The Place That Remains

The coast was initially clear so she stepped inside, carefully surveying the place and keeping an eye out for walkers. She made her way though the seemingly empty store and once she reached the grocery aisles, she ripped open a box of cookies and began shoving them into her mouth. She didn't care if they were old and stale. Food was food and she was in desperate need of it.

Once she had eaten almost half the box, she pulled the backpack off her shoulders and zipped it open, grabbing things off the shelves and stuffing them into the bag. When she finished with that aisle, she picked up her bag and her machete and went to find the aisle containing bottled water.

She froze on the spot when she heard a voice.

"We shoulda brought more people with us to carry supplies out. This store's barely been touched!" he said gleefully, not worrying about being heard by walkers. The place was completely clear. "Everyone at camp is gonna be so happy with us. We're gonna be heroes," he boasted.

Her eyes widened at his words. Camp? There was a camp somewhere around close by. With people. She hadn't seen another actual living human since she'd lost him three weeks ago. Even now, as she peeked around the corner and saw the young asian man stuffing bottles of water and juice into a large duffel bag, she wanted to run to him and throw her arms around him. The lack of human contact was really beginning to get to her.

She slowly stepped out into the aisle and started to walk toward him. He didn't notice her at first, but when he did, his eyes widened as he stood straight up and pulled a gun from the back of his jeans, pointing it at her. "Woah, woah, hold it right there," he warned, glancing down at the machete gripped in her hand.

She followed his eyes and now realizing his nervousness over her large blade, she dropped it to the floor and held up her arms in surrender. "Didn't mean to scare you," she informed him apologetically.

"Where the hell did you come from? Who are you?" he demanded, keeping his gun raised.

"I came from Charlotte-"

"You came all the way here from North Carolina?" he asked stunned.

She nodded slowly, confused. "Yeah. Where exactly is here?"

"Georgia. Very rural Georgia, outside of Atlanta."

Despite the gun pointed at her face, she smiled. "I used to have family outside Atlanta. Are we north, south, what?" She was honestly surprised with herself that she had successfully walked all the way from her home in Charlotte to Atlanta without getting eaten. It was a miracle really. Sheer luck.

"South," he replied shortly.

She was still smiling, but then it quickly faded with her next thought. They must be dead too. There was no way they could've survived this long. Her uncle had gotten up in age and probably had been an easy target for the walkers in the very beginning.

"You didn't tell me who you are," he reminded her after a moment, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Are you gonna keep that thing pointed at me forever or are you just gonna shoot me and get it over with?" she asked him sarcastically. The desire to hug him was gone and was quickly becoming replaced with the desire to knock him upside his head.

He stared hard at her for a long moment before he slowly lowered it, letting it rest loosely in his palm at his side. "Answer my question."

"What does it matter? I could be asking who you are, but I'm not. I just want to get some supplies and get out of here."

She picked up her machete from the stained tile floor and he immediately pointed his gun at her again.

"Jesus, I'm not going to kill you or anything. I just need some fucking water bottles so I can go."

"I can't trust a stranger with a machete. Force of habit. Sorry," he shrugged, not sorry at all.

She rolled her eyes at the man and reached for some bottles of coke, sliding the bag off her shoulder and stuffing them inside before looking back at him. "Can I please just get some water?"

"Hey Glenn, I got all the medical supplies we need. The stock was completely-....What the hell?"

She turned at the female voice behind her and her eyes widened as she slowly let it sink in who was standing before her, black duffel bags hanging off both shoulders and a confused look on her face. "Holy shit, Maggie?"

The newest arrival to the aisle dropped the bags she was carrying and slowly walked forward, staring shocked at the woman in front of her. "Delaney?" she asked tentatively.

As soon as she heard her name, Delaney lunged forward to throw her arms around the other girl and pull her into a tight, bone crushing hug. "Oh my God," she whispered. "I can't believe it's really you."

"ME?" Maggie asked, pulling back to look at her. "How the hell did you get here all the way from Charlotte?!"

Delaney shrugged her shoulders casually. "Walked."

Maggie shook her head, a grin slowly making its way onto her face. "Oh my God, I can't believe you're alive. And you're here! How's your family? Anybody-"

The mood was quickly killed as Delaney frowned and slowly shook her head, already knowing what Maggie was going to ask her. "No. Mom only lasted a week and Seth got bit trying to protect me. I had to put him down," she muttered.

Her younger brother Seth was only a few years older than Maggie, and at the age of twenty-five, he had given up his own life to save his only sister. The memories of him were especially painful. When he had turned, his already strong body seemed to only become stronger and more agile as he lunged at her, growling and gnashing his teeth, all traces of her brother gone in an instant. She had had to shoot him in the head.

Maggie threw her arms around her once again, kissing her temple. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Um, hello?" the man shouted, interrupting the moment. "What the hell is going on?"

Maggie pulled Delaney forward toward the man and he finally dropped his gun as he looked at Maggie warily. "Delaney, this is Glenn. Glenn, this is Delaney. My cousin."

His eyes widened as he looked down at his hand that was still holding the gun he'd just been pointing at her. "Oh. Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"Nice to meet you too," she replied, sticking out her hand.

He put his gun back into the back of his jeans and shook her hand, apologizing again. "You know how it is. Strangers......"

"I understand, Glenn. Really, it's fine," she assured him.

"Delaney, we have a camp set up back at the farm. Dad's there, and Beth."

Delaney smiled at the thought of her teenage cousin and her uncle. "I haven't seen them in so long," she sighed.

"I'm so glad you're here! You have no idea how happy Dad is gonna be."

"You have no idea how happy I am. Honestly, I've been alone for almost a month now. I was getting pretty lonely."

Maggie turned then, looking at her cousin confused. "Jesus, I didn't even ask about Jake. Is he-......?"

Delaney shook her head and dropped her eyes from Maggie's sympathetic look. "I lost him right before I left home."

"Shit, I'm sorry."

She shrugged it off as she absentmindedly began playing with the rings on her fourth left hand finger again. That always happened when she thought of him.

Glenn picked up the duffel bags he'd been packing and Maggie picked up hers as Delaney slid her gray backpack back onto her shoulders. "Everybody got everything they need?" he asked, addressing Delaney more so than Maggie.

She nodded as she leaned down to pick up her machete again. She had everything she needed in her bag. The only reason for coming in had been food and now that she'd gotten plenty of it, she was ready to go again.

"Wait, actually, I could do with some new clothes. Been wearing these since I left home." The gray leggings she was wearing were completely covered in dried mud and her black tank top was spattered with blood where she'd been up against walkers throughout her journey. The green sweater that hung loosely off her body was beginning to shred from catching on tree limbs one too many times.

"Well, let's get you some clothes then. I'm sure there's plenty," Maggie chuckled to herself and began the lead to the clothes section.

After grabbing enough clothes to last her awhile, she grabbed a pair of cheap-made boots, some new undergarments, a bag of hair ties, and a brush. Maggie informed her that they already had plenty of soap and shampoo back at the farm and that she'd be able to shower when they returned, which Delaney was incredibly grateful for.

Once they had all agreed that they had everything they needed, Glenn led the way out of the store and out to the blue truck parked in the front. He and Maggie began to throw their bags into the back while Delaney just stared. She had been walking for weeks and now there was a car in front of her. She couldn't remember when she'd last been inside a moving car. Sure, she'd slept in one or two on the journey, but actually riding in one? It'd definitely been awhile.

She tossed her backpack into the cab and climbed inside, shutting the door and sitting back in her seat, finally being able to somewhat relax for the first time in months.