C H A P T E R  7

❛ when two became three. ❜

QUINN

     HER EYES SCANNED THE SHOP AROUND HER. Most of the shelves were empty. A thick layer of dust had gathered on the long forgotten items. Almost all of the food had been taken and what was left was either rotten or eaten by vermin.

A frustrated sigh left her lips as she looked around the shop one last time before stepping outside, not bothering to close the door behind her. Walking up to the corner of the street she met up with Michonne, who didn't seem like she had found anything useful either, judging by the scowl on her face. Though, Quinn couldn't really remember a time where her companion didn't wear that scowl.

For weeks now they'd walked around the woods, slipping in and out of small towns to scavenge for food, water, clothes or anything else that could be of use to them. One thing Quinn learned quickly from her new companion was that almost everything could be of use, you just had to know how. Their plan was still to make for the coast but they were moving pretty slow. The highways were filled with traffic jams and herds. Corpses were around every corner, filling up every little town. She hated the slow pace they were moving at but they really didn't have another choice. It was either slow, or dead.

'Found anything?' Quinn asked when she reached her, despite already knowing the answer.

Michonne simply shook her head before pulling at the chains that held the two dead ones and carried them along as she started walking down the street.

Quinn followed, her eyes scanning the surrounding streets for any possible dangers. It slightly scared her how fast she'd become used to the presence of the sword-wielding woman and her chained up corpses. The first few days she'd been pretty nervous and didn't sleep much, afraid of things she couldn't quite describe. But after a week or so, she realised she'd come to rely on the woman. They had developed a pattern and complemented each other perfectly. Michonne was the brawn and Quinn was brains. Michonne made sure they were safe and Quinn made sure they had food and a route to follow. Not once had she come to regret her decision to stay with this woman.

And though she'd gotten used to having Michonne around, her pet corpses were a whole other story. Quinn had never dared to ask more questions about them. She remembered the warning burning in Michonne's eyes that very first night they met very clearly. She was glad for the protection the corpses offered but their soft and never ending growling had never truly put her at ease.

As they walked down the street her eyes spotted a sports shop on her left. She froze in place when her eyes landed on a pair of dance shoes in the shop window. She stood glued to her spot, a small smile appearing on her face as she looked at them. Memories came drifting to the surface. Memories of audiences applauding, of her toes bleeding, her legs aching but her heart glowing with happiness. The only time she could remember she'd ever been truly happy was up on a stage.

'See something useful?' Michonne questioned, pulling Quinn out of her thoughts so sudden that she startled.

'No, I just-' She took a shaky breath. 'I used to dance,' she said and as the words left her lips she realised this was the first personal thing she'd told her companion. 'The only time I was happy was when I stood on a stage, swirling around in those painful shoes.' She chuckled despite herself. 'Feels like a lifetime ago.'

For a second they just stood there in silence, Quinn's eyes glued to the ballet shoes. Until Michonne spoke up. 'I used to be a lawyer.' She shifted uncomfortably, as if sharing that piece of information had left her vulnerable. 'We should go,' she added and then turned around to start making her way down the street.

'Yeah,' Quinn mumbled, her eyes lingering on the shoes for another moment before turning to follow her friend, shaking the memories away from her like a snake shed its skin.

The streets were scattered with papers, glass shards and sometimes the dark red stains of dried blood. Quinn never looked at it for too long, afraid her mind would make up the worst images about how it ended up on the pavement. Her attention was drawn by Michonne who pointed to a pharmacy on the other side of the street. Quinn gave her companion a quick nod and they crossed the street. Michonne bound her two corpses to a lantern before taking a hold of her katana and made her way inside, silent as a cat.

Quinn took two of her chinese ring daggers out of her belt. She found the four small daggers in a weapon store they'd come across. All of the guns were gone of course and most knives as well. Except for the ring daggers. Her fingers had become raw and painful by trying to train with them and get some control on the shiny blades. She had gotten pretty handy with them and they felt a lot lighter in her hands than they first had. Though the tiny scars on her fingers would always be there to remind her how clumsy she'd been in the beginning.

They made their way inside, slowly, all their senses on high alert. Their footsteps left prints in the dust that had gathered on the floor. Quinn squinted her eyes, scanning the dark corners of the little shop but it appeared to be empty as no corpse came clawing at them.

Michonne seemed to relax a little bit, though her hand stayed on the handle of her weapon.

Quinn moved from shelf to shelf and sighed deeply upon realising most of the useful medicine was long gone. Turning in a circle her eyes fell on the women's section. She felt a shiver crawl down her spine when she noticed most pregnancy tests were gone. She didn't even want to think about getting pregnant in a world like this.

But then her eyes caught sight of a few boxes of sanitary napkins left untouched. She couldn't help the victorious grin spreading on her lips as she walked forward to take them. If it hadn't been hell to get your period before the world ended, it definitely was now. Without sanitary products or the comfort of a bed or even something as stupid as eating chocolate, it was absolute misery.

'Mich!' She called out, gaining the attention of her katana wielding friend. She held up the boxes like they were the biggest treasure in the world.

A quick smile flickered across Michonne's features before she came walking over, holding up the bag so Quinn could put the boxes inside. Then they headed towards the exit. They had lingered here for too long already, it was time to go.

Once outside Michonne untied her two dead pets from the lantern post, taking the chain firmly in her hand. They started moving towards the trees on the edge of the town. Being back under the shadow of the trees was a blessing, though Quinn always felt more tensed up in the forest. She blamed it on her claustrophobia. She hated being unable to see less than three feet in front of her. Everything looked the same which made it feel like her surroundings were closing in on her. Sadly for her the cover of the trees was also what kept them alive. Which meant she couldn't do much else than swallow her discomfort.

Suddenly Michonne held up her hand, warning Quinn about possible danger. Immediately she reached for her daggers, holding one in each hand. She walked forwards so she was standing side by side with Michonne. She looked around to catch sight of what had Michonne so worried but it wasn't something she'd seen that had put her on edge and Quinn didn't understand until she smelled it too.

Her first instinct was to puke, get down on her knees and throw it all out. It smelled like rotten food, dried blood and death. The last time such a smell had almost made her vomit was when she met Michonne. Her heart started racing by the mere thought of facing such a herd again but then she realised something. There was another smell, much weaker but clearly there.

Fire.

Quinn raised her eyebrows at Michonne but she only shook her head as a reply. She had no idea where it was coming from either. Slowly they started making their way forward. Every step made her heart race, every little sound was like a bomb to her ears and she was sweating like crazy, making the hilt of her dagger painful in her fist.

Michonne stopped walking so abruptly that Quinn didn't even notice it at first. Frowning, the woman looked around, wondering what had caught her attention and then she saw it. They stumbled towards them, swaying weirdly because there was no one in there left to take the reins. They were just shells now, taken over by some kind of animal like instinct. Dead ones.

Her eyes scanned the trees, counting at least ten and she felt her heart slightly crumble at the thought of having to fight so many. But then something else seemed to take their attention as they turned and stumbled to the right. Quinn was in no hurry to go after them and find out what it was but it turned out she didn't have to.

Between the trees she spotted someone, running for their life. She could feel Michonne tense up beside her and realised she saw it too. It was a woman, her blonde hair shining in the morning sun. Quinn watched as the woman stumbled and fell, screaming in panic as the corpses reached her. Quinn threw a questioning look at Michonne who simply nodded.

As one the two women moved down the hill. She tried to gain some grip on the dried leaves that covered the ground while reaching for her dagger. Quinn didn't understand what had made them decide to take such a risky move. It wasn't a smart play at all. Perhaps it was the knowledge that if Michonne had turned away that day, Quinn would be dead now. Or maybe it was simply two women telling the rules of the new world to fuck off and safe another human life.

Whatever it was, she had no more time to think about it. A shout left her lips as she raised her dagger and killed the first corpse. It fell down, making Quinn bent over to pull her dagger out. She stood back up, her eyes going to Michonne as she decapitated two dead ones at the same time. The woman, still on the ground, looked up at two of them, her eyes wide.

Quinn reached down, offering her hand to her. 'We have to go,' she said, her fear making her voice sharper than she had intended.

The blonde woman didn't seem to mind, it actually seemed to shake her awake and she gave a curt nod, taking Quinn's extended hand and letting herself be pulled to her feet.

'Quinn!' Michonne shouted.

But the warning came seconds too late. She turned around and the corpse was already upon her, crashing into her and dragging her down to the ground. As she fell, a sharp pain flashed through her leg, making her scream. Though it was more out of fear than out of pain. But the corpse was biting at her face and so it couldn't have possibly bitten her leg. Forcing herself to push the panic aside, she braced her arm against the corpse's chest, holding its teeth away from her face. With her other hand she reached for one of the daggers hanging from her belt. With a groan of effort she managed to pull it free and sunk the blade through its skull.

Immediately the corpse went limp and with a groan of effort she pushed it aside. Wincing she got back on her feet, her eyes going to her leg to see what had caused the pain. She had fallen exactly on the sharp end of a tree branch, which caused a deep scratch right above her knee. Blood was trickling down her leg while her skin burned.

'Are you okay?' Michonne asked, looking at the ugly gash.

'Gotta be,' Quinn replied as she quickly pulled her jeans straight. There was no time to worry about it now, not with the steady amount of dead ones streaming down the hill and stumbling towards them.

'We have to go,' the blonde woman said, looking around with fearful eyes.

Quinn looked at Michonne, who nodded. They made their decision when they saved this woman. They couldn't abandon her now. And so the three women started running.

A U T H O R 'S  N O T E

They met Andrea! I've been so excited to introduce her into this story and here she finally is. These three are gonna be such awesome, walker-butt-kicking, friends.

So, I recently started watching season 9 of the walking dead. I hadn't started yet because I knew what was gonna happen and I wasn't ready to watch it. But yesterday I finally came around and let me tell you...I don't believe I ever cried harder in my life. I cry very easily when watching movies/shows but this time...Boy I think the people on the other side of town could hear me.

Anyway, I'm feeling slightly better now and even though season 9 is sad, I also think it's really good and I'm definitely not giving up on the walking dead yet.

I think that's enough talking for now, please leave a vote or a comment and share this story!

Thanks for reading guys,

xXx

UYM

edited: ✔