When The Dead Start Walking (The Walking Dead fan fiction)

Chapter 14- Mommy Dearest

Chapter 14-

"Mom, don't forget your jacket!" I yell, my voice straining over the loud tv. The news is telling us about some outbreak of a disease in town. They encourage us to leave, so that's what we're doing. I sigh, rolling as my eyes as I realize my mom didn't hear me. I grab the jacket, putting it on to free my hands to allow me to carry some stuff. I grab my two giant duffel bags, racing for the door. I hear the tv turn off right before I close the door to the garage. My brother, James, quickly flows outside of the door after me, his green backpack draped around his shoulder.

I hop in the drivers seat, looking back to see my mother sitting in the back, her grey hair being the only thing reminding me of her age. Her beautiful smooth skin shines at the reflection of the sun shinning through the back of the car, causing her to appear more youthful.

"Got everything?" James asks, looking between the two of us. His dark brown hair slightly covering his brown eyes. His red long-sleeved shirt seems to be brought out by the bright morning sun. We all nod, giving each other the permission to start leaving my mother's home. We have been visiting for the past month, assisting her in her needs. Ever since she recieved the news of having Alsymers, we've been at her side for every moment.

"Aight, lets go" I say, adjusting the mirrors of my black SUV. I back out of the driveway, careful to avoid hitting anyone passing by. Lucky no one is there so I easily head onto the street. I see other people leaving their homes as well. I guess the news must've reached them too. A small phase of concern fills my face as I realize this disease thing must be real after all, and not some kind of joke.

"They said to head over to their" James says, holding a large map in front of my face as he points to an area.

"Move!" I yell, shoving the map out of my face. "I'd like to survive the drive over there at least..." I say as I adjust the mirror even more. I see him roll his eyes as he continues to look at the map. Sometimes I can never stand my brother, even after all these years of living out of my mother's house.

"Guys, settle down, I'm not getting any younger" my mother says, placing a hand on each of our shoulders, a serious look on her face. I can tell, even through her sarcastic words, she is concerned about the news.

"Sorry Kiana" James says, folding the map and putting it in his lap. He looks angrily at me, his eyes like daggers.

"What happened to Mom?" my mother says, raising an eyebrow jokingly at James. He sighs, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

"Okay then...Mom. Anyways, Nikki, you know where we are going?" James says, looking out at the long line of traffic leading outside Atlanta. Before allowing me to reply, he continues, his voice angry as he crosses his arms, "gosh, at this rate we are never going to get out of here!" I hear him groan in frustration as I too stare over at the unusual amount of traffic. I guess this thing is more serious than the three thought.

"So Kiana, how are you doing?" James says, breaking the long silence we faced as we wait impatiently in the cluster of cars on the highway. "Or ugh, Mom.." James blurts out quickly, correcting himself.

"Huh?" my mother says, looking at James with a confused look. "Well I'm doing fine" she reassures as if hoping to remove the strange concerened look on James' face. As James faces away, I look through the mirror in the car to see my mother shake her head as if she thought of James being too worried for no reason. James and I shoot each other a glance, a pang of worry filling up our minds. Everyday she's been having more and more moments of memory loss.

"Stop the car!" I hear James yell, grabbing the emergency break on the right side of my seat. I angrily look at him, confused as to why he stopped me from driving. A large white truck barely scrapes the front of our car, hurridely speeding through an entrance to the highway, not caring if other cars are hit in the process. I gaze straight ahead, wide eyed as I realize I almost killed the three of us.

"Thanks James..." I say, shaking my head to regain my focus. I gnash my teeth as I remember what my father taught me when driving: no matter who's turn it is to cross, watch the sides.

"Here, maybe I should drive" James offers, looking sympatheticly into my eyes. I nod, putting the SUV into a complete stop at the side of the highway entrance, careful not to cause any accidents. I step outside of the car, looking around to make sure no one else strays off course in the rushing traffic. My brother and I swap seats, no words leaving our mouth as we cross paths outside. The only interaction made is the worried look on our faces.

"You two almost gave me a heart attack!" my mother says loudly in a joking way as we enter the car at the same time. We give a small, but forced chuckle in response. No cheery words from our mother can lighten up the mood at the time. If the news was completely correct, this disease thing must be extremely serious.

"Sorry Mom" I say blankly, gazing ahead to the slowing down traffic. More and more cars feed in to the city exit, making the process to evacuate more difficult than they originally planned. A strange man walking along the side up ahead brings a questioning thought to me. He has nothing except for the clothes on his back.

"Excuse me sir, are you lost?" James pulls up to the side if the highway once again, rolling down his window as he approaches the strange man limping with an awkward gait. It appears as if his foot seems to be in a lot of pain. I see the same confused look reflected in my brother's eyes as the man approaches us.

"Should we offer him a ride?" I ask, my eyes straying from my brother's worried expression before continuing, "he looks harmle--" My eyes widen with fear, cutting my words off as I see the strange man stick his arms out and begin to pick up his pace to reach our car faster. "Watch out!" I yell to James, breaking his concentration of my sudden fear. He turns around, looking at the man. He switches the car from park to drive in a heartbeat, but the man already reached Jame's side of the window.

"What the heck man!" James yells, throwing an unexpected punch at the man. Right as the man backs off, falling to the ground, I catch a glimpse of his face up close. His dull eyes seem to look at nothing, his blood covered mouth reeking with the scent of death. Just as quickly as that moment came, we began to speed off, luckily avoiding another passing car on the highway.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you!?" my mother yells, placing a shaky hand on James. His eyes reflect fear, his tight grip on the steering wheel unmistakably reveals his emotion.

"I'm fine!" He snaps, refusing to look at either of us. His sudden outburst of anger brings an unwelcoming silence which fills the air. We continue to drive through traffic, our eyes peeled for anymore strange men. As much as I want to, I remain unable to comfort James, for he obviously doesn't want to be bothered at the moment. Instead I lean back in my seat, looking at the roof of the car.

"What was wrong with that man?" I mutter half to myself, quiet enough for no one else to hear. Whatever was wrong with him, he didn't seem to want help from us. I shrug off the idea about the disease the news tells us of. Maybe he just wanted to steal stuff from our car. Maybe he is fine after all.

TO BE CONTINUED.

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Hey guys! I know I know... It's been forever since I last uploaded. I ran into a bunch of writers block, but I managed to come up with this! Please enjoy and bear with me! Vote/comment! I LOVE hearing feedback good or bad. Thanks you guys!! <3