Day's End

Danger on the Road

            The four-membered group ran along the side of the building they had inhabited, trying to avoid catching the attention of any nearby walkers. Rose noticed a crashed car further up ahead and noted the rest of the group, "Hey, there's a car up ahead," she whispered. "Should we see what's in it?" Skyler and Kristen looked ahead, nodding. Kristen put her gun in her pocket, jogging up with Rose to the car, but Natalie and Skyler stayed a distance behind. Kristen reached the car first, and, as she looked through the driver's window, a walker inside the car stretched its arms out, grabbing her wrist with the intent to pull her in.
          She yelled in surprise before shouting for help, "Rose! Sky!" Though, with all her yelling, she caught the attention of a few nearby walkers. Rose ran to her aid, shooting the oncoming walkers. She used an arrow to pierce the walker's brain through the temple. Kristen pulled her arm out of the dead walker's grip. Small shards of glass poked her skin, but she was really bothered by the bloody marking the walker made. Shallow teeth marks were engraved on her skin, and she knew exactly what that meant. Skyler ran up to them, Natalie in pursuit. "Dammit!" Skyler swore, not waiting for Kristen or Rose to say somthing.
"We should continue going," Kristen suggested.
"But you're bitten!" Natalie suddenly shouted, nervousness bottling up inside her once more.
"No shit, Natalie!" Skyler scolded, clearly angered by his sister's inevitable death.
"When the time comes, you can do what you need to do, but, for now, there's now reason to hold up for me," Kristen solemnly said.
"I agree," Rose said, nodding. "Sky, I understand, but this is normal now, so before you throw a tantrum, we need to go." Rose pointed to the oncoming walkers to emphasize her point before shooting two of them with her bow.
          Not one for drama, Skyler obliged, running through the street with his small group, killing walkers along the way. Within a few hours, the group approached the road that lead to their destination. Kristen was starting to feel weak by this point and starting to get slightly pale. Her bite was passed amputation now; the virus was coursing through her veins, reaching her vital organs and destroying them from the inside out. Skyler helped her along, refusing assurance from the others.
           They crossed an elevated road, but the grop came to a sudden halt, as they were faced with cars crashed into each other; their windows were shattered, and the coating of paint was peeling off the sides of the doors. A walker moaned, craning its neck to look at the oncoming living. It staggered towards them, tripping over its half torn open foot. Rose didn't hesitate as she released an arrow, impaling the walker's skull. It slumped on the ground, just a mass of decaying flesh. Another walker pulled the top half of its former body from the back of an open freighter truck. Its organs trailed behind, splattering the road with blood and other fluids. Rose let another arrow fly, killing it instantly.
           There was a surprisingly small amount of walkers as the group traversed the massive crash. Rose slit her hand on a jagged piece of glass, but the rest made it out unharmed. Skyler bandaged Rose's hand with a piece of cloth he had torn from his shirt. Rose led the group as they approached the exit of the city, and only a big forest and green, rolling hills were all that could be seen.
            They looked around, admiring the scenery as they walked on a countryside road. Suddenly, Rose stopped and turned to the group. "I'm kind of thirsty," she said curtly.
"So?" Skyler asked impatiently.
"I saw a nearby river in the forest. Kristen should come with me; water would do her good."
"Is it safe to go?" He inquired cautiously.
"Yes, I don't think there are any walkers there."
Skyler turned to Natalie.
Natalie shrugged and replied, "I didn't see any."
"Fine."
            Skyler let Kristen lean on Rose, and they soon disappeared into the forest. Skyler and Natalie waited on the side of the road for about five minutes before they saw Rose approaching. The first, most notable thing was that she was alone. Rose held in her right hand a bloodied arrow, and her hands were splattered with blood. Skyler visibly tensed up, and the familiar pit of despair settled in Natalie's chest. "Where's Kristen?" Skyler demanded, hand protectively gripped around the handle of his gun.
Rose looked down, as if ashamed.
"Where the hell is she?!" He demanded again, this time more aggressively.
Rose sighed and responded quietly but firmly, "I killed her."
"You.." Skyler trailed off, drawing his gun quickly.
            A gunshot could be heard as Skyler squeezed the trigger, aimed right at Rose. Natalie flipped her knife's blade up and struck it down on the gun a split second before the trigger was pulled. Rose hesitated before plunging the same arrow she used to kill Kristen through Skyler's throat while he was distracted. He fell to the ground, his blood splattering over the cement of the road, painting it scarlet. Rose pulled the arrow out and thrust it through his temple. She tried to pull the arrow out but struggled, as it was stuck on something. It finally gave way, and small pieces of his brain and optical nerve were twisted on the tip. Natalie turned and retracted her knife, putting it in her backpack. Rose put the arrow back in its quiver, too disgusted to clean it but unable to discard it. "We should go," Rose grimly stated.
Natalie nodded in agreement, too shaken to say anything.
She looked at Natalie, slightly worried. "You do know why I did that, right?"
Natalie simply stared at Rose.
"It's kill or be killed, Natalie. He would've killed me. Thanks for that, by the way."
Natalie nodded again.
"Which way did you say the stables were?"
"There a-about two miles from here.."
"Let's get going."
             Just like that, the past group of four was split in half by death itself, and the two sole survivors walked solemnly down the road, leaving behind the corpse of the last member to be killed. The ventured the two miles dictated by Natalie, and the gravel road leading up to their haven was soon in sight. The black fence that used to house horses was the only thing that separated them from the farmhouse. The hopped the fence gate that required a code to open and made their way to the entrance of the large house. Rose made sure there were no walkers immediately inside, and they slowly entered, weapons at the ready. Rose scoured the house for walkers, and Natalie searched for any left over supplies. Rose killed three walkers; two inside the master bedroom, and one hanging from a noose in the attic. Natalie found some food stored away in the cabinets.
             Rose descended from the second floor and laid her bow against a torn-up couch. She took notice of the food Natalie had found and suggested that they should search the stables next. Natalie agreed and asked her if she found anything. Rose told her of the two in the bedroom, but left out the one in the attic. They waited until the sun settled on the horizon before they went to sleep. Rose slept on the couch on the first floor, and Natalie slept in the bed on the second floor. The next morning they would explore their new territory, but, for now, the survivors would get the rest they hadn't been able to for days unending.