Sometimes a Married Sheriff Isn't a Bad Thing to Do in a Zombie Apocalypse

”If we collect enough supplies in Atlanta, we can get te Fort Benning within one stretch." Dermot’s thick accent commented as he and his niece sat tight in the sleek, pristine 67' Chevy Impala that was surprisingly clean. A long time on the road wasn’t great but Katherine and her uncle, Dermot, lost a few people a couple of weeks back but they made the choice and they knew all of the risks. “I know ye don' want te hear me say this Kathy, but if Malachy isn'-"

“He is.” Katherine cut in firmly before Dermot could even finish his sentence, her eyes on the road as she drove them down the empty road. “Malachy is alive and he’s fighting all of these sons of bitches so he can wait fer us." She informed him with a matter of fact tone, knowing exactly that her brother was more than capable of taking on these monsters. Her pale hands gripped the steering wheel and her bright grey eyes were focused on the road ahead.

“Language, love.” Dermot scolded softly and Katherine glanced to his own intent stare, one eye glistening with bright blues yet the other was half murky white with a lot of scarred tissue around the edges from his bear attack last Summer in Georgia. At least she had spent a little time in the state so they weren't completed fooled.

“I’m just saying.” Katherine mumbled, still driving for another ten minutes more and they were out on a clear open road to Atlanta, fields all around them and the Georgia sun heated up the jet black car. She bobbed her head along to Gaelic Storm, Malachy's personal mix tape that he left Katherine when he was last in Ireland. It was all his favourite songs, It was extra motivation for her after the ride over.

The two Irishfolk glanced down at the dials on the dashboard, seeing that the fuel was running even lower than before and Katherine's eyes flickered back up on the road where an old, bungalow sort of house sat on the side of the road with a small stable from the back was coming into view. What really confused Katherine and Dermot was the police car that was sitting out of the front but with no sign of any life.

"Pull over." Dermot instructed and Katherine pulled the car over to the side of the road, the both of them getting out and making sure their guns were loaded and ready to fire. "We'll check out th' house, make sure no one is around and then we'll take what we need from th' car,"

"Sounds like a plan." Katherine agreed, cocking her handgun and the two of them walked further towards the house, a strong, filthy smell of rotten flesh invaded the personal space around the house. "Lord's name, that's grim.”

"Get used te it, lassie." Dermot answered, running a hand through his thickening gray hair and he looked through the window, not seeing anything apart from blood and flies. The scene was horrible enough not to describe. He could only see with the one eye but there was still nothing inside. "Nothin here love, check those stables.”

"And ride a fuckin' cow(?)" Katherine murmured to herself sarcastically, making sure Dermot hadn't heard what she had said and she made her way around the ranch like house with her gun at arm's length. Katherine almost collapsed when she saw a man in his late thirties, dressed up in a Sheriff's outfit walking towards a horse in it's pen with a length of rope in his hands. "Dermot!" She wasn't quiet about it, there were no walkers for miles. She shouted for her uncle's name and the man snapped around in shock, reaching quickly for his gun and once Dermot ran to her aide, all three guns were raised. "Hey, no need te pull a hissy fit Officer, wer alrigh’ people but we won’t be much longer if yer gonna shoot.” Katherine confronted him sweetly, giving him an assuring yet trusting smile.

“You scared me.” He admitted sheepishly, pushing his very appealing revolver back into his holster and Katherine eyed it admiringly. Growing up with a man who liked guns very much had rubbed off on her over the years. Dermot and Katherine lowered their own as well, but kept them out for any living dead that wanted to spring out suddenly. “Look I don’t want any trouble-“

“Hey dude, we don’.” Katherine chuckled, approaching him slowly. “We’re just looking fer gas and th’ fact yer holdin’ a rope and there’s a horse right there, I’m guessing ye don’ have any either.” She motioned to the dark brown horse that trotted around in his pen, skin wearing thin against his ribcage and his fur was slowly coming off from all the flies that were eating at him.

“No, sorry.” The man shook his head, taking off his Sheriff hat and Katherine could see his face a little better in the bright light, a pair of blue eyes staring back at her cloudy grey ones and she observed the clean shaven face with a smirk. He was pretty good-looking for a man who looked in his late thirties and had a tangy accent.

“We need te get te Atlanta son, just fer supplies. Me and my niece are looking fer someone.” Dermot informed the Officer and he nodded.

“Me too, for Atlanta.” The man said with a twitch of the lips, watching as the sun reflected the sweat off Katherine's neck and the skin between her printed, zip crop top and shorts with her naval ring also glistening. He was struggling to understand Dermot's accent, it was a lot thicker than Katherine's.

“Really?” Dermot’s usually serious, bear scratched face broke into a smile.

“Look, we need that gas real bad; I need te get te Fort Benning as soon as possible. Please, I’ll give ye supplies, whatever ye need, just let me ride with ye and we’ll shag off straight after.” The Irishwoman pleaded the man in uniform, her angelic features softening. “My name is Katherine; this is my uncle, Dermot.”

“Rick Grimes.” Rick put his hat up on the wooden fence that surrounded the horse and held his free hand out to Katherine, who shook it enthusiastically, thankful for the man who is willing to give her a chance. “If you’ve got an extra set of walkie batteries, I’ll take them.” Rick put his hands on his hips as Katherine grinned, turning to Dermot who ran back over to the car, opening the trunk and rummaged through a bag to chuck her a packet of batteries. Katherine caught them easily and then handed them over to Rick. Dermot then came back over with a backpack that was handed over to Katherine and she shrugged it on the back of the leather jacket that was wrapped around her torso.

“I’ll stay here with th’ Impala, I’ve got me gun and knife but be back before sundown, I don’ want ye running into walkers. Keep a bullet in the chamber.” Dermot commanded as she embraced him for a tight hug. “I love ye, lass.”

“Love ye too.” Dermot patted her on the shoulder as she walked away to join Rick over at the fence, taking a worn elastic band from her wrist and gathered her various length hair and pulled it up into a tight, high pony tail which made Rick now see the full extent of her scarred square jaw, sharp cheek bones and milky white neck. What he seemed to not understand was how she was wearing a cut leather jacket in Georgia summer but was wearing a pair of Daisy Duke shorts that bared her endless legs.

“Did ye have a group?” Katherine quizzed as she slowly clicked her sharp tongue for the horse to come over to her, it was thin and looked like it hadn’t eaten in a long time. Rick carefully opened the gate, trying not to startle the horse as he made a lasso loop from the rope.

“No, I er, was in a coma for a few months, woke up in the middle of this chaos.” Rick confessed, patting the horse assuring and threw the lasso over his head. “Good boy, weren’t so hard was it?” He rubbed the horse’s neck a few more times before Rick began to lead him out. “I’m looking for my wife and son, she took picture albums with her and I know they’re alive”

“Good attitude. I’m looking fer my brother; he’s a sergeant and is currently working in a unit in Fort Benning. It’s taken me a long time te get here, I’ll be on me way after I get what I need.” Katherine stated, grabbing a saddle and blanket that sat on the fence and threw it over the horse’s body, strapping it on.

“You came here…from Ireland?” Rick stuttered in surprise, not expecting a woman and her uncle to just decide to themselves to come to Georgia and then go back.

“Aye, Dublin. Born and raised. Where are ye from? Ye don’ sound like those rednecks in th’ movies.” Katherine teased, adjusting the straps on the horse whilst Rick stared at her in curiosity. How could this woman smile and be so cheery when the world had gone to complete shit? Was she high, drunk even?

“King County.” He replied, watching her unusual demeanour before she put her Beretta back in her holster and made sure that the pistol that sat in the side of her boot was loaded and ready to fire. Katherine was locked, loaded and ready to go.

“My friend used te live there. I came here once te work at Atlanta ER, when things were alright of course.” Katherine chimed, finishing up and motioned for Rick to get on first, considering he knew the city a lot better than Katherine ever did. Rick walked over to the calm horse and went to get up, but stumbled a little from the weight on his back from the bag and she smirked at the recently awoke man. “Use th’ saddle te pull yerself up, and give one swing.”

“You do this often?” Rick questioned her and can’t help himself but smile.

“Back in the Old Country.” She beamed with a smile and once he was up steadily, Katherine grabbed his hat off the fence and she also hoisted herself up too, placing his hat on his head at an angle. “Close enough.” Katherine chirped, wrapping her gloved hands around his waist tightly after waving to Dermot and Rick got the horse moving slowly, nervous as hell to ride the thing in case it flipped out. They were both bewildered to how the horse was managing to take their combined weight on their back.

“I haven’t done this in a long time.” Rick whispered to himself, gently adding pressure to the horse’s sides. The horse whinnied all of a sudden, Katherine gasping when he jumped slightly and she wrapped her arms around Rick even tighter before the horse sped off, Dermot’s booming laughter left behind.

"Pull him back! Rick!" Katherine squealed against him, Rick trying to do as she said while calming down the horse. The horse slowed down slightly, hearing Rick beginning to chuckle at Katherine's attachment to him.

"I thought you said you've done this?"

"I have with someone more experience, Officer." Katherine whispered shakily from behind him, already feeling the space between her legs beginning to ache as the horse cantered over the field and ready to get back onto the road. It had been a very long time since she had rode a horse. “Yer personal collection?” She quizzed, referring to the heavy bag of guns strapped on his back.

“Took them all from storage on my way out of the department.”

“Ye seem like a pretty collected guy whose jus' woken up from a coma, jus sayin’.” Katherine mumbled against his back, resting her head against him as they both moved up and down with the horse’s movements. She could smell his fresh cologne and a pinecone scent mixed with his sweat, indicating that he must have got time to use some hot water recently. “How long were ye in there fer?”

“About a month or so.” He was a little monotone answering this time, not wanting to think back on the memories of those he saw when he woke up in that hospital bed.

“Shit th' bed, Rick.” Katherine muttered, even though Dermot often scolded her for using such language. "How did ye find out about all this then?"

"This man and his son took me in, he changed my bandage - I was shot - and they told me that the world turned to shit. I haven't seen anything so awful in my whole life..." Rick explained quietly, looking down briefly at the saddle in front of him and listening to Katherine breath against him. "It was a shock.”

"I was in a hospital too. I was assessing a patient and she jus' went te take a chunk outta my arm, thought she was jus ill ye know?" Rick nodded anyway, not knowing, and the horse picked up the pace along the road, soon coming up to Interstate 85.

Katherine could see in the distance that on one half of the highway there were rows and rows of cars that had tried coming out of the city were now either abandoned or burned out. Rick and Katherine were sat on the horse going up the completely cleared road where on the left was over growing bushes and turned over trains that had vermin scurrying around the bottom and birds moving across through the thick, smog ridden air. Rick stopped the horse, taking a moment to look around.

"Somethin' ain' right Officer, ye really think that yer wife and son are here?" She questioned, staring at her surroundings.

"I was told by Morgan there was a refugee centre here, it must be out the way so the walkers can't get to it.”

"Speakin' th' lingo too now are ye?" Katherine asked him with a smirk, looking over his shoulder to get a better look at the Sheriff. "Maybe I should quiz ye.”

"I won't be very good.!" Rick gave a small smile back before looking towards the open road, taking a nervous deep breath. "Ready?"

"Got no choice." Katherine mumbled, adjusting herself on the saddle.

"I was talkin' te myself.”

Katherine couldn't help but laugh.