# Chapter 4 Hunter and Alaina had been sitting together in an abandoned church. His blonde hair unkempt. Hunter helped her stand, *God I wish I could sit with him forever.* His warmth was comforting, enveloping, welcoming. It had been a week since they'd raided the school. Unfortunately the pair had work to do. “Generator?” “Got to.” She replied, following behind him. The couple walked across the road to the abandoned fire station. They’d left the truck inside it, and now wanted to move the generators from behind the building. Hunter took the far side of one, Alaina opposite him. The generators were smaller than the ones in Madison, so Alaina expected them to be somewhat light. That was not the case. “Jesus Christ.” Hunter grunted, setting his end back down on the ground. They tried again. “These are crazy. We need to-” She cut herself off. They both stopped dead. “We need to load them up now. Someone else is bound to find them.” A voice grunted. “Yes sir.” Another replied. Hunter took Alaina's hand. “Lainey, inside now.” They rounded the right corner, hunter quickly opening the window. He used his hands as a stool to help Alaina up, then came through himself. Alaina closed the door, and whispered “Who the fuck was that.” They stayed silent, awkwardly close in the bathroom they came into. Soon a heavy engine sounded, the pair could hear it rolling around the building. Alaina was distracted by Hunter, his body was radiating heat, and she could smell the sweat. *God. I could just kiss him now.* She snapped herself out of it, turning her head slightly to hear, and not show her blush to Hunter, then turned back. “I just realized something, the church and the blue house had both been ransacked already.” “Yeah?” “Well the glass on the front porches.” “Shattered, why?” “Not here. Not at the fire station.” They stayed silent, sneaking into the main room of the building. After a few moments, they saw a shadow pass the door, and heard glass shatter. The engine they'd head fired back up, and rolled around the building once more. “So the glass is like a sign of completion,” Hunter mused. “I'm going out there.” Alaina decided, starting toward the door. Hunter caught her arm with a feathers touch, “Nope. I will go first.” *Fuck why is he smooth.* He popped back in after 2 minutes. “All gone.” She followed him back out, keeping her hand on one of his forearms. The lightbulb above the door had been shattered, glass scattered on the ground. Both generators had been taken. “Hold on,” Hunter said, walking toward some deep tracks in the ground surrounding the fire station. He picked up something camouflage. “A hat?” She asked, curious. “Military. Looks [[United states of America|Union]].” He said, wiping some of the dirt off, revealing the Union flag. *Still sporting the 50 stars. Dreamers.* “Same flag as my great granddad’s old one.” Alaina replied. “I don't like this Lainey. I think we should move.” “Sure. Athens?” “That was my plan.” She paused for a second, “How do you think Backwoods fared?” “Oh that's a good thought,” He said, messing with his chin hair. “Probably decimated, but worth a shot I suppose.” [[Backwoods]] was a general store, off of highway 78. It carried all manner of meats before the fall, as well as local brands of seasonings, cakes, and other random things. But the best thing? Their jerky. It was around 10 miles from the fire station, so the pair loaded up, and got going. The parking lot wasn't empty, it had maybe a dozen slackjaws, and half a dozen cars in ashes. Hunter took the car around the front. “Well, no luck here I think.” He said, but still putting the truck in park. The front glass was shattered, the interior looked like it'd been firebombed. “Why’re you stopping?” “Jerky of course, there's bound to be some.” He smiled, shutting the driver side door behind him. *Dammit.* She hopped out, making sure to take the key with her. She caught up to Hunter just inside the doors. “They used to keep it in the back.” She said, resigned. “That they did.” The pair didn't have much trouble getting through the wreckage. The bulk of it was ash and drop ceiling tiles. White insulation lay yellowed and charred. The entire place stunk, freezer cases fallen over or melted out the bottom. “Aha!” Hunter said, one room over, a former industrial cooler. “Find some?” Alaina asked, stopping dead from the smell of the room. “Jesus.” “90 pounds, place stinks, but the jerky is still good.” He came out, the sickly sweet smell of rotten pork rolling out from the room. “God we need to get you a shower.” Alaina said, holding her breath. “Ain't that bad sweetheart. Here, take this box. I got the other 2.” He slid one across the concrete floor toward her. They loaded up, Alaina gagging on the smell coming off Hunter. “Well?” She asked, “where to?” “Athens I guess.” He said, “Or do I need to find a shower first?” She rolled her eyes, hiding a smile. The smell was wearing off now. “Just keep the windows down a while.” The traffic northbound was negligible, though across the median, the traffic was much worse. Hundreds of cars stopped or slightly spread apart, all headed towards Atlanta. *Man did they buy into the sanctuary idea or what.* The windows of some of the vehicles were smashed in, others had doors hanging open. Trash littered the median. “Guess most of them never made it to Atlanta huh.” Hunter chuckled. The pair were driving at half the speed limit, taking in their surroundings. Hunter switched lanes to avoid a slackjaw. After they passed the racetrac, they took 78 toward the loop. Traffic seemed to be denser heading toward the west now. After the beginning of Epps bridge parkway, they pair took the far right lane to 29, finally getting onto the loop. The traffic west was even denser now, the 3 lanes had merged into one on epps bridge, making it impossible to get through. “Jesus. They all got stuck in traffic.” Alaina commented. “Yeah. Every time they finished construction on something, another thing popped up.” “Hold on, Hunter.” She touched his arm, pointing to the westbound perimeter. “Oh shit.” He slowly pulled the truck to the right side of the road, and into the shade. A group was in the westbound lanes raiding cars. Their truck was on the far end of the median, right against the opposing cars. There were 3 guys, 1 girl, and they seemed to be leapfrogging either side of the perimeter. “What should we do?” Alaina asked aloud. “Can't run and hide from everyone. We need an ally.” “If you’re going to go meet them, I'm coming with you.” “Would i ever turn down your company?” He smiled, sending butterflies into her stomach. They watched from a distance, slowly making their way to the truck. All along the asphalt were slackjaws and blood splattered around. Apparently some people died in their cars, a sad sight. They were now behind the truck, the other group maybe 40 yards away. “Wanna get in?” Alaina asked. “Yeah i do. It'd be a funny introduction.” *Lord, and of the world, and he wants to be funny. Why do i love an idiot?* She followed him, getting in as he quietly opened the door. He followed, closing the door like a snail. Around 10 minutes later, the pair heard cheers, and saw a water bottle fly through the sky, toward the far left lane. Not 3 minutes later, the driver door opened, letting in a young girl. “We don’t mean harm. We just want some information.” Hunter said, causing the girl to freeze. “Just keep your hands on the wheel.” “Christ.” She muttered. Her hair was a choppy blonde cut, somewhat short, like an uneven bob. Hunter extended his hand, “Jerky?” She looked at his hand, glancing at the pair of loners. “You have to be kidding me.” “I’m Hunter, this is Alaina. Pleasure to meet you. Jerky?” He asked again. “Rose. And yes.” She said, taking a few dark strips. “Damn.” “Ain't it?” Hunter asked, “anyhow, just wanted to meet you and your people.” “Hell of an introduction.” Rose took Hunter and Alaina in the truck to the others. “Hunter, Alaina, this is Rhett.” “Who the fuck are you?” Rhett asked, fingering his sidearm. “Just loners. Jerky?” Hunter asked, extending some to Rhett. Rhett took it but didn't eat it, Rose nudged him in the shoulder, and he conceded, nodding. “Got more of this?” “Ninety pounds if you let us join ya.” Alaina said, chewing on a piece of her own. “Shoot.” He said, eyeing Rose. Then he called, “Henry, Cody. Come here.” They crossed the few lanes and the ground they gained on Rhett, “Rhett?” “Hey this is Alaina and Hunter. They’ll be joining our group.” Rhett said. “They have 90 pounds of jerky.” “Oh shit, is that Backwoods jerky?” the brown haired one, Cody asked. “Sure is.” Hunter replied. “Shoot.” Henry said. “What else you got?” “Y'all’re better off coming to the truck.” Hunter replied. “Wow,” Rhett remarked, “did y'all raid an entire pharmacy?” “Naw. Just an elementary school.” Hunter chuckled. “That's where we got all the liquor too.” “An elementary school?” Rose asked, mouth agape. “Principal drank himself to death. He also took Ritalin and epinephrine. Odd part is he never turned.” “How?” Henry mused, “We’ll have to ask Beth about that, back home.” “She'd be the best person to head this, she was a nurse before the fall.” Cody nodded. “What's the plan then as far as raids go?” Alaina asked Rhett. “We need more water at home. 14 mouths to feed now.” “Yeah I neglected to ask about specifics earlier, what's the demographics?” Hunter asked, gnawing on a particularly tough piece of jerky. *Lord that boy's gonna eat it all.* “Even divide, girls and guys, but we have an elderly couple, and a boy.” Rose spoke up, walking to Rhett. “Including you two.” *She is so young.* Alaina thought to herself, *granted, I was young once.* The way the girl looked at, and acted around Rhett, it was obvious she liked him. Nobody wanted to admit it, but love was going to make this new world very hard. Alaina loved Hunter, and thought he loved her as well, but was afraid to ask. *The end of the world and i’m scared of rejection.* Hunter hadn't made any advances yet, and this concerned Alaina. However, she didn't even know if he was the type. The pair had been separated for years. *I’m just gonna have to kiss him one of these days.* Rhett and Hunter split the personnel load between the two trucks, Cody joining Hunter and Alaina in the diesel. The group managed to find several more cases of water, enough to last a short while, and it was close to 7pm now. Cody was in the back seat, Hunter in the driver seat. “So, how long’ve you two been together?” Cody asked, breaking the silence. His question made Alaina's heart pick up in speed. “We, we uhh. Uhh.” Hunter stammered, Alaina's face now in a deep red blush. Cody smiled, clapping Hunter on the shoulder. “You’ll figure it out. The world is fresh, not everything will be the same. My wife and kid are back home, and honestly that's all i can care about now.” *What a world to grow up in.* Alaina was now facing the window, trying, failing, to hide her blush. They passed wandering slackjaws, cars in the westbound lane. *Man, I just wanna see the land.* She sat facing the westbound lanes, the group driving west on the eastbound side. After maybe 5 miles, they took exit 18 the wrong way, and turned into the furniture store parking lot a mile later. Hunter followed Rhett's electric truck, the blue solar panels reflecting light on top. *Those actually have a use now, it's only a matter of time before diesel and gasoline go to hell.* They followed Rhett, circling the building. The buildings nearby looked either bombed in the war, or firebombed after the fall. Some lots lay completely bare, from the rockets during the war. Dixie gained its independence, but it was short-lived. As they circled the building, Alaina saw Rhett pull his truck up and into the warehouse. A group of people all waited up ahead, on the loading dock. Several blondes, a couple noirs, and some Grey haired folk. Hunter and Alaina pulled the truck next to Rhett’s, popping the tailgate from a button on the dashboard. “Everyone, good to see you all again. We had a successful raid, getting 11 cases of water bottles, and 9 gallon bottles. We have two new members, talented scavengers. Hunter and Alaina brought us alcohol, medicine, and 90 pounds of jerky. Give them a warm welcome, but first we all gotta unload.” The group all unloaded the vehicles, Rose returning the X4 outside to charge. “Hey Alaina,” A thin blonde, maybe 30, greeted her. “Beth.” Her eyes were an intense blue, like staring into your soul. “Good to meet you Beth.” Alaina said, shaking her hand. “Heard you had a dead man who didn't turn?” She asked, sounding curious now. “Yeah, he had two whole bottles of vodka next to him, 2 EpiPens, and I don't know how much Ritalin he took.” “Interesting. We’ve had a couple members turn, nobody's avoided it. Whether natural causes or a bite.” “The whole thing is fascinating, as disturbing as i’m sure it sounds.” “I’ve dissected slackjaws Alaina. That ain't nothing.” Beth smiled slightly. *Jesus.* “Odd thing though, the reanimated seem to be weaker than the turned, I've kinda kept them separate in my notes. Need to learn more, obviously.” Alaina remembered something from the first week of the fall, at the school. “Hold on a sec, i need to get something from the truck.” She returned a short while later, with the small stack of papers her and Hunter had taken from the office of the school. “Oh wow, all Dixie Disease center?” “Yep. Haven't looked through it much, but it all reads like memos explaining bites and natural death. Something you can look through at least.” [[05 Swarm]]