Faith, Hope, and Tori

The sounds of early morning woke Tori up she blinked staring at the canopy of trees and branches above her. A whine to her left fully woke her up. Turning she came face to face with Homer.

The basset hound barked before licking her face. She sat up rubbing her eyes and letting her enhanced eyesight adjust to her surroundings.

Tori unzip her sleeping bag, stood up, and stretched looking around at the woods. Her eyes roamed the woods for any sign of blue bodies. Seeing none she walked to the red Jeep parked nearby. Popping open the hood she threw her sleeping bag in and sat on the edge of the Jeep her face in her hands thinking about the past year.

After escaping the compound she searched for friends in the area finding all their houses along with surrounding ones vacant. Tori walked the street aimlessly not having a plan and not knowing where to go. As she walked a newspaper blew across the street and stopped at her feet as if it wanted her to read it. It read "Dead Walk The Earth Result Of A Unknown Plague."

Her hands shook with anger before ripping the paper to shreds in a rage. She collapsed to the ground sobbing at what had happened to her, Jeremy, Amber, and the whole damn world.

Despite her sobs she could hear a faint growling and footsteps approaching attracted by her crying. She looked up just as a snarling man appeared. His face was sunken in and his mouth was in a snarl he looked like he had been dead for a week skin still was on along with decay.

Tori eyed him as he came closer his arms reaching for her. With an angry scream she ran at the man kicking him in his midsection making him fly by a few feet. The man sat up growling louder he stood up and approached her again. Tori grabbed a nearby brick and slammed it into his face again and again till his head was a bloody pulp and she was covered in black blood. Looking in disgust at the thing that had once been a man she stood up and walked away.

A bark brought her out her thoughts Homer looked at her with those big sad eyes wagging his tail. A half smile graced her lips as she scratched the dog's ears affectionately. She had found Homer while raiding a store for supplies.

Tori packed a bag of as much food as she could take she planned on taking all of it. Wasn't like other survivors if there were any would be considerate and leave anything behind. As she packed she heard a whine coming from a dumpster there was also the sounds of growls. Walking out the back door Tori saw three zombies clawing at the dumpster trying to get whatever the hell was alive.

She whistled getting their attention the zombies turned in her direction and started approaching her. She waited her hand tapping against her side with a grin she jumped in the air landing behind them despatching them with her boot blades. She looked in the dumpster to find a malnourished basset hound. He looked at her with sad eyes and wagged his tail happy that someone had finally found him.

Ever since then Homer had been her constant and only companion.

"Ready for breakfast?" She asked making him wag his tail harder.

Tori grabbed a can of Gravy Train poured the contents into a bowl before sitting it on the ground. Homer immediately began eating Tori patted his back before grabbing a gym bag and slipping on her shoes.

"I'm going to bathe before I eat." She said to Homer.

He barked as if to say I hear you before going back to eating. She walked over some logs coming to a small pond she found.

Looking around and listening for heartbeats which was kinda pointless considering she hadn't seen another living breathing person in a year. Still she didn't want to put on a show for some perv.

Stripping naked she open the bag taking out a towel and a bar of soap. She cleaned her face before lathering tge soap to shave her legs and lady parts. May be the end of the world didn't mean you had to look like a bear.

After bathing then drying off Tori dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans, a halter neck crop top, and her 2 inch heeled combat boots. After lacing them up she clicked her heels making four blades come out. She made them specially for times when she didn't have a gun and didn't want to get too close to a zombie. All she had to do was delivered a kick to the head and they were dead.

Pulling out a mirror she brushed her dyed red, orange, and yellow hair. She pulled in back in a ponytail then applied a little eyeshadow and lipstick to her face. Call her vain but just because it was the end of the world didn't mean you couldn't look good.

After applying her Monroe piercing, bellybutton ring, and ear wraps. She pulled on her leather gloves and made her way back to Homer. He stood on guard like she trained him but trooted over when she came back.

"All clear boy?" She asked.

Homer barked to confirmed it was clear. "Good." She said patting him and walked to the drivers side reaching for the glove compartment. She pulled out a map and sighed looking at all the red x's. The red represented all the places she had went and gone to searching for friends all lead to nowhere.

Tori sighed feeling discouraged and lonliness she still hoped to rescue Amber and Jeremy. But she couldn't do it on her own no matter how powerful she was now she still was one person. Her friends would've been more then willing to help they were the only other people to know of the madness that accumulated after her mother's death.

She pulled a photo album out opening it she smiled sadly at pictures of young her, Amber, and their mother. The happiness in those photos were only memories gone and never yo happen again.

She didn't realize she was crying till Homer whined licking a stray tear away and put his paw on her knee.

Tori scratched his head. "Sometimes I think about giving up Homer." She said. "Moms gone, friends are gone or dead, and I don't even want to think about what's happened to Am and Jeremy." "It's bad enough this happened and the dead are walking the Earth but having to endure it alone is unbearable."

Homer barked licking her again Tori laughed. "I got you but it still would be nice to have people too." He whined in agreement.

She looked at the album a little while longer before closing the book. After putting the album and map back in the glove compartment Tori went back to the trunk of the Jeep. She grabbed a Hoover bag opening it revealing guns of all kinds.

As she checked to make sure they were loaded the distant sounds of a child crying and screaming had her looking up.