy people, but men were her least favourite. It may have been her army upbringing but all the men she knew were cunts, especially her father who seemed to be the worst one of all. 

The only reason there were other people here was because she had made it to Albany. Walking all day for two days she had made good time from Pittsfield. But even though the city offered food and other resources, it attracted everything else along with it. Just like the group of men who stood only 50 feet away, laughing amongst themselves. 

Somehow luck didn’t seem to be in favour of the young woman; she accidentally kicked an empty can across the street as she tried to evade the group. 

“Fuck me.” Sam cursed under her breath. She watched the men swivel their heads around to investigate the noise. Sam ducked quickly trying to hide behind the abandoned car she was standing near but she knew she had been spotted. 

“Hey pretty lady!” One of the men cooed. Sam rolled her eyes so hard she was concerned they were going to get stuck in the back of her head. 

“We see you blondie, come out!” The other greasy man joined in. 

Sam silently screamed in her head, she was not in the mood for people. Drawing in a deep breath she stood. She cracked her neck as she walked out from behind the vehicle. 

The men started to walk briskly towards her. Her fingers flexed at her side, itching to latch around the weapon on her hip. But she stood still, a relaxed posture and bitchy face, well her normal face but still, she looked menacing. 

“Quite a scowl you got blondie.” The tallest man of the group smirked at her. 

Her face didn’t change even with the comment. Sam didn’t speak, she didn’t want to seem like she was trying to make excuses. Plus men dug themselves into deeper holes in silence than in conversation. She would bait them. 

“Not much of a talker.” The short thinning haired man stepped closer, even though he was still a good foot away she could smell him from here. 

“Yeah but she is a looker, hey Jeremy.” The snivelly looking man egged on the tall one, Jeremy, elbowing him in the side.  

“You sure are pretty.” Jeremy licked his lips. Sam’s disgust was audible at the action. 

The young woman flicked her eyes around the group. They didn’t seem to be all that well equipped, noting the baseball bat the short chubby man held, and the grimey machete on the rodent looking man’s belt. Jeremy seemed to be the only one with a gun, tucked into the front of his waistband. Sam scoffed that was only good for one thing, getting his dick shot off.   

“I think she’s scared of us.” Weasel man continued. He looked like the fucking jester of the group, though he didn’t seem all that funny. 

“You don’t have to be afraid, we’re really nice.” The chubby man had the audacity to reach out to try and touch Sam’s arm. 

Her reflexes were faster. Sam’s hand shot out from her side and gripped the man’s limb like a vice. 

That set the group on edge, the other two sprung back, hands clasping around their own weapons. 

“I’m not afraid of you horrible fuck-eyed wank cloths.” Sam growled, squeezing the man's hand even harder. He let out a whimper of pain and tried to wiggle free, but Sam’s hold didn’t budge. 

“Leave me the fuck alone, before I rip of every single one of your ballsacks off and feed it to the rabid motherfuckers while you watch.” The man guffawed at her statement, her words were clearly not enough for the men, she would have to show them. 

“Oh you need proof. Well baldly, how many fingers you want broken?” Sam sneered at the man, his face bright red with rage and pain. 

“Now you’re quiet?” Sam wrenched the thinned haired man’s finger backwards extending them towards his back. “That means I get to choose.” She whispered before completely twisting the chubby man’s hand completely backwards until there was a satisfying crunch. 

Baldy howled in pain as he clutched at his now broken wrist. It hung limply from the joint, the men who had watched the whole interaction, now began to rile up. 

“What the fuck is your problem blondie?” Jesterville Jones piped up, his buck teeth exposed as he hopped around like the rabbit he was.     

“I chose wrist.” Sam shrugged, seemed like he wasn’t paying attention, or was an idiot. Most likely an idiot. 

“We didn’t do anything to you.” Jeremy whined as if his mum had just taken away his PS5 privileges. 

“You approached me, that was your first mistake. Then you called me blondie, you half chewed pencil looking fuck. And this literal easy bake oven tried to touch me. So if I counted correctly, which he can’t.” Sam pointed to weasel face. “That would make three things you did to me.” 

“Now do you all want limp wrists, you slimy turd canoes?” Sam threatened the gaggle of fucking morons. “Or would you like to leave with the little dignity you have still intact?” 

As soon as she finished her sentence the men fled. Tails between their legs like the small chihuahuas they were.  

Mars POV: 

Getting to Albany was simple. Marleen packed up and left as the sun was rising, unwilling to be near that house any longer. She followed along the highway, using road signs as her guide. 

The houses began getting closer together until she found herself at the city's edge. The closer she got the more her nerves started to scramble. Mars spotted several small groups and lone rabids and did everything she could to avoid them, turning a three hour journey into five. 

Marleen had never been to Albany before, but she could imagine what it was like; the roads bustling with vehicles, people everywhere, everything teaming with life. 

And now, it was barren. Abandoned. 

If she had to guess she would say there were live humans in this vast city somewhere but nowhere that she could see. 

That could be a good thing though. At least that’s what Denver always said. And just like that she was tearing up once again- how many tears did she have left? Surely her eyes would run dry at some point? 

Shaking her head, Mars headed into the eerie ghost town. 

She didn’t get very far before noticing undead stumbling in her direction. Shit. There were too many for her to stay and fight, she had no choice but to flee. They hadn’t seen her yet, giving her the advantage of stealth. 

As quietly as she could, Mars turned and treaded down a side street, off the main road and out of the zombies' sight. 

This repeated a few times; Marleen would come across a number of rabids and sneak away unseen onto a new path, slowly making her way through the maze of a city. 

Her luck was seemingly up. Avoiding certain death had never been easier for the young blonde.  

Until it wasn’t.

Mars rounded a corner, making her way down a narrow road- a glorified alleyway. And she did so without checking to see if the way was clear, her first mistake. 

Her second mistake was immediately dropping her only weapon the instant she bumped into something. 

Marleen had walked straight into a solid body and squealed. It took her a moment to realise that whatever she had walked into could be a human; like her or an undead and she had yet to find out which.

Her yelp was mixed with a low voice, arms wrapped around her body and held her close, it felt all too familiar. Mars cried out and struggled against the unknown person until she heard a distinct voice- the undead can't speak.  

Her head flicked upwards, revealing her captor as a living. In fact, there were three living men standing in front of her. 

All caution was thrown to the wind, she hadn’t seen real people since she and Denver had been separated two nights prior, and she found she was missing the social interaction. Being able to talk to someone who was capable of talking back, who didn’t have blood covering every inch of them- that was priceless to Mars. 

“Hey, shhh, It's okay.” The man holding on to her spoke, his grasp on her had stabilised the both of them, keeping the pair upright. Now that they were in no danger of falling, he released his grip on her and held up his hands in mock surrender.

From where she stood, she had a second to give them a once over and take in their appearances. They looked like they’d been through hell. Dirty and greasy and covered in filth. 

Something that stuck out to her was the shortest one favoured his left hand, like it was hurt. She would bring that up at some point, make sure chubby hadn't been bitten by a rabid.

She had two voices telling her two very different things right now and wasn’t sure what to do. 

One said: Absolutely do not trust these guys, turn and leave right now, you don’t know these strangers.

While the other said: Maybe they could help you? It’s tough being out here all alone, having friends is never a bad thing. Talk to them, ask if they can help you get to Illinois. 

“Uh-Hello?” Was the greeting she settled on, this seemed to please them as all three grinned at her. It should have been a good sign, the smiles; but for some reason it unnerved her. 

“Hello beautiful.” The tallest man, her ‘saviour’ spoke out, “you out here all alone?” Mars nodded slowly, still not totally convinced she could trust these guys. 

“Well what would a pretty girl like you be doing out here all by herself?” One of the others spoke up, he had buck teeth that resembled a mouse or a rat. All three men still smiled at her waiting for her answer. 

“I-I’m trying to get to Illinois.”

“Illinois, eh?” The rat man echoed the words as he stepped closer to her, “We can help ya get to Illinois.” 

“You can?” Mars felt a smile creep onto her face. She held hope that these men would be kind and helpful, regardless of their appearance. Don't judge a book by its cover and all that.

“Sure.” The tallest, who seemed to be their leader, smirked. 

“Yeah, we can help you.” Rat-man laughed as he nudged his friend's arm with his elbow, like they were sharing a joke- one that Mars was not privy to. 

It was then that Mars noticed the machete in the rat's grip, that paired with her dropped knife gave her chills- goosebumps rippled over her body. 

“You just have to do a little something for us first….” His voice gave Mars the heebie jeebies and she began to rethink her openness to the trio- maybe she should have been more skeptical of the strangers. 

“Scratch our backs, we scratch yours, blondie.” Rat-man reached out his hand and stroked Marleen’s cheek, her body instinctively flinched back, trying to get out of his reach.

“Really?” A louder voice sounded from behind the group of men. The trio seemed to recognise the person who had spoken, stilling in their actions and slowly turning. 

Between the gap of the men, Mars could see a tall, lean woman with a menacing stance. Her glare made the men shiver and Marleen found that she too was intimidated by this lady. 

Sam’s POV: 

Sam had tried her best to avoid the group after they had retreated. She continued on her search for food and water, but unfortunately before rounding a corner she had heard the slimy idiots talking amongst themselves. 

However what piqued her interest was a soft feminine voice that spoke back. Sam had stepped into the alley just as weasel face had said, “Scratch our backs, we scratch yours, blondie.” 

That pissed off the tall woman. For one, they had gone from one woman to the next, and secondly they didn’t even have the creativity to think of any better lines. 

“Wow! I thought you guys were fucking stupid, but this just really proves my point!” Sam gave her best cheerful sarcastic tone. 

“You seriously can’t think of any better material than Blondie?” She peered over their shoulders, finding a young petite woman backed into a corner by the group. The woman’s face said it all, please help me.  

A sigh left Sam’s lips, she was not in the mood for playing hero, but also the young girl, not even woman, looked so helpless it felt like a crime to leave. 

She cast her glare towards michelin man, who cowered under her hateful stare. He didn’t give her a second glance before darting off and ditching his so-called friends. 

“Dylan what the fuck dude!” Jeremy called out after fatso. Damn she had never seen someone of that girth run so fast. 

“Roly-poly has the right idea. Why don’t the rest of you scram and leave Bambi alone.” Sam looked over to the young lady, aptly named for her big doe eyes and deer in the headlights stare. 

“We aren’t scared of you, blondie.” Jeremy snarled. 

“Which one are you talking to, cause remember we are both ‘Blondie’ according to you.” Sam pointed out that the one name that had given each of the girls now didn’t work in the situation. 

“I’m talking to you-” He paused for a moment, pointing in her direction. “Angry blondie.” 

“Look at you using adjectives. Kind of embarrassing it took you that long to think of one, and angry at that.” Sam grimaced at the fucking idiot sandwich stood before her. 

“Can we be done now, I’m so fucking bored of this conversation?” Sam glanced down at her watch, she literally had better things to be doing than standing here wasting her breath on these white-trash shart hounds. 

“Well- uh- you.” The weasel man stuttered over his words. 

“You-uh-uh-um.” Sam mocked them. “Spit it out, speech impediment.”

“Right, that's it!” Inflatable balloon man bellowed in the least intimidating voice he could manage. In a quick motion he whipped out his gun from the front of his pants. Sam shied away worried he was going to whip out something else at the same time. 

“I don’t need to see all that.” Sam gestured to the man’s crotch. The young woman during the chaos, had bent down and grabbed the knife that had laid on the floor just in front of her. Sam watched her stand again, clutching the weapon to her chest. 

Jeremy surged forward with his gun, he flailed it around, it seemed as if he was unsure if he wanted to shoot Sam or hit her with it. It didn’t matter, the tall woman had disarmed him in seconds. 

Now she had the man by his neck and his gun in her grasp. Jeremy was pinned to her chest as he stared out at his mate who looked shocked but was still fixed in his position, not helping his buddy. 

Sam pressed the barrel of the man’s gun to his temple. Everyone froze, collectively holding their breaths. Weasel man’s face had drained of blood and he looked sickly pale. Bambi continued to wear her brown doe eyed stare, her mouth hanging slightly agape, Sam was unsure if this was due to shock or awe. 

“Alright lady!” Rodent man held out his hands showing his surrender. “We’ll leave you alone, just let us go!” The man pleaded. 

“Yeah just let us leave.” Jeremy sobbed like a young child who had lost their mummy in the supermarket. 

Sam brought the butt of the gun down hard into the side of Jeremy’s head, the man yelped out in pain as she pushed him away from her and he stumbled to the floor. Rodent man collected his friend from the floor, and urged him to leave. 

“My gun.” Jeremy held out his hand for his weapon. 

“It’s mine now. Fuck off.” Sam dismissed the command. She watched in amusement as the pair fled together, moving so fast they were falling over each other in panic. 

Turning on her heel she walked the way she had come from back out onto the street. 

Mars POV:

“Wait!” Marleen called out to her retreating saviour, “where are you going?” Her feet began following the mysterious woman- who completely ignored her. Her pace quickened, only slowing when she came side by side with the fiery lady. 

“Hey! I asked where you’re going.” Her statement came out whiny and she reached for the other woman's forearm. The moment her fingertips touched their target, the stranger sprung into action. She halted her steps and raised a closed fist so quickly that Mars barely had time to register what was happening.

“Woah-wait wait wait- it’s me! It’s me!” The shorter woman released her grip and raised her hands to cover her face, dropping her knife yet again. 

It clattered to the floor as both women watched.

“Who?”

“Me, it’s me?” Mars peered up at the taller blonde, her voice squeaked out from her defensive position, “From just now… you know, with those guys- Bambi! I’m Bambi…remember?” 

Recognition crosses over her face, “Oh. Right.” The woman lowered her fist, “You dropped your knife.” Her parting words as she turned swiftly and continued in the same direction. 

Mars huffed, bending over to pick up the weapon and then straightening to run after the other blonde. 

“You didn't answer my question.” Her words were spoken in between breaths, “Where are we going?” 

That seemed to gain the attention of her ruthless heroine, making her freeze in place once more. 

“We?” Her eyebrows raised in surprise, “WE aren’t going anywhere.” She gestured between the two of them with her finger. 

“But,” Marleen’s face scrunched in confusion, her bottom lip stuck out in a pout, “You just saved me?” 

“And?” 

Mars had no reply. It seemed logical to her that they buddy up, everyone needs friends and Mars could surely use someone as capable as her. 

The lean girl, hearing no reply from the smaller party continued on her journey. Once again, leaving ‘Bambi’ behind. 

And just like before, Mars chased after her, this time calling out “Can’t I come with you? I’ll be so quiet you won’t even know I’m there!” 

“No, I don’t pick up stragglers.” The woman’s husky voice sounded as she kept walking away from the young girl. 

“So why did you save me? Why not just let me die?” Marleen argued, genuinely curious. 

“I-”

“So you clearly have a conscience, or else you would’ve watched me be attacked by those men.” She spoke her thoughts aloud as they popped into her head, no filter and not even waiting to hear her responses. 

“Look-”

“Or you just didn’t want to watch it, so now you’re just leaving me to die when you don’t have to see.” 

“Jesus-”

“Cause leaving me now is like second hand murder. You know I’m not going to get very far by myself, but you’re still leaving.”

“Alright, alright! Fine! Christ, you made your point, I got it!” The lady finally got her words in before the young girl interrupted her once again. The taller of the two swung around to gesture for the persistent girl to cease her incessant yapping, “I will walk you to the next town over and then as soon, and I mean as soon as I find another group or person to take you, you are not my problem anymore. Understand?”

Mars let a cheesy smile break onto her face as she literally jumped for joy. “Deal!” Extending her pinky finger out to seal the promise the taller woman had just made. 

“I’m not making a pinky promise.” The lady shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Still Mars held out her hand, smiling widely, tipping her head to encourage the standoffish girl to accept her outstretched pinky. 

“No! I’m not.” The girl doubled down. But Mars ever so vigorously stood her ground, until the other blonde sighed and finally did as Marleen had asked. She reached out her hand quickly interlinking her pinky finger with the younger girl. The tall blonde snatched her hand away after sealing their deal. 

“Oh my God, are you normally this fucking infuriating?” 

“It depends who you ask.” Said with a shrug of her shoulders and a smirk on her face. “I’m Marleen, by the way.” 

“I didn’t ask.”

“You can call me Mars though.” Her cheery voice continued, “Sooo- what’s your name?” She was met with silence. “Okay, fine. Stay mysterious. I’ll just call yooou- Jessica?”

“No.” Her saviour deadpanned. 

“Okay, not Jessica…. Georgia?” Hope seeped into her words as she gently elbowed her taller companion in an attempt to gain her favour. 

“Please stop.” 

“You could just tell me your name? I’d stop if I knew what to call you- maybe Lauren?” 

Realising she wouldn’t shut her mouth until she got what she wanted, the calmer of the pair offered a solution, “If I tell you my name, will you be quiet?” 

“Yes.” Her reply was instantaneous and full of excitement. 

“It’s Sam.” She sighed out exasperatedly. 

“Sam!” Mars grinned, barely one second of silence passed before she was speaking once again, “Sam Sam Sam… is that short for Samantha?” 

“Shut. Up!” 

AHHHHHHHHHH our girls finally met oml oml, so excited for this duo you have no idea! But ah, Sam doesn't seem all the keen on it ahaha sorry girl you got lumped with a whole ball of sunshine. Let me know if you also love these girlies together as much as I do.

Mars had no luck. Denver was nowhere to be found, not even a trace of him. She wasn’t really sure what to do now; Should she stay in the town searching for him or wait for Denver to show up? 

A lightbulb went off above her head. Her neighbour had shown her maps and talked about getting to ‘Albany’ in a day or so. Maybe he had headed that way and if she did the same, they could reunite. 

With hope coursing through her body, Mars decided to head north to the city; Albany. She might not know what she was doing but she sure as hell had the pep. 

The young woman packed what little she had with her and left the empty house. The new goal gave her all the motivation she needed to begin this part of her journey alone. 

—-------------------

Mars had incredible luck.

She managed to walk for around four hours without encountering a single dead person, nor living. That could either be a great thing or terribly ominous. 

Now, as the sun got low, Marleen realised she would need to find shelter for the night. 

There were a few houses to choose from, she wasn’t exactly in suburbia but not totally rural either. None of the homes looked occupied but she knew she had to be careful. 

Eyeing up her options, Mars settled on one. It was a modest house, single story, surrounded by a fence and fairly large fields of land. 

So began the clearing process. Checking every room for people, zombies or signs of use with her knife poised in her hand. 

Once again, Marleen found herself an empty house. She closed all windows and doors, except for her escape route and picked a room to sleep in. It felt odd sleeping in someone else’s bed so she settled on bringing a blanket and pillow into the living room and getting comfortable on the couch. 

She was tired from the mental stress of losing Denver as well as all the walking she had done. 

The sun crept below the horizon, the last minutes of the day were fading so Mars used the light to sit and eat a can of fruit salad before it got well and truly dark.

The tin of sweet fruit was something Denver had spotted in a store they had looted together the day before. He had taken one for himself and tossed this one at Marleen, she caught it with ease and smiled warmly at him in thanks. 

The blonde was so lost in thought about her missing companion that she hadn’t even noticed warm tears quietly rolling down her face. The tears registered when she raised her hand to rub her jaw only to pull back a wet hand. 

“Oh.” She spoke aloud with no one around to hear her. It was a lonely night and one without much sleep. Mars lay awake, twitching at every sound and let her mind wander. 

Thoughts of the creatures that were destroying the world overtook her head. The pure rage that filled their eyes chilled Marleen to her core. 

They seemed to be ravenous, starved and would kill to get their next meal. Not just kill but quite literally tear people apart. These undead people didn’t act as if they had a conscience, it was like they didn’t care about the screaming and yelling of their victims. 

The biters weren’t the same people they were before- whatever illness or disease was turning them cannibal was also erasing their humanity. They were shells of humans, no longer your friend or neighbour but instead a violent angry killing monster after human flesh. 

Almost every rabid Mars had seen shared some key features. Streams of bloody tears running down their faces, in fact most of them were blood soaked, probably due to the violent acts and cannibalism. They all seemed to have the one goal of eating live people and didn’t come off very smart. And as far as Mars could tell, they couldn’t  speak, instead groaning or screeching if enraged. 

Their throaty noises echoed in her brain, it was almost like there was one in the house with her. 

That thought made her sit upright. 

She focused on the sound intently, trying to gauge if there actually was a zombie in the house with her or if she was just being paranoid and imagining things. 

The unmistakable shuffle of undead footsteps and creak of floorboards gave her an answer. 

Panic flooded Marleen as she sprang to action, reaching for her knife. She wasted no time throwing the blanket off of her and getting to her feet, raising the sharp object in front of her. 

She hadn’t been overly noisy but her quick movements had caused enough of a sound to attract the creature.

What once was a man now dead and hungry, stood in the same room as her. His gaze locked onto Mars and he made a noise of recognition. He had found his next meal. 

The woman had no time to think before the rabid lunged at her. His lack of critical thinking worked to her advantage as he had completely missed spotting the low coffee table in between them. When he ran toward her, his shins hit the piece of furniture, effectively tripping him. 

His body dropped to the floor, the loud crash made Marleen cringe. If any others were close by they definitely heard that. 

She had to act quickly. But her brain was stuck on what to do. Should she try to run or use her weapon to attack him? 

The blonde woman hesitated which did not work in her favour as it gave the rabid time to regain his footing. Immediately he went for her again, this time she moved.

Her flight or fight instincts kicked in and Mars ran. She sprinted to the next room, which happened to be the kitchen. 

Marleen turned, knife raised and at the ready. The undead man burst into the kitchen after her, he stopped to furiously look around the room and stopped when he found her. 

He didn’t lunge for her this time, he just stood there. The two of them in a stalemate, a game of chicken, who is going to move first? 

Mars took a quick inventory to see if the kitchen held anything weaponlike that could help her.

A tea towel? No. 

A frying pan? Maybe.

A picture on the fridge of someone who looked eerily similar to the dead guy trying to eat her? Shit.

She had to do a double take, flick her gaze to the rabid and then the picture just to see if it was him. He was smiling in the picture, his arms around an equally happy and heavily pregnant woman. 

It was him. There was no doubt in Marleen's mind. 

The moment of realisation had to wait as the biter had lost whatever patience he had and ran in her direction once again. His hands gripped at her clothes and he tried with all his strength to get her closer and closer to his face. She let out a short scream as his mouth opened and shut, snapping at her as if taunting. 

Finally, her instincts kicked in, a heavy rush of blood pumped through her body and it managed to wake her from her state of shock. Mars grabbed the handle of the frying pan and swung. A thud followed by a crack sounded but Marleen had no time to dwell on it, instead she reeled her arm back and swung at him again. 

A second hit to his head was enough to loose his hold on her. She needed to take it further, make him stop for good. Another smack of the metal frying pan and the undead fell down, blood seeped onto the kitchen tiles but Mars had to be sure. 

So she swung again. And again. And again. 

Until his fractured skull opened wide for her to see. His body was unmoving, not even a twitch. He made no noises. He was well and truly dead, for certain this time, no coming back. 

Mars couldn’t help but stare at the chaos she created, blood splattered on every surface she could see. It entranced her, she could only stand over his body watching with a blank look. 

Her eyes found the picture once again. Guilt poked its head and Mars remembered that he was normal before all this. 

This was his house. He lived here, making coffee and eggs in the mornings. He had a wife. The woman in the photo sported a shiny ring and there were more portraits of them stuck to the fridge. One in particular stuck out, the white dress had lured Mars’s gaze. He was a father or was going to be at least. 

The overwhelming feeling of guilt swirled in her stomach and Marleen dropped both frying pan and knife to sprint to the sink. 

She curled over and heaved everything she had eaten into the metal tub. Images of a happy couple played in her mind and she threw up again, this time bile that burned her throat.

The rush of life saving adrenaline was beginning to wear off and the fragile young woman couldn’t stop the tears from coming. Not just silent tears, full on sobbing. At one point her legs became jelly like and she crumbled to the floor. Her knees bent up into her chest and she held herself, it felt as though if she didn’t she might physically fall apart. 

Time was indiscernible, she might have sat there for minutes or even hours but there was no way of telling. 

Marleen was only 20 years old, she came from a loving happy family, she was a pretty blonde cheerleader in high school- she had certainly never killed anyone. Even if that someone was cannibalistic and trying to kill her. 

This feeling, the guilt; it made her sick. If she had anything left in her she might vomit again, but her stomach was empty and her body was shattered- physically and mentally. 

Her sobs had quietened down to sniffles and uneven breathing but she couldn’t bear to move from her spot. 

Marleen spent the remainder of the night unmoved from that spot. Curled in a ball by the sink cabinet, next to the body of a man she had just killed. 

She wanted to reason with herself, it wasn’t her fault because this man was sick. He had whatever rage virus was taking over the world and if she hadn’t killed him, she too would have it. She was only protecting herself. 

But then Mars thought of him, his wife, his child. She didn’t want to be in this house anymore. They had bought it with the goal of spending their lives here, making memories. And she had tainted it with a brutal murder. 

It was his fault he got sick, he didn’t ask for any of this. If he wasn’t infected with this cannibalistic disease he never would have attacked her. He was just a normal guy, he had a job, friends, family and now- he was nothing. 

Her thoughts turned to her own family. All she wanted was to be with them, to know if they were okay during these crazy times. Mars prayed her parents were alive, she prayed for her brothers to be surviving. 

She couldn’t bring herself to even think about her young niece and nephew. That would result in heartbreak, those kids were the closest thing she had to her own. She needed to focus on something else, anything else. 

Illinois. She had to make it to Illinois, survive long enough to reach her family home and find out for herself how her family was doing. 

The house she grew up in was semi rural. A lifestyle farm house but not a working farm. Sure her mum had chickens and a vegetable garden but that was about it. Her dad was a very capable man, he was smart and knew a lot about camping, outdoors and survival. 

If anyone could make it through this violent spreading illness it was him. And he was a real family man, he would look after everyone, keep them safe. 

Marleen knew in her heart that her family were still alive, she just knew it. 

The room had slowly lightened which was Mars’s only indicator that time had indeed passed. Morning had come just like always, the only difference is now Mars had blood on her hands and a new purpose. 

Survive. 

an: Poor Marleen! She's really going through it, someone give this girl a break!

taglist: @malarkgirlypop, @mellow-human, @next-autopsy

Chapter Five: Muddied hands 

Sam laid on her belly, the map spread out before her as she used a pencil to trace her path. She needed to get from her position in Amherst to Pittsfield, which was the next closest city. 

The blonde had enough supplies to last her for the three day journey, she could do it in two if she wanted but she didn’t want to risk moving in the dark again. Her plan was simple: move during the day and before the sun set she would have her camp set up. 

She set out the next morning bright and early, she wanted to try and get all the way to Idaho as quickly as she could without dying along the way. But it was a massive journey, one that needed to be taken city by city. 

She knew if she set out the exact route all the way to the safe haven it might not go her way. There were a million factors that could change the route drastically, so she didn’t want to plan that far ahead. Sam knew she would have to be smart about this, travelling too far away from cities could mean she wound up with no supplies. 

Not that she really wanted too but she would have to hop from city to city to make it through alive.   

The girl made it out of the area, the only people she had seen in her travels had been the family she met yesterday. Other than that the town appeared quiet, she didn’t want to find out why, so she left quickly. 

The days were long, walking the path by herself. Sam was able to avoid most of the hoards, she could sneak past without them noticing. If she couldn’t, she found that they were very reactive to sound. Sam could throw an object in the opposite direction to her and it would trigger all of them. 

Once one moved, the others followed.

Sometimes the rabid’s would be by themselves, they looked lost without the rest of the swarm, they would stagger around with no destination in sight. The stragglers would often look worse than the swarms, seemingly more decomposed and skinny. The rabid’s that stuck together looked well fed and plump, decomposing more slowly than the isolated ones. 

Sam sat criss-cross striking the steel across the flint to create a spark that would light the tinder in the campfire she had set up. It was unlikely anyone would find her in the dense bush, so she felt more confident in lighting it. Sam hadn’t been using fires when she was closer to towns, she was unsure who or what it would attract. She didn’t need unwanted company, the blonde was a good fighter but she didn’t think she would stand much of a chance if a hoard or group stumbled upon her. 

“Ah ha!” She grinned seeing the spark alight the dry wood shavings she had tirelessly carved earlier in the afternoon. Sam blew on the fire to keep it going, cupping it in her hands to stop the wind from putting out her hard work. 

Once the flame took off she placed it in the middle of her log pile, watching the orange tongue lick at the new fuel she had given it. Sam sat close just watching the fire, enjoying the warmth it gave off, it was somewhat comforting to watch. Listening to the crackling and popping of the wood as the flame consumed it slowly. 

Sam had always wanted to go camping, sit around a campfire and roast marshmallows and sing silly little songs with her family. 

Not that that would even happen, her younger self was much more optimistic than the bitter girl she had become. The young girl had hope, foolishly so, but it was still hope. Still a sliver of happiness that she could imagine but never grasp. 

Sam’s love of the fire soon grew to disdain, something she always dreamed of, only now she was alone and it wasn’t for fun; to roast marshmallows or sing songs around, it was for survival. Sam sighed moving further back into her tent, bringing her knees into her chest as the fire danced, almost taunting her in a way. 

The blonde focussed her attention on her pack, rustling around in the bag to find what she was looking for. Sam’s hand wrapped around the cold can, pulling it to the surface so she could examine it closer. It was a can of fruit, she had wanted to try and catch something for her dinner but exhaustion pulled at her heavy eyelids. All she wanted was to fill her stomach and try to sleep. 

Sam had never been a great sleeper, any small noise could easily pull her from her slumber. Samantha blamed her father for this trait, he never slept, she had never seen him rest. 

When he was home he marched around the house on the phone, or sorted paperwork. He was up at all times during the night. Sam liked to watch him, sneaking downstairs after hearing the front door unlock and open, she knew it was him, he always came home late after everyone else had left or had gone to bed. 

But Sam’s ears perked at that familiar sound of his heavy boots falling on the tile floor. She would sneak down and hide in the shadows, he would never notice her, hell he often forgot she existed. 

Sam remembered one time he was home during the day and had run into her in the halls, he looked at her questioning her presence in his home, and then she saw it, he remembered who she was. 

She would never forget the feeling in her chest, as his eyes grew hard and stance became taller, more assertive. Her father’s body reacted to her as if she was a stray dog on the street, he stuck up his nose and pretended he didn’t see her, moving on with his day. 

But that young girl still held hope, still held onto the ‘maybe’s’ and ‘what if’s’. She didn’t hate her father, even after he stepped around her without an exchange of words or even the courtesy to look at her. But the Sam now, the older, more resentful, this one hated him with every fibre of her being.  

Samantha curled into her sleeping bag, her trusty knife clutched to her chest, she let sleep tug her down into darkness, maybe, just maybe, she would be able to sleep peacefully tonight, but she didn’t hold hope. 

To no one's surprise the blonde didn’t sleep well, noises and rustling nearby didn’t let her relax all night. She would drift off to then wake in a jolt to a noise in the distance. Sam’s mind always raced, thinking of all the things it could potentially be, she was rational, but now with the rabid’s on the loose what was rational? 

Sam packed her gear, heading out on the road again. She stomped out the embers that still smoked under the early morning sun. She made her way through the trees, which was easier said than done. 

These parts of the woods had never been trailed before, there was no clear path she was following, just the one of least resistance. 

Sam swung her axe bringing down the dead branches and debris that blocked her way, she hummed a tune as she worked, there was nothing else to do to keep her entertained. She always had to be on lookout which drained her, every sense she had was running on overdrive. 

A noise caught her attention, groaning in the distance. Sam crouched down low, positioning herself behind the trees so that she couldn’t be seen. Her ears perked like a dog, listening closely for any sign of movement. It was odd that most of the time she heard things like this she hoped it was a rabid. 

Something about the people that lurked around didn’t seem too inviting. 

Sam found it easier to kill the lonesome rabid’s, but the thought of finding another human that had cruel intentions sent shivers up her spine. It wasn’t the thought of killing her fellow peer that made her so uncomfortable, that part she was capable and ready to do, it was the interaction. 

Trying to figure out the intentions of the person before deciding whether or not they should live or die. 

Sam wasn’t surprised at what the family had told her when she had been held up in the rampaged supermarket. Sam had been in war, she had seen how people followed rules so eagerly until all hell broke loose. 

People’s morals seem to all but disappear when their world turns to chaos. 

Things that would seem horrific and vile when there was regulation and control; go out the window when it goes. Humans need rules and guidelines to follow, they need order to be set or it all goes to waste. 

But in this new era of mankind, one where fellow humans are now nothing but mindless animals, order seems to be far from the world they used to know. 

Sam stayed out of sight watching the woods closely, her eyes forever scanning the tree line. 

She watched as a small hoard stumbled into view, they groaned together following the leader. They were intriguing to watch despite their gruesome and violent nature. Sam often thought it was so strange that they used to be people, like her. They had lives, jobs, and families.

But now they wandered aimlessly, their only goal was to fill their bellies. 

It was sad to imagine how many people now were these awful creatures, everything they ever lived for so easily ripped away from them. 

Sam was snapped out of her deep thinking by the sound of feet hitting the ground in clumsy fashion. She refocused her attention to the small group only to find they were coming straight for her.

“Ah, shit.” Sam cursed under her breath. She hadn’t needed to fight any of the rabid’s since her first meeting with the driver. But even then she never fought him, just escaped. 

However that situation was different, at that time she had no idea what she was dealing with or what was happening.      

Sam sprung from her hiding spot, axe ready in her hand. 

“Come get me you motherfuckers!” She yelled loudly so they could find her easily. 

The group barreled towards her, their noises mixing in with each other as they rushed for the blonde. 

Sam swung her axe over her head bringing it down with such force that the first rabid’s skull split in half, but in its momentum the body kept moving towards her. She smashed the butt of her axe into its side, flinging it over and out of the way.

The next one chomped for her, his gnashing teeth lashing out at her flesh. Using the handle of her weapon she shoved him away, sending him backwards into the rest of the pack. They tumbled to the ground like pins, but that didn’t mean the fight was over.

The gnawing man leapt to his feet again in no time, making another attempt to get his fill from the angry woman. 

Little did he know she was begging for a fight, Sam was ready to cave some heads in.

And that she did. 

Sam sliced through the air with speed, the rabid stopping in its place before crumpling to the ground. The woman swung so hard she had cleanly decapitated the biter. 

The last two came together at her as a pair, but they were nothing more than mindless animals, they both aimed for her face. Their gangly decomposing limbs reached for her, clawing and grabbing at the air. The pair together were strong, with both of their weight pushing Sam backwards. 

She used the length of her axe to hold them back, wielding it as a barrier between them. The rabids lunged forward knocking Sam off her feet. She yelped in surprise as the pair toppled onto her. Sam held fast keeping them at arm's length, she grunted, straining to keep them at bay. 

But she thought fast, tucking her knees up against her chest; she kicked out, rocking her hips upwards. Sam used the force to push the rabids over her head, they toppled to the ground behind her as she rolled backwards. 

It was a quick movement so fast she was already on her knees before the rabids could even sit up. She swivelled to face them as they sprung up arms outstretched for her, her hands found the two knives that were sheathed at her belt. 

Sam gripped the hilt of the daggers in a fast motion she drove the weapons upwards into the underside of their chins. 

There was little resistance to the sharp daggers as they plunged into the soft decomposing flesh of the biters, their jaws turned slack as the blade of the knives pierced into their skulls. Sam withdrew the weapons from the two rabids, they slumped back lifeless. 

Sam nudged the two rabids with her foot, but they didn’t move. Sam had seen enough zombie media to know that if you wanted to kill them for good, it needed to be through the head.    

She cleaned her knives from the black blood that covered the blades on the back of the fallen biter. Before she picked up her pack, that had slipped from her shoulders during the attack, and swung it back on her shoulders. 

************

Finally Sam had made it to Pittsfeild. The town now empty and desolate, had an eerie sense to it. She made her way into the heart of the town, making sure she kept low and out of sight at all times. 

The blonde scavenged in and out of the abandoned stores. As she had made her journey she noted the supplies were now few and far between. Unlike with the first store she had gone into that still had resources in it, now the shops had been picked bare. 

Sighing, she threw what she could into her backpack. It was early afternoon and thought it best to make her way as far as she could away from the town and toward Albany. 

Swinging her bag back onto her back after securing the buckles, she made her way out of the store.   

Sam had only made it a couple blocks before a squeak came from under her boot.  She lifted her foot, revealing a dirty teddy-bear lying on the ground. Sam tilted her head, it looked familiar, but she didn’t know from where. 

Her brows drew together as she studied the small stuffed bear that looked back up at her. Sam couldn’t put her finger on why the bear looked so sad, the smile that was stitched into the mouth wasn't bright and cheerful it looked so melancholy; like it was forced. 

Sam placed her foot on the ground as she bent down to pick the bear up. It was only small, easily fitting into her hand. 

The bear was dirty covered in muck from the ground, blood stains on his feet and tummy, but under all the grime it seemed well loved. The nose had been worn down, like the owner often touched it. 

The ears were the same. 

The fur on the bear looked shorter there than on other places on the bear. The teddy's hands also had the same pattern as the ears, the owner must’ve held his hands a lot. 

Then Sam’s heart dropped, the memory coming back to her in a rush. 

The picture of the young girl holding up her little bear to wave goodbye before she was ushered out of the supermarket by her mother. 

Sam lifted her head, eyes scanning the area. The small voice in her head begging for the girl to have just dropped it by accident, it fell out of her bag without her noticing.

The voice didn’t last very long, as Sam bit her lip. Her eyes found a group of people lying on the floor, two big, one small. She approached slowly, hoping and praying it wasn’t who she thought it was. 

But she was right, she stood over the small girl, hand still interlocked with her father’s. The girl’s mother was frozen in time, reaching out for her daughter. Fingers still spread wide so close but so far from her little girl that only lay inches away face down in the dirt. Sam closed her eyes, willing the searing vision of the family to leave her brain, it wasn’t something she wished to carry. 

The blonde bent down tucking the small bear under the child’s arm, she didn’t think it was right to rip him away from his family as well. But even then it didn’t feel right, leaving the family face down in the street. 

She cursed under her breath, she needed to leave but her conscious wouldn’t let her move until she had laid them all to rest. It was only right, the family seemed to have been taken from the world in such violence, they needed to be in peace. 

Sam moved the mother first, dragging her body off the street and into the edge of the woods that they were so close too. 

The woman wondered if that’s where they were going for safety, they were almost there, another couple of steps and then could’ve been in the forest. Sam laid her down, facing her up to the sky, she noted the bullet wound in her chest and the crimson that stained her grey sweatshirt.

Next she moved the little girl, she was easier. Being only so young Sam could easily pick her up and move her. So she did, Sam cradled the young child in her arms and walked her to her mother who waited for her. She walked slower than normal, letting the young girl admire the sky one last time, the way the blue contrasted against the green of the trees that stood so tall. 

Her teddy bear still tucked under her arm she lay next to her mother, Sam placed their hands so they were touching. Sam then moved the father, laying him on the other side of his daughter, she moved their hands so that they were laying together as well. 

Sam dug quickly. She felt bad but she didn’t have time to dig them a proper grave, but it didn’t feel right leaving them exposed to the elements. They need their privacy, so that they could truly rest.        

The blonde moved them into the grave she had dug, keeping the same position she had them in as when they were laid on the grass. Sam took a moment of silence before covering the bodies in the earth. She patted the ground, smoothing it over. But still it felt empty. 

Sam knew she was wasting time, but she couldn’t leave them here in an unmarked grave, nothing to show who they were. 

She turned in a circle, eyes trailing her surroundings. Her eyes landed on wild daisies that sprung from the ground. Sam grabbed a handful to bring it back over the earth that held the family. Sam had never had an eye for decorating, her room often laid bare, but she placed the flowers around the edges of the grave. The rest of the flowers she had scattered in the middle. 

It wasn’t beautiful but at least now it wasn’t empty. 

Sam never cried much, as a child she was scolded for such things, so she learnt to hold it back. But in that moment she couldn’t help the tears that dripped down her cheeks.

The family shared so much love, their little girl had so much potential. 

But now they’re gone. Buried in the earth. 

Sam didn’t know their names, ages, or their life. 

This life was cruel, cruller than most. 

Then the thoughts trickled in, Sam cursed her mind for falling into the ‘what if’s’ again. It was a trait she trained so tirelessly to remove from her brain, but it always found a way to sneak back in. 

What if she had agreed to come along with them, would she have been able to save them? Or would she have met the same fate.  

It felt cruel to leave but she was wasting daylight, she huffed as she looked at the fresh grave before she headed into the forest herself.      

They almost made it. The vile voice in her brain taunted. Could’ve been saved if you weren’t so heartless.  

Sam groaned, shaking her head to rid the thoughts that plagued her mind. It was in the past, she had made her bed and now she would have to lie in it. 

Unfortunately the family haunted her with every step she went deeper into the forest. The tightness in her chest suffocated the poor girl as she fought with her own emotions. Like she had said before, this world was cruel, the only way to survive was to be even more ruthless and spiteful than the evil creatures that lurked in the shadows. 

However it wasn’t those creatures that had ended that family’s life, it was other people.  People like Sam, merciless and uncaring.

A/N:

Ok so our Sam has a heart but don't tell her that or she'll beat you up. I'm so excited to be posting these I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! I hope you all are loving Sam like I do, she may be a tough cookie but I still want to give her a big hug, but she would most likely punch me in the face LMAO.

Mars had offered to take a turn but Denver just waved her off, driving was literally his job, so he didn’t mind it so much. He would just tell her to get some rest and ignore any further attempts for her to get behind the wheel. 

“Can we go around?” Mars offered up. They had come across a road block yesterday and the solution was to backtrack and find another way round, which worked surprisingly well. 

Denver shook his head, sighing. Never a good sign. 

“Fuel light came on a few miles back, I reckon we won’t make it round this.” 

“So, what do we do?” She already knew the answer but Mars held out hope he had another solution. Denver only gave her a look, one that shared his thoughts. He didn't have to say anything, Mars knew. That didn't stop her from sighing audibly and rolling her eyes before she swung open the passenger door. 

The man was already focusing on what they would need to take and what they could leave behind. 

“Mars?” He called to her, his head in the back of the truck as he reorganised their backpacks. She hummed in reply, too tired to actually say anything as she made her way to the rear of the vehicle. 

“Can you look in the glovebox? I think I have a map in there.” Marleen fought the urge to throw her head back and groan, instead turning round and walking back to the seat she came from to retrieve the map. 

—------------------------

Heading north on foot was a thousand times harder than travelling by car. At least that's what Mars thought. Not only did she have to carry a backpack stuffed full of ‘essential items’ while keeping up with Denver's pace but they were also dodging the undead. 

The blood soaked people were everywhere, lurking in the towns and cities once filled with life and turning them into dreary ghost towns. Avoiding them was a must, yet it required skills Mars simply did not have. 

Most of the living had fled on day one, or tried to, leaving their homes and running west. There were rumours of safety out there, they had more time to prepare than the east coast did. Whatever disease or sickness that was slowly taking over the world, it started in the east. Marleen was one of the lucky ones, not many made it out of the big cities, only handfuls. 

And of course she had Denver to thank for that.

Without her burly, blonde neighbour, Mars wouldn't have had a clue about the illness that was spreading while she slept in that morning. She would have walked outside without a care in the world and promptly been attacked. 

He saved her. 

She may not have got it at first, but now, seeing what she had seen, knowing what she knows, Mars understood. 

There were still a lot of unanswered questions. How did this happen? Is the uncontrollable rage some sort of virus? Is anyone working on a way to fix this? Or is this the new world she will have no choice but to adapt to?

She couldn't think about it for too long or she would start to panic, she figured that out of the first night. 

~~~~flashback~~~~~~

The engine of the car idled momentarily before shutting off completely. Both Denver and Marleen sat, unmoving and in silence. Neither knowing what to say, neither willing to break the small moment of peace granted to them. 

Denver had spent the largest part of the day driving down every back road he knew of while he and his young neighbour escaped the city. Mars, on the other hand, had spent her day staring out the window. She watched as humans tore each other apart, flesh, blood, bones, nothing stopped the pure rage within these rabid people. 

It was catching up to her, the images flashed through her mind constantly and she had frozen in shock, trying to process it. But she couldn't. Or she didn't want to, her mind wouldn't allow her. But now, the silence, she couldn't stop the endless questions. It was like a hive of horror playing in her brain. 

Tears filled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day, but instead of sniffing them away and pretending she wasn't affected by the things she was seeing, she let them flow. 

And flow they did. Streams of warm liquid poured down her cheeks, Mars didn't hold back. She let out the sobs she had been stifling earlier. Her breath quickened as thoughts of her family stumbling around, ripping and biting at flesh filled her mind. Was this the new normal? Was this how life would be from now on? Marleen cried out at the idea.

She lifted her feet onto the edge of the passenger seat, curling her arms around her knees as she attempted to soothe herself. The weeping only seemed to grow stronger and louder, to a point where she couldn't control anything anymore. 

Denver, perched in the driver's seat, wasn't sure what to do. He tried to give her a moment to collect herself but she seemed to be getting worse. Denver hesitantly reached out to her and the second he did, she sprung at him, unwrapping her arms from herself and attaching to his body. He leaned closer to comfort her, enveloping her in his arms and letting her bawl, rubbing his hands up and down her back as she let it all out.  

They sat like that for hours, uncomfortably hovering over the gearbox of the cramped truck. The shoulder of Denver's shirt was soaked, not that he would ever bring it up. Marleen had worked her way through the panic attack and slowly began to calm, her rapid breathing evened itself out. 

On one hand Denver wanted to ask how she was doing, if she needed anything or if he could help her in any way but on the other, he knew the answers. He knew she wasn't okay and she might never be okay again. He knew there wasn't much he could do, just more of what he was doing now; allowing her time and space, protecting her so she could fully process what was going on. 

And that's what he vowed to do. Look after her, protect her, allow her to live in this messed up world as normally as possible- if it even was possible, he'd find a way to give that to her. 

Normalcy. 

~~~~end flashback~~~~~

“We’ll have a break when we get to Nassau, okay Mars?”

“Yeah sure!” Marleen spoke enthusiastically before clearing her throat and continuing, “I mean… if you need a break, I suppose we could-” 

“That’s awful kind of you.” Denver called over his shoulder, hiding his grin from the young lady. Marleen wasn’t used to near constant walking for hours and hours everyday, the fact that she had gotten this far had exceeded Denver's expectations. 

The pair were getting closer to the small town they had discussed stopping in for a rest and to loot any useful items they could find. They were running low on food and could do with a top up. 

So, after a short pause to drink some water and catch their breaths, Denver told his neighbour they needed to keep moving. Mars didn't complain verbally, she just huffed and sighed, rolling her eyes as she stood and swung her backpack over her shoulders. 

“Okay, I spy with my little eye… something beginning with…” Marleen let the words drag out while she hunted for something to trick Denver with, “T.” 

“Mars, if you chose ‘tree’ again-”

“It’s not a tree!” Marleen declared, “Just guess.”

“Huh, okay, Is it aaaaaa,” Looking around, he spotted almost nothing it could be, “Are you sure it's not ‘tree’?” Mars groaned, 

“Come on Denver, It's not ‘tree.’ Be serious.” 

“Wait, shhhhh…” He stopped moving, suddenly alert to his surroundings. Mars, however, was not.

“Denver, you can’t just-” She began but was promptly cut off.

“Marleen, shhhh…” The blonde man pointed ahead of them. A small group of maybe five corpses stumbled around in the direction they were supposed to be heading in. That shut Mars up. 

“We should go around.” He whispered to his young lady partner. She just nodded, understanding the situation; two verses five, except one of the two didn't really count. 

It took them a little longer to get to the small town but they got there that afternoon, only an hour or so off Denver’s schedule. His plan was to search through some shops or houses for food and medical supplies, they didn’t need them yet but it was never a bad idea to start a collection. 

Then they could set up a camp somewhere safe to stay the night and head off in the morning. He was taking them North until they hit a city called Albany then they would start going west. 

The first few nights were easy, they slept in the locked truck and everything was fine. But after leaving it at the blockade they couldn’t get around, Denver had to get a little more creative. Over the course of a week, the pair found a routine that mostly worked for them; Shutting themselves into abandoned houses or buildings. 

Four walls with one entry point felt safe enough for the pair of them to sleep at the same time, however, if no structures were nearby; they would have to take turns. Denver always took first watch, letting Marleen sleep for the larger portion of the night. He would wake her early in the morning and get 3-4 hours of sleep, while she usually had closer to 6 hours. He didn’t mind it as long as it wasn’t permanent and Mars hadn’t picked up on the uneven sleeping schedule; he knew she would complain about it if she knew. 

Luckily, the town was full of empty houses, they had plenty to choose from but first; gathering supplies. 

Typically, shops and stores held the most items and houses were a back up, but stores were more dangerous, more chance of running into the dead…. or the living. 

The pair were yet to encounter other groups, there were signs of people but never actual people. Not since the first few days anyway. 

Regardless, Denver was weary about meeting new groups. You could never be too sure about their intentions; at least the rabids couldn’t lie. It was best if the living and the dead were avoided. 

He had a system. Mars wasn’t too confident with the disposal of the rotting corpses yet so she stayed at the door as a look out or back up while Denver snuck in. He would silently scan the room and if unoccupied, let Marleen know it was safe to enter. They would go room by room until the entire building was clear, including any hidden back rooms and then lock or barricade all exits except one, just in case. 

That’s how they cleared the corner store they were currently looting. 

Canned goods and bottled water were always grabbed first then they could take some time to look around. Denver made sure to check for a first aid kit hidden in the employee room while Mars scoured shelves. 

A lot of the stores they had been to were broken into, smashed up and mostly bare with things thrown about, but this one seemed untouched. Every surface was covered in a thin layer of dust, the floors were clear and none of the windows had been smashed. 

It almost looked normal. 

Marleen reminisced, picking up a magazine and flicking through. 

FIFTY AND PROUD: HOW JEN’S KEPT HER BOD BANGING! 

The headline made her giggle. Life used to have different priorities, something she missed dearly. She’d much rather worry about the latest fashion trends and which celebrity couple had broken up than the horrifying creatures that roamed around trying to rip her apart and eat her flesh. 

“How I lost 20lbs in 20 days?” The southerners' deep voice broke her from her reading with a start. Marleen swatted at him with the flimsy paper in her hand, not aiming to hurt, just letting him know she was less than pleased. 

“A little warning next time.” She told him flatly, Denver only smirked in response. 

“It’ll be gettin’ dark soon, I saw a small place a few streets over. Looked safe.” 

“Lead the way.”

Travelling ‘a few streets away’ sounded easy enough until you took into account the feral cannibals wandering about. 

Denver took the lead, scurrying ahead while Mars stayed back; hidden. He would check the area and wave her over, much like their house checking system. Denver took his role of protector very seriously. He knew Mars didn’t have the experience or courage to scout ahead just yet but he would teach her. 

He would teach her how to defend herself, how to find shelter and food, everything she needed to know just in case something happened to him and she was left on her own. He couldn’t be at peace knowing he left her unable to survive this new cruel world. 

The road ahead of him was empty, no signs of the undead. Denver turned to signal Mars over but instead he froze. 

Bodies filled the street between them. If he had to guess, Denver would’ve said around fifty undead biters stumbled their way past him. 

His first thought was to search for the girl; he had to know if Mars was safe. The thought of crouching down and hiding to keep himself from being ripped apart never entered his mind. He just needed to catch a glimpse of her. 

Denver's instincts screamed at him to run through the crowd and locate Marleen, luckily his brain made him rethink that idea and unluckily he stood in the open, worrying for the girl. 

That’s when a smaller bunch noticed him frozen at the side of the road, thinking he was an easy target; they moved towards him. The sound of shuffled steps and snarled noises finally alerted Denver to his situation; broke him from his stupor. He had been so concerned with checking on Mars that he had forgotten to take cover and protect himself. 

Marleen, on the other side of the street, noticed the dead before Denver had. However, it was still too late to yell out and warn him, the only thing that would do is bring attention to the both of them; that was not something they needed right now. 

No, all she could do was duck behind the brick building and wait for them to pass, praying that Denver would do the same. Hopefully, neither of them would draw any attention, they could let the slow moving hoard wander past peacefully.

The majority of the group dispersed into the town, splitting up into smaller clusters and spreading out. The blonde waited a few minutes, partially because she was too frightened to move; her fear locking her into place. 

When silence fell and the gurgled groans were muted, Marleen poked her head out from her hiding spot. Her eyes darted around, checking for any possible stragglers lagging behind but found none. Then her focus went to the otherside of the tar sealed road.

The last place she had seen Denver. 

Keeping low, she rushed over. Her gut was telling her something had gone wrong. Surely Denver would have come to her immediately. What if he was hurt? Or worse?

Mars’ mind began filling with images of her neighbour, blood soaked and ready to attack her. She had to physically shake her head to release those thoughts and focus all her energy on holding her tears in, the last thing she needed was blurry vision. 

Turns out, it didn't matter if her vision was blurry, she wouldn't be able to see Denver anyway.

He wasn't there. 

‘That could be a good thing though,’ she reasoned, trying hard to convince herself. No body meant he might not be dead, he might not be one of those things. He could have run away, to keep safe. He could be fine, waiting for her in that house they were planning to check. 

So that's where she went. She knew how to clear out the place in theory. She had seen him do it many times. It wasn't very helpful that her only weapon was a close combat hunting knife. One she didn't really know how to use, she kept it on her person to keep her nerves at bay. 

Arriving at the house, Marleen didn't see any obvious signs of the dead and neither did she see signals that Denver had made his way here. Her shoulders sagged significantly but she still had hope that he may be waiting inside. 

The young woman tried to remember what Denver would do first; he usually left her at the front door as a look out while he went inside. She didn't know if that job was actually useful or he was just trying to keep her out of the way, but it felt like she was helping. And it made her even more nervous that she wouldn’t have back up for her first house scouting mission. 

Shakily, Mars stepped into the building. Her senses dialled up, every creak of the floorboards under her feet startled her; but she managed. She managed to inspect each room one at a time and thankfully there was no need to use her knife. The place was completely empty. Something she should have been pleased about, although that did mean that Denver hadn't made it here. 

Maybe she should go back to that street and look for him? Or would that just expose her to the number of rotting corpses walking around outside? Marleen didn't know what to do, stay here to wait for the blonde man or go out searching for him. What if she left and he arrived? 

Denver would know what to do, and he wouldn’t get so flustered about making a simple decision. The guilt was starting to get to her, maybe if she had yelled out the second she saw the rabids, things would be different. Denver would have had more warning. Marleen’s blood ran cold when she realised her part in his death. It was her fault. Entirely. 

She had time to warn him, to scream out and say something. But she didn't. Instead she got scared and froze, doing nothing to help her friend and that's probably what got him killed. 

Marleen looked out the window, taking into account the setting sun and decided to stay here. She would have to lock all entry points, bar one, so nothing could get in. And once she finally had, the girl allowed herself to curl up into a ball and sob.

a/n: oooOOoo how do we feel about poor Mars being on her own now? I hope Denver is okay...

Taglist: @malarkgirlypop, @mellow-human, if anyone else wants to join please let us know!

Chapter Three: Peace in Solitude

Sam POV:

Rotters, stinkers, prowlers, biters, the dead, the hordes, whatever you wanted to call them, they were everywhere. They infested the land like cockroaches, in the millions, in large groups, in small, by themselves, they had covered the entire east coast in a matter of days and they were slowly moving west. 

It had started a couple of days prior to Sam’s encounter, being secluded from the outside world in the base had stopped the reports from coming in. Everyone in that compound was clueless to the chaos that was happening around them, not knowing it was coming straight for them. 

After the attack Sam had run all the way into town, well what was left of it. The town was in disarray, buildings on fire as well as cars in the street, pile ups in the middle of the roads. The rabid people walking the streets gurgling and groaning just like the driver who had attacked her. 

The blonde had watched in horror as a woman sprinted from her hiding spot and into the road, screaming at the top of her lungs as she did so, not far behind a biter on her tail. 

Sam witnessed the mass of rabid people turn to the noise, they were quick to action. The woman had been swarmed and sucked under by the crowd of biters, she could hear the tearing of flesh and wails of pain from where she hid. The crowd slowly dissipated as the woman’s cries grew quiet, they left her, wandering back to the street aimlessly. 

The young girl covered her mouth as the lady began to writhe on the floor, her limbs twitching and jerking until she sprung up, eyes bloodshot as red tears dripped down her face. The now familiar noises sounded from her mouth, gurgles and groans.  

Sam didn’t want to believe it, surely it was some bad fucked up dream. But from everything she had seen, she couldn’t deny the truth any longer, the world had been overrun with zombies.

It sounded so fucking stupid to say out loud, but there was no other explanation, it was the only way to describe what was happening. 

Sam looted and stole. She raided any store she could find. The blonde stocked up on everything, going into supermarkets, clothing stores, and even the museum. She had packed her bag when she left the base knowing she was going to spend at least a good week living out of it. 

In the bag she had: ammo, fresh clothes, food, a water bladder that was still full, a tent, her sleeping bag, a map, a compass, flashlight, and a first aid kit. 

She was able to gather more food and bottled water, socks, thermals, underwear, and she had stolen weapons from the museum. 

Two axes, sheathed knives and a machete, listen, she wanted to be prepared. She still had her army rifle, tactical knife and her trusty boot knife that she had bought herself for her 21st birthday.

Sam was prepared, yes, but for once in her life she didn’t have a plan. She was aimlessly wandering, her only mission to be away from the hoards. 

The girl found that the cities and towns were where they gathered the most like a swarm; they ambled together waiting for some poor thing to stumble into their path. She watched them intently for the first few days trying to wrap her head around what exactly they were.

They were human, but not. 

The rabids held the body of her fellow peers but they didn’t act the same, never in her life had she ever seen anyone so unnatural. Their bodies moved in awkward ways as they staggered around, their animalistic noises sent shivers up her spine. 

In the first few nights she didn’t sleep. The adrenaline never seemed to wear off, and as soon as she was coming down, something else would trigger it, sending her panicking again. 

With no plan, Sam was unsure of where she needed to head. Did she leave? But where? Was there anywhere safe at all? 

Many of these questions were left unanswered, no power, no cell reception, nothing, Sam had never felt more out of control. 

The rabid’s moved slowly during the night, Sam tried to use this to her advantage. But it was more dangerous than she had thought. 

With the city being in ruins it was hard to make her way through in the pitch black. Sam found that though the hoards were slower, it didn’t stop them from hearing every little movement she made. 

Rule number one; Never move in the dark. 

Sam noted her first rule, though the cover of night was alluring it wasn’t worth the risk.

She laid out her map, scanning the area, Belchertown was where she was currently, the next closest city was Amherst. 

Sam noticed she hadn’t seen another living person since she had been in the small town. 

Guessing that most of the population was now roaming the streets ready to tear the throats out of any survivors they found. 

Maybe in the bigger city she would be able to find people, someone who knew something, who had answers to her questions. 

Sam was set on Amherst. The walk didn’t seem too long or treacherous. She was sure she had walked further during her tours overseas in full tactical gear, this would be easy. As long as she avoided all rabid’s she would be able to make it in one piece.    

The blonde made it to the small city alive. 

Away from civilization in the woods and rural roads she saw little to no rabid’s. 

Sam was able to make it to Amherst by day four. Low in stock, she was ready to gather what she needed again. 

The young woman stepped through the already smashed window of the supermarket, the shelves were nearly bare. Cans and food had been strewn around the place, from the looks of things people were grabbing items as quickly as they could before fleeing. 

She walked through the aisle picking up anything that seemed of use, tampons, bottled water, cans of food, matches, lighter, medicine and everything else that she could shove in her bag. 

“Hey!” A voice called from behind her, she froze. After not hearing another person’s voice for four days it felt odd to hear one again.

“Hands up, turn around!” The voice instructed her. Sam could tell by their tone they were trying to be stern, but the small waver in their voice was noticeable. 

Sam did as instructed, lifting her hands above her head and slowly turning to face the person.

She spun to see a man taller than her, his eyes weary and sunken, his hair peppered with grey. He pointed a gun at her chest, but Sam saw the tremble in his hands. The man had clearly never used the weapon, and he didn’t seem all too keen on doing so. 

“We don’t want any trouble!” The man spoke again, Sam couldn’t help but scoff at his statement. He straightened, readjusting his grip on the gun.

“You don’t want any trouble? You’re pointing a gun at my chest, and I’m clearly not armed, so who’s causing trouble?” Sam asked the man. Her no bullshit attitude often got her in trouble at school, but she couldn’t help it. 

The man looked at his weapon and then back at Sam, a displeased look across her face, as if she was bored of being held up. She had places to be and more important things to do. 

“If you could hurry it up.” Sam said again, rushing the man.

“Oh, uh, sorry.” He lowered his gun, flicking on the safety and tucking it into the waistband of his pants. 

“We haven’t seen anyone normal in a while.” The man excused his behaviour, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. 

“Yeah, well, we are in a fucking zombie apocalypse.” Sam stated nonchalantly. 

“No, normal people too. They are just crazy, seems like everyone's morals have flown out the window.” The dark haired man explained. 

“What do you mean?” Sam inquired, she needed to leave and wanted this man to get to the point, if he held her up for no reason she was going to be mad. 

“Well, there was this group of men who stopped us and threatened to kill us if we didn’t give them all of our supplies. So we did, they stripped us of everything.” The man described the events that had taken place. 

“So why are you holding me up?” Sam was getting tired of this, he needed to get to the point quickly. 

“Well I saw you pick up some medication.” Sam raised her eyebrows, as if to say, ok and?

“My daughter’s sick.” The man’s eye flicked over his shoulder. From behind the shelf a woman and young child stepped into view. 

“What type of sick?” Sam asked, her hand twitching wanting to be placed on the gun at her hip. 

“Not that sickness! She has a medical condition, she’s in a lot of pain due to it. We can trade you-” The dark haired man tried to barter. But Sam reached into her bag pulling out the bottle of analgesic medication and tossing it to the man. He looked at her shocked, not quite believing that she had so easily given it up.

“Next time just get to the point.” Sam said, turning on her heel and tossing her now full bag onto her back. 

“Where are you headed?” The man asked, Sam looked over her shoulder sighing. The girl moved to face the man again since he started talking again.  

“Not sure. You know of anywhere safe?” Sam asked, the woman and the small girl came closer to the man’s side. The young girl hid behind the leg of her father, peeking around to look up at Sam. Her big brown eyes were wide, a faint smile crossed her lips before she hid again. 

“There has been talks of a safe haven going up in Idaho, around Boise they say. That’s where we’re heading.” The dark haired man told her.

“The army base?” Sam knew of the other reserves based around the country and there was one close to the small town of Boise. 

“Yes, there.” The man confirmed. 

Sam cursed, would they even allow her in if she deserted? 

A lightbulb went off in her head, no one saw her leave and when she was back in the base everyone had been attacked. 

There would be no confirmation of her leaving, she hadn’t been caught. She could go there and seek safety with no questions asked and being the daughter of a high ranking General they were sure to let her in. 

“Sounds like a good plan.” Sam said out loud. 

“Would you like to come with us? Since we are all going to the same place?” The tired looking man asked a little too eagerly. The wife nodded her head as well. 

They wanted more protection. They looked like a normal family, one that wouldn’t know much about surviving in the wilderness or using weapons. 

Sam never saw herself as privileged in her experience, she never thought she would use them in her everyday life. Now that the world had come to this, she was more experienced than most people. 

“I don’t move in groups.” Sam stated, watching their faces drop.

“Are you sure?” The wife now spoke, stepping forward. Her eyes wide, as her hands found the small shoulders of her daughter clinging on tightly. Sam flicked her eyes back to their faces, she felt bad for them, but that didn’t mean she was going to join them.

“I’m sure.” Sam finally said, they sighed at her response, giving tight smiles to pretend they were stronger.    

“Well, I wish you the best then. Goodluck.” The husband said, turning on his heel to usher the rest of the group out of the dilapidated store. The wife followed behind but the young girl stayed put, gazing up at Sam. 

“Goodbye.” The young child whispered. Sam gave a small smile, watching the young girl run after her parents that waited for her by the door. The girl turned one last time, using the small teddy bear she clutched to wave goodbye. Sam sent her a small wave before making her way out onto the street. 

She finally had a plan.

A/N:

She swallowed her pride daily by cleaning up after purposefully messy patrons and pretending she didn't mind. Mars picked up shifts that none of her coworkers wanted to do with no additional pay because at the end of the day; she didn't want to get fired or have someone mad at her, she’d rather just suck it up and get on with whatever menial hours she was assigned. 

Today, however, Mars was able to do what she pleased, at least until her afternoon class started. With that in mind, Marleen snuggled further into her cosy sheets and screwed her eyes shut. 

The next time her alarm went off the blonde easied out of bed, stretching her arms above her head as she made her way to the bathroom. Her apartment wasn't anything fancy; in fact, it was in a pretty shady area of The Bronx and that was saying something. 

The dull wallpaper peeled in certain places revealing a sickly yellow underneath, parts of the worn down carpet were stained by who knows what and the faucets either leaked or were coated in lime scale, in most cases; both. But it was hers and hers alone. Sure, her parents chipped in with rent and utilities so she wouldn't have to share with some skeevie stranger from the internet, but the rundown, compact apartment was her first place away from home and no matter how broken it was, Mars loved it.

Marleen showered quickly, skipping a hair wash but decided to take her time planning an outfit; she had errands to run and looking cute while still being comfy was essential for the day. Mars decided on a pair of grey shorts, a baggy sage green sweatshirt and simple white lace-up sneakers. The weather was warming up but there was still a slight chill in the air. She tried to flick on the T.V for background noise but the screen remained black. 

‘Must be another power cut.’ She thought to herself, it wasn't an uncommon occurrence but it was still just as inconvenient every time. 

Instead, she began making breakfast in silence, humming to herself to make up for the lack of ambient sounds. 

A high pitched scream broke the young woman from her current task. It wasn’t abnormal to hear distress from the street below, the area she lived in was a low income neighbourhood, filled with struggling students and wanting vagrants. 

However, this scream sounded different. Unearthly, haunting, it chilled her to her bones. 

Mars stood frozen in the kitchen, gazing at the dusty curtains that engulfed her window. Her feet took her towards said window without thinking. She got closer and closer to the curtain, arm reached out to draw the fabric back. 

~ KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK ~

Mars gasped, her outstretched hand curled back towards her body and rested on her chest as she huffed and puffed, getting her breath back after the jumpscare caused by obnoxiously loud banging on her apartment door. 

She almost wanted to laugh at herself, getting frightened because of an everyday occurrence. One measly scream and a few rough knocks shouldn’t have her so worried…. So why was she shaking? Why was she so nervous to step towards the door and answer it? 

Luckily, her place had a peephole. She utilised it, sneaking a look through to the other side of her door. 

A large figure she recognised immediately stood outside, his back facing the entryway as if he was checking behind him. Mars flicked the lock and swung open the door. 

“Denver?” Marleen called out to him tentatively, her voice paired with the opening squeak of her apartment door alerted him, “Are you okay? What are you doing here?” Her words fell of deaf ears, Denver Randleman, her upstairs neighbour was visibly shaken. 

A tough feat as Denver was a well built, muscular man with little to no fears. He and Mars had spoken quite a bit, living in the same building with similar schedules meant they bumped into each other frequently. She knew that he was a kindhearted gentleman who was often mistaken as a boorish brute.

He was sweaty and panting as he stepped past her and into her home. This only concerned her more, he had never behaved like this in the year she had known him. Mars stepped aside and allowed him to close the door behind him, he immediately locked the door and slid the chain on. 

“Marleen.” His serious tone made her eyebrows furrow, she knew him as a happy-go-lucky man who was always smiling ear to ear. 

“Denver?” She responded gingerly.  

“I need you to listen very closely.” The blonde haired man gently placed his hands on her shoulders and lowered himself so he could look directly into her eyes. 

“Denver, what’s going on? You’re freaking me out.” She knew she could trust him but this situation was a little peculiar to say the least. 

“Something is happening. I don’t know what but it’s serious and we need to leave.” It wasn’t much of an explanation but it was all she was going to get. Marleen knew this man, if he was so shaken by whatever was going on, it was probably best to listen to him and go along for the ride. 

“What, now?” Mars attempted to let the words sink in but her surprise at the situation was ever growing. He didn’t answer with words, instead rushing into her kitchen and opened the pantry. 

“We’ll need canned food, bottled water, you got anything like that?” Denver shuffled through some tinned items, checking labels. 

“Oh, I think I have some-“ The young woman began to explain, but cut herself off when she noticed the bulky man curl his arm the contents of an entire shelf and sweep it into the awaiting duffel bag she had only just noticed. 

“Help yourself, I guess.” Mars watched her neighbour scuttle around, opening every cupboard and checking inside before darting to another. She saw him reaching for food items she had bought long ago with the good intention of making home cooked meals but never got round to and tried to stop him, 

“I’m not sure if that’s in-date?” Her attempt to ease the tension was ignored and he tossed it in regardless, “I suppose we’re taking it anyway.” Her comment was quiet, more of a joke to herself as he didn’t seem to be in a listening mood right now. 

“Denver, you need to tell me what’s going on? Why do we have to leave?” That seemed to grab his attention. 

“Just trust me. We have to get out of the city. We’ll go North.” Denver was answering her question yet it seemed like he was talking to himself rather than her, he mumbled his words and continued searching her house for things to pack.

“Out of the city? Um okay? Should I pack clothes or something? How long will we be gone?” Marleen rubbed circles on her temples, she was making mental notes to call into work at some point as well as check in with her family.

If things were really that serious, she’d better get in touch with her folks, see how they were doing. And maybe her boss would understand? She supposed it depended on what kind of emergency this was, but Denver wasn't exactly explaining much to her.  

“Mars, I don’t think you understand…” His actions finally halted all together and he turned fully to take her appearance in; Mars was a short, petite blonde girl who wouldn't survive a day out there, Denver promised himself that he would keep the young lady safe. They were friends after all, which is why his next words felt like he was breaking her heart, a gut punch: 

“We won’t be coming back.” 

———————

Marleen packed practical clothes, a small journal she was yet to start writing in and her personal items: toothpaste and toothbrush, moisturisers, deodorant, hair clips, ties and brush along with a bandanna. 

Unfortunately, Mars never had a knack for camping, so there were things they needed she did not have in her apartment. However, Denver did. Swiss Army knives, ropes, maps of the area, sleeping bags and tents. He had told Mars that they would need to go up a few flights of stairs to his apartment to gather some more things. More useful things. 

Mars hated the idea of lugging her backpack around but she kept that thought to herself, Denver seemed tightly wound today and she was currently occupying herself by trying to get in touch with her family. 

Sounds easy on a typical day, but today, nothing was typical. 

She had been in Denver's apartment before, only once when she had agreed to get his mail and water his plants while he was out of town. It hadn’t changed much. Marleen hardly looked around as she became more engrossed in her phone. Her notifications had gone crazy that morning, almost two hundred…then nothing. She had tried texting, calling, hell she even messaged her sister-in-law on insta, but nothing was working. 

Scrolling through the endless messages got her more and more concerned. The first few were fairly normal, things like - “Have you seen the news this morning?” and “Did you go into work today?” 

After her family realise she's not going to reply, it switched to doom and gloom -  “We are praying for your safety.” and “We love you so much, don’t ever forget that.” 

The woman's eyes began filling with tears, whatever was going on must be pretty serious. Reading her family's texts had made the outlandish situation a reality. Yet somehow, Marleen was still unbelieving. What was even happening? 

Surely it had to be more serious than a flood or tornado but her mind couldn't think of what and Denver wasn't explaining.

No, he was darting around the room, collecting things and mumbling to himself. Not exactly a comforting sight for the distressed girl, so she went back to her phone, absorbing in the last messages she’d ever get to check.

“Marleen? I need you to do something for me, okay?” The country twang evident in his voice, gaining her attention, Mars put down her phone. 

Denver didn't stop his task, he merely directed her to a certain drawer, telling her whatever was inside was important. Marleen did as he asked, the tears dispersed and her mind focused on the new task instead of the possibility of her family's demise. 

It was a long wooden box. Curiosity got the best of her and Mars opened it, peeking inside. 

Cigars.

The all important item Denver desperately needed was a box of cigars? She deadpanned, giving her neighbour a questioning look. He only grinned at her and stepped towards her, taking the box from her hands, whispering a quick ‘thanks’. 

The distraction had been nice (and surely that’s what Denver had been trying to do) but Mars almost instantly went back to doom and gloom.

“Okay. We should head down now.” His voice broke her from her worst case scenario thoughts.

Marleen didn't want to fight it, she didn't want to put up a fuss or make a scene. She just wanted to know if her family was okay. Had whatever was happening here in New York, happened in Illinois? Were her family safe or were they also running around packing for the end of the world? The questions were endless in her head with no answers. 

Her sacred day off to relax and unwind had become so chaotic and overwhelming. She should have been sipping overpriced iced coffee and staring into shop windows, not trying to flee the city while wondering if her family was dead. 

“Marleen!” Her trance was once again broken by Denver, yelling this time like he had been trying to get her attention for awhile. She turned to face him where he stood at the door, bags in hand. 

“We have to go. Now!” His tone was urgent, pushing her to move her feet and follow him out into the hallway. Out of pure instinct, Mars walked to the shiny silver elevator doors and leaned down to press the button before freezing. Her mind was on autopilot, numb and senseless. 

“Powers out.” Denver watched his neighbour, as she stood there, dazed. He pitied her, she had no idea what was going on out there and he didn't have the heart to tell her.

The things he saw had freaked him out and he had seen some things in his years. Mars wasn't like him. She was sweet and innocent and yet to experience the bad parts of life.

At 20 years old she still saw the good in people, in everyone she came across. Her big doe eyes took in the world with naivety and only saw hope and love and everything positive. 

“I know.” She spoke in a small voice, her eyes still focused on the doors like she was waiting to hear the ding. 

Denver moved to take a step towards her, to reach out and tap her shoulder. They needed to get out of the heavily populated city and standing here was wasting time but he knew he would have to be gentle with her, she was still processing and she hadn't even seen the worst of it. 

“We need to go, Mars.”

“Yeah, I know.” 

Carrying backpacks and duffle bags down nine flights of stairs worn Marleen out. She huffed and puffed as Denver led her down the aisles of the parking garage. She didn't typically come down here, her work commute included the subway and the occasional bus. Not to mention, it creeped her out, the ceiling to floor concrete, no windows and flickering fluorescent lights did not give off a welcoming vibe.

“This one.” Denver told her, dropping the bags in his possession next to what Mars assumed was his vehicle.

A white delivery box-truck. 

He jingled the keys out of his pocket and unlocked it. Marleen took that as her cue to put her bags down next to his and watch as he loaded them into the now open trunk.  

With her neighbour occupied, Mars took a second to really look around the carpark. Not another soul in sight, completely empty except for her, Denver and about thirty beat up cars. 

A throaty noise broke her from her scan of the room and her attention was brought to a van a few spots ahead of her. The shadows of another person, now visible to her from the gap underneath. Mars took a tentative step closer, intrigued.

“Hello?” Her voice was so quiet she wasn't sure if the newcomer had heard her, so she took another step, slowly inching nearer. 

A woman stepped out and into Marleen’s view. She immediately noticed the blood running down her face like a stream of red tears, the spatter across the woman’s clothes concerned her deeply. Taking yet another stride towards the injured woman, Mars spoke out.

“Ma’am? Are you okay? Do you need help?” This time she spoke louder than she had previously. The lady in front of her hobbled in her direction, her neck bending at a ninety degree angle giving her an inhuman stance.

“Marleen?” Denver had heard her speaking and come to investigate, Mars turned to face him. He looked past the young blonde, directly at the bloodied lady. Her hands reached up and out, attempting to claw at Marleen while her back was turned. 

“Get in the truck. Now.” He didn’t want to panic Mars but he knew what this strange woman would do if she got to any living person, the tearing, biting, ripping into flesh. Denver’s body involuntarily shivered at the thought. 

“She’s hurt, she needs help.” Marleen looked at her neighbour with pity in her eyes, begging him to allow her to aid the stranger. If only she knew. 

“Marleen,” Denver started out gently, his thought cut short when the rabid woman growled. He watched as Mars tensed and slowly began to turn, curious to what was happening behind her. 

The pair watched in pure horror as the woman contorted her body, bones cracking as she twisted in every direction. 

“Inside. Now.” This time Marleen listened. Scrambling toward the vehicle, right behind Denver. 

The rabid let out a screech the second they started rushing back to the truck and raced after them. Hearing the urgent footsteps and eerie noises from the woman caused Marleen to panic and let out a yelp of her own. The pair split up at the rear of the truck, running down either side and flinging open the doors. 

Marleen slammed her door shut just in time as the sick woman kept running to her. 

It was like she didn’t know that the glass would prevent her from reaching her prey. She acted as if she was possessed, continually smashing her face and body up against the glass, smearing blood and other unidentifiable bodily fluids across the window, all the while letting out ear piercing screams, her voice creaking and crackling.  

Mars’ breath was uneven, her chest heaving, partially from the running and partially the shock of the encounter. 

What is wrong with her? 

The box truck rumbled to life, reversing out of the car park, tires screeching as Denver took off. The ill woman let out a furious roar and took off after them, to no avail as the truck is much faster than a human, if she even was human? 

Sunlight bleared into the vehicle, temporarily blinding Mars. She shaded her eyes, giving them a moment to adjust from the dark garage to the bright street. 

Once she could see again, she wished she couldn’t. 

Marleen’s mouth dropped open in shock. It was pure chaos, people ran through the streets; some human and some not. 

There was blood everywhere she looked, crashed cars strewn across the sidewalks, smashed glass littered the road. 

And the people - They were attacking each other, actually ripping fellow humans apart with their bare hands. 

Marleen couldn’t stop herself from watching and the closer she looked the more she saw. People biting into one another, tearing away at flesh and consuming what they could; as if starved. 

Each possessed person presented aggressive, filled with uncontrollable rage and hunger. Screaming, growling and strange gurgled sounds filled the city the pair of neighbours were now trying to flee. 

Denver knew the backroads of this city well, driving a delivery truck daily had its perks, so he led them through the maze of streets with ease. The closer they got to the outskirts, the quieter it got; less people, less screaming. 

“What is all this?” Marleen finally spoke after strained moments of stunned silence. Her voice was scratchy thanks to the muted crying she was unable to control. Denver sighed loudly, he couldn’t really give her a proper answer, all he knew was whatever this was; it was bad and they needed to get away as quickly as possible. 

“Not a clue, sweetheart.”

A/N: Thank you for reading, I appreciate it so much! (And i know Esra ✨ does too) Feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you thought

Also also, this work is purely fictional, based on the HBO show and the actors who portray the characters and no hate to the men who served in WW2.

Taglist: please let us know if you want to be added!

Chapter One: The Plan

“Do you hear me, soldier?” The Lieutenant bent forward as he screamed in Sam’s face, as if she couldn’t hear him. 

She tried her best to not recoil from him as his salvia landed on her cheek. Sam wondered what her father would say this time, another infringement in just one week. Surely, he would have some choice words for her, when doesn’t he? 

Sam couldn’t believe she spent her whole life trying to please that sorry excuse for a man. God, everything she had ever done had been for him. 

The tall woman thought she was finally earning the praise she so desired when he suggested she join the army. All for it to be about him and not her. God, how could she have been so foolish, constantly trying to please that man. 

Well now she had woken up, and Sam was angry. The blonde woman would not beg anymore, she was better than that. She would not let him treat her like she was gum on the bottom of his shoe. 

“Don’t make me repeat myself!” Lieutenant Jones boomed. 

“Yes, sir.” Sam yelled back, looking past the man. 

“The General will be hearing about this, Jackson.” She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. 

“Get your pack and get your ass moving, Jackson. I don’t want to see you back here until you are throwing up all over your boots!” Sam bit her tongue to keep from spitting back a retort, things were going to plan so far, she didn’t need her temper getting the best of her now.   

“Yes, sir!” Sam yelled, turning to grab her gear, hauling the heavy pack onto her back and slinging the gun over her shoulder. 

The girl moved quickly out of the barracks into the open expanse of ground that the base covered. She ran down the road into the open field, heading towards the woods at the furthest end of the territory. She couldn’t help the smirk that pulled to her lips. 

Everything was falling perfectly into place. 

Sam’s punishment had purpose, she had intentionally been sloppy all day; her bed wasn’t made, her uniform incorrect, she spoke back brazenly to her superiors, it all had snowballed to this moment. 

The blonde needed the punishment to be bad enough to get a full pack run, but it was harder than she thought. Sam had tried earlier in the week, but falling from the top of the class to the bottom was hard. She had made a name for herself for being the best of the best and so the officers turned a blind eye to her misdoings, thinking she was just having an off day. 

But when she kept up the behaviour for the second week, the officers started to notice. Sam noted that was the first time she had ever been yelled at like that by an officer. 

It wasn’t her first time being scolded, Sam’s father didn’t join the military for nothing. She had only ever known him as a cold strict man, she had never seen him smile once, not for her anyway. 

Sam didn’t see her father often though, Robert was a busy man and didn’t make time for his daughter.  

Isolated from a young age, Sam often was alone. Her own mother didn’t even make time for her, all Sam was to them was an accessory. She could count the times on one hand the amount of instances they were all together as a family. 

After her mother and father divorced, most families would fight over taking custody of their child, for Sam, she was forgotten about entirely.

Samantha’s legs moved faster carrying her towards the back fence, she checked her watch 1300hrs on the dot. She made it to the fence, slinging her pack off her back and sliding it through the cut hole at the bottom, she pushed it through to the other slide, following after it on her belly. 

She got to her feet brushing the dust from her clothes and bag before putting it on her back again. The girl needed to move away from the compound before she was spotted by one of the patrolling guards. 

If she had timed it right no one would realise she had disappeared, the next guard wasn’t due until 1330 and her Lieutenant wouldn’t be expecting her back for another hour. 

Woods surrounded the base, the dense brush hiding the whole facility. Sam slipped further into the bush, making her way towards the only main road close to the base. 

Before emerging from the bushes she redressed into more casual clothes, she didn’t need her whole attire to scream, ‘Hey look over here, I’ve just deserted and I’m running away!’

Sam stood on the side of the road, scanning up and down for one lone car. 

“Jesus Christ, what’s taking him so long?” Sam muttered to herself checking her watch for the millionth time. He was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago, if he wasn’t here soon she would have to move to plan B, and plan B was not her favourite. 

Sam sighed, her foot tapping impatiently on the tarmac. Screeching tires pulled her gaze down the street again. 

“Finally!” She said exasperatedly.

The girl watched the car zig-zag down the road. The man who was coming to pick up some army goods she had stolen for him was now careening down the street towards her. 

Why she used Craigslist she didn’t know but she was desperate for money and he seemed to be the only buyer interested in her items she had put up for sale, and he was offering her top dollar for it. 

Sam needed enough money to get her out of state and at least a few meals, then she was going to change her name and start a new life, one where she wasn’t tied to her horrible family or past. 

But now this guy was swerving all over the road, Sam watched the car speed from one side to the other. Everytime the car looked like it was just about to fly off the side of the street it swerved back onto the other side again. 

“Fucking hell, what is this crazy motherfucker doing?” Sam shook her head. The car never slowed as it came closer to her, in fact it seemed as if it was speeding up the nearer it got. 

“Hey, slow down!” She called, not thinking it would actually do anything, he couldn’t hear her yells from outside the vehicle. The car was heading towards her now, full speed, not looking like it was about to stop. 

“Fuck!” Sam screamed, leaping out of the path of the oncoming vehicle. 

She watched the events play in slow motion, the car screeched past her ploughing through the exact spot she stood only moments before. Sam crashed to the ground, her eyes never leaving the car as it sped past her. 

The blonde lay on the grass panting as the car smashed into the line of trees that bordered the road. Sam winced watching the collision, the whole front of the car imploded on impact with the trunks, the car halved in size. The whole front bonnet was now in the driver's seat. 

“Oh my fucking god!” Sam got to her feet running over to the smoking vehicle. She rounded the car to the front, the driver’s top half was sprawled across the bonnet, unmoving. 

The man clearly wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, his whole body impaled with glass, the pool of blood quickly spreading around him. 

Sam hesitated, she didn’t know what made her pause, her hand outstretched ready to check the responsiveness of the driver. But she didn’t want to touch him for some reason, he seemed off, everything about this situation seemed odd. 

She slung the gun from her shoulder, extending it forward, Sam gently nudged the man with the barrel of her weapon. The man didn’t move or react, so she tried again but harder. 

“Hey! Dude!” Sam called to him, trying to rouse him from his unconscious state. The man’s shoulders rose and fell, was he breathing? Sam couldn’t tell. She stepped closer again, eyes trained on the driver. 

“Sir?” She uttered under her breath. 

The man’s head shot up, his bloodshot eyes staring into hers. Sam stumbled backwards, the sudden movement from the person made her heart drop. A strangled groan or gasp left the man’s lips, it didn’t sound human, almost animal-like. 

Feral. 

Sam out of instinct raised her gun again, but it wasn’t loaded, all of the ammo she had was neatly tucked away in her pack. 

The driver’s eye never left hers, but he began to move. Surely all of his limbs were broken or injured, but the man wrangled his arms back to his sides. His movements were sharp and jerky, Sam had never seen someone move like that before. A loud crack nearly made her gag as she watched the man move his backwards leg back into place. 

“What the actual fuck!” She whispered under her breath. She took small steps back from the car, trying not to alert the man of her current escape. 

Ragged breathing from the driver grew louder, she watched in horror as he lifted himself off the bonnet, a long piece of glass from the windshield halted his movement forward. Sam’s eye bulged as the man pushed himself up, removing himself from the glass that was slicing into his flesh, fresh blood pooled underneath him. Questions flooded through Sam’s head but a louder voice spoke over them. 

‘RUN!’ Her mind screamed at her to move, but she stayed planted in place, watching the driver. 

In that same moment the man had gotten himself free, by the time Sam looked up again at him, he was standing in front of the wreckage. He jolted forward in a gurgling roar, Sam didn’t look back as she sprinted her way through the trees. 

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears and ragged breaths spilled from her lips. She ran as fast as she could from him. He pursued her quickly and she could hear his rabid noises following her through the trees. 

Sam darted and weaved through the branches, hoping that the uneven terrain would slow down her pursuer. The wire fence came into view, if she crawled back she could hold him off and get some assistance, it was nearly time for patrol so there would be someone in the field that she could call over. 

Sam threw her pack off her shoulder, pushing it through the cut in the fence as she had only done moments before. The footfalls of the rabid man grew closer, his snarls and screaming sending shivers up her spine. Sam used her boot to shove her bag under the fence, but it was stuck. Her now entrance to safety was blocked by the bulky army bag. Her urgency rose even further as the man was so close she could see him charging through the trees in the distance. Sam kicked harder, using both of her feet, looking over her shoulder constantly to find the man coming closer and closer with each passing second. 

“Fucking hell!” Sam cried, willing the bag to just move at her effort, “Please!” She begged, putting her full strength into her legs. 

The rabid man now almost to the fence as well, growled loudly making his presence known. The bag came free moving from the hole, Sam moved quickly sliding under the wire as well, not wanting to look back at how close he had come to catching her. 

The girl got to her feet moving back from the fence as the man charged at full speed, never slowing. The driver launched himself at Sam, arms stretched wide, jaw hanging agape. She had never seen anything like it, no person has ever acted this way. 

The rabid man didn’t get very far in his attack, the chain link stopping him in his path, he ricocheted backwards landing in a heap on the ground. But much to Sam’s surprise he was back on his feet in no time, clawing and yanking at the barrier between them.      

“Hey, you!” A loud voice called from behind her, pulling her eyes from the crazy driver that gurgled and groaned. A guard walked towards her, his hand on his hip, ready to draw at any second. She raised her hands to show she meant no harm. 

“Sir, I can explain.” She replied breathlessly, but the guard's attention was drawn away from her as the driver roared loudly. 

They both turned to see the man had found his way under the fence, he clawed at the ground ferociously. 

Sam cringed, she could see from here the man’s fingernails ripping away from his flesh. 

Before she could even warn the guard, the driver had wiggled his way in. The driver leapt like he did before when he was coming after Sam, but this time there was nothing stopping his attack, the guard didn’t even have time to draw his weapon. 

The rabid man’s body crashed into the guards tackling them to the ground. Sam stepped back towards the fence. The driver baring his teeth, teared into the guard’s neck, blood spurting from the carotid artery that he had found so easily. 

The guard wailed in pain, trying to get the man off him. More voices sounded from across the field; the man's screams of pain had alerted the other guards.

Sam watched, her back pressed against the fence, as the driver lifted his head. The man stood focussing on the guards approaching, standing over the man who clutched at his neck choking breaths leaving his mouth. 

The driver once more sprinted towards the guards who came closer, but Sam didn’t need to see the rest, she had to get out of there. Once again she slid under the chain link fence, tugging her bag through with her. 

Sam ran quickly back to the road, her gun bouncing over her shoulder. She examined the car but it was completely totaled, she wouldn’t be able to drive it anywhere. The girl didn’t waste any time, she swung open the back doors, noting nothing of use. 

“Guess its plan fucking B then.”  

Authors note:

What did we all think of the first chapter?! Please let us know in the comments. Also stay tuned as the next chapter will be out shortly, if you would like to be notified when we post please let us know and we can add you to the tag list!! Did we scare you? Are you creeped out? Do you like Sam? hehehheehe