"Chapter 1: A wandering traveler"
By Anontheterrible (https://pastebin.com/u/Anontheterrible)

URL: https://pastebin.com/UeyN24Z2
Created on: Saturday 7th of November 2015 03:34:44 AM CDT
Retrieved on: Friday 30 of October 2020 10:37:33 AM UTC


>Be Anon
>You are out on the road again
>You live on the road now
>It's the only way to live out here
>The only way...
>You are driving down a long, curving strip of road without a destination in mind
>You just have to keep going
>You need to get away no matter the cost
>Away from this world
>Away from the things you've witnessed
>Away from the shitty life you've lived and the people you failed
>At least you can say you have a shitty life to live still
>Did you deserve it?
>You shake away your thoughts and begin scanning the surroundings
>You've been through here before but it's still barren
>You remember the burnt out husk of that flipped car to your left
>There was a body there last time
>The charred remains still lie undisturbed halfway out of the wreck
>One hand is extended out to the road behind you, almost as if to point the way towards death
>Perhaps you should have heeded it's warning
>A few more miles out and you will hit that intersection
>Maybe find another way to go
>You could have all made it back here, dammit
>One stupid fucking mistake is all it took
>Perhaps going at all was the real mistake...
>Something catches your eye in the distance
>Out in front about a half mile away there's a bright movement
>You hit the breaks just hard enough to lurch to a stop as fast as possible without the tires screeching on the asphalt
>There isn't a whole lot of trees around, they had to have spotted you
>Shit
>You were distracted again, and the last time you were distracted, people got hurt
>You grip the wheel tighter
>You check in every direction, then the mirrors, before scanning the dense grass around you...
>Good
>You are still clear
>You focus in on the movements in front of you
>There looks to be 3 of them about 20 feet from a fence
>A dirt road splits in between going out towards some run down looking building in the distance
>The movements have yet to notice you much to your relief
>They don't seem to be paying much attention
>And their clothing seems awfully bright
>It looks as if they are arguing
>What the fuck? Don't they know sound attracts them?
>One flails it's arm at another while the second has it's own crossed
>The third sits idly by, watching
>Behind the three figures comes a fourth from the underbrush
>It hasn't been spotted by the first three yet
>It's amazing that you even spotted it
>Tricky little bastards no doubt for as loud as they can often be
>...
>What the hell are they still doing? 
>Don't they notice it?
>It has to have started it's snarling by now
>They are gonna fucking die if they don't move...
>Forget it
>They clearly only made it this long because of luck
>Sooner or later...luck runs out
>There is another one coming from behind the same bush the first did
>Where do they even come from? How the hell did you miss this many of them?
>How the hell did those three still not notice?
>There is more now from the other side
>Those ones finally get their attention
>They all scream
>At this distance it is still very audible
>Leave it alone Anon
>This isn't your problem
>It'll be over soon, you can swing by them and see if they even had anything worthwhile on them, and bail
>They huddle together gripping themselves tightly
>Don't bother
>People aren't the same as they used to be
>If you help them, they'll either slow you down, kill you, or just end up getting killed themselves
>They could easily make a break for it and be fine but they refuse to move
>You know by their screaming they are female, all young
>Shit 
>You grip the wheel tighter
>Even more are coming because of the screams
"Shit. For fucks sake, JUST FUCKING RUN!!!"
>You scream in frustration
>There are about 15 of them now
>They are getting closer
>You start hitting the steering wheel screaming in anger
>There are new rules now, however, and you keep trying to remind yourself of them
>Rule one is 'do not get involved in other peoples shit'
>You will regret it otherwise
>Do. Not. Get. Involved.
>......fuck it
>You hit the gas
>The tires spin out underneath you and you shoot forward
>You might not even get there fast enough
>They definitely notice you now
>You reach down and grip your M9
>This is a fucking terrible idea
>...they don't shoot
>They don't even have any weapons?
>No, they do
>There on the ground lie a bat, what looks to be a pipe, and...a fucking teddy bear?
>You are closing in fast now
>5 more seconds and you'll be on them
>Fuck
>There are even more than you thought
>These screaming little shits have really called in a big group now
>About 30 of them
>One is close enough to lunge at them now
>As the body lurches forward, you thump into it launching it and several others that were surrounding it a few yards away, their decaying bodies mangling on the asphalt
>Well, now there's only about 25 of them...
>You fling the door open knocking over two more and swing your pistol out
>The closest dead appears to be female
>At least it used to be
>Where it's lips once were is only the chewed off remains of dangling skin revealing the disgusting teeth and barely intact gums underneath
>It's milky white eyes focus in on you with a deep primal hunger in them
>You aim at it's skull and pull the trigger
>Brain matter splatters out of the back of it's already decayed head and it crumples to the ground where it finally remains motionless
>You reacquire a new target, a male this time, and repeat the process, this one dropping much like the first
>You drop 3 more like this in a matter of seconds before deciding you have a large enough space
>Pistol still in one hand, you pull your knife, a 12 inch black K-Bar, and drop your heel into the skull of one of the bodies you had knocked down with the door
>It gives fairly easily and crunches, spilling it's contents onto the pavement
>You sink your blade into the other one with a satisfying squelch and come around the front of the car
>The three girls, as you had guessed earlier, stand there shocked and scared, watching you
"Get in the car! MOVE!"
>They don't budge at the screaming of this strange person they haven't even fully seen
>Another one lunges from behind them and the one with the pink and purple hair shrieks and dives to the side
>You aim at it and fire off a round just above their heads, covering them in the blood of the re-killed foe
>It falls in between them releasing a final raspy breath with blood pouring out of its newly gained hole in it's forehead
>This gets their asses in gear
"Come on!"
>You scream again, going back around to the other side and firing a couple more shots
>They all grab their collective weapons, including the bear the first girl actually dove for
>The other two take down 3 more on their own and move towards the car back to back
>You climb back into the drivers seat and boot another one away before slamming the door shut
>You hear the back door fly open and the three girls clamber in
> You hit the accelerator before they even have a chance to close the door and you hit several more
"Ah told y'all we needed tah git out a there!"
>One of them yells in a very southern accent
"Where were we supposed to go?! We don't know where we are! We don't even know where the others-!" 
>The other screams in a raspy voice before you cut her off
"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!"
>They freeze and look at you with big eyes
>You have the gun pointed at them with one hand, the other on the wheel
>You glare back at them through the mirror
"All of you, get your hands up where I can see them. NOW!"
>You accent the last point by thrusting your gun back at them further causing you to swerve a bit
>They all put their hands up except for the pink and purple haired one who only hugs her bear tighter and begins crying harder than she already was
>You readjust the mirror on them better with your driving hand like the idiot you are, but still keep the car going driving with a knee
"Don't. Say. Anything. Don't even move. I will not hesitate to pull this trigger"
>You say as bluntly as you can, enunciating every word.
>You drive for another 5 minutes, your arm becoming tired from holding up the gun
>The teddy bear girl has been sniffling and sobbing this entire way while the other two try to glare angrily at you but can't hide their fear
>Teddy bear girl hasn't looked up at all
>She has curled down into her stuffed animal and closed her eyes, sobbing and rocking back and forth
"If you're gonna kill us, just do it"
>The darker purple haired one says
>You slam on the breaks causing them all to lurch forward, teddy bear girl just sobs a bit louder
>You throw the car in park and whip around to look at them all
"I could have just let you die back there..."
>You threaten
"Then why didn't ya'll?"
>The one with the red hair and a bow fires back
>You remain quiet for a moment and stare into the eyes of all three
>Even teddy bear girl looks up at you for a moment, pure terror in her eyes
"...get out."
>You say flatly
"How? You said to keep our hands up"
>Purple hair says
>Fucking smart ass
>You glare flatly back at them
>You open your door keeping your gun and eyes trained on them.
>You move back to the back door on the drivers side and lean forward to quickly unlatch the door before taking a few steps back
"Out"
>You say, bringing your free hand up to steady the gun
>Bow haired girl is the first one, though she just glares at you for a moment before taking a step out, her hands still up
>Next is the smart ass who just glares down at the console while scooting over and out next to bow girl
>Finally is teddy bear girl who refuses to budge
"You too. Out"
>You say flatly keeping your weapon trained on the other two
>She doesn't budge
>You take a threatening step forward breathing a heavy breath
>This one obviously isn't the real threat, but you are taking zero chances here
"Sweetie Belle, just do what he says!"
>Purple says
>Sweetie Belle cringes away for a moment before slowly scooting towards the exit being careful not to touch the blood covering the weapons left forgotten on the car floor
>She comes out closing the door behind her gently, and stands by the other two still shaking and hiccuping every once in a while through her tears
"You. Walk forward"
>You point towards the first one with the bow in her hair
>She takes a single hesitant step forward
>You wave your gun towards you beckoning her closer
>She takes a few more steps
"Turn around"
>You say bluntly
>She slowly turns to face her companions
>You begin patting her down grabbing anything hard or out of place and putting it on the ground
>When you are satisfied, you have her return to where she was before
>She hardly has anything on her
>Some locket in her pocket that you don't bother opening, a half eaten candy bar, a few 5.56 rounds
>You continue the cycle, but it is more of the same with the other two
>Sweetie Belle doesn't move from gripping her teddy bear tightly as you pat her down
>She hardly has anything on her at all
>You stand there after you are finished, trying to figure out what to do next
>What the hell were you planning on doing with these girls in the first place?
>You aren't a fucking rapist, even after the world had all but fucked itself, you weren't about to completely separate yourself from your own humanity
>You saved their lives and now you don't know what the fuck to do with them
>Were you distracted again?
>Were you just completely losing your shit?
>No, you are still laser focused and sharp, every rustling leaf known to your ears, every shift in the wind felt in your hair
>Then what is the justification here?
>What was your next step?
>As if echoing your thought process, one of them speaks up
"So what now?"
>The smart ass challenges
>You stay quiet
>You shake your head and look back towards the way you came and forwards towards where you are heading
"Well?"
>She says a little louder
>You just glare back at her
"I don't know"
"What the hell do you mean, 'You don't know?' What are you gonna do? Shoot us?!"
>She takes a few steps forwards before the bow haired one stops her with a hand on her shoulder
"Scootaloo, don't! Yer scarin' Sweetie Belle!"
>She looks to her other weeping friend, anger in her eyes and whips around to bow hair again
"I don't care anymore Applebloom! That's been our life for the past few months! And Sweetie Belle still can't get it together! We are ALL scared but at least some of us can see the world for what it is now and face it without bawling into a damn teddy bear!"
>She screams slapping the bear down to the ground where it lands with a thump
>The damn thing has to be one of those big ass beanie babies to be that heavy
>She dives down for it and curls up with it on the hard road where she stays
"Scootaloo, cut it out!"
>The country girl, presumably named Applebloom, says grabbing the one named Scootaloo again
"All of you knock that off! You want more of those things coming back?"
>You say loudly enough for them all to hear and stop their fussing
"I don't know what the fuck to do with you. Hell, I'm not even sure why I saved you in the first place! Do you know how many bullets I wasted saving your sorry asses? And what the hell is with the get-up? You wanna be seen by everything in a 10 mile radius?"
"I counted only 8 of em. And it's all there was that fit us at that stupid school house"
>Scootaloo says
>You just sigh and run your hand through your hair for a moment, stopping to rub your temples
>You could leave them here you guess
>You have a bit of food and water you could spare for maybe a day for these three
>If they even lasted that long
>You could try to find where they were staying at before hand and risk getting shot to shit by whoever the hell is still there
>There is no way these three survived by themselves
>Anyone who has made it this long through the apocalypse has to be strong, nucking futz, lucky, or a combination of the three
>These three were none of the above
>You don't wanna come into contact with whoever possessed any three of these elements who were once protecting these morons
"Do you have anywhere you can go? You have someone out there, right?"
>The two still standing look grimly at one another
"...we don't know"
>Says Applebloom
"What do you mean, 'You don't know'?"
>It's your turn to question
"We got attacked by the walkers. They overran the school and we got separated from our group"
>Scootaloo says
"They could be anywhere now. We didn't stop runnin' to check which way they went..."
>Applebloom finishes
>Walkers
>You mouth the word
>You never encountered that one yet
>But it seems...right
>You look to the sky
>There is maybe 3 more hours left in the day
>You need to figure out what to do and soon
"Well what direction did you come from?"
"It was from over the hill over yonder behind that shack we came outta"
>Applebloom motions back towards the dirt road they had been arguing by
>Fuck, that had to be at least 3 miles from the shack to the hill alone
>You're not even sure if you could make out any buildings beyond that or just more trees
>Well you aren't about to go on some retarded escort/possibly suicide mission for these little shits
>You had pretty much attempted the second one once today and that was more than enough for you for a while
>Also, you don't wanna deal with this other "group" of whom you have taken hostage a few of their little girls
>There's one option here for today
"Alright look. I won't leave you here. You clearly wouldn't last a night on your own-"
"Hey!"
>grumbles Scootaloo before being silenced with an Applebloom elbow
"So you are coming with me. But if any of you try fucking ANYTHING..."
>You hit the release on your pistol, catching the half spent mag and slapping a fresh, full one in before letting the hammer down slowly with your thumb
"I still have more than enough rounds to deal with you three a hundred times over"
>You don't bother bringing up your other tools in the back
>They don't need to know about those
>Yet
>You have them all climb back into the car after disposing of their sticks in the back underneath a tarp and returning their trinkets (except for the 5.56 cartridges) to them
>You take the time to make sure your other weapons are far enough away from them that they can't possibly reach them without you noticing
>You return to the drivers seat taking a moment to top off your half spent mag with fresh 9 mm
>Pros reload after all
>You only wish you had more than two magazines
>You quickly shake away the thought, as it was what got you into deep shit the last time...
>You take a moment to collect your thoughts looking into the mirror back at your three new traveling...companions?
>Hostages doesn't sound right
>But they aren't friends
>You struggle to come up with a word that could be compared to purgatory between heaven and hell
>Fuck it
>Your purgatories
>You keep your gun in your lap and a watchful eye on the three passengers as you take off into the evening sun