the walking dead: the wife

chapter i: the kid

It was the groaning and moaning of the undead that pulled her out of dreamland. Her knife was raised the second she opened her eyes, her mind still between worlds as her heart pounded and her chest heaved at the possible threat. Luckily, she had made sure to lock the doors of the small gas station she was in before her nap, so no undead had managed to enter the building. Sierra lowered the knife, relaxing all of her muscles for a second before taking care of the unexpected and unwanted visitors. She took a deep breath and got up from the small bed that she had created herself (an old blanket she had found in an abandoned house before finding the gas station with her backpack as a pillow), ready to take down the undead.

There were five of them, pounding on the door and snarling for food – and if it weren't for the fact that they could not satisfy their hunger, she wouldn't mind feeding them. The smell of Sierra's loyal companion was what might have attracted these visitors. But she was aware something like this could happen so she made sure to keep her beloved horse with her inside the gas station.

"Aren't you glad I brought you in here, Shimmer?" she huffed cracking her neck and stretching her arms. The animal snorted, almost as if she could understand her – earning a smile from its owner.

Although Sierra prefers to take them down as quickly as possible, this time the sleep was too heavy on her shoulders. So she came up with a small but effective plan.

She walked over to them, moving away the barricade she had put up in front of the door – making sure to compensate with the weight of her own body. But always careful that none of the undead could grab nor bite her. With only her body pushing back against the undead's pounding, Sierra had to be extra careful. So she leaned on her right shoulder, facing the opening. She slowly opened the door, leaving it ajar enough so the undead could only stick their hands out. Only the most eager ones would try to stick their head out, which would end up in stab-wound between their eyes. And it was like that, one by one, that Sierra killed them all.

Once finished, she leaned her back against the door, now without any force on the other side. She sighed with some weariness, the exhaustion of the apocalypse finally showing itself. But she had a deal to keep. A deal that gave her a roof, a great privilege in times like these. So she swallowed her exhaustion, ignored all of the muscle pain and loaded her backpack up on her back. She grabbed the reins of Shimmer and continued her journey back home.

She was almost there, four or five hours left at most – a little less if Shimmer felt energetic enough. Sierra and her loyal companion were already heading back to Greene's farm. Hershel Greene, the patriarch of the family and the man who had adopted them under his roof in exchange for large amounts of supplies. And that is exactly why they had gone out in the first place. The contents of Sierra's backpack and Shimmer's saddlebags proof of that. Canned food, pills, medical equipment, clothes... Everything that could be useful had to be taken to the Greene family if the pair wanted to live comfortably.

Today was already the sixth day off the farm. Six days in which they will only have gotten food thanks to Otis, who is in charge of hunting for the family. So Sierra doesn't have to worry about whether she arrives a day earlier or a day later. After all, nothing new ever happened at the farm. They were all in good health and there was enough food for a month in case of emergency. Somehow, this family had found stability amidst the chaos – and Sierra was only lucky enough to find them.

Although it was them who found her.

Sierra had been alone for a long time. Not because she wanted to, that is evident, but because the very idiots of her old group got angry at her for killing two men. It is true that it might not have been the best choice, especially in times like these when normal people are scarce – but it was the best for sure.