Three days later....
Moving silently through the woods, Will kept his crossbow ready and his eyes peeled as if he was hunting. However he wasn't actually hunting but he was in fact scouting the area, making sure it was safe so their group could move the vehicles through.
When the group had finally left Harris's camp they had decided to stick to the same road that was Route 52 which led them straight to Charleston from Salters which itself had taken them one day to get to from Andrews, the town which Harris's camp had been set up near.
They had also stopped in the city of Salters for one day to gather what supplies they could from the place due to them having literally no food or drink because it got stolen but unfortunately the place didn't have much and now they were being forced to save as much as they could but keep themselves as healthy as possible.
They had also come up with a plan once they had left Salters and entered the forest. The vehicles would move forward a bit at a time before some people like Will now would check things were safe before they all continued moving on for a little while. They had to take every precaution they could to stay safe.
Now on their third day, Will could tell the group's morality was low but they were all also determined to make it to the apparent safe haven Charleston now offered. That's what kept them going now....
"looks like its all clear" Will announced receiving nods from members of the group as they all came out from where ether they had been searching in the forests, while gathering around Will's truck, only Maria and Annie being missing due to them staying in the ambulance.
"so how close do you think we are to Pineville?" Bella asked the group as Angelica got out the map and laid it on the truck's hood before running her finger along the road which they were currently driving on, or supposed to be.
"well I'd say we're about half way, carry on like how we are and I think we should reach there by night fall, although I think it might be best to stay camped outside the city for the night?" Angelica suggested looking round to them all and each of them nodded in agreement.
They all knew going into town which you had no clue of what the current situation in the town was as well as going in it during the dark hours was complete suicide and that was something they couldn't afford to do right now. They're numbers were low enough as it was.
"yeah, might want two people to sit on top of the RV as guard duty as well for the night" Anthony stated, tapping on the hood of the truck as he looked up from the map to Karen, the two of them sharing a look and a nod, them obviously volunteering to do that said guard duty.
"but what if some people sneak up from the woods, top of the RV isn't going to be the best of places to be, is it?" Bella asked already knowing her answer causing them to sigh before Karen came up with a different idea.
"me and Anthony can take guard watch in Will's truck instead, agreed?" Karen suggested looking to all of them but they just nodded except Will who smirked and shouldered his crossbow before speaking to the both of them.
"Just don't be getting up to anything, its my truck remember" Will said pointedly as he pointed to both of them with a certain look making them blush and shift on their feet slightly earning chuckles around the group before Angelica spoke up again.
"so its all settled yeah?" Angelica asked and they all nodded, sharing looks to have conformation but they could all tell that there would be no arguments. They had no other way to reach Charleston unless if they wanted to turn around and go the long way round and they all knew there was no way they would survive a trip like that.
Sitting in the back of the ambulance on some chair they had, Annie watched from a distance as most of the group had gathered around Will's truck to discuss where they were going next. Annie didn't really want to join them, she didn't feel like it....like she didn't feel like doing much anymore.
"hey Annie, do we need to change the plaster?....its starting to come off" Maria told Annie but the woman just sighed as she shook her head, turning to look at the girl softly despite inside just wishing to be left alone.
"sorry honey if it falls off we're going to have to leave it, we haven't got much plasters" Annie said smiling a little and thankfully Maria just nodded silently, understanding what the doctor meant and went back to her drawing leaving Annie to sigh as she leaned back on her chair closing her eyes briefly until she heard the little girl's voice again.
"are you ok?" Maria asked quietly observing Annie's actions carefully which Annie herself noticed when she opened her eyes and turned to look at Maria but instead of answering she gave yet another small smile and remained silent as she got up and began sorting through her medicines making Maria confused.
She was confused because Annie was usually nice and very out going but now she was all silent and sad. Maria knew that Ricky had died and understood why Annie would be this upset but it was still surprising to see Annie in such a state.
"looks like we're leaving" Annie stated finally, gesturing to the group that had all walked away from Will's truck and went to each of their vehicles causing Maria to smile as Jamie came over which caused Jamie to smile back before he turned to Annie as he entered the back of the ambulance.
"h-how are y-you feeling?" Jamie asked with his usual stutter but he was totally taken back like Maria was when Annie suddenly slammed a box of bandages to the floor and turned to glare at him with a very bad glare.
"why do you guys keep asking if I'm ok!! WHY.CANT.YOU.JUST.LEAVE.ME.ALONE?!!" Annie shouted at him directly making him wince as he took a couple of steps back, protectively standing in front of Maria while everyone else had stopped what they were doing and looked to what was currently going on, as surprised as the kids.
Seeing this, Annie bit her lip resisting the urge to cry as she stormed out of the ambulance and walked over to the RV, entering it before she slammed the door shut behind her leaving everyone to stare at said door in shock for a little while before they soon shrugged it off and continued to get ready to move on.
Annie had been through a lot....she just needed some time.
Walking to the ambulance, Emily gave Jamie pat on the back as if to say the kid wasn't blamed for anything before crouching down in front of Maria with a comforting smile on her face.
"its alright, Annie just needs some time ok?" Emily asked the little girl who nodded silently, looking down to the floor as she shifted on her feet a little until finally she looked up to Emily with a little smile on her face.
"maybe I could draw her something to make her happy later?" Maria suggested but Emily just stood up and nodded her head as she ruffled Maria's hair as if to say that it was a great idea.
However when Maria walked to the other side of the ambulance to begin drawing Emily turned to share a look with Jamie as they were both very worried about how Annie's attitude had changed. They knew it was understandable with all the doctor had been through, but it really seemed like Annie had given up on everything....
Around 2 hours later Karen was sitting in the driving seat of the RV smiling to herself as out of the corner of her eye she could see Anthony laying his head against the window while snoring loudly, obviously catching some sleep before the two of them had their guard duty tonight.
However which each little bump on the road, Anthony jolted out of his sleep a little causing her to stifle a laugh as he looked around confused before shrugging and going back to sleep. He really was an idiot, she thought to herself.
Although her laughter soon went away when in the rear view mirror, Karen caught the sight of Annie looking upset, sitting down at the bottom of the RV making Karen sigh as thinking about what Annie had gone through was making her think about what they had all been through.
"hey I know you don't want to hear anymore "how are you feeling?" from anyone but....if you ever want to talk you can talk to me, ok?" Karen said but instead of answering Annie just remained silent as she spun the bible which had been sitting on the table around making Karen inwardly sigh, she really did feel sorry for Annie.
"load of bullshit isn't it?" Karen said gesturing to the bible as she turned to look at Annie fully and this time Annie stopped what she was doing but still remained silent causing Karen to mentally slap herself.
Although before she could say anything else they hit another bump on the road resulting in Anthony stirring a little from his sleep again and protesting about not waking up but this time Annie didn't manage to stifle a laugh which made Karen smile.
However due to Karen looking to Annie and not the road she didn't see what was coming until it was too late. Suddenly a running zombie came out of the forest and into the road where it hit the RV and winded up going under it causing Anthony to smack his head hard against the window, finally waking up.
"what the fuck?!!" Anthony asked as he looked around confused while Karen cursed as she gripped the steering wheel trying to pull the RV to a stop as she signaled to the others to stop and Annie came running to the front to grab the radio and tell the others they were pulling over.
"it was one of them running zombies" Karen told him causing him to sigh as he rubbed his head looking around to check there wasn't any more coming just as Karen managed to pull the RV to a stop at the side of the road before the three of them got out of the vehicles like everyone else was.
"why we stopping?" Angelica asked confused before she told Emily to stay with Maria in the back of the ambulance and got out herself, quickly followed by Jamie who looked around worriedly.
"hit one of them running zombies" Karen reported as she and Will walked to the front of the RV to check the damage while everyone shared a look and a sigh. They all knew running zombies meant trouble.
"come on lets check that head of yours" Annie said to Anthony, again with no emotion in her voice as she walked to the ambulance leaving Anthony to follow her and everyone to wait and watch as Will crouched down to check underneath the RV.
"yeah, the zombies stuck under the RV alright, gonna be annoying to get out but I'll sort it, everyone keep an eye out for anymore, the only times we've seen these "running zombies" is in herds" Will ordered them on instinct despite not having been leader of the group for a while but everyone followed his order without question.
"seems like your back in charge Mr "big ass gunnery sergeant"" Karen said with a smirk on her face as she looked down to Will but the man just shrugged as he got up from his crouching position watching as Karen went to the hood and opened it.
However as she did open it a load of smoke came out of it, filling the air and making the both of them curse while everyone looked to see what was going on but all they saw was smoke surrounding Will and Karen as they looked to the engine.
"great that's all we fucking need" Bella stated distastefully but Jamie who had joined her and Angelica standing and looking at the smoke shifted on his feet a little as he spoke up with his usual stutter.
"I-it could be worse, w-we could have t-to deal w-with a load of t-them running things" Jamie pointed out but immediately shut up when both woman turned to lightly glare at him due to his statement knowing it would probably bring them bad luck.
"towns not far, if some of us take Anthony there I'm sure he can find the right parts to fix this" Karen said and Will nodded in agreement before walking off to talk this over with the man himself leaving Karen to look down at the engine and sigh before looking to see how she could get the zombie free to kill it.
She hoped Anthony would be able to fix the vehicle anyway....
After Will, Anthony and Angelica had left the group to head to Pine Ville, the group had separated to do different things. Karen was keeping watch on top of the RV while Jamie and Maria were inside said vehicle. Bella was in Will's truck listening to some music and Annie was sitting alone in the ambulance until Emily came over to her.
"I want to talk to you" Emily said softly so the others wouldn't hear while Annie just looked up to the woman with a blank expression before shrugging and looking back down not really wanting to talk.
"if your hear to scold me for talking to Jamie like that in front of Maria you don't need to....I feel bad about it already" Annie stated quietly as she fiddled with her thumbs expecting Emily to go away but instead Emily came down to sit next to Annie.
"look I know your going through a rough time but maybe if your let one of us help you we can sort it out" Emily said trying to be comforting but Annie just sighed and shook her head as she got up glaring at Emily.
"what don't you get? I don't want you to help sort it out I want to FORGET about it but everyone keeps reminding me of It everyday, why?" Annie snapped at Emily making the woman shocked briefly before she took a deep breath and answered.
"because we want to help you go back to how you used to be" Emily stated but Annie just let out a small emotionless laugh as she looked down to Emily with a raised eyebrow causing Emily to be confused.
"what you want me to be "happy and bubbly" after my brother just died, yeah sure I'm going to be all lets forget about it and party....NOT, why the hell would I be like that after finding out MY brother is dead" Annie stated coldly making Emily try to think of another way to say what she said but before she could speak up Annie had began walking away.
"just leave me alone and let me deal with this my own damn way" Annie told her before disappearing and walking down the road to be away from everyone but kept in their vision just in case any thing went wrong.
Although she didn't really care if something happened, she didn't care much for anything anymore....
About half an hour later, Will and Anthony along with Angelica were walking down the road heading towards the nearby town which they could already see in the distant but none of them were to happy about being away with their vehicles. Not with a possible herd of running zombies in the forest.
"man I hope we can find something to fix the RV, we cant move on without it" Anthony stated a little sadly before wincing as his head hurt a little making Will looked worried at him but he knew Anthony had to come never mind what. Anthony was the only one out of them that knew what to look for.
"well if we cant, we'll just move on" Angelica said shrugging off the fact that the RV was their vehicle which gave them some place to sleep but she knew that the vehicle could be replaced if it had to be.
"no, no we cant you don't get it that vehicle....that vehicle was...." Anthony tried but he couldn't say it. It may have been ages since both Jethro and Elizabeth died but it still hurt him to think about the two of them, thankfully Will just patted Anthony's back understanding why the vehicle meant a lot to him.
"we do what we can to make sure that vehicle stays running" Will stated with a don't question voice as he looked to Angelica who raised an eyebrow but soon shrugged and continued walking down the road in front of them leaving Anthony to give Will a thankful nod.
However when the three of them reached the town of Pine Ville they could quickly tell that they wasn't going to get much from their trip....
All the houses were boarded up and most of them even had signs saying no supplies here, some written in what looked like blood. The vehicles around were partly destroyed and wasn't going to be used any time soon and most of the shops had been broke into probably a long time before their group came here.
"holy shit...." Anthony said shocked as he looked around at all the damage while Will sighed and bowed his head while thinking and Angelica just kept ready in case some trouble came "running out of places".
"what we going to do now?" Angelica finally asked, turning her head to look at Will with a worried look while Anthony just began walking around and looked for something, anything that they could find and they could use.
"we're look through the supplies we have, I'm sure we can use tape which we have to start the hose working again but....not for long" Will stated but before Angelica could respond Anthony spoke up in a load of curses.
"fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!!" Anthony shouted throwing an empty back aside but before Will could walk over to the man and calm him down, someone spoke up from behind them making them turn and point there weapons at the man who had "sneaked up on them".
"I wouldn't be shouting like that lad, never know what you could draw" the older looking man said calmly as he raised his hands due to the weapons that had been drawn on him but he didn't seem to be threatened by them.
"who the fuck are you?" Angelica stated coldly as she gripped her rifle tight, ready to shoot him if she had to but the man just chuckled and shrugged, looking to each of them in turn before speaking.
"a survivor, like you" the man responded with a knowingly smart ass comment making Angelica annoyed and him to smirk but before she could do anything Will stepped in between the two of them raising an eyebrow at the man as if to tell him to elaborate.
"fine I can tell you lot aren't in a joking mood so my name is Morgan and I over heard you speaking about fixing an RV and its hose?" Morgan asked but before Will could answer him Anthony came over in an angry mood.
"so what?!" Anthony snapped but Angelica moved him away, trying to calm him down as Will put his crossbow back over his shoulders before crossing his arms and looking at the man carefully, repeating Anthony's "so?" with one of his own.
"I own a RV but by the sounds of it you want to keep the one you got so instead of offering the vehicle, I'll offer you the hose, the vehicle is just in this garage" Morgan stated as he walked away from them and walked over to a nearby garage and opening its door, revealing there was indeed an RV inside.
"and why would you help us just like that?" Will asked curiously as Anthony went over to look at the RV in detail smiling to himself when he looked in the hood and indeed saw a working engine causing Angelica to smile to but was still as curious as Will.
"I ain't going anywhere, nowhere to go so I might as well hand it over to ya" Morgan said a little sadly and Will shared a look with Angelica, she telling Will not to tell Morgan but he sighed and shook his head before turning to Morgan.
"there's this place in Charleston, apparently its a safe zone now, we'll bring you with us if you like?" Will offered and Morgan thought about it for a second looking to Anthony who was currently working on taking the engine out of his RV before he nodded slowly.
"if that's alright with you folks?" Morgan asked and Will nodded causing Angelica to sigh as she stomped off to help Anthony carry the engine making Morgan raise his eyebrow but Will gave him the look as if to say "don't worry about her".
"lets go then" Angelica said distastefully as she walked past Will, glaring at him along the way but Will just shrugged it off and followed her and Anthony with Morgan following them from behind after he gave his former home one last look....