I Didn't Know, I'm Not Invincible (Chapter 2)
Title: I Didn't Know, I'm Not Invincible
Pairing: Sharlie (Sarah/Charlie)
Word Count: 1,489
Rating: idek, like, M, maybe? It's not even sex (sorry) just gory stuff I guess.
Summary: Sarah's stuck in a world full of zombies. So is Charlie. (I cannot summarize to save my life.)
Warnings: violence, guns, zombies.
Authors Note: Chapter 2! Advice, maybe? Yes? Please?
Also, enjoy. :)
Daylight broke out slowly over Memphis. The light laid across the trees and grass before becoming a part of the land. The yellows and pinks and reds danced around, sobering Sarah; her own adrenaline and fear kept her driving all night. In her quest to get as far away as possible from the madness in Chicago she’d managed to make it to Memphis physically unscarred, though, as she passed through the city, she could clearly see the remains of something tragic.
The rising sun set a rather violent and harsh feel over the battle ground that was flanked by tall buildings. Sarah noticed with sadness that everything was unmoving - cities shouldn’t be like this. It was a Friday morning; the streets should be filled with noise and movement, the sidewalks should have been littered with people. And where were those people now? Dead? Hiding in fear? Sarah could almost imagine what the streets would look like right now if everything were normal. Mothers and their children excited for a day out, the business men would be walking briskly; college students would be passing through café’s to pick up a morning coffee. The people moved like ghosts, their actions left a trail behind them and they all moved gracefully. Once Sarah blinked, the vision was lost and in replacement was the destruction. Shattered glass lay everywhere, upturned cars in the middle of the road, abandoned possessions strewn about. She was reminded of her own city which she had left not twelve hours earlier - the striking similarities in the aftermath were a reminder that the people here went through the same as she and so many others did. Yet, it wasn’t the same. No matter how similar things were between the two cities, each individual life that had been ripped apart was so different and unique and special. It was that difference that stopped Sarah from going insane during the drive through. It didn’t all morph into one big chaotic mess but instead, every single person that died was important and she held onto that.
Closer to the city centre, Sarah noticed zombies roaming around. As the car speeded through, cutting a line straight through the silence, they’d look up. Some would lunge for the car as if thinking that even if they didn’t manage to get crushed in the process, they might actually be able to get Sarah and some decided it wasn’t worth it and went back to their wandering.
After getting out of the city unscathed Sarah let out a yawn and noticed suddenly that she hadn’t slept in 24 hours. Getting a good 20 miles away from the city she pulled into a house partially hidden by trees. The drive way opened into a courtyard with the house directly in front and the open garage to the left. The house was modern and various trees bordered the boundaries of the property.
Five minutes later Sarah found herself still sitting in the driver’s seat debating on whether to get out or not. She wouldn’t be as safe inside as she is in the car but the prospect of food and a bed was starting to win her over. She finally swung the car door open and sprinted to the front door, locking the car on the way after chanting “just do it” multiple times before hand. Thankfully the door to the house was unlocked and she slammed it behind her before leaning against it breathing heavily. While attempting to get her heart rate to slow down she realised that she was going to have to get used to the mad adrenaline rushes; this was her life now.
Slowly she searched through the house, deliberately stepping carefully and making calculated movements. There was a main bedroom, spare bedroom, living room, bathroom, laundry and kitchen and contrary to the outside the interior of the house was old fashioned and crowded to the point of comfort. However, when searching the kitchen what she saw through the window and onto the porch made her bile rise in her throat. A young man and woman lay - obviously dead - in the garden. The man lay on his front, half on the steps and the grass and the woman, a little way down the garden also laying on her front as though they were running from something. Their bodies were distorted into weird shapes and their clothes showed signs of tearing with crimson blood surrounding both of them. Sarah hasped and gripped the counter until her fingers hurt. They would have been somebodies daughter and son, they would had friends and a life and a future. They could have made a family and now they had nothing, not even each other. Hot tears stung her eyes and threatened to spill down her cheeks but Sarah turned away and blinked them back before she could lose control completely.
She was reminded of her own parents who lived back in Australia and she wondered if the disease could have spread over there already. Sarah willed them to pick up the phone so they could prove her wrong and show her that they were okay. She heard her mother’s voice and smiled, instantly she was filled with relief and joy but as soon as the joy had arrived it was lost again as she immediately spiralled into grief when the rest of her mother’s answering message played out. Lowering the phone from her ear Sarah lent against the counter while her vision went fuzzy. She lost her breath and tried took gasping breaths - she didn’t even realise that she was crying until she felt her tears drip off her cheeks.
It wasn’t fair, why was she still alive? Why did she have to suffer all this pain just because she was one of the ‘lucky’ ones who happened to survive? Sarah squeezed her eyes shut tight in vain to attempt to stop the tears and collapsed to the floor as her knees gave out underneath her. America had been taken over in a single day with millions dead and millions more turned into killing machines. She was one of the last but she knew that there was no way she would willingly give herself up. Her whole life she’d developed a will to never give up and she wasn’t going to let herself lose that now; her stubbornness prevented that.
The whole time Sarah cried she could feel the walls building up and toughness within her appeared. Her vision became lined with a darkness that filled her heart. She wasn’t completely void of all emotion - quite the contrary - but Sarah’s limits came crashing down and she no longer felt the same level of panic.
When she woke the next morning the only evidence of her breakdown yesterday was the dried tear tracks on her cheeks. When she moved her mouth into a yawn she felt the tightness across her cheeks from the tears and her eyes filled up again. She blinked them away though the emptiness within her stayed.
She knew she had to find a way to fight back - if she was one of the last and she found herself in a desperate situation then there was no way she was going down without a struggle. By noon, the car was filled with food, blankets, pillows and all the emergency supplies that Sarah could think of. The only thing she’d failed to find in the house was a gun and she couldn’t tell if she was relieved or cautious. The whole time she worked her head pounded and she could feel the verge of something in her heart. Not only was she empty, she couldn’t do anything about it but wait. Yet, waiting only added to the void and so Sarah found herself stuck in a limbo between feeling nothing and feeling everything all at once.
Sarah knew that she had to find one if she planned to survive but she’d never used one or even held one ever before in her life and if she was going to be honest, she was worried about using it. They were dangerous equipment and the fact that she was going to have to teach herself made her apprehensive and reserved about finding one.
Once again Sarah found herself on the road; never wanting to stay too long in one place in case the zombies figured out that there happened to be a human amongst them. At first Sarah had no clue where she was going to drive to but as soon as she saw a road sign with “Dallas - 460 miles,” it hit her. If she was going to somehow acquire a gun then she may as well go south. Maybe she was being stereotypical but she was bound to find something there. Either way, Dallas had been on her ‘to travel to’ list and she wasn’t going to let her fear of zombies ruin it completely for her.
Pairing: Sharlie (Sarah/Charlie)
Word Count: 1,489
Rating: idek, like, M, maybe? It's not even sex (sorry) just gory stuff I guess.
Summary: Sarah's stuck in a world full of zombies. So is Charlie. (I cannot summarize to save my life.)
Warnings: violence, guns, zombies.
Authors Note: Chapter 2! Advice, maybe? Yes? Please?
Also, enjoy. :)
Daylight broke out slowly over Memphis. The light laid across the trees and grass before becoming a part of the land. The yellows and pinks and reds danced around, sobering Sarah; her own adrenaline and fear kept her driving all night. In her quest to get as far away as possible from the madness in Chicago she’d managed to make it to Memphis physically unscarred, though, as she passed through the city, she could clearly see the remains of something tragic.
The rising sun set a rather violent and harsh feel over the battle ground that was flanked by tall buildings. Sarah noticed with sadness that everything was unmoving - cities shouldn’t be like this. It was a Friday morning; the streets should be filled with noise and movement, the sidewalks should have been littered with people. And where were those people now? Dead? Hiding in fear? Sarah could almost imagine what the streets would look like right now if everything were normal. Mothers and their children excited for a day out, the business men would be walking briskly; college students would be passing through café’s to pick up a morning coffee. The people moved like ghosts, their actions left a trail behind them and they all moved gracefully. Once Sarah blinked, the vision was lost and in replacement was the destruction. Shattered glass lay everywhere, upturned cars in the middle of the road, abandoned possessions strewn about. She was reminded of her own city which she had left not twelve hours earlier - the striking similarities in the aftermath were a reminder that the people here went through the same as she and so many others did. Yet, it wasn’t the same. No matter how similar things were between the two cities, each individual life that had been ripped apart was so different and unique and special. It was that difference that stopped Sarah from going insane during the drive through. It didn’t all morph into one big chaotic mess but instead, every single person that died was important and she held onto that.
Closer to the city centre, Sarah noticed zombies roaming around. As the car speeded through, cutting a line straight through the silence, they’d look up. Some would lunge for the car as if thinking that even if they didn’t manage to get crushed in the process, they might actually be able to get Sarah and some decided it wasn’t worth it and went back to their wandering.
After getting out of the city unscathed Sarah let out a yawn and noticed suddenly that she hadn’t slept in 24 hours. Getting a good 20 miles away from the city she pulled into a house partially hidden by trees. The drive way opened into a courtyard with the house directly in front and the open garage to the left. The house was modern and various trees bordered the boundaries of the property.
Five minutes later Sarah found herself still sitting in the driver’s seat debating on whether to get out or not. She wouldn’t be as safe inside as she is in the car but the prospect of food and a bed was starting to win her over. She finally swung the car door open and sprinted to the front door, locking the car on the way after chanting “just do it” multiple times before hand. Thankfully the door to the house was unlocked and she slammed it behind her before leaning against it breathing heavily. While attempting to get her heart rate to slow down she realised that she was going to have to get used to the mad adrenaline rushes; this was her life now.
Slowly she searched through the house, deliberately stepping carefully and making calculated movements. There was a main bedroom, spare bedroom, living room, bathroom, laundry and kitchen and contrary to the outside the interior of the house was old fashioned and crowded to the point of comfort. However, when searching the kitchen what she saw through the window and onto the porch made her bile rise in her throat. A young man and woman lay - obviously dead - in the garden. The man lay on his front, half on the steps and the grass and the woman, a little way down the garden also laying on her front as though they were running from something. Their bodies were distorted into weird shapes and their clothes showed signs of tearing with crimson blood surrounding both of them. Sarah hasped and gripped the counter until her fingers hurt. They would have been somebodies daughter and son, they would had friends and a life and a future. They could have made a family and now they had nothing, not even each other. Hot tears stung her eyes and threatened to spill down her cheeks but Sarah turned away and blinked them back before she could lose control completely.
She was reminded of her own parents who lived back in Australia and she wondered if the disease could have spread over there already. Sarah willed them to pick up the phone so they could prove her wrong and show her that they were okay. She heard her mother’s voice and smiled, instantly she was filled with relief and joy but as soon as the joy had arrived it was lost again as she immediately spiralled into grief when the rest of her mother’s answering message played out. Lowering the phone from her ear Sarah lent against the counter while her vision went fuzzy. She lost her breath and tried took gasping breaths - she didn’t even realise that she was crying until she felt her tears drip off her cheeks.
It wasn’t fair, why was she still alive? Why did she have to suffer all this pain just because she was one of the ‘lucky’ ones who happened to survive? Sarah squeezed her eyes shut tight in vain to attempt to stop the tears and collapsed to the floor as her knees gave out underneath her. America had been taken over in a single day with millions dead and millions more turned into killing machines. She was one of the last but she knew that there was no way she would willingly give herself up. Her whole life she’d developed a will to never give up and she wasn’t going to let herself lose that now; her stubbornness prevented that.
The whole time Sarah cried she could feel the walls building up and toughness within her appeared. Her vision became lined with a darkness that filled her heart. She wasn’t completely void of all emotion - quite the contrary - but Sarah’s limits came crashing down and she no longer felt the same level of panic.
When she woke the next morning the only evidence of her breakdown yesterday was the dried tear tracks on her cheeks. When she moved her mouth into a yawn she felt the tightness across her cheeks from the tears and her eyes filled up again. She blinked them away though the emptiness within her stayed.
She knew she had to find a way to fight back - if she was one of the last and she found herself in a desperate situation then there was no way she was going down without a struggle. By noon, the car was filled with food, blankets, pillows and all the emergency supplies that Sarah could think of. The only thing she’d failed to find in the house was a gun and she couldn’t tell if she was relieved or cautious. The whole time she worked her head pounded and she could feel the verge of something in her heart. Not only was she empty, she couldn’t do anything about it but wait. Yet, waiting only added to the void and so Sarah found herself stuck in a limbo between feeling nothing and feeling everything all at once.
Sarah knew that she had to find one if she planned to survive but she’d never used one or even held one ever before in her life and if she was going to be honest, she was worried about using it. They were dangerous equipment and the fact that she was going to have to teach herself made her apprehensive and reserved about finding one.
Once again Sarah found herself on the road; never wanting to stay too long in one place in case the zombies figured out that there happened to be a human amongst them. At first Sarah had no clue where she was going to drive to but as soon as she saw a road sign with “Dallas - 460 miles,” it hit her. If she was going to somehow acquire a gun then she may as well go south. Maybe she was being stereotypical but she was bound to find something there. Either way, Dallas had been on her ‘to travel to’ list and she wasn’t going to let her fear of zombies ruin it completely for her.