𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐚'𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐱. carl grimes

prolouge

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i keep my eyes trained on the passing concrete below me. with each step a shooting pain runs through each of my legs. my feet felt as if they were about to bust my shoes open as my swollen, bruised skin pressed against the decaying fabric. the only thing keeping me going was the numbers running through me head; it allowed me to forget about my pain in order to keep track of which step i was at.

as i walked i could hear the sound of my sister's smaller feet hitting the concrete. her pace was quick as she tried to catch up with my long stride. i couldn't slow down for her though, we had to make it to a shelter by nightfall which was quickly approaching.

"finn" claire whispers, her tracks freezing in place. i pull my eyes away from my feet to see two biters sulking around; mouths biting out of the mindless need for human flesh.

"stay here" i tell claire as i hand her my heavy backpack; my aching back weeping in rejoice. i pull the dull dagger from my pocket and grip it tightly in my hand as i quickly approach the biters. one of them smells my presence quickly and turns his rotting head to face me. without hesitation i grab onto his musty shirt and drive my dagger deep into his skull. the biter collapses onto the ground as i pull my dagger out of its mushy brain. the other one catches onto to me and reaches out for me, just barely missing my arm. i dodge the hungry bite to stab the biter in the back of its head. i smile over at claire, wiping the blood left on my dagger onto my pants, "see? no problem"
claire slowly nods, still not convinced. these things ruled her life, as they do mine, yet she refused to kill any of them. but whether it was out of fear or pity was unknown; she hated even speaking of them.

i swiftly pick back up the pack, an extra thousand pounds piled on top of me. with a huff i take a large step forward, "on we go!"

we don't even get a mile until claire stops me again, this time excited. she gives me a punch in the arm, "i found one"

i look around the wood surrounded road to see a dark brown sign reading, "hitchhikers may be escaping inmates." i smile over at claire, "good one"

"now i'm winning!"

"damnit" i laugh, "savor the victory while you can because you won't be winning for long"

"yeah right" claire rolls her eyes and starts forward again. as we walk not only do i keep my eye out for a road sign, trying to even the score between my sister and i, but i feel the words of the dark brown sign run through my head. what did it mean? i've never seen a sign like that before.

my thoughts about the sign distract me from where we were walking to. we make it to the top of a small hill and i'm about to keep walking when i hear the godawful moans. i snap back into reality to see the biggest herd of biters i have ever seen right at the bottom of the hill we were standing on. they were all walking in different directions, their bodies clashing into each other. out of fear, one hand went to my dagger and the other went to my sisters hand, ready to pull her out of harm's way. i slowly started walking backwards, pulling my sister along, hoping we could get out of there before one of them saw us but we were too late. we had almost made it to where the biters couldn't see us anymore when i step on a fucking stick. the crack sounded almost as loud as a gunshot in the silence. i curse at myself silently, how the fuck did i just step on a stick, that was the most cheesy shit.

about 6 biters turned our direction when they heard the sound and naturally all the rest followed. although biters only walk, they gain speed fast. they're about half way up the hill before i can even react. i snap out of my daze and run. I run as fast as i can, pulling my sister along with me. yet my sister can't keep up; i tried to pull her along the best I can but she fell. she tripped over her own feet and out of my hand.