Resilience [Daryl Dixon ♥]

1| stuck in atlanta

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Spencer, come here."

Spencer hopped off the counter where she had been previously sitting and followed the sound of her friend's voice to the store's front windows. Her friend, Oliver, was pressed against the large window, his head tilting upwards towards the sky. Spencer stood next to Oliver, looking upwards, her medium length brown hair swinging off her shoulder and onto her back.

"What, do you see something?" She asked. Her hazel eyes searched the skyline between the two towering buildings on either side of the store they were in. She adverted her gaze over to her friend. She didn't see anything. Just the endless vast of blue.

Oliver's blue eyes met her's, "Shh, listen." He insisted, holding his index finger up to her.

She did as he asked and eventually she heard a low thumping in the air. The sound ricocheting off the tall buildings they were between. "Is that―"

"A helicopter."

Their eyes looked back towards the sky, desperate to see the flying machine. They strained their eyes for a few minutes as the thumping of the helicopter got louder, then grew distant. They couldn't see anything. Spencer looked down in disappointment and walked back over to the cashier counter she had been sitting on earlier.

Spencer took her bottom lip between her teeth, leaning against the counter. "You should probably get away from the windows, don't wanna attract the biters." She called out to Oliver. As if on cue, a lone biter came up to the storefront and knocked it's head on the window. Oliver yelped and quickly scurried over towards Spencer.

"Maybe the helicopter'll come back around." Oliver said, always being the optimist.

That kind of attitude could get you killed in this new world.

Spencer was more of a realist than an idealist, her past shaping her judgment. She never thought the world would change so drastically in such a short time. And on top of that, she never thought she'd ever associate herself with someone like Oliver.

Spencer and Oliver lived in the same town but never really knew each other. Maybe it was the age difference. Spencer was a twenty-two year old who was taking a semester break off of school to care for her dying grandma, whereas Oliver was a freshly-graduated high schooler with big dreams and an even bigger desire to get away from his god awful parents.

Or maybe it was their childhood and experiences growing up. Spencer Owens had been surviving way before the world keeled over and died. She was born from chaos and traumatized by abuse and pain. Her experiences made her strong and her scars made her a survivor. The world that was, was not a place for her. The world that faced her, was her playground. People like Spencer were shaped and prepared for a world like this. They embraced the destruction and violence because that was all they ever knew.

Oliver Johnson, on the other hand, lived a sheltered life with two over-protective parents. He was homeschooled his whole life until he started high school. With no experiences making friends or getting to know people, Oliver was thrown into a sea full of monstrous teenagers. He wasn't prepared for the world to end. No amount of apocalyptic video games could prepare him enough for the real thing. He had no idea how he had survived the few weeks at the start of all of this before running into Spencer. She was so calm and collective and precise and smart, she knew what to do, who to trust, where to go. It was like she had the 'How to survive: the End of the World' for dummies manual memorized.

He owed her his life.

Spencer had come across Oliver as she was leaving town. He was unsuccessfully fighting off a limping biter when she arrived. She had pulled her Jeep over, jumped out, beat the living―or dead―shit out of the biter, and was back in her car before Oliver had even realized what had happened. He asked her if she was going to Atlanta, to the refugee camp the military had set up there and she said yes. She didn't know why but she offered him a ride and he gratefully took it.

When they arrived at Atlanta, they didn't find anyone, no military, no survivors, Atlanta was a ghost town, filled with the living dead that roamed it's streets. They didn't know it then, but they had driven into their own trap. They got stuck in a horde of biters and had to vacate the Jeep and search for safety. What they found was a Sporting Goods Store connected to an Outdoor Gear Store. Ever since then, they had been holed up in that same store, hoping for a way out.

"Spencer!"

She looked up from her nails that she had been picking at and spotted Oliver over by the windows again. She hurried over to him, as he sounded panicked. "What? What is it?" She asked frantically. He didn't answer her, instead he just pointed at the window, in the direction of Atlanta's Main Street. Since the store was closer to the corner of Walton street and the Main Street, they were able to see a little of what happened to the Military checkpoint located there.

Through the window, Spencer could make out a man on a horse, rounding the corner towards them, and towards the massive horde that lined the street. She sucked in a shocked breath and watched as the man's horse became spooked and started to freak out. The man turned around and the horse ran in the other direction, only to be stopped by yet another horde. The man fell off his horse and landed on the ground, disappearing from sight.

Spencer closed her eyes for a second, the poor man didn't stand a chance. He probably had no idea what he was doing when he came galloping into Atlanta. When she opened her eyes again, Spencer could see the biters move towards the man and the horse, dispersing from their street. This was their opportunity for getting out. Spencer jumped right into action.

"Oliver, hurry. Grab your things!" She demanded as she ran back over to counter to collect her own bags. Hesitating for only a moment, Oliver followed her orders and grabbed his bags on the other side of the counter, near the locked bathrooms. Luckily for Spencer and Oliver, they had chosen a pretty decent place to hide in when they got overrun by the biters. If not for finding the Sporting Goods/Outdoor Gear store, they'd be badly disadvantaged. In their time in the store, they collected anything useful; sleeping bags, tents, bike pumps, batteries, lanterns, flashlights, axes, warmer clothing, etc.

Oliver and Spencer, slowly pushed the bike rack away from the door. Once the bike rack was moved, Spencer unlocked the front door and pushed it open, waiting for Oliver to exit before she did. When they were both out, Spencer started making her way away from the military checkpoint and towards the alleyway, that led over to Franklin Ave.

"Spencer!" Oliver whispered with fierce, gaining her attention. She turned and glanced back at him. "Are we just gonna leave him to die?" Oliver asked, referring to the man on the horse.

She seemed to think about it. Going back to try and help a dead man could be very bad for the both of them. They could attract some lone biters and would be put into danger. If they didn't go back, they could quietly get through the alleyway without incident. But if the man was still alive somehow, and Spencer didn't try to help him, she'd never forgive herself.

She nodded to Oliver and they turned around, going back to help the man. They reached the corner building and peaked around the side. All they could see was a large pile of biters and a tank. Spencer squinted at the pile of undead and could see that they were eating something―or someone. Spencer glanced at Oliver, a sad look on her face. "He's dead."

A lone biter sluggishly walked over towards the pair and Spencer quickly killed it, putting her hatchet right through its skull. The biter slumped to the ground. Spencer pulled the hatchet from the biter's head and looked up to see a few lone biters start walking towards them, attracted by the sounds. "Let's go." Spencer told Oliver.

They made a break for the alleyway, disappearing onto the next street where they searched for their next hideout.

_____

agh, first chapter is finally up! ♥

More to come soon. Thanks for waiting!

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x Brit